Chapter 7 – A new challenge

"Ah, good evening Severus, Hermione. Sit down please." Dumbledore greeted with a big smile. It was always funny to watch Severus when he was accompanied by a student. Sometimes he acted like an idiot, sometimes he was actually nice and sometimes he was acting like today – strange.

As they sat down in the light room he discovered Hermione's glances on her teacher. It was weird; she just passed nervously glances on him all the time.

"Good evening, Sir." Hermione said, smiling a forced smile.

"Evening, Albus." Severus muttered and ran a hand through his hair. He felt like a babysitter to Hermione, now when they were in the Headmaster's office.

"Want some tea?" The Headmaster asked.

"No, thank you."
"Nope, but thanks."

"Alright, I was just wondering how this works out. Everything's alright with you two?"

"It's as always, Sir. Someone should tell this girl to watch her tongue better though. She has said the most horrible things." Severus mumbled, looking at Hermione with a strange face.

"I don't believe that, my dear boy." Albus chuckled. "Hermione, is everything alright with you?"

"Yes, Sir." She quickly lied as Severus passed a quizzing glance to her.

"Very well then. I was thinking if you, Hermione, would need to learn how to be a spy. I think it can be very good for you in the future, now when the Dark Lord is looking for you."

"I'd love that, Sir." Hermione answered eagerly. She never missed a chance to learn more.

"Severus, would you make me the favour to teach her? I know you'd do it the best, son. You are the spy in here anyway. It would be great if you could have spy-lessons with her for like three hours a day. Will you do that for me, Severus?"
"Well, what if she thinks it's too hard? Both physically and mentally." Severus protested.

"I'm sure she can handle it. She's one of the best students here at Hogwarts anyway."

"Alright then." Severus sighed, now he had to have extra lessons with her too!

"Of course you mustn't tell anybody about it. Hermione, I'll give you a list of books you have to read, and Severus and you can talk about when you shall have your training. Let's try it for a week, if you think it's too hard, just drop it but do never tell anyone about it. It must be a total secret."
Hermione nodded excited, and passed another nervously glance on Severus. "Thank you, Sir."

"Great. Severus could you please wait outside, I'd like to talk to Hermione alone." Dumbledore said and opened the door with his wand.

"Sure. Goodnight, Sir." Severus mumbled and step out of the room.

"Goodnight, my boy." Dumbledore answered and closed the door with magic.

"Hermione, how are you? Is everything alright between you and Severus? Does he treat you well?" Dumbledore asked, as he sank deeper into his big sky-blue chair.

"Everything is just fine, Sir. I promise. He's nice to me."

"I'm glad to hear that. I know he can be such a stubborn sometimes but he's a really nice man when one gets to know him. His ice-cold image is just a facade. I'm sure you will pass it soon. If there's any problem between you and him, you can always come to me, my dear. And, don't care what Severus says, he just mean 50 of it." Dumbledore smiled gently.

"Thank you, Sir." Hermione sighed and waited for her permission to leave the room.

"You may go, Hermione. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Sir."

Dumbledore chuckled when she left the room. There was certainly something going on between them. He became surer it was the right to place them together.

"I expect you here, in the living room, each evening at 8 o'clock, dressed with a warm cloak. From now on, you will have to have your homework done before eight. You must be better physically too. Each evening and morning, you shall do 200 sit-ups and 50 push-ups, in my presence the first times, since I must check you do correct. A spy must be very quick and strong to evade an attack. If you have to change your eating habits to make you physically better, then do so. I expect you to eat more; a spy can't weigh 110 lbs. That's way too little. I guess you'll get the book-list of Dumbledore tomorrow, which books you're going to read and I expect you to read them very carefully." Severus explained quickly.
"Yes, Severus. I get it…"

"And you really do want to go for this, don't you?" He asked, fingering on his wrist watch.

"Of course."
"Then you have to stop harm yourself. It will worsen your immune defence a lot. Now show me your arm so I can heal the scars. You mustn't do it again." He demanded.

Shivering, Hermione showed him her arm. She felt something silky stroking her arm and suddenly all her scars were gone.

"Thank you… that feels better." Hermione smiled, caressing her new, keen arm.

"It's alright. But, if you do it again, the consequences will be worse. I'm warning you now. Do you have any razor blade with you here at Hogwarts?" Severus hissed.

"Actually no…" Hermione sighed and sat down in the dark blue chair.

"Good. Hmm. Let's see. If anyone will see you harm yourself by free will, I will order a punishment including ten detentions with Filch and 500 points from Gryffindor. I hope that will be enough for you to get that you have to stop harm yourself." Severus added sharply.

"Oh great." Hermione said sarcastic.

"Shall we skip spy-class today? I think you need some rest." He asked, in a soft voice.

"Alright then."
"So…How are you, Hermione?" Severus said in a strange, softly voice.

"I'm doing just fine." She lied. "What about you?"
"I'm alright. You just seem to… well I don't know." He thought for a second. "God knows how much I love you..." He thought and to his amazement he did say it too.

"Sorry, Sir? Did you say anything?" She asked, she'd been very much into her thoughts too.
"No, nothing important." Thanks God she didn't hear. "Don't you have any homework to do?" He asked, changing subject.

"I don't Sir. We don't have any homework thus far."

"Very well then. Since we decided to procrastinate your spy-class, you may do the sit-ups and push-ups I ordered." Severus said with a deep voice.

"Alright then." She lay down on the floor, feeling really strange with Severus watching her.

"Then start with the sit-ups." He smiled amused and sat down in the sofa, watching her movements very careful. "No, no, no! You're doing completely wrong. Now you're training you legs, not your abs." Severus sat down next to her and placed a hand on her belly and one hand on her back. "Now tense your muscles and lift your back… Wrong again. Your feet shall stay on the floor all the time. Like this." He lay down beside her and showed her a couple of perfect sit-ups.

"Okay I think I get it." Hermione copied his movements and did right. She could feel her abs tense as her back left the floor.

"You shall breathe in when you lie down on the floor, and breathe out when you're on your way from the floor. Like that. Yes, now you're doing right. Good job. Now do 200." Severus ordered, thinking if this maybe was too hard for her. She was just 16 after all, and her body was far from muscular. But she needed to be better physically; otherwise she wouldn't handle the tasks in her training as a spy. This spy-training was a great way to make her physically and mentally stronger too, without showing her he did actually care for her.