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Shattered	By : Adriana Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 11986 -:- 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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Shattered

By Adriana

trixielou60@hotmail.com
It begins again,

the nocturnal pulse.

It courses through the cables laid for it.

It mounts to the chandeliers and beats there, hotly.

We are too close.

Too late, we womovemove back.

We are involved with the surge.
~ From the poem, "The Assassination" by Donald Justice

****************************************

Chapter 9: Surge

Draco had been unprepared for the sudden violent assault. As he crashed out of his chair, he noted with horror that there was blood gushing from his nose. "My beautiful nose," he thought mournfully, before he looked up to see Harry grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. It was an apparent attempt to bang his head against the floor.

"Fuck this!" he thought. "Acting or no acting, I'm going to give him a good, swift kick in the jacobs!"

He grabbed Harry around the neck. "Die, Potter!" he snarled. Pushing his knee up against Harry's groin, he could tell by his reaction that he'd hit home.
"Ergh," said Harry, a feeling of nausea overwhelming him. He bent over and harshly whispered in Draco's ear, "Nice shot, you poofter. I guess we have to make this look good."
"I'm kicking your arse, Potter!" Malfoy shouted dramatically. He lowered his voice to a whisper and added, "Just like we planned." Harry had to keep himself from laughing at the sound of Draco's voice. With his bloody nose, it sounded like, "Im kin yo as, Pot."
In the distance, he could make out Hermione screaming at them to stop. Ron, on the other hand, was shouting encouragement.
Harry grabbed Draco by his robe, lifted him to his feet and snarled, "Don't count on it, you chinless wonder!" Draco saw his advantage as Harry was pausing to yell at him some more, so he shoved him hard into another table. As they both fell to the floor again, Harry took the opportunity to roll them both under the table. When they were safely out of sight he rasped,
"Was it really necessary to humiliate Hermione with your antics in Paris? Surely you knew that it would hurt and embarrass her."
As they rolled out from under the table, Draco whispered back to Harry, "It was the only way, Potter. I had to convince Voldemort that she's changing. Our lives depend on it." He made sure to punctuate his statement with a hard tweak to Harry's earlobe.
Harry heaved a glancing blow off Malfoy's chin. "You made her look like a slut, you prat! "
Before Draco could retort, he felt himself being lifted by huge, tree-trunk arms.
"That's enough!" roared Hagrid. He kept a tight grip on a struggling Malfoy. "Yer going ta kill each other."
Harry was being restrained by a grim-looking Remus Lupin.
"Stay away from her, Malfoy!" yelled Harry, as he halfheartedly struggled in Lupin's arms.

Hermione ran forward, laying a concerned hand on Draco's cheek. Giving Harry iumpiumphant smirk, Draco said, "She's having fun with me, Potter. Something you obviously know nothing about." He snaked a lazy arm around Hermione.
"Cheeky bastard," muttered Remus.
"Hermione?" Harry gave her an entreating look.
"Just go, Harry," she whispered in embarrassment. "We'll talk later."
As Remus let loose of him, Harry strode forward and pulling Draco's head by his hair, he forced Malfoy close enough so he could whisper in his ear, "You accomplished the objective . . . well done. But you're still a sniveling, ferret-faced brat."
Without looking back, he stalked out of the restaurant.
"Erm, I'd better see to him. Hermione, I'm dying to talk to you but some other time, I'm sure," said a sheepish Ron. Giving her an apologetic look, he left.
Seeing the devastation on Hermione's face, Draco took pity on her. "Let's go back to your place, I need to clean up. Maybe you could do that healing thing you do?" She looked like she was going to cry. "There, there, love . . . I'm the one who got his nose buggered, but you don't see me crying, now do you?" He was rewarded by a slight smile.
"Hermione, are you alright?" Remus couldn't help but look worriedly at her. She nodded as he continued, "Hagrid and I were walking to The Three Broomsticks, when we heard the commotion in here. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening."
"That's really lovely and all, but do you think we could leave before I bleed to death all over the carpet?"
"Stuff it, Malfoy," said Hermione quietly. Shifting her posture slightly, she lifted her head and added loudly, "Let's go home, love."
Making a great show of it, they limped back to Hogwarts. Malfoy made sure he held her tightly and leaned on her extra hard.

"Some blokes will do anything to cop a feel," he thought to himself.
*************************************************
Hermione dealt with her stress by going on auto-pilot. She'd plunged headlong into her books and had calibrated her magic particle spectrometer almost as soon as she got rid of Malfoy. He'd actually taken the breaking of his nose rather philosophically, saying that it was the least he could sacrifice for The Cause. Then he'd taken a look at himself in the mirror and had promptly fainted. Once he'd regained consciousness, Hermione quickly healed him and pushed him out the door. With that accomplished, she later made a beeline for Harry's house. He'd explained to her that he was angry with Malfoy for making her look like a tart, but even he had to admit that it had been a cunning stroke of brilliance. He'd quietly confessed to her that he rather enjoyed punching out Malfoy, the feeling was probably a holdover from their school days.
Hermione understood perfectly how he felt. She regularly had the urge to slug Malfoy.
She'd gone home that evening feeling infinitely better about the whole thing.
Joining her in the lab the following night, Severus had been fascinated by the magic particle spectrometer and they'd had an illuminating conversation on how this device was going to help them in their task. Admiring her intellect, old habits as her Potions Professor had dictated that he only nod curtly to her as she explained how it worked. Praise was to be avoided at all costs. After two weeks of research, they'd begun with the arithmancy and had re-worked her calculations to where they had the base ingredients for the potion mapped out.
She'd seemed in no condition for snarkiness, so Severus found himself making polite chit-chat in between discussions over potions ingredients and reference books. He usually hated anything that even remotely hinted of 'chit-chat', but he couldn't bear the silence between them. He'd been reduced to sneaking glances at her while she wasn't lookand and they'd worked the entire time without saying one personal thing to each other. Despite the stimulating nature of their research, it didn't seem to be enough to pull him out of his blue funk. Instead of emotionally pushing himself away from Hermione as was his intention, he found that being in her constant presence had triggered a deep longing for her that he couldn't seem to shake.
Never in his life had he reacted to a woman like this.
Unbidden, his thoughts drifted back to the evening when Taryn Butler had propositioned him.

His reaction to her had been more in keeping with his character.
He'd been totally shocked and unprepared for her come-on.
His first ridiculous thought had been of Hermione, picturing the look on her face if she could see him standing inches from Miss Butler, her long fingers caressing his in an intimate gesture. Somehow it had seemed like a betrayal of her, although he knew he was being irrational. Hermione was a non-issue. He'd backed away from Miss Butler as if she'd been made of poison gas and he'd murmured something to her about her sudden illness, she obviously wasn't feeling well. Perhaps she needed to take the rest of the evening off? Then he'd fled the infirmary without looking back, heading straight to the Potions Lab. He had been studiously avoiding Miss Butler ever since.
He sighed. He'd been pushing Hermione away from him because he was afraid she'd become too much of a distraction. Instead, the forbidden nature of his attraction to her had only served to lengthen his sleepless nights. He thought about her constantly. It took all of his mental strength not to strangle Malfoy when he came calling for her, making a big show of putting his hands all over her. Something was going to have to give, or he was going to go crazy.
Severus looked up from his cauldron to find Hermione sitting at his desk, head in her hand, drifting off to sleep. An open book was lying at her elbows.
He looked tenderly at her, and his breath hitched in his chest.
Walking over to her, he hesitantly reached out and caressed her hair while she slept. Her eyes immediately snapped open, and she was surprised to see him touching her, a soft, unguarded look on his face.
"Severus?" she asked sleepily.
He immediately snatched his hand away. "I'm sorry for disturbing you," he murmured. "You were sleeping."
She searched his face. "For a moment, you looked different," she said. "I haven't seen that look in your eye since . . . since . ."
"Since Belize," he finished for her. He looked away, embarrassed. Why on earth had he mentioned that?
"You must be exhausted if you're willing to bring that up," she said, her voice echoing his thoughts. "You made your feelings very clear that morning. Everything you did for me was done out of a sense of obligation and duty. You needn't feel guilty about it. I understood you perfectly." Her voice was even and flat.
"We're treading on dangerous waters here, Dr. Granger," he began cautiously. "I should never have brought up Belize. Although I'm sure that you misunderstood me that morning," he added, so softly that Hermione wasn't sure she heard him correctly.
"Isorrsorry. I could have sworn you said I misunderstood you."
"Give it a rest, Dr. Granger."
Hermione found herself gritting her teeth.
"Oh, for the love of Nimue! This is exhausting! And stop calling me 'Dr. Granger'!" she snapped. "You'd like for me to think that you're indifferent to me, but I can clearly see that you're not."
With a surge of Gryffindor courage, she stood up and boldly brushed her lips against his neck, whispering, "You want me. I can see it in your eyes."
He let out a hiss and he stepped back as if burned. He would never have expected the prim witch to act in such a wanton way.

"Who are you and what have you done with Hermione?" Severus thought fleetingly.

He sent her the patented Snape Glare. "What would you have me to tell you?" he rasped angrily. "That I find you desirable? That I think of you constantly? That I want to fuck you into delirium? Well, maybe I do!" The last sentence was a shout.
In an instant, he looked horrified at what he'd just said.
"Don't you dare take that back, Severus Snape," said Hermione, noticing that he was starting to back away from her even further.
"I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry," he sounded stunned. "It was entirely inappropriate."
"Why? Why are you running away from this, this . . . thing, whatever it is, betwes?"s?"
"For the simple reason that it could never work out. Aside from the obvious fact that I'm old enough to be your father, there's the nature of our research. There's a lot at stake and we just can't start anything personal together. It's too dangerous. Besides, I'm pretty sure that you're confusing gratitude with . . . with something else. It's best if we just remain colleagues."
Hermione lifted her head and looked deep into his midnight eyes. "I don't accept that."
"Hermione," his voice was low and dangerous. "I would have thought that the risky nature of our mission would be enough to convince you that any entanglements between us would be ill-advised. I am not a nice man and I'm pretty sure that things would end badly for us. It's not worth jeopardizing all our hard work"
Seeing the devastated look on her face, he was moved to add quietly, "I can't believe that you would even consider being with me. There are things in my past . . . awful, horrible things that you can't even begin to imagine."
"I don't care," she said petulantly.
Grabbing her by her arms, he lowered his head so that he was eye level with her. "You should care! You should be thinking only of The Soul Shattering Potion and nog elg else. What good is a brilliant mind if you can't even control your own heart?" His voice sounded like broken glass.
"I can't think of the potion and not think of you," she answered softly. "As for my heart, it can't hurt any more than it already does, so I'm pretty certain it can survive just about anything. Even you."
Groaning, he pushed himself away from her. Hermione saw the fire in his eyes, before he savagely suppressed it.
"I know you want me," she repeated. "I can see it in your eyes."
"Then I have failed you." Seeing the pained expression on her face, he faltered. "Don't look at me like that."
"Do pus push me away because you're scared."
"I'm not scared!" he shouted. "I'm just trying to save us both a lot of trouble!"
"Well then, you're too bloody late!" Hermione shouted back at him. "We're already in trouble!"

Severus sucked in a deep, shocked breath.
"Believe what you want," he said, helplessly. "But I just can't talk about this anymore. I think it's best if we pack up the lab and continue in the morning. A good night's sleep will give us a new perspective."
He quickly cleared the lab and moved towards the door. As he reached for the doorknob, he heard her softly say, "You can run, but you can't hide."
He heroically resisted the urge to turn back to her, gather her in his arms and kiss her senseless. Instead, he practically ran from the room.

"Truer words were never spoken," he thought.
***********************************************
Lucius Malfoy regarded his son from across the breakfast table. Draco was delicately polishing off a croissant with honey, oblivious to his father's thoughtful gaze. The sun shone brightly in the Malfoy dining room, as the house elves had opened the drapes to let the light in. They knew that Malfoy, Jr. liked the sunlight. Malfoy, Sr., on the other hand, detested it.
"What?" said Draco, looking up. Getting no immediate answer, he shed aed and turned his attention back to the plate in front of him.
Lucius noticed that through the years Draco had taken on a rather sullen, disaffected tone with him. He suspected that this was an attempt to hide what was really going on in his devious little head. "After all," thought Lucius, "If he was always sounding bored and disinterested, nobody would question what was going on in his vacant mind."
Lucius was on to him, however. The boy was hiding something.
He knew his son to be devious because throughout his upbringing, he'd made certain to nurture that aspect of Draco's personality. Deviousness was a fine trait in a Malfoy . . . the old survival instinct, fully developed.
Keeping his eyes on Draco, he said, "Tell me, son. Are you satisfied with your life so far?"
Draco�s facial expression was carefully neutral. "That�s a strange tiontion coming from you, father. You usually don't concern yourself with my satisfaction. Not that I'm complaining, mind you." He gave Lucius a charming smile.
Lucius smiled back but it didn't reach his cold eyes. He spoke slowly and deliberately. "I know how much you hate Mudbloods, son. This whole game with that horrid Granger person must be terribly difficult for you. My sources tell me she's very beautiful, but all the same, she's filthy and she's beneath us. How are you holding out?"
Draco leaned in, "Well father, she has absolutely no class, but she's been a damned good lay. She likes it rough, just like me." He leaned back in his chair. "I guess you could say I'm holding out just fine."
"It's very important that you deliver Dr. Granger to our Lord, Draco. He's got plans for her and if you're successful in giving her over to him, we will be amply rewarded. It would bring even more honor and prestige to the Malfoy name."
"If that's his plan then so be it, although he told me that he only wanted to distract Potter." Draco continued with his bored tone.
"Things change, my boy. Things change. Remember that if you want to stay alive."
"Yes, father."
***************************************************
Later on that morning, Albus called a meeting to discuss their progress. Quoting a line from one of his favorite Muggle movies, he'd chuckled, "I see we've gath all all the usual suspects." He beamed at everybody.
"Really Albus, your cheer is particularly grating this morning." Severus had been sitting in his usual chair and he'd woken up in a very foul mood. He couldn't even bring himself to look at Hermione.
"Well then, let's start with Dr. Granger. How are things coming along with the potion, my dear?"
"Professor Snape and I have already identified and analyzed the emotions that are shattered when the potion is administered. I am currently working on what one would term the 'higher' functioning of the soul as after all, we are more than just our emotions." She shot a glance Severus, before continuing. "I've recently been examining logic, higher cortical thinking, intellect, memory, and mental adaptability. Once those energies can be isolated, we will begin working on the potion ingredients. The spectrometer has been used to isolate and identify the magical properties of both the soul in general and the potion. Severus, erm, I mean Professor Snape, has also begun work on the base potion, one with energy-shattering properties. It will be refined over time."
"How much time?" Draco asked the question weighing heavily on all minds.
"I don't know," she answered honestly. "You can't predict the course of research, Malfoy. That's why they call it, 'research'."
"Well we don't have a lot of time." Draco turned to her. "He's asking for you, Hermione. Voldemort wants me to bring you to him and although I considered holding off for as long as I can, it will only raise his suspicions. Soon, he'll want to meet with you."
Snape jumped up without thinking. "No!" he shouted. "Absolutely not!"
The group appeared to be collectively stunned at his outburst. Albus raised a questioning eyebrow.
"He'll only torture her and kill her," Severus said, by way of explanation.
"You're acting as if I have no say in this, Severus." Hermione looked determined. "I think I'm perfectly capable of making a rational choice about the risks I'm willing to take."
"You're a fool if you think you'll get out of this alive. I won't have it."
"You won't have it? Just who the hell do you think you are?" Hermione's voice was raised to an almost hysterical pitch.
"Someone who knows exactly what Voldemort is capable of," he bit out harshly. "Do you know what it's like to be beaten savagely and raped in front of a group of bloodthirsty Death Eaters? They'd take turns with you, then they'd slowly dismember you, laughing while you screamed."
Hermione blanched.
"Really, Severus, we get the picture without your melodrama," said the Headmaster.
"If I have to resort to melodrama, it's only because Dr. Granger is beincredcredibly foolhardy. With typical Gryffindor bravado, she's failo seo see the ramifications of what's being asked of her."
"I'm right here, you don't have to talk about me as if I were a child."
"Well, if you act like a child, I'll treat you like one." Severus' tone brooked no argument.
"Oh!" huffed Hermione. She felt totally humiliated at his treatment of her in front of the rest of the staff.
Walking over to where he was sitting, she leaned over to him and whispered harshly, "You have no right. You spend all your time pushing me away, and now you want to protect me. Well, you can't have it both ways, Professor." She straightened up.
Seeing the curious looks the others were giving them, she did the only thing that made sense at the time.
She fled.
Leaping to his feet, Severus sprang from the chair as if he'd been shot out of a cannon as he ran after her.
The silence in the room was deafening.
"Well," said Albus. "I guess this meeting is adjourned for now. It seems that some of us have things that need to be worked out."
*************************************************
Hermione ran down the hall to the dungeons, tears blinding her as she stumbled into her private quarters. Before she had a chance to slam the door, a foot quickly wedged into the door- frame, keeping her from shutting it. She recognized the dragonhide boot.
"Leave me alone!" she screamed at him.
"Pull yourself together Hermione. Why are you reacting this way? I'm only trying to keep you safe."
"You're treating me as if I was a stupid child! You tell me that you don't want us to have a relationship, yet you think that you can make choices for me. This isdecidecision and mine alone! Again, why are you concerning yourself with this?"
"Because . . . " he said softly. "Because if something happened to you, I don't think I could bear it." Reaching for her, his lips blindly sought hers.
It was as if a dam had burst open and torrents of emotions washed over them,vingving them both breathless. After the first touch of her lips, Severus had moved back just a fraction, only the barest sliver of air between them. He opened his eyes and saw her looking back at him in wonder, tears still hanging off the corners of her beautiful eyes.

"I'm lost," he thought, as he closed his eyes and claimed her lips again passionately.
Hermione fought a feeling of giddiness. Finally! After all these weeks, she was finally kissing him and it was the most glorious feeling she'd ever had. His lips were hard aoft oft at the same time, pliant one second and rough and insistent the next. He'd wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body against his as she shook with pleasure. Taking the initiative, she opened her mouth to him and he eagerly explored her with sensuous movements of his tongue. Her hands roamed all over his body, feeling the hardness of the muscles of his shoulders and upper back.
She let out a soft moan when he lowered his hands to the soft curves of her backside and he reached around to lightly caress a breast. He returned her moan with one of his own.
They were pressed tightly together.
She could feel his erection agt het her groin and she arched her hips against his, to get even closer. Severus let out a harsh sound.
Breaking away from their embrace, he regarded her with fiery eyes and panting breath. He reached for her again.
He was just about to kiss her when a heavy pounding sounded from the door.
"I know you're in there, Hermione! Open up, dammit!"
Draco Malfoy had shitty timing.
"And I know Uncle Severus is in there too."

Oh, fuck.

To be continued . . .

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My usual thanks to Elizabeth for taking the time to beta-read this. Thanks girlie!

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Shattered