Hermione Granger and the Tactile Contact Theory

Chapter 12 Sight

Hermione awoke slowly, a luxury she rarely allowed herself these days. As the room came into focus, she saw Severus sitting next to the fireplace. The fire was nothing more than glowing embers. But Hermione could see more than the heat from the dying fire in his eyes.

“Are you ok?” Hermione asked as she sat up.

She was beautiful with her hair tousled from sex and sleep. The satin sheet slipped down as she moved, exposing her ivory skin to the weak light left in the room. It had been with a heavy heart that Severus had slipped out from beneathmionmione’s warm body only a half-hour earlier.

“I was just thinking,” Severus said as he rose to go to her.

Hermione took Severus’ hand and guided him to her side when he approached. Whatever his thoughts were, they had summoned the moody side of her lover.

“What were you thinking?” Hermione asked as she wrapped the man in her arms.

“I was just questioning fate about us.”

Hermione began to worry. Perhaps Severus regretted what happened between them. Of course, now was a fine time to think about such things. Whatever he was going to say, Hermione told herself that she would not regret a thing. Gritting her teeth, she plunged in headfirst.

“Why question fate? Do you not want us to be together?”

“No, I do want this. Very much. For longer then you know. But when I drifted off to sleep with you in my arms, I had a dream that made me wonder if I would lose you tonight.”

“A dream?” Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. “I thought you were going to say you thought this had been a mistake.”

“Well, it might be a mistake, but to be with you, I’d risk being in the wrong. No, it was my dream that made me worry,” Severus said as he turned to look into Hermione’s eyes.

“I used to have vivid dreams when I was a child,” Severus began. “My grandmother was a very perceptive witch who was much better than Professor Trelawney at predicting the future. She used to tell me that my dreams might be my way of seeing into the future.

“But as I grew older, the dreams grew more faint. I decided that perhaps my grandmother had been mistaken, and the gift of sight had not been granted to me. However, I was proven wrong on my 16th birthday.

“That was the day my mother told me that she was pregnant. As we prepared the evening meal, my mother told me she had an announcement to make at dinner. I told her I already knew what she was going to say. She was surprised and delighted to hear that I knew she was pregnant because I had a d a dream about it the night before.

“Unfortunately, I had seen more than that. I also knew that the baby would never take its first breath. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her. There was no point in her having to know oughought.

“At dinner that night, my grandmother took mide ide to ask me about my dream. Perhaps because she was so perceptive, she knew that I was upset even though I had tried to be happy. I told her the whole story.

“She was grieved that she would never meet her granddaughter. It was a girl, I knew that too. But she told me I was right to have not told my mother. She said that with the gift of sight came great responsibility.

“After that, I didn’t want the gift anymore. It felt more like a curse. Every time something bad happened to someone I loved, I knew it was going to happen before it did. And of course, I would try to do something about it.

“But there’s nothing a human being, magical or not, can do to stop a miscarriage. Or an accident or a house fire. Those things are just fated,” Severus sounded tired and resigned.

“You just have to live with it. Live with the knowledge that the people around you are in pain, in danger, in fear of their lives. And it picks at your heart, pulling the fumbling muscle clean away from your aching bones. There’s nothing you can do but know that it will happen and try to help with the clean-up,” Severus’ voice grew thick with anger.

“I was tried of being fate’s janitor. I wanted to be free of the sight. I wanted to keep the visions away and just live normally. That’s why I worked so hard on potions. You see, you can control them, and they can benefit you.

“I found a potion to suppress my dreams. I take it every night before I go to bed to keep the dreams at bay. I just tell myself it’s a sleeping draught, but it’s more than an aid. It’s a lifesaver.

“I don’t want to know what is going to happen to everyone around me. But, sometimes the dreams break through anyway. When my grandmother died, I knew it before anyone had sent an owl to tell me,” Severus turned to look again at the woman beside him.

“And tonight, I had a dream about you, Hermione.”

Hermione was surprised to hear that Severus had so much magical ability. But how could he squander a gift like that of sight? No wonder he always seemed so miserable. To ignore her talents and abilities would drive Hermione insane. And this might be why Severus always seemed to turn his back on life.

“I’m sorry to hear about your mother and sister. But, whatever you saw, I’ll be ok,” Hermione tried to sound reassuring.

Severus was surprised that he had shared so much of his past with this woman. Since arriving at Hogwarts, he had never told anyone that he had the sight. And he had certainly never shared his pain over the sister he never knew. Hermione brought these things out of him. He decided to tell her about his dream this night.

“Actually it wasn’t a complete vision. I saw the Dark Lord standing in a clearing in the Forbidden Forest. He was discussing plans to take over Hogwarts after all the students came back for the fall term. Apparently he thinks he will use the children as his army after drawing them to his side. Then He Who Must Not Be Named looked out of the clearing into the trees as Myrtle approached them.

“She went into the clearing, and then it gets fuzzy. Something terrible happened. All I can really remember was seeing you on the ground, lying very still. I’m worried you’ll be seriously hurt tonight. e eve even killed, and there won’t be anything I can do,” Severus rested his cheek against the top of Hermione’s head.

“But only Moaning Myrtle is going anywhere tonight. I’ll be here at the castle the whole time,” Hermione said encouragingly to her lover.

“Yes, you should be perfectlfe. fe. But I can’t shake this feeling. I want you to be extra careful in everything you do tonight,” Severus looked imploringly at Hermione.

“Does that includu?” u?” Hermione said as she leaned in to kiss Severus’ lips, but his eyes still looked worried. “I promise. I’ll be as careful as possible.”

Hermione’s lips were warm and light against his. And yet, even as he took refuge in her kiss, Severus felt a horrible tugging at his heart. Something terrible was going to happen tonight, and, once again there was nothing Severus could do about it. But he would give his life before seeing Hermione lose hers.

He watched Hermione as she walked around the bed trying to find her clothes. She had faced death before, Severus knew. Frozen by a mixed-blood hating basilisk. Hunted by a professor turned were-wolf. Cornered by a mountain troll in the girl’s washroom. And who knew what else she had seen and done with those mischievous boys she hung around with, Potter and Weasley?

Yes, Hermione was quite a woman. So smart and quick with a wand. But Severus had seen many talented people lost to the evil in He Who Must Not Be Named. That incl one one of the most gifted women he had ever known-- dead these 16 years.

“God,” Severus thought. “if you ever listen to poor wretched souls such as mine, I would ask you to save the life of this beautiful spirit you have brought into my life. Should she die this night, I swear I will follow her to the other side and confront you about it.”

“Why do you look so angry? Everything iing ing to be fine,” Hermione said as she finished pulling her robes around her.

Hermione hadn’t yet fastened the robes in place, and a strip of her body was still exposed in the expanse. The effect was quite enchanting. It reminded Severus of the comics he used to read about wizarding heroes fighting off mountain trolls and giants to save villages or the innocent girls.

But Hermione looked like one of thperhperheroes, not the innocent girl. Maybe tonight, though things would go wrong, Hermione might triumph anyway. Perhaps she was a superhero, and she didn’t even know it yet. Severus put his faith in her, and closed his mind on the subject.

“You’re right. Everything will work out. Now let’s head to the Headmaster’s office to hear Myrtle’s report.”

Relieved to hear the tension ease out of Severus’ voice, Hermione finished fastening her robes and took his .
.

“I wish there was a way to thank the maker of the Room of Requirement. This place has benefited me more than once now,” Hermione said with a smile as they headed to the door that had just appeared.

“Yes, I’d have to say it’s quite useful,” Severus said as he closed the door behind them.

Even before the door had completclosclosed, Severus’ hand was touching a blank wall.