Disclaimer: These characters are not my own. They are owned by JKR.
Hermione Granger swept a stray lock of hair from her face. Her dissertation on the downward spiral of wizard politics was nearly finished. She supposed she should continue her research on the positive effects of muggle enlightenment to the wizarding world. The purebloods were positively livid that Minister Potter had started the slow merge with the muggle world. Hermione was very proud of her friend. The whole of the wizarding world had been baffled when Harry had gone to the Dursley's to talk about introducing the wizarding world to the muggle world. The Dursley's had been oddly amenable to the idea. No one knew that Harry had been talking with the Dursley's for years prior to officially approaching them with the idea. Hermione never could tell on her visits to his relatives if they had been spelled or not.
A crick in her neck grew in its annoyance. She slowly rolled her head, hoping to work the stiffness out. The darkness outside grew until there was no trace of the sun. Turning back to her books, Hermione leaned over reading intently. She showed no notice of the outside world until a knocking came at her door. Hermione could tell from the slow, yet loud beat, that the person had been knocking for some time. She smiled ruefully to herself, standing up. Taking a quick stretch, she ambled over to the door, opening it. "Harry!" She said, hugging him, "Come on in."
"Good to see you, Hermione," Harry laughed, entering the apartment, looking around. He shook his head, "Mione, do you ever stop reading? Or is a book forevermore going to be glued to your hands?"
"Harry Potter! Getting a Mastery in the wizarding world is not as easy as it seems! Especially in an area as complex as the integration of the muggle and wizarding worlds. The complexity of the consequences on both ends are mind-boggling and at times hard to comprehend. The very fab-" Hermione ceased talking when Harry put a finger on her lips,
"I definitely did not mean to start the brain prattling on." Hermione glared at him.
"Then why did you come Harry? You rarely have time for social visits anymore, so I will not believe you for one second if that is your reason." Harry shook his head, grinning ruefully,
"You know me all too well, Hermione." Harry took a seat on her couch, lounging comfortably on it, as though he always came to visit. Hermione did not mind that he was so comfortable here since she had been the one to nurse him back to health after Voldemort was defeated. "I have a big favor to ask of you."
"I don't like the sound of that, but I'll go ahead and bite: what's the favor?" Hermione mock-glared at Harry, "Wipe that smug look off your face right now, Mr. Potter."
"All right! Simmer down!" Harry held up his hands in mock surrender. His face sobered up quickly into the all too familiar Minister face as Hermione thought of it, "We finally have control of the Snape estate. I need someone I trust to go through all of his possessions, cataloguing what could be of use in his research. Despite his questionable loyalties, the man was a brilliant potions master. His research could be of immeasurable use to the Ministry. Are you willing to help?"
Hermione gaped at Harry, surprised that he would ask her to complete this mission, not some other person. She was hardly qualified to disarm Dark traps. At least as far as the Ministry knew, she was only as good as the seventh year Defense classes. She supposed Harry knew better. In fact, Hermione knew that he depended on her willingness to go forward in everything. Her thoughts kept jumping around, continually heading back to the fact that she had the opportunity to explore the Snape estate. All she could think about was having the privilege of seeing all the books that Severus Snape had collected over the years. She knew that she would never have enough time to read all of them, considering she had to write her dissertation. Her mind finally rested on the thought of her paper, "I can't Harry. My dissertation to get my Mastery is due in a few weeks. I don't want to lose this opportunity. You do understand, don't you?"
Harry grinned at Hermione, enjoying the baffled look on her face. He slowly pulled out a letter, handing it over to. Harry's eyes lit up as he watched Hermione's eyes grow wider. He could tell from the slight tremor in her hands that she was ecstatic with what she was reading: a letter from her university allowing her extra time on her dissertation.
"Oh Harry! Of course I'll go! When do you want me to be there? I can go now! Actually, that's probably not the smartest of ideas. I haven't slept in some time. How much time can I spend there? When do you need everything by? Do you need to keep all of his stuff? Can some of the books go missing?" Harry laughed uproariously at Hermione, no longer being able to contain his humor at the situation,
"Hermione! Slow down!" Harry tried to calm himself down, but Hermione was still bustling about, rambling on. Harry had stopped with trying to follow her trains of thought. Everything she said was jumbled together with all her other thoughts. Harry Grabbed her, pulling her to a stop, "Hermione. Hush for a minute. I'll tell you all the details you need to know about the job. For me to do that, you have to be quiet." Hermione sank into the couch, looking at him, blushing slightly. Harry snickered at her expression, "Good old Hermione. Interested in learning." He teased her lightly. Hermione smiled.
"And you are the same old Harry. Interested in protecting the world from itself." Hermione hugged him close, "It's what everyone has always loved about both of us."
Harry nodded in agreement, sitting down on the couch, putting his head on her shoulder. Hermione pulled him into a sisterly embrace, holding him close. Harry closed his eyes, "You can take what you want from his household, without anyone batting an eye as long as it isn't too much. But, please, remove anything that should never be in the Ministry's hands. You know the types of things that I speak of." Hermione nodded. Harry was still amazed at how quickly Hermione could go from being all giddy in her love of knowledge to the serious, almost McGonagall like face.
"Where would you like me to take them? The Place d'ancienne Sagesse (place of ancient wisdom)?" Harry nodded. Hermione looked at him, wondering what was going through his head at that moment. There was a combination of a mischievous glint in his eye with darkness beaded around it. Some days, she wondered if parts of Voldemort had seeped in to him. Usually, whenever Hermione wondered that, Harry would go and do something exceptionally stupid, almost ending in his death. She wondered why the people continued to keep him in as Minister. Harry positively hated it there. If the Ministry ever let go of Harry, the Headmistress was going to hand Hogwarts over to Harry. Hermione was never quite sure whether Harry was pleased with that prospect or upset. Hermione slowly drifted off to sleep, her mind still wondering about the Snape household, but quitted down.
Hermione woke up to daylight streaming across her face. She sat straight up in her bed, confused as to how she had gotten there. The curtains had fallen open at some point during the night. Hermione sat up, shivering as the cool air touched her skin. She pulled her robe on, standing up, walking to the window. She looked outside, seeing a bright, sunny London. To her, that was a wonderful change from the normal, dismal gray days that hung over London like the plague. She turned back to her room, seeing the note on her desk from Harry. A smile tugged at her lips, the realization hitting her that Harry had taken her to her bed. Sitting down at the desk, she pulled the letter close, reading it.
Hermione-I am sorry for not saying goodbye. I had a meeting rather early with the Headmistress. Seeing as the last time I had a meeting with her, I was hours late, I figured I might as well be on time. Don't think that Hermione! I am not afraid of the Headmistress. Yes, she was rather scary, but nothing can ever beat Hagrid's anger the day that Voldemort killed his beloved. And yes, I will be visiting Hagrid. You know that I always do. He needs the company, like so many others.
Tonks expects to see you sometime around two this afternoon, if not earlier. Please do not be later than two. Tonks is also rather annoyed with my lack of time perception. What can I say? Probably nothing in my own defense. Oh well, I must be off.
Harry Potter
Hermione laughed at the sardonic tone Harry had managed to get across, even though it was a note. She remembered fondly Harry's first meeting with the Headmistress. Everything seemed to go wrong for Harry that day, starting with Harry waking up four hours late. He had been exceptionally snippish, arriving hours late to every meeting. Nobody realized he was ill until he collapsed during the Auror's briefing. It was the first time in the history of the Ministry that a group of twenty people had crowded into a St. Mungo's Ward to chastise the Minister of Magic. After he was released, Harry had left a note saying he was going to clear a few things up. When he came back, the wizarding world started on its path of integration into the muggle world.
Looking up, Hermione saw that the clock read one in the afternoon. Her eyes widened a little, motivating her to get ready for the day. She barely managed to get to the Snape estate on time. The Floo was always overflowing whenever she needed to use it. However, she always managed to get to where she was going within a decent space of time. Hermione looked around the estate, loving the greenness of the trees and flowers. Judging by the size of, what Hermione supposed was the gardener's cottage, the rest of the estate was huge. She would love to have lived in this place. There were so many small corners that a person could tuck themselves away in with a good book, completely losing themselves to the world. Hermione did however recognize the danger of doing that herself. She would be inclined to forget ever coming back out of book land. One time Harry had come to visit, he had found her so engrossed in her studies that it was painfully obvious that she had not eaten in days. Harry had not been very pleased with Hermione's forgetful attitude. The love of learning was too big a draw for her. She felt aimless in the wizarding world of this day and age, not really knowing what she should be trying to accomplish. Either what she truly wanted to attempt wouldn't be funded by the government, or it already was being funded by the government for other researchers. She wasn't about to steal away someone else's well-earned research grant. Besides, it is not like she could.
The importance of the assignment Harry had given her had not been lost on her. She knew that Harry had seen how drifting she had been. The craftiness that Harry was capable off told her that he had planned this to give her a chance to review what Snape had been researching and continue it. Continuing his research would mean she didn't have to fight anyone else over it because she would have found out first what had been researched.
Glancing around, Hermione caught a glimpse of the pink-haired Auror. Hermione hurried towards her, still taking everything in. "Tonks."
"Hermione. Glad you could join us." Tonks had mellowed since the war. Remus had perished, very early on in the war, at least that's what people thought. Hermione knew better. Remus had become a danger to normal people, so the Ministry had had plans to take him away. Harry had beaten them to the punch, hiding him away, making the only person he trusted Remus's Secret Keeper: Sirius Black. Hermione had tried to ask Harry how he had gotten Sirius back, but Harry had been vague, giving non-answers. Hermione had worried about that, but had dropped it, wanting to help Tonks get through her grief. Hermione prayed everyday that Tonks would never find out the deceit that they had all had against her.
"Sorry, the Floo was backed up again." Hermione always explained herself to Tonks. She never had to, yet she did. Hermione knew that Tonks resented the fact that hermione received special treatment from Harry, however Hermione could not find it in herself to care about that. She knew that Ron and Harry also had these apathetic feelings towards life whenever they met up with someone who was in an authorative position during the war. Ron had escaped from England all together, going to the African wizards to work with them. Surprisingly, he made a good teacher.
The roll of Tonks' eyes gave away her irritation with Hermione. Hermione merely followed her into the foyer of the magnificent mansion. The openness in the whole building astounded her. She had expected something more restrictive, "Have fun." Tonks snapped, leaving Hermione alone. Hermione grinned to herself, smelling the air.
"Well, Professor, let's see what wonders you left us." Hermione whispered to herself, starting at the most logical place, the living room. Hermione knew in that instant that the Snape household was going to be full of books everywhere. Nooks and crannys stuffed to the brim with books. The anticipation filled Hermione with excitement.
Hours had passed since she had started working. Looking outside showed by the lack of light that nighttime had come. She closed her eyes for a minute as she slowly stretched her body out. She wandered the house, wondering if there was any place near by that had food. She did not really fancy having to Floo all the way home to get food.
A light flickered at the end of the hallway, confusing Hermione. She had thought she was the only one here. She walked to the end of the hall, "Hello?" She called out, looking around. It was a completely empty room except one thin crack. Hermione went over, lightly applying pressure to the line. Nothing happened until she pushed a little bit of magic up the crack. The door went inward, swinging outward, revealing a staircase, spiraling down into darkness. Hermione lit the Lumos spell on her wand, decided that she would dare walking down the stairs, curiosity winning out over her need to be safe.
A/N: This chapter was updated. There were a few minor errors that were brought to my attention. They have been edited. A new chapter will be posted by the end of day today. Please leave a review if you have the time! Especially if you have questions!