Chapter 52: When Given To Fear

{A/N: Here's Another Update...}

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The Corridors, Hogwarts Castle, Wizarding World...

Midnight had been fast approaching when Hermione found herself being summoned from bed and rushed down toward the infirmary. She had been on edge ever since her husband had been called away on business for the despot and as a result had been absent for the better part of three days. Knowing how many of the unwanted "meetings" could go, she feared the worst as Snape made no means to contact and had not even reached his home in Cokeworth for aid. A part of her had been terrified that he'd been found out or at the very least the despot had taken his anger out upon him. The days and nights leading to this very moment had been filled with silent anguish and utter panic as she attempted to navigate her young life as it had been before while silently pleading for whatever deity that would listen that he'd return alive if nothing else. She knew it had been a serious matter, when Professor awoke her in the middle of the night wearing her night gown with a grim expression filed across her face. She had been instructed to make her way down to the infirmary and that Headmaster Dumbledore had requested her immediate presence. Without hesitation, Hermione scrambled to her feet, spelled on her shoes and rushed to meet the elder wizard's request.

Moving rather hurried down the darkened and winding corridor, she noted just how far the walk to the infirmary had been and given the secretive nature of her marriage to the Potions Professor, she knew all too well that Dumbledore sent the request in a bid to keep anyone from questioning her journey. Silence filled the winding hall as an eerie chill set in and she finally reached the infirmary entrance. There had been a good deal of chaos as the sound of shattering glass and toppled furniture had gotten the attention of the rather distressed Med-Witch and a seemingly weary Headmaster. The late hour had not done any good for the both of them but their main concern had been the ailing wizard who's clothes had been in tatters as blood dripped from various scars and gashes along his exposed sickly pale flesh. His eyes were wild like that of a wounded animal and the combination of confusion and fear had made for quite the show as Hermione found herself entering as he threw a chair in the direction of the aged Headmaster.

"STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" he hissed while with drawing into a nearby corner.

Hermione could hardly believe her eyes as she took in the sight of Severus Snape, wild in his behavior and utterly confused as a result of whatever torment he endured during his long absence at the hands of the despot.

"Severus." said Hermione near tears as she noted the vast amount of blood pooling beneath his feet as he drew away from the two people attempting to assist him. "What happened to him?"

Madam Pomfrey said nothing about the young student using the confused wizard's given name as she moved out of the way of an on coming table. Dumbledore seemed delighted to see Hermione had answered his summons.

"Miss Granger." he said pleased to see her and still reflecting how exhausted he'd been. "Thank Merlin you've arrived, Madam Pomfrey and I have tried for hours to get him to calm down but he seems...unreachable...perhaps you can succeed where we have both failed in our attempts to reach him."

"W-what happened to him?" asked Hermione needing to know the reason he'd been so out of sorts.

"I can't rightly guess, as he himself can only devulge what occured and in his present condition it seems highly unlikely that he would at the moment." replied Dumbledore. "Suffic if to say he had gotten on the dark lord's bad side and as a result, he was severely punished...as far as I know he'd been gone three days with no word and then Argus found him this afternoon nearly every body in his body broken and bloodied almost beyond recognition...it's a wonder he's standing truth be told."

Hermione took a deep breath, summoning her very Gryffindor courage to the best of her ablity.

She had seen how he returned from a summons more than once before, but it had never been this bad, the sheer terror behind his obsidian eyes had been worse than she'd ever seen, still she was determined to attempt to get through to him.

Slowly, she approached the weary and ailing wizard cautious in her steps and mindset as the slightest hint of fear and she knew he would pounce it was instinct when it came to him especially when he'd been severely wounded.

"Look at me." she said softly, getting the Potions Professor's attention.

His confusion seemed to be quite heavy as he backed away from her searching the area for yet another object in which to throw in a bid to defend himself from the apparent enemies before him.

"Severus..." said Hermione softly. "Look at me."

Snape hissed in raction to her presence but seemed to be attempting to figure out whom she had been. She stood rather still not in the least daunted as his near on brutal invasion of her mind had been quite the spectical. She doubted he could control it as he shattered her defenses and sifted through the fragments of memory. He saw himself and their time together both the combative moments within the classroom and the expressions of love in the dungeons where it had only been them and them alone.

"Who am I?" asked Hermione meeting his still confused gaze.

He seemed to calm some not taking his eyes off the amber eyed witch before him. The images bombarding his own weary mind as he assessed them further.

"Who am I, Severus?" she asked knowing at last that she'd been on the verge of getting through to him.

Puzzled Snape tilted his head like that of a dog when an unknown sound in the distance brought on confusion.

"Who am I?" asked Hermione once more in a soft tone.

"H-Herm-mio-e." he said at last becoming calm in the wake of his rational mind taking hold.

The fragement of memory had been quite unsettling as Hermione took this time to approach him. He had still been quite tense as a result of what happened but her presence was indeed as calming as the Headmaster had presumed that it would be. Snape took a few moments to gather himself before the rush of adrenaline had worn off and he was unable to stand for very long. The amber eyed girl rushed to his side without hesitation directing him toward a nearby bed while cautious of his visible wounds. Madam Pomfrey had been quite impressed with the young student's ablity to calm the raging professor as well as confounded by the familiarity between them.

"Headmaster..." she began.

Only for Dumbledore to ignore her and approach Snape himself. He'd been eager to know what had occured in the Potions Master's absence. Hermione had been more interested in getting the ailing man treatment. She and the med-witch set to work mending the broken wizard and seeing to the stopping of his bleeding out before any further harm was caused.

When he'd been properly seen to, Snape, whom had still been quite out of it found himself seeking comfort from his young wife if only for a little while. Dumbledore had been determined to understand the severity of the situation and began to question him almost immediately.

"What events transpired that lead to these tragic circumstances?" he asked as Madam Pomfrey took her leave of them still puzzled as to Snape's attachment to the Granger girl.

"Headmaster, can't this interrogation wait until he is well?" asked Hermione not at all liking the way the elder wizard was treating her husband.

"Information is a valuable thing if not sat on too long." reasoned Dumbledore. "How can we better prepare ourselves if waiting would mean the difference between saving a life and losing one?"

Snape sighed knowing full well the elder wizard would hound him until he got what he needed and seeing as invading his mind despite his weakened state was not an option, he was forced to speak about the events even through exhaustion.

"Suffice if to say, A few of my fellow aqaintences disaproved of my efforts these past few weeks and sought to cause me harm if only a warning as to the competition the dark lord's attention garnered." replied Snape while lying on his back and looking up at the ceiling. "A bit of sabatoge had been planned and as a result I was put on notice by the dark lord himself, the message was recieved loud and clear of course...he would not tolerate failure from anyone, least of all from me."

Dumbledore seemed satisfied with that debriefing and simply turned his attention to one of his passing thoughts.

"Get well soon." he said in an eerie father-like tone. "You'll have to be back at it again come morning."

Hermione found herself becoming enraged by the Elder wizard's gall. Snape, despite his angony had silently warned her against saying anything to the old man. The last thing he needed was for her feelings to escalate an already volitle situation.

"Piss off old man." he said before drifting into a seemingly involuntary slumber.

Dumbledore smiled and turned his attention back to Hermione.

"You should head back to the tower Miss Granger, we wouldn't want to cause any more suspicion." he said evenly.

Hermione held her tongue despite the urge to hex the old fool coursing through her at the moment. He'd been unbelieveable in his behavior toward the already injured wizard but she knew first hand that Snape had not been well recieved by much of anyone least of all the man that claimed to appreciate him.

Quickly stealing a kiss from the slumbering wizard, Hermione made her way toward Gryffindor tower doing her best to bury her disgust for Dumbledore and her worry about her husband. She knew that they'd find time to be alone sooner or later but she had to be patient and play her role as intended. The walk back had been filled with unanswered questions and mixed emotions but she finally managed to make it back to Gryffindor tower and to her dorm.

Slipping into bed once more and surrounded by darkness, Hermione couldn't help but think of her ailing husband and what the next day would bring. At the very least, she now knew that he'd been alive and that was more than enough of a reason to be grateful.