Disclaimer: See Beginning
Hello all! First and foremost, thank you for the reviews and the support! It's so awesome to see! And a thank you to my betas, McGonagall's Bola and Emilia Wolfe.
Hope you enjoy it!
Last Time:
"So, tell me, anything interesting happen while I was away?"
This earned a chuckle from the other two. "Are you kidding me? You wouldn't believe the rumors going around about you."
Chapter 18
The sunshine breaking through the windows disturbed Hermione's sleep too soon for her liking.
With an irritable grumble, she yanked at her blankets to pull them over her head rebelliously, but they didn't move. With her eyes still stubbornly closed, she tried again, hoping to unsnag it from whatever piece of furniture it had caught on before her brain had the chance to wake up fully.
Is it wedged under the coffee table or something?
Grunting in frustration, Hermione patted blindly below her to find the sleep-depriving culprit and ended up smacking something surprisingly soft. It was almost like…feathers? But that couldn't be right. Why would there be feathers lying on the floor next to her? There weren't any there last night, right?
An angry huff and a shifting to her left had Hermione realizing that she hadn't been assaulting a feathery coffee table, but one of her friends. She cracked one eye open, just enough to make out a chaos of red hair. With a sigh, she muttered "Sorry Ron…" before she scooted back, squeezing her eyes shut again, hoping against hope that she'd still be able to fall back asleep.
She had nearly managed to achieve her goal too, when she felt Ron moving around again, and heard him squeak out, "Merlin," under his breath.
Harry, who must have been up at this point as well, whispered, "Knock it off, Ron," and then there was a soft thud, like a pillow had been thrown at one of them.
"I'm sorry!" Ron whispered back frantically. "I can't help it! They're just…there!"
What on earth are those two talking about now? And why can't they do it a little quieter?
Seeing that she wouldn't be able to squeeze in a few more minutes of sleep, Hermione let her eyes flutter open. What meager scrap of blanket she had managed to tug closer, fell, pooling around her waist as she slowly sat up.
"Alright," she said, addressing the boys sleepily, "what are you arguing about so early in the morning?"
Harry automatically looked to Ron expectantly. This made the already blushing redhead squirm from his spot on the floor.
"I…" Ron began, looking everywhere but at Hermione. "I…I'm going to go get dressed!" He jumped up from the floor and scuttled out of the room.
Hermione watched his hasty departure in confusion. "What was all that about?" she asked Harry.
Her other best friend snorted, but she noticed that there was the smallest of blushes staining his pale cheeks as well. He pointed one hesitant finger at her chest, his eyes firmly in another direction.
"Wha…" she looked down, then blushed herself at the skewed nightshirt. It must have gotten ruffled up sometime during the night while she was tossing and turning. As a consequence, a small bit of her cleavage was now showing. It was nothing too indecent, thank God, but it was more than either boy had ever seen from her.
Her fingers snapped at the buttons of her shirt, fixing the problem quickly. "Sorry 'bout that," she muttered. "Though, you'd think I'd flashed Ron with the way he bolted out of here."
"Be easy on him, he's had a crush on you forever."
Her head snapped up. "He has not!"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Come on, Hermione, you know he's fancied you since third year. You couldn't tell? Especially after the whole Krum thing?"
"Well, I had an inkling, but I wasn't sure. It's not like he's ever said anything to me," she replied, self-consciously.
It had seemed like so long ago to her now that she couldn't really recall what Harry was talking about. She had a hazy recollection of his jealous fit when Victor had taken her to the Yule Ball, and she could admit that she had entertained ideas about being with Ron at the time, but it never went any farther than that.
He had never said anything afterward, even when she prodded him for answers, so she had assumed his jealousy was just a fluke. A one-time thing engendered from circumstance. Things had slowly returned to normal between the two friends and any thoughts of "what if" were forgotten.
At least Hermione had assumed that they had been forgotten. She wasn't sure how she felt, learning that Ron hadn't moved on like she thought he had. Like she had.
Maybe she should talk to him. Convince him that they would be absolutely horrid as a couple. She didn't want to lead him on, and she certainly didn't want this to fester and eventually ruin their friendship. She had just gotten her best friends back. She didn't want to lose one of them again!
Seeing her distress, Harry grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently. "Don't freak out about it, Hermione. Sure, he likes you, but he wasn't ever going to say anything about it. Especially not now."
"What do you mean, 'not now'?"
One of Harry's hands rose to scratch at his neck nervously. "Well," he tried to explain, "he likes you, yeah, but even when there might have been a chance for him, I don't think he believed he could take it. I mean, I think he knew from the start, you know?"
"Knew what?"
"Well…you know, there's a gap there, right? He knew it wouldn't work because you two are on different levels. Not that he's beneath you or anything, but you guys have never been on the same…field, I guess." Harry paused, thinking over his words. "And now, since you've been back, the gap has just gotten bigger, I think, and he knows it. So rather than risk your friendship, he just let it go."
Hermione sat back, stunned by this revelation. "Oh…" Now she felt slightly guilty. Ron was her best friend, and while she couldn't return his feelings (that was too far in the past for her now), she still didn't like leaving the boy hanging by himself.
"Hermione," Harry said, interrupting her thoughts. "Stop worrying about it. He's not secretly in love with you or anything. Actually, I think he kind of fancies Lavender, now. He's been talking to her for a month, at least. Won't shut up about how her hair smells too. It's getting a bit annoying, really."
A rush of relief filled her, and Hermione let out a breath. She wasn't sure how she felt about Ron flirting with her dorm mate, whom she thought was a little on the silly side, but at least he wasn't pining after her or anything.
A knock on the door interrupted the two friends, and both turned, expecting to see the third member of their group coming back in. Instead, Professor McGonagall, dressed in her usual teaching garb, stood patiently in the doorway.
One look at their undressed state had the Head of Gryffindor pursing her lips in displeasure. "Why aren't you two up and ready to go? Breakfast has already started at Hogwarts, and we're late enough as it is. Now up! You have ten minutes to collect your things and meet me by the Floo."
Her robes fluttered behind her as she rushed from the room, not staying to make sure her orders were followed. She didn't need to. Both Gryffindors were well used to that particular tone and knew that it was in their best interest to obey as fast as they could, lest they feel their professor's wrath.
So, scrambling, they set the room to rights and packed away their things, then they ran to their rooms to properly change into their school uniforms.
Hermione took a little bit longer than Harry. Not only did her hair take some time to wrestle back into a semi-neat bun, but she also found herself caught up in a moment of nostalgia, as she put on her uniform for the first time in two years. She pressed her hands down her starchy white shirt, a small smile forming on her lips.
It felt surprisingly good to be wearing her Gryffindor colors again.
Snapping out of her reminiscing, she snatched up her old bag, and rushed to the sitting room where Professor McGonagall, Harry and Ron were waiting for her.
"Do you have everything, my dear?" McGonagall asked. Hermione nodded. "Very well, get in the Floo then. Time is of the essence."
Like a mother duck nudging her offspring along, McGonagall shoved them all towards the roaring green fire that was waiting to take them back to Hogwarts. She stopped Hermione only for a second to whisper, "Claws out, my girl. Make me proud," in her ear, before she shoved the younger witch into the fire as well.
Severus paced outside of the teacher's entrance to the Great Hall, waiting for Minerva to arrive with Granger. Tucked in his palm was a plain, silver chained necklace with only a small, iridescent black pearl hanging at its center.
It was a vast improvement from what Albus had suggested. He could remember clearly the happy look on the Headmaster's face when he presented his choice to Minerva, Filius and him: a garish gold bracelet with fairies sculpted into the sides, and an explosion of rubies peppered in.
Severus shuddered just thinking about it. It was the sort of thing Trelawney might wear to look more magically impressive. It was that ugly.
Of course, Severus had strongly objected to it right away, his opinion quickly seconded by Minerva, who couldn't stand the sight of the bracelet even if it was in Gryffindor colors.
Their plan had been to find an inconspicuous item that Filius could place Miss Granger's Glamor Charms on. Something that wouldn't wear off in a few hours like a spell placed directly on her person would. They had decided on using jewelry to accomplish this because it was mundane enough that Granger could wear it all the time without raising any suspicions.
Albus' choice definitely did NOT fit that criterium. So it fell to the other professors to find an object that was more appropriate.
Since Minerva was still busy getting the paperwork ready, and Flitwick had his hands full taking over the role of Deputy Head in her absence, that had left Severus with the tedious task of picking something out.
Naturally, he hadn't been looking forward to the job. He was good at reading people, yes, but that didn't mean he knew anything about buying jewelry for young witches. The very idea of it left him extremely irritated with Albus for putting him in yet another undesirable situation.
Thankfully, fate seemed to be on his side for once and he had stumbled across the necklace, at a small, barely noticeable, jewelry stall in London.
It was simple, yet elegant. Nothing too ostentatious, yet decent enough for a witch to wear, and to top it all off, the pearl, as the stall attendant had explained to him, was from an Australian Black-Lip Pearl Oyster.
Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, he had ended up buying it, and since no one had objected when he had presented his find, he had given it to Filius so the Charms professor could weave in the Glamor needed to camouflage Granger's appearance, as well as her obnoxious tattoo.
Now, he just had to get it into Miss Granger's incredibly late hands.
"Severus!"
Minerva was headed his way, walking briskly down the hall with a determined frown. Potter, Weasley and Granger were trailing behind her, out of breath and trying their best to keep up with their Head of House, much to the amusement of the Potions Professor. He would have to remember to mock Minerva about her out of-shape-cubs later on.
"Have you got it?" the older witch asked.
Severus opened his palm, exposing the small piece of jewelry inside. "Filius just finished it an hour ago. Is everything in the dorm set?"
"Yes. And all the paperwork has been taken care of as well."
"Even the Muggle documents?"
"Miss Jones has already seen to it."
"Good," Snape responded. Then he turned to Miss Granger, beckoning her closer.
"Sir?" The young witch stepped away from her friends, whom Minerva had commandeered to give a much-needed last minute pep talk. Severus doubted that the two boys truly understood the precariousness of the situation they all found themselves in, but he hoped that they could at least be cowed into following instructions just this once.
The Order was lucky that the bulk on the scheme rested on the more sensible member of the Gryffindor trio. It, at least, gave this ruse a fighting chance.
"This has several Glamor Charms built into it that should revert your appearance to what it was before you left," he informed Granger, lifting the necklace up for her to see. "It will also adequately hide the words on your hand."
Gingerly, she plucked the necklace from between his fingers. She examined it, smiling softly. "It's very pretty. Where did you get it from?"
Pretty? He balked at the word, feeling discomfited by its use.
He hadn't bought the necklace because he wanted her to have something pretty. He had bought it because the Order required it. It was a retrieval assignment. That was it.
And yet, as he was confronted with Miss Granger's approval over something HE had picked out, he found himself in an odd and uncomfortable predicament. Something about this situation seemed wholly inappropriate now. Like the necklace was no longer just an assignment but also an unintentional gift, and all at once, he became aware of the fact that he had bought jewelry for one of his female students. Sure it was on Albus' order, but the thought still chafed at his mind.
If he was prone to fidgeting he probably would have been squirming by now, but thank Merlin he was able to resist that urge, instead standing up straighter and crossing his arms so he looked as imposing as possible.
"Does it matter?" he snapped out, startling her into looking up.
"Well," she mused, "I suppose not. It's just that whoever chose it must know me very well."
His hands clenched in the crooks of his arms. "It's just a necklace, Miss Granger. Now, put it on. I want to get this debacle over with."
She did as she was told, fussing with the silver chain, and trying to click the clasp together behind her neck without being able to see. Heaving a frustrated sigh, she swiped at the curls that had fallen from her carefully pinned bun and gotten in the way.
Severus watched her struggle with a satisfied grin, not even bothering to help her, or remind her that she had magic at her disposal. For one, he had no desire to touch that blasted necklace again. Secondly, a vindictive part of him, that was annoyed with how much she had liked it, took a certain amount of satisfaction from her frustration.
Let the witch suffer. Pretty indeed.
There was a click, as the clasps finally came together, and Granger blew out a breath of relief. A small twinkling light came from the dark pearl, and before Snape's eyes, the brunette began transforming.
Her cheeks became rounder, taking on a few layers of baby fat, she lost a couple of inches in height, the scar (a slim red line only a thumb's width long) on her left cheek disappeared, and her hair became a little more wiry. Her body also became a touch more slim in certain areas, but Severus refused to focus on that.
Instead, his focus was elsewhere, like on how little the Charm had actually changed. Was this really what she had looked like before she left? He didn't remember her looking this way before. An image of her as a buck-toothed first year flashed in his mind, and he wondered when this change had started occurring and how he had missed it.
"Well, that felt odd. I can't really see it, though. Did it work?" she asked him, staring at her hands intensely.
He was about to confirm that it was a success when something in her face, in her eyes, caught his attention. Her brown gaze was off somehow. Something about just didn't fit, but what…
The answer popped into his head a second later.
They looked older. Her eyes were lacking a certain naivety and innocence that Granger had had before she left. There was experience swimming among the brown hues now, a touch of darkness and a weightiness, as if she knew what it was like to have lives depend on her. It was something that the Hermione from before had lacked.
"Your eyes are a bit off, but it's nothing that we can fix. It will do."
Granger brought a hand up to her one of her eyes, self-consciously. "Are you sure no one will notice?"
"I highly doubt it. This school seems to have an overabundance of simpletons, who can barely recognize their own reflections much less a change in someone else," he muttered, sarcastic venom dripping out of his mouth.
A curious thing happened then, something that no student, save his Slytherins, had ever done. The witch actually CHUCKLED at his jibe. It was an experience that Severus wasn't wholly prepared for, especially coming from this Gryffindor who seemed determined to throw him off today.
First, his necklace was pretty, and now he was funny. What was wrong with this woman? He gathered his robes around him and gritted his teeth.
"Sir, can I ask you a question?"
He said nothing, glaring at her. Not that this stopped Granger from asking anyway. Merlin forbid anything that should ever stop her from asking one of her damn questions.
"Earlier, you said that you just wanted to get this debacle over with. Does that mean you don't think the plan will work?"
A sudden need to get back at the witch for being such a thorn in his side struck him, and he found himself coming up with a biting response. "My negative opinions do not lie in the plan, rather the people we have to depend on for it to succeed."
As expected, Granger bristled at the implied insult. "And what do you mean by that?"
He stared at her, a mocking smirk on his lips. Her bubbling indignation was actually quite amusing. It was like a cat puffing up its fur and reminded him of how Minerva usually reacted when he messed with her.
Gryffindors. They were all so predictably entertaining.
"I'm sure your usual method of blundering your way through every challenge like a herd of rampaging Hippogriffs works well for you, but this plan demands a certain degree of subtlety that members of a certain House are notorious for lacking."
Granger put her hands on her hip and lifted her head defiantly, and Severus was reminded of the look she had given him when he found her on the Astral Plane that first time, and again during the Order Meeting.
"Are you saying I'm a liability? Because I can pull my own weight…sir," she said, adding in the 'sir' as an afterthought.
"Miss Granger, need I remind you; I've seen your pathetic attempts at subterfuge before."
"That was over two years ago. I assure you, I'm perfectly capable of a bit of acting now." Brown eyes narrowed, her left eyebrow twitched slightly, and it took all of Severus' talent in Occlumency to stop himself from laughing at her. He prodded her a bit more.
"A weed is a weed, even if it paints itself red and calls itself a rose."
"You─"
"I'm still your professor, Miss Granger," he interrupted her, quietly. Though it was less of a warning and more of a taunt. Like he was dangling her favorite toy above her head, out of reach.
"Agh!" She threw up her hands, sent him a look of utter loathing and stomped away to her friends. Snape was pretty sure she muttered something like "are," under her breath, but he let her get away with it this time. Their little spat went a long way to appeasing his earlier irritation, and he did just finish calling her a weed, after all. If he had done that with Minerva, he would have been transfigured into a mouse and thrown into a cage of owls.
"Let's go, boys. It's time to start the show." Grabbing them by the arms, Granger dragged them away from the two professors. Her face was set in steely determination.
Minerva glided over to his side. "What did you say to that poor girl?" She poked at his chest.
"Nothing at all. I was simply wishing her luck," Snape lied smoothly, keeping the weed comment to himself. Even if it wasn't directed at her, Minerva might still feed him to the owls on Granger's behalf.
"Hmph! As if I would believe that!" Minerva said sharply, then she sighed. "Honestly, Severus, why must you goad all of my Gryffindors into plotting your murder."
"Possibly because I know that the chances of any of them succeeding is as likely as the odds of me turning into a three-headed dragon." He opened the door for McGonagall, sending her a teasing smirk as she went through. "Besides, you can consider it my payment for putting up with all the little shits in the first place."
"I guess I should just be grateful that you haven't killed any of them yet." Minerva stepped up onto the Dias, and headed to her seat beside Albus. Severus followed the older witch, wiping his face of any amusement so he looked just as indifferent as ever.
He made his way down the table to the other side, choosing an open spot by Filius.
"Good evening, Severus," the Charms professor said. Snape nodded his head in response, as he pulled the chair out and sat down.
"Has everything been handled?"
"It has," Severus said, keeping his voice low so it wouldn't be overheard. "Tonight will certainly be interesting."
Right on cue, the doors to the Great Hall opened up, and the stars of the evening sauntered inside, huddled up close together as if they were having a private conversation.
A hush fell over the hall as one by one the students began to realize that Hermione Granger was finally back. The silence lasted only a second, and then the whispering began.
It was interesting watching the flow of gossip that spread across the student body like wild fire. The looks on every face that ranged from excitement, burning curiosity, and outright disbelief. And that was just at the Gryffindor table.
Severus glanced at his Slytherins, noticing that a handful was staring at the brunette witch with far too much interest. He noted that many of them were on his list of potential Death Eater spies and felt a stab of disappointment. He would have to remember to mention this to Albus later.
His godson was among the intrigued party and was leaning over to say something to Zabini. The two shared an intense look, and then Zabini nodded reluctantly. Draco went back to his breakfast, while Zabini continued to peer at Granger, a calculating gleam in his eye.
Interesting, Severus thought. He knew for a fact the Zabinis were a neutral party in the war and from what he knew of Blaise, the boy had little patience for the Dark Lord or any of his followers. So why was he watching Granger?
He would have to investigate later, find out what one of his more cunning snakes was up to.
"My, that didn't take long at all, did it?" Filius said next to him, as he looked at the increasingly eager faces of the school, and their blatant ogling. Even some of the other professors couldn't help but gawk at the witch of the hour.
"Of course not. This school is a hot bed for gossip. This was bound to happen."
"Do you think Miss Granger will be able to convince everyone?"
"Everyone? No. But perhaps the majority. Either way, there's no going back now," Severus replied, turning his attention to the Gryffindor table just as the trio of friends took a seat near the Weasley girl and Longbottom.
Potter and Weasley were the first to sit down, chucking their book bags aside as they greeted their friends. Ginevra, bless her, jumped up from her seat and rushed to Hermione's side, pulling the brunette into a squeezing hug.
She must be the 'support' Minerva was talking about.
"Hermione! I'm so glad that you're back. You took forever to answer my last letter!" the redheaded girl said, reproachfully.
Nearly everyone in the dining hall held their breath in anticipation, as someone finally broached the topic buzzing on everyone's mind.
The Slytherins, Ravenclaws and a few Hufflepuffs were at least trying not to appear like they were eavesdropping, but no one at the Gryffindor table bothered with such pretenses. They all leaned in, waiting for Granger's answer. The Finnigan boy even went so far as to question Hermione outright.
"So it's true then," Finnigan interjected, almost accusingly, "You were off somewhere in Australia."
Granger turned to the boy, her hands going to her hips. "Well, of course I was. What do you mean─'is it true'?"
"Well, word is, you weren't there. Least none of us heard you say anything about Australia before break, and we're in your House!" At his words, some of the whispering started up again.
Having the good sense not to cave and blow her cover, Granger stuck to her guns. She sighed dramatically, and it was filled with so much haughty condescension that even Severus was partially impressed.
"No offense, Seamus," she addressed the boy, "but why would I tell you about my plans for break? I mean, I have no idea where YOU went. So, if you never told me your plans, why should you expect me to tell you mine? Besides, it was all kind of last minute. I only just got the confirmation from Master Parvus a day after break started."
"Yeah, but─"
"Oh, knock it off, Seamus!" Ginevra scolded the boy, and Severus mentally thanked Minerva again for setting up something with the Weasley girl before hand. This was twice now that the girl had skillfully saved the conversation from deteriorating. He suspected that her skills had something to do with how she dealt with a house full of demanding boys.
He would never say it to the Head of Gryffindor, but she had chosen well.
Ginevra grabbed Granger's hand and pulled her away to a spot a little further away, beside Longbottom.
"Don't mind him," she told the brunette, "he's just being too nosey for his own good. Come sit by me."
"Thanks, Gin. Don't know what he has to be nosey about though. I'm not the first student to participate in a program abroad. In fact, there have been at least four other instances of students going on academic leave in the past three decades, the last being Nora Greenbay from Ravenclaw."
Severus blinked, taken aback. He remembered Miss Greenbay, as she was a student of his that had graduated five years ago. If he recalled correctly, her last semester as a seventh year was actually spent studying in China.
Clearly, Miss Granger had done her homework. Though, how she found this out in the short amount of time she had to prepare, he didn't know. Still it was an impressive improvisation.
Ginevra rolled her eyes. "Of course you would know. So, besides all that, how was Australia?"
Like a Christmas light, Granger's face lit up. "Oh, Gin, it was so fantastic!" she gushed, really stepping into her role. She took a seat and began rifling through her purse. With an "aha!" she pulled out an impossibly thick binder that had a minefield of sticky notes tucked in between each page. She dropped the binder down onto the table with a large thud, sending several plates and cups toppling over.
"Um, Hermione, what's that?" Longbottom asked, eyeing the book cautiously, as if it would jump up and bite him.
Granger tilted her head, giving the boy a look that said in volumes how simpleminded he was being. "It's my notes from my trip of course! What did you think I was doing in Australia? Watching paint dry?"
"All THAT is just notes? From only two weeks?" the Weasley boy asked, dropping the piece of bacon in his hand.
The sentiment was shared among most of the student body, which looked at the "notebook" in collective horror. Adding to their horror, and going a long way to dismantling the rumor mill, Granger began ecstatically babbling about some Charms Master from the fourteenth century, and his work in Spell Crafting.
Her mini lecture was tediously mind-numbing (to put it lightly) and soon had many eyes glazing over in disinterest. Students began turning back to their meal, their curiosity in the Gryffindor abandoned with each boringly dry fact that fell from her lips.
And just like that, nobody cared about Hermione Granger or her mysterious disappearance.
"By Merlin, I knew she could do it!" Filius whispered, clapping his hands together in satisfaction. Down the table, Minerva was practically preening, puffing out her chest proudly as she observed her prized pupil in action. Albus seemed to be satisfied with her performance as well, nodding to himself as if he had known that this was how the morning would pan out all along.
"It was nicely done, wasn't it, Severus?" Filius asked him.
"I suppose it was adequate," he admitted grudgingly to the smaller wizard. He picked up his fork and stabbed at a piece of hash, grumbling to himself.
As if she could feel the professors' thoughts on her, Granger stopped her speech long enough to gaze at the head table. She smiled at them all until she reached him at the end, then her grin transformed, dripping smugness.
It was the kind of smile that practically screamed, 'I Told You So!' and then the chit had the audacity to wink─WINK at him, barely hiding the gesture behind a hair flip.
With a death grip on his utensils, he glared at her, and unable to stop himself, sent her a quick thought, brushing it up against her shields for her to receive. Don't get too cocky, Granger. This is only the beginning."
She didn't have the skill to arrow a thought to him like he did, but he managed to mentally catch the clouded response she clumsily 'dropped' at him, before he slipped out of her mind.
I would never, sir.
Breaking eye contact, he went back to stabbing the food on his plate. Though it had been foggy because of her lack of practice, he could make out the heavy sarcasm that she had wrapped around the thought.
"Impertinent witch…too damn smug by half," he muttered under his breath, too low for anyone to hear. His mind was already coming up with different scenarios he could create to take the maximum points from Gryffindor later on.
A/N: Alright! Hermione is back at the school, the Slyth. spies are suspicious, Blaise + Draco are plotting, and Severus is totally going to plot revenge because seriously-Pretty? How dare Hermione use that word for the necklace he picked out!
Aaaaannnnyyway, next up: Narcissa comes back on the scene and Hermione discovers some interesting facts about the Slytherins.
Hoped you liked it! And while you're here click on that review button down there and give me some feedback! It would be much appreciated!