He didn't return for a solid forty-five minutes, during which time Hermione fretted about all the possible scenarios that might occur. Maybe he had offered to fulfill his sentence in some other degrading task that wouldn't require him to join her in the lobby. Maybe he was going to return to the snarly, sullen individual who had been with her that first week. Maybe he was still contemplating her knickers and he would never be able to unthink the words that she'd just spoken...

She was so busy reviewing how she wanted to handle it if he ever came back that she didn't notice his approach. In fact, he had seated himself without her realizing it and she jumped about a foot in the air when he asked, "Are you suitably recovered or do you need more time?"

"Merlin's beard, Severus, you can't sneak up on people like that!"

"I did clear my throat several times."

Hermione pressed a hand to her chest, knowing that the racing of her heart was only partially due to the scare. But before she could launch into her speech about how sorry she was, her need to keep this strictly professional, her plan to keep it from happening again, etc., etc., a visitor arrived. It was a man who looked to be in his late forties with a small child in tow.

"Good morning. I need your assistance. My son has been out of control for the past several weeks and my wife and I have hit our breaking point."

"Say no more, sir. The Obliviator Headquarters are on Level Three." Hermione gave him a bland smile.

"Obliviators? What would I need Obliviators for?"

She sat back, nonplussed. "Oh. Then perhaps you were looking for the Portkey Office on Level Six?"

"I don't want to send him away! I need help managing him, not erasing him!"

Beside her, Snape smothered a laugh.

"Um...Pest Advisory Bureau, Level Four?" she offered.

"No!" The man gave her A Look and turned to Snape, his eyes pleading. "I just need someone to straighten him out, you know? Put the fear of Gryffindor into him, that sort of thing."

Snape nodded seriously. "I know exactly what you mean. Please forgive my assistant, she is still in training." The man nodded, looking relieved. Snape scanned the directory in a false show of thoughtfulness and then said, "Try Auror Headquarters, Level Two, and ask for Mr. Potter. He's very good with recalcitrant children. If they are hesitant to pull Mr. Potter out of training, just tell them Miss Granger sent you." Snape jerked his chin in Hermione's direction and the man's eyes widened.

"Oh. OH. Alright, then, er, thank you."

They scurried off and Hermione heard the little boy whispering "Da, that's HERMIONE GRANGER!" as they went. She leveled a glare at Snape.

"In training? Really?"

"When your first suggestion is Obliviation, I think perhaps training is warranted." She opened her mouth to argue, but he rushed on. "Not to mention the truly stellar additions of Portkeying and Pest Control. Really, Granger, is there not a single maternal bone in your body?"

She sighed. "Fine. Perhaps I should have asked a few questions to figure out why he was here."

"There you go. Brightest Witch Of Her Age, everyone."

"Very funny."

They lapsed into silence, each lost in thought. It didn't seem like a long time, but soon the man and his son were back, both sporting huge grins.

"Look! Mr. Harry gave me my own scar!" The boy pointed to his forehead where a lightning bolt was drawn on with what looked like brown marker.

"How lovely," Hermione said, smiling too. Harry was good with kids; she had no doubt he'd encouraged this particular one to behave with promises of him growing up to be an Auror, too.

"And he said you're famous too, and not to let you try to mis—mis—misdread me!" The little boy looked at her eagerly, so Hermione leaned forward conspiratorially.

"I would never mislead you," she whispered loudly. Then she spun her fingers and produced her otter Patronus, which swam a few laps around the wide-eyed child before sprinting off towards the lift. "But I'm not as famous as Mr. Harry." She straightened and smiled at the boy's dad. "I'm glad he was able to assist. We hope you have a magical day."

The man returned her smile and said, "I'm sorry for being cross before. I was so flustered, I didn't realize I was in the presence of a celebrity!"

"No need to feel starstruck. Her knickers get wet in the rain just like the rest of us," Snape put in helpfully.

"Severus!"

Hermione's whole face heated and she turned to glower at Snape. The other man quickly turned his kid around and ushered him away, shooting them an odd glance over his shoulder as he left.

"Why are you plaguing me?" Hermione groaned.

"It's actually quite enjoyable being impertinent. I can see why you like it."

Snape idly examined his fingernails while Hermione fumed. Opting to skip the bulk of her prepared speech, she went directly to the end. "Look, for as long as we're working together, I think we need some boundaries. No more discussions of knickers, mine or otherwise."

"I do not accept."

"For Godric's sake, Snape..."

"Perhaps limited to Tuesdays and Fridays?"

"Argh!" She stood and shoved in her chair. "I'm going for a long walk now, and hopefully by the time I return, you'll have dropped this ridiculous obsession."

"I seriously doubt that." He gave her a false, sweet smile—the kind she often used on visitors. She growled again and stomped off, hoping that he had to deal with some dreadful guests in her absence.

A/N: Thank you all so very much for the reviews and kind words! I haven't written in a good long time and those little email alerts just make my day!