Severus Snape sat quietly at his desk. His old, shabby-looking, wooden desk. A desk that had seen better days, no doubt. He opened his eyes for a moment, and took his head out of his hand. He paused for a moment, scanning the unmarked papers that sat in front of him. The potions classroom was dimly lit, as it often was. Bottles upon bottles, all different shapes and sizes, all filled with different contents, lined the walls to the side and in the front of the classroom. Severus looked around at the various bottles, noting a few empty ones on the right hand side that needed to be filled. Filled with ingredients that he was supposed to get this afternoon, in the Forbidden Forest. But as circumstances would have it, Severus was…somewhat detained this afternoon, and put his trip to the Forest on hold momentarily.
The Potions Master continued to sit in silence. It was not a mistake that he had changed Harry and Hermione's detention until tonight. It was also not a mistake when he requested that Hermione serve a detention as well, although he had to admit that she didn't appear to be at fault regarding the events of this past afternoon. A detention was a perfect alibi to feed information to those that needed it….or those that appeared to need it.
After a few moments, the Potions Master heard the clip clop of shoes on solid ground. Harry and Hermione were nearing the classroom. The sounds of shoes stopped just in front of his door. A firm knock was heard. Harry's knock, no less.
The Potions Master sighed. 'Enter,' he spoke loudly.
The door opened slowly, and Harry walked in, followed by Hermione.
'You…you wanted to see us, Sir?' asked Harry, still standing in the doorway.
Severus looked at Harry. 'Sit,' he commanded quietly, nodding to the empty chairs in front of his desk.
Harry and Hermione slowly made their way to the front of the classroom, and sat down in the old wooden seats. Harry sat with his arms crossed, while Hermione placed her hands in her lap.
Severus sat for a moment, staring at the two in silence. He then got up from his desk, and walked around behind his desk, admiring the many bottles that enveloped the classroom. He picked up one in particular, took a closer look at it, and placed it back ever so carefully on the shelf.
With his back still turned, he addressed Harry and Hermione.
'Perhaps this is information that is, in fact…too late in coming to you…but none-the less, it would do you well to be…informed….' he said to them, walking behind his desk.
He stopped, turned around, and looked at the pair. Focusing his gaze on Hermione, he addressed her.
'Miss Granger, to whom did you speak to regarding your…condition?' he said, continuing to look at her.
Hermione looked up at him with a quizzical look. Her eyes shifted back and forth. She began racking her brain of whom she might have spoken to regarding her pregnancy.
'Well,' she began, '…Harry, obviously…and then Ron of course…and, well I had gone to Madame Pomfrey initially, but that was when I first found out, you see…'
Severus Snape continued standing, and focused on Hermione.
'And pray tell, Miss Granger – when you learned of the …news…was there anyone present in the hospital wing that might have overheard you?'
Hermione broke eye contact with the Potions Master. Her brow furrowed, and she tried her darndest to remember that very day when she had approached the Mediwitch. Eyes scanning her surroundings, she was trying to remember every detail of that morning.
'I…well, I came in,' she spoke softly, to no one in particular, trying to capture the scene in her mind '…and then I found Madame Pomfrey, and she was over in the corner before she came over to me because she was tending to-' and then Hermione stopped in mid sentence.
Her eyes snapped up to meet the Potion Masters'. Her eyes grew large, her mouth formed a small, silent 'O' shape, and she slowly covered her right hand over her mouth.
Hermione Granger had, that very evening, realized something very important, very crucial. That evening, in the dungeons, she remembered that on the morning she had found out she was with child, there was another person in the Hospital Wing.
Draco Malfoy.
Severus Snape, taking the silent cue that Hermione had figured it out, spoke to the two.
'Yes, Miss Granger – it was Draco who had overheard you. He was the one: the one who had told the Dark Lord, the one who had told him that you are with child,' Severus said, continuing to look at the shocked expression on Hermione's face.
Harry had an unmistakable scowl upon his face. He uncrossed his arms, and placed his hands on either side of the chair on which he said. Scooting to the edge of the seat, he spoke in a rapid tone:
'You mean – him? That lousy, no good-' and before Harry had a chance to finish, Hermione took her hand off of her mouth and spoke.
'He did it – it was him, he told You-Know-Who! I…I didn't place a silencing spell that morning in the Hospital Wing…Oh how stupid, how absolutely stupid of me…and…and I'm sure that thing, that awful rattle was from him too, and…AND the lake, what happened at the lake! For God sake he could have killed me-' and Hermione got up and began to pace back and forth, continuing to speak loudly, her words echoing off the walls of the classroom.
Severus scowled at her. 'Miss Granger, sit down.' But she did not hear him. Not a word. She continued rattling off, one hand placed on her forehead, yelling at no one in particular.
'-And who knows WHAT would could have happened to the baby!' And as Hermione continued to pace in back of her seat, she felt something. Something she had felt this very afternoon, something she had felt as she sat perched on a rock, sopping wet, watching the blond haired boy sneer at her. And Hermione felt the anger rush up upon her at this very moment, the anger, the fury, overcoming her. She continued to yell.
'That creep! That unmerciful creep! – I don't care how, I don't know when – he will pay for what he did! All the hell he has put me through -all this time, I-I swear to God, when I get my hands on him-'
…And all of a sudden, a jar, a large glass jar containing close to two liters of salt water, suddenly burst. Without word or warning. The jar just…exploded. Severus turned around immediately to see the shards fall to the ground below. The sound of the glass shattering quieted Hermione immediately. She gasped, stopped in her tracks, and once again put her hand over her mouth, silently gazing at the water that was dripping down the wooden shelving.
Severus Snape was, for once, at a loss for words.
He was shocked. Impressed, yes for a single moment. But none-the-less, shocked. And obviously concerned. He had known that Hermione had a bit of a temper at times, but always managed to keep things under control. Out of the three, he had deemed her the level-headed one, the one who always managed to have a keen instinct, and a good head on her shoulders. But this? This was not like Hermione at all. This, was a totally different person.
The tension in the classroom was broken by none other than Harry Potter. The concern on his face was unmistakable, as he gazed at her.
'Mione – calm down. Seriously. You need to just breathe…' he said, looking at her, trying to calm her down by speaking to her softly.
She took another glance to her left at the pieces of glass that were strewn on the floor. She sat down quietly, and looked at the Potions Master.
Moments passed. With tears in her eyes, voice cracking, she looked up at Severus and spoke barely in a whisper.
'What's happening to me?'
Perhaps what concerned the Potions Master the most, was that he did in fact not know what was happening to her. He remembered her wild look when she ran from one of the Order meetings, the meeting when she told everyone that she was with child. And he saw her now, much in the same state. Although, Hermione had not managed to break anything on that night at the Order meeting, she obviously did tonight. If this continued, if her emotions continued to control her like this, she would put herself, and her child in danger. And even perhaps those around her.
After a moment of silence, Severus sat down ever so carefully on the edge of his chair and addressed Hermione.
'Miss Granger, under other circumstances, I would have deducted fifty house points for sheer carelessness, however…I must admit that your actions tonight warrant…the utmost concern.'
He continued looking at her, and she looked back at the fallen pieces. And as if in a trance, she continued to look at the shards, whisked her hand, and the pieces floated back up to their original resting place, forming the intact jar once again. It was as if the jar had never been broken in the first place.
Severus took one look at Harry's face, which was in fact, priceless. Harry sat there stunned, stunned at what he had just seen Hermione do. He knew Hermione was good with spells. But not that good.
Severus raised his eyebrows and peered at the jar. He looked down at his desk, and folded his hands.
'How long have you been able to do wandless magic, Miss Granger?' Snape inquired, a mix of concern and unease on his face.
'I…I don't know…just recently, I suppose. It only happened once before. One other time,' she said quietly, looking at the laces of her oxfords.
Severus sat back in his seat, arms now folded. He took a look at Harry.
'Well, perhaps what the Dark Lord is stating is true – I must admit that I did not believe it at first when he spoke of it at the latest meeting, but seeing it with my own eyes has bought…a certain light to the situation,' the Potions Master continued.
'What light?' asked Harry, who squinted to look at Snape in the candlelight of the classroom. He took one look at Hermione, looked at her slightly protruding abdomen, and continued to focus his gaze on her beautiful face, as she continued to stare at the floor.
'What's happening to her,' Harry whispered, still looking at Hermione, who refused to look at him, a tear drop plopping onto the front of her blouse.
'It appears, Potter, that the Dark Lord isn't placing as much emphasis on you these days. Oh, make no mistake that he does want you gone, that much is certain. But he now has something else in mind. Something greater,' said Snape, who plucked a stray hair from his robes.
'You are, of course, well aware of the connection between you and the Dark Lord? Surely you recall your dismal attempts at Occlumency,' the Potions Master sneered, not forgetting the time that Harry had seeped into Snape's thoughts.
'Yeah…yeah I know,' said Harry, looking down at his lap for a brief moment.
'The connection between you and the Dark Lord still exists. Be that is it may, he has tapped into not only your emotions, but other emotions as well. Strong emotions. Miss Granger's emotions, to be exact. And what he has felt, the potency of her emotions, is what the Dark Lord has made as his focus. He feels her strength. Her anger…' said the Potions Master, now looking at Hermione, who had popped her head up to look at Harry, a tear streaked face with eyes full of sadness.
'You mean…you mean it's just not about me anymore…is it. It's her. He wants her now, doesn't he?' asked Harry, who focused his gaze on Hermione.
'No, Potter. Of course it's not all about you anymore. It's about something much greater.' Severus Snape got up quickly, and made his way around to the front of the desk, directly in front of where the pair sat.
He looked down at Hermione, and spoke to her.
'This is why I had asked you to serve detention tonight. I had to see it for myself – what the Dark Lord was speaking of. And I admit, I am impressed, no-less, Miss Granger. But I fear that should you keep placing your emotions in a place that is detectable, the circumstances will prove to be most unfortunate. If he is able to peer into your thoughts, he will use this against you, I am most certain. I am not offering a solution. I am merely stating the obvious,' he spoke to her, while she continued to look at the floor, wiping a stray tear with the sleeve of her sweater.
He continued to speak to her.
'Yes, Draco was the one that betrayed you. And yes, he was the one who sent you the object in the mail. But Granger-' and at this, she looked up at him, '-you must place your feelings somewhere that they cannot be used against you. You must learn to control your emotions. He can penetrate Potter's mind, and through him, he can surely get to you. You must learn to shelter your thoughts, your emotions, since the risk is great that you will come in direct contact with the Dark Lord himself.'
His last phrase gave her goose bumps. 'Come in contact with the Dark Lord.' Yes, she thought, it was most likely only a matter of time before she would. Only a matter of time…
She continued to look at the Potions Master, into eyes as dark as night, and lowered her head once again. This anger, this thing that she felt, it wasn't new. Well, not really new. She had been feeling agitated lately, within the past few weeks. But, it had gotten worse. Out of control, it seemed. And something, something needed to be done.
Severus sighed inaudibly, and looked at the ground.
'No solution?' said Harry quietly, looking at Snape. 'There's always…always a solution, I mean…something can be done…' said Harry, looking desperately at Severus. The Potions Master crossed his arms, and spoke.
'Potter - as I stated clearly before, I do not offer a solution. I offer a mere…alternative of sorts...' he said, looking at the Boy Who Lived.
Severus placed his gaze on Hermione, and spoke quietly to her.
'Miss Granger – I believe it is time to teach you Occlumency.'