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That night, Severus Snape slept poorly. He dreamt of a powerful beauty with wild hair crying at him, asking why did you do this to me? Why did you do this to me? I trusted you! You are sentencing me to my death. You will let me die. He sprung awake in the middle of the night, cold sweat dampening his body, and couldn't fall back asleep. He knew without a doubt, that if Hermione didn't die, she would be the Order's last hope, and he didn't dare think she'd survive that either.

…

FOUR – Owls, Ravens, and Copy Cats

Severus' breakfast of strong black tea, an orange, and eggs was accompanied by a bad attitude, a mild hangover from slightly too much bourbon, and a persistent owl who refused to leave no matter how many times he swept at it. Once his tea was gone and the mug refilled, Severus allowed the bird to perch on the back of his chair and it hooted softly when he untied the scroll from its leg. It was a small owl, caramel colored with black markings and gentle dark eyes. Bemused by the creature, Severus offered it a bite of toast which it took in a large swallow and impressively managed not to drop crumbs on his shoulders. He unrolled the tiny piece of parchment and read the tidy script.

Professor,

I find that I haven't a clue where your office is. A little direction would be nice.

Granger.

Severus snorted at the letter and realized that in 4 years Granger had indeed never come to his office to ask for him help. The realization startled him, he knew Granger made a habit of annoying her professors with questions. Was it just because he was the surly bat of the dungeons that she had not come to him? He felt a little put out by that but turned over the slip of paper to reply.

Miss Granger,

Go down the hallway from your common room, take a left and follow that hallway until it ends. There will be a flight of stairs down then a portrait of an owl. Wait there.

Severus tied the scroll back onto the bird's leg then sent her on her way with a quick pet of her head. As his eyes followed the bird he noticed she left the hall completely instead of swooping low over Slytherin table. He glanced down at the busy table and saw the crowd was lacking a certain curly haired student. Severus shrugged and returned to his breakfast, when he was done he took an orange to go, rolling it in his hand as he decided how he was going to set up for his O.W.L potions class.

SHSHSH

Hermione had taken the liberty of using her spare day to prepare for tomorrow and once she was certain she was ready, she decided to take a walk on the grounds. It almost disturbed her to think she was missing classes but she had to remind herself that she was not intentionally missing classes, besides, she was a Slytherin now, and nobody seemed to expect much of them. Hermione found a good perch on a hill overlooking the Black Lake and sat down gracelessly to ponder her upcoming discussion with Snape.

She had imagined this day for a long time, waltzing into McGonagall's office and declaring she wanted to be a transfiguration specialist for the ministry's Department of Muggle Affairs. But the times were changing, the ministry was crawling with Death Eaters and Muggle Affairs had become less about coexisting and more about annihilation. And without that, Hermione wasn't sure what to do with transfiguration. She couldn't choose based on what subject she was best at because she excelled at nearly everything. With a heavy sigh, Hermione accepted that she had no idea what she wanted to do with her life.

Hermione wondered if things would have been different without the return of Voldemort. Because now, especially after her forced move to a different house, Hermione felt that her life was no longer in her hands. She was Dumbledore's pawn and pretty soon she might also be Voldemort's. She sighed again. She'd really have to practice not saying "Voldemort", she was fairly certain the Dark Lord would not approve.

When the sun was low enough in the sky to cast afternoon shadows through the trees, Hermione rose from her perch and made her way back to the castle and back to her dormitory to grab her warm cloak. On the way, she fought through the stream of students making their way to the Great Hall for dinner in masses. Loud groups dipped into quieter conversation as she passed if they noticed her at all. She threw on the cloak and pulled Snape's instructions from her pocket. Down stairs? How could there be anything further down than Slytherin common room and the potions room?

The hallway after the common room was bare of any decoration or differentiation in the stones save low burning lanterns every few meters. The hallway she turned into was just as empty, no doors, no decoration, just the dull light. Then suddenly the hallway ended in a flight of stairs which descended into darkness. Glad she had thought to bring her wand, Hermione pulled it out and uttered lumos into the cold, wet silence. She swore that with each step down she took, it got another degree colder. The stairs finished in a large landing with nothing in sight except a portrait of a raven and a nearly extinguished lantern. Hermione rolled her eyes and put out her wand light. How typically Snape this all was.

SHSHSH

After a rather irritating meeting with Dumbledore and McGonagall, Severus decided that he would indeed, provide dinner for Hermione since he was forcing her to skip it to have another indefinitely long meeting. He sighed. His life seemed to be compromised of meetings and little else. At least this one might be interesting. Severus billowed past the common room and down the empty halls, his boots clicking on the damp stone, and descended the stairs without lighting his wand, he was used to this place and these halls, they had been his home for many years.

Although he was expecting her, the unusual sight of Hermione Granger leaning casually against the landing outside his portrait still made him grip his wand under his robe. When he relaxed, he let go of his wand and strode right past her to the portrait. "Libera serpentis," he said to the raven which slid along the stone wall to reveal a heaven wooden door held together and decorated with cast iron. Severus raised his hand to lower the many, many wards and when finished, the door appeared to open of its own accord.

"Come along." Severus urged, not bothering to look back at Granger. It was a moment before he heard her light footsteps behind him, and once he was certain she was in, he motioned the door closed, replacing several of the wards. "Sit." He said, motioning at the single, rather uncomfortable chair he had facing his desk then walked around to sit opposite her.

Hermione looked around her at the office as she entered, it was decidedly sparse except for shelves and shelves of unnamable things in jars and a stack of notes on his desk. Hermione sat with much the same lack of grace she had sitting on the hill earlier and looked at Severus expectantly. Severus ignored her a few moments, sorting his thoughts and erasing the nagging questions of both Albus and Minerva.

"First order of business is OWLs. What would you like to study?"

"What would please the Dark Lord?" She hadn't meant to say that, not really, but she knew the moment he asked, it was the right answer because it meant survival.

Severus actually struggled not to gawk. He knew Hermione called the Dark Lord by name without thought, he had also expected her to have an exact, thought out plan to her ideal future, all of which she would describe in painstaking detail. He realized she was more mature than that and understood her future was not currently her own to direct. Severus needed several seconds to think of a response. Oh, of course. "Potions."

"Sorry?" Hermione seemed dubious.

"I will explain. I am a potions master, if you choose to become a potions mistress you will be my protégé. You will be following in my footsteps like a good little spy and it means you will have to spend a particularly large amount of time with me. From what I can tell, the Dark Lord would not expect a member of the Golden Trio to spend any more time with me than they have to. He knows what you all think of me." Severus paused to let it soak in then continued. "This also means that if I die you will be invaluable to the Dark Lord, he has no other decent potion brewers in his midst, at least for now, and he knows it. It also means that while I am alive, I can protect you."

Hermione tried to work past his last sentence, so filled with things she wasn't ready to think about. "Does he know I am not a Gryffindor?"

"He will soon enough, I believe I am being summoned this weekend. I will tell him everything he needs to know."

Hermione nodded once. "Then that is what I will do."

Severus nodded his approval at both her choice and her show of incredible maturity in handling her mad situation. "Professor McGonagall also had a bit of news for me to pass to you." He saw her react to that, like a dog perking its ears at its owner's voice. "She obtained this information over the summer before the ministry was too far gone but she never had a chance to explain it all to you. As your new head of house, that is my duty now."

"Ministry information?"

"This is really for your own personal benefit." He knew Hermione would leap at the chance to utilize the information to her advantage, and if she was as wise as she was smart, she'd use it to help the Order too. "Because of your...excessive...use of the time turner in your third year you have aged. You are technically seventeen."

Severus watched with mild interest as the information spread into a look of delight on Hermione's face. "I'm legal!"

"Yes, Miss Granger." He drawled.

"This means that I can take my NEWTS early, I can graduate quickly. Even a year early. If I do that I'll have a spare year to work more with you as a spy, and have time to do more work for the Order. But if the world doesn't fall apart, I'll still be eligible for work one day."

She is brilliant, Severus acquiesced. "Indeed."

The information brightened the girl's mood considerably and he decided it was a fine moment to continue his discussions with her. "Speaking of spying, you must be trained. Your mind is far too open and your expressions are too easy to read. And you still have Gryffindor qualities that will give you away."

"Make me into you."

It took a moment for Snape to realize that the teasing tone in her voice was façade for how deadly serious she was. He searched her twice over to look for any weaknesses or tells but she had none, she was utterly convinced being like him would save her life. It frightened him a little.

"And how would you suggest I do that, Miss Granger?"

"Teach me occlumency, teach me the best ways to hide my emotions. Make me into a potions mistress. Make me tough and unbreakable. The rest is up to me."

Oh Granger, you do see me in a peculiar light. "I suppose I'll see what I can do about that. Now, I have a matter of... personal interest to discuss with you." He watched amused as she visibly swallowed and squared her shoulders. "You seem to be weak in Herbology and I noticed you never took your book out in potions yesterday."

Well that was not what she was expecting. She groaned. "Herbology is dreadfully boring, I've never enjoyed anything to do with keeping plants alive. As for potions, I haven't taken out my books in a single class. I memorized the potion for yesterday so I didn't have to take my book out. It makes me appear more carefree, but I still excel. I've done similar things in all my classes."

He was impressed by her act, he knew Slytherins had a reputation for not being terribly studious and she was catching on to the image, but she was right, she was still exceeding, her potion was by far the best one in the class and he knew she never once peaked at a book. He nodded, the best sign of approval he gave, then returned to the other bit about her schooling. "What about the plants you use to brew potions?"

"Well, I know them, and how to use them."

"You know them in the form I give them to you in. Would you know how to grow your own? Where to find them? The best way to harvest them?"

"I...I hadn't really thought about it that much."

Severus nodded. "There is a higher level practical class for herbology that is specifically for potions masters. I will talk to Professor Sprout about you testing into that class next term. In the meantime I would suggest checking out a few books on the topic."

"Why does this concern you professor?"

"Because I expect the brightest witch of her age to live up to her title. I expect nothing but Outstanding grades from you from now until the moment you graduate. This may also protect you in the future if necessary."

Hermione nodded.

"Let's talk about your O. schedule then."

They carried on for several hours discussing the rest of her schedule and what classes she could potentially test out of to take sixth and seventh year classes. Severus didn't even realize until long after Hermione had left and he had sipped down a half glass of bourbon that he had completely forgotten to summon an elf to bring them dinner. He punched his pillow into shape and settled into his bed, he was fairly certain at this moment that Hermione Granger would make it out of this war alive. His last thought before sleep though, was why in the name of Merlin he cared so damn much.