She stared at the old, weathered wooden door that led to the Potions classroom. She did not place herself directly in front of the door, no. Rather, she was quite a few feet away, not letting herself get nearer than she had to. There were students chatting aimlessly in the very hallway that led to the Potions classroom, questioning as to why Snape had not began class, but Hermione was oblivious to the noise. Even with Harry and Ron beside her, talking amongst themselves about Auror-related topics and Quidditch, she blocked out the sound around her. All she could think about, all she could see in her mind was the dream.
The dream.
It was an awful dream. Just awful. And Hermione could not get it out of her mind for the life of her. It disturbed her, frightened her. It almost seemed real. Too real. And for this, she was worried. Not to mention deeply concerned. This was the man that they trusted. Or thought they did. And this dream had left Hermione with a very bad feeling in the back of her mind.
All of a sudden, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to face the owner of the warm limb.
'Mione? You alright? I asked you if you were planning on going out with Ginny for a wedding dress…,' said Harry smiling, looking at his beloved.
'Um…yes, oh yes' Hermione stammered, closing her eyes and opening them. 'We…we are planning on going next weekend…Ginny and I…oh and probably your Mum too,' she said looking and nodding at Ron.
After a second of silence, the red-headed boy spoke. 'I wonder what we should wear for the wedding,' asked Ron looking at Harry. Hermione turned towards him to reply.
'A baby blue suit, Ronald. Plenty of ruffles. Something more or less along the lines of what you had worn to the Ball in our 4th year,' she said to Ron, a serious look on her face.
A few seconds of silence passed.
Hermione was first to crack a smile. She couldn't hold it in any longer, and before you knew it, she and Harry began laughing. Hard. What made Hermione laugh was the look upon Ron's face. A look that displayed shear terror.
Hermione began to laugh harder and harder. Just remembering his dreadful outfit at the Yule Ball made her double over in laughter, as tears formed in her eyes. And it felt good to laugh. Very good indeed.
'I'm…I'm sorry Ron…it…it was just…just so funny,' she said, still smiling, wiping her right eye with the back of her hand.
Ron smiled. 'Yea…bet you had a good laugh now, didn't ya?' he said to her, chuckling a bit. 'That outfit was down right awful…and it reeked of moth balls,' he said, remembering the garb.
Hermione opened her mouth to reply, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw the door to the Potions classroom open. Severus Snape took one step outside of the doorway, looked at the students, and without a single word or gesture, every student waiting in that hallway made their way quickly into the classroom.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were amongst the last to enter the room. Hermione walked past the Potions Professor, and immediately felt a chill up her spine. Oddly enough, she also, felt a warm hand on the lower of her back.
Harry.
His presence was welcomed. Very welcomed. Just feeling him, knowing he was there, brought an instant comfort to her. She smiled to herself and sighed.
The Trio took their seats in the back of the classroom.
Severus closed the door, and stood at the back of the classroom. He slowly started walking down one of the aisles, looking at his students as he crept towards the front of the room in silence. Hermione made sure she did not look into the eyes of the Potion Master. She wasn't in the mood to battle someone trying to read her thoughts.
Hermione found the classroom to be quite warm this morning. And a bit uncomfortable. She rolled up one of her sleeves, and began digging in her book sack for her text book as Severus began to speak.
'I have been informed by the other Professors that you appear to be exhibiting signs of …anxiety due to your upcoming N.E.W.T.S.,' he sneered, pausing to look at a stray sliver of parchment next to Draco Malfoy's desk. 'Due to their overwhelming response, I have been informed by the Headmistress that it would be…an asset to you and the other Professors if we were to brew a batch of Dreamless Sleep Potion. When the Potion is complete, you may take it with you. I assume that asking you to brew a mildly complex potion will not yield in any…mishaps?' he added quietly, looking straight into the face of Ron Weasley.
The Potions Master waved his left hand, and a list of ingredients appeared on the slate board next to his desk.
'The directions are in your text. I gather that all of you know how to read…' he added, a scowl upon his face.
And without further notice, the Potions Master exited the classroom through a door by the front of the room that led to his private office. Just like that, he was gone. He had shown up late for class, gave them an assignment, and…left.
'Well, that was weird…' said Ron, still looking at the door at the front of the classroom.
'Yeah,' said Harry. 'I…I don't think he looked well today. What do you think 'Mione?' said Harry, a quizzical look on his face.
Hermione, who was glad to not have to face the Potions Master, looked up at Harry. 'I don't know…he looked a little paler than usual…but it's no matter – let's…let's work on the potion,' she said to Harry and Ron, and she began to get up from her seat. 'Aren't any of you hot in here?' she asked, as she took off her sweater to reveal her white button down shirt. As she turned away from the boys, Ron, who was in fact still seated, turned towards Harry.
'She alright, mate? Looks a bit peaky if you ask me…' he nooded in Hermione's direction. Her back was to them, for she had already begun gathering ingredients for the potion.
'Yeah, I mean she's doing alright so far,' Harry whispered to Ron, gazing at Hermione. 'No problems with the baby…maybe it's stress,' he said, looking at Ron and shrugging his shoulders.
Many of the students had stood and began gathering various ingredients. Cauldrons, flasks, and other ingredients were being passed amongst the students.
A Hufflepuff by the name of Agnes Spewley had gathered two medium size fragile flasks and a small jar of red poppies from one of the shelves in the potions classroom. She turned to follow Hermione, who had also gotten a cauldron and a jar of rosewater.
The only problem was, that Agnes failed to see the foot that shot out in front of her. A foot, that as one would have it, belonged to one Draco Malfoy.
As if in slow motion, Agnes yelped and crashed head-on into the back of Hermione. Hermione winced, and likewise dropped her cauldron, and her water that was to be used for the potion. Hermione reached onto a table beside her for support, and ended up knocking Crabbe's cauldron to the stone floor, along with a stirring spoon and a plate of some un-identified yellow plant that resembled straw. Everyone immediately turned to look at the origin of chaos.
All of a sudden, the Potions Master flew out of his chambers to see what all the fuss was about. A look of hatred and scorn was masked upon his face, as he looked at the perceived parties involved in the unfortunate event.
Hermione, wincing and doubled over in pain, and without a word, took her right hand and reached around to her back. She felt something sharp, and…something warm. She brought back her hand and looked at it.
Her hand was covered in a deep crimson color.
With her left hand used to stabilize herself on the desk in beside her. She picked up her head, her face grimacing with pain, and looked at Severus Snape square in the eye. She raised her right hand to him, the hand covered in blood.
She lowered her hand, put her head down and began to breathe deep breaths.
'No…' was all the Potions Master said, his voice barely audible to the class. It was just like the dream he had that morning. So similar, so real…
Harry saw her, and walked swiftly over to her side. She felt the blood begin to trickle down her back.
'Mione…look at me…' he said to her, cupping her head in his hand, while the other arm snaked around her for support. She looked at him, but did not reply.
'Come on,' he said quietly to her, and walked past the Potions Master, through the door to his private chambers, and walked right up to the fireplace. Harry had flooed before from those very Chambers, once when he had to attend an Order meeting. He had just about finished serving detention with Snape, when Lupin's head appeared out of the fireplace, reminding them of the meeting.
Though this was no meeting, Harry thought it was just as good – and as quick as a way for Hermione to get much needed medical attention. Grabbing a handful of floo powder that he recognized immediately, Harry dragged Hermione into the fireplace.
'Hospital Wing,' he yelled, and taking one last look at the Potions Master through the open door, with a green flash and a puff of smoke, they were gone.
Normally, Severus Snape would have absolutely prohibited the pair from entering into his chambers. Since the current circumstances called for what one would deem as a medical emergency, especially given Hermione's current state, he did not stop them. Not at all. In fact, he was at a loss for words.
Severus watched the pair disappear. He looked back at his students. Ronald Weasley had already gathered up most of his belongings and ran out of the classroom door, clearly headed to the hospital wing. Severus did nothing to stop him.
Before Severus asked what had occurred, before he yelled and demanded any form of explanation, he scanned the faces before him.
All were in mild states of shock. All except for one face.
That one person had slouched down in his set, arms crossed, legs extended; a smug look – a look of accomplishment and pride on his sallow face.
…And that face, belonged to Draco Malfoy.