Deliver Me

Chapter VII – The Other Side of Eden


Like all the other times, she slept in the boys dorms, Hermione, made sure to wake up at least 15 minutes earlier than everyone else, so she would be able to sneak her way back into her own room, without being noticed.

As she was closing the door, “See you at breakfast Hermione, save me a apple tart, I need to owl Grams before I go,” Neville said sleepily facing away from her waving his hand in the air.

“Yea me too,” another voice said from the bed by the window, it was Dean, “I got to owl my parents too.”

She looked up and muffled a laugh, the entire room probably knew she was there, but didn’t say anything, or much less care for that matter.

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Breakfast went on as usual, History of Magic that morning and no one was looking forward to it. Professor Binns was as boring as Professors got and considering that he warned them that today was be a lecture on the latter results of the Goblin rebellions they had been studying, no one was ready.

They each sat up in class, trying to keep their eyes open, no amount of sugar or spice could keep them awake today. His voice was slow and dreary…after all he was dead. But even the other ghosts at Hogwarts, like the Bloody Baron and Peeves were livelier than this. It was ridiculous!

Everyone was pleased when class was over, and Lavender had to poke Dean with her wand to get him to wake up and stop drooling all over the desks while lunch approached soon after.

“Hey Hermione?”

“Yeah, Seamus?”

“Are you going to be visiting us tonight?”

She eyed him suspiciously.

“Why?”

“Because I want to know if I should sleep with ear muffs. You people talk way to damn much.”

“Sorry,” Ron said sheepishly swirling spaghetti around his plate.

“We didn’t realize,” Harry added to the apology.

Seamus laughed and handed Hermione a note.

“Who’s this from?”

“Snape, the git passed me on my way here coming out of the lavatory, asked me if I was going to be seeing you. The nerve I tell ya, I mean he knows we’re in the same flippin’ house, and that means meals together. Anyway, that’s for you.”

“What’s it about?”

“Like I have the nerve to ask him! For him to bit my ‘ead off, I think not!”

Everyone laughed.

“Alright, thanks.”

“What’s that about?” asked Harry.

“Don’t know,” Hermione answered.

“Aye, I won’t be at dinner,” Ron started, “taking a small trip home to see Charlie, he had some information for me, on my thesis, I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”

Hermione and Harry nodded their heads, finished their conversation and they each headed out.

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Upon entering the dungeons, the air was foggy and she could hardly see.

“Professor? … Professor Snape? … You wanted to see me?” She swooshed her hand in the air trying to clear out some of the fog so she could see and hopefully not trip over anything.

Hermione eventually made her way into his office and he was sitting at his desk, doing what seemed to be like grading papers. She closed the door, hoping to escape the fog that seemed to be getting thicker.

“Open back the door, I’m monitoring a potion,” he snapped.

She obliged, much to her discontent.

“You wished to see me.”

“Obviously.”

“About what?” His eyes never left his work.

“Did you potion work?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“You did not try it?”

“No need.”

“Why?”

“I found another way to sleep…dreamless.”

He raised his head and glared at her suspiciously, “And how would that be?”

“None of your bloody business!” she snapped.

Hermione could barely see Severus now, the fog was getting rather thick and she was finding it ridiculous, because she had no idea what he was brewing, she couldn’t see two feet in front of her, there was not way she could work on her thesis paper in here and she wasn’t too sure if she could find herself out of the dungeons to the library.

“What was that?” he snarled.

“What was what?” she asked calming down, it was her business what she did out of class, what did he care?

Hermione swooshed her hands in front of her again, attempting to clear out the fog so that she could see. When she finally did get a clear view of where he was sitting, he was gone!

“Figures,” she mumbled under her breath, turning around going to try to find a way out of there.

“What figures?” he was at the doorway and the fog was disappearing instantaneously when he snapped his fingers.

The room was clear again and he had a look of contempt on his face.

“Nothing.”

“Don’t lie.”

“What do you care?”

“It’s sinful,” he barked.

She laughed.

“Does something amuse you, Miss Granger?”

“No.”

“Ten points from Gryffindor for you insolance.”

She fell silent, ignoring him, waiting for him to say something else.

“Do you know why you are here?”

“No, you weren’t exactly specific. Besides, thesis project every afternoon, or have you forgotten?”

For everything he said, she had an answer for him, this girl was incredible.

“I do not forget anything Miss Granger.”

“Whatever.”

“Keep that tone, and I’ll take more points.”

“You would like to wouldn’t you?”

“You smart mouth will not take you far.”

“Neither will yours.”

He walked over to his desk and handed her a piece of parchment.

“What’s this?”

“Read it.”

Hermione opened the parchment and read it to herself,


‘Dear Miss Granger,

As Minister of the International Magical Regulations committee, I would like to offer you a position this summer, interning as a resident Potions expert, before you pursue any further endeavors with the Ministry.

Send an owl with your response.

Sincerely,

Percy Weasley

P.S

Ron and Harry, already replied and accepted.’


Hermione folded back the parchment and looked up at Professor Snape.

“Are you going to stare at me all day or would like to get some work done?” he snapped at her.

“Did you recomme-”

“No.”

“Then how-”

“I would not know-”

“It is an opportunity-”

“Yes.”

“And do you approv-”

“Would it matter?”

“I-”

“Yes?”

“-don’t know.”

There was a cold silence between them for sometime. Hermione stared at the floor, her shoes, the walls and him. Severus just stared at her.

“I – I need to go,” Hermione said abruptly turning to dart out the door.

He grabbed her wrists and pulled her towards him, he body firmly against his. The door closed and his eyes pierced into hers.

“You are not going anywhere,” his voice was low and slick.

“I – I…” she was lost in his eyes.

Severus bent his head forward and cast his mouth upon hers. Slow…soft…deep… it was heaven.

She ran his fingers through his hair pulling herself closer to him. He never stopped plundering her mouth when he sat her atop his desk, standing himself between her legs, which locked around his robes.

He kissed her cheeks, moved to the bottom of her ears, then traced his tongue around moving down to her neck – she pulled away all of a sudden, and just rested her head upon his shoulder, her arms around his neck and she was breathing hard.

He sighed and held her unyieldingly when he felt something wet trickle from his shoulder to the base of his neck…she was crying. Severus looked down at her and brushed the tears off her eyes with one hand, while the other kept it’s place holding her to him.

“I don’t know what you do to me,” he thought he heard her say.

He wasn’t quite sure why she was crying, and didn’t trust himself to speak, fearful that he might say something insulting and have her claw the other side of his neck…or take out his eyes.

He rocked her back and forth, attempting to sooth her. Hermione’s whimpers slowly subsided and she opened her eyes to gaze upon her ‘art work’…five staggerly, dried bloodied, scabbed lines – her attack on him. She gave out a slight laugh.

Women? Can they not make up their minds, on how they feel, he thought to himself.

“Pray tell, what is so amusing?”

“This,” she said tracing the smallest mark with her tongue, before finding his mouth and lightly kissing him.

He looked up at her, “Why where you…”

“I don’t know.”

He looked like he didn’t believe her.

She took a deep breath, “Sometimes, I can’t stand you, and other times, I can’t stand being away from you.”

“I see,” his tone was flat but caring.

“And when I’m with you,” she caressed his cheeks with her hands and ran her fingers through his hair, he closed his eyes appreciatingly, “I don’t know what comes over me, I feel so many things at once.” He buried his face in her neck.

“You reek of Potter and Weasley.”

She was taken aback and looked at him, “What?”

“Their scent is all over you.” he said cutting off her train of thought. “Who were you with last night?”

“I beg you pardon?”

“Don’t lie to me, who were you with last night?” his face turned cruel and armored, she had no idea what he was thinking.

“I spend all my time with them, just in case you can’t remember that much, besides why do you want to know?”

He squeezed the back of her neck arching her towards his face, Hermione let out a feminine groan of pain, “You’re hurting me!”

She tried to push away from him but she couldn’t. He let go but held on to their position, “Tell me.”

“What do you care?” she refused to give him a straight answer. He wasn’t going to kiss her senseless one-minute and then treat her like some object or some thing the next.

He eased himself out of legs and walking away from her, he turned around, “Just remember you’re mine,” Severus said and he walked out the door.

Hermione sat there, stunned. What just happened?

“I belong to no one,” she called after him. Hermione was angry, she got up and walked out the door expecting to find him doing something or glaring at her with a look of frustration and annoyance, but she didn’t see him.

She kept walking until she reached the stairs, turned back, he was no where in sight, and she continued her way up the stairs tears beginning in her eyes.

Hermione never saw Severus in the shadows watching her stalk off in tears.

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Hermione was walking and crying so furiously she wasn’t watching where she was going, and she ran straight into Harry.

“Whoa, there,” He said stopping her, “Oh, what’s wrong?”

She threw her arms around him and cried.

“He’s so terribly mean,” she muffled through her sobs.

“Who?”

It was not the best scene in the world, students were walking past them, wondering what on earth was going on, and they were attracting attention. Harry walked her back to the tower and ordered dinner sent for the two of them there.

They ate in silence and finally sat in front of the fireplace on the long sofa. The fire blazed warmly, the Gryffindor colors, gold with deep red tips. Harry was sitting with his legs stretched out in front of him, one arm on the armrest the other around a laying down Hermione, who had a tear stained face.

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

“Harry?” she answered his question with a question.

“Yes?”

“Would you ever tell a girl, she was ‘yours’?”

“Of course, if I loved her.”

“No I mean, tell her she belonged to you.”

“You mean like a slave?”

“No nothing like that, more like a possession.”

“No. I would tell her she’s all mine, but never a belonging or like an object. That isn’t right. Possession or obsession?”

“That’s what I thought. Does it matter?”

“No, but who said that to you?” there was alarm in his voice, “I swear if they hurt you I’ll-”

“It’s ok.”

“No it’s not.”

“I know.”

“Who is he?”

“You wouldn’t believe me.”

“Don’t think I would. But I know.”

“Does Ron know?”

“He’d die if he found out, probably hex him.”

Harry laughed, “Are you sure about him?”

“No. He’s so awful sometimes, while other times, it’s like heaven on earth.”

“Does he know you feel this way?”

“I think so.”

“And he still treats you-”

“Yes.”

“You don’t deserve that.”

“What am I going to do?”

“Leave him.”

“I was never actually with him.”

“Even better.”

“Harry?”

“Yes?”

“What do you think I should do?”

“Go to the restricted section and borrow, ‘How to Control Lovesick Professors’!”

“How did you find out?”

“I didn’t, I just felt it.”

“Moody was right, you would make a great Auror.”

“As would Ron.”

“If he didn’t hex-”

“or kill-”

“-him first. Harry?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank You.”

“Anytime sweets, anytime.”

They stared at the fire and eventually drifted off to sleep right there. The other Gryffindors coming in from dinner, walked quietly to their rooms and left the fire burning, they didn’t have the heart to wake them.

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Professor Severus Snape lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling, cursing himself for being so cruel to her earlier.

Of course she would reek of those two idiots, he argued with himself, she does spend all her time with them…except when she’s with you.

It wasn’t right, it wasn’t right at all. This girl was doing strange things to him. He had many girlfriends before, Slytherin power; it came with the territory, but never one that had this type of effect on him. Was she his girlfriend? No, she wasn’t. A mistress? Most certainly not; then what was she?

He was always so careless with them, in the dark days he used them and they used him, it was a mutual agreement never spoken about.

His mother always said she wanted a nice girl to take over the Snape Manor, someone who would put him in his place – but this girl, Hermione Granger, this was something else. Severus felt like grabbing her, tossing her on the table and making love to her right there, letting her feel the passion he felt for her, he wasn’t sure if he loved her or not, but he was certainly attracted to her, in more ways than one. She made him laugh, and challenged his every word, it wasn’t so bad sparring words with her…that was unless of course, somewhere in their conversation, something got out of hand and he felt like throttling her, but that was a different story.

He looked over to the empty side of his bed…where she had once been; did he have to be so cruel to her? She deserved it, the little smart mouth, wonderful; know it all, gorgeous, irritating, sexy…

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Hermione and Harry awoke the next morning to Ron busily making his way into the commonroom.

“Good Morning, waited up for me I see.”

They yawned, “What time is it?” asked Hermione.

“Oh about ten past seven,” he said rummaging through his bag.

“How was it last night?” Harry asked.

“Oh good, Charlie gave me a few things, and sent some books for you too Harry.”

“For me?”

“Yea, for our internship with Percy.”

“I got a letter about that,” Hermione said, muttering a refreshing spell and changing yesterday’s clothes into today’s, uniform, body splash, etc. Harry had already done his and was watching Ron pull all sorts of things out of his bag.

“Are you going to reply?” Ron asked.

“Don’t know,” she answered.

“Why not?” Asked Harry, “We’ll be there.”

“Yea, Percy made that very clear in the owl.”

They laughed.

“Think about it this way,” Ron said looking up at her momentarily, “we’ll all be together, doing something we are good at, and it will be fun.”

“Better not let Percy hear you say that,” Harry laughed, “He doesn’t get along well with fun.”

“I know,” Ron smiled.

“Will you escort me to the owlery then? I’ll send him a response now,” said Hermione heading towards the exit.

Within minutes, Ron finished reorganizing his things, handed Harry some stuff from Charlie, went to the owlery with Hermione and Harry, and then took their seats at breakfast.

Just as Hermione finished her first cup of tea and the second was filling, Professor Snape walked into the Great Hall for breakfast, smug as usual and deducting points, his favorite victim this morning seemed to be poor Denis Creevy, a little fourth year who like his brother, Colin, idolized Harry and always had a cheerful face.

“I think he gets pleasure out of it,” said Parvati who sitting between Dean and Seamus.

“I’m sure he does,” Seamus said who had Lavender on his other side putting her bacon on his plate, “Oy, Hermione pass the toasts.”

“Lavender pass the jam,” Ron requested from the opposite end of the table.

“I know, he’s just vicious, you’d think he get tired of-” Parvati was interrupted by the owls making their morning delivery.

Once again, Ron was graced with a pink envelope that lingered with Fleur’s perfume.

Unexpectedly, Hermione received a letter.

“Who sent that?” asked Harry.

“No idea,” she answered.

“Well go on, open it,” Ron urged.

Hermione undid the envelope slowly and a shower of black smoke evoked the room above their heads.

Students screamed, and teachers scrambled to fix the chaos.

The cloud started shooting darts, and the entire student body were under tables clutching on to each other for their dear lives.

By the time Dumbledore ceased the cloud, fifteen people were sprawled on the floor with darts in them, some crying, some screaming, others completely passed out.

The envelope was burned to ashes on top the Gryffindor table.

“It’s ok, everyone can come out now,” Professor McGonagall shouted trying to be calm and calm everyone around her.

“What the hell was that?” Ron asked still clutching on to Hermione who was clutching on to Harry who had Neville clutching on to him and Dean at his feet, sitting dumbstruck almost.

“No fucking clue,” said Seamus, who was crushed between Lavender and Parvati, who were both squeezing him so hard he was turning blue in certain spots..

“Language Seamus! Your language,” said Professor Sprout who was running over to aid a student.

“Sorry Professor,” he said meekly, “Loosen up a little,” he gestured towards Parvati and Lavender, “Keep that up and I’ll loose circulation.”

With all the commotion no one happened to notice the headmaster and Professor Snape at the Gryffindor table observing the ashes, besides eight completely bewildered Gryffindors staring at them.

“What does it look like to you Severus?”

“A Morbis.”

“You think so?”

“I know so, look at it.”

“What’s a Morbis Hermione?” Neville asked finally letting go of Harry.

Snape’s head snapped around, “A deadly weapon Mister Longbottom, have you not been paying attention in Defense Against the Dark Arts?”

“A Morbis, Neville,” Professor Dumbledore said calmly, “is a deadly weapon used to kill or horribly injure persons. Similar to a curse, but rather physical; it is the mark that a dark wizard is at work.”

Neville was pale and nodded his head.

“Who received one?” asked Snape irritably.

“I did,” Hermione told him still clutching on to Harry, with Ron still clutching on to her.

What a sight. The unbreakable trio. Absurd, Professor Snape thought to himself.

“You may let go of one another, the danger is quite over,” Snape snarled at them.

They didn’t budge.

“Leave them alone Severus,” Said McGonagall coming on to the scene.
“Who had been injured Minerva?” asked Dumbledore.

“Too many.”

Dumbledore nodded his head and whispered something to Severus.

“Come now, all of you, you saw it, follow me to my office,” said McGonagall leading Harry, Seamus, Ron, Hermione, Parvati, Lavender, Neville and Dean to her office.