Severus apperated into the woods surrounding his cottage. He had extensive wards over the entire property and much of the surrounding land. If anyone ever tried to get into his home, he'd have ample warning, and they'd be in for a hell of a time, he thought smugly. "Miss Granger, I need some of your blood to add you to my wards. Do you mind?" he asked gesturing towards her hand.
The young woman shook her head and offered her palm. "Blood wards?" she asked.
"They're more effective," he replied defensively. "Just because blood is involved, doesn't mean it's dark magic."
Hermione nodded. "Will you teach me?" she asked cautiously, clearly chastened by his gruffness.
"Of course," he replied gently, heartened when he saw the girl brighten a bit. "But not today," he continued. "You need rest."
"I don't think I can sleep," she said softly.
"You will," he responded before using his wand to make a small cut. After siphoning some blood from the wound, he quickly healed her palm and turned back to his wards. A few minutes later his property accepted its new tenant.
"Come along, Miss Granger. It's only a short walk from here," he said as he cast a lumos to light their way.
*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*
Severus ushered the girl through the door and led her to the chair in front of the fireplace. "Sit," he instructed as he lit the fire. She complied, and he went to the kitchen to make tea. Once out of sight of his unexpected guest, he let out a ragged breath that bordered on a sob. Just the thought of what Hermione had just lost, and what he'd almost lost…..It was almost overwhelming. Damn them all for leaving that child alone to protect her parents from the terrors that awaited them.
His head swam with all the things he could have, should have done to prevent this tragedy. He should have brought it up to the Order, but he had little support there. Perhaps he should have lied. Said that there was an explicit threat against her, or he could have approached Arthur privately. He and his brood cared for the girl. The mutt, surely, would have listened to him or Potter himself. His heart constricted with grief. It had a habit of surprising him lately in unwary moments.
He took a deep breath and fortified his occlumency shields. He had to get ahold of himself. That child out there needed him. Plus, another problem had occurred to him. Word needed to be sent to advise the Order that ermHer
Hermione was safe. Otherwise, all hell would likely break loose once her home was destroyed and nobody could find the occupants.
He set the kettle on the stove and then returned to his guest. "Miss Granger, I'm afraid I'm going to need you to write to the Order to tell them you are safe. I fear they may start a search should they hear of your home's destruction. That wouldn't be good for you or your parents," he told her.
The young woman readily agreed. He brought over parchment and a quill. "I would suggest you tell them that Dumbledor had planned for you and your family to go into hiding after the school year ended. Tell them you weren't sure if they were aware of this and didn't want them to worry or something," he recommended.
Granger accepted the writing utensils and went to work. "I know what I should say," she assured him, then looked back up. "Do you have an owl?"
"No, I'll make other arrangements. Although do you mind if I read your letter beforehand?" he asked. "It's best that I know the same as the Order regarding your whereabouts."
"Of course," she answered absently as she began to write.
The kettle whistled from the other room. "I'll leave you to it then," he said rushing back to the kitchen.
*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*
He returned carrying a tray, heavily laden with tea along with some reheated stew and bread. He suspected that the young woman hadn't eaten for a while and would need sustenance to counteract the magical exhaustion she was clearly suffering from.
He carefully placed it atop his side table and summoned the chair he'd placed by the window. Once seated, he realized that they were again in front of a fire about to share a meal. He had a moment of consternation that they were on the wrong side of each other and chuckled at his own foolishness.
"What?" she asked softly.
"We're on the wrong side," he said.
A small smile appeared on the witch's face, and she stood. Severus followed suit, and switched seats with her. "Now, that does feel better," he decreed, and the girl nodded. He picked up his bowl of stew and began to eat. After a couple minutes, he stopped. "You need to eat," he gently chided, motioning to her untouched meal on the tray.
Hermione opened her mouth to argue but he cut her off. "You need to eat, Miss Granger. I speak from experience. It's easy to neglect yourself at times like these, but you mustn't succumb to that temptation," he told her.
"Why not?" she asked.
The potions master sighed. He could tell that she was still occluding heavily and had been since he'd managed to calm her in her parents' bedroom many hours ago. The edges of her walls were becoming frayed and fragile. Even so, they stood. She couldn't keep them up forever, though, and the longer she waited, the worse it would be when they finally crumbled. He'd save that discussion for a little later. First, he needed to sort the one at hand.
"Because, you owe it to yourself and to your parents to keep your mind, body and magic healthy," he replied. "It's not easy, and I won't pretend that it is, but it is necessary," he said sympathetically. "Right now, what you need most is sustenance and rest. Let's work on the first one right now." He gestured to her meal. When Hermione only stared at it, he added with a roll of his eyes. "You are beginning to insult me, Miss Granger. It's not poisoned."
"Sorry, sir," she mumbled as she reached for her bowl. She took one timid bite, then set upon her food with zeal.
Good, that's one solved, the wizard thought, trying to ignore the host of other problems that were sure to present themselves.
*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*
Snape looked over the room upstairs that mirrored his own. He'd thought about turning it into a library but supposed that he could just as easily convert part of his living room instead. Right now, he needed to make this a comfortable room for a young woman who had just lost her family and her entire connection to the muggle world. It felt overwhelming, but it was nothing that he hadn't dealt with before.
After the last war there had been many grieving children. As a head of house, he was expected to tend to such students. Poppy had made that quite clear after he'd sent multiple of them to her when they cried. Although, he mainly assigned them to on older student to mentor, he did occasionally have to deal with such situations himself. He just wasn't sure that his usual method of an aloof comforting and a firm pat on the back would work here.
The wizard rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. He needed to stop over thinking this. Hermione would finish eating soon and need somewhere to sleep. He opened her trunk and found the contents of her previous bedroom. After that, it was just a matter of enlarging and arranging its contents across the barren room.
It wasn't long before he was ushering the girl to bed. "I hope this will do for now. You can rearrange anything tomorrow, if you wish," he told her. "Now though, you need to sleep."
The witch didn't argue. Now that she had eaten, she looked absolutely exhausted. He hesitated for a second, not looking forward to this unpleasant but crucial discussion. "And you need to lower your occlumency shields," he said carefully.
"No," she instantly responded.
"This isn't a request. You…." He started.
"I don't care," she countered with a defiant jut of her chin. "I need this right now. It's the only thing keeping me from breaking apart into a million little pieces."
Severus sighed. "Miss Granger, I'm not trying to be cruel. I know what I ask is difficult, but it must be done. We both know that they cannot hold forever, and the longer you wait, the worse it will be when they finally fall. You know this, Miss Granger," he said gently. "I will, though, endeavor to make this as easy for you as possible. Here." He handed her a small vial. "Dreamless Sleep," he explained. "Dreams are unlikely to be a comfort tonight. It's fast acting. Lower your shields, take the draught, lay back and let your mind and body rest."
The young woman hesitated for a moment before taking a fortifying breath and reaching for the draught. "I'll leave you to rest now. My room is across the landing should you need me," he said and turned to leave. As he closed the door, he saw her shields crumble and her face contort in a rictus of pain. His heart ached for the child. Thankfully, she quickly drank the potion, and it dragged her almost instantly into slumber.
He hovered there feeling an intense desire to stay and guard her sleep. Which was totally irrational. The girl was obviously safe. She was in his home, under his wards, and her respite would be ensured by his potion. There was no reason to linger.
Suddenly a streak of orange fur flew past him and hopped lightly onto the bed. The cat walked around in a tight circle before curling next to his mistress. He gave the potions master a speculative look. Apparently finding him acceptable he gave the man a nod as if to say that he would take over from here.
Feeling that the girl would now be competently supervised, he turned and gently shut the door. He only made it a few steps before he made the horrific realization that he'd just made friends with a cat.
*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*
The girl slept for the next twenty-six hours. Crookshanks, however, did not. That's not to say that he didn't nap. He did, often in fact, but he rose much sooner than his mistress. He was proving to be quite a good friend, though. He was an avid hunter and was efficiently ridding the property of the vermin that kept getting in despite the potions master's attempts to prevent it. So, he let the bloodthirsty beast have free reign.
When Hermione finally did make her way downstairs, she found Severus sitting in front of a small fire reading with the girl's familiar curled in his lap. A summer rain had driven them both indoors well before lunch. "Good morning," he greeted when he saw her.
The witch stood at the bottom of the stairs with her arms wrapped around herself protectively. "Professor?" She asked nervously, her eyes darting around the room. "Where am I, and why am I here?" her voice wavered as she fought to keep back tears.
The potions master was on his feet in an instant. He'd been concerned this might happen. He swiftly led her to a chair and helped her into it. "You're completely safe, Miss Granger," he assured her. "This is my home. You've been through a lot of stress recently, and it would seem that your mind is giving you a little break from it. Your memory will likely return shortly. In the meantime, I'll answer any questions you have."
"Why am I here," she asked with trepidation.
Severus sighed. His girl was clever. She knew there would be no happy answer to this question. "What is the last thing you remember?" he countered.
Hermione frowned at the non-answer but replied. "I remember something waking me up last night. No, it was early this morning. I remember the sky was just starting to lighten, and I just wanted to go back to sleep, but I don't think that I did."
That must have been when she received Draco's message, he thought. Her mind had retreated further back than he'd expected. It was a common defense mechanism, especially after occluding like she had been. Her brain knew she needed ample time to process what had happened and was attempting to preserve itself & her sanity.
"I brought you here due to safety concerns," he responded calmly.
The girl gasped, "My parents!"
"Are safe and arrangements have been made to ensure that they remain so," he assured her with part of the truth. "You chose not to go into hiding with them and didn't wish to stay at the Weasleys at this time."
"And my home?" she inquired.
"Was attacked and destroyed. I'm so sorry, Miss Granger," he answered sadly.
Hermione nodded her head in acknowledgement, then asked, "I obliviated them, didn't I? My parents. I obliviated them?"
"Yes, Miss Granger, you did," he confirmed.
"Are they okay? Did they make it out of the country?" She urgently questioned.
"Yes, their flight was early yesterday morning. I received confirmation that they arrived safely in Sidney this morning. My solicitors are working on your family's behalf to arrange the sale of the practice and lay an alibi for your sudden departure."
"Thank you," she breathed, fighting back tears once more. She took a deep breath trying to regain composure. "I'll pay you back with the proceeds of the sale…"
"You will do no such thing, Miss Granger," Snape interrupted. "I have ample resources, and your parents will need the funds to start their new life. Plus, I will not rob them of the fruits of their labors. I know they put years into that practice, and they deserve to benefit from it."
"But…" the girl started.
The potions master interrupted her once more. "No, I'll not hear any more on it," he decreed.
The young woman huffed, then almost instantly seemed to deflate, shrinking in on herself. "Sorry," she murmured. "I just don't want to impose."
"You're not imposing, Miss Granger. You are most welcome. I've had no company in weeks for obvious reasons, and I find yours quite tolerable."
The witch grinned slightly at his jest. "What happens now?" she asked.
"At present, nothing other than eating lunch. I would say a bit of sun would help, but it would seem that the weather is not cooperating today," he said with a smirk.
That earned him a genuine smile, but then the girl frowned again. "Was that Crooks on your lap?" she asked.
Snape looked back at her baffled. "Of course, not," he replied affronted.
"But, I just saw…" she started.
"You saw nothing," the wizard responded. "Miss Granger, it would appear that you are hallucinating. You must need to eat more urgently than I had anticipated," he said and turned for the kitchen. When he heard a laugh erupt from the girl behind him, he smiled and knew she would be okay.