Jubilant

by silver-nightstorm

She spoke of intelligence, of cunning, of bravery, and of loyalty, and she cried as Minerva McGonagall and her deputy, Severus Snape, stepped forward to present her diploma first. Severus/Hermione. Oneshot.

Two in a day? What's wrong with me? lol. Please check out my multichapter Severus/Hermione fic - "Once".

For: The Potter Games Week 2 & The OTP Bootcamp (pairing Severus/Hermione)

Prompts: "Goodbyes are always tough- especially if you think there's still a lot to be said before parting." - Rachel Summers, hide, dandelion, damaged, so thoughtless, so careless, jubilant

Jubilant

By silver-nightstorm

Summary: She spoke of intelligence, of cunning, of bravery, and of loyalty, and she cried as Minerva McGonagall and her deputy, Severus Snape, stepped forward to present her diploma first. Severus/Hermione. Oneshot.

XX

The sun shone on her face as she stood on the podium facing her class. There were students missing, students who hadn't made it to graduate from Hogwarts this year - like Lavender Brown, who didn't survive her run in with Greyback. There were students who were changed - like Dean Thomas, whose left arm was damaged beyond repair when he jumped to defend a distraught Parvati from Greyback's continued onslaught. There were teachers who were there no longer - like Professor Prince, who taught Alchemy. There were teachers who none thought would ever survive - like Professor Snape.

Hermione Granger took a deep breath as she faced her class and spoke. She spoke of their innocence when they first arrived in Hogwarts, the thoughtless way they teated other students, the careless way they treated their studies (quite a few laughed at last comment). She spoke of growing up in a war, of making friends, of falling in love. She spoke of happiness and of loss over their years at Hogwarts. She spoke of intelligence, of cunning, of bravery, and of loyalty, and she cried as Minerva McGonagall and her deputy, Severus Snape, stepped forward to present her diploma first - an honor she received as the student with the highest scores for the year.

One by one, the students in her class stepped forward to collect their diplomas in alphabetical order, no distinction for each house except for a little pin on their lapels. Hannah Abbot was the first up, and Hermione handed her diploma. The blonde girl wiped a few tears out of her eyes and gave Hermione a bone crushing hug, then moving on to shake Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape's hand. Every student gave Hermione a hug or a handshake. Astoria Greengrass surprised Hermione when she reached out and hugged the Gryffindor, sobbing into her hair. Hermione tried to hide her tears, but found herself unable to.

The rest of the class passed by in a blur - Neville trembling from head to toe as he shook Professor Snape's hand and nearly passing out when the Professor pulled him closer to whisper something in his ear - Draco who extended his hand to Hermione for a shake - Harry who pulled Hermione into a spinning hug and tried to do the same to Snape - Ron who blushed from his ears to his fingertips as he mumbled something to Hermione and quickly scuttled away.

When the ceremony was done, Hermione planted herself in one of the seats that the graduates sat in previously. She watched all of the families greet their children who were all cheering jubilantly. Hermione stared at the ground, leaning down to pick a dandelion that was growing in the grass. A pair of dragon hide boots appeared to her left and a body folded itself gracefully into the chair next to her.

"Not joining in the festivities, Miss Granger?" remarked Professor Snape, his voice a tad gravely. "I would have thought your parents would be congratulating you for graduating at the top of your class."

"My parents are still in Australia, sir," replied Hermione, looking off into the distance. "I still haven't been able to restore their memory."

Professor Snape didn't speak for a few moments. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said softly. "I'm sure you'll manage to figure it out. The library has many books on..."

"I've already looked, Professor," Hermione said, meeting his dark eyes. "There's nothing. I even asked Madam Pince to help me and..."

"In that case, I have a few books that might help," Snape smoothly cut her off. Hermione's mouth dropped open at his helpful gesture. Snape rolled his eyes. "I am not as heartless as you believe me to be, Miss Granger. You saved my life with your quick thinking. The least I could do is try to help return yours to some semblance of normalcy."

"I... I don't know what to say," mumbled Hermione, looking down at the dandelion she was absently twisting in her fingers. Struck by sudden inspiration, she shoved the slightly battered flower under Snape's nose. "Here!" she said, sitting up straighter. "Thank you!"

Snape raised an eyebrow.

"I'd like you to have this," said Hermione, not moving the flower from under Snape's nose but looking back down into her lap. "It's not much, but... I'm truly grateful, sir. I always believed..."

A pair of slim fingers took the flower from Hermione's hand causing her to stop speaking and look up in shock. Severus Snape calmly stuck the flower onto the lapel of his dress coat that was visible under his open robes.

"Thank you, Miss Granger," he said with a strange twinkle in his eyes reminiscent of the old headmaster. "I shall cherish it always. Goodbye."

With that comment, he smoothly rose from his chair and walked away to join the rest of the staff. Hermione was left sitting on the chair with so many things left to say to the selfless man who always helped others before himself. Goodbyes were tough but... she had to see him once more to get the books. With that thought in her mind, Hermione stood up with a smile on her face. She would see him again.

XX

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