It just...happened...

He made his way through the dark forest with long, purposeful steps looking around him nervously. He was never safe.

He wore his Deatheater robes for the obvious reason, and then hung off of him and internally prayed he—

His dark head whirled around, had he just heard the cracking of twigs? He stopped short on a leafy patch of land and stood as rigid as a board, his head titled to detect any noise.

The air hung around him in great cold lumps around him, but all he felt was numbness. Was it because of the cold alone, or was it that piercing fear that awoke him every morning and struck him every night?

He raised his wand, and uttered a soft “Lumos.”

Nothing.

He muttered something under his breath that Hermione immediately recognized as a scanning spell, to detect other wizards and such. She grinned then, knowing full well that she was safe.

Snape looked dissatisfied then, shaking his wand as if it were broken and trying again. Again there were no results and he frowned deeply.

Snape waited a few more minutes, seeing nothing and then resumed his walking. Going a little faster and more winding in his footsteps.

Hermione frowned under the Invisibility cloak she was clutching and tried to focus on his lanky frame in the night. It wasn’t very easy as it was already a dark blanket to see out of, and it was very dark.

He looked just as if he had walked out of a Potion’s class, except he was armed with his wand. Hermione assumed he had cast a self-warming spell and internally wished she had done so beforehand. Right at this moment she was freezing.

They walked on a bit more and Hermione thought she heard something…on closer inspection from her fairly far distance, Hermione realized Snape was talking to himself rather brokenly.

“Honeysuckle or is it jasmine?….perhaps its rose petals…”

What could he be talking about? Hermione looked to him incredulously, Snape was muttering to himself? The towering, fearsome Snape? She was learning more and more about him every minute.

He could have been talking about a potion, but what Potion did Snape make with ingredients such as rose petals and honeysuckle? No…he was debating with himself, and he never debated with Potion making. Perhaps he was thinking of a perfume?

He was still muttering to himself, she noticed and had to stifle a giggle. She assumed he did it to keep himself from going mad…or he was just nervous.

She was nervous herself, she had nearly shrieked when he stopped suddenly, only a few feet away looking right at her. Dumb git hadn’t caught her though.

They marched on through the blackness and the cold, past the tree’s and stumps and animal life and everything else in the forest, as Hermione grew increasingly exhausted.

She glanced at her glowing watch a moment, seeing that it was almost three in the morning. How big was the bloody forest?

Snape was starting to slow now as well and without warning he suddenly dropped to the ground on a suddenly appearing green blanket. He leaned against a gnarled nearby tree on the blanket, and looked around nervously.

Hermione looked at his seat with longing, it had been the one item she had forgotten, a blanket. And how was she to apparate one here? Now? She was going to bloody freeze.

She dropped to her knee’s now, trying not to squeal from the biting cold of the ground. Why did Harry have to be kidnapped in the dead of winter? Snape made no move as she did so, and she was sure she had executed her placement well.

Snape pulled out a small item from his pocket and with a small muttering the item had turned out to be a small black, leather satchel. How classy.

He opened the satchel gingerly and brought out the small sandwich from it. With a wave of his wand the sandwich sudden grew warm and he happily ate it in large gulps. Hermione wrinkled her nose but couldn’t help find the entire thing endearing.

He pulled out a shining red apple next, shined it on his cloak and bit into it, licking the excess juices from his lips with his tongue. Hermione felt a tremor go through her abdomen and suddenly wondered why.

He took a sip of water, placed it back in his satchel, which he closed and made miniature once more before shoving it into his pocket. He threw the apple core over his shoulder into the foliage then and took a deep sigh.

Hermione had grown drowsy seeing his actions, reminding her of home. He was muttering to himself again, words she couldn’t hear from where she was sitting, but she found the sound from him soothing.

It was like being back in his classroom, as horrible as it had been it was nothing compared to what she was going to face. She started when Snape suddenly stood and stretched, cracking his back as Hermione winced. He wHe was tired yes, but he felt restless, as if someone was watching him. Sure this was a feeling he was used to, but it was stronger now.

He thought he heard something to the left of him, and he felt a familiar tremor of shaking fear rush through him as he grit his teeth and clenched his fists.

Hermione’s eyes widened as she realized what he was going to do. He knew someone was here, and he was determined to catch the perpetrator.

He was walking slowly over to the tree where Hermione had been sitting but was now standing by, backing up slowly before she felt the bark of the tree against her back.

A familiar scent greeted Severus as he made his way over to the direction of the sound; a smell of jasmine was it? No…it had been rose petals. His eyes widened and Hermione gulped softly…he knew it was her…but how?

He stopped short a few inches from a quivering Hermione, breathing shallowly himself, squinting and raised a tentative hand just in front of Hermione’s face.

Just as Hermione was sure he was going to yank the cloak from off of her head a large arrow whistled past Snape’s head and landed on a nearby tree stump.

Snape flinched and moved back, looking in the direction of the arrow and narrowing his oily eyes. He looked furious, while Hermione was merely relieved…for the moment.

A dark centaur that Hermione had never seen before came out of the inky blackness, his eyes on Snape’s tall and firm form. Snape gave him a dark look himself, obviously not intimidated.

The centaur was a lovely deep chestnut color, with hair to match. He carried his bow and arrows in a pack over his shoulder and his broad chest rippled with muscles.

“What are you doing here human?” The centaur said roughly, looking to Snape with obvious hatred. They all hated humans, especially from Hogwarts.

Snape had encountered centaurs before, and this one didn’t faze him much. He looked utterly irritated as if someone had cut him off in traffic…err…that was a Muggle analogy if Hermione ever heard of one.

“I’m on a mission from Dumbledore.” Snape answered rough and briskly, preparing to make his way forward. The centaur stopped him with his large arrow in his meaty hand.

“I said, let-me-pass.” Snape said through clenched teeth, looking to the centaur with a livid look.

Suddenly a blonde centaur came out from the tree’s surrounding them, and looked to Severus furious. He grasped the Potion Master’s arm as he struggled and peered into his sallow face.

Hermione could tell he was a cruel one already, he looked malicious…almost Lucious Malfoy in centaur form. Hermione shivered at this.

“Let go of me.” Snape snarled, trying to pull his lean arm from the grasp of the obviously unimpressed centaur who held him with ease.

The smirking centaur raised a small apple Snape had so carelessly tossed over his shoulder moments before and made sure the other centaur could see it.

“They throw their trash about in our home. They have no respect.”

Snape blanched a bit, seeing the apple core and Hermione knew she had to act. She threw the cloak from around her, and looked to the three of them defiantly. It crumpled to the ground around her softly, and she felt her knees shake involuntarily.

“Unhand him.” She said in a deeper voice than planned, as the three of them whirled around. The two centaurs saw the whisp of a girl with her hands on her hips and erupted into loud laughter.

The blonde centaur loosened his grip of Severus momentarily as he laughed with his friend while Snape squirmed away, and rushed over to a furious Hermione.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he hissed, grasping her shoulders and shaking her. She looked to him indifferently, scared to death but refusing to show it.

“Saving you…Obviously” She breathed, as he rolled his eyes and gave a loud sigh.

“You know what you’ve done you idiotic girl?” he snarled, hands still on her upper arms, looking deeply into her eyes. Hermione was about to say something when the two centaurs rushed over.

“Get her.” The blonde centaur said roughly, pushing Severus out the way as he fell to the ground and he pointed a sharp arrow at Hermione’s throat.

Hermione felt her heart stop…this was the end…she hadn’t even come close to defeating Voldemort…’I’m sorry Harry…’

“LET HER GO!” Snape bellowed, struggling to get up as the darker centaur stepped on his chest lightly with one dark hoof. Hermione looked to her frantic professor for help…

“We do not harm foals Rashee.” The darker centaur said softly yet looking at Hermione as if she were a disgusting bug. Hermione felt a rush of relief go through her as she looked into the bottomless eyf thf the centaur in front of her.

“Fine.” Rashee said maliciously, looking to Hermione with glee before he twirled and faced a struggling Snape on the floor of the forest, struggling to get up as the centaur prepared to let the arrow fly...

“NO!” Hermione screeched, throwing herself over Snape, covering his upper body with her frame, trying to shield him.

She felt his body warmth as he struggled to push her from him, his hands on her elbows hut she would not budge, her hair fell into his face drowning him in a heavy honeysuckle scent.

The dark haired centaur grasped the bow and arrow from Rashee’s eager hands and shook his head, motioning for him to follow.

“Not the pure Rashee.”

Rashee uttered some profanity, spitting on Hermione’s cloak as he started to walk off into the foliage. He turned then, as Hermione and a suffocating Snape heard his warning.

“Stay out of here humans…that’s not a request, it’s a demand.” he said roughly, looking to the other centaur,thouthout Preanu here next time, you may not be so lucky...”

He galloped off then, looking only to the front of him not noticing the other centaur trailing behind. Preanu gave Hermione a look of pity…wondering why she had risked her lift for the miserable man.

Hermione looked up slowly and seeing Preanu still there she smiling gently, he smiled back respectfully to the brave young witch.

“Thank you.” She said softly, looking up to the dark centaur Preanu. He nodded graciously befoisapisappearing into the now foggy forest.

Hermione lay like that another moment before realizing she was still sprawled across Professor Snape.

“Do you mind Granger?” came his muffled voice and Hermione jumped off of him, still smelling the sandalwood on her clothing from her contact with him.

He stood brushing himself off as Hermione did the same, looking to him with obvious nervousness.

“I should have known.” Snape said glaring at her, “Foolhardy bravery, Granger. It could have killed us both.”

“What? I saved you!” Hermione said brashly, looking at him as if he were mad. Snape snorted and raised a quizzical eyebrow.

“You couldn’t save me Granger. You’re more trouble than you’re worth”

Hermione looked to him with tears pricking her eyes. “I don’t believe you.”

“Go home Granger.” He said then, quietly and orderly as he prepared to make his way…now he would need another way to get to Voldemort…he couldn’t risk it with those Centaurs again.

Hermione ignored him and followed him, picking up her invisibility cloak.

“I am coming with you, Professor.” Hermione said roughly. “I’ve cast a non-detecting spell. No one knows where I am. And look at it this way, if I die then you’ll be partner-less AND you won’t have t put up with me if when we return back to Hogwarts.”

“If.”

“Beg pardon?”

“I said, ‘if’.” Snape said irritably, “As in ‘if’ we get back to Hogwarts.”

The realization dawned on Hermione then, and she tried not to look as nervous as she felt. She had to save Harry…he would do the same for her.

“And I said, I’m coming with you.” She finally said firmly, arms crossed in a fashion similar to his own. His eyebrow arched again, and he sighed heavily seeing he would make no headway…perhaps he could trick her later on.


“Obviously I can’t dissuade you Granger, you’ve made up your mind already.” He said with a jealous undertone at her handling of the centaur situatio
“
“What are you saying then?” Hermione said eagerly looking up into the face of herion’ion’s professor and seeing something different in them. A look of almost…was it respect?

She didn’t have time to dwell on the matter because the look was gone in a matter of seconds as he twirled around and headed off in the direction he had been when he started.

Hermione looked after him, worried to what he would do if she followed. Perhaps she was better to trail behind. She watched him move towards the trees in a different direction, viewed as he then stopped, his back rigid.

Snape looked over his shoulder looking at her with irritation and said with a bored look in his hooded eyes;

“Well…Are you coming or not?”