Title: Artificium Magum

Author: Calliopeia17

Chapter 10: Gryffindors and Slytherins

See warnings and disclaimer in previous chapters. Please read and review!

Hermione was putting the finishing touches on a short essay for Transfigurations when Madam Pomfrey bustled into the room.

"Miss Granger? If you let me take a look at that leg of yours, I'll let you go now, and you ought to be able to make it to dinner with a bit of time to spare."

"Thank you," Hermione said gratefully, pushing back the bedsheet and revealing her leg, skin smooth and unscarred, though still faintly pink. Madam Pomfrey poked at her knee. "Does that hurt at all?"

"No," Hermione responded. "My skin feels a bit…tight, I suppose, but it doesn't hurt at all anymore."

"Excellent," the mediwitch said brightly. "Then it's back to your dormitory with you, young lady, and I'll thank you to be more careful in the future. Merlin knows Professor Snape ought to thank you for it. The last thing that man needs is accidents in his NEWT-levels, what with the first years exploding cauldrons left and right. Now, off you go, and take those Chocolate Frogs with you. Last month a Hufflepuff left a box here and they got loose and melted all over the clean linens. The House Elves were quite put out."

With a grin, Hermione climbed out of bed. Madam Pomfrey handed her a spare robe. "Put this on over your nightgown, dear, and then go back to your dormitory and change."

"Thank you so much, Madam Pomfrey," Hermione said politely.

"Nonsense, dear," she replied with a wave of her hand. "It's my job to patch up you miscreant children, and say what you will about it, it's always eventful. Off with you, now!"

Hermione hurried out of the room, clutching the chocolate in one hand and her wand in the other, and back up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower. She pushed open the door to her room, where Lavender and Parvati were sitting on Parvati's bed, attempting some sort of intricate Braiding Charms on one another's hair.

"Hermione!" Lavender said, leaping up so quickly that the little spell mote that was flashing in her hair made an odd jump and ended up tying a neat bow halfway down the braid. "Are you all right? Harry said you'd gotten burned in Potions; how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine—I'm a lot better now, really," Hermione replied. "It was rather nasty at first, though. I think my skin started boiling," she added thoughtfully. "At any rate, it really, really hurt. Professor Snape had to carry me to the Infirmary."

He carried you?" Parvati squealed. "Snape?"

Hermione nodded.

"He must be a lot stronger than he looks," Lavender said, tilting her head. "I mean, not that you're fat or anything, Hermione, because you're not, but you'd have to be really strong to carry someone all that way."

"It sounds so romantic," Parvati said with a sigh. "Until you remember that it's Snape," she added dryly.

"Believe me, it wasn't romantic," Hermione said, plopping down gracelessly on her own bed across from them. "It was just really painful."

"Well, I'm glad you're better, anyway," Lavender concluded decisively, then pulled the now very confused braid from behind her shoulder to look at it. "Oh, what a mess."

There was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" called Parvati, who was shifting to sit behind Lavender and unknot her hair.

"It's Ginny," said the red-haired girl, opening the door and sticking her head in. "I just wanted to check on Hermione."

"Hi," Hermione said. "Did Ron or Harry send you?"

"No, I just heard you were back from the Infirmary and wanted to see how you were doing," Ginny explained, then looked over at Parvati's tangled efforts. "If you loop your wand when you say the spell, instead of just moving it in a straight line, it'll work better," she advised.

Parvati tried it, and Lavender's hair neatly unknotted, falling gracefully down her back as though it had just been brushed. "Thanks, Ginny!" she exclaimed.

"You're welcome," Ginny replied. She turned to Hermione. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Much, much better than I was," Hermione said. "It doesn't hurt any more, so Madam Pomfrey said I could leave."

"That's good," said Ginny. "What I really came to tell you, though, was that there's a DA meeting tonight. I figured you probably didn't have your Galleon with you in the Hospital Wing. It's at nine, in the Room of Requirement—you can come, can't you?"

"Of course!" Hermione said, leaning over to open the small drawer in her nightstand. The Galleon was wrapped in a handkerchief, but sure enough, it was radiating heat. "Do you know what Harry is planning? I was supposed to be helping him with lesson plans, and I didn't even know he was doing this—"

"I got most of it ready for him," Ginny admitted, "but it's just a review of basic spells—the disarming charm, and Shield Charms, and Accio, and that sort of thing. Really we just want to get everyone together to talk, especially about whoever's trying to kill Harry. McGonagall was really worried when he told her about the thyme in the potion."

"What'd she say?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing really," Ginny admitted. "At least, not to Harry. But I overheard her talking to Dumbledore afterwards, and she sounded really upset—especially that you'd taken the brunt of the attack. She was really worried about you and Ron—and all the Gryffindors, really—getting caught in the crossfire if Voldemort attacks Harry again."

If Voldemort attacks Harry?" Hermione asked. "I don't think it's Voldemort doing this, Ginny."

"Well, a Death Eater, then, or someone who wants to be one," Ginny said impatiently. "But that's not the point. Anyway, Daphne Greengrass is supposed to show up tonight—first Slytherin in the DA, you know. Seems like a rather big deal."

"There's nothing inherently wrong with Slytherins, you know," Hermione pointed out. She frowned. "At least, I don't think so. Snape said I was a lot like a Slytherin, and that if I wasn't Muggleborn I might well be one. But I don't think so. I don't understand the way they work."

"It's all politics and social maneuvering and I don't know what else," Lavender put in. "I had to do a Charms project with Pansy Parkinson, and she was all about 'plans for the future' and 'social climbing' and 'old money.' You know, she was engaged to Malfoy? Or betrothed, or whatever. No ring, or romance or anything, but their families had an arrangement."

"It sounds like something out of a Muggle Victorian novel!" Ginny exclaimed. "Marrying for money, and old families and bloodlines—it's ridiculous!"

"I don't think all the Slytherins are like that," Parvati said. "I mean, some of the families aren't into the bloodlines and whatnot—they just love the politics of it. Daphne's like that. And Snape, too, actually, from what I've overheard my parents saying. And Theodore Nott's family, and a lot of the ones whose parents are Death Eaters, actually. Most of the really uptight purebloods didn't actually follow You-Know-Who, even though they supported his ideas. They didn't want to follow some upstart who didn't come from a good family or anything."

"What about the ones that did, like Malfoy?" Ginny asked, sounding curious.

"Just after You-Know-Who's power, I think," Parvati explained.

"How do you know all this?" Hermione asked.

"My parents are purebloods," Parvati said. "Padma and I grew up hearing about all this—our parents aren't political, though, and they aren't pureblood supremacists. But they're a lot more involved in that sort of society than Lav's family, or Ginny's."

"Maybe if the Hat puts you in Slytherin, you just sort of learn how to be a Slytherin," Lavender suggested. "I'd imagine that they just swallow anyone who can't keep up."

"I heard McGonagall say everybody is out to get everyone else in Slytherin," Ginny said.

"Then I wonder what's in it for Daphne?" Hermione asked aloud.

Parvati shrugged. "We'll find out this evening."

Dinner that night was a quiet affair at the Gryffindor table, and Snape kept shooting glares down at them. Well, Hermione reflected, not at them, exactly—he appeared to be glaring indiscriminately at everyone in the room.

"What's wrong with Snape?" she wondered aloud.

A first-year girl a few seats down the table apparently heard Hermione, and raised her hand rather tentatively, as though she were waiting for the Head Girl to call on her.

"Catherine, you don't have to raise your hand at dinner," Hermione said delicately, hoping that she wouldn't embarrass the girl."

Catherine blushed anyway, but said, "In first year Potions today one of the Slytherins blew up his cauldron. It made a really big mess. And he blamed it on the Gryffindors!" she added, high-pitched voice rising with indignation.

"You might want to get used to that," Ron muttered darkly, and the girl squeaked and nodded.

"Don't scare the first years, Ron," Harry said good-naturedly, and Ron was opening his mouth to reply when, at the Head Table, Snape shot up out of his seat, a strange expression on his face. He turned and said something to Dumbledore, who opened his mouth as though to issue a command, but appeared to think better of it and nodded slowly, a set expression—matching Snape's—on his face. Snape spun and glided from the room.

There was a moment's silence at the Gryffindor table, but most of the other Houses appeared not to have noticed. The Slytherins, obviously, had seen as well—they noticed everything, and even more so when it related to their House.

"I wonder what that's about?" Lavender said finally. Harry shrugged but looked grim.

Hermione felt her heart speed up slightly—was it jumping to conclusions to assume that Snape was going to Voldemort? It was quite likely—what else could call him away so fast, without any visible communication? But still, perhaps she was thinking too much. It might well be nothing….

She just hoped he'd be safe, then wondered where the thought had come from. It was certainly unlike her to care more than usual about Snape. But no, she told herself, she'd wish the same for anyone. It had nothing to do with Snape saving her life or carrying her to the Infirmary or any such feelings of obligation, and really, she should go back to her dinner.

They finished eating without another word, and then Hermione left to go finish the last of her homework and help Harry set up the Room of Requirement. By the time she arrived, Ginny and Ron were already there, tossing floor cushions into the semblance of a circle, and the first DA members began turning up only a few minutes later, plopping down onto the pillows and chatting while Harry fished the parchment with the roster out of his satchel.

When Anthony Goldstein led Daphne Greengrass into the room, they all went silent for a moment, and Hermione took the chance to size up the other girl. Daphne was rather pretty, pale and dark-haired and with very big eyes. Hermione had never had much of a chance to talk with her, but she knew Daphne was smart and a good student, and, well, she was a Prefect, wasn't she? The Slytherin girl rarely spoke in her classes, but when she did, it was to ask questions that poked perfect neat holes in a teacher's argument, or to answer a question with the clearest, most concise explanations Hermione had ever heard.

"Greengrass, I'm assuming Goldstein has already explained to you what you're signing?" Harry asked, holding out the hexed parchment to the Slytherin.

"Yes, but why don't you tell me again," Greengrass replied appraisingly.

Hermione stepped over to stand behind Harry's shoulder, a bit standoffishly. "There's a hex in the parchment. If you betray the group to anyone who wants to see it gone, or to Voldemort, or tell anyone anything about it whom you know might not have good intentions, the hex will activate. I'm assuming you saw what happened to Marietta Edgecombe two years ago? This hex is worse." The last was a bit of a bluff—she had made the hex stronger, and added a few other effects, but most of them were intended to let Harry know if the hex activated, and who had done it, rather than making the punishment inflicted on the traitor any harsher. But it wouldn't hurt to be a bit intimidating.

"And what exactly does signing this parchment entail?" she asked.

"That you're participating in the DA. That you stand in support of Dumbledore and against Voldemort. That you're willing to do extra study to learn Defense, to protect yourself and Hogwarts. And obviously, that you won't tell anyone else about the group unless we all know about it." Harry answered smoothly. Hermione was impressed—he really sounded like a leader, and she wondered if being Head Boy was starting to have an effect on him.

"And what if I decide I want to leave?" Greengrass asked. "What if I don't like how you're teaching, or get in a fight with one of you, or, for that matter, change my mind and decide I want to support the Dark Lord? What then?"

"Then we strike your name from the roster," Harry said, "and you'll no longer be a member, but the hex will still apply if you betray anything you know about the group. We're covering our backs, here. It's too much of risk, otherwise. And," he added as an afterthought, "if you actually decide to support Voldemort, we'll probably try to kill you. Just so you know."

"Right," Greengrass said decisively. "I'm in."

Harry grinned. 'Sign here." She took the parchment and added her name with a flourish.

"Now," Harry said, "we're going to get to work." He demonstrated a few basic charms, the ones Ginny had mentioned earlier, and set them to work practicing. Disarming Charms began flying around the room, knocking pillows around and occasionally sending someone flying backwards into one. Hermione paired herself with Daphne Greengrass, ignoring Goldstein's annoyed look when she unsubtly barreled in front of him.

"Greengrass? Want to partner up?" she asked hurriedly.

"Sure, Granger," the other girl said, positioning herself across from Hermione. "Now what is it you want?" she asked, shooting off a spell, which Hermione easily dodged.

"I want to know what you know," Hermione replied, muttering a low "Expelliarmus."

Greengrass stepped aside. "About what, Granger? Slytherin politics? Who's in what faction? Who's working for Voldemort?" She smirked faintly. "Who's trying to kill Potter?"

"You know about that?" Hermione blurted, just as Greengrass hit her with the Disarming Charm. Hermione's wand went flying, and landed neatly in the other girl's hand.

"Typical Gryffindor. No subtlety at all," she said, handing Hermione's wand back to her. "About your erstwhile assassin, I don't know much more than you do yourself. I observe better, I would guess, and I have a better idea of which Slytherins are capable of it, but I have no more proof of anything than you do. I do suggest, if you're looking for the culprit, that you start in that Potions class."

Hermione nodded, neatly blocking Greengrass's next attack with a Shielding Charm. "Thanks. Can you tell me anything useful about Slytherin politics?"

The Slytherin girl made a face. "What is it?" Hermione asked.

Greengrass smiled faintly. "It's just that you'd be laughed out of Slytherin House in a heartbeat, Granger. You're all direct questions and direct actions and wanting direct answers. We don't work that way. It's so…bourgeois."

"You didn't answer my question," replied Hermione, annoyed—annoyed enough to successfully disarm Greengrass, it seemed, as the other girl's wand landed in her hand.

"I know," she answered with a mysterious smile. Then her face turned serious. "Granger, as much as I feel that it's ridiculous that I have to explain this to you, I will. I have to cover my back. Slytherin works in factions, and by coming here, I just broke with both of them. I fully intend to have my own little faction soon, but explaining politics to a Gryffindor who can't keep her mouth shut when she's angry—no offense, but it's true—is not going to help me get there."

"You're just in it for your own personal gain?" Hermione spluttered, stinging a bit at the insult.

"Yeah. That would just about cover it," Greengrass replied. "Don't get me wrong, Granger—seeing the Dark Lord win is not in my best interest either, and I'll be a loyal supporter of your little pet cause. I just want you to realize that your motives are not my motives."

"So what are your motives?" Hermione snapped, frustrated.

Greengrass quickly disarmed her. "My motives? There are two major factions in Slytherin House. One supports the Dark Lord, the other doesn't. Both of them, however, think that alienating Gryffindors is in their best interest. I'm not an idiot, Granger. I could hear the Sorting Hat as well as anyone, and I believe what it has to say. We're going to lose to the Dark Lord if we don't work together—all of us, all of Hogwarts. And I don't want that. Satisfied?"

"Yes," said Hermione, a little dazed at the wealth of new information.

"Good," Greengrass grinned. "And you know, giving a straight answer for once? It's rather refreshing."

Hermione laughed too, then disarmed the Slytherin girl with a faint and rather satisfying smirk. It seemed, for once, as if there might possibly be hope that the two Houses might someday get along—far-fetched hope, but hope all the same. Although, Hermione reflected, she was never going to understand Slytherin politics.

Notes to Reviewers:

Dafina: Thanks very much once again!

Nore: Yeah, they are…or at least, they're starting to respect each other a bit more. :)

Magic and sparkle: Yeah, Hermione's pretty tough. Thanks again for reading!

Jessie Deal: Well, thanks anyway! It's always nice to get reviews, so thank you!

Rik: Thanks! I'll keep writing if you keep reading- and I'm glad you like it!

Alarase: Thanks very much! Yes, I know about Ashwinder- what I intend to do is finish the fic here, then do whatever overall, storywide editing needs to be done before putting it up on Ashwinder. Thanks for reviewing, and please keep reading!

Nonymoose: Thank you very, very much! I have a very low tolerance for bad spelling and grammar, and I do try to keep my standards high in that department. Thanks for reviewing, and keep reading! The romance is coming!

Kabuki1: Thanks! I'm trying very hard to keep Snape and Hermione in character, so it's nice to have readers comment to let me know how I'm doing. As for Hermione being the quintessential Slytherin, well, there'll be more on that as the story goes on. It's one of the things that's always intrigued me in the books, though- why Hermione is a Gryffindor. Keep reading!

m482: Well, Snape's said some pretty nasty things to Hermione before, even in the books- and, well, if no one's around to hear him…. Glad you're enjoying the mystery, though! I'm certainly having a lot of fun writing it! As for the number of chapters, well, I don't really know yet. Somewhere between 25 and 40, I would imagine, though who can really say. I suppose the best answer I can give you is as many as it takes to get the story out! Thanks very much for reading! I really appreciate the reviews!

Duchessofpower: well, I've already talked to you about this one- Hermione's just being Hermione, really- but I like the idea of a Slytherin Hermione, too. There's a reason the Hat put her in Gryffindor, though, aside from being Muggleborn.