Hermione was surprised as she walked into Severus' sleeping quarters. For some reason she expected his room be dark and foreboding like his personality but actually…well there was really no other word to describe it other than pleasant. His room was very spacey with mahogany floors and a magnificent four poster bed in the center. His bed had a coal black cover with silver trim. Severus had lit a fire in the corner that spread warmth throughout the room. Near the crackling fire there was a large, plush looking black leather couch that longed to be sat in and next to that was a gleaming mahogany desk that was stacked neatly with parchment, it looked as if he had been grading essays. His room did lack personal touches though. He had a lonely bookcase stacked with various novels and other books that looked enticing, a lamp with a Never Ending Light charm cast upon it that suffused the room with a soft glow and a small black rug at the foot of his bed, those were all the "decorations" that the room held.
Hermione looked up to find Severus looking at her anxiously. He seemed to be worried about what she thought about the room. She hid a smile at this.
"It's quite nice in here." She said kindly.
He looked relieved that she liked it as he said "I will take you to where you will be sleeping and show you the bathroom and the study we will be sharing. I can tutor you in the study, I am sure you will like it in there" He smiled at her.
He showed her the bathroom first which was beautiful. It had shining white and black marble floors with a huge bathtub. The bathtub looked large enough to swim and had intricately carved clawed feet. In the corner was a huge shower that looked too made out of white marble, all the taps were gleaming silver with small serpents etched onto them.
There was also a spotless, sparking mirror full length mirror on the wall. Hermione was shocked when she saw herself. She looked so fragile and bone thin, her skin was paper white and her purple-blue veins seemed to be showing up more clearly. Her usual gleaming and healthy looking hair, hung in lank exhausted looking curls down her back. What scared her most were her eyes, her coffee colored orbs that usually sparkled with intelligence and life looked spooked and haunted. She quickly looked away and followed Severus out.
He then led her through a door to the room that was adjacent to his. She hesitantly stepped inside and smiled in delight. The room was rather smaller than Severus' but very cozy. She even had a fireplace in her room as well. Her bed had a soft crimson duvet on it that looked very comfortable, with huge fluffy pillows that she longed to sink her tired head onto. Her room had mahogany floors as well, but a large ivory rug covered most of the floor. She was glad of this as she wasn't too fond of wood floors, they made her feet chilly. There was also a small desk in the corner with a lamp similar to Severus' sitting upon it, she already knew this would come in handy for all of her homework, extra research and late night reading that she loved.
"I believe the house-elves have already taken the liberty of unpacking all of your personal things into the dresser droors over there." She walked over and sure enough, all of her Hogwarts robes, muggle clothes, dress robes and various other items had been unpacked neatly for her. She gasped in delight as she saw her wand, she was very glad that she had not carried it with her the day that Lucius took her. She took it out and gently ran her delicate fingers over it, reveling in how smooth and familiar it felt in her hands. She looked up at Severus and he seemed to read her mind.
"I have also given your school list to one the house-elves" Severus said. "He went to Diagon Alley to go retrieve your books and such a while ago, actually he should be back by now. Those house elves are no good at anything.."
Hermione flinched and glared at Severus. She hated to think of all the work the house-elves were going through for her.
Severus seemed not to notice her look and told her be if she wanted. She was touched by fear at the thought of being alone but wanted desperately to change of her dratted hospital gown.
"Well, I wouldn't like you leave.." She said hesitantly. "I just want to change out of this thing and then maybe we can figure out how were going to work out my schooling."
Severus was touched that she wanted him there as he said "I will never leave you alone Hermione if you do not wish it, I'll be right outside your door while you change. Don't worry you shall be safe. Afterwards I will show you the study."
She smiled gratefully at him and gently shut the door. She was relieved her room contained no mirrors as she stripped off her clothes, she didn't want to see her scarred body and have to remember those horrors again. She decided on muggle attire as she didn't much feel like wizard robes at the moment. She decided on a simple pair of jeans, a lavender shirt and some flats. As she was fastening her bra though, her fingers ran across the unfamiliar ropy scars that spanned her back, as she felt them tears pooled in her eyes and ran down her face. For a moment she let herself become engulfed in her sorrow, stifling any sound with her fist. She didn't want Severus to find her like this, curled upon the floor, half naked and sobbing her eyes out. As she regained her composure, she pulled herself up and slipped the rest of her clothes on. She was surprised at how big her clothes were on her, her jeans hung loose around her tiny waist, hipbones jutting out. Her shirt was two times too big, hanging loose over her chest that seemed to have shrunk as well. She didn't really care that much, it didn't matter anymore what she looked like. No one would want her now that she was spoiled.
Severus gently knocked upon the door. She had been in there a long time and he was anxious to know if something had happened. "Hermione, are you alright?"
She brushed away her remaining tears and took a deep breath. "Yes, I'm fine." She lied as she opened the door.
He looked at her and her muggle attire and was again taken by how beautiful she was. He didn't care that she was plain by normal standards, to him she was a goddess. "Follow me and I will show you the study."
He led her through his room to a large door on the other side of his room, she hadn't noticed it before. He opened it and she gasped in joy as she looked at it. It was a huge room with shelves upon shelves of thousands of books. She breathed in the scent of the parchment, it spoke to her in a way that nothing else could. The air in here seemed rich with thought, intelligence, imagination and new ideas. For the first time she felt truly calm, standing in a study with Severus by her side. There were not only books in the room though, there were countless potion ingredients. She looked greedily upon them as well. Potions was her favorite subject and she would love to experiment (providing he allowed it) with all of these, almost every ingredient she could think of was stocked in those shelves.
She looked excitedly up at Severus "Professor Snape I never knew you had this private store room, all of these books…it's amazing."
He laughed at this "That is precisely why no one knows that this exist, there are many perilous potions ingredients in here and books that no student should ever lay hands on. I do trust you to be careful and use good judgment though, Hermione."
"Of course Professor Snape." She whispered. Then all of her attention was devoted to the books. He sat by her side at the table as she looked through the countless books. She seemed content to have him there and he was content just to watch her. He loved how she bit her lip when she came across something tricky, or how her eyes lit up when she saw something that sparked her mind. His breath caught at the simplest things she did, he noticed how she would push her hair impatiently away from her forehead when her unruly curls came too close, or how she would tap her foot in tune to her reading, and oh she was perfect.
After a long while, he realized it was getting late, his stomach as also starting to growl angrily. He gently tapped her shoulder and she looked up expectantly.
"I think this is enough reading for today. I can go get you some food or I can have someone bring it down if you would rather me stay?" He asked her.
"I think I would rather you stay, it's just that when I am alone.." She suddenly shuddered and he understood.
"Remember what I told you Hermione, I will never leave your side unless you wish me to" Severus said. "I will fetch someone to bring some food and we can dine down here. What would you like?"
Hermione's appetite had definitely come back, due to the restoring potion that Severus had slipped her. She thought for a few seconds.
Then she said " I think I want a grilled cheese, french fries and strawberry ice ream. I haven't had ice-cream in forever."
Severus smiled as he said "An odd combination but I am sure I can get it for you."
About twenty minutes later there was a knock on the door as a house-brought two trays in. He bowed and said "Your food is here sir" he then nodded to Hermione and said "And yours too miss"
Hermione smiled kindly at him and said "Thank you so much, I really appreciate." The house-elf looked at her a bit strangly, unaccustomed to being treated so politely before he nodded his head and scampered away.
Severus conjured a small wooden table just big enough for two out of mid air. He placed the tray upon it and they ate in mostly silence. Hermione seemed satisfied to just eat her ice cream. He marveled at how she even did that gracefully, her crimson lips parting as she licked her spoon. When she was finished he decided they should go to bed, he wondered how Hermione would feel about sleeping alone.
"I think I shall go to bed now, you can stay up if you like, and the study is open to you anytime you want." He said.
She yawned luxuriously and said "I think I might go to bed as well, I am rather tired, but do you think that maybe we could leave the door open. It bothers me to think of being confined in a room, especially at night." Her eyes took on a haunted appearance again.
"Of course, you can come to me anytime you like if…if things start to bother you." Severus said.
She nodded at him and said "Well good night Professor Snape, thank you so much for all of this." She swept her arms around the room to indicate what she was talking about.
Once Hermione was in her room she changed into her pajamas. It was wonderful to wear something that was hers again. Her pajamas were silky and light blue, simple and pure. She put them on and then remembered she had to brush her teeth. She felt a bit odd about Severus seeing her in her pajamas, but didn't want to go to bed with fuzzy teeth. She peeked out of her room and saw that he wasn't looking and tried to sneak past him.
Severus of course saw her and immediately felt aroused, her pajamas were very thin and somewhat revealing. He immediately suppressed these feelings with anger. He shouldn't be feeling these things for her, especially in the state she was in. She didn't need this right now.
Once she was past him she quickly brushed her teeth in the bathroom, washing her face with the cool water and deliberately avoiding the mirror. When she was done, Severus pretended to be busy with something on his desk so she could walk by without notice. He made himself avert his eyes this time, he didn't want to feel anything for her.
Hermione hadn't even realized how exhausted she was until she crawled into her new bed. The bed was so soft, it was like lying on clouds and the comforter felt like heaven. She hadn't slept anywhere this soft ever since…This was the first night she would be sleeping without her Dreamless sleep potion. She was apprehensive but knew that Severus was in the next room. With this thought she slowly drifted into oblivion.
Severus awoke several hours later to a frantic muttering coming from the next room. He immediately jumped up as fear surged through him at the thought of Hermione in danger. He ran into her room and saw her lying there. She was drenched in sweat, her eyelids were fluttering up and down and she was clawing desperately at thin air saying loudly "Please don't hurt, I'll do anything. Just please don't hurt me again!"
He gently shook her shoulder to wake her from her nightmare. She awoke with a jerk and as she looked at him she suddenly screamed in terror. She scrambled away from him and drew into the corner looking wildly around and rocking herself, with her knees drawn to her chest. He was by her side in a second, he took her in his arms and rubbed her head like he had that first night until she relaxed under his touch. He whispered continually "You are safe, no one can harm you whilst I am here, you are safe." He didn't know how long he lay on the floor with her holding her frail form, but she finally fell asleep in his arms. He gently lifted her up carefully placed her on the bed, but as he turned to leave, she whispered…
"Don't leave me Severus, I can't do it alone. Just lay here beside me until I fall asleep again."
Wordlessly he nodded his head and awkwardly lay down beside her. He didn't touch her, because he knew that it would only frighten her more. She only needed his presence right now, to reassure her that she was safe, and he would give her that.
Author's Notes: Review! Or I shall haunt you forever, baha maybe not, but please review!