The Power of Pain

Chapter 14

After Minerva had excused herself, and Snape had returned his beloved chair to it's original design, the day had dragged onward. Snape felt himself unsure of what exactly to do at with the girl who at present laid against the lounge staring out the window. He knew she couldn't actually see the beautiful front lawn but it did give him some sort of comfort that she was at least looking away from him.

She wasn't strong enough mentally or physically to brave another trip inside her mind, nor to let him go searching himself. It left him at an impasse, he had to wait until she was strong again before he could seek out the demon who threatened her life even now.

After his shower, he'd managed to put himself back to rights, the return of his beloved frock coat had set him a bit at ease as he was able to layer himself back up. The potions sent from Madame Pomfrey aided in his headache and fatigue relief.

He had made them a light lunch of broccoli soup and soft bread. It had been a difficult and trying process to get Hermione to even try it. She had worn his patience thin before finally turning her head towards him and taking a small sip. He'd put her soup in a cup, not wanting to have to spoon feed a blind woman and risk making a mess. She managed a full three sips before she very rudely pushed his hand away turning her head from him. He had growled at her and she snarled back at him. It was a very interesting trade of territory marking.

To which he relented with a deep sigh setting it on a table he'd moved next to her transfigured chair. He promised to try again later to which the witch turned her back on him. It now sat hours cold as he turned a page in the book he was researching, a spark of inspiration having lured him onto a new path.

She seemed deeply lost in her thoughts, until mid afternoon when she expressed her extreme boredom. She had begged him for something to occupy her mind. So there they sat, the sun waning behind the trees. Severus had his research text open on his lap as he softly read to her. It was dry and very technical material but he had watched a soft smile come to her face as she absorbed the information. He had forgone any attempt at small talk when he paused between passages taking down notes. She waited patiently for the scratching of his pen to cease knowing he'd pick up again where he'd left off.

Hermione hadn't meant to be so cold to her care taker. In fact, she was mostly terrified that he'd realized she had slipped into his dream and knew that it was her who stood before him. Her fears kept her from trying to be too friendly to him. Though she very much wanted to hug him tight and swear to him that everything would be okay. That despite this new pit of despair, she was eternally grateful to be out of her former prison. She knew better of it.

She knew such useless words would be wasted on a man of his character. That he didn't need words but actions. She had spent the better part of the day just trying to think on how she could show the man her gratitude. When he had tried to feed her, she hadn't meant to push him away but her stomach had resisted most painfully and she didn't want to throw up all over everything.

Her back had started pulsing softly with a dull pain, from the top of her neck down to her tail bone. It had made it nearly impossible to get comfortable on the chair but she had tried her best, choosing to keep her face away from him so he wouldn't pick up on her discomfort.

Her mind drifted a bit as she felt fatigue wearing at her waking mind She shifted slightly letting out a small sound of pain as her back protested the movement.

The noise instantly caught Severus' attention and he looked over the brim of his book pausing softly before finishing the sentence he was on. His eyes narrowed, she was still faced away from him, the blanket having fallen to her deeply curved waist, the tank top she was wearing showed the top of her back and he didn't miss the ripple of a muscle near her neck that her hair attempted to obscure.