Desperation

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

Many thanks go to Sequana for the beta of this chapter :)

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Chapter 4: Desperation

The rain had just begun to beat down against the ground as Hermione began her hike up the hill to the castle. It was already dark out, even though it was only four in the afternoon, and she could barely see in front of her. She had already cast a Repelling Charm on her person to stop the rain from coming into contact with her and was hugging her arms around her body tightly to ward off the chill. Winter was just around the corner, and the icy rain beginning to fall at that time of year was a sign that the snow was not too far away. Huffing, she pushed on ahead half-heartedly.

Ever since Harry had suggested that she have someone look into who was behind the pushing of those articles, her life had gone pear-shaped. Originally, Harry had offered to look into it himself, but after coming up against too many walls, and having to follow the Auror's code, he had suggested another alternative for her.

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'Hermione, I'm really sorry about this,' Harry said with a sigh, standing from his office chair and walking around his desk to her.

'You might be surprised,' Harry said mysteriously.

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Hermione had sent a letter to Severus later that afternoon and spent the whole night until she had gone to bed fretting over it. She had assumed that he had burned her letter the moment her owl, Lena, had delivered it. So, when she heard the tapping on her window at around midnight, she had been totally shocked to find that his owl was waiting for her to open it and let him in. Needless to say, she happily fed the dear, affectionate thing and sat him in her study with Lena for the rest of the night. He deserved a rest after the long journey.

The letter had been very brief – just like Severus had always been. He had simply told her to come to Hogwarts on Friday afternoon to discuss her problem. So there she was, trudging through the rain, feeling miserable and cold, not to mention pissed off at the fact that she even had problems in the first place that she needed his help with. To be honest, she still felt a twinge of hurt whenever she thought about him, which was not exactly conducive to a working relationship.

She paused for a moment, looking up ahead to see that the castle was still quite a distance away and almost groaned until she saw a vague figure walking towards her in the rain. It was like a tall, dark shadow that kept getting taller, and before she knew it, Severus Snape was standing right in front of her in all his black-clad glory. He was wearing only his frock coat with his long black winter coat over the top instead of his teaching robes and had his customary scowl set in place. He produced an umbrella and pressed it into her hands quickly.

'I cast a charm on it to keep you dry and warm,' he said shortly. 'Hurry and follow me; it's far too cold to dally.'

Hermione followed obediently, mentally reminding herself that she was in his territory now and that she was the one looking for favours. Although, she had to admit that his reception was as icy and devoid of emotion as she had expected it to be. She had hardly imagined he would take her into his arms and kiss her senseless before declaring his undying love for her. Snorting mentally at that unlikely image, she hurried to keep up with him, and soon enough they reached the castle.

'We'll talk in my office, and both Minerva and Albus asked me to extend an invitation to dinner to you,' he said as they walked briskly past a few students milling about the Great Hall.

'Very well,' she said softly, making a note that those were the two words she had chosen to utter to him for the first time in far too long.

They descended into the depths of the dungeons, going straight into his office after he had un-warded it. Hermione noted that the wards had not changed at all since the week that she had left him. She found this rather odd, considering he used to change them once a fortnight – to not change the wards at all for seven years was an unusually long length of time for him. Well, it was for the Severus that she had come to know and love. This Severus, while appearing to be very much the same man, might have been a different one from the man she had fallen for. It was, after all, seven years later.

'Have a seat,' he told her, indicating the chair across from his own at his large oak desk. It was the oak desk that she had picked for him the day they had gone shopping in Hogsmeade for one. 'I believe you wanted to discuss something with me?' he asked once he was seated on the other side of the desk.

She nodded. 'As I said in the letter – I have come up against a spot of trouble with the papers, my divorce, and someone who is trying to destroy everything I have been working for in the last few years,' she said quickly. 'Harry can't help because he is an Auror and his job is on the line, and everyone else I looked at was nowhere near qualified enough to take on my task.'

'And you thought that I would be better suited to such a thing?' he drawled, that damn eyebrow of his arching up in a way that made her feel a little flustered.

'Actually, Harry was the one who suggested you first,' she said quietly. 'I hadn't thought of it. I assumed you would be too busy or reluctant to have any part of it.'

'It is true that I can be rather busy - but as the school term before the Christmas break is drawing near to its end, I find that there is a little more free time available,' he said simply, hoping that she would pick up on what he meant from there. 'Marking for student end-of-term exams will not begin until the first week of the break, as you may recall.'

Hermione felt his last comment sink into her with all the pain that a double-edged sword would cause. She recalled very well, of course. There was once a time that she would help him with the marking of those exams, and then there were the other times when she would be attempting to coax him away from his marking and tempt him into more pleasurable activities in his bedroom. She missed those times with him a lot. She bit her lip, casting away those thoughts quickly.

It was the last thing she needed lingering in her head for him to see if he decided to slip in for a look around.

'Does that mean you are willing to assist me with my media problems?' she asked slowly.

'I suppose it does,' he replied quietly, letting his eyes glance over at the clock on his mantle. It was twenty minutes until dinner by then. 'Taking leave from St. Mungo's might be a suggested course of action if you want this to go faster. I can get you access to the Hogwarts Library for you to research the curse that your former husband is suffering under, and my assistance to you will be limited to afternoons, nights that I am not on patrol and weekends.'

'Do you know what has caused him to become the way he has?' she asked him curiously, wondering how extensive his knowledge of dark spells was.

He shook his head. 'Not yet. The very little knowledge I do have consists of the few snippets of truth in the drivel that has been splashed across the newspapers for the last few weeks,' he answered automatically. 'You really have managed to cause quite a fuss, Ms Granger.'

Hermione scowled at that. 'It's not as though you've never been on the front page of a newspaper before,' she said in her most curt and businesslike tone.

'True. However, you fail to remember that I was on the cover for something far more nefarious than what you are being accused of,' he retorted, unable to keep the snark out of his tone.

Hermione crossed her arms and stood, a deep frown forming. 'You're still a prick, I see,' she snapped, walking to the door to leave. 'I'll go up to the Great Hall early.'

And with that, she walked out and let the door slam on the way.

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A/N - Another chapter down. So what do you think? Please review!!!