Through Tinted Windows

Her efforts failed however and she fell onto the ground once again, her cheek resting against the cold stone floor. She resigned to lying like that, knowing that she had no willpower to even try again. She closed her eyes and lay limply, thinking of how like a cadaver she must have looked at that moment. Her cheeks were pale and her breaths were coming out in shallow bursts.

"But damn, Hermione, your one smart chick, aren't you?" she mumbled to herself in a bemused manner.

"What in the name of Merlin do you think you are doing on the floor?!" Snape exclaimed incredulously, holding her shoulders in a death-like grip. "What happened now?!"

"Bloody hell, would you ease your hold on me? It hurts!" she complained in a slight whimper.

The next thing she knew, she was swung into his arms once again, cradled in the warmth radiating from his body. Had she had the mind to move, she would have cuddled into his chest, inhaling the faint scent of spices and the dungeons he sought out so often when he was in Hogwarts. The man had a build that made her feel so safe in his arms. Her mind flashed back to Viktor and Ron, how ordinary and scrawny their builds were, leaving her wondering why she had even thought of either one to be able to protect her in any way. Here was a man who would risk his life for the greater good. Here was a man who had experienced so much and had the knowledge that she probably would never be able to possess in three lifetimes. This man may not have cared openly, but she knew he was capable of it by the worry that she had seen, hinted behind the mild irritation in his eyes.

Her mind drifted to the possibilities of having Severus Snape as a lover. She was well aware of the fact he would not be one to express himself in front of others but when they were alone... she shivered in growing excitement. Dear Lord, she admonished to herself, but this was your Professor! Allowing yourself to ponder of having a relationship with him would be scandalous!

In order to clear her head, she opened her eyes and checked to see where she was. Snape had brought her back to the red room and was about to put her back on the settee when the sudden pop in the fireplace got the two to freeze and stiffen.

"Well, well, Severus, I believe that I do owe you an apology."

Dumbledore's more than amused voice floated across the room and reached their ears like alarms of warning. Glancing down quickly, Snape placed Hermione hastily on the cushioned chair and straightened - his hooked nose held high - looking at the old wizard with as much dignity as he could muster, even when he could feel the heat creep up his neck. The old man was standing, his regal robes fluttered around him as he brought a lemon drop from a small container in his grasp to his quirked mouth.

"Headmaster," he greeted curtly giving a strained smile. "What a... pleasant surprise."

"Sir! I - well - I..." Hermione stuttered, trying to prop herself up but having shafts of pain course through her again.

"Severus," the Headmaster scolded, making his way towards the settee. He muttered a few words and waved his hand over her healing the woman of her bruises and lethargic feeling. "You know better than to leave the woman with such aches. Certainly you know a few healing spells. Or you should have had the decency to bring her to a medi-witch."

"I didn't think it was that dire to perform such a thing until now," he seethed. "Unfortunately, before I could commence, you happened by. And what, may I ask, has allowed us to be graced by your presence?"

All at once, Dumbledore's eyes lost the cheer Hermione was used to seeing and it had been replaced by something close to dismay. His gaze met Hermione's and it was then she realized there was something he needed to tell Snape.

"It is something that requires only your presence for the time being," the Headmaster said quietly. "Would it be possible to discuss this in another room?"

Snape's expression closed, leaving his face unnaturally neutral. Hermione could feel her heart pounding. What could be so important? she asked herself, panicking slightly herself. She watched them leave the room and exhaled, realizing she was holding her breath. After the Headmaster's healing process, her sluggish feelings dissipated and were - at that moment - replaced by a terrible sense of restlessness. She did not like being alone with nothing to do. The fact that Dumbledore had an unpleasant expression on his face did not help either as it foreshadowed the coming danger. Again she began to wonder just what the dreaded news was. Her stomach turned at the thought of the possible return of Voldermort or his little minions that had wreaked havoc for a full terrifying year. Getting up, she began to pace, wringing her fingers. The sound of the swishing robes released the tension from her body that she almost sprang onto the first person who returned.

"Dumbledore, you had better prevent such a thing from happening! It would be simply - ghastly to push through any further with this - this charade!"

"Now, Severus," the headmaster began, trying to placate the other man. The merry twinkle in his eye had returned ten-fold, revealing that the subject matter had not been as dire as Hermione had dreaded. "These aren't the types of things that I can interfere with."

"You are of the most powerful wizards in the wizarding world so by Merlin you can do something about it!" Snape raged.

"Uhm, may I ask what the big problem is?" Hermione interjected in a meek voice.

The two men swung to her - one body moving violently, the other pleasantly - but both giving looks that made her feel worried and calm at the same time. Before Snape could speak, Dumbledore started to explain the situation. "Dearest child, I'm afraid there has been a late addition to the rules of the Bachelor Auction that had transpired just yesterday."

"And - that is?" Her chocolate brown eyes held curiosity in its depths with a hint of hesitancy and fear.

"My dear," he said as soothingly as he could. "With each day, the area in which you are allowed to be apart closes in. So by the end of the week, the two of you will be - well, unable to move anywhere farther than one meter apart from one another."

She could only gawk at her former school headmaster. Severus let out a stream of expletives that raised the brow of Albus, who had rarely heard such words in his presence. "I cannot believe they did not give some sort of warning!" Severus shouted in anger. "The gall of them! Merlin, if only I could wring their little necks and use each and every Unforgivable -"

"Severus Snape, I believe that's just going too far," Albus warned.

"Oh, blah, you know that I'm mostly all talk when it comes to things like this," the raven-haired man snapped, glaring hotly at his senior. "I just like to imagine it all playing out then say it out loud and feel the rush of satisfaction that it gives just by doing so."

"Still," the older one said. "It couldn't hurt to at least be a bit more cooperative with the situation."

"I've been compliant enough! Have I not agreed to join this hoax of an auction you so wittingly brought me into? Is that not enough cooperation? It was against my wishes to enter it in the first place and now - now they've begun to make my life even worse by -"

"By getting you stuck with the likes of me, a second-rate, good-for-nothing muggle-witch who has no love life whatsoever and seems almost as desperate to get a boyfriend by joining things like the auction?"

Hermione's sudden interjection cut of Snape's tirade and brought him to stare at her in astonishment. He could see that she was struggling to hold her defiant and upright stance, but the tremble of her chin showed she was absolutely offended. He pursed his lips and lifted his head in regal manner. He would not lose face now. "Yes."

Dumbledore refused to say anything, but he sent a daggered look towards the other man. He had no right to say such an awful thing to the child! It was not her fault she got into the mess, yet Severus partially blamed her for his situation. How dare he! The old wizard hazarded a glance to the girl at that moment and felt his heart sag at what he saw. She was on the verge of letting her tears take over, but she still kept herself under control. What power the child had. Albus had to hand it to her for matching Severus's biting remarks - even the monosyllabic replies.

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, Sir," she bit out as coldly as she could, though her voice wavered slightly. "Your image of me fails to do me justice and I can at least say that much. For a potions master, your skills in observing sucks. If you want more accurate information, you had better do more research and stop being the greasy git-vampire you've been reputed to be because right now you're way off track."

He opened his mouth to spit out a retort, but closed it again when he could think of nothing to counter her little speech. He could feel the blood pounding profusely through his system - the rage so visible that his face was already turning beet red from suppressing it. The silence that proceeded was broken by a furious 'Bah!' from Snape as he threw up his hands in defeat and walked to a window to look out in the dull skies of Britain. His stance was dark and brooding and Dumbledore could tell that the conversation would be difficult - especially after he left.

"Well," the old man said, coughing uncomfortably and forcing a smile. "I best be on my way. Do take care - both of you." With that said and gaing no reply, he went back to the fireplace and threw floo powder down, muttering "Hogsmeade" and was lost in a puff of smoke.

Hermione and Severus stood where they were for a long while both berating the other for the exchange they had shared just moments earlier. Hermione felt the humiliation of her previous thoughts about the man and could feel her stomach turn in disgust. Severus felt his lips tighten into a thinner line and the embarrassment of his brash comments unsettling his digestive tract. Unable to stand her presence any longer, he quickly walked out of the room - feeling like a coward once again on the run. He had rarely stooped so low as to run away from his problems, but at that moment it seemed reasonable enough to do so. The object of his problems would not be able to be farther than eighteen meters by tomorrow so he was going to enjoy the space he had as much as possible. His thoughts black, he walked down the hallway, feeling as if everything was growing more and more cramped with each step he took.

Hermione watched him leave from the corner of her eye and felt a sigh of relief escape as he left. She knew that they both needed time to mope - it was just one of those times when moping would be acceptable. Her strength left her suddenly as the adrenaline she had used to compel her to speak her mind dropped away and she fell to the floor, breathing hard, her head bent in a pained manner. Had Severus stayed just a moment longer, he would have seen the salty droplets fall one by one from her chocolate brown eyes onto the marble floor.