Disclaimer: Ah, to be the lovely JK Rowling for only one day. But alas, that will never happen. Most of what you will read in the next few minutes belongs to her very creative mind, not mine.

In the Morning


Morning dawned. A morning that signified the ending of many things, and the beginning of others. An ending of death and consternation. A beginning of life and peace. Innocent souls had been given for this one twinkling in time, when loved ones would be able to step out into the early morning light without worrying of what lay ahead. A Dark Lord had fallen along with his followers.

It had happened upon a beautiful field, not far from Hogwarts, where wildflowers grew in a plethora of colours. Now the sky matched the shade of the blood that had been shed. Harry Potter had defeated Lord Voldemort with a form of Ancient Magic, as future wizarding history books would tell students. But as Hermione Granger stood upon the field, in the same spot in which her best friends had passed beyond this world, she knew that it had been much more than Ancient Magic. It had been love, determination, and a willingness to die for the sake of all.

She wished it had been her instead.

It had only been a matter of weeks since they had graduated. Though it had been hard to leave the safety and comfort of Hogwarts behind, they had known that they would stay together no matter what was to come. They had looked towards the future with bright eyes and a strong determination, not realizing that the Angel of Death had loomed over them, waiting patiently and calmly. On that day she had told them she loved them. Now she wished she could tell them once more.

Ron and Harry had been eerily peaceful in their last few weeks, as though they had known. Hermione would have easily given her life for theirs...deep in the heat of battle she had not realized that her two best friends were dying. Guilt now ate away at the pit of her stomach like a cancer. She had been too late to tell them goodbye.

She stood there silently, watching as the sun rose higher in the sky...morning turning to noon. She watched as people went about cleaning the battlefield, apparating the wounded to St. Mungo’s and searching for any sign of more survivors. She watched as a few Aurors wandered through the bodies strewn across the ground, looking desperately for missing friends. She watched for hours and hours, knowing that it wasn’t safe for her to be there, but not caring.

Instead Hermione imagined that Ron and Harry were with her, teasing her about being so upset on a beautiful day such as this. But she knew they weren’t there, regardless of their overwhelming presence.

A slight breeze blew past her face, causing her messy tendrils to fly in every direction. She smiled softly at this, remembering how Ron had once loved to play with her wind-swept hair, especially after quidditch games. He had been a wonderful friend. And so had Harry.

Yesterday at this moment they had been with her. Now they were gone.

“Miss Granger, I have been looking for you.”

Hermione turned around, a strand of hair falling in her eyes from the wind. Severus Snape stood before her, adorned in his usual black, the cuts and bruises upon his pale face easily showing his contribution to the battle. He had given so much, but had received nothing in return. No medals, no recognition, no pat on the back. Albus Dumbledore would have happily given him this, but the old wizard was now dead, and such a thing was no longer possible.

“Who sent you?”

“No one. I came of my own accord, Miss Granger. The others knew you would be grieving in private and did not wish to disturb you. But I, however, became concerned for your well-being.”

“I am not planning on taking my life, Professor,” she said, knowing what he had expected. “Though I wish I could have taken their place. May I ask why you were looking for me? You’ve never been concerned before.”

“It’s not safe for you to be here.” He walked closer towards her, his black cloak billowing in the breeze, just as Hermione’s hair. “You have obviously lost a great deal. It won’t be easy at first, Miss Granger. It wasn’t meant to be.”

Hermione turned away, deciding to focus her attention on the sky rather than her mysterious professor’s dark eyes. “D–do you know what it is like to lose someone you love?”

“Yes. My mother died when I was young.”

“How?”

For a long moment he remained silent, and Hermione wondered if it had been wrong of her to ask. She had never thought that the man behind the snarls and black robes would know what it meant to love another, but now she realized how naive it had been to think such things. It gave her a strange sense of comfort to know that even the Potions Master all students feared knew what it felt like to lose someone close. To never be able to see a certain person’s face again. To experience the pain, frustration, regret, depression...

“My father killed her. He was a madman.”

Severus had not wanted to tell her; it was a subject that was not pleasant. It still made him angry to think that he had walked down the same path as his father. Because of his foolishness and his determination to be a part of something that gave him the attention he had so strongly desired, he had made a mistake, for which he had since paid a thousand times over. Albus Dumbledore had forgiven him for his misdeeds. But the family members and friends of the ones he had killed by his own wand would never grant him that. He did not blame them.

“Professor...I’m sorry.”

He glanced up from the hard ground, losing himself in soft brown eyes that showed nothing but sincerity and understanding. No one save Dumbledore had ever gazed at him like that. He didn’t deserve it, but it gave him an odd sense of comfort, and he appreciated the young woman for that. As he looked upon her now, Severus realized he had never really known her at all.

“Miss Granger, thank you for your concern.”

“Thank you for yours.”

Hermione blinked, then quickly turned away. She had never expected such a statement to come from that mouth, much less to be directed towards her. But after all that had happened, nothing really surprised her any more. She realized that regardless of the fact that she had been in his classroom for seven entire years, she knew nothing about Severus Snape. Nothing at all.

“You are tired, Miss Granger. You need rest. It will do you no good to dwell on something that you cannot change. Life will go on, regardless.”

“Will it, Professor?” She met his eyes once more, which caused a slight shiver to run down her spine. “How am I to live my life from day to day, knowing that it should have been me instead of them?”

“But it wasn’t meant to be you,” he stated, softly taking hold of her shoulders. “You are meant to live on. Potter and Weasley would not want you to spend the rest of your days in grief, now would they?”

“No.”

Severus released his hands from her shoulders, his eyes briefly glancing up at the bright afternoon sky, then coming back down to rest on the face of his former student. “Get some rest, Miss Granger. I’m sure your family is worried. Perhaps it would do you good to leave this place.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“Very well. Then I will leave you to your thoughts.”

Hermione quickly took hold of his hand, not really knowing what had caused her to do such a thing, but not particularly caring. All she understood at the moment was her strong desire for company and understanding, even if it came from the forbidding Professor.

“Please don’t leave me. I-I’m scared...”

Without thinking Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck, her small figure shaking from a sudden outburst of tears. She clung to him as though he was a lighthouse, guiding her safely through the perilous sea. As though he was her only hope in the world. Severus held her tightly in his arms, knowing that she was past the point of being hysterical. Because her body was weak and weary from the long battle, rest was what it needed more than anything.

He lowered her to the ground, awkwardly stroking her wind-tangled hair with his hands, and whispering soft words of reassurance in her ear as he cradled her in his arms.

Within moments she was asleep, her head resting in the crook of his shoulder. There she remained for several hours, and yet he did not mind. The sun lowered in the sky, afternoon faded into evening, and evening faded into a star-filled night sky. Within these long hours he thought about his past, as well as his future. He no longer knew where life would take him, nor did he really wish to know. But at the moment he felt an odd sense of comfort holding this young woman in his arms.

And then she awoke.

“I had such a wonderful dream.” She smiled warmly, her eyes meeting his. In other times Hermione would have found it most strange to wake up in the arms of her former Potions Professor, but at the moment she found it made her feel safe and warm. Comfortable. She glanced up to meet his eyes, his head outlined by the thousands of stars that dotted the night sky. He seemed almost ethereal. “It was about Harry and Ron.”

“Is that so, Miss Granger?”

Hermione did not answer, taking hold of his hand instead. He suddenly raised her up from ground, never letting her go. For a long while they stared at each other, finding comfort in the simple warmth of their clasped hands and in the understanding that passed between them.

“It was only last night when it all happened...”

Fresh tears now began to fall down Hermione’s face, burning her eyes and stinging her cheeks. Severus took his hand and gently wiped them away, leaning slightly closer as he did so. She could feel his warm breath upon her face, and her vision blurred as his dark eyes grew closer with every passing moment. Her mind told her sternly to back away, but her heart told her to give in.

And she listened to her heart this time.

She felt warm lips on her own, soft and gentle. The kiss deepened and became more passionate. Hermione encircled his neck with her arms, and Severus’s hands gently cupped her face. She opened her eyes and watched him as he kissed her, strands of his black hair falling across his face as he leaned into her touch. It gave her an enormous amount of comfort...comfort she had not felt since before Harry and Ron’s death.

Hermione broke the kiss, suddenly hearing a familiar voice coming from above.

“Look at this, Harry The moment we leave her she decides to start snogging that old bat Snape Well, if it makes you happy, Hermione. We want you to be happy.”

“Thank you both. I will never forget about the time we spent together.”

“Who are you talking to?” Severus asked, looking up towards the stars that graced the heavens.

She laughed, a beautiful sound. “Friends that I will one day meet again.”

And with that, they walked on together in the darkness of the night, not particularly knowing what the future held, but prepared to meet it in the morning.


Fin


A/N: I would like to thank my two wonderful Betas, Roslindis and BlackClaude, who both took lots of time and effort in helping me to bring this story to life. I am most grateful.

And to my readers, thank you for taking the time. Reviews are always appreciated.