Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not the story or the songs.
Ginny walked out of the hospital wing feeling warm and happy. Until suddenly her pocket started squirming, she gasped in surprise and nearly jumped out of her skin.
She ripped her cloak off and threw it on the ground, as she did, she heard a familiar voice say, "Ouch! Luna!" Ginny pulled out her wand and approached the squirming pocket carefully. She nudged it with a toe and then jumped back very quickly.
If it had not been for that voice, she would have run and gotten Snape immediately. Watching in a mixture of horror and fascination, Ginny witnessed a head and shoulders emerge from the pocket. With a grunt of effort, the head and shoulders pulled themselves out of the pocket and became a full person. It was Neville, she watched wide-eyed as he reached back into the pocket and pulled out Luna. Ginny gaped, unable to articulate words for a moment.
Neville looked up at her and smiled brightly. "I can't believe we outsmarted that greasy bat!" He crowed in exhilaration, Luna smiled dreamily at his excitement. Ginny rolled her eyes, torn between defending Snape and encouraging her friends. She huffed rather loudly to get their attention, the two looked at her with surprised expressions.
"Next time, let me in on the planbefore you just shove something in my mouth. I don't like just abruptly passing out!" She snapped a little more harshly than she meant to and judging by her friends' hurt expression, harsher than necessary.
She winced, "Sorry guys, I didn't mean to be that rough. I just... Don't like passing out, and waking up somewhere else, it... scares me." She said dejectedly, looking at the floor.
Her friends were quiet for a moment, "It reminds you of when you were possessed by You-Know-Who." Luna said matter-of-factly, Neville's eyes widened in alarm.
"Oh Ginny, I'm so sorry! I'd totally forgotten about that!" Ginny looked at him with grim smile, "Lucky you." At that point, Neville looked behind her with wide eyes. Ginny had a feeling she knew who it was. She turned to see who was behind her, it was Snape of course. He looked down at her with a neutral expression on his face.
"Morbid humor, Miss Weasley? How odd." She blinked in surprise, "Odd?" She wasn't sure if he was paying her a compliment or insulting her. She figured he wanted it that way, and the way he turned to her friends and folded his arms, told her that he wasn't going to answer.
"So, Mr. Longbottom, Miss Lovegood, what role did you have in Miss Weasley's fainting spell?" He asked them in dark tone, his smooth voice made Ginny shiver. Thanking Merlin she was out of his line of sight, she bit her thumbnail nervously as a blush creeped up her neck and across her cheeks. She felt guilty that he was reprimanding her friends, but she was getting distracted by his voice.
Neville went completely white and Luna looked up at him calmly, as serene as ever. "I believe I asked you two a question." He said in a smooth and almost dangerous tone. Ginny had goosebumps, she knew she should be alarmed at his tone but she was not feeling anxious at all.
Luna was the one to finally answer, "I forgot which one it was, I thought it was just the nosebleed one, I'm sorry sir. The Snorkaks have been-"
"Don't bother blathering on about such nonsense. Detention, the both of you, tomorrow night." Snape sneered impatiently, waving his hand to make Luna stop talking. Neville looked devastated, making Ginny feel bad for him. She realized that just becauseshe didn't mind Snape, didn't mean that anything had changed for poor Neville.
Ginny felt the need to do something, but knew better than to argue with Snape. That would only make it worse for her friends and she didn't want Snape mad at her. On impulse, she tugged his sleeve very lightly, causing him to whip his head around and look her straight in the eye. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Biting her lip, she tried to find that confidence she had normally.
Snape raised an eyebrow expectantly. Ginny winced internally, her face growing hot as she embarrassed herself further by not having anything to say.
"Speak." He commanded her almost softly, she inhaled deeply and cleared her throat.
"I feel slightly responsible as well, I was the one trying to orchestrate a prank on Malfoy in the dungeons." She said finally, her voice nearly a whisper.
"I'm not sure if I'm hearing this correctly, is Ginny Weasley volunteering for a detention?" Snape said as he smirked, something akin to amusement dancing in his eyes. She blushed so badly, her face and hair were the same color. He had said her name, and she was amusing to him. She thought she could die, or melt into nothing right there in that spot. Her eyes hit the floor and didn't move, her emotions running at full speed as they galloped powerful laps inside her heart. She wasn't sure if she was mortified or just feeling really shy, but either way, it was hard to breathe through the pounding in her chest.
"Very well, detention with your friends, tomorrow night, my office. I will see you three promptly at seven." He conceded in a lazy drawl, as nonchalant as ever.
He tried to leave, but stopped when he noticed Ginny still holding onto the sleeve of his robe. She let go quickly, he paused for a moment and then left without a word. Neville looked at her his mouth agape.
Ginny couldn't look him in the eye, "what? Did you think I'd let deal with Snape alone?" She mumbled in a sheepish manner, throwing her arms up in apparent annoyance.
Luna patted Neville on the shoulder in an effort to help him get over whatever he was feeling. Ginny wasn't sure what Neville was thinking of her right then but she really needed some air, a lot of it actually. She mumbled some lame excuse to the two of them and then wandered dreamily out the front doors. Her feet seemed to move on their own accord, carrying her all the way out to the great lake.
The sun was just setting over the horizon and it reflected beautifully off the water. Once she was there, she spread her arms out straight and fell on her back. Her heart was still pounding from her encounter, her head in a little bit of a daze. He said her name. He called her by her first name.
"I'm not sure if I'm hearing this correctly, is Ginny Weasley volunteering for a detention?" She replayed his voice over in her head, loving the way he said her first name. Her dazed happiness was interrupted by Neville's face coming into her view.
"Ginny? Are you okay?" She stared at him for a minute, slowly coming back to reality.
"I voluntarily got myself put in detention, with Snape." She said, as if that was the answer to his question.
"Merlin's beard Ginny, I think you've gone mad!" Neville responded in alarm. Ginny blinked, "I've not gone mad, Neville!" She snapped indignantly, he looked relieved.
She got to her feet and noticed Luna standing there as well. "I told him you were fine but wanted to check on you anyway." Luna said with a smile. Ginny smiled back, then turned to Neville.
"I'm fine, honestly. Thanks for checking on me." She told him kindly, he nodded but there was a hard look in his eyes that gave Ginny the idea that he knew something was up with her and Snape.
"He's so nice to you. I was almost like he was defending you." He said suspiciously, Ginny bit her lip nervously.
"He... He was the one who checked me out after Harry pulled me out of the Chamber of Secrets. You know, made sure I was okay, and didn't have any lingering dark curses or magic on me. So I guess he has a vested interest in keeping me in good health, you know." She explained carefully, this was something she had never told even her parents. Neville looked at her in surprise, his eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open.
Ginny smiled at him, "so, even though he acts like a bully sometimes, he is a good man. He helped me a lot, to come to terms with what happened and to get on with life afterwards." Even Luna looked amazed, and Neville looked like he really didn't want to believe it.
She didn't really like talking about that time, but she felt it was important because Neville was her friend. She remembered all the times after that, she used to hang out in his office and do her homework; because no one wanted to talk to her or be friends with her. Sometimes she talked to him, but other times just his company alone was enough for her. This was a secret she kept to herself for years and didn't plan on divulging it now.
Suddenly she looked around, "what time is it?" She asked in sudden alarm. The sun had all but set, the dark shadows from the forest reaching out across the grounds as though they were claws of some great monster intent on catching them.
Neville looked at his watch, "Umm... We have five minutes until curfew."
Ginny's eyes bulged, "Oh fuck! Merlin's hairy bollocks! We're going to be late!" Neville moaned in despair, "I hope Snape doesn't catch us!"
Ginny was trying to find a solution, "I wish I was an Animagus, then it would be easy to sneak around without being caught." Luna said wistfully, Ginny had an idea like a bolt of lightning struck her.
"I think I have an idea, both short term and long term." She said with excitement, Neville looked at her with a desperate hope. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at Neville, whispering a spell. Neville yelped in alarm as his body shrunk and shriveled.
Ginny turned to Luna who smiled at her trustingly, Ginny took a deep breath and said the same spell. Luna began to shrink as well. They were both little munchkin cats. She looked at them and squeaked, overwhelmed by their cuteness. She stroked their soft fur and then picked them up. Hurrying as fast as she could, she arrived at the doors in record time. Needing her hands free, she stuffed them into her still extendable pocket. She pushed on the door and almost fell over when it flew open.
It was Snape of course. He looked surprised to see her, as though he was intending to walk through the doors without encountering anyone. He caught her as she stumbled, then raised a questioning brow. Blushing, Ginny decided to have a little fun.
"Professor! There you are! I was just coming to look for you!" She said energetically, he looked nonplussed. She was going to have to try much harder to get to him.
"I needed some help procuring illegal potions ingredients for the secret potion I'm making for all the Gryffindors." She stated in a calm and innocent opened his mouth to say something, but paused, as if to censure his words.
"Miss Weasley, as gifted at potions as you may seem to think you are, I highly doubt you have moral standards low enough to accomplish something like that successfully. Please don't waste my time." Ginny's mouth fell open in indignation, "well, when you put it like that I'm actually tempted to do it!"She threatened him, a hand on her hip and the other waving a finger at him admonishingly.
He lifted an eyebrow, as if to say 'oh really?' Ginny started running through her knowledge of dark and nasty potions. But before she could think of something specific, Snape leaned in towards her. His lips brushed her ear and she stopped moving or thinking for a moment, listening intently to what he whispered in her ear.
"Don't think you can fool me twice Miss Weasley." He purred, sending shivers down her spine. She realized to late that he had reached into her pocket and pulled out the two mewling munchkin kittens she had stowed away. Her blood ran cold when he held them up in front of her eyes.
"M-my k-kittens!" She exclaimed in horror and embarrassment at being out-foxed so easily.
His face held a nasty smile, holding them up higher when Ginny tried to make a grab for them. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at them. There was the faintest of scraping noises from behind Snape, Ginny recognized the familiar noise. She tackled Snape with all her might as a big something burst out from behind him, took hold of the back of his cloak and giving it a massive heave, knocking him off his feet.
Ginny scrambled up his torso as he fell, reaching for the two kittens. Snape grunted as he hit the floor and Ginny tucked and rolled off of him. Two kittens in hand. As Ginny scrambled to her feet, her legs suddenly locked together and she fell to the ground, sending the kittens sliding across the floor. The 'something from behind' was in fact a large brown dog. It took off after the kittens and scooped them up in her jaws. The kittens dangled precariously from her light grip on their furry bodies.
"Run! Save yourselves! Don't wait for me!" Ginny called out dramatically, holding out her arm to them. The dog scrambled around a corner and out of sight. Ginny looked back at a very displeased Professor Snape. She began rethinking her decisions in life this past evening.
"Wait! Come back! Don't leave me here!" She yelled again, dragging herself across the floor with her arms. Snape, having gotten to his feet, grabbed her by her ankles and pulled her back towards him. Ginny let out an "eep!" Picking her up by her waist, he easily tossed her over his shoulder and carried her off towards the dungeons.
"Where are you taking me?" She asked him anxiously, "my office of course." He answered coolly, she could tell he was pissed at her.
"Why?" She shot back fearfully, "well, let's see, you were found outside after curfew, you admitted to attempting to purchase illegal potions items and planned to use them on your fellow students. You're carrying suspicious animals in your pocket, you attacked a teacher and then proceeded to try to flee. With your teacher on the ground. What more reason do I need to take you to my office. You heard the Headmaster, anyone found breaking curfew would be expelled." He snapped, his tone cold, Ginny's heart sank.
"No sir, I'm sorry! Please don't tell the Headmaster! I was just kidding about the illegal potions! It was a joke! Obviously a very bad one! I'm sorry for tackling you sir!" Ginny whimpered fearfully.
Snape said nothing, apparently immune to her pleadings. This didn't stop her even the least bit as she pleaded with him all the way to his office. Once there, she heard some clanging noises and started getting very anxious. Finally, after a few minutes the noises stopped. He sat her down on the edge of his desk, still leaning over her with one hand on the desk. He held up his other hand to her, "Wand." He stated calmly,
"Sir, please, I'm sorry!Please, don't do this." She begged him fearfully, he did not look effected in the least bit. "Wand." He insisted, Ginny bit her lip.
"I-I need my legs unlocked, sir." she all but whispered sadly, her voice cracking a little bit. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Suddenly her legs were freed though. So she bent down, coming so close to him she could feel the heat from his body and pulled her wand from the inner side of her right knee length sock. She placed it in his hand without looking at him.
She took a shaky breath and swallowed the emotions welling up inside her. When she was sure she had her emotions in check, she looked up at him. He was looking at her expectantly, Ginny furrowed her brow in confusion and Snape pointed to the huge pile of filthy cauldrons. Her eyes widened and she looked up at him in horror.
"Get started Miss Weasley." He ordered forcefully. Ginny nodded glumly and walked over to the first cauldron, to find a bucket of soapy water and a scrub brush waiting for her. She slowly rolled up her sleeves and got to her knees.
"The longer you take, the longer you'll be here. Get started." He snapped at her.
She grabbed the brush and started cleaning the inside of the cauldron, scrubbing as hard as she could. After a while, she was tired of the silence and started to scrub to a rhythm. Ginny found her head bobbing to the beat in her head. She began humming to herself quietly. Soon she was singing quietly,
Four letter word just to get me along
It's a difficulty and I'm biting on my tongue
And I I keep stalling, keeping me together
People around gotta find something to say now
Holding back, everyday the same
Don't wanna be a loner
Listen to me, oh no I never say anything at all
But with nothing to consider they forget my name (ame, ame, ame)
They call me "Hell"
They call me "Stacey"
They call me "her"
They call me "Jane"
That's not my name
That's not my name
That's not my name
That's not my name
They call me "quiet girl"
But I'm a riot Mary, Jo, Lisa
Always the same
That's not my name
That's not my name
That's not my name
That's not my name
I miss the catch if they throw me the ball
I'm the last chick standing up against the wall
Keep up, falling, these heels they keep me boring
Getting glammed up and sitting on the fence now
So alone all the time at night
Lock myself away
Listen to me, I'm not
Although I'm dressed up, out and all with
Everything considered they forget my name (ame, ame, ame)
They call me "Hell" (This song was in my head)
They call me "Stacey" (Now it's in my mind)
They call me "her" (Call it, reach it, get some words and get some timing)
They call me "Jane"
That's not my name (And though I realize I cannot emphasize)
That's not my name (I'll stick around but just don't promise, nothing binding)
That's not my name
That's not my name
They call me "quiet girl" (And baby, can't you see, that you're so desperately)
But I'm a riot Mary, Jo, Lisa (A standing joker like a vocal one-liner)
Always the same
That's not my name (Instead of sing-a-long) (this song is monotone)
That's not my name
That's not my name (I've gotta get some soul, I gotta get some feeling)
That's not my name
Are you calling me darling?
Are you calling me bird?
Are you calling me darling?
Are you calling me bird?
They call me "Hell"
They call me "Stacey" (Are you calling me darling?)
They call me "her"
They call me "Jane"
That's not my name
That's not my name
That's not my name
That's not my name
They call me "quiet girl"
But I'm a riot Mary, Jo, Lisa (Are you calling me bird?)
Always the same
That's not my name
That's not my name
That's not my name
That's not my name
They call me "Hell" (This song was in my head)
They call me "Stacey" (Now it's in my mind)
They call me "her" (Call it, reach it, get some words and get some timing)
They call me "Jane"
That's not my name (And though I realize I cannot emphasize)
That's not my name (I'll stick around but just don't promise, nothing binding)
That's not my name
That's not my name
They call me "quiet girl" (And baby, can't you see, that you're so desperately)
But I'm a riot Mary, Jo, Lisa (A standing joker like a vocal one-liner)
Always the same
That's not my name (Instead of sing-a-long) (this song is monotone)
That's not my name
That's not my name (I've gotta get some soul, I gotta get some feeling)
That's not my name
They call me "Hell" (This song was in my head)
They call me "Stacey" (Now it's in my mind)
They call me "her" (Call it, reach it, get some words and get some timing)
They call me "Jane"
That's not my name (And though I realize I cannot emphasize)
That's not my name (I'll stick around but just don't promise, nothing binding)
That's not my name
That's not my name
They call me "quiet girl" (And baby, can't you see, that you're so desperately)
But I'm a riot Mary, Jo, Lisa (A standing joker like a vocal one-liner)
Always the same
That's not my name (Instead of sing-a-long) (this song is monotone)
That's not my name
That's not my name (I've gotta get some soul, I gotta get some feeling)
That's not my name
This song was in my head
Now it's in my mind
Call it, reach it, get some words and get some timing
And though I realize
I cannot emphasize
I'll stick around but just don't promise, nothing binding
And baby, can't you see
That you're so desperately
A standing joker like a vocal one-liner
Instead of sing-a-long
This song is monotone
I've gotta get some soul, I gotta get some feeling
She was wiggling to the beat and singing into the cauldron, forgetting that Snape was there. Finishing one cauldron, she started the next one turning it on it's side to reach certain places better.
Once she finished the song, Snape commented dryly, "very nice Miss Weasley. Now please go faster, I'd like to getsome sleep tonight." Making Ginny jump and hit her head on the cauldron.
"Ow." She said in response, pulling her head from the offending cauldron and sitting back on her haunches to rub the sore spot. She looked up at him with one eye closed, blushing a little bit.
"I forgot you were there." She answered in response to his questioning eyebrow. He pursed his lips, steepled his fingers and nodded towards the cauldron. "Keep working." Was all he said to her.
Ginny sighed, "Sometimes I think you get amused, but I'm never sure. You're always so guarded, I don't think I've ever seen you genuinely smile about something. I almost wish you would, because life sucks sometimes and it always helps make things a little better if you smile." She said with a shrug, then turned back around and continued scrubbing.
Snape stared at her in surprise, once again caught completely off-guard by her. Ginny started humming again, quietly. He just sat back and listened to her voice, not saying anything and trying not to move, hoping she would just continue singing. He was in luck, she started to sing something that sounded like it was fairly old.
Well sometimes I go out by myself
And I look across the water
And I think of all the things, what you're doing
And in my head I paint a picture
'Cause since I've come on home
Well my body's been a mess
And I've missed your ginger hair
And the way you like to dress
Won't you come on over
Stop making a fool out of me
Why don't you come on over Valerie?
Valerie
Valerie
Valerie
Did you have to go to jail
Put your house up for sale, did you get a good lawyer?
I hope you didn't catch a tan
I hope you'll find the right man who'll fix it for ya
And are you shopping anywhere
Changed the color of your hair, are you busy?
And did you have to pay that fine
You were dodging all the time, are you still dizzy?
'Cause since I've come on home
Well my body's been a mess
And I've missed your ginger hair
And the way you like to dress
Won't you come on over
Stop making a fool out of me
Why don't you come on over Valerie?
Valerie
Valerie
Valerie
Well sometimes I go out by myself
And I look across the water
And I think of all the things, what you're doing
And in my head I paint a picture
'Cause since I've come on home
Well my body's been a mess
And I've missed your ginger hair
And the way you like to dress
Won't you come on over
Stop making a fool out of me
Why don't you come on over Valerie?
Valerie
Valerie
Valerie
Valerie
Valerie
Valerie
Valerie
Valerie
Why don't come over Valerie?
He didn't know why, but liked that song a lot. Even more when she sang it. Her voice was beautiful, not weak or out of tune. Just pure, perfect, gold. Snape closed his eyes and listened, feeling happier in that moment then he could quite remember feeling. Ever.
By the time she finished singing it, he had almost smiled. He heard her make a little 'rrkh' sound and saw her stretching, reminding him of the hour. Reality came washing back over him. He let out a little sigh of disappointment, wishing he could have stayed in that moment just a little longer. She looked up at him when she heard his sigh.
Snape looked at her for a second, deliberating on whether or not to call it a night. She did have detention again tomorrow, but the other two would be there and she wouldn't sing so freely in front of them.
"Miss Weasley, you'll continue this the day after tomorrow. For now... You should... Go to bed." He told her with extreme reluctance, he wished she would sing for him all the time.
Or was simply present. He wished she didn't have to part with him. He could just keep her with him, safe and happy, with him. Snape banished those thoughts immediately. She was still too young, even though sometimes she showed intelligence and even wisdom far beyond her years. She nodded and got up to go, but stopped at the door and looked back at him.
He gave her a little awkward half smile and whatever she was going to say died on her lips. She smiled back, her heart doing flips in her chest. As she turned to leave again, he called out to her.
"Miss Weasley," She looked back as he strode forward, coming to stand next to her.
"I should probably escort you to your dormitory, in case you run into more trouble on your way there." He explained to her questioning look.
She smiled and nodded happily, still standing there looking up at him. He calmly gestured for her to go forward and she jumped to begin walking. Turning away to hide her embarrassment, she walked quickly ahead of him. Snape fell in step with her easily, his long strides making her have to walk twice as fast just to keep up. He slowed a little bit, to make it easier for her to keep up.
"Professor, may I ask you something?" She began timidly, "I believe you just did." He pointed out, she blushed a little.
"I wanted to know, why you dislike Neville so much?" She inquired, Snape's eyebrow raised.
He paused a little while before answering. "He is terrible at potions, I do not believe he even tries. And that is unacceptable to me." Ginny quiet for a moment, biting her lip in thought.
"Pardon me for saying sir, but when I speak to Neville, he says he really does try." Ginny said in a quiet tone, he could tell she was trying to be polite.
He sighed heavily, "I'm not perfect Miss Weasley, far from actually." He said to her in soft tone.
She nodded, "I know Professor, but... I guess, I believe in the decency I see in you sometimes. And I think you are capable of... More, I guess. You always seem to be on the fence, you know, not whollygood, but not totally bad either. And, I guess you could sort of lean one way or the other. But I really hope you lean towards good. Because I think you might like it."
He looked mildly surprised and slightly amused, "that's quite a speech Miss Weasley." She blushed, her face the same color as her hair.
"I'm glad you seem to think so highly of me," he began, "you helpedme." She said very quietly, he turned to her in surprise.
"I'm sorry I didn't catch that." He told her, Ginny looked up at him shyly, "you helped me, when I came out of the Chamber of Secrets. Remember, you were the one to verify that I didn't have any lingering dark magic from my... Incident. And then after that, when no one wanted to be around me, you let me study in your office so I wouldn't be alone all the time." Snape looked at her in surprise.
"I hadn't realized that had made such a big impact on you." He was taken aback by her genuine smile and gratefulness over something that had seemed so small and inconsequential at the time.
"See? Sometimes it's the little things that make a big impact. I know it sounds silly, but as a twelve-year-old, to have someone be willing to be around you when no one else is, it makes you feel a little less alone. Like, maybe it's not you that's the problem, but everyone else." She told him, her tone made it clear she was speaking from the heart. He smiled at her a little bit.
"You're very kind Miss Weasley, I'm happy to know that I had such a positive effect on you."
They arrived at the Portrait hole and Ginny turned to look at Snape one last time before she headed to bed. She opened her mouth to say something, but Snape cut her off.
"I will see you and your two friends tomorrow, promptly at seven." He informed her in a calm but authoritative manner, Ginny nodded silently and turned to leave.
"And Miss Weasley," she turned back to him, "dotry to stay out of trouble, you're one of my brightest students and I'd hate to see you expelled for doing something stupid." He drawled casually, looking bored and slightly annoyed.
She smiled at him kindly and nodded, "I will sir, goodnight." Ginny gave the password to the Fat Lady and the Portrait swung open. She looked back at him one last time before climbing through the Portrait hole and closing it behind her.
The Fat Lady gave him a skeptical look and he glared back at her until she looked away appearing offended. He didn't care. The Fat Lady sniffed at him in distain, turning away to fiddle with her dress. He shrugged at the portrait and went on his way.
Hermione sat by the fire, waiting to see if Sirius would come by and visit her. To her dismay, he didn't. She needed to talk to him, urgently. If she was going keep her end of the bargain with Malfoy, she really needed some reinforcements.
Her only shot without telling Harry, or anyone for that matter, would ride on the help she got from Sirius. It was getting late, and she needed to get some sleep if she was going to pay attention in class tomorrow. She heard the portrait door open and Ginny walked in, Hermione opened her mouth to call her over but stopped when she saw the look on Ginny's face.
The dreamy happy look on her face could only mean one person; Snape. He always made her ridiculously cheerful or angry. She had a sneaking suspicious he only made her angry when he intended to, she had noticed his ability to manipulate his students mentally and emotionally to his whim. Ginny in particular, he had begun to seem really fond of just generally and sometimes, Hermione got a little concerned about it.
She knew Ginny liked Snape; but she wasn't totally sure what Snape felt for Ginny, other than a certain fondness he displayed towards her occasionally. She watched quietly as Ginny stomped up to her room. Hermione heaved a deep sigh, full of troubled feelings and frustration. She looked back at the fire to see Sirius's head looking up at her. Hermione gasped in fright, not expecting to see him at all.
"Sirius!" She exclaimed, struggling to keep her voice down.
He smiled at her, "hello love, I assume that you want to speak to me, considering how late you're up tonight." Hermione nodded happily, wishing she could hug him. She sat next to the fire and leaned in as close as she could.
"I need your help with something." She regaled him with the incident with Malfoy (omitting some unimportant things like the kissing...) and watched his smile grow at their antics. Hermione knew he was proud of them for getting away with something like that.
But he grew a little serious when she told him about Malfoy's deal. "I don't think it's a good idea to trust that kid. He has the smell of bad news all over him." Sirius told her in an uncharacteristically dark tone. Hermione was surprised at this, just last year he was all for the creation of Dumbledore's Army.
"I need your help, I have a plan. But it only works if you're there." Hermione said with her usual certainty, making him smile.
"I'm glad you have a plan, I would be very worried about you if you didn't." He answered her kindly, making Hermione go a little pink. She could not help but be affected by his ridiculous good looks, her heart fluttered at his soft tone.
"W-what I was planning was," She took a deep breath to calm herself down, Sirius's grey eyes flashed with something like recognition.
"Malfoy's planning on meeting his mother in Hogsmeade. I'll be there with Ginny, Neville and Luna, but there are a million and one ways that could go wrong, four teenagers against a full grown witch is not the kind of odds I like. What I need from you is to slip her a portkey. And I need you to do itbefore she gets to the meeting with her son. Preferably the moment she arrives in Hogsmeade. So, I was thinking to disguise you as some random person in the street and have you bump into her, slipping the portkey into her pocket. It would need to be charmed to activate with her touch instead of time." She explained in a very business-like fashion.
Sirius smiled at her, Hermione knew he had noticed that he was having an effect her and tried harder to keep her cool. She would absolutelynot let him think he could charm her. She was Hermione Granger for Merlin's sake! He nodded his assent and Hermione sat up a little straighter, holding her head up a little higher.
"Well good, so now that we have that covered, Malfoy's going to ask his mom about Regulus's death. And then he'll relay that information to me." She told him in a little bit of a bossy tone, not really looking at him.
"Well okay, looks like you've got everything wrapped up nicely!" He answered, his tone light and teasing. Hermione felt the flush in her cheeks and heard the low chuckle from Sirius. She huffed and shot him a dirty look. He grinned broadly as she looked at him, making her cheeks burn and she looked down at her lap.
"How are you holding up, love?" Sirius asked her in that soft, caring tone he had begun using when speaking to her. Hermione looked up at him, caught off-guard by his unexpected care for her.
"I'm fine, a little stressed about all the different secrets I'm keeping from different people, particularly Harry. I have you, this thing with Malfoy, I have Ginny's secrets, and the Animagus thing- which is a little less secret now that Neville and Luna know. In fact, Neville wants me to teach him, tutor him actually, in Transfiguration. Luna as well, they want to become Animagus's. And I have to keep all of this from Harry and Ron. And then there's all the stuff that Harry tells Ron and I, that I can't tell anyone else. And then, with all of that I still have all my school work to do, classes to take and now that Ginny and I have conquered becoming Animagus's, she thinks we should learn Occlumency and Legillimancy. You know, as if having one illegal magical skill is not enough!" She said almost hysterically, Sirius nodded sympathetically at her.
"So, what about you, what are you up to?" Hermione asked him, feeling awkward for just unloading on him like that.
He chuckled, "well, I don't think my lifenearly as complicated as yours is, but I definitely have some secrets to keep as well. It's actually pretty boring so far, I'm working on something with Snape. Surprising, I know but it's for the greater good. Believe me, if it weren't for that, I wouldn't work with him. But, actually, I think I'd like to show you something." He said a little mischievously, Hermione looked at him a little fearfully.
"I'm not sure I could handle anymore secrets." He shook his head, "no secrets! Just a little bit of fun!"
Hermione bit her lip, "I don't know Sirius, It's getting awful late..." He smiled at her, "Hermione, it's me. Don't worry, it'll be fine." She still looked anxious, "but Sirius, your brand of fun can be a little bit dangerous..." Her dubious attitude made him roll his eyes.
"Come on Hermione, I promise it will be completely safe. And besides you're with me, I'll keep you safe." He insisted, sounding a little bit miffed at her resistance.
Hermione felt bad about it so she nodded to him. "Okay, I'm in." Sirius's face split into a huge grin. "Okay, hold on one second." He told her, his face disappearing from the fire.
Hermione took a deep breath, "oh Merlin, what am I getting myself into?" There was a whoosh from the fire and Sirius's hand appeared. Hermione grabbed it and was pulled through the fire to the house that Sirius was staying in. She looked around the dark dusty room in curiosity, sneezing when she looked up at the ceiling. Sirius handed her a tissue from no where.
"Sorry, it's a bit dusty in here." He commented casually, Hermione raised her eyebrows for a moment, "Yeah, you're not kidding." Sirius chuckled as he let Hermione look around a little bit. The ceiling was high, vaulted and made from wood, with an exceptionally dusty and unused crystal chandelier. There was an ornately carved staircase curving out from the far wall and there was a large window looking out over a lush, but overgrown garden.
"Where are we?" She asked quietly, the place seemed so quiet and isolated that almost begged for silence from it's occupants. "Somewhere in Scotland, I'm not sure exactly." Sirius answered in a normal tone of voice, seemingly unconcerned about the hushed feel of the place.
Hermione felt like she shouldn't be surprised at this, "I think I've seen this place before. Was it in A History of Magic or something?" She asked him curiously, Sirius looked at her funny.
"Not at all, this is an abandoned Hart mansion. you wouldn't have seen it anywhere for the last 400 years at least." Hermione was confused, "that can't be, I've seen this place, I've evenbeen here before. I swear it. What mansion did you say it was?" She continued distractedly, she could almostsee the place all lit up and full of life and people. She somehow knew where everything was, the upstairs bedrooms, all the different places inside and out.
"Hart. Hermione, that's physically impossible. This place has been empty for longer than you've been alive. The Harts were an extremely old and powerful wizarding family. But they died out hundreds of years ago, they were always feuding with the Blacks, unfortunately you can see who won. Back in the medieval times the Blacks and the Harts were wizarding royalty. On opposing sides." Sirius said in a low and regretful tone.
Hermione looked at him curiously, noticing her look, he sighed ruefully. "My namesake, Sirius Black the first, was the heir to the Black Throne. But he threw it all away to fight on the opposing side of the war than his whole family, and he fell in love with the Hart Princess, Gracelynn." Hermione felt like she had been struck with a billion volts of electricity, a childhood memory coming unbidden to her mind.
Four-year-old Hermione was playing court in her room. She was mid admonishing one of her teddy bears for doing something wrong when her mother cut in, "Hermione dear, dinner's ready."
Hermione turned to her mother. But it wasn't her mother, it was the woman taking care of her for now. In a fit of rage she turned to the woman,
"My name is NOT Hermione, it is Gracelynn Hart, heir to the Harts lineage and prestige. And you will address me as such!" The woman put her hands on her hips,
"No, your name is Hermione Granger, you are my daughter, and you will come down to dinner this instant." Mrs. Granger in a tone that left no possibility for argument or back talk. Little Hermione glared at her for a moment, but conceded when her stomach started growling.
She blinked a few times, then looked up at her mother and nodded dutifully. "Yes mother." She said in placid tone, her previous outburst completely forgotten. Right, of course she was Hermione Granger, what silliness was she thinking?
Hermione felt a sudden extreme disquiet about her past. "Merlin's beard, Hermione, are you okay? You look like you've seen the dead come to life." Sirius half joked, Hermione didn't respond. Hermione was broken from her reverie by Sirius putting his arm around her. She blinked a few times, but forgot what she had just been thinking of.
"What? Sorry, I guess I just got lost in thought. What were you saying?" She asked him politely, Sirius looked at her in a slightly perturbed fashion. She looked back quizzically, he plastered a grin on his face again, hiding his anxiety about her.
"C'mon, let's go to the garden, I have something to show you." He told her, sounding like a happy puppy. He tugged her shoulders and she followed his lead, amused at how he kept his arm around her.