Disclaimer: Not mine.
Finding Home
Chapter 7
Two weeks after the lecture, Severus paced in his quarters, waiting for Hermione to keep her appointment. He looked at the clock on the mantel and began to pace faster. He hated to wait and he hated the fact that he had to meet with her to go over their accounts.
By the time he heard her soft knock on the door he was ready to berate her. Opening the door, he saw the puffiness around her eyes, how she worried her lip and the look of concern on her face.
"Miss Granger, please take a seat at the table I have set up in the sitting area." He watched as she walked to the table, not able to vent his anger as he had intended. He shook his head and cursed the Ministry.
"Miss Granger, I have before you the state of your accounts."
She looked at them and frowned.
"We will take one at a time and make sure they are correct. This one for example, is from Flourish and Blotts."
Hermione took the statement and nodded as she looked at the titles. "Yes, they all seem correct as are the prices."
She looked up at him and handed him the parchment back.
"You purchased two copies of the same book, Miss Granger."
"Yes, well sometimes Crookshanks gets angry at me and shreds a book or two. Not often mind you."
"Fine, it would be less expensive if you remembered to place them on the book shelf, or perhaps ward them?"
"Yes, sir?" She bit her lip and craned her neck to see the next book on the list.
"The next three on this list can be found in the library not two floors over your rooms." He looked at her and waited patiently.
"Yes, sir?" She looked at him and raised her eyebrows.
"Why? Even if you did not feel comfortable walking to the library," he held up his hand to her coming protest, "you could have called an elf to collect them."
She nodded at him and looked at the list again.
"Miss Granger, this list only has two books that you should have purchased. Do you have a compelling reason for doing this?"
She shook her head, looked at him blankly, and watched as he laid the list down and picked up the one to Honeydukes.
"I do not think I need to say more than the fact that you are the only person I know that has an account at a sweet shop."
"That is unfair. I hardly use it."
"Yet I have paid twenty-five Galleons a month for six months for your monthly payment of, umm let's see. Eight galleons. Not much to pay for a good cigar."
"Oh."
"Miss Granger, how have you survived until now?"
"I only shop for things on sale." She lifted her chin defiantly. "Like those robes, they were inexpensive and serviceable. I can get years of wear from them."
"Miss Granger, if you managed better you would have nine hundred Galleons to spend on robes."
"Oh." She licked her lips and looked at him. "The bank used to take care of it. If my account ran short, they would contact my solicitor, who would transfer some from my parents account. I never realized how much it was. I would not have had the short fees. They would have just transferred from them."
"Since our accounts are now combined I have made you a ledger." He handed it to her. "I have listed the amount you had at transfer and taken off the expense. What shows is what you have left. If you need to see the documentation, I have that as well."
"No, this is fine."
"Miss Granger, I dislike this as much as you. It is however important to keep our accounts separate. I did not mean to pry into you private life."
"Not at all." She looked at the ledger frowning. "I will earn my certificate in a couple of months. After that, I will find a job."
"Will you be able to live outside the castle?"
"I think so." She looked up at him. "I think it is better. Poppy seems to think … Professor? Ronald, what he said, about… well you know. About the way I dressed and all."
"Yes?"
"It's not true. I have been going over it in my mind and I know he is wrong." She looked at the table and shook her head. "I think it is worse here, in this world I mean. Everyone is so old fashioned here. I mean, I can see that he may be right about here, but I was in the Muggle world."
"We were both born in the Muggle world Miss Granger. We both grew up there, and still have ties to it. Do you really think that here or there what you wear could have made a difference? No, what happened to you had nothing to do with your dress habits, here or there. Do you understand that what he did to you has nothing to do with sex? Lucius uses people for power, Miss Granger, power and control."
"Are we done?" She stood without answering his question, needing to change the topic.
"Almost," he sighed. "Minerva is unable to offer you lodging after your seventh year completion."
"I have been reading the Prophet for rentals, but until I finish and find a job it is impossible to know what to look for."
"Yes, well there is a further complication." He stood and walked to the far wall and with a wave of his wand revealed a hidden doorway. "If you will join me?"
She raised her eyebrow at him as she slid from the chair to join him at the doorway.
"Your new quarters."
"My what?" She stepped back and glared at him.
"Do not make his harder than it already is, Miss Granger." He stepped though the hidden doorway and with a flick of his wand lighted the candles and fireplace.
"This is your sitting room. The bedchamber is thru there, as is the bath." He turned to the right and flicked more candles ablaze. "Your desk and bookcases can go here and that door goes to the hallway. This door will be kept closed and warded unless there is need to open it."
"I thought you said she could not offer me accommodations."
"She is extending my chamber to make room for my wife. The doorway will only be opened for the Ministry's inspections, or as I said, if there is a need."
"This better be good." She wrapped her arms around her middle and stepped into the rooms.
"Minerva assures me there will be ample warning."
"Warning?"
"Please do not do that."
Hermione looked at him confused. "Now what have I done, spent a sickle?"
Severus felt his lip twitch. "You have a habit of taking what I say and turning it into a question."
"A question?"
"Exactly," he crossed his arms and looked down his nose at her.
"Isn't that sweet," Minerva stepped out of the floo. "You sound just like an old married couple."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I thought I was not allowed a floo?"
"This floo will only allow travel to and from my office or the hospital dear. It has not been used for a couple of years now." She looked to Severus. "It was for special needs. We thought to open it again, since Severus will be here if anything goes amiss."
"Have you heard anything on overturning the law?" Hermione asked.
"No dear, I am afraid not." She patted Hermione's shoulder. "We have heard that there have been two accidents with Muggle born brides."
Hermione blanched and sat down. "Who?"
"One of the Chang girls. Not our Cho, one of her cousins. And a witch from France that thought to hide here from rogue Death Eaters." Minerva wiped her eyes. "It sickens me. How can they allow this to go on?"
"I have also heard the Mr. Weasley is engaged to Lavender, and Harry and Ginny will wed any day now."
Hermione nodded and excused herself as she hurried to the hallway and began to run back to her room. She did not love Ronald. She had sent him away. She was sure she did not want him anymore, not after what he said, not after the way he had treated her. And definitely not after she had seen the look of disgust on his face after he had learned what happened. Lavender would be a good wife. She would take care of him. She liked Lavender. She did not care if he married her. She would not miss him any more, or wait for his owl to tap on her window at night as the wind came howling around the north tower. She would not look for him, with his long legged gait, or want to see his lopsided grin.
She missed the first stair, unable to see it through her tears. She landed hard on her knees and stayed down, trying to take deep breaths, trying to stop the sobs that racked through her body.
That is where he found her as he hurried after her, not knowing what she was feeling and only with Minerva's prompting had he run after her. He squatted down on the stairs and watched her cry before he sat and pulled her into his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried, hanging on to him tightly.
"I hate him."
"Of course."
"I do," she pushed him away until she could look up at him." He is mean, and thoughtless. I don't even like him a little bit."
"Of course."
"Professor? Have you ever wanted to go home but didn't know where it was? That's what I feel like. I want to go home."
"What does this have to do with Mr. Weasley?"
"He felt like home." She laid her head on his shoulder. "Now I have no one. I have no home, and now he doesn't want me anymore. It hurts."
"You said you hated him," he said, unable to hide his smirk.
"I do," she whispered. "I do, I hate him. He is mean and spiteful and only cares what others think."
"Then why do you cry?"
"I love him." She buried her head in his neck and continued to cry.
Severus clenched his jaw and looked away from her. He needed to rid himself of her and noticed that Minerva's we as in her we must go after her did not include her. He made a mental note to compare her to the Queen as he attempted to disengage himself from the witch wrapped around his neck.
"Miss Granger, this in most inappropriate. This is a common hallway, accessible to the students."
"I am sorry," she whispered as she slowly removed her arms from his neck and slid off his lap back to the step. "I don't know what got into me. Pease, I …. I need to get back to the room."
"Miss Granger," he said quietly. "You must also view this from his perspective. You are married. I am sorry. I should not have been so hasty in avoiding this law. Perhaps if I had reacted differently you could have a more normal life."
She turned her head away from him but nodded her understanding then grabbed the railing and pulled herself up, turned slowly and climbed the stairs. He sat and listened until he could no longer hear her footfalls before he rose to go back to his own chambers, cursing Minerva under his breath.
"How is she?" Minerva asked anxiously.
"How do you think she is?"
"I have heard that Lavender had no other petitions for her."
"Great, perhaps we should also share that information with Miss Granger. I am sure the fact that it was his choice and not the law would make her rest more easily." He sat down in his chair letting his eyes travel to the bottle of whisky and the cigars on his chair side table.
"Have you heard more of Draco?" she asked softly.
"Not since the sighting in Little Hangleton. I have made a list of everyone he would trust but cannot decipher who his secret keeper would be." He ran his long fingers through his hair. "I need to get a message to him. He needs to know that Hermione has absolved him of guilt."
"I think it is more a matter of hiding from Lucius."
"Minerva, as far as he knows both his father and the Ministry is after him. Bloody hell, in many cases it is the same thing."
"Perhaps Narcissa will slip. I would think it more likely that she will have a harder time in hiding than her son." Minerva started to the floo. "I have sent messages to the Black's, at least the ones we can still call friend, to no avail. I thought perhaps they would help in finding Draco."
"In finding him they would have to give up Narcissa. As much as we wish it were not true, she is still family and as such they will not tell us."
"Poppy said you have been leaving the castle in the evenings. The elf has not been able to bring you the potion which means you have warded yourself." She looked at him sadly. "Please tell me you are not setting yourself back to your old ways."
"Since we have nothing further to speak of, I will bid you goodbye." He looked at her coldly, and in a billow of robes returned to his own chambers.
