Hermione found her new room with relative ease; it was on the third floor and had a fairly distinctive portrait in front of the entrance.
The magical canvas was covered by a beautiful floral scene; cottages dotted the skyline and as dust falls a woman wanders through the painting.
She has a white dress on and long black hair, Hermione had yet to see the woman from the front; but from what she could see Hermione was sure she really didn't want to see her.
Hermione settled in fairly quickly putting some photos up and making the large four poster bed.
After changing and brushing her teeth Hermione sunk down under the covers and fell fast, like a stone, into sleep.
Hermione felt the cold before she opened her eyes and saw the dark roiling sea beneath her, Hermione realized right away that this was a dream, so she didn't scream as she plummeted into the water.
She knew the water should have been ice cold but Hermione felt nothing as she sunk to the bottom. Eventually her feet touched the pitch black bottom and Hermione began to walk towards a glimmer of light that appeared to her right.
As she got closer she realized that the glimmer was light from a wand.
Hermione moved even closer feeling that something was deeply wrong.
As the light got closer Hermione saw a bone white hand loosely holding it, her eyes followed the arm attached to it up to a pair of vacant black eyes framed by a fan of seaweed filled black hair.
If Hermione hadn't been under water her scream could have pierced a deaf man's ear; but instead a fury of bubbles escaped her mouth as she saw that the dead corpse of Snape had a rope tied around his neck in a noose-like fashion.
Hermione awoke shortly after choking and sputtering as if she still had murky cold water in her throat.
She shot into the bathroom and tried to calm down with a scalding hot shower; which didn't work and only made her toes prune.
Eventually she was able to calm down enough to go to breakfast and finally hear Minerva's brilliant plan.
All the staff was seated and Kingsley had also joined them, he was probably hanging around to talk to McGonagall.
"Hermione dear, good to see you," Flitwick squeaked from one end of the table, this caught everyone's attention and Hermione got a couple of similar greetings from all the teachers and Kingsley.
Hermione sat and nibbled at some toast as everyone piled eggs and bacon onto their plates and chatted amiably to each other. Hermione looked at McGonagall as she finished and saw her motion for Hermione and then for Kingsley to follow her out of the great hall.
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McGonagall ushered Hermione in then Kingsley followed and shut the door.
"Minerva, why is Miss Granger here?" Kingsley was staring at Hermione with an extremely confused expression on his face.
Hermione was surprised that McGonagall hadn't told Kingsley already.
"Miss Granger is here to help with our plan," Kingsley's face lit up with understanding then clouded with a different emotion.
"Minerva, you know that she is too young to handle something like this; someone like Him," Kingsley then looked doubtfully at Hermione.
This rubbed Hermione the wrong way.
"Excuse me, minister, but I do believe I am old enough and experienced enough to handle most anything." Kingsley still looked unconvinced. "I've survived one of the worst wars wizard kind has faced in a long time and came out a heroine." Hermione hadn't realized she'd stood until she finished talking and saw the mildly scared look on Kingsley's face.
Hermione cleared her throat and nervously sat back down.
"Is that enough proof of Miss Granger's competence?" McGonagall had the smallest of smug smiles as she asked her question.
The Minister merely nodded his head and stayed quiet.
"So, Miss Granger you told me you agreed to help us, do you still hold true to that answer?" McGonagall sounded nervous.
Both her and Kingsley were now staring at her waiting for her final answer.
"I will, I'll do anything you need me to do to save Professor Snape."
McGonagall slumped a little in relief and Kingsley quirked a small smile at her.
McGonagall then took over and began outlining the plans laid so far.
Apparently Kingsley had already brought the rehabilitation option into effect, now all they had to do was get Snape onto the rehabilitation list. This isn't as easy as it sounds since apparently Snape had mastered wandless magic while incarcerated and had attacked numerous amounts of guards; because of that he had been put in permanent solitary confinement and was to be guarded by two dementors at all times, considering the fact that Azkaban had cut it's dementor employ in half said quite a bit about the damage he'd done.
Hermione listened quietly as they tried to come up with options.
Finally Hermione gathered the courage to ask.
"Excuse me but would it be impossible for someone to go talk to him; let him know we're doing all this. Maybe he'll calm down and the guards will ease up a bit."
Both stared blankly at her for a moment.
"That is a good idea miss Granger, Kingsley, will you be able to arrange everything?" When McGonagall looked over at him he nodded his head instantly.
"How does tomorrow sound," Kingsley was already standing and moving towards the door.
"Yes, I suppose the sooner is better Kingsley," McGonagall then turned to Hermione "Is tomorrow a good time for you Miss Granger?"
Hermione was speechless for a minute trying to understand what McGonagall's question meant.
"You mean for me to visit him?" McGonagall looked at Hermione as if she was stupid.
"Well, yes, you are the one who will be taking responsibility for him you'll have to see him eventually." McGonagall said it all very calmly as if she was controlling her temper.
"You did just say you were ready for a responsibility of this magnitude," Kingsley added.
His comment snapped Hermione back into herself and she stood up now in a flurry.
"I'll be ready early tomorrow morning and waiting by the gates, is that good for you Minster?" Kingsley nodded; Hermione then opened the office door and rushed out before anything else could be said.
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True to her word Hermione was up and by the Hogwarts gate bright and early the next day.
Kingsley arrived short after with a portkey to take her to Azkaban.
Hermione had only had a hand few of encounters with dementors and as one would expect they had not been pleasant, this explained why as Hermione stood on the shore of the dreaded prison island, Hermione was shaking with cold and fear.
Kingsley had left Hermione a couple of minutes ago with strict instructions to go straight to the first desk on the other side of the large barred gate and to say that the Minister had sent her; he said that they should take care of her from there.
Hermione took a couple steps towards the great metal bars and stopped. She honestly had no idea why she was here and what she was doing helping a murderer.
As she thought this she almost turned around; but then she heard a terrible gurgling shriek.
Hermione made up her mind then and rushed up to the barred gate, Kingsley had also told her that the clearance he'd given her would allow her to pass through the bars in a manner similar to how one got from platform 9 3/4 onto the Hogwarts express platform.
Hermione hoped Kingsley was right as she moved quickly directly at the bars.
She closed her eyes as she neared the cold metal, and when she opened them again she was on the other side.
Now she just had to find the desk he'd been talking about.
Hermione walked down a cold dark corridor and came out into a desolate atrium with exactly one lonely desk sitting in the center.
There was also not a soul around.
Hermione stood there and stared for a moment then walked to the desk to wait.
Hermione heard two more gurgling shrieks as she stood there staring at the wood grains in the desktop.
Finally Hermione heard footsteps from a corridor behind the desk; a moment later a large man appeared, dressed in a black uniform that showed more filth than Hermione thought possible on black material.
"Who are you? An' what business do ya 'ave 'ere?" The man had horribly slurred speech and it took Hermione a moment to gathered what all he'd asked.
"The Minister sent me," As she said this his eyes lit up.
"Oh, yer 'ere to visit old Snape then are you?" Hermione nodded and the man began to rifle through the drawers in the desk. Eventually his hands came out with a dusty locked box.
"Yer wand goes in 'ere lil miss," Hermione supposed the little miss part was meant to comfort her but all it really did was make her uncomfortable.
Hermione complied anyway and set her wand into the box. The man then snapped the box shut, set it back into one of the many drawers and began to lead her through the corridor he'd just came thru.
Hermione jumped when she heard another loud gurgle followed by a sharp snap.
"Umm...what are those noises for?" Hermione raised her voice so the man could hear her.
"Oh them, there is noises from the daily hangings." The man said it as though Hermione should have known this already.
Hermione held her disgust in and kept herself together fairly well until they turned a corner and saw the gallows.
It was a long wooden structure with horrible angles and now sported four human charms dangling hopelessly from its wooden neck.
Hermione almost lost her breakfast when she realized that the four dead prisoners were dressed in deatheater robes and had the grotesque skull masks to match.
Hermione couldn't even get a grip on the horrible fact that even in death these people were being punished.
Hermione looked down at her feet and continued to follow the guard to Professor Snape's cell.
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The large guard shoved the key into what looked like a length of solid wall, as he turned the key a door appeared, it was solid metal without windows or bars.
The man looked down at small helpless Hermione Granger and stopped with his hand on the door.
"You know how dangerous he is, right?" Hermione swallowed and nodded her head.
She knew her eyes showed nothing but determination and she hoped that what little she actually possessed could get her through that large metal door.
"Alright then, you have an hour if ya need out sooner give a yell," with that the man opened the door and ushered Hermione in.
Hermione looked into the dark abyss of the doorframe and wondered how she would see Snape in there.
The guard must've seen the question in her eyes.
"I'll turn the lights on when I reach the end of the hall, you'll be fine till then," Hermione nodded and stepped into the black abyss.