Title: A New Severus Snape

Rating: T (for now)

Pairing(s): Severus/Hermione

Warnings: Canon Divergence, Ron-bashing (but he totally deserves it)

Summary: During the Battle of Hogwarts, Voldemort casts a de-aging curse at Harry. His intention is to return Harry to his infancy, to the age when he survived the killing curse, and make that Avada Kedavra stick this time around. Snape gets in the way of the curse, though, which de-ages him seventeen years. Voldemort is eventually defeated, but Snape is stuck at age twenty. When Hermione and her friends come back to school in the fall to start their seventh year, they're surprised to find that Snape is still de-aged and still stuck at Hogwarts trying to find a cure.

Notes: For the "Too Many Cooks" challenge. HP Slash Luv and I are sharing a universe, alternating 100-800-word drabbles based on one-word prompts and each other's previous work. We aren't allowed to write anything that doesn't agree with the canon we've already established. We'll try to keep it up until we write ourselves into a corner.


To see HP Slash Luv's side of the story, start with her version of "A New Severus Snape" - www dot fanfiction dot net/s/9917683/1/


"Harry wants detention."

Severus blinked. "Pardon?"

"With Daphne." Hermione looked up at him evenly at him from across his desk. "You gave her detention with Filch tonight, and Harry has decided the best way to win her heart is to earn himself a detention too."

The last of the other students finally filed out of the room, and Severus let himself drop heavily into his chair, not caring if Hermione saw his exhaustion. "Why are you telling me this?"

She shrugged. "I thought you ought to know. You could assign him one for anything you want - breathing too loudly, not combing his hair well enough, being related to his father. I know you've thought about it."

That drew out a reluctant chuckle. "I haven't been particularly discreet, have I?"

Her eyes sparkled.. "I don't blame you - he's antagonized you something awful over the years. Broken a lot of school rules."

"And yet you followed him."

"Harry is . . ." She stared off into space for a moment with a dreamy little look. "Well, he's going to be pretty influential one day, no matter what he chooses to do with his life."

"He doesn't have a plan yet?"

She raised one eyebrow, a perfect imitation of his own favorite sardonic expression. "Professional quidditch player."

"Merlin's beard."

"Agreed."

They stayed there looking at each other, him leaning back in his chair and her standing on the other side of his desk, for far longer than ought to have been comfortable with a student. Finally Severus had to bite the bullet.

"Last night," he said quietly.

Hermione dropped her gaze to the wood grain of the desk. "I . . . I'm sorry for being out so late?"

"Not what I meant."

She shifted her weight and colored a bit. And then adjusted her posture - spine straight, head up, eyes fully open and locked on his. Ready to argue.

"I'm not apologizing, if that's what you're looking for," she declared. "Yes, it was a flimsy excuse to kiss you. And I know you're getting more . . . attention . . . from students than you really want, now that you look closer to our age. But I'm not a normal student - not this year - and I fancied you just as much before the Battle." She reddened more, and Severus suspected she hadn't intended to say quite that much.

"You thought I was spying for Voldemort, before," he pointed out.

"No - Ron thought you were spying for Voldemort. I thought it far more likely you had gotten in over your head and Dumbledore found a way to use that to his advantage."

Severus sighed. "That's . . . reasonably accurate, I suppose."

"I also knew you were quite possibly the brightest person I've ever met, and I've found that fascinating ever since first year."

Severus stared at her. People so rarely saw his intelligence as a good thing. Useful, certainly, or threatening, but rarely good. Or "fascinating." Not even when he was a student, a young man, actively hoping to catch someone's eye. Okay, Lily's eye, but he wouldn't have been so blind as to miss if someone else were angling for him. No one had. Even now, the sixth- and seventh-year students were flirting more for the novelty than anything else. Hermione was . . . different.

"Even if I were inclined to reciprocate your interest," he said slowly, "students and faculty aren't exactly encouraged to get into that sort of a personal relationship."

Hermione smiled sweetly. "Which is why it's convenient I don't actually count as a student. I looked it up - the Hogwarts official rules of conduct specify students by year. There's no guideline for post-seventh-year students finishing their schooling after being denied their education on political grounds. We're charting new territory, Professor."

Of course she'd have looked it up. Severus couldn't suppress his reluctant smile. "You're more devious than I anticipated, Miss Granger, I'll give you that. Practically Slytherin."

And she beamed at him. "You wouldn't want me any other way."

Lord, she was flirting. No other word for it. And Merlin help him, it was working. Severus schooled his expression into neutrality, primarily so he wouldn't grin back.

"I'm reluctant to dismiss you outright," he said once he was reasonably sure he could talk without giving himself away. "But neither am I agreeing to anything."

She ducked her head. "Of course."

"That said . . ." He studied her. "If I were to catch you out past curfew again this evening - say, in the hallway outside the transfiguration classroom at ten - I might be forced to bring you with me on the rest of my rounds."

"And Harry?"

"Tell him to meet Filch for detention tonight. I'm blaming him for putting you up to this."

She brightened so much she was practically glowing. "Yes, sir. See you tonight."

Severus stayed at his desk, staring off into space, for so long he almost didn't have enough time to prepare for his next class.


(These little ficlets are supposed to stay between 100-800 words. I hope you don't mind that I ended up two dozen words over - I didn't want to cut anything more!)