A/N: Thanks again to my beta for putting up with my time delays and overall grammar, or lack thereof.
When they walked up Amethyst had a secretive smile, and just as Severus was about to ask they had arrived at the gates only to meet up with a smiling Hermione and his own personal hell. "Toby." Severus drawled. "Your sister has told me so much about you."
"Hi, you must be professor Snare, Snave, Snake. There it is, Professor Snake. Hello." Toby put his hand out as a greeting. Snape looked past the boy to the two girls, they were both attempting to school their faces. It wasn't working for either of them.
"Professor Snape, Toby. Snape." Hermione finally managed to bubble out. Well at least she's laughing today, he thought.
"That's right. Sorry, I'm horrible with names." Snape finally shook his hand.
Toby waved towards Hermione. "This is Hermione." He said to his 'sister'.
Amethyst reached out her hand. "Hi, I'm Amethyst Sertlin. The new DADA teacher. I understand your Sev's apprentice?"
Both Hermione and Severus looked at her like she'd grown another head. "Sev?" They said in unison.
"Well I can hardly call you what I normally do in public, can I? I'll never forget it. And your asking for it in that outfit." She asked looking poignantly at the person now dubbed 'Sev'.
He visibly grit his teeth and Hermione finally let out a winded laugh.
"Then, yes, I'm apprenticing with Sev. Hermione shook her hand. "Oh, 'Sev', the Headmaster wanted to see you, something about a dance he wants to have tomorrow. Professor McGonagal is already transfiguring outfits."
"Lovely, and where can I find the old miscreant?" Severus held the bridge of his nose.
"He said to meet him in the great hall, and also said to bring Toby with you to the meeting."
"Well, come along then." Severus drug the young boy with him.
"Lets take a walk," the new professor said suddenly.
"Okay." Hermione said unsure.
They walked in silence until they got to the gardens, then abruptly Amethyst sat down, Hermione followed suit.
"You can stop pretending your happy now, the only other one here is me and I already know."
"News sure does travel fast." She said sarcastically. She let her face slip into her familiar blankness.
"You'd be surprised by what I know."
"Really?" She asked venomously.
"Yes, like I know you told your mother once." Amethyst looked at the younger girl.
"How?" Hermione couldn't hide the shocked expression.
"Do you know that when your taught to listen you can hear things on the wind. Next time you ask for help be a little more specific about your location."
"That's only possible for… You're an elemental."
"Yes. I want you to do something for me, I want you to tell me everything that happened. Your going to end up hating yourself and hating the baby, most of all, if you don't."
"I can't."
"You can. Break it down to it's skeleton form, add in your feelings. Make it your story." At Hermione's expression, she added, "If your do this, I will tell you about what happened to me. Actually I will do one better, I'll show you if you need it. How did it start?"
Hermione sighed. As an elemental, the new professor would already know. She had fought since this had been found out to not have to tell anyone what had happened, as if it coming from her own mouth would somehow make it more real. There would be nothing for Professor Sertlin to gain by listening to her story, and maybe it would actually help. She took a breath and tried to figure where to start.
"He started when I was twelve, got me drunk. It started with my hands. I didn't think there was anything wrong because I had given massages before, it seemed the same. Then he wanted me to use my mouth, I hated it, but I hated other things more, he let me skip if I did it. After that, I was thirteen, he took my virginity. That's when I realized things were wrong. It was horrible. I was home for the summer and he became unemployed for a while. We were home alone a lot and it was easier for him to have at me then. I told my mother and she thought I was lying. She loved him. He got a job and I had learned to deal with the summers. This past year I asked Dumbledore to let me stay at the castle, but he said I had to go home. This summer I realized I was raised to be the perfect prostitute. They make the price, and I agree, however steep it is on my end, because I feel stuck. I'm the one to blame. It'd stopped for a while and I just got tired of arguing when he asked me to start again." Hermione paused.
Amethyst looked up, but Hermione wouldn't look at her.
"He asked me if I could periodically come home this school year and I brought the rulebook out. Just to show him that it was against school policy. Apparently he read the whole bloody thing, and discovered I'm not allowed to be here if I'm pregnant. He started taking medication. I asked him what kind, he told me pain medication. He used condoms most of the time, but I found a set of pins that hadn't been in the pantry before. I knew I was pregnant about a week before they found me, and I knew what he'd done. I'm about nine weeks now. He kept track of my periods, I found a journal that he'd kept." She couldn't avoid it anymore, she sighed and tears trailed down her face.
"What have you decided to do with the baby?" Amethyst asked.
Hermione mumbled.
"No you need to say this out loud. This is the most important part. You didn't have a choice before. You are not to blame. This isn't a punishment. If you do not think you can cope with a child get an abortion, give it up for adoption. But you need to decide this. Without thinking it's a consequence. What are you going to do with the baby?"
Hermione looked at her. "I'm going to raise it."
"Why?"
Hermione had not been ready for that question and she struggled with the right words. "Regardless of whose fault this actually is, it's not the baby's. I know what I would do to the baby, but how would I give it up, possibly to the same situation I was in?"
"You're right, and you will learn to trust people, it'll take a lot of time, and a lot of conscious effort on your part. But now I think that we need to eat, seeing as you haven't eaten properly in a long time. Your sitting with me at the head table so I can watch you. You just told me you wanted the baby. You need to take care of yourself and the baby right now. Understand?"
Hermione had a sad smile when she looked up. "I understand."
They got up and walked to the doors of the castle. Quickly Amethyst swung around and faced the younger girl. "Two things. I want you to trust Severus. He's going to want to be close to you, be nosey." She thought about that a second. "No pun intended, I swear. Second. I will come get you right after I get into my quarters, I want to show you something."
"Alright." Hermione replied.
Hermione looked at the rest of the food piled onto her plate. There was still chicken, turkey, crisps, and remnants of fruit. She had already eaten almost two platefuls, and her pants were constricting her abdomen. She pushed the plate away with a sigh. This was the first time she'd been full in almost two months, and she felt lethargic, albeit a good feeling. Nausea was lurking in the back corner of her subconscious, but she figured she'd enjoy it while it wasn't overwhelming.
Professor Amethyst Sertlin was sneaking glances at her while having a conversation with the one and only head of Gryffindor. They were talking about the theme for the dance, which would now be Muggle myths. To demote house rivalries, names had been drawn out of the sorting hat. The sorting hat must've had a sense of humor because Hermione had put her hand in and drawn out the name Severus Snape. Out of everyone, student and teacher, she wasn't sure why the hat had picked him. The new professor was going through the teachers and comparing them to gods and goddess' to help figure out costumes. The big reveal, including who your partner was and who you were dressed as, would be tomorrow night. Since you were supposed to keep your partner a secret, bunches of students were herding to the owlery.
Hermione headed with the rest of the Gryffindors, and tried to make a decision. Who they should dress as, what he would be willing to put on? So many questions, and none of them she could ask. She could imagine if she sent him what the other students were sending their dates: Hey, uh.. Haven't seen you since second year. You know anything about myths? I was thinking that we'd go dressed as big fricken rainbows. Oh yeah, you only wear black. Right. Erm… I'll cover myself in soot from the floo, and we can go as the god and goddess of ash.
She was hysterical by the time she got to her chambers. She took a step inside and made sure she had the right door. All of her things were gone. She could feel the frown on her face as she saw the note that hadn't been there when she left this morning.
Dear Miss Granger,
Special circumstances involving the new class have demanded the headmaster place a new tower in the castle. I would like to congratulate you on becoming the head girl of the Unity House. The house is located to the right of the Potions classroom. A portrait has been added for convenience. I will meet you in the great hall to lead you to your new rooms.
Prof. Amethyst G. Sertlin.
Defense Against Dark Arts
Hogwarts
Hermione felt like she lost everything. Even the sanctity of her familiar rooms somehow eluded her. She bit her lip and briskly turned on her heel, almost colliding with her bespectacled best friend. She had avoided him since they had returned from her house, except for times when he would be unable to ask her what had happened.
"I'm sorry Harry, I have to go see the new DADA teacher. Can I catch up with you later?"
He ran his hand through his ever tousled hair. "When did we start to keep secrets from one another?"
She gave a sad smile, "When you were happy and I just wasn't."
"You know, eventually you'll have to talk to me." He said with a piercing gaze.
"I know," She said as she went past him. "And I dread that day."
It made her heart ache when she had to lie keep things from her best friends, but in her head it still had to be done. She leaned against the door to the great hall and sighed. This was her life, these were her friends. Maybe she should just tell them, the thought was cut off as she heard hushed voices close to the other side of the door.
"I think I've found a solution to the glamour problem." It was the headmaster.
"What've you found? I couldn't find anything that he wouldn't suspect." The American Professor's husky tones. They moved further from the door and as Hermione was about to enter another door burst open.
"I knew it!" This time it was Snape. "You're making yourself look like her to punish me! Take it off now."
"No-" She was cut off.
"Now." He sounded feral.
"Severus, I implore you." The headmaster almost sounded pleading.
"No. Let me know what my personal hell looks like."
"Once I take it off I will not go through putting it all on again." Her voice made it sound like a threat. "Your word that you understand."
"You have my word." His voice sounded clipped.
Soon enough Hermione heard a thud and her Gryffindor curiosity won over, she had to know what was going on.
She slowly entered the hall.
In front of her was a sight straight from a painting. Severus Snape on his knees, in front of a beautiful witch. She looked to be about twenty, the laugh lines, and small wrinkles nowhere to be seen. It was the same Amethyst Sertlin she had met and talked with earlier, but the cheekbones were different. Minute changes to the mouth, nose, eyes. Her hair was a little longer, wavier, and had auburn thrown in. She stood differently, and she must've lost a hundred pounds.
Dumbledore looked at the two with sadness, until he saw Hermione.
"Ah, Miss Sertlin, I believe we can finish this later, it seems Miss Granger has arrived."
The woman turned toward the student and gave a miniscule smile. "I expect to finish this later." She said as she turned towards the man still on his knees. "Remember, I warned you." She moved gracefully, like she had more muscles than anything human, grabbed a statuesque Hermione by the wrist and gently led her out of the hall.
"Come along." She said as she slunk down a set of stairs and stood in front of a portrait of the four house crests. She let go of Hermione's hand and placed her own on the painting between the crests. The painting illuminated itself and swung open. They both stepped through into a sitting room. The furniture was off-white, on beige carpet with stone walls. However, everything was somehow strewn with color. Pillows, draperies, and knick knacks were shades of red, blue, green, and yellow. There were four doors formed in a semicircle at the back of the room. The one closest to Hermione said 'Head Girl', so she turned the knob. When she entered her room she smiled. Everything was done in cobalt, twilight blue, or black. Blue had always been her favorite color. There was a bassinette next to a very large four poster bed. There were also four doors off of the side wall. She read the name plates on each of them out loud. "Bathroom, girls dorm, nursery, and … Professor Snapes quarters? Why do I have a door to Professor Snape's bedroom."
"As his apprentice you will need unrestricted access to his quarters and the lab which will also be through there." She pointed to the door.
"Oh." Hermione said putting her head down.
Amethyst sat on one of the couches and beckoned to Hermione. "Come here." When Hermione sat down she continued. "I'm going to show you what happened to me before I got away. Then you can ask me questions. I won't show you the worst of what happened, but you'll get the idea."
Hermione nodded.
Amethyst reached out and clasped hands with her. Soon Hermione felt like she was falling, but the feeling stopped as quickly as it had started. Hermione looked around at her new surroundings. The walls were a pale blue, and the linens on the sleigh bed were a crisp white. There were book cases from floor to ceiling covering two of the walls. A picture of a girl that looked remarkably similar to the professor hung on the far wall. The girl was surprisingly a still portrait. There in the room was Amethyst standing next to the bed looking in disgust at the fixtures around her.
A man looking to be about forty came in. He had deep auburn hair, about shoulder length, most of which was tied back to reveal the severe angles of his face. As Hermione was watching he asked her to get on top. Just asked her saying that she owed it to him. Like a payment. It was so reminiscent of her previous situation that she started shaking violently. She turned and was standing there refusing to watch the lifeless women move above the grunting man. It was over soon, but Hermione knew from experience that every second felt like an hour. As the man got up and moved the professor rushed to put on her underwear and pants. The memory started to go hazy as Amethyst looked up at the painting. As she was yanked back to her own body she heard yelling.
"Get the fuck out of my head!"
"Why would you…" Again her potions master and the DADA professor were trying to claw at eachothers' jugulars although, this fight seemed more violent.
"What the fuck did you think I was doing, showing her Chelsea? No, I went through things that would have given you nightmares Severus Snape. You left me there. You left me there, and you killed my sister. One I can forgive, but not both. I've been telling myself that she was right, that anyone would've behaved that way without thinking first. I don't think so. How rich that you think of that. 'I can't leave her there.' You seriously think that's what caused her to perish?" She didn't wait for any sign of acknowledgement before Hermione felt herself being sucked back into a memory.
She heard a feminine voice whispering and saw two almost identical girls on a bed.
"Why are you doing this?" She heard Amethyst say. She was younger but it most definitely was her.
"I'm doing this because I'm pregnant with his child. When it's not just yourself that your worried about, you make silly decisions. We'll be back, don't worry, and we will get you out of here." It was the girl from the portrait.
The memory changed and it was different, it was the other girls memory. She saw a much younger Snape with the girl. He caressed her face, and whispered to her softly. You could see the love on his face, but she pulled back with tears in her eyes.
"I slept with someone else." It came out hurried and she looked as though she had a bad taste in her mouth.
He looked as if his heart was going to break, she tried to speak "Severus, please. Don't it wasn't…"
Snape's face slipped into the only emotion Hermione had seen besides anger, disdain. "And you came crawling back. You. Disgust. Me. I expect never to see you again. Leave!" The cruelty in those words made Hermione flinch.
"You don't understand. It…"
"What, it didn't mean anything? Chelsea! What are you going to say that'll make any difference. I can't think of anything that would harp on my conscience enough that you won't be thrown out into the rain."
"Severus." She pleaded.
"It doesn't matter. You never mattered!" He screamed.
She looked at him, and she had that same air of resignation that ran through Hermione's blood. "Goodbye, Severus."
The memory ended as quickly as it had begin. In the real world Hermione could feel her hair whipping her face, and her clothes plastering to her body, but she was still in a memory.
Chelsea was crying on her bed, and Amethyst came in. She ran her hands through Chelsea's hair, and sat next to her. Chelsea sat up then froze. She murmured, "I still love him. You need to make him understand." Tears welled up in Amethysts eyes as she shook her head, "You'll be here." she said.
"No, I won't. Name him Toby."
Before Hermione even knew what was going on Chelsea had bound Amethyst, levitated her to the corner, and covered her with an invisibility cloak.
Hermione saw the man from earlier storm through the door. He flew at Chelsea. Grabbing her by the shoulders, you could hear the pop of the joint going out of socket. Hermiones' brain had shut down. She could see the damage that was being done to the girl, but nothing registered. Just before reality resurfaced Hermione saw Chelsea go down. Head cracking against the floor and the spell that was holding Amethyst in place disappeared. Hermione was brought back into reality with what felt like a slap. She was crying, again. Hermione looked at the professors. Snape's face stayed in those familiar lines, but his eyes held the bitter air of untold agony. It took him a moment, but he made a swift motion with his right hand then his wand was drawn. He had pointed it at Professor Sertlin, and then waited poised like a snake.
"Well we can talk about her for a moment. You wouldn't listen to my sister as she was apologizing for my father raping her. She was pregnant with your child! I damn near drained my magic, fighting just to keep her alive long enough to safely deliver Toby. I got hell for that too. That's when he started everything. Started raping me and said it was to ensure my participation later. I either got beaten or raped every fucking day, and you didn't even look for me! He almost touched your son. I killed him for that. I killed him because you were to much of an ass to even think! YOU never mattered."
"I'm sorry." The potions professor sounded choked, but his face was still in that familiar mask.
"Would you like to see what he did to me?" she didn't wait for a reply. They were sucked back into a memory.
In the middle of the room from the first memory was Amethyst, naked, hung by her wrists, which were tied together just above her head. Blood ran down her chin, to fall between her breasts, from a cut in her lip that was still bleeding profusely. An array of multi-colored bruises decorated her body, along with shallow half healed slices that seemed to accentuate how frail a human body is. The chains that bound her were on a sort of a dog run, and Hermione realized that that meant this wasn't an infrequent thing. If someone had given this that much thought it occurred on a regular basis. She was mesmerized by the girls tears. Hermione had never seen anyone cry as if there heart had shattered before.
That same horrible man came in right behind Hermione and as he walked through her Hermione recognized the resigned air now emanating from the hung woman. She watched in horror as he started touching her. She could hear him berating her for body telling the lie that she was enjoying the attention. "You can't rape the willing." He kept saying. Soon he lifted his arm and pushed on the woman's wrists like a hanger, onto the bed. The man muttered a spell to lengthen the chains and when she laid down she had the same look Hermione had felt herself have over the years. The man got undressed and harshly parted the woman's thighs. He sat up and brought his hand back, punching the woman in the face with such might that her head snapped back. She heard him grumble, "To make you move." Great heaving sobs were heard as he entered her and then subsequently finished in her.
Hermione was unabashed by her own tears. Such hate welled in her that she was frightened by the ferocity of it. She raged as she watched the man untie Amethyst's hands, and as opposed to fighting him, she just cowered covering her nude body.
Again pulled back into reality Hermione was starting to become acutely aware of the fact she had filled herself. She looked around for the nearest trashcan.
Amethyst let out a guttural scream and suddenly Hermione felt suffocated in a room almost bursting with wind. Hair and clothes alike were plastered to her body, but still her lungs were shriveling. She stood there not able to take a full breath, watching her two professors. Soon the air seemed to become thick and cloying, as Amethysts eyes looked like lightning was contained in them. Hermione tried to slow her racing heart, tried to use less air, but to no avail, her vision started to become hazy around the edges. She fell to her knees and the movement caused the professors to look at her.
"No! You'll kill her!" The potions professor gritted out.
Amethyst seemed to realize what she was doing and visibly tried to reign it back in. A terrified look crossed her face, after a agonizing moment the air stabilized itself and Hermione gasped then started to cough. Her body working to get oxygen back into itself, but she never took her eyes off of Amethyst.
Amethyst looked at her, then back to Severus. Her voice was thick with tears when she spoke. "I can't hate you." She looked to Hermione. "I'm so sorry." Then she left.
About three minutes passed before someone broke the silence.
"Miss. Granger… Are you well?" He seemed at a loss as to what to say.
She wasn't. "You bloody git! I never believed that you would fall into every bloody category the student body puts you into. I can't believe you had the nerve."
"Miss Granger! Calm yourself!"
She visibly shrunk. "You know, professor, I was out of line. However, you need to find her."
"Why would I do that?" He glared at her.
"You have no idea, do you?" At his hesitation she continued voice still minutely raspy. "She summoned power, power that you can't stave off for long. As an elemental she can pull more power from the elements. In normal circumstance she would use it for what she called it for. She's now fighting with her magic against the elements that are primal bloodthirsty entities. She has one hell of a battle just because you attacked her." It felt saner to talk about things that she was knowledgeable about then to talk about what had just transpired.
"How will it affect her?" He seemed to think the same thing.
"Eventually it will stabilize, but she'll be weak. If she was in the castle we would still feel the struggle that means she's outside. That means that she's most likely in the forest, and is already, or will soon become, unconscious."
"I'll send Poppy." The professor pushed his hair back in a nervous gesture that shocked her.
She nodded then thought, "You can't. Professor Sertlin isn't registered. Poppy would have to inform the ministry."
"Then who would you have me send?" He was angry.
"I'll go." She steeled herself.
"I think not, have you forgotten your affliction?"
"Yes, because it's something that's easy to forget," she huffed, then paused, "then you get her."
"I don't-"
"Do you want her to become food for something in the forest." At his hesitation she continued. "It's your fault, now fix it. Go, now."
He visibly flinched, turned on his heel and left. She sat then, on the off-white sofa. The silence, as it always had, allowed her to think. Unfortunately her thoughts were filled with the violence and torture she'd just witnessed.