Chapter 1: A New Reality

Chapter Text

A/N: The characters you recognize are not mine; I am not making any money from writing this story. The plot line is mine however as well as any extra characters you see. This is an M rated fiction so please mind the rating; this is also Severus/Hermione so do not waste my time by flaming the story if you do not like the pairing.
Please do not archive this story unless first asking. Thank you and enjoy! A huge thanks to my beta for editing this chapter.

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Hermione ran across the battlefield behind her two friends, Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley, occasionally forced to jump over bodies that had been felled in the battle. She tried not to think about the fact that those bodies could be friends as she raced past them; she had to remain focused on the task before her. Her feet stumbled over the blood-slicked grass as she ran but arms caught her before she could fall down. She looked up into a pair of unfamiliar blue eyes in confusion, the bulk of the body told her the person was male but the Death Eater robes caused her to stiffen.

"Run," his low gravelly voice said in her ear, giving her a shove away from him. She didn't need to be told twice; she took off after the boys again pushing the strange man out of her head.

"Hermione, there you are," panted Ron as she caught up to them. Harry was panting in the same way, but he had his eyes closed in a look of concentration.

"He's in the forest!" Harry suddenly said urgently.

"Let's go," Hermione said firmly but Harry's hand stopped her.

"No, you guys have to stay here. You have to kill the snake, do that and then it'll be over," he said trying to keep the quiver out of his voice.

"Harry, no we'll come with—"

"No Hermione, you two have to stay, it has to be this way." Harry said firmly and Hermione saw the conviction in his startling green eyes. "You know I have to do this, you know why I have to do this."

Hermione felt tears well in her eyes and then burn their way down her cheeks. "Let me go with you Harry, let me go with you," she argued, but she knew it was pointless. She knew as soon as they had started the horcrux hunt; she had known when she read the book she had stolen what he would have to do.

She felt herself being pulled in a strong hug, squished between Ron and Harry. She wrapped her arms around them and cried into Harry's shoulder. What was she going to do without her boys?

Harry pressed a kiss to the top of her head and whispered in her ear, "Get the snake 'Mione, kill the snake. Take care of Ron, he will need you. Tell Ginny—Tell Ginny I love her. Tell her that I've loved her since 5th year, help her move on. Help her find another man. Promise me Hermione?"

Hermione looked up into the familiar green eyes through her own tear filled ones and nodded her head. "I love you Harry," she whispered and received another kiss to the top of her head.

"Go," he said sternlyas he pulled away from them. Ron grabbed her hand firmly in his own and dragged her away; he had tears leaking down his face as well. They turned together as Harry ran away and Hermione collapsed into his arms.

A flash of light caught her attention and she looked up to see Ron staring down at her with wide eyes. "Ron—" she asked in confusion but she froze when he opened his mouth and blood spilled out. "Ron! NO!" she screamed as his arms slackened around her body and he fell. "Ron? Ron! Open your eyes! Ron!"

"Blood hell 'Mione, no need to make me deaf," his voice cracked out along with another gush of blood.

She hugged him tightly in relief crying into his chest, "I'm sending you to the hospital wing." She stood up and focused on his destination; with an intricate wand movement later his body disappeared with a 'pop'.

Before she could breathe a sigh of relief however, a spell whizzed by, causing her to freeze as it grazed her arm. She clenched her teeth together against the pain and looked down to see a gash on her bicep leaking blood. She heard footsteps running towards her and she swung around with her wand at the ready. She lowered it out of reflex when she saw her ex-potions professor standing before her. He looked so odd standing there without his teaching robes, but what was more curious was the faint white glow that surrounded his body. Her wand fell to her side completely as she watched him walk towards her, the white light around him mesmerizing her, making the battle around her fade out of focus.

Footsteps behind her made her spin away from the man and raise her wand at the ready. Fear made her body run cold as she saw Fenrir Greyback stalking towards, her his lower face and body covered in blood. "Hello mudblood, you and I have unfinished business," he called out to her. She stiffened as he licked his lips at her. She knew that he had been furious after her escape from Malfoy Manor, and apparently he hadn't let it go.

She opened her mouth to reply when a hand abruptly wrapped around her throat and cut off her air supply. She clawed at the hand as black spots popped up in front of her eyes and she struggled to get away.

"Be still," a silky voice said in her ear she knew belonged to Professor Snape and she stopped struggling against him. Her head swam with pain as she felt something dig into her shoulder blade and her knees went slack, but the hand at her throat kept her upright. "It's the only way," the voice whispered again.

She opened her mouth to ask what he meant but flames of pain erupted across her back, shooting up her spine, and into her brain. She arched her back and screamed an ear splitting noise but Snape clapped a hand over her mouth to silence her.

"Focus through the pain and breathe in, breathe out. Quit trying to scream you stupid girl, and breathe!" he snapped into her ear and she tried to follow his directions.

She opened her eyes and tried to control her breathing, but she saw Greyback striding towards them and her breath stopped in her throat again. The werewolf looked furious, not at her, but at the man holding her. "I always knew you were a traitor, Snape!" he roared out as the distance between them closed in.

Snape swore under his breath and shoved her to the ground roughly; she stiffened as she waited for the hard impact of the ground, but it never came. Instead she fell against something hard, yet not as hard as the ground. It smelled nice, like burning wood and sweat. She looked up into the same blue eyes she had seen earlier, and the black dots in front of her eyes danced in over her vision again.

"Stop fighting it." The gravelly voice said to her as their eyes locked. She looked at him in confusion. "Sleep." Almost as if her brain had been waiting for the command, it instantly obeyed his voice and the blackness overtook her.

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Hermione was lying against something soft and comfortable, but she didn't want to open her eyes. She could hear voices around her, but she couldn't place any of them. The soft thing she was laying on dipped, causing her body to shift and she groaned in pain.

"Open your eyes," a voice commanded and she at once recognized it as the gravelly one from the battle. She opened her eyes, then shut them quickly as the light of the room pierced her eyes like darts. She heard movement and then hands touched her eyelids, forcing them open again.

She opened her eyes and blinked several times to focus them. The man with the gravelly voice was sitting by her, and she vaguely recognized him but couldn't place his face. "Who are you?" she asked then winced in pain; her throat felt like she'd been swallowing nails.

"Ah, the questions begin already, but they will have to wait." he said as he looked at her. "You need to take this." Hermione took the vial from him wearily and sniffed it, recognized the scent of a pain relief potion, and she swallowed it quickly then was handed another vial. After sniffing it again, she swallowed it and felt her mind grow fuzzy. "Sleep," came the command, same as before, and her body obeyed without her consent.

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Hermione opened her eyes slowly to see an unfamiliar high vaulted ceiling and she (croaked out a moan from the cotton feeling in her mouth. She tried to lean up on her elbows, but her body wouldn't respond to her brain's command. She groaned again as her head gave an unpleasant throb and closed her eyes tightly.

"Ah, she lives," the man with the gravelly voice said, and she felt the bed dip as he sat by her again. "Here, take this," he said and handed her a vial, this time Hermione swallowed it without hesitation.

"Who are you?" she asked, feeling a strange sense of deja vu. She heard the man sigh and fidget at her question. "Please just tell me," she pleaded, "I need to know what to call you."

"Nott," he said simply; she froze completely, then turned her head towards him slowly.

"What did you just say your name was?" she asked, but before she got her answer, she had fallen asleep.

"Small favors," Nott said, as he covered her up again.

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When she next opened her eyes, she immediately saw the familiar ceiling of the Hogwarts Infirmary and breathed a sigh of relief. She sat up quickly, but the pounding in her head and the dizzy feeling she felt told her that perhaps that was a bad idea. She ignored her body's protests and swung her feet over the edge of the bed. She pushed herself up off the cot shakily. The infirmary had a few people in the beds, but not as many as she would have expected after a battle; she couldn't see the red or black hair of her friends and she sighed in relief.

"What are you doing out of bed, Miss Granger?" The harried voice of the school's mediwitch traveled to her ears, causing her to jump. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you, but you must sit down." Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but the witch was stronger than she looked.

"How long have I been sleeping?" Hermione asked the woman as she waved her wand.

"You've been here for about three days now, but the battle has been over for about two weeks."

"Two weeks?!" Hermione said, standing up gingerly. "What happened? Did we win? Is Voldemort dead? Is—is Harry—Is Harry alive? What about Ron? Did—Is he alive as well?" She asked in rapid succession her heart beating wildly in her chest.

"Lay back down right now, you are in no state to be up and about." Madame Pomfrey said as she tried to push Hermione back into bed.

"No, no I'm fine. Honest!" Hermione replied wearily. She felt a burning in her shoulder and she reached back to message it, but her fingers encountered gauze. As she tried to pull the gauze away from her shoulder, a firm hand grabbed her wrist tightly and pulled it away.

"Do not touch it," a familiar smooth voice said, and she looked around to see Professor Snape standing next to her. She searched his bruised face, but his eyes were flat and emotionless; the glow she had seen on the battlefield was no longer present. She jerked her arm away from his grip, and he let her go still looking at her face.

"Why the hell not?" she demanded, craning her neck to look at the gauze as if she could see through the fabric.

Her professor didn't answer her question, however; instead he turned to the older witch. "Is she free to go, Poppy?" He waited semi-patiently as the woman ran a few scans over the younger girl, but said nothing in protest.
"She needs to rest Severus, she is still very weak. Her magic is still recovering from being—"

"Yes, thank you, I will take care of it!" Snape said, cutting the nurse off sharply. "Come Miss Granger."

Hermione hesitated as she watched the man walk down the ward, but she followed him slowly out. "Where are we going Professor?"

He turned around and glared at her. "Ah, the insufferable know-it-all has regained her voice. Happy day," he said sarcastically.

"You know, Professor, I think I preferred you more when you were silent," Hermione snapped at him impatiently as she walked; her fist clenched tightly against the pain that was radiating through her body from her shoulder.

"Watch your tongue Miss Granger! I may not be able to take points from you, but I assure you I can make your life a living hell." Snape snarled at her as he continued his quick pace up the corridor. Hermione glared at his back, but followed behind him in begrudging silence. She looked around and saw that they were heading towards the headmaster's office.

The stone gargoyle jumped aside as they walked towards it, and they continued up the stairs in silence. Professor Snape grabbed her arm tightly and shoved her through the office door forcefully.

"Believe it or not, Professor, I am quite capable of following direction and do not appreciate you manhandling me." Hermione snarled at him as she blinked away tears of pain that had swelled in her eyes as his actions twisted her shoulder. She clenched her teeth to keep from crying out and shut her eyes to keep the tears from falling. After a few calming breaths, she opened her eyes again and found herself staring at the portrait of Dumbledore.

"Hello my dear," said the old man in his portrait.

"Professor Dumbledore, how are you?" She said happily, not realizing how foolish her question sounded until Snape gave a snort of amusement behind her.

"Quite well I imagine, child, and how are you?" Hermione just shrugged at the question.

"Drink this." Professor Snape commanded as he shoved a vial into her hand. She took it, but sniffed the contents before she tipped the liquid down her throat and flinched at the bitter taste. A sigh of relief escaped her as the pain vanished from her body and she took the next vial he handed to her. She smelled it again then swallowed the contents as well.

"Why—" she started to ask but he took a book off the desk in front of her and shoved it into her hands before she could finish her question.

"Read," He commanded imperatively then walked away from her to look out the window.

She glanced up at Dumbledore's portrait, who nodded at her and winked. She looked down at the book and felt her curiosity peak at the sight of the cover.

Hermione read the book with a snort of humor, then looked up at her professor who was glaring at her intensely.

"What is so funny, pray tell, Miss Granger?" Snape hissed in a dangerously low voice.

"Imagine what people would say I they were to know that the nickname 'giant bat' is actually correct!" Hermione said as she tried to keep the bubbles of amusement from erupting out of her mouth. The look on her professor's face, however, was enough to cut her amusement short. She gasped in amazement as the man in front of her suddenly shifted into a bat.

He was pure white with two black wings. Hermione sat transfixed, staring at the creature until she felt herself slowly leaning forward. Her professor's beady eyes watched her closely as she slipped from the chair to the floor so that she was kneeling in front of the bat When she was on the ground, his head was level with hers, but were she upright, he would be about knee high. She slowly reached her hand out to touch the bird almost forgetting that it was her professor but before her hand could make contact, her human professor was standing in front of her again.

"So—what does this mean for me, sir?" Hermione asked as she climbed back into her chair as her professor took the chair opposite her.

"You are now my mate. Oh, don't look at me like that! I'd rather touch the giant squid, you stupid girl!" he snapped at her affronted look. "Your life will go on as it normally would, because trust me, I have no desire to be stuck with a know-it-all brat for the rest of my life."

Hermione bit back the retort that was on the tip of her tongue, and instead asked about the gauze on her shoulder. She winced slightly as her professor grabbed her wrist and dragged her from the chair she was in. He shoved her over to a mirror then yanked her shirt down and she turned her head so she could see her shoulder.

She watched as he pulled the gauze away carefully and she gasped out when she saw what was there. On her shoulder was a mark that looked exactly like his bat form had. The pain she felt earlier came rushing back, breaking through the pain relief potion she had taken earlier. She turned to look at her professor.

"You were correct about one thing, sir," she said as the familiar black dots popped up in her vision.

"What was that?" Snape said in a bored voice.

"You certainly can make my life hell," Hermione said back, trying to smile but the blackness licked her brains. She slumped to the floor feeling the Professor's arms catch her as she went under.

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Severus caught Hermione as she fell and hoisted her into him arms. He walked over to the fireplace and managed to throw a bit of floo powder into the fireplace calling; "My quarters!" then stepped through.

He laid the girl on his couch and stepped away from her, feeling unease course through his system. He frowned as he walked over to his mantle to pour himself a healthy serving of whiskey and sat down in an armchair. He stared into the fire and sipped the drink as his mind wandered to the night he'd bitten her.

++++Flashback+++++

He was standing in front of Miss Granger as she lowered her wand to her side, and he sneered at her display of dropping her defenses; stupid girl. Movement over her should had caught his attention, the reprimand freezing in his throat; the sight of Fenrir Greyback stalking towards the girl made his blood freeze in his veins. The girl had seen his eyes shift and he rolled his eyes as she foolishly turned around to face the werewolf.

"Severus, you have to stop him," Nott said from next to him, and he looked over at his friend.

"You do it if you're so sure," he snapped in irritation.

"Severus," Nott called in warning.

His feet flew forward at the soft command of his friend, until he was standing just behind his student. He grasped her neck in his hand and squeezed, allowing a certain amount of air to be cut off. He lowered his mouth slowly to her shoulder never taking his eyes from the angry werewolf in front of her and he bit down. Blood rushed into his mouth making his body feel overly heated at the coppery taste, but Greyback snarled at him in fury turning his attention from the girl back to the threat. He whispered a few words to the girl then shoved her aside, thankful that Nott was there to catch her rather than slamming her into the ground. Greyback launched at him instantly, but he felt his body shift and his arms spread into leathery wings. He swooped and dug his nails viciously into every inch of the werewolf he could reach; he didn't let up his attack until the body beneath him had stopped moving and was covered in blood. It only took a moment of focus before he felt himself return to his human state. He turned his head to look at his friend who was cradling Miss Granger in his arms.

"It is done."

++++End Flashback++++

Severus swirled the contents of his tumbler and looked over at the sleeping girl still lying on his couch. As if his life wasn't complicated enough, now he had just added the insufferable know-it-all to the mix; not only as his equal, but as his mate. A rustling noise drew him from his thoughts and he looked up to see a brown bat flying towards him gracefully; the bat transformed seamlessly into a man who took the seat opposite him.

"Nott," Severus said in greeting, holding up his tumbler.

"No, thank you. They are not happy Severus. They know now that you've turned your back on them." Nott said gravely. "She will be a target." Severus nodded his head in acknowledgement, but remained quiet.

"There are those who have also turned their back, they say that they will join us." Nott continued as he stood again. The two of them turned their heads as the girl on the couch stirred, Nott transformed once more into a bat; landing Severus' shoulder and squeezing it briefly before taking off out the window.

~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione kept her eyes closed after she woke up, hoping that perhaps it had all been a dream and she would wake up back in the tent with Harry and Ron. However, the crackling of a fire and rustling of movement told her that it was pointless.

"Open your eyes Miss Granger," Snape said. She mentally winced, but she opened her eyes. She didn't recognize the room she was in, but assumed it must be Snape's quarters. The pain in her shoulder had returned full force, making her whimper aloud before she bit her lip, stifling any other sounds.

"Are these your quarters, sir?" she asked her professor as he walked past her.

"Obviously," he said in a short voice as he continued on his way. He walked out of the room leaving her behind, but she had barely stood off the couch before he was back. He handed her a vial and motioned for her to drink, which she did so without hesitation.

"Thank you sir. May I ask what happened? With the war, I mean." Hermione asked in a small voice, mentally preparing herself for the worst news.

"The Dark Lord is dead," Snape said shortly, and he leaned again his fireplace to wait for her to continue her questions.

She kept quiet though, not wanting to irritate the man. He sighed heavily, "Miss Granger, ask your questions before you implode."

"Did—Did Harry—"

"The boy lives," Snape said calmly, though there was a trace of his usual bitterness in his voice.

"Good, good. Ron—"

"Also lives," Snape said with the same acrimony lacing his voice.

"Who did—who died?" she asked hesitantly.

"Remus Lupin, Tonks, Fred Weasley, and Misters Creevey," Snape said in a slightly less bitter voice, and Hermione blinked away the tears that were threatening to flow down her face.

"Thank you sir," she said in a small voice. The urge to touch her shoulder became overwhelming, and she slipped her hand back to massage it; as before, she found her wrist being held back by her professor.

"You really have a problem listening, don't you? Do not touch it!" he snarled at her.

Hermione jerked her arm away, "Why the hell not, Professor?" She almost smirked at the weird feeling of de ja vu that swept over her.

"Because, you stupid child, you are not yet ready for the consequences," he snapped back at her.

"What consequences, sir? You're being particularly vague on answers, and since you don't seem forthcoming with an explanation about this thing you've forced on me, perhaps you can point me to someone who is," Hermione grumbled to him as she looked up into his eyes. She was shocked and surprised at the look of hurt that crossed the man's features, but it was gone as quickly as it had come.

"Get out."

"What?" she asked in confusion.

"GET OUT!" he repeated firmly, and his words were accompanied with a force pushing her backwards to the door. When her back hit the wall opposite the door outside of the room, he snapped the door shut, making her flinch as the sound echoed through the corridor.

"Arse," she muttered as she headed back towards the infirmary.

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The next day dawned rainy and crappy as Hermione felt, she headed towards the Great Hall for some breakfast. She heard her name being called before she reached the door. "Hermione!"

She looked up and her face broke into a wide smile as she saw her two best friends with Ginny running towards her. She embraced Ron, kissing him on his lips gently, but pulled away with a slight frown. She turned and embraced Harry wincing in pain as he hit her shoulder.

"What is it?" Ron and Harry asked at the same time, making her grin again.

"Nothing, still sore from the final battle," she answered. They let the subject drop, for which she was thankful. "What happened at the end of the battle?" she asked Harry as they sat down with the few people who were still at Hogwats to eat breakfast. Harry started to retell his story, but she found her mind wandering slightly.

"—so then the curse backfired on him and killed him!" Harry finished dramatically.

"That's great, Harry! I'm so glad for you!" Hermione said as she jerked her attention back to him.

"Ron, Fred and George?" she asked gently, hoping not to upset him. Ginny bowed her head and she saw tears dripping down the redheads face, but Ron merely cleared his throat.

"Right, well Fred—Fred died by a bit of wall that got blown apart; it was fast, quick. But uh, George, well he actually didn't die until a few days after the battle." Ron said sadly, and Hermione could tell that he was fighting to keep his voice even. "He—He went home with Mum and Dad, then just went to Fred's room and lay on his bed. They found him like that two days later, but he'd already gone. Mum said it was from sadness, losing his twin and all."

Hermione felt tears drip down her face as she threw her arms around Ron. "I'm so sorry Ron, Ginny, I can't imagine." She looked over at Ginny who had her head in Harry's arms, and she hiccoughed.

"We had their funeral—" Ginny said through tears. "Buried them together, they would've wanted that, and just as they were sealing up their casket, you know, a bunch of their fireworks went off. Scared everyone silly but—but everyone said it wasn't them who set it off. I think it was them, ya know? Giving everyone a last laugh," She broke off as she started sobbing into Harry's arms again, and Hermione wiped her own eyes.

"Listen Harry, Ron, I know it's soon and everything but—I want to go find my parents, return their memories, you know?" Hermione said calmly, waiting for the outbursts.

"You can't do that yet 'Mione, we just got back." Ron said on a whine but Harry simply frowned.

"I know, I know, I'll wait a bit, but I am going to find them. I have to," she insisted.

"What about me?" Ron said in a pushy voice.

"What about you Ron?" she said trying to keep her temper in check. She had known that Ron swould throw a fit.

"We just got together, didn't we? I thought we were going to get married, settle down, you know."

"What? When was this discussed? I don't remember that conversation!" she exclaimed in alarm.

"Well, I just thought that now with the war over and everything, we'd you know get married have some kids," he said in a low voice.

"Ronald, I am not getting married and having kids right now! I'm going to finish school and get a job, and then we can talk about marriage!" Hermione said hotly.

"You don't need to finish school 'Mione! The Ministry will accept you just as you are!" he argued.

"I want to finish school Ron, after I find my parents," she said, trying to keep her patience.

"But—" Ron began, but a smooth voice cut across his argument.

"As fascinating as this conversation is, perhaps you can do it somewhere else? Where others are not attempting to eat," Professor Snape's voice drawled as he sat down next to Hermione.

Ron glared at the man, but stood up and grabbed Hermione's wrist, "Come on, we're going to talk about this."

She tore her arm away from his grip and remained seated, "I'm hungry and I'm staying here."

Ron opened his mouth to argue with her, but this time Harry cut him off. "Give it a rest mate; eat some food then after breakfast you can talk." Harry said in a weary voice. Hermione smiled at him gratefully and started eating again.

"Where are you going, Miss Granger?" Snape asked from next to her, watching Ron storm out of the hall angrily.

Hermione looked at him for a moment as she thought over his question. "I'm leaving for a bit, I need to get away from magic for a while, away from—away from here." She lowered her gaze back to her plate as she remembered that he was a master Legilimens. She felt his eyes on her as she ate but she refused to look at him. She finished her food quickly and excused herself from the table, still not looking at her professor.

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Hermione headed into the library to find all the books she could on magical bats. She smiled in greeting to Madame Prince but didn't stop to talk. She walked through the aisles, picking out books here and there, then carried them back to her table. A figure sitting at her table, however, made her freeze in her progress.

"Miss Granger, where are you going?" Professor Snape pressed again as he looked up from his own book.

"I have already answered that question, sir," she said calmly as she continued to the table and set the books down.

"Do not lie to me," he commanded in his usual teacher voice.

"I am not lying professor," she said evasively as she sat down and picked up one of the books.

"Need I remind you that—"

"That what? That I am now your mate, that I am supposed to suddenly become submissive to you and follow your command?" She hissed at him angrily. "Let me make something quite clear, professor, I am not going to be submissive to you, or Ronald Weasley, or any other man on the face of this earth. And Merlin himself will be back from the dead before I follow your orders," she snapped at him as she slammed the book she was reading down on the table, then turned and walked out of the library.

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Severus stared after her feeling quite startled at her outburst but he sighed in defeat. "Damn blasted women and their stubbornness," he said to no one in particular. He stood up and returned the books she had been reading to the shelves where they belonged. He walked out of the library and looked around hoping to see which way the girl had gone, but instead he heard the voice of two boys arguing. He shifted into his bat form and flew in search of them; it didn't take long for him to locate them as they walked down to the Quidditch pitch with their brooms over their shoulders.

"-Australia in the first place Harry," The redhead was saying.

"I know mate, but she had to do this. How would you feel if you took your parents memories because you were a target and you thought you'd never see them again?" Harry said with failing patience.

"She's not even healed from her injuries yet, Harry! You saw her when you bumped her shoulder. I doubt she's even healed from the ones from Malfoy Manor that the crazy bitch gave her." Severus flew closer at this, he had heard that the three of them had been captured and taken to the Malfoy's, but he wasn't informed of the specifics.

"It's her choice mate; you've got to let her go." Severus soared away from the boys and landed in a nearby tree, thinking over the conversation he had overheard. He ruffled his feathers in irritation as he thought about the conversation he would need to strike up with the girl, but he took off again anyways.

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Hermione was walking towards the front gates of Hogwarts when a bat landed in front of her, she jumped in fright, but recovered quickly. She stared in curiosity at the bat; it was brown and had large blue eyes that seemed oddly familiar.

"You were on the battlefield," she said finally, and the bird let out a noise in confirmation. "Well, what are you doing here?"

The only answer she got was the bat flying up to her shoulder, and she winced when its nails came into contact with her still tender mark. "Ouch! Blasted animal!" she said angrily, shooing the bat away from her. She reached back to massage it gently finally touching the mark and a tingling spread through her limbs. Her head throbbed painfully and she closed her eyes but when she opened them she was the same height as the bat. "What the hell?" she said out loud but the only sound that came out was a sort a strangled noise.

She looked around her, and a flash of black suddenly caught her eye. She jerked her head around and saw a wing lying near her. She tried to reach across to it, but it moved before she could touch it. She tried again but the wing moved again; a strange squeaking voice came from behind her and she looked at the bat to see it was laughing at her. "What are you laughing at?!" she demanded, but the strangled noise came out again. Instead, she glared at the bat as it walked slowly towards her and cuffed her with its wing then flew off.

She started running after the foul beast, but she didn't get very far before she got tired. She stopped and crossed her arms in annoyance. She glanced down to see that her arms weren't arms… they were wings? "What the hell?!" she squawked and tripped backwards over her feet in her shock. She held her wings out on either side of her; they were black just like Snape's. The bat landed in front of her again and she stared at it blankly as it took off again.

Hermione watched the bat as it flew off and got the hint that it wanted her to follow; she tried to move her arms up and down but it didn't do anything to get her airborne. She focused on getting her wings to work, she felt her feet leave the ground and she giggled in joy at getting it. She flew after the brown bat, and noticed it was flying towards the castle. The feeling of air under her wings was amazing, better than anything she had ever felt, and she closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation. She followed the brown bat into the castle and down to the dungeons but faltered when she noticed where they were going.

She saw Snape open his door when the brown bat clawed at it with his foot, and his jaw dropped when he caught sight of her. She flew into the room gracefully but slammed into an invisible force and found herself suddenly on the floor looking up at a very pissed off Professor Snape.

"What do you think you are doing?" he snarled at her, but she ignored him instead got to her feet shakily.

"I could ask you the same thing! I'm a fucking bat!" She screamed at him.

"I am aware of that, thank you," he said, his voice was shaking slightly in anger.

"Well, what are you so pissy about?"

"I told you not to touch your shoulder, you thick brat," he snarled.

"That other bat landed on my shoulder and it hurt, so I reached back unthinkingly to massage it," she said angrily, pointing at the spot where the bat had been minutes before. "Erm, there was a bat there. I didn't choose this!"

"You would have rather I let Greyback get to you?" he mocked her.

"At least then I would be able to kill the person responsible without feeling guilty!" she roared at him, not quite understanding what the big deal was.

"You selfish brat—"

"I don't have to listen to this. Goodbye Professor," she said abruptly and turned on the spot, storming out of his classroom before he could stop her.