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The Human Cure	By : AppleFiend Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 2827 -:- 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
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The Human Cure

Chapter 2: "To Be Free"

Disclaimer: I don't own anything; all belongs to Rowling.

Thanks for the feedback regarding the first chapter. I do appreciate your comments. I wish I could produce one chapter every week, but with my current work schedule, I'm lucky if I get some spare time on the weekends. However, inspiration is flowing, so hopefully you won't have to wait five months to get a new chapter.

"It shouldn't hurt me to be free; it's what I really need to pull myself together. And if it's so good being free would you mind telling me why I don't know what to do with myself?"

Emiliana Torrini

The last few days felt like a dream to Hermione. She would wake up in the middle of the night; her darkened room almost felt like a tomb. Delirious and confused, she easily gave into sleep. She knew that her current schedule contributed to her illness, but she was always stubborn when it came to such things. There were nights when she felt cold compresses being placed on her head by a dark figure. She knew that the only way to get rid of a fever was to sweat it out. Thinking it all a dream, she feigned ignorance as the phantom continued to visit her. It sometimes spoke, and while she thought she was truly going mad, it was an existence she almost welcomed due to her fatigue and fever. There were nights that she felt as if she were dying, but the familiar taste of potions she once took in the infirmary long ago brought her back to some strange form of reality.

For the first few days Severus was afraid that she would need to be taken to a hospital; her symptoms didn't start improving, and with the degree of her illness, potions could only do so much. Slowly but surely, they started to kick in. He had always heard that muggle illnesses got worse before they truly began to leave the body. He would watch her sleep sometimes (to monitor her fever) and one night noticed a scar on her left wrist. It was close to two inches and followed the pattern of her veins. It was then that the cold realization hit him that she once tried to take her own life. Anger washed over him at the thought that she even contemplated and attempted such a thing. If his skin could have flushed with anger, it would have. How dare she give up so easily? How could she find solace in such an action? Did she really believe that she was so disposable? But she survived…

She awoke to the sound of the BBC blaring from her kitchen. Knowing that she didn't leave it on before she went to bed all of those days ago, she began to question her sanity. The last thing she remembered was being carried to her bed and the protective feeling of being taken there. Maybe it was someone from her study group in to check on her, but Carla couldn't have carried her to her bed. Then she thought of Glen and knew that he wouldn't be daft enough to stick around after practically assaulting her. Better yet, what happened to Glen she wondered. Before she could give the idea more room to grow, she felt the need to move around a bit.

Getting out of her bed, she stretched out her limbs, wishing that she could go out for a run. She slowly walked towards the kitchen, not drawing attention to herself with her movements. The radio got louder as she got closer. She could hear the kettle on the stove and smell foods that she hadn't eaten in years. Bacon. She couldn't recall the last time she ate a piece of bacon. She also smelled eggs and heard the toast pop out of her toaster. The smells were a reminder of all of the foods she hadn't been able to eat in the past few days. Her immediate thought was that of ravishing whatever was put on her plate, not caring who was currently in her flat.

She wasn't expecting the sight that greeted her as she found her way to the bottom. As if he heard her catch her breath, her former Potions professor turned around.

"Miss Granger." Severus Snape stated.

If she were to have had something in her grasp, it would have fallen on the floor. She began to feel herself fall back into oblivion, but he was quick to catch up with her and caught her before she fell on the floor.

"Miss Granger! Come on, don't pass out on me again." He knew that the potions he gave her over the past few days had left her depleted of energy, and she looked as if she were on the brink of starvation. He used the muggle way of testing a fever by placing his head on her forehead. She was a little warm, but he couldn't trust the fact that his own skin wasn't such a good indicator.

"You're dead. We buried you!" She whispered as she gripped his jumper.

"I'm still here aren't I?" His tone wasn't the snarky professor she once knew. "And technically, my body was never discovered."

"I'm seeing things. You are only a figment of my imagination." She began to tell herself over and over again, shutting her eyes as tightly as she could, hoping her flat would be empty when she opened them again. But it wasn't. The kettle spoke – a message that it was ready to be taken off the stove.

"Miss Granger."

She opened her eyes slowly, taking in the revelation of discovery. Severus couldn't help but stare back at her, somehow hoping that by him not breaking eye contact, she would realize that it wasn't a dream. Her eyes were glassy, and the color never did fully return to her ever since she became ill. She looked tired and worn out, a figure that could break so easily. Still trying to absorb the shock of it all, she was guided to her kitchen table with the help of her former professor and sat down gently, her eyes never leaving him.

"I do not know how to explain this to you in an edited manner. I can only say that I did survive Nagini's bite because of my condition."

Pausing and waiting for a retort that never came, he continued as he prepared two cups of tea. Hermione never had a chance to tell him what she liked in hers because he appeared to know it already. (Two sugars and a splash of milk.) Finding it strange, she didn't question it as she listened to him speak.

"After you, Potter, and Weasley left my…body, yes, I was ill, but I was able to recover. I narrowly managed to escape, and like you, I too fled the wizarding world. For years I traveled, trying to see if something could be done in regards to my condition, but I never found anything. Well, I found you."

"You've been following me?"

"Yes" Severus replied, no regret in his voice.

"How long?"

"It took me some time to track you down, especially considering I am not even supposed to be alive. I couldn't necessarily use traditional methods when it comes to our world."

"Don't speak as if I am part of that world anymore Professor." She stated with energy in her voice he hadn't heard in days. "All it has done was destroyed everything I ever held dear to me. Yes, evil was defeated, but the collateral damage was worse."

"I didn't think you would be one to become so jaded Miss Granger." Severus replied as he sipped his tea.

"War does that people. Look at you!"

"What about me?"

"You left too." She solemnly replied as she wrapped her fingers around the warm mug in front of her.

"I suppose I could say that the circumstances were different for me. I was a pawn for two different people, and I finally had a chance to call the shots."

"It was the same for me. So, how long have you been following me?"

"A few months now. I have been trying to get a feel for you outside of Hogwart's."

Hermione didn't know what to say. A man that once despised the very ground she walked on had been following her for some time now, and to add more to the surprise, he needed her help for something. Her interest was piqued, but not enough to express any sort of commitment.

The two remained silent for a few more moments. Hermione tried processing all that was being revealed to her. Looking at him, it dawned on her that he was the person who managed to get rid of Glen.

"What did you do to Glen?" She quickly asked.

"Let's just say that he won't be harassing you anymore."

"What do you mean? What did you do?"

"I would rather not tell you. I suppose you would be better not knowing."

Getting frustrated with his lack of explanations, she spat out what she truly had wanted to ask since she walked in on him in her kitchen.

"What exactly do you want from me?" Hermione asked.

"I need your assistance with something that I have been working on for close to three years now."

"A potions project?"

"Well, you have a degree in Chemistry which is the muggle equivalent of it. Plus, I've been reading about your research concerning blood work. Miss Granger, it's truly impressive, and if anyone can help me, it's you."

Hermione was just given a compliment from her former professor, and while she wanted to thank him for it, the shock of everything prevented that from happening.

"You do realize what you have been doing is illegal?"

"Do you really think I care?" Severus retorted.

"Did you kill Glen?" She quickly added.

"What do you think?" He replied, his mystery suddenly returning.

"What is the problem? What is this condition you've been talking about?"

Severus took a few moments to collect his thoughts before he began. He knew that she would ask questions incessantly no matter how detailed he was with the information. Trying to remember that she was a grown up and no longer an annoying first year, he wanted her to understand that she could possibly be the only one who could help him.

"Miss Granger, there is a reason why I was able to survive that snake bite all those years ago. Only a few people knew about my condition, and that in part made it easier for me to leave the wizarding world and start a new life in the muggle one. The truth is I haven't been human for over one hundred and fifty years. You do know of vampire's right, Miss Granger?"
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The Human Cure