AN: So far were sticking quite PG with this story but I promise it will earn its M rating in a few more chapters as shit starts to hit the fan hopefully spectacularly. Also I am writing fairly quickly right now Review please to keep me going. I'm having fun. are you?
CHAPTER 3
The next morning at breakfast Hermione was scowling at her plate and angrily stabbing her eggs around at the Head Table. The hall was full of floating glowing pumpkins instead of the usual candles and bats flying all around them. Halloween was in full swing and the students were excited for the long weekend of festivities ahead.
At least the extra day of no classes would give Hermione a change to work on her idea for her final research project without too much distraction, although she was scheduled to chaperone for an afternoon at Hogsmeade. That would give her a chance to pop into Tombs and Scrolls to see if there were any new and interesting books available.
The one really good thing to come out of helping George and Ron with WWW, other than getting to work with friends and make sure they don't kill themselves, is the extra income. Her apprentice salary was abysmal as was expected, but the royalties from the store had given Hermione the freedom to purchase almost any book she wished whenever she wished to.
She stabbed the yoke of an egg with her fork and continued to shove it around the plate. She took a deep breath and dropped her fork, breakfast wasn't going to happen today.
"Alrigh' there Hermione?" asked Hagrid sitting next to her.
"Yeah, fine." she stated a little more curtly than she meant to and looked up at her old friend. She must have been scowling as he had leaned slightly away from her.
"Easy, Hermione. With that scowl at breakfast students will start confusing you with our dear young Professor Snape" Pomona said with a smirk on her face when she looked past Hagrid at her.
Hermiones' jaw dropped at the comment and Hagrid let out a bellowing laugh. She glanced over at the black haired man who was scowling at his plate pushing his food around. He looked up from his plate at Hagrid and Pomona laughing and briefly caught Hermione's eye. She looked away quickly and gave Hagrid a light punch on the shoulder.
"Seriously you two! You're scaring the students" she said and collected her bag to get up from the table.
Some students had stopped their chatter to stare at the teachers table wondering what was so funny.
Hermione left the Great Hall telling herself it was to organize the potions classroom before the start of a double block of Gryffindor and Slytherin fourth years and not because she was running away.
0O0O0O0O
The fourth years were working on a calming draught, a relatively safe potion at least as far as most of the ingredients are concerned. The fumes coming off of the nearly finished brews were helping to relax Hermione as she walked around checking on the students' cauldrons.
"Mister Rhodes, what did you just slip into Miss DaSilvas' cauldron?" She spun around to look down at the young wizard and pursed her lips waiting for his answer.
"Uh, nothing. Professor Granger." the boy replied meekly.
"You have two options, Mister Rhodes. One, tell me what you put in your classmates cauldron and lose fifteen points. Or Two, stay silent and lose 20 points and earn detention scrubbing every cauldron in the back store room." Hermione watched the boys eye grow wider with the second option.
"Uh, uh, just a little extra peppermint oil, Professor" the boy stammered and nervously looked at his friends.
"15 points from Gryfindor and you will swap cauldrons with Miss DaSilva to finish off todays' assignment. I will not tolerate messing about in this classroom." Hermione told the boy and with a wave of her wand the cauldrons swapped places.
"How did she even see that?" the boy next to Mr Rhodes whispered to his friend as Hermione walked away resuming her rounds.
She chose to ignore the comment but smirked slightly remembering she had wondered the same thing as a student in Professor Snapes' class before she had learned about awareness charms and simple cauldron wards.
The awareness charms had been straight forward and useful for many things other than brewing. The cauldron wards had been interesting, when she first read about them she wanted to yell at Professor Snape for not casting them more thoroughly while she was a student. How many times had poor Neville blown up his cauldrons and other students getting hurt needlessly? She had noticed that Horace did not always cast Containment wards on all the cauldrons for the younger years either, but she chalked that up to his forgetfulness.
She did voice her worry to Minerva a few days later, too cowardly to actually confront the man herself with her anger. Minerva had smiled knowingly and asked Hermione if one blown up cauldron in your face with a relatively harmless potion might give you the kind of respect the art of potions really deserved? Before moving onto more dangerous ones in later years?
Hermione smirked at the realization. Even in his own Slytherin way, Professor Snape was allowing his students to learn for themselves, gain respect for his art, and keep his students safe. Her smirk quickly vanished and she rolled her eyes shoving thoughts of that man again out of her head. Honestly why was it that all of a sudden everything was about him?
The rest of class went without any drama, Hermione only needing to correct technique here, and there, ask a few questions of lazy looking students and collect samples at the desk as they were finished.
Horace did finally show up, commented on how well everyone was doing, made some excuse about collecting rare ingredients for the seventh year class from a friend and left, leaving her to teach his entire class on her own yet again. She was suppose to be assisting HIM.
Hermione sat down at the front of the class at the large desk and pulled out a piece of parchment. She started to write
Dear Head of Apprenticeships at the Ministry of Magic,
My name is Hermione Granger and I am currently in my Fifth Year of a Potions Mastery Apprenticeship overseen by Horace Slughorn at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I graduated from Hogwarts top of my class and have since remained a diligent student, willing and eager to complete my studies.
I have concerns regarding the completion of my Mastery as I have been unable to complete a number of my required potions due to lack of private classes from Professor Slughorn…
Hermione set down her quill and stared at the words on her parchment. She felt bad blaming a teacher and doubted they would even believe her, so she scratched out the last paragraph and tried again.
I am writing to request a transfer to complete my studies under another Potions Master or Mistress at the earliest convenience. I find I am unable to continue my studies at Hogwarts and would prefer to use the remaining year to work under a private instructor.
Sincerely
Hermione Jean Granger
Positions Apprentice 5th year.
Hermione looked down at the letter again. Short and to the point without naming Horace as the reason, hopefully they wouldn't ask. She folded up the parchment and placed it in a pocket of her robes for later when she had time to go up to the owlery.
Students were starting to place finished piles into the basket at her desk and cleaning up their stations. As she was starting to inspect the finished potions she was happy to see that many of the Calming Draughts looked decent enough to send down to the hospital wing for Poppy. Of course Mr. Rhodes' sample would be discarded as the extra peppermint oil would cause a burning sensation, watery eyes, or even uncontrollable sobbing.
0O0O0O0O
Later that evening Hermione was feeling a bit better now that she had written that letter, it was like she was actually doing something about her predicament. On her way to the Great Hall for supper Minerva fell into step beside her.
"Did Horace speak to you?" the older witch asked
"Yes he asked me to meet him in his office" Hermione replied.
"Oh good. I had a nice chat with him, he says you're doing wonderfully" Minerva said
"Honestly Minerva, he is still refusing to give me private lessons and today I taught almost entirely on my own" Hermione stated and stopped to look at the woman before continuing. "I've written to the Ministry, I'm asking to be transferred."
"What? Come now, Hermione. We must be able to figure something out other than you leaving Hogwarts." Minerva said with a very worried look on her face.
"It wouldn't be forever, just until I complete my Mastery and then I would be back" Hermione reassured.
"As you just said, you're doing much of the teaching already. I'm not sure we can afford to lose you right now and I would have a heck of a time finding a replacement so far into the term." Minerva sighed. "But I understand you need to focus on your studies."
"Thank you for understanding, I don't want to leave either, '' Hermione said.
"What did Severus say? Did he not agree to help you?" Minerva asked
"Uh, I haven't asked." Hermione shifted on her feet.
"What? Why ever not?" a look of shock on her face.
"I don't want to bother him." Hermione admitted.
Minerva put an arm around the young woman and gave her a squeeze.
"Still afraid of him? Really Hermione, after all these years?" She urged the girl to continue their walk to the great hall. "I'll talk to him for you. But where on earth is that Gryffindor courage that faced down Voldemort himself?"
Hermione stood up a little taller and her expression became one of determination.
"You're right. I don't know. My head has been everywhere." she admitted. "I'll ask him"
"Good, after supper then." Minerva stated, a smile back on her face as they walked into the hall together.
Hermione ate while trying to not look too scowley as she carried on polite conversation with the other teachers while also trying to plan exactly what she was going to say to Professor Snape. Thankfully he was not sitting at the table to distract her, which was also distracting because now she didn't know if he was busy. She could wind up disturbing him and therefore putting him into a bad mood and just get snapped at.
0o0o00o0o
Harry was sitting at his desk in the Auror wing of the ministry going through what seemed like an endless stack of parchments and files. Honestly if he had known just how much paperwork he was going to be expected to do instead of actually being out there keeping the Wizarding world safe he might have chosen a different profession.
He pulled a small parchment towards him that he had left on top to contemplate again. This was a copy of the coded text he had found on assignment last week, the original had been tagged and sent off to the code breaking department. They always took forever and he had an odd gut feeling about the text and the basement it had been found in.
His team had been following a lead on a missing magical artifact, probably taken by this organized group they were becoming aware of. The lead had taken them to a house on the north end of London almost right out of the city. It looked abandoned with a thick coating of dust coating everything, the dust had been just a little too uniform for his liking and had been the first thing to tip Harry off that it was likely not as abandoned as the occupiers wished them to think.
The house had given them almost nothing in terms of clues until Harry had stumbled onto a small piece of half burnt parchment under a small desk in the cold stone cellar of the house. There had been the reminisce of a few charms on the paper designed to keep the contents secret. He was able to remove them easily and the remaining text revealed was unlike any other code he had seen before, a mixture of the greek alphabet, ancient runes he didn't even recognize and some roman numerals.
He quickly copied part of the text again with a note to Hermione, maybe she would have some ideas. It was a little reckless sending the note by owl but Harry was after answers and didn't want to wait around for the code department to maybe take a look in 3 months. Maybe he could even pop by the castle to see her over Halloween to see what she thought.
0o0o0o0o0o
Hermione paced just outside Professor Snape's office door an hour after dinner had finished.
"Oh hell with it." She whispered to herself and knocked sharply on the door.
"Come in" a male voice responded.
She took a deep breath, raised her head up high and walked into the room trying to show confidence.
"Good Evening, Miss Granger" the man sitting at the desk looking up at her, an ever so tiny look of surprise on his face.
"Good Evening, Professor Snape." she responded walking across the room towards the desk.
"What can I do for you?" he asked quill still in his hand likely in the middle of grading some essays from the red ink dripping off the end.
Those poor students, she thought, and stopped in front of the desk.
"Well I was hoping to speak to you about my apprenticeship" She said, getting right to the point before she lost her courage.
"Do you not have a Potions Master at your disposal for such questions?" he asked sarcastically and raised an eyebrow slightly.
He had not asked her to sit down yet so she stood there feeling her courage slip slightly, but she held his gaze. His eyes were dark, but not as black and cold as she remembered, they had a touch of warm dark caramel to them now.
"Yes, Sir." She answered him out of habit.
He looked back down to his parchment like he was satisfied the conversation was over and made a note in its margin. Hermione had not moved from in front of him at his desk. He looked back up at her now obviously annoyed and glanced between her and the door.
"Something else, Granger?" he asked
"Well, Sir. Actually, Professor Slughorn is rather interested in his retirement and not so much anymore for teaching." she said and he looked back up at her, pursing his lips at her words but didn't say anything in response, so she continued.
"He has had me teaching first through fourth years almost completely on my own since the middle of last year, my private brewing classes have been fewer and farther between since my third year. I am now falling extremely far behind in my practical brewing and have no time to even start on my final research project for my exams" she was now rambling.
"Minerva is counting on me to pass my MEWS next year and take over the position, as you know. But I don't think I will be able to, the theory isn't a problem. I'm well ahead there, I just"
"Miss Granger" he cut her off, setting down his quill and pinching the bridge of his nose like she had just given him a headache. She stayed quiet but held his gaze again.
"I am busy. I don't have time to take on an apprentice in a completely different subject." he said matter of factly.
"No, Sir. I am not asking you to take me on, Minerva suggested that you might be willing to give me a few private lessons so I can complete my brewing of the more dangerous potions" she corrected.
"Minerva suggested, did she? Well this sounds like her problem to sort out, as I've said I am busy" he said dryly, starting to become frustrated with the young witch standing in front of him.
"Sorry for wasting your time, Professor Snape. Good Evening" she said, determined not to stand there and beg the man. She turned to leave his office, her steps showing her anger on her way out. She closed the door a little too strongly and heard a slam.
Frustrating man, she thought and let out a sharp breath. Why Minerva would have even thought he would be willing to help her way beyond her. Rather than heading back to her rooms Hermione made her way up to the owlery to post her request to the Ministry. The students, Headmistress and Hogwarts will just have to do without her for a while so she can finish this damned apprenticeship under someone who cares.
She quickly posted her letter to the Ministry and took out a small parchment to send a quick note to Minerva as well to let her know just how thoroughly Professor Snape enjoyed the idea of being her private tutor for the next year.
She nodded at the owls taking flight approving of her choice to take action over risking her own failure. A small brown owl came flying into the room just as she was leaving and chirped at her. It carried a small parchment on its foot stuck out in her direction. She carefully took the note from the owl and gave him a few treats before he took off back out the window. She pocketed the note with Harry's writing of her name on the front for later and headed off to her rooms.
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AN: Well this story is pouring out of me quite easily. I'm enjoying it, a few reviews would be nice. Sorry for any errors, I don't have a Beta reader and not spending too much time editing, just getting it written for the fun of it.