She was walking, alone, in the Forbidden Forest. It was nighttime and the moonlight making shadows was cast menacing shapes. But somehow, Hermione felt safe. Her soft footsteps made crunching sounds on the humid forest floor. She was walking with purpose, steady steps one in front of the other bringing her to a still unknown place.
Hermione had reached a clearing. All around her rose tall trees, their tips seeming to title the stars above. A cool breeze made her shiver.
Then, to her left, she heard a voice cry out her name.
His voice.
Saying her name like he'd said it that day, full of panic he hadn't been able to hold back.
'Hermione!'
She turned and started walking in the direction of the sound, searching the ground for him.
'Severus!'
She had almost reached the end of the clearing when her name sounded out again, though this time from the opposite side of where she'd been heading.
'Hermione!'
'Severus!'
She responded as fast as she turned around. Things were different now. Somehow, she knew that he wasn't safe, that he was hurt. She felt a lump in her throat forming.
'Severus?' she cried out again, hating, oh hating how desperate her voice was beginning to sound. She needed to find him.
'Hermione!'
Again her name, shouted out, pleading, scared, but from not at all where she was heading.
She was jogging now, almost running to where he'd last spoken her name.
'Severus!'
'Hermione!'
She turned again.
'Hermione!'
And again.
'Hermione!'
All of a sudden, his voice was burst out from all the corners of the clearing. Her name, cried out with fear, making her spin around frantically as she tried to pinpoint its source.
'Severus!'
But all she could do was yell out his name. Where was he?
'Hermione!'
'Hermione!'
'Hermione!'
From all around her, Severus' helpless voice pleaded. She kept turning on herself until she let the tears that had been forming fall and choked out, full of anguish and for the last time, his name.
'Severus!'
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Hermione awoke sobbing. She was short of breath. Her heart ached.
She fumbled around for her wand, trying to blink away her tears. Finally she found it and cast a wordless Muffliato.
His voice still seemed to be coming from all around her, threatening to swallow her.
So much fear.
So much panic.
Hermione curled herself into a ball on her side and tried to block out her name that was being cried out in her mind. Her nightmare still appeared when she closed her eyes. She started to rock back and forth, still crying.
Hermione wasn't even sure why the nightmare had so much impact on her. It was hard for her to admit, but it scared her slightly. Why was she so affected by it?
She felt so much pain when she thought of losing her Professor.
So much pain.
So much sadness.
Too much sadness for it to be normal.
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Severus awoke grumbling.
Last night, the happiness of the events had worn off just after he'd brought back Miss Granger to her dormitories, leaving him feeling stupid and weak.
Severus detested feeling weak. Feeling that way brought back memories from his time at Hogwarts. Even though he hadn't really been weak, he appeared so because it was usually three on one with James.
Why couldn't he control himself?
Yelling out her name in desperation was worst thing on earth he could've done.
Of course, if he'd only yelled out "Miss Granger" it would've been fine. Just a normal reaction a teacher would have if he had heard one of his students cry out.
But yelling out Hermione?
That was a death wish.
He never called any of his students by their first names. Even with Draco, his godson, he never thought it appropriate to call him so at Hogwarts.
So why had he uttered her name?
Was it just in the heat of the moment, in fear of her being hurt? Or was it just an unfortunate slip of the tong?
He pondered this while changing out of his nightwear, into his signature black robes.
Somewhere, in his mind, a voice suggested softly : 'Maybe you wanted to say her name… Think Severus… There's an obvious reason why this woman makes you lose control…'
Severus blinked, shook his head and scowled at his ready reflection in the mirror.
'No, he declared inwardly, there is no reason other than stress making me slightly less cautious around Miss Granger.'
The voice chuckled. 'Stop lying to yourself Severus. You know you-'
'SHUT UP!' he roared, the mirror exploding in front of him in a rare display of uncontrol magic. Glass shards flew everywhere, cutting Severus' face. There only remained a small portion of glass in the frame of the mirror.
But that portion was big enough for Severus to see himself, fists clench, with a deep scowl eching across his features and somewhere deep in his eyes, an incredible amount of fear.
Hermione knocked on his door.
Sometime during the week, at the end of a DADA lesson, Snape pulled Hermione aside to tell her that their private defense lessons would be now held on Sundays.
So there she was at his door waiting.
She was about to knock again when the door swung open and he appeared, holding a stack of what looked like essay papers. Wordlessly, he closed the door, locked it with his wordless spells and then turned to her.
'Tonight, you will assist me in some Potion making, Miss Granger.'
He started walking away towards Professor Slughorn's classroom.
'Professor Slughorn has fallen ill, so it is up to me to brew the Draught of Peace for which we collected the Hellebore last week. But since I need to also grade these essays, I have decided to put your mediocre potion abilities to work.' He said all this as if he was the one doing her the favor and not the other way around.
She sped up, grinning on the inside.
Inside, she set up the necessary ingredients for the potion then began the task. Before long, she was completely immersed in the state of mind she tended to enter when brewing. Even though there was always the danger of making a mistake, potion making soothed her. It was something about the precision on the art added to the amazing feeling of having accomplished a perfect potion.
So much so that she remained blissfully unaware that she was being watched.
Severus couldn't help it. After a few minutes of scratching brutal comments on to his students papers, he gave up trying to ignore her. He stared at her as if in a trance.
Her perfect pale hands that added the powdered moonstone ever so gracefully. Her delicate neck bent downwards as she read the instructions that she evidently knew by heart. Her soft cascading curls that she'd forgotten to tie in a bun at the start, and now rested on her back. Her delicate face, glowing with the last rays of the setting sun. Her very full pink lip being bitten in concentration by her pearly white teeth.
Severus drank it all in as if seeing her for the very first time. When had the buck-toothed, bushy haired menace gone to? Who was the beauty brewing before his eyes?
Because Severus had to admit to himself, right there in Slughorn's classroom, that Miss Granger was stunning.
Was gorgeous.
Was beautiful.
At that last thought, he turned back to his corrections. Part of him, the better part, told him to get back to work.
But his other half, fought to glance back up at the vision of perfection before him.
That half won, for Severus reasoned that he was only verifying that she didn't mess up the potion.
The voice from a few days ago came back, whispering knowingly.
'Severus… Stop denying the truth… Look at her… She's so beautiful… She's your intellectual match, there's no question about it… She could be your's, you know, if you only let her in…'
Severus listened to all of this while staring at the essays he was supposed to be correcting. The words on the page started to blur as he realized the truth.
Somehow, along the road, he'd fallen for her.
He'd fallen for her smile, for her laugh, for the way she'd bite her lip and scrunch her brows when confused. He'd fallen for this little strong, but fragile fighter, that continued to survive with her head held high. He'd fallen for her wit, for her way to make him doubt himself, for her way of reading him, for her way of making him lose control. When had this happened? Was it the first time she exposed her musings on his character to him? Was it when she continued to demand to be let in? Was it when he'd rescued her that night? Or was it when she'd cried out in the forest and his heart had cried out to her also? How long had he'd been in denial of his real affections for the woman?
He'd fallen for her and there was no getting back up.
Author's note: Thanks to those who review! Thanks to those who read too! I hope you liked it :)