Chapter Two

The Malfoy cellar had been outfitted with space and materials with which Snape could concoct such potions as were needed by the Death Eaters. No longer able to spy on the Order, he was thus kept useful to the Dark Lord. He filled his days with brewing and his nights with Miss Granger.

These reconnaissance missions were crucial to his personal survival, and he took the task very seriously. Based on observations of her patterns, he adjusted his own sleep schedule when possible to better correspond to her own. Years of accidental intrusions on young women's dreams had taught him to differentiate the texture of his dreams from that of the adolescent female.

Of course, no other adolescent female had dreams like these. Hermione was apparently studying a way to banish the Dark Lord's soul forever. Snape recognized certain items as Horcruxes, such as the ring that had hastened Dumbledore's demise. He paid close attention to things that seemed to have great significance to her, and he noted them all in his well-organized mind, not daring to commit any of this to parchment lest his notes fall into the wrong hands.

There were also other kinds of dreams to be expected. She dreamed of the youngest Weasley boy quite often, and these represented the greatest threat. Living, as she doubtless was, either at The Burrow or Grimmauld Place, she would be in close contact with Weasley, and if she distracted herself with him, the dream-sharing would stop, and Snape's window of opportunity to communicate with her would be cut short.

Though at first Snape simply chose to tune this part out, eventually, he decided to intervene. He had never tried to make himself seem like a romantic hero before, but he knew that a subtle seduction would serve him best. Based on her dream reactions to Weasley, he developed a persona, still mostly Snape-like, but less harsh around the edges.

Finally, the perfect chance to try out the 'dream Snape' arose. Hermione was dreaming of herself in the library at Grimmauld Place. Snape swept in, hands in plain sight so she would see that he was unarmed. He tried something of a smile before making her aware of his presence. "Good day, Miss Granger."

She looked startled, but just as in that first dream, she didn't react by pulling her wand on him. He considered this a good sign.

"Professor Snape?"

"How is your research coming?"

"How did you know about my... Sorry, of course I'm doing research, it's a library isn't it?"

"Indeed." He summoned a chair and sat across from her.

"So, how is it coming?"

"I, um, it's supposed to be secret."

"Don't worry about that. I've been sent to help you." He didn't know if mentioning Dumbledore by name would make things better or worse; so he opted to keep that bit to himself.

"I don't know, sir. Harry seemed pretty adamant that no one find out."

She was still using an honorific. He debated for an instant whether he should play on her respect for him or ease her into a more comfortable relationship. "Oh, you don't have to call me 'sir.' We're both members of the Order, are we not?"

Snape felt some of her defenses raise, and he decided to go for broke. He reached out a hand and stroked her arm. "Hermione, you don't have to be afraid of me. I won't hurt you. I want to tell you the truth. I can help you."

When she pulled her wand from her pocket and pointed it at him, he left her dream faster than Apparation.

That had been a strange interaction. He was unused to the familiar kind of conversation he'd attempted to initiate. He'd left her several clues in the process, and he hoped she'd start to work through them.

***

Hermione decided it was time to learn Occlumency. The second time she'd dreamed a close encounter with Snape, she had the distinct feeling that it was actually him trying to gain information from her. Of course, he bore little resemblance to the teacher who had made six years of her life as miserable as possible. He was softer somehow, smiling and touching her arm. There was something... alluring about him. She'd certainly never felt anything like that for him before, but now she found herself... fascinated.

That time, she had pulled her wand on him, and he had disappeared from her dream.

The next night, she found herself dreaming of the meadow outside The Burrow. It was a summer day, and a breeze rippled over the pond. She sat on a blanket, and someone was rubbing her shoulders. She leaned back against him, lured by the soothing rhythms of strong male hands. The summer air overwhelmed her senses, so her nose didn't give her a clue who her mystery man was, but she didn't mind. She felt safe and comfortable.

She felt his breath on her neck, and it filled her with warmth. Then, she heard her name. A deep voice rumbled through her, melting her. She didn't understand the words he murmured to her, but she let her eyes drift shut. The voice definitely didn't belong to one of the boys. It was deeper, manifestly more mature and unutterably masculine.

The hands drifted down her bare arms in long, teasing strokes.

"Feeling better, Hermione?"

When he said her name again, she recognized it from the previous night. "Prof-"

He lightly touched her lips with two fingers, and whispered again in her ear. "No."

"Snape?"

"Severus."

The sound of that went right down her spine.

"Severus?"

"That's right. But you didn't answer my question."

Perhaps awake, she'd be able to backtrack the conversation to the point where he had asked her something, but in this surreal place, she would have been hard pressed to speak her own name. "What?"

"Are you feeling better?"

"Oh, yes. Thank you. You are very good with your hands." She blushed as she tried to reconcile her memories with this man who may or may not be actually interfering with her dreams. "How did you get here? This is supposed to be safe."

She listened to silence for a few moments, and he grasped her hands in his. "What if I told you I'm not really here?"

"But you are real." It was not a question.

"You mean you don't usually dream of me?" His tone was playful. It was disconcerting.

"How do you know this is a dream?"

"Would I have a beautiful young woman in my lap other than in my dreams?"

"I was rather certain this was my dream to begin with."

"Have you ever heard of dream-sharing?"

"Harry had dreams of Voldemort..."

"No, Hermione, not that kind of dream. This magic is... Could you believe me if I tell you that Dumbledore arranged for you to receive your Head Girl badge early so I could communicate with you?"

At the sound of the deceased Headmaster's name, Hermione tried to pull her hands from his. "You killed him. Why would he..."

"What if I told you that it was part of a contingency plan that he came up with, that I was only following his orders against my wishes, that I would have rather died myself than do what I did, and he believed you would be my ally?"

"So, he did this to me, to us? Does Professor McGonagall know?"

"Now that is a very long story. The short answer is that he did not do this to me, but he used an existing circumstance to bring us together in this way."

"Together? To what extent?"

"That will be entirely up to you."

Hermione fidgeted against his lap until he released her hands, and she turned to face him for the first time during the encounter. Her expression relaxed into a small smile as she examined his face. "I've never seen you this way before."

He was wearing black trousers and a white shirt. His hair looked different in the breeze. She wondered how much control he had over his appearance in this state. "You said this was a sharing? Does that mean I may enter your dreams as well?

"My dreams are rarely suitable for a young lady."

"How did you know this had happened?

"I dreamed of you."

"At Hogwarts?"

"Yes, the first time."

"So whose dream was that?

"You will persist in your questions?"

"You have me at quite a disadvantage."

"In the interest of evening the field as it were, I will tell you that you have more control in this situation than you realize. If you choose to sever this connection, there is nothing I can do to stop you."

"You mean, with Occlumency?"

"Perhaps, but I want you to understand that once done, the connection will be gone forever, and so will your chance to gain information for the Order."

"That's what Dumbledore had in mind?"

"I find that more likely than a romantic liaison for the sake of itself."

"Romantic?"

"I seem to be resolved to spill my secrets to you today. Remember before I tell you that I did not do this to you. Neither did the Headmaster. He merely made use of a curse on me and brought you in on it."

"I understand." She was quite intrigued now.

"In addition to sharing dreams, you are under a mild lust spell."

She gasped and withdrew.

"No, Hermione. I am not trying to take advantage of you. I only hope that since I told you, you will find it within yourself to trust me."

"Is this spell just here, or would it work if we met in person as well?"

"It works differently depending on you, but yes, your current feelings would most likely persist if you met me. But we cannot. To arrange a meeting would mean my life and possibly yours. My actions... at the end of term served to alleviate some doubt in certain minds, but the Dark Lord's favor is fickle. I would not want to give him reason to test my loyalty again."

Hermione relaxed slightly, her expression softening. "How does he--or maybe I don't want to know."

He tucked his left arm around her waist. "Believe me, you don't."

"So, this way I see you, is it because of the spell, or is this simply how you appear in dreams?"

"I've learned to exert my will on my dreams. I choose to appear this way to ease your mind. If we are to spend a lot of time together, I need you to be comfortable with me."

"I can't believe I'm as comfortable as I am now." She became aware of all the places they were touching, from the arm about her waist to her bum on his lap even to her shoulder leaning against his. Their faces were very close. "Are you really like this?"

He didn't answer right away. "You've never seen me in this context before, Hermione. You are no longer my student, nor are you just another fellow Order member. It has been years since I've attempted to court a young lady."

"Is this a courtship? I thought it was only temporary."

"Hermione, I don't think you appreciate what is happening here. Albus has facilitated this opportunity, but we're on our own--just the two of us." The arm around her waist began to move up and down her arm again. "This was designed to be temporary, but we have no idea how long we'll need it to last. I am . . . making an effort. I believe that if we build the bond between us, we can maintain this method of communication as long as we need it."

The scene began to lose cohesiveness. Hermione tried to physically hold Severus, but the summer sounds began to be replaced by those of Ginny opening and closing drawers as she got ready for the day. Hermione let out a small groan of disappointment.

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you. Having a nice dream, were you?"

"You have no idea."

"Well, if it was about my brother, I don't want to hear about it."

"You have no idea."

A/N: Severus' dream-outfit is a nod to "Unfinished Business" by Ramos.