Restart by flax
JK Rowling owns the characters. They're only in this daydream for my profitless romp. :)
CHAPTER THREE: I always aspired to be a hobbit
After about a week of having a silent house guest who apparently did have an animagus form (that or the giant green snake in the garden only appeared when Snape wasn't around... not that he seemed likely to go anywhere), Granger nearly jumped out of her skin one day. He spoke. "What?" she asked, shocked.
"Is that Snape manor?" he asked again. Granger looked. It wasn't yesterday. But today, it was. Apparently in addition to redecorating inside her house, having this house guest was also going to redecorate her horizon.
"Yes, I think it is," She said. "It wasn't yesterday, in case you were confused."
"And you are Ms. Hermione Granger," he continued.
"Yes I am," she responded, emptying out the little flat of plants and putting them in holes she'd dug.
"And the finest mind of your year has been spending the morning doing a terrier imitation without actually being a terrier," he concluded.
Well, it's really him, she thought with a sigh. Not that it matters. "A terrier," she said with as much propriety as she could muster, hoping to amuse at least herself, "wouldn't dig hole exactly where they belonged."
"In all the world there is not a hole out of place nor a gap out of time."
"You seemed to have fallen out of a gap in time," she put in gently.
"You do seem older than I remember. What have you done with your life?"
Granger laughed. "I have successfully aspired to be a hobbit. You?"
He didn't laugh. He just looked off at a manor house that he would have to broach someday and muttered that he was an unsuccessful butterfly who failed to bring down the heavens. Hermione would have asked him about that but he turned back into a snake and slithered around the landscaping rocks for the rest of the day.
In her nightly act of faith, Granger whipped up a second place at the table, and not for Crookshanks. He never liked eating at the table in front of strangers. And at least so far, the silent guy counted as such. Tonight the guy showed up for dinner as a biped.
"Dumbledore sent me an owl," he said.
Granger grunted over her pasta.
"He thinks I've been burnt by my fidelius charm," he continued.
"You had a fidelius charm?" asked Granger, surprised, but unwilling to follow those thoughts to their conclusions.
"For way too long," he said. "Since Dumbledore repossessed me from the ministry and Akzaban - it was the way they could be sure of me while I did the dirty work."
Dirty work, thought Granger. I saw a little of that. "I garden now," she said to her dinner.
"Tomorrow I'll be going to the manor house," he said.
OK, thought Granger. "How will that help?" she asked out loud.
"Do you want company?"
"I think that's why I'm here, and thank you."
Granger blinked. Crookshanks blinked too. Snape however focused upon his dinner.
He went on to ask if she had any idea the disposition of his estate.
"No idea. I. left it all," she said.
"I'll be up and out tomorrow morning."
"Is this your form of good bye?"
"No."
"Ok, then. Wear something warm. The manor looks cold and drafty." Severus laughed. That was more shocking than all that had gone on before.
"How done are you with the world, Hermione?"
"I guess I just didn't bother going back once I could."
"I'll see you tomorrow night. Thank you for the hospitality."
"You're an easy guest for a bruised hostess, Severus. Come back anytime."
In the morning Hermione heard him fudtzing around early on but left him his privacy. He was gone quickly and early and Hermione got up to her own fudtzing around which could take all day on a good day. Crookshanks however didn't show up to nip at her fingers now that the guest was gone. Granger didn't get too upset: Severus needed a chaperone more than she did right now.
tbc...
JK Rowling owns the characters. They're only in this daydream for my profitless romp. :)
CHAPTER THREE: I always aspired to be a hobbit
After about a week of having a silent house guest who apparently did have an animagus form (that or the giant green snake in the garden only appeared when Snape wasn't around... not that he seemed likely to go anywhere), Granger nearly jumped out of her skin one day. He spoke. "What?" she asked, shocked.
"Is that Snape manor?" he asked again. Granger looked. It wasn't yesterday. But today, it was. Apparently in addition to redecorating inside her house, having this house guest was also going to redecorate her horizon.
"Yes, I think it is," She said. "It wasn't yesterday, in case you were confused."
"And you are Ms. Hermione Granger," he continued.
"Yes I am," she responded, emptying out the little flat of plants and putting them in holes she'd dug.
"And the finest mind of your year has been spending the morning doing a terrier imitation without actually being a terrier," he concluded.
Well, it's really him, she thought with a sigh. Not that it matters. "A terrier," she said with as much propriety as she could muster, hoping to amuse at least herself, "wouldn't dig hole exactly where they belonged."
"In all the world there is not a hole out of place nor a gap out of time."
"You seemed to have fallen out of a gap in time," she put in gently.
"You do seem older than I remember. What have you done with your life?"
Granger laughed. "I have successfully aspired to be a hobbit. You?"
He didn't laugh. He just looked off at a manor house that he would have to broach someday and muttered that he was an unsuccessful butterfly who failed to bring down the heavens. Hermione would have asked him about that but he turned back into a snake and slithered around the landscaping rocks for the rest of the day.
In her nightly act of faith, Granger whipped up a second place at the table, and not for Crookshanks. He never liked eating at the table in front of strangers. And at least so far, the silent guy counted as such. Tonight the guy showed up for dinner as a biped.
"Dumbledore sent me an owl," he said.
Granger grunted over her pasta.
"He thinks I've been burnt by my fidelius charm," he continued.
"You had a fidelius charm?" asked Granger, surprised, but unwilling to follow those thoughts to their conclusions.
"For way too long," he said. "Since Dumbledore repossessed me from the ministry and Akzaban - it was the way they could be sure of me while I did the dirty work."
Dirty work, thought Granger. I saw a little of that. "I garden now," she said to her dinner.
"Tomorrow I'll be going to the manor house," he said.
OK, thought Granger. "How will that help?" she asked out loud.
"Do you want company?"
"I think that's why I'm here, and thank you."
Granger blinked. Crookshanks blinked too. Snape however focused upon his dinner.
He went on to ask if she had any idea the disposition of his estate.
"No idea. I. left it all," she said.
"I'll be up and out tomorrow morning."
"Is this your form of good bye?"
"No."
"Ok, then. Wear something warm. The manor looks cold and drafty." Severus laughed. That was more shocking than all that had gone on before.
"How done are you with the world, Hermione?"
"I guess I just didn't bother going back once I could."
"I'll see you tomorrow night. Thank you for the hospitality."
"You're an easy guest for a bruised hostess, Severus. Come back anytime."
In the morning Hermione heard him fudtzing around early on but left him his privacy. He was gone quickly and early and Hermione got up to her own fudtzing around which could take all day on a good day. Crookshanks however didn't show up to nip at her fingers now that the guest was gone. Granger didn't get too upset: Severus needed a chaperone more than she did right now.
tbc...