Disclaimer: See Chapter One.
A/N: This chapter gets its name from Newton's First Law of Motion, which is sometimes referred to as the Law of Inertia. --Piton
Chapter 9 - Law of Inertia
Hermione felt like she was fairly skipping on the way to their lab. The last couple of weeks had gone well. Much to the Marauders' chagrin, they had found that nothing could cover, remove, or alter their new looks, and the school enjoyed the "drag queen trio" for an entire week, at which time Hermione had mercy on them and released the spell. By the end of the next week they had even forgiven her, although they still couldn't understand her actions. That was fine with her; as Remus said, "There's nothing wrong with being a woman of mystery". She then pointed out that she wouldn't be mysterious to most people, since few were quite that thick.
Her face fell and her steps slowed as she reached the door. For all her cheerfulness, she kept avoiding the thought of the upcoming holidays, but the Hogwarts Express was leaving tomorrow, carrying most everyone home to their families, and while she was excited to be staying here with Remus and McGonagall, she missed her old time. She blinked as she realized she had referred to it as her "old" time; not "home," not her "real" time. She was becoming accustomed to the idea of being stuck here, and that frightened her a little.
She walked in, flashing Severus a wide, fake smile of greeting. He gave her a searching look. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Sure!" she bubbled, "But enough about me, let's get to work, huh?"
With a quizzical eyebrow, he shrugged before turning to the cauldron. "Everything looks correct, if you could stir while I add the ground spider legs?"
She nodded briskly, and they began working, moving together in an easy camaraderie. By the end of the night, they were both exhausted, but the potion was finished. Severus carefully bottled the liquid and set it aside. Hermione frowned.
"What are you doing? We need to try it!"
"Now, now, Miss Granger..." he drawled. He frowned as he saw her flinch minutely. "Is something wrong?"
She forced a smile. "No, no... You just reminded me of someone I used to know." She made a show of looking at her watch. "Wow, look at the time! It's almost curfew! Guess I better get going; we can meet tomorrow and test the potion, ok?" Without waiting for an answer, she began to gather her books together frantically while he watched in confusion. As she felt his eyes on her, she stopped and turned to him, hands on hips. "What are you looking at?" she asked nervously.
Hoping to calm her down, he gave her a slow, sly grin. She felt an odd tightening in her stomach. "Nothing much," he drawled, "except that if you walk into Gryffindor tower looking like that your lupine friend will hex me until bits fall off."
She looked down cringing at her rumpled appearance and mussed up hair. 'Who says potions isn't a glamorous field?' she thought dryly, saying aloud, "Oh,"as she deftly pointed her wand and returned her appearance to normal. Looking back at him, her eyes sparkled as she commented candidly, "Actually his current hex of choice is the Togliatesta."
Severus's encyclopedic knowledge of hexes kicked in and his eyes widened as he placed the name. "Perhaps I should behave myself for a while, then..." he mumbled.
She winked at him. "Don't worry Sev, I'd never let him do it. He wouldn't even want to, actually; before you, I made him help me with potions."
Severus cringed, memories of seven disastrous years of potions classes with Lupin flickering through his mind. "I'm surprised you both are still in one piece," he commented.
She laughed brightly, "Oh, he's nothing compared to Neville! I always thought you would--have liked to meet him," she finished weakly. Her heart pounded at the near slip, praying he didn't notice.
Inwardly, he raised his eyebrows at her stammering and her obvious redirection of the sentence, concerned that there was something she thought she needed to hide from him, but the terrified look in her eyes told him it would be counterproductive to press the subject at the present time. He changed the subject slightly. "Neville... He was a classmate in Chicago?"
Her eyes filled with relief and another emotion he couldn't place as she responded, "Yes, he was terrified of-of the potions professor there, and just being near him made him so petrified that he was incapable of brewing even the simplest potion correctly." She smiled, but there was a tinge of sadness to it. "I always had to watch him so closely to keep him from blowing us all up..." In a far away voice, she whispered, "I hope he's doing okay on his own." She turned away, biting her lower lip, before turning back to him with over-bright eyes. Her voice was choked as she cried hoarsely, "Oh, Severus, sometimes I just miss everyone so much!"
He felt his heart swell as she began to cry, bent over at the waist as if she could hide her weakness from the world. Wordlessly he jumped up and strode to her side, guiding her gently to the couch. He settled her down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her close. "It's okay to miss your home," he whispered. "You have to let it out, you can't keep pushing it down, you won't heal that way."
Her breath coming in harsh sobs, she buried her head in his chest and let out all the pain, anger, and confusion of the past three months: all the worries for her friends both past and present, the stress of maintaining a constant facade, the growing certainty that she would never leave this time and the knowledge that even if she stayed in this time permanently something would happen to make her disappear before long. She clung to Severus like a sailor clings to the beam of a lighthouse on a gloomy night, letting the feeling of his hand rubbing slow circles on her back and his deep voice murmuring soothingly gradually overtake her pain and fear. Her sobs slowly died away, leaving her drained, feeling pleasantly empty.
Sniffling softly, she pulled away slightly, avoiding his eyes in embarrassment. She stared determinedly at her hands, jumping as a white patch covered them. Severus's handkerchief. She murmured her thanks, dabbing her eyes and blowing her nose.
It was about 45 minutes after curfew when Remus jumped at the light tapping on the door of the Gryffindor boys' seventh-year dorm. Sirius and Peter slept on, oblivious, as he hastily threw on a robe and slippers. Opening the door cautiously, his jaw dropped upon finding Severus Snape standing impatiently in the dim hall. His confusion deepened when, seeing him, Severus jerked his head in an indication to follow before heading back to the common room.
At the foot of the stairs, he stopped short at the sight of Hermione huddled into herself on a couch near the fire, staring into nothing. She looked miserable, and it was obvious that she had been crying. He turned accusing eyes on Severus, who snapped, "Don't be daft! It wasn't me." His face softened as he turned to Hermione. "It's Christmastime and she's here. She misses her family and friends." He turned to Remus, eyes almost pleading. "She needs you. Take care of her while the rest are gone." He hesitated, looking unsure of himself, an expression that looked utterly out of place on him. "Tell her Tell her I'll be here too, if she wants to come see me... to test the potion."
Remus studied him carefully in the dim room, the only illumination the fire blazing in the hearth. Perhaps it was a trick of light. Perhaps it was an unexpected burst of Christmas spirit. Perhaps it was simply Hermione, but this was not the Severus he was accustomed to dealing with. "Don't worry about her," he answered eventually, slightly defensive. "I always take care of her." He caught the other boy's eyes. Hermione was always so energized, so happy after spending time with him. "I'll tell her you'll be here. It'll make her happy to hear," he said, looking for a reaction.
For a second, the pale face brightened as the black-haired boy's lips curled upward in a tiny smile, but it was gone as soon as it came. "Good. I have to get back to my room, and you have things to do." His gaze turned back to Hermione, and for a moment his expression was unguarded as he looked at her fondly. Then he turned back, and was Snape again. "Take care of her," he repeated coldly, and swept out.
Remus immediately rushed to Hermione, helping up to her room and laying with her until she fell asleep, watching over her protectively. His mind was racing, thinking of that look on Severus's face. "Take care of her." This was his Hermione he was talking about, and a part of him kept shouting that that cretin wasn't good enough for her, but he had to admit that the Severus he had just spoken with hadn't been the same dark young man that stalked the halls at night. In the dark room, his lips curled into a smile. 'What do you know, Hermione,' he thought in awe, 'You've achieved the impossible.'
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The next morning, Severus sat on his bed, calmly observing the other boys' last-minute packing. Lucius passed by with a handful of socks, pausing at the foot of his bed. "Why aren't you packing, Severus?" he asked in a deceptively benign tone. "Don't tell us you've already finished."
Severus shrugged. "Ok, I won't tell you," he sneered. Rolling his eyes at the blank expression on the blond boy's face, he added, "Obviously, the fact that I'm not packing must mean I am staying here this holiday."
Lucius ran his eyes over Severus, evaluating him. "Funny," he commented, after a pause, "I'm sure I heard you mention your plans to visit your dear old grandmother."
If he was looking for a reaction, he had come to the wrong place. Severus simply blinked, not at all befuddled. "Perhaps you misheard," he suggested silkily.
"Perhaps you changed your mind," Lucius countered. He carelessly flung his socks into his trunk before sitting primly on the edge of Severus's bed. "Hmm. What could make Severus Snape want to stay at Hogwarts for the break?" he mused in a faux-confused tone. His face twisted into a vindictive snarl as he hissed, "This couldn't be about a certain Gryffindor Mudblood, could it?"
Keeping his face blank through pure will, Severus idly scratched his leg. "Who, Evans? I hardly think so, especially since I don't think she's even staying."
Lucius's eyes narrowed and his face sharpened, resembling a bloodhound on the scent of a fox. "I was referring to the Granger girl, but obviously it couldn't have anything to do with her." Shooting a sideways glance, he continued, "You know Granger--what is her name, Harriet?--is actually quite attractive. Once the new term starts I may avail myself of her charms--"
His voice ground to a halt as he found Severus's wand jammed in his neck before he'd even noticed him reaching for it. He stared calmly into a truly frightening pair of onyx eyes. "You will not harass her, Malfoy," Severus stated, his face expressionless except for the ice in his glare. He slowly lowered his wand, looking at the other boy in cold rage.
Malfoy smiled smugly as he made a show of straightening his collar. "My, my, Severus," he commented mildly. "Such a furor--over a Gryffindor Mudblood, no less." Severus gave no sign that he heard, expressionlessly pulling out a book to read while Malfoy, triumphant, returned to his trunk.
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Hermione woke late that day, after eleven. She slowly climbed out of bed, feeling as if a weight had been taken from her shoulders. She wondered at this feeling of freedom, before the events of the previous night came flying back to her. She smiled fondly as she remembered how it felt to burrow into Severus's chest, feeling his arms around her; it was like coming home.
She remembered him walking with her to Gryffindor Tower, finally carrying her. She told him she could walk on her own, and he had snapped, "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather get there before the sun rises." The effect of the comment was spoiled by the feeling of his breath on her cheek as he whispered to her. He laid her on the couch so gently, as if he thought she might break, and ran his hand over her cheek in a motion that sent chills down her spine, before leaving to fetch Remus.
Dear, sweet Remus, who had protected her throughout the night. Her brow creased as she wondered when he'd left. She snapped out of her thoughts as the object of her musing poked his head in the door. His pale eyes brightened upon seeing her up and about. "Good, you're decent!" he exclaimed, before bounding into the room and throwing himself on her bed.
She walked over to him and poked him gently. "You know, it's generally a better idea to find that out that before opening the door. What would you have done if you'd walked in and I was dancing around naked?"
He shuddered. "I'd probably run out screaming," he said thoughtfully. He winked at her. "No offense, kitten, but you rank just below my mom on my list of people it would be wrong to see naked." He gave her a sly smile. "After I was done screaming, I would of course tease you mercilessly for dancing around naked in the first place."
She grinned at him. "Now that's just unfair! I'm a terrible dancer; since I can't inflict my graceless gyrations on the general public, why can't I dance in the privacy of my own room? Especially," she added pointedly, "since boys aren't even supposed to be up here."
Unperturbed, he said, "Well, isn't it a good thing that I'm smart enough to counter that no-boys spell?"
Giving him an amused glance, she deadpanned, "Yes, thank the gods that I have such a clever, clever friend. Whatever would I do without Remus? Why, I'd cry and cry and cry."
He put his hand on her shoulder in a theatrically consoling manner. "I know the idea of living without me is heartbreaking," he said solemnly, "but do you think you could manage long enough to get yourself into some robes so we can go to lunch?" At her exasperated nod, he headed for the door, pausing long enough to say, all kidding aside, "Just for the record, I think you're a great dancer, and you should not believe it when people tell you otherwise." He slipped out the door.
She smiled at the empty room for a moment. She had told him about her years of ballet lessons as a child, her hours of practicing and dreams of being a prima ballerina, only to be told the year before entering Hogwarts that she lacked the "grace" to advance any further. She wasn't sure why she was surprised that he had remembered. Humming a Christmas carol, she finished dressing and bounded down the stairs to Remus.
He smiled at her exuberant entrance. "Such energy this morning!" he marveled, as they headed off. Walking slowly to the Great Hall, he shot a glance at her. "Did I mention that Severus said to tell you he'll be staying for the break, too?" he asked casually.
Her face broke into an expression of pleased surprise. "He said that? I thought he had told me he was leaving," she mused, a small smile playing around the corners of her mouth.
Remus grinned to himself. This was too easy. "Perhaps he stayed for you... I mean, your potion," he suggested innocently. "Didn't you say it's almost finished?"
She nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, we will probably test it tonight," she affirmed. Shooting a glance at Remus, she said, "Ok, c'mon and spill already, Rem! You've had a cat-that-ate-the-canary expression since you came in my room."
He smiled mysteriously. "It's just the observation of social customs," he said innocently. Seeing her lips thin in suspicion, he added hastily, "You know, Christmas is coming, people act all goofy, that sort of stuff."
Mollified, Hermione shrugged. "Ok..." she said uncertainly.
They entered the Great Hall, where, as was custom when few students stayed over the holidays, everyone was dining together at the Head Table. Remus subtly steered her to the seat next to Severus. Needing little guidance, she plunked down beside him. "Good morning," she greeted him sincerely.
He gave her a genuine smile. "Good afternoon," he corrected.
She gave a sheepish chuckle. "Oh. I guess I slept a little late today," she commented unnecessarily.
His eyes studied her for a long moment that warmed her face and left her skin feeling like every nerve was on end. "I think you needed it."
"What does that mean?" she demanded, only half-kidding. "Are you implying I'm in desperate need of beauty sleep?"
His eyes sparkled playfully. "Now, wait a minute. You said you got a good night's sleep last night. I said you needed it. The so-called 'beauty sleep' has already been experienced, meaning, theoretically, that it has already positively affected your appearance, so couldn't my comment be taken as a compliment?" While she was gaping at him in surprise, he added, "Although I've never had a complaint with your physical appearance, that wasn't actually what I was referring to. You were barely able to keep your head up last evening."
She flushed in embarrassment. "Oh, right. Sorry," she muttered.
Nudging her elbow, he said mildly, "It was actually quite pleasant: very quiet." His lips curved into his trademark sneer, although the typical malice behind it was missing. "It was just too bad you didn't fall asleep again; your head makes an excellent bookrest," he added wickedly.
Hermione gasped, partially in surprise at his playful mood. She wondered if his suddenly relaxed state had anything to do with the recent departure of Lucius Malfoy. "You don't really do that!" she said accusingly. "Just wait and see what I do the next time you take too much cheering draft..."
Sitting on the other side of Hermione, Remus observed the two with mischievous glee. He jumped slightly when he heard McGonagall's voice in his ear. "What exactly are you planning with Hermione, Mr. Lupin?"
He grinned at the Transfiguration teacher turned mother hen, indicating the discussion taking place next to him. They studied the couple for a moment. Severus was currently leaning in to whisper something to Hermione, his face open and happy. Hermione was glowing with pleasure as she nodded along to his comment. Remus gave Minerva a knowing smile. "I'm just letting nature take its course, Professor," he responded with all the innocence of a newborn babe.
"I see," she muttered, eyeing the scene before her speculatively. Given their relationship even a couple of months ago, she supposed she should be surprised by this new development, but somehow she felt like she had been waiting for it all along. 'You sure don't go for the easy ones, Hermione,' she thought fondly. She turned to Remus, wearing her usual stern expression. "I don't suppose you'd like any help letting nature take its course," she asked in an unusually mild tone.
His eyes sparkling like a bright autumn sky, he regarded the teacher with surprised approval. "I believe that nature can use as many helping hands as possible," he answered with a smile, and the two of them resumed their observation of the oblivious couple down the table, minds whirling as they plotted.
A/N: Responses to reviews at the end of the next chapter. Next chapter: Hermione and Severus's dreams! --Piton
