Disclaimer: I only own everything that resides in my room. Oh, and my own original stories. Everything else is someone else's.
Chapter 22
Intrusions of Several Varying Sorts
Harry,
Are you alright? I just now managed to get copies of the last issues of the Prophet and they're filled with articles about you! There's also something about an inquiry on Fudge ordered by the Japanese Minister. Is that about him locking you up?
There's also something in here by some fellow named Ilar Theac about you being a clear danger to Hogwarts and that you've already injured several students. I seriously (blast that stupid word) doubt that you've done injury to any of the students but if you have…be careful. This Theac could be trouble, I think. He seems to delight far too much in digging up dirt on you.
Just…just be careful, won't you? I know that you weren't the Harry I held as a baby but I'm still technically your godfather and I care about you. You're your mother's son, after all.
Take care,
Sirius
Harry let the letter fall to his sheet-covered lap and sighed, lifting a hand to rub at his eyes. Now Sirius was worried about him along with the rest of his friends. But it was good to hear from the man.
He sighed and picked up the letter, moving it to the small bedside table before he slid back down under the covers on his bed. Hermione shifted at the movement and made a questioning hiss, sleepily turning her head towards him.
Danger? she asked in neko, which she had become as fluent as she could in during the past weeks. There were only so many noises a human throat could duplicate and she'd surprised him by learning each and every one that was possible in no time.
Harry curled up against her back, his arm slipping about her waist as he nuzzled the nape of her neck.
Safe, he rumbled and she sighed before going back to sleep. He smiled and laid his head close to hers on the pillow, his tail curling itself about her calf as he breathed in her scent.
Somehow being near to her calmed his wilder side.
She – his other half, his mate, his aisuru – made the half of him that Voldemort had released and he had been trying to control settle when she was nearby. With her scent in his nostrils, his ears attuned to every breath she took, his skin tingling as he touched hers…that other half of him was easier to control.
It was when he was away from her that everything was so hard. When she wasn't by his side or near enough that he could smell her, that other side of him fought him tooth and nail. It did not like living under the control of a human mind but he knew that if he allowed it free reign there would be dire consequences.
Shuddering, he closed his eyes, biting his lip so hard with his human teeth that it bled.
No. No, there had already been dire consequences to that other side of him gaining control of his body. It was wild, feral and cared for nothing but the young woman who lay in his arms. Because of it Adrian Hawke and Rebecca Talbot, the two Auror's who had been guarding his door that day, had been scarred for life and as far as he knew Talbot was still recovering from his attack.
He blamed himself partially for the Auror's injuries but knew that the blame really lay with Voldemort and Fudge. His claws may have made the wounds the same as they had made Hermione's but if Voldemort hadn't screwed with his innards and Fudge hadn't been such a bloody frightened idiot, he'd never have been put in the position to cause them harm. At the thought of the seemingly inept Minister of Magic who was currently being investigated thanks to Minister Masamune, his right hand clenched where it lay underneath his head and a low growl started in the back of his throat.
Hermione shifted beside him and he quickly cut off the growl so as not to wake her. She stilled after a moment, sighing contentedly as she burrowed underneath the sheets.
Harry shifted and pushed himself up onto one elbow so he could look down at her, his eyes moving slowly across her sleeping face. He uncoiled his left arm from around her waist and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. She shifted at the touch and her soft, warm skin pressed back against his as she responded unconsciously.
As he looked down at her sleeping form, he wondered what would have happened if he'd never ran into her that day in the Great Hall. Would they still have met? Fallen hopelessly for each other?
If not…would Voldemort have him now?
Would he be wrecking havoc across the countryside's of the British Isles with that monster pulling his leash, telling him where to go, what to do, who to kill?
Yes.
She was his savior, whether she knew it or not.
For there were only two things an akurei would never attack: its mate and its children.
She was his mate. The more primal part of his brain had though of her as that from the moment the more logical half had figured out he'd loved her. Or maybe it had known before then.
And just two – or was it three now? – nights ago he had laid his claim on her, making her his in truth.
She was his.
As he was hers.
He smiled a little at that, a small curving of his mouth. While his demon half was perfectly fine claiming her as his, most of his human half acknowledged that she was as much his as he was hers. The other bit of that half – the one that often agreed with his demon half's blood urges – didn't like that. Stupid caveman thought processes…
Sighing, he laid back down beside Hermione, his arm curling about her waist again. Nuzzling his nose into her hair, he breathed in her scent deeply as his eyes closed, his mind starting to drift towards sleep.
Just as his consciousness was about to completely fade, an image sparked in his mind. He frowned and his mind stirred a bit to take notice of this new occurrence.
The image of him in the full akurei form his blood allowed him with a clawed hand clenched about Hermione's bloody throat, her body hanging limply from his fist, would haunt him until the day he died.
He surged upright abruptly with a startled snarl as more images flashed through his waking mind. His heart and soul ached as he watched himself kill everyone that he knew, slicing their bodies open with vicious claws and his eyes blank of all emotion.
A dark chuckle in his mind made him start and he felt his head begin to ache, the pain starting from one certain area.
His scar.
The scar connected him to Voldemort…surely…no.
NO!
Snarling viciously, Harry lashed out with his mind towards that chuckle and the presence that lurked at the back of his mind. No one intruded upon his thoughts and got out unscathed.
No one!
"A bit testy, aren't we?" Voldemort asked and he could practically see the man's – no, the monster's – smirk. "Those images are what you will one day become. I will control you, boy. Of that you can be assured."
The dark, intruding presence started to draw back and pull away from his mind but Harry wasn't about to allow that. He sneered and gathered his magic about him, lashing out at a mental line that had connected him to the Dark Lord since his double's death. Haia had taught him about the true magic of the mind, a skill all but the eldest of wizarding culture's had forgotten.
Her family had discovered mind magic before Voldemort's ancestors had become a civilized culture. He might not be as skilled in it as they were but he'd be damned if he let that madman get out of his mind unscathed.
"What! No, this isn't possible!"
"Anything's possible," snarled Harry, eyes narrowing. He lashed out with his magic again, the combined power of akurei and wizard magic a potent force that struck the Dark Lord head on. "Now get out of my MIND!"
With his last shouted word, he shoved that dark presence out of his mind and threw up a ward over the mental line that connected them. When he was satisfied that it would hold against his own assaults, he became aware that his shoulder was being shaken. Seconds later, he heard Hermione's frightened voice in his ears.
"Harry? Harry, answer me!" Mate! Scared!
He was instantly awake at that, his primal side shoving the logical aside in a rush to come to its mate's aid. She was shaking in his arms moments later when he regained control, her head tucked against the hollow of his throat and her fingers clenching convulsively at his shirt.
"Aisuru," he whispered, lifting a hand to touch her face. He was surprised to find that he was in his full akurei form – which caused the first image Voldemort had implanted in his mind to flash before his mental eye. Snarling mentally, he rent the image into shreds with great pleasure.
Safe, he breathed in neko. Mate safe.
She shuddered against him then whispered, "I thought he'd gotten to you again. Your…your eyes were blank, just like they were then when…" Her voice trailed off and he heard her swallow hard to drown a sob.
Harry blinked then hugged her tightly against him, cursing Voldemort under his breath.
"No," he whispered. "But…he was here, in my head."
Terrified brown eyes stared up at him suddenly and he smiled reassuringly.
"I am fine, aisuru. When I can fight on common terms, my mind is nothing to be trifled with. It's when there's danger to those I love that I can do nothing."
"You mean…you…you could have stopped him?"
Harry frowned, shaking his head, as he replied, "No. I learned mind magic from Haia but only enough to keep my mind from being read or boot someone out."
"You mean Legimency and Occlumency?"
"No, those are not what I refer to. What I learned from Haia is much older and was one of the first mind magic's discovered by wizarding kind. According to William it is much more brutal and intense than your mind magic."
"Oh." Hermione pushed herself back so she could look at him, her brown eyes concerned. "Are you sure you're alright? He could…"
"He won't try that again for a while, aisuru. I struck at him with all I had and I'm certain I did some sort of damage. The link between us is also warded – it likely won't stand if he truly wants into my head again but I'll know when it starts to fall." He stroked his hand across the side of her face, careful to keep his claws away from her skin as he trailed his fingertips from her temple to her chin. "I'm still here, Mia-san."
She sniffed and leaned back against his chest, her face pressed against his shoulder. "I know," she mumbled.
Harry smiled and rubbed his cheek against her hair, purring reassuringly in the back of his throat. A shift at the end of the bed made him look up and he and Crookshanks stared at each other for a long moment. The pug-faced cat – who had somehow managed to follow Hermione into his room – stared with cold golden eyes into a pair of emerald that matched them, his whiskers twitching as he eyed the male that had become so close to his mistress. Though he'd heard of the cat, this was the first time they'd ever encountered each other.
How long they stared at each other Harry couldn't say but the ginger cat finally flicked an ear and lay down on the end of the bed, going immediately about the business of cleaning himself. The han-akurei smirked at the big cat and softly asked, "So, I am acceptable for your mistress?"
One yellow eye turned to glare balefully at him and a ginger ear flicked imperiously.
You're the only one acceptable for her, halfling.
Harry blinked at the cat and hissed, "You're not just any cat, are you?"
Crookshanks rumbled what could have been a chuckle and replied, No, I am not. Is that a problem?
"No."
Good.
Harry stared at the cat for a moment then chuckled when their right ears flicked simultaneously. Hermione shifted in his arms and asked, "Who are you talking to?"
"Your cat."
"Oh, okay…wait, what?"
Harry shrugged and said, "As a cat demon I have the ability to understand cat's. Most are like young children…your cat, on the other hand, has a much better grasp of mind it seems."
My mother was a Kneazle. And if you dare make a joke out of that, boy, I'll give you some wounds to remember me by.
He arched an eyebrow then nodded solemnly to the ginger cat before looking down at the young woman nestled in his arms.
"Let's get back to sleep, hmm? The sun's not up yet, so we've likely got a few more hours."
"M'kay," mumbled Hermione, already partially gone into the arms of Morpheus. Harry chuckled and settled both of them down under the covers, tucking her against his chest with her head on his shoulder. She made a little contented sound, her breath tickling his skin, then was completely lost in sleep.
He lay there for at least an hour listening to Hermione sleep in the circle of his arms and checking and re-checking the ward he'd placed over the line to the Dark Lord. Finally content with it and exhausted, he kissed Hermione's forehead and spared a glance down at the end of the bed to see if Crookshanks was still there.
Yellow eyes blinked at him and the ginger cat yawned widely.
Go to sleep, halfling. I am here to watch.
With a smile towards the cat, Harry closed his eyes, tilting his head towards Hermione's. In moments he was asleep, leaving Crookshanks to eye his two humans fondly from the end of the bed. Then abruptly the ginger beast rose and padded up the bed on Hermione's side, settling down on the pillow by their heads. One paw stretched out to curl up between their heads and he sighed as his eyes closed.
Humans. So much bloody trouble.
- - -
"Albus, they can't do that!"
Dumbledore sighed and closed his eyes wearily in response to the shout. Pacing on the other side of his desk, Snape stopped and looked worriedly at him.
"Albus?"
The old wizard looked up and smiled, saying reassuringly, "I'm quite alright, Severus. And I'm afraid they can."
Snape bit back a curse and spat, "They can't deny him an education! It's…it's just bloody wrong! That boy – no, young man – has more potential in his little finger than a quarter of our students. Maybe more!"
"And that is why they don't wish him to continue his education."
"So do it on the side! It looks like Minerva is finally going be declared his guardian since Fudge's second took over for him during the investigation Minister Masamune started. So he'll be required to stay within the castle as a minor under care of a teacher and we won't have any problems with sneaking him in or some such. Annwfn, Albus, I'll teach the him everything he needs to know if the rest of the staff will give me the materials!"
Dumbledore frowned at the man he'd watched grow from silent, battered child to a confused, angry young man then into a very bitter man looking for redemption. And who was now becoming less bitter thanks to the efforts of one young man and an eleven-year-old girl. Then he smiled and said, "You've become very fond of him, haven't you?"
Snape paused in his pacing and stared incredulously at the old wizard, who was one of the few he allowed himself to show nearly every emotion in front of. He then laughed aloud, black eyes glinting with amusement.
"My, my, Albus, you are getting old if it's taken you this long to figure that out."
"Oh no, dear boy, I know it very well. But you know we old folks tend to say things that we know."
"No, that's only you, old man."
Dumbledore chuckled at that, shaking his head. Then he sobered and asked, "So you're certain you want to volunteer for this?"
Snape arched an eyebrow at that as though to say 'You have to ask?'
"Very well then. I'll inform the staff and I'll leave it to you to inform Mister Potter. Though I do caution you to be careful now upon entering his rooms without calling."
"Does this happen to have anything to do with you cautioning us to not search for him and Hermione when they vanished during the night?" asked Snape with a curious look.
Now it was Dumbledore's turn to arch an eyebrow.
"I was under the assumption that Mister Potter was the only student you referred to by first name."
The corner of Snape's mouth twitched into a smile and he said, "She's different. And a little like me."
"How so?"
"You have to ask?"
Dumbledore blinked then his eyes widened slightly with understanding, to which Snape simply nodded. The older wizard silently cursed himself for having forgotten.
Miss Granger's life had been tossed apart by Lucius Malfoy and Voldemort…and what little innocence of the world she'd had left had been rent to ribbons by the same men.
Snape had watched Ministry Auror's brutally beat his uncle, his mother's only brother, to death for being a werewolf. Augustus Braith had been told he was suspected of killing a Muggle family during the morning of a day with his nephew; when he denied it, saying that he'd been securely locked away during the previous full moon, the Auror's had attempted to bully him into confessing to the act. Contrary to popular belief, the dark wizard's stubborn streak came from his mother's side and not his father's – and her brother had had that same trait. When Augustus had refused to submit to their bullying, the Auror's had struck him in anger.
An eight-year-old Snape had watched in horror from underneath a coffee table as his uncle had been beaten to death. The death stripped him of a good chunk of the innocence a child should grow up with and left him with a distinct hatred for the British Ministry of Magic along with an acute wariness for all authority figures.
Voldemort had only managed to lure him with the offer of knowledge – Snape's ultimate downfall as a youth. He had wanted to know everything.
It had taken Dumbledore years to find out the reasons behind Augustus' death. Snape had revealed them only once, which was just after a visit from his so-called parole officer that the Ministry had set on him after Voldemort's first fall. The Auror had turned out to be one of those that had killed his uncle and Snape remembered the face of anyone that had crossed him. He had taunted the younger wizard to his breaking point before leaving with a smirk on his face, obviously off to file a report about Snape's lack of control. Dumbledore had had McGonagall intercept and Obliviate him – he had sworn an age ago to protect any of his students should they deserve his help and to use any method possible no matter who it was being used on – then had turned on the young wizard. Snape had shouted at him, revealing the whole sorry debacle then had vanished into his quarters for several days, not even coming out at Madam Pomfrey's threats to lock him in the hospital wing – his least favorite place in the castle – for a month.
When he'd emerged again, he was as stoic as ever and had informed the Headmaster that they would never speak of the event again. Dumbledore had nodded in agreement and that was the end of it.
"I remember."
Snape nodded and said, "Good. I will go speak with Harry now."
As he turned to leave, Dumbledore remembered something that Kingsley had reported to him the day before.
"Severus?"
The younger wizard paused and turned his head slightly in acknowledgement. Dumbledore frowned briefly at his back before he spoke.
"Auror Kavanaugh is dead."
A heavy silence permeated the office for a number of moments that seemed to stretch into hours.
"How?"
"Apparently his heart failed."
Snape grunted and ducked his head as his shoulders tensed. Then he relaxed and growled, "He died too easy."
Dumbledore frowned gently at his back.
"He's still dead, Severus," he pointed out.
The dark head jerked towards him and he received a hot, piercing glare from an ebony eye behind a swath of jet hair. Teeth bared, Snape repeated in a snarl, "He died too easy."
"Perhaps."
"No perhaps. He did."
A stiff silence came between them then and Dumbledore shifted uncomfortably. He shouldn't have told him…
"Thank you."
He blinked and stared at his Potion Master's back. The man had turned his face away again.
"For what?" he asked.
There seemed to be a slight smile in Snape's voice as he replied, "Telling me. Good day, Albus."
Nothing Dumbledore could have said would have called the younger wizard back as he stalked out of the room.
Leaning back in his chair, he sighed and looked over at Fawkes. Frowning he asked, "Did I do right in telling him?"
The phoenix warbled and he felt a vague warmth suffuse his body.
"Thank you, old friend."
Fawkes blinked black eyes at him then seemed to chuckle and went back to the preening he'd been doing before. Dumbledore smiled and just sat back and watched the phoenix in silence.
- - -
"Good evening, m'lady," greeted Snape as he approached Myelin's painting. The Lady Slytherin looked up from the Tarot cards she had splayed across her table and smiled.
"Good eve, Severus. Want me to…"
"Don't finish that sentence."
Myelin smiled indulgently and said, "Very well. I take it you've not come to just converse with me, no?"
Snape nodded.
"You would be correct, m'lady."
"Very well then. I'll pop in and see if they're awake. Last I looked they were asleep with that cat of Miss Granger's watching over them."
Snape nodded again then waited as Myelin vanished from her portrait for a matter of minutes. He was surprised when she dove back into the frame and slowly pulled herself up using the table, her long hair in disarray.
"M'lady? Are you alright?"
"Fine," she grumbled, brushing her blonde hair away from her forehead. "I just happened to pop in during a bad moment."
A dark eyebrow arched.
"Bad moment?"
"They were occupied."
"Occupied?"
Myelin scowled at him as she collapsed back into her chair and spat, "Severus, child, please tell me that in your forty-some years you've bedded a woman."
"Contrary to popular belief, yes," replied the dark wizard with a smirk. "I sense that Harry got very annoyed at you for your intrusion."
"Harry? He's a kitten compared to that wildcat he decided to tame!"
Snape blinked and arched an eyebrow. He'd never though to hear Hermione Granger described as a wildcat. Or the half-demon Harry, who could easily rip out someone's throat with his claws if he so wanted, to be described as a kitten.
"I'll return later then."
"That would be a wise…oh, dear!"
Snape, who had started to walk away, spun around towards the portrait and took a precautionary step back when an annoyed looking Harry poked his head out. Ears laid back against his head, the han-akurei sniffed the air then turned burning eyes on his professor.
"Yes?" he growled out.
"I was coming to have a conversation with you," explained Snape, "but if you and Miss Granger are otherwise occupied, I'll come back later."
"It's Hermione, sir," said the girl as she pushed the portrait completely open and smiled at him. She had a sheet draped about her slim form and turned to jab a quietly snarling Harry in his ribs with her elbow. "Oh shush! It's eight in the morning on a Saturday and we should be out of bed."
"We are out of bed," growled Harry with a surly expression.
Hermione glowered at him and spat, "And we'll be back in it later, sex fiend."
Snape arched an eyebrow at that but decided the safest thing would be to remain silent and allow the two to bicker amongst themselves.
Harry growled something in Japanese under his breath then turned and retreated into his room, tail flicking angrily behind him. The young woman looked after him with a sigh then turned back to Snape with a smile.
"Come in, Severus. Give me a minute or two and I'll have him calmed down."
"Of that I have no doubt," said Snape as he followed her into the room, making his way towards the fireplace. He glanced briefly towards the rumpled bed he could see through the open bedroom door and added, "I woke you?"
Hermione smiled and shook her head, replying, "No, we were awake. Myelin just happened to interrupt our…activities."
Snape nodded and focused his dark gaze on the fireplace, hands clasped loosely behind his back. Then he glanced sideways at her and said, "I trust the two of you are taking the correct precautions?"
The witch flushed scarlet at his question then mumbled, "Harry can tell when it's safe and when it's not."
"A handy skill."
"Yes," said Hermione with a smile. She then mumbled an 'excuse me' and vanished into the bedroom after Harry. Snape heard mumbling from behind the closed door then turned as it opened and both reentered the main room, Hermione wearing a school-issue skirt and what appeared to be one of Harry's sweaters. The han-akurei followed her out clad in blue jeans that had seen better days judging by the holes in the knees and tugging a black t-shirt over his head.
"Sumimasen, sensei," said Harry with a sheepish smile. "I should have told you about this."
Snape arched an eyebrow and said, "The staff has been informed of you and Hermione's relationship change. I believe Filius, Pomona, and Caius all had a bet over when you two would finally 'give up the ghost and shag each other senseless' as Caius so eloquently put it."
Hermione's face turned pink at that and she hid her face in Harry's hair with a mutter of "Oh God." Harry looked amused about the whole matter and smirked.
"Who won?"
"Harry!" exclaimed the young woman, slapping his arm. "Sir, don't feel obliged to answer him!"
Snape chuckled and replied, "I saw Pomona and Filius paying Caius as I left breakfast to speak to Albus. He apparently betted that it would be a month or so after Christmas; Filius said three months after Christmas; and Pomona apparently figured for the end of the school year."
"Why would I have waited that long?" asked Harry, flicking an ear. Then he smirked and said, "And that wasn't what I was referring to, sensei. Akurei are rather protective of their mates, especially during the beginning of their relationship and when there is a child involved."
"Which I'm certain won't be involved for a long while."
Harry's eyes hardened slightly as he nodded.
"Not until Voldemort and anyone that stands with him is either dead or in Azkaban," he growled. "I wouldn't dare risk it."
"Neither of us would dare risk it," intoned Hermione, glowering slightly at him. "Since, y'know, it takes two to tango."
Harry laughed at that and Snape's mouth twitched into a smile in reaction to her words.
"I sense conversations involving you are going to be much more entertaining now," said the dark professor. He cast an amused glance at Harry and added, "Good going, boyo."
The han-akurei started to laugh again at that but stopped when Hermione jabbed his elbow into his ribs. He stuck out his tongue at her in retaliation and tugged her against his side, lightly tickling her right side as he did so.
"Harry!"
"Nan no?"
Snape shook his head at their antics then coughed, bringing their attention back to him. He smiled and said, "I did have Myelin interrupt you two for a reason."
"Was it a good one?" asked Harry.
"It has its up's and downs."
Hermione blanched at that and pulled away from Harry to go sit down by the fireplace, tucking one foot underneath her.
"Somehow," she said as she sat, "those six words fill me with dread."
Snape arched an eyebrow as he moved to take the other chair situated by the fireplace since Harry had taken up post behind Hermione. As he settled himself in the chair and adjusted his robes about himself, he quipped, "Well, Minerva has always called me the worst bearer of bad news. I suppose I'm just living up to my reputation."
"All this sarcasm is choking me," intoned Harry, his ears drooping slightly. "Can we get down to business, sensei?"
"Yes, of course," replied Snape. He pursed his lips then continued, "Well, I suppose since you've broken the mood, we'll get right down to business. Firstly, it appears Minerva is finally going to be declared your guardian, though far too late in my opinion."
"Does he really need one?" asked Hermione. "I mean, I know he's not of the legal age yet but we're all nearly there."
Snape sighed and said, "Alas, Hermione, that it not how things work. In any other situation I would agree with you. But in this one there are certain demands that must be met. One of which is that Harry have some sort of guardian no matter what age he is so long as he's within the British Isles."
"WHAT!" exclaimed Hermione, her foot sliding out from under her. "But…that's…that's wrong! They're just doing that because he's half demon!"
Harry sighed and leaned on the back of her chair, his ears drooping a bit more. Shaking his head, he softly said, "They are like everyone else – they fear what they don't understand."
Hermione stifled her anger at that and turned in her seat, her head tilted back so she could look up at him. Slowly she reached up and touched his hand, twining her fingers in his. He looked down at her and smiled, gently squeezing her fingers reassuringly.
"And I'm okay with that," he lied.
"Liar," accused Hermione with a bitter smile.
Harry smiled just as bitterly then looked at Snape, asking, "What is the second order of business?"
The dark wizard sat looking at them sadly for a moment then replied, "Well, officially you don't have to go to classes anymore."
Hermione whirled around, brown eyes flashing and mouth open to protest, but Harry's hand stopped whatever she was going to say. He was leaning over the back of her chair now, emerald eyes focused on the Potions Master.
"And what does that mean?" he asked.
Snape smirked and leaned back into the chair with his fingers steepled in front of him.
"It means you get to solely put up with me for the rest of the semester."
"You mean…you're going to teach Harry everything?" asked Hermione, shoving Harry's hand away from her mouth.
"That would be correct."
She blinked then looked up at Harry then back to the professor.
"Can you do that?"
Snape scowled lightly in response and arched an eyebrow, saying, "You doubt my exceptional teaching skills?"
"Of course not! I just…the workload…when are you going to teach him?"
"I haven't quite figured that out yet," replied the Potions Master. At Hermione's look of outrage and shock, he quickly added, "Though I'll have it all figured out by the end of the weekend. I think for the most part we'll just send owls back and forth with the work excepting those that require me to supervise."
"So I just have to find a way to occupy my time besides that?" asked Harry. He looked down at Hermione and smiled, joking, "And I can't kidnap you, so I'll have to find something else to do."
The bushy-haired young woman tilted her head back to frown at him.
"You do know you're absolutely mad, right?"
"Absolutely mad about you, aisuru."
Hermione smiled at that and Snape barked out a laugh as he pushed himself to his feet.
"Well," he said, "since I've delivered my messages, I'll take my leave. Oh, and try and cut down a notch or two on the banter. Keep that up and you'll have the entire school either gagging or cooing over the two of you."
"We'll try and keep that in mind," assured Hermione. "Won't we, Harry?"
"Hai."
"You're going to act like that even more just to spite me, aren't you?" asked Snape as Harry walked him to the door.
The han-akurei grinned and replied, "Now why on earth would I do that, sensei?"
"To spite me. And because you'd find it amusing."
"True. Though I doubt anyone would be cooing. Most of the other students, I think, are disgusted with Mia-san." His ears drooped slightly as he finished, "They think she's tainted for loving a beast."
Snape scowled and turned to face Harry as they stood on either side of the threshold, glancing at Hermione before he spoke in a low voice.
"You are by no means a beast," he intoned roughly, dark eyes blazing. "And she is by no means tainted by loving you. You know that."
"Hai, I know. But it's sad how quickly humans turn on each other…not even akurei turn on each other that fast." He shook his head before continuing. "They think of us as beasts but they are far worse than we!"
Snape nodded slowly at that.
"Yes, we do turn on each other quickly, often before we even have a good reason. But there are good humans in the world and in this school. You know that as well."
"Hai."
"Always keep that in mind," added Snape with a slight scowl. "Now, I expect to see the both of you in the Hall tonight for dinner instead of hiding out here in your rooms. Understand?"
Harry nodded in response and ran a hand back through his hair, saying, "We do need to make an appearance, don't we? Though…does the whole school know about the entire Ministry debacle?"
"The whole Wizarding World knows about the Ministry debacle. Minister Masamune is making very sure of that – I think in hopes to avoid it ever happening again."
"Good," said Harry. "We'll see you at dinner then, sensei."
Snape smiled and nodded, replying, "I look forward to it."
Harry smiled in return then moved back into his rooms, allowing Myelin's portrait to shut over the door. As he turned around, he found Hermione standing right behind him, her arms ready to slide around his waist.
"That was a long conversation that I couldn't hear," she said, her voice slightly muffled from where her face pressed against his chest. "You two aren't plotting something behind my back, are you?"
"Plot?" said Harry in a faux dismayed tone. "Us? Surely not!"
Hermione snorted at that then turned her head so she could look up at him, her brown eyes catching his emerald.
"This isn't fair."
He sighed at that and lifted a hand to touch her hair, brushing it back behind her ear.
"I know," he murmured. "But there's not much we can do about it right now. Your Ministry has to trust me for me to be allowed to remain here – we both know that. And if it takes me having a guardian until I'm thirty, I'll bloody deal with it so long as I can have you by my side." He shrugged then and smiled slightly. "Plus now I get to pass notes back and forth with sensei. We'll likely end up talking about McGonagall behind her back."
Hermione arched an eyebrow at that, saying, "Will you now?"
"It's likely," replied Harry with a grin. "Now, what are we going to do to occupy ourselves until dinner?"
"We could go find Meru and Wencia. They haven't seen us in three days."
"Aisuru, no one has seen us in three days!"
"And it's all your fault," hissed Hermione as she poked him in the ribs. "You sex fiend."
Harry pouted and whined, "It's not my fault! I'm a teenage male, akurei blood not withstanding. We can't think of anything else throughout the day, you know."
"Mmmhmm."
"At least that's what William told me once."
"Mmmhmm," repeated Hermione.
Harry sighed and frowned down at her, saying, "You're going to insist we get out, aren't you?"
"What do you think?"
"I think I should give up while I'm ahead and just do what you say. Discretion is the better part of valor, and all that."
Hermione smiled and said, "That's probably a good idea." She then frowned. "I didn't know you knew Shakespeare."
Harry blinked as he wrapped an arm about her waist and led her out the door into the hallway.
"Doesn't everyone know Shakespeare?"
"Not in the wizarding world. He's just a Muggle poet to them."
"Blasphemy! Sheer blasphemy!"
Hermione laughed at that and shook her head. Harry turned a shocked look on her and exclaimed, "Blasphemer! You laugh at me!"
"Only because you're amusing," assured Hermione, halting so she could kiss his cheek. Then she smiled and purred, Funny mate.
Harry mock-glared at her then leaned down and playfully growled, Mate not funny.
"Yuh-huh," insisted Hermione as they started to walk again.
"Nuh-uh," snipped Harry back, sticking out his tongue.
"Yuh-huh!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Yuh-huh!" exclaimed Hermione. "And I can prove it!"
"How's that?" asked Harry as they started up the steps from the dungeons. "I want to hear this."
She just grinned in response before shoving him up against a wall and tugging his head down for a kiss. He just leaned against the wall in shock then whined when she pulled away.
"Tag, you're it," purred Hermione before she darted up the steps and into the entrance hall.
Harry blinked after her for a moment then his eyes narrowed, the pupils thinning to slits.
"So, that's how it's going to be, hmm? Well then, aisuru, let the hunt begin!"
Mate funny! He heard from above him.
NOT! He yowled in response before clambering up the steps. He turned in the entrance hall and saw Hermione grinning at him over the top of the main staircase. "Running would be smart."
"And why's that?" asked Hermione in a singsong voice.
Harry just grinned and replied, Mate trouble. Bad.
Brown eyes widened slightly then she laughed and stuck her tongue out at him before vanishing onto the second floor. Harry growled and leapt up over the banister and onto the stairs, bounding up them on all fours. He paused at the top and looked around before he caught Hermione's scent and took off at a sprint.
Maybe leaving his room might turn out to be fun after all…
Translations
Annwfn: Hell (Welsh)
Author's Notes
I don't know where the game of tag came from. It just popped up and insisted on staying. So I let it. It had nasty pointy teeth…