Disclaimer: See chapter 1
A.N. This chapter is currently unbeta'd
Chapter 13: The Fallout Part A
A tabby cat was curled up on the ottoman, soaking in the warm heat radiating from the fireplace in a Scottish tartan furnished office. Startled awake from the loud crackling of the fireplace, the tabby cat bounced off the ottoman just as the fire turned green and Ginny Weasley came shooting out of the fireplace. Giving a loud disapproving screech at her nap being interrupted, the tabby cat vanished from the sight only to be replaced by a stern looking Minerva McGonagall sitting in her chair overlooking her desk.
A weary looking Ginny sits down in the comfortable chair positioned in view of the desk. Ginny rubs her forehead in an attempt to forestall the headache that has been slowly creeping in reaction to the emotional turmoil of the day.
Minerva in her quiet Scottish brogue voice, snaps Ginny out of the trance she has apparently fallen in since her arrival. "Miss Weasley, what brings you to my office at this hour?"
With slumped shoulders, Ginny begins her tale of what has happened. "Headmaster Dumbledore told me to come here right away and inform you of what has happened at the burrow. It is not good news. I am at a loss in how to explain this, I do not know how to put it in words but I will try my best. My brother lashed out in anger after being rejected by Hermione when he asked her to be his girlfriend. He tried to come on toward her and Hermione felt threatened. Hermione was forced to defend herself and she did that by using a muggle weapon. My brother thought Hermione was trying to kill him but in reality she wasn't, she was trying to make him leave her alone. Ron took it the wrong way, and my mother rushed outside when she heard the sound of Hermione using her muggle weapon. I followed, and Ron started screaming on about Hermione trying to kill him. My mother naturally overreacted and blew things out of proportion. Headmaster Dumbledore was summoned along with Harry and Professor Snape to the burrow by a letter my mother sent, where they came onto the scene of my mother dueling with Hermione. I have never seen Professor Dumbledore so furious, he accioed all of our wands and ordered us all into the kitchen of the burrow and ordered me to come here. That is all I know, the last thing I saw before I came here was Professor Dumbledore about to talk."
Minerva was briefly stunned but quickly hid it before Ginny saw her facial expression. "Oh Dear, Miss Weasley. This is an unexpected turn of events, I daresay you are not up to the idea of returning to the Burrow tonight. I will have the house elves set up a temporary chamber for you to sleep in tonight and you can return home tomorrow. I will be having a discussion with Headmaster Dumbledore about what occurred tonight and afterwards. I am assuming that Hermione has arrived or will arrive tonight because I suspect that your mother would no longer want Ms. Granger in her house."
Ginny gives a strained smile and a nod in agreement with Professor McGonagall's idea. Minerva claps her hands and Dobby appears. "Professor McGonagall, Dobby is here to serve you ma'am."
"Dobby, will you show Miss Weasley to my temporary guest quarters and get her settled in tonight." Dobby quickly nods, his batlike ears flopping with the motion.
Ginny rises from her chair and follows the bouncing House-elf out of Minerva's office. Minerva leans back in her chair and takes off her glasses and lets off a weary sigh.
Meanwhile while Minerva McGonagall is mulling over the events that have occurred, sipping her Earl Grey tea and watching the flames dance in the fireplace. An unseen door where there used to be a section of the wall in the office of Severus Snape Potions Master, suddenly bangs open and Severus comes storming through with a bushy haired woman running behind him.
Severus snarls "Miss Granger . . . SIT!" pointing to an uncomfortable looking wooden chair right by his desk and rubbing his forehead, he paced the floor of his office as Hermione quickly complies with his order.
Towering over the future head girl and wandlessly disarming Hermione of her two precious weapons with a simple wave of his hand. Hermione lets out a startled gasp when she felt the brush of wandless magic sweep over her body. Hermione quickly brings her hand to where the gun holster is and realizes that her gun nor her wand is no longer where it was. Hermione lets out a growl, expressing her displeasure at being disarmed without permission. Hearing a snort from somewhere in the room, Hermione's head shoots up and she gives a defiant glare to where the source of the snort came from in the room.
"Professor Snape, may I have my gun and wand back. You had no right to disarm me without my consent!" Growled Hermione, clearly frustrated with the hostile & rude treatment she was receiving from the Potions Master.
Swooping from an unseen spot in the office like a bat, Snape brings his face closer to Hermione, pinning her with a fierce glare and said in a very low bone chilling silky voice.
"Miss Granger, you are my apprentice and I will not allow you to be armed in my presence without my consent! Look..you little know-it-all, this is war . . . and we are at a crossroad right now which may change the course of the war for good or bad. I suggest you stop acting like a silly girl, throwing a tantrum like a two year old who just had her favorite toy taken away. Your actions tonight were the most idiotic thing I have ever seen you do...I thought Potter was the stupidest one in your little group but your actions have proven me wrong tonight. Your temper is explosive and I will not allow you to be armed with that gun in my presence unless you can prove me that you can control that temper of yours. You will be punished when the school year starts with a month detention for assaulting a teacher. If you pull a stunt like that ever again on me like tonight, there will be very dire consequences . . . I am not a nice man. Remember that, Miss Granger. I have deposited your wand and gun in your new chambers and spelled the gun to immediately vanish back to your chambers if you enter my lab carrying that weapon. I suggest you get out of my sight now and ask that wretched house elf Dobby to take you to your new chambers."
"Yes, Professor Snape, I will remove myself from your sight because my mere presence just irritates you!" Hermione tersely said as she stood up from the wooden chair.
"MISS GRANGER! I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOR FROM MY APPRENTICE!" Roared, Professor Snape feeling the swirl of his magic calling on the dark side.
Now frightened, Hermione quickly scrambles out of his office into the halls of the dungeons, she has never seen Professor Snape that angry before. Oh no, what have I done now? Now Professor Snape is upset at me. Bloody great, Hermione . . . you let your own temper get the best of you. I doubt that he would want to continue the apprenticeship . . . maybe I can convince Headmaster Dumbledore to let me take an apprenticeship with Professor McGonagall because it seems unlikely that Professor Snape will want to work with me after I made him explode at me. Shaking herself from her mental musing, she realizes that her footsteps have led from the dreary halls of the dungeons to the picture of the Fat Lady which opens the doors into Gryffindor Tower. Looking at the picture, Hermione calls out for the Fat Lady but she does not make an appearance when her name is called. Hermione lets out a depressed sigh.
"Dobby?" Hermione quietly calls out and there is a small pop and Dobby runs to Hermione and gives her a big hug on her right leg.
"Harry Potter's best friend! I is glad to see you! I am at your service." Hermione gives Dobby a sad smile and asks in a solemn voice "Dobby, Professor Snape told me to ask you to take me to my new chambers."
Gleefully accepting the task, Dobby quickly nods, his batlike ears flopping with the motion. Giving Hermione a toothy grin, he tugs on her trouser to pull her along with him. Arriving at the door where a Griffin stands blocking the passage into her rooms, Hermione is startled by the appearance of Headmaster Dumbledore leaning on the wall next to the Griffin. Feeling a tug at her trouser, Hermione looks down and Dobby gives her a smile "Missis, it is where I now leave you, the headmaster will take over now." Dobby bowed one last time before disappearing with a small pop.
"Hello, Miss Granger. I daresay that you are tired and ready to go to bed? The password for the entrance to your chambers is Nimitz, you can always change the password if you like." With the word Nimitz mentioned, the Griffin gave out a loud growl and stretched its limbs before moving aside revealing a dark hallway with a solid medieval oak door at the end. Dumbledore entered the hallway and the torches hidden by the darkness of the hallway suddenly flickered to life. Hermione followed Albus into the hallway and she turned around and there was no longer an exit...just simply a see through wall with the griffin standing guard. Seeing the door to her chambers open, Hermione walked in.
Walking into the chambers, she saw a sparsely furnished living room/study room in the deep red color of Gryffindor with a fireplace in the center wall. To the right to the door into her chambers, there was another open door obviously leading into a small library/office. Hermione's jaw dropped at how many books lined the shelves around the room. Hermione jumped when she heard the quiet voice of Albus Dumbledore behind her.
"I assume that the apprentice chamber meets your standards?"
"Oh yes! How could I thank you Headmaster? All this...it's so wonderful. I can imagine spending most of my time in this room."
Chuckling at the childlike eagerness that Hermione was displaying, "Ms. Granger, the other door you saw at the end of your living room is the door that leads directly to your bedroom. You also have your own personal master bathroom and the entrance is in your bedroom. You are free to change the design of your room to your own tasting. This room used to belong to Professor McGonagall when she was my apprentice back in the days before she became a teacher. That explains why most of the chambers is decorated in Gryffindor/Scottish tartan colors. Well, I suggest that we both return to the living room because I have something important to discuss with you."
Hearing that last sentence, Hermione's face became grim, dreading what the Headmaster had to say. Dumbledore saw Hermione's back stiffen slightly and a barely discernable nod of her head when he made the last comment. Resigning himself to a long night, Dumbledore walked over to one of the big overstuffed chairs and sat down. With a wave of his hand, he conjured up a tea tray completed with a steaming plate of biscuits onto the coffee table by the couch near the fireplace. Hermione followed his steps and sat down demurely on the couch and took a cup of steaming saffron tea along with a biscuit. Both of them sat and sipped their tea enjoying the first brief quiet since the turmoil-filled evening had begun. Setting down his tea with a quiet 'click' on the table, Dumbledore interceded his fingers together and rested them on his chin. Hearing the 'click' of the teacup, Hermione looks over to Dumbledore and quietly asks
"Headmaster..What will happen now? I know that things will never be the same again after what happened tonight."
Taking a deep breath, Albus began "Ms. Granger, I have to admit that I truly do not know. I may appear to be omnipotent, but I do not know everything. I cannot predict the future, all I can predict is by the facts and evidence that has been presented to me. The castle has ears and eyes, and that is how I appear to know what is going on at Hogwarts. I had a very serious discussion with Mr. Potter and the Weasleys tonight. Their actions tonight were inexcusable, I am deeply ashamed for them. I regret allowing Mr. Potter too much freedom thus leading you and Mr. Weasley into danger one time too many. It is a mistake of an old man. I had high hopes for you three, but I am certain that fate has other plans for us. I truly apologize to you for causing a such a upheaval in your life. I am sure that you did not expect your summer plans to be thrown in disarray and your whole world destroyed in a matter of a week. I truly regret seeing what the wizard world has come to...all of our hopes pinned on a boy that I am not even sure has the ability to handle the pressure and the burden of defeating Voldermort. I know that you had a bit of a row with Professor Snape before you came here. Do not worry, Professor Snape's bark is worse than his bite. He has had a very hard life, do not begrudge him nor judge him by his actions. He is just simply a misunderstood man, just give him time...he will eventually get to know you and accept you as his intellectual equal. Always remember that because knowing Severus, he will try to make your apprenticeship as difficult as possible. Do not judge a book by its cover. If you have any more question or concerns, the door to my office is always open. Have a good evening, Ms Granger because this old man is ready to turn in for the night. I would like a cup of hot chocolate from the kitchen before I go to bed for the night." With a smile, Albus rises from the chair and gives Hermione a grandfatherly hug before leaving her chambers.
Rising from the chair, Hermione stumbles into her bedroom exhausted from all the turmoil she has been through in the last few hours. Seeing her trunk at her bed and Crookshanks perched on the top of her pillows. Hermione spots her wand and gun lying on the night stand by her bed, giving them a final glance, she makes the decision not to sleep armed because she feels secure enough in her chambers. Changing into her summer sleep wear which is a white wife beater tank top with the words "Mess with me, You'll get the business end of my fist" written across the front in bold letters given to her by a cousin as a gag-gift for her birthday last year and a flannel girls boxer shorts. Hermione crawls into her bed and gives her bedroom one last glance, wrinkling her nose in distaste at the blatant display of Gryffindor colors. The last thought that runs through her mind before she slips into the land of dreams..First thing tomorrow on my list is changing this room...too much red for my own taste 'shudders' I prefer subtle and dark colors.
Back in the dungeons, Severus is sitting in his favorite chair by the fireplace brooding, holding a bottle of fire whiskey in his left hand. Stupid Gryffindor chit, thinks she has the right to try to be defiant toward me. I am a death eater, she truly does not know what lies in wait. The dark side never truly leaves the person. It just simply sits in the back of the mind waiting to pounce on any opportunity to reassert itself. I have never felt the dark side rise back up like it did tonight, it felt like it was calling on the dark it sense in Ms. Granger. Merlin, I hope I can prevent her from being seduced by the dark side...I have no desire to return to the days where I was ruled by the dark. It is depravity at its worst, the more powerful a witch/wizard is, they are more susceptible to the lure of the dark side. I am proof of that...I am not sure about the Potter boy, Merlin may have mercy on the wizard world if that boy goes dark. I do not want another Bellatrix Lestrange minus the madness...one is enough. Deep in his musing, Severus does not notice the flames turn green and Albus shoots out of the fireplace. Startled by the appearance of the Headmaster, Severus drops his fire whiskey on the floor, luckily it does not shatter because of the unbreakable charm on the decanter but the fire whiskey seeps out of the top onto the floor.
"Bloody Hell! Albus! Why could you have not given me at least a warning? Also what is this monstrosity you are wearing?" Snarled Severus, taking in the appearance of Albus' new pyjamas. Albus' pyjamas were a long night shirt in deep purple with a reflection of the night sky and mini fireworks exploding all over it completed with a tomcat sitting on the fence on the hem of it meowing to the beat of the Hogwarts song. Also, fluffy bunny ears slippers were peeking out from underneath the night shirt. Waving off Severus' comments, Albus sits on the couch.
"My boy, I like these pyjamas and I bought it on holiday in America in Salem." Albus said with a twinkle in his eyes.
Muttering under his breath "Albus has truly lost his marbles or he has let all those lemon drops that he consumes go to his head. I would not even be caught dead in those pyjamas. I would rather go starkers." Severus shifts to a more comfortable position in his chair and looks at Albus.
Albus smiles, and takes in Severus' disheveled appearance. Severus has done away with the frock coat, his white silk long sleeves shirt is halfway unbuttoned, removed the belt from his pants and he has taken off his dragon hide boots leaving his feet bare. Hmm, I think that Ms Granger has gotten even deeper under his skin than he would admit. I have never seen Severus this disheveled or agitated since that night Lily and James were killed. Clearing his throat, Albus quietly said "Ms Granger and you had a row earlier this evening. I know it is a very stressful situation for both of you but I strongly advise that you walk a fine line because Ms. Granger is a wounded lioness right now. She is more likely to retreat even further into herself or lash out if you keep lashing out like you did earlier. I know that you do not have the ability to treat others with kid gloves but I know that you have a gentle side that you have never shown others. The only other person that has seen that side of you is Lily. Hermione needs to know that she has someone on her side that she can rely on for support and guidance. I know that you know the danger and lure of the dark better than anyone because you have gone through it and returned to the light. I want you to do whatever it takes to keep her on this side. Is this clear? I do not want any more rows like tonight. You will occasionally have a row with her but not when she is in a emotional state like she is in tonight. I am not telling you to coddle her. I am telling you to stop treating her like a child because you need to take another look at her now. Hermione is no longer a child, she is a woman now and she is the kind of woman that will challenge you. Also she will strike back if necessary, she is a true Gryffindor in her own right. Good Night, Severus get some sleep...and no more dreamless potions tonight. That stuff is addictive, I do not want a Potions Master dead on his feet right now." Albus rises from his seat and steps up to the fireplace and floos back to his chamber for the night.
Severus rises from his seats and whispers a cleaning spell to clean the mess on the carpeting where he dropped the bottle. He stretches and hears a few bones pop, he begins muttering on about the toll of spying is taking on his already over-taxied body as he walked from the living room into his bedroom. Stripping down to his boxer shorts, he pulls back the sheets on his four-post king size bed. Severus looks at the night stand where the bottle of dreamless potion sits. He decides to pick up the bottle and prepares to take a swig from it when it suddenly disappears from his hands.
"Bugger it! Bloody Albus..!" Cursing and ranting on about how Albus likes to meddle, Severus slips under the sheets and promptly falls asleep due to sheer exhaustion.
TBC
Next Chapter: The Sandman Enters...dun dun dun...(suspenseful music playing in background)
A.N. Please read and review! It feeds me and keeps me writing ;-)
P.S. I am still looking for a beta...any recommendations on where I can find two excellent betas?
I will try to have the next chapterand possiblyChapter 15(The Fallout Part B) out by the end of this week... It depends on how crazy it is at school.