The Curse of Swan Lake

Chapter Seventeen

I blinked. "Okay. It's Hermione, by the way."

Severus crossed his arms in front of his chest, put off by the lack of reaction he was receiving. "You do know that there is a high possibility that what happened last time will repeat?"

I nodded. "Yes," I said firmly. "But I agreed to do this and there's no way around it anyway. So let's just get it over with."

"You seem very calm about this," stated the vampire, remaining rooted to the spot.

"I've faced worse things," I said honestly.

"Such as?"

"Sharing a tent with two guys who hadn't bathed in three weeks." I forced myself to remain relaxed- if I appeared afraid, there was no way Severus would go through with the plan. I needed to get the ingredients for my potion and I couldn't do that without him.

"This isn't a joke, Miss- Hermione," said Severus with a clenched jaw.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I know it's not. But you're making things complicated by repeating the conversation we already had about this in Hogwarts. I'm offering you my blood- out of my own free will."

For a moment, the wizard hesitated. He took a step closer, then halted.

Already knowing what to expect, I tilted my head sideways and brushed my hair over my shoulder, exposing my neck. My eyes wandered to the vampire, who resembled a frozen statue.

"Sir, the longer you wait, the worse it's going to get," I softly broke the silence.

Severus closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I hope you understand that this is just as uncomfortable for me as it is for you. If there would be another way, I certainly would not have asked you to do this."

"I know."

Black eyes locked with mine. I gave him a slight nod.

Stay alert, Hermione. Keep your head this time.

Suddenly, several things happened at once. Before I could blink, Severus moved towards me. I felt an arm wrap around my waist, pulling me against this chest. A second later, something sharp pricked the skin at my neck. A warm sensation instantly replaced the stinging and I felt the familiar fuzziness fill my head.

My eyes began to close on their own accord. Butterflies exploded in my stomach with such a force, I involuntarily sucked in a breath of air through my lips. The heat pooling in my lower abdomen sent shivers down my spine, turning my legs into jelly.

The room began to turn around me. My breathing became labored- I vaguely noticed that Severus' arm tightened around me as I began to sway.

Just like last time, I felt the venom lull me into a state of complete apathy. I wouldn't care at all if I would end up like a shriveled-

My alarm bells went off at the familiarity of the situation. This was like last time.

It was exactly like last time.

Move, Hermione.

I struggled to regain control of my limbs. My eyes fluttered, but wouldn't open all the way.

Come on, Hermione.

I tried to pull my head away. A deep growl emanated form Severus' chest. It was a sound that would have made any werewolf back off and it surely caused an icy shiver to run down my spine.

Suddenly, Severus stiffened.

Then he twisted his body, roughly pushing me away, and pressed the palms of his hands onto the surface of the lab table. I stumbled into the wall, my legs not coordinating properly.

The pain returned to my neck, quickly intensifying into a pounding sensation that traveled up to my head. Something warm dripped down my collar, carrying the smell of metal.

Dazed, I opened my eyes and watched how the vampire took a few shuddered breaths, before he wiped across his mouth and turned to face me.

"Miss Gr-"

"Hermione," I slurred and straightened up, keeping one hand pressed to my bleeding neck and the other against the wall.
It felt like a hot iron was being drilled through my skull. I pinched my eyes shut, determined not to faint this time.

And then the pain miraculously vanished when a hand wrapped itself around my own bloody hand, pulling it away from my neck.

"Episkey."

My neck tingled.

Feeling quite sleepy, I opened my eyes. Inky eyes stared back.
"How are you feeling?"

"Fine," I mumbled. The pain and dizziness had almost vanished entirely, leaving me feeling extremely exhausted. "Might take a nap for an hour or two."

I barely noticed how Severus steered me up the wooden stairs out of the lab-suitcase and led me to my room. The walls and floor seemed to rise and sink, as if we were at sea. I stumbled forward and flopped straight onto my bed, accidentally pulling my hand out of Severus' grip.

The pain came rushing back, slicing upward through my spine until it reached my head. There, it started pounding as if Hagrid's massive fist was mistaking my skull for a door. I instinctively curled up into a fetal position, pressing my fingers into the side of my head to numb the pain.

Fuck, this is definitely the worst part, I thought, keeping my eyes pinched together.

A chair scratched across the floor. Clothing rustled. And then cool fingers reached for my left hand, interlacing with mine, before gently pulling my hand away from my head.

The pain subsided instantly to a dull throb.

Blearily, I opened my eyes. A shadow had taken a seat beside my bed. For a second, I could make out his expression, before another wave of dizziness forced me to close my eyes again.

He looks guilty.

"I'm fine," I mumbled into my pillow before Severus could say anything.

For a second, silence filled the room.

"Clearly you're not."

I wanted to glare at him, but I was too tired to open my eyes. So I merely raised my eyebrow a little.
"I think I can judge best how I feel," I muttered.

I could practically see Severus giving me a disbelieving look. "Gryffindors are not the most competent at judging situations objectively," stated the wizard.

His tone hinted that he was suppressing the urge to lecture me on Gryffindor stubbornness- which was good because at the moment I was not lucid enough to process much.

"Neither are Slytherins," came my slurred response. Sleep was reaching for me, I could almost feel myself being dragged away from this room, from the wizard, into the crazy world that always awaited me when I dreamt.
"When are we leaving for Iceland?"

"Once you have recovered," Severus responded.
His fingers tightened slightly when my limp hand almost slipped out of his grasp.
"The pegasi will still be there, no matter if we depart today or tomorrow."

"It's just- I just remembered something about blue pegasi that might cause a problem," I mumbled. My tongue felt so heavy and furry, as if I'd eaten one of Hagrid's sandwiches.

Sorry Hagrid. But you're a terrible cook.

A soft ringing filled my ears.

"What did you remember?"

Probably should tell Severus that the pegasi-

Before I could finish the thought, I passed out.