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Sweet Surrender	By : witch Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 3748 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 3
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Necessity

Floating in a desolate void, Hermione absentmindedly took note of an unfamiliar sense of detachment that she had never experienced before. Shrouded in blackness as she was, it was easy to think of nothing at all and simply exist in that strange world of thoughtless theory. From somewhere very far off sprang a dim notion that she should have been horrified by that discovery. Comfortably levitating at present in her personal vacuum, however, she didn't give a niffler's arse.
Nevertheless, that annoying nudging in her mind persistently kept on trying to tell her that something was off and it was definitely not the unfinished glass of milk she had left in her dormitory.
Dormitory... Gryffindor Common Room... books... essay... essay... homework. Homework?!
That last thought hit Hermione's subconscious much fiercer than any forged sledgehammer ever could, and the blackness surrounding her mind began to sedately vaporize. Simultaneously fighting a rather unpleasant dizziness and nausea, the young witch stubbornly willed her eyes open. At first bleary glance, the elaborate ceiling above her was no different from any other at Hogwarts. There must have been an important reason why she was lying under that one in particular, though.

Without warning her mind at last snapped back into full gear. Her memory function quickly followed.
With annoying black dots dancing randomly in front of her, Hermione managed to lift herself up to a sitting position and dazedly look around herself. It seemed that she had been out of business for quite some time, if one regarded the fact that someone had been kind enough to exchange her undignified position on the floor for a more pristine location on the sofa. Absentmindedly rubbing her temples as her head continued to pound in protest, she inconspicuously regarded the Headmistress, who sat firmly back at her desk, scribbling down something hurriedly. Harry was standing rigidly to the side, his profile betraying nothing of his mood as he gazed unblinkingly into the darkness of the night now laying silently beyond the window in front of him.
Professor Snape was nowhere to be seen.
Hermione shifted cautiously upon her resting place, which unwittingly caught the attention of the room's occupants. Finding herself on the receiving end of two pairs of eyes emitting genuine concern, she instantly felt uncomfortable and embarrassed.
'I never faint,' argued she weakly, her cheeks burning rather hotter then usual.
With a sigh Professor McGonagall carefully set her eagle quill aside.
'There is no reason to be ashamed, Miss Granger. I am undoubtedly correct in the assumption that even a hard-seasoned Auror of the Ministry would have momentarily lost his or her touch with reality when faced with the fact that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is personally after them.' Another sigh. 'Therefore, we find ourselves in a bind concerning how we can possibly keep you as safe as possible. Merlin take it, last year was proof enough that Hogwarts alone is no longer the almighty sanctuary we all once thought it was.'
The Headmistress' stern eyes shined suspiciously bright for a moment or two before she quickly blinked whatever it was away.
The young witch could only nod resolutely, even as thought after thought battled for supremacy inside her head, an unknown number of questions quickly starting to pile up haphazardly upon each other. Unwilling – at least for the moment – to even start untangling the mess that was her rational path, Hermione latched onto the first and most prominent factor on the surface of it all.
'With all due respect, Professor, but how does Professor Snape fit into all of this with regard to me? Except for the obvious, of course.'
A deep frown creased the place above the older witch's spectacles.
'I am sure you have already got your more than able head around the fact that Professor Snape has always been on our side, setting aside his reasons behind all of his actions to date, which are his own and shall remain so. Let's just put it blandly and to the point: Professor Snape has abandoned his position as a spy and consequently revealed himself to be a traitor to You-Know-Who. Fortunately, he was able to find out the information about you right before he fled the ranks of the Death Eaters. The minute he did so, he unquestionably put his name on the death list right beside yours, Miss Granger. Hence, you need to be protected. And who is better for this job than a former Death Eater himself?'
Oh yes, Hermione thought sarcastically. Who better to protect me than a dark wizard who needs even more safeguarding than me?
Partially confused by the logic of it all, her thoughts must have been showing plainly on her face because the next moment the Headmistress hastily jumped into further explanations.
'You can rest assured that by day you shall not be put in the direct path of danger due to the simple fact of being constantly surrounded by a large number of people, as well as in constant sight of all professors. In spite of all that, however, I am obliged to inform you that your day-to-day life here at Hogwarts will have to take a significant turn towards safety precautions. As of now, Miss Granger, you are banned from exiting the school grounds, naturally cancelling your visits to Hogsmeade under any circumstances. If need arises for you to wander outside you shall always have to be accompanied by at least two off-duty staff members who have been notified beforehand. In between classes, you shall also be escorted by a professor from your previous class and so on. According to your status as a prefect, you are still entitled to your own dormitory without the need of sharing one with your fellow housemates. However, as a necessity, from tomorrow night on, you will not be residing in Gryffindor Tower at all.'
Hermione, whose face had lost its blush bit by bit with each unmercifully pronounced word, was left almost translucent by the end of Professor McGonagall's tirade. Rationality truthfully dictated that all of that was indeed a necessary consequence, but it did not stop the metaphorical walls from starting to close in around her. Figuratively speaking, she was already becoming a prisoner of war.
'What, am I to be moved underground as well, perhaps?' she blurted out. It was more of a rhetorical question, so she was instantly taken aback to see the Headmistress shifting slightly in her chair before actually responding.
'In actuality, you are correct,' declared the older witch, looking directly into her former pupil's eyes. 'After all, I did mention who is the best candidate of all for the role of your protector. By day, you will be watched over by all of Hogwarts whilst by night, you are to be safeguarded by only one. You are to lodge with Professor Snape in his dungeon quarters until the situation resolves itself.'
A strange sound escaped Hermione's throat, something that sounded suspiciously close to a squeak, as she unabashedly stared at the Hogwarts Headmistress, her most highly-valued mentor of all. Of all the possible answers the stern, even puritanical older woman could have given her, the calm response that she wished to see her most favourite student sleeping under the inky wing of a Death Eater, no matter how reformed, was not one of them.
The Headmistress, who was seemingly oblivious to the young witch's state, rambled on with all the finesse of the Hogwarts Express.
'The school's house-elves are still hard at work preparing your new living quarters. Therefore, they will be ready for you only tomorrow night. You shall be well provided for, presuming you are worried about that. And most importantly, safe.'
Silence descended upon the room. Except for the occasional rustle here and there from the numerous portraits hanging around them, nothing else could be heard for long moments. Hermione chanced a glance towards the window, only to see that her friend was back to staring into nothingness. Not one word of protest. Not even a gesture. Nothing.
'I see,' she murmured at last. In reality, she neither saw nor understood anything.
Her trail of confusion was momentarily halted by the rising figure of the Headmistress, who briskly walked up to stand in front of her. In a show of unusual tenderness, she gently grasped the shorter witch's shoulders and squeezed them in reassurance.
'Rest assured, Hermione, that Severus will shield you from harm's way to the best of his ability. I...all of us wish for this mess to be over with as soon as possible. It has been a rather long and tumultuous first day of school for you. I have instructed Hagrid to escort you back to Gryffindor Tower; he is waiting for you just outside the office now. Best to bed, both of you.'
With a last squeeze, the professor resolutely straightened and returned to her unfinished parchment on the desk.
Feeling slightly dazed, Hermione started to head out. Harry, finally shaken out of his trance-like state by his friend's footsteps, quickly started to follow, only to end up almost barreling into her as she abruptly halted at the doors.
'Why me?'
Professor McGonagall, at whom the question had been directed, paused briefly in her rekindled writing.
The answer came from the most unexpected source.
'You are one of my best friends,' rasped Harry. She vaguely noted that he must have damaged his throat during his "silent" screaming after all. His tone, though, was as calm as she had ever heard it, with an almost placid quality to it.

'No, you are more than that...you are part of my family. Hurting you might come close to destroying me, and the bastard knows it.'
The witch chanced to glance into his eyes and was met with such a changing array of emotions that it almost made her head swim. No matter how calm Harry appeared on the outside, the wizard was definitely battling something furiously inside of him like never before. Knowing very well that her further questions would be met with no answers at all, nothing was left to her but to nod good night to the Headmistress and let one of her dearest friends guide her towards an expectant Hagrid.
In spite of all that had been shown and said, Hermione was unable to get rid of the worm of doubt deep inside her psyche that kept telling her that she had missed something vital.
Something so vital, as she was to learn later, that it would bring about a time that she would both treasure and endure until the very end.
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Sweet Surrender