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I planned to post this two days ago, but sometimes things won't go as planned, and unexpected things get in the way. This is part 1 of this chapter, and I promise that part 2 will follow shortly. Be prepared, this 2-parter is quite angsty. But don't worry. Things will calm down after that. After Rain Comes Sunshine, and After Angst Comes Fluff!

So, are you ready for some angst?

~o~

Nightmare in The Forbidden Forest, part one

Hermione's POV
Hermione walked along the edge of the Forbidden Forest, kicking up snow as she went. She bent down and took a handful of snow to make a snowball, but froze when she heard a sound from within the forest. Shit. Her nerves had recognized High Alert as the new default setting, and it took virtually nothing to make her jump. And then there were the nightmares. They were usually somewhat manageable, but with all the emotions and grief Christmas had brought with it, the nightmares had grown more intense and she would wake up in tears, utterly terrified. The last few days she had spent with Severus had made her ease up, but she still felt like a nervous wreck.

She had expected the nightmares and the fear to fade with time, but so far it had gone nowhere. Hermione had started to realize that she should talk to someone about it. She had trouble processing all the emotions and memories on her own. Not even Hermione Granger could just shrug off post-traumatic stress.

She heard the sound again. Take a walk to clear her mind, indeed. Worst idea ever. Just as she started towards the castle she heard it. The sound her nightmares were made of. The sound she never thought she would have to hear while awake again. The sound that to Hermione, was the symbol of every painful experience they had been through.

What haunted her dreams most nights was not Voldemort. What haunted her dreams was the cackling, manic, insane laughter now coming from the Forbidden Forest.

No, please. Was this a nightmare? She looked down on her hand with the snow still in it. The snow was melting and the ice cold water was seeping into her glove. No, this was not a dream. This was real. Unless she was hallucinating? Wishful thinking. It was real. Oh, Gods. Please, no.. No, NO!

The sound of the cackling, manic laughter made its way into every nerve in Hermione's body. She fought against the terror that was shutting down every coherent thought. She couldn't think. She couldn't breathe.

She wanted to run, but her body wouldn't move. Her knees buckled and she fell to her knees in the snow.

The laughter stopped just as abruptly as it started, leaving behind a most unnerving silence.

Hermione fought for air. She finally managed to take a deep breath, and screamed. An ocean of suppressed emotions had emerged from somewhere unknown inside Hermione from the sound of the laughter. She screamed with pent-up agony and rage she did not know was there, and waves of raw, unprocessed, fear washed over her.

She screamed until her throat felt like it was on fire. She curled up into a ball, tears streaming down her face. She felt numb, and so completely, crushingly alone in the world.

She had tried getting up several times, and failed. She had been so cold a little while ago, but now she felt warmer. The small part of her that was still somewhat coherent, knew that this was caused by hypothermia. The rest of her didn't care.

She was so tired. She just wanted to go to sleep. No, do not sleep, said a small voice in her head. It was getting harder and harder to listen to the voice.

Suddenly she heard the sound of running footsteps. Panicked, she tried to move, tried to find her wand. Nothing worked. Not even her new magic. She was too unfocused to function. She did a final attempt to scramble away from the approaching form. But she was cold, and too weak. She slumped down on the snow, curling her body into a fetal position.

"Hermione?" The man knelt down beside her. The dark voice was familiar and gave her a vague sense of safety. It helped a little bit. But she knew she would eventually have to be alone again. When he left, she was alone. She couldn't bare the thought. "Help" she whispered, tears pouring down her cheeks. She saw him take off his cloak, and wrapped it around her and lifted her from the ground. She held on to him and buried her face in the rough cloth of his coat. I can't do this anymore. I can't do this alone. I don't want to be alone anymore. The thought of being left alone made her shiver, and she whimpered. "I'll bring you to Madam Pomfrey" Severus said. She froze. No. She was so cold, and her teeth were chattering. "N-no, p-please don't. Please, I d-don't want to see anyone. Madam P-pomfrey will not be able to fix me." The last sentence she almost whispered. She could feel him hesitating, before changing direction.

"Very well, Miss Granger, come with me then." "Thank you." She whispered into his coat. After a bit of walking and shuffling with doors and tapping on bookshelves, he bent down and put her on a sofa. He then tried to stand up again, but she panicked. "No, no, no" she chanted while holding the front of his coat in a death-grip. He stopped, and knelt down on the floor beside the sofa instead.

"Hermione. You need to get out of your wet clothes. I have tried drying charms, but it won't dry your clothes properly. It's not good enough. Your lips are blue and your skin is as white as the snow I found you in. I have blankets here, but I need to go get some towels from the bathroom." She shook her head furiously. He sighed.

"Very well." Then he stood up again, picking her up as he got up. He carried her into the bathroom. Then he slowly put her feet down on the floor, while holding a strong arm around her waist. "Can you stand if I support you? I need one hand to get some things" She nodded. Her knees were weak, but with his support she managed to stand. After getting what he needed, he picked her up again, and carried her back to the sofa, a stack of towels levitating after them.

This time when he put her down, he knelt down on the floor right away. "Hermione, you need to listen to me now, alright?" She nodded. "You are in a state of hypothermia. Do you understand? We need to get you warm. Now. Can you sit?" She tried to sit up on her own. She couldn't. Severus held her arms and helped her up into sitting position. "Hermione?" She looked at him. "The clothes need to go. And I don't think you are able to do that alone in this condition. You have a couple of choices. I can take you to Madam Pomfrey right away, and let her help you" Her eyes widened with fear and she shook her head. "Alright then. But I'm afraid that would be the best option for you."

He looked away, hesitating. She just sat there looking at him. Oh. He will need to undress me. No wonder he looks uncomfortable. I'm shaking so hard that I can't even take off my gloves, I can't stand, and he is probably pretty uncomfortable with manhandling an almost naked female student. She realized Severus was waiting for her to answer. Great, he probably thinks I'm mute, or brain damaged from the cold at this point. She tried to lift a hand towards him. "Severus" He looked at her. "It's okay. P-please help me, I c-can't.. I am s-so cold." she looked at him with pleading eyes. He looked relieved, mixed with stress. He is probably relieved that he didn't have to suggest undressing me. Did I just think that? Severus Snape is going to undress me. This is unreal.

Severus cast a spell at the fireplace and soon she could feel the heat from it. He knelt right in front of her, looked at her a bit before raising one eyebrow. She let out a chuckle and she saw him relax a bit more. He hesitated again. She sighed. "S-severus, can you p-please undress me so I d-don't die from hypothermia right n-next to a fireplace?" She said through chattering teeth. She raised her eyebrows at him. Oh, great, I can control my eyebrows. Very bloody helpful. "You will b-be held accountable you know" He looked confused. "For m-my very untimely d-death." He actually snorted out a laugh from that. Her body was shaking so hard that it was hard to form words. "I'm n-not even your s-student anymore, s-so you can just g-go ahead. Please. I c-can't manage myself. He sighed. "Very well then."

He helped her take off her winter robe and boots, and under she had a t shirt, sweater, jeans, socks and underwear. He lifted her arms, and pulled off the sweater. Then he hesitated again. "S-severus! Just do it! I'm s-sorry if it puts you off, but p-please, I can't go to Madam P-pomfrey, and there are n-no one else! I trust you! P-please!

For a second he looked like she had slapped him, but she didn't have the energy to care. Then a determent expression appeared on his face, and he pulled off her t shirt before putting a blanket around her. Then he gently leaned her back on the sofa and opened the buttons in her jeans. Hesitating for a long moment, he proceeded to pull her jeans off, taking the socks while he was at it.

He quickly cast a drying spell on her, she was glad. The drying spell didn't work on the state she was in, every piece of clothing soaked, and the cold from the clothes couldn't just be dried off. But her underwear was now dry and she sighed in relief. He stood up, lifting her with him. Walking over to the fireplace, he flicked his wand a bit and put her down. She immediately started to panic that he would leave her again, but he sat down with her. He had placed her on a soft, warm blanket. He pulled out another and wrapped it around her. Then he pulled out two more and wrapped them too around her. Flicking his wand a bit more, pillows and blankets appeared. How many blankets do this man own?

He hesitated again, and she snapped. "Just d-do it, whatever it is you are thinking about!" His eyes widened. "If it's unbearable to t-touch me, g-get over yourself! I can't even m-move my limbs at the moment, and it's b-bloody p-painful, so please! Help me!" She could feel tears pooling in her eyes.

He moved fast this time. Taking off his coat, he was now only clad in a white shirt and some black cotton pants. He levitated a heavy wooden chest in front of the fireplace and flicked his wand to arrange pillows and blankets to lean on the chest. He picked her up and shifted the blankets around her and sat down with his back leaning on the wooden chest. He lifted her onto his lap and she leaned back on his chest. Working quickly, he removed the blankets from her until she was left with one thin blanket that covered her from the chest down, but leaving her arms free.

Severus summoned new blankets. The first one landed gracefully over her, wrapping itself around her feet and legs, before covering them both. The next blanket was thicker, and he repeated the procedure with it. She felt warmer already, and sighed in relief.

What he did next was unexpected. He pulled her tighter and embraced her, taking her small, ice cold hands into his warm hands. Hermione felt the warmth radiating from Severus. She relaxed her body and sighed, making a small approving noise.

The intense shivering in her body was easing up and she was starting to trust her voice again. "Severus?" Her throat was painfully sore, so the words came out in a whisper. But at least she could speak normally again. "Yes?" She felt his breath on her skin when he answered and it made her shiver. Not from cold this time. "You need to know what happened.. I need to know if I was hallucinating. Can you tell if I was or not with legilimency?" She could feel him nod. "Yes, most likely." "Then do it. Please." He hesitated before she heard him speak. "Legilimens."

Severus' POV
Severus gently entered Hermione's mind. First, he saw only images flashing before him, with no rhyme or reason to it. Then he found it. He saw Hermione walking in the snow next to the forbidden forest. He could get a sense of what she was feeling, and he could see that she looked sad. He saw Hermione pick up some snow, to presumable make a snowball, but she froze. He saw her flinch, and he walked closer, to see what was happening. He stood next to her as she looked into the forbidden forest. She started to walk towards the castle, but then completely froze from hearing a sound. He could hear it as well. That is… That's…. Bellatrix Lestrange? The manic laughter continued, and he saw Hermione fall on her knees in the snow. The laughter finally stopped, and Hermione screamed. He pulled out.

"Merlin's beard" he whispered. "That was no hallucination. But.. But she is dead, how can this be?" He could feel Hermione start to shake and soon heard small whimpers coming from her. "Oh, Hermione. Everything will be fine. You will be fine. We will work this out." He pulled her closer to him as he spoke, and he felt her shaking body calm down a bit.

Severus just held Hermione, murmuring soft words of comfort to her, until she calmed down again. After a few minutes more, she spoke in a small, fragile voice. "It's my worst nightmare. Literally. That laughter... Do you know what happened?"

He nodded. "You were at Malfoy Manor. I do not know all of it, but I heard. I couldn't do anything. I'm so sorry. I wasn't aware until later." He could feel rage building inside him at the thought of what happened to her. Hermione spoke again, her voice coming out in a whisper. "Do you want to see it?" He considered for a moment. "I do not want to see it. But I should know what happened. I think this new development requires it." She nodded again. "Do it. I'm ready." He hesitated before aiming his wand at her again. "Very well. Legilimens."

He was now at Malfoy Manor. That blasted place. He saw Hermione tied to a chair, with Bellatrix Lestrange dancing around her with an insane, euphoric expression on her face. He could see Hermione's eyes were full of fear, and tears were streaming down her face.

He heard Bellatrix' voice. "CRUCIO!" That bitch! He himself had been exposed to the Cruciatus curse on countless occasions, and he knew how painful it was. But Bellatrix Lestrange was especially skilled at making the pain worse, and last longer.

The memory felt like it lasted for ages. Bellatrix had taken her time torturing Hermione, and he was trembling with rage and pain as he watched. Bellatrix was obviously enjoying herself, dancing and laughing when Hermione cried out from being cut with a knife or screamed in anguish from the Cruciatus.

He was enraged when the memory finally ended. He pulled out of her head and knew he would never be able to erase the image of Hermione, lying limp on the floor with an expression void of all hope, tears streaming down her face and onto the floor. On her arm, blood trickled down from where Bellatrix had carved letters into her skin. Mudblood. He wondered for a moment if she had a scar, and the thought made his heart twinge in pain.

"I was praying for death. But it never came. And in the end we got out. It took me some time to recover." She shivered.

He understood. He really did. But he didn't know what to say to her, so he just held her and stroked her hair gently. "We need to tell Minerva. In the morning. The wards of Hogwarts must be strengthened, and we will take safety precautions. But everything can wait until tomorrow. You are exhausted and should sleep. For now, you are completely safe. My chambers have the strongest wards of the school and nothing will be able to break them. And I will not go anywhere. Sleep."

A while later, Severus was staring into the fire, trying to think. He found he could not. There was no brain activity to be found at all. He had a good reason though. Turning his head a bit, he nuzzled the reason's hair. She was sleeping soundly with her head rested on his shoulder. He was still holding her hands, even though they had warmed up.

The state she had been in when he found her had shocked him to the core. And the pitch black terror he had seen in her eyes when he just meant to stand up to take off his coat.. But after seeing her memories he understood. He understood completely.

There was more than one reason for his lack of brain function, though. He hadn't been this intimate with anyone in years, and it was quite disconcerting. Severus nuzzled Hermione's hair again. He couldn't help himself. She was warm and soft in his lap. And almost naked. Better not think about that, he thought.

He went through the events of the day in his mind. He remembered her reaction to his constant hesitation when undressing her. She had suggested, or more like assumed that he found it unbearable to touch her. The reason for his hesitation was pretty much the opposite. He had almost panicked when she told him to just do it, whatever he was thinking about. He was pretty sure she would take back her words if she had any idea what he was thinking about.

Undressing her had been an unnerving event. Not because his mind were filled with all the wrong things, because they weren't, but because he felt like he stepped over so many boundaries. He had been afraid that she would regret it later. That may still happen, though. He shushed himself in his head. Most of the hesitation had let go when he pulled her almost naked body to him and she had eagerly leaned back, sighing. And then she had made that noise. She was like a cat, purring when happy. Lionne. Little Lion.

Severus looked at the time. It had been late afternoon when he found her, but time had gone by fast. It was late evening now, and he would have gotten ready to go to bed in not too long if it was a normal evening. He suspected he would get no sleep tonight, though. He looked down at the sleeping form in his lap. No sleep for me, indeed. At least I'm comfortable. He had made sure of that with all the pillows and blankets.

He decided to send a Patronus to Minerva, telling her that he had found Hermione in a bad state in the snow, but that she was safe and he would speak to Minerva tomorrow.

He whispered; "Expecto Patronum." And froze. He couldn't speak. He was expecting the regular doe form, but it was changed. And oh so changed! He cursed inside his head. Instead of a silver doe looking at him, it was a magnificent lioness, looking at him intently. No Patronus for Minerva then. Of course it has changed. Merlin's beard, how pathetic can you get. He waved off the Patronus, and it disappeared.

He sighed, and looked up to the ceiling. If he were stuck in this position with this girl all night, he had to have something to do. Remembering that he had put the book she gave him, he summoned it. Thank Merlin that I put it on my desk and not left it in the bedroom.

Making himself more comfortable, he leaned back on the mountain of pillows. He pulled Hermione close to him, holding her small, cold hands in his warm hand, and settled comfortably down to read.