Upon entering the dining room, Mrs. Granger ushered Professor Snape into a chair at the table. She bustled about the table putting food onto four plates. Mrs. Granger sat down next to her husband and set a plate for Hermione next to Snape.
"So, Professor Snape," Mr. Granger said slowly, carefully observing the potions master. "What do you think of my little Hermione?"
"Stephen," Mrs. Granger admonished with a smile. "Hermione is eighteen. She's hardly little anymore. Actually she said something about her age being different in the wizarding world, but I don't understand why."
"Her use of a time turner caused her to age faster than her peers," Snape explained. "She was going back in time every day to take extra classes and all that extra time adds up. She's twenty years old in our world."
"Twenty?" Mrs. Granger asked in surprise. "She didn't tell us that her age was that different. No wonder she seemed to grow up so fast. She became an adult without us noticing it."
"Yes," Mr. Granger said quietly, still watching Snape.
Hermione entered the dining room smiling, having changed back into her jeans and sweater. Her smile faltered slightly when she noticed where her mother had placed her plate. "Next to Snape," she thought. "It bloody figures." Hermione drew a deep breath and walked to her seat. She sat down without looking at her professor.
"Mum and Dad, thank you so much for the dress robes," Hermione said with a bright smile. "They're beautiful."
"Of course darling," her mother replied. "Just make sure that you get pictures when... Well whenever the opportunity for you to wear them arises." She looked over at Professor Snape. "Do make sure that she doesn't forget to take pictures. Would you like me to send a camera?"
"That won't be necessary Mrs. Granger," Snape replied stiffly. "I believe we can manage your request in a satisfactory manner." Mrs. Granger beamed at him.
"You still haven't answered my question," Mr. Granger interjected, still watching Snape suspiciously.
"My apologies," came Snape's sleek reply. "What question would that be?"
"I asked what you thought of my little Hermione," Mr. Granger said with narrowed eyes.
Hermoine's face grew pale. She looked over at Professor Snape nervously. Would he really tell her parents that he saw her as nothing more than an irritating, know-it-all Gryffindor brat? Snape looked back at her momentarily before turning his gaze back to her father. "Miss Granger is one of the brightest students Hogwarts has ever seen," Snape said calmly, causing Hermione's mouth to drop open slightly in surprise. She quickly closed her mouth and tried to look flattered rather than stunned.
Snape continued, ignoring Hermione's shock. "Miss Granger has shown herself to be quite capable in all of her classes. That is of course with the exception of Divination, but I don't see how anyone could excel in that class with Trelawney predicting death and destruction to anyone with a pulse." He shook his head as if the thought of Professor Trelawney annoyed him to no end.
"What of your class?" Mr. Granger said, raising a questioning eyebrow.
Snape arched an eyebrow in return with an irritated smirk on his face. "Miss Granger is the only apprentice I have ever taken," he replied as if that ended the discussion.
"Really?" Mrs. Granger asked excitedly. "I should have known you'd be great, Hermione."
"Well, Professor Dumbledore sort of forced it on him, Mum," Hermione said, fearing an explosive reaction from Snape. She glanced quickly at the Professor who was managing to look completely calm.
"Academics aside," Mr. Granger persisted never taking his eyes off of Professor Snape. "What do you think of my daughter personally?"
"Dad!" Hermione exclaimed. She wondered briefly if anyone would notice if she just hid under the table.
"Stephen!" Mrs. Granger admonished. "Honestly! Why are you asking this poor man such ridiculous questions?"
"She's my daughter," Mr. Granger said to his wife. "I have the right to ask."
"Sure, you have the right. But, I don't think you have any sense left in your head," Mrs. Granger retorted furiously. "You will not ruin this dinner. Professor Snape was kind enough to bring her home for Christmas Eve. Hermione says he's an excellent teacher and she's his apprentice. Don't make things difficult. Hermione is an adult now. A young adult, but an adult all the same. Hermione dear, if you sink down any lower in the chair, you'll be having dinner on the floor."
Hermione blushed and sat up in her chair glancing nervously between her father and Professor Snape. Her father was looking suspiciously in Snape's direction, obviously not trusting the potions professor. Snape was shifting in his seat looking quite uncomfortable. She saw him glance in her direction a few times when her father's attention was elsewhere. Everyone finished eating in silence.
Mr. Granger excused himself from the table mumbling something about doing some paperwork. Mrs. Granger watched him leave with a slight frown on her face. Hermione cleared her throat and looked at her mother. "We should probably go, Mum," she said quietly.
"I know dear," Mrs. Granger said. She looked over at Snape. "Professor Snape, I apologize for my husband's behavior. I don't know what's gotten into him. He's very protective of Hermione."
"I understand," Snape said, although he looked as if he didn't think that it was a very good excuse for an interrogation. He rose from his seat and looked over at Hermione as she stood up, with what he hoped was a look of disinterest. He didn't want to answer any more questions from these people.
"Professor Snape, I wonder if you might go and retrieve Hermione's gift from the living room," Mrs. Granger said. "I'd like to have a quick word with her before you leave."
"Of course," Snape replied smoothly, turning and leaving the room.
Hermione looked at her mother curiously. She smiled as her mother pulled her into a hug. "Your dad just worries about you," Mrs. Granger said gently. "I must admit, Professor Snape does seem to have some sort of interest in you. He finds you attractive at least." At Hermione's startled look, she said "I saw the look on his face when you came in wearing those dress robes. He is still a man, after all. Unfortunately, your father also noticed and he didn't take it so well. I can't say that I'm not worried, but you're not a child any more, and you're smart enough to handle things on your own." She kissed Hermione's forehead affectionately.
Professor Snape returned to the dining room hesitantly, not wishing to disrupt the conversation. "Come on in, Professor Snape," Mrs. Granger said to him kindly. "You poor man. Stephen was such a tyrant to you. Don't worry, you will get no such harassment from me." This statement awarded her with a small, lopsided smile from Professor Snape, which surprised Hermione.
"Thank you for dinner Mrs. Granger," Snape said stiffly. He walked out the back door in a swirl of long black robes holding the box containing Hermione's dress robes. Hermione grinned and kissed her mother before following Professor Snape.
Snape walked back to the garden and looked around to be sure they wouldn't be noticed. He stopped and waited for Hermione to stand next to him. She stopped in front of him and looked up at his face apprehensively. "Close your eyes and picture the sitting room at headquarters in your head," he said in his velvety voice before reaching over and putting his free hand on her shoulder. Hermione did as she was told, and after hearing the familiar popping sound she found herself back at Grimmauld Place.
Snape quickly handed her the box and they stepped out of the room. At least, they attempted to. They were suddenly jerked back into the doorway violently. Snape's eyes widened and jerked up to see the charmed mistletoe still stubbornly sitting at the top of the door frame. "That was supposed to be gone by now," Snape growled in frustration.
"Ah, you've returned," Dumbledore said in greeting before seeing where Snape was looking. The headmaster saw the mistletoe and he grinned. "I asked Minerva to remove that before you returned. I see that it must have slipped her mind, and I didn't think it'd be necessary to check myself." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with glee. "Well, you know what to do," he said with a smile before turning and leaving.
Hermione would have laughed if it weren't for the look of discomfort on Snape's face. "When I find out who charmed the damn mistletoe..." he growled.
"It was Fred," Hermione said with a smirk. "But, you can't really say anything to them without admitting what happened. There's no way to know that the mistletoe is charmed unless someone gets caught under it. They'd want to know who was stuck together," she said reasonably.
"Fine," he snapped in frustration. "But, I'll have my revenge. Mark my words."
"I have no doubt about that," Hermione said smiling. She became nervous again when she remembered that she was still stuck with Snape under the mistletoe. She looked up at the professor to see him looking back at her, looking uncomfortable again.
Slowly, he lowered his face to hers, slightly surprised that she didn't cringe. Snape's eyes closed as he pressed his lips against Hermione's enjoying the way she felt against him. His hand came up to brush against her curly hair as he inched a little closer to her. Hermione sighed involuntarily against his lips, bringing him back to reality. He pulled away reluctantly and turned to walk away from her. He turned back for a moment and promptly shot a spell at the offending plant, blasting it unmercifully from the door frame. With a smirk of satisfaction he walked away. He had only taken a few steps before he nearly walked right into Ginny.
"Welcome back Professor Snape," Ginny said with an impish grin. Her smile only widened when he sneered at her. "Oh Hermione," Ginny called in a sing-song voice when Snape was out of ear-shot. "I need to speak with you."
Hermione stopped on her way up the stairs and turned to look at her friend. "I saw that missy," Ginny said with an evil smirk enjoying Hermione's look of panic. "I heard you apparate in. I saw Dumbledore leaving when he saw you two were stuck again. I think he wanted to stay and watch, but when he saw me, he just winked at me and left. I think he really missed out. That was quite a lip lock."
Hermione groaned. "Let's go upstairs," she said softly glancing around cautiously. When the two girls got up to their room, Hermione sighed and sat heavily on her bed. She set the box she was holding on the floor.
"How did it go with your parents?" Ginny asked curiously.
"I suppose it could have been worse," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "My parents ordered beautiful dress robes for me, with Dumbledore's help. Of course, my mother wanted me to try them on, which I did. Unfortunately, my dad decided that he didn't like Snape's reaction. Apparently, Snape liked what he saw and didn't do such a great job hiding that fact. My dad asked Snape a bunch of questions during dinner about what he thought of me, academically and otherwise. I was so embarrassed. But, mum came to the rescue and made my dad stop talking."
Ginny laughed and shook her head. "I would have loved to see all that," she said. "And I think your dad was right to worry. That was some kiss. You have all the luck Hermione."
"Ginny!" Hermione said in exasperation. "I keep getting stuck to the man. Twice with the mistletoe and twice with the temporary sticking charm. And, speaking of that charm, I'm going to do some research and figure out how to take get rid of it without waiting for it to wear off."
"Oh, that won't be necessary," Ginny said casually. "I figured that out while you were gone." At Hermione's look of astonishment Ginny continued. "I was bored while you were away and I agreed to help the boys with some pranks. I went into Snape's room to see if he had any helpful books. While I was in there, I found the books you two were reading still on the floor. I knew which one Snape was reading because Dumbledore walked in and gave me a little hint, the crafty old man. Snape's book was on different types of charms, so I flipped through it. I went to the beginning to see what he'd already read, and guess which charm was there."
Hermione folded her arms over her chest wondering when Ginny was going to get to the point. "It was the temporary sticking charm," Ginny said smug grin. "To end the spell, all you have to do is cast the banishing charm on each other. It balances with the sticking charm to prevent you from being thrown, but it would undo the charm."
"It makes sense," Hermione said thoughtfully.
"You're missing the point," Ginny said impatiently. "The point is, Snape already knew how to get rid of the sticking charm, and he chose to leave it."
