And so, the Potions Master proved to be true to his word. At least in this instance.
Severus Snape gave Hermione Occlumency lessons on a fairly regular basis, about once or twice every week or so, and were undeniably cleverly disguised. A 'detention' here or there, was an easy way to mask what was really going on deep in the dungeons on those chosen evenings.
The Occlumency lessons, were proving beneficial to the young Gryffindor. Hermione had had no unwanted tendencies, no intense feelings or emotions that she could not control. Hermione was in fact quite determined and focused during her lessons - few questions if any, never inquiring the Potion Master's reasoning or thought-process. She was a compliant student, and he was a willing teacher. And, she was proving to be quite a good Occlumens, to the Potion Masters' surprise. Well, perhaps it was not all that surprising after all. Hermione was very, very intelligent, and this was of course something that Severus recognized and acknowledged silently. Another unspoken acknowledgement was perhaps one that was buried deep down inside himself, an emotion that was in a way, at the root behind the reasoning why Severus had decided to give Hermione lessons in the first place. One must remember, that Severus Snape was not a nice man, by any means.
In truth, Severus Snape, was very, very selfish man.
The whole cause of giving Hermione Occlumency lessons, was indeed a well thought out plan. He did not have to give her lessons. He did not have to help her, or the boy that was the bane of his existence. But yes, in many ways, this did have to do with the 'boy.' Or rather, the boy's mother. For Severus, after all these years, still yearned for the woman who had captured his heart, years upon years ago. And in some small miniscule way, the mere notion that he was helping Hermione meant to him that he was still repaying a debt to the woman whom he would always yearn for. And so, the Potions Master taught Hermione how to shield her thoughts and emotions, in hopes that when the time comes, she would be able to survive. For herself, and her child.
The weeks pressed on, and before the Trio noticed, the days had grown longer, the flowers had begun to sprout, and to every seventh year's dismay, the N.E.W.T. exams were fast approaching. The teachers were not lenient by any means when assigning homework, for the seventh year students needed to be at their prime when taking these final examinations. They were, after all, preparing to go out and make a substantial contribution to the wizarding world. Or at least they hoped.
Harry and Ron were both very eager to begin their careers as Aurors. Each had planned to work as hard as they could during these next few weeks in order to achieve their dream. If they proved to be successful, they would begin training at the end of June. Harry knew that if he did indeed pass all of his classes and succeeded in being accepted as an Auror in training, that June would prove to be a very, very busy month for him. Harry and Hermione had officially set their wedding date for June 10th .
One warm morning in late April, the Trio found themselves sitting at their house table, eating breakfast in the Great Hall. This was, by no means, an unfamiliar site to those that passed by. However, it was most interesting to note that all three Gryffindor students were bent over their books and parchment, completing some last minute assignments before heading off to classes for the day. They worked in silence, with a pause here and there for a spoonful of oatmeal, or a bit of biscuit.
Amongst the silence, Harry had noticed a brush of cloak beside him, and turned to his fellow classmate who had sat down next to Harry, and opposite of Hermione.
'Hey Lavender,' said Harry in a preoccupied tone, pausing briefly to nod his head towards her in acknowledgement as he simultaneously reached in front of him and plucked a green apple from the golden-colored bowl that sat in the middle of the table.
'Hi Harry,' she said with a yawn, digging in her book sack for a textbook and a spare bit of parchment. 'I swear, these teachers…if I knew things would be this difficult,' her voice trailed off, as she opened a book and began to skim the pages of her Divination text. Ron picked up his head and looked at Lavender.
'You still taking that God-awful course, eh? How is Trelawney doing these days? Any good predictions lately?' asked Ron with a smirk, as he put his quill down, and moved his Transfiguration book to the left of him to make room for another bowl of oatmeal. Harry looked at the head table. Sure enough, amongst the other teachers who were already present at breakfast, there was Professor Trelawney, trying like heck to cut into a grapefruit. He could see her jerking her head every now and then, obviously from being squirted, and he could see her mouth moving, obviously talking to herself and scolding the grapefruit. Harry smiled.
She was pretty goofy. Harmless, but goofy.
'Yes, Ron,' said Lavender in a somewhat defensive voice, mildly scowling at the boy she used to date. 'Professor Trelawney is wonderful – as always. And I must say, I feel like I am really starting to make some worthy predictions myself,' said the fellow Gryffindor, who at the end of her last statement sat up straighter with a smug look of pride on her face.
Hermione snorted and continued to scribble on her parchment. Divination was a very, very sore subject for Hermione Granger. It was not a subject that she felt was worth teaching. Or even learning, for that matter.
Lavender noted Hermione's reaction and glared at her.
'Well, it is a rather fascinating subject, Divination is. It's just that…well, I suppose like every other teacher around here, the homework is just piled on…do they not think that we ought to have a life? I mean it is our last year here! And we really ought to have some fun, especially with you know who on the loose!' she said matter-of-factly.
Hermione couldn't take it anymore. The girl absolutely annoyed her to no end.
Hermione gathered all her belongings and shoved them into her book sack. Giving Ron and Harry a toothless smile, and without even bothering to glance at Lavender, she bid the boys farewell, and took off for her first class. Lavender soon followed, giving Ron a glare, and headed out to the courtyard to clear her mind before class.
Hermione made her way out of the Great Hall. All of a sudden, she stopped in her tracks, and smacked her forehead. She scrunched up her face and groaned.
Hermione had left her Potions book on her bed.
She would definitely need it for class, and did not want to suffer the shame of being unprepared for class by Hogwarts' favorite teacher. She looked up at the moving staircases, and started up the first set of stairs towards Gryffindor Tower. Although mildly out of breath, she reached her Tower in a relatively short amount of time. Upon reaching the portrait of the fat lady, who should walk out of the portrait, but none other than Ginny Weasley.
'Hey Hermione,' said Ginny with a smile on her face. She was dressed in her school uniform, red shiny hair up in a ponytail. She walked closer to Hermione, looked around cautiously, and spoke to her in a whisper, even though the two girls were alone near the staircase.
'How are you feeling? Have you finally decided on a name?' asked Ginny, the excitement unmistakable on her face. Ginny had gotten word from Ron that Hermione was expecting, and truth be told, Hermione was actually quite glad that Ginny knew. She would have told her herself, but Ron had beat her to the punch when a week or two ago Ginny had caught him in the common room one evening, trying to tie a wash cloth around the bottom half of a watermelon, stating to Harry, 'well mate, why don't you give it a go – I'm sure it's just like changing a baby!' Never the less, Ginny was proving to be very helpful and kind regarding the whole situation, and she was someone who Hermione realized whom she could depend on and trust to help her out in lieu of her current state.
'I'm doing OK Gin – no names yet, although we are still open to suggestions,' said Hermione softly with a grin on her face.
'Oh, that concealment charm is really working wonders – you can't even tell you're pregnant!' said Ginny, bending down a bit to take a closer look at Hermione's abdomen.
Hermione had to admit that she had done a pretty good job at performing a concealment charm to hide her unborn child during school hours. Though her abdomen had not grown extremely large, the 'baby bump,' when it was visible, was clearly noticeable to Harry, Ron, Ginny, and the other Order members.
All of a sudden, Ginny looked at Hermione, face full of concern.
'Wait – what are you doing up here in the first place? Shouldn't you be eating!? Hermione Granger, do NOT tell me that you are skipping out on breakfast!' the red head spoke sternly to Hermione, waving a finger at her. Hermione smiled. The similarities between Ginny and her Mother were truly uncanny.
'No, no Gin! Forgot my Potions text, that's all….And you know how Snape is,' said Hermione, with a sideways grin and a chuckle.
'Well…alright then. See you later for lunch?' asked Ginny.
'Sure – see you then,' said Hermione with a warm grin on her face, as she began to make her way through the portrait. Hermione traveled up one more flight of steps, and found her Potions book exactly where she had left it before breakfast: on the foot of her bed.
'There you are,' she said to herself, as she took the book by the spine and shoved it into her sack.
Hermione paused for a moment, turned and walked a few feet, and stole a glance out of the window that was next to her bed. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, a smile on her face. Beautiful – just beautiful, she thought to herself, as she peered at the light blue sky, and the lake that glistened ever so slightly in the early morning sunlight. Hermione reminded herself that she would have to ask Ginny to sit outside with her so they could eat lunch together later on in the day. A day like this was just too good to give up.
She glanced from the window to her well-made bed, a bed that seemed awfully inviting at the moment. Hermione yawned and stretched her mouth wideWell, she thought to herself, I suppose it couldn't hurt if I just laid down and rested for a short while...I am pretty tired and perhaps a quick nap would freshen me up. She smiled at the idea and looked around at the empty dormitory. Hermione, still dressed in her school uniform and with shoes tied to her petite feet, sat down upon the bed. Not even bothering to draw back the covers, she immediately curled up on her left side on top of her quilt, and closed her eyes. In no time, Hermione fell into a deep slumber.
…Hermione was standing on top of a Tower. The Astronomy Tower to be exact. The weather was warm, peaceful, quiet. By looking at the sky, one could immediately identify that it was near sunset. The orangey glow of the atmosphere and the wisps of clouds here and there made for a truly breathtaking sight. She was standing on the Tower…however she was not alone. Another person, another figure was standing opposite her. Who…what…could that be - Professor Snape? Yes, Professor Snape was standing opposite her, looking down at her. As if in slow motion, she was speaking softly to him, gesturing to him. Words of thanks, no? She looked grateful, almost relieved while speaking to him, a warm smile on her face. His face, held no emotion.
…And then she reaches out to him. Offering an embrace of friendship, perhaps? She smiles, and yes, she outstretches her arms to hug him, reaches up and places her arms around his neck. And Snape, still without emotion, acknowledges the embrace and snakes one arm around her waist. And what for the other arm? All of a sudden, he slowly grasps a dagger from beneath his cloak, and as Hermione continues her embrace, still smiling, eyes closed, he does the unthinkable:
Without word or warning, Severus Snape plunged the knife deep into the middle of Hermione's back.
Her face once full of happiness now shows alarm, as she pulls away slowly, warm brown eyes looking into his. He removes his other arm from her waist and withdraws the knife. She takes a few steps back and places her hand behind her back where she was stabbed. With eyes wide and mouth open, looks back at her right hand, now covered in blood. 'Why?' she asks in a pleading voice. 'Why?' she asks again, pleading for an answer, voice cracking. And suddenly, her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she slumped into a heap on the top of the Tower, leaving the Potions Master standing over her, murder weapon in hand.
She awoke with a start and immediately sat up in bed. Breathing heavily, feeling the perspiration on her palms, she looked around the common room, eyes darting back and forth at a rapid speed. She reached around to her back. It was...it was so real…almost as if she could feel the pain, feel the warm blood...Moments passed before she collected herself, and her breathing returned to normal. All of a sudden, the clock in the Castle struck: it was eight thirty, and Hermione knew that if she did not hurry, she would be late to class. She quickly gathered up her belongings and headed off to the dungeons without moments notice.
There was, another person who had seen this very dream, this frightening and unsettling dream. The other dreamer was still sitting up in his bed when he heard the clock in the Castle. He too was drenched in sweat, and appeared to be suffering a bit more than the other dreamer. He was hot, nauseated, troubled with his thoughts. But this, this was not the time to dwell on what he had just seen– not at the moment, at least. He would deal with this later. He had other matters to attend to, for he knew that he was expected in the classroom in a few short minutes.
Afterall, Severus Snape did not like being late for class.
And unbeknownst to the Potions Master and the young Gryffindor, each had secretly vowed not to reveal the dream to the other. After all, it was only a dream...wasn't it?