Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Broken Dreams	By : onecelestialbeing Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 34536 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 13
Disclaimer: I make no money from this story, own nothing of Harry Potter, haven't met any of the people (except Alan Rickman and sadly that was brief)

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
A/N: As always thanks to my fantabulous beta Gnrkrystle...and you all are the LOVELIEST with the reviews, thanks sooo much! :D

"Ginny!" Hermione hissed under her breath.

The redhead looked up, seeing her friend discreetly motioning for her to use the flat side of her blade to crush her Sopohorous bean.

That morning Hermione was overlooking the seventh years as they were brewing a sleeping draught. Remembering her own experience with making the Draught of Living Death, Hermione steered clear of the student's desk as a number of Sopohorous beans had already been unerringly pelted around the room. One had already flown precariously close to her eye and she reasoned that perfect vision was definitely needed for her upcoming Potions master exam.

Slughorn had somehow managed to stay in the classroom that morning. He was also making his rounds when an errant Sopohorous bean flew out of a Slytherin witch's hands and knocked his hat clear off his head. The surprised look on his face was nearly Hermione's undoing, and she had to run back over to Ginny and pretend to offer succor when she was actually trying to muffle her hysterical laughter.

Ginny had her head buried in her chest, crushing her bean as directed. "You cheeky witch, laughing at your mentor like that," she whispered fiercely. When she finally regained her composure she looked up and mouthed 'thank you' to a still amused Hermione. The Potions apprentice winked back at her friend, continuing to move around the classroom to offer assistance.

With a furrowed brow, Slughorn ambled over to Hermione, letting her know that he was going to be in his office. He walked away, one hand righting his hat properly on top of his head.

Hermione was still amused and biting down hard on her lip when she walked back over to Ginny.

"Why the bloody hell does he have us making this now? School is nearly over with," Ginny asked in an aggrieved tone under her breath.

"Who knows the methods to that man's madness?" Hermione whispered back. She then looked down at the bracelet on Ginny's left wrist. "You should have left that in your room so it doesn't get ruined."

Ginny looked down, peering absentmindedly at the jewelry while stirring her potion. "It has a protective charm on it. I was told not to remove it."

"Wow, Gin. That sounds pretty serious."

The redhead gave a noncommittal shrug, but there was a small smile upon her lips. "So how's your fancy bloke? Has he accosted you anymore?"

Her brown eyes shone mischievously and Hermione scowled at her. Just as she opened her mouth to utter a snappy retort, one of the students in the back of the classroom called for her.

"You're lucky I have to go help Mister Thursley," Hermione told her before striding away. Ginny grinned in her direction before turning back to her bubbling cauldron.

When the students' brewing time was up, Hermione went to Slughorn's office to retrieve the small satchel of leaves to test the potions.

"Oh, Miss Granger," he called just as she was walking out. "Before I forget, your exam is going to be the week following the end of term. For some reason or another they've pushed back the date."

"All right," Hermione answered nonchalantly. What was another week at Hogwarts? With the absence of students it would be quieter for one thing, even if she didn't have Luna and Ginny around to talk to. Although, she was sure that a certain black haired wizard wouldn't mind her company.

One by one, Hermione went around to each student's cauldron, dropping in a leaf and waiting for it to wither. One student managed to completely muck up his potion, causing the leaf to flourish and turn a brighter red instead of shriveling into nothing.

The young man named Benedict was in Gryffindor, and his work was usually exemplary. Noticing the disappointment on his face, Hermione told him that if he had a free period that day she was willing to let him try again. His countenance immediately brightened, and he told Hermione that he was available for the next hour and would remain behind.

Once the seventh years were dismissed, Slughorn stepped out of the office leaving Hermione and Benedict behind. Hermione used the opportunity to finish correct essays that had been handed in that morning while Benedict worked at a table in the front of the classroom.

"Miss Granger."

Looking up when she heard her name uttered in a soft baritone, Hermione forced herself to not grin like a loon. Severus strode into the classroom, stepping up on the podium next to her.

Benedict had looked up when he heard the headmaster coming in his direction, going rigid with tension. Hermione smiled reassuringly at him, motioning for him to continue with his work.

"How generous of you to extend classroom hours to a student," Severus drawled, loudly enough that only Hermione was able to hear him.

Hermione looked down at Benedict whom was poring over his potions text, carefully reading the instructions to not repeat his errors. "He's a good student," she replied. "At least he's willing to redo his work and make it acceptable."

"Something tells me if you'd the opportunity to resubmit your work, every Hogwarts professor would have been tethered to their classrooms."

Smirking at the headmaster, Hermione was actually trying to keep her face from breaking out into a wide smile. True, Severus still walked around with a sour looking disposition, not matter how much she smiled at him. But it was that same surliness that did the opposite of putting Hermione off; she was completely smitten by the man.

She thought back to one evening when they were in his sitting room in the dungeons, quietly engrossed in their respective books with Midnight dashing back and forth trying to gain attention. Hermione had looked up at Severus, noticing the deep line etched in his forehead.

Without thinking she'd gone over to him, perched on the arm of his chair and used her fingers to smooth the furrow from his skin. Severus had looked back at her, an unfathomable expression on his face.

"You were frowning," she explained, still not moving from her perch.

"Is that so?" he quietly asked.

"Yes. I think you do it without realizing."

Severus was still eyeing the little witch as she proceeded to pluck the book from his hand. He fussed at Hermione and she merely ignored him, placing the tome down on the coffee table.

"You know, your hands are tense as well. Isn't that a scream? You were telling me to relax. Shouldn't you follow your own advice?" she asked, running her fingertips across his knuckles.

"Did you interrupt my reading just to tell me that my hands were rigid? Couldn't you have done that from the sofa?"

"Have I ever told you that I positively adore your grumbling?"

"Have I ever told you that you're recidivous?"

"In a manner of speaking, but I believe the word you used was insolent."

"Let's add that to your ever growing list, shall we?"

Hermione crookedly smiled at Severus, using her wand to conjure up the little jar of calendula salve she'd made for herself.

"And what are you planning on doing with that?" he inquired.

"If you'd give me a moment you would see," Hermione replied, unscrewing the jar and using a fingertip to scoop a hefty amount into her palm.

"Five points from Gryffindor for your cheek."

"That only works if you're taking them from a student, now give me your hand and shush."

Severus shot Hermione a black look but allowed her to pick up his right hand. She then folded back his frock coat sleeves, as well as the white linen shirt's sleeves, up to his wrist. Taking his exposed hand in both of hers, she worked the calendula salve into his skin, rolling her thumbs over the back of his hand.

Gently gliding her fingers between each of the metacarpals, Hermione then rubbed each finger, slightly squeezing when she reached the tips. Then, she turned his hand over, pressing the pads of her thumbs into his palm, massaging firm circles into the area.

It wasn't long after before Severus sank back into his armchair, his rigid limbs soon growing relaxed under her ministrations.

It was another sort of intimacy between the two that hadn't been explored. Severus had touched her, and she him, in return, but that had been in the pitch dark of his bedroom. There had been only a few times that she'd actually been able to see or touch his hands, albeit brief. There was the first time at her house, then when he'd held her hand to examine the cuts she'd gotten in the Forbidden Forest, and then the day that she'd sliced the other open.

Any other time she'd been able to see Severus' hands, they were wrapped around the pages of a book, holding a fork at dinner or brandishing a wand. Now they were completely bared beneath her gaze.

The undersides of Severus' hand still felt slightly calloused, yet his fingertips were smooth. The digits were long and elegant, and his nails were neatly clipped. Looking at the topside of his hand, Hermione wondered how he managed to teach Potions for as long as he did without scarring it in the process.

Severus' right hand was now halfway open, his fingers curved slightly without any tension. Placing his hand down in his lap, Hermione switched to the other arm of the chair and began working on the left hand. Furtively glancing at his face, she found that Severus had closed his eyes, the line between his brows nearly invisible.

By the time Hermione was finished, Severus' breathing had grown deeper and it seemed as if he'd drifted off to sleep. Not wanting to move from his side, Hermione stayed on the edge of the armchair. Her leg began going numb after awhile, yet she stayed put, still lightly running her fingertips over his hand. She was inwardly musing over the fact that one of his large hands easily dwarfed both of her petite ones when Severus stirred out of his sleep.

"Should I even ask where you've acquired such a skill?" he asked, shifting slightly in the armchair.

Hermione chuckled, still holding onto his hand. "Mum liked to keep her hands nice and she went to get manicures. Sometimes I'd go with her, and she'd let me get one also. The lady would always massage our hands first. Let's just say the only way she or I could convince Dad to clip his raggedy nails was if we massaged his hands as well."

Severus was slightly amused by the anecdote. Hermione smiled fondly, thinking about her dad fussing at her mum when she'd brandished a pair of nail clippers in his direction. Right then she suddenly felt a pang of sorrow in her chest, and had to bite down hard on her bottom lip to keep from outright sobbing.

Unaware that her hand had clasped tightly around Severus', Hermione released a shuddering breath. Without uttering a word, he pulled her down onto his lap, one arm encircling her waist and the other guiding her head onto his shoulder.

One moment she'd been trying to reel in the wave of emotions that had unanticipatedly welled up, the next Hermione found herself curled up in Severus' lap, clutching tightly onto his frock coat as she cried furiously into his neck.

Even after all that transpired between the two, Hermione still half expected Severus to chastise her for crying, grousing that she was too emotional. She was surprised when his arms around her tightened, holding her tightly against him while she sobbed out all of her angst.

Once her cries tapered off, Hermione lay weakly against Severus. She'd cried countless times after both of her parents died, yet somehow it hadn't seemed as cathartic as it had in Snape's arms. Hermione felt nearly limp with exhaustion, and didn't protest when Severus brought a hand up to her face, wiping away the tears with his fingers.

"Do you feel a little better?" he asked quietly, his hand lingering at the back of her neck.

Hermione gave a small nod. If she hadn't been before, she was now highly appreciative of that fact that Severus was a man of few words. His fingers were pressing into the spot below the wisp of curls on her neck, easily coaxing her tensed muscles into a more relaxed state.

Pushing her face further into Severus' chest, Hermione realized that she felt safe, completely secure in his embrace. She was almost considering a certain four letter word that started with 'L', quickly pushing the thought from her mind.

Had she uttered such a thing to Severus, he'd most likely tell her she was being young and maudlin. Besides, it seemed a bit early for such notions, especially considering the less than conventional aspects of their relationship.

Hermione's straying ruminations were interrupted when Severus' fingers curled beneath her chin. Tilting her face towards his, he began pressing soft kisses on her cheek, seemingly not put off by the residual dampness from her tears.

Severus continued gently kissing Hermione with the intent to comfort rather than arouse. She, however, had different intentions after awhile and her lips easily met his.

Hermione had just moved her head to the side, breathing heavily as Severus' warm mouth nipped at each sensitive spot on her neck when she felt something furry brush against the underside of her chin.

"Midnight!" she groaned, partially annoyed by the interruption.

The pint sized feline had insinuated himself between Hermione and Severus, raised up on two paws with the other two prostrated against the headmaster's chest.

"It seems as though your familiar feels a bit slighted," he retorted, glowering down at the kitten. "It's bad enough half of the Wizarding world is clamoring after your attention, now I'm to compete with a cat?"

Midnight merely looked back at Severus, his green eyes almost shining deviously as he batted his paws against the small, round buttons on his frock coat while mewling.

Hermione giggled. "My familiar? He's the one that found you first," she replied. "Furthermore, he follows you around, curled up behind your head while you read. If it wasn't for you keeping him out in the sitting room overnight, he'd probably prostrate himself between us in bed."

"Mrroww!" came the affronted cry from the tiny black kitten, as if he was offended by Hermione's notion.

"See? It's as if he's jumping to your defense."

"For goodness sake Severus, you're a real force to be reckoned with, do you know that?" Hermione told him. "As for these so-called other wizards, in my book no one compares to you."

It was Severus' turn to look offended, and the little witch on his lap merely laughed at him.

"One day I'm going to jinx you where you won't be able to frown."

"Are we back to making idle threats, Miss Granger? It seems as if you're suffering from short-term memory loss."

"I remember perfectly well how you threatened to hide all of my knickers," Hermione replied, nuzzling her face into Severus', lightly biting down on his earlobe, causing a low hiss to erupt from his mouth. "But you should think about what might happen if I come down to your room without anything on beneath my apprentice robes."

Severus immediately went rigid beneath Hermione, and she got a chuckle at his expense.

"It seems as though your own reprisal has turned against you," she laughed, feeling the stirrings of his erection against her behind.

Severus opened his mouth to speak, his eyes narrowing at Hermione when he realized that Midnight was still curled up beneath them, his little black furry head moving back and forth as if he was a spectator at a Quidditch match.

"Are you sure he's not an Animagus?" Hermione asked. "It's as if he understands everything we're saying."

"Doubting me already, are you?" Severus smoothly replied, one eyebrow quirked. "As I said before, he's nothing more than your everyday, common Felis domesticus; albeit one better behaved than that insufferable, ginger creature you had before."

"Crookshanks was a good kitty!" Hermione replied vehemently. "I admit he was a bit of a handful at times, but still..."

"A contradiction, considering the first part of his name is 'crook'. Not a complete misnomer." Severus looked back at Hermione, smug satisfaction written all over his face. "Still, at least he didn't feel the need to incessantly hover about."

Hermione rolled her eyes, looking down at Midnight. "Down you go. We mustn't make Severus jealous," she said.

Midnight turned his green eyes on Hermione, silently balking at being sent away.

With a gusty sigh, she picked up her wand and conjured a dish of milk near the opposite sofa. Midnight slithered down and off her lap, casting one last forlorn glance over his shoulder at the two before slinking over to his treat.

"The temerity of your familiar," Severus murmured.

"Oh Severus," Hermione breathily replied in his ear, her lips brushing against his cheek. "There's no need to be jealous. There isn't another wizard, cat, or creature that would be able to sway my attention. You're the only one I l-"

Hermione immediately stopped herself mid-sentence when she realized what she was about to confess. She knew Severus' mind worked like a freshly hone blade, and would most likely pick up on her slip of the tongue. Thankfully if he did, he made no mention of it.

"I'm not jealous of a bloody cat," he grumbled, his arms tightening around Hermione's body as he resumed where they'd left off before being interrupted by said cat.

That had been a few nights ago. Severus still hadn't let on if he'd heard Hermione's almost admission. Although his behavior hadn't changed in the slightest, she was still a bit wary.

She'd had a few days to think about her easy admittance, and came to the conclusion that her sentiments hadn't been almost uttered in vain. Acerbic tongue, snappish behavior and all, Hermione knew that she loved Severus.

It was becoming more difficult to not break out into a broad grin whenever they'd cross paths throughout the day in the castle. Severus was a master of disguise, and had no trouble hiding his emotions. However, he'd easily picked up on the way Hermione's amber eyes lit up ever so slightly when she'd unexpectedly run into him.

Now he was standing before her in the Potions classroom, and she seemed to be having the utmost trouble focusing, never mind keeping a straight face.

"Did Professor Slughorn inform you about the rescheduling of your exam?" Severus asked.

"Yes. He didn't tell me why the change of day but that's no surprise."

"Very well, Miss Granger. If you have any further questions you know my office hours."

With that Severus gave a curt nod before stepping down off the podium. He was on his way out of the classroom when he paused by Benedict's work table. The student immediately became jumpy when the brooding headmaster stood next to him.

Hermione noticed that Benedict had been fussing with his Sopohorous bean and a knife. Severus pointedly told him something, to which the young man emphatically nodded his head, watching with a perplexed look on his face as the headmaster swept out of the room.

Curiously looking down at the young man, she saw him pick his knife back up, using the flat side of the blade to crush the Sopohorous bean.

Her eyebrows shot up on her forehead, almost becoming lost in her curls. 'Severus willingly offering advice to a Gryffindor student? I might need to keep this memory and view it in a Pensieve just to make sure it really happened!'

Benedict turned in an almost perfect potion. He profusely thanked Hermione for allowing him to stay afterwards before picking up his ruck and running off to lunch.

A timid knocking came forth from the classroom door, and she looked up to find Luna standing there.

"Ginny asked me to come find you," she explained in a breezy tone.

"And why didn't the mollycoddling witch come to drag me to lunch herself ?" Hermione demanded.

Luna gave a small shrug. "She said she needed to visit the Owlery first."

"I bet she did," Hermione grumbled underneath her breath. She was in no position to throw stones, but she had noticed that Ginny had been acting a tad more covertly than usual as of late. Hermione chalked it up to the bloke that she was dating but not actually dating, and left it alone.

Luna and Hermione walked through the corridors, dodging between throngs of students as they made their way to the great hall. Ginny was already sitting down and had saved them each a seat.

"Nice walk?" Hermione asked as she slung her legs over the bench.

"Mm-hmm," the redhead murmured, a bashful grin on her face.

"If I wasn't busy with keeping students from blowing up their cauldrons, making sure Slughorn doesn't completely abandon his post, all the while studying for my Potions master exam, I might be slightly worried by your cloak and dagger behavior."

"Well regardless of me studying for our N.E.W.T.s, I can't help but notice that you're marginally less twitchy than usual. Care to explain that?"

Ginny bore a grin that was so salacious Hermione was unable to hold her steady gaze. To make matters worse, when she turned her head Hermione noticed Severus sitting down at the staff dais.

Feeling heat threatening to rise to her face, Hermione desperately thought of anything to distract herself. Surreptitiously looking back at the dais, she saw the headmaster intently focused on his meal, but was sure that there was a knowing smirk lingering on his face.

"Luna, are you going to let your friend talk to me like that?" Hermione asked, pouring herself some pumpkin juice.

"Hmm?" the blonde witch distractedly mumbled, pausing briefly to look up from her plate.

Hermione extended one leg beneath the table, reaching across until she was able to lightly thump her foot against Ginny's leg. "That's for being horrid."

Ginny, on the other hand, was unrepentant. "And that's what you get for kicking me," she hissed. "There goes your fancy bloke."

Turning around on the bench, Hermione saw Professor Sunderland walking into the great hall. His eyes immediately fell upon the young Potions apprentice, whom merely gave a curt nod before turning back to her friends.

"Hermione, why are you being mean to Randy? Are you still in a strop with him because of your hand?"

Hermione knew that Ginny was merely taking the piss at her, but vowed to get revenge nonetheless. "At least he kept walking; I guess the man isn't completely obtuse."

"All right I'll stop teasing, for now," the redhead conceded, changing the subject. "On a more serious note, Luna and I will be here for another week until school is out. You are planning on visiting me over the summer hols, right?"

"Of course!" Hermione replied in an almost insulted tone. "Just because I'm not with your brother doesn't mean things have changed between us. Alternatively, you're more than welcome to visit me at home. Just send an owl so I'll know to ready the spare bedroom. Luna, that invitation is extended to you as well."

"Thanks, Hermione," Luna told her. "You're welcome to come by whenever you'd like as well. Daddy said he likes you because you didn't step on the Dirigible plums."

Hermione paused for a moment, thinking about her odd father and the bushes with the strange, orange fruit on either side of their house. Xenophilius Lovegood was definitely one sandwich short of a picnic, his daughter not completely far behind, but they were still some of the kindest people she knew.

"Well, tell him I said hello when you return home," she told Luna.

"Okay," she replied with a smile.

Just then a small cry erupted throughout the great hall. Multiple heads swiveled towards the source of chaos, and Hermione found a first year Gryffindor boy sitting on the floor, clutching onto his hand.

"I'll take that as my cue to leave," Hermione said, pushing herself to her feet and running over to the child.

"What happened, Mister Bradley?" she asked the small boy, noting the tears that were forming in his brown eyes as he tried to keep his right hand still. His pinky finger was pointed in a way that nature hadn't intended and Hermione was sure that it was broken.

"Dunno, I was just trying to talk to my mate and then I fell off the bench," he explained in a whiny voice.

Sighing inwardly, Hermione helped the young man to his feet. Justin Bradley was one of her more clumsy students; whenever she had him in Potions class Hermione made sure to keep an extra vigilant eye on his work space. Every professor at Hogwarts was in agreement that he reminded them of a potent combination of Nymphadora Tonks with him falling over his own feet every other day, and Seamus Finnigan with his inclination of making everything explode.

"I guess we're off to the infirmary again," Justin asked her with a feeble expression on his face.

"Too right you are," Hermione told him warmly. "At the rate you're going, Madam Pomfrey is going to bring your bed from the dormitories to keep in the Hospital Wing!"

One of the students handed over Justin's rucksack, which Hermione slung over her left shoulder. The group of students then watched as she gently steered him out of the great hall.

"Good heavens, Mister Bradley!" Professor McGonagall had been standing in the doorway of her classroom, talking to Filch when they walked past. "Again?"

"I think it's a broken finger," Hermione explained to the Head of House.

The older witch merely shook her head, while the cantankerous caretaker glowered down at the student.

"I suppose you and your mates were mucking about again," Filch snarled in his scratchy voice.

To everyone's surprise, Justin merely grinned back at the boorish man. "I didn't make a mess or break anything this time - well, anything besides my finger." He then held his hand up with the awkwardly bent finger in front of his face. "Blimey, this really hurts when you think about it."

"Cheeky lad, away with you! Let the young misses get you sorted out with Madam Pomfrey. And mind that you don't make any more work for me, d'you hear?"

McGonagall gave a small nod for Hermione to continue their way onto the Hospital Wing.

"Mister Filch never talked to any of us when I was a student," Hermione mused. "Unless of course it was to yell at us for tracking mud into the castle or something of the like. Aren't you scared of him?"

"Not really," Justin told her, slightly wincing. "He's not so bad, considering that fact that I am dead clumsy and go arse over kettle at any given moment."

Hermione was in such agreement with Justin's statement that she didn't bother telling him to mind his language.

"He still yells at everyone for tracking mud into the castle. I found him cleaning one day and asked if he wanted my help since he was doing it by hand. Once he finished yelling at me, saying that he didn't need some snot-nosed first year showing off their magic, I used my wand to get rid of the footprints anyway."

Completely perplexed as to why the child would do such a thing and risk serving a length of detention, Hermione asked him so.

"Mister Filch reminds me of my crotchety uncle back at home. My dad's a wizard, mum's a Muggle and Uncle Art is dad's brother. He's a Squib but none of us mind; he would let me practice my magic to clean his room before coming to school, so long as I didn't let Mum and Dad know."

"I'm surprised Mister Filch didn't tell you to bugger-off."

"He tried," Justin continued. "All I did was offer him a piece of toffee and ask if he wanted to play Exploding Snap with me. He's quite good at it, he beat me three out of five."

"You got Mister Filch to play Exploding Snap with you?" Hermione asked, her eyes wide as she looked down at the child.

"Yeah," he grinned. "I told him about my uncle too, and that if he needed help doing the floors again I didn't mind."

Hermione was still in a daze by the time they got to the Hospital Wing. It was surreal, Filch willingly putting up with a student. Then again, she reasoned to herself, she'd never thought that her and Severus would be...an item - if she could call it that. Stranger things had occurred before, nothing being impossible at Hogwarts.

"Ah, Mister Bradley!" Madam Pomfrey chided, leading the young man to a bed. "Something tells me your visit will be anything but jejune. Will there ever be a day that you'll come calling just for a plaster?"

Justin grinned cheekily at the elderly Healer, holding up his right hand.

"Goodness, child! You've only broken the left little finger last week. What happened, you felt out of sorts and needed to break the right one?" Madam Pomfrey continued, now brandishing her wand. "No matter, you should be used to this by now."

She then easily reset the finger back into place, earning a sharp cry from Justin. Briefly examining his hand to make sure everything was fine, the witch announced that he was able to return to his afternoon classes.

"Are you going to stay in one piece for the rest of the day? Or will I need to put a full Body-Binding curse on you?" Hermione asked Justin as she walked him to his next class.

"Hmm, dunno. I guess if covering me in Spello-tape doesn't work a Body-Binding curse will do," he replied.

Feigning annoyance, Hermione ushered the young wizard into his Charms class, giving a small wave to Professor Flitwick.

The rest of the week seemed to fly by for Hermione. Thankfully it went by uneventfully, as she was becoming more stressed by the day the closer it got to her Potions master exam.

When she wasn't in the classroom she spent her time in the library poring over books, or in her own room. There had been a few instances where Ginny had come looking for her, a dark visage that she'd inherited from her mother on her face.

"Hermione! What is your arse doing up here when it's supposed to be at breakfast?" she all but shouted, earning a powerful glare from Madam Pince.

"Shush!" Hermione hissed, turning her back to the offended librarian. "I wanted to get a bit of studying in before classes started."

"Well you've missed breakfast, but I've brought you something anyway," she continued, pulling a napkin wrapped bacon sandwich from her bag. "Because I know you're going to tell me that you'll have one of the house-elves bring you something, but you'll forget anyway."

Hermione rolled her eyes, yet took the proffered sandwich. "Thanks Ginny, you pushy little bint."

"What are friends for?" Ginny asked wryly, throwing her ruck down on the table next to Hermione's things and sitting down. "Why are you making yourself barmy, Hermione? You've done nothing but study since coming back to school; I know you've committed all of this material plus some extra to memory I'm sure."

Shutting the oversized book closed and pushing it across the table, Hermione buried her head in both hands. "I know...I don't know." She then felt a warm fingers prying one hand away from her head.

"What is it love? Is something else bothering you that you need to talk about?" Ginny asked, concern flooding her brown eyes.

'Besides the fact that I'm in love with our headmaster and I'm too scared to tell him?'

"No, I guess I'm just overwrought," Hermione conceded, lifting her head and looking at Ginny.

"Well you look as if you've spent your evening doing a pub crawl," her friend continued. "Why don't you go back to your room and lie down for a while? Your next class isn't for a couple of hours."

Hermione quirked one eyebrow. "Do you really know my schedule all that well?"

Ginny merely threw her back a defiant smirk. "How else do you think I've been able to find you to drag you to meals?"

Hermione pursed her lips. "I pity the wizard that gets saddled with you."

Ginny broke out into laughter over Hermione's comment that came out less snarky than intended.

"Fine! I'll go back to my bloody room and have a kip if it'll keep you quiet," Hermione grumbled, gathering her belongings.

The two were about to stand up from the table when Madam Pince bustled over, a dour expression on her faced.

"You girls are entirely too chatty! This isn't-"

Her large, pointed hat shook with every emphasized word that came from her mouth, when she paused mid-sentence and exaggeratedly sniffed the air.

"Is that-bacon I smell in my library?" she asked sounding affronted. "That is bacon! Out! The both of you, out right now! I will not have you treating this area as if it's your common room!"

The elderly librarian then stood with her hands on both hips, watching Hermione and Ginny like a hawk until they'd both gotten up and left.

"The nerve! Bacon! In my library, hmph!" they heard Madam Pince muttering to herself as she stalked away.

"She acts as if we brought a ruck full of Dungbombs to fling at the walls!" Ginny laughed under her breath. "Besides it wasn't as if you were eating, the ruddy sandwich is in your bag!"

"Madam Pince has a nose like a bloodhound," Hermione shot back. "I bet she can sleuth out chocolate that someone's eaten a month ago if it lingered on a hand that was about to come in contact with one of her books."

"I know," Ginny agreed. "She treats those books as if each was her first born. Even you didn't kill my brother when he spilled pumpkin juice on your book that time at dinner."

Hermione's eyes grew round when she remembered Ron impatiently reaching across her at the Burrow, going for one of the bowls instead of waiting for it to be handed to him. His elbow knocked into Hermione's glass, emptying its contents all over the book perched on her lap. Ron had been completely unrepentant, grousing about why did she bring it to supper in the first place.

After promptly smacking him in the back of the head with the wet book, Hermione whipped her wand out, siphoning the liquid off before it was able to seep into the pages. She'd then put the tome far away from Ron as possible, finishing her meal while glowering at him the entire time.

"All right, off I go to my room. I suppose there's no sense telling you that I'll meet you for lunch as I'm sure you're going to be at my door with Luna."

"Predicting the future now? I guess you've been sitting next to Trelawney at dinner too often," Ginny said, cackling when she saw Hermione grimace with disgust. The frizzy hair, oversize spectacled professor had still been trying to prognosticate events in Hermione's life, to which each time she would feign feeling peaky, giving more attention than was necessary to her food.

"Goodbye, Ginny. I'll see you later," Hermione told her before going in the direction of her private chambers.

"What is this I hear about you and Miss Weasley eating in the library?" Severus asked Hermione later that evening.

Hermione heaved a sigh, looking up from the book and parchment she'd been scrawling on. "We were not eating in the library," she answered, setting her quill down. "Ginny merely thought I looked peaky and reamed me out for missing breakfast. She'd brought me a bacon sandwich but I'd put it in my bag to eat later."

Severus shook his head, a few errant black strands falling across his face. "The story sounded odd to me."

"Let me guess, she came banging at your door to rat us out?"

"Not exactly," he replied, turning the pages of his book. "Her caterwauling was so loud it disrupted the portraits. Apparently she called for Dumbledore and he'd made his way to the library. When he returned he bore the damndest look on his face."

Hermione froze for a moment, mulling over his predecessor. Severus rarely spoke of Dumbledore yet his portrait still remained in the tower office. By the time Hermione arrived in the evenings he was either out of his frame or asleep. When she'd first started coming to his office, she noticed that Severus grew uneasy at her staring at the portrait so she tried to do so surreptitiously afterwards.

"So...what did Dumbledore say when he returned?" she carefully asked.

"The old sod was laughing. Apparently he'd found it amusing that Madam Pince called for him instead of me, claiming that I wasn't reasonable enough. Because nagging a deceased headmaster is the reasonable thing to do. In any event, he placated her and then returned to his frame."

Hermione bent her head back down over her parchment, fighting back her own laughter. Her mirth was short lived when she heard Severus open his mouth again.

"Do you care to explain why you've been skipping meals again?" he asked accusingly.

"It's not as if I'm doing it purposely," Hermione defensively retorted. "Haven't you ever become so enthralled with your work that you forgot to eat?"

Severus smirked to himself. He had, in fact, skipped many meals as well as burned the midnight oil when he was doing research. But he wasn't about to admit that to Hermione.

"We're discussing you, Hermione. You need to eat and sleep properly, and when I say sleep I don't mean you slipping out of bed in the middle of the night, thinking I won't notice."

She immediately felt her face growing warm. 'Damn! I didn't think he'd realize.'

"Your determination is encouraging, but it won't do for you to become ill," Severus continued. "You're going to need your wits about you next week."

"You're as bad as Ginny," Hermione mumbled.

"The young Miss Weasley is a trip to Hogsmeade compared to what I'll do to you if you don't take care of yourself."

Hermione's amber eyes widened at the ominous sounding words. She knew that Severus had a sadistic sense of humor but would he actually use the Imperious Curse on her like he threatened before?

"Stop ogling me and finish your tea," he simply told her, bending down to pick up Midnight who was pawing at his trousers.

"You know, I wonder about you sometimes," Hermione said before taking a healthy gulp of the warm, fragrant liquid.

Severus always kept fresh herbs on hand, and Hermione found that she preferred his strong brews compared to the tasteless teabags she'd used back at home. Watching him prepare the teapot was another story altogether. His practiced hands easily curved around the brown ceramic, long, steady fingers preparing each cup to taste...

'Goodness, am I really sitting here romanticizing over the state of his hands?' Hermione asked herself, wondering if she was going off the deep end.

Nervously draining the remains of her tea, she watched as Severus put Midnight down on the floor. He then crossed over to the table, refilled her cup, stirring in one teaspoon of sugar before pushing it back across the table.

"Thank you," Hermione mumbled to Severus whom was sitting down again. She continued scratching her quill across the parchment while sipping at the hot tea.

Letting out a yawn that threatened to unhinge her jaw, she set the quill down, her eyes becoming slightly unfocused. "I guess I am a bit knackered," she murmured before finishing off her second cup.

Severus gave a noncommittal grunt, not looking up from his book.

Hermione looked over the words she'd written down within the past thirty minutes, trying to make sure that she hadn't missed anything. Without realizing it, the neatly scrawled words grew blurry as her eyes began to droop, causing her to force them open.

She was growing more tired by the minute, her limbs becoming completely relaxed until the threat of falling asleep on the sofa kicked in.

Sinking back into the cushions, Hermione willed herself to get up and make her way to the lavatory, now feeling the uncomfortable effects of the imbibed beverage.

"All right, I need two minutes and then I'll get up," she muttered to no one in particular.

Severus and Midnight were both peering at Hermione as she lay sprawled against the sofa, looking like a lethargically moving butterfly that had been pinned into place.

With a small cry of determination, Hermione finally managed to push herself to her feet, noting that her entire body felt like dead weight. Her brain felt fuzzy and it was almost as if she was walking through water.

"Oh no," she mumbled, seeing the carpet coming closer to her face.

Severus had been eyeing Hermione with rapt attention when he noticed her body tip forward, nearly falling down. He'd sprung up from his armchair, easily catching her before she met the floor.

"Thank you, Severus," she slurred, both eyes now at half mast and barely able to focus on his.

"Are you ready to go to bed now?" he asked.

"I still need to finish my..." Hermione trailed off, her amber eyes crashing shut. Remembering she was being held up by Severus, she forced her eyes back open. "Why am I suddenly so-"

A look of sluggish belligerence came across her face. "That wasn't nice, Severus!" she chided with the slightest bit of force she was able to muster. "I wouldn't slip a sleeping potion into your tea!"

Severus didn't appear repentant in the least. "I told you; Miss Weasley has her ways and I have mine. Besides your clandestineness is no match for mine. You'd never get past my wards to slip anything anywhere."

"That. Was. Not. Nice!" Hermione cried weakly, her body growing limp in his arms.

Severus chuckled before easily hoisting her up, carrying her in the direction of his room.

Hermione's head lolled against his neck, falling asleep for the briefest of seconds before slightly jerking back awake. "I need to use the loo first."

"Do you think you can manage without falling unconscious?"

"You should have thought about that before letting me suck down two cups of that tea!" Hermione replied flippantly, doggedly looking her dark wizard in the eye. "All right, if I'm not out in three minutes you can come in."

Severus arched an eyebrow yet carried her to the lavatory, setting her down inside and switching on the light. He shut the door to give her privacy, yet was unable to walk away. He felt slightly foolish waiting outside as if she was a small child, but the sleeping draught that he'd slipped into her tea was stronger than usual. He was surprised when she hadn't outright slumped over her parchment at the coffee table.

After a few bangs and muffled swears were issued from the lavatory, Hermione opened the door, leaning heavily against the frame. "I'm still in one piece," she said breathily, pushing herself upright only to fall onto Severus.

Loosely winding her arms around his neck when he picked her back up, Hermione closed her eyes and fell back asleep within the seven seconds it took for Severus to carry her to his room.

He placed her down on the bed, watching as she turned over onto her stomach, laying horizontally across the mattress and burying her face in the eiderdown.

"Where's your nightgown?" he asked, moving to the side when Hermione haphazardly toed off her shoes and kicked them away.

"Ummhmmm," she mumbled unintelligibly.

Shaking his head, Severus walked around to the other side of the bed and tilted Hermione's head to the side.

"Would you like to repeat that?"

Hermione continued with her incoherent mumbling. Severus gave up trying to make sense out of the nearly unconscious witch. Instead he made quick work of unfastening her long, grey apprentice robes and tugging them off her body. He could hear her mumbling something again, and had to lift her head to make her words come out clearly.

"Hermione, I can't understand you with your lips pressed against the bed."

"I said...thank you...and could you please unfasten my bra?"

Gritting his teeth, Severus felt as if his own plans had backfired on him. He could have conjured one of Hermione's nightgowns from her room with no problem, but he'd still have to physically pour her into it as she was barely able to lift her own head up.

He was already sporting an erection upon seeing her bared curves laid out across his bed, the dip in her back seemingly begging for him to trace his tongue down its contour and over to each flared hip.

Still grumbling to himself, Severus hovered over Hermione, easily undoing the clasp on the back of her bra. Unable to stop himself, he pushed the slackened garment to the side, tracing his fingertips across her warm skin.

Hermione shifted slightly, moaning when she felt the gentle contact. It stopped just as soon as it started, and she was rent between the need to voice her disappointment and giving in to her fatigue.

It hadn't mattered that Severus had yet to personally explore the more intimate areas of her body. He noticed that Hermione melted into his touch no matter where he placed his hands, no matter if she was awake or asleep.

During the night she'd wrap around him like Devil's Snare, her springy curls seemingly also trying to devour his face. If he got up to use the lavatory in the middle of the night, as soon as he returned to bed, Hermione would reach out for him in the midst of her sleep, only stilling once she'd secured at least one arm and leg around his body.

Trying to avert his glance from the almost completely nude witch on his bed, Severus hurriedly changed into his nightclothes. He was about to crawl into bed when he realized that Midnight would come clawing at his bedroom door if his milk hadn't been left out.

Cracking open the door and lazily flicking his wand in the direction of the sitting room, Severus walked back to the bed. He knew he could have slightly levitated Hermione, just enough to get her beneath the eiderdown and sheets. Yet the temptation of touching her was too great, and he opted to pull her body against his, working the bedclothes over both of them.

Severus doused the lights and shoved his wand beneath his pillow. Hermione's head had been resting against his chest when she began writhing about, becoming irritated by the her dangling bra. Listlessly shifting her weight, she managed to completely remove the offending garment before tossing it aside.

"I suppose I should be peeved with you for sneaking me that...potion, but I'm not," she mumbled sleepily, limping drawing an arm around Severus' chest.

"It was for your own good," he replied, running a hand across her bare shoulders.

"I guess I won't be too cross with you," Hermione continued, her voice growing soft until it was nearly a whisper. "Maybe that's why I..." Sleep promptly dragged her down, and she began snoring lightly.

Severus was mildly curious about what Hermione had began saying before going unconscious, but decided that he'd rather her in a lucid state if she chose to complete her confession.
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Broken Dreams