Her Frozen Heart

Chapter 7

A week had gone by, and Riley had resumed teaching History of Magic. She still found it difficult to move at times, but her wounds were almost completely healed. Snape had offered to continue making her Wolfsbane Potion, but Riley had refused stating that she was more than capable of taking care of herself now.

Every night she was awaken by nightmares of Lupin hovering over her, his teeth bared. Riley would sit there in her bed trembling and listening as her heart beat echoed in the silence. During a moment of weakness she had actually considered going to Snape's room after one of the nightmares. Riley had been sitting there for hours too afraid to go back to sleep. She had gotten as far as placing her hand on the door knob before she turned and curled back up in bed. Though she disliked him, she had felt safe when he was watching over her. Riley couldn't forgive herself for allowing the attack to take place, nor could she forgive Snape for his part in it.

The last few days Snape had been avoiding her though he would never admit that. On several occasions Riley had slipped into the staff room and found Snape in his usual spot. The moment he would look up and catch sight of her he would make an excuse to leave. Riley could not decide what the reason was for his behavior. The two of them had never been the best of friends, but ever since she discovered she was a werewolf he had become even more distant with her. Did he find the truth about her so repulsive he couldn't even be in the same room now?

Riley felt as though she should thank him for his help. He had saved her from Lupin, and had tended to her wounds, but he never gave her the chance to do so. While she had been drifting in and out of consciousness she was surprised to discover him sitting there in that chair watching her. A look of concern was on his face, but it must have been her imagination. Since when had Snape cared about anyone but himself?

The truth was, though she would never admit it to herself, she didn't completely hate Snape. She had been surprised at his gentle touch when he was changing her bandages. Snape had been so careful as to not inflict any more pain. He would take his time when he cleaned the wounds before placing the new bandage on. She had felt so safe and at home with him those days in his care.

Riley sighed and decided to take her mind off of Snape by going to the library and getting a book to read.

With his rather large nose stuffed in the book he had just borrowed from the library Snape turned the corner and ran into Riley causing her to fall to the floor. "Bloody woman, watch where you are going!"

"Watch where I am going? You ran into me." Riley stood and brushed off her long straight line skirt muttering the entire time.

"What?"

"Nothing. Now could you move out of my way?" It was clear by her tone that she was becoming very irritated.

Snape continued to stand in her path. The top two buttons on her blouse were undone and Snape could see the white of her bandages. "I suppose I should have a look to see if they have heeled properly."

"If you insist."

"I don't. If you want to have nasty scars that is fine with me." Riley shook her head and rolled her eyes at the same time. "I only have this period free today." Riley shrugged and followed him back to his office.

Once they were inside his office Snape placed the book he had been reading on his desk and mumbled, "Take off your blouse."

"What, no wine first?" Riley felt very uneasy as she undid her blouse, her heart was beating much faster than normal.

Snape kept his back to her until she whispered that she was ready. He turned around and faced her. Had there not been a large white bandage on the upper part of her chest and one covering her abdomen he would have found the whole scene very erotic.

Riley stood a few feet away from him, her shirt in her hand. A few strands of hair had come lose from her braid and they curled slightly around her face. Riley wore a black lace bra that allowed her milky white skin to show through. Snape noticed that she was trembling slightly.

Stepping closer he undid the bandages and ran a finger over the faint lines that remained. "These wounds healed well. There should not be any scarring."

"That's good." Riley was surprised to hear the quiver in her voice.

Snape peeled off the remaining bandage and found that those wounds had heeled properly. Riley thought that he was standing much to close; she could feel his hot breath against her bare skin as he bent his head to look closer at her abdomen.

Snape stood up straight and looked at her. The look in her eyes confused him. Snape would have sworn that Riley despised him by the way she acted towards him, yet there was something else reflected in her eyes. Stepping back towards the desk he said, "You can put your shirt back on."

Riley buttoned her black silk blouse as fast as her partially frozen fingers would allow her. "Well, that's all settled then." Riley left the office and headed back towards the library.

Snape threw himself down into a chair. He was behaving like an idiot. It's not like he had never seen a woman before. Honestly he didn't even think she was that attractive, and he was definitely not impressed by her intelligence or conversation skills. Muttering he stood up and walked over to the fire. "Bloody woman can't even take care of herself. She's positively helpless."

The portrait hanging above his fireplace cleared its throat. "Professor, it's obvious you're smitten."

"Shut up!"

"Miss Granger is there something on your mind?"

"Sorry, Professor, I was just thinking." Hermione was sitting in Professor Riley's office going over the information she had managed to gather over Christmas Holiday.

"What about?"

"Nothing, Professor just little things." Hermione looked down at the papers.

"How have you been feeling, Miss Granger? Have your headaches gone?"

"Not exactly, Professor. I get them less often, but they are more painful now. I've been having very odd and violent dreams lately also." Hermione looked away. She felt very foolish discussing the fact that she had bad dreams with Professor Riley.

"Is there a certain time of day that you get these headaches?"

"Not really. The other day I had one in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and then I went to the library and another headache started."

"Were you working on the research in the library?"

"Yes, I was. Professor Montgomery was there. He actually helped me a bit with some of the work. He's really quite nice."

Hermione felt light headed as she walked down the corridor to the Gryffindor dorms. Sweat dripped off her forehead, and her stomach felt as if it were tied in knots. Just as she reached the portrait everything got black and she fell to the floor.

"Hermione!" Ron stood over Hermione as she lay on the floor unconscious. He had come out of the common room, and to his surprise had discovered her just in front of the portrait. "Hermione," Ron started to shake her causing her hair to fly about.

Moaning, she opened her eyes and looked at him. "Ron? What happened?"

"I don't know I came out, and you were lying here on the floor. Perhaps you should go to the Hospital Wing." Ron helped her to her feet and led her in the direction of the Hospital Wing.

"Hello?" Ron sat Hermione down on one of the hospital beds and went to fetch Madam Pomfrey.

Snape stepped out from behind one of the curtains holding a jar of orange colored paste. "What are you doing here, Miss Granger?"

"I fainted, Professor. I was walking back to the dorms when I started feeling really light headed, and then everything got black."

Much to Hermione's surprise Snape left the room at almost a run. Madam Pomfrey came up to her side and placed a hand on her forehead. "Now dear, tell me what happened."

"Why did you not tell me about Hermione?" Snape jumped, turned around and watched as Riley made her way across his office. "Well, why did I have to wait and hear from Madam Pomfrey that Hermione had been in the Hospital Wing?"

"You are growing too attached to her, I can hear it in the way you say her name."

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Severus. All you had to do was stop by and tell me. It's my job to watch over her, and how am I suppose to do that if you keep me uniformed?"

Snape stood and walked up to her. "It is not my responsibility to keep you informed. If you were watching over her like you were supposed to be doing then she wouldn't have gotten the second part of the potion." Riley infuriated him. Snape couldn't believe that she was angry at him when she was the one at fault. If she had done her job he wouldn't have had the need to tell her about Hermione.

"Excuse me! Did you ever think she probably got it while I was lying there bleeding all over the place because you refused to make Lupin his potion?" Riley's face was scarlet, and her fists were clenched.

"Do not even try to blame that on me. It is not my fault that you stood there and didn't try to stop him." Snape's voice was low and shaky.

"I didn't have time to react. Lupin dived on me almost the second the door was opened."

"Well, you were stupid enough to open the door, weren't you?"

"I don't think you have any room to judge me for decisions I've made. I have heard many stories about your Death Eater days."

Snape hesitated for a moment, and when he did speak his voice was soft. "People change; I have made up for what I did in the past."

"You can never make amends for some things." Riley shifted her eyes away from him as if she was afraid of what she was seeing. Taking a deep breath Riley met his eyes again. "Your mistake has ruined my life, and I will not forgive you for that."

Snape found himself reaching his hand out to touch her arm. Riley slapped him across the face leaving the impression of her hand on his left cheek. "Don't!"

Overcome with rage and something else he would not name, Snape grabbed Riley's braid and pulled it hard causing her head to jerk back. A small cry escaped her, and she stared up into his eyes not understanding what was happening. Without closing his eyes Snape bent his head pressing his lips against hers. Riley put her hand on his chest and pushed with all her strength. Snape kept his grip on her braid and forced open her mouth. Riley tried to speak but her words were muffled. She would not give in to him this time; he would not make a fool of her again.

Snape moved his hand down her back resting it just above the top of her skirt. His kiss became gentler, and Riley found herself once again melting in his arms. Riley put her arms around his neck and let her fingers slip through his hair. Snape used both arms to hold her so tight it took her breath away. They parted, and Riley met his gaze. Snape stepped back from her and looked as if he had just realized she was standing there. A look of confusion spread across his face. His arm brushed her side as he walked past her out of the room.

Hermione sat in the stands watching as Gryffindor faced off against Slytherin. The wind was whipping her hair across her face making it difficult to see. Raising her binoculars she followed Harry as he darted in between two Slytherin's who tried to knock him off his broom. Gryffindor was up 50 to 30. Professor Montgomery sat down on the bleacher beside her. Leaning in close to her he whispered something only she could hear. A strange feeling went from her head down to her toes. Slytherin scored and Hermione jumped up and screamed over the crowd, "Go Slytherin!"

"Hermione!" Hagrid grabbed her arm and jerked her back down. "What are you doing?" Hermione looked around at the faces staring at her.

"What?"

"You just jumped up and cheered for Slytherin."

"I did not." There was a quiver in her voice. She started to feel light headed again and everything seemed to be spinning.

"Hermione, are you all right?" Hermione fell forward smacking her head on the bleacher in front of her.

"Blimey!" Hagrid scooped Hermione up into his massive arms and tried to make his way through the crowd. "Get out of the way!" Hagrid reached the doors to the school and discovered Dumbledore waiting for him. "Professor?"

"Bring her to the Hospital Wing, Hagrid." Dumbledore led them to the Hospital Wing where Madam Pomfrey was enjoying a cup of tea. "Poppy, would you have a look at Miss Granger?"

Madam Pomfrey used a purple paste to clean the cut on Hermione's forehead. She pulled back her bushy hair and taped a bandage over the wound. "She should stay here tonight, that's quite a nasty cut on her head."

"Hagrid, you can go back to the game now. Oh, and would you please tell either Professor Snape or Professor Riley to come to the Hospital Wing?"

"Yes, Professor, right away." Hagrid took one last look at Hermione and shuffled out of the room.

Dumbledore stood over Hermione and sighed. "You poor child, I hope this does not end up being too much for you to bear."

Snape stepped up beside Dumbledore and looked down at Hermione. "What happened, Headmaster?"

"The potion is taking a very strong hold on her. They are already capable of controlling her for a brief moment; if the last of the potion is administered I can't even imagine what will happen." Snape looked at Dumbledore and saw the apprehension shining in his eyes.

Riley sat in Dumbledore's office watching him as he stared down at his hands. "Headmaster, perhaps we should tell her. We need to do something in case the last of the potion is somehow given to her. Potter needs to be put somewhere safe, so she cannot harm him."

"I agree, Emma. Miss Granger needs to be told of what is happening. I suppose we probably should have told her from the beginning."

"I understand why you did not, Headmaster. It would have been a lot to handle, but I do think she is capable of handling it. Hermione is an amazing girl." Riley looked away from Dumbledore's penetrating gaze.

"I know how you feel about her. I too have found myself crossing over the line of student and professor. There have been many times when I have found myself wanting to protect Harry. There are some things I wish I had told him long before. ..." Dumbledore stopped for a moment. "Miss Granger is very dear to you, and that is why I trust that you will do whatever is in your power to keep her safe."

"Shall I go and get her?"

"I believe she is already waiting for us, Emma. I asked Poppy to send her up once she thought she was well enough." Riley rose and opened the door.

Hermione was sitting on a small sofa her head bowed and her shoulders slumped forward. "Miss Granger?" She looked up and saw Riley standing in the doorway with an encouraging smile on her face. "You may come in now."

Hermione followed Riley back into the room and took the seat next to her. Hermione sat with her hands folded in her lap and her legs crossed at the ankle. She knew that something was wrong. Dumbledore cleared his throat and looked at her over his spectacles. "Miss Granger, I have something I need to tell you."