Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me. But oh, how I wish they did……
Capabilities, sure she knew how much she was capable of. She regretted that statement, every hour of every day, since she had said it.
In the two days she had been working under Snape, she had slept a total of six hours. She had refilled the stores of medicine needed in the infirmary. She had bottled over a hundred cauldrons full of Veritaserum potion for the Gatekeepers and last night, Snape had informed her she was to study his notes on the Wolfsbane potion.
It was far easier on her body, being able to sit while she studied, instead of having to stand over a boiling cauldron all day. Yet, it was still tiring work. Hermoine was a relentless note taker and she was currently on her tenth foot of parchment paper. She was studying both the theories in the books Snape had given her as well as his own notes which where scribbled in the margins.
She found the professor's ideas very enlightening. Hermoine had reviewed his earlier theories on certain potion works back when she was still in school and Harry had come across an old school book that had belonged to Snape. However, the book did not contain the professor's name and she had mistrusted some of the information, so she had not looked over the book thoroughly. She now understood why Harry had found the 'half blood prince' fascinating.
"Hermoine, are you there?" she heard the professor call out. It was still strange, calling him Severus, but it was getting easier each day. She called back, " Yes, coming, Severus."
She found him waiting for her by the entrance. "It is time for dinner. We are expected in the Hall." He looked over her appearance as she walked towards him, " You'll have to go as you are. There is not time for you to change, but please, take that quill out of your hair. You look like an Apache."
Hermoine quickly patted her hair and removed the extra quill, which she had been using to keep her hair out of her face. Her natural curly locks sprang down onto her shoulders. It still had as much curl in it as it had once had in school, but she had found an excellent range of hair products, which helped to tame the bushiness.
"Much better. Now, let's hurry. It would not do for the students to see us late." The professor snapped before leaving in a swirl of black capes.
They entered the Great Hall a moment before the students began strolling in. Hermoine watched as the first years came forward. Since the school had been closed for three long years, there was a major difference in the students this year.
Some students had elected to attend other schools while Hogwarts was closed, so there where students in the second, third and fourth year that needed to be sorted into houses. Some students had not went to school at all, so there where older students who would be in their first years of school. These students would attend special classes, which would allow them to work at a faster pace than the normal eleven-year-old, first years. By working at their own pace, they would eventually be able to catch up with their own age groups.
Hermoine listened as the sorting hat sang its song, which explained that, the Slytherin line was not incorporated into the rebuilding of the castle. She thought this an improvement as it lessened her own duties. Professor Snape would no longer be assigned a house to govern over.
Professor McGonagall announced that Harry would be head of Gryffindor house; Luna, Ravenclaw, and Fred, Hufflepuff. She then introduced each instructor and the classes they taught, along with acknowledging Hermoine as the potion's apprentice.
Then she made the usual announcements of the school year, pertaining to out of bound restrictions and items that where not allowed in the corridors. Lastly, she announced the appointment of Professor Snape as the Deputy Headmaster.
This announcement caused a small stirring amongst the students, but no untoward outbursts where made. Hagrid, who must not have been aware of the news, jumped in his chair, rattling the table. Snape only nodded his head towards the crowd, and then looked back at his plate.
With the last announcement made, the dinner appeared and everyone began to eat. Hermoine watched as the man beside her picked at his food, not taking any bites.
"Professor, you must eat something. The house elves worked so very hard for your meal." Hermoine chided him.
Snape looked up at her, and again, she caught a glimmer of some type of emotion behind his eyes, before he concealed his features and regarded her.
"Ms. Granger, my eating habits are none of your concern," he stated before leaving his chair and the room.
Taken aback, Hermoine also rose from her chair. She walked as quickly as she could towards the quarters they shared. She entered the hallway and strode towards the door of the apartment. As she pushed the door open, she heard another door open. She just caught a flash of Snape's robes, as the door to his room slammed shut.
Hermoine walked over to the door. She could hear sounds through the door, as though something was thumping on the floor, then quiet.
"Severus," she called as she knocked, "Are you okay?"
"Go away!"
Hermoine, never being one to do as told, turned the knob. The room was extremely dark. A small patch of moonlight filtered into the room between the curtains on the far wall. She could make out a large, four poster bed, and a man sitting on the floor beside it.
"I believe I told you to go away, Ms. Granger."
"I heard you and I decided not to listen," she replied, walking across the room. She knelt down next to him, " Would you like to talk about what happened?"
"No," came the short reply, then a sigh. " I don't know why Minerva wants me as Headmaster. The school will shut down as soon as I become appointed. Nobody wants a traitor running their children's lives."
"Severus, you aren't a traitor. It's true not many people believe that. But the truth has been told, and as people learn, they'll begin to believe in you." Hermoine laid her hand on his arm, "I believe in your innocence."
"You're the only one."
"No, I'm just the only one who can prove it." Hermoine shot back. It was starting to unnerve her that her professor, who was always so outwardly strong, could loose his composure. She grabbed him by his arms and pulled him forward.
"Now, let's stop with the pity party." As she directed him back into the sitting room and he stepped into the light, Hermoine noted that the thumping noises she heard must have been from his shoes hitting the floor, for he was in his socked feet. One toe poked out of the top of his right foot, while the heel of his left foot had nearly worn through.
Hermoine laughed as he tried covering one foot with the other, "Perhaps a little pity would be in order."
She was then amazed when Snape threw back his head and laughed. It was a deep, rich laugh. He smiled down at her, and her breath caught in her chest.
"He really is a handsome man when he smiles," she thought.
He placed a hand on her should and gave it a squeeze. "You really are a sweet girl, Hermoine. Now, off to bed. We have a big day tomorrow."
XOXO
Hermoine opened her eyes and looked around the sunlit room. She had been having the strangest of dreams. All she could really remember was that it involved a dark haired man with velvet lips. Her body felt full and relaxed. She could remember the feel of the man's hands on her, the heat from their bodies mingling, but she could not remember his face. As she stretched, her chest rose as her backed arched, and her overly sensitive nipples hardened as the lace of her gown pulled against her skin. She also noted a dampness between her legs.
She looked towards the window once more – and leapt from the bed. "Oh, no! How could I have overslept!" The sun was shining way to high in the sky to be early morning. "Severus must have overslept as well." The professor had taken to knocking on her door each morning, as a wake up call.
Not bothering with a robe, she ran out of the room. She opened the door to Snape's bedroom and ran inside. "Severus, "she began, then stopped as she took in the room, which was empty. She gazed about the room, which could now be seen in the daylight from the open window.
She knew Snape had decorated his own room. It was purely masculine. He had forgone decorating the walls of his room, instead allowing the natural stone of the castle to be seen. A four poster bed of deep mahogany rested against one wall, facing out against the large glass window. The dressings of the bed where in a deep, brilliant, emerald green. There was also a matching, mahogany wardrobe in the corner. The most impressive aspect of the room where the two large bookshelves on each side of the window, which where full of leather bound books from floor to ceiling.
Hermoine, drawn by the books, made her way across the room. There were many different topics of interest on the shelves, ranging from Muggle works to books on the Dark Arts. She reached a hand towards one of the volumes.
"What are you doing in my room?"
Hermoine turned around. Snape was standing in the doorway of the Master bath, apparently fresh from a shower, a small towel loosely wrapped around his hips. His hair was wet and rivulets of water streamed down his chest.
"I thought you had overslept. I… was just going to wake you up," Hermoine stammered as she stared at the almost naked man.
"As you can see, I am awake. I believe it best if you leave my room and go get dressed, Ms Granger." He growled the end of this sentence as he stepped back into the bathroom and shut the door. Hermoine then looked down and discovered that in the sunlight streaming through the window behind her, her nightgown was transparent. A gag gift from Ginny, the gown was made to be tempting. The spaghetti straps of the gown held two lace cups, which barely contained her full breasts. The sheer silk of the skirt cut up the front to show off her thighs.
With a shriek, Hermoine raced back to her room and dressed. She went back into the sitting room and waited for the professor to appear. A moment later, he walked out, hair dry, and his clothing immaculate.
"Classes do not start until this afternoon, Hermoine. I thought you would appreciate sleeping in. You will not have that chance very often."
Hermoine followed Snape out of the door and together they quietly walked through the dungeons, into the main entrance hall. Hermoine noticed how Snape paused at the mural a moment, before walking on. She imagined he was thinking of Draco and commented on it.
"It really was a surprise, learning that Draco was really on our side. All those years we bickered, because he made fun of me, being Muggle born."
"He had a difficult time of it, Hermoine. Trying to live up to his father's expectations."
"Thankfully, he had you to turn to."
"Yes, thankfully," Snape continued on the rest of the way in silence.
Hermoine thought over Snape and Draco's relationship as she ate. It really had been a surprise when she learned the truth of their roles within the Order. She too had thought Snape a traitor to their side.
It was Christmas of her seventh year when she had stumbled across the information in Dumbledore's pensieve. The memories had been very well hidden.
Headmistress McGonagall had assigned her to the task of reviewing Dumbledore's memories, as a way to help Harry in his task of defeating Voldermort. She had noticed that in several of the memories concerning Snape or Draco, he was always leaving his pensieve before the meeting. He would then walk over to Fawkes for a moment before the men would enter.
On chance, Hermoine located the bird stand. Hidden within the legs of the stand where small, round cylinders, containing a silver liquid. Hermoine poured the contents into the pensieve and discovered that Dumbledore had been hiding his true memories and replacing them with false ones.
The old Headmaster had been using the elixir of life to keep himself alive since the night he had captured the Slytherin ring. When the sorcerer's stone was destroyed, Nicholas Flammel had left a small supply of the elixir, in case of an emergency.
The night of his death, Dumbledore knew that he would most likely not survive much longer. When he sent Harry upstairs to collect his invisibility cloak, he had called Professor Snape to his office. He planned on taking just enough elixir to get through the night. Then the next day he would explain to Harry and the Order what he had been doing all year. Then he planned to pass away in peace, with his Hogwarts family at his side.
Hermoine was confused, upon witnessing Dumbledore's last moments, before he and Harry had left for the mission. Hermoine had immediately gone to the Headmistress with her findings. Together they carefully searched the memories once more. It was during one of these memories that they learned of a safe house that Snape's mother's family had owned. Hermoine, McGonagall and Mad Eye Moody had traveled to the house. They had caught Snape and Draco unaware, so there was not even a fight. Moody had burst into the house, thrown a few spells at the two, and had them bound to their chairs, before either had thought of going for their own wands.
McGonagall had explained about learning of the elixir and then Snape gave details of his role. The next day the group brought the information before the Ministry of Magic. Both men where questioned while under the influence of Veritaserum. It was then, that the details of the night became clear.
Dumbledore had taken just enough elixir, as planned, to get through the night. The potion master would bring him more upon his return with Harry and the Horcrux. However, he had miscalculated events, and had not planned for Mr. Malfoy to cave in under his father's manipulations. He knew when Snape appeared in the doorway behind the Death Eaters, there would be no way of getting back to his office for more elixir, without ruining the man's cover. Using Legilimency, he had communicated with Snape, ordering him to take the Headmaster's life.
Yes, Snape had fired the Avada Kedavra curse at him, and yes, it had hit him, but there was no murder. Hermoine had learned that as an act of faith, Snape had entered into an Unbreakable vow with the Headmaster, when he first joined the Order. He had to follow Dumbledore's orders. When Dumbledore had ordered him to kill, there had been no choice.
The Ministry had ruled that Snape was not guilty of murder. He had been given no control over his actions. However, the Ministry did not want it known to the public that once again, they had been proven wrong, so they kept the details of the trail confidential, only stating that Snape had been released with no charges.
Draco, having been underage at the time of his crime, pleaded that he had witnessed the error of his ways. His mother, Narcissa, donated a large sum of money to the Ministry, in return for her son's release. The Death Eaters, not knowing the details of Snape's release, welcomed him back into their group. It was easy for him to return to his role as a spy, and to bring Draco with him. Draco, who really had turned over a new leaf, did not live up to his godfather's reputation, as shortly before the war, he was caught in a lie, and murdered by his own Aunt Bellatrix.
XOXO
After Hermoine and Snape had finished their meal, they headed off to prepare for the day ahead. Together they collected the ingredients, which would be needed for the day's potions.
"I do admit that your apprenticeship has made my duties much easier. We still have almost an hour before class begins. Today, I wish for you to observe the class. No talking, no asking questions, and no assisting those fools whom are too incompetent to follow directions. Do I make myself clear, Ms Granger?"
"Yes, Professor Snape," Hermoine answered back, one eyebrow raised at the tone in his voice.
"In the lab and our quarters, I will allow you informalities, Outside of our quarters, we will retain a strict business relationship. There will be no chattering. There will be no laughing. We will not discuss any personal items and I forbid you to mention one thing about what happened this morning."
Hermoine's attention was once again brought to a halt by the remembrance of that morning. In her mind, she could picture Snape in his towel. She could see the water droplets, glistening in the morning light, as they fell from the ends of his dark, wet hair. In her mind, she watched one water drop as it fell from his hair, the contrast of the raven hair, against the pale skin of his shoulder, mesmerizing. She followed the trail, in her mind, as it traveled from his shoulder, across his collarbone, to his chest.
His body was not as defined as some she had scene. The boys had constantly walked around without their shirts during the summer days at the Burrow. His shoulders where not as wide spread, his chest not as defined as Ron's had been, yet, it was a man's chest. He was too thin, his ribs where too prominent. He had a small smattering of dark curls, circling each nipple, a small patch of hair in the middle of his chest. She watched as the droplet ventured further south.
As her mind traveled south as well, Hermoine stopped watching the droplet of water. Instead, again in her mind she lowered her gaze to the floor, picturing the lower body of her professor as it had appeared in the doorway. His feet where large, his calves thin, but muscular. The hair on his legs was dark, but sparse. His thighs were strong and muscular.
In her imagination, the droplet of water began to drift once more. She watched as the water caught in the thin trail of dense hairs, which ran from his navel, to the top of his towel. As her mind started to contemplate the large bulge in the front of the towel, she found her thoughts interrupted.
"Ms Granger, wipe that ridiculous smile from your face. The students will be arriving soon. That smirk makes you appear dim witted and I can't have the students thinking my replacement is a buffoon."
Hermoine took her seat in the back of the class. With a saucy grin, she threw her response back at the teacher.
"Professor Snape?"
"Yes, Ms Granger?"
"That birthmark, on the top of you right thigh, has anyone ever told you that it looks just like a cute, little bunny rabbit?"
Hermoine was till laughing to herself as the first student entered the classroom, to find Snape standing by his desk, his mouth hanging open. When the professor spat at the students, "Put your wands away. There will be very little foolish wand waiving in here," Hermoine almost felt bad for unsettling him, almost.