Sanguinem Maledicta

9

Emptiness

That was the first thing that Snape felt as he woke up early the next morning. As soon as the happenings of last night resurfaced in his mind, he jumped up in bed, only to find the space next to him empty.

Within a second, he was out the door in order to find where Hermione was. Outside, he came face to face with McGongall. He came to a standstill as he saw the Headmistress, standing in his office with an odd expression on her face. He believed the worst had happened- his colleague just couldn't bring herself to tell him.

McGonagall was about to speak, when the bathroom door opened and out walked Hermione. Snape stared at her like he was witnessing a miraculous apparition right before his eyes. She looked back at him and gave him the biggest smile she possibly could.

It was McGonagall who broke the moment. "Things weren't looking very good last night," she said, "That's why I made it a point to check on you first thing this morning. How are you feeling now, Ms. Granger?"

Snape took an eager step towards Hermione, curious to know the answer himself. He still couldn't believe his eyes.

"I feel great!" Hermione addressed him particularly as she said, "I feel better than what I've felt in a long while. That potion...I think it worked."

She would've gone and hugged him but she saw that his eyes were guarded, warning her- daring her to make a move. She understood the hint and restrained herself in the presence of the Headmistress. While McGonagall breathed a sigh of relief, doing a silent prayer of gratitude to God, Snape approached her to take a closer look, checking her pulse and her eyes and when he was satisfied, he awarded her with the rarest of smiles, unbeknownst to the older witch.

Hermione's heart soared; truly, when she woke up in the morning she felt as though the whole world were flooded with light and colour for the first time in years. She had practically leapt out of bed and skipped to the bathroom.

She took a shower without feeling exhausted by the mere act of working shampoo in her hair. She doused her tangled curls liberally in anti-frizz potion and went through the arduous task of working out all the knots. She worked at her hair until she could run her comb smoothly from her scalp to the tips without them snagging, and braided it. Normally her arms would be shaking with exhaustion by the time she finished, but she still felt full of energy.

She remembered that such potions gave a false sense of rejuvenation and it was easy to overexert oneself, thinking they were charged with energy. She had to remind herself not to go overboard. However, spirited with the same energy, she came out of her room, but Snape wasn't there.

She was a little daunted, but told herself that he was probably enjoying some much needed break. She got dressed, packed her school bag and exited her room, glad to be able to begin a whole new day.

She had to keep reminding herself throughout the day that she could overextend herself if she wasn't careful. They didn't know how long the effects of the potion was going to last, and when it stopped working, whether her condition was going to relapse. But she was delighted not to feel tired anymore; she could run up the stairs and carry armfuls of books and she never felt strained by any of it.

She took scrolls and scrolls of notes during the final review classes that she had. The professors were impressed by her renewed zest.

She hadn't remembered that feeling alive could be this way. She ate breakfast and lunch ravenously while her classmates looked on with concern.

Snape didn't return to their rooms that evening, although Hermione was keen to talk to him again. They hadn't really conversed after what happened the previous night, they couldn't really be free when they had spoken while in McGonagall's presence and she hoped everything was alright between them. She guessed he probably had classes and detentions to oversee.