Title: Give Me Your Answer, Do

Rating: T

Pairing: HGSS

Disclaimer: We are but poor fans, and own nothing.

Chapter 2

Hermione stood up and wiped the sweat off her brow. It was hard work collecting ingredients that lay low on the ground. "That's the last of them, right?" She turned around to face her picking partner. When they had met outside the castle, Severus had informed Hermione that they would be making use of the time to address some other less urgent shortages. He had handed Hermione a rather lengthy piece of paper explaining that was exactly half of the list he had compiled.

He scowled. "There is still one more to collect. Did you even bother to read the list I provided, or were you too preoccupied with those ridiculous flowers you've been hauling about?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I memorized your bloody list right after you handed it to me, if you must know. And I've got all of the things on my half...it's not my fault you've fallen behind."

"Impertinent wench," he growled, though there was little venom in his tone. Over the years, the two of them had learned to coexist relatively well; some might even say they were friends.

Accustomed to Severus' snarky banter, Hermione merely laughed and turned her attention to more flower picking. She had decided a nice bunch of colorful flowers would brighten up her office. She set off towards a nearby tree to inspect the bushes beside it. A bright orange clump of flowers caught her attention. "Ooo…these are pretty." Hermione muttered to herself, knowing any remark made directly to Severus would warrant another scathing response.

Unfortunately, the flowers were slightly obscured by a rather plain purple bush and Hermione lifted one hand to reach past the obstructing plant.

Severus spared a glance in her direction as she moved away, preparing another barb as he did so. Whatever he had been about to say, however, caught in his throat when he saw the plant she was about to touch. "Hermione, NO!" he shouted, lunging to knock her away. They fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs, the ingredients and flowers she'd been gathering crushed between them.

Hermione, her eyes wide with surprise, and the wind knocked out of her, could only stare up at Severus, wordlessly wondering what had happened. She had a moment to note his lank black hair brushing her cheeks, as his face was only inches from hers.

"Miss Granger, do try to contain your Gryffindor tendencies to recklessly throw yourself into harm's way. Am I to assume from this debacle that you failed to identify that plant?"

She shook her head mutely, and his scowl deepened. He felt like he was speaking with a particularly dense dunderhead, not a woman he usually felt possessed a modicum of intelligence. To make things worse, he could feel his allergies starting to kick in; he needed to get them moving back towards the castle before they got worse.

"It's Acidonious verticlora, Miss Granger. Perhaps you've heard of its nastier traits? One scrape of the thorns, which I assure you are plentiful, will send you into a deep, unending sleep. The only known cure is the Wiggenwald potion, and I have neither the time nor the desire to brew it for you."

Hermione frowned, unsure if she should brush off his harsh remarks and be thankful that he saved her from the plant, or argue his stance of leaving her to sleep for eternity. The fact that she was going cross-eyed trying to focus on his face didn't help with her mental processes. She opened her mouth to speak but was stopped before she began by Severus' face suddenly twisting before her. She could feel his body tense before he maneuvered himself off her. Hermione followed his example and stood, brushing the grass and leaves off her as she did so.

"Is everything alright, Severus?" She wondered if she should be so concerned with his wellbeing considering he had been, only a moment ago, quite content to let her remain unconscious until Judgment Day.

"Of course everything is not 'alright,' you irritating woman," he growled. "You've crushed half of the ingredients we've spent the last few hours painstakingly gathering! I should have known some sort of mishap would occur in your company. I'm tired of this. Come, back to the castle...I have work to do."

With Snape in the lead, they started back the way they came. Every so often, Hermione heard a muffled sound, one she couldn't quite place. As the muffled noises became more frequent, Hermione increased her walking pace to come up beside Severus. She glanced over at him, a frown on her face. A spasm overtook his body and the muffled noise was revealed to be Severus sneezing into his sleeve.

"Severus, if you keep doing that, you're going to get your robes awfully dirty." Hermione pointed out with mock disdain. She smiled playfully back to let him know that she was only teasing.

Hermione pulled out her wand and magicked a handkerchief. She handed it wordlessly over to him, hoping she could be useful. She couldn't help but feel responsible for the loss of all their ingredients earlier.

He glared at the offending white piece of linen before turning his attention back to the path and lengthening his stride, ignoring her completely. Hermione shrugged and the handkerchief disappeared. She was used to Severus and his independent attitude, as she had yet to see him accept any form of help or charity. Hermione momentarily wondered why Severus was so keen to get back to the castle all of a sudden. She had been led to believe his evening was relatively free.

Though he'd never admit it to Hermione, Severus was worried. While it had been years since he'd had a severe allergic reaction, he could tell he wouldn't make it back to the castle in time. Already, he could feel his sinuses clogging up and his eyes swelling. It wasn't getting any easier to breathe, either.

"Severus, are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Hermione began to realize this had to be something more than just a Severus who was tired of the outdoors. He was walking faster with each step and seemed intent on focusing on the path in front of him. Hermione was nearly jogging to keep up with his long strides.

"I'b fime," he tried to sneer. "Nowe ib yul..." his reply was cut off by a massive fit of sneezes, during which his face turned towards Hermione. She saw that he was covered with hives, and his eyes were red and swollen.

Hermione's eyes went wider than normal and though Severus was still stoically making his ever slowing way to the castle, Hermione took a step in front of him, blocking his path. She put a hand on his shoulder to halt him. "Severus! What's happ-" She stopped herself mid-sentence, once she realized Severus looked like he was about to collapse on the ground in front of her. Quickly thinking, she plunged her other hand into her shoulder bag and pulled out the epi pen she always kept with her for emergencies. Her mother had taken her to the doctor after a mild reaction to a bee sting when she was 10. Out of precaution, Hermione had the prescription refilled each year although she had yet to be stung again. She pulled the cap off with her teeth, her free hand now holding Severus in place.

Though his eyes were watering terribly at this point, Snape caught the light reflecting off something...sharp. Oh no. Not that. Of all the things the annoying girl could have... His last conscious thoughts were of a sea of masked people surrounding him.

Ignoring Severus' reaction, Hermione plunged the needle into his thigh. She briefly wished his clothing wasn't quite so thick before she noticed he had slumped over, weighing her down. "Honestly, Severus." She huffed as his dead-weight pulled them both to the ground. Severus was unconscious and Hermione was annoyed.