Bent

A-N : Sorry for the long pause in updates. End of semester was brutal then I had a death in a family. Hope you enjoy.

She stood out side of the door for a second, looking up at the dark figure that was Severus Snape before shuffling into the his private quarters. Hermione noticed the large bookshelf that took up half of Severus's wall space, but did not seem to be very interesting in the contents. He gently grasped her by the elbow and ushered her over to a chair.

"Please sit, Ms. Granger," he stated as he sat in the chair opposite of her. She sat primly, ankles crossed and hands folded neatly on her lap.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" she asked politely enough, but Severus could tell by the sound of her voice that she was still fighting her own personal demons. It was not going to be an easy fight for her to overcome them, but he was willing to do whatever it took to bring Hermione Granger back to the way she was before.

"Ms...Hermione..I do believe that we have a lot to discuss. First, I want you to hear me out before you ask any questions though," Severus paused to clear his throat. "I am extremely worried about you, which is why I have taken the liberty to inform Albus of your...condition."

"My condition?" she interrupted, arching an eyebrow. Severus gave her a dark look and continued speaking.

"It is not uncommon for a person in your situation to blame themselves for the death of their loved ones. But it is not common for that person to punish themselves physically. Given the state of your arms earlier, I could do the only logical thing that I saw fit; I informed the Headmaster, and he will be informing your Head of House as well as Madame Pomfrey. The Headmaster will most likely be getting in touch with a professional from St. Mungo's to come here and begin therapy sessions with you." With each word out of his mouth, Hermione's eyes narrowed.

"And what makes you think I even WANT therapy?" she asked lowly, gripping the arms of the chair tightly. Severus noted her reaction and cleared his throat again.

"Hermione, if you refuse therapy, I promise you, I WILL convince Albus to terminate your enrollment at Hogwarts and put you in a mental facility until you are better. I promise you with every fiber of my being that I can, and I will do whatever it takes to ensure that you will not continue to harm yourself," Severus stated, and felt a surge of magic swirl around the pair. Hermione noticed it too, and her face turned red with anger.

"YOU HAVE INVOKED A WIZARD'S OATH!" she screamed, jumping to her feet, hands clenched into fists.

"Perhaps now you can see how serious I am," Severus said lowly before the petite witch threw herself at him, hitting and screaming incoherently. Severus fended her off, but did not return a blow, even when she scratched a long bloody trail down the side of his face. He grabbed both of her wrists firmly after a few minutes.

She panted and struggled to free herself, cursing his entire family lineage, but Severus did not care a bit. What mattered to him, was the spark of life that was in her eyes during her rage. That was the only thing that mattered to him.

After a few more unsuccessful minutes of trying to free her hands from his iron grip, Hermione collapsed and wept. She wept all of the hurt and anger she had been holding in for the past few weeks. Severus let her wrists go slowly and looked down at the weeping witch before him, feeling a strange constriction in his chest. He let her a cry for a few moments before kneeling down next to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Hermione, I just want to help you," he said softly to the crying girl. "You are too brilliant of a person to just wither away, and you cannot blame yourself for the death of your parents....if...if you must blame someone...then blame me...for I was too late informing the Order that they were the next target..." he sighed and let his head droop. His own personal guilt for the death of Hermione's parents ate at him every day.

Hermione looked up at Severus, tears still streaming from her eyes. "Why were you late in telling the Order?" she asked softly. Severus stiffened. "Why should that matter?" he asked off-handedly. "What matters is that I did not get there in time," he bit out as he got to his feet.

"Please...." she whispered, clutching at the hem of his dress robes.

Severus looked down at Hermione and sighed then bent down to help her to her feet. "I was late....because Voldemort tortured me for hours....for not informing him sooner that you not staying with your parents for the Holidays....he...had wanted to kill you along with your parents because he sees you as one of the biggest threats."

Hermione closed her eyes and nodded slowly before wiping away her tears. She started towards the door.


"Hermione," Severus called after her, causing her to pause with her back facing him. "Promise...me that you..will not harm yourself until you talk the Headmaster.....Please?" he asked quietly. Without turning around, she responded by nodding her head slightly and then left.

Severus sighed and poured another glass of fire whiskey. He took a drink and then threw the almost full glass against the wall, sinking down in his chair and covering his face with his hands. None of this would have happened if he had gotten to the order in time. This was all....his....fault.