A/N: Edited
Chapter Two: Waking Up
Hermione blinked a few times to adjust her eyes to the bright white room. Despite just waking, she was already sitting up. Glancing around the room, she was surprised to find herself in the Hogwarts infirmary. It hadn't changed much since her extended stay in second year.
At her left side, a small child bouncing up and down on a bright purple armchair. The girl was barely more than a toddler with the standard issue chubby cheeks and pudgy belly. She shouted "You're Awake!" over and over again to Hermione.
Smiling at the child, Hermione wondered who this little one belonged. As she opened her mouth to greet her visitor, she found the little girl leaping towards her. Automatically, opening her arms, Hermione gripped the child tightly so she wouldn't fall.
Rosy cheeked and smiling, the girl spoke clearly "I knew you would wake up! I needed your help to read and I wanted you to wake up and you did!"
The girl's face was framed by brown hair in braids and her big brown eyes were sparkling. She seemed so familiar.
"Hi there little one - what is your name?" Hermione asked.
The girl twisted and turned on top of Hermione until she was sitting in her lap. She held out her colorful book and said "I'm Sabrina, I'm three."
Laughing, Hermione took the book. "Would you like me to read to you?"
The three year old replied crossly, "I can read! I just need help with this word." Sabrina turned the pages quickly and pointed at the word "appendix."
~~~~O-O~~~~
In the classroom of the strictest teacher at Hogwarts, students were sweating over their cauldrons. The potions within ranged in color from the lightest blue to black, from light froth to thick sludge.
A haze hovered over the fifth year students heads, obscuring the view of the Severus Snape, Potions Master. The professor stood tall with his shoulders squared. Between his stance, his meticulous buttoned teaching robes and his closely shorn inky black hair, he looked like a military general surveying his troops over a battlefield.
The five years that followed the Final Battle had given the professor a new lease on life. Despite his reluctance to accept Order of Merlin, First Class, he was widely accepted as a hero. He had an opportunity to heal his mind and body.
His hero status didn't carry through into the classroom. These students found the past terms of endearment bestowed upon Professor Snape to be lacking. Greasy Git? He was a git for sure but he wasn't greasy. Vampire, really? He no longer had a gaunt sickly look about him. His teeth were white and even, not a sharp one in sight. He couldn't be a vampire! With no creativity and minimal effort put into the name calling, the students simply referred to him as Professor Git.
"Place your Strengthening Potion on my desk and clean up. Potions that do not meet OWL standards will receive…" Severus Snape flinched mid sentence and as his left arm jerked. He hadn't felt a pull on his magic since the demise of Tom Riddle.
Snape exited the classroom through his office as he called "Class dismissed" over his shoulder. Using the Floo in his office, he stepped through the fireplace into the Infirmary.
Wrapping a wrist of a young man, Mediwitch Poppy Pomfrey, looked up to see Snape striding towards her with a grim look.
"Sabrina has used a large burst of magic," he spoke through clenched teeth as he passed Poppy into the private chambers. She hurried to catch up and almost ran into him as he stopped short. She stepped around him to see mother and child reunited.
~~~~O-O~~~~
Hearing a sharp intake of breath, Hermione looked up to see Madam Pomfrey and short haired Professor Snape staring at her. Snape flicked his wrist and two puffs of silver smoke shimmered from his ebony wand into the air and flew off in different directions.
Madam Pomfrey stepped forward and waved her wand over Hermione, casting several diagnostic spells over her. "Welcome back, Miss Granger."
"How long have I been asleep?" She asked as Sabrina wiggled in her lap.
"You are doing so well! Can't even tell that you were ever cursed," Poppy answered.
Snape walked closer and cast spells over the little girl. Satisfied with the results, he held out his arms. Sabrina immediately climbed into his arms; wrapping herself around him like a monkey. "Daddy, Daddy, she's awake. Did you see? I made her wake up."
Hermione was mesmerised by which the ease and comfort between Professor and the child.
The Professor Snape said "Sabrina, please thank Miss Granger for reading to you."
He bowed slightly to Hermione and strode away as his daughter called out over his shoulder "Thank you, Mummy!"
Startled, Hermione saw the black robes of Severus Snape flaring as they rounded the corner and out of the room.
~~~~O-O~~~~
A/N: Who knows what children's book Sabrina is reading?