Chapter 7 - Now I'm Here

Hermione's eyes fluttered open. Green leaves filtered morning sunlight onto her face. She slowly sat up and looked at her surroundings. She was seated on the grass under a small tree near the lake. As she rubbed her eyes something stirred to her left. She looked in that direction and let out a small gasp. None other than Severus Snape was seated quite close to her. He was watching her quite intently. When their gazes met he asked, "How are you?"

Suddenly the events of the previous evening came crashing down on her. Ron and Harry were dead. Murdered by Lord Voldemort, who was also dead. They were gone forever. She wanted to cry but tears wouldn't come. She suddenly felt dizzy and put her head between her knees. "Miss Granger?" Snape's voice sounded rough and unsure. Hermione looked at him. "Would you like to go back to the castle now?" She shook her head. "You can go if you would like to. I'm going to have breakfast in Hogsmeade." The potions master looked incredulously at her. "Hogsmeade? After all that has happened you want to go there?" Hermione nodded silently. 'Well I suppose I'll accompany you." She hadn't expected this. "May I ask why Professor Snape?" Snape was silent for a moment, seemingly searching for the right words. "You need err- protection. The Headmaster would not forgive me if any harm was to come to you." Hermione huffed indignantly. "I can look after myself, thankyou very much." Her companion raised his eyebrows as she stood and walked haughtily in the direction of the small wizarding village.

Before long he had caught up with her. Hermione rolled her eyes but at the same time was silently thanking Snape for his perseverance. "Miss Granger please stop for a moment." Hermione reluctantly did as she was told and faced her professor. "Your hair is full of-" His speech cut off as he reached to remove a leaf from her unruly and currently chaotic hair. He repeated this process until all of the leaves had been removed. Throughout all of it Hermione had been staring at his dark eyes and when he had completed the task he held her gaze for a few moments before looking away. "Hold still." He said, his voice sounding hoarse. He charmed her hair into a neat ponytail and conjured a small white flower behind her ear. Hermione smiled. "Thankyou." They then continued their side-by-side journey to Hogsmeade.

"Two butterbeers please Rosmerta." Snape ordered their drinks and seated himself at a small table across from Hermione. They sat in comfortable silence until the barmaid of The Three Broomsticks delivered their drinks. Before Snape was even able to pick up his glass Hermione had downed her entire drink. It seemed to warm her entire body and gave her confidence. Snape's eyes were quite wide by the time she asked her question. "Why did you stay with me last night? Snape hardly knew what he was supposed to say. "Erm, it was my duty

to-" Hermione cut him off. "Please don't lie. You can't give that 'duty' excuse to every question I ask you." Snape sighed heavily. "I stayed with you last night because I wanted to protect you. Because I care about your safety- about you." He could not meet her eyes. Hermione smiled and asked a question to which she had been wanting to know the answer to for some time. "So do you consider me to be a friend?" Snape then downed his entire butterbeer and looked to his companion's eyes. "Yes, I suppose I do." Hermione smiled widely and grabbed her professor's hand. "Come on. There's something I want to show you."

The pair headed to the furthest end of Hogsmeade, past the Hogs Head and into the rocky mountains. Although Hermione had not been anywhere near this area in a number of years, she knew exactly where she was going. Snape was trailing close behind her, still grasping her hand. They came to a halt at the entrance of a small cave and Hermione slowly led her professor inside.

After taking one hurried glace around the dim interior Hermione suddenly and unexpectedly dissolved into silent tears. Snape, not knowing whether to comfort or leave her, merely tightened his grip on her hand and waited for her to talk. She hesitantly lowered herself onto the ground and Snape followed suit. After calming herself down a bit she spoke. "I'm sorry. But this is where Har- where we used to come to visit Sirius when he was on the run. I shouldn't have brought us here. It's done nothing but make me realise that I'm alone. I haven't got anyone."

Snape placed his hand gently beneath her chin and tilted her face up, so that she was looking into his eyes. His pupils were dilated in the darkness. "On the contrary Miss Granger, I believe that you do have someone." His voice was barely more than a whisper and his protruding nose was just centimetres from her own. He moved his hand from her chin to her cheek. He slowly caressed it and grabbed her right hand with his inactive one. With determination etched into his facial features he moved his head closer to his companion's. He stopped his advances when his mouth was close to a centimetre away from Hermione's. "You have me." He whispered before enveloping her lips in a tender and caring kiss. After a few short moments Hermione pulled away. "What does this mean? Are you just trying to comfort me or-" Snape silenced her by placing a finger on her soft lips. "For once in your life Miss Granger, do shut-up." He said teasingly. He claimed her lips again and she smiled against his talented mouth before returning his affections.

They stopped only when they were out of breath and Snape placed his hands on Hermione's shoulders "Now Hermione, I do believe that we should proceed to make our way back to Hogwarts. The Headmaster will no doubt be wondering what we have been up to." Hermione giggled. "I think you can do the explaining of that particular topic."

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Hurrah! A kiss! Well, technically it's two kisses. I know that a few of the lines uttered in this chapter (particularly by Snape) are very corny and quite out of character. But, who cares! It's romantic.

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