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Resolution	By : chrmisha Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 8076 -:- 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.

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Resolution: Chapter 8 of 13

Hermione worked hard all weekend and the following week to get her new rooms in order. She had exhausted herself quite thoroughly in the process. Still, every night before she went to bed, she made time to spend with Severus for a glass of wine. Together they would talk about their day, how his classes were, how her research was coming along, and anything else of interest. They had the most interesting conversations, she thought, and looked forward to his company each evening.

The following weekend, Hermione spent a mostly splendid day with Minerva McGonagall shopping in Diagon Alley. Hermione picked up a few things to add finishing touches to her rooms while Minerva shopped for a birthday gift for her sister. Flourish and Blotts was their last stop before leaving for the day. Hermione waded through the books in the Botany section, searching for a comprehensive reference guide on magical plants.

�Well, well, well, if it isn�t the Malfoy whore.�

Hermione froze, the book in her hands dropping to the floor. There was no mistaking that voice: Rowland Deveron. She grabbed her wand and spun around only to have it knocked out of her hand. Rowland put his own wand in the hollow of her neck and backed her against the wall. She swallowed against the intense hatred in his gaze, bile rising in her throat at the way he looked her up and down.

�Where�s your protector now? Snape isn�t here; I�ve been watching you all day. Strutting around like you own this place while I�ve become the outcast of the Wizarding world. Thanks to you, not only was I kicked out of Gladwick, but I also can�t seem to find a job or get admission to any other univiersities.�

In the back of her mind she thought she would have enjoyed knowing all of this if he didn�t have her pinned against the wall. Instead, fear was battling against outrage inside of her. She had to turn the tables on him and fast.

�My friends and I have a little surprise for you, whore. Soon, no one will think of you as the Malfoy whore. You�ll be the Deveron whore, like you should have been so long ago. I was trying to take it easy on you last time. No more.�

She saw four of his friends converge on the place where they stood, her wand at her feet. He had noticed the direction of her gaze and laughed. He reached for her wrist, needing the physical contact to Apparate them away from the bookstore. Knowing this would be her last chance, she twisted her upper body hard, shouldering him in the chest and throwing him off balance before kicking him as hard she could in the kneecap. He raised his wand, but she was too quick for him; she Stupefied him before he had a chance to curse her. When she looked up, Minerva had cast binding spells on his four friends and was rushing to her side. Hermione collapsed against her, shaking at what had almost happened. Soon, the owners of Flourish and Blotts were there, asking questions, demanding answers. Minerva sat Hermione down on a plush chair and explained everything, much to Hermione�s relief. The owners apologized to Hermione and assured her that the Ministry would take care of these scoundrels and that they would never bother her again. She could only hope.

When they returned to Hogwarts, Hermione rushed to Severus�s rooms, but he wasn�t there. She found him in the Potions classroom in a particularly foul mood. He was violently stirring the bubbling cauldron while saying something about stupid students who didn�t deserved to be allowed to set foot in Hogwarts. When she asked what he was working on, he snapped at her, not even bothering to look up. She excused herself then and locked herself in her rooms. The tears she forbade herself from crying in front of Minerva streamed down her face; tears of fear from her altercation with Rowland, but more so, tears of rejection from the one person she was counting on listening to her. It was unfair of her to expect him to be everything to her, but right now, it didn�t make her feel any better. Realizing she was wallowing in self-pity, she decided that a soothing bath might make her feel better.

Without thinking about what she was doing, she undressed in front of the mirror, something she never did. When she looked up, she froze. She stood perfectly still as the scars on her body stood out in stark relief against her pale skin. She closed her eyes against the images fighting their way to the forefront of her mind. Images of Lucius and the dagger, images of the knife cutting her skin, images of blood rising to the surface. The images came to her at other times as well, but not this strong. She was usually able to push them back. But after all that had happened today, she was at their mercy. She could feel the pain as if he were dragging the knife over her at that very moment. Wrapping her arms around herself, she sunk to the floor, willing the memories to stop.

***

�Foolish idiots! Wasting my weekend brewing potions because some imbecile thought it would be funny to add rabbit fur to lockweed.� Severus rambled on and on. He had handed out more detentions in the last week than he had throughout his entire tenure at Hogwarts. And now he was stuck rebrewing potions so that the students could continue working on their assignments that some fifth years had messed up, trying to be funny. Not only was he angry at his students, he was angry at himself for losing his temper with Hermione. She didn�t deserve it. She had done nothing wrong. Her only offense was asking him what he was working on and he had practically bit her head off. He added the final ingredient and stirred. As soon as he was finished, he would go find her and make it up to her. She would probably be angry with him and she would have every right to be.

Shaking his head at his own behavior, he stirred the potion one last time. Studying its brown, bubbling texture, he knew he had gotten it right. Amazing considering the foul mood he was in. He half expected to have to start over. He raised the cauldron with his wand to pour the contents into glass vials when he heard the ear-piercing scream. The cauldron and glass vials fell back to the lab bench, glass shattering and potion spilling all over the floor. Without a second thought he ran from the classroom. There was no doubting that scream.

She had warded the golden door between their quarters. What the hell was that about? Cursing, he rushed to break through the wards. He raced through her quarters, finding her at last huddled naked in her bathroom, the tub near overflowing. He grabbed her bathrobe and covered her before pulling her into his arms in an attempt to comfort her.

�Don�t,� she cried, flinching at his touch.

He immediately let go, sitting back on his haunches to try and decipher what was going on.

�Hermione, what happened?�

She wouldn�t look at him. Dammit! �Hermione, I shouldn�t have snapped at you before. It had nothing to do with you.�

Still she shrank away from him. His heart was breaking just watching her. He longed to reach out to her but she was obviously pulling away from him.

�Please, talk to me.�

Instead, tears poured from her eyes.

�Don�t look at me,� she finally said.

�Why not?�

�I hate how I look. I hate it. I hate it.�

He was now thoroughly confused. Was her terror-filled scream simply a feminine overreaction? And if so, he had ruined a perfectly good potion and a days worth of work to come to her aid.

�I don�t understand,� he finally said, keeping the exasperation out of his voice.

She met his eyes only briefly. �He cut me with a knife. I can�t stand to look in the mirror. All I see are the scars and him. I see his face. I see what he�s doing to me. He made me watch. I feel the knife cutting my skin. I can�t stop it. I can�t make it stop. I can�t make it go away.�

He sat there stunned for a moment. This was not what he had expected. What brought this on? Without taking the time to decide if what he was doing would help the situation or make it worse, he quickly stripped out of his robe and shirt, leaving his chest and back bare.

�Look at me,� he commanded.

She looked at him through blurry eyes and he gave her a second to focus. Slowly, he lifted his arms over his head and turned around in a circle. When he was facing her again, her eyes were wide. He knelt down in front of her as she reached out and very gently traced a ragged scar across his chest.

�You are not the only one with scars, Hermione. I have had more time to get used to mine, but that does not necessarily make it any easier. Each scar has a story and I am hard pressed not to be reminded of those stories each time I look in the mirror.�

She studied his scar-riddled body a little longer before falling into his open arms.

�What brought this on?�

�I ran into Rowland in Diagon Alley.�

As he listened to her words, he clenched his fists in anger. He wanted nothing more in life than to protect her, and he had failed once again.

Seeming to sense his change in mood, she looked up at him and brushed a stray lock of hair from his face. �Perhaps you need some of those black blossoms from the Pimiento Encanto plant.�

She laughed at the sour look that brought to his face.

He held her that night while she slept to keep her nightmares at bay. She had endured so much, and yet there were still people out there like Rowland Deveron who fed on innocents. Rowland would have made a perfect Death Eater, Severus thought wryly. Shaking his head, he refocused his thoughts. There was one sure way he could protect her. It was an ancient ritual that he had read about years ago before the Dark Lord had risen to power. He had catalogued it then, but hadn�t thought much about it since. It, and all the other notions of a normal life, had been cast aside. He was not worthy of her, he thought as he stroked her brown hair. But worthy or not, he would do what he could to protect her. And, if she would allow it, he would do much more than protect her; he would love her.
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Resolution