Lessons In Love

Chapter 5: Perfectly Clear

It seemed that although Hermione was exhausted, sleep did not come easily that night to her. She would wake up every half hour and toss and turn. Bored and now fully awake in bed, Hermione flung the heavy sheets off that protected her from the cold of the dungeons. She tossed on an oversized, V-neck tunic and mid-calf leggings and threw her hair up, not checking herself in the mirror, and wandered out into the common room and through the opening with the large painting. She wanted to get some fresh air, hoping that that would help her fall asleep. Realizing she didn't have any shoes on, she just rolled her eyes to herself… why was she forgetting crucial things lately? Hermione shrugged it off; she loved the feeling of the grass between her toes and dipping her feet into the refreshing black lake so it didn't bother her too much. She tip-toed her way down the corridor, trying to watch out for Filch, when she heard fluid footsteps coming towards her. They suddenly stopped and came to a halt and Hermione could hear a deep voice, bouncing off the empty hall walls.

"Mr. Creevey! What are you doing outside of bed past curfew? With Miss Holmes no less? Ten points from Gryffindor!" After a short pause, he continued, "And ten points from Ravenclaw!"

Hermione almost smiled, between Harry, Ron, and herself… she couldn't even count how many points were taken away from Gryffindor, and it always was at the hand of Snape, no less.

"To bed!" He reprimanded them, in a stern voice, "Now."

She could hear two sets of footsteps running up the stair cases in the opposite direction and did not pay attention when another pair of footsteps met up with her.

"Do you intend to set a bad example for the students by wandering the halls this late at night, without shoes, no doubt?" He raised an eyebrow at her, inspecting her from head to foot.

Hermione blushed at his assessment of her, "I couldn't sleep, Sir."

He folded his arms, "That is not my problem and since you are not officially a teacher here, you will follow my instructions when I tell you to go to bed."

"Do you have a sleeping draught, Professor?" she bowed her head, not wanting to look at him, she didn't like to ask for things… she didn't like to beg.

Snape scoffed, "I'm not going to knock you out when there is only a few more hours before class. You should have mentioned that earlier before you went to bed."

He pointed in the direction that he wanted Hermione to follow. She didn't move, just stood there, wringing her hands and not looking at him. He rolled his eyes, he had forgotten how stubborn she had come to be, "Miss Granger, I insist you go to bed this instant!"

"Professor?" she finally made eye contact.

"What?" he snapped, harshly at her, upset that she wouldn't listen to him.

She wrung her hands even more, seemingly nervous, "How did you…"

She paused, thoughtfully, and rose up on her toes, leaning to her right, trying to see if she could find what she was looking for on Snape. She sighed when she found that his collar was hiding what she was searching for.

Professor Snape wasn't sure what she was doing until he saw her eyes glance up at his neck where he had been bitten by Voldemort's snake, Nagini. His coat covered the bite, and he mentally thanked himself for it, "I think it's time you went to bed, Miss Granger," he said slowly, in a dangerous tone.

She knew she was walking on thin ice but continued as she lowered herself down to her normal height, she looked up at him, honestly, "How did you survive… I saw you that night… in the Shrieking Shack with Harry."

He almost growled and turned on his heel, walking swiftly away from Hermione. Usually he never backed down from anything, never ignored a situation… yet here he was, the infamous Professor Snape was running away from his student. Hermione followed behind him as he walked into the courtyard that led to the grounds of Hogwarts. She shivered; she should have thrown on a cloak if she wanted to wander outside. Wrapping her arms around herself, she quickened her pace after her Potions Master. It looked as if he was walking towards the black lake… Hermione hid behind a nearby tree, watching Snape slow his gait as he stopped at the shoreline.