Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter.
Chapter 5
Hermione worked tirelessly the next few days. No matter how hard she tried, she knew she was not improving as much as she would have liked, or how much Snape would want for that matter. Then again, she was practicing alone. She knew she desperately needed a partner, but she was not going to ask Snape. Not that she even could, she hadn't seen him since he told her the 'rules'.
"How barbaric!" She screamed into thin air.
She couldn't stand this anymore, not the run-down house, the loneliness, the grimy kitchen, any of it. Before she could even think, her hand was on the door knob and she was out the door. Standing on the rickety front porch, she took a breath of fresh air and immediately felt better. However, as soon as she took a step forward to leave the place, a black figure apparated directly in front of her. She felt a shove directly to her chest and she fell backwards inside.
A jolt of fear shot through her body and she scrambled to her feet, running through the living room and into the kitchen. She grabbed a knife from the knife block and hid behind the small island.
"I TOLD YOU TO NOT LEAVE THIS HOUSE!" Shouted a familiar voice.
She stood up and turned towards Snape, relief washing over her body, but the look in his eyes could have killed her. Hermione clutched the knife to her chest as he moved towards her. He put this hand on the knife.
"Give me the knife, Mrs. Snape," he bit out under his breath.
Her fingers let go and she collapsed onto the floor, crying. Snape callously stepped over her and replaced the knife, then swept his robe over her as he walked out of the kitchen. The sobs racked through her body, completely out of control. After a few minutes, the tears eased up and she could take deeper breaths. She slowly collected herself. She wiped her eyes and walked into the living room. Snape had lit a fire in the fire place and was cradling his head in his hands and rubbing his temples.
"Do you know what you could have done?"
"I'm sorry, I just—"
"No, you don't. You don't know what could have happened if you stepped off the porch. You don't know that death eaters are looking for you. You don't know that if you were captured you would be tortured, raped, and killed. You couldn't comprehend that because you are an imbecilic woman—not even that—child! Unable to see the impact of her actions, how every step in this war is absolutely crucial."
Hermione had started crying again. She hated herself for doing so, but she could not stop the tears from falling.
"Stop your childish crying girl!" He shouted.
The tears stopped, and she sniffled.
"When we got married, that boy made me promise to protect you, and if any harm would fall upon you, I would die. These promises mean something here, unlike the frivolity of the muggle world's promises. Wedding vows are stronger than the unbreakable vow. Now tell me, child—" he spat, "what made you think to leave?"
"I am so lonely," she forced out.
He seemed taken aback by the comment. The three seconds of hesitation seemed to stretch on into eternity.
"You seem like a smart girl, entertain yourself."
"There is nothing to do here, I don't have any books, I sent them all with the boys, there's no telly, I've been practicing my occlumency, but I can't improve further without practice. I want to go outside, I want to breathe fresh air. I feel trapped here."
Snape sighed, looking defeated. Hermione took the moment of vulnerability to study his face. She could see the stress lines on his face and the look of emptiness in his eyes. She had no idea how he had kept going this long, with seemingly nothing to fight for. A guilty feeling in her chest sprouted.
"I am sorry. I promise to never try to leave."
"In three weeks, we will be at the castle and you will have more freedom then. I will be here at eight every evening to practice occlumency with you, and I will bring you books from the castle."
"Thank you," she replied, meaning it with everything she had.
"I have to go now, I have many things to attend to before school starts."
"Of course," she replied.
He was already out of the door. She sat in an embarrassed silence. She knew she was being over-emotional. Hell, she hadn't cried this much ever in her life. The stress was getting to her, and that was not going to help with her occlumency. She went upstairs to her plain bedroom, sitting down on her bed to relax.
Her meditation was going extremely well when she heard a knock at the door. She shook her head, stood up, and walked downstairs, wondering who it could be. Halfway down the stairs, she realized it was Friday and it must be the woman bringing groceries. She opened the door, a smile on her face. The woman on the porch was waiting there, a little impatience showing on her face. The grocery bags weighing down her arms looked incredibly heavy.
"Oh, come in, come in," Hermione said.
"Where is Severus?" She asked, "Who are you? The new cleaning lady? It was a shame he had to fire Lidiya then, no matter."
The lady pushed past her, went into the kitchen, and started putting away the groceries.
"You're not a very good cleaning lady, this place is a mess. You'd better be careful, or Severus will fire you, he's very particular about his things."
"Do you know him well?" Hermione asked, instantly curious.
"Oh yes, I'd say so. I've known him for years. We were lovers for a time, but that sadly had to end."
"What happened?"
The woman was obviously happy to have someone's interest.
"It started maybe eight or nine years ago, he was shopping by himself, obviously frustrated by everything about it. It was absolutely adorable, I just had to help him. I started delivering his groceries, and he seemed so lonely and stressed out all the time. He's a chemist, you know, his job is very stressful."
You don't know the half of it, Hermione thought.
The woman paused to start making tea. This story was going to be longer than Hermione thought. She studied her. Her waist length straight red hair had streaks of grey and there were tired lines around her green eyes. Hermione placed her age around the same as Snape's.
With a cup of tea in front of her, she continued her story.
"I dropped of stuff at his house, as I do now, and once he seemed hurt. He said there was an accident at his lab, so I insisted on cooking for him. We ate together. The conversation with him is absolutely stimulating, though he mostly keeps to himself now. This part is sort of embarrassing," she took a breath, seeming to contemplate whether being embarrassed was worth the attention of the younger girl.
"I accosted him in the hallway one day. I don't know, I was just feeling it and I took a chance. It worked," she shrugged, then let a small smile slip on her face, "He is a fantastic lover, by the way, so strong and attentive. Anyways, that went on for a couple years. But then once he moaned another woman's name while we were making love. After that, he told me to leave and never come back, but I still bring him his stuff every week."
"What was the name?" Hermione asked.
"Lily," she replied.
Hermione racked her brain, thinking of who it could be. The woman stood up and placed her cup in the sink. She brushed off her hands on her jeans and looked Hermione straight in the eyes.
"I don't think I introduced myself, I'm Rinowna Clark," she stuck out her hand.
Hermione grasped it firmly, "Hermione Snape," she answered.
"I didn't realize that Severus had a sister," Rinowna said.
But the older woman glanced down to her left hand and saw her ring. Rinowna deflated a bit, the smirk gone from her face.
"You're so young," she said, "No matter, tell Severus I quit."
She left immediately after that.
A/N: Sorry I was gone for so long. I am back in the saddle now that I have a handle on my college classes. I love all you readers. 3
