Chapter 6

***Here are the links to the original fairy tales abused in part two.***

The Little Match-Seller: http://hca.gilead.org.il/li_match.html

The Little Mermaid: http://hca.gilead.org.il/li_merma.html

The White Wolf: http://sylvanawood.livejournal.com/707564.html#cutid1

(The last one is my own rough translation since I couldn't find an English version of that fairy tale on the web.)

Fairy Tales 2: Hermione Sleeps

Chapter 6

In the evening, Severus sat down at Hermione's bedside, took her hand, cast his spell and once again entered her mind.

The Clever Witch and The White Wolf

Harry Potter, who had just become Minister of Magic, went out for a hunting trip in the Forbidden Forest in order to relax after his stressful election campaign. Hagrid had told him where the Acromantulas and the centaurs roamed; these parts of the forest were best avoided, but the Forbidden Forest was big enough; there was plenty of game to be found elsewhere.

Harry had just driven a flock of pheasants out of hiding when his broom started to cause trouble. It bucked wildly and threw him off. Harry lost his wand and found himself disoriented in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. He had neither a wand nor a broom.

Harry was wandering around, day and night; he had become very hungry, but he couldn't find his way back.

Without a wand, he couldn't even send his Patronus for help. He could only hope that his friends would soon come looking for him.

No one seemed to miss him, though. Everyone knew that he wanted to relax while hunting, and the hero who had vanquished Voldemort would hardly encounter anything too dangerous during a hunting trip.

Harry had become desperate when he finally encountered a small black man with a big nose. Harry hailed the little man politely and asked for the way.

"I shall show you the way and accompany you, but you must give me something in return."

"You must give me the first creature coming out of your house to greet you."

Harry felt relieved and said, "That's very friendly and generous of you. Normally, the first coming out to greet me is my faithful dog, and I shall gladly give him to you. I know that you'll take good care of him."

But the little man replied, "I do not want your faithful dog, something else I much prefer."

When they left the forest, the little man side-along Apparated with Harry to Grimmauld Place. His best friend Hermione saw him from a window and ran out to greet him. As he hugged her, he said, "I really would have preferred if my dog would have greeted me first."

"What? You'd rather greet your dog than me? Don't let Ginny hear that, she'll hex you," Hermione replied, feeling more than a bit indignant.

Harry smiled sadly and said, "I didn't mean it quite that way." And he told her everything.

Hermione was determined. "If that is how it is, then I shall go with the little man. That's better than having lost you in the forest, Harry. I'll see what he wants. Don't worry; I can take care of myself."

Harry really wasn't all that concerned. He knew that his friend Hermione was a clever and powerful witch. She had dealt with more dangerous foes in the past.

"All right, then, but if you need help, I still have your coin with the Protean Charm, Hermione."

Hermione hugged Harry again and then went to the little man to ask him what he wanted from her.

The man said, "I'll come and get you a week from now."

A week later, a white wolf came to Grimmauld Place, and Hermione had to sit on its back. The wolf ran so fast that it made her breathless. It ran uphill, downhill, through bushes, past fields, through forests, and finally Hermione couldn't stand it any longer and asked, "Are we there yet?"

"Silence! Far, far do we have to go until we reach the glass mountain, and if you're not silent, I shall throw you off."

They moved on until poor Hermione despaired and complained, and asked, "Are we there yet?"

The wolf replied in just the same threatening manner as before and ran on, on and on, until she gathered her courage and asked for the third time, "Are we there yet?" Immediately, the wolf threw her off its back and ran away.

When Hermione wanted to take her wand out of her pocket, she realised that she had lost it. Either she had lost it during that wild ride or when she fell from the wolf's back. Now she was all alone in the middle of nowhere. She walked for a long time and thought to herself that she surely would find other people eventually.

And really, she arrived at a cabin, where a small fire was burning. An old gammer was sitting there and had a pot on the fire.

Hermione asked, "My good woman, did you, by any chance, happen to see the white wolf?"

"No, you had better ask the wind; he asks around everywhere. But stay for a while; eat with me. I'm cooking chicken soup here."

Hermione accepted the invitation because she was hungry and didn't want to appear ungrateful. When she had finished eating, the old woman said, "Here, take the chicken bones with you; you may yet find a use for them." The gammer showed her which way to go to find the wind.

When Hermione arrived at the wind's house, she found him sitting at a fire and cooking chicken soup. But when she asked about the white wolf, all he could reply was, "Dear child, I haven't seen it. I stayed at home today, to get a bit of well-deserved rest. Ask the sun; she rises and sets every day, but follow my lead and get some rest. Eat with me, and afterwards you can take all the chicken bones with you; you may yet find a use for them."

After all this had been done, Hermione went to visit the sun. When she arrived there, she got the same reply as she had received from the wind.

The sun was cooking chicken soup on her own fire, and she hadn't seen the white wolf either. She invited Hermione to share her meal, though. "Go and ask the moon, because the white wolf would most likely run at night, and that's when the moon sees everything."

When Hermione had finished her meal and collected the chicken bones, she walked on and asked the moon. He too was cooking chicken soup and said, "Pity. I wasn't shining last night, or rose too late today; I don't know anything about the white wolf."

That made Hermione cry, and she exclaimed, "Oh Merlin, whom can I ask now?"

"Patience, my dear," said the moon. "You are tired and hungry; come, sit down and eat chicken soup with me, and take the chicken bones with you; you will find a use for them yet. Oh, I know some news after all. In the glass mountain it's the wedding day of the little black man. The man in the moon is invited, too."

"Oh, the glass mountain, the glass mountain! That's where I wanted to go; that's where the white wolf should have carried me," cried Hermione.

"I can shine to guide you on your way," the moon said. "There are many glass mountains. You could easily lose your way. Why, I consist entirely of glass mountains myself!"

"But first take all the chicken bones."

"Hermione did as she was told but in her hurry she left one of the bones behind."

Soon she stood at the foot of the glass mountain, but the mountain was smooth and slippery; there was no way up. Hermione took all the chicken bones: the bones the gammer had given her, the ones from the wind, from the sun, and the moon, and made a long ladder for her to climb up. Alas! In the end, one rung was missing. Resolutely, Hermione cut off the upper joint of her little finger, and the ladder was complete, and now she could quickly climb up to the top of the glass mountain.

On the top of the mountain she found a wide opening with a grandiose staircase that led into the mountain itself, and downwards. Inside, everything was glittering and shimmering impressively. A big hall was filled with guests, a group of musicians played dance music, and tables were overflowing with extravagant dishes.

The little black man with the big nose sat at one end of the table and there a lady was sitting at his side. She had red hair and green eyes and was his bride. The little man, however, looked inconsolably sad.

As Hermione saw him like this, her heart ached. She was very sorry that she had come so late.

She couldn't bear to see the man looking so sad. She didn't want him to marry the red headed lady. She knew that he didn't really love the red headed lady. Hermione had realized that both she and the little man could only ever be happy if they married each other.

Well, Hermione thought, perhaps it would help if I sang a song about the white wolf. With a little luck, he'll recognize me.

She looked around for something to help her and saw a piano at a wall. During her childhood she'd had piano lessons, and so she sat down and started to play and sing.

"I do not want your faithful dog,

something else I much prefer.

Clever Hermione.

"The white wolf, he ran away.

She didn't know where it went.

Clever Hermione."

When he heard her sing, the little man raised his head and looked at her with his black, bottomless eyes, but Hermione continued to play and sing.

"She followed where the wolf had gone,

cut off her finger's joint.

Clever Hermione.

"Now she is here––but you don't know her,

Sadly she sings this song

Clever Hermione."

The little black man jumped off his chair and, with a loud and resounding big bang, he transformed into a powerful wizard.

The wizard was Severus Snape. He hurried towards her and took her in his arms.

"Your love for me caused you to endure all this, Hermione. For love of me, you've sacrificed so much that you've even given a piece of yourself. You have released me and you've released yourself too. Come back with me – back to life, and if you want it, my heart will be yours forever."

Amazed, Hermione looked into Severus Snape's eyes. She had never heard him speak in such a friendly manner to anyone, least of all to herself.

She swallowed, nodded, and followed him, eyes closed as in a dream.

When she opened her eyes, she once again gazed into the black eyes of Severus Snape.

"Do you really love me?" she asked in wonderment. He was sitting on her bed, bent over her, and had woven his fingers through hers.

"As unbelievable as this may sound, it is true," he said and kissed her fingers.

"That makes me very happy," Hermione whispered and pulled his head towards her with her free hand, and then she kissed his lips.

Much to the surprise of the wizarding world, Hermione and Severus got married a year later.

And they lived happily ever after.

The End

A/N: This last one always has been my favourite fairy tale and I had great fun adapting it to Hermione and Severus. I always preferred a princess rescuing the prince, rather than the other way around.