Chapter Two

"Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of..  this [person] upon me?"

Numbers 11:11

Although it was now late at night, Dumbledore knew Snape would be awake.  He was a night creature that resented the light and loathed mornings.  He sent Fawkes down to fetch Snape as he knew Snape would recognize the importance of a message sent by his phoenix.

Sure enough, in less than 10 minutes Snape had stalked into Dumbledore's office and sunk into the seat Dumbledore offered him with a swirl of his black robes.  "You wanted to see me, Professor?" Snape rasped, regarding the Head Master with  his sharp, deep-set, black eyes under hooded lids.

"Yes Severus," Dumbledore said calmly, leaning back in his chair.  "I apologise for the late hour but it is a rather urgent matter.  One of our students has suffered a great tragedy today – one that affects her future."

"Her future?"  Snape repeated questioningly, his unreadable expression unchanged.

"Yes, Miss Hermione Granger lost both her parents today," Dumbledore continued.

A fleeting emotion flashed deep in Snape's eyes but it was gone before Dumbledore could put a name to it.  Hermione again, Snape thought.  It was the second time in the past few weeks that she had been brought forcibly to his attention via strange circumstances.  First, her strange gaze in one of her last Potion's classes and now this disaster.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Professor" Snape said in a neutral voice.  "How can I be of assistance?"

"Well, I am hoping what I am about to suggest will help both you and Miss Granger," Dumbledore hedged.  "Miss Granger now needs a guardian," he began.  Snape's eyes narrowed suddenly and his long fingered hands tensed on the arm rests of his chair as he guessed what was coming.  "Only for the next three and half months or so, until Miss Granger turns eighteen on the nineteenth of September."  Dumbledore continued as though he hadn't noticed Snape's reaction.  "After much thought, I decided it would be a perfect assignment for you Severus," he announced cheerfully.

Snape frowned darkly.  "What made you think of me, Professor?"  He asked, getting up to pace the room.  "Has she no family?  What about the other teachers?  More suitable, surely?" he argued.

"The family she has are not able to perform this task in this time frame, Severus.  It would be too inconvenient for them.  The only other option would be for her to put back her University attendance for a year which would be a shameful waste of time, would it not?  The other teachers will not be available during summer break," Dumbledore explained reasonably.  Snape stalked up and down the spacious office.  "Severus, do sit down.  You're making me feel tired," Dumbledore said finally and waved his wand over a pair of crystal tumblers.  He gave one to Snape who swallowed the contents in one burning gulp.  Dumbledore refilled his glass.

Snape sat down again, his long legs stretched out in front of him.  "Why me, Professor?  What's the real reason?" he asked finally, staring at the amber fluid in his glass.

Dumbledore sighed.  "You need to spend time away from those Death Eaters, Severus.  Thanks to you, we have managed to counteract the worst of their plans before too much damage has been done to the wizarding world but it's taken its toll on you.  You need a good three months off, away from the whole wizarding world."

"What about my teaching?  The first month of the next academic year…" Snape began but Dumbledore raised a frail hand.  He reached into a drawer and brought out the time turner.  "You can still make all your classes and still be there for Hermione during that month," he explained.

"How does Miss Granger feel about this?" Snape asked sourly.

"I haven't told her as yet," Dumbledore replied mildly.

"She won't like it," he predicted darkly.

"I doubt she'd care for any of her old teachers playing guardian," Dumbledore remarked.

"She especially dislikes me Professor, as you well know," Snape said, tossing back his drink.

"As I understand it, the feeling is mutual," Dumbledore observed pointedly.

Snape's thin lips compressed.  "I don't dislike her.  I just think she's an annoying, little miss-know-it-all," he said with a sneer. 

"Rather reminds me of a brilliant young man who used to attend Hogwarts years ago who ended up as our Potions Master," Dumbledore said with amusement.

"I was not that insufferable," Snape protested.

"No," Dumbledore agreed mildly.  "I believe you were worse."

Snape's dark eyes gleamed with resentment.  "I'm not going to put up with her being a brat," he said flatly.

"Hermione is the furtherest thing from being a brat I can imagine," Dumbledore stated firmly.  "All you need to do is live under the same roof for three and a half months.  If she has any real problems, you can always refer them to me."

Snape tried to imagine living in the same house as his former student and failed utterly.  "I take it this is an order?" Snape asked eventually.

"Yes, Severus," Dumbledore replied directly.

Snape nodded curtly.  "Is that all, Professor?" he asked a trifle bitterly.

"For now," Dumbledore replied and escorted his guest to his office door.  Once Snape had gone Dumbledore sighed as he went back to his desk.  He had a feeling both Snape and Hermione were in for a rough three and a half months.

* * *

Snape stalked down to his dungeon rooms in a state of fine-edged disgust.  Fortunately there were no students about at that time of night, otherwise some major points would have been lost to whatever House the unlucky pupils he met belonged to.

His mood was black and his expression was blacker.  Now he had been reduced to baby sitting one of the most annoying students at Hogwarts.  You only find her annoying because you know she's every bit as intelligent as you, a small voice whispered at the back of his mind.  He told the little voice to shut up.

He had been looking forward to doing some important research over the long summer break.  It was the most peace and quiet he ever got.  Even the Death Eaters were usually quiet during the summer holidays.  Gone skiing in Switzerland or sun baking in Bermuda with their families most likely, he thought sourly.

Now that he was forced to endure nearly four months in the Muggle world – he shuddered at the mere thought, he couldn't even work on his research.  What the hell would he do in Hermione's family home during summer break?  He'd never been in a Muggle home in his life, not even as a Death Eater.

He strode into his private apartments in the dungeon area and sat down in front of a small fire without glancing around.  There wasn't much to see anyway.  Hundreds of books, a desk covered in parchments, the one armchair in front of the fire and little else.  There were no pictures on the walls, no photos of friends or family, no personal items apart from necessities, no rug on the stone floor.

His elbow on the armrest of his chair, he rested his face on one long-fingered, pale hand and stretched his long, lean legs out in front of him.  He would do anything Dumbledore asked him to, of course.  That was exactly how he had ended up in this mess.  He would have preferred Dumbledore sending him on a suicide mission to Voldemort than ending up having to play guardian to a teen-age girl in the Muggle world.  Not just any teen-age girl either but that unendurable know-it-all, Hermione Granger.

The trouble was - he acknowledged to himself, that he had no idea how to handle her.  She had grown very pretty during her time at Hogwarts.  She had grown out of her big toothed, bushy haired, keen eyed adolescent self into an almost ridiculously pretty young woman – all thick, gleaming hair and long eyelashes and soft curves.  He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.  Unlike other pretty women though, she didn't play on it by being flirtatious or pretending to be stupid.  If she'd done that, he would have known exactly how to deal with her – with utmost contempt.  He would have had permission not to take her at all seriously and could have sneered at her for being a bimbo.  Unfortunately for him, she didn't do that.  Instead, she looked incredibly pretty and feminine which was distracting but also did nothing to disguise or tone down her lightening sharp mind which meant he had to take her seriously and pay attention when she asked questions or discussed anything with him.  It was un-nerving and tested his cool self-possession to the hilt.  He resented her for it.  Snape was rarely challenged by a student to stay on his toes and for that same student to be so distractingly pretty was to add insult to injury.  He hated her for it.  "Smart girls should be ugly," he muttered ferociously to himself.

Now he was stuck with her for an entire summer.  Stuck with, "sir, do you think if we…"; "sir, why don't we try…"; "sir, I was reading the other day…"; "sir, what made you decide to do it that way?"  Snape sighed deeply and sunk further into his chair.  He hated even the tone of her voice - soft and velvety but grating in its confidence.

He glanced at his plain ebony clock.  It was nearly 2am.  He got up and with an evil glare toward the part of the castle that held Dumbledore's office, he went to bed.