Insane. Stupid. Freak. Bitch. Masochist. Sanctimonious. Craven. Insolent. Slut. Traitor.
All of the nasty insults she could ever think of nagged at her, but she still broke the vow that she had made with herself. For the second night in a row, she was at the bedside of the boy who had broken her. A sick new game of twisted punishment that she had a limited time to play.
Hermione realized it was detrimental to any minute progress she had been able to gain over the days and weeks that had gone by. The bits of her hard work that had managed to survive last night unscathed could be obliterated with a candid whisper. And yet, there she was… Sitting in the chair next to his bed. One leg tucked up under her and the other pressed tightly against her chest so she could rest her chin on her knee and stare.
It was idiotic to stay put with the risk of Harry and his little schemes to know what Draco was up to during every single moment of his life. Her rationalization, if caught, the night before was her confronting the git about the duel. An easy enough excuse to believe when the time she had spent there had gone relatively quick. She would have no such justification for the hour she had sat and memorized his profile.
Intent on committing the details of his face softened with sleep to her subconscious. She couldn't live with it forever being contorted with his rage from the other night. Granted, it was a fruitless endeavor. After this final lapse in judgment, Hermione would have to harshen her already strict rules. Tomorrow was the first day she wasn't allowed to think of his existence.
No more glances to check on his welfare. No more late-night reminiscing during rounds. No more cognizant healing. Nothing. Tomorrow, he would become a non-entity, but tonight… He was the boy who she'd fallen in love with.
She was so preoccupied by her miserable thoughts that she didn't hear the sounds of approach until it was much too late, and a voice hissed in her ear, "What hope do we have if our star pupil is this brainless?"
There was no need for her to look over to confirm the owner. The voice of Severus Snape had haunted her nightmares for years, right along with the rest. She blinked slowly a couple of times, trying to figure out what she had done that was so horrible the Universe had a grudge against her.
This was evidently the wrong move because the menacing wizard reached down and gripped her shoulder in a tight pinch. His fingers dug into her flesh as he wrenched her from the chair. Not caring about the sudden clatter of the legs against stone or the way she stumbled to her feet. He quickly pulled her in front of him so she was blocked from Draco's view and pushed her forward with the intense pressure he controlled between her shoulder and collarbone.
Instinctively, she tried to jerk away, but it only made his hold escalate to the point that she had to bite down on her bottom lip to keep from crying out.
Pomfrey was at her door, checking on the disturbance, and her startled blue eyes widened more when she saw the unconventional cause. Before she was able to say anything to try and stop the pair, Hermione shook her head.
Thankfully, Draco's groggy voice called from behind the curtain, "Who… Who's there?"
The concern in the older witch's eyes as they crossed paths warmed Hermione and she felt a pang of guilt at her tactless manner when they had last spoken. Snape continued to push her from the Infirmary, letting the door slam shut behind them. A short distance later, once he was sure they were out of earshot of any prying, he let her go roughly.
Caught off guard, she staggered into the stone wall and winced as the rock dug into her palms. She took a deep breath, filling herself with a false bravado, and turned to face the outraged teacher.
"Have all your thoughts turned as vapid as air now that you are 'in love' or is this an exceptional lack of awareness?" Snape demanded, his anger rolling off of him.
"I was helping Madam Pomfrey keep an eye on her guest. She has been helping me learn medi-magic in my spare time." The lie came with such ease that it surprised her, but she kept her face blank and made sure to concentrate on his chin as a way to avoid making eye contact.
"Liar…" He spit the accusation and took a step closer to her. "You must do better with your sham pretexts, Granger."
Her gaze had shifted to the fastener of his cloak at the closer proximity, and she glared her own ineffectual fury, "I don't think that I will…"
"That is the problem. You think you know everything…" He took another step, closing the space between them and she had to press herself back against the wall so their bodies didn't touch. It was a threatening gesture that set off the primal parts of her brain to run as he continued, his voice low. "Knowledge talks, but wisdom listens, little girl."
Hermione turned her head and stared down the empty corridor as a shaky breath entered her lungs through her flared nostrils. She kept her mouth shut since it was clearly what was expected of her.
"Look at me."
"No."
Her refusal was immediate, and her hand twitched towards the wand that was stashed in her pocket. An instinctual response for protection from the attempt at intimidation. She hadn't given the action any conscious thought, but it was still another mistake…
Snape's clenched fists were suddenly restraining her. A hand wrapped around the wrist of her offensive limb and pinned it to the wall. The other's placement was far more terrifying. He placed his palm against her throat so he could foil any scream with the slightest of pressures while his fingers squeezed at her jaw.
"Look at me, Granger."
When she didn't listen, he yanked her face forward, and she snapped her eyes closed to ward off the inevitable invasion she knew was coming. Her breaths were slow and measured as she tried to calm the intended fear and hatred that surged through her.
"Open your eyes." The formidable wizard hissed down at her.
There was no use to her denial, but she jerked her chin in a defiant no against the grip of his rigid fingers. Giving herself time to build up the defenses that she needed to keep him from the important memories. He wasn't allowed to leave his vile touch on the rest of them.
In response to the insubordination, he simultaneously flexed the hand at her throat and lifted, causing her to have to go up on the tips of her toes to keep oxygen going to her brain. He leaned in and murmured his threat, "It can get worse for you. I would advise you to listen."
She wanted to tell him to take his advice and shove it up his ass. But, his tight control prevented little more than her wheezing pants from filling her lungs, and Hermione had to settle for opening her eyes and scowling at the tyrant.
The magic was wandless and nonverbal, the same as the first time. His intrusion wasn't as gentle, though. Not even close. He slammed into the carefully crafted fortifications with such force that she could only summon the black abyss for a couple of seconds before her second deterrent manifested.
Harry's distorted face as he broke through the water during the Second Task. A cup of steaming tea. The chaotic sound of the Great Hall at breakfast. A tiny red flower turning purple. Fifty quills scratching on parchment at once. A thick mud-like potion that bubbled on the floor of the girls' bathroom. Ron's elation as he hovered high above the Burrow on a broom. Children's screams of excitement as they rode a miniature roller coaster. Fang's drool dropping onto her leg as she absentmindedly pet him.
Every innocuous visual and aural memory she'd pulled from the secured vault during her preparation assaulted the invader at once. It was a move done in desperation and would have never had a chance of working if she hadn't had the time to put together her rash plan. The mayhem was meant to overwhelm since he was expecting to fall into a complete scene.
Her reprieve was momentary as Snape took the time to orientate himself and then stepped through the fog… Into the seventh-floor corridor. Draco's door sat on the opposite wall and a smug triumphant smirk that she didn't understand tugged at the wizard's lips as he started to stride forward.
He made it halfway to the aged door before it abruptly disappeared from view, leaving him stranded in the desolate shadowed hall. The look of success slid from his face, and she felt a petty pleasure as she realized he knew exactly what the vanishing meant… He would have to play by the rules she had stolen and call forth the correct gateway if he wanted access to more than the glimpses of spontaneity that she had freely given with her distraction.
"I told you... No."
His hand was loose around her throat as he transitioned back to the present and Hermione took the opportunity to whisper the taunt with as much vitriol as she could muster.
As if Snape finally registered the severity of his actions against a student, he dropped his hold and stepped back. Tension-filled seconds ticked by as he gathered his wits, and then he nodded approvingly, "Good. At least one of you moronic Gryffindors have listened to my guidance."
"Go to Hell!" Her fists shook with her wrath and she had to dig her nails into the flesh of her palms to stop from voluntarily grabbing her wand. "I am telling Dumbledore. Now."
His mocking chuckle rooted her to the spot a few steps away. "And what do you think that will do, little girl?"
"Stop calling me that!" She snapped, sick of the degrading nickname.
"That is what I call the female variants of our species. Specifically, those who are as foolish as you, despite what microscopic amounts of intellect you might actually have." Gloating, he smirked down at her. "Please, run along and tell Dumbledore about what a brute I am. It will only be added to the long list of complaints. My strategies may be unorthodox, but they get the results he requires."
The total weight of their Headmaster's ambivalence towards the depravity his students suffered under the monstrous and perverse hands of the wizard at her side was crushing. She wasn't safe inside of Hogwarts anymore… No one would protect her from the abuse without permission. Not even McGonagall would stand for long in opposition to the skillful manipulations of her commander.
"I… I'll write The Wizengamot, myself."
Another dark peal of laughter rang before he continued, "Right, as if a plethora of parents have not tried that method."
"Fine." Hermione conceded, having nothing to fear anymore she looked him in the eye. "But there is something you should know…"
"Which is?" Snape asked, his eyebrow raised with amusement at her hostile tone.
"I don't give a flying fuck whose side you are on." She said, cold as ice. Her chin lifted with her defiance. "One day… I will watch the life dim from your eyes."
Unfazed by the terse discovery that she wasn't as virtuous as he had assumed, she turned and walked calmly down the hall. Refusing to let the oppressive bully turned renegade informant know how bad he had rattled the cage of doubt she tried so hard to ignore.