Chapter 7: Surprises
Hermione watched eagerly from the entry way to the great hall; Adrian was seated inside it, quill ablaze on the parchment before him. She noticed that only five other students were taking the Placement Exam, and she silently hoped that Adrian would be one of the lucky few to get in.
She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Severus standing there, "Oh, hi," she whispered quietly, looking back in on Adrian. "Let him go for now," he said softly, "he'll be fine." She looked back at him, and her shoulders relaxed; "You're right, I should go find something to do," she muttered, thinking deeply.
She shuffled off to the library, which had always been her safe haven in the past, and sat down at one of the large tables. Adrian had been on her mind a lot lately. Maybe it was worry; she couldn't be sure. 'What the hell does Voldemort want with him?' she thought silently, 'He's just a boy. He's too young to even begin to take sides yet.' 'But so was Harry,' said the other half of her brain, 'when Voldemort tried to kill him.'
She shook her head rapidly; it was no good thinking about things like this. She should be reading, or making more lesson plans, or doing...something. But everything that needed to be done was done; Arithmancy would be an easy subject for her to teach. She was wringing her hands slightly; finally she stood up and pulled a book off the shelf; it didn't really matter what it was so long as it was something to read.
She put the book down and it flopped open, and there she saw a picture of Voldemort. She slammed it shut and put it back in its slot. The last thing she needed was to read about the thing that had made her life a living hell. Instead she pulled down another book, this time a safer one, about Potions, and she began to read.
"Miss Granger, may I see you for a moment?" said Professor McGonagall. Hermione looked up, "Yes of course." She stood and followed McGonagall out into the hallway just outside the library, "Yes?" McGonagall smiled primly, "Your brother has just finished his Placement Exam." "And?" she said excitedly. "He passed it, and exceptionally so," she added. Hermione let out a nervous laugh, "Oh thank goodness. I was so worried." "I knew you were, Miss Granger, but here's what I came to talk to you about. Adrian has done so well that we could place him in third year."
Hermione froze, "What?" "He outscored the majority of second years and even some third years," clarified McGonagall, "both practically and orally. Truly it's unbelievable that he's a ten year old. His aptitude for knowledge outstrips any student I've ever been privileged to teach." Hermione thought on this, "So...are you going to place him in third year?" "I don't know, Miss Granger, because if I do then he will certainly be an outcast because he is so young. But if we don't, then he'll be bored to tears for the next two years because he's already learned everything there is to learn for first and second years."
McGonagall was silent for a minute, then said, "Miss Granger...I'll leave it up to you. Let me know tonight what your decision is; it's between challenging him or putting him with those he would be the most comfortable with. Talk it over with him; it's as much his decision as it is yours." McGonagall nodded at her formally then left Hermione there in the hall, deep in thought.
Finally Hermione snapped out of her stupor and dashed off to the dungeons, knocking on Severus's office door. "Enter," said a stiff cold voice. She did so, and he relaxed slightly, "Results are in, I take it?" Hermione sat down in front of his desk, "Yes, and that's the problem. Adrian scored high enough to be placed in third year." Severus almost did a double take, "What?" "He's too smart to be in the first or second year," she said, "but the thing is, if he's in third year-" "He won't have any friends his own age; he'd be by himself," finished Severus.
She nodded, "McGonagall told me I could make the decision, but I don't know what's best for him! I mean, if he's in first or second year he'll be bored out of his mind, but if he's in third year...!" "I see the dilemma," replied Severus, sitting back, deep in thought. After about five minutes of this he said, "Put him in third year. He won't have as many friends because he's so young, but if he's in third year he'll learn. He needs to learn; he needs to be able to protect himself from the Dark Lord, should anything arise." Hermione shifted uncomfortably; she hadn't thought of it that way, "You...you really think so?"
"Hermione, if you had been the one to score that high on the Placement Exam, what would you have done?" She let out a sigh, "Gone straight into third year." He nodded, "Then there's your answer. Of course, you should mull it over with Adrian first before you act." She nodded, "You're right sir. Thank you." She got up to leave, and he added, "By the way, you might want to remind Adrian that we have Occlumency lessons on Thursday nights." "I'll do that," she responded vaguely, exiting the office in haste.
Severus sat back, deep in thought, and remained so for a long time.
"Hermione I passed!" shouted Adrian, hugging her happily. "I know, I heard!" she said, smiling at him. "Here, look at my paper!" he said eagerly, shoving it into her hands. She looked down at it; no points had been marked off. Unbelievable. "Very good, Adrian," she said simply, "the Headmistress has already been to speak to me, you know. She told me you have quite a dilemma on your hands." "Why's that?" he asked. "Well...Adrian, you did so well on the exam that you could be placed in third year." He thought on this for a minute, "Why is this a dilemma?" She laughed then shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe because if you're in third year then you won't be with any friends your own age."
"Oh," said Adrian, "but I get to learn more though right?" "That's correct, yes," she replied. "Then who cares?" he said, "Sounds fine to me! When do I get Sorted?" She laughed again at his carefree manner, "I don't know, I'll have to speak with the Headmistress. Until then, why don't you go down to the dungeons and tell Severus?" "Okay!" he said excitedly, bounding off to the dungeons.
She smirked, then went into the great hall; the six desks had been cleared away, and Hermione saw that McGonagall was seated at the High Table, writing on several aged pages of parchment. "We're putting him in third year," said Hermione once she was nearer to the table. McGonagall looked up, unsurprised, "An excellent choice. But he'll need to be Sorted. I'll bring the Sorting Hat down to the dungeons this evening. You and Severus are entitled to watch, of course." Hermione nodded, "Thank you, Headmistress."
She turned to leave, then McGonagall said, "Hermione...you're free to call me Minerva." Hermione turned back, "That's right, I'm a teacher now. Thank you, Minerva. I appreciate it." Minerva smiled at her, and Hermione went back down to the dungeons to tell them the news.
Severus, Hermione, and Adrian waited in the Potions classroom after dinner, and Adrian was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. "So what happens? How do I get Sorted?" Hermione vaguely remembered Ron telling her years ago that Fred had told him you had to fight a troll to get Sorted, and she almost laughed. "Don't worry about it," she said, "it's very simple. Just wait and see." Adrian let out a groan of disappointment, and continued to pace back and forth across the room with nervousness.
Half an hour later, Minerva emerged carrying the tattered Sorting Hat. "Hello Mr. Granger," she said formally, shaking his hand, "take a seat over here, if you please." Adrian sat down on one of the tables, eyeing the Hat nervously. McGonagall placed it upon his head and spoke, "Granger, Adrian!"
The hat did not move, but Hermione could tell that it was speaking to him, for his eyes darted about nervously, as if wondering where the voice was coming from. He sat there for at least ten minutes, the hat whispering into his ear, when suddenly the tear at the brim that was the mouth of the hat spoke.
"SLYTHERIN!"
Hermione let out a gasp of shock, "What?" Minerva flinched but removed the Hat promptly, "Thank you Mr. Granger. Your living arrangements will be made tomorrow." Hermione almost cried out, "Wait, put it back on his head! Try it again!" but said nothing, finding her throat too dry. She did notice, however, that Severus was smirking slightly.
"Oh I'll bet you love that don't you?" she said sarcastically. He shrugged, "I have no control over it. I just find it interesting that the brother of the know-it-all Gryffindor has been Sorted into Slytherin." Adrian looked back and forth at them curiously, and finally Hermione said, "Don't worry about it Adrian. Congratulations. I'm sure you'll enjoy being in...Slytherin, for the next five years." Minerva suddenly cleared her throat, and Hermione looked at her, "You'll need to bring his things here by next week so they'll be waiting for him in his room. In the mean time, I can show him to his quarters in a few minutes as soon as he picks them out. And make sure he has all the proper third year books; I have a list here, if you need them." "No need," replied Hermione, "we already have them. Thank you, Minerva."
She nodded primly and gave Adrian a slight smile, and he followed her out of the dungeon, smiling happily. Hermione made an odd noise, "Well...so...it's all taken care of." Severus nodded, "I suppose so." She let out a sigh, "I never would have thought he'd be in Slytherin." "The Sorting Hat has its ways," muttered Severus, and she almost asked him what that meant, then tactfully decided not to.
She turned to face him, "Do you think it wise that he be in Slytherin?" "Of that I'm not certain," he replied slowly as he thought, "at least I'll be able to keep an eye on him without much trouble. But Adrian being with other third year Slytherins could present a problem." "Even you admit to him being in Slytherin as a problem," she retorted. "No, not him being in Slytherin; him being with third year Slytherins. They're made jealous easily, and I suspect that they won't take to him too well at first, especially once they know you're his sister."
Hermione ground her teeth in frustration; she knew he was right, but she didn't want to admit it. "There's not much we can do about it though," he added quietly, "there's no real way to hide it, and what I fear most is that it's impossible to hide from the Dark Lord." She stiffened; if Voldemort knew he was in Slytherin... "Maybe we should ask Minerva if he could be Sorted again-" "Impossible," he replied, "once the Hat has Sorted a student, they remain in that house. They are immobile and may not be moved." Hermione let out a snort of anger and she balled her fists, "The last thing I need is for Voldemort to know that my brother is in his house!"
She saw him wince, not at the sound of Voldemort's name, but at her reference to Slytherin as "his" house. "I'm sorry," she said, regretting her earlier words, "I know that not everyone that comes out of Slytherin is bad, but-" "But all the wizards that ever went bad were in Slytherin, and unfortunately that's a fact I have to live with," he said.
Without a second thought she took hold of his hand and squeezed it, "I'm glad you turned out all right, Severus. Without you I wouldn't have anybody." Those last words slipped out without her meaning for them to, and she waited for a characteristic reproach, but instead he merely clutched her hand tightly and muttered embarrassedly, "Thank you."
She looked up at him and noticed that his eyes seemed distant, and for a minute she knew, with shock, that he was feeling insecure and worried, which was the exact opposite of how she had always thought of him. Silently she wished she knew how to make it better, then realized that the answer was, literally, staring her in the face.
She put a hand on his neck and pulled down swiftly, and she kissed him deeply; he let out a muffled noise of surprise, then relaxed into the kiss. A minute later she was looking into his eyes, "Severus...you don't know what you mean to me." He looked for lies, for insincerity, for falsehoods, but all he found was truth, and for a split second he was thunderstruck. She smiled at him understandingly, "You might think you know me, but you don't."
She slipped away from him quickly and walked toward the door, intent on leaving, then threw him one last smile; a minute later she had disappeared, presumably to find her brother. Severus stood there blankly for over a minute, then sat down slowly at his desk; and for the rest of the night, his mouth was frequented by a dizzied smile.
Hermione watched eagerly from the entry way to the great hall; Adrian was seated inside it, quill ablaze on the parchment before him. She noticed that only five other students were taking the Placement Exam, and she silently hoped that Adrian would be one of the lucky few to get in.
She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Severus standing there, "Oh, hi," she whispered quietly, looking back in on Adrian. "Let him go for now," he said softly, "he'll be fine." She looked back at him, and her shoulders relaxed; "You're right, I should go find something to do," she muttered, thinking deeply.
She shuffled off to the library, which had always been her safe haven in the past, and sat down at one of the large tables. Adrian had been on her mind a lot lately. Maybe it was worry; she couldn't be sure. 'What the hell does Voldemort want with him?' she thought silently, 'He's just a boy. He's too young to even begin to take sides yet.' 'But so was Harry,' said the other half of her brain, 'when Voldemort tried to kill him.'
She shook her head rapidly; it was no good thinking about things like this. She should be reading, or making more lesson plans, or doing...something. But everything that needed to be done was done; Arithmancy would be an easy subject for her to teach. She was wringing her hands slightly; finally she stood up and pulled a book off the shelf; it didn't really matter what it was so long as it was something to read.
She put the book down and it flopped open, and there she saw a picture of Voldemort. She slammed it shut and put it back in its slot. The last thing she needed was to read about the thing that had made her life a living hell. Instead she pulled down another book, this time a safer one, about Potions, and she began to read.
"Miss Granger, may I see you for a moment?" said Professor McGonagall. Hermione looked up, "Yes of course." She stood and followed McGonagall out into the hallway just outside the library, "Yes?" McGonagall smiled primly, "Your brother has just finished his Placement Exam." "And?" she said excitedly. "He passed it, and exceptionally so," she added. Hermione let out a nervous laugh, "Oh thank goodness. I was so worried." "I knew you were, Miss Granger, but here's what I came to talk to you about. Adrian has done so well that we could place him in third year."
Hermione froze, "What?" "He outscored the majority of second years and even some third years," clarified McGonagall, "both practically and orally. Truly it's unbelievable that he's a ten year old. His aptitude for knowledge outstrips any student I've ever been privileged to teach." Hermione thought on this, "So...are you going to place him in third year?" "I don't know, Miss Granger, because if I do then he will certainly be an outcast because he is so young. But if we don't, then he'll be bored to tears for the next two years because he's already learned everything there is to learn for first and second years."
McGonagall was silent for a minute, then said, "Miss Granger...I'll leave it up to you. Let me know tonight what your decision is; it's between challenging him or putting him with those he would be the most comfortable with. Talk it over with him; it's as much his decision as it is yours." McGonagall nodded at her formally then left Hermione there in the hall, deep in thought.
Finally Hermione snapped out of her stupor and dashed off to the dungeons, knocking on Severus's office door. "Enter," said a stiff cold voice. She did so, and he relaxed slightly, "Results are in, I take it?" Hermione sat down in front of his desk, "Yes, and that's the problem. Adrian scored high enough to be placed in third year." Severus almost did a double take, "What?" "He's too smart to be in the first or second year," she said, "but the thing is, if he's in third year-" "He won't have any friends his own age; he'd be by himself," finished Severus.
She nodded, "McGonagall told me I could make the decision, but I don't know what's best for him! I mean, if he's in first or second year he'll be bored out of his mind, but if he's in third year...!" "I see the dilemma," replied Severus, sitting back, deep in thought. After about five minutes of this he said, "Put him in third year. He won't have as many friends because he's so young, but if he's in third year he'll learn. He needs to learn; he needs to be able to protect himself from the Dark Lord, should anything arise." Hermione shifted uncomfortably; she hadn't thought of it that way, "You...you really think so?"
"Hermione, if you had been the one to score that high on the Placement Exam, what would you have done?" She let out a sigh, "Gone straight into third year." He nodded, "Then there's your answer. Of course, you should mull it over with Adrian first before you act." She nodded, "You're right sir. Thank you." She got up to leave, and he added, "By the way, you might want to remind Adrian that we have Occlumency lessons on Thursday nights." "I'll do that," she responded vaguely, exiting the office in haste.
Severus sat back, deep in thought, and remained so for a long time.
"Hermione I passed!" shouted Adrian, hugging her happily. "I know, I heard!" she said, smiling at him. "Here, look at my paper!" he said eagerly, shoving it into her hands. She looked down at it; no points had been marked off. Unbelievable. "Very good, Adrian," she said simply, "the Headmistress has already been to speak to me, you know. She told me you have quite a dilemma on your hands." "Why's that?" he asked. "Well...Adrian, you did so well on the exam that you could be placed in third year." He thought on this for a minute, "Why is this a dilemma?" She laughed then shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe because if you're in third year then you won't be with any friends your own age."
"Oh," said Adrian, "but I get to learn more though right?" "That's correct, yes," she replied. "Then who cares?" he said, "Sounds fine to me! When do I get Sorted?" She laughed again at his carefree manner, "I don't know, I'll have to speak with the Headmistress. Until then, why don't you go down to the dungeons and tell Severus?" "Okay!" he said excitedly, bounding off to the dungeons.
She smirked, then went into the great hall; the six desks had been cleared away, and Hermione saw that McGonagall was seated at the High Table, writing on several aged pages of parchment. "We're putting him in third year," said Hermione once she was nearer to the table. McGonagall looked up, unsurprised, "An excellent choice. But he'll need to be Sorted. I'll bring the Sorting Hat down to the dungeons this evening. You and Severus are entitled to watch, of course." Hermione nodded, "Thank you, Headmistress."
She turned to leave, then McGonagall said, "Hermione...you're free to call me Minerva." Hermione turned back, "That's right, I'm a teacher now. Thank you, Minerva. I appreciate it." Minerva smiled at her, and Hermione went back down to the dungeons to tell them the news.
Severus, Hermione, and Adrian waited in the Potions classroom after dinner, and Adrian was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. "So what happens? How do I get Sorted?" Hermione vaguely remembered Ron telling her years ago that Fred had told him you had to fight a troll to get Sorted, and she almost laughed. "Don't worry about it," she said, "it's very simple. Just wait and see." Adrian let out a groan of disappointment, and continued to pace back and forth across the room with nervousness.
Half an hour later, Minerva emerged carrying the tattered Sorting Hat. "Hello Mr. Granger," she said formally, shaking his hand, "take a seat over here, if you please." Adrian sat down on one of the tables, eyeing the Hat nervously. McGonagall placed it upon his head and spoke, "Granger, Adrian!"
The hat did not move, but Hermione could tell that it was speaking to him, for his eyes darted about nervously, as if wondering where the voice was coming from. He sat there for at least ten minutes, the hat whispering into his ear, when suddenly the tear at the brim that was the mouth of the hat spoke.
"SLYTHERIN!"
Hermione let out a gasp of shock, "What?" Minerva flinched but removed the Hat promptly, "Thank you Mr. Granger. Your living arrangements will be made tomorrow." Hermione almost cried out, "Wait, put it back on his head! Try it again!" but said nothing, finding her throat too dry. She did notice, however, that Severus was smirking slightly.
"Oh I'll bet you love that don't you?" she said sarcastically. He shrugged, "I have no control over it. I just find it interesting that the brother of the know-it-all Gryffindor has been Sorted into Slytherin." Adrian looked back and forth at them curiously, and finally Hermione said, "Don't worry about it Adrian. Congratulations. I'm sure you'll enjoy being in...Slytherin, for the next five years." Minerva suddenly cleared her throat, and Hermione looked at her, "You'll need to bring his things here by next week so they'll be waiting for him in his room. In the mean time, I can show him to his quarters in a few minutes as soon as he picks them out. And make sure he has all the proper third year books; I have a list here, if you need them." "No need," replied Hermione, "we already have them. Thank you, Minerva."
She nodded primly and gave Adrian a slight smile, and he followed her out of the dungeon, smiling happily. Hermione made an odd noise, "Well...so...it's all taken care of." Severus nodded, "I suppose so." She let out a sigh, "I never would have thought he'd be in Slytherin." "The Sorting Hat has its ways," muttered Severus, and she almost asked him what that meant, then tactfully decided not to.
She turned to face him, "Do you think it wise that he be in Slytherin?" "Of that I'm not certain," he replied slowly as he thought, "at least I'll be able to keep an eye on him without much trouble. But Adrian being with other third year Slytherins could present a problem." "Even you admit to him being in Slytherin as a problem," she retorted. "No, not him being in Slytherin; him being with third year Slytherins. They're made jealous easily, and I suspect that they won't take to him too well at first, especially once they know you're his sister."
Hermione ground her teeth in frustration; she knew he was right, but she didn't want to admit it. "There's not much we can do about it though," he added quietly, "there's no real way to hide it, and what I fear most is that it's impossible to hide from the Dark Lord." She stiffened; if Voldemort knew he was in Slytherin... "Maybe we should ask Minerva if he could be Sorted again-" "Impossible," he replied, "once the Hat has Sorted a student, they remain in that house. They are immobile and may not be moved." Hermione let out a snort of anger and she balled her fists, "The last thing I need is for Voldemort to know that my brother is in his house!"
She saw him wince, not at the sound of Voldemort's name, but at her reference to Slytherin as "his" house. "I'm sorry," she said, regretting her earlier words, "I know that not everyone that comes out of Slytherin is bad, but-" "But all the wizards that ever went bad were in Slytherin, and unfortunately that's a fact I have to live with," he said.
Without a second thought she took hold of his hand and squeezed it, "I'm glad you turned out all right, Severus. Without you I wouldn't have anybody." Those last words slipped out without her meaning for them to, and she waited for a characteristic reproach, but instead he merely clutched her hand tightly and muttered embarrassedly, "Thank you."
She looked up at him and noticed that his eyes seemed distant, and for a minute she knew, with shock, that he was feeling insecure and worried, which was the exact opposite of how she had always thought of him. Silently she wished she knew how to make it better, then realized that the answer was, literally, staring her in the face.
She put a hand on his neck and pulled down swiftly, and she kissed him deeply; he let out a muffled noise of surprise, then relaxed into the kiss. A minute later she was looking into his eyes, "Severus...you don't know what you mean to me." He looked for lies, for insincerity, for falsehoods, but all he found was truth, and for a split second he was thunderstruck. She smiled at him understandingly, "You might think you know me, but you don't."
She slipped away from him quickly and walked toward the door, intent on leaving, then threw him one last smile; a minute later she had disappeared, presumably to find her brother. Severus stood there blankly for over a minute, then sat down slowly at his desk; and for the rest of the night, his mouth was frequented by a dizzied smile.