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Spark	By : DivineAngel Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 20930 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
- 19
Disclaimer: Nothing
you recognise belongs to me.

Author's Note:
This chapter is a little longer, and a bit exciting – I hope!
As I approach the end this becomes both easier and harder to write;
easier because all the planning is done and I know each step now
until the end; and harder because part of me doesn't want to let this
baby go and I worry that my wonderful readers will not enjoy what is
left. I hope that I have succeeded in taking you on this journey with
Hermione and Severus and that as it draws to a close you will share
my tears and excitement for the pair. Enjoy...

Chapter 18: Fear
and Loathing

Hermione's eyes widened.
She gagged and pulled back, sitting up straight and spluttering. It
wasn't just the shock of Severus's semen hitting the back of her
throat, it was the shock of his words, cried out at a vulnerable
moment. Had he meant it? She didn't really need to ask that, she knew
he did, but she hadn't expected to hear him say it. She hadn't really
thought about it at all over the last couple of months, she wasn't
sure if she ever expected to hear him say those words at all. She was
fairly sure that she didn't mind too much if he held his tongue on
the matter, understanding how hard it was for him to allow himself
the luxury of feeling such things, let alone expressing it.

She wiped her mouth and
eyed him carefully. He lay there, breathing heavily, his chest rising
and falling sharply. She wondered if he was even aware of what he had
said. Should she pretend nothing had happened? Let the moment pass
unless he chose to bring it up or repeat his sentiments. His eyes
drifted open and focussed on her in the dark.

'Hermione?' His hand
reached for her and took hold of her arm, pulling her down onto his
chest. He held her tightly, stroking her hair. She could feel his
breath on her forehead and she gripped him in a tight embrace. Even
if he never acknowledged it again, she was satisfied that she had
heard the words just once and she smiled against his chest, feeling
his heart beating beneath his thick robes.

Severus looked up at the
branches moving above them in the strong breeze. He felt a weight had
been lifted but at the same time felt shocked at his unguarded
behaviour. He caressed her back and arm as he held her, not wanting
to move. A creeping feeling of unease moved up from his gut slowly to
his throat. Something stirred in the forest, a creaking sound and a
low whine. Hermione didn't seem to have noticed, but Severus craned
his neck to look about cautiously. It may have been his imagination,
he certainly felt as though something were horribly wrong. Giving
Hermione's back a careful tap he began to sit up and she responded,
pulling away and sitting up next to him, smiling.

On seeing his stern face
Hermione's smile slipped and was replaced by a frown.

'What is it?' She asked,
her voice shaking a little.

'I don't know, but we
have to go. Now.' He stood and tucked himself away, fastening all
undone buttons and clasps. He took her hand and set off at a fast
pace through the forest, she was almost running to keep pace with
him. It took them a good half hour to reach the edge of the forest,
taking a more direct route out than they had in and upon reaching the
last row of trees Severus ground to a halt and took cover behind a
large tree, tucking Hermione into the trunk with him. 'We will talk
of tonight, and what was said, I promise. But right now you need to
run back to your dormitory as fast as you can.'

With a look of panic she
grabbed his arm and looked up into his eyes.

'Severus?'

'I really don't have
anything to tell you, I simply know that something is not right, far,
far from it. Please, go. Go now. I will see you at breakfast.' He
gave her what he hoped was a smile, but the look on her face told him
he'd missed the mark. However, without further argument she turned
and ran up the sloping lawn towards the castle. He watched until she
was a distant speck before setting off himself, hoping that there was
enough distance between them, but wanting to see her safely inside
the castle. He kept his eyes on her as light burst forth from the
main doors and was gone again. Stopping he looked around, taking in
the vast grounds; the lake, the forest, the lawns and castle front,
with a frown he took off towards the left of the castle.

He had only known such a
sensation on three occasions in his life. The first was so many years
ago now and the circumstances so relatively trivial that he doubted
it had actually been as strong a sensation as he believed at the
time. The second was Hallowe'en night, some seventeen years
previously, that occasion had turned his life around the most
dramatically and the third was the night Voldemort returned to full
strength. That was just eighteen months previously although it felt
an age. So much had happened since then, his life had become
infinitely more complicated, he not only had to split it in two
between Voldemort and Dumbledore, but a third way for Hermione. He
had become so adept at compartmentalising his thoughts and feelings
that when one intruded into an area of his life that it was not a
part of he knew it was important, potentially fatal in fact.

He walked briskly towards
the corner of the castle, under the huge east tower and felt his way
along the wall in the dark and feeling the familiar stone under his
long fingers. Coming to the spot he knew so well he halted and drew
his wand, with a sharp tap to the right stone a small doorway opened
up to admit him and with a careful look around he slid inside, the
doorway closing again behind him. 'Lumos.' He muttered, light
bursting from the tip of his wand and he set off at a jog along the
narrow passage and down a steep set of stone steps. He came to a halt
at the end in front of a small wooden door with no handle. He lay his
hand flat upon it in front of his face and the door obligingly swung
away from him, revealing his sitting room, cold and dark before him.
He entered quickly, the door swinging shut again, a narrow book case
concealing it and promptly lit a fire in the grate and deactivated
his Lumos spell.

With a huff he paced the
room, anxious to know if Hermione had arrived safely in her dormitory
and frustrated as to how he could satisfy the churning in his
stomach. He moved to the fire place and grabbed a pinch of fine
powder from the small pot on the mantle, tossing it into the flames,
which promptly flared and turned green. Severus knelt on the hearth
and thrust his head into the flames, feeling them lick at his face
and hair.

'Dumbledore's office.' He
stated with crisp clarity, the space in front of him appeared to spin
wildly for a few seconds before a view of his destination cleared
before his eyes. He looked around, the room was warmly lit, a few
papers scattered across the desk before him and Fawkes preening
himself on his perch beyond that. He heard shuffling and craned his
neck to see as far into the room as he could. He breathed a sigh of
relief as the headmaster moved into view and Severus cleared his
throat to announce his presence.

Dumbledore strode into
view with a pleasant smile upon his crinkled features.

'Ah Severus. What can I
do for you at this late hour?' He was in his nightgown and slippers,
a thick dressing gown hanging open and floppy night cap resting on
his silver head. Severus's unannounced appearance didn't seem to have
taken the old man by surprise, but then nothing ever did.

'Are you free to talk,
Albus?' Severus struggled to keep the worry from his voice.

'Of course, my boy.
What's troubling you?' Dumbledore pulled his desk chair around to the
fire and sat in it, leaning forward on his knees.

'It's nothing concrete.'
Severus hesitated, unsure how to go on. It was this same hesitation
that had prevented him from going to Dumbledore hours before the
final of the Triwizard Tournament, to his very great error. 'Albus,
without wishing to be melodramatic, I am concerned.' He settled for,
being sure to scowl appropriately and use those unctuous tones so
familiar to those who knew him.

'Oh? Why so?' Dumbledore
enquired.

'Well. I have a very dark
feeling. The same one that I have mentioned to you previously.'
Dumbledore sat upright and frowned.

'The mark? Twitching at
all?' He asked, with little sensitivity. Severus bit his tongue and
shook his head firmly. 'Hmm.' Dumbledore steepled his fingers and
gazed at a point in the mid-distance. Severus shifted the weight on
his knees impatiently.

'With all due respect,
Albus, can't we take some precautions? Have the students gathered in
their common rooms, head counts. Lock up the castle. That sort of
thing.'

Dumbledore raised an
eyebrow and looked Severus right in the eye. Fixing his own dark eyes
right back, Severus focussed on the situation, blocking out any
thought he needed to hide from the old man. Now was not the time for
any of that to come out.

~#~#~#~

'Lupin!' Harry sat bolt
upright in bed, sweat running down his back and face, his hair
plastered to his head. His hand shot up to his forehead as the
searing pain coursed through his body, emanating from his unique
scar. His vision cleared a little, as much as possible without his
glasses and he looked around the dark dormitory, only it wasn't all
that dark, moonlight poured in through one of the tall windows.
'Ron?' He called across the room, with little care if he woke anyone
else. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and felt for his
slippers.

'Harry?' A sleepy but
anxious voice came from the opposite side of the room and Harry could
hear stirring noises from two other beds.

'Neville?' Harry didn't
have time for this. He felt for his wand and glasses on the night
stand.

'F...f...ss...g...sleep.'
Someone mumbled from Harry's left.

'Neville. Get Ron up and
follow me to Dumbledore's office.' Harry said quickly as he put on
his glasses.

'But what's gong on?' His
friend asked, worry in his voice.

'No time for questions,
Neville. Please just do it.' Harry stood and tore from the dormitory,
taking the steps down the spiral staircase at a run, darting through
the common room avoiding furniture and out through the portrait hole.
He sprinted through the cold, dark castle, the tip of his wand
lighting the way. He tried to shake away the horrific image he had
seen his sleep, of Remus turning painfully from man to wolf under the
blue light of the moon, howling into the night and tearing after his
attacker.

Harry shook his head and
focussed on the gargoyle ahead of him. 'Sugar quill!' He called out,
still several metres away, but the gargoyle obliged and moved aside
for him. Barely breaking stride Harry slipped in through the gap
before it was even fully open and took the moving spiral staircase up
two steps at a time. He came to a halt in front of the headmaster's
door and knocked hard three times in rapid succession. Without
waiting for an answer he grasped the knob and flung the door open.

The headmaster was
sitting by the fire in his nightgown, he turned his head slowly to
look at the intruder, seemingly unphased by Harry's unannounced
entrance.

'Harry?' He asked calmly
as his eyes locked onto him. Harry shifted uncomfortably and glanced
around the room, starting at the sight of Snape's head in the fire.
He too was staring at Harry, but evidently startled, his deep frown
twitching.

'Professor. I –
sir, something is wrong with Lupin.'

'Really?' Dumbledore
leaned forward with interest, concern filling his crinkled features.

'Sir, please, there isn't
much time.' Harry pleaded. Why was everyone reacting so slowly?

'Was it another dream,
Harry? Your scar?' Harry nodded before Dumbledore had finished.

Severus rolled his eyes.
Typical that the old man would do this, dwindle over his concerns but
pander to the idiot-boys nightmares. He clucked his tongue
impatiently and indignantly cleared his throat, capturing
Dumbledore's attention back.

Harry nearly jumped out
of his skin at the sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs outside and
a moment later a familiar wheezing voice called out through the open
door.

'Headmaster?' Filch
appeared in the door way and limped into the office. 'There's a
student running about the castle, sir. Without a care, no precaution,
wanton destruction of...' He stopped and looked at Harry, his grey
face twitched. 'Oh. Right.' He sounded so disappointed, he hunched
his shoulders and sloped out of the office, muttering to himself.

'Filch. Wait.' Dumbledore
said kindly, a smile tweaking the corner of his mouth. Filch was back
at Harry's side in a flash, standing straight and attentive. 'Please
rouse the other Professors and ensure that the castle is secure. Send
the heads of houses here, immediately.' Filch actually saluted the
old man.

'Yes, sir.' He clicked
his heels and dashed from the room, his footsteps hobbling down the
stairs with remarkable speed. Harry raised his eyebrows and looked
back at the headmaster.

'Severus, do come in
properly.' He said softly. Snape's head vanished from the fire and a
moment later appeared standing in his full, black robes. Harry
frowned, for a second wondering why the snarky professor was dressed
at this hour. Snape brushed his robes down and stood glaring, looking
to Harry like he'd rather be anywhere else and for the first time
Harry wondered just what he had interrupted.

Dumbledore flicked his
wand over his head and his night clothes were transfigured into his
typical colourful robes. Harry looked down at his scruffy pyjamas and
suddenly felt very self-conscious standing there in front of
Dumbledore and Snape and he crossed his arms awkwardly over his
chest, his wand poking up between biceps and chest.

His discomfort was short
lived, Professors McGonagall, Sprout and Flitwick came thundering up
the stairs and into the office in a bluster of panic and raised
voices filled the room, allowing Harry to fade into the background,
edging over to the fire out of the way of the teachers as they spoke
over one another. He found himself next to Snape, who stood there
with his arms crossed and a sour look on his face, an odd pair
overlooking the scene before them.

'Potter.' Snape snarled
in an effort to be civil.

'Professor.' Harry hissed
back, wishing he had moved the other way.

'Harry?' Dumbledore's
voice cut through the mayhem and the other teachers quietened to look
at Harry inquisitively. 'I'd like for you to go back to Gryffindor
tower with Professor McGonagall now. Be sure to round up any friends
who may have followed you.' A twinkle flickered across his blue eyes.
'Professors, please go now to your houses and take a head count.
Hopefully the students are all sound asleep, try not to raise any
panic.' Turning to Snape, his face still and serious, Dumbledore
sighed. 'You know what you must do. After checking on your students.'
Snape nodded curtly and swept from the room, followed by the others
and Harry was ushered along with McGonagall. He stopped at the door
and turned back to the old man.

'Lupin? What about
Lupin?' Dumbledore and McGonagall exchanged serious looks and Harry
looked from one to the other in desperation. Without another word,
merely a slight nod from Dumbledore, McGonagall took Harry by the
shoulders and steered him out of the room, the door closing between
him and the headmaster, the old man's eyes sad and heavy and a
terrible fear gripped Harry as he was directed away.

AU: Please feed the
author. We may be reaching the climax, but she still needs your
encouragement! A huge thank you to those who have reviewed so far!
- 17
- 18
- 19
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