Chapter Three: Settling In

Hermione blinked rapidly. She was still standing in the Headmaster's office, but the Headmaster was decidedly younger.

"Welcome to 1977, Miss Granger. I am glad to see that you have arrived safely. If you would be so kind to have a seat, I shall get your things sent along to you." With that, Dumbledore pulled his pensieve out of a small closet and performed the familiar spells. A long silvery strand poured forth from his temple and settled into the bowl.

A few moments later, her trunks appeared in the Headmaster's office. 'Clever,' thought Hermione. 'He used the pensieve to show that I had arrived. I would now be a memory to the Headmaster in my time.'

Dumbledore broke her out of her silent reverie. "I will have the house elves take your belongings to the Head Girl's room. Consequently, you will be directly across from the Head Boy's room, and you will share a bathroom. It is up to you two to create a bathing schedule that is, at least, satisfactory to you both. You will be introduced to the Head Boy at dinner this evening. Until then, I suggest you take this time to settle in to your new room."

Hermione looked confused. "Dumbledore, sir, isn't Severus the Head Boy? I thought that was why I was made Head Girl, so that I would have this week to get to know him, uninterrupted by studies, students, and other duties that I will have."

"You are indeed correct, Miss Granger. I underestimated you, even though I have told myself all about you. I will not do so again," he replied. "I do believe, however, you will want to get settled in before dinner? The password you will need is 'temet nosce'— you and Severus can change the password to something of your liking later on."

Hermione nodded, and left the Headmaster's office. She easily navigated the halls, gave the password, and stood outside the door to her room. She heard music coming in from across the hall, and knew that Severus had arrived to the rooms before her. Much to her surprise, her trunks had arrived before her as well.

She set to unpacking her items as well as making a few changes in the room. She had long ago learned the enchantment that made the ceiling of the Great Hall resemble the sky, and performed it on the ceiling in her chambers. She lovingly laid out the Gryffindor blanket that Harry had given to her as a Christmas present last year across the top of her bed. She thought about hanging up the pictures she had of her friends, but decided it might cause too much conflict if anyone were to see them. She hid them at the bottom of her trunk – a place she knew they would be safe and available should she want to see them.

By the time she had finished unpacking, it was time to head to the Great Hall for dinner. She idly wondered what the seating arrangements would be. As she opened the doors to the Great Hall, she noticed that the four house tables that generally graced the floor were absent, and in their place was a single table with enough places to accommodate all those that were in the castle at present time.

Dumbledore noticed her the moment she walked in the door, and directed her to take a seat next to young Severus Snape. She sat down, and began to eat in earnest. She had not eaten all day and was ravenous as a result. She did not feel disrespectful, however, as Severus had taken one look at her school robes and immediately dismissed her as just another Gryffindor to be dealt with.

They made it through the main course without saying a word to each other, but as dessert arrived, Dumbledore made it a point to try to start a conversation between the two. "Have you two introduced yourselves yet? You will be working together a lot for the next few months, and you might like to know a bit about each other before embarking upon the school year."

Grudgingly, Severus turned to her and with a considerable note of disdain in his voice he said, "I am Severus Snape. Being a Gryffindor, you probably know that by now, as I am usually the butt of whatever joke your resident pranksters happened to have dreamt up. You, I do not recognize, but then again, I generally do not take note of those that are beneath me."

Hermione glared at him. "You wouldn't know me because I have not attended this school Severus," she said, putting heavy emphasis on his given name. "Since you do not know me, then you can hardly consider yourself above me."

Severus pointed at her school robes and sneered, "You are marked as my inferior because you wear that Gryffindor patch. You lot pride yourselves on being loyal, but you are a bunch of conniving cowards who want nothing more than to step on others to bring more power to yourselves. You are a prime example of this, you have never attended this school, yet here you are as Head Girl? Did you take pleasure in stealing that position from someone who actually deserved it?"

Hermione pushed herself violently back from the table and stood up. She was shaking, not from being upset, but from the sheer rage coursing through her body. "How dare you presume something that foul about me when you don't even know my name," she spat at him. She left the Great Hall, and managed to slam the doors behind her.

She ran up the stairs to her room, where she laid on her bed and wept. She wept not for herself, but for Severus. What had caused him to become so cruel at such a young age? She had always heard tales of the Marauders, but now that she looked back upon it, it was always from a biased point of view. She knew she had to change Severus' mind about Gryffindors, or at least, her before she could do anything else. She began planning what she would do the next day.

Severus sat and finished his dinner calmly, as though nothing had happened. To him, her actions were caused by the truth in his statement, not by its falseness – Severus could not see it any other way.

The faculty looked at him in shock. They knew he had something of a nasty temperament, but it was never this evident. Dumbledore looked at him and whispered, "I think you should apologize to her Severus, and I think you should get to know her better before you pass any sort of judgment on her. She has led a hard life, and it is very hard for her to be here now."

Severus nodded, but he had convinced himself that listening to another Gryffindor spew lies was not worth the cost. He would be cordial and accommodating, but nothing more. He had been through enough pain caused by that group for a lifetime.