Underwater.

Chapter One - Underwater.

Authors note: I don't own Potterverse; it all belongs to JK Rowling and others too numerous to mention. I make no money, nor is any required.

You and I are here, underwater,

Seconds are so dear, underwater,

I'm searching for a light, to draw me closer,

I hold my breath in tight, bring me closer,

I feel your touch; will you pull me up again?

It's not so bad down here, underwater,

Once you get past the fear, underwater,

I sense you through the haze, just like a memory,

I've been down here for days, have you seen me?

I feel your touch; will you pull me up again?

It's all the same to me, underwater,

There's nothing much to see, underwater,

I can not make a sound, but I can listen,

I can not tell up from down, and now I miss them,

I feel your touch; will you pull me up again?

You just in sight, will you save my life again?

You and I are here, underwater.

(Underwater – Vertical Horizon.)

Hermione woke slowly from her deep sleep, blinking as she leisurely opened her eyes and grew accustomed to the bright, white light pouring in through her bedroom window. She could hear the squeals of laughter from outside. Slowly, she made her way over to the window. Pulling the curtain back she was greeted by the sight of a crisp, white winter wonderland.

She watched Ron, Ginny and Harry as they rushed out of the door, screaming that the last one outside was a dunderhead. A small smile formed on her lips; temporarily, she forgot the ache inside that greeted her every morning, the ache that had torn at her since that fateful night the previous May. She turned and made her way to the bathroom to get ready to face another day.

"Good morning, dear," Molly Weasley greeted her with a warm smile as she entered the warm, welcoming kitchen of Grimmauld Place. "Can I get you anything for breakfast?"

"A mug of black coffee and a couple of slices of toast would be great, thanks, Molly."

Molly cast a concerned look Hermione's way. Since the end of the war, rather than enjoy the freedom of not having to worry, Hermione had shut herself away from almost everyone. She had shunned Ron's attempts to court her. The only person she really confided in was Minerva McGonagall when she made her fortnightly trips to see Minerva and witness the transformation of Hogwarts. Little did Molly know that on those trips up to Hogwarts, Hermione would sit for hours next to the austere black marble headstone engraved with a simple dedication:

Severus Tobias Snape

January 9th 1960 – May 21st 1998

Potions Master, Order of Merlin, 1st Class

No braver man was known than he, who gave

his life to save others.

Hermione spent time quietly contemplating what might have been. Occasionally she would laugh when she thought of how Severus would scold her for wasting precious tears over him. Nonetheless, it had become a ritual, which in a day's time, when she and Ginny returned to Hogwarts, she would be able to observe whenever she desired.

"Here you go, my dear. Have you got everything ready for going back?"

"Yes, thank you, Molly. I just need to pop over to Diagon Alley to pick up one last book."

Molly sighed as she left Hermione alone in the kitchen, having learnt some months back that coaxing her to talk about what had happened would fail to yield any results. Her heart broke every time she looked at the young woman who had once been the bubbly, talkative, know-it-all. Everybody had been surprised when Severus' will had been read, and Hermione had been named as sole benefactor. That was, until Minerva had revealed just how closely the pair had worked in the final months. Severus had gathered as much additional information about Horcruxes as he could from both Dumbledore's private library and the extensive collection of Dark Arts texts at Malfoy Manor.

Hermione sat, nursing the scarcely warm mug of coffee in her fingertips. Later she would go to pick up the book from Flourish and Blotts. She was eager to see what it looked like. In order to occupy her mind before returning to school, Hermione had utilised some of the money Severus had left her to publish an updated version of the standard Potions textbook including the footnotes that Severus had made whilst still a student at Hogwarts. Minerva had even agreed to make it the text for NEWT level Potions lessons.

Headmistress Minerva McGonagall was seated behind the large, ornate oak desk that formed the formidable centrepiece of the Head Teacher's office. She had her back to the door and was looking at the two contrasting portraits that hung on the wall directly behind the ornate desk. A low snore came from the portrait to the right as Albus Dumbledore gently slept, head hung slightly forward, Fawkes perched in the background. But Minerva was concerned about the painting to the left, where Severus stood formally in his laboratory. His portrait had made no hint of movement since it had been hung on the wall the previous September.

Lucius sighed as he entered the room two doors down the corridor from his and Narcissa's master bedroom. Narcissa had spent another night with the pale man who lay in the ornate four-poster bed. It had been seven months since Waldo, the family house-elf, had carried out his instruction to retrieve his friend from the ghastly shack, bringing him to the Malfoy's little known home in Henley. Lucius had been surprised by how accurately Severus had predicted his own demise; he had thought that Voldemort would use Avada Kedavra rather than his pet, Nagini. Lucius believed Severus would enjoy the irony of it all.

"Any change, my pet?" he asked.

"No, sweetness, no change. He still dreams fitfully, but fails to stir," Narcissa replied.

"I'll get the Healer over again. Tomorrow is his birthday, my pet: we should do something special. I know it's highly unlikely he will realise that anything is going on, yet we owe him so much." Lucius gently massaged Narcissa's tired shoulders whilst looking over at the sallow ghost of a man who lay motionless in the bed. His heart broke to think of how powerful Severus had been before the Battle of Hogwarts; the comparison with the man that Severus had become was unbelievable.

Hermione Apparated to Diagon Alley once she had carefully applied her glamour. She found it necessary to wear a disguise when walking about in the wizarding district of London: she had neither the time nor the patience to be waylaid by people wanting to talk to her about the war. It was over: that was all she cared about. She wanted to disappear from the limelight; to become the insufferable know-it-all once more, not the wartime hero. She missed Severus dreadfully, but life must go on, and so must she.

Harry and Ron had been accepted onto the Auror training programme in September with the NEWTs grades Kingsley had bestowed upon them. Hermione, however, had declined to accept the honorary results. She had thanked Kingsley for his generous offer, but said she would prefer to gain her NEWTs through hard work.

"Good morning, Miss Granger." The shop assistant spotted Hermione with ease, even though she had her glamour applied.

"Oh, good morning, Rachel. Have they arrived?" Hermione removed the glamour, safe in the knowledge that the bookshop would not open for another thirty minutes.

"Yes, miss, they have arrived. My father has them in the back; he's just checking them over before putting them on the shelf. He has set aside the first copy for you."

"Thank you." With that, Hermione made her way to the back of the shop. Entering the room, her eyes met with Eric's, provoking a warm smile to spread across the man's face.

"Miss Granger, they are so beautiful. You have done Professor Snape proud." The grey-haired old man gently caressed the spine of the book he held in his hand. Sighing, he passed the copy to Hermione. With reverence, she trailed her fingertips over the book's exterior. An obsidian cover with Slytherin green embossed lettering, the title read: 'Advanced Potions by Professor Severus Snape, edited by Miss Hermione Granger.'

"Thank you, Eric. It was the least I could do."

"You were close to him, Miss Granger?" Eric asked quietly.

"You could say that, Eric. We were dear to one another. He helped Harry, Ron and me in more ways than people will ever know. If you will excuse me, I need to go and finish my packing for tomorrow."

Lucius summoned Waldo to the room were Severus was recuperating. "Waldo, I will take breakfast in here this morning. Can you also see to summoning Healer Lewins from St. Mungo's? I'd like to discuss Severus' treatment with him."

"As you wish, master. Waldo is happy to serve the house of Malfoy in any way master sees fit." With a small bow and then a loud crack, Waldo disappeared.

Lucius approached the bed slowly. Sitting on the edge, he started to wipe Severus' brow, removing the ever-present beads of sweat from the younger man.

"Severus, my dearest and oldest friend," he murmured, "if I had known what price you would pay for my son's protection, I would never have agreed to you looking after him during the last twelve months of the war. You don't deserve to lie here fighting to survive from one day to the next."

Fifteen minutes later, there was a slight movement from Severus.

"Hermione... " Severus' voice was hoarse; more of a whisper than anything else, but Lucius had quite clearly heard the name Severus had uttered. Lucius was surprised that Severus murmured Hermione's name. His heart soared, though. Maybe this was the start of his friend's recovery, but why would he be dreaming about the young Gryffindor witch? His curiosity was piqued. Maybe a visit to Headmistress McGonagall was required.

The January rain lashed against the dirty windows of the Hogwarts Express as it thundered its way from London to the small station at Hogsmeade. Hermione and Ginny disembarked from the Express and waited for the previously horseless carriages to appear.

"Oh, gods," Hermione whispered as the Thestral-drawn carriage approached. "That's what Harry was talking about in fifth year."

The pair climbed onto the carriage. They were soon joined by Luna Lovegood and three other Ravenclaws. They made their way slowly up to the castle, and no-one dared utter a word, all of them were quietly reflecting, wondering how many friends were returning.

Since Hermione and Ginny were to share Head Girl duties for the remainder of the school year, they were also sharing the Head Girl's dormitory.

Hermione turned to face Ginny once she had taken all of her things from her trunk and found them homes. "Ginny, would you mind taking sole responsibility for the Head Girl duties tonight? I'm tired and think I need an early night. I'll ask one of the house-elves to bring me a snack whilst you're at the Welcoming Feast."

"Sure thing, take your time. It must be odd, I mean, being back here knowing Sna... Severus won't be teaching us. I wonder who will be. Do you think Min... Professor McGonagall has got Professor Slughorn back?"

"I don't know, Ginny. In a way, I hope so: at least we'll be familiar with his methods... But, ewww, in another way, I hope not. Just think how pleased he'd be to have us in his club. I just want to get my NEWTs out of the way."

"Hermione, if that's how you feel, why have you come back?"

"Because, Ginny, I have to do this. I need to get my NEWTs because I earned them, not because Kingsley decided to bestow them upon me."

Minerva sat regarding Severus' portrait. Contemplating his lack of movement, she heard a quiet tap on the door.

"Enter," she muttered in her soft, lilting, Scottish burr.

Hermione slowly entered Minerva's office.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, Hermione? Tea, or would you prefer something a little stronger?" She Summoned the decanter of Firewhisky from the nearby table.

"Yes, tea will be fine, thank you. I just thought I would come and see you before the madness of everything. Do you mind if I leave Ginny to complete the Head Girl duties tonight? I feel like I need an early night. Also." She hesitated. Minerva was only too well aware of what would be causing Hermione to stumble. "I may need some quiet time tomorrow. I hope you understand."

"Hermione, take all the time you need. It must be strange being back here, I mean knowing that he won't be teaching you Potions... " Minerva felt caution would be the better part of valour. She was no fool: she knew exactly where Hermione would spend most of the next day. She would send Winky to keep a silent watch over Hermione tomorrow.

Hermione awoke the next morning to soft sunlight pouring through the window. Blinking slowly, her eyes adjusted to the light, and she sighed before rising and taking a shower.

She let the warm water run over her shoulders, hoping it would ease the pain she felt inside. However, the ache was worse than ever. "Severus," she sobbed. "I can't do this. It's too hard without you. Why? Why did Riddle take you from me?"

Hermione slowly made her way to the Great Hall for breakfast, joining her friends at one of the long tables. Minerva had decided, in an attempt to encourage better inter-house friendship, to discard the formal seating plan in favour of a more relaxed style. Following breakfast, Hermione grabbed her warm cloak and made her way down to the lake, armed with flowers for both Albus and Severus. She silently laid the flowers on the tomb that enclosed Albus' body before slowly making her way over to the headstone that had been erected in Severus' memory. The surviving Death Eaters who had been rounded up had been questioned about the disappearance of the body, and Malfoy Manor had been searched, but no trace of Severus Snape had ever been found.

Removing the shrunken rug from her cloak pocket, Hermione cast Engorgio and then settled upon the rug with the hip-flask of Firewhisky Minerva had given her when she had left her office the night before. She remained seated by the headstone for a few hours, alternately sobbing and filling Severus in on everything that had been happening.

"So, my love, it's time I returned to the castle." Stopping slightly, she placed a single kiss upon the black headstone before retreating once more to the comforting confines of the castle.

The single pair of eyes watched silently as Hermione returned to the castle, and tears ran down the cheeks of the young house-elf.

Lucius had spent the previous night tending his friend. Both he and Narcissa were now familiar with how to care for Severus in his highly dependent state. He had had to mop the younger man's brow frequently during the night, hardly sleeping himself. It was the early hours of the morning when he was roused from his dozing by Severus yet again trying to speak... The one word he uttered again was "Hermione."

Lucius made a mental note to go to see Minerva McGonagall at the earliest opportunity: maybe she could fill him in on why Severus kept muttering the young witch's name.

Many thanks to my darling betas, sc010f (scoffy) and little_beloved. Ladies, thank you for your encouragement and support. I am in awe of the additional magic you both weave for me.