Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Writer Notes: Thanks to my beta HGranger89. Thanks to Lucyole, Polarwriter95, FlowerChild23, Chelsea always, helikesitheymikey, mimisvpor, gisela19wwe, leonix2009, Smithback, FrancineHibiscus, Smootsmokey and lia a karas for your reviews.
Remus watched and smiled as his third-year class faced their boggart. Neville had already dressed the Boggart-Severus in his grandmother's clothes. Seamus' boggart turned into a mummy, and it tripped over it bandages; Parvati's was the dark which turned into a smiling sun; Pansy was a rat then a cat began catching it; Lavender turned a rattlesnake into a jack in the box; and Dean a turned werewolf into a small puppy and licked his face. Ron Weasley's intervention turned it into a giant spider that lost his legs, and the boggart rolled like a ball, passing the squealing Lavender Brown and ending up at Hermione' feet.
The boggart changed with a loud 'Crack!' and became Severus Snape again - angry, forbidding, and seething with contempt. Black eyes stared at Hermione, and the boggart hissed, "You've failed, you silly little girl. You've failed everything. You've failed your exams! You're expelled!"
Hermione's eyes brimmed with tears, and cast riddikulus, Severus Snape's face turn into praise and smiled. "Miss. Granger, you're Head Girl and received Outstandings in all your N.E.W.T's." Hermione smiled with pride.
With a crack the boggart turned into Buckbeak it howled and snapped at Malfoy, the young boy's face grew pale, and he shook with fear. Draco was unable to finish and stepped away, causing a few students to laugh at him.
"Shut up!" Draco yelled, hitting Gregory Goyle.
Suddenly the boggart turned into a Dementor, and Harry froze, his eyes wide and shocked. He was trembling as the boggart advanced on him. Harry tried to perform the spell but was unable to, and Remus had enough: he jumped in front of him, and the boggart became a full moon until with a loud 'Crack!', Remus changed into a balloon flying around the room as the air was let out.
"I failed..." Harry said sadly, and Hermione patted his back comfortingly.
"It isn't unusual to fail to face a boggart, Harry," Remus said soothingly. "You are facing your worst fear, after all, and you have tremendous pressure on you. Your worst fear seems to be fear. I think that is extremely brave, and a difficult fear to conquer." He remarked with a kind smile.
Harry nodded, looking slightly dejected. Hermione, though, was looking more and angrier all the time.
"Is there a problem, Hermione?" Remus inquired.
"Sir, I think it was very rude to make Neville embarrass Professor Snape like that," the girl remarked.
Remus was reminded of Lily Evans during her earliest years when she's sometimes defended Severus against them before she'd had enough of him.
"I'm sorry if you feel that way, Miss Granger, humour is just the way that boggarts are defeated, that's all. It was a simple lesson for one class, that's all. No harm was done," Remus said gently.
As the days went by, Hermione's assessment turned out right: the word of the Snape-boggart had travelled through the entire school in less than a day, and almost every student talked about it non-stop. When Hermione was around, very few dared to, everyone had heard her yell at Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan, chastising them, and in the courtyard, she slapped Ron Weasley hard enough to make him fall on his backside.
Remus saw Severus steam in rage when he heard the students laugh and giggle, and once witnessed Severus' reaction to a gaggle of fourth-years laughing at the descriptions of Snape in a vulture hat. He was so upset that any poor student he heard mocking him landed detention with Filch. Snape faced the staff room filled with badly suppressed smirks and grins. Hooch and Sprout had ribbed him, and Argus fucking Filch had giggled inanely, while Minerva, Filius, and Albus lectured him about his 'obvious poor treatment' of Neville Longbottom. There had been many lewd and insulting drawings confiscated in every class.
Severus collapsed on his bed, exhausted beyond measure. He'd been prowling in the corridors again, using the excuse of catching errant students out during curfew, but it wasn't his shift, and he'd been out hoping he'd catch Sirius Black, that black-hearted bastard. Also, if he was honest with himself, he was lonely and too restless just to sit and read.
"Severus?" Minerva raised her eye questioningly, "Are you quite alright?
His only response was a grunt of assent as he moved he quietly commanded his rook along the chess board. She was growing concerned. The competitive man was practically listless; he wasn't even trying, and she had easily beaten him twice.
Severus had spiralled into a dangerous cycle of self-loathing once again. The fucking incident in the boggart just highlighted what everyone honestly thought of him. He threw himself into his work, correcting essays with a particular vehemence that left no student unscathed, their parchment drowning in a sea of red ink. When the essays were done, he assigned more or stayed up until the wee hours of the night brewing potions, anything to distance himself from the thoughts constantly niggling in the back of his brain.
He was usually guilted over Lily's death that haunted him; sometimes it was guilt over the people he'd been forced to torture or kill in the name of the Dark Lord because he couldn't risk his cover as a spy. He could still hear their depress cries for help and the haunting screams of pain. He could see their eyes every time he closed his, and on those nights he patrolled the corridors, his long legs trying to carry him faster than his mind did, just trying to outrun everything.
With Dumbledore's death growing closer and closer every day, panic was beginning to set in. The Dark Lord would attempt another return and it was most likely the Wizarding World would once again be catapulted into war, but this time the sheep would be without their shepherd. To make his nerves even worse, the old man had been away from Hogwarts nearly every night, searching for more potential Horcruxes.
The weeks wore on, and Hermione's studies progressed at the usual, breakneck speed. All of her teachers except for Snape and Trelawney were impressed. She usually respected her Professors, even unqualified ones like Quirrell and Lockhart, but Divination was merely a waste of time in Hermione's opinion; it wasn't logical, it mostly seemed to be make-believe. Care of Magical Creatures became incredibly dull and dry; they were learning about flobberworms ever since Buckbeak had attacked Draco. While she hated the class, Hermione always smiled and looked interested during lessons to support Hagrid.
She would sometimes stay after class to play chess, or have conversation with Professors Flitwick, Lupin or McGonagall. A couple of times she had tried to have a friendly chat with Professor Snape, but he just snarled and told her to leave as politely as someone like Snape could. She managed to beat McGonagall and Lupin at least a few times, but she couldn't beat Flitwick yet.
Her classes with Professor Burbage were more like conversations than lessons. Professor Burbage made tea and offered cakes, and she seemed to learn quite a lot from Hermione, who'd grown up in a Muggle home and had only left it a short while ago. Professor Burbage seemed to appreciate her knowledge as well, and they discussed the differences between Muggle and Wizarding cultures in the UK.
Hermione's immense workload finally seemed to be catching up to her. Every night, without fail, the bushy-haired witch was to be seen in the corner of the common room, several tables spread with books, Arithmancy charts, rune dictionaries, diagrams of Muggles lifting heavy objects, and file upon file of extensive notes; she barely spoke to anybody and snapped when she was interrupted. One night when Percy Weasley disrupted her, she snapped so hard he nearly fainted; only Crookshanks was allowed nearby while studied.
Hermione was exhausted, but she thought she was coping well; her grades were excellent, except for Divination, for which she stopped caring. She and Dean, who was second in their year, tutored Ron and Seamus in Potions while Luna helped Ginny in herbology. The blonde Ravenclaw was very sharp and intelligent behind her dream-like exterior. Unfortunately, no amount of academic tutoring helped Neville in potions, and his fear of Snape only grew; Snape was relentless in his bullying of Neville after the boggart fiasco.
"Honestly, Neville! Professor Snape is not that bad!" Hermione sighed for what was quite possibly the hundredth time. "He's not evil, and he's not going to bite your head off or throw you in a cauldron," she spoke quietly in the library, wanting to avoid irritating the irascible Madam Pince, who'd already shushed them once. Their group had grown even larger than last year as the Patil's twins, Cho Chang and Cormac McLaggen joined. Cho was nice and was Seeker of Ravenclaw, as for McLaggen, Hermione didn't like him very much; he would stare at Hermione making her uncomfortable instead of studying.
"Seems like he wants to, though," Neville mumbled.
"You can't convince him," Harry said. "He won't believe you, and neither do I."
"Harry's right, he's mean to everyone except the Slytherins. I heard he made a seventh year Hufflepuff cry." Parvati said.
"Git," Ron said, only to receive a jab in his side. "Oww! What you do that for?"
"Ron, you should know better than to insult Professor Snape like that. You know Hermione has a crush on him." Luna smiled.
"EWW!" a chorus of schoolchildren cried. The Patil twins along with Cho looked like they'd eaten a bogey favour jellybean.
"What? Snape?" Ron and McLaggen cried while Seamus made gagging noises making Dean snigger.
Hermione blushed furiously and glared at Luna. "I do not!" she claimed, though her furious blush proved her a liar.
"She does. She sent him a Valentine last year, too," Luna said dreamily.
Hermione groaned and hid her face in her arms. "Shut up Luna," she moaned.
"But it's Snape! He's an ugly, greasy git!" Ron whined loudly. Padma nodding in agreement as Hermione lifted her head with a violent jerk that made Ron flinch.
"Stop calling him that!" Hermione hissed furiously. "And be quiet!"
"I've got to warn you about Snape," said Ron worriedly, "My dad said that Professor Snape was a loyal servant of You-Know-Who."
"I knew he was evil," Harry whispered.
"You're lying!" Hermione shouted, running from the library, tears in her eyes.
The third years were gathering outside of the clock tower handing their permission slips over to Filch as Professor McGonagall laid down the ground rules to for their first Hogsmeade trip. Harry desperately pleaded with his Head of House to sign his form, but she refused to do so. As the small group of third-year Gryffindors made their way to the Hogwarts gates, Neville and Lavender began to shiver as they caught a glimpse of two Dementors in the distance.
Hogsmeade was a picturesque little village of stone cottages and shops with thatched roofs. Posters of Sirius Black were posted in many windows and boards, reminding students of the powerful wizard on the run, posing a threat to them. The children walked past the train station on their way to High Street, home of speciality shops and pubs such as Zonko's Joke Shop and Honeydukes. Some diverged from the path, wanting to observe the infamous Shrieking Shack, the most haunted building in Great Britain.
Hermione made her first stop in Honeydukes. She felt terrible that Harry wasn't allowed in the village, so she thought some sweets might help make him feel better. She also grabbed some goodies for her cousin Hugo, his birthday was coming up, and she could send them home via owl post. After buying more food and toys for Crookshank at Magical Menagerie, Hermione ducked into a small bookshop, Tomes and Scrolls, for something interesting to read when she ran into Seamus.
"Hello, Seamus, enjoying the trip?"
"Uh... yeah … hey Hermione," Seamus jumped a little having been caught off guard by Hermione.
"What're you doing?"
"Just looking for something for Dea… just looking around." Seamus was red and trying to avoid eye contact with Hermione, the witch just shrugged her shoulders and went to browse the shop. She found many interesting books on mythical beasts, self-defence, and a book about great house elves and goblin in history.
Severus detested Halloween, but at least this year he had a Wolfsbane Potion to brew, which distracted him from his depression. The work was challenging and tiring but had become a soothing routine for a skilled Potions Master like himself. During meals, he still glared at Lupin with complete disdain. Whenever the wolf tried to engage in conversation he just snarled; he didn't have the energy or inclination to make 'small-talk' with his childhood nemesis. Lupin may want to be 'friendly', or 'professional colleagues', but Severus would never trust the beast who had nearly killed him.
Just before the Halloween feast, Severus delivered the smoking goblet of Wolfsbane to Lupin's office.
"Evening, Severus," the werewolf smiled, trying to engage Severus in conversation and offering him a cup of tea, but Severus just snarled and shoved the goblet towards the man.
"I'm not leaving until I watch you drink every drop Lupin, then I will promptly leave. I have no desire to drink tea with you," he spat.
"Severus is that necessary?"
"While I may strike fear into my students," Severus hissed, the boggart-Snape never far from his thoughts, "I do have a duty of care to the children in this castle, and I know first hand just what a dangerous beast you are. Now, drink your potion, and I will take my leave of you."
As the feast finished, Severus remained seated while the students rushed out into the Entrance Hall, dispersing to their dormitories. Once the doorway had cleared, he rose to his feet to make his way to the dungeons when Colin Creevey rushed in, running to the Head Table, speaking fast and gesturing wildly, his face frantic. Albus, who'd leaned forward to talk with the boy, straightened his posture and rushed off quickly after him.
"Severus, Remus, come along," Minerva commanded, and the two men rushed after her, Head Boy Percy Weasley trotting along uninvited.
The seventh-floor hallway was packed with noisy Gryffindors all unable to get inside their common room.
"Move for the Headmaster," Percy said sternly with a high voice at the students, making his way through the corridor. "I'm Head boy! Move it; I'm head boy. Come on, move."
"Everyone move against the wall. Now," Severus snarled with a harsh whisper shoving through the crowd, as the students immediately flattened themselves against the wall to make way for their Potions Master.
At the front of the crowd were Potter and his friends, of course, staring open-mouthed at the Fat Lady's portrait, which had been slashed viciously. Albus gave brisk commands to the surrounding portraits to search for the Fat Lady when the adults noticed Peeves hovering above them giggling at a painting of a hippopotamus in the desert, the Fat Lady hiding behind it.
"Peeves? Who did this?" commanded the Headmaster.
Peeves, who didn't dare ignore the Headmaster and tempt is wrath replied, "She did say, said his eyes were like a devil, and he had a violent temper. The one everyone's talking about Sirius Black."
Peeves smiled seeing the students jump. Severus saw Hermione Granger jump a bit, and he instinctively pulled the girl closer to his body, placing a steadying hand on her shoulder. She glanced up at him and seemed to relax, her eyes filled with gratitude at the comfort. Severus didn't notice the look in her eyes as he was struggling filled with hatred and fury towards the traitor Black; he glared daggers at the wolf, there was no way Black had breached the castle alone.
"All students return to the Great Hall immediately. The castle is on lockdown," Dumbledore announced calmly and clearly. "The staff will search the castle and the grounds."
Hermione looked up at Professor Snape, and he patted her shoulder awkwardly and nodded to her, before pushing her forward slightly to join her waiting friends. Longbottom, Potter and the Weasley children waited for her while Percy Weasley was bursting with pride as Dumbledore had a few quick and quiet words with him.
"I want the Heads of Houses to escort their students to the Great Hall immediately. The rest of you wait here until I return. Minerva, come with me, please," Albus instructed, following the excited and nervous Gryffindors to the Great Hall. Severus noticed a sobbing first-year, displaying the great Gryffindor bravery quite well, it didn't help that McLaggen was trying to scare the child.
"Black is going to get you. Black is going to get you." McLaggen sang mockingly.
"Some would say detention with me is more dangerous that Sirus Black, Mr. McLaggen," Severus whispered, looming over McLaggen, making him yelp in fear.
In the Slytherin common room Severus gave swift commands for his Slytherins to get to the Great Hall and after seeing them enter, guided by the Slytherin Prefects, joined the rest of the staff in the Great Hall.
With the children settled in sleeping bags, Albus began coordinating the search: Severus was sent to the third floor alone; Lupin joined Filch in the dungeons, the man knew every hiding place in the dungeon, even many that Severus himself was unaware. Minerva searched the North Tower, Pomona took the grounds with Hagrid; Filius searched the West Wing and Ravenclaw Tower, Aurora focused on the Astronomy Tower; while Charity, Septima and Bathsheba took main floors, patrolling outside the Entrance Hall and Hospital Wing. Albus himself searched Gryffindor Tower and the surrounding corridors. The ghosts and portraits were also warned to sound the alarm if they saw anything suspicious.
Finding nothing on the third floor Severus went down to the kitchen to speak with the elves.
"Master Snape." Dobby smiled with a little bow as he approached the professor; he was still wearing the sock Harry gave him.
"I'm not your master, Dobby."
"Professor Snape how can Dobby help you." Dobby smiled the little elf was always keen on helping someone.
"Have you seen anything strange today? Any intruders in the castle?"
The house elf stopped and thought about the odd request, "Well Sir, Dobby takes a count before and at the end of the day for food, but some days its off. Dobby believes it be naughty students sneaking food."
"It is possible Dobby, however, if you or any of the other elves see a man wandering the castle which is not on staff, alert me, Professor McGonagall or the Headmaster immediately," Severus said, "Sirius Black was spotted in the castle tonight." Dobby winced in fear, and few House elves dropped what they were doing.
"Black?" Dobby shock terrified. "Is Harry Potter safe?"
"He is safe for now," Severus replied and Elf breath a side of relief.
The search took hours. Severus finished around five in the morning, weary and troubled. Albus stood inside the Great Hall, where the students were slumbering in their sleeping bags on the floor.
"Headmaster?" he addressed the older wizard. "The whole of the third floor has been searched, as well as the kitchens. He's not there, and Argus reports that he and Lupin have searched the dungeons and found no trace either."
"What about the Astronomy Tower? North Tower? The Owlery?" Albus asked.
"All searched..." Severus replied, shaking his head, "The elves report food being stolen it could be Black or a student."
"Very well, Severus," Albus said, resigned. "I didn't really expect Black to linger."
"Have you any theory as to how he got in, Professor?" Severus asked, annoyed that Weasley was standing right near them, the boy didn't know how to read a room.
"Many, Severus, each of them as unlikely as the next."
"You remember the conversation we had, Headmaster, just before the start of term?"
"I do, Severus," Albus said.
"It seems almost impossible that Black could have entered the school without inside help. I did express my concerns about your appointment."
"I do not believe a single person inside this castle would have helped Black enter it," Albus said sternly, getting tired of Severus' theories about Lupin; honestly he was childish for holding a grudge.
"What about Potter, should he be warned?" Severus' tone was stern; Dumbledore sighed before he refused, wanting Harry to still hold on to his childhood a little, the Headmaster departed with a quick nod, and Severus stood still for a while, trying to control his anger at the Headmaster's seemingly foolish decisions.