Chapter 21: Remnants Of Summer

Summer brought with it a whole list of problems for Severus Snape as he was forced to adjust to being without Hermione Granger, whom the wolf spirit in him was highly dependent upon. Dumbledore had insisted he stay at Hogwarts until he could learn to properly control his werewolf side. Needless to say Snape was not in the least bit happy about that. What was worse was that Lupin was asked to look after him. The first night Snape howled like a mad man at the door hoping for Hermione to hear him and return. The second night he was tearing up his quarters in a bid to get to her. He had been so terrible that both Dumbledore and Lupin had to restrain him in the room of requirement. The wolf came out repeatedly hostile and a near-on murderer. Swiping at the other staff members and nearly attacking the house elves.

Once again Lupin got him under control.

The first month had been pure hell for not only the Potions Professor but Lupin and Dumbledore as well.

The second month Snape seemed to slip into a deep depression. He stayed in his quarters most of the time locked behind closed doors, much as he use to occasionally the howls would commence but he never really showed up to do much of anything outside of ready his lesson plans for the up coming year.

The Tri-Wizard tournament was coming and with it an old acquaintance who had become The Head of Durmstrang Institute, Professor Igor Karkaroff an ex-Death Eater in his youth. It had been Igor that told Mad-Eye Moody about Snape's position as a death eater among the dark lord's ranks. His naming of Snape ended in Snape's brief incarceration in Azkaban and subsequent torturing at Moody's hands but Dumbledore had managed to get him out of it. Still it left a bitterness in the Potions Master when it came to Igor and Moody both despite having to work with them on occasion.

The third month, Snape had been well adapted to the needs of the wolf outside of the situation with Hermione Granger. Lupin had taken him hunting and it proved to be quite the experience. Snape managed to bring down two more deer during this escapade than Lupin with all his veteran hunting skills. Strangely enough Snape was able to control Lupin in wolf form despite him taking the Wolfsbane potion.

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Granger Residence, Muggle London, England...

The summer sun had been warm against the young Gryffindor witch's skin. It had been another usual hot afternoon before the start of the next school term. She had not seen neither Harry nor Ron all summer as they were with their respective families. During her three month absence from Hogwarts Hermione had been studying all she could get her hands on about werewolves and the like. She could not stop thinking about Professor Snape's strange circumstances. The feeling of his warm tongue all over her aching flesh had not left her senses either. It was easy to see that she had been doing some thinking over the course of the summer, She had not known exactly when she started to have strange feelings about the boys in her life, it seemed that she just woke up one day and decided she wanted the attention from boys that all the other girls had been getting for as long as she could remember.

A lot of changes had taken place during her three month absence from Hogwarts.

She had been looking forward to returning to the school to be with her friends and to studying with Professor Snape again. There was a whole world of new possibilities that the young witch found herself opened up to. Like her suddenly profound interest in Ronald Weasley. Years prior she had not liked Ron due to his arrogance and rude behavior. Now it was like she couldn't stop thinking about the annoying prat.

She guessed that he had changed a lot over the course of the summer as well. The bushy haired witch thought of Harry Potter and how he must be enjoying his summer at his godfather's manor. She had no doubt that it had been a more pleasant change from when he had to spend his summers with The Dursleys.

Her mind drifted back to the ailing Potions Professor. She had hoped the dour man found a way to cope with the raging beast that dwelled within. She knew being away from him must have caused a great deal of distress back at Hogwarts and correctly assumed that Snape would have been barred to the grounds in a bid to contain him so that he wouldn't cause any harm to any one or damage.

The thought of the plant crossed her mind and what color it might have changed to. Ever the overachiever, she couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts to do more research.

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Snape's Quarters, Hogwarts, Wizarding World...

Snape found himself busily brewing a great deal of calming draught potions. He had no idea when he would need them during this term but he knew they would be the only thing keeping him from tearing Hogwarts apart. The Potions Master got through an entire month on them and didn't have so much as a single lapse until the full moon. He had not known how the wolf spirit within would react to Hermione but it seemed his desire for her had become much more profound. The dreams of her were getting more frequent and the plant seemed to pick up on it, remaining a vibrant red as if it had been a beacon for the wolf's deepest desires.

Exhausted and fully dosed with calming draught, Snape made his way toward his bedroom. It wouldn't be long before the school was flooded with students and with them Hermione Granger would be attending. Just the thought of her was enough to make Snape anxious as he closed his eyes drifting off into a contented sleep with the images of a certain bushy haired witch in his mind.