Chapter One- Arrivals and Departures
Hermione sat quietly in her black robes, shivering and trying to avoid everyone's eyes.
"I'm sure none of them meant to offend you. well, none but the Slytherins, at any rate," Harry offered weakly. Hermione nodded slightly and turned to the window, feigning great interest in the countryside flying by beyond the train- anything to keep her friends from noticing the stubborn tears reddening her eyes.
"None of us meant to imply you looked bad before; it's just. well, I mean, you just look so nice now. Really, no one thought you were ugly before," stammered Ron.
"That was a very redundant sentence," Ginny remarked brusquely. After Ron flushed angrily, but before he could snap out a reply, she continued. "Don't worry, Hermione, the students were merely expressing how great they think you look now. Before you were average, and now you're a knockout; it would take much more tactful people to not gush about how much you've changed."
Hermione smiled slightly; if she had actually been upset about everyone's reactions to her improved appearance, Ginny's words would have certainly cheered her up. Unfortunately for her, however, her real problem was much more serious.
*
She stood in front of the mirror, then, her trunks settled and her personal effects unpacked. As she coldly appraised her naked form, Hermione allowed herself a small pleasure at the changes one summer had wrought- on the surface, at least.
Her long, frizzy hair was now silky and wavy, her inquisitive eyes enhanced by a small amount of make-up, her breasts fuller, her stomach flattened by an ungodly amount of crunches, her hips gently rounded, her legs toned and tanned from days spent running furiously through sunbathed southern France. even Hermione herself had to admit that the physical changes, at least, had been good for her.
That reminded her- she had best be sure to visit Madame Pomfrey as soon as possible.
With a last fleeting look at her reflection, she gathered her robe around her, grabbed her shower tote, and headed for the Prefects' bathroom.
*
Snape chased the sounds of the pounding footsteps, dodging frightened students as he went. Very briefly, he allowed himself slight amusement at their exaggerated terror of him; he knew he must look quite imposing thundering down the corridors with his night-black robes billowing out behind him.
A second later, his mind had turned back to the problem at hand. Someone had managed to get past the numerous defenses he had placed on his office and had stolen a vial of one of his most guarded ingredients- Phoenix blood. He had almost been at the entrance to the dungeon when someone had rushed out in the opposite direction. With only the briefest of glances inside, Snape had realized what had been taken- the little enchanted rosewood box hiding his precious vial.
Snarling, Snape rounded the corner and realized the corridor would come to a dead-end at the Gryffindor common room. The footsteps had not sounded distant enough for the person to have escaped into there, so Snape assumed the culprit must have entered the only other door nearby: the door to the Prefects' Bathroom. Pointing his wand at the door, he shouted "Congela Viros!" to immediately paralyze anyone inside.
After a slight pause to catch his breath, Snape provided the password and entered the bathroom.
The very first thing he noticed was the back of a girl's head, tilted forward, her smooth shoulders, and her upper back- the sides of the deep bath precluded him seeing anything else.
Deftly ignoring the throb of surprise and something else that had overcome him for a moment, Snape decided that the girl in the bath was probably not the culprit. He growled angrily, and decided to at least interrogate her for any clues. "Relinqui!" he commanded, and the girl un-froze.
Snape noticed with faint bemusement that the girl began to tremble uncontrollably as soon as she was released. Confused and slightly caught off guard by her shaking and her silence, he stepped forward and flipped his cloak back over his shoulders,
"I want to know your name first, and then I want to know whether you saw or heard anyone enter here before I did."
"Snape?" the girl whispered in a small, shaky voice tinged with both disbelief and horror.
"That's 'Professor' Snape," he snapped distractedly, trying to figure out why the voice seemed so familiar. The tone was very different, but there was something about that smooth alto.
"Miss Granger?" he hazarded.
"Oh dear," Hermione gasped as sobs racked her body and she sank deeper into the bubbling waters.
Snape was stunned- why was Hermione Granger, of all people, crying uncontrollably in the bath?
A wave of pity washed over him, but he tried to ignore it- he still needed to know what had happened to his phoenix blood.
"Miss Granger," Snape began, trying to make his voice less scathing, "Did you see or hear anyone enter this bathroom?" Hermione shook her head violently, then began to cry even harder.
Snape was now thoroughly confused- why was she so hysterical? Without thinking, he strode quickly to the edge of the bath now nearly full, and went down on one knee.
"Miss Granger, are you all right?" he asked, hoping his voice did not betray too much concern. She spun at the sound of him, now so much nearer, and her eyes widened in shock.
"Oh please, please Professor- don't look at me! Please go away!" she managed as she scuttled backwards.
Snape was utterly dumbfounded. Why was she so disturbed? She was now neck deep in soapy water- what could he possibly see? Was his glimpse of her naked back really so invasive? Snape averted his eyes from her face, now covered by her shaking hands.
"Miss Granger, why are you so upset? I apologize for interrupting your bath, but you must understand- I am not here to harm you. I was looking for a thief," he tried to explain. When she showed no sign of relaxing, he irritably continued, "Really, Miss Granger, I won't hurt you."
She froze, then slowly lowered her hands, and for a moment they just stared at each other. Then, without warning, Hermione let out a piercing scream and sank limply under the surface.
*
Snape ran down the long corridors, Hermione's limp, towel-wrapped body clutched to his chest. When she'd fainted, he'd been too stunned for a few seconds to even realize what was going on. Then, with her cry still ringing in his ears, he'd closed his eyes and levitated her out of the bath. He had felt along the wall, grabbed two large towels, and had then shrouded Hermione's hovering body in them- all without having opened his eyes.
Snape almost slid as he stopped outside the infirmary. After taking a quick breath, he entered and looked around for Madame Pomfrey.
The large room was completely devoid of people. With a snarl of frustration, he stumbled down the rows of beds until he came to the last on the right- the one closest to the large bay window looking west out over the lake. Carefully, he lowered Hermione onto the bed and pulled the blankets up to her neck, but paused as his hand brushed her face. She looks so afraid, even as she sleeps, he thought. What had happened to this little Gryffindor know-it-all to make her so fearful?
With a start, Snape realized his fingers were absently tracing a long line from her chin to her collarbone and back again. Disgusted by his presumption, he jerked his hand away and hurried off in search of Dumbledore- the Headmaster would be quite interested in what had been stolen.
Hermione sat quietly in her black robes, shivering and trying to avoid everyone's eyes.
"I'm sure none of them meant to offend you. well, none but the Slytherins, at any rate," Harry offered weakly. Hermione nodded slightly and turned to the window, feigning great interest in the countryside flying by beyond the train- anything to keep her friends from noticing the stubborn tears reddening her eyes.
"None of us meant to imply you looked bad before; it's just. well, I mean, you just look so nice now. Really, no one thought you were ugly before," stammered Ron.
"That was a very redundant sentence," Ginny remarked brusquely. After Ron flushed angrily, but before he could snap out a reply, she continued. "Don't worry, Hermione, the students were merely expressing how great they think you look now. Before you were average, and now you're a knockout; it would take much more tactful people to not gush about how much you've changed."
Hermione smiled slightly; if she had actually been upset about everyone's reactions to her improved appearance, Ginny's words would have certainly cheered her up. Unfortunately for her, however, her real problem was much more serious.
*
She stood in front of the mirror, then, her trunks settled and her personal effects unpacked. As she coldly appraised her naked form, Hermione allowed herself a small pleasure at the changes one summer had wrought- on the surface, at least.
Her long, frizzy hair was now silky and wavy, her inquisitive eyes enhanced by a small amount of make-up, her breasts fuller, her stomach flattened by an ungodly amount of crunches, her hips gently rounded, her legs toned and tanned from days spent running furiously through sunbathed southern France. even Hermione herself had to admit that the physical changes, at least, had been good for her.
That reminded her- she had best be sure to visit Madame Pomfrey as soon as possible.
With a last fleeting look at her reflection, she gathered her robe around her, grabbed her shower tote, and headed for the Prefects' bathroom.
*
Snape chased the sounds of the pounding footsteps, dodging frightened students as he went. Very briefly, he allowed himself slight amusement at their exaggerated terror of him; he knew he must look quite imposing thundering down the corridors with his night-black robes billowing out behind him.
A second later, his mind had turned back to the problem at hand. Someone had managed to get past the numerous defenses he had placed on his office and had stolen a vial of one of his most guarded ingredients- Phoenix blood. He had almost been at the entrance to the dungeon when someone had rushed out in the opposite direction. With only the briefest of glances inside, Snape had realized what had been taken- the little enchanted rosewood box hiding his precious vial.
Snarling, Snape rounded the corner and realized the corridor would come to a dead-end at the Gryffindor common room. The footsteps had not sounded distant enough for the person to have escaped into there, so Snape assumed the culprit must have entered the only other door nearby: the door to the Prefects' Bathroom. Pointing his wand at the door, he shouted "Congela Viros!" to immediately paralyze anyone inside.
After a slight pause to catch his breath, Snape provided the password and entered the bathroom.
The very first thing he noticed was the back of a girl's head, tilted forward, her smooth shoulders, and her upper back- the sides of the deep bath precluded him seeing anything else.
Deftly ignoring the throb of surprise and something else that had overcome him for a moment, Snape decided that the girl in the bath was probably not the culprit. He growled angrily, and decided to at least interrogate her for any clues. "Relinqui!" he commanded, and the girl un-froze.
Snape noticed with faint bemusement that the girl began to tremble uncontrollably as soon as she was released. Confused and slightly caught off guard by her shaking and her silence, he stepped forward and flipped his cloak back over his shoulders,
"I want to know your name first, and then I want to know whether you saw or heard anyone enter here before I did."
"Snape?" the girl whispered in a small, shaky voice tinged with both disbelief and horror.
"That's 'Professor' Snape," he snapped distractedly, trying to figure out why the voice seemed so familiar. The tone was very different, but there was something about that smooth alto.
"Miss Granger?" he hazarded.
"Oh dear," Hermione gasped as sobs racked her body and she sank deeper into the bubbling waters.
Snape was stunned- why was Hermione Granger, of all people, crying uncontrollably in the bath?
A wave of pity washed over him, but he tried to ignore it- he still needed to know what had happened to his phoenix blood.
"Miss Granger," Snape began, trying to make his voice less scathing, "Did you see or hear anyone enter this bathroom?" Hermione shook her head violently, then began to cry even harder.
Snape was now thoroughly confused- why was she so hysterical? Without thinking, he strode quickly to the edge of the bath now nearly full, and went down on one knee.
"Miss Granger, are you all right?" he asked, hoping his voice did not betray too much concern. She spun at the sound of him, now so much nearer, and her eyes widened in shock.
"Oh please, please Professor- don't look at me! Please go away!" she managed as she scuttled backwards.
Snape was utterly dumbfounded. Why was she so disturbed? She was now neck deep in soapy water- what could he possibly see? Was his glimpse of her naked back really so invasive? Snape averted his eyes from her face, now covered by her shaking hands.
"Miss Granger, why are you so upset? I apologize for interrupting your bath, but you must understand- I am not here to harm you. I was looking for a thief," he tried to explain. When she showed no sign of relaxing, he irritably continued, "Really, Miss Granger, I won't hurt you."
She froze, then slowly lowered her hands, and for a moment they just stared at each other. Then, without warning, Hermione let out a piercing scream and sank limply under the surface.
*
Snape ran down the long corridors, Hermione's limp, towel-wrapped body clutched to his chest. When she'd fainted, he'd been too stunned for a few seconds to even realize what was going on. Then, with her cry still ringing in his ears, he'd closed his eyes and levitated her out of the bath. He had felt along the wall, grabbed two large towels, and had then shrouded Hermione's hovering body in them- all without having opened his eyes.
Snape almost slid as he stopped outside the infirmary. After taking a quick breath, he entered and looked around for Madame Pomfrey.
The large room was completely devoid of people. With a snarl of frustration, he stumbled down the rows of beds until he came to the last on the right- the one closest to the large bay window looking west out over the lake. Carefully, he lowered Hermione onto the bed and pulled the blankets up to her neck, but paused as his hand brushed her face. She looks so afraid, even as she sleeps, he thought. What had happened to this little Gryffindor know-it-all to make her so fearful?
With a start, Snape realized his fingers were absently tracing a long line from her chin to her collarbone and back again. Disgusted by his presumption, he jerked his hand away and hurried off in search of Dumbledore- the Headmaster would be quite interested in what had been stolen.