CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

Hermione was greeted the next day with a face full of sunshine. She lay with the warmth on her face and the gentle air filling her chest easily. It was summertime in Hogwarts and she happily accepted having the empty castle to herself. Springing out of bed and landing on the wood floors, she padded to the washroom to freshen up after the good night of sleep. She opted to join Minerva and Severus in the Office still in her pajamas.

"Morning."

Gruffs and calls of good morning replied. Minerva and Severus were arranged around the large desk organizing the first volley of interviews to take place that week. The large Grandfather clock read a quarter to three and she hummed.

Hermione arrived at the small tea table to find her cup waiting for her to release it from its heating charm. "Thanks, for the tea !"

"I spit in it."

"Severus !"

"Added some flavour."

Hermione chuckled and sipped at the scalding liquid. She travelled over and leaned on the back of Snape's chair to look over the collection of names and resumes. "What if I just poured this down your back ?"

"Nothing's stopping you, teachers pet."

Hermione grinned and blew on the back of his neck. Immediately, Severus forced back his wheelchair and she sloshed her tea onto her front. "Yeeek- !"

He snickered and Minerva cast a charm to remove the spill. "Knock it off, you two." She dashed away from them and magicked Severus' hair tie away before scurrying to the bedroom. Min clucked, "And it's nearly 3 in the afternoon, child, go put on some proper clothes !"

Reaching into her bag, Hermione sung to herself some broken tunes as she dressed. Walking back into the Office she noticed that Minerva had transfigured a new tie for Severus as he was pulling back his long lengths of oily black hair. "Want me to give you a french braid, Severu-"

Hermione was interrupted by a firm knock at the door.

Immediately, both witches pointed their wands at Severus and in a few pops, gone was the man, replaced by a thin side desk holding a round bowl, filled to the brim with water, and swimming inside, a tiny goldfish.

Minerva tossed her wand onto her desk, "Come in !"

Hermione watched the door slowly swing open with an elongated creek. Then, popped Neville's oval face between the crack. "Hello, Professor McGonagall."

They both smiled and Hermione rushed him in a hug. "Neville !"

"Oh, hey Hermione - Oouf !" He straightened and caught her in his arms as she giggled and Neville shyly laughed back.

"Yes, Neville, how are you doing today ?"Minerva smiled warmly at her former students.

Setting Hermione right, Neville nodded to the Headmistress. "Good afternoon, Professor. I'm doing alright, just busy with the folks.. as you know." He stepped up to her desk in wearing his usual back slacks and a clean pressed button up shirt, a coat draped over his arm.

"Yes. Indeed, Professor Longbottom." McGonagall's voice melted and cracked a little. "That's very good to hear."

Neville couldn't hide his beaming smile even though he tucked his chin bashfully. Hermione followed him, watching his strong back proudly. He side stepped to greet the little goldfish he had grown to expect in the Headmistress' Office from time to time. Whenever he'd visit and the small fish wasn't present, Minerva would say she'd lent it to a friend. Again, a terrible liar. "Hey Alan, got some treats for you today."

Neville proceeded to reach into the pouch hung at his lower back, filled with an assortment of shrunken down gardening equipment and supposedly now, fish food. His mother might be a fright, but her son's a large softie like his dad, Hermione's heart swelled. "What brings you by ?"

He grinned down at Hermione. "Well, Professor McGonagall was one of my two favourite teachers, you know. I love chatting during these lazy summers."

"Oh so not your most favourite, Mr. Longbottom ?" She rolled the r in 'favourite' so emphatically that Hermione had to stiffen a laugh. Neville tilted his head sheepishly. "Oh, well, you're somewhere between Sprout and Snape, if that helps."

Minerva's pursed lips never wavered but she did snort in a way most unrefined.

"Actually, I was hoping to see you here, Hermione." He turned to her with kind eyes.

"Ah … " She knew from her tone, the knowing look that Minerva was sending her way. " For any reason in particular, Professor Longbottom ?"

Hermione shut her eyes and sighed at her tone. He just finished sprinkling a multi-coloured handful of flakes into Severus' bowl as well as a miniature shovel. "No not really, Headmistress. It's just a beautiful day for a stroll around the lake, is all."

"Ah, Ahh.. I see. " Hermione had summoned her cloak from the stand with such speed that Severus swayed with the swishing water in his bowl.

"Yes, yes, Min, I'll see you later." She called, grabbing the rest of her things and nearly shoving Neville out of the room before he caught on to the Headmistress' implications.

"Would be nice if you both could stay in the Castle through the year, Mr Longbottom. Us Professors are given such large accommodations …"

Hermione held one boot in her hand while hopping out the door stuffing the other on. "Yes, yes. He loves his bachelor pad, got to go now, bye !" With much force, the door swung shut behind the young couple. Minerva giggled to herself and looked at the fish bowl.

Severus glubbed.

"Don't give me that look !"

Prodding him all the way down the cramped spiral staircase, Neville fidgeted the whole way. "Ouf, ah ! Hermione, I get it, now piss off !"

She laughed and scruffed up his hair from her higher vantage. "Gods, it's like deja vu with your father all over again !"

Reaching the bottom, the Griffin slid back into place heavy and loud. "Merlin's beard, Hermione, you don't know the half of it !"

"Professor. Granger." The Griffin acknowledged the two waving back and heading to the front hall.

"Oh no, what's the damage ?" Hermione was clipping on her summer cloak around her brushy mane.

Neville donned his Herbology jacket, a thick material which, although fairly new, was dirt ridden and smeared with strange stains. "Oh, Da. He likes being called Pops though, he will not stop asking about you ! It's mental, he misses the better part of two Wars and all he wants to know about is my days at Hogwarts."

They approached the large set of solid, wood doors, boots echoing in the quiet arches of stone. The doors parted for them and a great gust of wind thrashed their faces simultaneously. Neville sighed against the frigid breeze, barely blinking from the pure sunshine and biting air. Hermione watched him again. He was staring out at the green fields with the attitude of a person ready to conquer them all. She batted away the tears from the wind and cold.

"Neville ?"

He turned down to look at her. "Yeah ?"

She quirked her mouth into a half smile. "I'm really happy for you. "

He looked down and away, stuffing his large hands in his jacket pockets. "Ah, bugger off."

She smiled and waited for him to say more, but Neville began walking to the lake in long strides, a toothy smile pulled close to his collar. Hermione set off to keep pace.

They headed towards the Black Lake situated on the border of Forbidden Forests. A well worn path circled it without touching the treeline. The fields were cool and moist with budding life. Hermione recognized a small group of Centaurs over on the far side of the property, tending to the grass and facilitating its grooming to feed a diverse ecosystem of wildlife.

They kept a good silence until they reached the beach of the lake when the ground transitioned from long, silky grass to exposed dirt and rocks. He stopped and looked at Hermione who decided that they should head. She jutted her chin to the left.

He snorted. "Typical."

"What of it, Longbottom ?" Her cheeks were red from the cold but numb enough for her not to mind.

He slowed his hike to a canter and she did the same. "Of course you'd want to go clockwise, Hermione. Only you would think that there's a proper way to walk around a lake."

Hermione gaped and swatted his arm gently. " Screw you, then !"

They laughed a little. Hermione smiled. God, it sounds like something Ron would say.. Her brows furrowed as she reconsidered the thought. No.. Ron would say it differently.

Or wouldn't notice at all, anymore.

"How's life anyway, Granger ?" Neville kicked a stone down the path.

She huffed. "Well works.. amazing but can't really explain why.."

"Oh, so there is a God ?" Hermione looked at him questionly. "Since He has spared me from hearing about all the inane details of you turning baby hippogriffs into, I don't know, Molly Weasley's infamous Shepard Pie."

Hermione sniffed a slightly runny nose. "Well actually, trials have been terrible failures so far. The poor calves are turning into Ginny's attempts at the Pie and you can imagine all the cases of food poisoning our interns must endure, then.."

"They have interns at the Department of Mysteries ?"

"Well it's more like people who accidently got stuck in the Department. They prep the tea in the morning but only the rebellious ones are turned into lab rats. Dampens the spirits."

Neville looked down at Hermione skeptically at her dispassionate delivery. "Nah, if that were true, most of the DA would still be there now."

Hermione hummed. She hoped not to discuss that point further.

"We did have some wild days, back in school." He put out instead.

"Mmm. Might be a good reason why your father wants to know so much ? You were quite the rebel yourself." Hermione knocked a stone near his side of the path.

"Ha ! There's a good point, right there." Neville kicked the stone back towards her side, higher up the path. "How did we survive it, Herms ?"

Hermione's mouth quirked sweetly at the nickname. "Who knows ?"

She stepped over the stone and kept walking. Neville sighed. "Who knows.."

They were about a quarters way around the lake. A straight shot from Hogwarts still but the path was closing towards the sharper curves of the lake. The bridge that crossed the narrowest part of the lake neared and the old structures from the TriWizards Tournament stood like monuments to a simpler time in the distance. "Hey Neville ?"

"Yeah, Hermione ?"

She adjusted her cloak against another strong gust. "This is a really fucking huge lake."

"It is."

She slowed. "Want to turn back now ?"

"Yes."

"Got it." She turned on her heel fluidly then shouted, "Beat you there !" And bolted into a run.

"Hey !" The laugh cut off somewhere behind her and she heard his heavy boots hitting the grainy dirt as she ran nearly blindly back in the direction they just came. Their calls and laughs were whipped up in the winds and tossed high in the sky.