Wow! I've broken 1,000 hits on my story since I first posted it! Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Just a quick note: This will be an SS/HG story in the end. The twists and turns to get there, however, might not be so clear-cut...
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Hermione nearly decided to throw the note in the fire and have done with it. The fact was, though, that none of the Masters she'd found today in the files met her criteria as nicely as Snape did. Checking her watch, she decided that if she got to work on the men and women she wanted to research, she'd have a clearer idea by dinner time if she wanted to meet with Severus that night. Though she'd planned on writing to Harry and Ron this afternoon, she put it off in favor of coming up with some information on her candidates.
--
Earlier that day, Severus had met with Minerva to discuss his future career at Hogwarts. Severus realized after he'd left the Hall that morning that Minerva must have had something in mind with her taunt – she couldn't mean to subject the poor students of Hogwarts to an even meaner, snarkier, nastier and more bitter Potions Master... could she? He doubted it. She cared for her students' feelings far too much, and decided that there might still be a way around teaching first years the subtle art of Potions-making.
"Well?" he demanded the moment he stepped into Minerva's office. "I know you have something up your sleeve and it's going to be a much better meeting if you let the cat out of the bag now, rather than later. I can yell and storm around and brood for a while, or we can cut to the chase." He sneered at her surprised, yet smug, expression. Stupid Gryffindors, thinking that they could out-maneuver a Slytherin...
"Alright, Severus, have it your way. But do have a cup of tea. We might be here a while hammering out some details." Severus' eyebrows rose at this. He hadn't expected this to be anything more than a quick negotiation of retirement. What in the name of Merlin does this woman have planned? He accepted the cup of tea mechanically, slightly put off by Minerva's announcement.
"So. Here's the long and short of it. You owe Hogwarts one more year, since you promised Dumbledore. I can't let you out of that promise, only Albus could. Since he's... not here... there's really no easy way around it. You don't want to teach the first years, the 'dunderheads.' I don't want you to terrorize them until they're having daily panic attacks."
Now that she mentioned it, though, that idea did sound appealing... But, no. The process of sending them into panic attacks would give him a headache. Not worth the fun. He smirked anyway.
"I've come up with a type of solution. You won't like it, but it is an alternative to teaching students who have no appreciation for your fine art. But this is basically your only other option, Severus. We both know what will happen if you break that Vow."
Severus sighed quietly. Damn Albus! But, if it would get him out of teaching first years...
"Out with it, Minerva, I don't have all day."
"Severus, if you took on an apprentice while living at Hogwarts, you'd still be acting as a professor here and honoring your promise to Albus – "
"You're blackmailing me into working with Granger?" Severus slammed his cup down on Minerva's desk, spilling tea everywhere. He wasn't displeased at the mess it made. "I think I'd rather take my chances with the dunderheads, Minerva!"
"Fine, then, Severus. Have a nice break and I'll see you two weeks before term starts in August," Minerva replied calmly. She knew that Severus would take none of this well, and would let him decide whatever he wanted. Either way, Severus would be back in the castle as a Hogwarts professor. His Vow would not allow him to do otherwise. "I am not trying to merely 'blackmail' you, however. You should know me better than that by now. I tried to find a way around your Vow that might make you more content about your last year here. I am not adverse to finding someone else to take over day-to-day Potions teaching. But your magic will not function and you will eventually die should you decide to ignore these options and break your Vow." Her voice came out harsher than intended, but Severus was a stubborn man, and sometimes it took a little more force than usual to break through to him.
He buried his head in his hands. "Why did she have to find that damn antidote? Then I wouldn't be stuck in this hell-hole for another year. How frustrating can one girl be?" he muttered to himself. "Fine. I'll speak with Miss Granger later, to see if she is still interested in becoming my apprentice. You, and she, should know, however, that I am unhappy in this damned situation, and I will not bother to hide that fact. If I have to suffer, so will she." He left the office without another word, and Minerva began to chuckle. Oh, what an interesting year this was going to turn out to be...
--
Hermione had finished research on the candidates she'd found earlier that day, and had removed three from her list after what she'd found. Dominique Rosario had never taken on an apprentice, never would, and had hexed the last person to ask into such a state of catatonia that he hadn't woken for six months. Realizing a futile effort when she saw one, Hermione scratched that name off her list.
Herman Smith, an American moved to Britain, had seemed like a good choice, but upon reading his research, Hermione realized that he was as conservative as a Potions Master could get. He refused to try brewing new or experimental potions, never worked on research outside of potions that were already tested and deemed safe, and focused his life on teaching young students. He wouldn't work for an advanced student like Hermione, hoping to go into experimental potions. Next.
Dudley Levasseur was the last name she removed from her list. He was currently in Azkaban (something that hadn't been mentioned in his file at the Ministry) for the attempted rape of his last apprentice. Hermione was willing to jump through hoops for the right Master to take her on as an apprentice, and even willing to deal with a terrible personality (like Snape's) to get a good education, but that was going too far. With a shudder, she hastily crossed his name off. Five times. Just to be sure.
That left her with: Amanda Picadilly, a British woman currently residing in Germany who had Mastership in both Potions and Charms; Henri "Matisse" Gregon, a French Master who taught at Beauxbatons (and whom she'd head several stories about from Brendon), but who'd also studied Transfiguration for years; a reclusive Scotsman, James MacDonald, who was last reported to live in the highlands of Scotland, who worked with Charms in Potions; and one Severus Snape, dungeon bat, greasy-haired git, and the best hope she had of remaining in England while she worked on her apprenticeship. Though her location wasn't a huge point of contention, she didn't want to spend a year or two abroad if she could help it.
She sent an owl off to Kingsley, outlining a letter that he might send to these three, along with their names and other pertinent information. She promised to come by tomorrow to discuss her work further and to review the letters he'd have written up. She also told him that she would meet with Snape tonight, and she'd share any further ideas that she might get from him. She wrote down the four names and quick descriptions of each, and sent one copy to Minerva and kept one with her for the meeting with Snape. Hopefully he'd have some insight into some of the Masters she'd contact about the apprenticeship.
At seven o'clock exactly, she knocked on Snape's office door. She opened the door when he told her to come in, and silently sat in the chair in front of his desk. He was finishing writing out some notes on a pile of parchment, and she said nothing until he finished. In fact, because of his rudeness this morning when she brought up the topic, she decided not to say anything at all, until it was necessary to speak. This way, she'd hopefully avoid a pissed-off Snape, and hopefully could return to her rooms slightly more composed than this morning.
"Minerva seems to have decided that you are going to be given every opportunity to make this idea of yours work. I have a year remaining on my contract at Hogwarts and am not permitted to leave on pain of breaking an Unbreakable Vow. She offered me the opportunity of taking you on as an apprentice in lieu of my normal teaching duties in order to complete my time here. I assume you've been making alternate arrangements since our," he paused and grimaced, "discussion this morning. Why don't you explain a bit more about your project to me, what other teachers you've been considering, and we can talk about options from there?" He forced himself to be quietly polite. He was not happy about this situation, but he had to admit that Hermione Granger was one of the brightest students he'd ever taught. On top of that, her ideas sounded interesting. On top of that, she was his ticket out of teaching dunderheads. And on top of that, she'd been silent ever since she'd entered his office, giving him hope that a year teaching her would not be quite as irritating as he'd anticipated. The first words out of her mouth, however, proved him wrong.
"Sir? After this morning, what makes you think that I'd still want to apprentice with you?"