Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Broken Dreams	By : onecelestialbeing Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 34540 -:- 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
- 13
- 14
- 15
A/N: Your reviews mean the world to me, thanks so much!!

Severus was reluctant to unwind his arms from the deeply slumbering witch, but knew that they both needed to get up. He made short work of bathing and changing before gently rousing Hermione awake.

"What is it?" she mumbled sleepily, clutching the eiderdown to her bare chest.

"You need to have breakfast before your exam."

"I'm not hungry," Hermione's voice trailed off, ready to go back to sleep until Severus' words finally registered. "Oh my god, my exam is today!" she yelped, her eyes snapping open as she sat up in bed.

Practically tumbling out of bed still clad only in her knickers, Hermione frantically looked around for her clothes until Severus calmly handed over her dress.

"Why did you let me sleep for so long?" she wailed, frowning in his direction.

"Keep your hair on, Hermione," Severus drawled, unable to peel his eyes away from her half nude form. "You still have an hour before your exam, which gives you plenty of time to eat and calm your nerves."

"As if I'd be able to eat a single bite," she griped, futilely finger combing the tangles out of her curls.

"You can, and you will," Severus firmly replied, pulling on Hermione's arm and leading her to the sitting room.

Gasping slightly at the contact, Hermione briefly remembered their shared caresses the night before and involuntarily shuddered. Severus felt it and turned to look at Hermione, smirking knowingly when he easily deciphered the look on her face .

"It's astonishing how completely uninhibited you are in the dark of my chambers, yet blush so profusely in the morning," he commented, becoming further amused when the color in Hermione's cheeks deepened.

"Do you really need to point it out!" she snapped, rushing ahead of him into the sitting room.

Severus was still chuckling when he called for a house-elf to bring up a platter for breakfast. Midnight immediately greeted the two, rubbing against both of their legs when they walked into the room.

"It seems as if your familiar was finally able to practice restraint," Severus commented dryly. "My armchair, desk and coffee table all appear to be intact."

"I found one of Crookshank's old toys. It has catnip in it. I suppose he decided to occupy himself with that instead of your furniture."

"A bit late for that," the dark wizard grumbled.

A few minutes later a house-elf appeared with a large spread. Hermione sat with her plate in her lap, merely picking at her food until she noticed Severus glowering at her.

"Hermione, those eggs did not murder your friends nor dishonor your family. Stop looking at them as if you would rather fight them to the death rather than eat them."

"Hmph," Hermione sniffed, unceremoniously shoving a forkful into her mouth.

When she'd eaten all that she was able to, Hermione used the Floo to return to her own rooms to have a shower and change clothes. By the time she'd finished doggedly moving about she had ten minutes to make her way across to the school and to the room where her exam was being given.

Hastily dashing through the empty corridors, while simultaneously charming her hair back into a tight bun and dodging a misbehaving Peeves that caught her running past him, Hermione forced herself to calm down and walked the rest of the way to the classroom.

Severus was already inside, along with another elderly wizard with bifocals and deep, purple flowing robes. Hermione was unable to catch his name when Severus introduced the two, and his hands shook when he clutched onto hers, but he seemed to be quite affable.

Hermione's task turned out to be less work than she thought. She had to simultaneously brew no fewer than two potions without consulting any tomes, and then complete a written exam explaining the usage of different potions, as well as magical plant and magical creature derived ingredients.

An hour was given to Hermione, which had been more than enough time. She'd easily brewed three potions that were on a difficult scale, in between filling out the long roll of parchment.

As usual, Hermione filled out her parchment in a manner that was more than adequate, having to use an extra piece to be able to fit in every paragraph. The antique wizard had adjusted and readjusted his spectacles countless times, trying to read Hermione's minute handwriting, until he gave up and thrust the sheaf of parchment into the smug looking headmaster's hands.

Hermione was patiently standing next to her bubbling cauldrons, her brown eyes meeting Severus' black ones, biting down on her lip to keep from outright laughing when she saw the aggravated look on his face. If he thought that he'd been finished going over her mile long parchments when she was his student, he'd been sadly mistaken.

She'd soon been waved out of the classroom and took to nervously placing up and down the corridor while waiting to be called back inside. Hermione had paused to distractedly peer out of a window when she heard heavy footsteps pounding down the hall, followed by a second set of more hurried sounding ones.

Trelawney was pattering behind a briskly cantering Randy, whom looked ready to turn his wand on himself just to escape her clutches. The usually fastidiously dressed and coiffed DADA professor now look thoroughly harried, his sandy hair ruffled up and sticking out from his head and his waistcoat askew.

"Good morning," Hermione politely greeted, privately taking joy in Randy being on the other end of Trelawney's batty behavior.

"Good morning, Miss Granger," he replied with as much courtesy as he was able to muster. He then shot Sybil an apprehensive look before attempting to slide further away from her.

Hermione forgot about her nervousness as she waited to be called back into the classroom and told the results of her exam. She was completely engrossed in the odd exchange between the two professors, wondering why it look as if the dotty Divination professor was chasing the wizard.

"He won't listen to me," Trelawney shrilled, her eyes wide as an owl's behind her magnified spectacles. "Neither will you," she added as an afterthought to Hermione.

Sighing heavily as if the weight of the world rested upon her shoulders, Hermione turned towards Sybil. "All right, I'll listen to you now," she patiently told her as if she was speaking to a small child. "What would you like to tell me?"

Sybil's countenance immediately brightened as she straightened up, fixing her large glasses and patting her frizzy hair. "Things will be fine but you should tread lightly with the dark one," she portentously told Hermione, before turning to look at Randy. "And you should stop-stop...wait a minute, dear boy, give me a second."

Randy looked every bit as aggravated as Hermione felt, yet seemed to be trying to maintain some sense of dignity. "It's very fortuitous that I should run into you," he began to Hermione, warily looking over his shoulder at the hovering Divination professor. "If you're not otherwise engaged later on, I was wondering if we could perhaps go to dinner? Wherever you'd like."

"Oh! I know what is it now!" Trelawney yelped, bustling over to Randy. "You are in grave danger! Or you will be if you remain here. I see a dark-"

"That is not going to happen, Mister Sunderland," Hermione replied, her eyebrow quirked at Trelawney, whom was still flitting about like a moth with an electric current being run through it.

"Why not?" Randy asked as if he was unable to understand that he'd just been turned down. "Your mates didn't tell me that you were seeing anyone."

"Not as if that has any bearings on the matter," she crisply continued. "But as it happens I'm already spoken for, and he doesn't like to share. So I suggest you chivvy along unless Trelawney's prophecies come to fruition. Or better yet, why don't you ask Sybil to dinner? I'm sure she can use a break from predicting everyone's death."

Right at that moment Severus swept into the hallway, his lips pressed into a tight line as he surveyed his three colleagues.

"Miss Granger," he called tersely, nodding for her to come back inside.

Without another word Hermione followed in behind the headmaster, grateful for the interruption.

"Your suggestion was very witty," he muttered under his breath as they walked over to the elderly wizard in purple robes. " And you were absolutely correct; I'm not at all inclined to share."

"You heard all of that?" she whispered back, feeling a mixture of shock and pleasure.

Severus merely smirked as the wizard approached the two.

It was no great shock that Hermione performed well above standards on her exam. Inside she was whooping with joy but placidly thanked the elderly wizard before she was dismissed. Severus softly told her the password for his tower office, telling her to go ahead and he'd meet her there after escorting purple robes from the school.

Hermione felt completely buoyant as she flitted through the corridors, smiling so hard that her face felt as if it was going to break. Practically yelling the password at the gargoyle guarding Severus' office, she ran inside and let out a happy squeal.

"Hello Midnight," she said when the little kitten rubbed against her ankles, wanting to be picked up. She in the middle of musing over her new title with the feline when she heard a quiet voice from the corner of the office.

"Well done, Miss Granger," Dumbledore praised from his portrait near Severus' desk.

Her eyes lighting up, Hermione scooped Midnight up into her arms and walked over. "Thank you, sir," she replied, eagerly agog that he was speaking to her.

"It's not as if it's a complete surprise, but nevertheless it will be an honor to have you as our resident Potions mistress."

Hermione's face slightly glowed, inwardly preening at the previous headmaster's accolades.

"Where is your young man?" Dumbledore kindly asked, causing Hermione's brown eyes to widen slightly at his words. Did he know about them? She'd never seen him awake in his frame when she was in his office but then again, the wizard had always seemed privy to every occurrence at Hogwarts.

"Severus told me to wait here for him," Hermione answered bashfully. "I believe he wanted to see Mister...I'm sorry but I didn't quite catch his name."

Dumbledore knew just who Hermione was talking about and repeated the elderly wizard's name, and she nodded politely, instead of uttering 'blimey, that's a mouthful', like she was thinking.

"Your cat nearly looks like Minerva in her Animagus form," he commented, nodding towards the small black ball of fur that was now wriggling about in her arms, trying to play with the few loose curls that had made their way out of its tight bun.

"Well he's not an Animagus but he is naughty, aren't you Midnight," she cooed at the feline. "He nearly destroyed Severus' sitting room."

At the mention of his previous misdeeds, Midnight leapt down from Hermione's arms and dashed across the office.

"Excuse me," she hastily told Dumbledore, chasing in behind the cat, hoping that he wouldn't try to claw at any of the upholstery. Severus usually used a confinement charm on the kitten when he was alone in his office tower, allowing him to roam within a certain area that was free of furniture and such. Hermione was able to easily break it, only she would have to keep tight rein on the kitten afterwards.

"Come back here Midnight!" she chided when he jumped on top of an antique looking cabinet. Hermione's mouth fell open when the entire structure proceeded to move forward, its doors opening up to reveal a shallow stone base with ancient runes carved into the side. Inside of the basin was a white, shimmery substance that looked to be a mix between water and swirling vapor.

"Midnight, do you want Severus to flagellate us both?" Hermione thundered, scowling at the kitten whom merely gave a soft mewl. "Get down from there!"

Midnight hopped down from the top of the cabinet, landing precisely on the edge of the stone basin. He seemingly knew to not let his paws touch the surface, merely skimming along the sides. Huffing impatiently, Hermione stalked over to the cat, trying to pick him up without touching the swirling vapors.

Wayward as ever, Midnight deftly moved out of her reach, causing Hermione to cross over to try and find purchase on his black fur. "I think I'm going to let Severus use that denuding spell on you like he threatened," she grumbled, motioning to pick him up. She didn't notice that the edge of her apprentice robes touched the swirling vapors, and down she went into the Pensieve, yelping in fright with Midnight snuggled in the crook of her arm.

"See what you've done!" she hissed angrily, trying to regain her footing. Hermione knew the function of a Pensieve even if she'd personally never come in contact with one. Harry'd told her about his experiences with Dumbledore, and later Snape, but she knew that viewing someone else's memories wasn't something that was taken lightly.

Her surroundings slowly began materializing, and Hermione found herself standing among a thicket of trees beneath a darkened, night sky. It immediately reminded her of the year that she, Ron and Harry had gone into hiding while hunting for Horcruxes.

She was too nervous to stay where she was, but her intuition told her to keep moving. Midnight had thankfully gone quiet, as if he was anticipating something. Anxiously walking through the forest, Hermione felt her heart leap into her throat when she saw a hooded figure clad in black robes stealthily moving in between the trees.

Reminding herself that she was viewing a memory, that the person couldn't actually see her, Hermione forced her feet to move out of their frozen state. Wondering where the dark figure was moving towards, she saw a slight glimmer that appeared whenever magical wards had been broken through, and a familiar pup tent came into view.

Moving closer yet unable to allow herself to completely come out into the open, Hermione watched as the dark figure strode up to the tent. The front flap was peeled back, her seventeen year old, slightly disheveled form soon coming into view.

Her younger self appeared completely scared witless as she frantically eyed the stilled, cloaked figure.

'Why doesn't she-I mean I-run?' Hermione thought desperately. 'Furthermore why the hell don't I remember any of this"'

The person finally pulled their hood off, revealing none other than a gaunt looking Severus Snape.

The two Pensieve images didn't speak; Severus had put one finger up to his lips, motioning for Hermione to remain silent. She looked as if she'd been trembling in fear, until she finally realized that the dark wizard wasn't going to hurt her.

The current day Hermione was at her wits end, trying to dredge up this particular night. She remembered brief glimpses; Ron had already abandoned them and Harry had run off without explanation. Later on both boys had returned, dripping wet and holding the sword of Godric Gryffindor.

That much she remembered...but not Severus breaking through her protective wards and handing her what looked to be a small rucksack. Snape, as she referred to him at that time, then brushed a hand across her forehead, frowning slightly.

Hermione shifted one arm from around Midnight, touching her own forehead. Memories of tripping and falling as she was scrounging for food that evening came back, remembering how she'd cut her head open. She'd felt a slight stinging and touched it, her fingers combing back with a small amount of blood.

It looked as if the Pensieve images exchange was over with, as Hermione had turned to go back inside of the tent. She watched as Severus partially withdrew his wand, pointing it at her retreating figure before shoving it back up his sleeve and walking away.

The forest suddenly dissolved around Hermione, re-materializing into a dimly lit corridor. Hermione instinctively flattened her back against a wall, trying to still the wriggling cat in her arms. Breathing hard her eyes tried to focus in the darkness, in an attempt to remember where she was.

Just then she noticed a flash coming from down the hallway. Forcing her feet to move forward, Hermione walked with great trepidation, her stomach fluttering with nervousness at what lay behind the door. Hovering by the doorway of the darkened room, she peered around the corner trying to see if anyone was inside.

The flash that she'd noticed merely seconds before had now settled in the corner. Heart thumping erratically she moved closer, finding what used to be Dumbledore' phoenix, Fawkes, hovering over a unidentifiable, shapeless mass on the floor.

Bending down to get a better look, Hermione's heart nearly stopped when she heard the soft patter of footsteps, sounding as if they were coming in her direction. She nearly jumped out of her own skin when she saw her own bedraggled form appear from under what looked to be Harry's Invisibility Cloak.

The Pensieve Hermione was holding out her lit wand, her hand shaking as she moved closer towards Fawkes and the mass on the floor.

"Professor?" she called in a shaky voice after tossing the cloak to the ground. Pointing her wand down low, she illuminated the face of a barely conscious Snape.

Hermione staggered, feeling her legs threatening to collapse from beneath her when she caught sight of the half-dead wizard. He looked wraith-like, his already pale skin was now completely devoid of any color, the copious amounts of blood standing out starkly against it. His appearance from the first Pensieve memory in the woods paled in comparison to how Snape now looked; like a man that had been marked for death.

"Professor?" she repeated, sounding as if she was trying to keep the panic from rising in her voice. Fawkes had stepped back slightly, as if waiting for Hermione to finish what he'd started.

Gasping aloud, she watched as the hardly lucid man seemed to come around slightly, bringing up one bloody hand to clutch firmly onto Hermione's shoulder.

He beckoned her closer, rasping about unintelligible words, causing Hermione to kneel at his side and put her head close to his mouth.

"Don't be stupid!" she snapped in a voice that sounded more soft than biting. "Let me help you."

It seemed as if Snape was vehemently refusing her offered succor, until at last he relented, realizing that the little tenacious witch wasn't going anywhere. At that moment Fawkes disappeared, and the Pensieve Hermione shuffled over, snatching up the Invisibility Cloak before she and Snape Apparated out of view.

By this time Hermione was used to the change of scenery. The musty room of the Shrieking Shack dissolved, re-forming into what looked like Snape's private laboratory in his dungeon chambers, the very one where he'd brewed Hermione's contraceptive potion.

Midnight immediately began writhing impatiently in Hermione's arms, wanting to get down and go over to the wizard. "Be still!" she hissed, frozen into place and intently watching the event unfolding before her eyes.

Snape was on the floor of the laboratory, and Hermione was kneeling next to him again, brandishing her wand while muttering spells under her breath, then bending closer to his mouth as if listening for instructions. Immediately she jumped up, dashing over to a cabinet, knocking over various vials and bottles until she found what she was looking for.

She held three vials in her hand, hastily pulling out the stoppers with her teeth as she made her way back to the injured, supine headmaster. Hermione huddle down behind him, carefully making sure to not spill any of the Blood-Replenishing Potion in her hands as she tipped the first vial's contents into Snape's mouth.

He swallowed the liquid, coughing and gagging in the process. Hermione instantly moved to his head, wincing as she propped him up so his back was against her chest, unfazed by the copious amounts of blood on his robes. When Snape finally stopped choking, she slowly poured the remaining two potions into his mouth.

By then Snape had seemed a bit more aware of his surroundings, although his breathing was terribly labored. Hermione still had him reclining against her, one hand smoothing his dampened hair away from his face, her other arm trying to keep his torso propped up.

It seemed as if he was trying to speak, and Hermione had to lower her head to be able to hear.

"You stupid girl," he told her, the sharp words incongruous to the weakness in his voice. "Do you realize what you've done?"

"None of that matters now," she replied sounding constrained. "You're-"

"Your lack of self-preservation is appalling," Snape grunted, cutting her off and sluggishly trying to sit up, appearing nonplussed that he was lying in the arms of his former student. "I didn't need your damned help, and now your frenetic need to play hero is surely going to make those bastards return to finish what they've started."

"No one is going to find us," Hermione reassured. "I've cast a Caterwauling Charm as well as warded and silenced the room, plus put a Disillusionment Charm on both of us."

Snape groaned, all of the fight seeming to have left his body. "I've made my bed, now I have to lie in it," he continued, his voice oddly absent of self-recrimination. "The last thing I need is a foolhardy child attempting to play savior."

Hermione looked as if she wanted to reply, but remained silent, her small hands still shakily moving over his forehead. The young witch that was covered in blood and dirt had been reacting on instinct at first, too intent on helping Snape to allow herself to panic. The reality of it all soon came crashing down, causing to Hermione look as if she was hanging onto her last threads of imperturbability, her body shuddering slightly as if she was fighting off sobbing outright.

Snape now appeared to be falling asleep, and Hermione was frantically coaxing him to stay awake, to keep talking to her. His head lolled to the side, nestled against her shoulder, and her hands immediately came up to steady him. Her fingers settled on his face, and some unspoken seemed to ignite between the two.

"Go," Snape suddenly spat with as much force as he was able to muster. "I don't want you here-leave."

Hermione's arms tightened around Snape, unwilling to let go as if he was her lifeline instead of the other way around. "No."

"Hermione, do as I say."

"Not bloody likely." Hardly taking notice of the fact that he'd called her by her first name and not 'Miss Granger' which he'd always seemed to take joy in uttering with a snarl, Hermione was anything but inclined to leave Snape alone in his wavering state. "You're in no condition to-"

"Dammit girl!" he hissed, grimacing when his body jolted from the agitation. "I'm of no use to you anymore, and you'll be flayed alive if they catch you here. It's over with, Hermione. Save yourself while you can."

His blood covered hands had come up to Hermione's forearms, doggedly trying to pry them loose from around him. At that point she was unable to keep the previously unshed tears from spilling over. Snape continued trying to wrench out of Hermione's hold, all the while swearing at her until she finally capitulated.

Despite Fawkes' tears healing the snake bite and managing to pour enough of the Blood-Replenishing potion down Snape's throat, something wrenched inside of the young witch at the thought of leaving him alone and defenseless on the floor of the dark laboratory in a cold dungeon.

She used a well placed Cushioning Charm to keep Snape propped upright before sliding up from beneath him. Rising to her full height, she looked down at the broken man, his black eyes unfathomable as they bore into hers. Wordlessly he conveyed for her to turn around and leave without looking back.

Hermione unsteadily bending down retrieve the Invisibility Cloak, faltering slightly when she saw the copious amounts of blood covering her hands. After tucking her wand into her back pocket, she threw the cloak over her body and made her way to the door.

Once her back was turned, she never noticed that Snape had his wand unsteadily trained at her, nor did she feel the memory charm that was placed.

Before Hermione was unable to take the next breath, she was out of the Pensieve and sprawled on the floor of the headmaster's office. She was frozen into place when she found Severus looming over her, the look of pure fury etched onto his features enough to reduce her to shuddering.

Rigid with fear, Hermione was unaware that Midnight had jumped out of her arms and ran to the other end of the room.

"You Obliviated me," she began quietly without preamble.

Severus was brought up short by the look on Hermione's face. At that moment he would have preferred her fiery temper compared to her visage of hurt, fear and disbelief.

"You Obliviated me!" she repeated, her voice coming out in a piercing shriek. "How could you do that to me and not tell me?"

"Hermione-" he began advancing towards her only for her to scramble backwards on the floor in a blind panic.

"Don't you come near me!" Hermione screamed hysterically, the anger rolling off of her in waves so viciously it was nearly palpable. "All this time! And you NEVER TOLD ME! Don't you dare touch me!"

Severus had walked over to Hermione in three large strides and bodily lifted her off the floor, firmly holding her in front of him by the cuff of her arms. She was fruitlessly trying to get out of his ironclad hold, angry tears now pouring down her reddened face.

"Are you going to continue to fight me? Or perhaps you'd like to be reasonable?" he asked in a cold voice.

Hermione furiously looked up at Severus through wet lashes. "Reasonable?" she shrilled, still wrenching about in his arms. She was crying more earnestly now, looking up at Severus as though her life was in jeopardy. "It's you I've been dreaming about this whole bloody time, isn't it?"

When Severus didn't answer, she continued with her tirade.

"You bloody bastard! Do you know what you've put me through for the past year!" Hermione fumed, screaming loudly enough that the portraits in Severus' office had hastily abandoned their frames.

"I did what I had to do to protect you," he told her in a tight voice, believing that his actions were justifiable. "What else would you have had me do had those bastards returned? Yes, you were and still are exceptionally capable, but don't think for one moment that your wit would have saved you had you fallen into their clutches."

"Well my wit didn't save me from this!" Hermione screamed, finally pulling out of Severus' hands and tearing open the front of her robes, exposing the scar across her chest that she'd gotten from Dolohov's wand. "Nor did it save me from that crazy bitch Bellatrix using the Cruciatus Curse nor from her ripping her dagger through my arm!" She'd then pulled her sleeve up, bearing the faded scars on her forearm.

Hermione looked like a half-crazed harpy, pacing back and forth, her bun now undone and her curls frizzing wildly about her tear soaked face.

"I can't believe this, I cannot believe this!" she muttered to herself, burying her face in her hands. "I loved you...I trusted you! How the hell could you keep something like this from me!"

Hermione felt her throat tighten as she fought to choke back her sobs. She was angry at herself teetering the edge of completely breaking down, feeling as if everything between her and Severus as well as the past two years of her life had been nothing but a farce.

"I was able to nearly get over being tortured and attacked by Death Eaters, but this? How can I know what to believe anymore? How do I know that you aren't hiding anything else?"

Severus had been rendered silent when he heard Hermione say that she loved him. Her admission had been shocking enough, but the completely distraught look on her face made something wrench terribly in his gut.

It had been one thing for her to cry over her parents death; that he'd been able to deal with. However, even then she hadn't reacted as hysterically, and knowing that he was the source of her distress made him feel nearly as guilty as he did when Lily was killed.

The room began to feel as if it was closing in on Hermione, and she could feel sweat beginning to form beneath her heavy robes, sweat trickling down her back and between her breasts. Dizzy with anguish, she staggered slightly, panicking when Severus began approaching her.

"You stay away from me! Don't come near me!" she cried, wrapping her arms tightly around her body, forcing herself to stay lucid. The last thing she wanted to do was pass out like some delicate maiden. Sobbing furiously, she glared at Severus as if she was trying to strike him down with her eyes alone.

"Why, Severus? Why?" she asked, as if her very life was contingent upon his answer. He remained silent, his chest heaving as his black eyes bore into her crazed looking face.

Without thinking, Hermione turned and fled down the four steps leading to the door, and flew out of his office.
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Broken Dreams