Best Kept Secret

AN: Again thank you to ~comfortablylaura for letting me take liberties with her beautiful picture. Link up on my profile if you'd like to see it! It's JKR's world, I just like to putter around in it.


Chapter 2

Mid-October 1997 - Hogwarts

He should be here by now. He should be here. She'd arrived early to the previously unused classroom they'd made into their own potion's lab. The last time she saw him was in his classroom seven floors below where she was pacing now. He'd extended his hand to accept her class assignment and their fingers had brushed briefly. When her eyes snapped to his, he murmured only, "5:30 tonight."

And so, Hermione skipped dinner, waiting impatiently in their private laboratory. She adjusted some of the flames under the cauldrons and made superfluous notes in their logs. Took inventory of the potions and ingredients lining the walls. Straightened the books they'd collected on the shelves. She'd even adjusted her hair, swept up and out of the way in a way he'd complimented once, and spelled the wrinkles out of her white linen shirt. Then, 5:30 came and went. Impatience turned to worry and worry to alarm. She paced. She wrung her hands. She watched out the window. Then paced some more.

A clock on the wall chimed six times. Her heart sank. Oh, God. Hermione knew, where others wondered, why Dumbledore trusted Severus Snape above all others. She knew, where others only guessed, where his loyalties lay. She knew the danger he walked into when he grimaced and gripped his arm and disappeared for hours. He'd told her himself. Oh, please God, let him be safe! Hermione's feet led her to the small work table next to hers that he used to write his notes. She was feeling dizzy, so she dug her nails his chair's back until her knuckles shone white. Her mind started to spin with the hundreds of horrible scenarios she'd dreamt up in the middle of the night in her own bed as to the reason why he would one day, this day, fail to show up.

She couldn't seem to breathe properly, the pressure building in her chest was so tight. There were black spots floating on the edges of her vision and the sting of unshed tears burned the back of her nose. Don't pass out, Hermione. Don't panic. Stay calm. Hermione forced herself to release her death grip on the chair one finger at a time and to slowly inhale as each finger unclenched. By the time she got her six digit it her lungs felt slightly better. When she reached the eighth finger and her eighth shallow breath she was startled by the crash of the door being forced open, louder than a gunshot in the silent room. She screamed.

And suddenly he was there, all black robes and hair, gripping her shoulders, shushing her, trying to soothe her, his sandalwood scent surrounding her. She hadn't even realized she'd begun crying, hiccoughing sobs choking any words she might have had for him. He pulled her closer and cradled her face in his hands, murmuring words she couldn't understand, wiping the tears away even as they fell. Relief poured over her and she crushed the front of his robes in her fingers, willing him to stay, to never, ever leave again.


Late July 1996

After the trio's individual summons to Hogwarts, the brilliant days of summer passed with an odd sort of tension that everyone living at the Burrow seemed determined to pretend wasn't there. Ron, Ginny, and Harry often played quidditch behind the house. Hermione would read nearby or watch them play. Bill and Arthur were at work most days. Molly and Fleur, Bill's half-Veela fiancee managed to find common ground in the idea of future grandchildren, which they talked about over meal preparations and general house work. The four students on holiday were occasionally wrangled to do the more seasonal chores, for example, degnoming the garden, washing windows inside and out, and deep cleaning the bedrooms, which involved sorting through outgrown robes and general debris of teenage living to decide what to keep or toss, scrubbing the floors, wiping down every surface, and even airing out mattresses. Not easy feats without the use their wands. "This is still more fun than trying to clean Headquarters last year," grinned a dust covered Ginny one day to Hermione when she discovered an old photograph at the back of her wardrobe of a toddling Ron in the garden, finger stuck firmly in his nose, clutching a Chudley Cannon blanket, baby Ginny sweetly crawling after him.

Fred and/or George would often stop by, usually to test a new product on an unsuspecting member of the household, filling the warm home with laughter and not a little bit of embarrassment. Among the highlights, Harry walked around with a unibrow for an entire day, Bill spent 20 hilarious minutes at dinner saying random phrases whenever he tried to speak, Ron spent two wholly humiliating hours with breasts, Ginny got to see what she would look like as a blonde, and Mr. Weasley happily tested the twin's MuggleCloak that would instantly vanish a persons robes and replace it with convincing muggle clothing. The successful jokeshop owners steered clear of their mother and wouldn't dream of offending their elder brother's enchanting fiancee. And for some unknown reason, they also avoided pranking Hermione. When Ron whined, they simply claimed they were saving the best for last. She only smiled, knowing that they were just a little scared of her.

The Daily Prophet and even the Quibbler reported new deaths and disappearances daily. Mr. Weasley or Bill would often bring home grisly news from the Ministry before it was published in the paper. The four students soaked up the information, all feeling that it might some day be important. Soon Hermione, Fleur, all the available Weasley's, and even Remus Lupin celebrated Harry's 16th Birthday. However, the celebration was marred, to Molly's displeasure, by the unchecked talk of more bleak tidings, deaths, and disappearances.

The Hogwarts owls arrived the following morning with Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione's book lists, two prefect badges for Ron and Hermione, and one quidditch captain's badge for Harry. When Hermione unfurled her list, the badge and a small, curled piece of parchment fell onto the kitchen table. She tucked the note in her pocket and caught Harry's eye. He nodded imperceptibly while Mrs. Weaslely discussed the logistics of a shopping day at Diagon Alley with Bill and Fleur, as Hermione quietly left the room.

She hid away in the bathroom, knowing Ginny could walk into their shared room at any moment. Hermione sat on the edge of the tub and slid the tiny note out of her pocket. The parchment was blank except for a small splotch of ink on the top right hand corner. She held it up to the light and examined the strange paper. Hermione flipped it over curiously, then flipped it back. Then, she pulled it an inch from her face to more closely study the splash of black ink. As she did so, her breath met with the parchment and ink for just a moment, producing a few faded words in the middle that disappeared as soon as she drew back in surprise. Hermione grinned. How very clever! She gently blew upon the ink spot and read the familiar, cramped and spidery handwriting that appeared.

Ms. Granger,

I see no reason to wait until September 1st to begin our joint venture. I have already gathered any books and journals at my disposal that are pertinent to the project. However there are a number of volumes that are unavailable. Too many questions would be raised if I were to purchase these titles. Yet, your reputation as a consummate bookworm precedes you. Listed below are books that you must purchase at Flourish and Blotts at your convenience. The Headmaster will reimburse you. Read the books and take down any pertinent notes before the start of term. Be sure to encrypt your research. I trust that I do not have to explain how or why. If you are not actively researching, lock away the texts and notes in a secure location, but do not use heavy wards as these will draw unwanted attention. Do not send your findings to me. Hand carry the information to Hogwarts. Bring the books and notes to your first NEWT level potions lesson and we shall discuss our timetables and findings thereafter.

Memorize these titles and destroy this note upon reading.

SS

Five books were listed along with their prices and her eyes goggled. She'd better be reimbursed or she wouldn't have a knut to her name afterwards. Still blowing upon the parchment she memorized the titles, then crumpled the paper into a small ball, placing it back into her pocket to be thrown into the fire later.

She contemplated the tone of Professor Snape's letter and the man himself, something she'd done almost constantly, unbeknownst to her friends. She had tried, since her summons to the Headmaster's office, to recall relevant data to protective and strengthening potions, filing them away in her head. She often found her mind wandering to the coming task or the man who would be her partner.

Professor Severus Snape, she knew, had Dumbledore's complete trust. He was a member of the Order of the Phoenix. However, the man was cold and harsh. He had a sharp tongue that could flay a person's pride to shreds in a mere sentence. He was especially cruel and unfair to Harry and extended that viciousness to his friends. He sometimes seemed to carry an unwarranted hatred for them that bordered on mania. Snape was a frightening man when enraged. Hermione hadn't forgotten the wild-eyed fury he displayed in the Hospital Ward when he accused Harry and herself of helping Black escape from Hogwarts to Minister Fudge. It was an odd thing that she recalled the terror she felt when he raged so much more clearly than almost any other moment of that insane night. Far beyond werewolves, murderers, dementors, and flying, oh gods, the flying! - she remembered the crazed look in his eyes when he knew, just knew, that they'd gotten away with a stunt he believed to the core was wrong. And she'd felt, incredibly, a twinge of guilt for having put him through that.

Despite all this, Hermione knew him to be a brilliant Potions Master. An incredible teacher. He was meticulous and precise. Creative and passionate about his subject matter. She hadn't noticed these qualities in him until just the year before. Four years in his class and she only just took real notice of him as a person and not just another professor. Because she'd had enough of Ron's behavior at the time and because she finally didn't have to focus on making sure others around her were keeping up, she had time to let her focus wander, to observe her professor without outside influence. The potions master was never happy. Oh, he could be smug, even peaceful, or pensive or thoughtful, but he was never just happy. He was most smug when he was grilling Harry. Most peaceful when brewing. Most pensive when observing their works in progress.

She liked him like that. Not smug, of course, but peaceful and pensive. The professor was like that around his potions and that would be what they were working on together in the upcoming months - potions. Hermione could stand to be around Professor Snape more often if he was peaceful and thoughtful. She'd just have to figure out a way to not be someone who could provoke him into a rage, that's all.


AN: Oh, yah, don't enrage the man with anger management issues, Herms. Good plan.

*shudder* 'Herms' - where is the dislike button? What do you think of the nickname 'Mione'? It's grown on me. I think it's sweet. 'Hermie' though (yes I can't believe it either), gawdawful. Truly. Don't use Hermie. Unless you're not talking about HP characters and are considering it as a name for your pet hermit crab. Yup.

Thanks for reading - tell me what you think about the story so far. Review please! ~lovelielove