Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related things are not mine. They are owned by the wonderful J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. I make no money whatsoever out of this. It is simply to have some fun with the characters we all love and hopefully improve my writing.
I'd just like to stay that I have no beta and I try very hard to fix my mistakes but sometimes my eyes may miss some.
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A bright light hit Hermione's eyes and she woke up with a start. She looked around and frowned. Where am I? Hermione hesitated and got off the bed. She stepped out into a small hallway and stopped at a door. Snape was sitting at a desk in shabby looking living room. He looked up and put down his quill down.
"Breakfast?" he grunted.
Hermione suddenly realised how hungry she was. She nodded and Snape rose to his feet and asked her to follow. They were inside a kitchen with a small dining table. Hermione could not believe a room could have so much dust. Snape meanwhile put a kettle on the stove and took some bread out of the pantry.
"Umm, would you like help?" she asked timidly.
"No," said Snape.
Moments later, Hermione was sitting at the table with buttered toast and tea in front of her. Hermione did not know what to say, she was shocked with Snape's kind behaviour. She poured some tea into her cup and took a bite out of her toast.
"Where are we now?" she said quietly.
Snape took a sip of tea and gazed at her. "This is my old home," he said. "We will stay here until we have finished everything."
Hermione nodded and finished her toast. "Snape - er, Professor, how long do you think this is going to take?"
He put down his cup and leaned back on his chair. "I do not know, Miss Granger. I doubt it would take more than five to six months but it all depends on you and the Dark Lord."
Hermione stared at him, she never expected him to answer. "What about the Order?"
"You will have to interact with them once again. The Dark Lord will keep a close watch on you."
"And our supposed marriage?"
He gazed intently on her then said, "Miss Granger, there are questions I cannot answer you. The Dark Lord will continue using Legilimency on you and he must not know that we are planning something."
Hermione sighed and glanced out the window.
"Today you will meet the Order," said Snape.
"Why this soon?"
Snape raised an eyebrow. "I'd thought you had wanted to get over this situation much quicker?"
"Well, of course I do but I haven't seen these people for so long. They betrayed me," she said.
He went quiet for a minute. "What exactly did they do?" he asked. Hermione looked up at him. "Don't you know?" she asked.
"Would I possibly ask if I knew?"
Hermione shrugged. "They told me they'd protect my parents; hide them. What they failed to mention was that my parents were already in trap all thanks to Dumbledore. When I asked him why...why he did this to my parents he said -- he said, they were going to die anyway, my child," she replied bitterly.
"I thought Harry would know...understand how I felt but he turned a blind eye to it all," she said, her voice trembling. And then Hermione burst into tears.
"And do you know what Ron said? You never spent time with them anyway, why so sad Hermione? But they were my parents!" said Hermione, tears streaming down her face. "I loved them!"
Snape was gazing uncomfortably at Hermione. He'd never seen anyone cry so much and it was quite disturbing really. He sighed and rose to his feet, leaving Hermione sobbing.
"We'll be living here for a long time," said Snape, "so is there anything you need?"
Hermione wiped her eyes and looked up at him. "What do you mean?" she said in a croaky voice.
"What I mean, Miss Granger, is would you like to accompany me to Diagon Alley? You will have to get everything you need today, we cannot afford to be seen a lot."
"Yes, I'll go," she replied, desperately in need of a change in scenary.
"Very well," said Snape. "Here is your wand."
Hermione pocketed her wand and pulled on her cloak. Snape walked towards here but Hermione put up a hand.
"Don't worry," she said, "I can Apparate myself."
Snape frowned and stepped back. They were soon to be found standing before the Leaky Cauldron.
"Put your hood on, Miss Granger," said Snape.
Hermione did as she was told and walked into the pub behind Snape. They headed out back without interruption. It was quite strange, Hermione had never seen Diagon Alley so deserted. There was hardly anyone there.
"Why isn't anyone here?" she whispered.
"Everyone is afraid, the Death Eaters can be found roaming around."
"But what if they see us?"
"It will not matter much," said Snape and faced her.
"Where do you need to go?" he asked impatiently. He looked as though he would rather be fighting dragons that being here with Hermione, shopping. He handed her a bag of galleons.
"I can't take your money!"
Snape sneered. "Do you really think I would spend anything on you, Miss Granger? These are from your vault."
She opened her mouth to speak but Snape's eyes narrowed. "Where do you need to go?" he asked again in a voice daring her to disobey him.
Hermione looked around, she needed so many things. Flourish and Blotts looked tempting but Hermione inclined her head to Madam Malkin's. Snape stayed outside while Hermione bought the clothes she needed. She resized her bags and placed them in her pockets before leaving the shop.
"Now to Flourish and Blotts," she said excitedly.
Snape sneered down at her and led the way. Hermione breathed in the familiar smell of old parchment and felt a sudden nostalgia for her old school days. The shop was warm and welcoming and Hermione hurried to a side where the new arrivals were stored. An hour later, and with a lot of arguing involved, Hermione and Snape walked out of the shop.
"Severus...and, ah, Miss Granger?" said a drawling voice behind them.
Hermione spun around and faced Lucius Malfoy. She glared at him while he smirked.
"Doing a little shopping?" he mocked.
"We all have our duties, Lucius," said Snape.
"And yours is by far the simplest," he laughed.
"What do you want," spat Hermione. She felt Snape tense beside her.
"I'm astonished; you've given the Mudblood the right to speak?" said Lucius, faking a look of disappointment.
"I can do whatever I want, Malfoy!"
"You think becoming one of us gives you a privilege? I suggest you keep that mouth shut otherwise your end will come earlier than expected."
"Oh," laughed Hermione, "Is that a threat? Vol -- the Dark Lord wouldn't have allowed me to join if I wasn't special. You must feel crestfallen not to be the Dark Lord's favourite anymore."
Malfoy grabbed his wand and aimed it down at Hermione.
"Come now, Lucius, don't let this stupid child get to you," said Snape, sneering.
Lucius glanced at Snape and laughed. "Get to me? You are mistaken, Severus."
He looked back at Hermione. "I advise you to keep watch, Miss Granger."
"I don't need your stupid advice," she retorted.
The man left them and Snape grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her to a corner.
"What do you think you are doing?" he hissed.
"What!" said Hermione, pulling her arm away, "I'm not letting that bastard insult me anymore!"
"You are hanging by a thin line, Miss Granger. This is not the time to get your revenge. Keep your mouth shut and never speak to Malfoy like that again."
"But --!"
"Miss Granger," said Snape, his grip hardening, "I am trying to make you understand how dangerous this is. This isn't like your pathetic adventures with Potter and Weasley. You make one mistake, just one, and you will get killed!"
Hermione cowered under his gaze. "Okay," she said, wanting nothing more than to get away from him, "I won't do anything stupid."
Snape let her arm go, breathing heavily. "Is there anything else you need?" he spat.
"No," said Hermione in a hushed voice.
They returned back to Leaky Cauldron. It was three in the afternoon and Snape had suggested eating at the pub. Hermione agreed but didn't eat much. They got back home and Snape showed Hermione the rest of the house. But she wasn't interested. She felt like a prisoner and only craved for freedom.
Snape left her and headed to his room. She sat on the shabby sofa and sighed. There was only an hour left. She would return to the Order and see them all again. Hermione felt more anxious than she had before meeting Voldemort. What if Dumbledore realised she was connected to Voldemort? Would they kill her? What if it was obvious Hermione was only there to spy on them all? Hermione dropped her head in her hands. There was no one in the world that cared for her. She was alone, sitting on the edge, waiting. Who am I kidding? I'll fail, I can't do this!
Hermione rose to her feet and ran to the door.
"Going anywhere?" said Snape's deep, silky voice. Hermione rested her head on the door and closed her eyes.
"That's it," she said. "I seriously can not do this. Let me die, I don't want to save the world. You Snape can continue being noble but I'm leaving."
Snape laughed. "Miss Granger, you met with the Dark Lord, last night. The greatest wizard of all time and you think you can't meet with your old friends again?"
"But you don't undertstand!" shouted Hermione, "it's different. I hate Voldemort, I can lie to him but they -- they betrayed me, yes, but I can't do the same back to them."
Snape sat on a chair and glanced up at Hermione. "Don't let your emotions control you. You must control them."
"I can't!" cried Hermione, sliding down and pulling her knees to her chest. "You're a Slytherin, you hate everyone! You don't care, there's nothing important to you. Friendship doesn't mean anything to you but it does to me! I lived with these people for so long, I can't just hide away my feelings, I'll probably just break down when I see Harry and Ron!"
"They killed your mother and father, Miss Granger. What is more important, the people that have provided you with everything you ever want or their killers?"
Hermione went quiet. "Maybe it was an accident...maybe..."
"It was no accident, Miss Granger."
"What?" she asked, looking up.
"I was there when they died."
"But you asked me --"
"Yes, I did."
"Then...?"
"They were inside their home when the Death Eaters attacked. Dumbledore informed me of it all. He asked me not to get involved and to not stop the Death Eaters."
Hermione rose to her feet. "He told you not to stop them?" she asked incredulously.
Snape nodded.
"That - bastard!" she said, panting as though she'd run a mile.
"Will you meet them?" asked Snape after a while.
"Of course I will!"
"Very well, I will wait for your return."
Hermione soon Apparated and Snape strode off to his kitchen to get a bottle of wine while smirking triumphantly all the way.