Author's Note: Thanks to Liza for brainstorming and betaing. :)
Written for...
Last Ship Sailing Competition II. Prompts: mad scientist!AU, scared, "Tell me I'm wrong. I dare you."
OTP Prompt List Challenge. Prompt: Insanity
Something To Prove
1,028 words
There was nothing terribly frightening about the small cabin laid out before Hermione, other than the fact that it was situated in the middle of a darkened forest. Perhaps if she had thought to visit in the middle of the day, she wouldn't have felt so scared at the prospect of knocking on the door. Or maybe it was all the silly stories her friends told of a hideous lunatic that lived out in the woods.
"Pull yourself together," she muttered to herself, gathering her courage to knock. There was no turning back now, unless she was willing to settle for being called a foolish girl for the rest of her life.
Hermione dropped her small bag by her feet and knocked three times. She stood firmly on the doorstep as she heard rustling inside, holding her head high and keeping her breathing even while her heart beat faster by the minute.
The door creaked open slowly, but there was no hideous beast waiting for her inside. Instead, an ordinary man stood in the doorway in robes as black as the night. He looked tired, leaning against the door and narrowing his eyes at her.
"I think you're lost, girl," he drawled.
Hermione opened her mouth to introduce herself but no sound came out.
The man seemed unimpressed by her frozen state. He pointed a pale finger in the direction she'd just traveled from.
"The village is back that way. Someone there will help you."
He backed away from her, slowly closing the door in her face, and suddenly Hermione remembered the Malfoy boy's taunt from earlier in the day.
"You should leave the thinking to the men, Granger. We wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."
"My name is Hermione Granger and I want to work with you," she said in a desperate rush.
The door stopped abruptly and then changed direction. The man quirked an eyebrow at her.
"You must be mistaken."
"Please," she begged.
He crossed his arms over his chest. "You don't even know my name."
"Severus Snape." Her parents used his real name when they spoke of what he'd done for the village, even if the rest of the community referred to him by unflattering nicknames.
"And you expect me to believe that you've come all the way out here for a job instead of taking up position as a schoolteacher or something more … domestic?"
Hermione scowled. "I came here because no one in the village will give me a chance. They think because I'm a woman that means I can't do anything. I'm smarter than all the men my age." She mirrored his stance, no longer afraid. "I can do anything you ask. I'm willing to learn."
Snape looked out at the night sky for a long moment before heaving a sigh and stepping away from the door. "I have no money to give you, but if it's knowledge you want, you can stay."
She snatched her bag up and rushed inside before he could change his mind.
There wasn't much to see in the cabin. There were bookshelves packed with large tomes, tables and workbenches covered in loose papers and bottles of colored liquids. Something bubbled in a pot over the fire.
"There's a bed in there," Snape told her, motioning to the only door in the cabin. "I hardly go in there, so you're welcome to it. In the morning you'll help me collect herbs."
"Thank you, sir." He didn't respond, turning his back on her to stir the pot.
After a silent moment, Hermione awkwardly slipped into the bedroom and shut the door. The room only contained a bed and chest of drawers, but she was grateful to even have that much. She quickly changed into her nightclothes and got into bed, anxious to begin work under her new mentor.
:-:
Hermione rose early, surprised to find Snape already awake and working outside.
At night everything around the cabin had seemed wild and dangerous, but in the daylight she could see a charming little garden off to the side where her mentor knelt to pull carrots from the ground.
She inched closer quietly, not wanting to disrupt his work. The new day revealed more than the garden, she realized the closer she came. There was a gentleness to Snape's features that she hadn't noticed in the insanity of the night before. She smiled to herself, thinking that, were things different, she may have even called him attractive.
"Have you had your fill of gawking?" Snape asked suddenly, making Hermione jump.
"I … sorry," she mumbled. "I didn't want to disturb you."
He huffed, continuing with his digging. "Have you come to your senses about staying here yet?"
"No, sir. I want to learn."
Snape paused his work and stared at her for a long moment. "What did you expect to find when you knocked on my door?"
"I'm sorry?"
He stood, brushing dirt from his hands as he cross the yard to stand in front of her. "You must have heard stories; the villagers do love to talk. They say the things I do are unnatural, and that I've lost my mind. Tell me I'm wrong. I dare you."
Hermione pursed her lips, unable to deny the horrid rumors. "I don't believe it."
Snape sneered. "Oh, really? And what makes you so different from all the rest?"
"My father is a doctor. He's told me how you saved the village when he couldn't. He defends you and your miracle elixirs to everyone who mocks you. It was his idea that I come to meet you."
He looked away. "The word of one man does not undo that of dozens."
"Perhaps not. But a monster wouldn't save the lives of all those who call him mad, so I think I would much rather learn from a good man than a foolish one. If you'll still have me."
They locked eyes, and for a brief moment Hermione worried he might still turn her away, but he finally sighed and returned to the garden.
"There's a basket by the door. I'll need you to go foraging if you're to learn anything tonight."