Chapter 25: A Rude Awakening
Next morning, Hermione made her way down to Snape's office a little early. She wanted to get there before Remus did, in order to speak privately to Snape.
"Good morning, sir," she greeted him, tossing her bag onto the table.
"Mmph," was his inarticulate reply as he bent over the teacup lovingly cradled in his hands, to inhale the aroma.
Hermione bit back a grin. He really wasn't a morning person!
Hermione was burning to find out how Greyback passed the night, but wanted to clear the air with her mentor first. "Professor Snape, I wanted to apologize for the way I ran out of here yesterday." She took a deep breath and met his questioning, somewhat bleary gaze, with nary a blush. "I was embarrassed about a professor's mentioning something as personal as my cycle.
"It was just a little confusing, because, well, I am an adult now—you and Remus have both treated me as such, all the time we've worked together—but the fact remains that I'm young, still in school, and still subject to all the same restrictions as the first-years. Having to switch back and forth all the time from gets a little confusing, and yesterday I left because I… simply didn't know what to think."
Snape looked alarmed. "Miss Granger, I assure you that I—I mean to say…" he paused, blinking, looking for the words.
"Sir, I'm not implying that you did anything inappropriate at all. Don't misunderstand me," she said hurriedly.
"It was not appropriate for a professor to mention something so personal to one of his female students," Snape finally said with difficulty.
"Perhaps not," Hermione allowed, "But for one adult to another, it was acceptable. Especially since those adults are colleagues, and—dare I hope it? —friends, to some extent."
He huffed a bit of a laugh then, and leaned back. "To some extent, yes, I suppose so." He eyed her for a moment, and then said, "Actually, I had been going to apologize to you for embarrassing you like that. The fact that you're a woman has not escaped me—or Remus—but I didn't want to leave you worrying that I was interested in you in any improper way."
Hermione smiled at his unconsciously using Lupin's first name, even as she waved away his concern. "Oh, I know that, sir. I trust you, and believe me, I know the difference! Greyback's interest in me was improper. Yours has never been. It was only my discomfiture at not knowing which role I was expected to play at that moment, that's all: Hermione the over-eager student, or Hermione the researcher. Professor McGonagall helped me out with it."
"Oh? What did she say?"
"She pointed out that our interactions run a little deeper than the usual student-professor relationship. Yesterday, you even used the word 'colleague.' She said that for the rest of the school year, we all have to observe the formalities, but after I leave school she would be perfectly willing to consider me as more of a friend than a pupil. She also told me," Hermione gave her professor a sidelong glance, "that you might be willing to do the same, after I leave school."
Snape said nothing.
"I don't want to presume, of course, Professor. But I'd like it if we could be friends at that point."
"I don't deny that it will be a pleasure to leave the over-eager student behind forever, in favor of the research partner," he said tartly. "But let's just get through the rest of this year, and hopefully the war, and then we'll see what the future brings."
Snape sighed. "I do lead rather a dangerous life, after all," he finished in an undertone.
Hermione gulped. "Then let's do our best to see that you survive it," she said stoutly.
Snape met her gaze for a long moment, and his expression softened. He opened his mouth to speak, but just then, Lupin creaked the door open and dragged himself in. He slumped into a chair. "Might've known you two would be here already," Lupin groaned, rubbing his eyes.
Snape looked at him, eyes glazed with exhaustion. "Not already, Remus. Still. Still here."
Lupin noticed Snape's fatigue. "You look almost as bad as I must," he said. "What happened?"
"Stayed up to monitor the experiment, and then got summoned by the Dark Lord shortly after midnight," Snape told him. "Worked for him all night. Reported to Dumbledore when I got back, and then came down here just in time for Miss Granger to come prancing in all cheerful and insufferable."
Behind him, Hermione stuck her tongue out at him.
"Poor Severus," Lupin said, sympathetic but amused. "So how is our little experiment doing this morning?" he asked, and yawned. His tongue curled up a little at the end during the yawn, like a dog's.
Snape scowled and shook his head. "The 'experiment,' as you put it, didn't survive."
"Wait, Greyback is dead? What happened?" Lupin was wide awake now.
"Well, I dosed him with an additional half-ounce every half-hour until sunset with no change. At sunset, I stopped dosing him and started monitoring him closely with the spell. He apparently transformed fully, and then died less than three minutes later. I saw it happen on the monitoring spell. He died just as I was summoned and had to leave. I've just got back down here a few minutes ago, and was waiting for you to show up before going down to see what happened."
"We killed him?" Hermione was horrified.
"Apparently. Read it for yourself," Snape cast the monitoring spell again. "No life signs."
"Even if we did," Lupin insisted, squeezing Hermione's shoulder, "It wasn't murder. More like an execution." His voice was hard, as if he couldn't forget what Greyback had done to him.
"It seems that you'll have to continue as a werewolf, Remus," Snape said. His dark eyes betrayed his disappointment. "I am sorry. Truly." He quirked one corner of his mouth in what might have been a rueful smile. "Not least because it means I'll have to go on making Wolfsbane for you."
"Bugger," Lupin replied, with all sincerity. "Well, let's go see what happened to him."