Hey everyone!
Hope you all are doing well!
My goal for this week is to reach 200 reviews. Think you can do it? Of course you can, you all are awesome!
Enjoy!
After that, thing calmed down considerably for Hermione, and Severus. The two spent most of their time in the dungeons, except when Severus would sit in Dumbledore's office during the day. Sometimes Hermione would convince him to let her go with him to spend the day, but he was wary of her leaving his chambers after Amycus attacked her.
"He mentions you more than I would like," Severus mumbled one day as they made their way to Dumbledore's office.
"Well…does he say anything threatening?" she asked as they climbed the stairs together.
"The fact that he mentions you is threatening enough in itself,"
Hermione read the book Severus had gotten her for her birthday straight through in one sitting, and finished it with a pile of her own notes. Of course she could never test her theories out because she needed a place to brew, but was too afraid to ask Severus to allow her access to his private lab and store room.
One day Hermione fell asleep calculating some measurements, and when she awoke, all of her notes and books were gone. In a panic she sat up on the sofa in Dumbledore's office, looking frantically around. She didn't have to look far.
Severus was sitting across from her in a chair with his glasses on, intently studying her notes.
"What are you doing?" she asked jumping up and scooping some loose pieces of parchment from the table.
"I've been curious about what you've been so keen on hiding from me," he replied, flipping over a piece of parchment to view another page of notes.
"These are private!" she snapped at him.
He raised his eyes from the parchment and looked at her over his glasses.
"This is a very advanced potion. You wouldn't have even attempted this in your 7th year. If you even attempted to make it, and a single thing went wrong, it could have disastrous effects,"
"It's just a theory," she said glaring at him.
"It's a very good one,"
Hermione was slightly taken aback and sat back on the sofa.
"Do you think so?"
"You've worked hard on this; that much is clear. Half of the stuff you've written down is beyond outrageous. The chemical reactions that could occur if you vary the measurements in the slightest is enough to blow a hole straight through the walls of this castle. But it all makes sense, regardless of how dangerous it is,"
"I'm afraid to even attempt to brew it. I've read stories and theories that other people have had and attempted to test. None of them ever ended on a positive note," Hermione mumbled.
"How is the potion to be administered?" he asked.
"It's supposed to be taken after the Curse. If it was administered before the Curse, then the attacker would know that something wasn't right. So after the Curse, it helps numb the pain and sooth the muscles,"
Hermione absently tightened her arms around herself as memories came rushing back to her.
"If you would like," Severus began as he set the paper down and sat back in his chair. "I could assist you in testing your theory. I do not believe even your knowledge is as extensive as it needs to be for such a feat,"
"You would do that?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, I would," he replied in a serious tone.
Hermione nodded her head and smiled at him. That night, the two slipped silently into Severus' private lab. When Hermione walked in, she thought back to the last time she was in there. Malfoy had attacked her in the hallway, threatening her before a nice boy came to her aid. Severus had sat her down and helped heal her bruises. To this day she could still remember the feeling of his fingers on her skin.
Instantly the two set to work, gathering the ingredients and carefully setting them on the table. Hermione stood and looked at the daunting task ahead of them.
"Ready?" Severus asked.
Hermione nodded and shakily picked up her notes to begin studying them. The two worked in quiet words and slow movements. They crowded around the cauldron, their arms constantly brushing and hands nearly always touching.
Hermione grabbed five beans and was about to add them when his hand suddenly snatched her wrist just as she was about to release them.
"Wait," he said, staring at the liquid.
"They need to be added now," she said, tightening her fingers around the beans.
"If we add them now, we're going to be blown straight to hell. Allow the color to dull for a few more moments,"
"Severus, it isn't going to work if we wait," Hermione protested.
Severus sighed and yanked her hand away before taking a bean from her palm. He carelessly tossed the bean on the table before taking a single drop of potion and placing it on the bean. The bean exploded, causing Hermione to jump backward with a gasp. Severus remained silent as he watched the potion dull the appropriate amount. Once he was satisfied, he dropped the five beans into the cauldron, causing the potion to turn bright red.
"We must be careful, this is a very unstable potion," he murmured.
"I don't understand," Hermione said, staring at the burn mark on the tabletop.
"Typically when a potion turns a form of red-"
"No, not that, I was wondering about the bean," she replied.
Severus quickly explained the composition of the bean and how such material reacted to the other materials that we already present in the mixture.
"The beans need about two weeks of brewing before they are completely dissolved," Severus mentioned as Hermione viciously scribbled on her notes.
"We're just going to let it sit down here for two weeks?"
"Do we have much of a choice," Severus replied as he cleaned the work station with a flick of his wand.
September came to a close, and Hermione anxiously awaited Severus to arrive at night so they could go a view the progress of the potion.
"It's not going to change overnight," Severus grumbled as Hermione peered into the potion.
"You never know," she replied, smiling at the red liquid.
A few nights later, Hermione was awoken at three in the morning because Severus was moving around the room.
"What happened?" was her first response.
"Nothing, go back to sleep," he murmured before going into the bathroom.
After a few moments he reentered the room and began digging through his wardrobe. Hermione knew by the rustle of cloth that he was pulling on his travelling cloak.
"Where are you going?" she asked slightly panicked.
He sighed deeply in the darkness, but didn't answer her.
"Severus," she pushed, sitting up now.
"I have some things to take care of. Do not leave this room for anything,"
Hermione knew by the sudden wind that filled the room that he had Apparated. Sleep evaded her for hours, and when she finally did drift, her dreams were filled with nightmares.
The next morning, Hermione awoke alone. She knew that he had not come back in the middle of the night. The day past, and evening arrived and he still did not come back. Panic gripped her tightly as different scenarios, each growing worse and worse ran through her mind. She forced herself to sleep that night with a Sleeping Draught. The covers on his side remained untouched in the course of the night.
Another day rolled around and still nothing from him. Hermione's panic quickly turned into a boiling rage, threatening to present itself at any moment. How could he just leave her alone for two days!
That night, Hermione was jolted from her sleep, suddenly feeling her heart beating wildly in her chest. Sitting up, her eyes swept across the room, freezing once they reached the corner of the room.
Amycus Carrow was sitting in the chair, simply staring at her with dark eyes. When she looked at him, his lips spread into a grin, causing her skin to crawl. Before she had a chance to open her mouth, he had disappeared. Immediately she moved to the living room, curling up on the couch, forcing herself to stay awake.
By day three, Hermione was sitting on the couch, watching the clock, forcing her rage down. How could he just leave her here, without a word, for three days? Even though she loved him more and more each day, she couldn't prevent the images of throwing something large and heavy at the back of his head from her mind.
That night, she slept on his side of the bed because it was closer to the door. Usually, he disliked the idea, in case someone managed to get through the wards. Hermione was so furious at him that she didn't care if someone broke in during the night. Once again, she had to take a Sleeping Draught.
That night, she awoke to the bed sinking down behind her. Instantly she tensed, waiting for the attack.
"Hermione,"
She trembled at the sound of his voice, after three days, it was the best sound she had ever heard. Then suddenly, she felt her rage bubble to the surface.
"Come on, I don't like you sleeping that close to the door,"
"I don't care," she snapped, yanking the covers up to her chin and putting her back to her.
He sighed deeply, and she thought he had settled down for the night. As she was mentally celebrating her victory, a strong arm wrapped around her waist and yanked her backward. The next thing she knew, she was being pulled across his body and dumped on her side of the bed. Her mouth fell open at the action. How dare he! She climbed to her knees just as he closed his eyes.
"You-idiot!" she screeched, pounding on his chest.
His eyes flew open as he immediately went to grab her wrists.
"Wha-"
"No!" she snapped pointing at him. "You don't get to talk! And don't touch me!"
Hermione snatched her hands away from his, and immediately stumbled from the bed, the covers tangled around her body. She heard him spring from the bed as she stormed into the living room, not knowing what she was going to do.
"Wha-"
"No!" she snapped again, turning on him. "Three days? You couldn't tell me where you were or what you were doing for three days?"
"Like you tell me what you're doing with bloody Wonder Boy," he snapped.
"Don't you dare turn this around on me! I had to sit around for three days wondering where you were, what you were doing, if you were even alive anymore! I don't care if you didn't tell me where you were or what you were doing, a simple 'I'm alright,' would have been efficient! Instead I got stuck with your Death Eater friend leering at me in the middle of the night! What was I supposed to do about that? I couldn't tell you because you weren't here!"
"Amycus?" he asked with a furrowed brow.
"Yes, I woke up and he was watching me sleep, can you even imagine how petrifying that is? And all he did was smile that-that horrible grin at me. I've barely slept since! God," she muttered, turning her back on him trying to regain her composure.
"He couldn't have been in-"
"I'm not crazy and I wasn't imagining it! He was in there!"
"He wouldn't have done anything; he knows the Dark Lord needs you,"
"Remember?" she snapped, whirling on him. "I'm the Mudblood, the rules don't apply to me. I'm fair game for them,"
"I'm sorry,"
"Well I-"
She froze. He had just given her a sincere apology, looking her straight in the eye, keeping his voice low. Hermione suddenly felt horrible about herself. She lowered her eyes.
"I-I didn't mean to yell, it's just…I've been worried,"
The room fell silent as the two awkwardly avoided the others gaze. Finally Hermione snatched a book off the table and dropped into the chair he usually occupied near the fire.
"You're not going to bed?" he asked from behind her.
"No, I think-I just want to read," she mumbled, flipping through to an interesting section.
"You use reading as an avoidance tactic," he said, sinking on to the sofa and stretching out across it.
"So?"
"What are you avoiding?"
Her gaze lifted to the flames which were slowly dying. What was she avoiding? Her thoughts? Most certainly. Her feelings? Of course, she tried to avoid those every waking moment of her life. Her mind was racing and she couldn't stop her thoughts.
"He called me,"
Hermione turned her head slightly so she could gaze at his lithe figure on the sofa. His eyes were gazing upward towards the ceiling, indicating that he was far from the present.
"What did he want?" Hermione asked, forgetting the book on her lap.
"To talk about you, among other things," Severus replied as Crookshanks approached the sofa and jumped onto his chest.
"What did he say?"
"He told me what he had seen when he was attempting to break into your mind. You didn't slip up, not once,"
Hermione couldn't help the small smile that found its way onto her face. It was the only thing she could do to prevent herself from crying due to sheer relief.
"When did you two become friends?" she asked, seeing her cat curled up on the chest of the man she loved.
Hermione watched as he smiled and scratched the ginger cat behind the ear.
"We came to an understanding," he muttered.
Her mind flashed back to the night she had watched him talking to her cat like he was a real person. His eyes suddenly drifted to hers causing her smile to fade.
"Amycus was in here," he said.
"Yes, last night I woke up and I saw him in the corner of the bedroom, just watching me,"
"This is getting ridiculous," Severus growled.
"I'm afraid of what he's going to do," Hermione murmured, turning her eyes away from him.
"I'll take care of it,"
And for the first time, Hermione didn't question him on his plans for Amycus.