Thank you, Miss Granger

Thank you, Miss Granger
Disclaimer: See first chapter

Many thanks to Estrilda for the beta-reading and Caelestia for her kind and sharp comments.



Chapter Eleven : I put a spell on you

Hermione\'s sobs subsided slowly as she buried her face in the young boy\'s lap. He had put his hands on her back, she could feel their sweet warmness through her clothes. He did not move and he did not say anything. She allowed herself to rest in the delicious smell of his body, still tainted by their previous activity. She felt at peace, she felt good. She wanted to stay here forever.

It was impossible, but for a few more seconds, she wanted to believe it was.

\'I\'m sorry.\'

He remained silent, probably waiting for what she had to say. Well, she would have to tell him at some point.

\'I have to go.\'

He released her slowly and she stood up with caution, still feeling dizzy and broken inside. She met his eyes and was touched to realize they were so bright. Tears? Once again, he held up his chin and stared back at her.

\'I knew you would not stay.\'

\'It\'s not as if I did not want to-\' she started.

\'Never mind. What difference does it make?\'

She frowned. How could he be so swand and so dumb at the same time? So upsetting!

\'Well, it does make a difference for me! For what it worth.\'

He did not answer immediately. But from the way his features softened, she could see the message had reached its destination.

\'It\'s because of the spell. Someone put a spell on you to bring you back.\'

She sighed.

\'Actually, the spell is just a reminder. I\'m on a mission. I\'m not supposed to stay, nor to-\'

\'Get involved with the enemy?\'

She raised an eyebrow.

\'You\'re not my enemy.\'

He snorted.

\'How do you know?\'

She looked at the frown, the twist of the lips, the penetrating gaze, and smiled.

\'I know. That\'s all.\'

It took a few seconds before her beaming smile managed to break the ice and was rewarded by another smile.

\'Maybe you\'re right.\'

She stretched her arms with caution. The headache was less present as long as she did not think about her Potions Master. And of course, as she made that reflection, she thought about him and it started to come back. Severus considered her with attention.

\'The person who did that knew exactly what he was doing. There are some parts of your mind that cannot be read, no matter how hard one tries.\'

She sighed.

\'I know.\'

\'It\'s a very good job actually. Especially considering you were not aware of its presence.\'

She grinned.

\'Enough compliments. I\'m not he-\' she had to force herself to finish her sentence despite the pain, \'I\'m not sure he actually deserves that much.\'

But Severus kept going.

\'This kind of precise, almost artistic, work deserves a bit of recognition. It is worthy of the Trojan Horse strategy. I do not know who this person is - and it seems you are not allowed to tell - but he would most certainly deserve to be in Slytherin.\'

Hermione wanted to snap back but she could hardly breath.

\'Stop... talking... about him...\'

He came closer to her.

\'Does it make the pain worse?\'

She nodded and saw his eyes widen. The next sentence wardlyrdly a whisper but she heard it anyway.

\'Such a brilliant piece of work. I wish I was able to do something as good as that.\'

At this point, Hermione had to cough desperately to get rid of the sensation of asphyxiation. It took her a few more minutes to recover. Fortunately, Severus had run short of compliments, or had finally decided to keep them for himself.


************


For the first time, she wondered what impact her presence would have over the future. Would her presence make a difference for him? It would probably not prevent him from becoming a Death Eater. Curiosity killed the cat but she wanted to know.

\'What are you going to do after school?\'

He looked at the ceiling pensively.

\'I want to be an Auror.\'

Hermione forced her voice to remain calm. As long as he did not look at her, she might be able to get away with it.

\'And how are you going to make it? It\'s very difficult to become an Auror.\'

He had a sour smile.

\'I know more spells than anybody. I am going to ask the teacher of the Dark Arts Defence to take me as an apprentice.\'

He was still fixing the ceiling, lost in his plans. Her mouth was dry as she asked, \'Do you think he will accept?\'

\'I know he was considering Remus Lupin for the position, but I shall prove to him that Lupin is not to be trusted. He is up to no good with the Potter gang; they are always looking for an occasion to break the r and and I will ensure they are caught one day. Once it\'s proven that he is not worthy of the apprenticeship, I shall be chosen since I am the most capable.\'

Hermione refrained herself from saying aloud: \'Or you\'ll be nearly killed by a werewolf and hate Potter for the rest of your life the she saved.\' Instead, she asked, \'And what is the name of that teacher?\'

\'Professor Moody.\'

Hermione froze. Fortunately, he was still lost in his thoughts which it gave her some time to compose herself. That might explain why Snape was so furious at Remus, Mad-Eye Moody and had nearly gotten killed in the Whomping Willow incident. She cleared her throat.

\'I would have thought you wanted to be a Potions Master like your father.\'

His pensive look vanished as he came back to her.

\'No. I would never be a Potions Teacher. I deserve better than that.\'

His eyes widened as he felt her emotional response at this statement. Hermione tried to focus her thoughts on something else, anything.

\'Why do you ask?\'

She searched her mind for a half true answer. It was an emergency case.

\'Well... because I care about you.\'

That was true, even if it was not the complete answer. He looked very serious and sad suddenly.

\'I don\'t want to be like my father.\'

She did not answer. What could she possibly answer to that?

\'He is a coward. He is very bright and severe but he never fights. Always hiding. He would be there otherwise. He would be outside, where the war is taking place, like...\'

\'Like?\'

He remained silent a short moment before whispering.

\'Like my uncle.\'

She wondered why his face was so distant and cold suddenly.

\'What happened to your uncle?\'

He snorted.

\'He got kd. Hd. His name was Magnus.\'

For some reason, she felt he was not telling the entire true, but she was not sure she wanted to know more. She finally asked.

\'You liked h'
'

He nodded.

\'Yeah. He was a hero. Not afraid to fight openly the enemy. Not like my father who is just good at terrorizing kids.\'

Hermione chose to remain silent and the conversation died.


************


\'Who are you?\'

It wasn\'t the first time he asked, and there was just no way she could answer.

\'Nobody would know my name here.\'

\'Why do you need that sample?\'

\'Trust me\'s \'s for a good purpose.\'

\'Good is a very relative notion.\'

His tone was soft and tough at the same time. A mere statement.

\'Was the kiss and... the rest... part of the strategy to get it?\'

She didn\'t look away.

\'I kissed you because I wanted to. You should know that if you are a good Legilimens.\'

He was staring at his feet while asking the next question.

\'Do you... I mean... does it mean you care a bit about me?\'

She was about to burst ilauglaugh, giving him a: \'Of course, stupid!\', but was struck by his persistence to avoid her eyes. She had had Viktor and a few other flirts to reassure herself about her charms, which was not his case. If she could stop making every new experience a trauma for him, it might balance the fact he felt abused.

\'Severus, I do care about you and I do care about your feelings.\'

He nodded, still fixing his gaze on the floor.

\'I thought you could read my emotions. How come you don\'t know that?\'

He cleared his throat, apparently not very comfortable with the conversation.

\'I did notice a feeling in you... that I had never encountered before, I mean from somebody toward me. I did not know what it was. Legilimency is jus just dealing with concepts or definitions, the human brain is quite a complex thing.\'

He paused, lost in his reflections, sighed, before concluding.

\'I did not know what this feeling was, nor what it meant. Maybe I... did not want to know.\'

He then looked at her, and she felt suddenly pinned by his gaze like a butterfly.

\'Moreover, your feelings toward me were not always that simple.\'

Hermione felt her cheeks redden. Falling for a Legilimens was a tricky thinge the thought. Love should be allowed a bit of mystery and intimacy.

\'Even now,\' he added calmly, \'I know there arme tme things you know that you will not tell me. Things about me.\'

Hermione took her time to answer.

\'There are some things I know about you and that I won\'t tell you. There are some things about the mission that I cannot tell either. But I\'m on your side. You know I\'m not lying when I say that.\'

He considered her with attention and a hint of sadness.

\'I know you are not my enemy, but what about the person who put that spell on you?\'

Hermione forced her mind to remain as white as a blank page as she answered.

\'He is no enemy either.\'

But that was not wha was was really after.

\'Did it occur to you that he might be jealous?\'

She startled at the mere thought of Severus Snape being jealous of himself and the pain immediately thrilled her forehead once more. She forced herself to breath calmly. Once she had recovered her control, she came back to the boy, waiting patiently in front of her.

\'It\'s you I care about. Not him.\'

Severus nodded with a mix of relief and gravity. It was nice to see his features soften somehow, even for an instant.

\'But it doesn\'t change anything about my mission.\'

He nodded and walked to the sample. He took it but didn\'t turn to her. And she knew she had won. But at what price?

\'Once you have what you want, you will disappear.\'

Oore ore time, a statement.

Deep inside, Hermione could hear a scream. Somewhere, a paf hef her wanted to get away with him, to protect him from the bloodshed Chess Game that was about to take place. But the scream was so low, so distant. And her rational part was taking care of the events, as usual: \'Do what you have to do, and everything will be simple\'.

She walked to him. Put a gentle hand on his shoulder and made him turn slowly.
His eyes were shinning with tears. Like bright black stars.

\'Do what you have to do. Fulfil your Destiny. And we\'ll meet again.\'

She took the sample from his hand and give him a light kiss on the cheek. A salty kiss as her lips met a tear.

\'The hell witty aty and the mission,\' she thought.

She pulled him back to her, slowly, tenderly and hugged him close, very close. His hands clenched around her and he hugged her back, his head buried in her shoulder. She did not see his face, but she could tell he was cryiShe She cupped his neck, and rocked him. Their bodies were so tightly close it seemed they wanted to dive into each other.

She breathed his smell, kissed his cheek as his tears began to run down her neck, and she heard his muffled voice, sliding into her ear, passionate, desperate, and so tender she felt her heart sink while her vision blurred.

Knowing she was wrong, knowing it would make no difference since she would have to go all the same, she hugged him closer and whispered back to his ear. She would be gone in a few minutes; she had to go. But now, she did not care aept ept telling him silly nonsense. Things she had never told anybody. Things she had never thought she would tell because they were overused, clichés, romantic nonsense... But to him, and at this moment, they made sense.

His sobs subsided and they remained motionless for a long time, so close they were one.

Until she slowly released her grip and he let her go.

She turned a last time before leaving the room. The last picture she had of him was the one of a survivor in a deserted place.

*End of chapter*

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The title of this chapter was inspired by a song :

I Put A Spell On You (1956)
By Screamin\' Jay Hawkins


I put a spell on you
Because you\'re mine
Stop the things you do
Watch out, I ain\'t lying

I can\'t stand
No running around
I can\'t stand
And no putting me down

I put a spell on you
Because you\'re mine
Stop the things you do
Watch out, I ain\'t lying

I love you, I love you
I love you anyhow
I don\'t care if you don\'t want me
I\'m yours right now

I put a spell on you
Because you\'re mine, mine, mine
Oh you\'re mine



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Many Thanks to all my reviewers. Hope this chapter meets your expectations.

Spaz 141 - Heady chapter? Well, I tried to avoid the characters \"thinking too much\", and here is the result. I\'ll take it as compliment then. Thanks! :-)

Deb - Hey, many thanks for the long and explicit review!!! I hope this update has partly answered your questions, the rest is coming in the next chapter. I have ton yon you though that... I\'m not the romantic type, and... *sigh* well, wait and see, that\'s all I can tell.

Betz (Elizabeth) - So, Severus knew she would try and steer him away from the life of a Death Eater and put a little spell on her... how convenient!
*frowning* You know what? That sounds a bike ike sarcasm to me. BTW the spell prevent her from thinking about him or mentioning his name, that\'s all.
Another blowjob to take that headache off her mind or will young Severus give her an orgasm to end all orgasms?
Err... well this question is answered in this chapter.
And once Hermione has the potion, how soon will she return to the present and will Severus and Hermione look at each other with fresh eyes?
Answer in the next chapter.
Oh, the torture for poor Severus knowing Hermione would grow up to be such a vixen and he couldn\'t even touch her, but had to recall his youth. Sweet torture.
LOL, so true.
I don\'t mean to upset you but you\'re always making the most sadistic comments about my characters. Not that I do mind, but it\'s becoming a habit. A refreshing and violent habit.

Nocturnus - \"her sweet wet pussy\". I felt it could be than in a more polish way. Really? What other noun would you find more convenient then? I must acknowledge my lack of bulabulary on that matter, and I quite like \"pussy\" as a word. And thanks for the rec at WIKTT, that was very nice.

Persia - I do wonder what is going to happen when Hermione has to eventually go back to the future and Sev\'s going to have these memories of her doing these intimate things with him (awkard or sexy? maybe both?). Tricky, that\'s for sure.
Snape\'s a sexy bitch past and present....sooooo..... LOL. Everybody is treating him like candy over here.
ed ced cliffie you left us with... Again? *Sigh* Well... I have to end the chapter at some point. Sorry.

Lady Shiva - So should i take that as a \"no\"? I don\'t think I actually answered that question. *g*
This story is starting to take some very interesting twists. *bending* Many thanks. I hope that older Snape will have a few happy memories of her when she got back. He will.


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