Chapter 11-A Secret Revealed
As the days of December passed, Hermione slowly felt herself recovering. Although many of the nights still passed with agonizing slowness, the dreams seemed to be less intense than they once were and when she woke in the mornings, she felt more rested. She tried to keep herself busy during the days with her students, Christmas shopping in Hogsmeade and listening to Neville's increasing anxiety over his upcoming wedding. Luna had moved in to the house in Hogsmeade and Hermione visited with her several times over the following weeks. Although she was still somewhat eccentric, she had become more level-headed with time and Hermione had come to appreciate her unusual sense of humor and sharp intelligence.
She and Severus never discussed the night they spent in each other's company, however nearly everyone noticed that they appeared to be almost friendly to each other. Professor Sprout had even told Neville that she had seen Severus smile at something Hermione said once, although Neville refused to believe it. The two could now frequently be seen sitting together at meals, although usually not talking.
Severus found this new development to be unnerving at times. Friendship was never something that came easily for him and he was never sure if he was behaving properly. He was still prone to making rude comments yet they did not seem to bother Hermione as much as they once did. It was as if she knew that he did not mean the things he said.
Soon it was time for Christmas break and the castle seemed to be a flurry of activity. Because they no longer had Hagrid to bring in the traditional Christmas trees, they were charmed to bring themselves in. Hermione, feeling in a particularly festive mood one staff meeting, had volunteered to be in charge of decorating. She managed to recruit many of the Gryffindor students and several teachers, (excluding Severus, who glared at her when she had dared to ask) to help with the decorating.
There was also much activity in regards to Neville and Luna's wedding, which was set to be in the Great Hall on Christmas Eve. There had been much talk about it in the Daily Prophet as both Neville and Luna were purebloods and because of their affiliation with the Order of the Phoenix and help in the downfall of Voldemort. Of course, the Quibbler had been doing its share of stories on the subject as well. It was widely known that not only would the Chosen One be in attendance, but the Minister of Magic himself had insisted on officiating. Neville's grandmother, who was getting on in years, yet still a force to be reckoned with, was apparently beside herself with happiness.
As the day of the wedding arrived, Hogsmeade inns were full of guests arriving by various methods. Every few minutes someone new was popping out of the fireplace at the Three Broomsticks and if you weren't careful walking down the street, you ran the risk of someone apparating on you. Hermione herself saw Thestrals pulling a carriage carrying Minister Shaklebolt who was greeted in the Front Entrance by Professor McGonagall and Neville.
As Hermione left the Great Hall that morning after breakfast, Severus was entering it.
"Professor!" she said nearly running into him as he swung the door open. "You nearly scared me to death!"
"My apologies, Miss Granger," he said smirking. "I meant to merely scare you speechless."
Hermione tried to stifle her laughter. "Feeling chipper this morning, aren't you? Will you be attending the wedding this evening?"
"As much as I would love nothing more than to be spending Christmas Eve alone in my rooms and ignoring this commotion, Professor McGonagall has made it more than clear that the presence of all teachers is 'strongly encouraged'. So, much to Longbottom's regret, I am sure, I will be attending tonight, if only for the smallest amount of time possible." He appeared to be highly disgruntled at the idea of attending the wedding.
"Well Professor," said Hermione with an amused smile on her face, "you will have to save me a dance."
"Miss Granger," he growled, "I do not dance!"
Hermione merely smiled and continued on her way.
Severus watched her go and could not help but feel amused. In the last several weeks Hermione reminded him more and more of the student he had once known. Her face was no longer so pale and her eyes no longer looked sunken into her face. Although it was hard to tell through the robes, it also appeared she had put on some weight and once again looked healthy. She still spent most of her free time with her nose stuck in a book, but she also had a quick sense of humor that he had never known before and she loved a good intelligent debate. She had made so much progress in the last few weeks from when he first saw her at Spinner's End, perhaps she was finally putting her grief behind her. He only hoped that the anniversary of the Final Battle would not set her back.
Late in the afternoon, Hermione began dressing for the wedding. She had finally worked up the nerve and gone to Gladrags earlier in the week and bought a new set of dress robes. They were sapphire blue silk and cost her nearly a month's wages, but they were the finest clothes she had ever owned. She reasoned that if she was going to be seen by most of the finest in wizarding society, she could at least look nice doing it. She had a pair of sapphire earrings that her parents had given to her when she turned seventeen and matched the dress perfectly. Using a variety of potions and spells, she managed to smooth her hair into curls rather than the usual frizz. She looked in the mirror and for once felt satisfied with the reflection she saw back. As she was finishing, she heard a knock at the door and when she answered it, saw Ginny and Harry staring back at her.
"It so good to see you two!" she said after she had greeted them both with requisite hugs. "But where is Ronnie?"
"We left him with Bill and Fleur. They're at the Burrow for Christmas but Fleur didn't feel up to coming since she's pregnant again," Ginny said with a roll of her eyes, "so they agreed to watch him. We're apparating back tonight so it's only for a few hours. Hermione, you really look lovely!"
Ginny spent the next several minutes admiring Hermione's robes and Hermione spent several admiring Ginny's as well. Ginny was wearing dark red robes and although she looked more motherly these days, she was still beautiful. Harry meanwhile sat in a chair looking bored. Finally they moved on to another topic of conversation.
"So, how's Snape been?" Harry asked as they got ready to go down to the Great Hall.
Hermione suddenly felt like she was at a loss for words. She wasn't sure how to classify her relationship with the Potions Master. Friendship seemed like too strong a word, but she wasn't sure what else to call it.
"We have actually gotten along rather well," she said closing the door behind her.
Harry's eyebrows rose so high they disappeared behind the fringe of dark hair on his forehead. "That wasn't what I was expecting to hear. I thought I would hear all about the cruel comments he made and how many times you almost hexed him."
Hermione laughed. "Well, he does make cruel comments and I threaten to hex him nearly every day, but we're more just…well…joking."
There was a sudden choking sound and Hermione looked over to see Ginny's face turning red while Harry slapped her on the back.
"Dear Merlin," Ginny said once she caught her breath. "Has anyone checked the temperature in Hades lately? Snape knows how to joke?"
"Well, not in the traditional sense," Hermione said smiling to herself. "It's not as if he laughs or anything. It's hard to explain. Maybe tonight you'll see for yourself. He's supposed to be here."
Harry gave Hermione a long look but said nothing as they descended the final flight of stairs into the Entrance Hall. There were dozens of people milling about talking in small groups casually heading into the Great Hall to take their seats. In a group close to the stairs was Molly, Arthur, Percy, Penelope, George and a young woman with dark hair that Hermione didn't recognize. George was the first to see them.
"Hermione! You look wonderful!" The group soon dissolved into hugs and laughter as Hermione greeted everyone. As she turned to the dark headed woman, George spoke up. "This is Natalie McDonald. She was several years younger than you so I don't know if you remember her."
"Oh, your manager?" Hermione asked. Once George had said the name she faintly recognized the pretty young woman. "He was singing your praises this summer."
Natalie blushed and, much to Hermione's surprise, so did George.
"I told you she was indispensable," he said with a wink.
The group headed toward the Great Hall greeting various people along the way. Hermione saw Neville's grandmother chatting animatedly with the Minister of Magic. She saw former classmates and waved hello to both Seamus Finnegan and Lavender Brown. Suddenly she saw a slender woman with shoulder length hair, bright blue to match her robes dragging along a nervous looking man.
"Tonks!" she said pulling the woman into a hug. "I haven't seen you in ages! I love the hair!"
Tonks laughed and returned the hug. "You know me, I love to experiment. This is my fiancé Michael." She introduced the man next to her. Then she dropped her voice to a stage whisper. "He's a Muggle. All this still makes him nervous."
"Hi Michael," Hermione said smiling and shaking his hand. "I'm Muggle-born myself. It takes some getting used to, doesn't it?"
Michael laughed and nodded. "I never know who I'm going to wake up next to. One morning there was an old lady in my bed. I swore my heart would never recover."
Everyone laughed as Tonks punched him in the arm and they went into the Great Hall. The Hall was no longer recognizable. There were rows and rows of chairs and flowers of every color imaginable. They took their seats and it was only a few minutes later when the ceremony started.
Wizarding weddings were very similar to Muggle ones, except for the use of a wand during the wedding vows that magically bonded the two together. Sadly, Hermione thought forty-five minutes into the ceremony, this one was both very long and very boring. Apparently the Minister was taking his job very seriously. As he continued to drone on, she began to look around the room for Severus. She was beginning to wonder if he had decided to skip out on it when she finally spotted him in the last row in the far corner. He was dressed all in black, of course, however his robes somehow looked a little nicer than usual and he had pulled his hair back into a ponytail. She smiled imagining Severus actually attempting to dress up.
As if he could feel someone staring at him, Severus suddenly turned his head and looked over at her. For a moment he didn't recognize the young woman in sapphire blue, with long dark curls cascading down her back. It was with shock that he realized he was staring at the same woman he ate every meal sittingnext to.
Hermione smiled at him and thought she saw a faint smile in return. She could not be sure, however, as she suddenly felt an elbow in her ribs. She looked over at Harry who leaned over and whispered, "Stop flirting with the bat."
"I was doing no such thing!" Hermione whispered back heatedly, feeling herself blush. Harry just rolled his eyes and she thought she heard him mutter something about suddenly feeling sick.
The ceremony finally came to a close and they slowly filed out. As everyone milled about the Entrance Hall, some even braving the cold to go out on the grounds, Hermione searched out Neville and Luna.
"It was a beautiful ceremony," Hermione said hugging Luna while she tried to avoid her enormous headpiece. Luna's taste had remained the same over the years and although her dress was normal enough (although more frilly than Hermione cared for) she appeared to be wearing a large hat with a bird perched on top of it and a giant bow trailing behind. "It's lovely that so many people could come."
"Yes, I'm sure most of them just came to be seen with the Minister, but it was still a very nice ceremony," Luna said with her trademark honesty. "In fact, I don't recognize half of them."
Hermione nearly snorted with laughter and Neville's face appeared to be turning red. As she turned away, the doors to the Great Hall opened once again and the room had been magically transformed. All the rows were already gone and in its place were tables and chairs. She was just about to head off to find the Weasleys again, when she saw Severus sneaking away toward the dungeons.
"Professor Snape!" she called loudly to him. He stopped suddenly but did not turn. She walked over to him. "Did you really think you were going to sneak away?"
"As a matter of fact, I did." He said turning to face her. "I have no intention of going in there and…mingling." He said the word as if he had a bad taste in his mouth.
"Come," Hermione said pulling at his arm. "You can sit with us."
"Miss Granger, I have absolutely no intention of sitting with the Weasleys and Potter. I would sooner have tea with all the Death Eaters in Azkaban."
"Professor, do you really want me to go find Minerva and tell her you are sneaking off early? Come, I promise they will all be nice."
Severus looked at her with doubt in his eyes but said nothing. He really just wanted to get away. Not only were weddings one of the things he hated most in the world, the presence of Hermione was beginning to make him nervous. What was this she was wearing? And why did her hair look so different? It looked…soft. Severus was not a man who enjoyed change and this change was making him very uncomfortable.
They made their way into the Great Hall where she soon found the table. Given the number of Weasleys, they had divided up among two tables and Harry, Ginny, George and Natalie were sitting at one with Molly, Arthur, Percy and Penelope at another. Hermione went toward the table with Harry and Ginny. As they approached Harry's eyes grew wide as he saw who she was bringing with her.
"Harry," she said slightly out of breath. "It seems that Professor Snape was trying to sneak away. I told him he was more than welcome at our table. You all don't mind do you?"
"Uh…no! Not at all. Good to see you Professor," Harry said nervously.
"Potter," Severus said slightly inclining his head. It was as gracious as he could be.
Both he and Hermione seated themselves and what would have been a very awkward silencewas relieved by the arrival of the food magically appearing on the plates. They ate with little conversation until Ginny finally spoke up.
"So, Professor Snape, have you been enjoying your return to Hogwarts?" she said in what she hoped was a friendly voice.
"If you consider having melted cauldrons and daily trips by the students to the hospital ward enjoyable," Severus said sarcastically. Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. Really, he was hopeless.
Ginny just smiled and returned her attention to her plate. It appeared that there would be no further conversation until suddenly Horace Slughorn turned up.
"Severus!" he cried jovially as he waddled over to them. "I haven't seen you in years! How are you m'boy?"
"Oh just lovely," Severus said in the same tone he had used with Ginny.
"Good, good. It's nice to see you out. And sitting here with Hermione and Harry too! Well, times certainly have changed haven't they? Why there was a time when you and Harry couldn't even look at each other without wands drawn."
Hermione flinched at the words. No one at the table needed reminded of Harry and Severus' painful past however Slughorn continued on as if oblivious.
"Funny, really, that you and Harry would hate each other so much when you and Lily got on so well."
All activity at the table suddenly stopped. Hermione heard George's fork clatter onto his plate; Ginny sat open-mouthed with her fork mid-air; Harry was now glaring at Severus and Severus was staring at nothing at all. Slughorn appeared to have noticed the sudden change and looked around.
"Did I say something? Surely you all knew that Severus and Lily were friends. I mean, they were both top Potions students and both were in the Slug Club. I thought it was common knowledge."
"No," said Harry, his voice tense with anger. "I don't believe anyone ever mentioned it to me." He rose suddenly as if to leave, but Hermione put a hand on his arm.
"Sit, Harry," she whispered. "Let Professor Snape explain."
"I believe Horace has already done that for me," Severus snarled. "What else is there to say?"
"Maybe why you would betray her?" Harry said, his voice rising in anger. "Why you would call her Mudblood? You certainly didn't look like her friend in the Pensieve!" People at the nearby tables were beginning to whisper and Arthur had come over to see what the problem was.
"Don't talk about things you don't understand, Potter," Severus said also rising up from his chair.
"Then I think you better explain them to me if you plan on leaving this room in one piece." Hermione could see Harry grasping his wand in the folds of his robes and groaned under her breath. This was definitely not the type of publicity Hogwarts needed.
"Outside. Now." Severus growled at him. Harry stormed out of the room, Severus following after him. Hermione and Ginny looked at each other and ran out the doors after them.