A/N: Hello! I have decided I like Karl almost as much as the evil wench! But anyway, glad (most of) you liked my slightly controversial last chapter.

Bend and Break

"Well done guys," Karl came out of Brian Motus's office clutching 3 freshly inked certificates. "You all passed!" he grinned at them, and received three meagre smiles. He handed them each a certificate, "you can frame these! And here are your licenses, you'll need to keep them with you all the time because you could be checked anywhere. Don't forget them." He gave them each a small card. "Well I guess you're free."

They looked at each other and made for the door at once, but he pulled Hermione back just before she went through. Harry and Ron had raced on ahead, not noticing she had gone.

"Hermione, when will I see you again?" he stared at her with deep mahogany eyes.

"You won't."

He flicked his wavy golden hair from his eyes, "what? But Hermione – "

"No, Karl, it was a mistake, a stupid mistake, it should never have happened." She tried to turn away,

"But Hermione, I thought we could have something special… Look, let me take you out somewhere, do you like surfing?" she looked at him pained; secretly he held his wand behind his back and locked the door.

"Karl, for a start I don't know how to surf –"

"I could teach you!"

"– No! And I'm with someone else."

"Who?" he prodded her,

"You wouldn't know him,"

"Try me,"

"OK, Severus Snape. You don't have to look that shocked, so he is my teacher and so he is old enough to be my father, but still…" she looked at him curiously,

"Severus Snape…" he stuttered, "Severus Snape? OK, get out of here, bye, sorry about that all." And he ran back into the office.

Hermione stared after him open-mouthed; she didn't think she'd ever seen that reaction before. She walked to the door and pulled on the handle. On the other side of the door she heard footsteps and the doorknob was shaken.

"Hermione!" she heard Ron's voice, "are you in there?"

"Yes I'm here, sorry, I'd forgotten my bag. The doorknob seems to be stuck,"

"Or it's locked…" Harry said simply,

"Yes, that's a better way of describing it," Hermione sighed; she got her wand out and recited, "Alohomora," the door remained locked. "Um, Alohomora doesn't work."

"Ah," she heard from behind the door. "Is there anyone inside to help?"

"I'll go and see," she knocked on the office door, Karl opened it cautiously.

"What are you doing here? I told you to go."

"The door won't open,"

"Well, you'll just have to jump out the window then," he waved his hand toward the window,

"Karl, we're underground."

"Yeah, well." He sighed and waved his wand at the door, "automatic system," he said and walked away.

"Goodbye Karl, I'm sorry." She opened the door to find Harry and Ron slumped against the wall. "Automatic locking system apparently."

"Oh," Harry stood up, "Hermione, me and Ron have been thinking; do you think we could come round to your flat? See Spiritus?"

"Oh," Hermione looked at them both, but their faces seemed genuine, "I don't see why not, it might be could for you to meet him. Shall we go back now? You could stay for dinner; Severus isn't too bad a cook."

"You mean Snape can cook?" Ron spluttered,

"Well it's the same process as potion brewing isn't it? You just put a whole load of ingredients in a bowl and heat it." She said,

"Just as long as the food isn't like a broth or anything," Ron said warily,

"No, it's fine. Come on we could Apparate there." She told them the address and there were three loud cracks, and few seconds later they appeared at the bottom on the steps to the flat.

"It's a bit dark," muttered Ron as he looked through the door at the top of the stairs.

"Severus! I'm back! I brought Harry and Ron for dinner." There was a loud crash and some scuttling around, and then he emerged from the sitting room brushing his robes out.

"Hello, how was it? I thought you were supposed to finish at six,"

"We did finish at six, we just got back quickly." She brandished her certificate and license, "see, I got it first time."

Harry, Ron and Severus all rolled their eyes at her, but seeing each other doing it, quickly stopped. Ron had to have two attempts at the test, and Harry had been very wobbly in his, only just scraping through.

"What was all that noise?" she asked,

"Oh nothing, just a bit of work…" he turned to Harry and Ron, "So Potter, Weasley, I have to feed you as well do I? I better go and start making dinner then,"

"How was Spiritus? You remembered to feed him –"

"Hermione, he's fine, don't worry. He's lying in his cot; I don't think he's asleep yet." Severus went into the kitchen; Hermione took Harry and Ron into the bedroom.

"So, this is Professor Snape's bedroom…" Ron looked up at the starred ceiling,

"That was me," said Hermione, seeing his gaze. "That's strange, I thought I'd made the bed this morning…" she quickly tidied the bed up, then she bent over the cot and brought Spiritus up, he was gurgling to himself quietly. She stroked his forehead and gently passed him to Harry, showing him to keep the head up. Harry, who had never had any experience of babies before, looked shocked.

He looked down at Spiritus, a tiny little life in his hands, which was half his best friend and half his malicious Potions master; it was a strange experience. Hermione tickled his bare foot, which he jerked out. She giggled at him, and sat down on the bed smiling at Harry and Ron carefully passing him from one to the other looking slightly worried.

"He's so small," whispered Harry.

"You don't have to whisper Harry," she laughed; Spiritus turned his head hearing his mother's voice. Ron gave him back to her, and she held him in her arms rocking him gently to sleep. Harry and Ron stared at her silently. When he was asleep she put him back in his crib and took them into the sitting room.

"So," she said, "what do you think of him?"

"It's kind of weird," said Ron,

"Yeah," said Harry, "kind of weird."

"I agree," Hermione sighed, "very weird."

Severus's face appeared in the doorway, "Should I save some for you or just eat it all?"

"Severus, please," she got up and poked him on the shoulder, he scowled. "They're my friends," she muttered.

They went into the dining room and ate Severus's oddly delicious lamb chops. No-one said much over dinner; they tried to make polite conversation but couldn't really keep it up. At the end Hermione and Severus cleared up, whilst Harry and Ron went back to the sitting room.

"Severus," she said, "When I was doing my test, I told the man, that I was with you. And he went really weird; he wouldn't speak to me, and told me to go away."

"Why did you say you were with me?"

"I don't know; we were just talking…" she looked at him, "What have you done to make him react like that?"

"Nothing as far as I know… Have you cleaned that plate?" he turned his back on her.

"Please Severus; I want us to be open with each other."

"And you've been completely open with me have you? Told be everything you've done?" he span around.

"Alright! Fine! I better go and entertain our guests, seeing as you're being absolutely beastly to them." She stormed out of the room, her eyes filling with tears. He couldn't know about Karl could he? Or did he just not trust her anyway?

A/N: very boring chapter I thought, my brain really needs to improve on its plot skills. Seriously, I just let my fingers write spontaneously and then read I it through, it not the best technique, but my subconscious self must be really strange ;)