Deliver Me

Chapter III – Sadness

All the 7th Years hurried into the Great Hall for a meeting with Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall a week later; no one had any idea why.

“Good evening everyone. We have a special announcement to make about your thesis projects,” Dumbledore started, “and to explain in further detail, Professor McGonagall will speak to you.”

“This can’t be good,” Ron whispered to Harry.

“What did he say?” Hermione whispered to Harry who was in the middle of the two.

“That this can’t be good,” Harry whispered back.

“Oh,” she nodded her head.

“Well as you already know, you have a six week program for your projects,” McGonagall began, “However, due to common debate over the past few months and careful consideration, each of you, in addition to your thesis papers, must also acquire a experiment that either supports or proves your thesis wrong. No experiment is ever wrong, unless, you do not do it.”

Neville raised his hand.

“Yes Mister Longbottom?”

“Professor, but we only have six weeks,” he said turning red and getting anxious.

“Yes, Mister Longbottom, I was getting to that. In addition to the six weeks already scheduled for your projects, an extra four will be added for you to write a complete report and log your experiment.”

Gasps, No’s, Oh My Merlin’s and Gods, swept the room.

“She’s got to be kidding,” said Ron completely in disbelief.

“I can’t believe she just said that,” Hermione said.

“Worst for you, that’s an extra month with Snape,” Harry added.

She looked disdained, almost ready to reconsider her final project. It had only been the end of the first week, and she hadn’t seen him, she could request a change based on not seeing her mentor at all. That might work, or just say she lost interest in Potions and would much rather work with Hagrid on Care of Magical Creatures or something. That might work too. She wrote a note to Headmaster Dumbledore before joining Ron and Harry back at the Gryffindor common room.

“I sent a note to Dumbledore.” She said walking up to them.

“Saying what?” asked Ron.

“To transfer into another project.”

“Good for you,” shouted Harry

“Yea, its about time,” added Ron.

Just as they were getting ready for bed, Professor McGonagall walked in and requested Hermione to join her in the Headmaster’s office.

Professor McGonagall escorted her inside and stood behind Hermione’s chair.

“Now Miss Granger, I have received your note,” Dumbledore said slowly.

“Yes, sir.”

“Would you like to tell me why you have decided to change your thesis?”

“Well you see, sir, I think I’ve lost an interest in Potions. I think Care of Magical Creatures or Divination would be a much more interesting topic.”

“Since when, Miss Granger, if I am not mistaken, my dear, you have always expressed an interest in all the magical areas, especially Potions, next to your Muggle Studies class. Divination Miss Granger, I believe you walked out of in your third year with us,” the headmaster recalled.

“True, but I have changed my mind,” she remarked trying to sound convincing.

“She just doesn’t want to do the work!” a voice hissed from the darkness by Fawkes’ stand.

For the first time in days her eyes rested upon him. He looked stressed, pale and very angry.

“That’s not true!” she defended.

“Albus, isn’t it obvious, she doesn’t want to do the work, she wants to take it easy,” he said icily.

“I do not! I work extra hard, not that you would know! I haven’t seen you in a week!”

“Albus-”

“You leave me books to read! That’s all, nothing else, I haven’t seen a bottle or you in a whole bloomin’ week!”

“Albus you are not going to let her carry on like this-”

“If I haven’t been your freezing dungeon, I’ve been in the library, studying! All for you! But where were you? Nowhere! So don’t-”

“Hermione, please,” Professor McGonagall said touching her shoulders; Hermione was getting all worked up and red in the face.

Snape just stood there, dark and motionless, looking at her. “Well, Albus, it could just be that Miss Granger is too immature to take on a real project at the moment,” he stated dryly. “Best put her in a program with Hagrid, I’m sure she could much better use of her skills there. It must be a false hand of fate to think she could handle an sophisticated project, with me.”

He glanced over at her, “Don’t gape Miss Granger, it’s impolite.”

“Well then, I think we have gotten to the root of the problem, wouldn’t you say Severus?” Dumbledore said sweetly, “Hermione,” he continued, “I think you should stay with your original thesis, and I’m sure Professor Snape will be with you every step of the way.”

Hermione was still fuming mad, when they dismissed her. It was late, she was tired and no more than having taken five steps out of Dumbledore’s office, did two very strong hands, grab her shoulders and spin her around.

“What do you want?” she said dryly to Professor Snape.

“Mark my words, young lady-”

“What? What are you going to do?” she started, for some reason she never let him finish a complete sentence.

“Listen to me-”

“And why should I do that, I never see you-” His hands were gripping her tighter, she felt like her back would crack down the middle.

“Don’t anger me more than-”

“You already are? That’s a good-”

“Miss Granger,” he started, increasing the pressure on her arms.

“You’re hurting me!” she said raising her voice.

“If you cross me, a lot more than your shoulders will hurt!” he said before releasing her.

“Animal!” she muttered under her breath.

If she wasn’t completely worked up and angry, she would have noticed a very angry Professor Snape holding his temper. If she thought, she had seen him angry, she had not seen anything yet.

He took a deep breath, before saying, “Miss Granger, I may not have been walking you like a toddler this past week and holding your hand like a child, but I have reviewed your work.”

“How could you, I never saw-”

“As you have said, more than once this evening, you have never seen me, but I have seen you and your work.”

“But how?”

“That is none of your concern.”

She didn’t say anything to that, she just stared at him.

“Five points from Gryffindor for your insolence Miss Granger.”

Hermione didn’t bother to comment on that, she just turned around and started walking away, when she heard his voice go deadly serious, “Don’t walk away from me, I am not through with you yet.”

She didn’t turn around, and kept right on walking, she was in no mood to deal with Severus Snape anymore tonight.

“Yes, you are,” she said quietly.

Before she finished her sentence, she was backed up against the wall, with his body pressed firmly against her, making sure she didn’t move. He held her that way for a few moments that seemed to pass very slowly.

He suddenly grabbed her chin with his hand and forced it to face him, “First, Miss Granger, learn to keep your mouth shut. And second,” he paused enjoying how uncomfortable he made her, “I always win.”

She closed her eyes so she wouldn’t have to see his and a sudden wave of emotion swept over her. Something didn’t feel the same way, it just had. She felt a raw splurge of emotions…good emotions…strange emotions…intense emotions.

“Open your eyes,” his voice grew darker, “look at me.”

When she opened them, she didn’t say a word but just looked at him, not in anger, but in curiosity and calamity for the feelings that were taking her over. She felt like something was flying around in her stomach and up her throat. The last time she felt like this was when she had first meet Jean Khel from Beauxbatons, who she dated for a month.

The look in her eyes had changed, and he noticed it. She wasn’t fuming at him anymore; she was looking at him in…in…awe.

“Professor,” she said very softly. He didn’t say anything.

“Professor,” she said even softer almost below a whisper, “Thank you,” her eyes never left his.

“Miss Granger, you are dismissed,” he said harshly and he let her go. Her body fell clumsily against the wall.

Hermione didn’t move after that, and watch as he walked away briskly, she blinked and when she opened her eyes, he was gone.

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The next evening, as timely as she had done before, Hermione made her way down to the dungeons. Except this time, she fully expected to see Professor Snape. He was probably going to be in a foul mood, and rough her up yet again.

That wasn’t something she didn’t quite understand. He scared her, he made her nervous, and at some points when his body was hauled up against hers, she liked it. What a disturbing thought it was, indeed.

Entering his classroom, she noted that he wasn’t, in fact there at all. Deciding he was in his office, she opened the door to find that it too, was empty, save a few more books he left her.

She ran her fingers along their spines. These weren’t just any Defense Against the Dark Arts books, she had never seen them before. Furthermore, they were brand new. She loved the smell of new books, they gave her a sense of nostalgic comfort.

The dungeons were freezing, and deciding to make her way up to the library or the common room instead of staying in her spot on the couch in his office, she gathered up the books she intended to read, and headed back out towards his classroom.

Just as she was leaving his office, walking through the classroom, she saw him coming down the stairs.

“Where do you think you are going, Miss Granger?” he said silkily.

“You’re here?” she asked, half-shocked, wishing the words hadn’t left her lips.

“And where else would I be?”

Hermione did have an answer to that but by no means was going to voice it, she just nodded and headed right back into his office.

“Miss Granger, pray tell, what are you doing?” he asked her coldly.

“I’m going into the office to read, as I do every night,” she told him matter-of-factly.

He raised an eyebrow to that and his lips seemed to thin in frustration.

“I do not know since when you thought it was acceptable to use that tone of voice with a adult Miss Granger, but I telling you only once that it is not acceptable.”

She didn’t answer him again, but rather sat down on the sofa, opened one of the books, her notebook and began to read.

“Miss Granger, today we are doing a practical lesson.” He was looking at her from the doorway.

Her eyes slowly removed themselves from viewing the book and looked at him.

“Miss Granger I do not have all day.”

She put down her things, and went to join him in the classroom.

“Professor?” Hermione said softly before he started.

“Must you always have something to say? What is it?” he barked.

“It’s a bit chilly, do you think you can light a fire or something?” No sooner had the words left her mouth, than she received a glare from him.

He look his wand and lit the fire place before turning to her, “Can we being now?” She nodded.

There were various bottles in front of her, a cauldron and a few plates with fine powders in them.

She had no idea what she was suppose to be making, he just stood in front of her and dictated directions. She never looked up at him once but knew if she had, and looks could kill, she would be dead at the moment.

Nearly two hours later he told her she was finished, he turned and headed back into his office dismissing her.

“Professor Snape?”

“Yes?”

“Umm, sir what did we just make?” He didn’t bother to turn around and look at her, but rather, went and sat down at his desk and immersed himself in a few papers.

“That, Miss Granger, you will find out soon enough,” he said without looking at her.

“Could I know now, perhaps, what we will be making?”

He put his quill down and raised his head to stare at her, “And why should I tell you that? If you had paid attention to your reading, you would have figured it out, and I should not have the cause to tell you.”

“That’s not fair.”

“Life isn’t meant to be fair.”

He smirked and she left.

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Dinner came soon enough, and rather than going, she was too aggravated that she let Severus Snape get the better of her so she went back to the library to study. Madame Pomfrey had given up spying on her about her meals, and it was only skipping one, no big deal.

Before she knew it, night had fallen and it was getting very late, she didn’t care though, she continued working, reading and researching. Going over things, two and three times, to make sure she knew them. Susu stopped by, as usual, leaving her milk and cakes, but Hermione didn’t touch them, she didn’t notice that they were there.

She was missed at dinner, however, Professor Snape and her friends noticed, but neither commented or acknowledged the fact, each for their own reasons.

Harry and Ron suspected she had a long day and went to bed early, and Snape suspected she decided to take her meal in her room, so she could study at the same time. Both parties of course were wrong.

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Hermione skipped breakfast the next morning too; she had a cup of tea in her room, after only two hours of sleep and went straight to the library before heading to Astronomy. After Astronomy, she skipped lunch, grabbed an apple and headed back to the library. That didn’t work, the house elves ganged up on her, the kicked her out, and told her she was studying much too hard. Dobby kept threatening to call ‘Harry Potter who is kind’ and ‘Ronald Weasley who has red hair’ which made Hermione laugh. She decided maybe she did need a break. It was Friday after a few hours wouldn’t kill her. On her way out, she received an owl from her mother so she decided to walk the grounds and read it, since it wasn’t night just yet she was allowed to. She put on her coat and walked over to the lake, found a nice spot on a rock by a tree and began to read.

‘Dearest Hermione,

Lucy isn’t doing any better. Her sickness in the coma has overcome her ever more so than the doctors expected. I do not think any medicine Muggle or magical can save her now. We are trying to be realistic, but it’s very hard. Your aunt Lucinda and uncle Luke are trying to make a decision on whether to take her off the life support or not. We want you to be there went it happens, I will write you soon again, on any changes or decisions,

Love,

Mummy’


Hermione folded the letter, stuffed it into her pocket and started to cry. It was all her fault, she should have told Snape the real reason why she did her thesis on Potions. Defense Against the Dark Arts included sickness; she wanted a Potion to save Lucy, her little cousin, who was like a sister to her.

Her little break of an hour, turned into more than a few, it was almost nightfall, and she couldn’t break herself away from her spot. She hadn’t stopped crying either and even if she wanted to she couldn’t move she was too upset and too cold.

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Where is the insufferable girl, Professor Snape wondered to himself, when three of his least favorite students came hauling into the dungeons.

“Hermione?!” Ron called, followed by Harry and Ginny Weasley.

“She is not here Mister Weasley, perhaps you would like to tell me where she is?”

A look of panic took their faces.

“We don’t know sir, we haven’t seen her since Astronomy this morning. She wasn’t at lunch, and we just check the library and the elves said they sent her away to lunch. We assumed she’d be here…with you.”

“Do you mean to tell me that no one has seen Miss Granger in over eight hours?”

“Yes.”

He sent them back to their dormitory and told them to wait there, just in case she returned. He went to inform the headmaster and Professor McGonagall and no sooner was there a group of teachers searching Hogwarts for the missing Hermione Granger.

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Nighttime had fallen, she was part awake, part asleep and partly still crying. Hermione leaned her back against the rocks and stared out onto the lake under the moon’s reflection.

“Stupid girl,” Severus muttered to himself and he sweeped the grounds by the lake. He remembered a spot, near the one of the larger willow trees, with large rocks beside it. Even in his day, students used to love to sit over there. It was spacious and offered excellent shade, not to mention a spectacular look at the lake. He decided to check if she might have been there.

A few moments, after arriving, Professor Snape found a very cold, very sick, very blue Hermione Granger.

“Miss Granger?” he said touching her, his voice with no emotion. Her eyes were barely open and all she saw was his very blurry face.

He picked up her in his arms, her head in the crook of his neck, and walked back to the castle.

“We have alerted Madame Pomfrey and your chambers are closest Severus, so she set up in there,” Dumbledore told him when he reached the entrance to the castle.

Snape rested her on the bed, his bed, and stepped outside to join Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore.

“She is in an awful state.”

McGonagall nodded, but Snape didn’t say a word.

“I think I should go inform Mister Potter and Mister Weasley, they would want to know,” said McGonagall.

“Minerva,” started Dumbledore as she walked away, “remind them no visitors.”

When Professor McGonagall walked away, Madame Pomfrey appeared with a crumpled note in her hand.

“I found this in her pocket. It might be the explanation to what’s been going on her head.”

Dumbledore read it, before handing it to Snape.

He read it and handed it back to the headmaster.

“What do you think we should do Severus?”

“Whatever you wish, Albus,” he answered.

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“She’s doing better, but there is a good chance she could get hypothermia and I do not think it is wise to move her. Severus,” Madame Pomfrey said coming out of his room, “make sure she eats when she wakes up, give her this tonic and monitor her temperature, if it goes out of the ordinary send for me at once.”

He did not like that idea. “Poppy, does he have to stay here? Maybe move her to one of the spare bedrooms in my quarters. She is after all on my bed.”

“I’m going to owl her mother,” she added, “You should have thought of that before placing her on it. We can’t very well move her now.”

Severus glared at the mediwitch but didn’t say a word.

“Actually, don’t owl her parents. I think I will take a visit to the Granger household tomorrow. And Severus, I would like you to join me?” Albus asked.

“Do I have a choice?” Severus remarked, clearly unhappy. The little witch was taking over his life.