"I can remain as Jonathan, as you see him, for as long as I like, because Jonathan is what you make him to be. His image is stolen from your mind; he is the one whom you think of as the perfect person. "
Hermione was not sure she was hearing correctly. The perfect person?
"That's brilliant!" she nearly yelled, "but, what if the perfect person is a woman?"
"Well, that's a problem that I thought of too, so I altered the original spell to work with a potion that would alter the image accordingly."
"So, you'd have to have ingested it, because people see you as soon as they come in contact, so you may not have a chance to give it to them; I don't remember taking anything to drink before I met you as Jonathan."
"True, Ms. Granger. The potion is for me and the spell is for the onlooker."
"SO each person sees you as a different image, and the potion adjusts the gender to male? That sounds quite farfetched, but not impossible."
"Yes, it was not anything close to easy to get the potion to detect and back track the spell."
"SO there still is a problem," she looked at him, "Harry's a male, and he's the Boy-Who-Lived, wouldn't that make him a perfect person for a lot of people?"
Snape sneered, "Chosen one indeed, do you not want to present yet another theory to answer your own question, Granger?"
Hermione noted the loss of prefix, and concluded that he left out the "Ms." When he was really annoyed.
"Well, I would think that you also encode a basic form with the gender into the potion's response to the spell," she rubbed her chin, "that sounds extremely complicated!"
Snape nodded and waited.
"Hang on, so the spell is cast, the spell connects to the caster, so the link is formed," she frowned, "and the potion encodes the gender into the spell, sets the Arithmantic variable for gender and outline, and re-casts to alter the image, in your case, to a male with," she remembered Jonathan's image, "long hair and a angular face?" She left out the scar and earring, sure that it was her mind's idea to give a roguish look and the platinum hair. She ignored that small part of her mind that brought up a certain Malfoy's face.
"Quite astute a deduction," he smirked, he had left out glasses with a particular person in mind.
"Did you just compliment me?"
"I did no such thing."
"But..."
"Complete the theory, Granger."
"Alright," she huffed, but continued, "Therefore the spell works on a request-response basis?"
"I would believe that is quite correct."
"Holy shit! Professor, you just used the classic muggle internet model!"
"Language, Ms. Granger!" he snapped, "and what in Merlin's name is the in-teh-net?"
"Internet, with a r, Professor, and it's just a muggle invention to communicate over distances, irrespective of measure."
"Is it now?" Snape thought it over, "yes, well, the Arithmantic equations took me the most time to complete."
"I had no idea you were so talented with charms and Arithmancy till I figured you were Jonathan," Hermione stared in awe, "the whole idea is absolutely brilliant!"
"If I were inclined to ask your opinion, which I am not, I would find your statement rather appealing."
This time she really stuck out her tongue at him, which amused Snape a great deal, judging by the laughter in his eyes, "Professor, what spell did you decode and alter?"
"It's called the Mirror Mind spell, in Latin simply, 'Speculem Mens'," Snape was fairly proud; "the potion was my own, of course."
"Wow," Hermione accumulated all this for further study, and was silent for a while, deep in thought. Snape took this opportunity to study her in turn. She tended to bite her lip when she was concentrating, he had noticed from the few times they researched together.
Dumbledore watched the pair with interest, and stroked his beard. Perhaps there was more here than met the eye. He had certainly not seen Severus this talkative (in a non cursing marathon) only since...
"Please professor, please teach me how!"
"Perhaps, Ms. Granger, you must concentrate on your studies first."
Hermione was disappointed, and Snape hated the "My dog died look".
"Maybe if I can still tolerate you by then, you shall learn in due time."
It was like the sun had risen, the way Hermione brightened. Snape almost smiled.
"Oh! Thank you professor!" Hermione would have clapped her hands in glee, if she was in such company.
Snape nodded and turned to Dumbledore, "Don't you have better things to do other than watching people all day?"
"I watched people all day even when I was alive, Severus."
"No wonder," Snape muttered something that distinctly sounded like twinkling old spy coot; Dumbledore chuckled.
"Professor!" Hermione sprung to her feet, "what if you could alter the spell to make them see not only the image of a person, but a doctored image of the charm's internal mechanism as well?"
"Ms. Granger, I cannot understand a word when you are talking a mile a minute," he snapped, but Snape was interested.
"Sorry," Hermione blushed, "what I meant was, if you can make them see whomever they want, why not whatever you want them to see?"
Snape was nodding now, and Hermione went to stand near him, "you could re-program, that is, re-design, the spell to work such that, certain elements would be an illusion, but one that they cannot distinguish from real life!"
"Indeed Ms. Granger," Snape was surprised, "I believe that is a fair enough option."
"How long do you have?"
"Three weeks, but if we work every evening, we could do it and still have time to test the modified charm," Snape was so busy planning that he didn't notice Hermione had gone completely still.
After a moment, he looked up to find her staring at him in confusion and hope, "What is it?" He said a bit roughly.
"You said... we, we could do it," she said shyly, and Snape realised that he had said so indeed. He couldn't deny it now, he thought.
"Well, yes, as my assistant, you would be required to assist me, I should think," he said in an arch tone.
"You want me here, and you know it."
"Ha! I would have not asked if I had more time, I probably would have come up with it myself, and then I wouldn't need you."
"Why... Aargh! Fine then!" Hermione was tempted to stomp her feet, but refrained. She did however, turn away from him.
"Alright, Ms. Granger, I suppose credit is due for your quick thinking," Snape said in a tired tone, "now stop sulking."
"I am not sulking!"
"Haven't we been down that path before?" Snape rubbed his face.
Hermione remembered and coloured, "I suppose," but she remembered school, and the students, "I can't come every evening, but I'll come as often as I can."
"That is acceptable."
"Good, I'm starving, can we have lunch?"
Snape canted an eyebrow, but nodded, he was quite famished himself, not having had time for breakfast.
He led the way to the dining room as last night, where the elf had arranged two places across the long table that could just as easily have seated eight more.
Lunch was served shortly after, and it was decidedly less awkward at the table this afternoon, both having something to think over and occasionally discuss about. Snape was quite attentive to her theories and gave a brief introduction to his work on the charm.
Hermione hadn't felt this excited since she first heard about the working of the Paranoid Seal. It was fascinating to hear of Snape's work. He even agreed to let her see a demonstration of the working, wherein he would re-enact the working of the spell through practical demonstration.
After lunch, they retired to work in the research room. She waited while he fetched a vial of the potion, all the while a little excited to see Jonathan again. After all, Snape himself had said it would be the perfect person, and Jonathan was quite handsome.
Snape arrived and took off his outer robe, to work better. He was clad in a simple white shirt and black trousers, which looked quite expensive. He carefully uncorked the vial and swallowed it in one go, wincing slightly at the taste.
Hermione watched, in amazement, as Snape seemed to glow a little, and his features were softened in the process. He looked, well, glow-y.
"Ready, Ms. Granger?"
"Yes," she nodded, and closed her eyes while Snape raised his wand and uttered the spell.
She didn't feel any different, except for a slight tingle, and a moment later, she opened her eyes.
To find nothing had changed, and Snape still glowed a little. She waited, and Snape grew impatient; perhaps it was taking longer to react that usual.
"Well?" he asked, a bit irritated, "What is it?"
"Are you sure the potion and spell worked, professor?"
"Of course it worked!" he snapped, "I've done this too many times to count."
She still saw only Snape. No Jonathan around.
Snape was now looking very annoyed, and Hermione realised something that made her legs buckle under her.
She was seeing the perfect man according to her mind. It was Snape.