The day seemed to go by quickly and drag endlessly at the same time for Hermione. She hurried around the infirmary with Pomfrey, tailing behind her and helping as much as she could. Eventually, she split from her and helped students on her own since they were swamped after some fourth years were badly injured after taking a stroll under the whomping willow.

She was able to release the majority of the quidditch teams today, which cleared room for the little group of fourth years. However, James Potter remained. His broken pelvic bone was being stubborn and wasn’t setting properly, causing Pomfrey to repeatedly break it and re-mend it.

Hermione replaced the water at his bedside table and refreshed his sheets for him. He was sleeping soundly, as Pomfrey kept him for the most part. Hermione turned after assuring herself that he was well off, and almost ran right into someone.

Startled, she took a step back and clutched at her chest, “Oh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t even notice you coming up behind me!”

Lily Evans gave her a small smile and tucked a sheet of dark auburn hair behind her ear, staring at James laying peacefully in the hospital bed. “How is he doing?”

Hermione turned to look at James and warred with how she should handle telling the witch. On one hand, she knew the young girl would want to know the truth, but on the other, she wasn’t sure she wanted to worry her. “He is healing. Pomfrey has been keeping a careful watch over him.”

Lily nodded absently at that before smoothing down one of James’ riotous curls of black hair. Her hand gently swept over his cheek and lingered there for a moment before she pulled away and looked at Hermione levelly in the eyes. “I know you have been hanging around Severus.”

Hermione was shocked at the abrupt change of subject. Especially from Lily. “I guess I’m not really sure what you mean-“

“I’m only bringing it up because,” Lily paused and her green eyes sparkled for a moment with tears. She blinked frustratedly and looked down at James and took a steadying breath, “Well, because Severus and I used to be friends.”

Hermione was floored. She wasn’t sure how to respond. She definitely hadn’t seen that coming since Lily allied herself with the marauders and they and Severus seemed to hate each other with an intensity she could only compare to Harry and Draco. “You were friends? As in, you’re not now?”

Lily wiped angrily at a tear that escaped from her, “No. We are not.” The vitriol in her voice was poison to Hermione’s ears. “We were friends from childhood. He was my best friend up until our fifth year. But there comes a time when you have to decide if the friendship is worth fighting for and I felt like I was the only one truly invested in it anymore. He said some really horrible things to me and it pushed me over the edge. I couldn’t handle the constant fighting between James and Sirius and Peter and Lupin and him. I just needed to end it, and no one was going to grow up and get over it. And Severus’ hatred went much deeper and was much darker than anything that I had ever seen before. He truly wanted to hurt them, Acacia. It scared me, if I’m being honest. So, one day when James and them were tormenting him, they pushed him too far and he lashed out at me for being their friend. He made me chose a side… and I guess you can tell what happened after that.”

She went quiet for a moment and Hermione put a hand on her forearm gently, reassuring her with a small smile. “I’m sure whatever he did can be mended-“

Fire sparked in Lily’s green eyes, “No, you don’t understand. What he has become…he is too far gone. If what he said that day were only words, of course I would have forgiven him. But he is too far gone. He is dangerous, Acacia.” She gripped Hermione’s arm and pulled her close, Hermione’s amber eyes going wide at the scared look in hers as she whispered furiously, “There are whispers of a wizarding war starting soon, you’ve heard I’m sure?”

Hermione nodded in silent shock.

“There is a wizard who is threatening to erase all muggle-borns and return the wizarding world to its original ‘pure’ state. He is gaining followers en masse. What he does with his followers is terrible, torturing them into submission, then rewarding them with muggle-born victims. That’s what all those disappearances in the daily prophet are about. He is capturing them and torturing them for fun then murdering them. He wants to eradicate half the population, do you understand what I’m saying?”

Hermione stood staring into the witch’s eyes, knowing full well what she was talking about but never having anyone spell it out so plainly for her.

“When Sev and I were talking, he was friends with a man named Lucius Malfoy who is a few years older than we are. He was putting ideas into his mind then about joining this dark wizard’s rank and that was two years ago! I had many arguments about him over it then, and I haven’t been around to argue with him lately. Do you understand what I’m trying to say? Do not trust him, Acacia. He may seem nice now, but I know him better than anyone here. And I am positive where his loyalties lie and its nowhere good.”

Hermione thought back to seeing his dark mark writhing against his pale skin when she had found him the hall the other night. And just last night when he was talking to Avery and Mulciber about killing her. “Lily, can I ask you, why do you think he went over to the dark wizard’s side?”

Lily looked a bit taken aback. She leaned back and released the iron like grip she had on Hermione’s forearm as she thought. “Well, he had a really tough childhood. Then he came here and had a rough go of it here as well. I guess, wouldn’t you go to a place that offered you acceptance and a sense of belonging after a life like his?”

Hermione nodded. “I guess I would.”

Lily returned her attention to James and squeezed his hand and gave him a small smile, “Do you mind if I sit with him for a while?”

She looked at the clock and saw it was almost time for her to meet Severus. “You can stay until eight, but then I am leaving and need to ward the hospital wing.”

Lily nodded and perched on the side of James’ bed, kissing the back of his hand tenderly.

Hermione hurried off to finish her rounds before Severus turned up.

- - -

Hermione paced nervously outside of the hospital wing after sending Lily on her way. She sent her a few minutes early, hoping she wouldn’t run into Severus in the halls, knowing what she knew now. She didn’t need any more hexes flying or awkwardly run detentions under her belt. Though, she could use Lily Evan’s potions expertise in helping her catch up on some of her brewing. She and Severus were the top potioneers in the school. Leaving James, Sirius, and Lupin to be the top students in every other subject. She wished school had come so easily for her when she had been attending Hogwarts. Instead she would have long nights in the library, pouring over books for hours only to help Harry but mostly Ron when she returned to Gryffindor tower.

She hated to admit it, but she was terribly nervous meeting Severus. She knew, deep down, that he was a good person. But something about what Lily had said to her had shaken her. And what if in this time he wasn’t such a good person yet, after all? He had taken the dark mark, so she knew he would not think highly of her if he knew of her status and he had just considered killing her last night. But he wanted to get information from her first. Unfortunately, he would be hard pressed to find any since she had nothing for him that she knew of.

She turned and saw a dark figure stalking towards her and knew that was Severus. His robes billowed behind him, as they did in her time, signifying who he was. Hermione froze in place, waiting as he drew closer to her.

His dark eyes were fixed on her as he walked up to her and stood in front of her, towering over her small frame. “Good evening.” His deep voice vibrated through her, sending shivers down her spine.

She inclined her head to him, “Severus.”

“I thought we could go to your potions room to talk, if that’s alright?” He pulled nervously at the cuff of his robes.

Hermione nodded and quickly smiled, “Of course!” She led him down the hall to her personal brewing chambers and opened the door, only to be hit by a wave of humid, hot air. She grimaced at the heat and saw she had nine cauldrons on a stasis charm, bubbling happily causing the humidity and the heat. There was nothing she could do about the heat, unfortunately. There were no windows in the small room. “I’m sorry about the heat.”

Severus unbuttoned the top button of his white under shirt and loosened his tie that was under his wool sweater. He was going to be hot in this room.

Hermione dragged over two stools and perched on one of them, inviting Severus to do the same to the other. “So…what have you been dreaming about?”

Severus eyed her suspiciously, “You first.”

Hermione’s cheeks went red and her eyes dropped to her hands that were fidgeting in her lap. “Well, I’ve had three dreams so far.”

“And they’ve all contained me?”

“Erm… yes.” Hermione looked up to see the corner of Snape’s mouth twitch up and she had to control her eyes from rolling. “Oh, please. It’s not as if I’m wishing this upon myself, Severus.”

“Please, do go on.” He gestured for her to continue.

“Well, in the first one, I was brewing a potion and you showed up and wanted to get some sort of information from me. I refused and you asked me why I didn’t trust you. That was near the beginning of term”

Snape was quiet and seemed to be contemplating what she said.

Hermione took a deep breath before going on, “In the second one, you showed up in my rooms. It was shortly after I had taken you that night you were left in the hall. You were asking me about your mark. And you much more…hands on this time.” Hermione’s face flushed furiously.

Snape snorted and smirked. “And what did I ask you about?”

“Well… you asked me why I took you in when I knew what that mark meant.”

Snape’s face sobered and he gave her a level look. “And what did you say?”

This was it. Was she going to be truthful with Severus and tell him what she said in her dream and risk him knowing information about the future or would she lie and risk him knowing the dreams already and knowing that she was lying to him? “I-I said that I knew what kind of person you were.”

Snape’s black eyes glittered dangerously, “And what kind of person am I, Acacia?”

“I spoke with Lily Evans today.” Hermione said abruptly. Severus frowned and Hermione enjoyed the off-guard look she got from him. “She told me you used to be friends.”

Severus slowly nodded, “Yes, we were friends for much of our childhoods and up until two years ago.”

“She told me you had a row and it was the breaking point for her. That she couldn’t move past it. She told me you had a rough childhood and then came to Hogwarts and were tormented by James and his friends. And then you made her choose sides and she chose to stay with James over you.”

She could see the anger raising in Severus’ eyes. “Had a great time chatting about me, did you? Did it ever cross your brilliant minds that maybe I don’t want to be the subject of your gossip?” He spat at her.

“I know exactly who you are, Severus Snape. You are a death eater and you chose the side of the dark.” Snape’s lip twisted in fury and his jaw jutted out in disgust. “I also know that you were abused as a child and came to Hogwarts looking for a refuge and found none. You found a friend in Lily who turned you away when you needed her the most. I understand why you chose to become a death eater, Severus.”

Severus’ fury seemed to quell and his chest deflated in confusion, “You-? What?”

“You have been scorned by nearly everyone, of course you would turn to someone who offered you acceptance and belonging. I don’t know all the details of what you have been through, but I do understand why you have done the things you’ve done. I don’t believe that you actually want to eradicate muggle-borns. How could you? You’re a half-blood yourself, aren’t you?”

Snape looked shocked, “How did you-?”

“I’ve done my research on you, Mr. Snape. Your records are easily accessed in the hospital wing.” Hermione’s eyes softened. “Your best friend was a muggle born and you are a half-blood. I don’t believe for a second that you believe in the cause you’re fighting for.”

Severus looked like he was warring with himself. He absently rubbed at his left forearm. His dark eyes met hers and for the first time, Hermione felt like she was seeing the real Severus Snape. “He will kill me if I try to leave.”

“I don’t know how we are bonded, but somehow we are sharing these dreams, Severus. So I know that you have seen them too. Do you remember what I said to you in the last dream? About Dumbledore?”

Severus slowly nodded, “You said he trusts me, which I don’t really understand-“

“You don’t need to understand it. Go to Dumbledore and tell him what you have done. Tell him about Lily and that you want to make amends. He will understand, I promise. But you need to do it soon, otherwise you are going to be dragged into the Dark Lord’s inner circle too far and there will be no going back.”

“How do you know all of this?” Severus glared at her suspiciously.

“I know Dumbledore well, and I can tell how this war is advancing. I can see how things are going and it won’t be going well for you if you continue on this path. And I know this isn’t you, Severus.”

Severus nodded and his face looked paler than usual. Hermione reached out and slipped her hand over his in reassurance and was shocked at the sight before her. When she touched him, silvery scars swept over their skin, wrapping around their hands and up their forearms. Her eyes met his in shock. She watched as he traced his finger over one of the welts and a pulse of intense magic snaked through her, sending a shiver down her spine.

He retracted his hand abruptly and the silvery welts disappeared immediately. His brows knit together in confusion and Hermione rubbed her hand absent mindedly. “That was strange.”

“I’ve only ever seen something like that once, but I haven’t taken an unbreakable vow with you, so that doesn’t make any sense. And it didn’t act the same, but it looked a little similar, except it vanished once we stopped touching.”

“Did you say unbreakable vow?” Hermione’s heart was racing. No. This couldn’t be right. She had only read of such things. There was no way that this had happened to her and Severus.

“Yes, it’s a contract where two wizards interlock hands and vow something and if its broken, the person who breaks it will die.”

“It’s considered a vow though? Like a promise made to one another?” Hermione asked, her heart felt like it was going to explode from her chest.

Snape looked particularly annoyed, “That’s what I said, Cresswell.”

Hermione knew what kind of magic this was. She didn’t need a book to tell her that she had made a magical marriage vow with Severus Snape. And it was affecting them both until death did them part, including their pasts.