A/N Chapter Warnings: Thank you for all your positive feedback! i'm glad you're all enjoying this new story. Story is rated M for a reason, this chapter may contain: bad language, sex, violence, mentions of rape, and general adult themes.
Chapter 7: Hogwarts, Hermione's Aggression and a New Schoolyear Begins
After a very quiet train ride to Hogwarts, the four hungover friends were jolted out of their sleep by Remus, who had come on the train to find them and personally see to their safety whilst travelling from the train to the castle. He chuckled when he saw them. Well, he had been forewarned by an amused Tonks and an irate Minerva, even Severus had looked amused.
The Thestral's pulling the carriages from Hogsmeade to the castle didn't help either. But Hermione knew that she was still feeling rough because she hadn't had anything to eat, she knew that she was craving stodgy foods and couldn't wait to get her hands on something. Overall, the ride was quiet and peaceful. Since it had been revealed that Voldemort had returned, the atmosphere surrounding the school felt that little bit darker and foreboding.
.
.
.
"Who are they?" Luna Lovegood asked as she joined the group of four at the gates of Hogwarts.
"They're Auror's" Neville answered as they watched the Auror's, and Professor Flitwick, check in all the students and search all of their possessions.
"What the devil was that for?" Hermione's attention was suddenly drawn to Draco, who had just had all his possessions thrown across the ground.
The Auror was holding Draco's suitcase upside down as all Draco's clothes and books fell onto the dirty, dusty ground, and the Auror picked up a couple of the fancy looking books.
"And what are these?" He sneered at Draco.
"They're my school books" Draco answered, slightly angry at the way the Auror was treating him. He knew he was only being treated like this because of his family name.
"And why don't they look like everyone else's school books huh? Do they contain dark magic? I wouldn't be surprised you piece of shit" the Auror snarled.
Hermione's heart dropped to her stomach. Poor Draco, she felt awful for him. The desire to help him thrummed through her body and, before she could think any more about it, she had stormed past Professor Flitwick, who was asking her to confirm her name, and continued towards the arrogant Auror and her friend.
"What is she doing?" Ron asked as he went to walk after Hermione.
He was held back by Harry who knew what she was going to do.
"What are you doing Harry? Let go! Neville help me!" Ron exclaimed as Neville also joined in holding Ron back.
"Ron, stop it! It's only Draco, he's harmless" Neville said.
"Why are you suddenly taking his side after all the crap he's done to you over the years?" Ron questioned but stopped struggling as he realised that his friends were not going to let him go.
"He's not that bad" Neville said quietly.
The boys fell silent as they watched the spectacle of Hermione looking like she was about to throttle the Auror.
"You cannot treat him like this, he has done absolutely nothing wrong!" Hermione snarled viciously at the Auror.
The Auror just looked at her and immediately recognised her. He looked past her and noticed Harry stood a few yards behind and instantly calmed knowing that he was near a celebrity presence. He had heard stories about the infamous trio and he knew how brilliantly scary, and temperamental, the young witch, who currently stood in front of him glaring, could be.
"Look Miss, we are just here to do our jobs properly" the young Auror said to her, looking a bit uncertain at her actions. Hermione almost scoffed, he was clearly a newbie.
"Oh yeah? So why haven't you checked my possessions in the same manner that you just checked Draco's? If you want to do your job properly then do it properly" Hermione shouted angrily as she went over to her trunk and opened it. She then proceeded to throw all of her possessions on the dusty, dirty ground, next to Draco's belongings.
"Well go on then, do your job" Hermione snapped.
She picked up some of her books and other academic items.
"Well now, this book won't be on your pathetic list, so do you want to check through it for dark magic?" Hermione asked sarcastically.
"Miss, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down-" the Auror started to say nervously.
"Calm down? But I'm not even that angry, however I could show you the true depths of my anger if you so wish" she stated as she headed towards the Auror.
Draco, who had been looking on in complete shock not knowing what to do, decided it was time to step in. He grabbed Hermione gently by the shoulders before she could deck the Auror, or get herself into legal trouble from attacking the bloke.
"Let me go Draco" she hissed at him.
"No, Hermione stop, you're going to get in so much trouble if I let you continue what you're doing" Draco said.
"What's going on here?" the voice of Severus Snape caused a momentary silence in all conversations taking place in the immediate area.
"Why have I received a message from Professor Flitwick stating that all hell has broken loose down here?" Severus looked at the scene of Harry, Ron, Neville and the Lovegood girl and then over at Draco, who was holding back a furious Hermione from the terrified trainee Auror.
"I'm making sure this man is doing his job properly, Sir" Hermione stared venomously through gritted teeth.
Severus was intrigued at his little fireball but knew he had to maintain the vision of authority.
"Miss Granger, I suggest you desist at once and tell me exactly what is happening, and quickly" Severus said, looking directly at Hermione and Draco.
"He threw all of Draco's possessions into the dirt and claimed he was just 'doing his job'. If this is how one student is to be searched, then it should be how all the students should be searched. I was just making that point by throwing all of my own belongings on the ground as well" Hermione stated, although her eyes never left the Auror.
"That is a fair comment Miss Granger; all searches should be equal in their delivery. As stated by Alastor Moody himself" Severus said as he glared at the now pale Auror.
In reality, Alastor Moody probably didn't give two shits about the searches. He probably wouldn't care if they were conducted fairly or not. In fact, Moody would probably be relishing at the sight of watching a Malfoy heir have all his thousands of knuts worth of fine fabric robes and books be tossed about in the dust and the dirt. Severus thought that the newbie Auror didn't need to know this tiny bit of information though.
"All students are to be searched in the same manner. Should it be required otherwise, then the head of house should be present. Had you wanted to search Mr Malfoy more extensively, then I should have been notified immediately" Severus said the Auror.
The young Auror gulped and nodded. Severus recognised the young man, he had been a previous student at Hogwarts and Severus had taught him. Severus was glad to see that he was still feared, even years later.
"Now what is your grievance?" Severus asked the Auror.
The Auror cleared his threat, hoping his voice sounded stronger than he felt at that moment.
"Mr Malfoy claims that these are his schoolbooks however, they look different to what everyone else in his year has brought in. I just wanted to check the content of the books" the Auror said a little shakily.
"Well, did you?" Severus asked.
The Auror remained silent.
"Did you physically pick up the book and open it to see what was inside?" Severus queried.
The Auror gulped.
"I started to check for dark magic first, you never know what objects you may come across in this job. The next thing I know is this girl storming towards me shouting about injustice" the Auror explained.
"Well I can sort that out" Severus stared as he flourished his wand for a second over Draco's books.
"No dark magic detected" Severus said before opening the book to the first chapter of Draco's potions book.
"Low and behold, the academic textbook Mr Malfoy is required to have for his potions classes this year" Severus said to the Auror.
"Well I didn't know" the Auror replied.
"Then maybe you should've asked" Hermione snapped.
"Enough Miss Granger, you already have detention and removal of house points as it is and the feast hasn't even begun yet" Severus said in full teacher mode.
"Now, is the issue resolved here?" Severus asked the Auror.
The Auror nodded his head, looking slightly embarrassed at the events.
"It might interest you to know that families, like the Malfoy's, tend to have all their books bound in leather as a show of their status and their money. Perhaps think about that for all the students that you are about to search" Severus said as he turned back to his students.
"You two with me" he said to Draco and Hermione.
Then he looked at the others.
"You lot, stop staring, no dawdling, go straight to the great hall" he said to Harry, Ron, Neville, Luna, and the small group of people that happened to be standing nearby watching the scene unfold.
They didn't need to be told twice. They all took their searched belongings and headed for the main entrance to the castle. Harry gave Hermione a sympathetic smile as he walked ahead. Severus turned to his two students.
"What the devil do you think you are playing at?" Severus asked.
"He pissed me off, he should not have treated Draco like that!" Hermione said moodily.
Severus stared at her for a moment, he was slightly shocked by her tone.
"Something's wrong isn't it?" He asked rhetorically.
"Something's making you more irate than usual" Severus said.
"That time of the month?" Draco questioned, grinning at his still angry friend.
She glared at him.
"No, it's not that at all. It's much simpler than that" Severus said, trying not to chuckle.
He didn't want to upset Hermione even more than she already was.
"Then what is it?" Draco asked confused.
"Somebody is hungry" Severus grinned.
"What? Hungry? There is no way that all of that came about just because she was hungry" Draco said in disbelief.
This time Severus did chuckle.
"You have clearly never met a truly famished female before. Have you Draco? Trust me, let's get her to the castle. She'll be much happier once she's had some delicious food" Severus said lightly, trying not to laugh at her expense more than necessary.
Draco was still looking at Hermione in disbelief, as her cheeks burned red and her eyes found the floor particularly interesting. She looked back up sheepishly and Draco's eyes widened.
"Alright, maybe I'm short tempered because I'm hungry, but I did mean what I said. It was unfair what that Auror was doing and I don't know what happened but I got really angry and stepped in to help Draco" Hermione admitted.
"Next time it might help to not do a whole day's train journey with a hangover and empty stomach" Severus said to her as she looked up at him mortified that he knew she had got absolutely pissed the night before.
"What? Really?" Draco asked looking at Hermione in amusement.
"Yes, I bet she started her day off with her head in a toilet and then with no food on top of that. It makes her one force to be reckoned with" Severus said.
"Because it's not like she's already a force to be reckoned with or anything" Draco mumbled.
Hermione looked at him.
"Thanks for stepping in Granger. I knew what he was probably going to do, but I appreciate your help all the same" Draco said.
Hermione smiled at him.
"Anytime Draco, you only have to ask" she said.
"Yes, it's all very touching. Now, both of you go and get a decent meal in your stomachs" Severus dismissed them, ordering them to the great hall.
"See you later" Hermione said to both Draco and Severus as she ran to catch up to her friends.
.
.
.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. As you know, Voldemort has returned. This means that for this year, there will be Auror's patrolling the grounds and the corridors of Hogwarts. No doubt you are all aware that you were required to identify yourself and your possessions were searched upon arrival this evening" Dumbledore began his speech looking directly at Hermione as she kept her eyes down and focused on the table in front of her.
Harry, Ron and Neville grinned at her refusal to meet the headmaster's eye. The boys had thoroughly enjoyed Hermione's dressing down performance of the newbie Auror.
Hermione tuned out the rest of the Headmaster's speech as she thought about the school year. She wondered just what mischief and mayhem they were going to get up to this year.
"I would like to welcome back Remus Lupin who will be teaching Care of Magical Creatures this year" Dumbledore announced.
There was mass applause from the Gryffindor table and smatterings of applause across the rest of the tables. They were still unsure about a werewolf teaching them.
"Also, we welcome back Professor Horace Slughorn, who will be teaching potions classes this year" Dumbledore said and the great hall all gave a polite applause.
"This means that our previous potions Professor, Professor Severus Snape, will now be teaching your Defence Against the Dark Arts classes. Good luck professor" Dumbledore said.
The Slytherin table cheered enthusiastically for their head of house, whilst the rest of the school seemed less than thrilled to have him teaching defence. Hermione applauded in respect as she had always done when changes to staffing had been made. She even gave Severus a secret smile which she hoped he noticed.
"Now that is all I have to say. Everyone, enjoy this magnificent feast" Dumbledore said as the food appeared on the tables.
Hermione practically started drooling and grabbed whatever she could and piled it on her plate. Particularly the Yorkshire puddings, sausages, carrots, and mashed potatoes, and then promptly dousing the entire plate in gravy. Those around her gave her some odd looks but soon went back to their own conversations when she ate in a civilised manner. Severus and Draco were subtly watching her in amusement as she scoffed down as much food as she possibly could. She didn't stop until she felt full to burst and her stomach was giving off that pleasant warm feeling of a decent, nutritious meal.
.
.
.
The Next Morning:
"Now here are your schedules for your classes" Professor McGonagall shouted above the excited chatter that was the first breakfast of the school year.
She was trying, quite unsuccessfully, as she did every year, to hand out the correct timetables to her students.
"What do you boys have first?" Hermione asked after she had received her own.
"Sweet, I have a free period this morning" Ron said happily.
"Me to" Harry smiled in delight.
"You know your free periods are actually study periods. Meaning you still have to study even though you're not in actual classes" Hermione said, disapproving how happy the boys were at their free time.
"Come on Hermione, we have nothing to study yet. We haven't had any classes yet" Ron said.
"You could do some reading around the subject" Hermione suggested.
"Not likely Hermione" Harry said.
"Fine, but don't let Professor McGonagall see you that happy, she will make sure she finds you something to do otherwise" Hermione warned her friends.
"Oh come on, what's McGonagall gonna make us do?" Ron said, chuckling slightly.
"Ok, but don't say I didn't warn you" she said as she picked her back and books and made to leave the great hall.
"Oi, where are you going?" Harry asked after her.
"Unlike you two, I don't have a study period this morning, I have potions, and if I don't get a move on, I won't make it to the classroom in time" Hermione said as she headed for class.
.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, Severus was looking around his new classroom. He was mentally preparing himself for the first class of term, the third years. He couldn't believe that after all his time of teaching at Hogwarts that he was finally where he had always wanted to be. Although the moment was bittersweet, he tried to think of the positive aspects that this new school year was going to bring. There would be no potions accidents to deal with, no scrubbing of cauldrons, there would be no having to go and collect specific potions ingredients at the appropriate times. This year, he was like a normal teacher. Show a few spells, get the students to cast their own defences and help prepare them for what was to come. Severus felt confident that he was the correct person for this position this year. He knew exactly what these students could be up against in the near future and he vowed to ensure that every single one of them could protect themselves, or at least create a distraction.
Soon, Severus heard excited chattering outside of the classroom door and he knew that this was it. The school year had officially begun. He decided to set the no nonsense tone for the rest of the school year by flinging the classroom door open so hard, that the damn door nearly flew off its hinges.
All conversation stopped as thirty pairs of nervous eyes stared up at him. He looked down on all of them before moving to one side.
"To your assigned seats" he stated clearly.
He watched as all thirty students quickly stumbled their way into the classroom and tried to fumble their way to their assigned seats. He watched as they all sat down, got out their textbooks, parchment, and quills, and sat deathly silent in anticipation of the hell that was surely to come.
Severus grinned at the sight before he turned around to begin teaching the first class of the term. He sure loved scaring the crap out of the younger kids and he didn't even feel bad about it.
"Open your textbooks to the first page" he stated in that low tone of his.
"Welcome to your Defence Against the Dark Arts class" he said as he began his mandatory introduction speech.