A/N: The world of Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. I am just having fun
playing with her characters. This story is rated R for a reason. You have
been warned.
Chapter Two
. One week later.
As the Hogwarts Express arrived on September the first as it had done every single year since Dumbledore had been a student at the school, the teachers were moved into the Great Hall readying themselves for the feast. Albus had once again reminded everyone to be on the lookout for anything untoward with any of the new first years and so the staff was all on full alert. They were expecting around fifty new first years this year, when most years there had only been around thirty-five at best. This many first years was a very welcome turn of events after the war had eliminated so many families for crimes such as being affiliated with Muggles or simply denying to join Lord Voldemort in his crusade.
This year the first years were being escorted across the lake by Ron Weasley. He and his family had arrived a few days earlier and thankfully Lavendar and Ron had both agreed to take on the classes assigned to them. Ron had felt quite awkward taking over Hagrid's old home but he had been dead for nearly two years now and so his pain was slowly decreasing in severity every time he thought about him. Ron had always been close to Hagrid as well as Harry and Hermione of course, and he missed him terribly. Hagrid had died a hero though, having taken on five Death Eaters and killing four of them with his bear hands before the fifth one had managed to pin him with the killing curse to his back. Hagrid hadn't seen the face of his killer but Snape had, and he had avenged the half-giant's death with a killing curse of his own. This had been part of the reason why Harry had taken off; Hagrid had been like family to Harry ever since Hagrid had rescued him from the Dursley's on his eleventh birthday.
Ron and Hermione had stayed in touch with each other over the years and he knew all about Severus and Hermione being engaged. He was truly happy for her, which did surprise Hermione as Ron had despised Severus throughout his entire time at Hogwarts and he was not one to let grudges go easily. Still, Ron had fought alongside Severus in the war and had seen that Severus was indeed an honourable man and could be trusted.
Minerva was to run the sorting ceremony as per usual and the Sorting Hat had been made aware to report anything unusual that it may find whilst it sifted through the minds of all of the new first years.
The staff made their way to the Great Hall independently and took their positions at the head table. Hermione sat beside her fiancé as was usual and they clasped hands briefly under the table in support of each other. They were all dressed now in their best teaching robes, Severus in his usual black with just a hint of white at the collar and cuffs whilst Hermione had a very deep crimson robe on over a long dark blue suede dress and her long hair spilling neatly down her back.
Severus had been far more willing to show his love of Hermione now that they had agreed to be married and he felt far easier showing public displays of affection. So he did not care in the least that Hermione was keeping her engagement ring in full view of anyone who cared to look and was smiling nervously at Severus every chance she got.
Hermione had been feeling uneasy all week since she found out she would be the new Gryffindor Head of House, Severus had been giving her tips on how to run the House and she was found to be stressing in the library with Penny on a number of occasions by various staff members who would all offer up their own advice. She had practiced her opening speech to the House that she would give as soon as the feast was over and was just hoping that it would be all over and done with soon but until then they had to get through the Sorting Ceremony.
The hall was very brightly lit with many candles that slowly moved up and down as they hung in mid air, and the House banners were all displayed above the House tables brightly colouring the place. The ceiling of the Great Hall, which was charmed to look like the sky outside, was showing that night was falling. It was a clear night outside with many brightly lit stars; luckily it was not a full moon so Remus Lupin was able to join in with the Sorting Ceremony without any fears.
"You'll be fine, Hermione." Severus told her quietly as the first of the students started to make their way into the Great Hall noisily. Hermione looked over to him and smiled slightly, her nerves slowly ebbing away from her as she looked at Severus' confident expression and nodded slightly to him.
Soon all of the students except the first years were seated at their respective House tables, talking amongst themselves and all seemingly excited to be back for another year. The class sizes of the older students were slightly diminished still due to the war, those students having been thought old enough in order to fight or carry out other war duties. Many of their class mates had died for the cause and the students who were left counted themselves very lucky indeed.
Minerva began to lead the first years in through the doors at the top of the hall as the noise level in the hall suddenly dropped, and all eyes followed the small sea of black as the first years followed the deputy head.
All of the teachers looked on at the approaching mass of first years trying to detect anything at all sinister amongst them. So far nothing yet, they all seemed like normal eager and over awed first years to Hermione, and nothing was unusual about that. She glanced across to Severus at her right hand side to see if he had picked up on anything and although he had his familiar scowl back on his face with a vengeance, she detected no hint of him having picked up anything either.
Minerva led the first years to the front of the hall and asked them to wait in front of her. Severus could see that there were several students with familiar flaming red hair, hoping beyond hope that they were not Weasley's he watched them intently.
McGonagall told the students that she would call each of them forth and place the Sorting Hat onto their heads so that they could be sorted in to their Houses. After the Sorting Hat had sung its annual song Minerva called the first student forward. Severus and Hermione had started a bet off last year as to how many students they could correctly place into the right House before the Sorting Hat had yelled its decision. Severus was so much better at the game than Hermione having sat through many more ceremonies than she had but she still liked to play along all the same.
"Gryffindor." Severus whispered as the first student, Nichola Appleby, approached the hat. He turned out to be right.
"Hufflepuff." Hermione whispered regarding the second student, Simon Azalia, but that student was sorted into Slytherin so she lost that one.
"Megan Broomshanks." Minerva called the next student. Both Hermione and Severus whispered 'Ravenclaw' and they both turned out to be correct.
"Now that's a wizarding name if ever I heard one." Hermione commented and Severus informed her that the Broomshanks' were one of the oldest wizarding families and they had almost been wiped out by Voldemort when they refused their services to him.
"Camilla Flourish." Minerva called. Hermione said 'Gryffindor' while Severus said 'Hufflepuff'. Hermione was right and Severus commented that she was getting better with a small smile since he didn't want to totally lose his 'Greasy Git' reputation in front of the students.
"Christopher Granger." Minerva called and Hermione's eyes went slightly wider, which Severus noted as she took a closer look at the boy who was making his way towards the stool where the Sorting Hat would be placed on his head.
"Granger?" Hermione said, having not come across another Granger in the Wizarding world before now.
"Do you know him?" Severus asked.
"No, I don't." She replied. He was a fairly short boy with dark brown hair and brown eyes, nothing immediately stood out about him aside from his name.
"Slytherin." The Hat shouted after a long moment, which surprised both Severus and Hermione since 'Granger' was a Muggle name and it was a well known fact that Muggle-borns did not get sorted into Slytherin- as per the Founder's instruction when the school had been first built.
"How odd." Severus commented with a frown.
"Agreed." Hermione answered intrigued as the ceremony proceeded.
"Joshua Weasley." Severus groaned at hearing Minerva shout that name and when he was sorted into Gryffindor Ron clapped the loudest. Both Hermione and Severus looked along the table at Ron with raised eyebrows and he simple waggled his eyebrows grinning from ear to ear. Apparently he had wanted the new Weasley additions to Hogwarts to be a surprise.
"Jemimah Weasley." Another groan from Severus and Hermione smiled before turning and whispering to him that they were two of quadruplets produced by Bill Weasley and his wife Emily but she had not thought they were due to start Hogwarts this year.
"James Weasley" was followed by "Joanne Weasley" and all four were sorted into Gryffindor, as seemed to be the Weasley family tradition.
"Well, four new Weasley's, and thankfully they are all in your House, my love." Severus said with a smirk on his face. "Still, Bill was one of the better students from the Weasley clan so perhaps they've taken after their father?"
"I certainly hope so," Hermione muttered. "I just hope I can tell them apart."
In all Gryffindor managed to get 15 new students, Slytherin got 11, Ravenclaw received 14 and Hufflepuff got 10. The only surprise seemed to be the Granger boy being sorted into Slytherin, but he didn't seem to mind and kept himself to himself, having not spoken to any other student at the table as yet and not smiled once either. He had glanced at the head table a number of times though, well, he'd glanced at Hermione a few times but only Severus had noticed this as Hermione had been watching the ceremony more closely.
Dumbledore stood up and called for order once the Sorting had been complete and the hat was taken away. "Welcome back to the second years up to the seventh years and welcome to Hogwarts to the first years. I have a few start of year announcements to make." Dumbledore cleared his throat before continuing. "The Forbidden Forest is strictly out of bounds to all students. You must stick to rules set out by your Head of Houses, and this includes the curfew rule. We have a few new teachers this year who I would like to introduce, if they could please stand up." The new teachers all stood and Dumbledore continued. "Lavendar Weasley, Ronald Weasley, Lee Jordan and our new caretaker Neville Longbottom." The students cheered and clapped all of the new teachers in welcome. "I would also like to introduce you to Penelope Clearwater, the new Head of Ravenclaw and Hermione Granger the new Head of Gryffindor." Similar cheers went out for these two teachers as well and they glanced at one another wishing each other the best of luck.
Severus watched the Granger boy very closely as Hermione stood up and he stared at Hermione for a long time before dropping his gaze and refraining from clapping at all. Definitely something going on with this boy, Severus thought, and he would be finding out what it was as soon as possible. At least he had some margin of control on the boy, Severus thought, since he was the boy's new Head of House.
"Your teachers are also taking up mixed teaching posts in one or two extra subjects this year. So, do not worry if your usual teacher is not in class. Your new Head Boy is also James Macey of Hufflepuff and Head Girl is Sonia Flint of Slytherin." Dumbledore was sure he'd covered everything and as he was very hungry himself he simply intoned "Let the feast begin," and the food magically appeared on all of the tables. A loud cheer went through the hall as everyone began to dig in to the food that was in front of them.
Once the feast began Dumbledore told his Heads of Houses that he would speak to each of them in the morning before breakfast regarding anything they had observed that could be deemed as suspicious, and they each acknowledged him with a nod of their heads.
When the feast had finished Dumbledore signalled that the House prefects should escort the students back to the common rooms in preparation for their Heads of Houses and slowly the hall began to empty. Severus and Hermione left by the teachers exit and spoke with one another for a few minutes.
"How are you feeling, my love?" Severus asked as they moved closer to the wall and into the shadows a bit more.
"Nervous, Severus." She said embracing him lovingly. She was not too much shorter than Severus and she could almost look him directly in the eye. He was hard to see in the shadows though with all the black that he wore but she could feel him and his body heat as he pressed closer to her.
"It's just a quick speech and then it'll be over, love." Severus said.
"I know, I should be okay with it after all I have been teaching for a year now and I did have to make a few speeches as Head Girl myself." She said smiling.
Severus kissed her and she kissed him back. They stood for a few minutes slowly deepening the kiss before they decided they had best stop before some stray student found them. and Severus made a mess of the front of his trousers. Luckily he was wearing his teacher's robes so he could cover anything that would be embarrassing if necessary.
Hermione's heart rate was already thundering in her chest and that kiss hadn't done anything for calming her down. She wanted to just go back to her chambers with Severus and fall into bed with him but she knew that they would most likely have to wait until the weekend, five whole days away; she didn't think that she could last that long having been in his bed almost nightly during the summer break.
Severus was breathing a lot more heavily as well and he held Hermione around the waist as they moved out of the shadows and to the entrance hall where they would part company going to their respective House common rooms and probably not seeing each other until breakfast tomorrow morning. Hermione gave Severus one more chaste kiss and a smile before quickly heading off upstairs, whilst Severus moved down towards the dungeons.
~~*~~
Approaching the portrait of the Fat Lady, which covered the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, Hermione stood and listened for a few moments. She could hear the prefects making their speeches and chose not to interrupt. She could remember the first speech she had made as a prefect and though nerve-wracking enough, it certainly did not help to have Professor McGonagall standing over her while she did it.
"Is everything alright, Professor Granger?" The Fat Lady asked as she saw Hermione standing in front of her.
Hermione smiled at the portrait. "Oh, yes. No problems at all. I'm just giving my prefects a few more minutes to finish." At one time she would have thought that talking to a painting would have been the first sign of going mad but that was before she knew she was a witch and before she knew for a fact that paintings could indeed talk back.
"Well, they have just sat down so I guess they're done, Professor." Hermione smiled at her again before moving towards the portrait. "Password?" The Fat Lady asked.
"Ursa Major." Hermione intoned, smiling as the portrait opened to allow her entrance. Hermione headed through the narrow entrance way to greet her students.
Chattering met her ears as she entered but it soon died down as the House prefects noticed their new Head of House and asked for silence. Hermione stood in front of the fire and addressed her House as a whole, the common room was very crowded and most students were either sitting on the floor or the stairs to the dormitories due to a lack of seats. Hermione had not stepped into the Gryffindor common room since she had been back at Hogwarts but now that she was Head of House she felt as though she truly belonged once again and that she was finally at home.
"Hello everyone and welcome to Hogwarts. I am your new Head of House and my name is Professor Granger. I teach Arithmancy and will also be taking some of you for classes in Muggle Studies and Potions." Hermione noticed most of the students were smiling at her announcement of teaching some of the Potions classes. Severus was still every bit the strict teacher and Gryffindors especially were still picked on by him.
"I am a former Gryffindor myself, having graduated from Hogwarts seven years ago." Hermione took a deep breath before continuing. "My office can be found on this floor three doors down on the left, the times I am available for appointments are posted on the door on the outside of my office and also on the House notice board." Hermione said gesturing over to the wall to the left of the portrait hole.
"You may send me an owl if you would like to arrange an appointment or see me before the start of class to arrange a time. You may also utilise your seventh year House prefects who are Samuel Davies and Connie O'Malley, please stand up you two." Hermione said and gestured to the two seventh year prefects. She caught the Weasley quadruplets sniggering out of the corner of her eye and glared at them, they did not notice. "Thank you, seventh year prefects you may sit down now. We also have two sixth year prefects. Simon Caruthers and Carley Quinn, and our two new fifth year prefects are Patrick Weasley and Marina Spears. If you four could stand up, please." Hermione instructed the prefects to make them selves known and soon everyone was seated once again.
"I expect to win the House cup this year since we were sorely defeated by Hufflepuff last year. I need for you to all work hard and give one hundred percent at all times. Heed the rules or you will be severely punished." Hermione said casting her gaze around the assembled students and once again finding the quadruplets not paying full attention. "For the fifth years and seventh years please be reminded that your exams are this year, for your respective OWL's and NEWT's. I expect you to all work hard at achieving your best results. That is all for now, have a good night." Hermione said and she walked over to the Weasley quads.
"Good evening, Weasley's." Hermione said to them, finally catching their attention, and unknowingly rising to her full height and glaring down her nose in order to intimidate them as much as she could, which was something she had subconsciously picked up from Severus.
"Oh, evening, Professor." They all said timidly at once, and Hermione rolled her eyes hoping they didn't do this all the time or it would become seriously annoying.
"Next time I find you not paying attention to me when I am addressing the House you will find that you will lose House points and gain a detention. Do I make myself clear?" Hermione asked looking directly at each in turn.
"Yes, Professor." They all said as one. "Sorry, Professor," again speaking as one and giggling slightly because of it.
"Good night." Hermione said exasperated and walked away feeling like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She headed back to her quarters hoping that the Weasley quads were not going to cause her too much trouble over the next seven years. They were the first lot of Weasley's to come through Hogwarts since Patrick had started five years ago. Patrick was the son of Charlie Weasley and his wife Melissa who lived in Romania still. During the holidays Patrick would go to The Burrow and his parents would come home for that time as well. Patrick was the cousin to the Weasley quads and he also had one sister that Hermione knew of but she wouldn't attend Hogwarts for another three years. Patrick was so much like his father though, the top his class in Care of Magical Creatures and fascinated with dragons.
~~**~~
Severus stalked down to the dungeons, each step putting him closer to his usual 'Bastard Mode'. Despite the end of the war and the interim years of relative peace as the last of the Death Eaters had been rounded up, Severus could not afford the luxury to slacken off too much. Most of Slytherin House still held the misdirected ideals they had been brought up with and therefore needed a stern hand in order to be controlled. In fact from what Severus had discussed regarding his change in attitude towards his House with Albus Dumbledore, he would be even more strict and stern towards them than they were previously used to. Also, Severus had to maintain order in his classroom at all costs or lives could be lost, after all Potions was a dangerous subject if not treated with respect. So, he found his 'Bastard Mode' had to stay, for a while longer at least.
Severus strode towards the portrait of Salazar Slytherin and commanded it to open with the password "Draft of the Living Dead." He could hear that the prefects were in the middle of their speeches but that didn't concern him for he was Head of House and there was no way he would be kept waiting for them to finish. He descended the stairs until he was three up from the bottom, so that he would be able to see all of the students including those hiding near the back. The prefects stopped abruptly at the sight of their Head of House and told the whole student body assembled to stand as a mark of respect. Severus nodded to his prefects and told the House to sit down before he began.
"I am Professor Snape your Head of House. If you want to stay on my good side, and I sincerely recommend that you do, then you will do nothing to bring this House into disrepute. Slytherin House has a reputation to maintain," Several students sat looking smugly thinking that they knew exactly what kind of reputation Slytherin had to keep, "and a bad reputation to lose." Severus intoned forcefully looking directly at them.
"This House is seen as one which exonerates poor and bad behaviour. We are seen to be a dishonest and deceitful lot who do not play fairly, cheat and do things their own way. This will change! You will work together as one House in order to win the House cup, this and working towards high grades shall be your only goals whilst you are at Hogwarts. I want no extra curricular activities that have not been fully endorsed by me first!" Severus shouted forcefully and glared at the students. "You will learn to get along with other Houses and if you are seen to go against these new rules then you will be out of here before you can say Quidditch! I will not tolerate your poor behaviour and attitudes any longer. I have ways of finding out who is going against these rules and trust me the consequences will not be pleasant." Severus had raised his voice to his most authoritative by this point and had captured the undivided attention of everyone in the room. The silence was deafening as Severus paused.
"The Headmaster and I have decided to set a new precedent for Slytherin House. The rule will be thus, 'three strikes and you are out'. This means that if you do something wrong once you will lose House points, do the same again and you will receive detention, do it again and you will be suspended for one week." Severus paused once again.
"Thankfully some prestige has been brought to the House already this year; thanks for this go to Sonia Flint who you should know is the new Head Girl. See that this continues. That will be all, good night." Severus said as he abruptly turned on his heel and stalked back up the steps and out of the common room leaving everyone in it in a state of shock. Severus also knew that the prefects would now have to start their speeches all over again, for what they would have already told them about Slytherin politics would be null and void.
Severus marched off to his office pleased with the reaction he had gotten from his students. He would now watch them through his magically enhanced mirror that showed him everything that was going on in the common room and find out exactly how they were reacting to his new ethos.
As Severus entered his office he moved to his mirror whispering the incantation that would show him the common room. He saw his prefects were still in the process of their speeches and so he decided to see if his fiancé had finished with her students yet. He threw some floo powder into the fire and called for her. Hermione's head appeared a moment later and she was smiling brightly at him.
"Hello, love." Hermione said in greeting. "I didn't expect to hear from you again tonight."
"How are you now it's over, my darling?" Severus asked her.
"Much relieved, Severus although I fear we may be in for problems with the Weasley quads." Severus listened whilst keeping his eyes fixed upon the mirror above his fireplace. "Are you okay, Severus? What are you up to?"
"Just keeping an eye on things love. Can you come through the floo? I must stay in my office for a while longer." He asked her.
"Of course, just step aside a bit." Severus did and watched as Hermione emerged from the fire and dusted herself off. She kissed him in greeting and followed his gaze to the mirror. "What are you looking at?"
"This mirror is charmed to give me a view of the common room." He told her.
"And why are you watching your students?" She asked slightly confused. "Miss them already?" She teased.
"I'm watching to see how they took my news. I told them that Slytherin politics were changing and I wanted the House brought out of disrepute and to glean a better name for itself. I told them I wouldn't be lenient on them anymore and that they must work together as a House to win the cup and be seen to get on better with the other Houses." Hermione stared at him in total shock.
"Why, Severus? Slytherin has been like that for as long as I can remember."
"And it's time for a change, Hermione. Especially if we are to avoid the formation of the next Dark Lord and his band of brothers." All the time Severus was watching the mirror and lip reading. "It appears my speech went okay, the prefects have backed me up and now the students are discussing with each other to see if I was joking with them." Severus told her, thinking he could glean nothing else from them tonight he shut down the projection and the mirror returned to its usual reflective self, and Severus' attentions returned to his fiancé.
"What was that about the Weasley's?" Severus asked her, giving her his full attention.
"Oh, they weren't listening to my speech."
"Heaven forbid." Severus said sarcastically, Hermione hit him on the arm lightly.
"They all talk as one as well, whatever they say, they all speak as one. I can see you're just going to love them." Hermione stated and Severus smiled widely.
"Well, love, I hate to burst your bubble but you are the one that will have them for Potions and Muggle Studies since you are taking the first year classes." Severus said gleefully.
"Hmm." Hermione replied. "I'm going to miss you this week, Severus." Hermione told him putting her arms around his neck and moving closer to him.
"And I you." Severus said capturing her lips with his as he embraced her around the waist. He kissed her deeply and pushed his hips towards her, letting her know how much he wanted her right then.
"You want me?" She asked him, feeling his erection against her lower abdomen.
"Just a bit." He responded teasing her with small kisses along her jaw line and down her neck as he moved his hands downwards and pulled her closer to him.
"Only a bit?" she asked kissing him again as he returned his lips to hers.
"Perhaps a lot." He told her as he ran his fingers through her hair and down her spine.
"Here?" She asked him with a malevolent gleam in her eyes.
"Here." He responded pushing her up towards his desk so she was sitting on it with him standing in front of her between her legs. He kissed her deeply, gaining access to her mouth, her tongue plunging into his and both of them duelling for control. Pure passion racing through their veins they began to remove some of their heavy clothing as quickly as they could, throwing their robes to the floor of the dungeons followed by Severus' waist coat and Hermione's cardigan. Hermione spread her legs even further and wrapped them around Severus' hips pulling him in closer until she could feel his erection pressing though his trousers up against her clitoris. This closeness was making him come undone as he pushed aside her top half after unbuttoning the top of her dress and moved his lips to her supple breasts. His hands moved around her front and pulled the skirt of her dress up around her hips.
"Severus." Hermione said breathlessly as he kissed her down her throat again.
"Yes?"
"Is the door locked?" She asked him, worried in case a student barged in on them. Severus grabbed his wand and pointed it at the door, murmuring a charm Hermione heard the locks clicking into place.
Severus set to work on removing her under garments finally gaining access to her moist opening. He slipped two fingers inside her and rubbed her clit with his thumb as she groaned out his name and leant her head back towards the desk, her hair spilling everywhere and his tongue back to teasing her nipples. His mouth moved over her nipples as he sucked and gently bit them into hardness. She put her hands back around his neck and pulled him down on top of her on the desk, knocking a few parchments onto the floor and allowing her knees to hook around Severus' back. Severus removed his fingers from her moistness and undid his fly, releasing his erection as quickly as possible.
"Now, Severus." Hermione groaned and he would take no second command as he thrust into her and ground his hips tight up against her, gaining deep penetration. She groaned at the sensation and urged him on wriggling underneath him. Severus pulled out of her slowly and thrust back in quickly, his movements becoming faster as he eventually started to pound into her as fast as he could. He could feel that she was close to her release and he pulled back one last time before thrusting in for a final meeting and exploding inside her, utter bliss taking over all of their senses as they came together and shuddered, moaning each others names in unison.
Both were sweaty and out of breath as Severus pulled her back into a sitting position on the end of his desk and kissed her deeply one last time.
"That. was. intense." Hermione told him, leaning with her head on his bear shoulder as she fought to regain her breath.
"Pure heaven, my love." Severus replied slowing down his breathing as well. They remained like that for a few minutes before Hermione finally got off the desk and pulled her dress back down to its full length. Hermione started dressing once again whilst she regained her breath. Severus did the same buttoning up his fly and grabbing his clothes that were strewn about the floor. Soon they were back to looking not-so-dishevelled and with most of their composures in tact. Hermione embraced Severus lovingly again.
"I don't want to leave you tonight, Severus but I must. I'll probably have some homesick students knocking on my office door soon." She told him apologetically.
"Then you must go back to your office, my love." Severus told her as they moved closer to the fireplace and Hermione grabbed some floo powder. "I love you, Hermione. I'll see you in the Headmaster's office before breakfast."
"Love you too, Severus. Sweet dreams, love." Hermione said kissing him once more before stepping into the fireplace and shouting, "Professor Granger's office." She was gone in a mass of green flames and Severus once again set his mirror to look into the Slytherin common room.
Chapter Two
. One week later.
As the Hogwarts Express arrived on September the first as it had done every single year since Dumbledore had been a student at the school, the teachers were moved into the Great Hall readying themselves for the feast. Albus had once again reminded everyone to be on the lookout for anything untoward with any of the new first years and so the staff was all on full alert. They were expecting around fifty new first years this year, when most years there had only been around thirty-five at best. This many first years was a very welcome turn of events after the war had eliminated so many families for crimes such as being affiliated with Muggles or simply denying to join Lord Voldemort in his crusade.
This year the first years were being escorted across the lake by Ron Weasley. He and his family had arrived a few days earlier and thankfully Lavendar and Ron had both agreed to take on the classes assigned to them. Ron had felt quite awkward taking over Hagrid's old home but he had been dead for nearly two years now and so his pain was slowly decreasing in severity every time he thought about him. Ron had always been close to Hagrid as well as Harry and Hermione of course, and he missed him terribly. Hagrid had died a hero though, having taken on five Death Eaters and killing four of them with his bear hands before the fifth one had managed to pin him with the killing curse to his back. Hagrid hadn't seen the face of his killer but Snape had, and he had avenged the half-giant's death with a killing curse of his own. This had been part of the reason why Harry had taken off; Hagrid had been like family to Harry ever since Hagrid had rescued him from the Dursley's on his eleventh birthday.
Ron and Hermione had stayed in touch with each other over the years and he knew all about Severus and Hermione being engaged. He was truly happy for her, which did surprise Hermione as Ron had despised Severus throughout his entire time at Hogwarts and he was not one to let grudges go easily. Still, Ron had fought alongside Severus in the war and had seen that Severus was indeed an honourable man and could be trusted.
Minerva was to run the sorting ceremony as per usual and the Sorting Hat had been made aware to report anything unusual that it may find whilst it sifted through the minds of all of the new first years.
The staff made their way to the Great Hall independently and took their positions at the head table. Hermione sat beside her fiancé as was usual and they clasped hands briefly under the table in support of each other. They were all dressed now in their best teaching robes, Severus in his usual black with just a hint of white at the collar and cuffs whilst Hermione had a very deep crimson robe on over a long dark blue suede dress and her long hair spilling neatly down her back.
Severus had been far more willing to show his love of Hermione now that they had agreed to be married and he felt far easier showing public displays of affection. So he did not care in the least that Hermione was keeping her engagement ring in full view of anyone who cared to look and was smiling nervously at Severus every chance she got.
Hermione had been feeling uneasy all week since she found out she would be the new Gryffindor Head of House, Severus had been giving her tips on how to run the House and she was found to be stressing in the library with Penny on a number of occasions by various staff members who would all offer up their own advice. She had practiced her opening speech to the House that she would give as soon as the feast was over and was just hoping that it would be all over and done with soon but until then they had to get through the Sorting Ceremony.
The hall was very brightly lit with many candles that slowly moved up and down as they hung in mid air, and the House banners were all displayed above the House tables brightly colouring the place. The ceiling of the Great Hall, which was charmed to look like the sky outside, was showing that night was falling. It was a clear night outside with many brightly lit stars; luckily it was not a full moon so Remus Lupin was able to join in with the Sorting Ceremony without any fears.
"You'll be fine, Hermione." Severus told her quietly as the first of the students started to make their way into the Great Hall noisily. Hermione looked over to him and smiled slightly, her nerves slowly ebbing away from her as she looked at Severus' confident expression and nodded slightly to him.
Soon all of the students except the first years were seated at their respective House tables, talking amongst themselves and all seemingly excited to be back for another year. The class sizes of the older students were slightly diminished still due to the war, those students having been thought old enough in order to fight or carry out other war duties. Many of their class mates had died for the cause and the students who were left counted themselves very lucky indeed.
Minerva began to lead the first years in through the doors at the top of the hall as the noise level in the hall suddenly dropped, and all eyes followed the small sea of black as the first years followed the deputy head.
All of the teachers looked on at the approaching mass of first years trying to detect anything at all sinister amongst them. So far nothing yet, they all seemed like normal eager and over awed first years to Hermione, and nothing was unusual about that. She glanced across to Severus at her right hand side to see if he had picked up on anything and although he had his familiar scowl back on his face with a vengeance, she detected no hint of him having picked up anything either.
Minerva led the first years to the front of the hall and asked them to wait in front of her. Severus could see that there were several students with familiar flaming red hair, hoping beyond hope that they were not Weasley's he watched them intently.
McGonagall told the students that she would call each of them forth and place the Sorting Hat onto their heads so that they could be sorted in to their Houses. After the Sorting Hat had sung its annual song Minerva called the first student forward. Severus and Hermione had started a bet off last year as to how many students they could correctly place into the right House before the Sorting Hat had yelled its decision. Severus was so much better at the game than Hermione having sat through many more ceremonies than she had but she still liked to play along all the same.
"Gryffindor." Severus whispered as the first student, Nichola Appleby, approached the hat. He turned out to be right.
"Hufflepuff." Hermione whispered regarding the second student, Simon Azalia, but that student was sorted into Slytherin so she lost that one.
"Megan Broomshanks." Minerva called the next student. Both Hermione and Severus whispered 'Ravenclaw' and they both turned out to be correct.
"Now that's a wizarding name if ever I heard one." Hermione commented and Severus informed her that the Broomshanks' were one of the oldest wizarding families and they had almost been wiped out by Voldemort when they refused their services to him.
"Camilla Flourish." Minerva called. Hermione said 'Gryffindor' while Severus said 'Hufflepuff'. Hermione was right and Severus commented that she was getting better with a small smile since he didn't want to totally lose his 'Greasy Git' reputation in front of the students.
"Christopher Granger." Minerva called and Hermione's eyes went slightly wider, which Severus noted as she took a closer look at the boy who was making his way towards the stool where the Sorting Hat would be placed on his head.
"Granger?" Hermione said, having not come across another Granger in the Wizarding world before now.
"Do you know him?" Severus asked.
"No, I don't." She replied. He was a fairly short boy with dark brown hair and brown eyes, nothing immediately stood out about him aside from his name.
"Slytherin." The Hat shouted after a long moment, which surprised both Severus and Hermione since 'Granger' was a Muggle name and it was a well known fact that Muggle-borns did not get sorted into Slytherin- as per the Founder's instruction when the school had been first built.
"How odd." Severus commented with a frown.
"Agreed." Hermione answered intrigued as the ceremony proceeded.
"Joshua Weasley." Severus groaned at hearing Minerva shout that name and when he was sorted into Gryffindor Ron clapped the loudest. Both Hermione and Severus looked along the table at Ron with raised eyebrows and he simple waggled his eyebrows grinning from ear to ear. Apparently he had wanted the new Weasley additions to Hogwarts to be a surprise.
"Jemimah Weasley." Another groan from Severus and Hermione smiled before turning and whispering to him that they were two of quadruplets produced by Bill Weasley and his wife Emily but she had not thought they were due to start Hogwarts this year.
"James Weasley" was followed by "Joanne Weasley" and all four were sorted into Gryffindor, as seemed to be the Weasley family tradition.
"Well, four new Weasley's, and thankfully they are all in your House, my love." Severus said with a smirk on his face. "Still, Bill was one of the better students from the Weasley clan so perhaps they've taken after their father?"
"I certainly hope so," Hermione muttered. "I just hope I can tell them apart."
In all Gryffindor managed to get 15 new students, Slytherin got 11, Ravenclaw received 14 and Hufflepuff got 10. The only surprise seemed to be the Granger boy being sorted into Slytherin, but he didn't seem to mind and kept himself to himself, having not spoken to any other student at the table as yet and not smiled once either. He had glanced at the head table a number of times though, well, he'd glanced at Hermione a few times but only Severus had noticed this as Hermione had been watching the ceremony more closely.
Dumbledore stood up and called for order once the Sorting had been complete and the hat was taken away. "Welcome back to the second years up to the seventh years and welcome to Hogwarts to the first years. I have a few start of year announcements to make." Dumbledore cleared his throat before continuing. "The Forbidden Forest is strictly out of bounds to all students. You must stick to rules set out by your Head of Houses, and this includes the curfew rule. We have a few new teachers this year who I would like to introduce, if they could please stand up." The new teachers all stood and Dumbledore continued. "Lavendar Weasley, Ronald Weasley, Lee Jordan and our new caretaker Neville Longbottom." The students cheered and clapped all of the new teachers in welcome. "I would also like to introduce you to Penelope Clearwater, the new Head of Ravenclaw and Hermione Granger the new Head of Gryffindor." Similar cheers went out for these two teachers as well and they glanced at one another wishing each other the best of luck.
Severus watched the Granger boy very closely as Hermione stood up and he stared at Hermione for a long time before dropping his gaze and refraining from clapping at all. Definitely something going on with this boy, Severus thought, and he would be finding out what it was as soon as possible. At least he had some margin of control on the boy, Severus thought, since he was the boy's new Head of House.
"Your teachers are also taking up mixed teaching posts in one or two extra subjects this year. So, do not worry if your usual teacher is not in class. Your new Head Boy is also James Macey of Hufflepuff and Head Girl is Sonia Flint of Slytherin." Dumbledore was sure he'd covered everything and as he was very hungry himself he simply intoned "Let the feast begin," and the food magically appeared on all of the tables. A loud cheer went through the hall as everyone began to dig in to the food that was in front of them.
Once the feast began Dumbledore told his Heads of Houses that he would speak to each of them in the morning before breakfast regarding anything they had observed that could be deemed as suspicious, and they each acknowledged him with a nod of their heads.
When the feast had finished Dumbledore signalled that the House prefects should escort the students back to the common rooms in preparation for their Heads of Houses and slowly the hall began to empty. Severus and Hermione left by the teachers exit and spoke with one another for a few minutes.
"How are you feeling, my love?" Severus asked as they moved closer to the wall and into the shadows a bit more.
"Nervous, Severus." She said embracing him lovingly. She was not too much shorter than Severus and she could almost look him directly in the eye. He was hard to see in the shadows though with all the black that he wore but she could feel him and his body heat as he pressed closer to her.
"It's just a quick speech and then it'll be over, love." Severus said.
"I know, I should be okay with it after all I have been teaching for a year now and I did have to make a few speeches as Head Girl myself." She said smiling.
Severus kissed her and she kissed him back. They stood for a few minutes slowly deepening the kiss before they decided they had best stop before some stray student found them. and Severus made a mess of the front of his trousers. Luckily he was wearing his teacher's robes so he could cover anything that would be embarrassing if necessary.
Hermione's heart rate was already thundering in her chest and that kiss hadn't done anything for calming her down. She wanted to just go back to her chambers with Severus and fall into bed with him but she knew that they would most likely have to wait until the weekend, five whole days away; she didn't think that she could last that long having been in his bed almost nightly during the summer break.
Severus was breathing a lot more heavily as well and he held Hermione around the waist as they moved out of the shadows and to the entrance hall where they would part company going to their respective House common rooms and probably not seeing each other until breakfast tomorrow morning. Hermione gave Severus one more chaste kiss and a smile before quickly heading off upstairs, whilst Severus moved down towards the dungeons.
~~*~~
Approaching the portrait of the Fat Lady, which covered the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, Hermione stood and listened for a few moments. She could hear the prefects making their speeches and chose not to interrupt. She could remember the first speech she had made as a prefect and though nerve-wracking enough, it certainly did not help to have Professor McGonagall standing over her while she did it.
"Is everything alright, Professor Granger?" The Fat Lady asked as she saw Hermione standing in front of her.
Hermione smiled at the portrait. "Oh, yes. No problems at all. I'm just giving my prefects a few more minutes to finish." At one time she would have thought that talking to a painting would have been the first sign of going mad but that was before she knew she was a witch and before she knew for a fact that paintings could indeed talk back.
"Well, they have just sat down so I guess they're done, Professor." Hermione smiled at her again before moving towards the portrait. "Password?" The Fat Lady asked.
"Ursa Major." Hermione intoned, smiling as the portrait opened to allow her entrance. Hermione headed through the narrow entrance way to greet her students.
Chattering met her ears as she entered but it soon died down as the House prefects noticed their new Head of House and asked for silence. Hermione stood in front of the fire and addressed her House as a whole, the common room was very crowded and most students were either sitting on the floor or the stairs to the dormitories due to a lack of seats. Hermione had not stepped into the Gryffindor common room since she had been back at Hogwarts but now that she was Head of House she felt as though she truly belonged once again and that she was finally at home.
"Hello everyone and welcome to Hogwarts. I am your new Head of House and my name is Professor Granger. I teach Arithmancy and will also be taking some of you for classes in Muggle Studies and Potions." Hermione noticed most of the students were smiling at her announcement of teaching some of the Potions classes. Severus was still every bit the strict teacher and Gryffindors especially were still picked on by him.
"I am a former Gryffindor myself, having graduated from Hogwarts seven years ago." Hermione took a deep breath before continuing. "My office can be found on this floor three doors down on the left, the times I am available for appointments are posted on the door on the outside of my office and also on the House notice board." Hermione said gesturing over to the wall to the left of the portrait hole.
"You may send me an owl if you would like to arrange an appointment or see me before the start of class to arrange a time. You may also utilise your seventh year House prefects who are Samuel Davies and Connie O'Malley, please stand up you two." Hermione said and gestured to the two seventh year prefects. She caught the Weasley quadruplets sniggering out of the corner of her eye and glared at them, they did not notice. "Thank you, seventh year prefects you may sit down now. We also have two sixth year prefects. Simon Caruthers and Carley Quinn, and our two new fifth year prefects are Patrick Weasley and Marina Spears. If you four could stand up, please." Hermione instructed the prefects to make them selves known and soon everyone was seated once again.
"I expect to win the House cup this year since we were sorely defeated by Hufflepuff last year. I need for you to all work hard and give one hundred percent at all times. Heed the rules or you will be severely punished." Hermione said casting her gaze around the assembled students and once again finding the quadruplets not paying full attention. "For the fifth years and seventh years please be reminded that your exams are this year, for your respective OWL's and NEWT's. I expect you to all work hard at achieving your best results. That is all for now, have a good night." Hermione said and she walked over to the Weasley quads.
"Good evening, Weasley's." Hermione said to them, finally catching their attention, and unknowingly rising to her full height and glaring down her nose in order to intimidate them as much as she could, which was something she had subconsciously picked up from Severus.
"Oh, evening, Professor." They all said timidly at once, and Hermione rolled her eyes hoping they didn't do this all the time or it would become seriously annoying.
"Next time I find you not paying attention to me when I am addressing the House you will find that you will lose House points and gain a detention. Do I make myself clear?" Hermione asked looking directly at each in turn.
"Yes, Professor." They all said as one. "Sorry, Professor," again speaking as one and giggling slightly because of it.
"Good night." Hermione said exasperated and walked away feeling like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She headed back to her quarters hoping that the Weasley quads were not going to cause her too much trouble over the next seven years. They were the first lot of Weasley's to come through Hogwarts since Patrick had started five years ago. Patrick was the son of Charlie Weasley and his wife Melissa who lived in Romania still. During the holidays Patrick would go to The Burrow and his parents would come home for that time as well. Patrick was the cousin to the Weasley quads and he also had one sister that Hermione knew of but she wouldn't attend Hogwarts for another three years. Patrick was so much like his father though, the top his class in Care of Magical Creatures and fascinated with dragons.
~~**~~
Severus stalked down to the dungeons, each step putting him closer to his usual 'Bastard Mode'. Despite the end of the war and the interim years of relative peace as the last of the Death Eaters had been rounded up, Severus could not afford the luxury to slacken off too much. Most of Slytherin House still held the misdirected ideals they had been brought up with and therefore needed a stern hand in order to be controlled. In fact from what Severus had discussed regarding his change in attitude towards his House with Albus Dumbledore, he would be even more strict and stern towards them than they were previously used to. Also, Severus had to maintain order in his classroom at all costs or lives could be lost, after all Potions was a dangerous subject if not treated with respect. So, he found his 'Bastard Mode' had to stay, for a while longer at least.
Severus strode towards the portrait of Salazar Slytherin and commanded it to open with the password "Draft of the Living Dead." He could hear that the prefects were in the middle of their speeches but that didn't concern him for he was Head of House and there was no way he would be kept waiting for them to finish. He descended the stairs until he was three up from the bottom, so that he would be able to see all of the students including those hiding near the back. The prefects stopped abruptly at the sight of their Head of House and told the whole student body assembled to stand as a mark of respect. Severus nodded to his prefects and told the House to sit down before he began.
"I am Professor Snape your Head of House. If you want to stay on my good side, and I sincerely recommend that you do, then you will do nothing to bring this House into disrepute. Slytherin House has a reputation to maintain," Several students sat looking smugly thinking that they knew exactly what kind of reputation Slytherin had to keep, "and a bad reputation to lose." Severus intoned forcefully looking directly at them.
"This House is seen as one which exonerates poor and bad behaviour. We are seen to be a dishonest and deceitful lot who do not play fairly, cheat and do things their own way. This will change! You will work together as one House in order to win the House cup, this and working towards high grades shall be your only goals whilst you are at Hogwarts. I want no extra curricular activities that have not been fully endorsed by me first!" Severus shouted forcefully and glared at the students. "You will learn to get along with other Houses and if you are seen to go against these new rules then you will be out of here before you can say Quidditch! I will not tolerate your poor behaviour and attitudes any longer. I have ways of finding out who is going against these rules and trust me the consequences will not be pleasant." Severus had raised his voice to his most authoritative by this point and had captured the undivided attention of everyone in the room. The silence was deafening as Severus paused.
"The Headmaster and I have decided to set a new precedent for Slytherin House. The rule will be thus, 'three strikes and you are out'. This means that if you do something wrong once you will lose House points, do the same again and you will receive detention, do it again and you will be suspended for one week." Severus paused once again.
"Thankfully some prestige has been brought to the House already this year; thanks for this go to Sonia Flint who you should know is the new Head Girl. See that this continues. That will be all, good night." Severus said as he abruptly turned on his heel and stalked back up the steps and out of the common room leaving everyone in it in a state of shock. Severus also knew that the prefects would now have to start their speeches all over again, for what they would have already told them about Slytherin politics would be null and void.
Severus marched off to his office pleased with the reaction he had gotten from his students. He would now watch them through his magically enhanced mirror that showed him everything that was going on in the common room and find out exactly how they were reacting to his new ethos.
As Severus entered his office he moved to his mirror whispering the incantation that would show him the common room. He saw his prefects were still in the process of their speeches and so he decided to see if his fiancé had finished with her students yet. He threw some floo powder into the fire and called for her. Hermione's head appeared a moment later and she was smiling brightly at him.
"Hello, love." Hermione said in greeting. "I didn't expect to hear from you again tonight."
"How are you now it's over, my darling?" Severus asked her.
"Much relieved, Severus although I fear we may be in for problems with the Weasley quads." Severus listened whilst keeping his eyes fixed upon the mirror above his fireplace. "Are you okay, Severus? What are you up to?"
"Just keeping an eye on things love. Can you come through the floo? I must stay in my office for a while longer." He asked her.
"Of course, just step aside a bit." Severus did and watched as Hermione emerged from the fire and dusted herself off. She kissed him in greeting and followed his gaze to the mirror. "What are you looking at?"
"This mirror is charmed to give me a view of the common room." He told her.
"And why are you watching your students?" She asked slightly confused. "Miss them already?" She teased.
"I'm watching to see how they took my news. I told them that Slytherin politics were changing and I wanted the House brought out of disrepute and to glean a better name for itself. I told them I wouldn't be lenient on them anymore and that they must work together as a House to win the cup and be seen to get on better with the other Houses." Hermione stared at him in total shock.
"Why, Severus? Slytherin has been like that for as long as I can remember."
"And it's time for a change, Hermione. Especially if we are to avoid the formation of the next Dark Lord and his band of brothers." All the time Severus was watching the mirror and lip reading. "It appears my speech went okay, the prefects have backed me up and now the students are discussing with each other to see if I was joking with them." Severus told her, thinking he could glean nothing else from them tonight he shut down the projection and the mirror returned to its usual reflective self, and Severus' attentions returned to his fiancé.
"What was that about the Weasley's?" Severus asked her, giving her his full attention.
"Oh, they weren't listening to my speech."
"Heaven forbid." Severus said sarcastically, Hermione hit him on the arm lightly.
"They all talk as one as well, whatever they say, they all speak as one. I can see you're just going to love them." Hermione stated and Severus smiled widely.
"Well, love, I hate to burst your bubble but you are the one that will have them for Potions and Muggle Studies since you are taking the first year classes." Severus said gleefully.
"Hmm." Hermione replied. "I'm going to miss you this week, Severus." Hermione told him putting her arms around his neck and moving closer to him.
"And I you." Severus said capturing her lips with his as he embraced her around the waist. He kissed her deeply and pushed his hips towards her, letting her know how much he wanted her right then.
"You want me?" She asked him, feeling his erection against her lower abdomen.
"Just a bit." He responded teasing her with small kisses along her jaw line and down her neck as he moved his hands downwards and pulled her closer to him.
"Only a bit?" she asked kissing him again as he returned his lips to hers.
"Perhaps a lot." He told her as he ran his fingers through her hair and down her spine.
"Here?" She asked him with a malevolent gleam in her eyes.
"Here." He responded pushing her up towards his desk so she was sitting on it with him standing in front of her between her legs. He kissed her deeply, gaining access to her mouth, her tongue plunging into his and both of them duelling for control. Pure passion racing through their veins they began to remove some of their heavy clothing as quickly as they could, throwing their robes to the floor of the dungeons followed by Severus' waist coat and Hermione's cardigan. Hermione spread her legs even further and wrapped them around Severus' hips pulling him in closer until she could feel his erection pressing though his trousers up against her clitoris. This closeness was making him come undone as he pushed aside her top half after unbuttoning the top of her dress and moved his lips to her supple breasts. His hands moved around her front and pulled the skirt of her dress up around her hips.
"Severus." Hermione said breathlessly as he kissed her down her throat again.
"Yes?"
"Is the door locked?" She asked him, worried in case a student barged in on them. Severus grabbed his wand and pointed it at the door, murmuring a charm Hermione heard the locks clicking into place.
Severus set to work on removing her under garments finally gaining access to her moist opening. He slipped two fingers inside her and rubbed her clit with his thumb as she groaned out his name and leant her head back towards the desk, her hair spilling everywhere and his tongue back to teasing her nipples. His mouth moved over her nipples as he sucked and gently bit them into hardness. She put her hands back around his neck and pulled him down on top of her on the desk, knocking a few parchments onto the floor and allowing her knees to hook around Severus' back. Severus removed his fingers from her moistness and undid his fly, releasing his erection as quickly as possible.
"Now, Severus." Hermione groaned and he would take no second command as he thrust into her and ground his hips tight up against her, gaining deep penetration. She groaned at the sensation and urged him on wriggling underneath him. Severus pulled out of her slowly and thrust back in quickly, his movements becoming faster as he eventually started to pound into her as fast as he could. He could feel that she was close to her release and he pulled back one last time before thrusting in for a final meeting and exploding inside her, utter bliss taking over all of their senses as they came together and shuddered, moaning each others names in unison.
Both were sweaty and out of breath as Severus pulled her back into a sitting position on the end of his desk and kissed her deeply one last time.
"That. was. intense." Hermione told him, leaning with her head on his bear shoulder as she fought to regain her breath.
"Pure heaven, my love." Severus replied slowing down his breathing as well. They remained like that for a few minutes before Hermione finally got off the desk and pulled her dress back down to its full length. Hermione started dressing once again whilst she regained her breath. Severus did the same buttoning up his fly and grabbing his clothes that were strewn about the floor. Soon they were back to looking not-so-dishevelled and with most of their composures in tact. Hermione embraced Severus lovingly again.
"I don't want to leave you tonight, Severus but I must. I'll probably have some homesick students knocking on my office door soon." She told him apologetically.
"Then you must go back to your office, my love." Severus told her as they moved closer to the fireplace and Hermione grabbed some floo powder. "I love you, Hermione. I'll see you in the Headmaster's office before breakfast."
"Love you too, Severus. Sweet dreams, love." Hermione said kissing him once more before stepping into the fireplace and shouting, "Professor Granger's office." She was gone in a mass of green flames and Severus once again set his mirror to look into the Slytherin common room.