A Forbidden Connection by whittyleah
Chapter Notes: Huge thanks to my wonderfully amazing beta's Ginny_W and Claraminutes!
Hermione shook her head to try and make the memories go away. ‘You’re in the Weasleys’ garden, not Hogwarts.’
“Hermione, what are you doing out here?” She turned to see Ron Weasley walking towards her.
”Oh! Hi, Ron. I couldn’t sleep. I just needed some fresh air.”
”Yeah, I guess sleep has become harder, hasn’t it?” he asked as he sat down next to her, his fiery red hair shimmering in the early sun light.
”Yeah, a lot harder,” she answered before they fell into a comfortable silence.
”Do you want some tea? I could go make some if you’d like.”
“Sure, Ron. That would be nice.”
The young man’s face broke into grin as he got up from the bench and offered his hand to Hermione to help her up. His face fell again when Hermione ignored his outstretched hand and stood up herself. Noticing the look on his face, she immediately inquired what was wrong.
”Are you still mad at me?” Ron asked in response.
”Mad about what?” Hermione returned.
”You know… about what happened last year, with Lavender.”
”No, Ron. I’m not still mad about that,” she said as she gave him a small smile.
”Well then…” he trailed off, leaning in to kiss her.
”Ron! What are you doing?” Hermione asked, stepping away from him.
”I thought…”
”You thought wrong! At the beginning of last year maybe, but now... Things are just too complicated, too messed up,” she said with tears forming in her eyes. “Look, Ron, I’m sorry. It’s just that right now isn’t a good time for this.”
”Yeah, well... How about that tea?” Ron tried to smile, but failed miserably.
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Two days later Ron, Hermione, and Ginny sat in the living room at the Burrow watching the madness that surrounded them with amusement and a little fear.
”Are weddings always this hectic?” Ginny asked as she giggled at her older brother Charlie’s face when their mother had tightened his tie too tight.
”I hope not. If my wedding is like this, then I’m just not getting married,” Ron replied.
”Who would marry you anyway?” came two mischievous voices from the doorway.
”Yeah, imagine the Galleons you would have to pay for all the mental treatments that woman
would need?” asked one of these voices.
”Oh shut-up, Fred!” Ron yelled, as his face turned bright red.
”Someone's sensitive,” the other one, George, teased. Ron just sat with his arms crossed and jaw set, glaring at the wall.
”Will you two ever let up on him?” Hermione asked the red-headed twins, who were whispering to each other.
”Um… no,” they both said in unison, before they left the room. Hermione rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the hustle and bustle of the house.
”He should be here by now, right?” Ginny asked impatiently, looking at her watch.
”They have to take extra precautions with his transportation. You know that, Ginny. So,
just relax. He’ll be here soon.” Even as she reassured her friend, Hermione felt a twinge in her stomach, like something bad was about to happen.
”What are you three doing, sitting and staring into nothingness for?” a voice from the doorway asked.
”HARRY!” all three of them said at the same time, as they jumped up and ran up to him. Harry Potter stood just inside the doorway with his mess of black hair and glasses slightly at an angle on his face. Hermione got to him first, giving him a hug, which he returned with his trademark sad smile. Ron got to him next; they both shook hands then did that whole manly ‘shake hands, then with your free hand hug’ thing that boys do. Hermione rolled her eyes at the two of them, ‘Such boys.’
Then it was Ginny’s turn, she stood in front of Harry not knowing what to do. Harry stood there looking like a nervous wreck. He slowly stepped up to Ginny and pulled her into a gentle and very quick hug. They parted, both with deep red faces, looking at their shoes.
“Harry, you’re here!” shrieked Mrs. Weasley. She gave Harry a life-taking hug and then shooed them all into the kitchen.
“Are you hungry? You look like you haven’t eaten in weeks!” Mrs. Weasley fretted as she started piling food in front of them, putting extra in front of Harry.
”How have you been, Mrs. Weasley?” Harry asked politely as he started shoveling food into his mouth.
”Oh fine, Harry. It has just been a bit hectic around here.” Ron snorted nearly spitting out the food that was in his mouth. Mrs. Weasley ignored him and continued on, “Everything with the wedding: having to make sure the boys dress robes fit, putting the flower arrangements together, and about a hundred other things. Oh, and preparing for the Order meeting tonight just adds to it.”
”There’s an Order meeting tonight?” Harry asked as he stopped eating to stare at Mrs. Weasley and then Ron and Hermione who were sitting across from him at the table.
“Yes, it’s to read Professor Dumbledore’s will. You four will all be there,” she said as she turned and looked out the window she seemed like she was going to say more but something else grabbed her attention.
“Fred and George Weasley! Put that down right this instant!” Mrs. Weasley yelled as she walked out of the house toward the twins who were spraying a florescent blue liquid on a garden gnome that looked as if it was about to have a heart attack.
”All four? That means I have to be there too?” Ginny asked, staring at the soup in front of her.
”Yeah, I just wonder why we have to be there at all,” Harry muttered, with a look of slight confusion evident in his green eyes.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Later that night Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Ginny sat in Ron’s bedroom waiting to be called down to the Order meeting that was taking place in the Weasleys’ kitchen.
“How much longer is it going to be?” Harry asked impatiently, as he stood to pace.
”I wonder why we have to be there for the reading of Dumbledore’s will, anyway,” Ron mused, falling backwards to lie on his bed.
”Well, obviously we are in his will somehow, Ronald.” Hermione glared from her perch on Ron’s desk in the corner.
“I just wonder why he would put us in his will. He would have had to have added us recently. Did he know this was going to happen, did he know about Snape?” Harry was talking more to himself, then anyone else.
Hermione’s stomach twisted at these words, ‘I know that Severus knew something was going to happen that night.’ She took a deep breath and tried to push her thoughts of him away.
The door to Ron’s bedroom opened, announcing the arrival of Charlie Weasley. ”We’re ready for you now.”
Once they were all seated at the table, Professor McGonagall cleared her throat to get
everyone’s attention, though it wasn’t really necessary.
“Let us begin. I think we should cut through the pleasantries and get to business. Make this as painless as possible.” Everyone nodded.
“We will begin the reading now, Kingsley.” McGonagall motioned to the tall, dark-skinned wizard at the head of the table.
”First, Albus wanted to thank you all, not only for being good friends, but for being like his family.” Kingsley cleared his throat before continued to read.
“To Minerva McGonagall, I leave most my library collection, my collection of Transfigured collectables, and my broken tea set.” Professor McGonagall laughed, and muttered, “he
would.”
“To the Order of the Phoenix, I leave all my Anti-Dark Magic items and my volumes on Defense Against the Dark Arts,” Kingsley continued with a deep breath.
”To the Weasley family, I leave all of the wealth I have accumulated over my life, but was never able to spend. I know you will use it well.” Molly and Arthur Weasley looked like they were shock, “Oh my!” was all Mrs. Weasley could say.
“To Miss Hermione Granger, I leave the rest of my library collection. I know you will use it well, to learn and to help your friends. I also leave you with the Contego Stone, there was only one made by a great roman wizard who lived long ago. This stone will help you protect those you love; you can read all about the stone in the books I left you.” Hermione tried not to, but tears started falling from her brown eyes. ‘I don’t deserve anything from him.’ She quickly tried to calm her tears and her thoughts.
”To Mister Ron Weasley, I leave my collection of spiders.” Ron’s eyes looked as though they were going to pop out of his head until Kingsley uttered the words, “Just kidding.” Ron exhaled the breath he had been holding. Harry, Hermione, and the rest of the Weasleys chuckled.
“I really leave the young Mr. Weasley, my vast collection of candy, and more importantly the Amicus Stone. This stone is very rare. It can only be worn by those who are a fierce and loyal friend. Its exact abilities were never fully uncovered, but it will give you strength when you need it and can help get you and your friends out of a jam, if need be.” Ron nodded trying to take this new information in.
”To Miss Ginerva Weasley I leave two things. First, I leave the diaries of Leandra Gryffindor. She was the wife of Godric Gryffindor, she was a brave and loving woman, you two would have gotten along nicely, I think. I leave you these so you can learn from them. Second, I leave you the Lugo Stone, this stone is one of two it connects the people wearing them. It gives the wearers strength, and if the person wearing the other stone is someone you care about and they are in danger or pain you will know, you can feel them and help them.”
“To Mister Harry Potter I leave the second Lugo Stone, again it will give you strength, and will connect you to Miss Weasley, so you will know when she is in trouble. Secondly, I leave you my Pensieve and the memories we watched together. I also leave many more vials of memories for you to watch, to aid you in your search. But, you will not be given these vials at the end of my will reading like you will the Lugo Stone and Pensieve. To get the new memories you must return to Hogwarts for your seventh and final year. I have given Minerva instructions about what to do. When you return to Hogwarts you will be given three vials for every month you complete. You have permission to leave Hogwarts on the weekends for your search, but you must return for classes on Monday. You must agree to this plan, and sign a contract. If you agree to this, and you leave Hogwarts and do not return by the end of the weekend, midnight on Sunday, you will be forcefully pulled back to Hogwarts and will lose the ability to leave Hogwarts for the weekend. Actually, you will not be able to leave the castle until you graduate. If you have any questions regarding this please ask Professor McGonagall.”
“Please do not be saddened by my departure from this life, I am in a happier place. If my death was not a natural one, please do not hold hate inside of you for that person. To be filled with hate is to have no room left for love. Without love we are nothing. Please love as much as you can, try to find love for everyone, even the ones who seem the hardest to love. I wish you all happy and complete lives. You are all in my heart forever, wherever I am.”
Kingsley stopped reading and put the scroll down, wiping a tear from his eye. The room was dead quiet, as everyone was imprinting what Dumbledore had told on their hearts. Harry broke the silence.
“I will try professor, but I doubt I will ever find love for Severus Snape in my heart. I’m sorry.”
Hermione’s heart broke even more at these words, she could no longer take it, and she ran from the kitchen and up to her room. She flung herself on her bed as memories swarmed her: The night she collided with him, speaking with him in his office, and how amazing he was. She hadn’t wanted to talk about why she was crying, and he didn’t press the subject. Instead they had discussed the book he was reading.
"You read Shakespeare, Professor?" Hermione looked at him in wonder.
"I don't stir caldron's all day, Miss Granger." He smirked.
"Macbeth, I didn't like this one," she said as she leafed through the book she picked up off his desk.
"Macbeth is Shakespeare's greatest work," he corrected.
"No, Hamlet is his greatest work," she retorted rather heatedly. He lifted an eyebrow at her in response.
"Oh, um, Professor, I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful. I get a little competitive. I guess that's what you'd call it, when it comes to literature." She looked up at him apologetically.
"It's fine, Miss Granger. I'm actually a bit taken aback, I didn't think any student here would have read both Hamlet and Macbeth, it's not required reading here as in Muggle schools." He continued to look at her with that eyebrow raised. “Why, Miss Granger, do you think Hamlet is his greatest work? Please speak freely." He waved his hand for her to sit.
They then had a battle of wits to see who was right about Shakespeare’s greatest tragic work. They had a good old fashion debate on many different forms of literature; they tied as the winner on most. It surprised her how easily their thought processes worked off the others. She was also shocked at how easily she could combat his ideas and tell him point blank that she thought he was wrong. Professor Snape was so different outside of class, it was almost disconcerting. He wasn’t sweet, by any means, but when he was in a less stressful situation that didn’t demand that he be in control, he was refined and less domineering. This new version of him or other version was almost attractive. Then she had mentally kicked herself for thinking it. She cried harder as she remembered his words after he had finally talked her into telling him why she had been crying that night.
“There is something you must learn about boys, Miss Granger, they are all moronic imbeciles.” She bit back a laugh, uncertain at his reaction.
“Does that mean you’re stupid, Professor?” she asked with a slightly cheeky grin, not knowing if he would get mad at the question.
“No. I’m not a boy,” he sneered.
“You’re a girl? I would have never known,” she said, faking shock, gaining a bit of courage at his response. She was amazed at herself for speaking to him the way she did, but she had found it easy for her to speak to him that night.
“Funny, Miss Granger, funny. I’m a man not a boy.”
“Why aren’t you like this all the time?” she had to ask.
His facial expression changed, he looked as if he was in deep thought before he said, “I think it is time you returned to your dormitory, Miss Granger.” His voice had changed, from the easy, nearly teasing back to almost harsh.
“Of course, Professor, thank you.” She felt sad that the she had ruined the moment; she would have given anything to take the words back and have him civil again.
“Do not let me catch you running in the halls again, Miss Granger, and five points from Gryffindor for trying to maim a teacher.” He smirked, the coldness of his words not reaching his eyes.
“Yes sir, thank you again.” She gave a small curtsy. “Good night, Professor.”
He nodded to her as she left the room.
She had stopped crying, and was now allowing herself some time with her memories. The times she was happy with him, the times she wished she could return to. Maybe there was something she missed, something she could have changed. There had to be something she missed, somehow she could have stopped all this pain. ‘If only you had opened your eyes, Hermione.’ This was her last thought as she drifted into sleep.