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Unleashed - Book 1	By : loola Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 5453 -:- 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
- 1-Unleashed
- 2-Part 2
- 3-Part 3
- 4-Part 4
- 5-Part 5
- 6-Part 6
- 3
- 4
- 5
�Kingsley Shacklebolt is dead.�

There was no way that either Severus or Hermione could have
prepared themselves to have this information bestowed upon them, and it hit
them both like a thunderbolt.

Hermione�s reaction to the heart-breaking news was almost
immediate; after a moment�s horrified silence, she gasped in shock and a hand
flew up to cover her mouth. Seconds later she descended into tears and sat back
down onto the bed as though in a trance, silent sobs making her shoulders
shake.

Severus just closed his eyes momentarily. He felt remorse �
of course he did � but at the same time, the senior members of the Order of the
Phoenix had been suspecting another death for months now. This killing was long
overdue. But of course that was deliberate on Voldemort�s part � make them wait
so they would fall into a sense of false security so he could horrify them all
the more when the death eventually came. But of course, Hermione, as one of the
younger members of the group knew nothing of the Order�s worries for everyone�s
safety. So to her, this was another random death � she must think it was just
bad luck that Shacklebolt had been killed.

In reality, it was far from bad luck or a case of being in
the wrong place at the wrong time. Severus immediately suspected that this
death was a warning from Voldemort of worse things to come.

He unconsciously reached down and grasped the now clear skin
of his left forearm tightly. Despite the fact that he had spent hours
concealing the Dark Mark before this mission, he still felt its burning
presence beneath the glamour. His hand fell away limply.

Coming to his senses as he opened his eyes and saw
Dumbledore looking at Hermione with a sad and somewhat helpless expression in
his eyes.

Despite Severus� suspicions that Hermione was na�ve enough
to consider this an almost accidental killing, Hermione�s mind also immediately
went to Voldemort. She had realised early on in life that Voldemort wasn�t like
normal people in the slightest, and despite Ron�s continual assurances that
Harry and the Order would easily defeat Voldemort before any more deaths
happened, Hermione had never been able to bring herself to believe that. She
wasn�t even sure if Ron himself really believed it.

Realising that Dumbldore was regarding him almost expectantly,
Severus strode forward and grasped the older man�s elbow, turning him away from
the tearful woman on the bed.

�What happened?� he asked gruffly, a serious expression on
his face.

However, before Dumbledore could even open his mouth to
answer, Severus felt a hand grabbing a fistful of his t-shirt and pulling him
backwards with an almighty jerk. It was, of course, Hermione.

�Don�t you dare try to leave me out of this, Severus Snape!�
she snarled up at him, her face red and splodgey.

�I wasn�t attempting to, Miss Granger,� he protested
angrily, his voice raising. �I merely thought to ��

�I apologise, Professor Dumbledore,� Hermione interrupted
Severus, sidestepping him and addressing Dumbledore formally. Severus gritted
his teeth against the insults welling up inside him just waiting to be
expelled, and turned to them, planting as neutral a smile as he could on his
habitually stern features.

�I�ve told you before, Hermione, please call me Albus.�

Dumbledore smiled a sad smile down at Hermione before
looking up to meet Severus� gaze.

�There was a Death Eater raid at the Ministry of Magic. Ten
killed all together. We have a few witnesses who I have been talking to this
afternoon. It has become apparent from them that the Death Eaters were looking
for anyone who they knew to be openly affiliated with me and killed anyone who
stood in their way.�

At this point he looked kindly down at Hermione, who had
descended into tears once again.

�Kingsley is a terrible loss, my child, but in this time of darkness
we should find the courage within ourselves to be glad that he was the only
Order member to suffer at the hands of the Death Eaters this time.�

Hermione nodded, brushing her tears away. She knew that
Dumbledore was right � Kingsley would be sorely missed on a personal level, but
they would be able to go on without him. It was a harsh thing to say, but
others could easily take over his job. If Dumbledore or Moody or even Severus
had been killed on the other hand, the Order would have felt the loss a lot
more deeply. Dumbledore shifted his gaze back to Severus, who was stood like a
silent, unmoving shadow behind Hermione�s back.

�I need you both to come back to Grimmauld Place immediately
so we can assess the situation. We don�t know what might happen next. If you
could pack as quickly as possible, I should think it would be all right if you
left the key on the table rather than having to make up a cover story to the
reception�yes, yes, we�ll do that. Now Severus, I don�t believe that Hermione
is a confidant enough apparater � no offence, my dear - to take her luggage
with her so would you do the honours?�

Severus nodded tersely as Hermione moved away from them to
start shoving their things into suitcases. As time was clearly of the essence,
she didn�t bother to separate their belongings; she just flung them into the
cases, her clothes mingling with his.

�Good boy,� Dumbledore said as Severus nodded
long-sufferingly. In a whisper, he added;

�Don�t be too harsh on Miss Granger, Severus. She has had an
extremely tough year.�

He raised his voice slightly here so Hermione would be able
to hear him.

�I�ll see you both at Grimmauld Place shortly.�

And with that he pushed his glasses a little higher up his
nose in a rather businesslike manner. His face wore an expression of supreme
concentration for a moment and then he disapparated with a small pop.

Once Dumbledore had departed, Severus strode over to where
Hermione was packing the cases, and stooped so he could hand her some of the
clothes that were strewn all over the bedroom floor from where she had thrown
them crossly earlier.

He noticed that his nightclothes and the clothes he had
dropped on the floor the previous night had also been left in crumpled piles on
the carpet. After living practically a lifetime at Hogwarts where he was
basically waited on hand and foot by submissive house elves, he had completely
forgotten that he would have to tidy up after himself.

He supposed that was why the room he usually occupied at
Grimmauld Place was always so messy when he stayed there. Everything would just
remain where he had dropped it until the end of his stay, when he would wave
his wand so all his possessions were crammed into bags or cases.

�Thanks,� Hermione muttered moments later, sounding shy as he
gave her a pile of his underpants to put away.

Embarrassment soared through her as she realised these must
be some of the things she had thrown about the room in disgust earlier. In all
her life, she had never thought for a minute that she would ever end up
touching a pair of her ex-Professor�s black cotton boxer shorts.

They were soon packed and Severus placed the key to the room
on the now empty dressing table � it had been littered with papers, shampoo
and, for some strange reason, more of Severus� underpants � and hoped that the
maid would find it there the next morning. He picked up her case and his as
Hermione slung her backpack over her shoulder.

Severus couldn�t help but notice that her suitcase was
suspiciously light for a woman�s. When he had been forced to carry the luggage
of females before � his mother�s and sister�s when they had come to stay with
him for one suicidal week during a summer holiday; and when his ex-partner,
Lucia, had impetuously moved in with him at Hogwarts for a weekend after an
argument with Daddy (that had been the end of that relationship) � he
had found that their cases had been ridiculously heavy, no doubt weighed down
with all the paraphernalia women usually felt it necessary to carry around with
them and then inflict on their poor sons or lovers.

Hermione�s case on the other hand appeared to be
satisfactorily light, but he couldn�t help suspecting that she had stashed her
more weighty possessions in the rucksack over her shoulder.

It was then that he noticed that she was looking at him
curiously.

�Spit it out, girl,� he encouraged in rough tones, somehow
knowing that she wanted to ask him a question. She had always got that rather
nervous, yet curious expression on her face when she had been itching to ask
him a know-it-all question or answer one of his own questions in that pompous
manner of hers back in the days when she had been a snivelling little eleven
year old in his Potions classes.

�I was just wondering why you haven�t shrunk the cases,
Sir.�

�Because I�m stupid, that�s why,� Severus thought crossly,
annoyed that he hadn�t thought of that himself. He had been too immersed in
thinking about her. A small shudder fled through him as he realized that, and
he quickly vowed to himself that he wouldn�t allow her to distract him like
that again. He quickly made up an excuse.

�Just because we are apparating to London, Miss Granger, it
doesn�t automatically mean that we should use as much magic as we possibly can.
Apparating is still a risk, and we should avoid alerting anyone�s attention to
our presence as much as we can,� he said in a condescending tone.

Hermione seemed to take this as a valid excuse, as she
didn�t challenge him about it. As there seemed nothing left to say, they both
concentrated hard for a moment, wearing simultaneous expressions of
seriousness.

One small pop after another indicated to the empty room that
they had successfully disapparated away.

Moments later they reappeared in the kitchen of Grimmauld
Place, Hermione feeling sick and swaying slightly as she always did after
apparating.

�Oh Hermione, thank Merlin you�re safe! I was so worried
about you after what happened to poor Kingsley!�

And before Hermione could even see what was happening �
though she could guess - motherly arms had been flung around her and her face
was squished into Molly Weasely�s shoulder. She smelled wonderful � of fresh
baking and polish and other fantastically homey smells.

Severus rolled his eyes at this hyperbolic display of female
affection and stalked over to the kitchen cupboard, drawing out an unopened
bottle of firewhiskey. He slumped down into one of the hard-backed kitchen
chairs and flung his feet up onto another. He took his time unscrewing the
bottle, savouring the anticipation of a hard-earned drink (another) after a day
like today, but before he was able to pour out that first delicious drop of the
amber liquid, the bottle was whipped out of his hand with surprising force.

�Now, now, Severus, you don�t want any of that rubbish,�
Molly proclaimed as she put the lid on the bottle and shoved it back in its
cupboard.

Hermione almost laughed out loud at the disappointed look on
Severus� face as he turned to watch Molly make off with his prized whiskey. If
I had been anyone other than Severus, Hermione wouldn�t have bothered to hold
in her laughter, but she knew that Severus wouldn�t be happy if she openly
laughed in his face.

Instead of the alcohol, Molly banged a large mug of tea down
in front of Severus.

�Have that instead. Now you two, is bacon and eggs all right
for dinner?�

***

By the time that Severus had been properly fed and
watered, he was actually quite glad that he hadn�t drunk any of that alcohol.
The meal had filled him up nicely � neither he nor Hermione had eaten since
breakfast that morning and that was hours ago. Severus felt slightly bad about
that � it should have been his responsibility to make sure she was fed - she
was barely more than a child after all. His guilt bloomed even more when he saw
how quickly Hermione wolfed down her food.

Just as Severus had leant back in his chair with his third
cup of tea, feeling blissfully full and allowing himself to relax slightly for
once, Dumbledore walked tiredly into the room, shedding his cloak as he did.
Severus went to stand up.

�Sit down my boy, sit down.�

Dumbledore waved a hand at Hermione and Severus who had both
started up when Dumbledore entered the room. He accepted a cup of tea from
Molly and sat down heavily in the chair next to Severus. There was an expectant
silence as Dumbledore drank slowly from his cup.

�So,� he said eventually and Hermione looked up from her lap
where she had been fiddling agitatedly with a loose button on her shorts. She
and Severus were both still wearing the shorts and t-shirts they had been
wearing in Italy. �I gather you discovered nothing of note on your little
excursion?�

Severus didn�t reply, so Hermione shook her head in answer.
Dumbledore sighed.

�Well, it appears we have more pressing matters on our hands
now anyway. I want you both to stay here, at least for tonight � I am concerned
there may be another Death Eater attack, and I want to be sure as many people
as possible are safe. I fear that Kinsley Shacklebolt�s death is just the start
of our troubles. �

Hermione and Severus both nodded in compliance, not feeling
it was fair to argue with this man who so obviously had their best interests at
heart. But secretly all they both wanted to do was to return to their
respective homes and get some rest in their own beds. Severus agreed with
Dumbledore about Shacklebolt�s death � the man had only confirmed his earlier
suspicions.

Hermione sighed inwardly. She hadn�t been back to her flat
in weeks and although she had bought the place only grudgingly as a base after
leaving Hogwarts (it was located in one of the less salubrious areas of the
London suburbs), Hermione found herself missing her home comforts now that she
was basically forbidden from going there.

Severus was experiencing similar feelings to Hermione �
despite having no permanent residence of his own. He had always lived at
Hogwarts until he had been forced to rent a flat in Muggle London for his own
safety. It had been immensely irritating for him to have to leave his job as
Potions Master at Hogwarts for over a year whilst he lived in hiding, doing
paperwork for Dumbledore and brewing Potions in the cramped flat.

However, a few months ago, he had returned to his chambers
at Hogwarts, and although he couldn�t commence teaching until the beginning of
the new school year in September, he had enjoyed being back at the castle � the
only place he had ever really thought of as home.

�Excellent.� Dumbledore interrupted their thoughts. �I�m
sure Molly will manage to make you up a bed somewhere for the night. Severus,
we will need to discuss things in the morning, but for now I insist that you
both get some sleep.�

As he spoke, Dumbledore got up from the table, placed his
cup in the sink and grabbed his cloak, tossing it around his shoulders.

�You look exhausted, my dear,� he said as he passed Hermione.

Then, without another word, just a quick, weary smile at
them both, he left the kitchen and they heard the small pop of apparation in
the hallway. There was silence in the room for one long moment.

�Well,� said Molly as jovially as she could manage
considering the events of the day, but she tailed off before she could say
anything of note.

Hermione broke the rather awkward silence that ensued.

�Are Ron and Harry here?�

Molly looked at her in surprise.

�No, dear! Didn�t Dumbledore tell you? They�ve gone to Peru
with Ginny to stay with Charlie and the Dragons for a while.� She lowered her
voice despite the fact that they were the only ones in the room. �I think
Dumbledore felt they needed a break. I�m so glad they�re safe with Charlie now
this has happened.� Her smile faded. A frown crossed her face a moment later.

�Now, I�m not sure if there are any rooms free,� she
murmured to herself, back to business � clearly not wanting to dwell on the
events of the day or her concerns for Ron, Harry and Ginny�s welfare. �Let me
nip upstairs and check.�

And she exited the room quickly, leaving Severus and
Hermione alone at the kitchen table. Hermione cleared her throat awkwardly, not
knowing what to say to this man after all that had happened that day. She was
taken by surprise a minute later as he spoke softly to her.

�Are you all right?�

She stared at him for a moment, stunned that he would even
bother to ask her that.

�I�m fine,� she said in barely more than a whisper, her
breath caught in her throat. But he heard and jerked his head in response, as
if to say �Good�. They stared at each other for a moment that seemed almost
endless. It was shattered however, by the arrival of Molly in the kitchen
again, holding a pile of blankets, the corners of which were trailing along the
ground. The heavy oak door banged unceremoniously against the wall to herald
her arrival.

�Now, Hermione dear, I�ll put you in your usual room, but
I�m afraid Alastor�s already asleep in your normal room, Severus, and there
aren�t any other free rooms, so I�m going to have to put you on the sofa in the
library��

�Is anybody sharing my room, Molly?� Hermione interrupted
the older woman, looking up at her earnestly.

�Well, no dear,� Molly started. �But I don�t see how that�s
��

�Severus can stay in my room with me,� Hermione said firmly,
raising her chin in a defiant manner.

�Well, I �� Molly stuttered. She clearly thought that this
was completely inappropriate, but it seemed she couldn�t think of a reasonable
argument why Severus shouldn�t share Hermione�s room. But it just wasn�t right
for a man and a woman to share a room like that!

�Well, if you�re sure, dear.�

Hermione nodded her head firmly, putting an end to the
matter.

�Severus? Would you mind?� Molly asked, clearly hoping that
he would refuse and say he would prefer the sofa in the library. Instead, he
unfolded himself from his chair and took the blankets that were dangling from
Molly�s arms.

�It�s fine, Molly. You go to bed � Hermione and I can sort
this out.�

Molly stared at him in surprise for a minute. Then she
seemed to come to her senses and she smiled at them both, but she still seemed
slightly uncomfortable.

�Right, well, I�ll leave you two to sort yourselves
out.�

As she went to leave, Hermione gave her a kiss on the cheek
and a rather shy smile, murmuring,

�Thanks, Molly,� as she did so.

Molly paused momentarily at the door and looked at Hermione
uneasily. Hermione smiled encouragingly at her to try and soothe her worries.

�Goodnight, Molly.�

�Goodnight. Goodnight, Severus.�

He nodded briefly at her, and, after one final glance at the
two of them, she disappeared, shutting the door with a soft click. Barely a
second passed before Severus moved to the door as well, performing Mobilcorpus
on their cases with a wave of his hand. When he was out in the corridor and
realised that Hermione hadn�t followed him like he expected she would, he
turned on his heel and stuck his head back around the door.

�Come on, you�d better show me where we�re sleeping
tonight.�

And with that he disappeared again, his footsteps resounding
as he walked on the creaky floorboards of the stairs. Hermione followed slowly,
taking care to tiptoe so she didn�t awake the portrait of Mrs Black that still
hung in the hallway. She wasn�t sure how she felt about sharing a room with
Severus again. It had been weird enough in a foreign place, but now she would
be spending time with him in the room she had always shared with Ginny.

When she reached the First Floor landing, Severus was stood
waiting for her, his foot tapping impatiently on the floor. She walked straight
past him and opened the door to her room. It looked exactly as it had always
done � small, dark, a bed on either side of the room with a cabinet in between
them and a window over that. The only thing that was different about it of
course was the fact that Severus Snape was now stood in it, waving his hand
quickly to send their clothes flying into the wardrobe and chest of drawers
from their cases, before delving into his pocket and drawing out a pack of
cigarettes and a lighter, having dropped the bedding on the dusty floor.

God! He was such a typical man. So unthinking and uncaring
towards everyone else � he was clearly obsessed with himself. He lit the
cigarette and pushed it between his lips, closing his eyes in apparent pleasure
as he did so, despite the fact that this was her room and she had made it quite
clear that she abhorred smoking. She coughed pointedly. He ignored her.

Her temper flaring up inside of her as Severus moved over to
the window, leaning casually against the wall, Hermione leant down and picked
up the bedding he had so thoughtlessly dropped and began to make up the bed on
the left hand side of the room for him.

�You don�t have to do that, you know,� came a silky voice in
her ear. Hermione spun round to face the speaker, and Severus was surprised to
see that her face had gone a very unflattering shade of salmon pink due to her
bottled up anger.

�Why, so you can just sit in the chair all night and smoke
your disgusting cigarettes?�

Severus opened his mouth to speak but Hermione didn�t give
him the chance.

�Or maybe you were just thinking you would snuggle up in my
bed again, were you, you pervert! You make me sick!� she yelled, her eyes
flashing dangerously.

Unable to hold his rage in any longer, Severus screamed back
at her, spittle flying from his mouth.

�Yes, that�s right, you little slut! You just make me so hot
for you, I can�t hold myself back!�

Completely caught up in his anger, Severus captured her body
to illustrate his point, roughly palming her breast. Hermione tried to scream
but one of his hands was hard over her mouth. She struggled, kicking out at him
and biting down as hard as she could on his palm but he didn�t even flinch. His
breath was hot in her ear as he spoke to her in a menacingly soft voice.

�Just look at yourself, Hermione, you love this don�t you!
And you loved what I did to you earlier, didn�t you, you dirty little slut?
Tut, tut, what would your mother and father say, hmm?�

In a sudden flurry of movement, Hermione had freed herself
from his grasp.

�You bastard!� she screamed at him, throwing her body
against him as she did so, knocking him to the ground. She fell with him,
falling against his chest, her arms flailing as she tried to cause as much
damage as she could to any part of him that she could reach, pulling viciously
at his hair and clothes, still repeating �You bastard!� over and over again.
Her voice became quieter and more muffled as she continued to attempt to injure
him, until her shoulders were shaking with huge wracking sobs as she pummelled
her closed fists against his chest.

�Hermione! Hermione!� Severus shouted at her, trying to get
her to listen to him through her haze of anguish, his anger suddenly
dissipating like a cloud of dust. �What the hell�s the matter?�

�They�re dead, you bastard!� she shrieked at him as she
raised her head from where it had been hanging against her chest. Tears were
pouring down her face, her eyes were bloodshot and she had the general look of
a crazed woman about her. Severus just stared at her in shock.

�They�re dead, that�s what�s the matter! You bastard,
they�re dead! My parents are dead and I�ll never see them again, you bastard! I
hate you! I hate you so much! And I hate them for dying! I hate everyone!� she
screamed, mad in her despair and anger.

She sobbed unrestrainedly, her fists falling to her sides as
she straddled him. Severus felt a strange feeling flooding through him �
suddenly he wanted to comfort this wretched girl who was crying all over him.
He reached a gentle hand out to touch her elbow, but she flinched as he touched
her and leapt up from him.

�Hermione, I �� he tried to say as he heaved himself off the
floor, his back screaming from the way it had been unceremoniously slammed
against the hard, sold wooden floor with the weight of a fully grown woman atop
him.

�Why the hell do you think you have the right to call me
�Hermione�?� she yelled at him, suddenly fierce again. He took a step towards
her, an apology dancing on his breath.

�Don�t touch me, you bastard! Don�t even speak to me!� she
screamed and dodged away from him before flinging herself on her bed and
descending once again into noisy tears. Severus winced slightly, glad that
Dumbledore had had the foresight to cast automatic silencing charms on every
room in Grimmauld Place. Of course these precautions were so that no one could
overhear conversations they weren�t supposed to, but they worked just as well
for screaming matches.

Severus sighed and slumped down on his bed, running a hand
through his now messy hair. Shit. He knew for a fact that he had brought that
on. What the hell did he think he�d been doing, talking to her like that, and
worst of all, grabbing her? There was just something about that girl that
raised his hackles every time he spoke to her.

***

Hermione buried her head into her pillow harder,
desperately attempting to muffle her crying. She just couldn�t seem to stop.
Suddenly it was all too much � him, her, the house, the whole situation, her
parents, the way he had held her, touched her, kissed her�

Pushing those thoughts away, Hermione closed her eyes and
tried to regulate her breathing and stop the tears from flowing.

***

Severus sat on his bed, his back against the wall for longer
than he could count.

On the other side of the room, Hermione�s cries softened and
she quickly fell into a light and restless sleep, tossing and turning. Severus
watched from the other side of the room as she slept, feeling a strange pang go
through him every time she cried out. He had been wrong. She wasn�t still a
child. At twenty-five she had suffered more than most. Her heart-wrenching
cries of, �Daddy!� and, �Mum, Help!� didn�t help the pangs in his chest, as she
so obviously relived the night her parents had died over and over.

And he had brought that on. He still didn�t know what had
made him act in that way towards her, but it had been inexcusable. The logical
part of him didn�t blame her for her reaction.

As the room grew darker still, Severus got up from the bed
and picked up one of the blankets from the floor. Hermione had quietened now,
but was shivering � despite being July, the weather here was wet and cold
compared to Italy. He gently put the blanket over her and she whimpered. He
froze, panicking that she had woken up, but she just turned onto her tummy,
tucking her face into the material of her pillow and sighed. He was pleased to
see that after a while she stopped shivering so badly.

He walked quickly back across the room and discarded his
clothes, leaving them once again in a small heap on the floor by his bed.
Hermione hadn�t got very far with making his bed, and although he could easily
do it with magic, Severus really couldn�t be bothered, so he just picked up a
blanket and a pillow and lay down on the bare mattress in his boxer shorts with
them.

He closed his eyes tiredly, but found it hard to sleep. He
was far too aware of Hermione�s presence in the room with him. Although she had
stopped crying out in her sleep, she was snuffling occasionally in a manner
that reminded Severus of a baby animal.

Too exhausted to stay awake any longer, Severus eventually
drifted off to sleep after lying in bed for nearly two hours, Hermione�s soft
sounds lulling him to sleep.
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Unleashed - Book 1