Again, I am determined to finish this story :)
After she stormed off the previous evening, Hermione was now making her way to the Potions classroom together with her fellow classmates. She gave it a lot of thought about whether she should even attend the class in the first place, but she couldn't bring herself to skip it. She didn't feel like she wanted to face the Professor and plus, he might say something about the skipped brewing session. She wasn't ready to face him.
It didn't take long after the students filled the classroom for the professor to step inside also, in his usual threatening way. He wasted no time giving the instructions for the day, taking questions and stepping back to his desk to watch over the classroom.
Hermione successfully avoided him the entire time, even when he asked questions and everyone was counting on her to raise her hand. It was the first time she did not.
"Very well, it seems you all do not belong in the Advanced Potions class after all!" Snape said in his low, calm voice when no one answered any of his questions. "Let's see what concoctions you will produce by the end of the class!"
Hermione bit her lower lip. He was angry. Still, she could not look him in the eye.
During the potion brewing, Hermione kept to herself, cut and sliced her ingredients in silence, not once looking up. As she was stirring her concoction, she heard him pace in the back of the class and occasionally scoff at other students' potion making skills. When he passed her bank, he did not stop and instead went directly to the front of the class to lean back against his desk.
The classroom was silent, only the bubbling cauldrons would occasionally break the silence. Out of fear, it's usually like that, but today was different, Hermione noted. Yes, he always has some snarky remarks, but he seemed different. Angry, annoyed. When she dared raise her eyes from her potion, she found he was already looking at her, puzzled look on his face.
After the potions were bottled and graded, everyone started to gather their things and leave. Hermione was about to do that herself when the Professor called at her. "Stick around, Miss Granger!". His voice was as impassive as it could be.
The few students that did not yet exit the room threw Hermione a quick glance and then rapidly left, the door closed behind them. They did not want to be her.
"Are you unwell, Miss Granger?" Snape asked as he rose from his seat. His voice was softer than what she was expecting. She was prepared for the worst.
Hermione was afraid to look at him, she was avoiding his gaze still. Instead, her eyes settled on a piece of parchment on his desk. He noticed that and he stepped right in front of it, leaning against the desk once more, arms crossed on his chest, cloak wrapped around him.
She was forced to look up immediately, cheeks turning pink. "No, sir, thank you. I am quite well thanks to you." She smiled, but her voice betrayed a bit of emotion.
"You know I had to do it." He started slowly. She turned her face away from him. "There was no other way." He took a few steps towards her.
She had to look up to look him in the eyes as he was standing only a step away "How long have you been in there?"
"In the real world, about half an hour," he replied. "That was almost two days in there." he continued, watching her carefully.
"Why did you stay so long, why didn't you just target that specific memory?" Hermione asked. The thought of him scrambling through her thoughts made her shiver.
Snape sighed. "Unfortunately it's not that simple. I couldn't know exactly what memory or memories were causing your torment. I had to wait for you to lead me to it."
"What did you see?" she wanted to know.
This time it was him who couldn't look her in the eye "Myself. Dying. You trying to save me."
"I'm sorry" she apologized, her voice only a whisper.
Snape took that final step to stand right in front of her, he placed a finger under her chin and gently lifted her head up to look at him. "You have nothing to apologize for. I should have thanked you for saving me a long time ago. You did save me, Hermione. And for that I am grateful to you." he spoke in a low and calm voice.
A single tear rolled down Hermione's right cheek. Her eyes welled up and threatened to spill over. Something in Severus' stomach turned, he realized he hated seeing her like that. "I watched you die so many times, it feels like that's also real right now." Hermione cried.
"But I am here." He took her hand and placed it on his chest. "I'm here because of you."
The sight of her hand on his chest brought back a wave of memories. Memories of them on top of the Astronomy Tower. Her hand on his chest, him hugging her, she running away. Him saving her.
"This happened before" she looked up with a soft smile and tears still in her eyes.
He blinked. "You remember."
"Thank you for getting me out of there." She was surprised by what she was feeling. She wanted to stay close to him. It surprised him when she chose to place her head on his chest, but he did not move.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that." he replied as he put his arms around her.
They sat like that in total silence for a while. She did not know what was happening, where did the need to feel him close to her come from, but she felt safe and at peace. She did not want him to let go.
For him, it was a strange feeling. He did not remember when was the last time he held someone like that, if he ever felt as comfortable with someone as he felt with her.
"Sir?" she asked, but did not move away from his embrace. "Why did it affect me so much? Aren't they supposed to jump to another person pretty fast?"
"Indeed, that's common knowledge, but I believe it depends," he told her. "It depends on what it finds. If it's a really horrible subconscious thought or dream, it is more satisfying to them. I believe in your case, seeing as you never gave up on your mission, you might have entertained it too much for it to leave." he continued as he knew she would only want more explanations.
Hermione finally raised her head and took a step backward. His hands immediately fell to his sides. "Entertained? You mean my efforts to save… you… were funny to it?" She asked as she started to feel heated up in anger.
"Indeed, that is what they do. I'm sorry, Miss Granger." he slowly nodded his head. "I hope the nightmares have stopped completely now?"
She snapped out of her anger as she heard him use her last name again. For some reason she felt a short pang of sadness. Apparently she appreciated him calling her by her first name more. "Yes indeed." she quickly replied when she realized she was lost in thought.
As he watched the rage dissipate from the girl's face, he found himself staring into her big brown eyes. It was as if he never noticed she had eyes before. Beautiful eyes. Snape mentally smacked himself for thinking of that. "Good, let us hope it stays that way." He turned away from her and walked back to his desk. She didn't move.
"Now, Miss Granger, if you do not have any other questions, care to tell me what other pressing business did you have yesterday? I couldn't help but notice you did not attend the brewing session we agreed upon." he asked as he sat down. The truth was, he heard her arrive just outside the classroom. But for some reason, she decided to turn and walk away instead of going in.
Her cheeks turned pink once again, "I apologize, Sir, I just had some assignments to finish since I spent so much time in the hospital wing." She lied.
He knew she was lying, but did not want to press her any longer, even though he enjoyed watching her fidget. "All right, Miss Granger. If you haven't changed your mind, the invitation is still available for you."
"Yes, Sir, I am very much interested, thank you!" she quickly replied relieved. He was afraid he did not want her there anymore.
Her promptness surprised him. Of course, she had always been the top student in his class, but he always thought she just enjoyed being the first at everything, not that she actually had an interest in potions.
"I appreciate you giving me this opportunity!" she continued when he did not reply. "It means a lot." she finalized slowly.
"Very well, Miss Granger. I expect you will be here tomorrow evening. Six PM. Sharp. He finally added.
Hermione frowned, taking a step forward. "But Sir, tomorrow is Quidditch day." She promised Ginny she would attend, even though she had no interest in the game.
"Miss Granger, I did not realize you were so invested in the sport. Are you in search of a new jock?" he asked mockingly.
Hermione's frown deepened. "I will be here." She did not want to argue. She thought she had made some progress with the Professor and that he finally treated her decently, but his bitter self came through once again. She turned on her heels to leave.
"Miss Granger!" he called once the girl reached the door. She turned to face him. "Next time you can just knock," he told her with a smirk as he watched her turn red and quickly exit the room.