The Snake and The Lion
Chapter 1
Part 1 - Hermione
"Ronald Weasley I swear if I have to yell any louder, I will wake up the whole neighborhood." Hermione yelled, anger filling her for Ron still was in bed, despite it being half past 8.
"Go ahead, scream out your lungs." He mumbled, rolling over. Hermione was so overcome with rage that it was almost pouring from her ears. She grabbed the blankets from the end of the bed, and pulled them off of Ron. He yelled out a profanity and pulled his legs up, Hermione scoffed at how pathetic he looked.
"Now get dressed, you're going to be late for work. You know, the ministry is on the brink of firing you." Hermione informed him for the third time as she grabbed one of Ron's suits out of his closet.
"They won't fire me, I'm Ron Weasley for Merlin's sake. I bet they're getting more business since I've been working there." He gloated, taking the hanger out of Hermione's hands.
"Business is the last thing the Ministry wants, Ron. Now get over yourself and get dressed, you're still late on your half of last months rent, if I may remind you." Hermione glared at him, and he rolled his eyes as he shrugged on his coat.
"Yeah yeah, I'll get right on that." he grabbed his wand off the night stand, putting it in the loop Hermione had sewn into his coat so he'd stop losing his wands.
"Yeah and why don't you get on with leaving, I put the floo powder in the red box over the fireplace." she yelled to him as he left the room.
Hermione waited patiently for the familiar whoosh of Ron leaving their flat. She sighed in relief, happy to finally have some alone time. Sometimes living with Ron was like living with a toddler, for he didn't know how to take care of himself and was completely dependant of Hermione to take care of his needs.
She sighed, shaking her head at the thought of him being so needy. But, now was no time to think about Ron and his adolescent behaviour, she had a very busy day planned for herself.
She started by apparating into Diagon Alley, where she bought the newspaper, which she quickly stuffed into her purse. Even though seeing Hermione buy the Daily Prophet wasn't a peculiar sight, the idea of someone finding out her recent obsession made her antsy when it came to getting the paper.
Several people stopped her as she hurried down the sidewalk, all of them dragging her into brief, boring conversations. Most were parents of young wizards and witches that idolized her, the rest were Hogwarts students or distant friends. After excusing herself from several conversations, she finally found herself at the door of her bookstore.
She quickly unlocked it, and fled inside. She closed the door behind her, deciding against opening the shades. Hermione quickly made her way to the back room, where she found her little sitting corner in the storage area. She turned on the reading lamp that was in the corner, and sat down in the chair. It no time, she had taken the newspaper from her purse and opened to the exact page she was looking for.
There he was, staring straight at the camera, Draco Malfoy. His hair was unruly, he looked as if he had just woken up. Judging by the fact that he was outside of a café, he probably had. He was frowning, not that him frowning was any different from usual, but he seemed angry, maybe even upset that the photographer was taking a photo of him. He turned his head, opened the shop door, and moved out of sight. The photo re-played itself, continuously showing Draco staring her in the face with such a displeased look on his face. Hermione sighed, setting the paper down on the coffee table next to her.
What am I doing? she thought to herself, Godric's sake, he's just an old schoolmate. She tried to convince herself that she didn't care, but once again failed. Hermione shook her head, displeased with her daily ritual of obsessing over news about Malfoy.
A knock sounded on the door, Hermione stood up and calmly made her way to the door. She opened it, finding the face of a stranger, as expected.
"Hello, Ms. Granger, we need to buy some school books for Connor, here." The elderly woman motioned to the young boy next to her, he couldn't be anything over a first year, "Is your shop open?"
"Ah," Hermione looked at her watch, it was ten o'clock already, "It is now." Hermione opened the door for them, and the old woman walked past her, dragging young Connor behind her.
The woman began pulling books from the shelves, not bothering to ask Hermione for any help. Hermione busied herself with drawing the shades, turning on a few lights and dusting off the two large arm chairs by the front window. Hermione sat down at her desk at the back of the store, which had papers, books and various other parchments scattered on. The cash register was to her left with a typewriter next to that. Despite having the ability to charm things to write for her, Hermione still enjoyed the slow pace of a muggle life.
The old woman and Connor were now standing in front of her desk, with five books in the woman's hand and two in the young boys.
"Did you find everything okay?" Hermione asked, smiling politely at the two.
"Yes yes, just find. Now how much will this be?" The woman snapped, Hermione frowned at her attitude.
"14 Galleons." Hermione said flatly, the woman shoved the money into her hand and they hurried out of the store. "Thank you for your business." Hermione yelled after them as they closed the door.
Hermione grumbled to herself about how rude people were these days, and she began to go through the pile of papers on her desk. She paid the rent for the shop, read through an assignment one of her fan's had written about her (and sent to her, which Hermione didn't understand), and went through the prior day's mail.
The bell above the door rang as a slim, short figure with dark brown hair walked in. He had an owl on his arm, and the owl had a letter in it's beak. The boy nodded towards Hermione, and the owl flew to her desk, dropped the letter and retreated to the boy's arm. They left with out a word, leaving Hermione alone once again.
She looked down at the letter on her desk, it had a wax seal which held the Hogwarts symbol. She smiled, Hermione was always eager to get letters from her old school. She carefully opened the envelope, making sure she didn't break the seal. She pulled out the piece of parchment, unfolding it she caught a glimpse at the usual Hogwarts stationary.
The letter read:
Dear Miss Granger,
The Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry has found itself running short on teachers for extra-curricular subjects. We have not been able to find teachers trained in witchcraft and wizardry whom are looking to be hired. So, we have felt we have no choice but to begin contacting individuals that we feel may be fit to fill the part of a teacher for this upcoming semester at Hogwarts.
Considering your past, we feel that you would be an excellent teacher for the students at Hogwarts. You have a bright reputation and are a exceptionally brilliant witch. We know that you would not fail to exceed our standards for the teachers at Hogwarts.
We would be most grateful if you would fill the place for the teacher of the third year Arithmancy class. If you accept the career offer, we will provide you with a teacher's dormitory in the upper parts of the castle. You would need to be at Hogwarts one week prior to the beginning of this school year, and you may begin moving into your new dormitory beforehand.
The faculty at Hogwarts would be delighted to have you here, and we do hope you consider our offer.
Signed,
The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Faculty Branch
Hermione gaped at the letter. She set it down on her desk and rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands. She couldn't believe that she was now being offered a job at Hogwarts, completely oblivious to why they would even ask her. Hermione sighed, she would have to think this one through for awhile.
Ten Hours Later
"You know Ron, I think some time apart will be good for us. We've been bickering at each other for so long now, maybe a few months will be a decent break." Hermione sighed, the Hogwarts letter in her hand.
Ron put a hand on Hermione's knee, "Are you sure? This is kind of a big deal, you know, being apart for so long." He sighed, "I'm worried you'll miss me."
Hermione scoffed, "Get over yourself, we can send owls back and forth. I'll write you a letter every day, and I expect you'll send a response. I can send you my pay for rent as soon as possible, assuming that you'll be able to uphold your half." Hermione raised a questioning eyebrow at him.
"I'll be fine. But really, are you sure you want to spend a whole year at Hogwarts? Aren't you worried that memories from… the past will disrupt your work?"
"It'll go swimmingly, I'm sure of it. So, I'll send my reply right now." Hermione accio'd her quill and paper. She quickly scribbled out her acceptance letter, giving it to their owl, Wendy, and sent her off.
Only two hours passed when Hermione received her response from Hogwarts. They were ecstatic about her response and were looking forward to the year to come.
That night, Hermione found herself staring at the ceiling instead of sleeping. Slumber did not come quickly, for her mind was alive with the thoughts of teaching at Hogwarts and walking the halls of her beloved school once again. But, even though she didn't want to admit it, far in the back of her mind, she was also thinking of Draco Malfoy.
