Chapter Six: Hermione Granger, Gryffindor Vixen
She met Archie Macdonald's eyes, yet again, and her stomach dropped down to her toes. Gorgeous man! He was going to be a teacher here at Hogwarts? How would she get any work done?
Hermione nodded to both men in greeting. She noticed that there were only two empty seats remaining at the table, and she moved to take the one next to Minerva McGonagall. After she had sat down, Snape slid gracefully into the open seat on Hermione's other side.
The meeting progressed with very little excitement. Hermione looked around at her former-professors-turned-colleagues. Tiny Professor Flitwick had his eyes closed and the large stack of books he sat upon teetered dangerously. He didn't seem to notice.
McGonagall was looking straight ahead of her, wearing the blankest expression Hermione had ever seen; it was worthy of Ron during one of Professor Binns' lectures on the goblin rebellion.
Hermione looked at the man to her right. Snape sat with his arms crossed over his chest. He was leaning back a bit in the chair, but still managed to keep his usual "stiff as a board" posture. His scowl deepened with each passing minute. And how the minutes passed...
Dumbledore was still chattering away merrily. First he'd started going through the schedule for the coming term, but everyone knew that anyway. The students were arriving in a mere 4 days. That is about as much useful information as Hermione had gotten from Dumbledore's ramblings. 'What tangents that man can go off on!' she thought. After about ten minutes, she had stopped paying attention, but every so often she would catch snatches of what he was saying. Individual words such as "lolly," "wigwam," and "conga line" had gotten through to her conscious mind; after which she promptly decided she would rather be unconscious than listen to this for much longer.
Her prayers were answered. She was suddenly aware that the incessant chatter had stopped. The room was silent. Slowly, she looked up at Dumbledore, who was smiling cheerily at his staff. The other teachers all looked rather groggy, as if they'd just woken up from an unsatisfying nap.
Dumbledore beamed. "Meeting's over!"
As Severus and Hermione began rising stiffly from their chairs, he called them back. "Hermione. Severus. If you two will stay a moment."
Resigned to their fate, they slumped back into the chairs that they had hoped to leave behind forever.
After the last member of the staff had exited, Dumbledore began, "You two have this Friday and the weekend to start your assignment. It would be a good idea to get as far as you can before the term starts. Having students around will undoubtedly make the task more difficult, especially if we are to have any "dream team" reincarnates this year..." His eyes glittered with amusement.
"Oh, please, don't even joke about that," Snape moaned miserably.
Hermione shot him a glare, clearly affronted.
"Don't attempt to deny, Miss Granger, that you three gave me a world of trouble as students." Snape unconsciously reverted back to using her student name.
Feeling indignant at his use of her formal title she answered, " I'm not denying, merely-"
"-Aha! So you admit that you-"
"-Severus and Hermione," Dumbledore cut into their little skirmish, "I cannot express how glad I am to see that you enjoy each others company so thoroughly that you will remain in the staff room after an excruciatingly long meeting, but I must ask you to take your discussion elsewhere as I have some business to attend to." As before in his office, Dumbledore ushered them to the door and shut it behind them.
~~~
Severus and Hermione stood outside the staff room door, not looking at each other.
He was the first to speak. "Miss Granger, I trust you can find your way back to your room without my assistance?" He snarled.
"It's Hermione, and I'm sure I'll do well on my own. Thank you, Severus." Her answer, feigned gratitude and all, was uttered with as much venom as Snape's question had been. 'Miss Granger the school girl is no more,' she thought.
The two parted ways then and there, without another word or glance exchanged between them. Snape swept off, his robes trailing behind him, rippling as he walked quickly towards the dungeons. Hermione walked in the opposite direction, straight and tall, and began to ascend the grand staircase. She suddenly remembered that she and Snape would have to talk about what they were doing tomorrow. She suspected that they would be starting their research at Fintan Ashby's apartment, but she had to confirm it with him. Damned if she'd call him back now, though. She wasn't going to be the first to relent. She wouldn't let him have that satisfaction.
She was so lost in her thoughts that the man following her went unnoticed. He had been waiting for her near the base of the stairs, but she hadn't seen him there. She was walking very quickly, but he was soon in stride with her. She looked up surprised at the sudden company. She was even more surprised when she saw who it was.
~~~
The gorgeous Archie Macdonald was walking next to her. Her stomach did another cliff dive. He stopped walking, and so did she.
"Professor Macdonald!" she said, her surprise evident.
"Please, call me Archie," he offered. "I don't believe we've had a proper introduction," with that he held out his hand to her.
He hadn't said anything at the staff meeting, so upon hearing his voice for the first time, Hermione was pleased to find that he had a very prominent Scottish accent.
She put her hand in his, intending to shake it, but before she could, he raised her hand to his lips and pressed it in a soft kiss. She was speechless. Her hand had never been kissed before. It was something she'd only seen in muggle movies. She didn't know what to do, but since he didn't relinquish his grasp on her hand, she just left it there.
"Miss Hermione Granger. History expert, the woman who read Hogwarts: A History a countless number of times, and now Professor of History of Magic. I've heard all about you from the other staff members and it is wonderful to make your acquaintance at last." She loved they way the "r"s rolled off his tongue.
Picking her own tongue up off of the floor, she said, "That's very kind, but I'm afraid I know nothing about you. Judging by your accent, I'm assuming that you grew up in Scotland?"
"That I did."
"Did you attend Hogwarts, then?"
"Yes, I think I was in the class that graduated 3 years ahead of you."
"How do you know when I graduated?" she inquired, suddenly suspicious.
"You were one of Harry Potter's friends, weren't you? I remember that he was three years my junior." He answered. She should have expected something like that.
At that moment, all the events of the day caught up with her, and she realized just how tired she was.
"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Archie. I'm sure I shall see you around quite a bit more. If you'll excuse me, I still have a bit of unpacking to do before I retire for the night."
"Of course, Hermione. Good night," he said sweetly.
~~~
She'd had no trouble finding her way back to her private chambers. The earlier event had given her purpose to ingrain the location of her rooms into her mind forever. She did not want a repeat of that embarrassing moment.
She was wearing flannel pajamas, in the Gryffindor house colors (a "welcome back" gift from Minerva), and her fluffy pink slippers. She was thinking about all that had happened in the last day. It was hard to believe that it had all been so recent. It seemed like a month ago. Of course, she would miss her job at the ministry, but as she hadn't had it for very long, she couldn't feel sad about leaving it so soon. Besides, she now had the job that she'd always dreamed of. Hogwarts Professor. 'It's about time the place had some fresh blood. When I attended the school, every one of the professors had been over 60 at least. With the exception of Snape,' she thought.
Her mind settled itself on its new topic. Severus Snape. What a strange man. The contrast in his person is as stark as the contrast between his skin and his hair. In fact, he is contrast personified. His raven black hair and pitch black eyes against his pale skin. His stark black robes against the flash of white at his collar. His pleasant smile and his harsh, sarcastic attitude. The silky tone he used when he spoke his biting words. Everything about him was contrasting. And now she had to work with him. She had to figure him out.
She had her work cut out for her.
~~~
Hermione awoke to a knock on her door. She rolled out of bed, slipped her slippers on, and ran to one of the large oak doors in her bedroom, yanking it open. 'Nope, that's the closet.' She ran to another. 'So, there's the bathroom!' She ran to the final door and yanked it open.
She stumbled into her small sitting room, and headed for the door that opened to the narrow corridor protected by the tapestry. "Coming!" She shouted, stretching out her hand to push the door open... but before she could, it opened on it's own. Or rather, she thought it had, until she saw Severus Snape walk in.
"No need," he said, "I just let myself in." He smiled at her sarcastically.
"I can see that. How did you get past the tapestry?"
"Hermione, I warned you to change your password..." He grinned mischievously.
"Yes, well... your using it to break in was just the sort of motivation I needed. I shall change it straight away. Tell me, Severus, are you accustomed to calling on your colleagues at obscenely early hours of the morning?" She asked, very annoyed.
"Obscenely early! Why, Hermione, it is nearly 6:30! Half the day is gone! We have work to do." He said with counterfeit cheer, clearly enjoying her frustration. He then made a very showy display of looking her up and down, starting at her head, dragging his eyes down the Gryffindor colored flannels, all the way to her pink-fuzzy-slippered-toes.
"I suppose Minerva supplied you with the sleeping attire. Except for those," he said pointing to her slippers, "those I'm sure are very much your own."
'Now what's that supposed to mean!' she thought angrily. She knew that he was in jest, but the way he was looking at her was truly disconcerting. Butterflies began fluttering about in her stomach. That organ had been through a lot in the past two days, thanks to Snape and Archie.
"If you could just wait a few minutes, I'll get ready." Hermione disappeared into the next room.
Snape glanced around the sitting room that he had seen yesterday. It really was charming. He walked over to the bookcase. He could tell which books were ancient texts and which ones Hermione had brought along with her. He heard the shower go on in the next room. 'It'll probably be more than a few minutes, then,' he thought sarcastically. He thought about how much he had enjoyed the charade of looking her up and down. Smiling to himself he pulled one of Hermione's books from the shelf, sat down in a cushioned, high back chair and began to read.
~~~
15 minutes later, Hermione emerged from her room wearing jeans and her favorite shirt; a cream colored, long sleeved v-neck, with lace at the neck and waist. She was carrying a notebook and quill.
Snape rolled his eyes as he set down the book he'd been reading. "I doubt very much that we will be taking notes at Mr. Ashby's home."
She gave him a defiant look, shrunk the paper and quill, and stuck them in her jeans pocket anyway.
"Let's be off," he said, turning away from her.
"Severus, aren't we going to a muggle area of London?"
"Yes. So?"
She looked pointedly at his black high-necked frock coat and his heavy wizarding robes. "Don't you think your appearance will raise suspicion?" she asked cautiously, and then added, "I think you should transfigure yourself some muggle clothing."
"In all the times that I've visited Fintan Ashby's home, I have never had to change my wizarding attire. We will not be seen, anyway," he snapped, getting impatient.
"There's always a possibility..."
Tired of her meddling, and more to shut her up than anything, he flicked his wand in the direction of his body. He was now wearing dark jeans and a long sleeved, black collared shirt, buttoned all the way to the top button.
"There. Are you happy? I don't even have a place to put my wand anymore. I can't put it in my back pocket... not after listening to Moody rant about the wizard who lost his buttocks. And the front pockets are two small," he complained with a sour look on his face.
"Merlin's beard! Have you forgotten that you're a wizard? Make the pocket bigger!" Hermione was getting annoyed.
Grumbling something incomprehensible, Snape touched his wand to his pocket and then stowed it away. "Now are we ready to go?" he asked testily.
"Yes, just one more thing." As Hermione said this, she stepped closer to Snape. He stepped back, obviously not wanting his personal space invaded, but she reached forward and undid the top button of his shirt. "There," she said, "now you don't look as if you're some anal retentive potions master who spends his nights lurking in a dreary dungeon, and takes pleasure in waking up his colleagues at ridiculously early hours of the morning. Wait... never mind." Grinning to herself, Hermione walked out the door, leaving a very dumbfounded Snape in her wake. 'Score one for Granger,' she thought.
Snape stared after her, unable to register the fact that Miss Hermione Granger, Gryffindor know-it-all, had turned into a sarcastic little vixen. 'That was a comment worthy of a Slytherin,' he thought. Though, he knew it was her Gryffindor bravery that had made her utter it. Perhaps he had underestimated her, after all.
~~~
When the pair passed through the cast iron gates that separated Hogwarts from Hogsmeade, they prepared to apparate.
"I'll need apparation directions to Mr. Ashby's home." Hermione stated factually.
"It would be easier if we apparated together." He replied, just as coolly.
She nodded her assent. Snape stood behind her and slightly to her right. Upon seeing that she had agreed with him (small miracle that it was), he grasped her shoulder with is hand, focused on the location of Fintan's flat, and with a loud crack, they were gone.
~~~
Author's notes:
To all who reviewed-
Thank you for your generous comments! The number of reviews I received was overwhelming! You guys are amazing!
I beg your forgiveness for Snape's out-of-characterness... I tried to make him grumpier and more sarcastic in chapter six. Perhaps you've noticed my sad attempts at sarcasm...
SlytherinGin- Yes, the caduceus is based upon fact, as you no doubt have seen it in the muggle world. I'm sure it means healing but I kind of stretched it to mean peace as well, but my stretching was not without foundation. As there are dove's wings mounted at the top of the staff, and the dove is a symbol for peace, I just assumed it to be one of the things the caduceus stands for.
Krechkny- Thank you for pointing out my error concerning British universities. How embarrassing! I had no idea. I'm much too lazy to change the error in this story, but the information will certainly come in handy for the future! I hope it didn't ruin your fanfiction experience. ; ) I'm glad you liked the teacart! lol
Snape's comment regarding Moody's ranting 'about the wizard who lost his buttocks' is in reference to a passage in the Order of the Pheonix.
Now the story begins...
She met Archie Macdonald's eyes, yet again, and her stomach dropped down to her toes. Gorgeous man! He was going to be a teacher here at Hogwarts? How would she get any work done?
Hermione nodded to both men in greeting. She noticed that there were only two empty seats remaining at the table, and she moved to take the one next to Minerva McGonagall. After she had sat down, Snape slid gracefully into the open seat on Hermione's other side.
The meeting progressed with very little excitement. Hermione looked around at her former-professors-turned-colleagues. Tiny Professor Flitwick had his eyes closed and the large stack of books he sat upon teetered dangerously. He didn't seem to notice.
McGonagall was looking straight ahead of her, wearing the blankest expression Hermione had ever seen; it was worthy of Ron during one of Professor Binns' lectures on the goblin rebellion.
Hermione looked at the man to her right. Snape sat with his arms crossed over his chest. He was leaning back a bit in the chair, but still managed to keep his usual "stiff as a board" posture. His scowl deepened with each passing minute. And how the minutes passed...
Dumbledore was still chattering away merrily. First he'd started going through the schedule for the coming term, but everyone knew that anyway. The students were arriving in a mere 4 days. That is about as much useful information as Hermione had gotten from Dumbledore's ramblings. 'What tangents that man can go off on!' she thought. After about ten minutes, she had stopped paying attention, but every so often she would catch snatches of what he was saying. Individual words such as "lolly," "wigwam," and "conga line" had gotten through to her conscious mind; after which she promptly decided she would rather be unconscious than listen to this for much longer.
Her prayers were answered. She was suddenly aware that the incessant chatter had stopped. The room was silent. Slowly, she looked up at Dumbledore, who was smiling cheerily at his staff. The other teachers all looked rather groggy, as if they'd just woken up from an unsatisfying nap.
Dumbledore beamed. "Meeting's over!"
As Severus and Hermione began rising stiffly from their chairs, he called them back. "Hermione. Severus. If you two will stay a moment."
Resigned to their fate, they slumped back into the chairs that they had hoped to leave behind forever.
After the last member of the staff had exited, Dumbledore began, "You two have this Friday and the weekend to start your assignment. It would be a good idea to get as far as you can before the term starts. Having students around will undoubtedly make the task more difficult, especially if we are to have any "dream team" reincarnates this year..." His eyes glittered with amusement.
"Oh, please, don't even joke about that," Snape moaned miserably.
Hermione shot him a glare, clearly affronted.
"Don't attempt to deny, Miss Granger, that you three gave me a world of trouble as students." Snape unconsciously reverted back to using her student name.
Feeling indignant at his use of her formal title she answered, " I'm not denying, merely-"
"-Aha! So you admit that you-"
"-Severus and Hermione," Dumbledore cut into their little skirmish, "I cannot express how glad I am to see that you enjoy each others company so thoroughly that you will remain in the staff room after an excruciatingly long meeting, but I must ask you to take your discussion elsewhere as I have some business to attend to." As before in his office, Dumbledore ushered them to the door and shut it behind them.
~~~
Severus and Hermione stood outside the staff room door, not looking at each other.
He was the first to speak. "Miss Granger, I trust you can find your way back to your room without my assistance?" He snarled.
"It's Hermione, and I'm sure I'll do well on my own. Thank you, Severus." Her answer, feigned gratitude and all, was uttered with as much venom as Snape's question had been. 'Miss Granger the school girl is no more,' she thought.
The two parted ways then and there, without another word or glance exchanged between them. Snape swept off, his robes trailing behind him, rippling as he walked quickly towards the dungeons. Hermione walked in the opposite direction, straight and tall, and began to ascend the grand staircase. She suddenly remembered that she and Snape would have to talk about what they were doing tomorrow. She suspected that they would be starting their research at Fintan Ashby's apartment, but she had to confirm it with him. Damned if she'd call him back now, though. She wasn't going to be the first to relent. She wouldn't let him have that satisfaction.
She was so lost in her thoughts that the man following her went unnoticed. He had been waiting for her near the base of the stairs, but she hadn't seen him there. She was walking very quickly, but he was soon in stride with her. She looked up surprised at the sudden company. She was even more surprised when she saw who it was.
~~~
The gorgeous Archie Macdonald was walking next to her. Her stomach did another cliff dive. He stopped walking, and so did she.
"Professor Macdonald!" she said, her surprise evident.
"Please, call me Archie," he offered. "I don't believe we've had a proper introduction," with that he held out his hand to her.
He hadn't said anything at the staff meeting, so upon hearing his voice for the first time, Hermione was pleased to find that he had a very prominent Scottish accent.
She put her hand in his, intending to shake it, but before she could, he raised her hand to his lips and pressed it in a soft kiss. She was speechless. Her hand had never been kissed before. It was something she'd only seen in muggle movies. She didn't know what to do, but since he didn't relinquish his grasp on her hand, she just left it there.
"Miss Hermione Granger. History expert, the woman who read Hogwarts: A History a countless number of times, and now Professor of History of Magic. I've heard all about you from the other staff members and it is wonderful to make your acquaintance at last." She loved they way the "r"s rolled off his tongue.
Picking her own tongue up off of the floor, she said, "That's very kind, but I'm afraid I know nothing about you. Judging by your accent, I'm assuming that you grew up in Scotland?"
"That I did."
"Did you attend Hogwarts, then?"
"Yes, I think I was in the class that graduated 3 years ahead of you."
"How do you know when I graduated?" she inquired, suddenly suspicious.
"You were one of Harry Potter's friends, weren't you? I remember that he was three years my junior." He answered. She should have expected something like that.
At that moment, all the events of the day caught up with her, and she realized just how tired she was.
"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Archie. I'm sure I shall see you around quite a bit more. If you'll excuse me, I still have a bit of unpacking to do before I retire for the night."
"Of course, Hermione. Good night," he said sweetly.
~~~
She'd had no trouble finding her way back to her private chambers. The earlier event had given her purpose to ingrain the location of her rooms into her mind forever. She did not want a repeat of that embarrassing moment.
She was wearing flannel pajamas, in the Gryffindor house colors (a "welcome back" gift from Minerva), and her fluffy pink slippers. She was thinking about all that had happened in the last day. It was hard to believe that it had all been so recent. It seemed like a month ago. Of course, she would miss her job at the ministry, but as she hadn't had it for very long, she couldn't feel sad about leaving it so soon. Besides, she now had the job that she'd always dreamed of. Hogwarts Professor. 'It's about time the place had some fresh blood. When I attended the school, every one of the professors had been over 60 at least. With the exception of Snape,' she thought.
Her mind settled itself on its new topic. Severus Snape. What a strange man. The contrast in his person is as stark as the contrast between his skin and his hair. In fact, he is contrast personified. His raven black hair and pitch black eyes against his pale skin. His stark black robes against the flash of white at his collar. His pleasant smile and his harsh, sarcastic attitude. The silky tone he used when he spoke his biting words. Everything about him was contrasting. And now she had to work with him. She had to figure him out.
She had her work cut out for her.
~~~
Hermione awoke to a knock on her door. She rolled out of bed, slipped her slippers on, and ran to one of the large oak doors in her bedroom, yanking it open. 'Nope, that's the closet.' She ran to another. 'So, there's the bathroom!' She ran to the final door and yanked it open.
She stumbled into her small sitting room, and headed for the door that opened to the narrow corridor protected by the tapestry. "Coming!" She shouted, stretching out her hand to push the door open... but before she could, it opened on it's own. Or rather, she thought it had, until she saw Severus Snape walk in.
"No need," he said, "I just let myself in." He smiled at her sarcastically.
"I can see that. How did you get past the tapestry?"
"Hermione, I warned you to change your password..." He grinned mischievously.
"Yes, well... your using it to break in was just the sort of motivation I needed. I shall change it straight away. Tell me, Severus, are you accustomed to calling on your colleagues at obscenely early hours of the morning?" She asked, very annoyed.
"Obscenely early! Why, Hermione, it is nearly 6:30! Half the day is gone! We have work to do." He said with counterfeit cheer, clearly enjoying her frustration. He then made a very showy display of looking her up and down, starting at her head, dragging his eyes down the Gryffindor colored flannels, all the way to her pink-fuzzy-slippered-toes.
"I suppose Minerva supplied you with the sleeping attire. Except for those," he said pointing to her slippers, "those I'm sure are very much your own."
'Now what's that supposed to mean!' she thought angrily. She knew that he was in jest, but the way he was looking at her was truly disconcerting. Butterflies began fluttering about in her stomach. That organ had been through a lot in the past two days, thanks to Snape and Archie.
"If you could just wait a few minutes, I'll get ready." Hermione disappeared into the next room.
Snape glanced around the sitting room that he had seen yesterday. It really was charming. He walked over to the bookcase. He could tell which books were ancient texts and which ones Hermione had brought along with her. He heard the shower go on in the next room. 'It'll probably be more than a few minutes, then,' he thought sarcastically. He thought about how much he had enjoyed the charade of looking her up and down. Smiling to himself he pulled one of Hermione's books from the shelf, sat down in a cushioned, high back chair and began to read.
~~~
15 minutes later, Hermione emerged from her room wearing jeans and her favorite shirt; a cream colored, long sleeved v-neck, with lace at the neck and waist. She was carrying a notebook and quill.
Snape rolled his eyes as he set down the book he'd been reading. "I doubt very much that we will be taking notes at Mr. Ashby's home."
She gave him a defiant look, shrunk the paper and quill, and stuck them in her jeans pocket anyway.
"Let's be off," he said, turning away from her.
"Severus, aren't we going to a muggle area of London?"
"Yes. So?"
She looked pointedly at his black high-necked frock coat and his heavy wizarding robes. "Don't you think your appearance will raise suspicion?" she asked cautiously, and then added, "I think you should transfigure yourself some muggle clothing."
"In all the times that I've visited Fintan Ashby's home, I have never had to change my wizarding attire. We will not be seen, anyway," he snapped, getting impatient.
"There's always a possibility..."
Tired of her meddling, and more to shut her up than anything, he flicked his wand in the direction of his body. He was now wearing dark jeans and a long sleeved, black collared shirt, buttoned all the way to the top button.
"There. Are you happy? I don't even have a place to put my wand anymore. I can't put it in my back pocket... not after listening to Moody rant about the wizard who lost his buttocks. And the front pockets are two small," he complained with a sour look on his face.
"Merlin's beard! Have you forgotten that you're a wizard? Make the pocket bigger!" Hermione was getting annoyed.
Grumbling something incomprehensible, Snape touched his wand to his pocket and then stowed it away. "Now are we ready to go?" he asked testily.
"Yes, just one more thing." As Hermione said this, she stepped closer to Snape. He stepped back, obviously not wanting his personal space invaded, but she reached forward and undid the top button of his shirt. "There," she said, "now you don't look as if you're some anal retentive potions master who spends his nights lurking in a dreary dungeon, and takes pleasure in waking up his colleagues at ridiculously early hours of the morning. Wait... never mind." Grinning to herself, Hermione walked out the door, leaving a very dumbfounded Snape in her wake. 'Score one for Granger,' she thought.
Snape stared after her, unable to register the fact that Miss Hermione Granger, Gryffindor know-it-all, had turned into a sarcastic little vixen. 'That was a comment worthy of a Slytherin,' he thought. Though, he knew it was her Gryffindor bravery that had made her utter it. Perhaps he had underestimated her, after all.
~~~
When the pair passed through the cast iron gates that separated Hogwarts from Hogsmeade, they prepared to apparate.
"I'll need apparation directions to Mr. Ashby's home." Hermione stated factually.
"It would be easier if we apparated together." He replied, just as coolly.
She nodded her assent. Snape stood behind her and slightly to her right. Upon seeing that she had agreed with him (small miracle that it was), he grasped her shoulder with is hand, focused on the location of Fintan's flat, and with a loud crack, they were gone.
~~~
Author's notes:
To all who reviewed-
Thank you for your generous comments! The number of reviews I received was overwhelming! You guys are amazing!
I beg your forgiveness for Snape's out-of-characterness... I tried to make him grumpier and more sarcastic in chapter six. Perhaps you've noticed my sad attempts at sarcasm...
SlytherinGin- Yes, the caduceus is based upon fact, as you no doubt have seen it in the muggle world. I'm sure it means healing but I kind of stretched it to mean peace as well, but my stretching was not without foundation. As there are dove's wings mounted at the top of the staff, and the dove is a symbol for peace, I just assumed it to be one of the things the caduceus stands for.
Krechkny- Thank you for pointing out my error concerning British universities. How embarrassing! I had no idea. I'm much too lazy to change the error in this story, but the information will certainly come in handy for the future! I hope it didn't ruin your fanfiction experience. ; ) I'm glad you liked the teacart! lol
Snape's comment regarding Moody's ranting 'about the wizard who lost his buttocks' is in reference to a passage in the Order of the Pheonix.
Now the story begins...