Chapter Five: Settling In
As she walked down the deserted hallways of Hogwarts, Hermione was acutely aware of the dark man walking a few steps ahead of her and to her right. She could see his profile. His nose jutted out harshly, widening a bit, and then plummeted down to the ground. Well not really. But he had a big nose. Though, big noses had never really bothered her, in fact, all the men she had dated had had large noses. Victor Krum may have begun that trend. Ron was no exception either. They'd dated in their seventh year of school, much to the happiness of everyone but herself. Ron talked continually about quidditch (which she definitely did not share his enthusiasm for), but whenever she brought up a topic, he would dismiss it as boring.
She glanced at Snape's face again. His eyes looked straight ahead, but they weren't really seeing. They were distant and unfocused. She knew that look. She was sure that her friends often saw it on her face. It was the thoughtful look of a face whose brain thought about things... and thought deeply.
Snape had said nothing since they'd left Dumbledore's office, and recognizing that he was not one for idle chat, Hermione had reciprocated his silence. Their footsteps echoed in a steady rhythm, bouncing off the walls, creating a sort of music. It was something for her to focus on so she could ignore the uncomfortable silence that hovered between Snape and herself.
Her shoes clicked when they struck the ground and his... hardly made any sound, except for a slight squeaking. Add to that the swishing of his robes and...
Squeak click swish click squeak click swish click squeak...
His strides were obviously longer than hers.
Squeak click swish click squeak click click click click...
His squeaking and swishing had stopped. She halted, looking up from the ground. He was standing next to a large tapestry that hung against the wall, covering a width of three feet of stone, starting at the ceiling and reaching down to the floor. The tapestry was clearly ancient (as is most everything in Hogwarts). At the top, in old English writing, were the words... "Ye Olde Stars." The rest of the tapestry was midnight blue, and every inch of it was covered in gorgeous, shining, white stars. It was a tapestry depicting the night sky.
"It's charmed just like the ceiling in the great hall, except it only shows the changes in the nighttime sky. Tonight should be clear." Hermione was startled when he spoke. She'd gotten used to the silence.
"Wow..." she breathed. And she meant it.
As she and Snape drew nearer to the tapestry, she could hear a faint sound coming from it. A step closer, and she recognized the sound to be voices. A million, sweet voices, each like the ringing of a tiny bell. 'All stars have voices,' she realized. They seemed to be whispering, wondering who she was. One star was brighter than the others, and she could hear it the best.
"Quiet please," it sang, and the voices were silenced. "What is your name, love?"
Snape spoke from behind her. "Her name is Professor Hermione Granger. She will be occupying the room that you protect."
"And does she have the password?" The star tinkled pleasantly.
"Fizzing Whizbee," Snape grimaced as he said this. As an afterthought he added, "Albus chose it, of course."
Hermione smiled at Snape's annoyed tone of voice. After Snape said the password, the tapestry gracefully fluttered to the right, as if a sudden gust of wind had caught it and was now pushing it aside. Hermione had thought that there would be a door behind it, but was surprised to find an arched passageway, only wide enough for one person to pass through at a time. 'Good thing I'm not claustrophobic,' she thought ironically.
Snape motioned for her to go first. As she stepped through the archway, lanterns (hidden in nooks in the wall) were lit instantly. Twenty feet ahead of her, she could make out a very old, arched, wooden door. When she reached it, she was not surprised to find that there was no doorknob, but a very old, cast-iron ring. She pulled on the large ring and the door yielded to her automatically. Snape reached in front of her and held it open. She stepped through.
Walking into the room, she was met with a historian's dream. The room was ancient, the furniture was ancient, the bookcase was ancient, and (to Hermione's extreme pleasure) the books were ancient. Everything was old. She was ecstatic.
"There will be a staff meeting in an hour. All staff meetings are mandatory." Her mood wasn't even broken with Snape's unfavorable tidings.
"Yes, yes, of course," she waved his comment to the side. "This room is magnificent!"
"Yes, quite." Severus said unenthusiastically. Returning to business he said, "Once you are settled in, you can change your password to whatever you like. If you no longer need my assistance..." He trailed off, gesturing towards the door. His meaning was clear.
"Oh, yes, I'm sorry. You can leave... Thank you, Severus." Hermione dismissed him.
"Think nothing of it," he drawled nonchalantly. With that he swept out of the room, the door falling closed behind him.
Hermione looked around the room once more, noticing that the house elves had brought her trunks already, and breathed a sigh of contentment.
~~~
Forty-five minutes later found her directing her belongings to their places as they popped out of her trunk and into the air. Books, robes, pictures, and more zipped around the room as Hermione pointed her wand at them.
It had taken her most of the time to clean the room, which had collected a considerable amount of dust and cobwebs. Now she was unpacking furiously, trying to finish before the staff meeting which was in... fifteen minutes! With a wave of her wand, the doors to the piece of furniture which would hold her clothes sprang open. She dumped the trunk with her robes and muggle clothing onto the floor. She worked quickly moving the clothes to her new closet, and at last she was finished. Panting from the effort, she glanced at her watch and saw that she had five minutes until the meeting started. She realized that she couldn't bother with her appearance or she would be late. Hermione bolted out the door and ran down the small corridor. When she reached it, the tapestry swung aside again. She stepped into the dim light of the corridor.
She looked around. Nothing was familiar. She ran down the corridor to her right. Still completely unfamiliar. Why hadn't she been paying attention to Snape's route to her room! She started running down the corridor to the left of her room... then she heard footsteps.
Squeak swish squeak swish squeak swish...
She knew those footsteps! Snape! She heard them coming closer and she saw Snape come from around a corner.
"Severus!" She exclaimed. Never had she been more excited to see the brooding figure of Severus Snape.
"Hermione. Albus instructed me to escort you to the staff meeting."
She walked over to him. He took in her appearance. Her robes were dusty, her hair was frizzy, and her cheeks were very pink indeed. 'She looks well, even when she's disheveled.' The thought came unbidden to his mind, and he immediately wondered if he was going insane.
He turned sharply on his heel and started walking in the direction that he had come from. He walked in front of her, just as before. After a hundred yards or so down the hallway, they came to be at the head of the grand staircase.
Hermione felt like such an idiot. She had been so close to the entrance hall, and she hadn't even known it. 'Good one, Granger.' Her cheeks started burning with embarrassment.
Snape noticed her obvious shame at not knowing how close she was, and he chuckled.
"This way," he said over his shoulder as he descended the stairs.
"I know where I am now, thank you very much." She grumbled to her shoes.
~~~
When they reached the door to the staff room, Snape made a movement as if to open it, but then stopped abruptly. He turned again to Hermione.
"Before we go in..." He withdrew his wand, pointed it at her robe and muttered a spell under his breath.
The dust that had covered it fell to the floor and her robe was, once again, black.
Her cheeks were pink again as she said, "Thank you," this time talking to Snape's shoes.
Snape turned to the door and struggled to hide a grin. He held the door open and she walked in. Immediately, every face in the room was turned in her direction. She recognized all but two of them. There was a large, bald wizard with a handlebar moustache that she had not seen before. She wondered what he would be teaching. Her eyes made a circle around the table to where another man was seated. His eyes met hers. They were a dark blue. His hair was jet black. As they made eye contact he flashed her a drop-dead gorgeous smile, managing to show every one of his perfect, white teeth (she was a daughter of dentists... how could she not notice the teeth?).
A jolly voice greeted her from the head of the table. "Ah, Hermione. Severus. So glad you could make it." She didn't have to look at Dumbledore to know that he was smiling. "Please... have a seat."
"Everyone," he continued, "this is Miss Hermione Granger. She is our new History of Magic Professor. Hermione, I'm sure you are acquainted with most everyone here. For those you don't know..." he gestured first to Mr. Handlebar Moustache, "This is Nigel Barett, our flight instructor, and this..." he now gestured to the young handsome man that she had made eye contact with, "is Archie Macdonald, our new Arithmancy Professor."
~~~
Author's Notes:
I was going to put more into this chapter... but I really wanted to post another chapter, so I'm saving it all for chapter 6.
So... any Monarch of the Glen fans? That's were I got the name Archie Macdonald. Clearly very Scottish.
Any speculations? Will there be a love triangle? Will the suspense ever end? Maybe. Maybe not.
A SPECIAL THANK-YOU to my reviewers. Your comments are encouraging, and make me want to write more. For who would write, if there were no comments to be had?
SiriusSparrow- Thank you for your enthusiastic review, I'm so pleased to have made it to your favs. list. Although you may not remember, but you've reviewed twice... and please... continue to review more. I LOVE REVIEWS!
As always, please r&r!
As she walked down the deserted hallways of Hogwarts, Hermione was acutely aware of the dark man walking a few steps ahead of her and to her right. She could see his profile. His nose jutted out harshly, widening a bit, and then plummeted down to the ground. Well not really. But he had a big nose. Though, big noses had never really bothered her, in fact, all the men she had dated had had large noses. Victor Krum may have begun that trend. Ron was no exception either. They'd dated in their seventh year of school, much to the happiness of everyone but herself. Ron talked continually about quidditch (which she definitely did not share his enthusiasm for), but whenever she brought up a topic, he would dismiss it as boring.
She glanced at Snape's face again. His eyes looked straight ahead, but they weren't really seeing. They were distant and unfocused. She knew that look. She was sure that her friends often saw it on her face. It was the thoughtful look of a face whose brain thought about things... and thought deeply.
Snape had said nothing since they'd left Dumbledore's office, and recognizing that he was not one for idle chat, Hermione had reciprocated his silence. Their footsteps echoed in a steady rhythm, bouncing off the walls, creating a sort of music. It was something for her to focus on so she could ignore the uncomfortable silence that hovered between Snape and herself.
Her shoes clicked when they struck the ground and his... hardly made any sound, except for a slight squeaking. Add to that the swishing of his robes and...
Squeak click swish click squeak click swish click squeak...
His strides were obviously longer than hers.
Squeak click swish click squeak click click click click...
His squeaking and swishing had stopped. She halted, looking up from the ground. He was standing next to a large tapestry that hung against the wall, covering a width of three feet of stone, starting at the ceiling and reaching down to the floor. The tapestry was clearly ancient (as is most everything in Hogwarts). At the top, in old English writing, were the words... "Ye Olde Stars." The rest of the tapestry was midnight blue, and every inch of it was covered in gorgeous, shining, white stars. It was a tapestry depicting the night sky.
"It's charmed just like the ceiling in the great hall, except it only shows the changes in the nighttime sky. Tonight should be clear." Hermione was startled when he spoke. She'd gotten used to the silence.
"Wow..." she breathed. And she meant it.
As she and Snape drew nearer to the tapestry, she could hear a faint sound coming from it. A step closer, and she recognized the sound to be voices. A million, sweet voices, each like the ringing of a tiny bell. 'All stars have voices,' she realized. They seemed to be whispering, wondering who she was. One star was brighter than the others, and she could hear it the best.
"Quiet please," it sang, and the voices were silenced. "What is your name, love?"
Snape spoke from behind her. "Her name is Professor Hermione Granger. She will be occupying the room that you protect."
"And does she have the password?" The star tinkled pleasantly.
"Fizzing Whizbee," Snape grimaced as he said this. As an afterthought he added, "Albus chose it, of course."
Hermione smiled at Snape's annoyed tone of voice. After Snape said the password, the tapestry gracefully fluttered to the right, as if a sudden gust of wind had caught it and was now pushing it aside. Hermione had thought that there would be a door behind it, but was surprised to find an arched passageway, only wide enough for one person to pass through at a time. 'Good thing I'm not claustrophobic,' she thought ironically.
Snape motioned for her to go first. As she stepped through the archway, lanterns (hidden in nooks in the wall) were lit instantly. Twenty feet ahead of her, she could make out a very old, arched, wooden door. When she reached it, she was not surprised to find that there was no doorknob, but a very old, cast-iron ring. She pulled on the large ring and the door yielded to her automatically. Snape reached in front of her and held it open. She stepped through.
Walking into the room, she was met with a historian's dream. The room was ancient, the furniture was ancient, the bookcase was ancient, and (to Hermione's extreme pleasure) the books were ancient. Everything was old. She was ecstatic.
"There will be a staff meeting in an hour. All staff meetings are mandatory." Her mood wasn't even broken with Snape's unfavorable tidings.
"Yes, yes, of course," she waved his comment to the side. "This room is magnificent!"
"Yes, quite." Severus said unenthusiastically. Returning to business he said, "Once you are settled in, you can change your password to whatever you like. If you no longer need my assistance..." He trailed off, gesturing towards the door. His meaning was clear.
"Oh, yes, I'm sorry. You can leave... Thank you, Severus." Hermione dismissed him.
"Think nothing of it," he drawled nonchalantly. With that he swept out of the room, the door falling closed behind him.
Hermione looked around the room once more, noticing that the house elves had brought her trunks already, and breathed a sigh of contentment.
~~~
Forty-five minutes later found her directing her belongings to their places as they popped out of her trunk and into the air. Books, robes, pictures, and more zipped around the room as Hermione pointed her wand at them.
It had taken her most of the time to clean the room, which had collected a considerable amount of dust and cobwebs. Now she was unpacking furiously, trying to finish before the staff meeting which was in... fifteen minutes! With a wave of her wand, the doors to the piece of furniture which would hold her clothes sprang open. She dumped the trunk with her robes and muggle clothing onto the floor. She worked quickly moving the clothes to her new closet, and at last she was finished. Panting from the effort, she glanced at her watch and saw that she had five minutes until the meeting started. She realized that she couldn't bother with her appearance or she would be late. Hermione bolted out the door and ran down the small corridor. When she reached it, the tapestry swung aside again. She stepped into the dim light of the corridor.
She looked around. Nothing was familiar. She ran down the corridor to her right. Still completely unfamiliar. Why hadn't she been paying attention to Snape's route to her room! She started running down the corridor to the left of her room... then she heard footsteps.
Squeak swish squeak swish squeak swish...
She knew those footsteps! Snape! She heard them coming closer and she saw Snape come from around a corner.
"Severus!" She exclaimed. Never had she been more excited to see the brooding figure of Severus Snape.
"Hermione. Albus instructed me to escort you to the staff meeting."
She walked over to him. He took in her appearance. Her robes were dusty, her hair was frizzy, and her cheeks were very pink indeed. 'She looks well, even when she's disheveled.' The thought came unbidden to his mind, and he immediately wondered if he was going insane.
He turned sharply on his heel and started walking in the direction that he had come from. He walked in front of her, just as before. After a hundred yards or so down the hallway, they came to be at the head of the grand staircase.
Hermione felt like such an idiot. She had been so close to the entrance hall, and she hadn't even known it. 'Good one, Granger.' Her cheeks started burning with embarrassment.
Snape noticed her obvious shame at not knowing how close she was, and he chuckled.
"This way," he said over his shoulder as he descended the stairs.
"I know where I am now, thank you very much." She grumbled to her shoes.
~~~
When they reached the door to the staff room, Snape made a movement as if to open it, but then stopped abruptly. He turned again to Hermione.
"Before we go in..." He withdrew his wand, pointed it at her robe and muttered a spell under his breath.
The dust that had covered it fell to the floor and her robe was, once again, black.
Her cheeks were pink again as she said, "Thank you," this time talking to Snape's shoes.
Snape turned to the door and struggled to hide a grin. He held the door open and she walked in. Immediately, every face in the room was turned in her direction. She recognized all but two of them. There was a large, bald wizard with a handlebar moustache that she had not seen before. She wondered what he would be teaching. Her eyes made a circle around the table to where another man was seated. His eyes met hers. They were a dark blue. His hair was jet black. As they made eye contact he flashed her a drop-dead gorgeous smile, managing to show every one of his perfect, white teeth (she was a daughter of dentists... how could she not notice the teeth?).
A jolly voice greeted her from the head of the table. "Ah, Hermione. Severus. So glad you could make it." She didn't have to look at Dumbledore to know that he was smiling. "Please... have a seat."
"Everyone," he continued, "this is Miss Hermione Granger. She is our new History of Magic Professor. Hermione, I'm sure you are acquainted with most everyone here. For those you don't know..." he gestured first to Mr. Handlebar Moustache, "This is Nigel Barett, our flight instructor, and this..." he now gestured to the young handsome man that she had made eye contact with, "is Archie Macdonald, our new Arithmancy Professor."
~~~
Author's Notes:
I was going to put more into this chapter... but I really wanted to post another chapter, so I'm saving it all for chapter 6.
So... any Monarch of the Glen fans? That's were I got the name Archie Macdonald. Clearly very Scottish.
Any speculations? Will there be a love triangle? Will the suspense ever end? Maybe. Maybe not.
A SPECIAL THANK-YOU to my reviewers. Your comments are encouraging, and make me want to write more. For who would write, if there were no comments to be had?
SiriusSparrow- Thank you for your enthusiastic review, I'm so pleased to have made it to your favs. list. Although you may not remember, but you've reviewed twice... and please... continue to review more. I LOVE REVIEWS!
As always, please r&r!