A/N:

I'd like to thank my Coven for the idea of Minerva's distress, especially Nyxx, Vine and Dash who helped me earlier with an annoying case of 'now what the fuck do I do?'. Your thoughts are appreciated greatly asn as you will see taken on board.

Without further ado, here is the most epic speech I have ever written for Hermione.

Chapter 9

"Miss Granger, I think you should get dressed." Minerva said, averting her eyes from the younger witch. "Severus, you really should've known better than to go after a student. I know I told you that I would be more than happy for the two of you to pursue a relationship once she is my apprentice but starting one now is grounds for being removed from your position at Hogwarts."

At hearing this, Hermione, who had just gathered her clothes from the floor and was heading for the bathroom to get dressed, whirled around and crossed her arms across her bare chest in indignation.

"You will not fire Severus for this. If you must know, not that it's any of your business; I came here tonight, uninvited, with the intention of seducing him. He had no idea that I had planned to do so and considering this whole thing is even possible because you shared my story with him before you had my permission to do so, you can take a large chunk of the blame for yourself."

"Miss Granger…" the Headmistress began, in her most formidable voice, "You will do well to remember who you are talking to. We may have become closer since the war but I expect you to respect my position as Severus's boss and your Headmistress. You are a Hogwarts Head Girl and you should be setting an example for the younger students, not chasing after your fancy man. Therefore, you will either apologise for that outburst or I will see you in detention. Now get dressed and return to your dorms."

Severus watched on silently at the staring match between two of the most formidable witches of his acquaintance. It was quite the spectacle to witness. Hermione stood with her hands on her hips, baring her uncovered chest unashamedly and staring both in shock and annoyance at the Headmistress. Minerva had her usual, thin-lipped expression of disapproval and hard eyes focused solely on Hermione, telling the younger witch to back down. The seasoned lioness versus the newest member of the adult pride.

"First of all," the younger lioness began, her temper evident in her blazing eyes, her determined stance and the fact that she seemed to have forgotten she naked, "… the only person who needs to apologise, Headmistress, is you. You gave my manuscript to Severus, knowing that I expressly wasn't ready for anyone else to read it and especially him. I was mortified when your gossiping git of a gargoyle told me that not only was Severus the chair I was sitting on in your office this morning, which by the way, for you to do that to either of us is beyond creepy; but, also that he collected my manuscript from you yesterday. I am beyond appalled that the woman I have looked up to for almost a decade, the mentor I have aspired to emulate for my entire life in the magical world has both betrayed my trust and the trust of the man I love more than anything in this world. Under the circumstance Minerva, I am hereby withdrawing my acceptance to be your apprentice. I will also not be bullied, threatened or blackmailed into ending my association with Severus; as such, if it so offends your delicate sensibilities for me to be with him, I will withdraw from Hogwarts and take my NEWTs independently. I am more than prepared for them already."

"Hermione…" Severus spoke for the first time in a while as he watched Minerva's jaw go slack at Hermione's accusations. "I think that may be going too far. I appreciate your concern for my career and indeed your love for…"

"Severus, if I were to return, with my NEWTs in September, would you take me on as an apprentice? You know my abilities in Potions far outweigh the rest of the student body and I would like a mentor and Master I can trust. I was going to ask you anyway; if anyone can handle a double Mastery, it's me but with how I feel right now, I just don't think I could work with the current Transfiguration Mistress and not throttle her and as there has been quite enough death in the last few years, I'd rather not take the risk of causing more."

"Now, wait just a minute…" Minerva started to retort, mirroring her opponent, placing her hands on her hips.

"No! Minerva, I don't know if you are aware of this but you were mistaken when you considered me almost twenty. I am in fact twenty-two… today if you take in actual amount of time lived through the last seven years when looking at it in a linear fashion. I used the time turner in my third year for more study than anyone realised. By the time I handed it back, I had read every book on the curriculum for all seven academic years, as well as over half of the entire Hogwarts library. I turned seventeen and have been legally of age since near the end of my third year. I have been brewing anti-aging potions of increasing potency since that time and of my own creation. I could tell what would end up happening with the war; I knew snake-face would return, that it was only a matter of time; I knew that it would be up to Harry to destroy him and that Harry wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell of finding and destroying horcruxes without help and guidance which I also knew we wouldn't be granted nearly enough of. I set about growing up in the time I was allotted so that I could at least be of more use when that time came and it's a good bloody job I did because to be perfectly honest, if I wasn't I'm not entirely sure how many people who did survive would actually be here.

I am not over-exaggerating my opinion of myself here either which I can tell you are thinking, Severus. As much as you may like this new development in our relationship, I am quite sure you still think I have an inflated sense of my own worth but think about it… I saved your life in the shrieking shack and whilst I will never ever call in that life-debt because I respect you far too much to do so and believe you have been through quite enough binding promises to last a life time, without the techniques I learned that year – both muggle and magical – you would not be here. Did anyone ever tell you exactly what I did to save your life?"

Severus shook his head, unwilling to interrupt her tirade. He was finding her verbal attack on Minerva highly amusing and more ballsy than anyone he had ever known. That she was doing it all for him – well for that he could let her assumptions about what he was thinking slide, especially since they were true. Know-it-all that she is.

"Well, let me tell you… I sealed your wounds with dittany, force-fed you the Nagini anti-venin I had created from a scale of hers I collected when she almost killed Harry and I at Godric's Hollow. Then I put your body in stasis, opened up my own veins magically to give you a blood transfusion whilst feeding myself a blood-replenishing potion. Then, I repaired and cleaned your clothes whilst you were unconscious, cleared your blood from the floor so that none of the remaining Death Eaters could use it in compulsion magics and transfigured a raggedy old curtain into a full sized stretcher for you… and then I came back to the castle to help Harry win the war.

I am not being falsely prideful by any of these actions. I am extremely proud of what I achieved that day and the reason I did all of it Severus…" she looked into his eyes as she continued, "…is because I love you and I cannot bear to be apart from you for another day so if my being a student is going to cause so much trouble then I am beyond ready to stop being a Hogwarts student and start being your apprentice and hopefully, girlfriend. Now, it seems my time here, for now at least, is done and I'm getting chilly." She finished by wandlessly adorning herself in her clothes and heading towards the portrait door, from where she summoned her wand with a click of her fingers.

"I'm going to collect my belongings and my trunk and head home. Don't worry about the floo or train, I can apparate from beyond the gates and I shall write to the Head of Magical Education and Testing at the Ministry first thing in the morning. It's too late now. Minerva, I'm sorry you feel you can't trust me or Severus to know our own minds, hearts and bodies in this matter but you know as well as I do that calling me a seventh year student at my age is silly and regardless of that the students know that I am not some silly teenager with a schoolgirl crush; I am very rarely 'silly' about anything. My academic achievement speaks for itself and that is the example I set for my peers, especially since as far as they are concerned, I gained such qualifications without the manipulation of time.

If I am needed to sign any parchments in regard to my leaving school early, I would prefer to only deal with Severus; also Severus…" she asked questioningly, walking toward him and placing a kiss on his cheek, "please owl me tomorrow and let me know if you would be willing to apprentice me. If not, I understand. I can maybe ask Professor Flitwick or try for an apprenticeship at Beauxbaton. Good evening."

And she walked out.

Both Minerva and Severus stared at the dark corridor Hermione had just disappeared into, astonished. The girl who had never raised her voice to a teacher, never been comfortable with breaking the rules like her friends and had achieved the highest score on every test since she was eleven had just let rip at the Headmistress no less and walked straight out of formal education. For Severus Snape.

Shaking out of his shock first, Severus cleared his throat and in his most authoritative voice, said only two words before billowing out of his quarters towards his… well… his girlfriend.

"Fix this!"

A/N: I have been writing fan fiction for almost a year now and this is very nearly the easiest chapter I have ever written. The top spot of that list belongs to Chapter 1 or Blood to Blood. I really hope you liked it. If you did, please drop a review below and/or a follow or favourite. Your thoughts are always appreciated.

Love & Rant-y Blessings

Moon Out! x