AN: Warning, didn't get around to doing a quick edit so don't read if you want perfection. lol
Things got slightly better for Hermione. After the episode in the Great Hall between Pansy and herself and Draco stepping in, the other Slytherins left her alone and some would greet her in passing, but none made an effort to befriend her. Although Hermione would have liked friends, being alone allowed her to focus on her studies.
There were a few times her studies in the library were interrupted by Draco, but it was usually so he could tell her what he knew about Occlumency. When there was nothing left they would talk about what they had learned from the books Severus had given them.
She couldn't stop the memories of the first meeting entering her mind. It was a downright disaster. Severus had allowed Draco to go first and once the boy was done, he was dismissed. On her turn, she was only able to get a flimsy barrier up that Severus had easily shredded before memories were brought forward. The first one was when she had used accidental magic to escape school bullies. The next was when she was with her parents receiving her Hogwarts letter. But it was the next memory that threw her into a panic. It was her sorting and all the Hat had said. Only after the Hat said Slytherin was she able to shove Severus out of her mind.
He looked at her, eyes wide, obviously in shock. Instead of staying, Hermione quickly got up and left, red from embarrassment. Slytherin common room was out of question, so Hermione had chosen to go to the astronomy tower in hopes of Severus not coming to find her and tell her how foolish she was to harbor feelings for the Head of Gryffindor.
But with her luck, Hermione had escaped one professor only to run into another. Minerva steadied the young Slytherin and asked why she seemed to be distracted. Hermione shook her head and walked around her professor mumbling that it was nothing.
The rest of that weekend, Hermione avoided looking at the Head table and making sure she was hard to find, avoiding anyone and everyone.
Hermione looked down at her Potions essay. She was surprised that Potions had gone like all the others that Severus hadn't called her to stay after. Then again it would have been suspicious if he had. Looking up at the clock she realized she had charms next. Packing her bags, she left for one of her favorite classes.
It took everything she had not to cringe at the Halloween decorations and candy loaded tables. She told Albus every year that so much sweets and orange was unnecessary, but she swore the next year there was even more, almost as if he was purposefully adding more to spite her.
Looking out across the full Great Hall her gaze was on the Gryffindor table, on her cubs. Her brows pinched together when she notice Potter looking worriedly across the Hall and the youngest Weasley not stuffing his face at his normal pace. She followed Potter's gaze towards the Slytherin table and noticed that Miss Granger was missing, again. The young woman seemed to be missing a lot lately, but she remembered the last time she brought this to Severus's attention. This past weekend in fact.
After she had run into the younger woman, Minerva made a detour down to the dungeons. "Severus, do you have a moment?" The Slytherin Head of House could only nod. "I just saw Miss Granger practically running through the halls and she looked deeply troubled."
"And?"
Minerva sighed. "You are her Head of House. Have you done anything to help the poor girl?"
Severus scowled, "I don't coddle my snakes like you do your cubs, Minerva. She can care for herself and now Draco is looking out for her. No harm will come to the girl."
"Physically, no. But Severus, she is just a first year and when she went past me, it looked like she had just had a lesson with you and was told she melted her cauldron and was told she got a T for the year." At Severus's silence, she rounded on him. "What did you do?"
He held up his hands. "Albus has me teaching Draco and Hermione Occlumency. Needless to say, Hermione is upset because her secret concerning her Sorting is not as closely guarded as it was before."
"Is it really that bad? For her to be in tears?"
Severus sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "For her, it is probably more embarrassing than bad." As Minerva opened her mouth, "Severus added, "And no, I will not divulge what I learned. Your curiosity will have to remain as that, curiosity."
It was Minerva's turn to scowl. "Will you at least talk to the girl? Although she is a Slytherin, I'd hate to see a bright mind like hers fade away."
Severus only nodded in response as she left. Minerva was pulled out of her thoughts as Quirrell rushed in spouting off something about a troll in the castle. Her gaze drifted back to the Slytherin table. Hopefully Miss Granger was in a safe location, far from the troll.
Hermione couldn't believe she had lied to her professors. Granted she had a feeling they knew she was lying, they couldn't prove that she was. She knew, however, that she didn't want the two boys to get in trouble. Well she could care less about Weasley, but she didn't want Harry to get in trouble because of Weasley. She couldn't help but slightly cringe when Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, but Severus beat the woman. "I'll take Miss Granger while you handle your, cubs." He sneered disdainfully at the two Gryffindor boys. Turning back to the young Slytherin he spoke softly, "Follow me, Miss Granger."
With her head bowed, Hermione did as her Professor demanded. She followed him down the corridors to his office, sitting down in one of the chairs after instructed to. "5 points from Slytherin for lying to your Professors. 10 points to Slytherin for not being a snitch. We both know Potter and Weasley had a hand in you being in the situation you were in."
"Actually, it was because of Weasley, not Harry." Severus waved his hand. "May I go now?"
"No. I believe we need to have a talk Hermione." He watched as the girl tensed and pale. "What happens during Occlumency lessons stays there. Nothing found during our lessons will be told to others." He watched as tension lessened. "Your reasons for choosing Slytherin will remain between us. Am I correct in assuming that I am the only one who knows?"
"Yes," Hermione mumbled, unable to look up at Severus.
The older man sighed. "There is nothing to be ashamed of Hermione. Although, I can't condone the possibility of a relationship now, once you are of age, I will support your pursuits." He shifted in his seat, looking slightly uncomfortable. "And as your unofficial uncle and the only one who knows your secret, if you need someone to talk to, although I'm horrid at advice, I can at least listen."
Hermione finally looked up at him. "You don't think I'm crazy for doing this? For taking a risk that could blow up in my face? You heard the Sorting Hat. It's a slim chance."
Severus shrugged his shoulders. "I won't deny your choice in pursuing this is quite Gryffindor, but you'll need the intelligence of a Ravenclaw and cunning of a Slytherin to succeed. That is why yo0u needed to be in Slytherin so you can learn from the masters. And, although I will never admit to saying this, Minerva's heart as the end goal is worth the risk. She is fierce and slow to trust, let alone love. I have no doubt any who gains that will want another ever again."
"Then why haven't you yourself or someone else tried."
"The woman is stubborn. It is hard to get close. As for myself, my love has come and gone." He held up his hand to stop her questions. "That is something I will not be revealing. It's getting late so you should run along. We still will have Occlumency training on Saturday."
Hermione stood up and nodded. "Goodnight, Uncle Severus."
"Goodnight, Hermione."
AN: I know this is short but it's the best I can do for the time being. I've had to put in more time at work while fighting a sinus infection/bronchitis off and on so yeah, when I'm not working I've been sleeping plus haven't gotten my computer fixed yet. But I hope you have enjoyed this so far. I am working on Love Knows No Boundaries currently. I'd love to say I'll have it up by the weekend but I can't promise that. My mind is working on Loves An Emotion smutty chapter so I'm positive once I've got Love Knows updated Loves An Emotion will be soon to follow. ;) Thank you for reading and thanks in advance to those who read.
