A/N: No worries, the reasons for Hermione's illness will soon come!
Chapter 8: Hogwarts Again
As Hermione fluttered her eyes open, she felt like the entire world had run her over and left her for dead along the Orion Belt. She felt that terrible.
Squinting (since it seems that there was no longer a moon-lit sky), she saw a blurry figure standing over her, or rather crouched over since she realized that the place she was lying down on was indeed the ground, and a rather cold one at that.
"What happened?" Hermione muttered, shaking her head to clear the cobwebs from her head.
"Don't move, Miss Granger, unless you want to add a twisted neck to your long list of ailments and injuries," a voice sneered above her. "So, its Professor Snape who's leaning over me," mused Hermione "he must be checking my vitals like Madame Pomfrey does but why am I not in the infirmary?" As she began to open her mouth to speak, Snape interrupted:
"Before you start prattling off a slew of useless questions," Snape said, pausing to cast a warming charm on Hermione, "I will tell you that you hallucinated, wandered to Hogs Head screaming like a Banchee in heat and collapsed by my side where I continued to heal you until now due to the fact that you were too weak to be Apparated or carried." Without even taking a breath, Snape uttered another charm that helped alleviate the thick fog in her head. Opening her eyes fully, Hermione had a chance to look at her supposed 'savior'.
"I try not to make a habit of saving someone's life more than once, Miss Granger, but if I must ask for one request in return, it is for you to stop staring at me like a gapping fish. It does not become you." And with that said, Snape stood up offering a hand. "Do you feel well enough to stand now?" he said in a kinder tone.
"I must in a quite the state," thought Hermione, grasping his hand rather shakily and then leaned herself against the professor in order to keep upright.
Flinching at the closeness, Snape merely muttered "Hold on."
With a crack, both student and professor Apparated to the gates of Hogwarts.
Still holding onto Snape's arm, Hermione felt herself lagging at the gait her professor was taking.
"Please Sir," she huffed, as they went up the winding path, "I am having troubles keeping up."
Looking back at her, as if he just realized that he had an extra arm attached to himself, he slowed down his pace. Paling slightly due to the exertion, Hermione quietly thanked her professor. Just as they reached the main doors, Snape turned to Hermione and pulled out a shimmering object from out of his pocket.
"Here, put this on, I believe it is breakfast time and I do not need you to cause a scene with your ghastly appearance", quipped Snape as he covered Hermione in an invisibility cloak, shielding her from the eyes of her peers.
"But, but- I thought only Harry had-" Hermione inquired just as Snape interrupted her.
"Yes, well, this is Mr. Potter's invisibility cloak. He was graciously obedient enough to lend me his most prized possessions to help find you, even as skillfully acquired some of these objects may be."
Not questioning Snape's way of getting Harry Potter to lend him anything to him, Hermione gripped her hand around Snape's arm while clutching the cloak around her body. To the average eye, it would only look like Snape was walking at a very leisurely pace with only the slightest of arm missing from his tall, overgrown body. "Hanging off the wings of a bat," Hermione mused.
As Snape lead the way, Hermione realized that they were not gong into the direction of the infirmary but rather down into the depths of the dungeon.
As they neared the bottom of the stairwell, Hermione glanced over to the spot where she almost dropped her books the first time. Feeling rather nauseous and weak, Hermione whispered "Sir, please. May I take a quick rest here? I am afraid that if I go any further, I will paint the floors a worse color than it already is." Quirking an eyebrow at her bold remark, Snape glanced down to the shimmering fabric gripping his arm.
"If you must, Miss Granger, but not for long. I have some questions for you that need to be answered in my office." Hermione took off the cloak and sat down heavily on the stone step, taking her gripped hand off Snape's arm and wrapping it around her knee.
"I feel so terrible," sighed Hermione to the air, looking at her small, paled hands.
Shifting his feet, Snape sat down beside Hermione and cleared his throat. "Well, perhaps the best remedy is a, what is the Muggle phrase? Come and have a nice bowl of chicken soup?" Without the usual biting remarks, Snape again offered his hand and helped Hermione to her feet and led her to the Potions classroom.
Quickly glancing at her professor, Hermione wondered if she was losing her mind again. "Kindness? Did he just try and comfort me with kindness?" she muttered.
Hearing her spoken words, Snape sharply replied "We have much to discuss, Miss Granger. I was merely suggesting that you eat before you decide to faint on my potion stores."
With a flourish of his wand, the Potions classroom door opened and both Hermione Granger and Professor Snape went inside to further figure out the source of Hermione's illness.