averygoodun42 | The Prince's Wood, Part Three

Part One
Part Two

Still PG.
Still Drama/suspense, with a bit of humor added in
Word count is 100 x 9

The second week was spent trying to decipher Snape's behavior. He'd abducted her none too gently but had made sure she was comfortable before petrifying her. He'd threatened her with a gentle, innocent caress. He arranged for her comfort, yet she was most definitely his prisoner. He'd killed Dumbledore, but seemed almost reluctant to harm her.

And, most confusing, was when she'd tried to escape, he seemed most bothered by the damage done to his book.

She took his threat very seriously, but she couldn't help but feel almost safe.

She summoned the house-elf determined to enhance the library.

~8~

She read through all the psychology textbooks the house-elf had brought, but besides making a note to watch herself for Stockholm Syndrome, she found nothing definite that could precipitate Snape's behavior.

Nothing probable, anyway.

She had, however, determined that Snape was, in fact, a miserable git, though the technical terms were slightly different. She smiled at the thought of the boys expressions when she told them they were right and she was wrong.

Her smile quickly faded as worries for the boys came to the forefront of her mind again. She wished she knew what was happening with them.

~8~

"Um, house-elf?" she called, not yet having got the creature to speak to her. The house-elf appeared before with a deafening crack, bowed, and silently waited instruction.

"Do you have a name?"

The house-elf raised an eyebrow, but otherwise didn't answer.

"Can you speak at all?"

Again, the eyebrow rose, but no other acknowledgment or answer was forthcoming. Hermione frowned, but decided to forgo the issue at the moment.

"Would you fetch me news of what's going on with my friends, Harry Potter and the Weasleys?"

The elf eyed her suspiciously for a moment before disappearing.

~8~

The house-elf returned with arms full of parchments, but he seemed most reluctant to hand them over.

Hermione chuckled. "Even if Snape doesn't want me reading these, how is it going to hurt?"

Still eying her suspiciously, the house-elf slowly handed over the newspapers.

"Thank you," Hermione said, making sure to look the elf in the eye. "I really appreciate this."

The elf snorted as it bowed and then popped out of the space.

Hermione quickly set to work reading the papers and was surprised to find that the Quibbler had far more substantial news than the Prophet.

~8~

What she read was both disturbing and comforting. Voldemort had taken over. He'd even taken over Hogwarts, giving Snape the headmastership! Muggle-borns were being summarily rounded up and sent to Azkaban, while supporters of Harry and the Order were being executed. Brutally.

But Harry was still alive.

The Quibbler contended that if Harry were dead, Voldemort would make sure to display his body publicly. It was grim, but Hermione found hope in the logic. She almost felt like laughing. She'd never expected to find actual, logical sense in the Quibbler, but she'd never been happier to be proven wrong.

~8~

Little else in the news was good, however. The Prophet confirmed Bill Weasley's treachery, going so far as to proclaim him "a Wizard worthy of the name." The other Weasleys were listed as fugitives and were on the "most wanted" list right under Harry, and, surprisingly, Hermione herself.

She didn't know what to make of that piece of proof that Snape was telling her the truth. That he was defying Voldemort. For her continued safety.

Why would he do that for her?

The improbable reasons still didn't seem likely, but anything was possible. After all, the Quibbler was printing sense.

~8~

Hermione was still mulling over the possibilities when she felt Snape's approach. Despite her words to the house-elf, she didn't know how Snape was going to react to her having news of the outside world. As fast as she could, she gathered all the papers and tossed them into the fireplace.

She kept her back to the door and watched the papers quickly curl into gray nothings. When the door opened, she wasn't sure whether her shiver was from Snape's approach, or the dread of him finding our what she had done.

She closed her eyes and practiced Occlumency.

~8~

"Well, well, well," Snape drawled from the doorway. Hermione felt her skin crawl at his tone, but turned to face him. He was leaning against the door, watching her with a cold smirk on his face. As soon as she was facing him fully, he stalked toward her, stopping in her personal space. She tried not to flinch.

"And here I thought you just had a good memory."

She bit her tongue.

His brow quirked up, followed by his lip. She thought he looked like an ugly Elvis impersonator.

"You have learned."

He leaned forward, now only inches away.

"Good."

~8~

She forced herself to keep her eyes open and not back away, but she couldn't keep from shivering as he leaned closer still. His breath brushed her lips, as he leaned closer still. She forced herself to keep her eyes open, keep eye contact, but when his nose brushed hers, her resolve failed and she squeezed her eyes shut.

She felt him hovering over her. She waited for him to touch her, to do whatever he was planning to do, but after ten agonizing seconds... nothing. She cracked one eye open to find him smirking at her from the kitchenette.

Part Four