Hermoine Granger walked the halls of Hogwarts slowly. Today was a slower day than usual. She woke up early and had decided to walk the halls before breakfast was served and it seemed like forever since she had gotten up. Almost everyone else was still in bed since breakfast would not be served for another hour and half. She tried to take her time walking seeing as she would have nothing to do once she got where she was heading. The rising sun glowed through the windows as she walked towards the Entrance Hall.
She walked down the stairs slowly swishing her very short gray skirt back and forth with her free hand. She carried her shoes in her left hand because the clicking would disturb other people in the castle. He robe hung loosely over her arm with her wand sticking out of the pocket. He white blouse was not fully buttoned up and you could see just a little bit of her chest as she sat down on the bottom step. Her knee high gray socks stretched around her calves and made it up to the top of her shins. She laid he shoes and robe down next to her and stretched out her legs in front of her. It was very early and she wasn't fully dressed on account of no one else being up.
Even though the sun had barely risen, the front doors began to open on their own accord. In Hogwarts: A History, Hermoine had read how once the sun touches them they will start to open even if there is rain. There is a special charm to keep the rain out on those days. She sat and watched as the sun light crept through the doors to accompany the torches on the walls. She reached out her arms to her toes and stretched.
She threw her tamed auburn hair back over her right shoulder and looked into the Great Hall. It was the second day of her seventh year and she had changed immensely over the summer. Her hair was no longer puffy but tamed and almost sleek looking. It was still very curly but it lay more flat on her shoulders because of its length and the charm she had found to lay it more flat. Her face was more mature than it was and seemed firmer. Her body had also matured to give her hips and a chest as well. She had started some exercise over the summer to tone out her muscles and it had worked. She was a tone, gorgeous, 17 year old witch and had the intelligence to add to it.
She was Head girl this year and had not had a chance to see anyone on the train or at the opening ceremony because of duties. Right after duties she had headed to her Dorm because of her drowsiness. The only person she had seen was Dumbledore when she found out her duties. She had examined the Common rooms and dorm rooms in Hufflepuff and Gryffindor to make sure they were tidy and safe for the other students. She even walked the halls to catch any stragglers roaming the school. She hadn't had the joy of catching anyone.
As she sat on the stairs in the entrance hall, she watched the sun shine through the windows in the Great Hall. The house tables were empty and the Head table sat in the front in all its glory. She thought as she watched the sun hit the Head table of how she had always wanted to be a teacher here at Hogwarts and wanted to sit at that table staring out into the rest of the Hall. A thought hit her. She still had at least an hour before any one would show up and none of the teachers would be there for at least a half an hour. She slowly got up and headed into the Great Hall carrying her shoes and robe with her.
She walked cautiously into the empty hall and headed up the center isle. She laid her robe on the table where she would sit for breakfast and put her shoes down on the floor with a slight click of the heals on the floor. She looked around the hall to make sure she was alone and walked carefully towards the Head table. She walked up the steps almost slipping on the second to last one because of her socks, but steadied herself before she could fall. She walked smoothly around the table and looked out into the hall. She loved the view. She looked own at the soft chairs in front of her and could not remember for the life of her which teacher sat where. She avoided Dumbledore's chair completely and sat down in one towards the end of the table. As she sat down she let out a gasp because of the comfort of the chair she was now sitting in. She leaned back into the chair relishing the empty room in front of her. She loved it all. The tall pillars on the sides, the long brown tables stretched out in front of her, and she could only imagine what it would be like with hundreds of kids filling those empty benches.
The sun hit her face slowly and she felt warm in the seat. She relaxed a bit thinking of the half hour she had to sit there, and leaned back while closing her eyes. She felt the sun hit her uncovered skin on her chest and enjoyed the feeling of warmth it left. Her hair fell down her back and the chair as she slowly drifted into a relaxed state. She was so relaxed she didn't even notice the sound of footsteps coming up the side stars heading out of the dungeons.
Severus Snape woke up on time for once today. He slid out of bed and dressed slowly. He always wanted to wake up earlier than the other teachers to get to breakfast first, but it never happened. This year would be different. It was only the second day of the year and her already wanted to crawl back in bed. His stressed life was over but her still felt the effects. The past year was horrible. After the faked death of Dumbledore at the end of the year and the death of Lord Voldemort at the beginning of the summer, he had a lot of explaining to do. After the chaos had dies off, he had relaxed the rest of the summer, not caring about what was going on. The rest of the Death Eaters were in Azkaban and he still had his teaching job at Hogwarts.
He carried his heavy robe in his hand as he exited his private chambers. He had changed over the summer. He no longer was worried about things and took care of his appearance more. His black button up shirt was missing a button at the top, but once his robes were on, no one would notice. His black trousers fit perfectly on his muscular legs. He rolled his sleeves of his shirts up a bit so he wouldn't get them dirty when he ate breakfast. His hair was no longer long and greasy. He had it trimmed to still cover his face if he wanted it to, but so he could brew potions without it getting in the way. It had lost its greasy look when he wasn't so stressed with spying.
He walked slowly towards the stairs leading out of the dungeons. He glanced towards to main doors as he walked up the stairs and cracked a small smile at the sight of the sun light covering the floor. Ashe walked turned the corner into the Great Hall he glanced up at the Head table expecting it to be empty, but to his surprise, saw a young woman sitting in his seat. He walked cautiously towards the table but stopped halfway as he tried to think of who it could be. The hair and face looked familiar, but he didn't know who it was. He realized it was a student right away because of the uniform she wore, but who was it? He looked around for any clues and noticed shoes and a robe sitting on the Gryffindor table. It hit him right away who this was. It was Hermione Granger.
He smirked to himself at the memories of his criticizing her for her intelligence. He was really under a lot of stress. He was still the old grumpy potions master and would stay that way, but he would no longer play favorites to keep up the Death Eater act. He would be strict this year, but certainly not unfair or hated. He laid his robe across his arm as he walked towards the front. He walked up the stairs and went to stand in front of the table. He stood near Dumbledore's seat and realized that Hermoine had her eyes closed. He was a quiet person when he walked. Her legs were crossed at the ankles and stuck out from under the uncovered table. Her arms were folded in front of her accentuating her chest. He noticed just how she had mush she had changed over the summer. He wasn't the only one who had made drastic changes.
He waited a few more moments for her to stir before clearing his throat. She jumped and opened her eyes searching for the sound of the noise. She then sat up quickly in the chair and looked at him with a confused look on her face. He smirked at her reaction.
"Professor Snape?" She asked in a confused voice. Her hands were laying calming in her lap and she had sat up fully to look at him.
"Yes, Miss Granger?" He smirked at her. She just sat there staring for a moment before realizing her lack of manners.
"O, I'm so sorry. I just was curious. I had gotten up early and just wanted to waste some time. So, I decided to try and sit here. I wasn't expecting anyone for maybe another half hour or so." She made some strange hand gestures but remained in the seat. She looked at Snape for a moment. He just nodded his head from side to side.
"I see our Head girl this year was just wondering what it would be like to be Professor Snape at the head table." He smirked and then went back to his usual stern look.
Hermoine stared in confusion for only a moment before realizing she was in his seat. She jumped up and went to rush around to the front of the table but slid on the floor in the process lading with a thud behind the table. Snape laid his robe down and walked quickly to where she had fallen. She was chuckling slightly.
"Wow, only the second day back and I am already making a fool out of myself." She went to get up when Snape offered her a hand.
"Not a fool, just human." He let go of her hand and walked back to his robe. He walked past Hermione brushing herself off and put his coat on the back of his chair. He sat down in his chair and folded his arms in front of him. Hermoine walked in front of him and sat down on the table a little to his left.
"So, Professor, how have you been?" She asked giving him a weak smile.
"Good, how have you been Miss Granger?" He closed his eyes while asking as Hermione watched the sun creep into the room even more.
"Pretty good." They continued to talk about their summers until the teachers started to file into the room. Hermoine greeted everyone with a hand shake and they stood there talking for a little bit while Snape just sat in his chair with his eyes closed listening to the chatter. All the teachers were talking about how grown up Hermione was and how she was going to be a wonderful head girl. If everyone was as grown up as Hermione, this year would be interesting.
Hermoine had straightened herself up as the teacher walked into the Great Hall. She buttoned up her shirt more and hurriedly put on her shoes. She sat down at the table and waited for her friends to show up. A little while later, she jumped up and ran to hug Ron and Harry as they walked into the hall. They were the only three students in the hall and the teachers were still at the front talking.
Both Ron and Harry stepped back to look at Hermoine. They looked shocked.
"Wow, when did you get so gorgeous?" Harry asked in a stunned voice. Hermione slapped him playfully on the arm while winking at Ron.
They walked over to the table and sat down just as more students were filing into the hall. They ate the breakfast in a hurry and talked the rest of the time. Professor McGonagall handed out the schedules and the trio was relieved to find that they only had one class that day, but it was a double class of Potions.
"Let's hope he is in a better mood this year." Ron looked up at the teachers table to look for him, but couldn't find him at first. Then he realized that the man talking with Professor Lupin, who was back for DADA classes, was Professor Snape.
"What did he do to himself?" Ron asked shocked. Harry looked up at the table and coughed as his drink went down the wrong tube. They sat shocked for a moment until Hermione interrupted their thoughts.
"He is more relaxed now that the spying thing is over. I think he has actually started to care about his appearance. I would have to say that he doesn't look half bad. He also is in a much better mood. I talked with him for while. He is really nice now." She shifted her eyes to Snape who at the moment she looked at him had ended hi conversation and looked at her. She smiled at him in surprise, and he surprisingly smiled back. They both looked away to continue other conversations. Hermoine turned to the shocked faces of Harry and Ron.