3

Thank you again, Septentrion and Ayerf, for the alpha and beta reads.

Snape Apparated into his sitting room noisily, startling Hermione out of her light sleep. Her eyes snapped open to find Snape kneeling beside a still, prone figure whose robes were drenched in blood.

It only took a second before Hermione realized it was Ron.

Letting out an inarticulate cry, she lurched off the sofa, scuttling along the floor desperately until she reached Ron's still form. He was as pale as death and unconscious, but she could see his chest rising ever so slightly for quick, shallow breaths.

She looked to the Professor for reassurance, but his face was unusually grim as he silently summoned more and more bottles to his side. Her attention was diverted when Snape's hand moved toward Ron's middle, and she gasped as he applied dittany to a seeping gash in Ron's stomach. Her stomach rolled over several times, and she fought the urge to gag. Taking quick breaths, she finally managed to control herself, and she tore her eyes away from Ron's stomach and looked to Snape.

"What can I do to help?"

Snape shook his head suppressively. She thought that was all the answer he was going to give until he shook his head again with a mild oath.

"Damn!" he growled. "She poisoned the blade."

He looked up at her then, his eyes hard and narrow. She didn't have time to come up with a question before he said, "Go to the kitchen and fetch a clean cauldron. We need to clean his wounds."

She was on her feet before he finished, pausing only to look around for the most probable door to the kitchen. His quick tilt of the head in one direction gave her all she needed to know, and she sped off. It didn't take long before she found the cauldron and heaved it back to Ron's side. She saw her wand sticking out of Ron's robe pocket. Grabbing it, she did a quick sterilizing charm on the cauldron before filling it with a quick Aguamenti.

"Hot?" she asked, looking to Snape.

"Warm. Body temperature." He was too busy with the wound to look up.

She tapped the cauldron twice, muttering a warming spell, then tested the water.

"Cloths?" she asked, hoping she wasn't distracting Snape from anything critical, as he muttered charm after charm at the hole that refused to close.

He pointed his wand at the bookshelf, which promptly moved aside. "Top drawer of the hallway dresser."

Again, she was on her feet before he finished, this time without the need to pause. It took only about thirty seconds for her to find the dresser, grab everything the drawer held and return to the sitting room, but it felt like it was taking much, much longer. Every second was drawn out to thrice its length.

When she got back to the sitting room, Snape was adding something to the water. It took only a moment to realize that it was Ron's blood, and she resisted the urge to gag again. She knew he was probably testing to see what poison had been used, but she still felt, deep down, that blood belonged inside a person, not in a pot.

She dropped down beside them, and before she could ask what came next, Snape said, "Clear Weasley's abdomen of clothing."

She laid the cloths down, careful to only let one or two touch the floor, then set to unbuttoning Ron's robes. She had fantasized about doing this before, but never under these circumstances. She tried to withhold a sob, but a muffled noise escaped her anyway.

"If you're going to be sick, move away!" barked Snape, grabbing her shoulder, prepared to pull her back. She shook her head, continuing to unbutton Ron's still form. Snape hand relaxed, but his touch lingered. She wondered if he was trying to offer her comfort. She wondered what had happened to the world for Snape to give her comfort, and for her to be so very grateful for it.

Snape withdrew his hand after a few more seconds, only to use it to nudge her aside as soon as she peeled the last of the blood soaked clothing away. She moved so that he could dab the first cloth on Ron's skin, washing the blood away.

"Soak the clean cloth for five seconds in the brew, then copy what I'm doing," Snape ordered.

Hermione didn't even feel the bite of his tone, she was so intent on observing his motions. It was Ron's life on the line, nothing else mattered.

Once she was sure she knew what he was doing and would be able to replicate it, she took a cloth, and as soon as Snape was finished rubbing, she moved in. For the first couple of rounds there was a little awkwardness, but they soon found a rhythm that worked for them.

When Ron's wound was weeping a little less vigorously, Hermione let her mind wander onto other subjects, like Harry.

"Sir," she said tentatively, "What happened? Is Harry..." She couldn't finish the thought. Knowing that Ron might die was hard enough without asking if Harry was dead as well. Ron held her heart, but Harry held her hope.

"I arrived just in time to see Potter Disapparating from the Manor alongside a house-elf and what looked like a goblin. From what I could see, he was fine when he disappeared. Weasley took the dagger for him."

Hermione bit her lip, looking at Ron. Snape was still wiping, so she gently ran her fingers through Ron's hair. "Oh, Ron, you wonderful, stupid prat." Blinking back tears, she smiled at his unconscious form.

She thought she heard Snape snort, and turned to him, but his face was blank and his attention was still on rubbing the potion on Ron's stomach.

"While I was there," Snape continued, to Hermione's surprise, "Bellatrix and Narcissa came up with an interesting story. They claimed you were not with your friends, but that your friends came after you'd gone, looking for you."

"What a load of rubbish!" Hermione exclaimed, taking over for Snape and applying the warm cloth with care.

"When next the Dark Lord summons me, which I suspect will be soon, I will need to tell him about this evening."

Hermione looked up at Snape curiously. His face was still a blank mask.

Hermione waited for him to finish his thought, but it seemed he had finished. She mulled it over for a moment, and came to the obvious conclusion.

"Will it be permanent?" she asked in a tiny voice.

"No." He sounded relieved. "Only until after he interviews you."

"What about Ron?" Hermione whispered, even more quietly.

"As I told Bellatrix, it is imperative that Weasley be kept alive for information on Potter, as you are regrettably not a good source."

"But if Vol -- he looks in Ron's mind..."

"He will see nothing more than a drug induced fog. He is far from being in stable condition, Miss Granger. I will warn you now that I do not believe his chance of survival is very high. I believe it will be best to keep him in a state of vegetation until he has stabilized."

Hermione nodded, hearing both the truth and the deception. She couldn't help but feel, once again, an overwhelming sense of gratitude for Snape.

Suddenly, Snape hissed and clutched his left forearm with his right hand. Hermione immediately took up his place wiping Ron, but she kept her eyes on Snape.

He compressed his lips together, but looked at her steadily. "I do not know how much time I have, so I will need to do this now and bind you."

"But... Ron!" Hermione protested.

"I will explain to him the necessity of getting back immediately. It should not hurt him much. As it is, the bleeding has stopped."

Hermione looked at the wound, and, sure enough, while the wound still gaped, blood had stopped flowing out. Ron's breaths were also a little less shallow and fast, so she could hope that he would survive.

She looked back at Snape to find him looking at her with an unusual expression. If it had been on anyone else's face, she might have called it pity, but that didn't quite fit. She nodded.

He took the washcloth from her hand and banished it along with all the other used rags. He suggested she make herself comfortable on the wingback chair by the fire and then pointed his wand at her. Without a word, he summoned her wand and then bound her. She was pleased to note that the ropes weren't too tight, and also to find that the fire kept the air around the chair quite comfortable. She hadn't realized how chilled she'd become on the floor.

"Did you place a warming charm on Ron, sir?" she asked as he raised his wand at her. He paused briefly and then flicked his wand at Ron. When his wand was aimed at her again, she swallowed.

"Be safe, sir. And... and thank you."

He raised his eyebrow at that, smirking ever so slightly. She closed her eyes and he muttered something under his breath.

Hermione opened her eyes to find Snape, the murderous bastard, smirking down at her. The last thing she could remember was his voice at Malfoy Manor, and then the absence of pain.

"I see you're awake, at long last," he drawled, tilting his head slightly to one side. "'Tis a shame the Dark Lord is calling right now. However, I suggest you not get too comfortable. I shan't be long."

He gave her an evil smile and then Disapparated with barely a sound.

Hermione sat frozen in place, terrified that she had gone from the proverbial frying pan straight into the fire.