Chapter 19: A New Year's Eve

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.

A big hug of thanks goes out to VIVAvivacious for the generous application of her beta skills to this chapter.

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The shower stall was filled with steam, the heat of the water fogging up the glass doors and the mirror above the sink.

As Hermione rinsed the last of the conditioner out of her hair, she paused to contemplate what she hoped to accomplish for the day. She intended to help Snape find a way to deliver the potion to Voldemort as soon as possible. Sooner was better, as Snape would be forced to reveal the completion of the potion to Dumbledore and the Order. There was very little he could keep from Albus Dumbledore for very long. Hermione supposed it was sort of second nature to do as the Headmaster asked of him, considering he had spent over twenty years doing just that.

It was still quite early in the evening to be having a shower, but Hermione had been crippled in pain for the past few days from migraines. Snape had clarified that it was all just changes in her magic. He explained it worked in a similar fashion to the physical cramping one got whenever they grew larger physically. Hermione had immediately wondered what other sorts of surprises she would be in for in the next little while as she adjusted to the changes in her magic.

Her line of thought brought her back to what had transpired over the past week. She had killed Greyback. She felt revulsion towards herself. What was it in her that kept driving her towards revenge? Why had she developed an insatiable lust for blood? She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the forearm she had propped against the tile shower wall. She hated the complications life had dropped into her lap with all the grace of a tonne of bricks falling from the top floor of a skyscraper to the busy streets below.

She opened her eyes and wiped the water from them before reaching for the faucets to turn them off.

As she was moving to open the glass door to exit the shower stall, she felt her right foot in pain the instant she stood on it and looked down to see a tile had broken and come loose, and she had just slashed her foot open with it. Her blood, mixed with some of the leftover shower water, was making a direct path to the drain. There were a few smaller bits of porcelain stuck in her foot still, and she bent over slightly to remove them. She snatched her hand back with a loud yelp when a sharp piece sliced her finger open too.

Frowning, she brought the finger up to inspect it, leaving her foot as it was. If she touched it again, she would only end up in more pain. She saw the blood trickling from the tip of her index finger and watched as it flowed over and along the creases in her hand. Blood. There had been so much of it the night she had killed Greyback. It had been everywhere: all over the floor in a giant pool, on her clothes, drenching and staining her head before it began to coagulate.

Hermione felt her stomach lurch, and she made a direct beeline to the toilet, making it just in time to retch the contents of her stomach into the bowl. After a few moment of heaving, she stood on shaky legs, spitting in the bowl before flushing the toilet and making her way to the sink. She rinsed her mouth and scrubbed her face before Summoning her towel from the rack and tucking it around her shivering form.

Her body was trembling hard from the exertion. Blood had a totally different meaning to her now. It was something she wanted and hated all at the same time. She look down and saw the blood on her hand still shone red, and the throb of her foot reminded her she still had a heavily bleeding foot with ceramic tile shards in it.

Without bothering to think about the consequences of her next action, she took a deep breath to yell for help.

'Snape!' she called out as loudly as she could, hoping with all her might he was nearby.

She flipped the lid of the toilet down and used the commode as a makeshift chair, allowing her injured foot to stick out from the rest of her to reduce the pain of standing on it. She listened patiently for a few moments before she finally heard footsteps approaching the bathroom. There was a knock, and she wiggled her fingers at the door to unlock it for Snape to enter. His eyes widened for a moment when he saw her state of undress. She nodded in the direction of her foot quickly and his eyes widened even further before he dropped to his knees and withdrew his wand from his sleeve.

'What on earth happened?' he demanded as he used his wand to gently loosen the tile shard from her foot before extracting it the rest of the way with his hands.

'The tile was broken,' she answered. 'I'm not sure when it happened. I don't usually look at the floor when I'm in the shower.'

'Whatever the case, do remain still while I attempt to stem the bleeding and knit your skin back together,' he told her, effectively silencing her.

It took a few minutes, but with a patient hand, Snape healed every single cut of abrasion on the bottom and side of her foot before sitting back to look it over. Satisfied, he stood and held out a hand to help her stand. She stood with both feet planted firmly on the ground and looked up to see Snape was relieved. After he used his wand to clean up the bathroom and fix the tiles, he gave her a light nudge on the back to precede him out of the bathroom and inclined his head just a little before turning to head down the hall and downstairs.

'Thank you for helping me with my foot,' she called after him softly with a small smile.

'You're welcome,' he replied. 'I'm making dinner. Come down whenever you are ready to eat or if you want to help me carve the turkey.'

Hermione smiled. It was New Year's Eve, and she and Snape would be sharing a roast turkey and vegetables for dinner. Shaking her head in disbelief at what had just transpired, she made her way to her room and got dressed. When she arrived in the kitchen, the aromas immediately assailed her senses, and she had a feeling this was going to be one of the best turkeys she'd ever have, which said a lot after many New Years of Molly Weasley's cooking.

'I can make some gravy to go with the turkey and bread,' she offered, causing Snape to jerk his head around to look at her sharply.

He hadn't known she was there. 'Go ahead,' he murmured in response. 'I have nothing made yet, so you are welcome to it.'

Hermione nodded and smiled, taking out a small saucepan and beginning to prepare a gravy mixture that would complement their turkey. Once the table was set, they sat down and Snape served the two of them thick slices of the turkey breast and a big pile of vegetables. He always gave her more than she would serve herself and watched her to ensure she ate every bite and was not just Vanishing the food from her plate magically. As if she would do anything so underhanded.

'You've been quiet,' Snape commented when they were about halfway through their food.

'Oh, I'm just enjoying the lovely meal you made,' she said quickly, not sounding terribly convincing even to her own ears.

'Are you feeling unwell?' he asked.

Hermione thought about it for a moment and realised he might be right. She had been feeling a little dizzy and lightheaded since her shower, and she realised it might have been caused by her blood loss from the cut on her foot.

'I think I'm a little lightheaded,' she answered. 'Do you perhaps have Blood-Replenishing Potion down in the lab?'

Snape nodded. 'I will get one for you right after you've finished your dinner,' he answered. 'But for now, just eat. It will help make you feel better.'

Hermione nodded and then grinned suddenly. 'Did you happen to find time to make dessert as well?' she asked.

Snape smirked at her. He had obviously noticed she had a bit of a weak spot where sweets and desserts were concerned. He waved his hand in the direction of the oven, which opened and displayed the baking dish within it. She could smell the rich aroma of chocolate and caramel and knew it was going to be good.

'Dark chocolate and caramel self-saucing pudding,' he replied.

Hermione could feel her mouth begin to water at the thought. The oven door shut suddenly, and she shot Snape a glare before she resumed eating her dinner. When she was finished, she whipped out her wand and sent all the dishes to the sink before manually beginning the task of packing the leftovers into containers to store in the refrigerator. Snape assisted by washing the dishes before he went to the oven to retrieve the pudding.

'Snape, I swear I am going to end up pudgy the way you've been feeding me over the past few days,' she moaned even as she sat down at the table to eat the generous bowl of pudding he handed her.

'If one can't celebrate the holiday in some form, then there is no holiday at all,' he murmured, joining her with a bowl of his own.

After they had finished, they both adjourned to his study, and Hermione immediately began opening up books. There were a few different things she wanted to look into concerning how they were going to get the potion into Voldemort that had been niggling in the back of her mind. She opened the last book to a random page and spotted out of the corner of her eye something she had a feeling would work. She smiled and made a noise of triumph.

'I've got it!' she exclaimed, almost a little too excitedly.

'Oh? What have you got?' Snape asked.

'The way to give that foul snake-face the potion you made,' she answered, beaming. 'Look here, there is an aspirator. We could send the potion to Voldemort as a gift!'

Snape looked at her in horror. 'A gift? Are you daft? And just how do you suggest we get this "gift" to the Dark Lord safely? Surely you know all his mail is screened.'

'But that's just it! It is so obvious and un-devious it just might work,' she answered. 'We simply need to ensure it is delivered by one of the current Death Eaters.'

She watched as Snape paused for a moment to think, and his expression became one of grudging acceptance. 'I suppose your plan does have some merit. All the Dark Lord needs to really do is inhale the potion into his system,' he said quietly, tapping a finger against his lips. 'Although as to the Death Eater delivery method, just how do you propose we make that work?'

'Well, there is always Polyjuice. I could take some and impersonate one of them to deliver the gift?' she suggested.

Snape frowned. 'Absolutely not!' he snapped. 'You will not being taking one step in the direction of the Dark Revels. It is not a place for someone who does not know what to expect. If one of us were to impersonate a Death Eater, it would be me.'

Hermione opened her mouth to argue with him when a heavy knocking sound began on the front door. She looked over at Snape, who had a confused look in his eyes, also. She made to stand, but he waved her off, getting out of his chair and swiftly making his way out of the room. Hermione got up as soon as he was out of sight and poked her head around the doorway to look down the hall at the front door.

What she saw there was not at all what she had expected.

'Miss Granger, it appears we have a guest,' Snape said, his arm around the waist to support a very bloody Draco Malfoy.

Her eyes widened, and she went quickly to his aide, closing the door and helping to carry Draco up the stairs on the opposite side. As she and Snape worked together to heal the now-unconscious young man's wounds, Hermione thought there was a lot about Snape she had yet to learn.

When she went to bed that night, all she could think about was the pained look on Snape's face as he sat by the bed in the guest room, watching over her former school nemesis.

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A/N – Surprise! Draco's here.