Chapter 9
Getting to Know Professor Snape

Sage's cheeks raised slightly and his eyebrow raised up slowly, giving him a very mischeivous look, "Have a go with me, Uncle?"

Staring at Sage closely, then turning to look at Hermione, the corners of his lips drew apart in thought, making his mouth look much like it did right before he said something nasty in class.

"If you have no problem with Miss Granger seeing you thoroughly pummeled," he jeered, nastily.

Sage smiled lightly, "No, sir, no problem. If you can that is."

Severus growled, "You know that I can."

"In the past, but I've been practicing."

Putting his hand out to the side Severus bellowed, "Accio staff."

He grasped the staff effortlessly when it flew into his outstretched hand. After leaning it against the wall lightly, he took off the robe that he was shrouded in, untied the cuffs of his black shirt and rolled them up.

Hermione felt as if she had stepped into the Twilight Zone. She was beginning to see Professor Snape, of all people, as a person. Once you got past the strictness and the traditionalism, he was a person, a very snarky person, but a person none the less.

She constantly reminded herself to keep her mouth shut as they circled each other two handing their staffs...two Dark Marks staring back at her from their bare forearms. Here she was, a muggleborn witch, with two supposed Death Eaters. She would never have guessed.

Sage was the first one to make a gutsy move, or the more impatient and imprudent. It was easily countered by Severus before he swept the staff down low and hit Sage's shin, sweeping his leg right out from under him.

Sage looked up sheepishly from the flat of his back, "You've got me a little nervous."

"I do, or Miss Granger does," Severus said snidely, offering Sage a hand up.

"Both, I suppose."

"Keep your stance lower and I won't be able to sweep you and be prepared to move quickly away. You can't just try to attack and then stand there to wait and see if it was successful."

Sage growled and bent his knees more.

Severus began his own onslaught when Sage adjusted his stance.

It was very easy to notice that age was not necessarily a disadvantage, because the Professor was faster and smoother. The oversized wand, as Hermione was thinking of it, moved as effortlessly as if it were a piece of his body.

Before long sweat was glistening on Sage's arms and on his flushed face. The Professor looked fine in the cool morning air, as if he wasn't even breaking a sweat.

Finally, he said, "Breakfast is in order, I believe," lowering his staff.

Sage leaned forward, smiling slightly, and rested his elbows on his knees, sucking in deep breaths. "Most, definitely. At least you didn't embarrass me too much."

Hermione giggled slightly to herself, still enjoying her tea.

The Professor laid his staff against the wall and said, "I was being as benevolent as possible."

Rolling his eyes, Sage responded, "I'll go clean up. Please continue your gift of benevolence to Hermione while I am gone."

Severus shook his head in mock annoyance and gave Sage his best fake glare as his nephew walked by with a triumphant smirk on his glistening face.



After breakfast had been well underway, Hermione was unable to control the confused look on her face that had been threatening to come out since they had started eating.

Sage caught the glance and lifted his eyebrow, "Yes?"

"How can you possibly eat that much and not be a bohemoth?" She asked.

Shrugging slightly between a between bites of his jam slathered toast, Sage responded, "I'm still growing, or so I am constantly reminded."

"Certainly not horizontally," she said with a giggle. "You've not an ounce of fat on you."

"Nope, vertically," he answered lightly.

A distinctly loud clearing of the throat came from the other end of the table and the sound of the word 'nope'.

"Sorry, Uncle," he apologized, sheepishly.

The tone of the room dropped considerably.

Hermione gathered up all her reserve Gryffindor courage to restore the pleasant banter that had been going on before.

"Well, perhaps you are growing vertically, but Professor Snape is not...The two of you have consumed such an amount of food that half as much would have long satisfied Crabbe and Goyle."

Sage looked up at her, his fork halted partway to his mouth.

A fork clattered to the table from the Professor's position. He stared at her in utter disbelief, but he quickly forced himself to recover. It was no wonder why Sage favored her so much...her true personality was much shrouded in class.

"Fast metabolism, Miss Granger, although I do believe that most muggles would label us as hypomanic. When one's day is 18 to 20 hours in length, breakfast is much more welcomed."

It was her turn to stare at the Professor. Was that funny? Had Professor Snape just been funny on purpose?

He threw her a tight-lipped smirk that distinctly reminded her of Sage, but not she had to rearrange that all in her mind, because Sage had undoubtedly picked it up from his Uncle. A disturbing thought indeed. Sage's smirk would now remind her of Professor Snape...

Sage chuckled softly at the blank expression on her face as she tried to disgest his Uncle's strange sense of humor.

Directing his amused glace at his Uncle's face, he shook his head lightly.

Catching his look, Severus raised an eyebrow at him.

He smiled and raised one back.

As this instigation, the Professor sat back slightly and looked to Hermione, who was still looking at him perplexedly.

"I do believe your beloved Know-It-All has nothing to say - undoubtedly a first. Miss Granger speechless," he said, snidely.

She turned to look at Sage, who looked extraordinarily amused, and then back at the Professor. When the Professor's face turned into the same triumphant smirk, she felt as if she had again entered another dimension. This was distinctly wrong, on so very many levels.

"You're really scaring me, you know," she finally managed to say slowly.

At this Sage burst out laughing, which earned him a stout scowl from his Uncle, who didn't look so amused.

The Professor had just found himself reminded that he was sitting at the table with not one, but two Gryffindors. He made a quick sound of disgust and speared a piece of ham. What had possessed him to talk that way with Hermione Granger? Undoubtedly the two of them were having an effect on him, either that or they were spiking his tea, which was doubtful without him noticing. Strangely enough he was finding that he was tolerating Hermione's visit rather well, which was a sobering thought.



Sorry for the delay all! I have been concentrated on writing my new fic "God of the Underworld," which is posted on I hope you all check it out and let me know what you think.

In an effort to get this out faster, I will respond to everyone's reviews in the next chappie that I post. That will come much faster than this one did, I promise.

Don't forget to review, because I don't want to get discouraged from writing this, lol, my other OC is much much easier to write. Sage is sooo complicated! I really have to concentrate to write Sage! ;-)

You all are the best readers a girl could have! Let's try and get this story to 500 reviews like Prophecy of Merlin ;-)

Thanks!