Ghost
Chapter 4
The next morning, Hermione moaned as her alarm clock rang in her ear. It was one of those old-fashioned wind-up clocks, so it had no problems working at Hogwarts. She reached over and turned it off before rolling over and burying herself underneath the covers. She had no intention of venturing forth into the cold, dark dungeons when she had a nice, warm bed to stay in.
"Hermione…" said a ghostly voice near her ear. "Hermione…" Hermione opened her eyes, and screamed.
"Jesus tap-dancing Christ, Severus!" exclaimed Hermione, falling off the bed. She shivered as she got up off the floor. "What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?"
"Deepest apologies, Miss Granger," Snape said sarcastically. "I was merely ensuring that you were awake and ready to teach."
"I can't very well teach if I've suffered cardiac arrest, now can I?" huffed Hermione, bustling around her room to find her things for the day.
"It's obvious that you are fine, Miss Granger. Quit being so dramatic," said Snape, rolling his eyes.
"I'm cold," Hermione pouted as she headed to the bathroom.
"You're a witch, cast a warming charm," suggested Snape with a sneer. "Stupid Gryffindors, they're so soft."
Hermione went about her business in the bathroom, stripping down and entering the shower. She sighed as the warm water splashed across her body. After she had washed herself, Hermione got out of the shower and was drying herself off when Snape floated through the door.
After Hermione had gone into the bathroom in a huff, Snape went into the study to check over Hermione's notes on her classes. With approval, he noted that Hermione had taken his comments to heart and changed the outline so that the topics were more spread out through the year.
He heard the shower turn off in the bathroom and decided to go in there to apologize for his actions earlier that morning. When he floated in through the door, Hermione screamed again. Snape averted his eyes before he got an eyeful as Hermione snatched up her towel.
"Get out get out get OUT!" Hermione screamed at him. Snape made a quick exit as Hermione threw the bar of soap at him. The projectile hit the tiled wall, leaving a splat mark of soap.
Hermione dressed rapidly and rushed out of the bathroom, her wand drawn. She walked slowly around her quarters, looking around every corner in search for Snape.
"I know you're here, Severus," she said. "Come on out, I promise I won't do anything."
A ghostly figure floated out from the cabinet in the living room. Hermione pointed her wand at Snape, a manic glint in her eye.
"I wonder what effect Avada Kedavra has on a ghost?" Hermione asked. Snape arched his eyebrow at the wand. "You know, it's almost worth trying to find a way to bring you back to life just so I can kill you again."
"Why don't you?" asked Snape. "Try and bring me back to life, I mean. I'm not too fond of the killing part; I've gone through it once, and I don't really want to do it again. It can be your little extra-curricular project, something to keep you busy on the long, lonely Saturday nights."
"I'll think about it," Hermione replied. "Now get out of my quarters before I try to find a way to exorcise you."
"But these are my…" Snape began.
"OUT!"
---
Later that morning, Hermione sat at her desk in her classroom, waiting for her students to arrive. Her first class was the first year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. Hermione was glad at the fact her first class was going to be a breeze.
Hermione was taking a last look at her notes when the first students began trickling in. She smiled at the small eleven-year-olds, and some of them smiled nervously back. Remembering how scared she had been on her first day, Hermione hoped to make them feel at ease even though they were in the bowels of the school.
When the bell rang, Hermione closed the door and made her way to the front of the class. She stared at the first years; they stared right back. Hermione cleared her throat and began her class.
"Good morning, class. I'm Professor Granger, and I'd like to welcome you to Potions," she began, trying to keep the nervous tremor out of her voice. "Today will be a bit of a 'get-to-know-you' session, so you won't need your textbooks this morning. I would like you to copy the writing on the blackboard down and fill it out. You can talk amongst yourselves and get to know your neighbor a little better, because that is where you will be sitting until I can get your names straight. Are there any questions?"
When no one raised their hand, Hermione revealed the board with the survey she wanted completed. There were only a few questions, and they were as follows:
My name is:
I would like to be called:
I like:
I dislike:
My goal(s) for this year:
The entire class was pretty much silent as they copied down the prompts and thought of their answers. There was a slight buzz of whispers, which Hermione didn't mind at all. She was going over her notes for the lessons later in the week when Severus floated through the blackboard, causing more than half of the students to start.
"My, my, my, Miss Granger, I'm impressed. What did you use to get them so quiet? House point deduction? Detentions? Or did you threaten to make them listen to the screeching and wailing you consider music?" asked Snape, surveying the classroom.
"I asked them nicely," Hermione replied, glaring at the ghost.
"And what did you ask them to do?" asked Snape, turning around and reading the blackboard. "I see. What does this have to do with Potions, Miss Granger? You are their Professor, not their friend. Stop this foolishness now!"
"I, Severus, unlike you, actually want my students to like me. I am willing to go the extra mile to make that happen," Hermione said, trying to stay calm. "Now get out of my classroom before I forget our little deal."
Without another word, Snape floated out of the classroom. Hermione looked at her first years, who were all staring at her, their work forgotten.
"That, children, was Severus Snape, the resident ghost of the dungeons and former Potions professor," Hermione said with a grin. "Don't mind him, he's always like that. He kind of grows on you after a while."
The students accepted this explanation and continued working on their little assignment. When the bell rang, Hermione received fifteen neatly done assignments, which put a smile on her face.
---
By the end of the day, Hermione's good mood had all but vanished. Everything until lunchtime had been fine, but after lunch she had the seventh year Gryffindor and Slytherin double lesson. She had given them the same assignment as the rest of her classes, but some of the responses were things that she definitely didn't need to know.
"That was not something I needed to know," groaned Hermione as she put the survey she was reading aside. It was a seventh-year Slytherin, and his 'likes' had included 'B&D, kink, older women, hot teachers, you.'
"Are you regretting your little survey?" asked Snape with a smirk as he floated into the room. Hermione glared and growled at the man. "I'll take that as a yes, then."
"Ugh, I found out way more about my students than I wanted to know," Hermione replied, putting the rest of the 'assignments' in a folder and tossing them on to the coffee table. "Next time I get a stupid idea like that, try and talk me out of it, Severus."
"I rather like seeing you squirm," Snape replied with a smirk. Hermione glared at him. "Have you thought about your little pet project?"
"No," Hermione said simply, taking a small sip of her wine as she looked over her notes to make sure she didn't miss anything. "I've been busy, and if you want me to think about it at all, I suggest that you leave me alone."
"Very well then, I will leave you to your loneliness," said Snape with a little bow as he floated out of the room. Hermione stuck her tongue out at him.
"I saw that, Hermione."
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Well, here we are; it's the fourth chapter. This is coming along nicely, I think…this is my first decent attempt at Hermione/Severus, one of my favorite pairings. Go SS Prudence and Potions! Go WIKTT! W00t!
As always, I appreciate feedback. Concrit is welcomed, praise is needed and flames will be laughed at.