Chapter 2 – Ten Minutes Can Be An Eternity
The preceding week careened by, leaving Hermione felling unprepared. Well, perhaps terrified is a better word for it, she thought. She was packed. She had reduced her bags and distributed them into the pockets of her robes. Crookshanks was in his basket and her apartment key was on the kitchen counter. She glanced at her watch. It was 7:50am and there was nothing for it. She could delay this no longer. Taking a deep, steadying breath, she checked her things one more time and Apparated.
When the wind stopped whipping her ears, she felt the warm sun on her face and a gentle breeze in her hair. It was so peaceful. She reluctantly opened her eyes. The gates of Hogwarts rose up before her, heavy and menacing. A few waves of her wand and the gates opened to admit her. The walk to the castle was tranquil. The only weight she carried was Crookshanks. However at the back of her mind, hovering just below her willful thoughts, were the memories. Dumbledore, Neville, Charlie, Sirius, Cedric; the ghosts of a life since finished. Then there were Harry and Ron, who were probably off in Romania chasing Vampires or the like, living their new life. Living their Hogwarts-free life. Living their Snape-free life. Lucky bastards, she muttered to herself.
She had written them about her circumstances. Ron thought it was terribly funny. He suggested she fail as quickly as possible so that she could move on to the next placement. Sound advice it definitely was not. Harry showed a bit more empathy. He said that she would do much better than she anticipated, that she could do this with her eyes hexed shut and to remember something Dumbledore had told him. Sometimes we must choose between what is right and what is easy. Wise words and they comforted Hermione to no end. This was not only because Dumbledore had spoken them, it was also because they were true. This wasn't easy, but it was right. Moreover, Harry was right. She could do this. She had her confidence screwed up to the limit. Pulling herself from her thoughts, she looked up to the nearing castle feeling poised and prepared. That was until she saw Snape.
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It was silver, fine polished silver. The front had a relief of two serpentine initials, S.S. The fluid movement of the gears whizzed melodically as the second hand skipped merrily along. Crisp roman numerals loomed in bold black against the aged ivory face. One delicate hand pointed to VII while the other longer hand pointed to XX. It was 7:50am and his new apprentice had yet to arrive.
Snape shut his pocket watch with a sudden snap. He was standing at the top of the steps leading to the entrance hall of Hogwarts awaiting the arrival of his new apprentice. Surely one more idiot they couldn't place elsewhere, he thought to himself. He wondered what follies he was in for this time. It had been two years since his last apprentice. That one lasted 3 weeks. This one probably wouldn't last much longer. He did not know her name, but he knew enough about her. She was top in her class at Greybring, his old alma mater. She held a Masters in Transfiguration, not that that impressed him in the least. She would need more than the ability to change a croissant into a poodle to get his appreciation.
A very faint pop alerted him to the appearance of a person at the castle gate. He watched the gates swing open. At least she remembered the passwords, he thought. Again, his mind wandered to why they had not included her name with her transcript. Perhaps he knew her. No, whom did he know that would have shown that kind of aptitude in potions. A few names came to mind. He could unceremoniously tick all of the names but one off the list as stupid, slow, or unworthy. The one who remained was Miss Granger. She would have made an adequate Potions Mistress, but she would never have been assigned to him since he had been her teacher, nor would he ever have accepted the placement.
Abandoning this line of thought, he looked up to see the traveler nearing the castle. He could just see her outline against the reflection of the bright morning sun off the lake. She didn't look tall but she looked thin. He knew that form, that walk, but from where? She was approaching the shadow of the castle. Now he would be able to put a face to the inconvenience. He had his speech prepared and was impatient to get this introduction over. Just as the new arrival was about to step into the expansive shadow of the castle, Snape thought of how easy this was going to be, a couple of well-placed insults and snide remarks and she would be fleeing his classroom in tears. This could even be fun, he supposed. That was until he saw Miss Granger.
