I'm back! For a little while, at least. I have a friend who is lending me a laptop for a little while and I can connect to the wi-fi at Starbucks or the library or somesuch place. :P Anyway, it feels really good to have the keys of the keyboard clicking under my fingers again. I'm afraid the computer I am using right now is a little slow, and it doesn't have a word processor on it, so I'm typing this all out on a note, so forive me for any mistakes I make.

I'm warning you now also that I'm posting this without sending it to my beta, harmswife. I just sent it, so I'll post the rivised version when it gets back to me. :P If that makes sense, anyway. I just figured that in case I don't get the chance to post it in the next week that you guys would want to read it now.

Anyway, I'm babbling when I could be posting.

I'm proud to present the next chapter!

Allons-y!

-Rayne


"Gryffindor?" Hermione asked quietly as soon as the hat fell silent. "Really?"

Neither Snape nor Severus reacted. Hermione supposed that it made sense that Snape didn't; he'd been through this already. The fact that Severus didn't react, though, confused her. She thought that he would for sure be the type of Slytherin who would die before being resorted, and into his enemy house, nonetheless. But he remained calm, looking at Dumbledore expectantly.

"That would seem to be the case, wouldn't it, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore said. There was a twinkle in his eyes. He was amused.

Hermione sputtered and glanced quickly between her professor and the newcomer beneath the hat. Severus reached up"Id and nanchalantly took the Sorting Hat off, setting it on Dumbledore's desk. "I think this means I need new robes, doesn't it?" he asked. Hermione couldn't believe that he wasn't saying anything against his new placement. She shut her mouth, deciding that if he couldn't find a reason to react badly, she shouldn't either.

"I think you will find that the Room of Requirement has already taken care of that for you, Mr. Snape," Dumbledore said. "Miss Granger, later, would you mind showing him to the tower?"

"Of course," Hermione said, swallowing down any other comments that came to mind.

"Thank you," Severus said, turning and smiling at her.

Behind her, Snape cleared his throat. "Dumbledore," he said, frowning. "I think a cover story is needed. I don't think the students should know what's really going on."

"Of course not," Dukmbledore said softly, scratching the end of his crooked nose thoughtfully. "I think that we shall find our answer in 'Russ'."

Severus' frown matched Snape's almost perfectly. "Excuse me?"

"Russell Snape," Dumnbledore said, smiling. "Russell Snape is Severus' brother's son."

"I don't have a brother," Severus pointed out.

"But they don't know that," Snape answered immediately. "And if I recall correctly, nobody ever questions it or thinks twice about it."

"If you recall correctly?" Severus repeated.

"He's already been through this, remember?" Hermione said. "He remembers because for him, this has already happened."

"It's a lot to comprehend," DUmbledore said, almost conversationally.

"Not particularly," Severus said, smiling. "I think it's harder to remember than to comprehend, old man."

Dumbledore smiled good-naturedly. Snape grimaced.

"I'd forgotten about that," he grumbled to himself.

Hermione doubted she was supposed to hear but responded to the statement instinctively. "Forgotten about what?"

Snape shook his head at her. She supposed that was his way of saying he'd tell her later. She hoped that was the case, anyway.

Dumbledore was glancing between them with a smile that made Hermione feel as though he knew something she didn't. Snape's scowl softened slightly when he met the old wizard's gaze.

"Well then," Dumbledore said loudly, clapping his hands together. "Now that we've determined what Severus' name and relation to Professor Snape is, we should come up with a backstory, as well."

"Is that entirely necessary?" Severus asked with a groan. "That's not the sort of thing people will want to know."

"It's exactly the sort of thing people will want to konw," Hermione answered, thinking immediately of Ginny. If Severus would be Russell in front of the school, there was no longer going to be any reason for her to be sneaking around her best friend. She smiled at the thought of Ginny's face when she finally learned what had been going on.

"Alright," Severus said, rolling his eyes. "So, I am a transfer student from Durmstrang. My parents got into an argument with the school board and they decided it would be better if I started going to a different school. They knew Uncle Severus was working here at Hogwarts, so they decided to send me here. It was too expensive to move, so they sent me off and stayed behind. Hermione could even write me letters and sign them from my mother, if we really want to go to that sort of extreme."

Three pairs of eyes were immediately trained on him. Two watched him with shock, and another with indifference. Hermione frowned. "Why didn't I think of that?"

Snape, who had been watching the other two react with surprise, scoffed. "It's not exactly difficult," he said slowly. "It's quite simple to come up with an easy story like that. It's also a rather clever and believable one, at that."

Severus smirked and nodded to his older self in a silent thanks for what could very well be considered a compliment from Snape. "My parents would do that," he said. "Decide to send me to a new school because they don't agree with my old one's board. And then send me without moving with me. Besides, that gives me a reason to stay here at Hogwarts during the breaks."

Dumbledore seemed to consider all of this for a moment. "Yes, I do believe that this story will work," he said, sounding very proud, as though he himself had thought of this wonderfully genius plan. "It's is in fact very believable. I think that even the worst of the gossips here will believe that. I believe Miss Weasley will, as well."

Hermione smile sheepishly. "Good, because she's got two options that she's been considering. Either that I'm lying to her or that I'm sleeping with the professor."

Snape's eyes widened in shock. "She thinks that you and I are..." He couldn't seem to bring himself to say it outloud.

Hermione flushed, realizing that she probably could have kept that little fact to herself. "She doesn't believe it, of course," Hermione said quickly. "She just likes to tease me and that was the fastest way to get to me."

Hermione could have sworn that a slight tinge had appeared on the professor's cheeks. "Of course," he said, clearing his throat awkwardly.

Severus and Dumbledore were watching the exchange with clear amusement. One of Severus' eyebrows was arched and a slight smirk was turning his lips up. Hermione looked at him with a pleading glance as though begging him to help her out of the situation. As she watched him, his smile widened into a true grin, showing her his slightly crooked teeth. She'd seen better smiles, but for some reason, the way that his lit his face up and made him seem even younger than he actually was made her decide that his smile was her favorite. She wondered momentarily if Snape looked younger than his years when he smiled, as well. She shook herself out of her thoughts, feeling her cheeks warm even more as the red tinge to them darkened.

Severus sighed dramatically. "You? Sleeping with him?" he asked, pointing at them respectively. "Puh-lease. You're sleeping with me. That's much more believable."

Hermione spouted out the first thing that came to mind. "Well, I did tell her I was taking private lessons with Snape. I didn't ever say which Snape, though."

Both Severus and Snape gaped at her. Hermione was appalled that she had dared to say something so... out of character. Snape's lips were starting to pull down. Severus' were turning up again. "Private lessons can be arranged," he said, winking. Snape swatted the back of his head with the palm of his hand. Severus yelped and rubbed his head. "Alright, alright, if she's claimed by you already, just tell me and I'll back off! No need to get violent!"

Snape stared at him, clearly struggling with what to say.

"He and I aren't together!" Hemrione groaned, staring down at her knees. "And I really didn't mean to say that. I don't even know where that came from. That wasn't me."

Severus nodded, clearly understanding what she meant. "I know. That's been happening to me ever since I met you." He grinned and winked again. "Maybe it's a sign that we are meant for one another."

"Yes, and Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy have the hots for each other,"Hermione said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Severus clearly missed this. His eyebrows shot up. "Potter's son is gay?" he asked. "That surprises me." He spat the next few words out. "Potter is such the player."

Snape reached out, catching everyone by surprise, and rested a hand on Severus' shoulder. He squeezed gently, as though he was trying to reassure the young man. Maybe he was, Hermione realzied. Nobody understood what Severus was going through quite like Snape did. She supposed the odd gesture made sense.

Hermione shook her head. "No, I don't think Harry's gay. I was being sarcastic."

Severus' frown deepened. "Well I wasn't," he said. He really did look serious about what he had said. This made Hermione pause for a moment. The moment was over rather soon when Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"We can discuss destiny and relationships later," he said with a smile. "Right now, though, we should be more focused on getting to breakfast on time. I have a new student to introduce!" He sounded very excited. Hermione couldn't help but smile at the fact that something so simple as introducing another student to Hogwarts could make the old man so happy.

"Right," Severus grumbled. "Introductions. Lovely."

"Think of it this way," Hermione said. She didn't know what possessed her to do it, but she reached out and put her hand over his on the armrest of the chair he was seated in. He glanced up at her, smiling warmly. "You have a chance to start completely new."

"I guess that is something to be looking forward to, isn't it?" he asked, his smile widening.

Snape hummed. Hermione couldn't tell if he was agreeing or voicing his annoyance, but he didn't say anything. Hermione looked up at him.

She was surprised to see that his eyes were trained on their hands, staring with something akin to frustration.

Dumbledore rose from behind his desk. "Shall we go down, then?" he asked, motioning to the door.

Hermione stood and nodded. "Yes, lets."

The walk down to the Great Hall was more than slightly awkward. Dumbledore would occasionally comment on something so insignificant and random that no one else felt the need to comment as well. He seemed fine with that, though, and would continue walking with a smile on his face. Snape would occasionally clear his throat. Severus and Hermione were walking beside each other in front of Snape and Dumbledore, and everytime that Snape cleared his throat or made any sort of noise, Severus would turn his head to look at the older man over his shoulder and smirk. Hermione tried to ignore it, but after the first few times, couldn't. The next time it happened, Snape sighed and before Severus could turn, Hermione reached out and grabbed his wrist. "Quit it, both of you," she scolded them. If Snape was offended by being reprimanded by a student, he didn't say anything. Severus, on the other hand, glanced down at her.

"I will when he does," he grumbled.

"He's not doing anything!" Hermione said.

Severus mumbled something that sounded an awful lot like, "he's being offensive", but Hermione dicided to ignore him, taking her hand off of his wrist.

Dumbledore, sensing the tension in the air, commented on the "unusual chill blowing through the castle". Once again, no one graced his odd little comment with a response.

Much to Hermione's relief, they made it to the Great Hall without another incident. Hermione quickly spotted Ginny, who was waving her over, and sat herself beside her readhead friend. Snape and Dumbledore started towards the Head Table. Severus fell in stride behind them, clearly unsure of what to do.

When he was spotted, a hush fell over the Great Hall. People started pointing and then the muttering began again. Hermione could hear people saying things like "He looks exactly like Snape!" and "I hope he's not just as evil". Severus was obviously hearing them as well, and turned, meeting Hermione's eyes. She smiled as warmly and encouragingly as she could. Snape gripped his arm and turned him around to face the Great Hall.

"Your attentions, please," Dumbledore said. The hall quieted again. No one was looking at DUmbledore, though. They were all too focused on the Snape look-alike beside him. "Students, I am pleased to tell you that today, we have the privilage of adding a new student to our family!" He smiled and his eyes twinkled. "You might recognize him. No, he is not Professor Snape, though they are related." Immediately, Hermione heard the word "son" being tossed around. "He is," Dumbledore continued, "Professor Snape's nephew. He has just transferred here from Durmstrang. He has already been sorted and will be joining the Gryffindors!"

This caused more ruccus than anything else had. They were believing that he wasn't Snape but was in fact his nephew, but the fact that he had been sorted into Gryffindor seemed to be a little much for the students to handle.

"Please help me in welcoming Russell Snape!"

Students began weakly clapping. Severus smiled stifly. That seemed to be enough to break the awkwardness that had fallen over the hall. People began to clap more enthusiastically now. Some Gryffindors even began to cheer. Severus looked mildly shocked. Hermione grinned at him, standing up and clapping. Ginny glanced up at her for a moment before sighing heavily and standing as well, putting two fingers in her mouth and whistling. "You," she said, jabbing a finger into Hermione's shoulder, "have some serious explaining to do."

Hermione smiled sheepishly. The hall quieted and the two girls sat back down again. Hermione glanced up to see Severus sauntering over to them. She made some room between her and the person to her other side. He smiled and muttered a thanks before sitting down. On Hermione's other side, Ginny immediately leaned forward, looking at him curiously, and grinned. "So you are the Snape she's been sneaking off to see," she said, glancing knowingly at Hermione. "You know, Mione, you could have told me the truth. You know I only suggested you were sleeping with the bat to get to you, right?"

Hermione elbowed her friend. "I know. And I'm sorry I couldn't tell you before. Dumbledore wanted his arrival to be hush hush because we weren't sure he was staying until this morning."

Severus grinned. "She was the one put in charge of me when I got here."

"Been good to you, has she?" Ginny asked.

"Hermione?" Severus asked. Ginny nodded. Hermione felt Severus' gaze fall to her. She blushed and stared down at her empty plate. Dumbledore was rambling about something else, though Hermione couldn't bring herself to listen. "Of course she has been." Severus' mouth was close enough to her that his deep, baritone voice purred into her ear and made her shiver. He seemed to realize it. Hermione felt him scoot closer to her, just barely, but close enough that their thighs were now pressed together. Ginny didn't notice.

"Good," she said, smiling. "I knew she would. No one does that quite like our Hermione."

"Our Hermione?" Severus repeated.

Ginny nodded. "She's part of the Golden Trio, of course!" Ginny said, as though Severus should know what that meant. He should have, of course, but Hermione hadn't had the chance yet to fill him in. Ginny continued. "So naturally, Harry and Ron have claims on her!" She laughed. Hermione knew she should be laughing, too, as this had been a bit of an inside joke with the four of them, but she couldn't bring herslef too. She was instead trying desperately to come up with a reason for why Severus would have no idea what she was talking about.

"I understand," Severus said, interrupting her train of thought. "And naturally, being Ron's sister, you get to claim her as well?"

Hermione gaped at him. Ginny giggled. "He knows who I am, Mione!" She nudged her friend.

Hermione shook her head and grabbed Severus' arm, standing up and pulling him with her. The food appeared on the table as they did. Ginny glanced up at Hermione, clearly confused. "We need to talk for a moment," Hermione explained.

Severus shrugged at Ginny and followed Hermione. They left the Great Hall. Hermione immediately turned to Severus. "How'd you know who Ron and Ginny were?"

Severus rolled his eyes. "I did my homework," he said. "The Room of Requrement gave me some more recent history books. It told me all about how Potter brought down the Dark Lord with the help of you and the Weasley boy. You're an incredible witch, by the way."

Hermione's mind was turning so quickly that she nearly missed yet another compliment that had been handed to her by this usually surly man. She paused her thoughts and blushed. "Thanks," she said, smiling.

He grinned at her. "The things the three of you did were truly incredible." He frowned suddenly. "I wasn't listed anywhere, though. I wasn't under the list of Death Eaters or Aurors or Order members. Why not?"

Hermione thought for a minute, not completely sure herself. It only took her a few moments more before she realized what it was. "The Room of Requrement," she said. "It must have altered the books."

"It can do that?" Severus asked. Hermione shrugged. "If it can, why would it?"

"I think that knowing your future could be dangerous to you," Hermione said. Severus frowned, but nodded that he understood.

"I suppose so," he said. "So avoid talking about my uncle."

Hermione smiled. "Exactly."

"Now then," Severus said, grinning. "I'm hungry, and breakfast had just arrived when you pulled me away so rudely."

Hermione blushed. "Sorry," she muttered.

He offered her his arm. "It's quite alright," he said. She took his arm and his smile grew. He puffed his chest out and stood a little taller. "Shall we?" he asked.

Hermione laughed. "Sure," she said.

People turned and stared at them when they re-entered the hall again, but for some reason, Hermione couldn't bring herself to care. She knew in that moment that she and Severus had formed a sort of friendship, and was both pleased and proud of herself. Ginny winked at her when they neared the table. Hermione swatted her across the back of her head. Ginny just laughed.

Hermione and Severus sat down again and immediately Severus began reaching for food. Hermione realized that he was sitting close to her again. She could feel the warmth radiating from him and allowed her to relax slightly against him. She thought he hadn't noticed, but he turned and smiled coyly at her, nudging her leg with his own.

She blushed and turned to Ginny, eager to start up a conversation. Ginny began babbling to her about Harry and how she couldn't wait for him to come back home. Hermione zoned out, thinking instead about Severus. She wasn't sure what it was, but for some reason, whenever he was around, she wasn't exactly herself. She blushed a lot more in the last day than she had in the year before that. She found herself saying things that she had never before dared to say. She knew it wasn't that she liked him; she'd liked guys before and it had always felt very different. Her heart wasn't racing around him. She didn't feel the need to be close to him when he was in the room. That just seemed to happen naturally. Besides, she thought, she'd only known him for a day.

No, this was something entirely different, but she couldn't exactly put her finger on what it was.

Ginny nudged her. She snapped out of her thoughts. Ginny pointed to the Head Table. "I think Snape is trying to get your attention," she said. "Wonder what he wants?"

Snape's eyes were on hers. Ginny was right, he was trying to get her attention. As soon as he had it, he rose from his seat, motioned to the door, and strode between the tables towards it. She rose and obediently followed. Severus glanced up as she left. "Hermione?" he called.

"I'll catch up with you later, Russ," she said. She hadn't realized she'd said it until it was too late to take back. "Sorry," she muttered. "I mean Russell."

She hurried out of the Great Hall, cheeks ablaze again.

She was in such a rush that she didn't see the dark figure standing in the hallway just beyond the doors. She ran into him with a force strong enough to send them both toppling to the ground. She was very aware of a pair of arms flying around her as they fell. Her vision went black.


Oooh! Who'd she run into? Will people truly believe the story Severus came up with? Was it really just that easy for Hermione to make friends with Severus? Or will something happen to prove that she isn't as close to him as she'd like to believe? And what's up with him acting so happy-go-lucky all of a sudden? So many questions! Tune in later for answers. :D

You guys are amazing. I am astounded every single time I post by the responses I'm getting to this story. It's amazing because you guys are amazing! Thank you so much! I'm thrilled that you are enjoying it as much as you are.

PLease keep reviewing and keep me happy! :P

Thanks for reading!

-Rayne