Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling - I just play with them! Only the story and a few OC's belong to me.
Author notes: Many thanks to my wonderful beta Jamie and the person who always reads my fics first, JenniferW! Both of you are wonderful!!!
Chapter 2
"Miss Granger."
She smiled warmly at her former potions professor and nodded her head slowly.
"Professor Snape."
They stared at each other for a moment, neither knowing quite what to say. Snape finally tore his eyes away, clearing his throat roughly.
"Well, I see your manners haven't improved any since you left Hogwarts, entering without knocking." His voice was just as sharp as ever, never mind the change in his looks.
She cringed involuntarily, slightly hurt by his words.
"Well neither have yours," she countered, mentally slapping herself in the forehead at the immaturity of what she had just said.
He turned around and the corner of his mouth turned up in a slight smile.
"A Gryffindor to the very core," he muttered, shaking his head.
She smiled and took a few steps into the cold room.
"So professor, still terrorizing students?" she asked, peering into the cauldron at the yellow liquid boiling inside. He chuckled lightly as he added a pinch of a red powder to the cauldron.
"If that is how you categorize my teaching methods, then yes," he answered, wiping his hands on a white handkerchief. "So, I understand you will be joining the staff this year."
"Yes," she answered, blushing. "I'll be taking Madam Pomfrey's position." She frowned, the pain still fresh in her heart and mind.
Snape turned and glared at her with hard, unyielding eyes.
"Do you honestly think you can fill the shoes of Poppy Pomfrey?" he asked, shaking his head. "No Gryffindor, not even you, can do what she did for this school. I know you think that you and your friends, Potter and Weasley are the saviors of the entire Wizarding world, but I have news for you." He took one step closer to her and glared harder, a vein twitching in his neck. "You're not as important as you think you are."
Hermione swallowed hard, fighting back the tears that were threatening to burst forth. Where did that come from? One minute he was almost being civil, then all of a sudden this!
"How dare you," Hermione whispered, fists clenched at her sides. She turned her face up to meet his eyes and glared hard at him. "Do you honestly think I came here to outdo what Madam Pomfrey did for this school? Because I didn't! The only thing I came here to do was take care of the children who live and learn here! And, God forbid, take care of the faculty as well. I know it's unthinkable for someone to take care of the great, unbreakable Severus Snape but you may need my help someday." At this, Snape turned roughly away and paused with his hands on his hips. "These children are so important to me." Hermione continued, taking a step toward him. "If they can't survive Voldemort, the Wizarding world can't survive. And I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure they stay alive to fight against him." She took a deep breath and stepped around to face him. "So you better think twice before you insult my intentions again Professor. Because I'm fighting on the same side you are."
She glared into his glittering black eyes for a moment longer, then spun around and swept out of the classroom, slamming the door behind her.
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Snape flinched as the heavy wooden door slammed shut, the sound reverberating through the cold classroom. Who was that girl? Certainly she wasn't the same nosy, know- it-all who had taken his classes for seven years! This girl didn't even resemble the bushy-haired, big-toothed little girl who had terrorized him for so many years. This girl was absolutely breath taking with her shiny chestnut hair and sparkling cinnamon eyes. Not to mention the passion with which she spoke of her profession, much the same way he himself felt about his chosen profession. Why, oh why did he have to strike her down like that?
He roughly threw his handkerchief to the floor and swept out of the classroom, his potion forgotten over the fire.
'You always did have a talent for pushing all the wrong buttons Severus,' he thought to himself as he made his way up the winding staircase to his rooms. He pulled out his wand and undid all of the wards around his private quarters before silently slipping inside.
He spent a good many minutes pacing around his quarters before throwing his hands up in exasperation and flopping down on the brown leather sofa.
"This is bloody ridiculous!" he screamed, yanking his hands through his hair. Why was he so upset about hurting her feelings? It certainly never bothered him before. 'Yes, but before she wasn't so desirable,' a voice nagged in the back of his mind.
"Oh shut up!" he exclaimed, scowling at the empty room.
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"Good evening Albus," Hermione said, seating herself next to the headmaster.
"Ah, Miss Granger!" Dumbledore exclaimed, smiling widely at his newest colleague. "I see you found your way to the Great Hall."
"How could I forget?" Hermione asked, chuckling lightly.
"I understand you had a bit of a run-in with Severus this afternoon," Dumbledore stated, taking a drink of his tea.
Hermione's head snapped up from her first bite of dinner.
"How did you know?" Hermione asked, trying desperately to talk around the food in her mouth, no matter how rude it was.
"As I said before, Hermione," he began, twinkling kindly at her. "I know a great many things." He let her swallow her food before asking again.
"Well," Hermione began, blushing slightly. "Yes. I did."
"And?" Dumbledore asked, prompting her to continue.
"And we were getting along fine until I mentioned that I was taking Madam Pomfrey's position." Hermione paused and frowned, her brow furrowed in thought. "Then he just blew up on me. And I blew up on him back." She smiled lightly at the headmaster. "To tell you the truth, no matter how much his words hurt, fighting with him was very refreshing. It lifted a load off of my chest that I didn't even know I was carrying."
Dumbledore smiled knowingly and nodded at her words.
"Yes, sometimes a little argument can be the best medicine." He paused and looked deeply into her eyes as if searching for something. "And Severus carries around a lot of pain and heavy baggage, as do you I believe."
Hermione scowled down at her mashed potatoes, poking them brutally with her fork.
"Severus and Poppy were very close these past few years," Dumbledore explained, watching her torture her potatoes. "He acquired some very agonizing injuries as a spy and Poppy and he spent many hours together while he was healing. You realize that you will have to do the same, don't you?"
Her head snapped up, realization dawning on her. She would have to take care of Snape! When she was yelling about him being unbreakable, she truly believed that he was just that...Unbreakable! To hear that he was just as vulnerable as she or anyone else at the table was very hard for her to swallow. But could the impossible happen? Could she become friends with Severus Snape? Would she allow him into her world? And, more importantly, would he allow her into his?
"You must excuse me sir," Hermione whispered, pushing her plate away from her. "I'm not very hungry anymore." She stood to leave and felt a soft hand on her forearm.
"Hermione," Dumbledore began, smiling warmly up at her from his chair. "I understand how you are feeling right now. But don't let your feelings get in the way of doing the wonderful job I know you are capable of." He released her arm and looked back down at his plate. "Sometimes I worry about Severus so much that I don't sleep for days at a time." He looked back up at her with pleading eyes. "Knowing that someone like you is here to take care of him puts my mind and soul at ease, Hermione. Please don't let him feel too much pain. It would simply kill me a little bit each day to see him in pain."
Hermione swallowed the lump forming in her throat and forced a small smile to her lips.
"Don't worry, Albus," Hermione said, reaching a hand out to touch his cheek. "His welfare is just as important to me as it is to you. I will take care of him the best I can."
"Thank you Hermione," Dumbledore said, reaching up to cup the hand on his wrinkled old cheek.
She smiled warmly at the headmaster for a few moments, then turned and strode out the double doors of the Great Hall.
'Dear God,' Hermione thought to herself as she made her way toward the entrance doors. 'What have I gotten myself into? How am I-'
"Oof!" She had just turned a particularly sharp corner when she ran into something very solid, sending her plummeting toward the hard ground. She was heading down rapidly when she felt strong arms grab her around the waist and yank her back to her feet.
"Thank you I..." she began, looking up into her rescuer's face. She flinched back in shock when she looked into the glaring face of Professor Snape.
"Professor Snape!" she exclaimed, blushing a deep crimson. "I'm so sorry I didn't mean to run into you like that! Thank you for helping me...I'm just so sorry sir." She looked down at the ground, waiting patiently for the inevitable harsh, biting comment. Instead...
"That's quite alright Miss Granger," he said, straightening his robes. "In the future, however, please try to watch where you're going. I may not be there to rescue you next time." And with that, he swept past her into the Great Hall.
She stood, staring at the closed doors with her mouth hanging open for a few moments before finally shaking her head and closing her mouth.
"Well what the hell was that?" she asked aloud before making her way to her quarters as she had intended several moments before.
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"Oh my," Hermione mumbled, running her finger along a row of bottled potions in her storeroom. "This will never do." She had been taking inventory of Madam Pomfrey's storeroom all morning and found that nearly every potion she would need for the coming year was running dangerously low. She would have to brew new batches of almost everything in the storeroom. She bent over a long piece of parchment and added the last few items she would need to the long list of potions she would have to start working on. "I guess this means a visit to the dungeons," she announced to the empty room. She straightened her robes, then made her way down to the dungeons.
"Professor Snape?" she called, knocking lightly on the classroom door. Silence. She pushed the door open and peeked inside. "Professor?"
"What is it!" a faint voice called from somewhere.
"It's Hermione Granger, sir!" she called, turning around in a circle, trying to find where the detached voice was coming from. "I need to ask you something."
"Yes, yes, what is it?" he asked, sweeping into the room with an armload of books and scrolls.
"Um, I need some potion ingredients."
"Indeed?" he asked, setting down his precarious looking load. "What kind of potions are you planning to make?"
"Medicinal," she replied, wringing her hands in front of her. She was suddenly very nervous. "I need to replenish the stores for the coming school year. Nearly everything in the storeroom is depleted." She sighed and took a few more steps into the room. "I'm afraid I have a lot of work to do, so if you wouldn't mind?" She slapped her list down on the desk in front of him and crossed her arms.
He looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.
"In a hurry are we?" he asked, making no move to stand and help her. "Afraid that your incompetence in potion making will hinder your efforts?"
"Professor we both know that I had perfect marks in Potions so please stop trying to drag me down with your biting comments."
He growled, then grabbed the list and perused it briefly.
"You have enough listed here to fill Poppy's storeroom twice!" he exclaimed, looking up at her questioningly.
"I just want to be prepared for anything," Hermione said, her brow furrowing in concern.
"Very well, follow me." He swept past her, list in hand through a narrow door across from his desk. She followed him into the supply room, memories of the time she stole potion ingredients out of this room flashing through her mind. She grinned at the memory of she, Ron, and Harry brewing the Polyjuice Potion in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom in their second year. Of course, it wasn't funny back then, but time certainly changed your perspective on things like that.
"What is so amusing, Miss Granger?" Snape asked, reaching up to retrieve a large bottle filled with a shimmering silver liquid.
"Well," she began, uncertain if she should reveal it to him or not. Why not? He couldn't exactly take points from her house or give her detention now could he? "I was just thinking about the time I stole potion ingredients out of this room in my second year."
He chuckled lightly, handing her the bottle. She simply stared at him, wondering where the lecture was.
"What, you think I didn't know about that?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
"But how?" she asked, shaking her head.
"Well, I didn't actually find out about it until Madam Pomfrey came to me with the most fascinating story." He handed her another bottle then turned back to another shelf, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "She informed me that one Hermione Granger had turned herself into a cat. Wanted to know what kind of potion we were brewing in class. I informed her that we had been brewing no such potion in class." He pulled down several odd jars and containers, piling them all on a small table. "So, I came back here to check my stores, found the missing powdered bicorn horn and boomslang skin and put two and two together."
She grinned at Snape's back and shook her head.
"So if you knew who it was all along, why didn't you punish me?"
"I should think that would be obvious," he replied, turning back to her. "Spending as long as you did with black fur all over your face was punishment enough I think. Not to mention a tail." He conjured a large trunk and placed all of the jars, bottles, and odd containers inside, then shrunk it down to the size of a shoebox. "Here you are." He handed her the box.
"Thank you Professor," Hermione said, smiling at him. She turned to leave then stopped. "And thank you for your discretion in my second year. If the school had found out that I had fur on my face, I never would have lived it down."
He nodded briefly, then disappeared into another room.
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"Shit!" It was the morning after Hermione had retrieved her potion ingredients and she had been up all night brewing. Her exhaustion was beginning to catch up with her, however, when she accidentally dropped too much asphodel into her cauldron and ruined an entire batch of Dreamless Sleep potion. In a fit of uncharacteristic anger, she threw a beaker across the room, shattering it on the wall.
"Hermione?"
She looked up at the sound of the voice and started back in surprise.
"Remus?" she asked, standing up. "Remus Lupin?"
"That's my name," the older man said, grinning at her from the doorway. She laughed aloud, then ran into his open arms.
"Oh, it's so wonderful to see you!" she exclaimed, pulling back and looking into his smiling face.
"And you!" he said, ruffling her hair. "I simply had to come visit my newest colleague."
"Colleague?" Hermione asked, puzzled.
"Yes, I teach Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"Of course!" Hermione exclaimed, slapping herself in the forehead. "I should have known. I've visited with the professor for every subject except DADA." She turned and hastily cleaned up the smashed beaker, clearing her throat self-consciously. "Would you like some tea?"
"Tea would be wonderful," he answered, following her into her private rooms. "So how is Harry?"
"Harry's doing really great," Hermione replied, putting a kettle on for tea. "He has some time off from the Cannons right now so he's been spending a lot of time with Lily and Ginny."
"I just can't believe Harry Potter is a father," Remus said, shaking his head and chuckling softly. "But I'm sure he's wonderful at it. James was."
"Yes he's a wonderful father," Hermione voiced, pouring the hot water into two cups. She added tea bags, then sat down beside him on the sofa. "It's like he's trying to make up for the fact that he never had a father, you know?"
"I understand that," Remus said, stirring his tea. "And how is Ron? Ready to be a father?"
"Ron is petrified!" Hermione exclaimed, laughing. "I think he's worried that he'll screw up or have children like Fred and George. But I think he'll be a great papa."
"If he's anything like his own parents he will be," Remus stated, taking a sip out of his mug. "It, ah, sounded like you were having a bit of trouble back there." He gestured toward her workroom.
"Erm, yes," Hermione confirmed, blushing. "I've been up all night brewing and I made a huge mistake. Ruined an entire batch of Dreamless Sleep Potion." She put her cup on the end table and pulled her knees up to her chin. "I'm so tired I can barely think let alone brew a difficult potion."
"Well I think that's my cue to leave," Remus said, standing up.
"Oh, Remus please don't be offended!" Hermione exclaimed, scrambling to stand up beside him. "That wasn't a hint or anything, just talking."
"Hermione I'm not offended," he said, laughing. "I understand the need for sleep as well as the next person." He reached over and hugged her lightly. "It was good seeing you again. Now get some sleep."
"Thank you Remus."
Hermione watched him leave the room, then drug herself into the bedroom. She shrugged off her robes, pulled on an oversized Chudley Cannons t-shirt, and fell onto the bed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
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Hermione woke up slowly, confused by the sun pouring in her westward-facing window. What was she doing in bed? Then she remembered the following night. Brewing potions until she could barely stand.
She stretched luxuriously, then glanced over at her bedside clock. It was nearing seven o'clock! She had slept the entire day away! She jumped out of bed and dressed quickly, acutely conscious of her rumbling stomach. She pulled a brush through her hair, then dashed down to the Great Hall in hopes of securing some dinner. She was just in time.
"Miss Granger, you're just in time!" Professor Flitwick squeaked at her as she plopped down in a seat next to the tiny Charms professor. He filled a plate with goulash and sat it down in front of her.
"Thank you Professor," she said, smiling gratefully at her former Professor.
"You're quite welcome." He turned his attention back to his own plate, leaving Hermione to eat in silence. She glanced around at the faces scattered around the table, letting her gaze linger on a silent, dark-haired figure sitting by himself at one end. She didn't quite know what to think of Professor Snape these days. Some of the most vivid memories she had from Hogwarts were of Snape. Most of them were not pleasant. But ever since she had stepped foot into his dungeons two days ago, things seemed different. It wasn't just the difference in his appearance; it was his character. He seemed almost to be polite to her. Occasionally he would slip back into his usual cold, sarcastic demeanor, but he had allowed her a glimpse of the man under the sneer. A man, she could tell, who was capable of warmth and compassion, two characteristics she never would have used to describe Snape before now.
She must have been staring pointedly for some time, because he slowly raised his head and met her eyes, frowning at her from the end of the table. She blushed and looked down at her own food, poking it listlessly with her fork.
'Oh my god, he caught me staring at him!' she thought to herself, blushing an even deeper shade of crimson. She looked back up and found him studying her intently from hooded eyes, a strange look on his pale face.
She jumped as she felt a hand come down on her shoulder.
"Hermione!" Remus exclaimed, grinning down at her. "Did you have a nice nap?"
"Remus!" she breathed, one hand going to her heart. It was pounding furiously. "You frightened me!" She glanced back over at Snape and found him working on his food again. "Yes, I had a wonderful nap. I only just woke up."
"Really?" he asked, sitting down next to her. "Are you finished with that?" He gestured to her plate and pulled it away without waiting for an answer. She glared at him, slightly miffed by his actions. Who did he think he was?
She stood up and glared down at him.
"I'm sorry but I have a lot of work to do. Good evening." She turned and strode out of the Great Hall, leaving a bewildered looking Professor Lupin staring after her in shock. If she would have turned at that moment she would have found a most amusing sight; Severus Snape with his head thrown back in laughter.