Potions class was cancelled for the rest of the day and many were astonished because it had become such a rarity since after the war. Severus could no longer be found wounded in the hospital wing and he was never needed else were for Order work or Death Eaters. One could say he was living the dream on any other day except today. Today or more so, that afternoon found him slouched in his arm chair in front of a roaring fire, sipping the last remains of his freshly opened bottle of Firewhisky. Though it was his second bottle in the past hour, he could not even feel the slightest buzz, as he stared blankly into the burning embers.

His eyes were glossed over, trying to sort his thoughts and memories but it all seemed to blur into one. The shouts and screams deafened him as images flashed behind his eyes. It was a mix of what he had seen in Hermione's mind and what he had really experienced at first hand only to come to a conclusion, was there any difference within the two scenes?

Severus wanted to go back down and curse the woman, for luring him into such a state of mind. He loathed her and was shocked she knew such details, as his train of thought molted towards these questions he became unhinged. Trepidation gripped him as he began to tremble, what was she? What powers could this monster possess that he knew not of? His brain tried to sort out the key facts; he had been staring into her eyes and realized that he was almost held prisoner by her liquid brown daunting gaze. His surroundings had melted away for sure and he felt almost transported to the deepest damns of hell, but had he really left or had he gone through the doors of her eyes, entering her soul?

He abruptly got up from his chair, sloshing the amber liquid from the large mouth of his third bottle, making his way to one of the endless bookshelves that surrounded his living quarters. Ignoring the dizzy spell that plagued him briefly, he made way to a section that he rarely paid mind to. It was a shelf dedicated to ridiculous books that Albus had given him as gifts; he still skimmed them to amuse the dead old man, but was rather put off when he remembered something of use from one of the many passages. Finding the clean bind of a dark purple book, he roughly pulled it out reading the gold script writing that was stamped upon its surface. 'Eyes: Windows to the Heart and Soul by Ladean Griffin'. "No doubt a Lockheart lover who wrote this rubbish." He grumbled as he thumbed open the book trying to recall a certain passage.

"The eyes are said to be the windows to the soul. Most of the witches and wizards who make up our world, have windows behind their eyes, they allow passer by's to sense what type of person they are. Many do not know they are allowing others to see the deepest part of them, which calls for a really magical experience when a witch and wizard can experience their wants, needs, feelings and soul together. Though everyone is known to possess window there are those who hold doors to their soul and these are the most dangerous of all. These witches and wizards knowingly can capture a person with in their soul if they will it or unknowingly let their guard down. It has been said that those who are captured into the soul of another can never escape unless the owner of the soul releases the binds at their own will. Their soul is dark and forbidding in the sense that one might feel like they are trapped within the soul but in actuality, are trapped within the mind and experience all the terror's It holds. It is extremely rare for one to be born with such a cursed gift, one in a thousandth chance every one-hundred-and-fifty years does this occur. The like likely hood of occurring it at a later stage in life is slim to none to ever occur. There is a rumor that one family within the wizarding world knows a curse to implement such a thing, but it is a curse, rumored to be handed down generation by generation. The family name is unknown still till this day but many believe it to be an old wives tale.

The terrible thing about this curse is that it slowly feeds off the witch or wizard's magical energy and life energy, making them slowly die as if a cancer. These who hold such a fate are among the saddest living creature the world has ever known, for they grow insane and there body slowly decays from the outside in."

His mind went into overdrive at this information, re-reading the whole book cover to cover. He found no new useful information apart from that small paragraph that left him stumped. "Was that the curse Malfoy used?"

Hermione was running from a wild unicorn, His body soaked in blood and mud as it chase after her, baring fang like teeth. Its glistening silver horn was also stained with blood at the tip as it charged after her through the forbidden forest. She was tripping over tree branches and could feel the burning sting of her arms and hands scrapped from the force of trying to break her fall. There was a frantic screech as she got to her feet and made a break to a small clearing in front of her. She was sweating and as she tried to glance behind her shoulder to see how close she was to being speared by its great horn, she tripped again throwing herself off a cliff that was in the clearing.

Hermione let out a strangled cry as she opened her eyes to find herself laying perfectly still, safe on something hard. She blinked a few times to let the whirling room settle and found that she was in what looked to be in the infirmary. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes again for a moment, only to have them snap open when she heard something bustled towards her. Her eyes opened to find the Headmistress following Madame Poppy closely, both housing grave looks upon their features.

"Hermione, Are you okay? Dear, you've given us such a fright!" Minerva asked with much concern. Poppy was waving her wand over the young woman try to get a diagnostic read.

"I Am fine, Headmistress. I did not mean to cause such concern." Hermione mumbled, lying down so she didn't have to fight with the medi-witch to sit up. Poppy finished her assessment, thinking she would find something, but was astonished to find that there was nothing wrong with her.

"Hermione?" Hermione noticed that Poppy found nothing through her assessment; it was the same thing every time she was under evaluation.

"I was simply over extending myself, I am perfectly fine now." The lie left her lips, the same excuse she used over the years when someone found her unconscious. Hermione made to get up but felt the weight of the elder woman's hand resting on her chest to halt her movements. "Hermione, I would like to keep you for at least over night for observations, if that's all right?"

Though it was a question, the young one knew it to be a statement. Hermione wanted to protest but knew there was no use trying to fight the old woman. There was plenty of time to slip out through the shadows of the night. The castle held such dark shadows it was a wonder one did not disappear entirely in its mysterious realm. Her lips thinned as she forced a smile to them, not trusting her voice, she gave a swift nod before allowing her head to fall back onto the musky pillow.

Poppy began a standard set of questions that Hermione replied with lie after lie, really focusing to make sure she did not leave any answer lacking, then again, she has had ten years of practice and was quiet afraid at how good she was at lying. Minerva left after the third batch and after another four more batches of a game of twenty-one questions, Poppy left to attend her other patients with a promise of returning later with a sleep remedy. Hermione huffed with annoyance at the predicament she found herself and could not wait to leave.

When the lights had been doused through the long stone room, Hermione grabbed her teaching robes to drape them over her arm before charming her teaching boots to her feet. She felt and scanned for any wards to detect anyone from entering and exiting the room and quickly cancelled them out. Her form hugged the stone walls, trying to blend with her surroundings and to move silently through the corridors to the safety of her quarters. Every so often she would stop to listen to the walls and try to sense if anyone was around before taking a group of more steps and stopping to repeat her actions. Though it slowed her rush to her rooms it was her safest bet to escape without being dragged back to the infirmary.

She was peeking around the corner when she felt a hand shoot out and grasp her forearm roughly, yanking her around to face an angry Severus. He was sober now, but Hermione could still smell the faint aroma of Firewhisky while trying to put space between them.

"Sneaking off from the infirmary, Hermione?" he said stiffly. His grasp on her arm tightening. He was still livid with her, even with the information that he had read, he still felt like she deliberately tried to encage him within her soul and mind.

"Unhand me this instant." She demanded as she wretched her arm from him. He was tempted to meet her fiery gaze but fear probed him to look elsewhere. Settling on the center of her nose it made for a good show. Hermione made to walk around him, but he met her every step for step.

"Get out of my way." She gritted.

"How did you know? How did you do it? I want to know and I want answers right now." Severus snarled at her and she almost bit back with fear. He grabbed her roughly by the arms and began to shake her, as if he could shake the answers from her, but he stopped when she cried out with pain. He watched as the girl collapsed before him and fall into a heap on the floor. He finally noticed how frail she was, the glamour on her face had weakened and he could see how her face and body looked like a barely breathing skeleton. He gasped as he dropped down to lift her up.

"What is wrong with you?" He listened to her groans of pain as he made to scoop her up and carry her back to the infirmary. Hermione sensing his motives pushed his advancing hands away from her person as she tried to pick herself back up.

"I do not need, nor want your help. Kindly remove yourself from me and allow me some room so I may get up."

"You are not fit-"

"I am fit enough to do as I please. You are neither my keeper nor my lover and have no reason to touch me without my permission. Remove yourself from my person, Thank you." Her tone was deadly and he felt he would freeze from its icy texture. He finally backed away and watched as she struggled to her feet. The white of the hospital gown made her seem washed out and her long curls seemed to get tangled between her arms and legs. He never noticed how pale she really was, and maybe pale did not define the color her complexion held. It was more of a sickly yellow as if the color of a healing burse. Her hair was unreasonably long, the frazzled and split ends brushing mid calf, their curling ringlets undefined and rugged looking. She looked like a walking corpse and his eye twitched with each cracking noise her joints made. She was hunched over as if she were an old woman and could easily mistake her to be one-hundred years of age if he did not take note of lack of wrinkles. 'How has no one said anything to her? How have they not noticed?' He studied her face, the way it was stretch tight around her cheek bones, the impossible dark bags under her eyes, he refused to look into her eyes and instead focus on the already busing hand marks, where he grabbed her roughly.

Hermione staggered to her feet, biting back a sigh to not announce any weakness. She could feel his eyes wander over her decaying form, she only hoped she was strong enough to cast the charm.

"Obliviate!" Her voice rang softly, her ebony wand pointing at Severus' nose. He blinked, at first confused at her movements before his eyes narrowed at the realization at what she was attempting to do. He grabbed her wrist tightly, not even caring that he heard cracking of the bones as rustled her wand effortlessly from her hand.

She snatched her hand back, whimpering in pain as she took note that the spell did not work.

"How dare you! Walk, now." He snarled. Not having enough energy to fight, she complied and glided towards her rooms, Severus following closely behind with her want jabbed into her back.

"What are you going to do to me?" As they grew closer to the portrait that entered into her quarters, she was growing curious. "Will you kill me? Torture me?"

"I will not give you the satisfaction. Give your password." Hermione complied and the portal opened up into a dank and dark parlor room that was overflowing with books on shelves and in piles around the room. He led her to an armchair, carelessly throwing books and papers onto the floor as he sat her roughly into it.

"You WILL answer my every question and you will answer it truthfully. Begin, and after you finish and I find your answers to be satisfactory, I will fix your hand." He folded his arm as he sat across from her on the coffee table. He listened to her tale on how she had been wondering around somewhere she shouldn't have been and that she was raped and tortured almost to a point of insanity. If it had been any other person they would believe her tale, but Severus was a skilled liar and he knew the true signs of a rape victim.

"Again. Tell me again." Hermione looked on confusion as she repeated word for word her tale and could sense that he was just trying to catch her off guard.

"Miss. Granger you try my patience. The truth or I shall beat it out of you. Now." He was growling at her, his face inches from hers, being carefully to avoid her full gaze. Hermione did not waver from his threat and continued the same lie again. Severus grew irritated and slammed a fist on the arm of her chair.

"Again."

"I don't know what you want. Get out of here and my business or are you so much like the imbeciles that I teach every day? Mind your business Snivellus." At this remark, her eyes grew wide with fear as he flung himself at her toppling the chair to the floor as his long fingers laced around her throat. His nose grazed her cheek as his lips brushed her ear and she shivered with terror.

"Again."

"What will you do to me? Choke me with your bare hands? I welcome it!" She spat in his face. His hold tightened on her and he let an evil smirk paint itself across his features.

"I will truly show you what it is like to be raped, now tell me the truth."

With her good hand, she snuck it up wildly scratching and kicking him and Severus simply chuckled darkly at her attempts. She was to weak and was bound to try quickly.

"Hermione, was it at the final battle. Was Malfoy the one to curse you in such a way? Did you make you the way you are now? Your eyes, I dare not look at for I will not be able to escape a second time. The Door to the soul instead of the window, am I right?" Terror flashed across her face again.

"Ah, I see I've struck a nerve. Get up. Go get cleaned and don't you dare make a break for it. I will be able to find you and you will not get far without the magic of this castle to support you. And I dare say you have limited movement with that hand as well." Severus got up from her, straightening his outer robes.

Hermione scrabbled to her feet like a crippled kitten before making a break to her bathroom.

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