aries - if it were possible to update more than once a week but other things tend to get in the way..

gorgegirl, Goddess-Isis-112, Marston Chicklet, sekhet, Slytherin Girl - Thank you!

kirby russell - I'd like to see you try g

Malfoy, Purity, snapefan 51, Strega Brava, Tegan, Zoe - You'll see..

SilverMoon - All right...



Part 17

That night Harry, finding himself needing to borrow a book from the library for study had made his way there in his invisibility cloak. Over the years he had quietly placed extra and expensive spells over it so to avoid detection by teachers such as Snape on the prowl.

It was a wet and stormy night and most students had preferred the cosiness of their common rooms to study in rather than the library. It was deserted and quiet in there and Harry was able to find his book without too much trouble; the occasional glare of a lightning flash lending the rooms an eerie glow. He had been about to leave when he had seen a light of a lantern shining from a room down one of the library's many corridors. The library wasn't deserted after all...

With his trademark curiosity (and knowing that he would not be noticed) Harry had silently walked to the open doorway and peering through it had seen Hermione in the room. She was studying at a table surrounded by a pile of books, while a lantern on the table bathed her and the desk in a pool of golden light. Harry had smiled. Trust Hermione to be in the library again.

He had been about to sneak up and surprise her (Harry had found performing the occasional prank welcome to his spirit after years of tension in dealing with Voldemort) when he had noticed with alarm in the shadows of another doorway on the opposite side of the room a tall figure standing there. It moved swiftly towards Hermione...to be revealed as Professor Snape! Knowing that Hermione was about to be reprimanded for being out after curfew, Harry readied himself to cast off his cloak if the situation turned ugly. But he could never have imagined what he had seen - Hermione responding to the caustic greeting of the professor with a smile and then getting up to hug and kiss him!

Further proof that Harry had entered some bizarre alternate universe was when Professor Snape, instead of shoving Hermione away and snapping at her had embraced her in his turn, his voluminous black robes enveloping her as he bent his dark head and kissed her in return. Thoroughly. As if he knew what he was doing (Harry never tried to think of Snape as someone with (ick!) a sex life), was pleased to be doing this to Hermione and had indeed, done this before to Hermione. Worse, after the kiss was over, Hermione apologised to the professor for not being able to do anything more than kissing tonight!

[Oh no..] Harry had thought in horror. This implied that she had....they were....they had both had sex together. More than once? Sex on an ongoing basis? Oh Merlin, that thought was worse! How could Hermione bear to have Snape touch her that way - touch her at all? How could she prefer Snape after Ron? In his shock Harry had silently backed away from the doorway for a second to clear his head. He had missed hearing the next words spoken between Hermione and Snape and then there had been silence.

When he had silently approached the doorway again, steeling himself, he had stared...Professor Snape was sitting on the edge of the table, his arms gently cradling Hermione who was sitting sideways on his lap and leaning her head comfortably against his shoulder. On Professor Snape's face had been an expression Harry had never seen before - that of one who was holding the one thing that meant all the world to him that was to be loved and cherished. An equal expression had been on Hermione's face as well, and Harry's original impression that he was watching some twisted perversion had faltered, leaving him confused. Surely a relationship between Hermione and Professor Snape was wrong in every way that mattered...yet for a second it seemed to be something right.

Harry had been further nonplussed when Professor Snape had offered to give the tired Hermione hot chocolate, with them both companionably leaving by the doorway that the professor had originally come through (after snuffing the lantern with a casual word). Kindness, tenderness.....these weren't things one associated with Professor Snape even if he *had* mellowed lately. Certainly Harry had never heard the professor speak to anyone in that intimate, velvety purr he had spoken to Hermione with.

What to do first? Go after them both and confront them - but what would he say to Hermione? 'What you're doing is beyond all the laws of nature?' 'You need exorcising - right now!' Of course, by then Snape might have awarded him multiple detentions and possibly swatted him like a fly with his formidable powers.

Then he thought of going to Sirius and then Harry relaxed. Of course! He would have better ideas than Harry in what to do in this situation.

Harry hurried through the corridors to where Sirius resided with his wife Emma and twins James and Lucy. Sirius was a night owl and would hopefully be able to spare some time to him. On reaching the door to his chambers Harry took off his Invisibility Cloak and draped it over his arm before knocking gently on the door.

"It's Harry," he called softly. "Are you awake?"

"Harry? Come in boy!" Harry heard the muffled voice of Sirius reply in surprise. Harry opened the door and walked into his quarters. The outer sitting room was cluttered and there was the sweetish/slightly sour smell of babies and talcum powder in the air. A tired looking Sirius was casually sprawled out on a comfy-looking brown couch drinking a cup of black coffee while Professor Lupin (in his usual shabby looking attire) calmly sat drinking tea in a chair. It appeared that the babies were asleep at last for there was no sound to be heard from the private rooms that were at the far end of a toy-strewn corridor.

Sirius frowned at Harry. "You look like you've had a shock - sit down. What is it?" Harry gratefully sat down on a nearby chair, Professor Lupin smiling encouragingly at him. He took a deep breath and then said it. "I was just in the library under my Invisibility Cloak - and I saw Hermione and Professor Snape kissing. I think they're having an affair!"

There was a dead silence then Professor Lupin unexpectedly chuckled and sipped his tea meditatively before placing the cup back on the saucer with a gentle 'chink'. "Well, that explains a few things," Remus mused.

Sirius stared at Remus as if he had suddenly started speaking gibberish. "What on earth are you talking about?" he growled, his face furious. "Explains what? This time Snape has gone too far and you know it." Harry looked at Professor Lupin in bemusement.

Remus looked at them both, a gently ironic look on his face. "Surely you've noticed that Snape is in a better mood these days - why he doesn't even sneer when he gives me my potion now. He even replies civilly when I say hello to him; just that in itself is a miracle."

Harry thought about that. It was true that Remus had a point. Potions class was more relaxing these days now that Snape had stopped flying into tempers at the least excuse, and occasionally Harry had noticed a faint, secret smile on his sallow face as though he was a cat who had just eaten a big bowl of cream. Was that because of Hermione?

"You've got a point," Harry said thoughtfully. "You know, his hair isn't so greasy anymore. Maybe he's discovered shampoo...or he took the hint when I- um, someone left a bottle of shampoo on his chair earlier this year" (Snape had been practically foaming at the mouth after that prank).

Professor Lupin smiled at him. "These things led me to believe that perhaps he had a lady friend tucked away somewhere. If there's anyone who needs to get laid on a regular basis for his own good - pardon my language Harry - it's Snape. So Hermione's the one? Well, well. On the rebound from Ron as well, it seems. But they're probably well suited when you think about it."

"I can't see why you're taking this so calmly, Remus!" Sirius said through gritted teeth. "It has to stop and I'll be the one stopping it. I thought Hermione had more sense than to go back to him after that break-up with Ron but I was wrong!"

Professor Lupin and Harry looked at Sirius, startled. "Back to him?" Professor Lupin said slowly. "What are you talking about?"

"Huh?" Harry said in confusion. Would someone please tell him what was going on?

Sirius Black's smile was mirthless. "Oh yes, I can tell you a few things about those two. She wanted to 'cheer him up' at Christmas - and he set out to seduce her instead. I warned her to avoid him but she didn't listen..I ended up providing a handkerchief so to speak, when he broke her heart like matchsticks just like I warned her he would. When I saw her going out with Ron I thought it would help her get her life back together - and now you're telling me that Snape's got his hands back on her. He must have coerced her, I'll bet twenty galleons on it."

Harry's face was pale. He felt angry, bewildered and confused. Snape had set out to seduce Hermione - how dare he? What kind of game had he been playing at? Surely Hermione would have been better with Ron. But now Snape and Hermione were back together it seemed - surely Sirius was right and there was some sort of enchantment involved. But on the other hand he remembered watching Hermione and Snape together. There had been a sense of happiness in them both that didn't seemed to be caused by a spell. He didn't know what to think.

Professor Lupin looked troubled. "What you're saying is worrying.but there's no sign of any spell on Hermione," he argued. "I would have seen it during classes. Besides, it would seem that any problems between them have been ah, resolved..but Harry, when you were watching them before, how was Hermione acting towards Severus? Was she subservient? Fearful?"

Harry hesitated. Sirius, who was watching him keenly spoke in a low, intense voice. "Come on boy, tell us."

"Well, Hermione wasn't acting like that, and Snape wasn't nasty to her at all. That was the strange part - I'd never seen him *happy* before," Harry said slowly.

Professor Lupin nodded thoughtfully. "I think we should think things through carefully before doing anything rash, Sirius."

But Sirius was having none of this. "Am I the only one who sees the truth? I'm going to put a stop to this right now!" he growled. "Harry, were they still in the library when you left?"

Feeling uncomfortable, Harry nevertheless said "No, they're were going back to his rooms for some um, hot chocolate."

Professor Lupin blinked. "Hot chocolate?" he mused while Sirius snorted. "A likely story. You can come along or not - it's all the same to me," and before Remus or Harry could stop him he rose to his feet swiftly and exited the room.

Remus got to his feet in alarm, looking concerned. "Damn that temper of his. This could get ugly - come along Harry, we have to follow him and prevent him from doing anything rash..."

By this time Hermione had taken her leave from Severus, feeling pleasantly sleepy now with the hot chocolate she had had. She trudged up the stairs from the dungeons and when she reached the corridor she was surprised to see Draco furtively walking along the corridor. What was he doing out of bed? Hermione wondered in irritation. Up to no good as usual, probably. There was an equal look of surprise on Draco's face when he saw her then it faded, to be replaced by an uglier look. Hermione sighed to herself and made sure her hand was on her wand in her pocket.

"Well, well, look who's just had detention," Draco said snidely as he sauntered towards her. The high-and-mighty Hermione, brought down to her proper level, he thought with malice.

"Still, I would suppose you would feel right at home in the dungeons. I'm sure mudbloods have more detentions than real wizards," he taunted.

Hermione was furious. "Don't call me that, you pathetic excuse for a wizard. You may be a pureblood but you probably got into Hogwarts only because your father is a governor" she snapped.

"Bitch!" Draco snarled and reaching out abruptly gave her a shove. Hermione was caught off balance, and stumbled to regain her footing. But then in a sick realisation she realised the stairs were just behind her..she cried out in alarm as she tumbled down the stairs and was knocked unconscious when her head hit the bottom.

Draco blanched. This was unexpected..but not entirely unwelcome. If he sneaked back to his bed now, he could claim he knew nothing about it in the morning. He turned to flee.

Severus was putting away the cups in his quarters when his sharp ears distantly heard Hermione yell, and then the ominous sounds of thumps..then silence. Alarmed and with a grim look on his face, his wand in his hand he swept out of his rooms and through the office and flung the door open. "Hermione?" he questioned sharply and then his face went white when he saw her lying like a tumbled rag doll at the foot of the stairs. "Hermione?....."



A/N: Will Hermione be all right? Will Draco get away with it? What's going to happen when Sirius turns up with Remus and Harry? Tune in next time.. (these cliff-hangers are starting to become a bad habit!)