The Daily Prophet
Ollivander's Wand Shop Intruded. Ollivander Left Dead.
"It's too bad about Mr. Ollivander, eh?" Harry said at breakfast, putting down a copy of The Daily Prophet. It was the day after Draco's expulsion.
"Don't you see, Harry? It's obvious who did it!" Hermione exclaimed.
"I'm not following," Harry said.
"This damage was obviously caused by Lucious and Draco Malfoy! All the evidence points towards them!" Hermione explained.
"But there was no evidence….." Harry began.
"None that they could see! But look deeper into it! A sixteen year old boy, and older man. A description that perfectly fits Lucious and Draco. Plus, you should've seen Lucious when he heard that his son's wand was destroyed, he knew it was impossible to have it replace, legally anyway. Which is why they had to break in to the wand shop. And notice that it says the teenager appeared to be without a wand! Also, who else would besides the Malfoys would break in to an old man's shop, and kill him just to steal wands. It couldn't haven been Voldemort!" Hermione explained.
"You're right!" Harry said unnecessarily.
"But if word gets out, you'll both suffer the same fate as poor old Mr. Ollivander," said a dark voice that belonged to Blaise Zabini.
"What do you want, Blaise?" Harry spat.
"Oh, just coming over to tell the mudblood that she had better watch her back. Ever since Malfoy was expelled, everyone in Slytherin wants to see her dead. Lucky for you, I'm a pretty nice guy, so I'll tell you about these plans, and the most people are leaving for Christmas break tomorrow, giving you more time to hide," Blaise said and he walked away, laughing with that evil laugh of his.
Harry went to go after him, his wand at the ready. "Don't bother, they're not worth it," Hermione said firmly.
"But Hermione, you heard him! They're going to try and kill you!" Harry said angrily
"But you killing them won't help any! We'll be safe, we'll be able to beat them," Hermione said confidently.
"Yes, I suppose you're right," Harry admitted reluctantly. "By the way, where are you spending Christmas break?"
"Oh, I don't know, I suppose I'll just stay here," Hermione said sadly.
"Nonsense! You're coming to the Burrow, as is Harry," Ginny explained, just walking in.
"But what about you're parents?" Harry asked.
"Oh, they'll be fine with it! I just got a letter saying so from mum," Ginny explained.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? You know, with Ron, and me……." Hermione began.
"Don't be ridiculous! Stop blaming yourself! It wasn't you fault! Ron had a lot of problems, and he wouldn't want you to take the blame for them," Ginny said strongly. This was the first time Harry had seen Ginny talk about Ron without crying.
"Er…..ok then," Hermione said. Harry and Ginny began snogging and Hermione decided it was best to walk away then. She was headed towards the staff table, to show Snape the Daily Prophet.
"Well, that's to be expected when it comes to matters dealing with the Malfoys," Snape said darkly as he finished reading the paper.
"But do you think Draco told his father about…..us?" Hermione asked nervously.
"I'm certain of it, but of course, Lucious wouldn't believe something like this, without proof. He has no way of getting it, since we'll be in the school," Snape explained, sounding happier. Hermione kissed him on the cheek.
"If he's gone, we don't really have to hide anything anymore, do we?" Hermione asked, looking at Snape's eyes.
"No, I don't suppose we do," Snape said, pulling her into a kiss. "Anyway, you're spending Christmas here, aren't you? I did want to spend Christmas with you," Snape said.
'Uh-oh,' Hermione thought. 'I completely forgot about spending Christmas with Severus! But I have to, I'll just have to tell Ginny that I can't go to the Burrow this year,' Hermione thought.
"You are staying here, aren't you?" Snape repeated.
"Yes of course!" Hermione said, sliding her arms around Snape's neck and kissing him.
"Oh, no we have no one to spy on, if they're going to make it public," Lavender whined, watching Snape and Hermione kiss.
"Well, we could still watch them when they're alone. That's obviously when all the good stuff happens anyway," Parviti pointed out.
"You're right, I hope they'll both be here for Christmas, that should be great," Lavender said hopefully.
"I doubt Hermione would be able to stay away from Snape that long anyway," Parviti pointed out.
"What do you mean, Hermione and Snape?" said a high, shrill voice that belonged to Pansy Parkinson.
"No one was talking to you, get out of here," Lavender yelled.
"Ha! I knew it! That just what Draco was about to tell me, before that filthy mudblood had him expelled. Well, Mr. Malfoy won't stand for that, let me tell you right now!" Pansy said triumphantly.
"Go to hell, Parkinson! Leave Hermione and Snape alone!" Parviti ordered.
"Who's going to make me?" Pansy asked.
"EXPELLIARMUS!!!!!" Lavender bellowed, answering Pansy's question. Pansy was sent flying across the Great Hall, her wand flying into the chest of an unsuspecting Ravenclaw. Pansy immediately stood up and ran over to her wand.
"STUP….." she began, but her incantation was interrupted.
"MISS BROWN! MISS PARKINSON! How dare you! Five points from each of your houses and both of you will serve detention when you get back from Christmas break." McGonagall barked. While they were off getting in trouble, the Slytherins were all watching the strange couple, Severus Snape and Hermione Granger, who were still kissing passionately, Hermione was now sitting on his lap.
"Well, well, well, seems our dear house head is gallivanting with mudbloods. Seems this is what Draco wanted to tell us all before his expulsion. We certainly can't stand for this, can we?" Blaise asked, facing the other Slytherins. There was a murmur of shouts and "no's" from the table.
Hermione had just stood up, her and Snape exchanged their "I love you," she kissed him on the cheek and walked a way. There was a series of "boo's" and jeers from the Slytherin table. Snape walked over to them.
"What goes on in one's personal life doesn't concern any of you! Twenty points will be deducted from Slytherin and I don't want to hear another word about it!" Snape yelled.
"Face it, Snape, she's below you! She's filth! She's scum! How could you actually kiss that…..that common hooker?!" Blaise demanded.
Snape face twisted with rage. "MR. ZABINI! HOW DARE YOU TALK LIKE THAT ABOUT ANOTHER STUDENT, SIMPLY BECAUSE THIS STUDENT IS FROM A DIFFERENT FAMILY? YOU WILL HAVE DETENTION THE DAY YOU GET BACK FROM YOU BREAK, IS THAT CLEAR?!" Snape bellowed, the whole Great Hall was staring at Snape and Blaise.
"I'M TELLING THE TRUTH!!!!" Blaise yelled.
"Come with me to the Headmaster's office, now!" Snape yelled.
"Ya right! I'm out of here!" Blaise yelled. He exited the Great Hall. Snape ran after him, but by the time Snape had reached the doors of the Great Hall, Blaise was outside. Snape continued to chase after him, but it was no use. Blaise was out of Hogwarts' grounds. He shot red sparks out of the tip of his wand and within seconds, The Knight Bus arrived. Blaise stepped on and he was gone.
"What just happened, Severus?" Hermione asked from behind him. She had seen the whole thing.
"Nothing, sweetheart, lets go back inside," Snape said. He hugged her and they walked back to the school, hand in hand.
A/N: well, it looks like a load of trouble awaits our couple, as the entire house of Slytherin is upset about it. What plans do the Malfoys have the required them to steal wands and kill someone? Perhaps Snape and Hermione shouldn't make their relationship public, hmm??? Well, give any thoughts, suggestions, and or criticisms in a review or e-mail. By the way, thanks to all my reviewers, I've achieved not 50 reviews but 52! Thanks a lot!