Chapter Five
A/N:: And so it continues! Drop me some reviews and let me know what you think. In care you were wondering about the ending...there is not any slash going on between Draco and Snape (at least not in this story...hehe).
There was an uneasy silence aboard the Hogwarts Express. The happy laughter and joking banter of years passed had been greatly subdued, and some began to wonder if it might ever return. The dangers lurking in the magical world were more pronounced than ever, and for many it was hard to be joyful with the knowledge that things were only going to get bleaker. Every now and then a forced sounding bout of laughter could be heard echoing down the aisles, but the hushed whispers and subdued silence was almost too much to bear. In the compartment currently inhabited by Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and the infamous Harry Potter, things were not much better. Of course, when they first boarded there had been the increasingly awkward, yet happy, chatter as they shared tales of their summer apart. None of the three had accomplished anything grand, and soon the conversation fell into an uneasy lull. Harry was still obviously grieving over the loss of Sirius, and even being reunited with his two best friends did little to raise his darkened spirits. Hermione herself was feeling a bit depressed, even though she didn't quite understand why. Ron was still in a foul mood from being kept indoors nearly all summer by his mother's ever growing "maternal instincts" which struck Ron was being more like irrational fears than anything. But in these times, who could really blame her? Even Hedwig looked depressed.
Hermione stared out of the window at the quickly passing countryside, and wondered silently to herself if things would ever be the same. She yearned for the times when they had been first years, and everything had seemed so bright and new, and most of all, hopeful. She had never even heard of he-who-must-not-be-named, and had never felt such a crushing amount of pain. Pain for Harry who had already lost so much, pain for Ron, pain for Sirius who had left them so suddenly, and for reasons she didn't understand, pain for herself. Sometimes she almost felt like giving up and going to a muggle school, where they all went about in happy ignorance. The truth was, she felt so powerless. The truth was, despite all her knowledge, she still felt inadequate. The truth was...
Hermione was jolted out of her thoughts by loud chatter, and even louder laughter outside of their compartment. Her curiosity suddenly peaked; Hermione moved to the empty seat beside Harry and pressed her ear against the door.
"'Mione, what are doing?" Ron asked, a bit crossly.
"Shhhh!" She commanded, straining to hear.
She could only catch fragments of the conversation, but it certainly sounded interesting...."yes I swear...Snape...no, it can't be true....she must be...told my aunt herself...saw her with her own eyes..."
"What are they talking about?" Ron demanded, suddenly interested.
"What?" Harry asked, looking very apprehensive and very pale.
"Nothing bad." Hermione whispered. "At least I don't think so. I can't hear!"
After a quick knock the door to their compartment flew open, causing Hermione to nearly jump of her seat, and Ron and Harry to reach for their wands. They both paused when a breathless Neville Longbottom rushed in, looking extremely pleased with himself.
"Have...you...heard." Neville managed through gasping breaths.
"Heard what!" Harry's voice automatically slipped into a tone of fear.
"No...no..." Neville said, throwing himself down onto the empty seat. "Nothing to worry about. Just gossip..."
Harry leaned back in his seat with a grateful sigh, and Ron snorted.
"Didn't mean to scare you," Neville explained, "but I wanted to tell you before somebody else could. It's just too great."
Neville began to laugh, genuine amused laughter. Hermione leaned in closer to him, aching to laugh herself. Even if it was over gossip, she could use some right now.
"Out with it then!" Ron demanded.
Neville took a deep breath and nodded, extremely pleased to have their undivided attention.
"Well," he began. "I heard from Cho, who heard from her friends mother, who knows Madam Hootch.."
"Alright, alright!" Harry interrupted. "What did she hear?"
"Last night Madam Hootch saw Snape walking on the grounds with a strange woman...a very strange woman...and then the next day she heard from McGonagall that they're married."
Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, and Ron rolled his eyes.
"Just like Snape was married to a werewolf last year, Neville?" Harry moaned.
"N-No!" Neville stammered. "This time it's true, I swear! Madam Hootch says that she's never seen her before, and she has the whitest skin she's ever seen, just like she could be..."
"A vampire!" Ron screamed in mock terror.
The three friends burst into laughter while Neville's face reddened.
"I wasn't going to say that." Neville insisted, but they were laughing too hard to hear him.
Ginny Weasley poked her head into the compartment, one her friends standing shyly beside her.
"Have you heard!" She announced. "Snape kidnapped a muggle and married her!"
This elicited a new round of laughter from within the compartment. Hermione's face shone, she was so glad for the happy distraction.
"Can you imagine?" Harry said through bursts of laughter. "That greasy git married!"
Ron, laughing so hard his face was as red as a tomato, piped in. "Can you imagine the kids they would have? All greasy hair and fangs!"
Ginny stepped closer into the compartment, looking very confused.
"Wait, muggles have fangs?"
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By the time they had arrived at Hogwarts and assembled in the great hall for the welcoming feast, there were so many versions of the story floating around that Hermione could no longer keep them straight.
Snape was married to a vampire...no a dwarf...no a muggle! He kidnapped her...no she's running from her muggle husband....no, they already have three children!
As the stories became more and more fantastic, Hermione could only throw her head back and laugh. She didn't want to think what Professor Snape would do if her ever found the person that started the rumor. Probably make them scrub dirty cauldrons all year. It would have been worth it though; it was the talk of all four tables. It takes real talent to start a rumor like that.
As Dumbledore and his professors took their places at the head table, Hermione noted that Snape was looking no different than usual. Seated between McGonagall and Dumbledore, he looked more bored than anything. Hermione strained in her seat as Snape took a sip of pumpkin juice, setting his goblet down with a satisfying bang. She caught no glimpse of gold on his left hand, it was bare.
"See," she pointed out to Harry and Ron. "It was just a dumb rumor."
Hermione sat back as the first years were sorted, and Dumbledore gave his normal uplifting annual speech. She pretended not to notice that the whole time Harry stared at his empty plate, a mournful expression on his face, and that Ron was mouthing insults at Draco Malfoy, who wasn't even paying attention. Later she would talk to Harry, try to make him feel better. And she wasn't even going to bother saying anything to Ron, let him have his fight with Malfoy. It would be good for him to get out some aggression; she knew he was still angry with his mother for making him a virtual prisoner over the summer. Hermione clapped politely as Dumbledore introduced the new members of the staff, but her mind was beginning to wander. She was thinking of her reading list, she hadn't even made a dent yet! But after all, she had just gotten her books yesterday...
"And I'm especially pleased to introduce our new assistant medi-witch," Dumbledore's voice floated on the edge of her periphery. "Mrs. Katherine Snape. Since you are all bound to find out anyway, let it be my great pleasure to be the first to tell you, that she is the new bride of our own potions professor."
There was a sudden collective gasp of breath, followed by a stunned silence. It was only the calm before the storm, for the whispers suddenly grew into a dull roar. Glasses were knocked over as students strained in their seats to see the woman at the end of the table who was slowly rising to her feet. Hermione noted that she was wearing a uniform identical to Madam Pomfrey's, and looked more than a bit overwhelmed. As the clamor of voices rose to a fever pitch, Dumbledore cleared his throat, and drew up his hand in a gesture for silence. The head boy and girl followed, hoping that everyone else would follow their example. Katherine Snape sat down quickly, and Madam Pomfrey began to whisper something in her ear. She smiled, but was staring out into the gathering of students at someone who Hermione could not see.
Ron shrugged his shoulders, and Harry laughed. A few seats down Ginny, who had been sitting on her knees to get a better look, nearly fell out of her seat.
"Can you believe it!" Ron laughed, "The greasy git actually has a wife."
"She's decent looking too!" Harry said in surprise.
Hermione looked at Katherine Snape, her eyes narrowing. She looked almost like a cherub with the white headress of a medi-witch on, and the candle light reflecting off of her pink skin. But something else beyond the uniform and the candlelight held Hermione's attention.
"I know her from somewhere." She whispered slowly.
"What?" Harry asked, only half paying attention.
"I know her face. I definitely know her from somewhere. But I don't know where."
Harry shrugged, and then turned to look at the Slytherin table. Draco Malfoy was sitting silent as a stone as his housemates whispered feverently around him. He looked angry...
"What's up with him?" Harry asked.
Ron turned to look himself, and then smiled. "Maybe he was saving Snape for himself."
Of course, half of the table had heard his comment, and began laughing wildly and throwing insults at Draco and his friends.
Draco didn't seem to care, all his attention was focused on Snape's wife, who Hermione noticed was staring intensely back at him.
"What is that all about?" Hermione wondered aloud.
"Who cares!" Ron announced. "At least this was an interesting start to the year!"