Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, they belong to J.K Rowling of course. The plot is all mine though, so no stealing!
In going over the first two chapters again with a fine-tooth comb, I found several typos and grammatical errors. I've fixed them to the best of my ability, and I'd like to take a moment to say that if someone has experience as a beta reader, I'd LOVE to take them on as a beta for this fic. Having the errors caught the first time would be grand.
Here's chapter three for you all, hope you enjoy! It's a bit shorter than the others, but I wanted to get it uploaded as soon as I could, seeing as it's been like, two months since I last updated.
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Hermione spent a long evening working on her Transfiguration paper, going to bed long after everyone else had fallen asleep. When she woke up the next morning, her abdomen was particularly sore, and she felt like just rolling over and going back to sleep. Instead, she slowly sat up, wincing a little bit, and got dressed and ready for breakfast. Harry and Ron weren't in the common room, and after a quick look at the clock, she concluded that they were probably still in bed. It was a bit early, after all.
After making sure that all here textbooks and rolls of parchment were accounted for, Hermione made her way down to the Great Hall. Just as she reached the doors, another twinge of pain made her double over. At the sound of voices approaching, she turned her head and watched as a few students came toward her. Her stomach dropped when she realized that it was Malfoy and a few other Slytherin students. The pain intensified, and she held back a moan of discomfort.
Almost immediately, Draco caught her eye. Quickly, she straightened up and glared at him, hoping he didn't see how she trembled, or how unusually pale she was.
"Granger," Draco sneered, and she rolled her eyes. "Careful… there won't always be Professors around to help you out of trouble." He taunted, and then he and his friends slipped into the hall, leaving her staring after them, lips parted in surprise.
As soon as they were out of sight, Hermione bowed over again, feeling a wave of nausea wash over her body like a hot flush. The thought of Madam Pomfrey entered her mind, then exited just as quickly. No.
She staggered toward the dungeons instead. It was a horrible five minute walk, her vision swimming, dizziness making everything appear dark and distorted around her, even more ominous and frightening than usual. What's more, the dank, cool smell of mildew and fresh earth that permeated the dungeons in their entirety added to her delicate stomach's discomfort, and more than once she had to stop and lean against a moist stone wall, lest she threw up.
By the time she made it to the door of Professor Snape's office, she was white as a ghost and covered in a fine sheen of sweat. Raising her hand, she knocked weakly a few times on the wooden door.
Her heart constricted when there was no answer right away – was he gone? And then the door swung open, and an irritated Professor stood before her. The anger on his face quickly dissolved, however, when he saw who it was and the state they were in.
"Miss Granger?"
He didn't wait for a reply, just reached out, took her arms in his hands, and helped her inside, closing the door tightly behind them.
She was pressed into a chair immediately, and Snape was across the room to his potion cupboard in two strides. He dug around noisily, than came back with several bottles in hands. Uncorking one, he pressed it to her lips, and Hermione drank it down gratefully. Almost right away the pain faded to a dull ache, and she sank back into the seat, relieved.
"What happened?" he demanded, white-faced and tight lipped.
Hermione shrugged, obviously exhausted. "I don't know… it hurt when I woke up a little. When I went to the Great Hall, it got much worse. I thought I might faint."
"Did anyone see you in pain?" there was urgency in his eyes.
She blinked, thoughtful. "Yes, Draco." Her expression darkened noticeably. "He and some other Slytherin students. It got really bad when he was there, but I tried to pretend I was all right."
He nodded slowly.
"I see."
Another potion was presented to her, and she gave a soft sigh.
Suddenly, she doubled over and vomited. Snape jumped, then quickly scourgified the mess away, his expression a mingled one of disgust, concern, and displeasure.
Whimpering, Hermione trembled, and Severus frowned, reaching out to feel her forehead.
"No fever." He stated, before pushing a wave of her hair aside to see her face better. "Do you feel any better now?"
His voice, she noticed through the fog of dizziness that had overcome her, held none of its usual bite. Instead it was concerned, and almost warm.
Hermione nodded, sniffled, than began to cry. She was in pain, frightened and confused, and the emotions were finally coming out.
Severus looked rather uncomfortable, and awkwardly reached out to gently pat and rub her back, unsure what else to do.
"Must you?" he asked, voice strained slightly. With a sense of déjà vu, he transfigured a nearby parchment scrap, once again, into a handkerchief and pressed it into her hands.
Hermione gave a few great sniffles and hiccoughs, dabbed at her face and nose, and then raised her pink face up to meet Severus' eyes, her own reddened.
"I'm sorry." She whispered, voice thick from the tears. "I'm usually not so emotional…" she trailed off as a few more tears made themselves known, and her head bowed as she began to sob again.
Severus was reminded why he didn't spend much time around women. Far too drippy for his tastes, to be honest.
"You've had a rough couple of days, Miss Granger. I'm quite sure that a bit of blubbering is expected." He grumbled, and she giggled. At him. Severus scowled.
"Yes, you're right Professor. I suppose "blubbering" a little bit isn't a bad thing. I feel a bit better now, anyway." Hermione quipped as she scrubbed off her face.
"Good," He snapped, arms folded in irritation. "If that's all, then, I was in the middle of important work. You may let yourself out."
Hermione frowned, standing up slowly. "Oh… yes, of course." She said softly, glancing up at his thunderous eyes, then down at the floor. "I'm sorry to have bothered you so early in the morning… but you did tell me to come to you if I was in pain, after all."
She looked up to catch his eyes again, and could have sworn that his face flushed just a little bit in embarrassment.
"Yes, I did. However, I didn't think you would arrive before half the castle is even awake. You're lucky I was here, and not in my quarters."
His expression had softened just a little, and Hermione felt much less intimidated. Deciding to press her luck, she licked her lips nervously and went for it.
"Professor, I noticed yesterday that you and Draco came into the Great Hall together, and he looked pretty angry… I was wondering, what exactly are you doing to… well, punish him? I mean, I was hoping you could assure me that it's adequate enough to keep him from-"
"Do not concern yourself with the matter. I have it under control, you will have no more trouble from him." Professor Snape stated shortly, before striding away from her and toward his desk. "Leave me."
"But sir!" she entreated, following after him quickly and skirting around so that she was facing him once again, "After what happened, I think I deserve to know how exactly you "have it under control", he's very angry with me and I don't want to find myself in that situation again, you know!"
He sneered down at her, eyes flashing. "Do you doubt my ability to punish my own students, Miss Granger?"
"Just the ones you favor over all the others!" she shot back, and instantly regretted it, as his face darkened.
"Out." He stated, and with a point of his finger toward the door, it swung open violently, bouncing off of the wall and sending a "crack!" reverberating around the room.
Hermione didn't need to be told twice.