Changes Made

Chapter Five

Snape stirred the bubbling cauldron before him with rapt attention. In no more time than it took to blink, the cauldron's surface turned a bright orange and filled the air with peppery smoke. He immediately removed it from the fire and began to dip it into bottles, medically warded against contamination. He reached up out of habit to shove his hair from his eyes and found no reason to, as his hair was now held firmly in a small tail at the nape of his neck. He returned his attention to the vials of potion he was filling and finished the task without spilling so much as a drop.

Waving his wand, Snape performed the charm for cleaning and then carefully placed the bottles of Pepper-Up potion in a waiting box. He opted to carry them up to the Hospital wing rather than floating it along with his wand. It was too easy for Peeves the Poltergeist to shoot from somewhere and knock it to the floor if it was hanging in the air. If the box was in his arms, however, the castle pest would face the nearly impossible task of startling Snape enough to make him lose his grip on the box. When he arrived in the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey was busy tidying a cabinet.

"Poppy, your Pepper-Up potion," Snape said shortly.

"Thank you, Sev-" Madam Pomfrey began, turning around. She cut herself off when she caught sight of Snape.

"Something wrong, Poppy?" Snape asked crisply.

"Not at all, Severus. I was only noting your new look. It is quite...refreshing," Madam Pomfrey said, bustling forward to take the box of potion-filled vials from Snape, who inclined his head.

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey. I hope you find this batch acceptable." Turning on his heel, Snape left the Hospital Wing, this time without the familiar flapping of his robes at his sides. For this day, Snape had chosen conservative black trousers and a black shirt of silk. Still dark, but less reminiscent of a bat, he thought, and nearly smiled, but caught himself. He rounded a corner and found himself face-to-face with Albus Dumbledore.

"Ah, Severus. I was just looking for you," Dumbledore said with a welcoming smile.

"Headmaster. Has there been news?" Snape asked with masked interest.

"Not from the Order," Dumbledore replied, "however, I felt you might wish to know that both Harry and Hermione have accepted the offer of Occlumency lessons and will be arriving here on August 24th. You may wish to experiment with lesson plans."

"Thank you, Headmaster. I expect that you didn't give them much choice in the matter, though. I strongly suspect that neither of them would take these lessons by choice."

"Just as you wouldn't teach them by choice, Severus. However, you might be surprised by the way that attitudes change over time. It isn't something you have had a great deal of experience with, but young people often surprise us with their perspectives, and occasionally, they even help us change ourselves in ways we never expected," Dumbledore said, meeting Snape's eyes. His expression was unfathomable. Feeling slightly confused, Snape said nothing. Dumbledore let the silence hang for a moment before breaking it once more. "I see you have chosen a new look, Severus. I can not say I disapprove in the slightest. An excellent decision, by any standards."

"Thank you, Headmaster," Snape said, not displeased with this assessment.

"I am afraid I may have mislead you a moment ago...when I informed you that there was no news from Headquarters, I neglected to inform you that there was instead a bit of business I would like you to take care of. Mundungus Fletcher had informed us earlier of a bit of criminal activity including the trafficking of precious gem stones to dark wizards by way of Greater Sweeney, a small city near London, inhabited mainly by Muggles. You probably heard about his when we found out about it Early in June. Although we don't really suspect to find anything there, I would like you to investigate. Today if possible, Severus. Mundungus managed to discover a few of the details fo their operation, but the traffickers may change their patterns at any time."

"Of course, Headmaster. I need only know what Fletcher has found." The two men made their way to Dumbledore's office speaking quietly.

.............

In a shadowed alleyway, Snape leaned against the wall and watched unobserved as a dark-robed man ducked from a doorway and glanced around. He hefted a crate from a rubbish bin and winced as the lid clattered to the ground. Snape let the man stumble closer to him before stepping forward to block his path. Without speaking, Snape stood, letting the dirty man before him take in the long, hooded cloak that Snape had donned for this occasion. He began to back away, still holding the box, but Snape produced his wand and aimed it carefully at the box, levitating it from the man's grasp.

"What are you doing?" the man demanded. "Give it back!" he was obviously scared. This hadn't been expected. Wand now aimed at the man before him, Snape opened the box and found a mound of precious-looking gems in several colours. Still without speaking, Snape sifted through them, and finding one he liked, held it up. At first it appeared to be a large sapphire, but under Snape's experienced eye, it was judged to be a well-produced fake. He took a moment to disguise his voice before speaking to the man who cowered against the wall.

"What are you doing with these?" he asked, dropping the imitation gem back into the box. The man seemed to relax as he saw the gem return to the box, but the fear didn't leave his voice as he spoke.

"Nothing," the man said, shrinking back.

"It is unwise to lie to me," Snape said, twitching his wand. The man ducked, but finding no curses aimed at him, he answered.

"I'm just delivering them."

"To whom," Snape demanded.

"To the man who ordered them."

"And that would be...?"

"I don't know. He always wears a mask."

"What colour?"

"Really dark green. Silver decoration."

"Have you ever seen his face?"

"No."

"Hair?"

"Once. It was blonde." Of course, the only person stupid enough to wear a very identifiable mask when ordering black market materials.

"Take your box and go," Snape ordered. The man ducked forward and snatched the box, then skittered away down the alley. On his way out of the alley, Snape removed the cloak and stuffed it into a rubbish bin. He looked down at his clothing. Not even dusty. Good.

................................................................................................................................................

When her parents arrived home once more that evening, it was as if nothing had happened. Mrs. Granger, if slightly more exuberant than usual, was bursting with friendly anecdotes about the day, and Mr. Granger made several amusing jokes about the dentistry. After dinner, Hermione played a rousing game of Gin with her parents and then introduced the topic of Occlumency lessons.

"Er, mum," she began. Mrs. Granger looked up expectantly.

"Yes, dear?"

"Well, the letter I got this morning was from the Headmaster. He wants me to take a course on Occlumency in my free time this year."

"Occlu- what?" Mr. Granger asked, brow furrowed.

"It's a sort of mental magic. My friend Harry, I've told you about him, took it some last year."

"Who's the teacher?" Mrs. Granger asked with interest.

"Professor Snape," Hermione mumbled.

"Are you sure you want to take it then? He hasn't been very kind…" Mrs. Granger trailed off doubtfully and looked at her husband.

"Hermione, don't take this if you don't feel it completely worthy of your time," ordered Mr. Granger severely. "I've heard more than one story about that man."

"I think it might be useful, honestly," Hermione said. "I've been thinking about it all day. I expect Professor Dumbledore wants me to take it in part to help Harry as well. It sounds interesting, though. I've done some research. A History of Magic says that the first wizards to learn it were also the first reported telekinetics."

"How illuminating," Mrs. Granger said pleasantly. "I suppose if you want to, dear, you'd better take it."

"The catch is that classes begin one week before school starts. They'll house me at the castle. I don't know why it will begin before the rest of the term, but it must be important," Hermione said thoughtfully.

"Oh. Well, then I guess you'll just pack a week early then, dear. I don't suppose Mr. Dumbledore sent your list of required equipment for next year?" Hermione shook her head. "When does he need your reply?"

"July 31st. But I think I might go owl him now." Mrs. Granger nodded and smiled. Hermione pushed her chair away from the table and headed up the stairs to her room. She relaxed a bit once she was sitting at her desk. She carefully dug through her desk for a piece of parchment and a quill and then began a concise response.

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

I would be delighted to take Occlumency training and I would like to thank you for this opportunity. I hope you won't think me rude to say that I suspect you wish me to encourage Harry to practice as well. I need only to know how exactly to reach Hogwarts one week before September first. Thank you again!

Sincerely,

Hermione Granger

Satisfied with this, Hermione tied the letter to Griselda's leg. Griselda nipped Hermione's finger affectionately, and hopped cheerily out of the window, catching herself a few feet down and flying away into the darkening sky. Hermione turned back to her "blood-coloured" room and made a little hop in mid-air. Everything was finally coming together!

In the next few days, she planned to adjust her wardrobe to her surfacing new taste in clothes. The other girls at school wore terribly cute outfits beneath her robes, so Hermione saw no reason why she couldn't as well, and even wear them around the common room and on weekends. All the money she'd saved was really coming in handy, and after all, her father had only said she couldn't change the house without permission. Loopholes were bloody useful, she thought, and went to bed.

............

The next morning, it seemed that Mr. and Mrs. Granger drove cheerily to work, completely free of worry. Hermione stopped waving once they'd turned the corner at the end of the street and shut the door. She leaned back against the solid wood and beamed giddily at Crookshanks, who watched her, blinking sleepily, from the staircase. Hermione leapt up the stairs, causing Crookshanks to shrink back against the wall, and glare.

After she was dressed, Hermione stopped rushing about long enough to study herself in the mirror. Inspiration struck. She rummaged in the top drawer of her bureau until she found the make-up that a woman in Boots had sold her once. Taking a breath, Hermione applied a touch of glitter to her eyelids, and then a touch of lippy. After all, this was going to be a special day. She spun around and took her outfit designs from her desk and placed them carefully in her purse, then checking to make sure her remaining money was securely there, too, she rubbed Crookshanks behind the ears and dashed down the stairs and then out the door, headed once more for the bus stop.

One bumpy bus ride later, Hermione stood in the centre of town, staring around wide eyed at the bustling people around her. It wasn't often that she came here, especially without her parents, and even after yesterday, it was still quite amazing. Realising all at once how silly she must look, Hermione blinked, took a deep breath, and attempted to look as if she new exactly what she was doing. She headed straight for the first clothing store she saw, which turned out to be filled with lacy lingerie. Smiling pleasantly at the woman behind the counter Hermione immediately spun around and left, hearing the door's bells tinkle after her.

Taking yet another deep breath, Hermione pointed herself down one street and began purposefully to walk down it, avoiding the gum on the sidewalk and the ladies with small crying children and the annoyed-looking men in business suits. Soon enough, she found what she was looking for; a clothing store filled to the brim with stylish clothing for people her age. Hermione ducked inside and pulled out her drawings.

............

Three or four stores later, Hermione had everything she wanted, and was feeling a bit chuffed, too, as she was still under budget. Her mother would be proud, if Hermione ever bothered to tell her about it. Maybe a few years into the future. Thinking this, Hermione watched the traffic on the road before her, waiting to cross. The traffic stopped as the light changed and Hermione began to cross, not particularly paying attention to the cars around her. She'd nearly reached the other side when a reckless teenage driver in a blue motor car drove round the corner a few yards away, running the light and headed straight at her. Hermione didn't even notice.

............

A/N: Another day, another chapter... Hurray for Hermione! Now, someone sent me a review saying that they didn't like the Dursleyish qualities of Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Now, the image I have of them is sort of like the Dursleys but not really, because unlike Petunia and Vernon, the Grangers are feeling okay with the whole witch/wizard thing and they aren't mean or nasty. They are supportive of their daughter, but still reserve a bit of the "we are no longer normal" mind set that keeps Petunia nervous. She isn't quite as overboard or awful about it, but when Mrs. Granger gets riled up, she can be a bit self-conscious. However, I am sure that many of us may find this quality in our parents or friends or even ourselves! It's not bad, just normal human behaviour. :-) Now, there was somethng else I was going to say, but I don't remember what it was. Happy reading!