A/N – I regret the delay in updating as I was busy last weekend, and this chapter was a tricky one to write. I hope you think it was worth waiting for! Also, a belated thank you to whoever nominated my first H/S story, 'He's So Irritating, But….." for the Phoenix Awards.         It was a nice gesture!

Andrian – Thank you, no need to bow, really!

Anndy Malfoy – Thanks! Now where did you get that theory from, hmmm…. g

Beth Ann – Thanks – yes, I was dredging up some memories of my end-of-year exams. (Shudders, and stuffs memories away in a big hole). I wanted to portray also that Severus and Hermione don't sigh over each other all the time but get on with their separate lives when necessary.

DragonRose – Thanks – I know most stories have Severus as a great dancer, but I thought what if he wasn't that great at dancing, and if no one had really wanted to dance with him at school dances it wouldn't have helped him either……

Ezmeralda, Hermia, Irlandaise007, Lynn, LonelySlytherin, Marston Chicklet, not sure yet, Penny, Potions Mistress, Sammy, Tevkins, Witchy-grrl - Thanks!

ChishionoTenshi, MadAboutHarry – You'll see…

Part 31

There were various meeting rooms at Hogwarts, and the Medusa Room was one favoured by Slytherins. No doubt it was panelled in dark green and contained heavy, dark furniture Hermione thought as she stared at herself critically in her bedroom mirror.

Hermione's school uniforms had been taken away yesterday for cleaning and mending by house elves. However, they had obviously thought it was only right and proper that they take her black robes away for cleaning as well! With only her Muggle clothes left to her, in the end Hermione had decided to wear a pair of pressed black jeans with her scarlet jumper. Her Head Girl badge was neatly pinned to her jumper and her hair was plaited. Her wand was at her side thrust through a small loop of cord she had sewn there.

The main thing was that she looked presentable. Inside she balked at the thought of she, the Gryffindor Head Girl making a special effort in choosing what to wear for this 'Serpent Council' meeting. There was apprehension inside her as well. How many people would be present at this meeting? What would they say – and do? Although Severus would have been sent a copy of the letter Hermione wondered if he would be able to spare the time to attend. The grading of exams was not a task lightly dropped by the Head of a House.

High above the weathered turrets of Hogwarts a dark-feathered owl rested in a dark niche, a letter clasped carefully in one claw. Like every other owl it was vigilant in its duty to deliver letters, but it had been made clear to the owl in this instance that sometimes a short delay was…….necessary.

At precisely 11.15 Hermione knocked briskly upon the double doors of the Medusa Room, which had been carved from a dark, almost sullen looking oak. The name of the room was painted in dark, gothic-style writing on a plaque above the closed doors.

A low murmur of voices that could be heard from inside paused and there was the sound of a faint laugh, quickly cut off. Hermione heard the quick tap, tap of heels and then one of the doors was opened to reveal a smiling woman with wheat-coloured hair (and somewhat shallow blue eyes) who greeted the Gryffindor.

"I am Alicia Blackthorne - you must be Miss Granger. Well, of course you are and we have heard so much about you!" the lady said in a chatty tone. "Do come in – thank you for being so prompt!"

Alicia was dressed in dark green robes that were cut to show off her lush figure and reminded Hermione somewhat of phoney-sounding people on television ads, who talked down to you while endorsing their latest product.

"Thank you," Hermione nevertheless said politely and walked in. The room wasn't quite what she expected in a castle environment such as Hogwarts. The floor was polished wood that had the suggestion of a deep green tint when you looked at it from the corner of your eye. The walls that were painted a silvery-grey shade and the round, highly polished wooden meeting table in the centre served to give the impression of an impersonal meeting room in the Muggle world – one where business dealings that could affect many livelihoods would be carried out efficiently and ruthlessly.

There were two men sitting on the far side of the table. One of them was a young man in black robes with a pointed, fox-like face, above which was an unruly mop of auburn hair. His smile revealed shining teeth and his bright green gaze briefly wandered over Hermione in a way that made her want to do more than just reprimand him. "Welcome Hermione – I can call you Hermione, can I not?" he said lightly, going on without giving her a chance to reply. "It must be a privilege to be known throughout wizard society, and somehow you have managed to attract the ah, attention of Professor Snape, I hear. Do sit down."

Hermione grimly counted to five then pulled out a wooden chair and sat, Alicia doing so as well in a nearby chair. She was already hoping that this meeting would be over soon. She glanced at the other man in the room who so far had not said a word but radiated faint censure, as if it was beneath him to be here. He was a man who would be tall when he stood, with long grey hair and cold brown eyes in sunken sockets who seemed oddly familiar to her somehow, though she had never seen him before. His thin mouth looked as if it frowned more than it smiled and he was dressed in grey robes that gave the impression of being the efforts of a personal tailor. Hermione certainly wasn't amused with the way he was looking at her either, as if he had just smelt something nasty.

Without preamble Hermione said to them all, "Why do wish to discuss the 'authenticity' of my bracelet?"

The man who Hermione privately deemed Auburn Hair (since he apparently showed no interest in introducing himself or indeed, his colleague) smiled thinly. "I will be asking the questions, thank you. It is true that Professor Snape has filed a report on the bracelet but we deemed a visual examination necessary. Besides, certain points may have been, shall we say, exaggerated."

"Such as whether it can actually perform the abilities it is said to have," Alicia said kindly. "Never mind, we will carry out a test to set our minds at rest, and then you may go and play with your friends."

Feeling insulted, Hermione looked with narrowed eyes at Alicia, who returned the look with innocence. So, they did intend to see if she could withstand various curses, no doubt under the explanation of 'testing', Hermione thought grimly. Well, not if she had anything to say about it.

Auburn Hair tilted his head enquiringly. "Would you be so good as to show us the bracelet, Hermione?"

Hermione rolled up the sleeve of her jumper and held up her arm to display the bracelet so that they could all see it. The three Slytherins stared at the bracelet, apparently unaware of the fact that they had leaned forward slightly in their chairs.

"It matches archival descriptions of previous bracelets," the man whom Hermione had decided to call Grey Hair spoke up in a dour, deep voice.

Alicia leaned forward to Hermione confidentially. "I would love to have a closer look – would you please take it off for me, my dear?"

Hermione shook her head. "It won't come off as there is no fastening catch – I even tried a spell once to remove it but it failed." The attempt had given her a raging headache as well; clearly the bracelet actively resisted efforts to remove it from its wearer.

Alicia looked affronted as if Hermione had insulted her. "I was only asking…..."

Auburn Hair abruptly stood up and came around to Hermione. She eyed him warily as he approached and without asking he seized her arm and examined the bracelet minutely. "It does appear to be genuine," he commented with a flash of resentment in his eyes. "Imagine, a Gryffindor being given such a gift," he said almost to himself.

"Let my arm go this instant!" Hermione snapped, her other hand reaching for her wand. Slytherins!

"You heard Miss Granger, I believe. Let her arm go," said a cold (and welcome to Hermione's ears) voice from the doorway.

The time in which the end-of-year exam papers were graded was the part that Severus despised the most, taking place in a room that by tradition was deep in the interior of Hogwarts and had no windows. Despite a spell that kept air circulating and fresh there was a musty feel to the old room. Breaks were far and few between and for some reason ink-stained fingers were hard to avoid by someone as fastidious as him. A supply of potions was on hand in the room to prevent weariness, but at this time of year they inevitably left him feeling short-tempered as though the whole year had caught up with him at once. He wanted nothing more right now than the peace of his quarters with Hermione……. and if Minerva gave him another thin-lipped, disapproving look from her nearby table he would…..no, it was an idea best kept to himself. Unfortunately.

Even in this secluded part of Hogwarts the occasional bright sound of a students laughter in nearby corridors reached the teachers ears, which had made Professor McGonagall and Sprout smile benevolently. But to Severus the sound was akin to that of fingernails being drawn down a blackboard. Indeed, the pervasive aura of Hogwarts at the moment was that of the collective delight of countless students knowing that the school year was over, and in the case of the seventh-years the glee in that they weren't coming back. Well, good riddance, Severus thought in irritation.

He couldn't help wondering though, how Hermione was celebrating the end of her schooling, whether she was feeling happy, or sad. Had she smiled when she saw the rose on her bed?

There was a faint sound from within the rooms unlit chimney and Severus and the other teachers looked up from their desks with automatically wary expressions. The sound grew more distinct and resolved itself to the ear as that of an envelope making a soft clattering sound as it tumbled down the chimney.

A letter for one of them – who?

Professor Sprout was no doubt expecting mail for she quickly hauled herself to her feet and made her way quickly across the stone floor to the fireplace where the envelope lay, covered with a light film of coal dust from its downward journey. However, when she picked it up she said in an off-hand tone, "Not for me then. Oh, well. It's for you, Severus."

"What?" Severus said sharply, holding out his hand. "Then give it to me, please."

"Don't panic," Professor Sprout sniffed, raising her eyebrows. "Unless there is a reason to?" she suggested as she came over to his table with the letter in her capable hand that, no matter how much she scrubbed, had ingrained dirt under the fingernails.

Severus bent a look at her that if it had been cast at a student, then said student would have decided that it was a good idea to be elsewhere, quickly.

Like Minerva, Professor Sprout held the view that Hermione was ruining her career prospects and indeed her life by her 'liaison' with him, as well as having a similar look in her eyes that said 'what in Merlin's name does she see in you??'

Severus opened the envelope that had his name upon it but frowned when he read the letter inside. It was a copy of a letter that had been sent to Hermione requesting she attend a meeting with the Serpent Council at 11.15. At the moment it was nearly 11.30. Sending the letter by owl after the meeting had started was no accident but a carefully calculated insult….

The Serpent Council had been set up after the fall of Voldemort, on the surface an effort to forge a 'new beginning' amongst the remaining Slytherins after many of them who had been on Voldemort's side were killed, imprisoned or fled. Of course, it was really a way for the Slytherins to keep a close, suspicious eye on enemies and especially those who professed to be 'friends'. The fact that there was as many Slytherins as there were in the Council today who had avoided being drawn into Voldemort's service, was that years ago these particular Slytherins had been more interested in self-preservation and had sneaked away overseas. Places like say, Australia.

Severus only attended meetings when it was necessary – though it was amusing in a way to see uneasiness in the eyes of the others of being in the presence of a (ex) Deatheater.

It was not so amusing to see the dour disapproval in the eyes of his father at meetings (who was always keen to take advantage of new avenues of power), who had practically washed his hands of Severus since the time he had decided to become a teacher at Hogwarts. Snapes did not become teachers to mix with people who were their inferiors, certainly they did not live in environments that included Hufflepuffs. No Slytherin should waste his time teaching Gryffindors as well as Slytherins…..

Oh yes, Severus could recite chapter and verse of the ways he had disappointed his father, he thought grimly, and visits to his childhood home were only done when necessary and out of duty.

There was no clear leadership within the Serpent Council but there were various factions, and it appeared that one of those factions had dared to come here and question Hermione, which infuriated the Potions master. He had already written a full report laying out in factual terms the conditions in which the bracelet given by the Snake of Slytherin had appeared, and a description of the abilities granted Hermione.

But then, it was probably inevitable that further investigation would be deemed necessary, for this was the first recorded instance of a Gryffindor being granted such a boon.

However, it was inexcusable of them to delay in informing he, the Head of Slytherin of their intentions of meeting with Hermione until now.

He stuffed the letter into a pocket of his black robes and cast a critical eye over his desk with its stacks of paper. He had nearly completed the grading – indeed, he only had a few more hours of work before he would be finished, thank Merlin. He stood up, gritting his teeth as his back, stiff from hours of sitting down protested.

"It seems I am required elsewhere at a meeting for a while," he said to the others shortly.

Professor McGonagall predictably radiated disapproval. "You cannot abandon your duty here unless it is of the utmost importance, Severus."

"I believe I am qualified to judge what is important," he said smoothly, his eyes glinting. Professor McGonagall forbore from answering but there was an audible sniff from her as Severus swept out of the room.

The scene that greeted him when he arrived at the Medusa Room turned his obsidian eyes colder than the night sky in the dead of winter, as he took in with a glance the occupants of the room and Hermione fighting to release her arm from the grip of Tom Wolfleigh, an arrogant upstart who happened to be an associate of Severus' father on the Serpent Council.

Who also happened to be in this room, at Hogwarts.

"You heard Miss Granger, I believe. Let her arm go," Severus said coldly.

Tom quickly let Hermione's arm go as if it was a hot brand, then made an effort to cover up his moment of weakness by forcing a smile onto his face.

"How welcome to have you here, Professor Snape. You misjudge the situation though; I was merely examining the bracelet that the very symbol of Slytherin gifted her."

Feeling as though she wanted to wash her arm, Hermione got up and moved towards the doorway, not wanting to be a part of this meeting any more than she had to. Gazing at Severus she saw that clearly this was not one of his good days. He looked weary and irritable, there were shadows under his dark eyes and his hair was noticeably greasy looking. His eyes lingered upon her for a moment then shifted to Auburn Hair.

"Does your concept of 'examining' involve manhandling a Head Girl as if she was so much meat, Wolfleigh?" Severus said silkily.

"You misinterpret the situation," the auburn-haired Slytherin blustered. "But then, you're probably biased because of her."

Severus studied him silently as if he was an insect in a jar about to be put in a potion. "Am I?" he whispered.

Wolfleigh tried to outstare Severus but then his gaze dropped uncomfortably and he slunk back to his chair. "No harm was meant, really," he muttered.

But Severus hadn't finished with him. "If the owl who sent me word of this meeting was mine I would have him stuffed and mounted on a mantlepiece. I am sure that Miss Granger has better things to do than remain here in this room, so as of now the meeting is over," he said curtly

"Hear, hear," Hermione muttered quietly so only Severus could hear her.

Grey Hair spoke up, his dark eyes glinting. "I am the one who called this meeting so only I have the authority to end it, Severus. It disappoints me that you have not spared a word of greeting for your father……."

Hermione blinked and felt a faint chill run down her back. Father? No wonder he had looked familiar, somehow. She had not been keen of the idea of meeting her future father-in-law, Damien Snape, but it appeared that it had been taken out of her hands now. As she saw the son and the father look at each other coldly she could almost feel the waves of cold dislike radiating from Severus, dislike that had had years to grow and solidify….

Wolfleigh coughed and got up. "Actually, I've just remembered I have a lunchtime appointment I have to go to so, er, I'll be off."

Alicia tittered nervously and got up also. "What a coincidence – I have an appointment I need to go to as well.

Damien's mouth thinned at the cowardice of his companions but made an impatient movement with an elegant hand to indicate that they could leave.

Severus stepped aside from the doorway without a word and Alicia and Wolfleigh made a hasty exit without looking at Hermione, who was thinking it was a good idea if she just stayed near the wall, thank you……

"Greetings, then, father," Severus said with soft iciness, not bothering to sit down. "Of course, it was your idea to call this meeting."

"Yes," Damien snapped, his pale hand tapping the table restlessly. "When word reached me that you had taken a Muggle-born Gryffindor for a mistress – didn't I tell you that becoming a teacher at this place was a waste of time – I had to come and see for myself what new shame you have added to the family name."

Severus narrowed his eyes until they were slits but he refused to be baited. He was not his fathers' servant, to do as he was bid. "Now that you have come, you can leave the way you came," he said coolly, brushing a strand of hair away from his face. "I am sure I do not need to show you the door."

Damien went on as if he had not heard. "The fact that she has been granted a gift by the Snake itself makes her barely tolerable to my eyes but she is nothing to look at and clearly does not know her place."

Hermione opened her mouth to make an angry reply but Severus held up a hand to stop her. "Don't waste your voice, Hermione," he said softly, though his eyes were furious at the insults his father was heaping upon her.

"All right.  It would be a waste of time I think," Hermione replied dryly.

Damien looked with displeasure at the interaction between his son and the upstart bit of skirt, which had been the bane of many a Slytherin. "You're becoming soft, Severus. Weak as well in showing kindness to a Gryffindor," he commented. "It's high time you settled down with a proper Slytherin woman and gave your parents grandchildren. Forget this teaching nonsense and get this Mudblood out of your system."

At that Severus glided over to the table and put his hands down on it, leaning forward slightly.

"If," he hissed, "you ever talk to me like that again or insult Hermione any further you will regret it. As it is, I will never set foot in your house again. I will never let you within a foot of any children we may happen to have one day and if you try you will regret that too."

For the first time Severus' father appeared to lose some of his composure. "You…..you cannot think to actually marry this, this," he gasped.

"Her name is Hermione, father. And yes, I do plan to marry her," Severus said with a smile of malice on his face. "She seems to have grown on me. Now, get out."

Damien's face seemed to swell with rage and he got up abruptly, slamming the chair back into its place with viciousness that made Hermione jump slightly.

"So. As of this moment you are no longer my son. You can go to hell, and call yourself a Gryffindor for all I care!" he snapped.

Severus face twitched but then he smiled coldly. "Perhaps I do need to show you the door after all; it is that way…..", he said, pointing.

Damien hissed at him and then strode out the room, not before giving Hermione a final, contemptuous look.

TBC