Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Hermione walked to her classroom. She had finally been set free from the infirmary the previous night and was anxious to get back to her normal routine. She entered the classroom and greeted several students who were already there. Mallory looked up from the desk, her black curls bobbing as she did, and smiled broadly at Hermione.

"It's about time you got back! I have had to correct hundreds of papers while you took your little vacation, young lady."

Hermione smiled at her. Mallory was a huge tease, but she was very caring. She had become a good friend.

They were team teaching today, and they quickly began the lesson to the seventh years. Mallory took the first half of the lesson while Hermione wandered around the classroom, checking on the students work. She stopped by Peter Jones' desk and helped him figure out something that had been stumping him.

She liked Peter, he was a good student. He always tried very hard, but he had a hard time with this subject. She had felt an affinity to him because he was Muggle-born also. She had seen him trying his hardest to compensate for the prejudices he received from some of his classmates. The truth was, he could best most of them in a duel, and he was very good at everything he set his mind to, except for Arithmancy, of course.

She wandered over and looked at Lucius' paper. He wasn't doing that well in the class either. He was probably too busy staring at her to learn anything. She gave him a suggestion as to how to finish the problem and then kept roaming the room. She gave Severus a quick smile as she passed. He never needed any help. She glanced at Lily Evans' paper. She too was doing fine. As she continued to roam, a plan formed in her mind that could help in her mission. It definitely would help her two struggling students, if nothing else.

She went to the front of the class and began her half of the lesson. Before long the time was done.

"Mr. Jones and Mr. Malfoy, may I see you both for a minute, please?" she asked as everyone got up and started to file out.

The two young men waited until the room was empty, save for Severus, who was waiting for Lucius. They approached Hermione's desk.

Hermione looked at both students. "I think you both would benefit from some tutoring sessions. I will meet you here tonight at six o'clock. We will work for an hour each week."

The students nodded their heads at her and turned to leave. She could tell Lucius was not looking forward to spending an hour with two Muggle-borns. He would learn to adjust, she was sure. She also hoped it gave him a different view of Muggle-borns in general.

Severus had hung back still and now he came up to her desk.

She looked at him and said, "Can we reschedule for seven on Thursday nights?"

He visibly relaxed. He had been supposing she was going to tell him she didn't want to keep spending her evenings with him. He was afraid she wouldn't want to be alone in a room with him after his actions at Hogsmeade, but she only wanted to meet later on her tutoring nights.

"Can I come and help you tutor?"

"Oh you are such a kiss up!" she taunted him. He growled at her.

Hermione smiled back. "Yes, if you'd like, I could use a hand. We can work one on one with them and then combine for the last fifteen minutes or so."

"Great!" he said. "Are you feeling better?"

"I'm not exactly feeling normal, but I am doing much better, thank you."

Severus nodded. "I'll see you tonight then."

oooOOOooo

Mallory walked up to her after the last class.

"So, you were in Hogsmeade with Severus Snape?" she asked innocently.

Hermione looked up at her from the desk.

"Yes, and it's a good thing too, he saved my life."

"I've noticed you two are pretty friendly. What's going on?" Mallory asked.

Hermione shrugged. "We're just friends, Mallory. He's a smart guy. I like chatting with him."

Mallory smiled at her and leaned over the desk so she could look into Hermione's eyes.

"I see the way you smile at him. You like that boy."

Hermione's eyes grew wide. "Mallory, I don't know what you're talking about."

"I just want you to know that I think it's great," Mallory said without missing a beat. "Severus is a loner. It's nice to see him hanging out with someone other than himself or the crowd he takes up with usually."

"Really," Hermione stammered, "there's nothing going on. I . . ."

"Don't tell me you don't like him, Hermione, and I can tell he likes you."

Hermione looked down. "I know he likes me," she said ruefully.

"And you're upset by that because . . . ?" Mallory insisted.

"It's just not right."

"Because you're his teacher?"

"No, I'm just a teaching assistant, and besides, he's of age. It's because I'm from the future, Mallory, you know that. To be honest with you, I know Severus in the future, and I can't see anything coming of a relationship with him now except for heartbreak."

Mallory contemplated that for a moment. "I'm not sure of what you mean. You don't know that things won't work out for you two."

Hermione gave her an exasperated look. "Mallory, if we do get together and stay together until I return to my real time, there will be a twenty-five year gap between the time he tells me good-bye and the time he sees me again. That's just not fair."

Mallory smiled at Hermione. "I think it's romantic!" she gushed.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, on paper it's incredibly romantic. Love sick fool waits for true love for twenty-five years. It's a romance novel waiting to happen, but this is real life. I have no right to put him through something like that! It will just lead to heartbreak."

"I think you should go for it. You two are really cute together."

"Mallory!" Hermione said and gave her a caustic look. "Drop it already!"

"All right, but when you two get together, I want to be the first to know."

"You'll have a long wait, my dear," Hermione told her as Mallory left the room laughing.

oooOOOooo

The tutoring session went well. Hermione worked with Lucius and Severus worked with Peter. For the last part of the session, they grouped together. Hermione was impressed to see Peter explain something to Lucius. He had evidently grasped onto what Severus had taught him and was now helping the other student. Looking to Lucius, she saw he was a bit astonished to be receiving good ideas from a Muggle-born. Smiling to herself, she was glad that the two seemed to be getting along, and perhaps even finding some things they had in common. Hopefully this plan would work, and Lucius would become a changed man.

The tutoring session was now finished. The two students seemed to both have a better grasp of the subject when they had left. She and Severus were now heading up to the seventh floor.

"I was surprised I only had to tell Malfoy to keep his hands off me once," Hermione mused. "If it weren't so annoying it would be comical."

Severus didn't say anything.

They got to their room and settled themselves in for their usual evening. Hermione had loads to correct. Even though Mallory had said she had graded papers, she had left most of them for Hermione. Her mountain of work was three times the size it usually was. She began grading and soon lost track of time and her surroundings. After a long while, she realized that it had been eerily silent. Severus hadn't said a word all evening.

"You're being unusually quiet," she remarked to him.

He looked over at her with a worried look. "There's something I need to tell you, and I'm not quite sure how to go about it."

Hermione put down her quill and looked at him. "How about just saying it outright?" she suggested.

Severus sighed. "Dumbledore called me into his office the other day. Since the attack at Hogsmeade, he feels he would like to have some advanced warning to Voldemort's doings. He asked me to join the Death Eaters and be a spy for him."

Hermione's mouth dropped open. She got up and raced to the couch.

"You told him no, right?" she asked as she settled in next to him.

He gave her a plaintive look.

Hermione felt hot tears brimming in her eyes. She grasped Severus' hand.

"You can't, Severus."

"Hermione, it will be different this time. I'm going in as a spy already. Perhaps I can do just as much good as I did before without all of the guilt and shame."

She hung her head. He was right of course; it would be different. But she couldn't bear to see him live the way he had before. Coming back from meetings having had the Cruciatus curse cast upon him so much that he could hardly walk.

"You should have told him no," she whispered.

"What would you have done, Hermione? Would you have told him no?" he asked angrily.

She looked up at him. "No, I wouldn't have either," she said in a resigned tone. "It's just that Dumbledore, he uses people. He cares for them, I know, but he uses them nonetheless. He used you before, and he's going to do it again."

"But if I can help defeat You-Know-Who, it will be worth it, don't you think?"

She considered his words. "I'm not sure the end justifies the means all the time." She turned back to him. "Severus, you will be risking your life every day. Can't you just tell him to find someone else?"

"There is no one else. I'm the only one who has been involved with them but not joined them. All of the others who would make believable spies are already loyal to Voldemort."

"Voldemort will hurt you. What if he kills you?"

Severus thought about the conversation he had with Dumbledore.

"Now, my boy," Dumbledore said, "I know if you accept this assignment, there will be times when you will be tortured. Your life will be in jeopardy every time you meet with Voldemort."

Dumbledore gave him a fatherly look. "I can only hope, my boy. I can only hope."

Severus came back to the present and looked into Hermione's eyes seriously. "He won't kill me. I will shield my thoughts from him, so he won't know I'm a spy."

"So you already know Occlumency?" Hermione asked.

Severus' eyes widened. He kept forgetting she knew so much about the future.

"Dumbledore is teaching me. It seems to be going well so far."

"Your ability as an Occlumens is legend among the Order, Severus. You still need to be careful."

"I will be," he assured her.

"When will you take the Mark?"

"Tomorrow night."

"I'll wait for you here. From what I understand, it is very painful."

"You don't need to wait for me. It will probably take a while. Lucius said to be prepared to be gone all night."

"I'll wait."

He studied her determined expression. Why did she care about him so much? It made his heart race to think about it. She may not love him, but she cared about him. No one, except his Mother and maybe Lily had ever cared about his welfare. Nobody cared and he hadn't felt deserving of caring. But she cared and it made him feel special. It made him feel loved, whether she felt that she loved him or not.

He smiled shyly at her. "I should get going," he said. "It's getting late."

"Be careful tomorrow, Severus," she warned him.

He got up and then stooped down and kissed her forehead. She smiled up at him as he turned and left. As he closed the door behind him, her smile faded from her lips and she put her head in her hands. Thoughts of Severus returning from being tortured flooded her mind. Over and over she relived the two times she had personally found him when he had returned from such torture sessions. She knew that these were hardly the only times he had endured such horrors.

The first time had been in the summer before her fifth year. She had been staying at Grimmauld Place and had been up late reading in the library. She had jumped when the door had opened and Severus had stumbled in, collapsing on the floor. Having rushed over to him, she had dragged him to the sofa, settled him in, and found Molly Weasley to help him. After having rushed back to him with Molly, she had stood back and had watched Molly bustle around Severus, giving him potions, waving her wand, and chanting spells to sooth him in his misery. He had groaned and writhed for a good part of her ministrations, but he'd finally relaxed and fallen asleep, looking somewhat peaceful after the agony he had endured.

The second time she had found him passed out in the hall at Hogwarts during her sixth year. It had been close to curfew, and the halls had been mostly deserted. She had been returning to her room from the library when she had come across a crumpled figure only feet away from the entrance to the infirmary. She had rushed to the body and had found it was Severus Snape, unconscious on the floor. He had looked as if he had been beaten to within an inch of his life. She had run to the infirmary and gotten Madam Pomfrey, who had rushed out and levitated him to a hospital bed. She had been shooed away after a quick thanks from Poppy and had not seen Severus for several days until he had resumed teaching class. He had never mentioned the incident to her and she had never had the nerve to bring it up to him.

Hermione's heart clenched within her as she thought of the night of the Final battle, when Severus had almost died. She had been secreted in the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack with Harry and Ron when Voldemort had let his evil snake loose on Severus. After the evil wizard had disappeared, Ron, Harry, and she had emerged from their hiding place, startling an almost completely paralyzed Snape. Hermione had stared sadly at Severus as he had tried to convey to Harry that he was to take the memories that had been pouring out of his body. She had quickly conjured up a vial for Harry to secure the memories and had handed it to him. Having turned back to Severus, she had looked at him regretfully. At the time she had thought he had attempted to murder Albus, but she had still felt a pang of sadness as she had seen the life slowly ebbing out of the man.

Suddenly she had felt an intense urge to help him. Hermione had quickly rifled through her bag as Harry had scooped up the last bits of memory. Grabbing the vial of Dittany, she had poured the entire contents onto his gaping neck wound. She'd seen it smoke and close up somewhat. It had seemed that the strength of the Dittany had made Severus pass out. Either that or he had died, she hadn't been sure. Harry had stoppered up the vial with Severus' memories in it and had motioned for them to go. Hermione had followed the two boys out, but she had not forgotten that Severus lay unconscious or dead on the floor of the Shrieking Shack.

When the battle had finally ended, she had quickly sought out Madam Pomfrey and had told her about Severus, probably lying dead in the Shrieking Shack. Madam Pomfrey had insisted that they go to him immediately, in case the Dittany had helped to preserve his life for any length of time. Poppy had quickly run to the infirmary and had grabbed some potions, and soon she and Hermione had been heading for the Shack again.

On her return to the Shack, she had noticed something that she had blocked out the first time. Severus had been lying in a large pool of his own blood. It had been everywhere. His lifeless hands had lain in it and it had surrounded him. Hermione had felt her heart constrict. There was no way anyone could have survived losing so much blood. Severus hadn't moved since her departure. His eyes had been closed, his head had lain limp against the pool of blood on the floor, and his body had been eerily still. However, when they had come close to him and Hermione had touched him, she had felt his body was still warm. Could he have possibly still been alive?

Poppy had set to work. She had unstopped a vial and asked Hermione to support Severus' neck as she had prepared to pour the liquid onto his wound. Hermione had lifted Severus' head slightly and had placed her hands between it and the blood on the floor. She had held his neck and waited. Madam Pomfrey had poured the entire vial onto the gashes in Severus' neck. The parts that had not been closed by the Dittany immediately had closed over and Severus' neck had begun to look the way it had been before being mauled. Poppy had Hermione turn Severus' head, and then she had poured a Blood-Replenishing Potion gently into his mouth and had helped him swallow it by massaging his throat.

"What was that you put on the wound?" Hermione had asked curiously.

"Phoenix tears. They're not as potent as when they're fresh, but they're the only hope he has."

"Will he live?" Hermione had asked fearfully.

Poppy had nodded yes. She had stood up. "There's nothing else we can do. The phoenix tears need to go through his body. They should be able to rid his body of the venom, but it will take a bit of time since he has been here for so long without treatment."

Poppy had conjured up a stretcher and had levitated Severus' body onto it. She and Hermione had made their way slowly back to the Great Hall, where Severus had taken his place among the wounded, his true role in the war having been revealed by Harry. After many hours, Poppy had decided to move him to somewhere more private. She had placed him in a hidden recovery room in the back of the infirmary and had settled him into it. He had lain there unconscious for four days before he had finally stirred. It had been several weeks after that before he'd had the strength to leave the bed. He hadn't fully recovered for six months.

Hermione balled up her fists in frustration at the possibility that he would have to relive that and every other torture he had undergone again. What was Dumbledore doing? First he tells her to get Severus to change his ways, and then he tells him to become a spy anyway. She angrily rose. She needed to speak with Albus.

A/N: Next up: Hermione confronts Albus and Severus gets the brand.

Thanks to everyone for the great interest in this story and your wonderful reviews. Let me know if you agree with Severus becoming a Death Eater. For me, much of his appeal is wrapped up in his bravery and dedication to the light, even though he was entrenched in the dark. I just couldn't see Severus being Severus without being involved as a spy. Some of you have commented on that previously, so I hope that you are happy with the developments. Well, maybe happy is not the right word . . .