Chapter Five

To tell or not to tell the Weasley's

Hermione stared at the reflection the mirror was showing her. It was hard to imagine that just three days ago she had been covered in bruises and a chunk of hair had been missing from her scalp. Only three days ago she had been scared every minute of the day and since then she had had daily moments where she hadn't felt frightened at all. Hogwarts had become her sanctuary. She prayed that she would continue to feel that way after this day, being quite certain that Ron would show up. She hoped he wouldn't, but his quick, raging temper might force him to come.

She took a long, deep breath before she tore her gaze from the mirror and went to the fireplace, calling Harry. A minute later, the boy-who-lived stepped through the floo and after he had disappeared under the invisibility cloak, they took off towards the Great Hall together. Once there, Hermione had no idea where Harry was, but she was sure that he was somewhere close by. Her eyes darted around the Hall, searching for anything that might indicate that something was amiss. She noticed that many of the students were watching her as she made her way towards the staff table, but she didn't pay much attention to it. Looking ahead, she saw that Snape wasn't there yet (or perhaps he had already eaten), but Hagrid caught her eye and waved at her. Hermione smiled warmly and winked at him.

Sitting down to have some toast and a cup of hot tea before running off to the potions lab, she put a napkin on her lap and then buttered a piece of toast. From the corner of her eye she saw that there was a copy of the Daily Prophet lying on the table where Snape should be sitting. The headline immediately caught her attention:

HERMIONE GRANGER APPRENTICE OF SEVERUS SNAPE!

She frowned and then hurriedly unfolded the paper, quickly reading the short article.

The students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry received some rather shocking news yesterday whilst eating their breakfast. Hermione Granger, the highest scoring Hogwarts graduate since 1945 and Harry Potter's right hand in the war, is returning to the school to begin an apprenticeship with Potions Master Severus Snape. Miss Granger has been out of the public eye for quite some time, several months in fact, so it is most surprising to hear that she quite suddenly appears at this prestigious post.

Severus Snape, former Death Eater, turned spy, has never before taken on an apprentice. One might wonder why he seems fit to do so now. Is it simply because no one before Hermione Granger, during all his years a Hogwarts' Potions Master, has been accomplished enough, or is there another reason behind this sudden news?

Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger's long-time boyfriend, seemed taken aback when asked for his comments on Miss Granger's new post at Hogwarts. (This reporter notices a look of surprise before his expression turns blank.) "She always did as she pleased," is the only comment he gives before he shuts the door in this reporters face. Curious thing to say if two people are happily in love. Perhaps there is more than just potions brewing between Hermione Granger and Severus Snape in the Potions lab at Hogwarts.

"Oh, for the love of... Who wrote this crap?" Hermione muttered to herself.

"Rita Skeeter, of course."

Hermione jumped at the sound of Snape's voice only inches from her ear. She folded the Daily Prophet in half and then turned to glare at Snape, who was now sitting in his seat next to her. Her eyes narrowed when she saw that he almost looked pleased. If it was for the article or for making her jump, she didn't know.

"Must you creep up on me in such ways?" she wondered as she nibbled on her toast.

"Of course I must," he said, smirking as he filled his cup with tea. "I always get such satisfying reactions."

Hermione looked at him in surprise. He was teasing her – surly Professor Snape was teasing her! Had the world gone crazy this morning? Suddenly she saw his mood shift, but he wasn't looking at her.

"Miss Granger, what is Mr Potter doing here?" he asked quietly.

What? Hermione thought, quite perplexed. How did he know that Harry was here? He was under his clock, for Merlin's sake! Her eyes snapped to where Snape was looking, and she didn't know whether to laugh or to think that Harry was a bigger idiot than she sometimes gave him credit for. At the end of the Hufflepuff table, there was the tip a of shoe, floating in mid air. Harry must be sitting with his legs crossed, and wasn't aware that the his foot had dragged up the clock up a bit. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Snape pulled his wand out and a second later Harry's shoe disappeared.

"What did you do?" she wondered, genuinely curious.

"I sent a small stinging hex at him, so he would realize that not all of him was covered," he drawled, sounding bored.

"Idiot," she muttered under her breath with a small smile playing on her lips and then she rolled her eyes.

She could swear she saw Snape's mouth twitch, as if he was about to smile.

"You will never hear me contradict that fact, Miss Granger. Now tell me, what is he doing here?"

Hermione hesitated for a moment, biting her lip. Snape gave her a searching look when she didn't answer him.

"Do not make me repeat myself a third time, Miss Granger," he snapped, feeling immensely annoyed at how this woman continuously irked him so.

"Harry is here because he saw that I was frightened that Ron would show up," she said quietly, avoiding his penetrating gaze. "I didn't ask him to come here, but I am glad he did."

She took a sip of her tea and then turned her head slightly to look at him. His expression was cold.

"Do you believe the Professors of this school are incapable of protecting you from a mere boy?" he hissed quietly, his eyes slightly narrowed.

Hermione's eye widened. He sounded almost offended – like he thought that she considered him to be incapable of protecting her. But surely she was imagining this. Why would Snape be offended over such a thing?

"Of course not, sir," she replied rapidly, not wanting to affront him any further, "but you know how Harry is. Once he sets his mind to something, he won't willingly change course. He's here for the day."

"Oh, joy," Snape sneered and quickly began eating a small breakfast of toast and marmalade.

As Hermione and Snape were finishing their breakfast, a mass of owls appeared, delivering this day's mail. They were both astounded to see that two different owls dropped off letters for Hermione – one of them Hermione recognized immediately.

"Errol...," she whispered, wondering if this letter came from the entire Weasley clan or just from Molly.

She didn't see that Snape was watching her intently as she opened the letter, her fingers shaking slightly. The letter wasn't long, but it was written in Molly Weasley's loopy handwriting.

Hermione –

I was most surprised to read about your apprenticeship in the Daily Prophet just now, wondering why none of us had been informed about this huge transition in your life – even Ron seemed to be shocked! I suppose a congratulations is in order, but I am saddened that you haven't told any of us and also a bit confused. It makes me wonder if there is any truth in what Rita Skeeter writes, something I first considered to be absolute nonsense. Ron's reaction (he seemed quite upset and I don't approve off that you have hurt my youngest son in order to take this post) only makes it more of an enigma. If you find time in your new busy schedule, please come by the Burrow to clear up all misconceptions.

Molly

Hermione was visibly shaking by the time she had read through the entire letter. So Molly thought that she had been mean to her youngest son. If she only knew the whole story... She felt a smooth hand cover her wrist and she jumped slightly at the contact. Her eyes locked with the black eyes of the Potion Master, who looked slightly... worried. He took the letter from her and read through it while Hermione opened the second letter. This one was from Ginny, she recognized the cursive penmanship.

Hermione,

what the hell? Sorry for beginning a letter like that, but that really is the first thing that comes to mind – different variations of that question. What the hell are you doing at Hogwarts? What the hell were you thinking when you took this post and didn't even consult Ron first? I just came from your flat and Ron is devastated that you haven't said a word to him! I can't understand it – you're supposed to be one of the good girls, one of those who can never ever hurt the person they're with. I'm so disappointed in the way you've handled this. I would have sent you a Howler if I knew how to place the charm on the letter, but maybe Harry can help me with that next time I see him – I'm sure he won't condone your behavior either. You must see Ron before it's too late – wait too long and he won't want to take you back.

Ginny

Hermione was so close to hyperventilating that she at first didn't notice when Snape leaned closer to her.

"Remember that there are people watching you," he said so quietly she almost missed it. "You must try to control your emotions long enough to get away from the prying eyes of curious students."

She understood what he was saying, but it was still easier said and done to suppress the great urge of sobbing. She stood from the chair and then glanced around, looking almost confused. Snape was still watching her and then look she was giving him now, her eyes teary and desperate, could only mean one thing – she wanted him to follow. She grabbed the letters and then they left the Great Hall in a hurry. Hermione suddenly remembered Harry and wanted to stop to make sure that he had seen them take off, but Snape put his hand on the small of her back to urge her on. For a moment, his simple, gentle touch was all she could think of. It was as if his hand was burning a hole straight through her robes.

"He is following," was all he said and then withdrew his hand – she missed his touch instantly.

How was it possible that he managed to read her so correctly every time? He led her to his office and then left the door open for Harry. Hermione sat down in one of the comfy chairs by the fireplace and then read the letters again, tearing up immediately know that she was free to be emotional.

"Who are the letters from?" Harry murmured to Snape.

"The first was from Molly Weasley," Snape answered, his gaze on Hermione. "The second I believe is from Miss Weasley."

Harry sat down on the chair next to Hermione and held out his hand for the letters. Hermione gave them to him and put her hand over her mouth as silent tears streamed down her cheeks. Harry read them quickly and then shocked both his best friend and the Potions Master by cursing loudly.

"Why must she always feel the need to bring me in to stuff?" he growled and then chucked the letter away from him. "I think we should just tell them now, right away, so they'll know what a bloody prat Ron is."

Snape snorted slightly, causing both Harry and Hermione to turn and look at him.

"Mr Weasley has done far too much to deserve such a mild title. Wouldn't you agree that a term such as 'beast', 'monster' or perhaps even 'demon' would be better to describe him?"

Harry's jaw dropped and he just stared at his former professor. Snape was looking right back at him with a dead serious look. Only Hermione saw the corner of his mouth twitch, as if he was fighting a smile. Actually, since it was Snape, he was most likely fighting the urge to smirk. Harry tore his gaze away from Snape to give Hermione an incredulous look.

"Is he... joking?" Harry asked her uncertainly.

Hermione suddenly burst out laughing.

"Yes!" she managed to choke out in between laughs and then continued on like this for quite some time.

Harry and Snape shared an amused glance and then the younger man took a step towards the Potions Master. Harry gave him a searching look.

"Was this your intent?" he wondered and looked over his shoulder at Hermione who was still laughing.

Snape didn't answer, but gave him a curt nod. Harry didn't quite know what to think of the man he knew as surly and grumpy. That same person was now making jokes to make someone else, the insufferable know-it-all of all people, feel better. He watched as Snape took the seat next to Hermione.

"Enough now, Miss Granger, or Mr Potter here will think I am much more of a comedian than I really am. It would ruin my reputation as the 'greasy Potions Master'."

This clearly was the wrong thing to say. Hermione burst out in a second wave of giggles and he even heard Harry start chuckling behind him. Snape sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I am surrounded by imbeciles," he grumbled and then waited patiently for them to get over it.

"Oh, thank you. I needed that," Hermione said as she wiped a tear away from the corner of her eye. "Now, where were we?"

"I think we should tell the Weasley's," Harry said straight to the point, coming around the chairs to stand with his back against the fire.

"And I don't," Snape drawled in return.

Harry gave him a scathing look.

"Why ever not? He should be brought to justice and not be allowed to roam in the Wizarding society any longer than necessary," he argued and looked at Hermione to see if she agreed.

Hermione's expression was unreadable. The good humor she'd just been in was gone, her mind now focused solely on the troubles that lay behind her and those that still were ahead of her.

"Be as that may, Mr Potter, the only evidence in Miss Granger's case are her memories. As I'm sure you remember, memories can be tampered with," Snape said and then paused to let the information sink in.

Harry remembered very well that memories indeed easily could be tampered with. But when it came to Horace Slughorn, it was so obvious that that memory had been fake. Who in their right mind would believe that Hermione's memories were fake? Snape continued;

"Since memories are not always to be trusted, the Wizengamot never only allows them as evidence anymore. And since there are no other witnesses..."

"But I'm not talking about bringing him before the Wizengamot right now, I'm merely saying we should tell the Weasley's," Harry countered, not at all liking what Snape was saying – it sounded like he was implying that they needed to catch Ron in the act...

Hermione still didn't say anything. She was just looking back and forth between the two.

"And how do you think the Weasley's will react, Mr Potter? Are you so thick that you believe that they will blindly take Miss Granger's word? No, they love and trust their son and brother too much for that. Unless you have some kind of real proof, telling the Weasley's will be fruitless!"

Harry growled in frustration, knowing too well that Snape was right.

"What are you suggesting then, Snape? That we let her go back to Ron, and wait under my invisibility clock until he starts his frantic rampage, so that we can catch him in the act of him hurting her?"

He saw Hermione wince out of the corner of his eye, but he kept his angry glare fixed on Snape, who looked entirely too calm for Harry's liking.

"Well, I would never put it quite like that, Mr Potter, but something like that, yes. We need hard evidence that Mr Weasley's character is not as stable and agreeable as everyone else seem to think."

"I will not consent to anything that puts Hermione in danger! She's defenseless against him!"

Hermione was quite stunned that Harry was speaking to Snape in this manner – he was even raising his voice to their most feared teacher, something she would never even dream of doing.

"Indeed she is, but she will not be alone, will she, Mr Potter? You and I will both be present. She will never come to harms way."

"And what if something goes wrong? What if he... or if we're forced to..."

Harry was unable to finish his sentences and the Potions Master rolled his eyes at him.

"Your eloquence always did baffle me, Mr Potter," he sneered and then continued briskly before Harry had a chance to retort, ignoring the younger man's glare. "I assume you are worried that Mr Weasley will harm her more seriously than he already has and that we are forced to harm him in return?"

Harry just nodded, too angry to open his mouth to speak at the moment. The office was quite for a moment – the only thing heard was the soft crackling of the fire.

"I don't want to hurt him," Harry finally said, looking at his hands as he spoke, "and I'm worried that if I were to engage him in a fight that I would lose control and kill him."

Snape huffed a little, which made Harry's gaze snap up to him.

"You wouldn't get the chance to battle him, Mr Potter. I will stun him before anything were to happen."

This didn't comfort Harry – he still didn't want Hermione in that position. He threw her a desperate look, asking for help to get the Potions Master to understand. Hermione gave him a pleading look and Harry's heart fell.

"Harry, I agree with Professor Snape," she said with a small voice. "There's no other way."

"There's got to be another way!" he bellowed, twirling around to punch the wall behind him. "OW!"

Hermione sprung to her feet and rushed forward to her best friend. She took a firm hold around his wrist and immediately saw that his knuckles were bleeding.

"Harry, why on earth would you do such a thing?" she demanded, feeling more annoyed that he had hurt himself than angry that he had behaved in such a way.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," he whispered, his voice filled with emotion. "I just don't you anywhere near him. It hurts so much, knowing what he's done to you. I don't want it to happen again, even if I'm with you in the same room."

Hermione stroke a strand of messy hair away from his face.

"I know, Harry. But there really is no other way."

She felt a tap on her shoulder and saw that Snape stood right behind her with his wand out.

"Move out of the way, Miss Granger, so I can heal the wounds before he starts bleeding on my carpet."

Once Harry's wounds had been sealed back together, they sat down again to talk, and this time Hermione demanded that they do so in a civilized manner – no more shouting. Her nerves simply couldn't bare it.

"I think we should wait as longs as possible to tell the Weasley's, Harry," Hermione started, "because the more time that passes, the more time Professor Snape has to help me with my magic. And sooner or later, I will need to confront Ron, in one way or the other."

"Fine," Harry said in resigned way, too tired to try to get her to change her mind. "But I want to be here with you."

Hermione raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"But what about your training, Harry?"

Harry simply shrugged.

"I'll take time off and be here with you," he answered, but he knew she would never allow that.

Hermione just regarded him for a moment, feeling yet again very grateful to have a friend like him.

"Harry, I'm safe here. You said yourself that since my quarters are placed in the dungeons, Professor Snape is close enough to hear if something happens."

Harry turned to look at Potions Master wearily.

"I know you'll do almost anything to make sure I don't stay here indefinitely, but there's really only one thing you have to do."

Snape narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, wondering where the Golden Boy was going with this.

"And what would that be, Mr Potter?" he drawled, folding his arms across his chest.

Harry glanced at Hermione before looking back at Snape.

"Promise me that you'll do everything in your power to protect her," he finally said. "I'm only leaving Hogwarts if it means that I can leave her in your care, in your protection, with a promise that you will do everything you can to keep her safe."

Snape's eyes widened a fraction, so surprised at the boy's request that he was stunned for a moment.

"And you would... trust me to look after her?" he wondered, wanting Harry to confirm it.

"I do, Professor. I trust you with my life and now I'm asking you to look after the person that means the most to me. Can you do that?"

A part of him wanted to refuse, but he felt that it would be impossible for him to do that – no one had ever relied so heavily on him, and it made him feel quite astonished. He knew how much Hermione meant to Harry, had seen it first hand in the intimate embrace they had shared the day before. And yet, he dejectedly wondered if the younger man was trying to trick him somehow. After all, he had tormented the boy for years, and not to forget, who in their right mind would trust Severus Snape with the most precious person in your life? He searched Harry's face for an ulterior motive, but found none. He turned his head slightly to look at Hermione and saw that her mouth was slightly open and he found himself wondering what was going through her mind. Looking back at Harry, he finally nodded slowly and held his hand out to the young man.

"Alright, Mr Potter," Snape said and Harry firmly took his hand. "Although this is not an Unbreakable Vow, I promise you to honor it as such. I give you my word, Mr Potter, that I will do my utmost to make sure that no harm shall come to Miss Granger."

They held fast to the others hand for a moment longer and then they let go simultaneously. Hermione felt relieved, happy and... safe. Ever since she had arrived at Hogwarts, even though it was just three days prior, she had felt safe in the Potions Master's presence from the start and now that feeling grew tenfold. She got up from the chair and promptly flung her arms around the Potions Master.

"Thank you, Professor," she said quietly and as soon as she felt his entire body stiffen, she let him go before he had a chance to push her away.

Snape looked both so shocked and scandalized that Hermione found herself apologizing for her spontaneous behavior, but Snape came to his senses and waved it off. Harry was just amused.

"However, I must ask you, Miss Granger, not to make it a habit."

Hermione's cheeks reddened.

"I won't, sir."

No one spoke for a moment. Then Harry cleared his throat.

"Well then, if everything is settled I'm going to back to the academy. I must admit that the instructor wasn't too pleased that I went missing for two hours yesterday."

Hermione didn't seem surprised.

"Now it's your turn to make me a promise, Harry," she said, almost demanding. "Promise me to not come here unless I call for you. I won't have you miss more of your training just because you're worried when you don't have to be."

Harry looked like he wanted to object, but when Hermione put her hands on her hips, Harry knew she meant business.

"Fine," he grumbled and then turned to Snape. "May I floo out from here?"

Snape just inclined his head and walked over to his desk to get the bag of floo powder he had there, while Hermione and Harry hugged good-bye.

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said to Snape, both for the powder and for the promise that had been made and then he flashed Hermione a smile. "I'll be in touch, Hermione."

"Bye, Harry," she said as she smiled in return, waving to him as he disappeared in the green flames.

Then she turned to Snape who had seated himself behind his desk.

"Well this has proved to be an interesting morning," Snape said quietly.

If he spoke to her or to himself, Hermione didn't know. He checked the clock on the wall and got up from the chair with a heavy sigh.

"Time to teach the dunder-headed first years," he grumbled and then met Hermione's gaze. "Will you be able to successfully brew the Strengthening Solution for me today?"

"Of course, sir," Hermione answered with confidence.

Snape nodded and then inclined his head towards her.

"Very good. You know where to find the recipe and the ingredients. I will see you tonight at seven."

He paused and then gave her a serious look.

"I feel I should warn you that we will look at some of your most painful memories with Mr Weasley. Brace yourself."

Snape gave her a half-smile and Hermione flashed him a smile, but after he left Hermione's insides instantly turned ice cold.