Chapter Ten- Theodore

The foursome sat and conversed for some time. Zebadiah droned on and on about Theodore's various achievements, mentioning his 'Order of Merlin, Third Class' so many times that Theodore had to ask him to stop, stating that he only received it by sheer luck, and that his part in saving a pre-school aged witch from a Hungarian Horntail was vastly over exaggerated. Apparently, he had used his own self-invented spell, which combined a conjunctivitis curse with a powerful stunning charm, to distract the dragon long enough to rescue the distraught girl.

Hermione found herself instantly engrossed in the conversation. Theodore's achievements were nothing to smirk at, and the fact that he was unusually modest about them only made him that much more interesting a person. Although, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was an underlying reason for his diffidence. He was almost too modest…

Eventually, following a long appraisal of Theodore's research abilities by Zebadiah, and after a particularly nasty glare from Snape, Hermione ended the conversation.

"Well, Theodore, I suppose I should inform you of my true intentions for this visit." She stated wryly.

He looked at her with a small smirk on his face. "Do tell, Hermione."

She felt her cheeks flush before she answered him. "I was wondering if you would be so kind as to show me a little of what exactly it is you do, as a Wand Maker's apprentice."

"Are you planning on pursuing the career, Hermione?" he questioned her.

She didn't want to lie to him unless it was absolutely necessary, so she chose to circle around his question. "I have been thinking about it."

'Yeah, for the last five minutes…' she thought sheepishly.

"Well… then I suppose I am just going to have show you the wild side of wand making in hopes of converting you." He said smoothly, causing her to burst into a small fit of giggles.

"Excellent!" Zebadiah interrupted, standing from his chair, causing his guests to rise with him. "I will be away for the day on business, so the shop is all yours, Theodore. You do whatever you can to convert her!"

He smiled at the young man as he cleared the table and chairs away with a quick 'evanesco'.

"So, Severus," Zebadiah said. "Your letter said that you cannot linger to visit?"

"I do not have to leave just yet." Snape answered, though his eyes were on Hermione and Theodore, who were deep in conversation.

"Well, then," Zebadiah continued, "I am sorry that I will not be here today. I do hope you will understand? Business is business, after all."

"Of course, Zebadiah." Snape replied, returning his gaze to the old man before him. "It truly was a pleasure to see you again. Perhaps, if I am still around tomorrow?"

"Most definitely." Zebadiah told him. "You will be sure to let me know if you decide to stay, then?"

"I will." Snape told him plainly.

With that, the old man took off out of the back door of the shop, stopping only to say a brief farewell to Hermione and Theodore.

She turned to find Snape standing alone by the font desk, arms crossed in front of him, staring at her with an interested look on his face.

"Professor Snape, will you be staying with us a while?" she asked him.

"I was just interested in young Mr. Smith's recent accomplishments in his field." He switched his gaze from Hermione to Theodore. "Perhaps you would be so kind as to demonstrate some of your projects for me?"

Theodore nodded. "Of course." He motioned for them to follow him in to the back room. "Right this way."

He led the two guests in to a back room of the shop. There was a large trunk on top of a sturdy wooden table. He pointed his own wand at the lock and stated definitively "alohomora."

Instantly the lock burst open, allowing him to open the trunk with ease. He extracted three long boxes, two silver in color and one in solid black.

He opened the first silver box to reveal a plain, wooden wand, light in color, and placed the other two boxes on a shelf behind her.

"Birch wood," he told them. "Fifteen inches, dragon heartstring. Hungarian Horntail, to be exact. Normally the breed produces very unstable wand cores. However, if cured just right…"

He turned to Hermione. "A shield charm, if you would not mind, my dear?"

She blushed at his use of the intimate words in regard to her, nodding her head and producing a shield charm around all three of them. She had just enough time to glance in Snape's direction and detect a deep scowl before she heard:

"Expelliarmus!"

Instantly the wooden desk in front of them disintegrated into nothing but dust, forming a neat and perfect pile on the floor where the table had been only seconds earlier, the large trunk sitting heavily on top of it. Her jaw dropped in amazement as she released the shield charm.

"You were able to do all that with a simple disarming spell?" she asked unbelievingly.

"It really is the wand." He told her. "It is powerful, yet precise because of the way it was cured. Go on." He handed the wand to her. "Try it."

"No, I… I couldn't…" she replied, barely trying to deny the wand from him.

"I insist." He said. "Just a simple patronus charm. Go on."

She lifted the wand in front of her and, with incredible ease, conjured the most vivid corporeal patronus that she had ever produced.

The whispy otter gallivanted around the back room of the shop, out in to the main showroom, and back to the wand in her hand, not losing even a miniscule portion of its power as it went.

"That is incredible!" she gasped, handing the wand back to Theodore.

He placed the device back in its silver box and into the trunk from whence it came, then turned back to the two parties beside him.

"Another?" he questioned, glancing from Hermione to Snape.

"Oh, yes, defini-" Hermione started, but was cut off by Snape.

"Just one more." Snape interrupted. "Perhaps something a bit more… useful, this time?"

"Of course" Theodore nodded to Snape. "I have something that I think you will find right up your alley."

He placed the remaining silver box back into the trunk and focused on the black one, removing the lid carefully to reveal a long, sleek black wand.

"Black Coral." He said, admiring the wand as he spoke. "twenty-one inches… vampire hair."

Hermione gasped at his description of the wand. "Vampire hair!" Her eyes widened as she spoke. "But… but I thought that when a vampire dies, his body turns to dust… including his hair, and any that he has shed during his lifetime…"

She let her eyes linger on Theodore's, though he was still looking reverently at the wand.

"It does." He told her, switching his eyes to hers at last. "The vampire that gave to this wand has not yet passed."

She let her mouth hang open slightly as she processed his statement. "You… you got that from a live vampire?"

"I assure you, Hermione, this wand is perfectly safe. I forged it myself." He said confidently.

He held the wand out towards her and she shook her head. "No… no, you go ahead."

He began to pull the wand back towards himself when Snape made a motion towards it with his hand. "Perhaps you would not mind if I gave it a try?" Snape said silkily.

Theodore hesitated for an almost unnoticeable moment before handing the wand to him and answering. "Of course."

Snape took the wand and looked it over for a few moments, running his long, delicate fingers over the sleek exterior of the contraption, then eyeing it carefully before holding it down to his side.

He paused for a moment, apparently deciding on what spell to test the wand with, and then held the device steadily out in front of him.

Suddenly the room went dark. Not a thing could be seen in front of her eyes as she tried desperately to seek out a source of light. It took her a few seconds to register what must have happened--- he had used a non-verbal spell. She seriously thought for a moment that he had used 'Nox', until the second part of the spell took over. All three of them were covered in an eery red glow, but the light did not extend to the room around them. It seemed to only cover their individual bodies, clinging to their skin in very much the same way that a sheet would cling to a person standing in the wind. It seemed to dance around her for several seconds as she felt a warm, tingling sensation engulf her.

She made to look towards Snape but then realized that she could not move. It wasn't impedimenta… it was much stronger than that particular spell. It was as if she was being transported to another place… another universe… apart from the room in which she was standing. In this universe time stood still, and so did she.

Several seconds later, the spell lifted, and she found herself as safe as she had been before the spell had been cast.

She looked to Snape, who was holding the wand at his side now, looking thoroughly impressed with what had just happened. She moved her gaze to Theodore and saw that he looked as shocked as she felt, apparently as ignorant of the spell that had just been cast as she was.

"Efficient." Snape said plainly, handing the wand back to Theodore.

"Th-thank you." Theodore replied, taking the wand and shutting it safely back in its box before placing it back in the trunk.

The three of them exited the back room and congregated in the main shop once more, none of them saying a single word as they walked.

"Miss Granger." Snape said to her. "I have some business to attend to before I leave. Perhaps you would consider meeting Mr. Smith in, say, one hour? The task would go much more smoothly with your help…"

"Of course" she said to him, turning to face an extremely disgruntled looking Theodore.

"You don't mind, do you Theodore?" she asked in the sweetest voice she could muster.

"Not at all." He replied, his frown turning quickly in to a satisfied smile.

"Very good." Snape interrupted, walking between Theodore and Hermione to make his way toward the door.

Hermione took the hint and followed Snape, pausing first to shake Theodore's hand. He made to appease her but then lifted her hand to his mouth once more, placing yet another chaste kiss on her knuckles.

"One hour, then?" he asked her.

"Yes." She replied simply. "I will meet you here, if that is ok?"

"I look forward to it." Theodore replied smoothly.

She exited the shop at Snape's heels and followed his lead. They had been walking for a good three minutes before she realized that he was not speaking to her… on purpose?

She quickened her pace so that she ended up walking beside him, and tried unsuccessfully to catch his eye.

"Professor?" she called to him.

"What is it, Miss Granger?" he replied irritably.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"To the apartment so that I can apparate back to the house and stir the potion." He said quickly.

"Well, then, why did you ask me to come with you?"

"I was saving you." He answered.

"Saving me?"

"From a wasted hour of boring conversation with that dunderhead, Smith." He told her seriously.

She stifled a laugh. "I was kind of enjoying myself…" she said with a slight giggle in her voice.

So, he thought she was bored with Smith?

"Well, then do not let me keep you!" he snapped at her.

She stopped walking, and he must have sensed it, because he stopped with her. He turned to face her and took in the hurt look on her face, clearly disregarding it.

"We are here on an official mission for the Order, Miss Granger." He stated flatly. "You are not here to flirt with your old school mate."

Now she felt really hurt. "I was not flirting." She insisted, rendering a small snort from Snape. "I was trying to put myself on his good side so that he would feel comfortable enough to tell me the activation spell…"

She watched as his eyes turn back to meet hers, and she pushed her wounded look as hard as she could to get him to realize that she was telling the truth. He seemed to recognize that, and dropped his crossed arms from the front of his chest to his sides, glancing away briefly, then meeting her gaze once more.

"I apologize." He told her. "It was an ignorant assumption on my part. You were doing well, and I may very well have gotten in the way of your progress."

She tried to hide the shocked look on her face at his apology. Snape… apologizing to her…
It seemed… impossible.

"No, sir." She assured him with a still shocked look on her face. "I am sure it will be fine. He seemed to warm up to me fairly quickly. I would not be surprised if I was home before tonight."

"Let us hope so" he muttered almost inaudibly.

"Well, Miss Granger, there is no point in you following me all of the way back to the apartment. You should go back to Smith, and work on discovering the spell as soon as possible." He told her.

She nodded, turned to leave, then paused. She turned back to Snape and called for him to stop.

"Sir?" she said.

He turned around to face her, but gave no verbal response.

"Be careful." She told him softly. "On your trip back…"

He looked almost surprised by her words for some reason, then nodded slightly, and continued to walk towards the apartment. She made it about another minute's pace down the road before a hand on her shoulder stopped her from behind.

She turned around to see Snape standing behind her, a balled fist at his side.

"If you find yourself in any sort of trouble," he told her, taking her left hand in his and turning it over so that she was making a cupping motion toward the sky, "contact me with this."

He opened his balled fist and dropped a shiny galleon into her palm. She looked at it curiously before she realized that it was no ordinary galleon. It was exactly like the ones she had produced in her fifth year at Hogwarts as a means for the D.A. Club to communicate meeting times.

"Just tap it once with your wand," he continued, "and it will send a distress signal to the one in my pocket. Likewise, if anything is not going according to plan, I will signal you. You need only to touch your wand to the coin twice and speak your message out loud, and your reply will appear on the galleon on my end."

She looked up at him with a surprised smile. "Sir, these are exactly like-"

"I know." He interrupted her. "That is where I obtained the idea from." He seemed to search her face for a moment before elaborating. "I hope you do not mind that I borrowed your design…"

'Sincerity? From Snape?' she thought.

"Not at all." She answered it. "I find it kind of… flattering."

His lips creased in a small smile, and then he left again, making his way back up toward the apartment. She stared after him for a moment, thinking about just how much of a mystery Severus Snape really was.

………………………………..

Hermione and Theodore had been going over wand making theories for hours. He showed her his notes on the two wands that he had demonstrated to her and Snape, explaining why he used a certain base with a particular core. The notes were extensive, but terribly interesting. She found herself becoming lost in conversation with him, eager to learn as much as possible about his work.

His endeavors in wand making were unprecedented. Never before had anyone used Hungarian Horntail heartstring or vampire hair successfully. It was an amazing accomplishment, one which she was sure he would be famous for one day.

Eventually, despite the pleasant time that she was having with Theodore, she felt she needed to push their conversation in the intended direction.

"Theodore," she hesitated. "What can you tell me about… activation spells"

He arched a brow at her and seemed to consider her expression for a moment, then let a smile form on his face before answering her question. "Ah," he said, turning his body to face her completely, "I see you did your research on the subject before venturing here to meet with me?"

She nodded slightly, then waited for him to continue.

"Well, as I am sure you have read, Hermione, it is not exactly proper for me to divulge any information regarding that spell..."

She felt her smile falter, then quickly tried to hide it with an understanding nod in Theodore's direction.

"However…" he continued, "I may be willing to discuss the… broader… aspects of the spell, with you. That is, if you agree to do something for me in return."

She arched a playful brow and shrugged her shoulders upward, silently asking him what he was referring to.

"Have dinner with me, Hermione." He said as more of a statement than a question.

He took her cupped hand in his, then placed his other palm on top of it, effectively sandwiching her hand in his.

"What do you say? Seven o'clock?" he gave her a hopeful look.

She hesitated for a moment. For some reason she felt guilty accepting his invitation, though she could not figure out the reason for it.

"Oh, come now, Hermione. It will at least serve to give you some time away from that stuffy old ex-professor of ours…"

Now she felt more than ever like declining his invitation. Regardless of how Snape was seen by everyone else, she actually found him quite fascinating to be around. Although, Theodore was no bore himself… Eventually, after being unable to find a reason to refuse the invitation, she nodded her head in acceptance.

"Brilliant." He said to her, letting go of her hand. "Where are you staying?"

"Well," she began, for some reason not wanting him to know the location of where she was staying. "I could always meet you here-"

"Nonsense." He interrupted her, shaking his head fervently. "It would be ungentlemanly of me to not pick you up at your temporary residence before our date."

"Oh," she started, slightly taken aback by his chivalry. "Alright."

She had never been on a real date before. Sure, Ron had taken her to the three broomsticks on occasion during the summer following her sixth year at Hogwarts, and Viktor had come to visit her in muggle London and taken her for coffee at the local diner, but she had never been on an actual date with an actual gentleman…

She smiled at him, then asked "Do you have a quill, and a piece of parchment?"

He retrieved the requested objects from behind the main desk and handed them to her. She wrote down the address of Charlie's apartment, though she left out the room number, giving her the opportunity to meet him in the lobby on common ground.

It felt odd to be going on an actual date. She realized just how much she must have missed out on during her time in captivity. All of her friends had been dating, meeting new people and growing to know and possibly even love them. She thought about Harry and Ginny, and Ron and Katie, and knew that the couples must have been on numerous dates over the past so many months. She sighed at the thought of missing out on so much, then forced a smile and handed the parchment to Theodore.

"Seven o'clock, then?" she asked him, motioning to the parchment in his hand.

"On the dot." He replied, walking towards the front door and holding it open for her.

"Would you like me to walk you to your hotel?" he asked her.

"No, no, I will be fine. I have a few stops to make before I return there, anyway." She lied.

"Well, then," he said, lifting her knuckles to his lips yet again. "I shall see you at seven."

She smiled, then walked through the door and made toward the busy street in front of her. She stopped before she heard the door shut, and called out to him, a sudden thought entering her mind.

"Theodore?" she said as she turned around, only to find him still watching her from the doorway.

He raised his brows in a questioning manner, and she continued.

"How should I… erm… that is, what should I…" she paused to find the right words, cursing herself for acting like a common school girl. "How should I dress?"

"Formal attire, I should think." He said, smiling at her.

'Formal attire…' she thought as she resumed her path toward the apartment complex. He must be planning to take her someplace elegant. She was suddenly thankful that she thought to pack her dress robes.

………………………….

She stood in front of the full-length mirror in Charlie's Gryffindor-colored bedroom, inspecting herself from head to toe. The yellow dress robes strongly resembled a formal muggle gown, accentuating the curves in her body splendidly. Each line in the dress hugged her body lovingly, making her look much more voluptuous than she felt she normally appeared.

The neckline was a low v-neck, dipping to just above the line between her breasts, appearing sexy yet tasteful. The sleeves were long, hugging her upper arms and then flowing outward at the elbows, ending halfway down her hands just before her knuckles. The sleeves and the length of the garment, along with the deep invisibility pocket on the side to hold her wand, were really the only parts of the outfit that implied that the article of clothing was a witch's robe, rather than a muggle dress. The waist tapered inward and rested on her lean stomach, neither too tight nor too loose. The bottom of the waist tapered in the same v-shape as the neck line, leading in to a silky, yet flowing bottom half of the dress. The skirt of the garment was not tight, but hung loosely and narrowly on her hips, dropping lazily to the floor, and leading into a short train at the back of the dress robe.

She had decided on a silver necklace with a ruby pendant, one that she had gotten from her parents many Christmases ago, and it sat beautifully in the center of her upper chest just below her collar bone. She transfigured a couple of hair pins in to matching silver earrings that rested just below her ear lobes.

Her make up was simple, yet elegant. She had dusted a bit of blush on her cheeks, accentuating her cheek bones nicely. She had chosen a faint brown eye shadow with matching eye liner, and deep black mascara that made her eyes appear larger and browner than normal.

At first, she had straightened her hair, proving just how long it had grown during the past fifteen or so months. It hung loosely above her hips, dancing across her upper arms and shoulders. After viewing it that way for quite some time, she found that the look was simply not her own, and used her wand to put it back to its normal, curly state. She unpacked a silkening gel and ran it through her hair, allowing it to dry again naturally. The new look was shiny and bouncy, allowing her hair to hang neatly in clean-cut ringlets that flowed over her shoulders and stopped just above her elbows when her arms were at her sides.

She felt that the outfit lacked something, and it took several minutes of staring at herself in the mirror before she realized what it was. She picked up a white t-shirt and transfigured it into a hand bag that matched her dress robes perfectly, and used a color-changing spell on her black heels to harmonize them with the color of the dress and hand bag.

She glanced at the clock on the wall and realized with a start that the time was already five minutes to seven. She dropped her wand in the invisibility pocket of her gown, and placed her change purse and the magical galleon that Snape gave her inside her newly-made yellow hand bag. She walked swiftly to the elevator in the hallway outside of Charlie's apartment, and stepped in saying "lobby floor."

She exited the elevator to see Theodore staring out the window of the main door of the building, unaware that she had just joined him. He was wearing a very handsome set of wizard dress robes that strongly resembled a muggle tuxedo. The black jacket hung all the way to his heels and matched the pants to the outfit. The shoes appeared to be shiny black leather, and would not have been visible if he hadn't shifted a leg to his right in order to better see whatever he was looking at on the other side of the window.

She approached him from behind and stood there, waiting for him to acknowledge her, but he seemed blissfully unaware of her presence.

"hem, hem." She faux-coughed, in very Professor Umbridge sort of way.

He turned towards her with his hand outstretched, then stopped, his mouth slightly agape at the sight before him. She was able to see his dress shirt now, which was plain white with black buttons and a white bow-tie, fitted snugly under a white collar. Hi hair was just as it had been at the shop, and hung loosely and neatly above his shoulder, a slight kink in the texture.

He stared at her for several seconds, looking her up and down more than once, before he finally opened his mouth to speak.

"You look… delectable." He said in a whisper.

She felt her face fill with color at his comment, and took a step closer to him.

"Thank you. You look quite handsome yourself." She smiled at him.

He opened the door for her and then followed her outside, sidling up to her and offering her his arm. She linked her arm with his and they walked the long path down to the main town road, stopping when they reached the cobblestone street that would certainly take them to their anticipated destination.

"Where are we going?" she asked him as they turned right down the familiar street.

"You'll see." He told her teasingly. "I plan on making it a surprise."

They continued to walk for several more minutes until they came to a tall, brick building with a sign on the double front doors that read 'closed for renovations.'

She looked at him curiously as he released her arm and strode towards the door, extracting his wand from the inner pocket of his robes and tapping it lightly on the handle. Slowly, the words on the sign changed from 'closed for rennovations' to 'open to reservations.'

He gave her a sly look and motioned for her to move towards him, then opened the door for her to enter. She couldn't help but let out a loud gasp of air as she took in the sight before her.

The building looked tall from the outside, giving it the appearance of having three, or even four floors within. As she looked up, though, she could see that the outer appearance of the building was largely misleading. There was only one floor, with a ceiling that towered up four stories high. The ceiling was enchanted, much like the one in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, only this one appeared to be bewitched to permanently mirror a clear, star-filled night sky. There were private balconies scattered here and there along the walls, some almost touching the ground floor, and some so high up that it looked like the inhabitants of them might hit their heads on the enchanted ceiling.

Each balcony had a round table in the center of it, with two chairs on either side and several glowing candles in the center. Just about every table in the restaurant was occupied, giving Hermione the impression that the place must be quite popular. Her review of the atmosphere was interrupted by a man in silver dress robes who stood in front of them with two menus tucked under his right arm.

"Ah, Mr. Smith." The man with the thick Italian accent said. "Right on time, as usual. May I show you and your lovely guest to your table?"

"Yes, please, Mauricio." Theodore answered him, taking Hermione's arm once more and following the host through the restaurant. He led them to a balcony table that sat directly on the ground against the right wall of the building, then opened up a gated doorway and motioned for them to step inside. Theodore pulled out Hermione's chair for her then took his own seat, accepting Mauricio's offer of the menus that had been tucked under his arm. She arched a brow at the silverware next to her plate. There was the usual salad fork, dinner fork, butter knife, steak knife and spoon, but there was also what appeared to be a silver quill with no ink tip. She looked up to Theodore, who was waving their host off with urgency.

When Mauricio left them, Theodore turned to Hermione and asked her "Are you afraid of heights, Hermione?"

It seemed an odd question, as they were seated on the ground, but she answered nonetheless. "No, not at all."

He smiled at her, then picked up the largest of the three candles in the center of the table, holding it midway above the table cloth in the open air. Suddenly their balcony was ascending, bringing more and more distance between the couple and the rest of the restaurant-goers as they climbed toward the ceiling. He replaced the candle to the table just as they reached a spot about ten feet from the top of the building. Instantly the balcony came to a soft halt, effectively ending their climb of the wall.

She smiled brightly at Theodore, amazed at the wondrous attributes of the magical bistro.

"Do you like it?" he asked her with a hopeful smile on his face.

"It's… it's incredible." She managed to say after a few seconds of continued reverie at the gorgeous view they had from their heightened location.

He handed her one of the menus and opened his own, looking at her over the edge of the open food listing.

"The salmon is particularly appetizing." He suggested.

Normally she would not have taken the suggestion of another person without reading over the rest of the menu, but she loved Salmon. She placed her menu on the table and waited for him to finish looking over his own. Eventually, he placed his menu on top of hers, and lifted his head to meet her gaze.

"Have you decided?" he asked, earning an affirmative nod from Hermione. "To place your order, you simply write what you would like on the center of your plate with that silver quill to the left of your fork. All of the waiting is done by magic."

She did as she was told, picking up the quill and writing "Salmon, mixed vegetables, béarnaise dressing."

As soon as she was done the silver quill vanished in to thin air, startling her slightly. "Oh, no!" she exclaimed, raising her eyes to Theodore. "I forgot to order a beverage."

He smiled at her just as his own quill disappeared out of sight. He extracted his wand from his robes and touched it to the smallest of the three candles this time, letting it linger for only a moment. Instantly the candle disappeared, leaving in its wake a silver ice bucket containing a large bottle of Beringer brand White Zinfandel.

"Oh." She gasped, looking up at Theodore.

"It takes some getting used to, but it is quite nice once you familiarize yourself with the ordering process. It allows for a touch of… privacy… that you would not receive at a normal wizarding restaurant." He said to her.

She smiled back at him, silently agreeing with his assessment of the situation. She had never been to a place like this before, and found that she quite liked the idea of being on a formal date.

He poured each of them a glass of wine and they sat and conversed for nearly twenty minutes until their food arrived. They continued to talk during dinner, both of them taking turns telling various academic stories. Eventually she pushed the conversation back to wand making, easing into the subject by asking Theodore how he liked being a Wand Maker's apprentice.

"Oh, it really is a fascinating field." He answered her. "Zebadiah is more than I could have ever hoped for in a Wand Master. He has taught me everything I know about wand making. I truly feel that I have made the perfect career choice."

She smiled at him, giving him an encouraging nod. "How many years of study does it take to become a master at the art?" she asked him.

"Well," he answered, "It all depends. Zebadiah has had many apprentices in the past, some of which have gone on to become Wand Makers, some who quit before they had the chance… But, all in all, I am told that it normally takes about twenty years of apprenticeship before one can graduate to the title of Certified Wand Maker."

"Twenty years!" she gawked. "Why even bother?"

He chuckled at her reaction. "It takes incredible dedication to become a Certified Wand Maker, Hermione. That is probably why there are so few of them in the world today. Although, it does not always take that long to graduate from the apprenticeship. Why, Zebadiah was telling me just yesterday that he offered Professor Snape's mother the chance after only six years in the position."

She furrowed her brows and looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean, Professor Snape's mother?"

He returned her questioning look with an identical one. "Eileen Prince. Professor Snape's mother… she was Zebadiah's apprentice. Surely Professor Snape told you?"

"No…" she answered, staring down at her hands so that she could think. "No, he did not."

"Oh…" he answered hesitantly. "I just assumed… Seeing as you knew him outside of Hogwarts… I'm sorry, that was an arrogant assumption. I should not have mentioned anything. It was not my place."

"No, no." She answered quickly, looking up at him again. "I am sure he wouldn't mind… He probably just has not had the chance to mention it to me yet. He has been extremely busy with his… potions work."

Suddenly she felt like she didn't know her former professor at all. For a reason she could not identify, the thought gave her a queasy feeling in her stomach.

"Well," Theodore said, his enthusiasm returning, "seeing as the topic seems to have sparked your interest, I suppose there would be no harm in filling you in on what I know."

She smiled simply at him, encouraging him to continue.

"I do not know much about the subject, really." He told her. "Just that Zebadiah told me that Eileen Prince, Professor Snape's mother, was the most promising apprentice he had ever had. After only six years of apprenticeship, less than a third of the time that is normally required of the position, he offered to certify her as a Wand Maker."

"Did she accept?" she asked interestedly.

"No." He answered her. "According to Zebadiah, she declined the offer and left Romania permanently. He only saw her once after that, three years later, when she brought her son to his shop for his first wand."

She wondered why his mother would turn down such a rare and well-earned offer, and made a mental note to herself to ask Snape about it later.

After a delicious dinner, an incredible dessert, and several additional minutes of conversing over coffee, Theodore raised the tallest candle in the center of the table once more, and lowered them both to the ground level of the restaurant.

They bid good-bye to Mauricio and took to the cobblestone street, walking along the fronts of the many small shops that were still open at the late hour. Their conversation turned back to wand making, and, after several minutes, Hermione asked him the question she had wanted to bring up since their initial meeting that morning.

"Theodore," she started, "what can you tell me about the activation spell?"

He smiled, staring straight ahead of him as they walked, and offered her his arm once again. She took it, continuing to walk next to him, waiting patiently for him to answer.

"I could demonstrate it for you, you know." He told her.

She whipped her head to the side to look at him, amazed that he would so willingly divulge his most treasured secret to her. "You would be willing to do that for me?"

He continued walking for several seconds without answering her. Eventually, he twisted his head to face her, and answered her question. "I would." He said simply. "On one condition."

She quirked a brow at him and smirked, saying "you are a man who likes your conditions, aren't you?"

He smiled back and said "Yes, I am… when they get me what I want."

He stopped walking and turned to her, taking both of her hands in his. "Meet me at the shop in the morning. We can have breakfast, and then I can demonstrate the process for you."

She pulled her hands away slowly, feeling slightly uncomfortable, although she couldn't quite figure out why that was. "Well," she said slowly, "I am really not much of a breakfast person… but, we could always change breakfast to coffee?"

'Damn… I always eat breakfast. Why am I lying to him?'

"That sounds lovely." He said plainly, completely unaware of her uncomfortable state. "May I walk you home?"

"That would be nice." She said seriously, not looking forward to making the long walk by herself.

After a twenty minute stroll in the moonlight, opting to take the long way back, they entered Charlie's apartment building. She noticed him leaning in to kiss her, and she turned her face to the side just in time to allow his lips to land on her cheek. He smiled, once again blissfully ignorant of her discomfort.

"I shall see you in the morning, then? Shall we say, nine o'clock?" he asked.

She nodded, turning towards the elevator in an effort to ease him into leaving. She watched him walk out the door and heard a loud crack that signified his disapparation from the walkway. She walked over to the potted plant, muttered the password and the room number, and entered the elevator to her right.

As she opened the door to Charlie's apartment, she realized that she did not have to use alohomora to unlock it. She took out her wand and walked cautiously into the living room, muttering "lumos" to light her way.

Suddenly all of the lights in the room flared to life, and she saw a very tall, very angry man standing ten feet in front of her.

"Where have you been?" Snape growled loudly at her, causing her to shiver involuntarily.

She found that she was unable to speak. She had been working toward her discovery of the activation spell… why was he so angry?

His gaze shifted down from her eyes to the rest of her body, and his scowl instantly dissipated. He unconsciously looked her over, his gaze lingering at her ankles before he whipped his head back up towards her face.

Coming back to her senses, she said frantically "I was with Theodore, sir. I have been convincing him to trust me so that he will tell me the activation spell…"

She looked at him with a confused gaze, wondering why it was that he was so angry.

"And I suppose," he said quietly but with a tinge of anger in his voice, "that you were too busy to notice that I had signaled you? Or did you find it unnecessary to bring the galleon with you at all?"

She cringed. She had the galleon with her- she had made sure not to forget it. She had planned on checking it every so often to make sure that everything was still going as planned, but found that she completely forgot about it during her time with Theodore.

She opened her hand bag and took out the coin. It was warm in her hand and was glowing bright orange. He had been trying to contact her.

"Sir… I'm sorry… is everything-"

"It is past midnight, Miss Granger. Our agreement was that if you had not accomplished your task by nine o'clock, I would contact you to discuss changes to our course of action. It is difficult to contact you when you are so immature and careless that you disregard the method of contact that I have given to you!"

She felt hurt by his statement. She really had only been doing what she was supposed to be…

"I'm sorry, sir…" she said softly.

"Indeed." He said sharply. "Did you manage to learn the incantation, or were you too busy gallivanting around town all evening with your new friend?"

'Wow… that was uncalled for.'

"I am meeting him in the morning. He is going to demonstrate it for me." She explained.

He looked surprised by her statement. "He offered to demonstrate the activation spell for you?"

"Yes." She said confidently. "That was the point of my coming here, wasn't it? To convince him to tell me the spell?"

'That out to put him in his place…'

"Yes," he answered quickly, "but I thought… I assumed that you would have to take it from his notes. I did not expect him to demonstrate it for you."

"Well apparently he has taken a liking to me." She stated smugly.

He glared at her for several seconds, his eyes boring into hers. "Yes." He paused for a minute while he continued to glare at her. "I do not know what the spell's motions are, or the incantation that is needed to perform it. I do know, however, that it is a long and tedious chore. It is not something that you will remember off hand."

She hadn't thought about this before. He was most certainly correct.

"Any ideas, Miss Granger, on how to copy the spell without him noticing?" he asked.

She thought about the matter for a minute. In the muggle world, if one wanted to remember all the details of an event, one would simply record it with a video camera…

"Sir!" she yelled suddenly. "I have to apparate to London!"

He stared at her like she was going insane. "What? No. Absolutely not. There are too many people looking for you. You must not be seen."

"But, sir," she pleaded, "I have to get there tonight! I need to purchase a muggle video camera! I will not find one in any of the wizarding communities…"

She quieted for a moment as she tried to think of a more convincing argument. "Besides," she continued, "It is highly unlikely that I will meet a ministry official or one of… his followers… in a muggle city. And, even if I do," she persisted, "no one is going to recognize me tonight. I haven't worn dress robes since the Yule Ball in my fourth year. No one would ever expect to see me looking like this. I could apparate directly to the theatre disctrict- I know it well- and I could buy the camera and be back here within the hour."

He considered her statement for a moment before answering. "No. It is too dangerous. I will go."

"Sir, please." She implored him. "Look at you!" she paused as he looked himself up and down. "You could not be any further from a muggle if you carried a broom in your right hand and your wand in your left. It has to be me."

He began pacing the room back and forth, stopping when he reached the kitchen and turning to walk back toward the door. Eventually he stopped and made his way toward the couch, sitting down and looking up at Hermione.

"Fine." He conceded. "You have one hour. If you are not back by then, I am coming after you."

She smiled at him and nodded, then walked to the center of the living room and apparated to muggle London.

Her trip was quick. She blended in easily with all the overdressed theatre-goers, and simply walked past them to the far end of 31st Street. She saw the twenty-four hour convenience store and crossed her fingers, hoping she would find what she was looking for.

After several minutes of surveying the aisles, she found a pen-sized pocket video camera, and read the back of the package. "Thirty minutes" she said aloud to herself, hoping the recording time would be enough to successfully tape the entire incantation.

She made her way to the front of the store and noticed a rack that had nothing but batteries on it. Her camera pen came with a battery, so she did not need to purchase that particular size. She found herself thinking about the muggle radio that Snape kept in the nightstand at his home, and decided to purchase a pack of size 'D' batteries to give him for it. She purchased the video camera and the batteries, placing both items in her spacious handbag, headed back to the secluded side street that she had apparated on to, and waited until she was alone again to return to the apartment.

Seconds later she found herself back in the center of the living room, facing an anxious looking Snape.

"Well?" he asked her.

She removed the camera from her hand bag and gave it to him, saying "pen-sized. I can put it in my shirt pocket and he will be none the wiser."

He smirked at her impressively, placing the package back in her hand. He rose from the couch and walked to the door of the apartment, placing a hand on the handle.

"Are you leaving?" she asked him.

"Yes. I have to return to the potion. I will return tomorrow after it has finished curing."

She nodded to him and turned towards the bedroom.

He called after her. "Oh, and Miss Granger…" she turned to face him. "Bring the coin with you tomorrow. In your pocket."

She blushed and nodded at him. She watched him leave and made her way to the bedroom, thinking tomorrow's mission over in her mind. If everything went as planned, she would have the activation spell by noon--- right around the time that she expected the curing potion to be finished. With any luck, the wand would be completed by the following evening, and the Order would have its much-needed device.