Chapter Nine

It was early on a Monday morning that she realized that there was an inexplicable sense of change in the air.

The halls were unusually chilly, the students and teachers looked pale and worn-out, Dumbledore was nowhere to be found for the better part of the time and the Slytherins had stopped jeering at the Gryffindors.

Draco Malfoy, having quickly recovered from Harry's curse, was more often than not absent at mealtimes, making Harry even more convinced that he was up to something. Harry himself spent most of his free time staring at the Marauder's Map, in a futile search of the tiny dot that depicted Malfoy.

Snape appeared to be constantly on the edge. Just like Malfoy, he had made a habit of missing meals. When he did emerge from the dungeons, it was only to subtract points from daring Gryffindors and frightened Hufflepuffs. Though he still sneered at Harry whenever the opportunity arose, it no longer seemed to entertain him.

There was a sense of change in the air, and Hermione didn't like it one bit.

It didn't help that she was more and more frequently plagued by nightmares featuring masked men in cloaks, high pitched laughter and jets of green light. Only too often she woke up in the middle of the night, barely able to stifle a scream at the recollection of a killing curse and a falling man. She was certain that her nightmares were closely linked with the feeling of anxiety that was creeping over the castle.

When she showed up for her Occlumency lesson the next Thursday, it was only to find Snape sitting at his desk with his head in his hands. She was mildly surprised that he hadn't even noticed her entrance – it was not like him. She coughed softly to alert him to her presence, and his head snapped up.

'Miss Granger,' he bit at her, seemingly annoyed that she had managed to catch him off-guard.

'I'm here for my lesson, Professor.'

He rose from his chair. 'I know that, Miss Granger.'

'Sorry,' she muttered, fidgeting with her wand. She made a mental note not to get on Snape's bad side tonight.

'Look at me,' he said, and she looked up. 'Legilimens.'

She'd been expecting the attack, and as such she was able to quickly and swiftly block him and throw him out of her mind. Even now she was surprised at the easiness with which this was possible – practice really did make perfect.

She looked back at Snape fiercely, half expecting him to launch another attack on her mind.

He didn't look like he'd be doing any such thing.

Snape stood bent over a little, his fingers curled around the edge of the desk. Sweat glistened on his forehead and his skin had assumed a sickly pallor. For a moment she thought he might faint before her very eyes. Then he looked up.

'That was ... very good.'

She blinked surprisedly. As far as she knew, Snape had never told a Gryffindor something they had done was 'very good'. She faintly wondered if Snape's sudden praise had anything at all to do with the fact that he looked close to collapsing.

'Thank you, sir,' she said, only a little unsteadily.

Snape's fingers closed tighter around the edge of his desk.

'I don't believe that any more lessons will be ... necessary.'

'You think I've mastered Occlumency?' she asked, slightly awed.

'Quite.'

A bead of sweat rolled down Snape's forehead. He looked ill.

'Are you all right?' She took a minute step forwards. Snape's fingers curled even more tightly around the desk.

'Much as I appreciate your concern, I am perfectly fine, Miss Granger.'

'Are you certain, Professor?' she inquired, stepping closer still. 'I could get Madam Pomfrey for you.'

'I am fine, Miss Granger,' he snapped. 'You'd do well to get back to –'

His breathing stocked and he began to falter backwards, his grip on the desk loosening. She had reached him in a second. Gripping him firmly under the elbow, she guided him down into the chair.

'Miss Granger, I do believe I told you I was fine,' he said when he'd caught his breath. Despite the obviously reprimanding nature of the words, Snape didn't sound very annoyed. He sounded more ... tired?

'Well, you clearly aren't,' she said, regarding him critically. 'I'm fetching Madam Pomfrey.'

'You will do no such thing.'.

'You're obviously not well,' she decided, planting her hands in her sides. 'If you don't want me to fetch Madam Pomfrey, I'll get Professor Dumbledore.'

Snape shook his head. The beads of sweat on his forehead glistened in the light of the candles. She sighed exasperatedly.

'Then what do you want me to do?'

Snape scrutinized her for a moment, and she briefly thought he'd try to dismiss her again. Then he raised a trembling hand and pointed at something behind her.

'In the cabinet. Invigoration Draught.'

She headed towards the cabinet and opened the doors, thankful that Snape hadn't locked it.

'Invigoration Draught is not a permanent solution,' she said sternly as she pushed aside some other Potions. 'If you're really ill, you're going to require medical attention.'

Snape only grunted.

Her fingers closed around the bottle labelled 'Invigoration Draught' and she took it from the cabinet. She uncorked the bottle and walked back to Snape, uncertain whether she should pour it into his mouth.

Snape, as though having read her thoughts, snatched the bottle from her hands and swallowed its contents.

The effect was immediate. Though Snape was still pale, some of the sickly hue had vanished from his face and she noticed his hands were shaking considerably less when he put down the bottle. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

'Good. Now let's get you to bed.'

Snape scowled at her. 'Excuse me?'

'You don't honestly expect me to allow you to walk about after this, do you?' she inquired, frowning.

'You are out of line, Miss Granger,' Snape snarled. 'You will go back to your dormitory now.'

Her eyes narrowed. 'If you send me away now, I will tell Professor Dumbledore about this.'

Snape looked as though she had slapped him, and, truth be told, she was shocked herself at her sudden daring leap. I blackmailed a Professor. Oh Merlin, I blackmailed a Professor.

Snape's jaw clenched. 'Fine, Miss Granger, you have me under your control.'

'Good,' she said, trying not to let her nervousness get to her. 'I will escort you back to your rooms and then you will sleep.'

Snape looked positively murderous at the prospect of being escorted back to his rooms and being put to bed, but he gave a tight nod anyway. She tried her best not to gape at him. Why was Snape so desperate not to let Dumbledore find out about his predicament?

Snape had already begun to cross the office, heading for a door she hadn't noticed before. She presumed it provided a shortcut to his rooms and hurried after him.

She reached Snape just in time to hear him mutter something under his breath, and the door swung open. He strode through and she quickly followed, trying not to show her curiosity too much. Snape's rooms had long been a favourite subject of the Gryffindor students – the general belief was that it was dark and filled with poisons and evil objects.

Reality was much more boring. Snape's rooms were plain, generic and empty. His living room, which they had just entered, looked more like a hotel room than anything. She wondered how he could stand living somewhere so ... impersonal.

Snape had already disappeared through a second door and she hastened after him.

His bedroom was equally plain as the living room, the only furniture being a wardrobe, a bed and a chair. The only things out of the ordinary were a black piece of fabric (a cloak?) that seemed to have haphazardly been thrown onto the chair, and an object that was lying on the floor next to Snape's bed. As Snape rummaged through his wardrobe, she bent, picked up the object and turned it around.

Her gasp must have alerted Snape, for he rapidly spun around and drew his wand. When he realized what had happened he looked at her accusingly and lowered his wand before turning back to the wardrobe.

The mask slipped from her fingers and fell onto the floor with a dull thud.

Snape had finished rummaging through the wardrobe and closed the doors with a flick of his wand. He looked at her expectantly, and when she did nothing he siged irritatedly.

'If you don't mind, Miss Granger, I'd like to change. Unless of course you've decided to give up on this ridiculous mission of yours.'

She scrambled up and turned her back to Snape, her face flushed and her mind still clouded over with memories of nightmares.

'Miss Granger.'

'Yes?' she asked, not looking around.

'What do you think you're doing?' he snarled.

'Letting you change.' It came out a lot more confident than she felt.

She could feel Snape's gaze burning in her back, but he said nothing. Perhaps he had remembered her earlier threat and feared she might fetch Dumbledore.

'You may turn around, Miss Granger.'

'What? Have you changed your clothes already?' she exlaimed incredulously.

She could almost feel Snape's exasperation. 'I am a wizard, Miss Granger, as you would do well to remember.'

'Sorry.'

She spun around. Snape had exchanged his voluminious black robes for a plain grey pair of pyjama pants and a shirt. It made him look much more human – and who would have thought Snape would have a reasonably nice body underneath all those robes?

Snape mistook her surprise for disapproval and scowled at her while seeking the support of the bedpost.

'Staring is very unbecoming, Miss Granger.'

She rapidly tore her eyes away from Snape's outfit, trying simultaneously not to show her embarassment at being caught gaping.

'All right then,' she said awkwardly. 'I'll go back to my dormitory now.'

She was already halfway out of the room when he called her back.

'Miss Granger, if you wouldn't mind ...'

She turned on her heels. Snape was still holding on to the bedpost. Her eyes drifted to his legs and she saw that it was no wonder he needed the support – he was positively shaking. The effects of the Invigoration Draught were probably beginning to wear off. Snape made an impatient noise and she realized she was staring again.

'Of course,' he said sneeringly, 'if you'd prefer to just stand there and indulge in my embarassment –'

She rushed towards him. Snape gripped her arm tightly with his free hand and allowed her to guide him to the bed. After a lot of effort Snape was finally sitting on the edge of his bed, looking every bit as bad as he had before taking the Invigoration Draught.

'I still think Madam Pomfrey should check up on you,' she said sternly.

'And I think you need to learn to listen, Miss Granger,' Snape spat, lifting his legs onto the bed. 'I've told you more than often enough that I don't require help.'

Hermione privately disagreed with that, but she wisely kept her mouth shut. Instead she pulled the blanket up to Snape's chin and began smoothing out the creases. It was only when she caught Snape's mortified gaze that she realized what she was doing. She quickly let go of the blanket.

'Right,' she mumbled, looking away. 'I should probably leave now.'

'Please do.'

She quickly escaped from the room, hoping that the red spots on her cheeks weren't too noticeable.

AN: I took some liberties with the use of Invigoration Draught - I don't believe the books mention its exact purpose.

AN2: I know Snape wears a nightshirt in canon, but I just couldn't bring myself to do that. x)