The Raven

Disclaimer: I don’t own the HP universe JKR dose the lucky dog! I only do this for Fun not money!


The Raven

By: Bree McGregor


Chapter 7

Hermione threw herself onto her bed; Snape had left her shoulder as soon as she opened the door. He didn’t like being around girls that cried but this time… this time it was different. She was crying about him. Never before had someone cared that he ever came back, except for Dumbledore, of course.

He had been gliding though the halls, happy to have his mobility again. So happy, in fact, that he had let his guard down and didn’t see young Malfoy there, waiting in the shadows. When he realized that Hermione wasn’t behind him any longer, he turned back. Snape arrived on the scene just in time to see her pull her wand on Malfoy.

“Give me a reason, Draco!”

“Gods, you sound like Snape.”

Snape thought that was a bit humorous. ‘She sounded like me, did she?\'

Then Draco told her he knew Snape was dead. Her reaction to the news puzzled Snape. When she yelled, “Liar!” it sounded so passionate... Why should she care what happened to the snarky, evil Potions Master?

Snape followed her as she ran toward the Headmaster’s office. He saw the Headmaster talking with Minerva and Hagrid. Snape didn’t like the way they were huddled together. The staff only did that when something of importance happened, and they seemed to be nervously trying to hide the fact.

Dumbledore talked kindly to Hermione, telling her he hadn’t gotten any kind of word from Snape. Sneaky old coot! He didn’t lie to the girl. Unfortunately, he was still stuck in his raven form, so he couldn’t talk. Then they started to talk about his murder and what kind of message it would mean. Snape had an odd sensation to know she had given his death such deep thought. For the life of him, he couldn’t understand why.

He noticed that she began to walk away, so he glided down to her. Then they were called back for Hagrid to have a look at him. He dealt with the poking and prodding that the half-giant put him through, giving him a good bill of health.

Then the shocker.

He was to be released in the morning! He could be human again, but that would mean leaving Hermione. He didn’t know if he was ready for that just yet. Over the time he had been living with her and unknown by her, he had grown quite attached to the young witch. He wouldn’t say he was in love with her, not even to himself.

Now, in her private Head Girl room, he noticed she allowed herself to cry. He hated it when she cried. Not wanting to see her cry, he looked around for the monster of a cat that always seemed to know when she was upset; but the cat was nowhere to be found. So, the Raven just sat there looking longingly at the tearful young woman. He could change back now into his human form and take her in his arms, until she was all cried out.

No, he shook that thought out of his head at once. She was too quick and clever a witch; she would have her wand out and start cursing him before he even reached for her. Best to keep concealed as a harmless raven. She finally rubbed her eyes and looked at him.

“I’m sorry, Mistoffelees. I don’t want to let you go, but I know Dumbledore is right. You’re a child of nature, and I’m sure you want to go back home to your family.”

‘To hell with that!’ thought Snape.

“And it\'s selfish for me to want to keep you here with me.” The girl sniffed again “It’s hard enough to find out Professor Snape is dead, then to lose you. I keep wondering if the world will ever get better again. Will I ever be happy?” She sighed heavily.

Snape understood this line of thinking. He often had this conversation with himself, but unlike Hermione, who had the entire world before her, his future was long over with. The life of a spy is short-lived, no matter how good you are at it.

He looked over at Hermione, whose eyes were closed; she seemed to be in great emotional pain. He never had a pet before, but he had heard that the parting of a beloved pet was like losing a family member. Not that he really knew much about that, either.

“Why did he have to die before I grew up?” she murmured sleepily.

‘Why did who have to die before she grew up?\' he wondered. Surely, she didn’t mean him? Not the feared Potions Master of the Dungeons. He was thinking to himself when another moan came from the girl on the bed. He ignored it at first, until her moans became more frequent and more stressed. Worried, he looked over at her only to find something he wasn’t expecting.

Somehow, Miss Granger had lost her clothes and was lying beautifully naked on her bed. Her left hand was playing with the nipple of a perfectly pink breast, as her right hand moved lower until it found that soft wet place he could only dream about.

Snape hopped up onto the back of a chair and watched the girl pleasuring herself. Her moans were getting deeper and huskier; he would have licked his lips, if he had any. He stayed perched there watching, as if memorizing Hermione, as she arched her back with her head resting on the bed, while the rest of her body rocked in rhythm. Snape rocked his little raven body in time with hers, not realizing what he was doing.

Hermione’s body was shaking with her coming climax. Snape was shaking as well; he had never seen a more erotic sight in his life.

Then she came, screaming, “SEVERUS!”

Snape lost his balance, and he fell off the chair and onto the floor.

Looking around worriedly, he listened. All he heard was her heavy breathing, then a soft sleepy voice that sounded on the brink of tears.

“Why did you have to die before I grew up and told you how I feel about you?”

‘Surely she doesn’t mean me,’ he kept thinking.

“Damn you, Snape!” was the last coherent thing she said before sleep claimed her.

Gliding back up to the desk, he looked at the girl — no, the woman, Miss Granger — no, the woman named Hermione, who was now covered in only a sheet. He was sure she would have never done that if she still lived in the dorm rooms, and looking at her he knew deep down that his heart was now well and truly lost to her. He became depressed. Would he ever have the courage to tell her how he felt about her?

~*~*~*~*~*~

Morning broke, and Hermione was dressed and waiting for the time she had to take Mistoffelees down to the front of the school. She was certain the Headmaster would be there to make sure she would let the bird go. It was not that he didn’t trust her under normal circumstances, but she had been through a lot and this was just one more thing added to her miserable life. She would like to think the Headmaster would be there for her moral support, but deep down she doubted it.

She looked deep into the bird’s eyes, trying to find the words that he would understand. “I don’t know if you understand me, Mistoffelees, but I have to let you go today.”

The bird blinked at her as if to say he understood. She could almost make herself believe that she saw sadness in his eyes, as if he didn’t want to leave her either, but Dumbledore said the wild called to him; the raven needed to be free. He would probably forget all about her, she thought miserably.

~*~*~*~*~

As she expected, Professor Dumbledore was waiting by the front door for her to arrive. Turning around, he saw the young woman walking slowly toward him, as if she was being led to the gallows. He hated to do this to her; she had been through so much lately, but he needed Severus back in action. Not as a spy; that cover was too dangerous to continue. He needed the man’s quick intelligence and cunning ways. He never knew how much he relied on him until the Potions Master was no longer there.

“Good morning, Miss Granger. Did you sleep well?” the Headmaster asked softly.

Snape looked at the man. ‘If you only knew what I do, old man, then again I’m glad you don’t know what I know.’

Hermione only nodded silently. She didn’t like to lie to the Headmaster, but she really didn’t want to talk to him right now either.

“Good,” the Headmaster said softly as he opened the doors for her. “Shall we?”

Hermione took a deep breath, and stepped through the front doors of Hogwarts. The air was crisp and cool; the sun was out shining off the lake in a beautiful display of shimmering diamonds. Hermione thought it wasn’t fair that the day was so perfect, as if nothing in the world was wrong, when she felt everything was wrong. Couldn’t the weather be dark and gloomy to match her mood?

Snape was perched on her shoulder, rocking back and forth, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He never realized how much he missed being outside; this was freedom. As much as he would miss Hermione, it was time to go back to being the hated greasy black bat of the dungeons; the only problems were Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Snape was sure that Albus and he together would find a way to salvage this whole thing, but he needed to be human first.

Hermione moved him off her shoulder and onto her hand so she could look at him. She looked him in the eyes as she stroked his head. Then, to his surprise, she kissed his head. Looking at her, he saw the unshed tears there. How could he leave her now?

“Go, go now, Mistoffelees,” she whispered. The bird didn’t leave. Taking a deep, though shaky, breath, Hermione threw her hand up in the air, leaving the bird no choice but to fly.

The raven circled above her three times as if to say “thank you,” then flew toward the Forbidden Forest.

“Well done, Miss Granger; well done,” said Professor Dumbledore softly, as he looked at the girl. She just stood there, looking toward the Forbidden Forest.

“Come now. Breakfast is being served.” Putting his hand on her shoulder, he gave her a gentle push back inside. Hermione allowed herself to be led. She felt numb and empty. She really wasn’t hungry, but she sat down and tried to eat some toast. Not many were in the Great Hall this early, for which she was grateful.

~*~*~*~*~

The Headmaster made his way as fast as he could without showing any outward stress. Closing the door to his office, he rushed over to the window and swung it wide open. Within minutes, a black raven swept into the room.

“Well, there you are. Are you ready to give it a try?”

The raven transformed into a tall thin man with long black hair and deep penetrating black eyes, who was dressed entirely in black.

“Thank the gods!” Snape’s voice was rough and tired from lack of use for so long.

“Now tell me, Severus. What happened?”

~*~*~*~*~

Hermione had to get out of there. The Great Hall had filled up, and the noise was overwhelming. She got up and left without saying a word to anyone. The boys didn’t say a thing to her about leaving or about her missing companion. Ron looked at her but didn’t dare even to make eye contact.

“Harry,” Ron called to his friend.

The dark-haired boy turned from watching Hermione leave. “Hmm?”

“Do you think she will ever forgive me?” Ron asked, depressed.

“Give her time, Ron. She’s been going through a lot. The only thing I can think of is just leave her be. She will come to us when she’s ready.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Hermione was wandering the halls aimlessly. She just liked the emptiness of the halls at this time of morning. Her mind was so deep in thought she did not see that she was at the steps leading down to the dungeons. She also didn’t see a tall dark-haired man, watching her from the shadows, until she ran into him.

Snape watched her approaching, so lost in thought. He didn’t move when he saw her walk toward him; when she walked into him, his arms came around her to hold onto her just a little too tightly. To everyone else, if there was anyone else to see it, it would just look as if he was holding her steady.

She looked up into his face and turned white as a sheet. One of his eloquent eyebrows shot up at her reaction.

“Why, Miss Granger, you look as if you\'ve seen a ghost.” His voice was softer then she had ever heard, and she realized he had not let go of her yet.

“I… I thought you were dead, sir.”

“In many ways I was just that, Miss Granger.” He reluctantly let her go, then stepped back from her and headed toward the stairs leading to his dungeons. That little run-in unsettled him more then he wanted to admit. Perhaps he would visit her in his Raven form to keep an eye on the happenings in Gryffindor house. At least, that is what he tried to convince himself — knowing full well that he would visit her just to be close to her again. His time with her was running short; she would be graduating in three months and would then be gone from his life forever.

“I... I’m glad you’re back, sir,” she spoke to his retreating back, breaking into his thoughts.

“So am I, Miss Granger,” he said, stopping but not turning to look at her. He was afraid if he did that, he would take her in his arms again.

“Will you be teaching again, sir?”

“No, Miss Granger. I will not be teaching for the remainder of the school year.”

“Oh,” her voice was so dejected that he turned around to look at her. Her shoulders were slumped, and she didn’t look up at him. The desire to touch her was too much for him, so he took a few more steps down before speaking again.

“The Headmaster told me you wanted to become a Potions Mistress. Why?”

“Well, when you were gone and I thought you were dead, I decided that the world needed more Potions Masters and Mistresses. If you were dead, so much knowledge would have died with you. It… it broke my heart.”

“Indeed.”

Hermione looked at him strangely. He realized his voice was void of all coldness she had come to expect from him.

“But I am going to have a study group for only the top students that are looking to go into Potions and Medi-wizardry,” he told her.

“R-really, sir!”

His heart stopped at the look of pure joy on her face.

“Yes, Miss Granger.” Then, going back into his teacher mode, his voice grew colder, if only for his own preservation. “And I will not tolerate your overzealous hand-waving.”

“YES, SIR!” she called, smiling happily at him.

He turned his back on her and walked down the steps. Hermione was experiencing so many mixed feelings; she was sad that Mistoffelees was no longer with her, but she was also ecstatic that Professor Snape was alive and well. Hermione felt that life just might be worth living again.

~*~*~*~

A/N: Sorry everyone that this took so long but my internet didn’t want to upload this chapter on yahoo mail so I could send it to my beta until yesterday. *SIGH* ohh well better late then never!