The Pitfalls of Being an Insufferable Know-it-all

Twenty Six

I didn't sleep particularly well that night.

There was a bit too much to think about, it seemed. The Evening Prophet had managed to sniff out a rumour that I had secured Severus's release. And, of course, it was no rumour. They had also managed to add a certain colour too, on the incident of our apparent acquaintance. That was no rumour,either, of course.

The day was a Sunday and a Weasley family dinner beckoned. Unfortunately, I was sure to have many questions to face. And there was a man in my bed who wasn't supposed to be there.

So much for the spare room.

I lay on my side, facing away from the man in particular. I never would have thought this could have been the outcome following our meeting those weeks ago. Yet, I had a feeling the true outcome, the final outcome, was still rather too blurry to make out. And, the trouble was, I increasingly felt my attitude to it was becoming flippant.

Reckless, maybe.

Could it ever work between us? I often wondered. Despite what my heart wanted, even I had to acknowledge how ridiculous it sounded on paper. Perhaps there was too much history. Perhaps he was too damaged. Perhaps I was too young.

And perhaps it would never matter.

I'd take my chances where I saw them, because I now knew I wanted no longer to spend my life alone. That much was a given.

I shifted onto my back with irritation.

But above all else, the priority now was to get Severus's charges dropped. How to achieve that was not entirely clear to me.

I twisted onto my other side and closed my eyes tightly. It was to no avail, however, and I felt wide awake. I shifted quietly, once more, thinking I would have to simply get up.

'It was easier sleeping in Azkaban,' came a deep, disgruntled voice.

I froze. 'Sorry,' I whispered into the dark. 'I'll leave you in peace.'

I made to move but his hand touched my upper arm, forestalling me.

'What's wrong?'

'Nothing… Go back to sleep.'

I felt him shift. 'Well, I'm awake now, so…'

I bit my lip and considered. 'Wait here, then…' I murmured, getting up and pulling on my dressing gown.

I left the room and went to my cloak. From inside it I retrieved the envelope I had seized from Ridley's office and returned to the bedroom. I lit a lamp that hovered near to the bed so there was enough of a dim glow to see by. He was sitting upright against a pillow and I felt my eyes avert of their own accord from his chest.

I got under the covers and sat cross-legged. At his expectant look I handed him the envelope. I watched him take it, first examining the writing on the front, and then turning it over in his hands to view the back. He touched the broken wax seal, pressing it back together to form the complete product.

In a moment, his eyes raised to mine.

'Where did you get this?'

'Ridley's office — it was inside a pocket of his cloak. There was no letter inside.'

He turned his consideration to the envelope again.

'Of course, it could be a coincidence,' I conceded lightly, 'but I distrust anything involving a Malfoy.'

He made a low noise of agreement, looking at the seal of one Lucius Malfoy once more.

'Does Ridley know Malfoy?'

'He has never mentioned him to me.'

I watched him carefully, wondering how he would respond to my next question.

'What is Lucius Malfoy doing with himself these days?'

The Malfoys' may have escaped Azkaban following the end of war, but they had not escaped unscathed. Malfoy Manor had been seized by the Ministry, for one, and the

Malfoy name had become mud for another.

'I don't know,' Severus replied, handing the envelope back to me.

'You have not kept in touch?'

His eyes snapped to mine and there was a flash of anger that filled them. Clearly, I was walking a fine line, but it didn't prevent me from continuing.

'Were you not friends?'

'Yes — we meet every Sunday for afternoon tea.'

I opened my mouth to retort briskly, but he threw off the covers and got to his feet.

'Severus —'

He stalked out, closing the door behind him. I lifted my eyes heavenwards and threw myself down into the bed. I'd obviously touched a nerve, but I didn't regret it. I knew I'd have to touch a few more of those in order to get where I wanted — to the real man underneath those nearly impenetrable layers.

I lay there alone, and I suppose I even dozed off eventually, as the next thing I knew was that dawn was beginning to break. I got up, half wondering if he would still be there, but I found him with his back to me at the kitchen table.

'Thought you might have had breakfast cooking at the very least,' I announced dryly, stepping up behind him.

Splayed out in front of him were the incriminating photographs I'd found at Cresswell's cottage. He glanced up at my arrival.

'There is nothing to signify either way, but there's a chance these were taken at the Malfoy estate.'

I stared at the photographs for a moment. It was true there was nothing whatsoever to suggest we were on the right track.

'Still… A lead is a lead, and we don't have many of them at the moment.'

I gave his shoulder a squeeze.

'Mmm.'

'We'll go tonight, then.'

He looked up at me sharply now. I knew what he was about and before he could action himself I let out a loud groan of frustration.

'You are not going alone!' I enunciated crisply, leaning down towards him.

I just about clocked his mild expression of outrage as I turned my attentions to the kettle.

'I wasn't going to say anything!' he protested.

'You were.'

There was a moment before he replied. 'Am I not allowed to prioritise your safety and well-being above all else?'

I smiled to myself. 'Being pious doesn't suit you.'

'Ouch,' he murmured to himself.

I placed a mug down in front of him. 'Help yourself to anything you want… I'm going to get ready.'

'To go to the Weasleys' no doubt,' he observed with a grimace.

'You're welcome to join us.'

I burst out laughing at his subsequent look of horror.

'Thank you, no. I'd rather die.'

I blinked at the vehemence in his tone. 'Very well.'

It was as I was tackling my hair that a brisk knock sounded at the front door. I stepped into the living room, somewhat intrigued. No one ever knocked the door. The only person to call on me lately was currently reclining on the settee with a book.

Severus got to his feet and I indicated he should go into the bedroom. I crossed over to the door and opened it.

A flashbulb erupted almost immediately, dazzling me momentarily.

'Miss Granger! Dawkins here from the Daily Prophet - could you talk to us about your involvement with the release of Severus Snape?'

I slammed the door shut.

'Miss Granger, do you know where Snape is?'

'Fuck off,' I muttered crossly.

Severus was stood in the doorway. 'Want me to go out there and hex them? Give them something really to talk about.'

'Definitely not!'

Once the battle with my hair was complete I tugged on my cloak and collected up the bottle of wine I always took with me.

'Give my love to Potter and Weasley,' muttered my new lodger.

I sent him a look of fake amusement before leaving.

I Apparated into the garden at the Burrow and with a fortifying breath, I stepped into the kitchen. It was immediately obvious as to the atmosphere I was entering. Molly looked up from the saucepans with a large smile, but there was something lacking in her effusiveness, and poor Arthur seemed not to be able to look me in the eye. Having evidently been listening out for my arrival, Harry and Ron suddenly tumbled through the door into the kitchen, both apparently bursting.

I held up my hand to forestall them.

I stared at them with as much gumption as I could manage, when, really, my insides were shrivelling with embarrassment. They stared back at me looking faintly green.

I knew I shouldn't be embarrassed. I'd just become so accustomed to keeping my private life private… Or, actually, it might be more that I had become accustomed to having no private life to speak of. I was too used to pretending I was content, strong and unbothered in my everyday existence, and now there was an anomaly that I wasn't quite sure how to treat. And this was no ordinary anomaly.

I sighed to myself, knowing there was only one way to deal with this.

'Whatever you have heard or read is likely true,' I announced plainly. I raised my hand again when Ron opened his mouth. 'Yes, I have been working with Severus Snape on matters pertaining to our mutual interest. Yes, he was with me on the night of Cresswell's murder and yes he will be found innocent of all charges against him. The matter of our personal relationship is a matter between ourselves. However, I will not deny we have one and so read into that what you will.'

There was a stunned silence that followed.

It was Arthur who eventually broke it. 'Um… Shall we, ah, yes, let's lay the table for lunch—'

'Excellent idea!' Molly exclaimed, drawing out her wand so that plates started flying everywhere.

'So it's true then, what they're saying?' Harry questioned. 'That you and he are—'

'Harry, dear, could you fetch some chairs?' Molly put in. 'And Arthur, could you—'

'For Merlin's sake!' Ron suddenly burst out, looking despairingly at his parents. 'Hermione's just told us she's shagging Severus Snape and all you can do—'

'RONALD WEASLEY!' Molly screeched, slapping him with her tea towel. 'Don't you dare use language like that in my kitchen!'

Ron shied away from the assault but Molly pursued him vigorously with the tea towel. 'Out! All of you!' she cried, pointing to the door.

'Not you, dear,' she murmured when I dutifully stepped forward.

I braced myself for what was to come when the others had sloped away. Molly looked at me, not unkindly, of course, but I felt there was a layer of something there… Concern, maybe, and possibly pity, too.

'Hermione, I don't presume to take on the role of your mother, but we have known each other a long time, and been through so much that in your mother's absence, I hope you don't mind me extending to you some counsel, woman to woman.'

I nodded. 'Of course.'

She paused and considered me at length.

'Do you know what you are doing? That is, getting involved with such a…' she searched around for an appropriately diplomatic word. '... a difficult man?'

I said nothing.

'And you are so young, Hermione…'

I bridled at that. 'Young? I'm hardly young in any sense of the word.'

Molly shook her head. 'I know you have seen much, my dear; he, however, has seen much more. But I feel you know very little in the ways of men and—'

'Molly, please,' I interrupted with a potent blush. 'May I remind you I was with Ron for several years?'

'Well… precisely.'

I blinked at that, and I might have found her sardonic expression amusing under different circumstances. 'I appreciate your concern, but you needn't worry. I know what I am doing… There really is little to remark upon—we are not committed to one another…'

I felt a pang of discomfort at my own words. They sounded a little foolish spoken aloud.

Molly shook her head. 'You wish it so, I can tell.'

'He has been honest with me and I have made my decisions from there.'

Her eyes narrowed. 'Never sell yourself short, Hermione; you deserve someone who can love you freely. He is… troubled and —'

'Please, Molly, I can take care of myself.'

I left her then and took myself off in search of the children. I felt they were only ones who would be able to look at me without making known their own opinion on my choice of consort. But I was distracted for the rest of the afternoon. Harry and Ron said very little, and Ginny, well, she said nothing out of politeness I think. Therefore it fell upon me to dwell.

Who was this person I had become embroiled with, really? It so often seemed like a clever game —a battle of wits—to get one over on him. To compete against his sarcastic nature and to almost try to draw myself as aloof and reserved as he, and for what?

There may never be prize at the end.

Molly was right. Did I not deserve commitment?

Such were the circles my thoughts and emotions seemed to be perpetually stuck in.

Dusk was falling when I returned home. Severus was sitting by the fire, still reading. He looked up at my arrival and I only stared for a moment or two — considering. I was considering my afternoon of thoughts fluttering hither and thither. They appeared to crystallise into a moment of clarity as I watched him.

This simply could not go on indefinitely. For good or for ill, there needed to be a resolve.

When he raised an inquisitive eyebrow I cleared my throat.

'We need to finish this,' I pronounced, putting my hands on my hips.

He set his book down slowly.

'We go to Malfoy Manor — tonight.'

He got to his feet and came to stand in front of me. I made to avert my eyes at his proximity and to occupy myself, but he surprised me by taking hold of my chin. He tilted my head back as if to study it. What he found there appeared to elicit in him some dark amusement, for that was the only thing I could read in his expression.

'To be sure,' he murmured in agreement.

He released me and I stared at his retreating figure with chagrin. I am sure he had not used Legilimency— maybe I am not very good at keeping my emotions in check. Perhaps he is very perspicacious. In any case, I am sure he referred not only to ending the matter of the Augureys, but to the matter of us as well.

He had read my full meaning unerringly.

His ability to read me like a book often disposed me to feelings of resentment. Time would not serve to mute this unfortunate reaction of mine, only to dull it slightly.

'Where is Lucius Malfoy?' I asked boldly.

I think I had managed to convince myself that Malfoy was the answer in all this, despite the only very, very, tenuous link we had.

He smirked to himself. 'Why should I know?'

I shrugged my shoulders glibly, repeating my question of this morning. 'Were you not friends?'

He folded his arms across his chest. 'We were.'

'Were…' I repeated doubtfully.

'Being a traitor doesn't lend itself well to maintaining the bonds of friendship, Granger; is that not obvious?'

'You saved Draco…'

'A fact for which is the only reason I have not found myself come to a sticky end in the intervening years.'

I blinked stupidly.

'Lucius is the most self-serving man you may ever have the misfortune of meeting. And clever? Oh, yes, he's that, too. Never, ever, underestimate that man, do you hear me?'

He glared and advanced on me slightly.

'Lucius was totally committed to the Dark Lord's philosophy, Granger, and time will not have changed that. Moreover, this is a man who has fallen a long way from his prime. As far as he is concerned, I orchestrated that.' His eyes narrowed darkly. 'He did not take it lightly.'

I drew up my courage. 'Does it disappoint you?'

I think I managed to surprise him, if the perplexed scowl was anything to go by. I was always a bit too good at spotting my chances to try and gather more information about this man. His umbrage from this morning had been unusual and I felt this was an area that required prodding. I had not the subtlety, however, to be anything other than direct.

'Disappoint me?' he spat, eyes blazing.

Maybe after Molly's words I was looking for a reason to scorn him — a reason to convince myself he did not warrant my consideration.

And I could think of no better reason right then than to think he might remain sympathetic to the leanings of one Lucius Malfoy.

'Am I… disappointed?' He posed rhetorically, watching me closely.

I stared defiantly.

There was an almost searching look on his face What he was looking for, I don't know, but as quickly as it had come, the anger in his face dissipated. His eyes closed and his shoulders lifted as he began to chuckle. He brought his hands up to his face as if to press away his laughter, but it continued unhindered. Shaking his head, he turned away from me. Only then did his amusement subside.

'You are right; this… foolishness must indeed come to an end,' he muttered.

I felt my stomach sink into my boots at the contempt in his voice. I also turned away as my cheeks filled with a flush of consternation. I thought at the time that he was being unnecessarily dramatic. I now know that, actually, I had managed to offend him greatly. I did not have the wit at the time to recognise the gift I had been handed — the responsibility I had been given. If I had known, no doubt I would have taken more care, for he was always a few steps ahead of me, and was always poised to retreat at a moments notice.

Neither of us spoke for a time; he was the first to offer anything.

'The Malfoy estate covers many acres… We cannot traverse them on foot.'

'Very well.'

We proceeded to make preparations with little to no conversation, and when we were ready, Severus Apparated us away.

We appeared in a field at the boundary of Malfoy Manor and its grounds. The moon shone down onto the countryside and the ramshackle form of the manor house stood forbidding in the distance. I shivered, and it had nothing to do with the cold air. I looked to my companion as if for support, but he stared firmly into the distance, more unreachable, oddly, than I think I had ever felt since our reacquaintance.

It was not into the manor house that we would go, thankfully. The Ministry had it fully warded against entry and we could sense those wards were intact. The Malfoy estate, however, was a large one and contained various smaller buildings spread out across its lands, ranging from cottages, to barns, and to sheds. There would have seemed little point to the Ministry in extending resources to protect these.

We had our brooms with us. This had seemed the best way to explore - quiet and with the benefit of a rapid exit once within the zone of the anti apparition wards.

Gifting me with a first look since our arrival, Severus spoke. 'Follow me, and let's keep this low key, eh?'

We kept low to the ground to avoid detection. We floated across the fields, eyes peeled for signs of life. We got as close as we dared to several derelict buildings, but there was no cause for concern in any of them. Perhaps half an hour had passed before we both saw the wisp of smoke curling up from a rather makeshift looking chimney. It was attached to a rather large barn set possibly a mile away from the manor itself. There was no light visible from within.

'We will never get close without being detected,' Severus murmured.

There was a tangible presence of spells around the structure.

'Can we not undo some of the wards?'

'Of course, however, that may cause suspicion in and of itself.'

I sighed, thinking of the danger we were courting.

'You can send a message to Potter?'

'Yes.' I glanced at him in surprise.

'We will undo the wards and take a chance. I will trust you to send for the Aurors if and when necessary.'

We alighted onto the ground, but kept our brooms in hand. We used a large water tank for cover as we proceeded to dismantle as many of the wards as we could.

'Quickly now, Granger; no dallying.'

I was about to make a retort when the sound of scuffling footsteps could be heard. We glanced up in time to see a shadowy figure moving around the perimeter of the building. In flash, I sent a Stunner across the yard, which hit the man squarely in the chest. He crumpled into a heap on the floor.

'Nice one, Granger; what precisely was it about low key you misunderstood?'

I ignored him and scuttled over to the barn, bypassing the fallen figure, and inching quietly along its elevation to the door. I sensed my companion was following despite his griping. We were nearly at the door when I heard it — the low, mournful cry of the Augurey.

I froze with a gasp.

A hand grasped my shoulder, but I slipped free and nudged open the door with my foot. I listened for any sounds within, but there was nothing. I stepped into the doorway and threw out several Lumos charms at once. Several sconces flared to life and suddenly the long barn was lit up.

'Granger, for the love of… Tell everyone we're here, why don't you?'

I ignored him. I was too occupied staring at the row upon row of cages that filled the barn.

'Oh my God,' I breathed in horror. 'What do we do?'

My immediate instinct was to unleash all the cages, but Augureys were reluctant fliers and so the action could be superfluous. My second thought was to get the Aurors straightaway. Yet, was it too soon to turn this over to the Aurors? We needed evidence that exonerated Severus, not serve to strengthen the case against him.

Evidently my companion thought the same. 'Dim these lights,' he hissed. 'You search down here and I'll go up there.'

He indicated with a jerk of his head the upper area which was accessed via a ladder.

'Quickly now, we don't have much time.'

I returned the barn to darkness and ventured forth with only the light from my wand. I concentrated on papers, hoping to find something that pointed towards the actual culprits. I hadn't got very far in my quest when things began to unravel.

I suppose we had been somewhat foolhardy — somewhat careless. In any case, with the occasional low moan of the Augureys in the background, I didn't hear the sound of company within that barn. I didn't hear the sound of approaching footsteps until the hairs on the back of my neck pricked up portentously. I knew instinctively it was not Severus.

In a split second I made my decision. Rather than cast a blind spell behind me, in a move Harry and Ron would have been proud of, I leapt onto my broom and swooped up off the ground. There was a brief yelp of surprise and a loud shout of 'Quick!'

I zoomed towards the exit, hoping to draw my pursuer outside. The problem was, there was someone else outside, waiting.

The spell they fired at me caught the tail of my broom and sent it careering towards the ground. Luckily, I had not much height and so not far to fall. Nevertheless, it was a hefty thump with which I hit the ground. Winded and dazed, I could only stare as a figure suddenly loomed over me.

Struggling for breath, I scrambled for my wand, but it was too late.

'Obliviate!'

AN: Thanks for reading! If you're celebrating, happy Christmas : )