Ghost
Chapter 10
Snape drifted into his old rooms, looking for Hermione. He had grown rather fond of their conversations, and he was wondering what she was doing that evening. Hoping that she was around, he floated through the small apartment, looking for its occupant.
As he passed the bedroom door, he heard the sound of muffled sobbing coming from within. Without considering the repercussions, he floated through the door. He was greeted with the sight of Hermione lying facedown on her bed, her face buried into her pillows and her shoulders moving in time with her sobs. Snape cleared his throat to get Hermione's attention. She jumped at the noise, and she quickly wiped the tears away.
"Severus!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"I was wondering where you were," Snape replied smoothly. "I wanted to know how your trip to my family crypt went."
"It went fine," Hermione replied. "We found your body."
"Indeed," said Snape. "Was it to your...satisfaction, then?" Hermione nodded. "Why are you crying, then?"
"Just...a few things came back to me when we passed the Weasley crypt, that's all," Hermione replied with a sniffle. "I'll be fine; I just need to collect myself. No need to worry." Hermione put on a bright, obviously fake smile. Snape rolled his eyes.
"Haven't you learned yet that it's not a good thing to lie?" he said. Hermione looked at him curiously. "What?"
"You're a bloody Slytherin, and you're telling me not to lie?" she asked, incredulously. Snape just smirked.
"Slytherins don't lie, we just guard the truth better than Gringott's," he replied. Hermione laughed, and Snape's lips turned up in a half-smile when he gained the desired effect of cheering the young woman up. "Are you sure you'll be all right?"
"Yes, I'll be fine," Hermione replied.
"That's good to hear," Snape said. An awkward silence passed between the two; neither of them wanted to break it. Finally, Hermione was the first to crack.
"Well, I've had a long day, Severus, and I think I'll go to bed," she said quickly. Snape nodded and, without another word, floated out of the room. With a sigh, Hermione flopped back onto her bed, sighing as she stared at the ceiling.
aaa
The weekend passed quickly, and Hermione was ready for whatever Monday had to offer. She jumped out of bed, feeling fully refreshed as she puttered around her room, looking for her teaching robes. Finding them in the back of her wardrobe, Hermione whistled a cheery nonsense tune as she made her way to the bathroom.
After finishing her business in the loo, Hermione made her way to the Great Hall. Sitting in her customary seat near the middle of the table, she began spooning eggs, sausages and toast onto her plate. Dumbledore looked on in amusement as she piled her plate with food.
"Hungry, Hermione?" he asked, his eyes twinkling.
"You have no idea," Hermione replied. "I spent most of my weekend researching like mad, and I didn't eat much."
"That's unhealthy," said Dumbledore, pointing out the obvious. "You can't keep missing peals like that; you'll get sick!"
"I'll be fine," Hermione replied. She had cracked open a book and it was propped up on the juice jug in front of her. The cover was charmed to show a book about Potions, but Dumbledore could see that it was full of rituals to bring back the dead. Feeling his curious gaze, she reassured him. "It's charmed so that only the people who were there on Saturday can see what's in it."
"Clever plan," Dumbledore remarked. "I always knew Charms was your forte."
"But Potions was my passion," Hermione said with a small smile. "Ever since I was in first year, I knew Potions would be what I wanted to do. I loved the challenge."
"A true Gryffindor, through and through," said Dumbledore, his eyes glinting with the ever-present twinkle. He checked his pocket watch; it had no numbers, but moons ticking around the edge. It was strange, but Dumbledore understood it. "And I believe, my dear that it is almost time for classes to start, and you need to be on time for your students. Will you be joining us for lunch today?"
"I'm not sure. It all depends on whether or not anyone needs help after class," Hermione replied. "I'll try to make it, though."
"That's all I can ask. Now run along, Hermione." Hermione got up from her seat and made her way out of the Great Hall through the teacher's entrance. She met no one on the way; while she had made Potions a bit more enjoyable, it was still a difficult course, and not many excelled. However, she had made sure that disasters were kept to a minimum.
When she entered her classroom, she found that it was blissfully empty. I guess I'm not the only one who isn't a Monday person, Hermione mused to herself as she set about writing the lesson on the board. About halfway through that task, Snape floated through the blackboard, and through Hermione. Hermione jumped back as if scalded, shivering violently.
"Ahh, there you are," he said. "I was wondering where you had gotten to."
"Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" Hermione gasped. "Don't ever do that again!"
"I take it you were a little startled, then?" asked Snape, arching an eyebrow.
"Yeah, just a little," Hermione replied.
"So, where have you been?" he asked. "I checked your rooms, the library and this classroom at least three times in the past hour. I even asked Moaning Myrtle if she could check the girls' lavatories for me."
"I was in the Great Hall for breakfast," Hermione replied flatly. "Now, could you be a dear and get out of my way so I can finish writing up my lesson plan?"
"You know, it's a lot easier if you charm the chalk to write the plan automatically, freeing you up to do other things," Snape remarked.
"Yes, well, I like doing it like this. I'm just used to it this way," Hermione said as she picked up the chalk and resumed writing. Her handwriting was neat, tidy, and large enough for the people in the back to read. "Did you know that I taught at a Muggle elementary school before I got the job here?"
"No, I didn't," replied Snape, taken aback. He had always thought that Hermione had had an important job researching Potions or at the Ministry.
"Well, I did. I met my fiancé there...well, my ex fiancé," Hermione said as she finished off the recipe with a flourish. "We broke up a little while ago, when I caught him with another woman. One of my colleagues, actually. My teaching assistant."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Snape said, not knowing what else to say. Hermione let out a hollow laugh.
"Don't be," she replied. "I'm just glad I found out that he was a dirtbag before the wedding, and not after."
"I see," Snape remarked. "Well, I will leave you here. I believe it is time for your class, and I don't want to be around when the brats arrive. Good day, Hermione."
"Bye, Severus," Hermione said with a small smile. Snape smirked before floating out of the room in the same direction that he had come. Just as he did so, Hermione heard the clatter of feet, and soon her classroom was filled with chattering students, all waiting to learn.
aaa
Hermione sat at her desk during her lunch hour, explaining to a couple of her sixth years how to brew a Dreamless Sleep Draught. It was an extra-curricular assignment that they had signed up for, and Hermione was describing the particulars of the potion and the essay they were to write with it.
As the last of the students exited the room, Hermione let out a sigh of relief and collapsed against her desk. She knew she wouldn't have time to go all the way up to the Great Hall for a bite to eat, so she grabbed a piece of parchment and wrote down a request for the House Elves. As she was standing up, someone whispered in her ear, "I knew I'd find you down here."
Hermione jumped and whirled around, startled. She was greeted by a pair of twinkling grey eyes. Hermione smacked the man on the arm playfully, a wide grin crossing her face.
"Draco!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"It's nice to see you too, Hermione," Draco said, rubbing his arm. "Albus told me that you were probably down here, and well, you are!"
"What brings you to Hogwarts?" Hermione asked as she sat down behind her desk. Draco hopped onto the desktop, mussing up the neat piles of essays. She glared at him, earning a shrug from the blond man.
"I'll help you tidy them in a little bit," he said. "Anyway, Dumbledore sent me an owl last week asking for help. I came to the school, talked to Dumbledore, and he said to come down here and ask you about it. So, what's up?"
"I don't need any help," Hermione said warily. Draco didn't know about her plan to resurrect Snape, and she hoped that it would stay that way.
"Dumbledore seemed to think you do," Draco replied. "Something to do with the ghost of our rather irate, late Potions professor?"
"He isn't that bad anymore," Hermione said. By that time her lunch had arrived, and she was digging in with a ferocity that would put Harry and Ron to shame. "Sorry about this," she gestured to the food, "but if I don't eat now, I won't get a chance until dinner."
"I see," remarked Draco. "So, what's up with the ghost? Are you trying to exorcise him or something?"
"No, I'm trying to bring him back to life," Hermione replied, earning a raised eyebrow from her companion, as if he were asking 'why?'. "I love him, you arse."
"Really?" asked Draco, very interested. "And how did you come to that conclusion?"
"Actually, I didn't even realize I did love him until I was going through my Penseive," Hermione replied.
"Oh yeah, that scene," Draco mused. "I forgot about that one."
"Okay, how many people have gone through my Penseive without my knowledge?" Hermione asked. "I want names, and I want them now!"
"No one, really," Draco replied. "Just Harry and me definitely, and I think Dumbledore might have perused through it once or twice."
"WHAT?!" screeched Hermione. Draco flinched. "So that's why the barmy old codger isn't reporting me to the Ministry; he knows my intentions are honorable, and that I'm not meaning to hurt anyone."
"And that's why he sent for my help," Draco said triumphantly. Hermione looked curious. "My father had a bunch of Dark Arts books that weren't seized in the last raid, and now that I have inherited the Malfoy fortune, they're mine. I'll lend them to you, if you want."
"What's the catch?" asked Hermione, suspicious. While Draco had been on the side of the Order, he was still a Slytherin, and therefore only into business that could benefit himself as well as the person he was doing business with.
"No catch, I promise," Draco replied. Hermione arched an eyebrow. Draco's hands were behind his back, as if they were hiding something. She muttered an inaudible spell before continuing.
"Hands, please," she requested. Draco pulled out his hands from behind his back. Seeing that there were no fingers crossed, Hermione waved them away. "Alrighty then, I accept your offer. I'll owl you later this week with details, alright?"
"Okay," said Draco as the bell rang and the sounds of clattering footsteps could be heard in the corridor. "A pleasure, as always, Hermione. Would you mind if I used your fireplace to return home?"
"Not at all," Hermione replied. Draco smiled in thanks and tossed a handful of Floo powder into the fire, and whooshed out of sight as Hermione's afternoon class began filing in.
aaa
Well, here's chapter ten. I hope you all enjoyed it. Any questions or comments can be forwarded to me in a review, and I'll try my best to answer them. If you don't want to send a review, you can always e-mail me. Again, I'll be happy to try and answer any questions you have.