Chapter 47: The Strictest Confidence

{A/N: Here's Another Update...Another Death In the family has prompted more sorrow, R.I.P Leslie A. Whitener...(2020)}

My Thanks To My Readers and Reviewers...Enjoy-S.S.

Potions Class, Hogwarts Castle, Wizarding World...

Everyone filed out of Professor Snape's class as soon as the dismissal had ended not wishing to be anywhere near the dreaded Professor as he turned his attention to the collection of parchment that had been stacked high upon his desk. Hermione took it upon herself to linger as the other's rushed out, careful not to alert Ron, Harry or Ginny as to what she'd been up to before the door to the classroom closed behind them and locked itself. The three of them thought nothing of it as Snape always locked the door when they left mostly to prolong his privacy until the next group had to come barging in. As it so happened, they were the last class of the day and it had been winding down indefinitely. Hermione had taken note of Snape's slowed walk and the trembling in his hands, no doubt a lasting side effect of the previous few nights. He had eaten very little at breakfast and even less at lunch when they were all corralled into The Great Hall and it had greatly alarmed her.

Snape for his part had been huddled over his desk scribbling away at the parchment on top of the stack in his usual jittery spidery scrawl. Hermione had noted his hand clutching the pen rather tightly, coming to the conclusion that this was the reason his handwriting had been so strange given the number of times he had to grade her work. For a brief moment she recalled just how angry he'd been when she had gone and done a few future assignment just to have an edge.

He must have been in agony.

Careful not to startle him, Hermione made her way toward his desk. Intent on seeing how he'd been doing given the state she found him in when last they spoke in private.

"Not one step further, Miss Granger." hissed Snape not taking his eyes off the parchment he was going over.

Hermione froze, she had noted the rather stern tone he had chosen to speak to her in despite their being alone.

"Severus..." she began attempting to reason with him.

Snape's eyes seemed to flicker with something akin to rage as he turned from his desk and the graded parchment with the speed of a wild cat swiftly drawing his wand and flicking it in the direction of a faint shimmering that Hermione had only noticed just then.

The Potions Professor's swift movements saw to both Harry James Potter and Ron Weasley dropping from beneath the boy's infamous invisibility cloak. Hermione had been at a loss for words as she deduced that Snape had seen them duck back into the classroom with the cloak before she could lock the door in a bid to find out what she'd been up to, given her distance as of late.

The amber eyed witch gasped noting the collapse of her two so called friends as they hit the cold stone floor, unconscious for all intents and purposes.

Snape sighed before turning his attention to his young wife.

"What have I told you about personal boundaries?" he asked with an arched brow.

"I only wanted to see how you were faring, I mean...you hardly ate anything for days and just recently your hands have been trembling like mad while we were eating in The Great Hall." replied Hermione not in the least sorry she came to see about his welfare.

"I didn't ask you to." he hissed narrowing his dark eyes at the young witch before him.

"I didn't need you to ask me to." replied Hermione not in the least intimidated in this situation.

After all, if he was well enough to put up a fight in terms of a row then he was doing quite well by her account.

Knowing all too well that they'd be at it all night in terms of their various opinions, Snape rolled his eyes and moved toward the downed Potter and Weasley.

"Friends of yours?" he asked lifting the cloak off them.

Hermione shook her head. He had quite the odd sense of humor even when he made her want to strangle him. For a moment, she wondered if this was what marriage had been like for her parents, Merlin knew she heard them have a few disagreements themselves but in the end there was their shared sense of humor that won the day.

"More like two rats." she replied with her arms folded across her chest. "They have some nerve following me."

"Did it ever occur to you that you've spent so much time obsessing about matters that do not concern you that you've left them no choice?" asked Snape with an arched brow.

"Did it ever occur to them that we are not children anymore." replied Hermione. "None of us need be joined at the hip just because we're friends...they could have awaited my return or gone with anyone else to do whatever else."

Snape shook his head.

"What?" asked Hermione with an inquisitive glare in his direction.

"Nothing." replied Snape recalling how he'd referred to her as being a "mere child" in the past.

His speech had been along the lines of pointing out her naivete and sheer inexperience in terms of what marriage had been all about. Of course it wasn't as if his own knowledge of the subject had been any better, especially when it came to dealing with one's wife. He'd been single for quite a few years and nothing serious ever developed in terms of a relationship in the wake of his youth.

Snape turned his attention to waking the two rather foolish Gryffindor boys.

Harry Potter blinked a few times before getting to his feet after taking notice of a rather irate Hermione and an ebony clad Potions Professor with his arms folded across his chest. Ron had awakened second shrieking when he took note of Snape and scrambled to his feet. Harry had stood up as well confused as to how they were found out.

"Care to explain why you are following me?" asked Hermione with her amber eyes narrowed in their direction.

"W-Well...you were always gone." began Ron.

"It isn't my fault you don't like the library." replied the annoyed young witch.

"T-That's just it...you weren't in the library...at least not at first." added Harry. "You seemed to disappear for a time or two and we had no idea why."

Hermione was quite annoyed at this point. She should have known that Harry would be nosy enough to use his Marauder's Map to find her whereabouts.

"What is the matter with you two?" she asked still conveying her annoyance. "Can't anyone have any privacy without you thick headed idiots spying on them?"

"Well we wanted to see what you were up to...and then we found you were spending a lot of time with Snape..." began Ron suddenly looking in Snape's direction.

Before he could finish the thought, Snape had knocked him unconscious again.

"WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR!?" asked Harry not in the least alright with the Potions Professor using magic on a student.

Before he could do anything more he too hit the ground again, rendered unconscious.

Hermione sighed knowing full well that they must have been watching her from the map the whole time. Snape of course was livid but he hid it well, folding his arms across his chest and looking down at the unconscious boys for a few moments before settling on erasing what little they did known about his encounters with Hermione Granger from their mutual memories before setting false ones in place.

Hermione still couldn't believe them and their meddling. She had gone through all the trouble of leaving them behind just to have a few quiet moments with her ailing husband and here they were playing "let's annoy the Potions Professor."

"I suggest you collect your rubbish and make your way back to Gryffindor tower, Miss Granger." said Snape turning his attention back to the stack of parchments on his desk. "Your services are no longer required, as I can take care of myself."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at the ebony clad wizard for a few moments before "collecting" both Ron and Harry as she made her way toward the door. While she had been disappointed that her time with Snape had been cut short a reduced to platonic bickering, she had been glad to see him well or at the very least on the way to a full recovery.