Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N: I'm sorry it's been so long since updates! I'm in the process of moving and it's been crazy. Anywho, here's the chapter! Hope you like it!

"Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it."
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

"Why? Why? Why?"

Snape looked down at the girl in his arms and was relieved to find that she had finally fallen asleep. He picked her up in his arms and carried her to the empty table and laid her down as gently as possible. Stepping back, he observed his former student. Even in sleep, the agony of her loss was clearly etched upon her face. He breathing, while deep and slow, stuttered every few minutes. Her eyelids were swollen and slightly red, and her skin was paler than he had ever seen it – even paler than his own. She shivered in her sleep and he frowned at that. In one swift movement, he removed his cloak from his own shoulders and draped it over Miss Granger's sleeping form. He watched her for a few more minutes before turning around and summoning his patronus.

"Molly," he whispered. "I'm back. They got to Miss Granger's parents before we could get there. Miss Granger is unharmed, but in shock. She's sleeping down here right now, I made her took some dreamless sleep."

With a flick of his wand, the silvery doe pranced out of the room and up the stairs. Snape let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding and collapsed into one of the armchairs by the fireplace. He leaned forward and held his head in his hands, his mind reeling. What. The. Hell. At the last meeting, The Dark Lord had made it clear that he would start going after more muggleborn families, but hers? To murder the family of one of the Golden Trio? The Gryffindor Princess? Surely that was a plan that he would have announced. The Dark Lord was vain, proud. Extreme wards of protection had been placed on the Granger family. If The Dark Lord had found a way to get past these wards, he would have been sure to gloat about it. Unless…

Snape's head snapped up in realization. This was a test. The Dark Lord was always slightly suspicious about Snape's true loyalties, and found ways to test him periodically. Usually they involved large amounts of physical torture or asking him to kill muggles, but this, this was smart. Unusually smart. It was obvious, now that Snape had time to think about it. Kill someone's family, and they'll latch onto the closest person available. Kill Hermione Granger's family, and she'll replace that family with whoever she spends the most time with. In this case, Severus Snape.

Suddenly, his heart dropped to his stomach. If he had not told the Dark Lord that he had allowed the girl into his lab, if he had not told him that Potter and Weasley were off with Albus, then the girl's family would still be alive. The blood of Jean and Wendell Granger was on his hands. He glanced over at Miss Granger's sleeping form and saw that she had curled up under his cloak and was still fast asleep. What would she say if she knew? Would she forgive him? Kill him? Run away?

Quick footsteps broke Snape away from his thoughts as he stood to open the door for Molly Weasley. She bustled in quietly, tea tray in hand.

"Merlin, Severus. Are you two all right?" She whispered, setting the tray down on the small table between the armchairs.

Snape nodded and helped himself to a cup of tea.

"We're uninjured. Miss Granger entered the house alone in hopes of easing her parents into the idea of evacuating. She discovered their bodies. I entered moments later when I heard her scream and apparated us out of there. I gave her a few potions to help her rest. She was fairly distraught, as you would expect. I'm hoping to let her sleep for another eight hours. The grief will be easier to handle if she's well rested."

Molly nodded tearfully and turned to look at Miss Granger. A tear found its way down her cheek and dripped onto her sweater.

"Severus," she whispered, "What. Happened?"

Snape sighed and relaxed into his chair, letting his head fall back.

"I don't know, Molly, I honestly don't. At the last meeting, there was talk of more murders in general, but I never would have thought…this. This was completely out of left field. The more I think about it, the more I think this was an impulse decision. I wonder if Albus has had any success yet."

Molly focused on the teacup in her hands and remained silent. Snape furrowed his brow at his behavior and leaned towards her.

"Molly. Have you heard anything from Albus?"

She sniffed and swiped at her eyes before meeting Severus's.

"Yes." She braced her fist against her mouth to hold back a sob. "Just this morning – he said that they found something important that would make You-Know-Who angry and told me to put up another set of wards. I just…I can't help but wonder if Hermione's parents…well, if they got the receiving end of You-Know-Who's anger."

Snape's jaw dropped and he buried his head in his hands once again, groaning quietly.

"Severus?"

"Oh, Merlin. Molly, I daresay I think you're right. Damnit, Albus!"

"Severus, I'm so sorry…" Molly choked. "If I had told you sooner, maybe…"

Snape held up a hand to stop Molly's apology.

"No, Molly, please. None of this was your fault. If anything, it's Albus's. You-Know-Who only became angry because Albus destroyed one of his…possessions. If Albus had waited to destroy it until after he had confirmation that Miss Granger's family was safe, we might have avoided this fiasco. Nevertheless, what's done is done. Now we must focus on Miss Granger's recovery. Can I entrust you with owling Albus and telling him what has happened?"

Molly nodded and placed her teacup back onto the tray.

"Yes, yes, of course. I'll do that straightaway. You, on the other hand, need to get some sleep. Since you were there with her when you brought her here, I think it's best that you be here when she wakes up. You'll need all the strength you can get. The poor girl will be wrought with grief."

A small smile tugged at Snape's mouth. He may not like most of the Weasleys, but Molly Weasley held a soft spot in his heart.

"Of course, Molly. Thank you. I'll call for you once she's woken up."

He walked Molly to the door and shut it behind her, giving her one last sad smile. When he heard her footsteps ascending once again up the stairs, he grabbed an old blanket from a cabinet and settled back into his chair, falling into an uneasy sleep.

Ooo000ooo

The first thing Hermione registered as she woke up was that she was pleasantly warm. She curled into the warm blanket and let the comforting scent fill her nose. Sandalwood, herbs, and something that was pleasantly familiar but she couldn't quite place. She opened her eyes and sat up slowly, feeling the strange blanket she was wrapped in.

This isn't a blanket…this is a cloak! But who….oh.

Several feet away, Professor Snape was sleeping in his chair, snoring softly. Hermione gently pushed herself off of the lab table, but the minute her feet hit the ground, Professor Snape shot straight up.

"Oh! Erm, hello," she greeted sheepishly.

Snape closed the distance between them quickly, rolling the kinks out of his neck.

"Miss Granger. How…how are you feeling, this morning?"

Hermione stretched in response, fighting back a yawn.

"I slept like the dead – but I did have the strangest, most awful dream. You were there, and my parents were there, and… whatever are you looking at me like that for?"

Hermione looked up into Snape's eyes and saw them like she had never seen them before. They were round and open and sad and…pitying.

"Miss Granger," he said softly, "I gave you Dreamless Sleep last night. I'm afraid that you didn't have a nightmare…that was reality."

"No," she whispered, stepping back from him. "No, no, it's not possible! That's why we went there in the first place! To make sure nothing bad happened to them!"

"Miss Granger," he said again, stepping closer, "I am so truly sorry for your loss."

"NO!" She roared, "No! It's not…It's…I…"

Once more, Snape found himself with an armful of Hermione Granger. She was sobbing furiously and beating her fists against his chest, but instinct told him to wrap his arms around her and pull her closer. His chin rested in her bushy curls and his hand rubbed smooth circles between her shoulder blades as she grew calmer and calmer. Finally, she lifted her head up and asked the one question he wished she wouldn't.

"Why?"

Snape closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.

"Because, Miss Granger, you are a threat."

"Oh please," she murmured, hiding her face against his shoulder. "I'm just the girl of the group. They know I couldn't hurt a fly."

"You may not be violent, Miss Granger, but you are dangerous for other reasons. You are smart, the brightest witch of your age. You've saved Potter and Weasley more times than any of us would like to count, and had they listened to you more, I daresay you all would have a few less scars. You are powerful, too, more powerful than many pureblood witches and wizards who attend Hogwarts. And most of all, you are a muggleborn. Your very existence is a threat to the philosophies that The Dark Lord holds so dear, and therefore, he has decided you must be destroyed."

Hermione was quiet for several moments before she started to laugh against his cloak.

"Something funny, Miss Granger?"

She pulled away from him and straightened her own clothes, wiping stray tears from her eyes.

"I am devastated at the loss of my parents, sir. I can honestly say that I have never felt a greater pain than this, and yet…I find myself…flattered."

Snape smirked at her and let out a small chuckle of his own.

"Yes, yes I suppose that is a compliment of sorts." His demeanor suddenly turned serious. "However, one would hope that he could compliment you without resorting to such violent ways of communication."

Hermione sobered as well and nodded sadly.

"This is all so surreal. I…I keep thinking in my head that this is all just a bad dream, but…it's really happened, hasn't it?"

"Yes, Miss Granger. A common side effect of such trauma can be denial. It will take you quite some time to recover."

"Have you lost a parent, sir?"

Snape pursed his lips as he looked down at her.

"Both," he replied curtly.

"Does that pain ever go away?" She whispered.

Snape gently put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"No," he replied honestly, "but you find other things to focus on. It dulls until you no longer notice it, but it never truly leaves you."

Hermione looked down at her shoes for a few more moments.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

Snape cringed as he heard her voice break at the word 'nice'. It made his own mind reel – why was he being so kind to the girl? As the shock wore off, surely she would come to blame him in the next few days. She certainly wouldn't be kind to him if she decided to accuse him of killing her parents. And yet, something about seeing her so small and fragile had awakened some protective streak in him. He saw his own reaction to his parent's deaths in her, and he wanted to care for her in the way that he wished someone had cared for him.

"Because you deserve it, Miss Granger. You work very hard for very little credit. And, Gryffindor or not, no one should ever have to lose their family in such a despicable way. Now, you should upstairs so Molly can feed you. That woman claims to fix any ailment with a home cooked meal."

Hermione trudged slowly up the stairs, hugging Snape's cloak close to her as she did so. When she reached the top of the stairs, his voice calling for her made her turn around.

"Oh, and Miss Granger? If Potter and Weasley ever find out that you said I was "nice", I shall make you regret it."

Hermione smirked against the dark fabric of the cloak and walked into the kitchen with a heavy heart and a full stomach, hoping to rectify both.

A/N: I hope you liked it! Next time, more of Snape's past! Angst! Anger! Drama!

Please Review! :)