10

AN: Thank you again and always to my lovely alpha and beta readers, Septentrion and Ayerf. Any and all mistakes are me not listening to their good advice.

It took Snape a long while of destroying everything within eyesight (books excepted) before he was able to calm down. He didn't quite know why Hermione's pronouncement had enraged him so fully. Perhaps it was because she was being trusting to the point of foolishness, just when he'd been starting to think of her as his intellectual equal. Perhaps it was because she was withholding judgment in sharp contrast to what the rest of the world was thinking and plotting against him. Perhaps it was because deep down he knew he didn't deserve her trust. He'd betrayed too many people...

Perhaps it was because she didn't argue with him about not being a good man.

He fell to his knees amidst the rubble and pulled his hair in frustration, letting out a low moan of frustration and despair.

He was appalled with himself. He had relaxed and had allowed himself to think of her as an equal, and as a consequence had become close to her. Close enough for her opinion to matter. Close enough to hurt him. Close enough to hurt her.

He knew he had scared her, despite her protestations of his innocence. He knew she had doubted him in that moment when he'd raised his wand at her. She must have doubted him – he'd doubted himself. That doubt scared him more than anything had since he'd learned of the threat to Lily's life. It made him question what kind of person he really was. It made him doubt that he would make the right decisions.

He screwed his eyes shut, hoping that he could escape from the world but the rubble dug into his knees, and the smell of dust and disruption lingered in the air. He unclenched his hands, letting his hair fall forward, before raising himself up to face the masses. He flicked his wand almost carelessly and brought the room to rights easily. He then lifted his chin and faced the portraits, facing their condemnation.

He was unprepared for Albus' kindly smile.

"You deserve her trust."

Snape closed his eyes and fought against the tight feeling in his throat and chest. He shook his head as he breathed away the emotion.

"I almost hexed her," he said, his voice rough.

"But you didn't," Albus stated simply.

"I wanted to kill her," he whispered.

"She's an insolent swot. Of course you wanted to kill her!" Phineas responded snidely, startling a snort out of Severus.

He shot a knowing look at Black's ancestor. "Be that as it may, it would have been highly imprudent."

Nigellus snorted in return. "Yes, the paperwork is rather tedious, as I recall."

Albus coughed in a less than discreet way, shifting the attention back to him.

"Whether you feel you deserve her trust or not is actually irrelevant at this point, Severus," Dumbledore said, a small smile pulling at his lips. "You know as well as I do that the girl is notoriously stubborn. There is no way, short of harming her, to convince her that you aren't trustworthy at this point, so you might as well accept the gift of her loyalty."

"Use her blind trust, you mean," Snape growled, more upset at the thought of abusing her trust than he was at knowing the extent of her trust.

"I do not doubt you."

Severus glared at the painting, unsure whether the old man meant that as an affirmation of trust, or as an insult. Knowing Albus, probably both.

"There are days, old man, when I am so grateful to have been the one to kill you."

"It was a pleasure, I'm sure."

Snape growled and turned away, lest he try hexing the portrait. Harming Hogwarts property was not the best idea. Even Voldemort frowned upon that.

His attention was caught by the closed bedroom door, and he grimaced. He didn't know how he was going to apologize to her, but he knew it needed to be done. Even if it weren't the right thing to do, it would smooth the way for the unpleasantness that was coming in the morning. He grimaced again at the thought.

Sometimes he really did hate being the bastard. It was fun most of the time, but it always ran the risk of inducing shock when he did the decent thing. Although, the benefit of her trust in him was that it would take a great deal more than just an apology before she went catatonic. He'd have to do something insane like hug her. Or kiss her.

He smirked at the thought of what she would look like should he do so, before hastily pushing it out of his mind. Now was not the time or place for such frivolous thoughts. Especially not such thoughts concerning a girl less than half his age, whose heart was breaking over another.

Giving himself a mental shake, he cleared his head and approached the door. He knocked three times, but when no answer came forth, he thought she was childishly ignoring him. However, when he tried to open the door and found it locked, he started to worry. Perhaps he had given her proof enough to break her trust? Perhaps he had scared her more badly than he thought. There wasn't a visible exit, but if determined to escape, and with her wand at her disposal, she would find the hidden door in no time.

He quickly opened the door and strode in, only to find the girl kneeling by the bed, fast asleep. Getting closer, he saw she had cried herself to sleep. He swore softly under his breath, then gently floated her onto the bed. He conjured a chair and sat watching the two students asleep on his bed, though his eyes rested on Miss Granger's face more often than that of the boy's.

It seemed like hours before the girl's eyes fluttered open, confusion evident, though quickly suppressed. He allowed himself a wry smile before softly saying, "You are a fool."

She frowned, looking his way sleepily. "You don't fool me, sir."

He leaned back in his chair, having been unaware that he'd been hovering over her. "It is not wise to trust so blindly, especially in wartime."

She yawned and stretched, being careful not to jostle Weasley. "But what choice do I have at this point? Either I trust my instincts and other small tells that I'm safe with you, or I live in fear of what you're planning, wearing myself out so that I won't have the energy to feel betrayed. I think I'll risk the heartache, sir."

She paused, looking at him critically. "Besides which, it's not like I haven't thought about this. I'm not about to ignore any signs of danger should they present themselves. I am not an idiot, no matter what you think on the subject."

Snape sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "No, I don't suppose you are an idiot, although I maintain that you are a fool."

She shrugged nonchalantly.

"Thank you for moving me onto the bed, by the way. I imagine my knees would be very unhappy with me right now if you hadn't."

He rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. "Your skills in subtlety could use work."

"If I'm too subtle, it goes over the boys' heads."

Snape snorted. "Point taken."

They sat there in silence for a minute, neither moving, neither looking at the other. Hermione finally took a breath and broke the silence.

"Do you have any ideas on how to approach tomorrow's conversations?"

"I do."

Hermione looked mildly pleased. "I'm not surprised, but I am relieved. Although I should warn you that I'm lousy at manipulating people, so don't count on me for much."

Snape snorted but didn't say anything to contradict her. After a few moments, she got restless and looked back at him.

"It's going to be terribly demoralizing for the non-Death Eater students, isn't it?"

Snape closed his eyes and leaned back against the chair. "I haven't seen a way to avoid that consequence."

"Do you think they'll act out?"

"I'm afraid they will stop acting out and start making war. Although, if they retreat to plan, perhaps they will move slowly enough that the war will be over before they get a chance to act."

Hermione looked at him sharply. "War over? Do you think it could happen so quickly?"

"That depends highly on Potter, but it is looking more and more possible, what with the new information I gleaned last night."

Hermione sat up straighter. "You did say the meeting went well, didn't you?"

"Extraordinarily well." Snape smirked. "The Dark Lord has decided that he cannot trust the Lestranges to hold something precious of his anymore. He has told me that my Gringotts vault will be holding this precious item temporarily while he finds a more secure hiding place."

Hermione clasped her hands together excitedly. "The Horcrux?"

"I think so, yes."

She smiled broadly at him. "Oh! That's brilliant!"

"There's still the issue of retrieving it, and, more difficult still, destroying it--"

"Destroying it shouldn't be a problem, sir, as long as we can get it to Harry. Assuming Harry still has the Sword of Gryffindor, that is..."

"Last I saw him, he did. But that is the other problem. I cannot be seen by Potter. His mind is far too open to know that I am helping him, which means that you cannot be seen to be helping him either. And, once we have possession of the Horcrux, I do not want to hand it over to an intermediary."

Hermione nodded with a sigh. "Yes, I can see your point. But I'm sure there's a way... I could send Harry a Patronus--"

"That would be the equivalent of him seeing you."

"Or I could send someone else, like one of the Weasleys, a Patronus."

Snape didn't bother replying, instead just looked at her. She pressed her lips closed, obviously suppressing a huff.

"Fine! But as it stands, Harry's probably figured out that the Horcrux is in the Lestranges vault, and he'll probably go looking for it. Who knows, Griphook might even help him break into Gringotts. And if he dies doing so..."

"I am well aware of Potter's skill in getting himself into trouble, Miss Granger," Snape said dryly. "However, my fears are not contained to merely the boy's safety. I do not know when the Dark Lord will remove the item from my vault for its final resting place. I do know that he would detect a fake. If he got wind that I had nicked his prized possession, he would be sure to retaliate most... painfully. And I doubt he would start with me."

Hermione blushed slightly, making Snape wonder if she read more into his protection of her than there was.

"What we need, right now, is to plan the end game."

He was surprised when Hermione's face fell and she looked over at the boy. "I never did learn how to play chess very well."

Snape pursed his lips, remembering that the Weasley boy was supposed to be reasonable at the game.

"Fortunately, we are not relying on your skills. I happen to have some experience in the game."

Hermione blushed again, this time more forcefully, and he smirked.

"I suggest you get up and come have some tea. We have planning to do."

She nodded, looking upset. He turned to leave, but she stopped him with a quiet, "Sir?" He turned to face her again. "I... You don't have to humor me."

He didn't say anything, instead just giving her a look. Her lips quirked up at that even as she looked somewhat abashed. "Right. Sorry, I forgot."

He nodded sharply. "Come," he said, then turned and exited the room before she could utter another word.