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Torment Completed	By : Kvarta Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 31713 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 8
Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction. Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling. This story is purely for entertainment purposes, no money is being made from it.

Chapter List
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- 57
A/N: My life is as usually spinning out of control,work-wise. So, we will return to posting every 2 days until madness passes.
@BlackRose "Also, what couple is Poppy referring to marrying based on magic compatibility? " - why do you think it is just one couple? ;) . "Now who fits Poppy’s description of Severus’s perfect match? " - Plenty, I'd say most of the Ravenclaw's (of course as Claw, I might be just biased) :D. Joke on the side, I can think of one in immediate vicinity :)
To avoid further confusion:
Italic - Past, memories
‘Single quotation mark’ - inner monologue, thoughts
“double quotation mark” - actual speech
She stopped writing and raised her head, wrinkling her nose at the thought. Snape was sleeping, peacefully. She frowned and scribbled on the margin
His memories – only when both sleep!!! What changed?
She raised her head again fixing her eyes on him. It wasn’t the only change. February tickled into the soggy March. Snape was quite more than ever. Even their research slipped into an exchange of limited words. Their research, however, advanced. Soon they will try to reverse the damage she caused.
He was more… prickly… then she could remember, even from her school days. Gruf and deflective. His mean demeanour didn’t touch her.
‘When did I became immune to his poisonous words and mean remarks?’
He couldn’t say or do anything to make her falter, to push her off balance. Of course, he was more work now than ever before. Her frown deepened at the memory…
…It was few days after that night. She was reading, he was gazing through the window. His face expressionless mask and yet she knew… he was anything but an empty shell. She could almost taste his pain. Memories of the summer before their fifth year were dark, drenched with fear and anger and pain. But not much violence. It surprised her to see that most of the gatherings resembled more board meeting than… what? No one knew how their meetings looked like. No one except him.
He suddenly turned to her
“If I help you… will you leave me alone?”
“Help me?” she’s confused
“To regain your parent's memories. If I teach you how… would you go and look for them?”
“You just want to get rid of me so you could kill yourself.” It was an accusation
“What I plan to do or not to do is not up to you, Granger. I made my offer, now don’t sleep on it for too long.”
“Even if you teach me…there are consequences…”
“It is magic, there are always consequences. Now then, what will it be?”
“They are happy. Without me. I actually thought about it. I found the reversal spell, I did my research while we were at the Hogwarts. Even then, I made my decision. But I am grateful for your offer.”
His face darkened, eyes glazing with mirror-like patina.
“What do I have to do to get rid of you?”
“Get better.”
“Are you so willing to throw away your life, your entire life?”
“Are you so determined not to allow yourself to heal?”
“Said a pot to a cauldron.”
He turned to the window again. That was the weirdest conversation they had. So atypical from all the rest before and after. He sounded almost like every other human, and it was an Oscar-winning performance on his part…
…All of that put her plans to devise a strategy based on Malfoy’s words on hold. Malfoy! That was another puzzle. He didn’t show up in the room, not once after that day. That puzzled her. It didn’t seem like a quarrel that couldn’t be overcome. And their friendship certainly looks strong enough to survive it. For some unknown reason, Malfoy never came and Snape never asked of him. Not her, which wasn’t much of a surprise. But he never asked Narcissa and Draco either.
That worried her. She knew a little about boys and their quarrels… but these were not boys. They were grown men. They lived through two wars. Death Eaters. They had more on their shoulders than… Maybe it was just harder to forgive in their age? Whatever the reason, Malfoy’s absence only added to the depression he was slipping in. She has to do something, and fast.
Her eyes slipped from his face to his chest and arms. They toned down the exercises for his upper body in favour of the intensifying the effort on his legs. What worried her was his the lack of visible progress. His strength returned, no doubt about that. But… he didn’t gain in the mass. He still looked thin. Sure, he put a thin layer of fat over his bones. But...his muscles only steeled up, looking more like vire than an actual muscle. More like metal ropes under the skin. Strength was there. Vitality was there. Mass was missing. His muscles just roped over his bones. If anyone saw Severus, he might think that the slightest wind could blow him away.
Curious enough, she thought that it suited him. Inconspicuously strong. No muscle mass to betray him. No quality to draw in the awe or stir the notion of romance. Not visible anyway. And yet, it was all there, beneath the surface. Hidden. Like his body and his mind conspired to hide every single ounce of goodness in him. Even the goodness he possessed bore a mask. The poison of his sharp mind and double-edged blades of his words. However, his body did the best it could to remind him that he is alive. His rebellious body was her only ally now.
He’s dreaming. She knew all the signs. His mouth parted slightly, low growly moan in his throat. His hands fanned and curled. His shoulder lightly pressed into the mattress. His features relaxed and at the same time tight. She took special care not to lower her gaze down the covers. It wasn’t that she felt embarrassed. Not anymore.
Something shifted inside her. The change was not drastic but it was there. And with all honesty, she couldn’t even say if it had any connection to him. Whatever the change was, she didn’t have time to deal with it now. So, she tucked it away for later.
“It won’t work, Granger.”
His voice startled her. She moved the parchment, quill and inkwell on the trunk, her hands shaking.
“What won’t work?”
“Whatever crazy idea Lucius managed to plant in your head. It won’t work.” His voice gravelly from sleep but cold and sharp
She turned to face him. Angry. Insulted.
‘How dare he?’ “I would rather die than act on an idea that came from that… sociopath.”
“It sounds…almost…believable and yet it is sadly untrue.”
She jumped to her feet, taking his entire figure. Squinting her eyes at him, she allowed a smirk to lift the corner of her lip
“Projecting your state on me… won’t solve your… problem.” She hissed “Aggravate me and I won’t help you.”
“I do not need your help, Granger.” He hissed
“No?” her eyes slipped to the covers “Then we can wait until your… problem… goes away on its own. “Experience thought me it won’t, but hey….”
“I am perfectly capable to solve all my problems you insolent brat.”
“Go ahead!” she snapped waving her hand at him in a dismissive motion
“Are you sure little girl?” he smirked, his eyes gleaming with malice
“Quite sure.”
“In that case, I suggest you run and hide, or you can stay and… watch.” The slow poison in his voice took her by surprise.
‘Stay and watch? Run? What is he talking about?’
She knew he can’t use his magic, even with the wand. She was so sure that he would relent. So what was she missing? The shine in his eyes bordered on vindictive zeal. She didn’t like that at all. But what he could… Her eyes widened in sudden realisation. She picked up her wand and the book, turning her back on him, fighting the blush that crept up her cheeks.
“Fine. Bathroom.” She hissed “I’ll even help.”
“Help how, little girl?” his dark chuckle accentuated with one raised eyebrow
She reached the bathroom and turned.
“Like this.”
One flick of her wand rolled the cover to the side. Another flick and his bottoms vanished, leaving him naked on the bed. She focused her gaze on his face. The smirk never left his features, but the slight widening of his eyes gave her satisfaction. She managed to surprise him even if he hid it well. Without another word, she walked into the bathroom closing the door.
‘How stupid can I be?’ she wondered
~ S ~ S ~ S ~
He glared at the door. Magic crackling around him. Bugger it all! Granger didn’t rise to his bait. The annoying child left him… Left him! In this state. He was counting on her meddling ways. He provoked her but hoped that she would flick her wand at him. Not in the slightest he could foresee what she did now.
He had no intention of handling this on his own. He simply wanted to unbalance her. Throw her off her tracks. In normal circumstances, he would wait. These, however, were not normal circumstances. One morning he woke up before her, sporting the usual morning erection. He hoped that it would pass on its own before she wakes up. His body seemed determined to defy not only his wishes but also laws of biology and medicine. Two hours later, when she finally woke up, he was in pain and his state unchanged.
It seemed to him that his own body went rough on him. Or that it was in cahoots with Lucius’s insane ideas. As if his own body tried to prevent him from achieving his goal. Or maybe this was just the unfortunate byproduct of some random curse. Merlin knows, he was on the receiving end of many curses in past three years. Whatever it was… he had to find his way out of the imminent problem.
He was, as it happens to be, reluctant to do so. His mind scared him these days. He used to find solutions not deal with emotions. Now he had to face – emotions. In the past days, it was all he did. He made peace with the futility of his life, past and future, fortifying his decision. But his body refused to abide by his will. The emotional part of him followed his body, filling his dreams with desires he never had before. He would strangle Lucius if he had strength.
His dreams filled with the faceless female figure. Warm and caring and understanding. One that focuses her affections on him. Not what he represented but who he was. She was smart and witty and temperamental.
He isn’t stupid nor ignorant. When the craziness of the youth passed, he became aware of certain proclivities. His hopeless yearning for Lily aside, there weren't many women who had the capacity to catch his attention. He thanked Salazar for not so small fact that annoyance that plagued his life now, was who she was. She was a child. His student to boot. And those facts alone were enough to keep him safe. In any other circumstance, she had a fair chance to argue and hiss her way, to warm up to him. It would still be far from any true emotion but she might pose a danger to his balance.
With a sigh, he moved his hand. Reluctantly. All the thinking in the world won’t help him now. He can’t think his way out of this one. It was the matter of pure mechanics and he hoped he has enough in him to see it through to the end.
~ S ~ S ~ S ~
She paced around the bathroom. Fuming.
‘Who does he think he is? If he thinks he can do without me – let him try!’
But after a while, the pacing seemed to work out her annoyance into her usual state of mind. And she started to wonder would he be able to… And how long it would take? Sure he regained his strength up to the certain degree but he was, for the better part, still weak. Maybe he was just venting out? Something he did often after his argument with Malfoy.
He would use his hands but not for long and with prolonged use his hands would shake. Sometimes terribly so, even if she pretended not to notice. Gathering all the knowledge she had… it was a physical work. And not easy if it is to go by what she heard in the girl's bathroom at school.
She frowned. One might think that being friends with two boys she would have some knowledge of the matter. Some even indicated based on the year she spent sharing a tent with them. But either neither Harry nor Ron were too much into that, or war took president. There was just one incident, and she didn’t really see anything. She stumbled onto Ron, and he jumped so high and start yelling and… well, a week later he abandoned them.
How does it look like? She knew what books covered… but how it really looked like? She supposed she could peek? Not to intrude but only to glance, and to check how long she should stay in here. That’s right. It is not that she is doing something wrong… if she takes a glance… she’s just checking how he’s doing. If he needs help or maybe if he finished and she can come back in the room. She is not curious. And she definitely is not interested in seeing him – doing that. She just taking care of him.
Squaring her shoulders she crept to the door and kneeled, pressing her eye at the keyhole.
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Torment *Completed*

Torment Completed