~ Chapter 19 ~
"You have to go downstairs at some point."
Hermione stayed put underneath her quilt and ignored Penny's paw prodding her body. She refused to go and be alone with Snape. Not after I kissed his cheek — he's going to kill me!
"Why did you do it if you're just going to hide from him?"
"He said that a person's touch can be healing; he's the only person at my disposal, so what else was I meant to do?"
"Interesting." Penny started walking up and down Hermione's clad body. "He's just going to be more angry that you kissed him then refused to go near him."
This caused Hermione to sit up in bed and toss her quilt to the side. Penny smirked up at her and accepted the praising pat that Hermione bestowed upon her.
"You're right, Penny, I should keep trying to touch him."
"No, that's not what I said — don't you dare tell him I said that, he'll kill me!"
Hermione smiled playfully at the feline. "I'm joking...although, I might try to discreetly touch him while we interact. It's similar to an experiment, and I'm usually very thorough when doing my research."
"He's not a project."
"I know that," Hermione sighed. "However, I might just ignore him until I die."
"What? Why?"
"Well, there's something that's really been bugging me," she pouted. "Why can I really hear you?"
Penny slowly backed further down the bed. "I already told you it's because he cares."
"Yes, I know that, but a person could care about an inanimate object."
"Talk to him."
"I want to hear it from you."
Penny dived underneath the bed to hide and Hermione laughed. "Just tell me. Surely it's not that bad?"
"Master will cause me bodily harm if I tell you."
"He would never hurt you, Penny," Hermione leant over the bed and peeked at the cat covering her eyes with her paws. "Please, it can't be that bad that he'll hurt you."
She mumbled something that Hermione couldn't hear. "What?"
"I said, it's because you're the soul he's supposed to be with!"
Hermione shot up straight and stared at the wall opposite in shock. Me? Soul? What? Penny slithered out from under the bed and bowed her head in shame.
"I've betrayed my master."
"What—" Hermione stared at her for a few seconds. "No! No you haven't, Penny! I'm grateful that you told me the truth."
"I still told you his secret…" Hermione bundled Penny up in her arms and kissed her head.
"Don't worry, I won't tell him that I know…" she stroked Penny gently. "I won't tell him that I know I'm his destined soul."
Penny whined and Hermione kissed her again. "Let's go downstairs, I'm sure he's wondering what's going on."
Hermione got ready then headed downstairs and into the kitchen. Snape sat at the table with a book before him, he narrowed his eyes at the sight of her and tilted his head slightly.
"What took you so long?"
Her cheeks flooded with colour when she remembered how she'd kissed his cheek. "I...I wanted to talk to Penny about something private."
His glare didn't ease up. "Private? Do you honestly think that's going to make me not ask?"
Hermione walked around the table and cautiously placed her hand on his shoulder. "Would you like me to make some tea?"
She felt him go rigid beneath her touch, so she quickly pulled away and went about making a pot of tea. Should I try my theory? Touching him occasionally might prepare me for someone else's touch...should I ask him first? I am his intended soul after all, she smiled to herself.
Hermione glanced over her shoulder at the back of his head. He'll react badly if I ask to touch him...or maybe he'll help me out? She knew that there was only one way to find out.
"Professor?"
"Yes?"
"I've been thinking about what you said last night — about how a person's touch can be healing — and I've come to the conclusion that I would like to try that," she took in a deep breath and turned to stare at the back of his head. "And since you're the only person around here, I was wondering if I could test out the theory with you—"
Hermione lunged forward and grabbed the back of Snape's collar, bringing them crashing to the kitchen floor just as a green light shattered the table he'd been sat at. A loud explosion caused the windows to break and dust started to shake down from the cracks in the ceiling. Before Hermione could process what had happened, Snape covered her body with his wand drawn.
She awkwardly reached down to pull her wand from her right boot. "Hermione—" his words were cut off when a masked figure came charging into the kitchen blasting spells. Snape threw up a shield immediately and got to his feet to duel the intruder, but he didn't expect another to come into the kitchen from the other door. Hermione shot to her feet and fired spells at the other black figure.
Hermione stumbled into Snape's back and he reached his free arm behind him to keep her standing. She struggled to keep throwing up her shield while firing spells back at the man since it had been so long since she last practised thoroughly.
A quiet meow filtered into Hermione's left ear and she turned to see a confused Crookshanks strolling into the room. Her opponent noticed the ginger feline and moved to deliver what would've been a killing blow to an animal, but Hermione raced away from Snape and skidded along the floor to put her back in the path of the shocking spell. Hermione cried out as intense tremors ignited her spine. She had no choice but to run out of the kitchen with Crookshanks in her arms.
The intruder chased her through Spinner's End with spells that intended to kill a person, but she managed to concentrate on keeping them at bay. She scrambled towards the front door and flung it open, only to come nose-to-wand with another masked figure. The pale hand reached up to remove the golden mask, and Hermione inhaled sharply at the sight of Lucius Malfoy's smirking face.
"And where do you think you're going, Granger?"
Hermione was close to hyperventilating. She could still hear Snape defending himself against the other attacker, so she stood no chance of taking down the man behind her and Lucius. A loud noise that sounded like a body being tossed into the kitchen cupboards caused her eyes to clamp shut. She prayed that it wasn't Snape, and her prayer was answered when Snape came rushing towards the front door with his wand pointing at the man behind her.
She turned to look at him with tears in her eyes, and she could see the worry that covered his face. "What do you want?" she turned to Lucius with a frown.
He smirked. "I just came here to remind you who's incharge around here now."
The man that Snape had been duelling came stumbling out of the kitchen and the man standing behind her helped him out of the front door, making sure to roughly barge Hermione in the process.
"Oh, and I've also brought you a gift," a black bag appeared at her feet and Lucius took a few steps back. "It was lovely to see you both again — especially you Severus, bedding your students must be exciting." Lucius disappeared just before Snape's curse could hit him.
Hermione's mind managed to catch up with what had just happened, and she let go of Crookshanks and turned with wide eyes to face Snape. "Are you OK?" he raced over and cupped her elbow as he inspected her for injuries.
"I'm fine," she whispered and discreetly checked him over as well. Her forehead came to rest on his chest and she inhaled sharply. For a few moments his hand came to rest on her shoulder and she relaxed into his awkward embrace. It was then that Hermione registered the horrible stench of death.
She pulled away from Snape and glanced down at the bag in the doorway. "I'll open it," he said, and she started to chew on her thumb as she watched him crouch down in front of the bag. His back blocked her view from seeing the inside, and she held her breath as he unzipped Lucius' present. His shoulders went rigid and her eyes widened in worry.
What is it?
"Sir?"
"Hermione," he said gravely. "Go upstairs."
"Why?"
"Just do as I say," she hated his muted tone. "Go upstairs!"
What's in the bag?
She took a few steps forward. "I want to see—"
Hermione felt the moment all the air in her lungs fled her body. She stood still for a few seconds, then a harrowing scream burst from her lips. Snape caught her just before she hit the floor and he roughly turned her head into his chest so her eyes no longer observed the two items in the bag. Scream after scream caused her body to shake as Severus held her tight and began rocking her on the floor.
Her mind wished that it was just a dream, but nothing would erase the memory of seeing the severed heads of her mum and dad in the black bag.
…
The room was alight with noise, some people moved around the kitchen to help repair the damage and others bickered amongst themselves. Some of the Aurors who had fled the Ministry were happy to listen in on any plans to regaining a way back to their normal lives, but none of the answers they heard gave them hope.
Hermione felt as if she was under water, all of the voices were deep and seemed to echo all around her. Her eyes were fascinated with the burnt floor and the feet that occasionally passed over her vision.
Professor Snape had forced her to sit down in a chair after everyone arrived, and all she could do was cry in response. Her tears soon dried up and all that was left was for her to rub her sore eyes. Every so often, a lone hand would try to force a drink into her hand but it was never the one she wanted, she could hear him across the kitchen arguing with McGonagall.
Shouldn't she be crying some more? Or was she in shock? Nothing could've prepared her for such a horrific sight, and she wished that she'd listened to Snape's orders to go upstairs. She wished to be held tightly by someone; she wanted them to be warm and welcoming, and nothing like the stray hands that rested on her shoulder as they walked around the kitchen.
Crookshanks came into view and she almost smiled when he nuzzled his wet nose against her exposed ankle. She enjoyed the feel of his fur warming her leg, and it almost brought her comfort.
Harry crouched down in front of her and she watched him push his glasses up his nose. She could see that his mouth was moving, but none of the words reached her ears. His brow furrowed and she could see sadness on his face. She recognised his expression as sympathy and she no longer wished to look at him.
Thankfully, a familiar hand grabbed his shoulder and he was pulled away from her. Professor Snape took Harry's spot and she stared into his dark eyes. The voices started to return to normal and she took in a sharp breath from the sudden wave of noise.
"Drink this," he held out a glass of water and she took it with shaking hands. He watched her drink every last drop then he took it from her and put it on the floor. "I'm going to take you back to Hogwarts."
She responded with a nod and he offered her his hand which she gladly took. He led her out the back door away from all the noise, and she vaguely heard him mention that Crookshanks and her belongings would follow her shortly. She held on tight to him as they disapparated from Spinner's End, and she was reluctant to let him go when they landed outside the welcoming gates.
Hermione kept hold of his hand and used her free one to wrap around his forearm. He didn't go rigid beneath her touch, and she realised that he understood her need to touch somebody. They walked down to the dungeons side by side, and Hermione was grateful that the students were in lessons. The last thing she needed was to bump into someone like Ginny or Richard and have them ask twenty questions.
Time seemed to disappear around her, and before she knew it, Snape was lowering her down onto the sofa in his chambers and pushing her to lay down. A blanket covered her body and she watched him move over to the wingback chair nearby. Visions of the night she arrived at Snape's door wet and dishevelled came to mind, and she noticed how similar they looked to how they'd first come into one another's lives. Snape observed her closely like he was waiting for her to break down in tears, but she'd already cried a river in his arms, and she had no energy to do it again.
They stared at one another intently, and Hermione could see he wanted to ask her questions, yet he didn't wish to overwhelm her. She felt exhausted but not enough to fall asleep. There was something relaxing about being in a warm silence with Professor Snape watching her, and she chose not to think of what that meant.
Perhaps everything would catch up to her soon enough? Shouldn't she be screaming at the top of her lungs and swearing revenge on Lucius Malfoy? She didn't feel any of those things, instead she became fascinated with the sound of her breaths. It was silent and calm, nobody would disturb them down here, not even Lucius had the power to attack Hogwarts — she was safe down in the dungeons with Professor Snape, her intended soul.
AN:/ Here is another chapter for you! Yes, it was full of angst and sadness, but it's getting closer to the chapter that inspired this story! I know a lot of you want things to hurry along, so I'm doing my best to get there in a natural way that doesn't seem rushed all of a sudden! Let me know what you think!