It was a week before Hermione was back to normal after that big blow. Snape was certainly a powerful wizard and Hermione had to feel the brunt of that power. The morning after, when she woke, she whispered this into Snapes ear, telling him that Gripes was indeed right, that she would feel it and as an after-thought noted that Gripes was right about everything- they were indeed one in the same.
Subsequently, Snape and Hermione had spent the past week in deep mediation. Snape had decided it was time to step the training up a notch, concluding, as Hermione had already, that she must have some control over Gripes. The meditations were, simply put, in-depth legilimency lessons that Hermione had to attempt inside herself. Snape noted many a time, much to Hermione's annoyance that this was unprecedented, and it would take all her skill, precision and dedication to achieve it.
It had in fact so far been much easier to access Gripes then Snape or even Hermione had imagined. After Gripes' confrontation with Snape, Hermione had already retained the memory of the entire conflict including, to enhance an already awkward relationship, her- that is to say Gripes attempted seduction. During the course of a week she began to access Gripes memories from her first meeting with Snape all the way to the glass smashing incident. She remembered her crazed excitement and the intensity of her emotions. Most of all, she remembered the intense hatred she felt for Snape, yet she also caught herself feeling a small sense of seemingly unexplainable and contradictory affection for him.
Hermione had started to enjoy the meditations. She began to trust Snape, so much so, that she had let down her well trained occlumens barrier, allowing him full access into her thoughts. Her trust came from an overwhelming sense of gratitude she felt for him. He had explained that he hadn't let others take care of her for he felt she needed the extra attention of someone completely aware of her situation and had insisted to Dumbledore that he should be in sole care of her for the time being. Of course he did not say this to her in these words, nor all at once, more in disjointed, mumbling and resentful fragments over the course of a few days, but Hermione caught the drift.
After accessing her brain like a kid let loose in a theme park with free rides, Snapes respect for Hermione grew. He steered clear of her very personal thoughts of which he grew ever more curious, but it became clear that she had a maturity level that far surpassed her age, and her intelligence was far more affluent then he had once thought. He accessed memories of her childhood, filled with consistent library visits and more reading then even Snape could claim to. He fixated on her childhood memories in order to find out whether she had ever known Gripes in one way or another. In his search he found facets of Hermiones memories showing her as a three year old in a psychologist's office, her parents telling of her imaginary friend telling her to do things she oughtn't.
"Dr. Gibbons, we have tried to talk sense into her…she's been, she's been…" Hermiones mother was distraught; her father gave her a reassuring pat on the hand. "She's been killing small animals. She's been giggling about it. She says she was told to do it, that they wanted to die."
Dr. Gibbons shifted in his chair and coughed uncomfortably. He scribbled something on a note pad and looked over his spectacles at the worried parents with stern eyes. "Sometimes children act out as a result of discomfort in their home life. They tend to make up imaginary friends as a way of disconnecting themselves from their own actions. Tell me, are you and your husband having any problems?"
The mother shook her head before collapsing into her lap sobbing.
"It's not just what she does Doctor," the father chimed in, "It's how she does it."
The memory faded as Snape felt himself pushed from Hermiones mind. Hermione had suppressed that memory a long time ago and she wasn't ready to rehash. Snape let it go for the moment, writing it on a scroll and storing it under his desk.
The exercises came to a standstill a week after they had started. The day had been like any other, apart from the fact Hermione had finally been out of pain. The bond between Snape and Hermione had grown as their isolation bred routine. Breakfast, external occlumency and legilimens, lunch, internal occlumency and legilimens followed by dinner and heavy reading before bed. That morning Snape seemed a little chirpier then usual, which in his case meant he was almost not pessimistic about the day. Hermione was free of her pain and also in a much better mood. The morning went better then expected and after lunch both Hermione and Snape anticipated wondrous things.
When the time came though, Hermiones brain had been sealed tight like a vice. Hermione was unable to access Gripes at any level beyond what she had already known. Snape drilled her, digging through her mind, pushing away irrelevant thoughts to allow her access in to Gripes, yet he was shut off completely. The more Hermione tried the harder and more painful it became. Eventually she leapt out of her meditative state.
"I can't get in. I just can't do it." Hermione huffed, feeling slightly dizzy as she stood up and made her way towards the kitchen.
"He is obviously now aware of your ability and stepping it up a notch. You've done it before, you can do it again. Now sit down!" Snape stood up, adopted a stern teacher's stance and pointed towards the spot Hermione had left.
Hermione slammed the cup she had filled with water on the kitchen table. "Severus, I will NOT be spoken to like that!" Hermione clamped her hands over her mouth and stared wide eyed at Snape.
Snape looked at her curiously. He did not fire up as was his normal reaction, instead paced towards her, held her by the arms and sat her down at a kitchen chair. He stared at her hard. "Hermione?"
Hermione removed her hands from her mouth, still wide eyed. "Yes?" She answered stupidly.
Snape sat beside her, seemingly flabbergasted. "I allow very few people to call me by my first name…" His words stopped. He dropped his head in his hand, pushing back his long hair. "I've noticed your mannerisms are changing Hermione."
Hermione looked at him suspiciously. He had never addressed her so casually before and certainly never by her first name.
"I fear that you are becoming more and more like Gripes every day."
Hermione wasn't shocked by this revelation. She remembered what Gripes had said to Snape, that they were one in the same. She had also caught herself doing things out of the ordinary. She carried herself differently on occasion, strange thoughts popped into her head at random and she felt an ever-growing sense of security, almost arrogance inside herself that had never been present before.
"Can I speak candidly?" Hermione enquired, she felt it was time to bring her theories to the forefront.
Snape turned his body towards her and leaned forward, gesturing for her to go on.
"I feel him inside me. I've told you this. The thing is what I haven't told you is probably much more important." Hermione stopped, searching for her words carefully. "He makes me feel powerful. This past week especially, I think my powers are growing. Of course, I haven't had my wand to test this theory, but I can just feel it. I think he allowed me access to his memories. I think he's trying to manipulate me. I'm just not sure what he's trying to accomplish." Hermione leaned toward Snape, locking her eyes on his. "But, I think whatever it is, it has something to do with you."
Snape searched her eyes, and found clarity and sincerity in them. "You think he wants revenge?"
"No." Hermione said quite pointedly. "I think it's something deeper, I think its more important then just simple revenge. He would have killed you if it were that."
"What makes you think it's so simple?"
"I just know that he is fully capable of using me as his puppet. I feel closer to you now, and I think…I think I'm beginning to care about you, I'm not sure Gripes would let me unless it was for his gain."
Snape shifted, leaning back against the chair.
"I think, no, I'm certain that you must steer clear of me. I know he is plotting something and all of this is part of some kind of game. If you stay, I just…I can't." Hermione stopped as her eyes started to well with tears. She turned her head and wiped them on her sleeve. "I can't be responsible for what I…Gripes does to you."
Snape gave a soft laugh. "Always a know-it-all." He mused, standing with a grunt and walking towards the lounge room. He turned towards her, his long robes swishing around his feet and two fingers at his chin. He stared at her from across the room, the space between them wide. "I'm not going anywhere."
"But Sev…I mean, Professor, I don't think you underst…"
"I understand more then you can imagine." Snape stepped towards her slowly, his voice silky and calm. "I know he has control over you, I know he taints your thoughts, your actions and most importantly, your emotions. He wants you to believe he is stronger than you, but I know that you are stronger than him."
"But how…"
"Because you are here. It is to you I speak. It is your mind I witness here before me, your soul shining through this physical encasement." Snape grew ever closer to her, before bending toward her and staring deep into her eyes, forcing her to bend back under him. "I have searched the breadth of your mind and have found it stretches further then any I have ever encountered before. You are vast, dear Hermione, and you can fight this."
"I can't…It's his strength inside me, not my own."
Snape took Hermione by the arms once again and shook her. "You are strong! It is your strength you feel. You have been fighting to keep him inside, forcing him inside all your life without even realising it. You're insufferable ego has been your saving grace and will get you through this."
Hermiones eyes fixed on his. She was entranced as she heard the passion in his voice, as she felt his breath on her lips. His warmth spread over her as she leaned towards him and planted a passionate kiss on his lips. She felt his lips spread with the force of her tongue and her head went light as chills ran through her. His weight fell on her as he met fire with fire, lifting his hands to her bushy hair and pushing her mouth hard towards his with a groan of intense pleasure. They tangled together on the chair, a mess of hands and lips roaming over each other in quick delight until the unsteady chair gave way and fell backwards, taking both Hermione and Snape with it.
"Ow!" Hermione giggled as Snape rolled off her, out of breath. She turned towards him with a heaving chest and a small smile to find her face met with the end of his black robes swooshing away from her. She sat up quickly to watch him walk swiftly towards his quarters, slamming the door behind him.
As Hermione lay there stunned, a sudden flash came to her. She was in a yard, her heart was racing and she was limping. She felt incredibly weak and frightened. A loud crack came from behind and as she spun around pointing her wand she yelled "Avada Ked…"
"Expelliarmus!"
She turned toward a glass window. She was empty handed yet fully focused on what she needed to do as she threw herself through it. Her skin cut and her body sore, she struggled to pull her self off the ground. Turning around with a grunt, she saw Snapes cold, black eyes meet hers. As a baby's scream was heard from behind a flash of green light came her way and suddenly, she was on the kitchen floor, panting and covered in sweat. The room was dark and she was alone.