Where Light Meets Dark

A/N: Ah thanks to any one and everyone who reviewed. Yeah I am so happy that you all reviewed. (super happy crazy fun mood right now) Now to pick up where I left off at the cliffy... So on with chapter 2 (oh yeah did I mention I don’t own Harry Potter)

A special Thanks to my beta reader Corazon, who without you all would be seeing many more mistakes. Thank you!

“The Chat”

“Now I need to tell you that, Miss Granger, that if you ever, ever tell anyone about seeing me in the halls I will make sure you are expelled before you can say Merlin Robe’s,” said Snape still holding her around the waist and releasing her mouth.

“Okay,” Said Hermione. She tried to turn her head around but still was clamped against Professor Snape’s chest which was much more defined than she would have imagined in his voluminous robes. “Please Professor let me go you’re hurting me,” she begged of him, because his strong arms were crushing her organs.

“Oh right, sorry.” Snape said releasing her and turning her around so she was arms length away from him. In the dim light of the staircase and the hood covering Snape’s head, Hermoine couldn’t make out his facial features.

“But Professor, why are you out here so late at night?” Hermione had to ask him out of sheer curiosity.

“Miss Granger, I would have expected you to of all people to be able to be observant enough to know what I am up to. And if you aren’t knowledgeable to this I suspect that you couldn’t handle the truth,” he said with a tongue made of razors, insulting her intelligence making her pout indignantly. “Now, I suggest you get back to your little dorm room and forget what you have seen here.” He released her shoulders, which he was holding.

“Yes Professor Snape, Have a good night,” she said awkwardly. Not knowing what else to say she turned on her heels and heading back up to her dorms.

_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Hermione reached her Dorms glancing at her watch, it was past 1am. She groaned tiredly. ‘Sleep’ she thought as she threw off her robes and changed into a large tee shirt. She was practically asleep before her head the pillow.

_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_

“Damn girl,” Snape muttered to himself as he entered his private dungeons. Shs mos more trouble than she was worth. He only hoped that she would know better than to say anything to anyone. After he had abruptly dismissed Miss Granger from her detention, he hurriedly changed into his Death Eater robes and left to meet the Dark Lord and comrades.

The usual group was there. No plans were made tonight about taking over, which angered Severus to no end. He had half a mind to leave them, but knew if he did they would become suspicious. Instead of planning, the group of Death Eaters and himself, went about a rural town in northern England and tormented the muggles there. Three families were dead.

Snape, didn’t like muggles but never the less the torture was rather gruesome. He magically cleaned off his bloody robes and drew himself a bath, stripping down he sunk into the clawed footed tub and started cleaning the specks of blood.

He would tell Dumbledore of his endeavors tomorrow after classes.

_*__*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Hermione sat in the Great Hall at breakfast while tryingfighfight off a yawn. “Hey ‘Mione were you up again all night studying?” Asked Ron as he piled some scrambled eggs on to his plate.

“Umm, actually I,” She stopped herself. She was too close to telling them about seeing Snape, “Yeah I was up late studying and you know, that kind of stuff.” she said changing directions.

“So what do we got today?” asked Harry pulling out his schedule, “Double transfiguration and herbology and Defense Against the Dark Arts, not too bad of a day.” Harry said as the owl post arrived.

“Hedwig,” Harry said joyfully as the great snowy owl landed on Harry’s arm and offered him a letter from her beak, “That’s my girl. You’re so good.” he said feeding her a piece of bacon and reading the note. “It’s from Hagrid. He wants us to come down for tea Saturday afternoon. You guys free to go?” he asked Ron and Hermione.

“Yeah, of course,id Rid Ron, “I’ll be glad to see him again this year.”

“Umm Harry, I can’t go, because I have to go to detention with Snape.” Hermione said meekly.

at? at? Are you kidding?” Harry and Ron said simultaneously. Hermione shook her head no just as a tawny owl dropped the daily prophet on her lap.

Three Muggle Families Dead In Northern England

Hermione looked in horror as she read the articles. “Suspected work of he-who-must-not-be-named and his followers, the Death Eaters”, “whole town demolished”, “Much cover up work needed and memory altering of over 200 people.” Snippets of the article sunk in as Hermione read it twice through before she passed to Harry and Ron to read it.

While they were reading the Article it hit her like a ton of bricks. Severus Snape in the halls late at night, a town decimated, those robes, the hooded face, she had seen something like it before many, many years ago aftee Que Quidditch World Cup, How had she missed it earlier? And Snape was a spy, she vaguely remembered, as she summoned the coherent thought.

Last night Snape had dismissed her because he was being called. Then she ran into him after he had probably been running around with the Death Eaters, which is why he was so threatening about her telling anyone of heetieeting. How odd.

“Hermione, let’s go, or else we’ll be late for class,” broke in the voice of Ron, tugging on her arm.

The trio discussed the muggle attack all the way to Transfiguration with the Hufflepuffs. McGonagall was as usual pushing the class with a iron fist. They worked the entire class on a difficult technique that made beetles into firewater spirits. Hermione of course had little difficulty with the complicated wrist motions and incantations. Ron had also found over the past few years that Transfiguration was one of the classes he was better at and was like Hermione having little difficulty.

The rest of the week pasted without event for Hermione within and outside of the school’s walls. Except for on Friday when Neville accidentally set off some of the Weasley Wizard Whizzes, firecrackers in tryffryffindor common room at 3 am in the morning. To say the least all, of the Gryffindors didn’t sleep much.

Hermione was sitting in her room that evening when a house eloughought in a load of laundry. “Thank you.” she told the little green man donning a tea towel. No she hadn’t given up S.P.E.W. but was going to the higher power to help end the oppression.

“Miss. “ Said the squeaky voice of elf, “Donnie is sorry but I couldn’t get a stain out of one of your robes, I is very sorry,” he said bowing low.

“Oh it is okay Donnie, thank you very much.” Hermione said as he disappeared with a pop. She picked up her top robe and examined it closely. It was the one from a few years ago. There was a dark stain on the back. Hermione brought the fabric closer to her eyes, trying to discern what it was.

She threw down on the floor recognizing the stain. Blood, but how had it gotten on her robes. She tried to summon the memory of what she was doing when she wore these robes. The first day of classes, but how could blood get on her. She tried to recall everything she had done.

That was it when she had meet Snape in the halls. She sifted through what had occurred in those few minutes. He had held onto her from behind, Did he have blood on him? The attacks she had read about, Snape was a spy and he had been wearing those Death Eater robes, the deaths, the blood, and this stain. Everything was whirling in her head. It was all spiraling down to one thing, Snape was part of the killing, not just an observer like he could have been on the sidelines.

She picked up the stained robe and threw it into the fire disgusted by what was on her robes and how it had gotten on there, it was despicable. Hermione finished all her homework for the weekend knowing she would have no time tomorrow. She changed and lay down on her bed drawing her curtains and falling asleep.

_*_*_*_*_*_*

It was late at night, maybe even you could call it early in the morning when Snape limped back into the castle. It had been a harsh night The Dark Lord had demanded obedience from all of his followers. And proof of their loyalty so they all walked away with aching and injured muscles, but a smirk was still on his face. Some very valuable information was discovered tonight about The Dark Lord’s plans.

Snape shed his Death Eater robes and cleaned himself off before he fell into a deep and well deserved slumber.

_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Hermione groaned 6 am was a beastly hour to wake up on the weekends but for some reason she was up anyways. Uniforms weren’t required on the weekends, so Hermione choose to wear a pair of loose cream colored khakis, and a red and yellow striped tee shirt, the Gryffindor colors of course, with her Head Girl badge pinned to her chest.

She slipped out of the Gryffindor common room and down to an early breakfast where only the early wakers sat eating and chatting quietly. Hermoine piled her plate for herself and ate quietly by herself. Before she went down to the dungeons five minutes early.

“Hello Professor,” she said icily entering the room.

“Miss Granger what are you doing here?” he asked sharply. Though he had his usual vigilance to his surrounding, Hermione could see that he had dark, tired circles around his eyes.

“I am here to serve the detention you gave my on Monday.” She said narrowing her eyes.

“Ah yes,” Snape said, remembering belatedly his detention ’Just what I need for a Saturday’ he thought. “Well sit down here,” gesturing at the front desk right nexthis his own, “You will be doing the same as last time mincing and sorting ingredients.” She got out the jars and set to work.

Snape watched her out of the corner of his eye as she pulled her hair back away from her face, and pulled it into a loose bun with her pencil. Snape watched as one particularly long piece drew away from her neck slowly. He was watching it as if in a trance; it was a lovely cinnamon color. But he had to tear hyes yes away from her, and they continued working on their separate things in utter silent.

It was lunchtime before Snape dared a look at her. Hermione was puttering away at her given assignments. “I do believe it is about lunchtime Miss Granger and I’ll have the house elves send you some food. You have a half an hour to eat then continue your business.” he told her.

“Aren’t you going to eat as well?” Hermione asked innocently, standing up.

“Yes, I will be,” he told her, “after I make and appearance upstairs,” With that he walked out.

Hermione sat in her seat a little while longer before a tray of food appeared magically. She wondered if she should wait for him or go ahead and eat. She decided to wait a few minutes before eating.
She stretched her sore arms.

_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Snape appeared silently into his classroom as Hermoine stretched her arms to the sky, giving him and excellent view of her torso’s profile. ‘Get your mind out of the gutter Severus,’ he thought to himself. clearing his throat to make his presence known.

“Oh Professor, I was waiting till you came back to see if you would like some sandwiches,” Hermione said quickly pulling her armsk tok to her side.

“Yes, I would like very much some sandwiches,” he said walking over to his desk. Hermione noticed a slight limp on his left leg as he walked towards his desk.

“Sir do you read the Daily Prophet?” she asked him. She had decided early on that she was going to confront him on the matter of the bloodstains and his involvement.

“Yes, I do read it,” Snape replied shortly, wondering why this girl was talking to him. She surely had no desire to engage him in small talk.

“Well, did you read the article on the muggle families?” She asked not sure how to proceed without insulting him as a spy, which he was appearing to be.

“Yes, terrible news,” He said coolly, “Why?”

“Oh just that is was an odd article and....” she trailed off biting into her sandwich.

“Miss Granger, if there is something you want to tell me, then spit it out other wise don’t waste my time with your idle chatter,” he said trying to scare the stuffing out of her so she would either shut her mouth, or blurt out what she was thinking.

“Alright, fine. You want it straight out,” she said angrily, “I found blood all over the back of my robes that I had worn when you pinned me to you” using her fingers to jab in his direction and her own, then back to him, “And then Id thd the most peculiar article about dead muggle families, coincidently on the same day, I ran into you. Now I know that you are a so-called spy, and that is very brave and noble and I hold you in high regard for that but, even as a spy you could have stood the sidelines and cheered then on and not play the front lines,” she said to him, breathing angrily when she finished.

“Oh yes Miss-know -it-all wants to hear everything and know what there is up with everyone else’s lives,” he said stalking over to the desk, “YOU want to know?” he asked loudly.

“I just think that you are doing very brave things and they are noble but as a spy,” she started to say.

“Noble, NOBLE?” Snape said half laughing, “Silly Girl let me tell you about what I do.” He was toe to toe with her and she had to look up to see his face. “I spend my life in fear of the wrong people finding out who I really work for. There is nothing noble about what I do, I am repaying for the countless sins I have committed in the past long before you were born Miss Granger. If I am caught no one will stand up for me I will have no one to save me. I will die alone and painfully,” he spat in her face, “Now get out of here, before I have to listen to you preaching to me about what nobility is.”

“Wait a minute I still want to talk to you...” She said standing right in fronthim,him, mustering as much viciousness as she could.


A/N Yes another cliffy I know, but I am tired, and need my precious sleep now. Yes SLEEEEPPPPP.

Peace Out!