Birthday Wishes

Chapter Five: Birthday Wishes

Warnings: Abuse

Thanks to my beta! (hp4freek) go read her stuff! I love that girl! And thanks to RobisonRocket for the once over!

Hermione walked down the stairs from her dormitory to the Slytherin common room. She saw that Severus was at the base of the stairs, waiting for her. He pulled her into a mildly awkward hug and whispered a, "Happy birthday" to her.

Hermione blushed slightly and murmured, "Thank you," in return. Severus began rifling through his bag and pulled out a wrapped package. Nervously, he thrust the box towards her.

Hermione tore at the wrapping and smiled when she saw the still partially covered book. "And what do we have here?" she asked, her voice full of genuine curiosity.

Hermione turned the book over in her hands so she could read the title: 300 Facts about the Dark Arts written by Cyn Ester. Hermione contemplated the book for a minute. The logical part of her was screaming, That is a Dark book! Don't read it! You don't know what sort of evil is inside! Remember who this is. This is Severus Snape, Death Eater turned spy, possibly turned spy again. This man has some serious loyalty issues. Just as she had herself convinced not to read the book, to just tuck it away somewhere and be done with it, another voice spoke up. That was the future Severus. This one is still young and innocent... Well, he's not a Death Eater at any rate.

She had never read up on the Dark Arts before. It had always been such a taboo subject in her time. Severus noticed her hesitation. "It's not a bad book, you know. It's not very detailed; just some information on the Dark Arts. I thought you'd find it interesting..." Severus seemed a bit embarrassed, but he looked Hermione in the eye as a slow blush crept up to his cheeks.

Severus had imagined this scene far differently. He had pictured Hermione being excited about the book and opening it for a good read immediately. As it stands, I don't think she's even going to read it! He was mentally kicking and berating himself for being stupid enough to think she'd be interested in the Dark Arts. She has displayed, thus far, nothing but innocence. She's good with a wand, of course. Pretty quick with her spells and jinxes from what I've seen. However, she's still innocent to me.

Hermione could feel Severus' mood darkening. She put her hand on his arm and murmured, "Thank you, Sev. I'll give it a proper reading the next chance I get." I guess there's no harm in starting the book. If it's that bad, I'll just stop reading it. She smiled at him; it was a warm smile. Severus felt the butterflies in his stomach go into overdrive. They had been a constant presence since she had made herself known at Hogwarts. Severus would never intentionally let on that he was socially awkward and hadn't the foggiest idea how to speak to a girl properly. Well, speak to pretty much anyone properly for that matter. He wanted nothing more than to pull her close and to experiment with her. Unfortunately, she didn't really exude an air of interest where he was concerned. She was nice to him, friendly, and they got along well, but he didn't think she liked him, at least not as anything other than a friend.

Oh, cruel irony, why do you taunt me so?

~~~

True to her word, later that night, Hermione opened up the Dark Arts book after she had finished with her homework.

Chapter One: Getting to Know Your Dark Arts

Many spells and potions that fall into the category of "dark" are only dark because of how they are generally used. For example, the Amortentia Potion, which is a strong Love Potion, was often given to the bride and groom of arranged marriages on their wedding day. By putting both parties into a state of lust and infatuation, it insured that the wedding went smoothly and the effects didn't wear off until after the honeymoon was over. This insured that the wedding was consummated.

That is a truly barbaric use of power! Hermione thought indignantly. Forcing marriages, and then deceiving the couple into thinking that they really loved each other!

However, as that train of thought was leaving the station, her proverbial devil appeared on her shoulder, giving her a different point of view. That was quite ingenious of them to do it, though. Nobody wants to have a big, public scene because someone doesn't want to get married to someone they don't know, or don't love.

While that is true, that doesn't make it any less barbaric. Smart, yes. Something I would expect from modern civilization? Never, countered the Angel Hermione.

Are you still viewing the world through rose-coloured glasses? Don't you remember your father, and what he did to your mother? Is murder no longer barbaric?

I don't know that Dad killed Mum. Just because I suspect it, that doesn't mean it's true. I've been wrong before... Hermione sounded like she was trying to convince herself. She hated to believe that her dad was not only capable of, but had committed murder. It was a terrifying thought. One that made her not feel safe while home alone with the man in question.

Hermione couldn't focus on her reading just now, not with her mind waging war on itself. Snapping the book shut with far more force than was needed, she pushed the offending tome off to the side, leaving it on her nightstand. She picked up her cloak and decided a nice walk would do nicely to clear her mind.

Scampering down the stairs, Hermione briskly walked through the common room at a pace so fast, she barely registered who was even hanging out in there. Pushing her way out of the concealed door, she turned up the hallway making her way to the front doors. A nice stroll around the lake would be quite nice.

Once the cool night air was on Hermione's face, she felt considerably calmer. The light breeze ruffled her hair, picking up tendrils and making it fly and twist in the wind. She bore an eerie resemblance to Medusa. She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't hear the unmistakable sound of footsteps following behind her. They were trying to catch up, whilst staying at a safe enough distance to properly spy.

Hermione slowed down as she was walking. She was deep in thought. So many strange things had happened since the beginning of summer holidays. Well, really, things had always been a bit odd for her, but they'd been especially odd over the past nearly six months.

First, there was her father. He had been slowly getting more moody and reclusive. He always seemed to be angry nowadays. Her mother, in an effort to calm his anger, tried getting her husband to start drinking. Truth be told, he had never been a big drinker. He had the occasional pint at the pub, but everyone did. Maybe he'd have a glass of wine with dinner.

~~~

(Flashback)

Jessica Granger was sorely mistaken when she took the drown-your-sorrows approach with her husband. Mathew was an angry and violent drunk. He lost his self-control (the little he seemed to have left) one night, in a drunken rage, when he found that the kitchen was not immaculate. Mathew stormed off to find his wife, Jessica.

He started berating and belittling her. Calling her a stupid, lazy cow. Telling her, Jessica, how worthless she was. Feeling brave, she started yelling back. Well, as it turns out, Mathew Granger didn't take kindly to having a freethinking wife. He took a few steps forward to try to scare Jessica into submission, but she didn't want to scare, not tonight. When she didn't cower and start cleaning like a good housewife would, Mathew cornered her. He had a hand on either side of her head, and the meagre height difference between the two of them seemed like a foot. Mathew's breath smelled strongly of gin and whisky, and his eyes were glazed over and empty looking. This was not her husband.

Too afraid to move, Jessica just stood there, looking up at the angry form of her husband. She had become temporarily deaf with fear and couldn't hear a word Mathew was yelling. She didn't realise that he wanted her to clean the kitchen; she didn't realise that he wanted her to do his bidding without question. She wanted him to stop being angry, but had no idea how to make that happen. She didn't know what he wanted until the beating began and her hearing came back better than when it had left her. Jessica could hear each painful slap, each painful punch, her bones snapping beneath his forceful hands. She cried out in pain and anguish, her mind flooded with "ifs." If only I hadn't been so stupid. If only I hadn't meddled. If only I had cleaned the kitchen properly. If only I kept him a little happier. If only I hadn't married him...

(End flashback)

If that wasn't weird enough to contend with, there was the whole Time-Turner fiasco. I didn't turn the flipping thing, so how did I end up nearly 20 years in the past? I'm not really buying the I-willed-myself-here story, but I have yet to find anything more believable in my research.

Hermione had long since stopped walking and had sat down on a smooth rock on the side on the lake. The lake was to her right as she sat, glaring at the ground as if it had severely offended her. She continued to mull over her thoughts, trying to make sense of the jumble in her head. Trying to figure out what happened to her family, why her dad had turned so evil. This started a whole other train of thoughts. If Dad is evil, will I turn into a baddie too? That's how those silly Muggle comic books seem to work. Like father like son. A sudden movement in her peripherals interrupted Hermione's musings. Hermione, having been training hard with Harry while in her own time and still being a bit jumpy after the Ministry of Magic battle, shot a curse off in the direction of the movement. A scream came from the area where the curse was aimed.

Severus staggered out from behind the tree he had dodged behind, in an effort to move closer to Hermione. He was trying to see if he could hear anything in the event that she was speaking her problems out to herself. Hermione scurried over to him. "I'm so sorry, Severus! But you really should know better than to sneak up on an unsuspecting witch in the dark!"

"You seem in fine shape to me, but will you get these things off of my face!"

"Right. Sorry..." Hermione muttered the counter curse for the Bat-Bogey Hex, then a Cleansing Charm, to rid Severus' face of snot, now that his own mucus was no longer attacking his face.

"What kind of curse was that? I'm sure it's quite brilliant when you're not on the receiving end of it."

"It's called a Bat-Bogey. One of my friends came up with it. It makes... Well, I'm sure you figured that one out."

"Indeed. So, how should I announce my presence so I won't be subjected to that... enlightening experience again?"

"A simple 'Oi, Hermione' will do the trick quite nicely." Hermione smirked. "So, I have to ask; why were you following me anyway?"

"I was... worried about you. You seemed a bit... off when you left the common room. I guess I wanted to make sure you didn't do anything rash." Severus revealed a small smile as he waited for her response.

"Thanks. It's nice to know someone cares." Hermione smiled in return, and a comfortable silence fell between the two of them. It was only interrupted a few minutes later when a violent shiver wracked through Hermione's body.

"You must be freezing. Let's head back." Severus offered her the crook of his arm, which Hermione gratefully accepted, and they walked back to the castle together.

Muzic says: I'm not entirely sure what's coming next, well, I know the ending point, but I'm still working on the in between stuff. I hope you're enjoying this! I should have some more up soon.