Chapter 12 -- An Unlikely Alliance

Hermione stared at the prophecy before her

Hermione stared at the prophecy before her. Then she glanced up at Severus. "This can't be possible."

Severus smiled at Hermione's reaction. "I can't be sure that it's about you, but I'm pretty sure that it is. Now, I understand if you feel uncomfortable with the fact that there is a prophecy about you and that it's about a war that will destroy the most powerful dark wizard of all time, but, it might not be about you. So relax." Severus smiled again and patted Hermione on the back reassuringly. He began to feel very uncomfortable. First of all, this whole smiling thing was uncomfortable and secondly, he couldn't get used to comforting other people…

Hermione looked up at Severus and smiled. Hermione glanced at her watch, they had about forty minutes until their next class. Hermione stood up and closed the book. "Can I borrow this?" She asked Severus. He nodded and Hermione put it into her book bag, which was already full of books.

Hermione put the bag over her shoulder and motioned for Severus to follow her. She led the all too familiar path to the Gryffindor tower. When they were nearly to their destination, Severus finally found his voice.

"You know it's a Hogsmeade weekend, right?" Severus asked, his stomach in knots from the nervousness that came to him while asking this question.

"Is it really? I didn't realize…" Hermione replied absently, she was busy thinking about the conversation that she was about to have. She didn't even realize that Sev was about to do something very, very brave (on his part).

"Well," Severus began, but he quickly realized that Hermione's mind was occupied. He did not want her to acquiesce to his request is she was distracted. So, he reached out and grabbed her hand. Hermione jerked to a stop (she wasn't expecting him to stop her) and he turned her body towards him, hoping to have her full concentration, which he did, "I was wondering if you would want to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?" Severus questioned, his voice shaking barely perceptibly.

Hermione was stunned. "Is it a Hogsmeade weekend?" She asked, perplexed.

Severus sighed loudly and rubbed his forehead with his hand. Did she seriously just ask that? Honestly?

"Yes, it is." Severus informed her.

"Oh." Hermione nodded and looked at the floor. She was fighting off the giant smile that wanted to invade her face. The blush that successfully set up camp on her face was making it hard to concentrate. Finally, when Hermione thought that she finally had control of her face, she looked up into Severus' face and made eye contact with him.

He was trying to keep any expression from his face but Hermione could read the nervousness that lay behind his eyes.

"Yes, I would love to go to Hogsmeade with you." Hermione said, her smile having won the war. Severus blushed pale pink and dipped his head down so his long black hair would hide his blush.

Hermione turned away and continued her walk to the Gryffindor Tower. This time she had trouble concentrating on anything besides her date (HER DATE!!) with Severus. She actually missed a turn and Severus had to steer her in the right direction, after laughing his ass off, of course.

When they finally made it to the Fat Lady's portrait Hermione was giggling sporadically and Severus was trying to stop from laughing with her, he had to, after all, keep up the whole 'evil, brooding, teenager' persona. Hermione instructed portrait, which he did grudgingly, and she went in search of her mortal enemy/friend.

There weren't many people in the common room, it was still pretty early, and those that were awake weren't really conscious.

Hermione sucked in a deep breath a walked up to the boy's room. She looked around the pig sty that the boys lived in and shivered, Hermione was a bit of a neat freak. Hermione cautiously looked around at the beds, looking for the lump that was Remus. Just then, a large ringing sound was heard in the room, followed by a very high-pitched scream.

Hermione stood in the middle of the room with her hands clasped over her mouth. Four bleary-eyed boys were sitting upright and staring at her in confusion.

"Bloody hell!" Sirius exclaimed. "What are you doing in here?"

"I need to talk to Remus." Hermione squeaked.

"Couldn't you wait until lunch?" Sirius growled. Hermione was surprised at his hostility.

"It's important." Hermione mumbled.

"Just give me a minute." Remus interrupted, "I'll meet you in the common room."

Hermione nodded and walked down the stairs, where she waited. It didn't take long until Remus was downstairs. Hermione dragged him out the portrait and down the hall where Sev was waiting.

He was leaning against the wall and glaring at the younger students that passed by him, after they had passed a small smile would grace his face, proving that he took pleasure in scaring the younger students. Hermione figured what caused him amusement was the look on the kids' faces.

Hermione pushed Remus forward; he froze when he caught sight of Severus. Sure, in theory, he was prepared to be nice to him, but it would be harder to execute. Severus noticed Hermione and Remus coming and he straightened up. He was expecting a fight.

A long, awkward pause engulfed the three. "So what was so important?" Remus asked.

Hermione got the book out of her bag and flipped to the page with the prophecy on it. She handed the book to Remus. He read it. As he read it Hermione studied his expression.

He seemed confused, then cautious and then incredulous. "There's a prophecy about us?" He asked, his voice as incredulous as his expression. Hermione nodded.

"It seems like there is." She said.

"Do you think Dumbledore knows? That would explain why he was being so weird…" Remus said.

"I didn't even think of Dumbledore. And I don't think we should. I think that we should keep this between us." Hermione said. "I wouldn't even have told you Remus but I think that you have a right to know it is, after all, partly about you."

"But mainly about you," Remus added, "so I think you should have the final say on this."

Hermione smiled and gave a quick hug to Remus. "Thanks! Now we should get to class. Remember Remus, don't tell a soul! That goes for you to Sev." Hermione grabbed the book from Remus, stuck it into her bag, and took off down the hall.

Hermione spent the rest of the week in a blur. She spent a lot of time with Remus and Severus in the library. Remus wasn't always with them, but he was there quite a bit. Remus and Severus got along rather well; they had a sort of cease-fire agreement. They weren't hostile towards one another but they weren't exceedingly kind to each other either. Hermione and Severus were nearly inseparable during the day. They ate together in the kitchens (Hermione soon became acquainted with a lot of House Elves and she calmed down about the whole 'slavery' thing) and they spent plenty of time in the library.

Their friendship caused quite a bit of chaos in Hogwarts. Students were outrage, teachers were amazed and the ghosts were flabbergasted. Never before had the two houses who hated each other so much foster a friendship. This was unheard of! Slytherins and Gryffindors should be at each others' throats. All of the teachers thought it was some elaborate scheme, they were on edge for the whole week, looking for something suspicious. Sirius actually got caught trying to pull a prank. He was given detention.

It was Severus who suggested the 'tutoring'. He finally got around to the whole time-travel amnesia discussion and he said that he would help Hermione the best he could. Remus joined into the tutor sessions. They happened after class for an hour or two, it was an impromptu thing and very informal. Severus was determined to teach her everything that she would ever need to know. Basically, he taught her everything he could from the past six years of his life at Hogwarts, not to mention the things he learned on his own.

Hermione researched on her own too, mostly about Therianthropes and about Grindelwald. She also had Severus and Remus tell her what they knew about Voldemort, she had to know what she was up against.

Sirius and James weren't very tolerant of Remus' friendship with Hermione and Severus, but, for once Remus stood up for himself against the two. He was no longer concerned on whether he was liked or not. He and Hermione shared something. She knew what it was like to turn into something that she had no control over. Being an animagus isn't the same thing, you willing change at anytime you wish. Being a werewolf (or Therianthrope) means having no control. Whenever the full moon comes up you change whether you want to or not. Hermione understood that, James and Sirius never would.

Hermione found herself looking forward to the Hogsmeade trip on Saturday. She couldn't wait to go on her date. Just the thought made Hermione want to bounce up and down, squealing while clapping her hands together very fast.

Friday finally came. Classes blurred by in a frenzy of note taking. Severus and Hermione met at a tree near the lake as previously arranged because it was nice outside, a bit chilly but nice enough that the fresh air was worth it. Hermione brought along a blanket and a small basket of food that the House Elves gave to her.

She and Severus worked on their homework. They both worked quietly and studiously, they knew that putting it off wasn't going to help and they both enjoyed having the weekend free (although Hermione would probably spend a few more hours on her essays, to make sure they were as perfect as they could be).

They were joined by Remus an hour later; he was on his way to the quidditch pitch to watch James and Sirius practice. He grabbed a sandwich from the basket and asked Severus a question on a potion that he was brewing in class that was giving him troubles and Sev gave him a tip that would fix the problem that Remus was having.

When Remus left Severus and Hermione began a conversation about quidditch. It was strange for Hermione because she never really liked sports, she was more concerned with learning. Severus was surprisingly into the sport, she had no idea that he was so excited about it.

"Why aren't you on the team?" Hermione finally asked. "If you love it so much, shouldn't you be doing it?"

Severus stared out at the lake and avoided Hermione's gaze. He hated when the conversation got so personal. Usually at this point Hermione would change the subject or ask a different question. He waited for that while he stared out at the lake. He saw the squid swimming beneath the surface…

"Are you going to tell why you aren't on the team? I'd really like to know."

Severus sighed. Apparently she wasn't going to back off today. He didn't know if he should answer her or not. She would probably resent him if he didn't, but he thought that she would understand if he didn't tell her. Severus ducked his head and his hair acted as a curtain between them. He watched Hermione out of the corner of his eye.

"I don't get along with my house." He finally answered. "They tolerate me because of Lucius Malfoy, who took a liking to me while he was in Hogwarts. I tried out for the team but they only let the ''in crowd' play. So now I watch, which is fine with me. I still fly so that's good enough for me."

"Is flying fun for you?" Hermione asked, she couldn't imagine that being so high in the sky with wind ripping at your sides could be seen as fun.

"It's exhilarating." Severus answered. "You may think it's crazy but I really like the idea that I could die at any second. When you're up so high and the only thing keeping you there it that piece of wood, nothing gets your adrenaline pumping like that. It's also amazing that your life is in your hands. It's up to you and your skill."

"Wow, that's kind of amazing." Hermione whispered. She was captivated by the joy that was portrayed on his face. He lit up from the inside. "I want to try flying again." Hermione decided. "Will you take me?"

Severus glanced at Hermione's face and their eyes met. A slow smile flitted across his face. "Yeah, and I won't let you get hurt like before. I'll take care of you." Severus said, his voice low and solemn. Hermione knew that she could trust her life with Severus, he was now invested in Hermione's future and that made Hermione unbelievably happy.

Soon, their impromptu picnic was over, clouds rolled in and blocked the sun that they were fortunate to have. Hermione started packing up and Severus grabbed her heavy book bag and put it over his shoulder and grabbed the basket. He went to grab his book bag but it was already over Hermione's shoulder. Severus shrugged and grabbed the blanket. He bundled it up in an attempt to hide his shaking hands.

Hermione saw him grab her bag and it was such a sweet move that she had to clamp her mouth shut to stop herself from squealing. He was being so chivalrous. Hermione grabbed the blanket from Severus and laced her fingers through his.

Holding hands with Severus was so natural. His hands were large and warm and they cradled her hand in a way that was so sweet, as if she were fragile. It was nice to feel fragile while she was being protected by a man with a physique like Severus'.

Saturday morning could not come fast enough. Hermione was awake an hour before she usually wakes up so she had plenty of time to kill. Hermione went through her trunk and could not find anything to wear. It was a disaster. Hermione was tearing through her trunk and flinging the clothes that were not good enough aside.

"Marie? Marie!?" called a voice from the bottom of the staircase. If Hermione remembered correctly, Marie was the name of one of the girls that she shared the room with. She heard footsteps on the stairs and a tall, redheaded girl entered the room.

The girl entered the room and was startled to see only Hermione in the room.

"Marie and Valerie went down to breakfast together." Hermione informed the girl.

"Oh." The girl looked about the room again, taking note of the clothes strewn across the room. "I'm Lily, by the way." She said. She stepped forward and stuck out her hand. Hermione shook it.

"Hermione." She said simply, knowing that Lily knew who she was, "You're dating James, aren't you?"

Lily nodded. "We've been dating for a couple of months now." Lily told her. "It's so strange because I used to hate him."

Hermione nodded. "James used to hate me," Hermione said, "but then he didn't and now he does. Again."

Lily nodded. "James told me about it."

An awkward silence blossomed in the room. Both girls did not really know each other and the people they were dating (Hermione wandered, was she officially dating Severus now?) hated each other. Did that mean that they couldn't be friends?

"What are you doing?" Lily asked, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"I can't find anything to wear to Hogsmeade. I'm going with Severus and I want to look good. But, nothing I own is good enough." Hermione told her miserably. She looked around the room and sighed in dismay at all of the ugly clothing.

Lily laughed and began to survey the room. "I know it seems that way now. When I went on my first date with James I nearly set fire to my entire wardrobe! If it weren't for Marie I never would have gotten a perfect outfit picked out."

Lily surveyed the mound of clothes that decorated the room and then she studied Hermione. Then she set to work. By the time that Lily picked out an outfit Hermione was on the verge of hyperventilating. As far as Hermione knew, this was her first date.

Lily picked out a plush, pale pink sweater and a pair of black pants. The pink enhanced her complexion (according to Lily, Hermione had no idea what she was talking about) and the sweater hugged her body in the right way. It hid the things that needed to be hid (Hermione's flabby tummy) and embellished the things that needed embellishing (her rather modest chest size).

Hermione wiped her sweaty hands on her pants and put all of her clothes back into the trunk. Then, Lily attacked her with a make up brush. Lily added very little make up and did this trick with her wand that made her normally untamable hair silky smooth.

Lily sat on the bed and watched Hermione pace in front of her. There was another half hour until Hermione was supposed to meet Severus. Lily began to chatter about being Head Girl and the responsibilities that it entailed. Then she began to talk about the teachers she had and what she thought of them. All of her pointless chatter made Hermione stop pacing and made her heart beat a bit slower. She found Lily a good conversationalist. And, almost before she knew it, it was time to go meet Severus.