The Serpent and the Lioness

Chapter 3

Days transformed into weeks and slowly life in both households had taken on a sort of routine. Both families had found a sort of tense balance with those in their care.

Hermione spent her waking hours reading a book on Occlumency that Harry had given her; while Severus spent his waking time in deep meditation sifting through his mind, organizing, orienting and unlocking what was within. Even as the memories of their lives returned, each one had felt the other at times. A soft tug, a gentle brush, an emotion that wasn't entirely their own.

Severus had searched for the disruption and only found himself plagued with dreams of a woman who held no name. He had tried but failed, to identify her outline inside of his memories but there was still so much to filter through. So many days he had saved for later use.

Though when they would sleep, they would dream of the other, just out of reach, neither one could understand why they felt compelled to be together. Night after night, they would find each other, and each morning they would wake with the feeling that they had lost a part of themselves.

Hermione sighed softly closing the book she had read at least three times, she was ready to try and sort through her inner thoughts. With a deep breath, she laid back on the bed laying her arms out to her sides and tried to focus. She'd taken her potions, leaving her back wonderfully numb, lunch would be ready soon and Albus was visiting Mrs. Weasley for the weekend. She was alone, and it was glorious.

With slow practiced breathing, she felt herself drifting away from the waking world and into the void. She brought forth the image of how she believed her mind to be. A beautiful library filled with rows and rows of books. Each one containing a memory all its own. Even without the meditation, she had managed to retrieve many miscellaneous thoughts but they were jumbled, out of order and out of their time line.

It made it difficult to think at times as they would just trickle in when she'd hear someone speak a certain way or read a certain word. Her body had been no help, constantly plaguing her with aches and pains. Her back was the worst, and it had left her limbs lightly tingling if she'd sit too long in one position. The potions made her nauseous and she suspected that it was the sheer volume of them that made her stomach turn. She had tried to eat normal food but found that she just wasn't hungry most days. The potions were giving her some sort of sustenance but it wasn't enough, she had already felt thin to begin with, now she was just bordering on sickly.

Hermione furrowed her brows as her mind continued to drift, she could do this. She was, after all, one-third of the golden trio, the brains behind the brawn, the brightest witch of her age. She had never let anything stop her before. Why should she now? With another deep calming breath she refocused letting the feeling of soft cotton beneath her finger tips drift away and once more fell into the cold of the void.

Hermione found herself standing inside of a dim blue lit space. Cautiously, she turned on her heel looking out at the rows and rows of empty shelves. It was her library, books littered the walkways, disheveled, and scattered in every available space that wasn't the shelf. Her eyes turned down to look at the red and gold chair that was just a step in front of her. It was nice, she smiled and ran her fingers down its soft fabric. She noticed there was a side table as well and a fireplace warmly glowing to her right. It was the perfect space to spend time with her thoughts.

Taking a slow breath Hermione turned to her right into the nearest row. Moving to her knees she picked up the first book letting it fall open on her hands. It glowed at her touch and she gasped as the world around her melted away.