A Crown of Thorns

**DISCLAIMER** All characters etc. belong to J.K. Rowling and I am making no money from this. Don’t sue because I’m sure that I don’t have anything that you’d want anyway. The basic plot for the story was a challenge presented by ArienAstera.

A/N - Just a note of apology for the lapse in updating. It seems as though real life has decided to sneak up and bite me on the ass. Normally a bite on the ass would be welcome *grins*, but not this time. Anyhow, I am back and the updates should start becoming more regular again. Thanks again to those who have taken the time to read and review. Enjoy!

Chapter Seventeen - What Could Be

Shortly after Hermione’s return, Draco accompanied Lucius to the castle and as anticipated, Lord Voldemort had been more than pleased when he discovered the new romance developing between the young couple, babbling excitedly about ‘union of powers’ and ‘offspring’. He informed Lucius that Draco was to immediately begin his training with some of the more advanced Death Eaters, citing that a witch as powerful as Hermione would need a formidable partner. But more importantly, Hermione had been able to convince Voldemort to alter the wards protecting the castle so that they would recognize Draco, allowing him to come and go as he pleased.

For the next several weeks Severus and Hermione worked tirelessly as he taught her the darker side of potion making. As time wore on, the more familiar roles of teacher and pupil began to fade as they worked together as equals, effortlessly maneuvering around the lab anticipating the others needs without so much as saying a word. Like him, she was meticulous, precise, and able to focus all of her abilities on whatever the task at hand was. Severus had always known that Hermione possessed an uncanny natural ability when it came to brewing potions, however his intense dislike of her cohorts - Potter and Weasley, had prevented him from ever acknowledging that fact.

Severus soon found that despite their unusual circumstances, they had managed to settle into a somewhat normal daily routine; coffee in the morning – strong and black, followed by several hours in the laboratory working. Often times they would work straight through lunch, forgetting to stop and eat unless one of the house-elves felt brave enough to venture into the lab to bring them a tray of sandwiches. And on the nights when Hermione wasn’t required to dine with Lord Voldemort or Draco, she and Severus would have dinner in the library followed by an evening spent in companionable silence reading together.

Although he was a solitary man, Severus found himself looking forward to the evenings that he and Hermione spent together. Unstomstomed to sharing this amount of time with another person he soon discovered the simple pleasure of looking up from a good book to see Hermione sprawled before him on the floor or curled up on the opposite end of the couch, enjoying her own reading. He imagined that perhaps this is what his life could have been like if he had chosen a different path. He would never know.

Much to Severus’ dismay, their evenings together were becoming a rare occasion. In preparation for the upcoming battles, Voldemort had been requiring Hermione to accompany some of the more seasoned Death Eaters as they went out on their attacks. Often times when she returned, Hermione would go immediately to her room and bathe, then would come to the library and sit in silence, staring at nothing in particular. He waited up for her on those nights and no matter how late it was she always found him sitting on the couch, reading a book. She never once spoke to him about the things she had seen, or the atrocities that she had been forced to commit, but Severus was all to familiar with what happened on those attacks. He recognized the hollow look in her eyes and was becoming increasingly concerned for her.

This particular evening, Hermione had returned very late from the Dark Lord’s gathering and had come in looking extremely pale with bloodstains on her hands and the front of her robes. After bathing and taking a mild sedating potion, she wandered into the library in a daze and fell asleep on her side of the couch, snuggled under one of the plush velvet throws. Severus looked up as she wriggled uncomfortably onto her side, knocking to the floor the blanket that had been covering her. Hermione sighed softly and her eyelids fluttered a bit before her face relaxed once more. Severus watched her sleep for a few moments, knowing that she was exhausted - not just physically, but mentally as well. Deciding that she would be much more comfortable in her own bed rather than on this couch, he stood and gathered the blanket from where it had fallen on the floor and replaced it on the back of the sofa.

Severus looked down at her sleeping form and not wanting to startle her, he kneeled down beside the couch where she had her back to him, and spoke softly, \"Miss Granger?\"

She didn’t move. He spoke a bit louder this time, \"Miss Granger?\"

Hermione stirred a bit and turned over so that her face was inches from his own and she struggled to open her eyes , looking at him sleepily. \"Severus?\" she murmered.

He cocked his head to the side, slightly surprised at the sound of her using his given name, \"Yes, Hermione?\"

She closed her eyes once more and whispered, \"I’m so tired.\"

Gently, he slid one arm under her knees and the other under her back and scooped her up easily. Never once opening her eyes, Hermione put her arms around his neck and leaned her head against his strong shoulder, allowing him to carry her to her room. She heard the soft creak of her door as he opened it and the sound of his heavy boots on the floor. Coming to the edge of the bed, Severus lowered her gently onto the soft covers. She felt herself falling away from the warmth of his body as he laid her down and turned to him, struggling to open her eyes once more. She found him looking down at her with a strange expression on his face.

\"Severus?\" she whispered hoarsely.

\"Yes, Hermione?\"

\"Please…will you stay with me for bit. Just until I fall asleep?\" She lowered her eyes, suddenly feeling very foolish. But she didcarecare, tonight she just needed to feel someone’s presence next to her. His presence.

Understanding her need, he cleared his throat, \"If you wish.\"

She slid over to the other side of the bed and looked up at him expectantly. Realizing that she intended for him to lay with her, Severus hesitated for a moment before taking off his robes and placing them neatly over the footboard. Sitting down stiffly on the edge of the bed, he leaned over to remove his boots and placed his wand on the nightstand before laying back against the pile of soft pillows, ensuring that there was a safe distance between himself and Hermione. Looking over he found her gazing at him intently.

\"Are you alright?\" he questioned.

Her eyes filled with tears very suddenly and she choked back a sob as she spoke quietly, \"I just don’t understand…they were only children…\" The tears began to flow and she buried her face in the blanket, her entire body shaking. Without thinking, Severus rolled on to his side and pulled her to him, enveloping her in his arms as she clung to him. He held Hermione tightly, stroking her back and her hair, and eventually the shaking subsided and he felt her body relax into his embrace as she succumbed to the exhaustion that had claimed her weary body. Not wanting to disturb her, Severus lay with her in his arms for the rest of the night, not moving. That night, Hermione slept more peacefully than she had in months.

~~~~

Waking to the heavy rain outside pelting against the window, Hermione snuggled further into the warmth of the body next to her, sighing contentedly. This felt nice.

\"Miss Granger, if you don’t mind, I would like at some point, to regain the feeling that seems to have disappeared from my left arm.\"

Startled out of her momentary bliss, Hermione’s eyes flew open and she found herself staring into the face of Professor Snape.

Professor Snape? What was he doing in her bed? And why was she snuggled up to him like they had just…oh my goodness…did they?

As if he could read her thoughts, he snarled, \"No Miss Granger, we did not.\"

\"Then why…?\" Her voice trailed off and she bit her bottom lip, concentrating on the previous nights events. She shuddered as she recalled Voldemort’s gathering, quickly pushing the thoughts from her mind.

She had come home, bathed and then took her sedating potion. Ah, the sedating potion. One of the unfortunate side effects was that it often caused some fogginess the following morning, but she vaguely remembered falling asleep on the couch, then being carried into her room, and then…oh yes. She had asked him to stay with her and then proceeded to break down, sniveling and sobbing like a nitwit into the front of his nice, silk shirt. Well, if he didn’t have any respect for her before, he sure wasn’t going to have it now.

Humiliated by her apparent loss of control, Hermione lowered her eyes to avoid his penetrating gaze, \"Thank you Professor Snape. For staying with me last night.\"

Feeling her embarrassment, Severus lifted his free hand and cupped Hermione under the chin, pulling her face towards his, forcing her to look at him.

\"Hermione, there is nothing to be ashamed of.\" He looked into her eyes and grew angry as he saw the tears forming, \"The things that you are being forced to witness and partake of, I know that they are unspeakable horrors. I understand, believe me. But you must understand that right now you don’t have a choice.\"

Her bottom lip began to tremble and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force back the tears that were threatening to fall once again. She knew that he was right, but that didn’t make it any easier.

Stroking her cheek gently, Severus whispered, \"You must always remember tyou you are not one of them. You never will be.\" She opened her eyes to look at him and he continued, \"One day all of this will be over and you will go on to live your life. I see you going to University and antagonizing the Professors there quite the way you antagonized me for close to five years. And then you will go on to work, probably doing research or teaching, everever you choose to do, I have no doubt that you will be the the there is. And then who knows,\" hee hee her one of his most evil smirks, \"Perhaps one day you will even marry that ghastly Weasley boy and have a red-haired brood of your own.\"

Hermione rolled her eyes at Severus and erupted into a fit of giggles at the thought of her and Ron married. Eww. Definitely not.

\"You find that amusing?\" Severus raised one eyebrow.

\"Yes, I find that highly amusing.\" She gasped, \"For starters, I have never fancied myself getting married, much less having babies. Or - how did you put it? A brood? And secondif Iif I did marry, it wouldn’t be Ron.\"

He fixed her with a mocking look, \"Perhaps Potter then?\"

She narrowed her eyes at him, her voice suddenly becoming hard and cold, \"No, not Potter. Besides, it doesn’t really matter, does it? There is no guarantee that this war is going to have a happy ending, so there is no need to go planning my future when there may not be a future to have.\"

Angry now, Hermione attempto rto roll away from him but Severus locked his arms around her waist.

\"Let go of me.\" She hissed, struggling against him. Her dark eyes flashed and he tightened his grasp on her.

\"I believe, Miss Granger, that we were not finished speaking.\" She stopped squirming and glared at him.

\"Speaking about what?\" She snapped, \"About things that may not ever happen? Believe me, I stopped planning my future a long time ago. Do you honestly think that things are going to just return to normal when this is all said and done? Of course not. I will always be an outcast. You will always be an outcast. You know it as well as I do.\"

The bitterness in her voice startled Severus momentarily, but there was no way he was going to let her sit and wallow in her own self pity. She was better than that.

\"Oh, snap of itf it Miss Granger.\" He said, sounding slightly annoyed, \"If there is one thing that I know to be true about you, it is that you don’t give up. Ever. So do not begin now. However, if you insist on continuing down this road of self-pity…\" His voice became mocking again.

She huffed at him indignantly, \"I am not on a road of self-pity. I was merely stating the obvious. Things will be different after the final battle.\" Her voice became panicky now, \"Tell me, where will I go? What will I do?\"

Without thinking, Severus blurted out, \"You could come and work with me.\"

Hone’one’s eyes grew wide, \"What do you mean?\"

Normally well-spoken, Severus stammered a bit, \"Well…you could come back to Hogwarts and apprentice with me…to become a Potions Mistress…if you were interested.\"

If she was interested? Did he really just say that? Was he stupid? Of course she would love to do that.
Although Hermione would never have admitted it to Ron or Harry back in school, Potions had been her favorite subject, right after Arithmancy of course. Severus held his breath waiting for her response and welieelieved when she finally smiled at him broadly.

Hermione whispered, \"I would love nothing more. Thank you.\"

Suddenly realizing that he was still holding her in his arms rather tightly, Severus relaxed his grip on her, \"Now, if you don’t mind Miss Granger, my arm?\"