Happy Saturday, everyone! I hope everyone rode out the storm okay. Our trampoline remains in place. (Five cinder blocks attached to the frame, it goes flying we have bigger problems.) Enjoy the next chapter. I own nothing, except the above mentioned trampoline. And I adore you all for reading, thank you.

Chapter 5 Time to Revise

By the time Snape arrived Saturday morning, Hermione had outlined a rough draft study schedule. She had Bee quizzing her on 1st year topics when he rapped sharply on her door. Bee admitted the dour headmaster. "Thank you, Bee, you may go." She regarded her former potions professor appraisingly. "Have a seat, I believe we should clear the air, so to speak."

Gracefully he sank into the seat across the table from her, "Agreed."

"No more games, no more spy double talk, absolutely no more manipulation." He nodded. "Whose side are you really on?"

"At this point? Honestly?" She nodded her head. "My own. I killed Dumbledore because he asked me to. He was already dying from the curse in his right hand, and he wanted to spare Draco. Which I agreed with. If the boy wanted to follow the Dark Lord it should not be in some ill-planned suicide mission designed to punish his father."

"It was rather sloppy."

"The Dark Lord took a while to mentally acclimatize. Though, damned if I know how but, Dumbledore seemed to have influenced it, or at least Draco's plans. He wanted Potter to witness his death."

"I've yet to hear the end of how Harry was correct, Draco was a Death Eater. Be wrong once in seven years and they never let you forget. And heaven forfend you point out all the times THEY were wrong."

"Yes, how dare you attempt to give your underage classmate the benefit of the doubt, you monster."

"Why didn't the Order know Dumbledore was dying?"

"Some claptrap about demoralizing Potter and the others. And solidifying my position here."

She snorted, "I doubt anyone here cares how he's out of the way, only that he is. He wanted to be remembered as a martyr, not the fool that put on a cursed item. I'm sure the other staff members welcomed your appointment with open arms and cheers."

"Absolutely, I murdered their hero and let my master make up new curriculum."

"What kind of changes?"

"Instead of Defense Against, Amycus Carrow teaches the Dark Arts. His sister, Alecto, teaches Muggles Studies. You would not approve of the syllabus, I fear."

"Undoubtedly."

"However, I have managed to curtail their worst abuses of the students."

Changing topics she asked, "Why do you hate Harry?" She held up a hand, halting his denial. "We both know you aren't fond of him. I don't care about your answer to change your mind. I want to understand."

Snape sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "You are aware I attended school with the Marauders. Let us just say James Potter and Sirius Black were my Draco Malfoys and his son is his spitting image. Before you ask, you were everything I ever hoped for in a student and I could never encourage you properly without far too many questions."

"Really?"

"Once you break yourself of the need to follow instructions to the letter you will be astounding."

"How do you know I can?"

"I have seen your charm and transfiguration work. You have the imagination, you just need to get over your caution."

"The only people you like exploding cauldrons are Fred and George Weasley, and maybe Seamus Finnegan."

"I never claimed it was easy. Have we reached an accord? I admit to being a sarcastic bastard who let personal animosities blind me from professionalism."

"And I was a know-it-all desperate to prove I belonged."

"Was?"

"I don't give a flying fuck what anyone thinks anymore. I want the knowledge denied me by hypocritical old men and then I am leaving you all to fight this out amongst yourselves."

"May I ask why?"

"The short answer is I refuse to be manipulated and used like I am not a person with feelings and thoughts of my own. I deserve respect and be treated with dignity."

"You do not think the Death Eaters respect you?"

She rolled her eyes, "The last seven years suggest otherwise."

"That was blind prejudice and not a debate for today." He shifted, "What little some of them have learned of you during this little game has impressed them immensely. Whatever you taunted the Dark Lord with caught his attention. Just as this gives them a chance to interact with a muggleborn, it gives you the chance to get to know them."

"While I can't support the idea of genocide, why should I care what happens to the sheep? They're just as bad as the rest. You saw the hate mail I received because a nobody mudblood dared to attend a dance with a famous pureblood. I needed to learn my place. They call me names, ignore me until they need homework help or there are dark wizards about."

"Then forget about helping them and focus on showing the inner circle how brilliant you are."

"My behavioral choices aside, this conversation is cutting into my Potions review time."

"Hardly, the Dark Lord sent the Carrows on a time-consuming wild goose chase, freeing up my entire day." He removed a folder from his robes. "These are the most common topics from the last ten years. Focus your review on them. The Malfoys have a potion lab, practice brewing the potions on that list this week. I'll evaluate them for you Saturday."

"What will we be doing the rest of today?"

"My personal tips to better brewing."

"Let me get a pad and a pen." Hours later she sat back annoyed. "Why couldn't any of your classes contain stuff like this?"

"My NEWT levels did, but you had Slughorn. In the lower levels, most of your classmates had no real interest beyond passing the next test. The small handful with real interest would quickly buckle under the pressure of the masses to move on to the next topic on the exam.

A tentative know on the door saved them from an awkward silence. Hermione admitted Narcissa. "My apologies for interrupting. I just came to inquire if you intended to join us for dinner, Severus? Informal dining, no need to dress."

"Thank you, no. I need to return to the castle for dinner. Students talk when the headmaster misses a meal."

"Certainly, Miss Granger, dinner will be at seven. Please join us."

"I will."

Snape stood, "I will leave you to your revision, Miss Granger. Owl me if you have any questions. Cissa, she will need access to the potions lab."

Narcissa beamed, "Please, treat the manor as your home. The library, gardens, labs, everything is at your disposal."

"Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy. I appreciate your hospitality."

Before he left Snape showed her to labs and checked that the cabinets were properly stocked. Hermione reviewed the list he provided, rating the potions from longest to shortest. Selecting one of the longer ones she arranged the ingredients across the counter. She posted the instructions onto the wall in front of her with a sticking charm. As she prepped her ingredients she sensed someone enter the room. They remained by the door watching. Silently and wandlessly she cast a shield spell between them. She finished grinding the fried beetle eyes before turning to the side. "Lurking is rude."

Rodolphus Lestrange held up his hands in surrender and stepped forward. "My apologies, I did not wish to disrupt you. That is also rude."

"So it is," she turned back to the cauldron.

"May I watch?"

"I suppose," she shrugged moving on to the next step. "Not very exciting."

He watched her work in silence for at least ten minutes before he spoke again. "Did you cast the spells that removed yourself from the pictures?"

"It was part of the memory charm I performed on my parents." She continued working.

"Why?"

"Why was it a part, or why the charm at all?"

"Why did you erase yourself from your parents' memories?"

"To protect them."

"Oh," Rodolphus replied lamely.

"Oh, indeed. No one from the Order was willing to help me protect them. Harry's abusive ungrateful scum of a family, but not my innocent parents." Her voice raised into a mocking tone, 'Hermione, they are muggles. They will be fine.' If you lot would go after the Dursley why wouldn't you go after my parents?"

"We would of, had the Dark Lord not regained a semblance of sanity sometime last year. Bella would have and Greyback. There were no plans to hunt down the Dursleys. Snape reported how they treated him, and how he would flee each summer as soon as possible. Your parents were a much bigger target."

"That's what I said! But no one would listen. No one cared. So, as always, I took care of it."

"Where are they now?"

"Gone."

"Gone where?"

"They died. I sent them away to save them and lost them anyway. But at least no one can ever use us against one another. Their blood isn't on my hands."

My sympathies, my parents also passed away young. No loss with my father, but my mother deserved better."

"I console myself with the idea they were fulfilling their lives' dream."
"My father crossed the wrong person and ended getting both of them cursed to death."

"Harsh, if your mother was innocent she should have been left alone."

"I agree, for the record, I never condoned taking family members hostage to enforce good behavior."

"On that, we can agree." She continued working on her potion.

"Where did you find that particular memory charm?"

"An older book on discarded magical practices. Obliviate is easier and can be used to eliminate a moment, entire things. But that's what I needed."

"Had your side won, could you have reversed it?

After working in silence for several seconds, she admitted in a small voice, "I don't know."

"Rather brilliant piece of magic, very impressive."

"I gathered the complexity is part of why it fell out of common practice." She counted stirring clockwise before changing direction to counterclockwise.

Deciding to change topics, Lestrange asked another question, "Is Potions your best subject, or a favorite?"

He hoped to lighten the mood. Her low cynical laugh suggested he failed.

"In another place and time, perhaps, but years of harassment and derision during class and from the teacher tainted the class for me. But like all know-it-all swots, I take all my studies seriously and

want to do as well as possible, so I fight through."

"What is your favorite, then?"

She considered the answer for a moment, still working on her potion, "Either charms or transfiguration."

"Not Defense Against the Dark Arts?" he risked teasing her.

"No, that class was a necessity not a luxury."

"Charms aren't a necessity?"

"Charms make life easier, Defense keeps me alive. I managed twelve years without charms just fine before I knew about magic, and this last year on the run. I've employed Defense lessons for the last seven years in life and death situations."

"Transfiguration is my favorite, in fact, if you consent, I am your tutor. And one of your dueling tutors."

"Thank you, one can never have enough dueling practice."

"Not extra tutoring?"

"Learning different fighting styles and spells is the essence of being able to defend yourself."

"You're not interested in knowledge for knowledge's sake?"

"you have not fully mastered knowledge until you can apply it."

"That explains why you weren't in Ravenclaw."

"Pretty much, though I was a hat stall. The Sorting Hat wanted to put me everywhere. I foolishly asked for Gryffindor."

"Why do you want the Dark Lord to teach you the dark arts?"

"Because magic is about intent. If you don't understand how it works, you can't protect against it, or reverse it."

Magic is more than destruction and pain," Lestrange said quietly. "Don't you find joy in it?"

"Not in a long time. Once I started school magic was just another method used to torment me. Then Dumbledore kept pressing me to learn more and more to help Harry. That man let a fourteen-year-old have a time turner to attend classes. At the time I remember feeling grateful, now I feel numb. And question what he was thinking. I was miserable and exhausted the entire year." She stared off for a moment then shook herself. "My apologies, you are making small talk, and I am being morose."

"Not at all, but if you're finished, for now, dinner should be beginning soon. While we aren't dressing, you might want to freshen up."

"You are correct. Thank you, Mr. Lestrange."

He winced, "I would prefer if you would call me Rodolphus, or just Lestrange. I know Rabastan agrees."

"Thank you, Rodolphus," she said hesitantly, trying the name out.

"You are most welcome, Miss Granger." He smiled at her. She returned it when she realized he did not expect her to reciprocate permission to be informal. He stood and gestured for her to exit first.

Over the next two weeks, Hermione studied for her exams with the various tutors. Snape offered insightful critiques of her technique. Rabastan reviewed Herbology with her in the Malfoy gardens and greenhouses. Rodolphus rapidly demanded various transfigurations of objects, animals, himself, and herself. She found it hardest to allow Lucius or Antonin Dolohov to assist with Charms and Defense. Strangely, Rodolphus helped her feel comfortable with them. He encouraged her to give them the benefit of the doubt and promised to remain for the lessons if that would make her feel more confident.