De aged Chapter 11
Despite his exhaustion, Snape awoke at the quietest of disturbances, after all: being a spy had taken away any sense of security. Yet after a brief second of gathering his racing thoughts, he kept his eyes shut- curious as to what Hermione was going to do.
She hopped down the three steps leading down from his bedroom, crossed the plush rug and shifted so that she was by his head. She paused, and he could feel her curious gaze burn him, but he waited still and listened to the steady rhythm of her breathing, up until she huffed and kneeled so to scrutinise him further.
"What do you think you are doing?" he asked, she squealed and leaped from her spot, though her immediate laughter told him that she was fine.
"You slept for a longgggg time" she said as an explanation, giggling.
"Not long enough" he said, glancing at the clock, which read twenty past six. The pair of them couldn't have had more than two and a half hours sleep to say the least, yet in typical child-like fashion Hermione had bundles of energy.
There was a sharp knock at the door and Snape was up on guard immediately.
"Who is it?" he demanded, very few dared near Professor Snape's quarters, other than,
"Draco, sir"
The 'sir' indicated that he was not alone, his God-Son was far less formal when they were around family, as was the Slytherin way.
"Who is with you?" he asked, watching as Hermione peaked out from the back of his arm chair.
"Pansy, Blaise and Theo, sir"
Ah, Draco's new gang: Crabbe and Goyle had been discarded and for that he was somewhat glad- they were brutish and pitifully dim witted like their death eater fathers, Draco's new friends were off high class and their families were established in the Slytherin community.
"You may enter" he said carelessly, wondering what childish issue they would burden him with today.
Once they did, Hermione moved so that she stood close to Snape, and when her ex classmates so her, they stiffened.
"What's that mud-"
"Finish that sentence and I will ensure that it is the last thing you ever do" Snape barked at Pansy, his wand was raised and pointed at the cocky Slytherin girl, who held a look of alarm for just a moment before batting her long lashes I'm the way she'd been taught by her mother.
Severus Snape's relationship with certain students was entirely based on outer connections, which meant that he was able to choose more unorthodox ways to discipline them: as was desired by their parents (most of whom were death eaters or others wise dark wizards).
"She looks different, I mean-"
"Yes, I believe it is normal for the body to change over the course of child hood and being a teenager, Theadore, it is called growing up" Snape snarled at the lanky boy, who stood straighter in his place.
"My name's Hermione" the four year old stated proudly, trying to ignore how drastically Snape had changed over the course of a few minutes. "Did you know me before I was little?" she enquired,
"Yes...yeah we did" Draco replied reluctantly, Hermione beamed.
"Did you really?! Were we friends?" she asked eagerly. Pansy sniggered, but Hermione's attention was mainly on Draco and Blaise.
"Yes, we were" Blaise answered to the dismay of the others, including Snape. He observed the boy closely in that moment: trying to read his intentions.
"What?" the boy asked innocently, meeting the glare of his head of house.
It was in a Slytherins nature to be cunning, and they were encouraged to get what they wanted in whatever manner possible. Blaise Zabini came from a famously beautiful mother who was widowed 7 times, each of her husbands had died under "mysterious circumstances" though it was common knowledge that she mercilessly killed them in order to make herself and her son richer. If anyone knew how to trick the innocent: it was him. In any other situation, Snape would be dutifully proud that a Slytherin was clearly trying to deceive someone, especially a Gryffindor, but not now, not Hermione
"What is it that you came to see me for? I assume you weren't expecting me to cook breakfast"
Before they could answer, there was a hurried knock at the door once more before it was forced open to reveal two familiar, scruffy Gryffindor boys,
"Harry! Ron!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly, running to hug (the legs, that is) of her friends.
There was silence as their eyes skimmed the Slytherin-infested room, and in the distance multiple footsteps could be heard scurrying down the stone stair case.
"He's gonna kill you mate!" came the voice of one Weasley twin
"Do you think I should have burrowed Colin's camera to really capture the moment?" asked the other.
"I'm not having you wankers getting us suspended from Quidditch Practice!" the ferocious voice of Ginny Weasley shouted.
They came to an abrupt halt and accidentally jostled their younger house mates. They too observed the scene with an instinctive uncomfortableness.
"Well..." George Weasley breathed.
"Would you be so kind as to remind me when my private quarters because open to any waif's and strays?" Snape growled,
"McGonagall told us Hermione was with you, so we came as fast as we could" The youngest Weasley boy explained, his face still red from running.
"An, well as you can see Mr Weasley, I have yet to torture nor harm Miss Granger as of yet, so your haste was unnecessary" he drawled.
Hermione didn't understand why Ron was gripping her arm so hard, or why he deliberately stood in front of her so she couldn't see Sevus. However the excitement of having so many friends in one place because too much to keep quiet.
"We should all play together!" she exclaimed, undeterred by the nine sets of eyes staring at her with alarm, "and have a tea party!" she added, "oh Harry please can we".
Before anyone could reply, it was Snape's turn to intervene.
"Now that is a very good idea Hermione. Potter, don't you agree?" The Potions Master said, his thin lips curling.
"His name's Harry, not 'Potter'!" Hermione corrected hastily, the twins and Ginny snickered at her confidence and attitude, knowing that teenage Hermione would sooner jump of a cliff than disrespect a professor, especially Snape.
That being said, the passion in her tone reminded Severus painfully of the hallucination the night before: of Lily, and he found the same angry green eyes glaring at him.
"Very well" he said reluctantly in his usual monotone voice which could never reveal the pain in his chest at that moment, "Harry. Take Hermione to the Gryffindor common room"
"Can't, Umbridge is usually there during school hours" George pointed out, the faces of the Gryffindors changed in unison to that of dread. Professor Umbridge had soon become the bane of their existence, and her rising power was a frequent cause of concern. Yet Hermione's ancient still rang in Harry's mind from years ago: as long as Dumbledore was around, he was safe.
"Well she's never in our common room, but obviously-"
"clever observation Parkinson, bring the your Gryffindor classmates to your common room, and Hermione will be collected before your first lesson"
Speaking of which, Severus had no way of telling when Hermione was to be leaving the castle. From the sounds of it, Minerva was being forced to accompany Dolores every waking minutes, which would undoubtedly place her in a foul mood for the rest of the day. He would surely be able to sneak a note to her over breakfast and gauge what was going on.
"Won't some body surely notice if a bunch of us are gone? Surely only some of us should go" Ron said hastily, he didn't trust the Slytherins around Hermione, not one bit.
"The child wants you all there, and therefor that it what you will do. Unless you are more inclined to have breakfast with Umbridge?" Snape said smoothly, eyebrow arched. Ron gulped and shook his head. "Very well, I will ensure that the common room is free before you enter. But be warned: if I hear of you squabbling with one another, or if so much as a hair on that child's head is hurt, the consequence will make cleaning troll dung look like a blessing. Have I made myself clear?" he demanded in an eerily calm and levelled tone. Each student nodded fiercely, and as he made his out of the door, Hermione called his name and held her arms out to hug him. No, he could not indulge in an act of pure affection, even then, even when the sweet smile on her young face faltered and her eyes looked at him without an inch of judgement.
"Good bye Hermione" he said quickly, before rushing out.
The Slytherin common room could not be more different from Gryffindors had it been in the middle of the Arctic, and it was hard to believe the rooms were in the same castle. The ceilings were high, leather sofas spaced out and green tiles that flashed brilliantly. Slytherins took pride in their cleanliness, that much was clear. There was a line of vulgar looking portraits along the wall who stared at the imposters with disgust.
"I feel like a Snake is gonna creep out from under the floor boards" Ron whispered to Harry nervously.
"Don't be ridiculous Weasley, the snakes only come out at night" Pansy answered smoothly, sitting gracefully onto one of the sofas. It took a moment for Ron to realise she was joking.
"What a bitch" he whispered under his breath.
"Ron, what's a 'bitch'?" Hermione asked sweetly.
Everyone turned silent and watched as Ron's face reddened under Hermione's question. Then George let out an infectious, barking laugh, followed by his twin, and then Blaise, who hardly ever lost his cool exterior. The pattern continued until suddenly everyone was wheezing and spluttering long after they had forgotten what they were even laughing about. Hermione's confused face only made them laugh more.
"Whats so funny?" she demanded, turning to Ginny, "why won't he tell me what a 'bitch' is?"
"Shhh! Hermione you can't say that word okay" Ginny tried to hold some authority in her voice whilst wiping a tear from her eye.
"Why not?"
"Because...because it's a very rude thing to call someone"
"If it was rude then Ron needs to say sorry to Pansy" Hermione concluded, and much to Pansy's enjoyment, Ron blushed heavily. "Go on" Hermione encouraged in the exact tone she had used as a teenager when she frequently bossed the boys around.
"Errr, I'm sorry Pansy"
The Slytherin girl raised a perfectly shaped brow in acknowledgement but otherwise remained silent.
"Now you need to say that you forgive him"
"Excuse me?" she retaliated.
"you have to say that you accept his apology, then you're friends again!" Hermione emphasised her exasperation.
Pansy paused, the child's expectant look alongside the oddly relaxed atmosphere that had occurred between the Gryffindors and Slytherins, she did not feel wish to ruin it.
"I forgive you, Ronald" she said mightily.
Soon, Hermione's attention was diverted to the twins.
"I'm Fred, and he's George"
"You're lying" Hermione accused.
The boys looked at one another, of course they were lying, it was second nature to introduce themselves as the other, to the extent that they forgot their own names on occasion.
"Am not!" they said in unison, making Hermione giggle.
"Are too!" She replied childishly.
"You know what Freddie, we shouldn't be disrespected like this" George sighed dramatically.
"you're absolutely right Georgie"
"You know what I'm thinking?"
Suddenly Hermione was 6 foot in the air, thrown half hazardously on Fred's shoulders as he ran blindly around coffee tables and book stands. Hermione's laughter instantly filled the grand room, which had previously always seemed too big, too quiet. Draco watched in silent fascination at how relaxed his housemates, how they smiled and laughed carelessly. The past few weeks had been tense, particularly for them: Voldemort's return meant that their parents were under a significant amount of pressure, and they're was a never ending anxiety that the Dark Lord would kill them.
Yet in that moment, where Theo and Blaise had joined in on their games, Pansy was laughing freely and even Potter, even Harry, who had been looking somewhat dire these past few weeks, now was revitalised.
The hour progressed in that similar manner, something about Hermione's innocence eradicated the Slytherin-Gryffindor divide that had previously ruled the students lives. Theo and Ron were in an avid conversation about the Chudley Canons. The Twins were explaining to Draco and Blaise how they were making a top of the range brand of sweets to get you out of class, and most surprisingly of all, Pansy found herself showing Ginny how she made her eyeliner wind proof for playing Quidditch.
Harry, however, found himself sitting on the plush window seat that looked over the Lake. The sunrise pierced through the water and made it appear to glow and glitter, and the waves moved in steady motions, yet still he was not relaxed. Then out of nowhere he felt a weight on his crossed legs and looked down to see Hermione; for some reason she had both a Gryffindor and Slytherin loosely tied around her neck, something that made him smile for a reason he did not understand.
"Hi Harry" she said quietly.
"Hi" he replied, hating that he could not be as upbeat and happy as he should be. The fog in his head had made everything blander and more sluggish, weeks since Cedric's death passed indistinguishably, as did the days without Hermione. He missed her, obviously she was here now, but he missed her sitting next to him in class, her nagging him to do his homework, her rational mind and the powerful advice she gave not caring if he wanted to hear it or not.
"Is your scar hurting?" She asked gravely, and his hand instinctively reached to touch it. Before he found the words to ask how she knew, she spoke again, "tell Dumbledore before it's too late" the sincerity of her tone frightened him.
"Too late? What do you mean?" he demanded. Yet the moment was gone, Hermione's face relaxed and she smiled happily.
"Can I try on your glasses?" she asked, and he grinned, it was odd seeing her like this, all the years he had known her before she had been serious and wise beyond her years, always worrying, and although he missed her: he was glad that she was away from Hogwarts and away from Umbridge.
The night before
Shrieking Shack
Remus unzipped the tattered back that he had packed, his body twitching with energy, and the sight of black synthetic fur caught his eye, and when he brought it out for closer examination; his heart burst. He had packed the bag entirely himself and only left it in his room for a moment, meaning that the only person that could have packed Hermione's beloved stuffed toy but Hermione herself. He brought 'Fawkes' to his chest, a wave of her sweet scent hit him, and in that moment; where he stood in the dark and dingy rat infested shack- the thought of Hermione was the only think keeping him human.
He and Sirius sat numbly in the seats across from Dumbeldore, his words registering like daggers in their minds. As much as they tried to look at the bigger picture; Grimmauld Place was vulnerable, meaning that the Order was at risk and would meet to enforce more powerful magic to protect it, the only thing that consumed their ugh to was the sweet little girl who they should have been protecting, who trusted them with all her heart and they had put her at risk.
"Although at this stage I doubt there are many other places safer than Grimmauld Place, aside from perhaps Kingsley's manor" Dumbledore considered.
"She should go" Lupin found himself saying, Sirius turned sharply to face him, his mouth agape, "If it's safer. Get more members to guard it" his mind was screaming at him to shut up, not to say another word, keep Hermione with him and Sirius at all times, but he forced himself to continue, "Or she could go to her parents. It would be near impossible for Voldemort to find her there, like you said Albus, it's clear she misses them, even if it's subconscious. We're being c-cruel to keep her away from them-" his throat burned with the meaning of his words.
"You can't be serious Remus-" Sirius interjected in a panicked tone.
"You know as well as I do that we're being selfish, Sirius. We're forgetting that she's meant to be nearly fifteen, she's Harry's best friend and the brightest witch of her age, and in a few months when she's restored to just that neither of us will be able to let go! It will be easier if we just do it now"
There was a deafening silence. Sirius leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling as if an argument would descend from it, but he had nothing, although his heart broke to admit it: Moony was right. Remus took to meeting Dumbledore's gaze almost defiantly, daring him to argue.
"Of course, the recent events have shown that it would be perhaps beneficial to slow Hermione to see her parents, providing that it isn't too distressing for them. However it is not safe enough to leave her there: now that she is under Voldemort's radar he will have spied on the lookout. Our best hope is proving that she is not worth the fight" The old man paused and stroked his beard thoughtfully, taking in the appearance of the haggard men he had once known as children.
"She makes you happy, doesn't she" he smiled, Remus and Sirius shared a look before nodding, and there was an unmistakable guilt in the Werewolf's eyes. "Then the matter is settled: Hermione is beyond happy to stay with you I'm sure, and once we come,eye further protection on the house, all shall be well" there was a pause, "you know, a famous philosopher once said it heals the soul to be with children". Before either men could react, there was a knock at the door, which swung open accordingly.
Remus's heart burst into a thousand pieces. Hermione was as unscathed and innocent as ever, and the moment she saw them she beamed and ran as fast as she could into Sirius's arms. The embrace was so powerful and heartfelt that both men forgot to be annoyed that it was Snape who had accompanied her.
"Moony" Hermione said tearfully, her arms outstretched for him.
"Hey" he said softly, unable to contain his smile despite his exhaustion. He held her as tightly as he dared, breathing in her comforting scent and losing himself in the safety of it.
"Thought you weren't coming back" she sniffed, and he cupped her cheek in his hand.
"Don't be silly. We couldn't leave you for that long" he smiled. His eyes met Sirius's and they spoke without words, knowing that whatever was to happen, they could overcome, as long as they were together.
Hi! What do you think? As always, let me know! I'm so so excited about this story and I have so many ideas for following chapters :)
I also completed this chapter whilst procrastinating the mountain of work that I should be doing, so wish me luck with that and the week ahead.
Hope you're all doing well.