Hermione looked down at the hand that brushed hers gently, on accident or on purpose, she wasn’t sure. She continued stirring her potion but soon felt the large hand pressing gently into hers and she looked down at it then slowly up to a black clad wrist and then up the long arm to a shoulder that black hair touched as it covered the face of Severus Snape. His black eyes met hers and she felt his hands slide up her arms and grip her forearm, pulling her to him firmly. Her breath hitched in her throat as her body hit his hard form.

Her eyes widened at his harsh handling of her. She could smell his cologne, a rich a woody scent that filled her senses. He gripped her chin in one hand and forced her to look into the endless black pools of his dark eyes. “Why do you use a glamour? What are you trying to hide?”

Hermione felt like she was floating, his voice was surrounding her in its deep waves. She opened her mouth to protest his rough handling of her and started to twist out of his grasp, but his hands pulled her to him closer, his grip tight on her upper arms. “I-I can’t tell you that, Severus.”

He brushed her blonde hair behind her ear and Hermione looked up into his eyes, “Why not? Don’t you trust me?”

Hermione warred with herself. This was her future husband, and Dumbledore trusted him, didn’t he? Wasn’t that enough to trust him? His thumbs traced little circles around her pulse points in her wrists and his eyes glittered. “I-I guess I do…”

Snape’s lips quirked up into a smirk as he stared down at her like a hungry wolf about to eat his prey. Hermione’s throat had gone dry. “Show yourself, Cresswell.”

Cresswell? The name jarred Hermione. Her brows furrowed and she felt something snap and she was flung back into consciousness, sitting straight up in bed panting furiously. Her body covered in a sheen of slick sweat like she had run a marathon. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and her hand was shaking as she clumsily searched her nightstand for her wand to light up her room, half expecting Snape to be standing in there with her.

When she saw he was no where in sight, she took a deep breath and laid back down in bed, forcing herself to go back to sleep. Hoping she wouldn’t have another dream like that one ever again.

- - -

Hermione helped Pomfrey with an influx of first years who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time in potions class when a cauldron exploded and a few came out of it with some nasty burns from the bubbling liquid splattering onto them. She realized she quite liked working with children, they were cute at this age. Still innocent, it wasn’t until third year that things went downhill.

The students had to stay in the hospital wing over night under Pomfrey’s care since she had the night off and tonight was the first night of her lessons with Dumbledore. She was anxious about it and the time seemed to go slowly all day until the hour was finally upon her.

She walked the halls slowly, trying to take her time to Dumbledore’s office, knowing she was going to be absurdly early. She didn’t want to stand outside of his office for a half hour like some sort of weird stalker.

As she turned down a corridor, she passed a tall boy who walked the opposite direction with his nose buried in a book and she did a double take. “Lupin?”

The boy stopped and turned around with a confused look on his face before blushing, “Oh, good evening, Miss Cresswell. I got a bit caught up in the library and lost track of time he said vaguely gesturing to the direction of the library from where he was heading away from.

Hermione smiled, “I can relate. I used to do the same thing all the time when I was in school.”

Lupin smiled at this. “You like to read?”

“Its pretty much all I do.” Hermione laughed. “I think I’ve been through almost all the books in the library at this point.”

“Maybe we could read together in the library sometime? I could use some conversation outside of quidditch and girls.”

Hermione assumed this was what James and Sirius must busy themselves with talking about. Not unlike Harry and Ron she mused. “Um, yeah, maybe? I have a lot going on right now, but if I have some extra time, definitely!” To be honest, she missed the conversation with Lupin. Even if he was younger now and less knowledgeable, she was sure he would be just as fun to talk to.

Remus nodded, “Yes, of course. Your apprenticeship has to be rigorous.”

“It is, but I look forward to seeing you guys this weekend at the Hog’s Head.” Hermione reassured him.

He seemed to light up at this. “Oh yeah, I was going to say-“

“Loony loony moony Lupin,

Out of bed past curfew, very naughty!

Talking to a girl with a grin,

Peevsey really should get him caughty!”

Peeves floated over Lupin’s head singing loudly down the hall and Lupin’s face fell from excitement to embarrassment. “Is this really necessary, Peeves?”

Hermione had to hide the laughter that was threatening to bubble out of her. “Lay off him, Peeves. He’s heading to Gryffindor tower now.”

“I am?”

Hermione nodded and jerked her head for him to leave.

“Right, see you later-“ He was cut off again by a rather loud raspberry that Peeves was blowing at Hermione. “Bugger off, Peeves!”

The ghost made a loud, annoyed sigh before making the noise of a whoopee cushion as he swooped away. Hermione smiled and waved at Remus as he walked away, once again opening his book to resume his reading as he walked to Gryffindor tower.

Hermione soon found herself in front of the Headmaster’s door, knocking on it lightly. She was so nervous that she could barely breathe, but she trusted Dumbledore. He would never do anything on purpose to hurt her. The door magically swung open to reveal a dimly lit office. Hermione apprehensively walked into the office and saw that all the portraits were sleeping peacefully in their frames. She felt bad that they would be waking them like this.

Dumbledore rose from his high-backed chair behind his desk, smiling but looking tired. Hermione took her place across from him and refused his offering of candy. “I trust you’re doing well, Miss Granger?” Hermione nodded with a slight smile. She knew he was reading her nervous energy, but she couldn’t reign herself in. “I think it is best to start slowly with this, so I will attempt to enter your mind, and you will tell me when you think I am doing it.”

Hermione nodded her understanding and gripped the arms of her chair in preparation. His blue gaze met hers and she was suddenly thrown back in her chair by the push of magic on her mind. As quickly as it came, it was gone and she stared at him, confused. “Aren’t you going to try to see into my mind, sir?”

“Were you able to feel me enter your mind, Miss Granger?”

“Well, yes, but-“

She was cut off by another surge of magic, this one more subtle. It felt more like Severus’ magic, prodding uncomfortably at her mind but not entering. “Empty your thoughts of anything important. Think of the most mundane thing you possibly can. Imagine that taking up the entirety of your brain.” Another push of magic slithered into her mind, this similar to the last except he tried more forcefully to enter her thoughts. She tried remembering her ancient runes homework and imagined the essay she had done for it for her NEWT’s.

Dumbledore pressed harder and she felt her reserve cracking. She saw the time she fell in the driveway of her childhood home and chipped her tooth, her parents sweeping her off to their practice to fix it immediately. She focused on the first lecture Professor Lockhart had given on pixies and how enraptured he was with himself. Of course, her twelve year old mind had been enraptured with him too, but now she knew better. He droned on about himself and she regained control of her mind, pushing Dumbledore further away from the core of her memories.

Suddenly his magic was probing from a totally new angle and Hermione was caught off guard. Her eyes clenched shut in the effort to keep him out, her heart pounding and sweat forming on her brow. Images of her parents flashed before her eyes, elementary school before she came to Hogwarts, getting her letter to Hogwarts. Hermione fixated on the texture of the essay paper she loved to use. It was cold pressed and smooth, her quill easily sliding across the surface. The thought pushed him further away, but he doubled down.

He touched the memory of Snape pushing her, Harry, and Ron behind him as Lupin turned into a werewolf. Sirius’ large shaggy dog form reared up and she shut the thought down, imagining the smell of the freshly mown grass she used to wake up to on Saturday mornings when her dad would mow the lawn.

Snape’s black eyes glittered down at her as he smirked, “I see no difference.” Her hand came up to touch the teeth that had elongated past her chin and could feel the pinpricks of tears threaten her eyes. Malfoy’s smug face from behind him sent her over the edge and she whipped around, hiding her face in shame as she ran to the hospital wing.

The memory of Ron’s face when he saw her descending the stairs at the yule ball flashed in front of her eyes. His blue eyes growing and his face going red at the sight of her. Harry’s smile and laugh at Ron’s reaction as she threaded her arm through Viktor Krum’s and walked with him into the shimmering great hall.

Harry’s green eyes filled with anger and fear as he rounded on her and Ron when he came to Grimmauld place over the summer vacation before his ministry hearing. He snapped at them and Hermione felt the anxiety well up inside her and knew she needed to calm him down before he did something rash. She pulled Ron aside and came up with a plan on how they would handle talking to him when he got angry at them like that again. Ron agreeing that something needed to be said, but it had to be put delicately.

Hermione mustered up her strength and forced him out of her mind with a snap! Like a door was slammed shut on the Headmaster. She panted in her chair; the back of her neck dewy with sweat. Curls of hair stuck sickly to her fevered skin and she wiped at her brow.

“That was a good first attempt, Miss Granger. Concentrate on blocking me out this time instead of trying to force me out after I’ve already gotten in. It will be much easier this way.” Dumbledore’s magic slithered into her mind and she forced all of her energy into blocking him out, but he pushed through. Memories flashing in her mind again.

- - -

Hermione dragged herself to her rooms, tired and achy from the exertion of her lesson with the headmaster. The halls were almost pitch dark at this point of the night, her lesson lasting hours longer than what she had intended. Her feet dragged across the stone floor groggily as she neared her chambers.

She heard a commotion coming down the hall as she drew closer to her rooms and she reflexively hurried inside to get away from whatever was coming, but didn’t ward them off so that she could listen to what was passing in front of her rooms.

“Just drop him off at the hospital wing and let’s go!” A whispered shout came from not far down the hall from her rooms.

“We can’t just sneak him into the hospital wing without Pomfrey noticing us. And she will want to know how he got like this.” Another voice answered in a harsh tone.

There was a deep, guttural moan and a soft thud of something heavy being dropped. “Just leave him here, someone will find him. We can’t get caught with him like this.”

There was a hesitation and another moan of pain and then she heard the other voice quickly agree and the sound of footsteps retreating down the hall. She waited until she was sure they were gone before coming out of her rooms to the sound of a rattling, wet cough.

Severus Snape lay crumpled of the floor not far from her room. Blood smeared down the wall where whoever he was with had slid his body down and onto the floor. Hermione hurried over to him and grabbed his face, forcing his eyes open. His eyes rolled, unfocused.

She looked down and saw his sleeve was torn, and a curved, black line was on his forearm, stark against the alabaster of his skin. She pulled his sleeve up a bit more and saw the dark mark, bold as day, undulating under his skin. She pulled the fabric back over it, probably a bit rougher than necessary, and looked back at him.

“What did you get yourself into, Severus?”