Hello!
I'm not dead yet (I can dance and I can sing...)
Anyway, sorry for the long break between updates- I know I promised to try to post after I got back in July but the real world pulled my attention away. I can't promise that it won't happen again (since school is kind of important) but I will try to update more regularly.
The good news is that I have most of the last part of Hermione's second year done, so that chapter won't take long.
Maintanence:
Thought
"Normal speaking"
"Spell"
Nonverbal Spell
"Parseltounge"
Thanks to my reviewers: Sylphides, Sofia7, Harry-Hermione Potter, Lysjknopp, Stashthesocks, Padslet, Kymie29, Fire Daughter, potterhead0013, XxXxJackBlackxXxX, Darkness-Lightness, pstibbons, digio, camya (anon), Diespedes, notwritten, missevilprincess, Dark Yellow Dino, Excel Go Boom, and Miss-Fleur-Riddle
Disclaimer: Instead of wasting time trying to think of something witty to say about not owning Harry Potter, I'm going to assume that anyone reading this is smart enough to know that (although judging by the people I know, my assumption may be putting too much faith in the human race)
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There were three days until Christmas, and everyone was busy doing some last minute wrapping. Hermione had decided the other day that she needed a present for Ginny and several smaller gifts for some of the Order members, so she had sent Lara out and was waiting for her to return.
Mrs. Weasley had everyone help decorating the large house, and for the most part they couldn't use magic. Percy and the twins were in charge of the Christmas tree and decorations, Ron and Harry had to hang garland around the house and assist with the household decorations, and Hermione and Ginny had to help in the kitchen.
Hermione was itching to get out from under Mrs. Weasley's watchful gaze, but once she was able to ignore the woman she found that chores with Ginny weren't that bad.
Fred and George came over and asked Ginny if had seen any gnomes in the neighbor's gardens that they could use.
"Why do you need gnomes?" Hermione asked. She was at a complete loss as to what the twins would need a gnome for.
"Why to put on the tree silly" George said, mockingly exasperated.
"Why would you put a gnome on the tree?"
"Hermione dear" Fred began in a long winded voice. "I know you're not used to wizarding Christmases so I won't hold it against you. It has been a long standing tradition in old wizarding families that the children would try to catch a gnome to put on the top of the tree and whoever caught the first gnome would get an extra present that year. I know a gnome seems silly but what did you put on your trees at home?"
Hermione looked down suddenly, her cheeks growing pink. "We used to put a star on our tree" she lied.
Fred looked at her skeptically, "Used to? Well what do you put on it now? I'm sure Dad would love to hear about it actually, he just loves Muggle traditions and inventions. Hey Dad!"
Mr. Weasley came over to his son, "What do you need Forge?"
Hermione looked at Ginny expectantly.
"Most people outside of the family can't tell the twins apart, so they told everyone to either call them Forge or Gred, that way they always gets part of the name right. We just call them that because it's funny."
"Uh-huh" Hermione said as she heard Fred tell his father about how Hermione was telling them about her Muggle Christmases.
Arthur's face lit up like a light bulb as he turned to Hermione. "I absolutely love learning about new Muggle techno-whatsis. The things they come up with are incredible. What sort of things do you have for Christmas?"
Hermione didn't have it in her to tell Mr. Weasley that she didn't remember the Christmas celebrations from when she was younger; and her dad had certainly never celebrated anything with her.
"We had most of the traditional Muggle trappings: the tree, lights, a star, presents in the morning. Nothing really fancy or out of the ordinary" she lied.
Mr. Weasley seemed particularly focused on the light bulbs and how they were made to change colors without magic, so Hermione gratefully turned the subject away from her own Christmas celebrations to a more approachable subject.
Fred and George watched Hermione for a moment before they went outside in search on a gnome. Mrs. Weasley came over a minute later to pull Arthur away from the young witch, "Come along, dear. There's plenty to do and Hermione will be here for the rest of the break."
Hermione turned back to Ginny, who was silently laughing at her friend. Hermione laughed, too, her previous worries forgotten. Ginny turned and went to the kitchen to help her mum and Hermione went to help Harry and Ron.
Ron gave her some garland to hang around the house and she occupied the rest of her morning hanging garland anywhere she could reach.
It felt nice to be able to concentrate on nothing. Even as she told herself that she should take more breaks she berated herself for being weak enough to enjoy the break.
I must be strong. They're all depending on me. Once I prove that I'm strong enough, they'll tell me about the prophecy and I can be on my own and finish this all.
She repeated her mantra, I must be strong, to herself several more times as she moved through the large house. She did her best to try and distance herself from the frivolity of the season, but everyone, especially the twins, were making it hard for her.
She felt uncomfortable being in such a festive house, so when lunch rolled around, she retreated to the library. She was not surprised when Ginny joined her, and found to her surprise that she didn't mind the other girl's intrusion. They chatted happily about Christmas and Ginny patiently answered Hermione's questions about the holiday in the wizarding world.
In the kitchen, Harry, Ron, and the twins planned several pranks that they would put into action in the days preceding the holiday. Sirius turned a blind eye to their plans and saw that Molly seemed to be staring into space.
He approached her slowly and put a hand lightly on her shoulder.
"Molly. Is everything alright?" he asked quietly.
She jumped slightly and gave him an embarrassed smile. "Just thinking." He turned to find Remus when Molly called to him.
"Sirius. I just remembered. You said that the prophecy was delivered on June 13th right?"
He nodded, clearly confused as to where she was going with this.
"And that the child would be born six months from then?"
Again he nodded, starting to follow her train of thought.
"Which would make her birthday the 13th?"
They looked at each other, "Why didn't she say anything? Her birthday was a week ago- the first day of the break."
Sirius thought back to the first day that Hermione was at the house, but as far as he could tell, she gave no sign at all that the day was anything special.
"Molly, I know this will be hard for you, but don't ask Hermione about it. If she didn't say anything then she must not have wanted a big fuss."
Molly looked at him curiously, "Sirius you will have to tell me eventually what is going on. I'm hardly blind to what goes on here. Her muggle upbringing can only account for so much. She is polite to a fault, quiet, withdrawn, hardly interacts with anyone, and she seems to have no idea about what Christmas is."
Sirius shook his head sadly, "Molly, it sounds like you already have your own guess. I won't say anything until I'm sure."
Molly nodded, "Alright, Sirius. I won't say anything. But I'm not happy about skipping her birthday."
"Neither am I."
They returned to the kitchen and Sirius say Harry give him a thankful wave as the four boys ran upstairs. He must have thought that I was distracting Molly from their pranks. If only that's all I had to worry about.
Remus came in a minute later, followed by Tonks and Kingsley. They were chatting amiably about the upcoming holiday and their plans. Although most of the order members would at least stop by the house on Christmas, many of them were spending the majority of the day with their family.
Hermione spent the remainder of the day with Ginny and they talked about everything from school to the war. Well, Ginny talked, Hermione mostly listened.
She learned the Ginny felt overshadowed by her brothers and had a small crush on Harry. She also knew far more about the Order than Hermione had guessed, and she wished she had her notebook with her. She continued to teach Ginny how to meditate and clear her mind.
The younger girl was beginning to have some difficulties in the exercises, but Hermione encouraged her to keep trying.
"It's all about mastering your emotions. You don't have to actually be emotionless." Hermione explained to Ginny.
"I can't!" She said, very frustrated. "How do you do it? You're good at everything! No one can beat you!"
"That's not true" Hermione said quietly.
Ginny looked at her friend, wishing that she could be trusted enough for Hermione to talk to her, and she vowed to double her efforts in Occlumency so that Hermione could tell her what was worrying her.
After another hour of practice, Ginny practically begged that they go to the training room. Hermione consented, and the redhead raced upstairs.
Hermione followed her, pausing to say a quiet "Hello" to the kitchen's occupants, and padded silently up the stairs.
Hermione was far from stupid; she knew that something had happened in the Order meeting, and that something had concerned her. She was uncomfortable with all the attention she was getting and longed to remain shut in the library for the rest of the holiday. Sadly, Ginny would never let her do that, so she grudgingly jogged the rest of the way up the stairs. She passed the twins who were charming Never-Popping-Bubbles to fly at each other and entered the training room.
"You absolutely have to teach me some cool spells" the younger girl begged as soon as she entered the room.
Hermione quirked an eyebrow, "Define 'cool'?"
Ginny groaned, "You know what I mean! None of my brothers will teach me anything because 'I'm too young'" she mimicked. "But I have to know how to defend myself and give it back twice as good."
She looked at her friend, "I'm not stupid. There's a war going on out there, even in Hogwarts. Practically my whole family is in the Order and that makes me guilty by association."
"I never said I wouldn't teach you, Ginny" Hermione shrugged. "I just wanted to see what it was that you wanted to learn."
Ginny grinned, "Do you know the Bat-Bogey Hex?"
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Dinner that night was a riotous affair; the twins had started off some of their more harmless pranks, and the diners found throughout the meal that neither the silverware, nor the furniture would remain still for long. Eating became a disaster as the spoons refused to hold the potatoes for more than a second. Sitting proved impossible when the chairs took to dumping their occupants and flying around the room.
Mrs. Weasley was properly mad, but her husband convinced her not to punish them in the spirit of the holiday, although he could be seen winking to his sons as his seat and silverware lost their animate qualities.
Hermione went to the library after dinner, desperate to escape from the table and the Christmas songs that Mrs. Weasley was insisting that everyone sing.
Not five minutes later, Hermione turned to find Lupin walking into the library.
"Do you mind if I hide in here with you?" He asked good-naturedly.
"Not at all." Hermione said, and gestured to an empty armchair near the fireplace.
They sat in comfortable silence for several minutes before Lupin turned to look at her. "Hermione, I need to ask you something. You don't need to answer it, but it needs to be asked."
Hermione nodded, knowing what he would ask her.
"You're not happy here, are you?" He said softly.
Hermione looked shocked and then angry, "Of course I'm happy here. What gave you the idea that I wasn't?"
Lupin didn't look at her; he kept his gaze on the growing fire, "Maybe happy isn't the right word. You're uncomfortable here. I can tell. So can everyone else. You won't offend us, Hermione, but it's painfully clear that something is wrong."
Hermione took several minutes to comprehend what he said before answering, "You're right. I am uncomfortable here, but it's no one's fault. I'm an only child and I've never been used to attention or making a fuss of holidays, or waking up in a house with almost a dozen other people in it. I guess it will just take time for me to adjust, but I haven't been making an honest effort to try to get used to everything."
"Why is that?" Lupin asked, looking at Hermione properly now, only to see a small girl curled up in an armchair with the weight of the world on her shoulders.
"I think you know why."
Lupin nodded painfully, he knew all too well why Hermione was rejecting all that was good in her life right now.
I did the same thing when I was in school and Sirius and James befriended me. I pushed them away because I was afraid that they wouldn't stay with me and I didn't want to get hurt.
"Hermione, I can't promise that things won't get bad, but I swear to you that no one here will ever betray you. I promise that me, Sirius, Harry, the Weasleys, even Severus would never leave you willingly" as he spoke he looked right into her gray eyes, assuring her of the truth of what he was saying.
Hermione just nodded, knowing that arguing her self-doubts would not do any good, and feeling better about his reassurances.
"Would you like to join our songs?"
Hermione nodded and was surprised to find that she actually did want to sing. The past is behind me and the future will never be in my grasp.
She joined in for several songs, Mr. Weasley was kind enough to make several pages of paper with the words to each song for her, and she passed the early evening away happily.
In her temporary joy, she failed to notice the scheming looks that the twins were casting towards Ginny.
That night, Hermione awoke to a scream coming from Ginny's room. Snatching her wand she ran quickly to Ginny's room, only to find that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and Sirius were there, barely half a second later, Lupin, Harry, and Percy arrived as well.
They ran into her room, terrified at what they would find, only to see Ginny hiding under the covers as a small snake silently slithered towards her. The adults heaved a sigh of relief and moved to comfort Ginny. Hermione gave Harry a small push and nodded her head towards Ginny.
Harry got the clue and walked over to Ginny, who hid her face in his shoulder, embarrassed that she had caused such a scene. Harry murmured soothing words to her and then turned to the snake.
The room froze as Harry whispered weird hissing noises to the snake. Ginny's grip on his arms loosened and she looked at him in shocked curiosity.
Hermione looked at the adults, worried. She noticed that they all looked either shocked or openly terrified. That must be Parseltongue. This isn't good.
It took several minutes to calm everyone down, but Sirius and Remus took Harry aside and Mr. Weasley made it very clear that Hermione and Ginny shouldn't say anything about what happened.
Mrs. Weasley made her way to the twins' room, looking very angry.
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The next day and a half passed in a whirlwind of preparations and festivities in Grimmauld Place. Hermione made an effort to talk to people besides Ginny and found that the twins weren't as bad as she thought. They were actually rather brilliant and she admired their plans for a joke shop. She and Percy were able to talk about a wide range of things, and Mr. Weasley questioned her about every bit of Muggle technology under the sun.
She avoided Mrs. Weasley less, and found that the woman wasn't as overbearing as she had thought she was.
Hermione was pleased when the presents she ordered came on the night before Christmas Eve day. She took some time to carefully wrap them and then set them aside to place under the large tree tomorrow morning.
Christmas Eve came and the excitement was palpable in the house. After placing her gifts under the tree, Hermione was glad that she had gotten several more gifts for the Weasley's and some of the Order members after she saw her name on several gifts.
Ginny and Hermione spent the whole day helping Mrs. Weasley in her quest to make sure that everything was perfect for the next day. She watched amusedly as Mrs. Weasley rounded up the twins, Harry, and Ron and told them in no uncertain terms that any pranks would wait until the day after Christmas or several unmentionable horrors would await them.
The twins nodded solemnly, with only a small twinkle in their eyes, but Harry and Ron paled slightly and nodded their consent. Hermione surveyed her black haired friend. He seemed quieter today, obviously as a result of last night, and she made a note to herself to talk to him about it soon.
Dinner that night was very animated, partly in an effort to forget about last night, and partly in anticipation for tomorrow. Hermione listened as the Weasleys shared stories from past holidays and Sirius and Lupin added their own. If anyone noticed that Hermione was quiet, no one mentioned it.
They got to bed late after much signing and merriment. Hermione sat in her bed for almost half an hour before trying to fall asleep. She wondered if she was doing the right thing. I've never been this happy before. But I feel like I should be training more. No one seems to understand that I'm alone in this. Once I know the prophecy I'm going on my own to beat Voldemort and they can't change my mind. But it's nice to have fun. Ok, I'll focus again after the holiday. What harm can a couple of days do?
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"Hermione! Wake up! Wake up, wake up!"
Hermione sat up in her bed and frantically searched for her wand before she caught sight of the red head in front of her.
"Ginny?" She asked groggily. "What's going on?"
"It's Christmas! Time to wake up and go downstairs" she ran out of the room and down the stairs and Hermione looked at the clock: 5:30.
Ugh she groaned. I'd better get up now. She pulled on a pair of pants and a sweater and went to the bathroom to comb her hair.
After splashing some water on her face and brushing her teeth she felt a lot better and walked downstairs only to be assaulted with many well wishes and hugs. Mrs. Weasley insisted that they have a small breakfast while they waited for everyone to come down, so Hermione and Ginny helped Mrs. Weasley cook some muffins, eggs, and bacon for everyone. Percy and Mr. Weasley came down at quarter after six, courtesy of Fred and George, so they were finally able to convince everyone to move to the tree.
The tree and the gifts under it took up most of the room and everyone took their pile of gifts to distribute to the people they got them for. They went from oldest to youngest, so Mr. and Mrs. Weasley gave their gifts first. Mrs. Weasley handed Hermione a box and Hermione took it, surprised that the woman had gotten something for her.
She opened it to find a grey sweater with a blue H in the middle. Looking around the room, she saw that all of the other kids, even Percy, had a sweater with their initial in it. She ducked her head, embarrassed that she had been included in the tradition since she hadn't been very receiving towards Mrs. Weasley.
Sirius and Lupin gave out their gifts next. Sirius got everyone something from Honeydukes, and passed out the chocolate bars, Harry teased Lupin when Sirius gave the werewolf the biggest bar; Lupin's love of chocolate was a standing joke in the house.
Lupin handed out his presents; different books for each person. Percy jumped up and handed out his presents as well. The twins groaned when they saw that Percy got everyone books as well. Hermione looked at her books in appreciation; Lupin got her a book on the rise of the Dark Arts, and Percy got her a book on experimental charms.
The twins got up next and handed out their presents, everyone looked at their box nervously; no one wanted to be the first to open it. Fred laughed, "Don't worry; we didn't rig any of your presents. That would just be cruel!"
Ginny glanced at Hermione, who shrugged, and the two girls opened their gifts simultaneously. There was a small puff of smoke, and everyone leaned in curiously. Hermione reached into her box and pulled out a necklace with a large gold half-moon pendent on it. She looked over at Ginny and saw that she had a similar pendent but it was on a bracelet.
They put them on and everyone else opened their present to find something with the same pendent. Mrs. Weasley had a bracelet as well, Mr. Weasley attached his to his pocket watch, Percy's pendent was on the end of a new quill, Sirius looked at his; "Cute, guys, real cute," his was on a dog collar. Lupin laughed, and attached his to his pocket watch as well. Ron and Harry each had theirs on small wristwatches.
"They're beautiful, boys" Mrs. Weasley gushed.
"Yea, real charming" Sirius said sarcastically as he removed the pendent from the collar.
"What do they do?" Ginny asked.
"What do you mean 'what do they do'?" George said, looking offended. "They're pretty."
Ginny made a face, Hermione looked at her necklace more closely. "They definitely do something," she said, turning the pendent over in her hand. "There's something in it."
"Fine, spoil the surprise" Fred scolded.
"They're not complete yet, but they will be soon" George put in. "We're planning on putting something in them. But the potion isn't done yet."
"Don't tell me you made Felix Felicis" Hermione said, shocked.
Everyone turned towards the twins. Mrs. Weasley looked even more surprised than she had been.
"But that's terribly difficult to create" Percy said.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Perce" Fred smirked. "And that's why it isn't done yet. Once it is you can store it in your pendent and always have a bit with you. And no one will suspect because the pendent is gold colored."
"But where were you brewing it?" Lupin said with a look of dread.
George looked at him innocently, "What Professor Snape doesn't know-"
"Won't get us in trouble" Fred finished.
"He's coming over today" Hermione said.
"Thanks for the warning" George smiled.
"Can we finish the presents?" Ginny asked impatiently. "Of course- Ron, Harry, why don't you hand your gifts out?" Mrs. Weasley said.
Ron got mostly Quidditch related gifts for everyone, and Harry picked out hats and scarves for everyone, but he gave Hermione something different.
She opened it, surprised at the weight, and saw that it was a picture album. She looked over to Harry, who looked embarrassed. "This is kind of a joint present from Ginny and me. We took them over break and found a couple from the last two years and put them together."
Hermione was so touched that they would put that much effort into a gift for her that she could hardly say her thanks. Hermione collected herself and stood to hand out her gifts.
For Mr. Weasley she got a book on Muggle electronics and promised to show him how some of them worked. She got Mrs. Weasley an apron with charms on the pockets to hold everything and never break. Sirius got a scarf and aviator goggles for his motorcycle. She got Lupin a bar of chocolate and watched his face as he read the note she put on top.
Sirius looked questioningly at Lupin when he gasped and a tear formed in his eyes. Lupin shook his head and placed the note in his robe pocket before looking at Hermione and wordlessly expressing his thanks.
She just nodded sadly and gave the rest of her gifts out. Percy got a book on transfiguration and its use in the modern world. For Ron, who Harry said was a Chudley Cannons fan, she got a jersey. For Harry, she got a second hand Snitch so he "could practice for the team next year."
Ginny was the hardest, she thought as she watched the girl open her gift. She got Ginny a book on offensive and defensive spells that she promised to work on with her, and she also planned to give Ginny a two-way mirror later.
More fun, though, she reflected. Would be teaching Ginny more advanced dueling skills. We'll get to that eventually.
Ginny handed out her gifts; she got new quills for her father Percy, and Lupin. Some minor trick toys for the twins, a book on Quidditch for Ron, Harry, and Sirius. She got her mother a charmed set of tea cups that she swore didn't bite people's noses.
There were still several presents under the tree, mostly for Bill and Charlie, and some for Order members who were sure to stop by later. Mrs. Weasley bustled into the kitchen to start making brunch, and Mr. Weasley went to help. Percy retreated to his room, the twins ran down to the potions lab, and Harry and Ron went through their gifts.
Hermione pulled Ginny into the library to give her the two way mirror. Ginny looked at it and then looked at the older girl sadly. "What's wrong, Ginny?"
"You're being so nice and you got me a great book and now this and all I got you was the album and that doesn't count since Harry did most of the work" she sniffled.
Hermione was in way over her head but she tried to console the girl, "Ginny, I'm not keeping a tally, you know. Don't forget that you helped Harry with the photo album and that meant a lot to me. And I'm teaching you because I want to and because you're a really fast learner and I enjoy teaching you."
"You're just saying that" she sniffed.
"No, I'm not. I don't just say things. I don't teach Harry or your brothers for the same reason you want me to teach you; they're being taught already. You need to know this stuff and I like being able to help you learn this."
Ginny dried her eyes and looked up at Hermione shyly, "I'm glad that you're teaching me. And I really appreciate it."
Hermione handed her the two way mirror and explained that she should always keep it on her. Ginny nodded solemnly and put the mirror in her pocket and walked out of the library, heading into the kitchen to grab some food. Hermione followed her and then retreated back into the library with her new book on charms.
She heard the greetings from three rooms away and knew that Order members were arriving. She knew she should get up and greet them, so she wandered out to see who came.
"Wotcher, Hermione" a man with a large white beard said merrily.
"Hey Tonks. I like your beard" she laughed.
"Really? Ugh, I hate it. Bloody itchy" she resumed her regular face and smiled at the young girl. "Happy Christmas!"
"Happy Christmas. I think Mrs. Weasley has some food in the kitchen if you're hungry."
Tonks nodded her thanks and moved towards the kitchen.
Hermione looked around and saw that Moody and Kingsley had arrived as well. I guess he's not here yet. Although I hardly expected him to show up first.
Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall were next, coming through the Floo and exchanging several "Happy Christmases" to the Weasleys. Several other members stopped by throughout the next two hours and right up until lunch. They didn't stay more than half an hour and left to be with their families as soon as they could.
Hermione watched them all, trying to get a feel for who held the power, obviously Dumbledore is the leader, but who else do the lower members look to?
She didn't get her answer, as it was only the Inner Circle that stayed long enough to chat. Hermione was able to overhear a lot of interesting things, especially something about a map.
She tried to find Ginny and failing in that she went to hide in the library. There were just too many people for her to handle at the moment. The library was blessedly empty, and she curled up in an armchair with the album of clippings from the Daily Prophet that she had stashed in a shelf.
She became completely consumed with the articles, trying to find any minute details that she might have previously missed, and wished that she had her notebook with her.
Thinking of her notebook made her wonder where Professor Snape was; he had said he would stop by.
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Snape looked at the clock, 1:17 in the afternoon, he had plenty of time.
He stared back down at the notebook lying innocently on the table. He glared at it before opening it once more and leafing through it. Snape marveled once again at just how much information was in it.
He couldn't believe it the first night he had the notebook. He, a spy of how many years, couldn't believe how much was in it. He couldn't even fathom how Hermione had gotten all of the information, let alone recorded it, analyzed it, and added in questions for future research.
He was alarmed when he saw the information she had on the Dark Arts; spells, minor rituals, the Horcruxes. No second year should know that much or want to learn that much about such Dark magic.
The sections on his colleagues also troubled him; Hermione was either far more perceptive than he had ever guessed, or she was getting inside information from someone.
She had a lot of information on the structure of the Order, the identity of most of the members of the Inner Circle, how they contributed to the Order, what they did outside of the Order, what their relative level of power or influence was both in and out of the Order. The list just went on and on. It was probably a good thing, he reflected, that the book was bound to her with blood; it was too much information to trust to traditional spells.
Then there was his own section. Snape had never had any close friends, barring Lily, when he was growing up. He was surprised and more than a little concerned that Hermione had been able to unearth so much about him.
Although in comparison to some of the other teachers, his section was much smaller, he was still uncomfortable with how much she knew or guessed. At least I am aware of it now and I can help guide her. He had decided not to tell Dumbledore; make no mistake, the promise he gave Hermione would certainly keep him from voluntarily telling the Headmaster, but if Snape hinted that Dumbledore should know something, the older man could certainly take the information from him.
He glanced at the clock again, surprised that the Dark Lord hadn't called yet. He decided to go over to Grimmauld Place now instead of putting it off. He snapped the book shut and went to the Floo.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose, annoyed once again with the Floo system as he stepped out into the Headmasters office. The old man, of course, was not there, so he went to the opposite wall and said the incantation, revealing another fireplace. As admirable as it is that Albus went to all this trouble to keep the Floo that access the Order secret, it's a bloody nuisance to use everyday.
He stepped through the green fire once more and finally reached Headquarters. Grimacing, he looked around at the décor and mentally braced himself for the obnoxiously happy Order members he was sure to find.
He saw Molly and Arthur first and wished them a 'Happy Christmas' while looking around for Hermione so that he might escape. But Molly pulled him into the kitchen and he was forced to endure attempts at conversation with several members of the Order who thought that the holiday would have improved his mood.
As soon as he could he escaped to the library and saw Hermione in an armchair. He put a silencing and locking spell on the door to keep them from being interrupted, although he didn't think anyone would walk into the library.
Hermione turned when she felt the magic of the spells and was surprised to see Professor Snape there.
"You should be more careful. You didn't move until it was too late" Snape said lightly.
"Happy Christmas to you too, sir" she quipped. "Besides, this is at the back of the Headquarters for the Order, I hardly think that someone would slip through and get here unnoticed."
"Nevertheless," he lectured. "Be on your guard."
Hermione nodded, slightly annoyed that he was telling her to be careful when she was capable of taking care of herself.
"Did you find my notebook interesting, sir?" she inquired.
He pulled the book out and placed it on the small table in front of her, "Quite. I would like to ask where you found all of this information, but I've decided that it would be better if I didn't know." He looked at her with an expression that was too difficult for Hermione to place, and then it shifted into his usual expression of indifference.
"I've added some things to almost every section, but I think that my notes on the sections of Death Eaters and the Dark Arts will help you the most." He turned to look at her seriously, "If I thought you would listen, I would highly recommend dropping this little project and never searching for information on the Dark Arts again. As it is, I know that you won't stop, so I would ask that you come to me when you want to learn more. If you are really going to do this, I can teach you in the safest way I know."
I don't need safe! Hermione fumed. I knew I shouldn't have showed him the book. Now he'll try to limit how much I learn.
"What do you mean by 'safe,' sir?" she asked calmly.
"Not safe in terms of spells, if that's what has you worked up."
She looked at him, surprised that he could see that she was upset, until he tapped his temple, saying, "Your walls are good, but I've had years to develop my Legilimency skills."
"Can you help me then?" she asked.
"With your Occlumency? I don't think that would be a good idea" he dismissed.
"Please, sir. Who else can help me?"
"The Headmas-"
"No!" Hermione snapped. She blushed when she realized the tone that she just took to a professor, but she didn't apologize. "I can't trust him with my mind yet, sir."
Snape sighed, frustrated with the lack of respect she was giving Albus, although he knew that in her position he wouldn't trust Albus either. That didn't make it any easier though.
He faced her once more, "Let us begin then."
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As Christmas dinner began, Hermione looked around the table; Harry and Ron were to her left, Ginny was on her right, Percy and the twins were at the end of the table, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were on the ends, with Sirius, Lupin, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Tonks, and Kingsley on the other side. Moody had left just an hour before and the other Order members had left to be with their families.
Tonks stayed when she explained that her parents were traveling for the holiday, and Hermione was sure that she was the only one who caught the looks she threw Lupin's way.
The meal was delicious and Hermione found it incredibly easy to relax around the people at the table and enjoy herself. She was upset that Professor Snape hadn't stayed, but if she was honest with herself she wasn't surprised that he had left.
They had worked on her Occlumency shields for over an hour an a half when Snape found it more difficult to break down her walls and sort through the protections that she had placed. "Good" he said neutrally. "You'll need to develop some defenses that I haven't shown you and that only you know about. I suspect that I can only enter your mind because I know how your protections work."
He stood stiffly, "I must be going."
"Wait, sir." Hermione called. She was embarrassed to find that she was blushing as she pulled a small parcel from her robes and handed it to him.
"Happy Christmas sir, and thank you for your help." She fled the room, afraid to see his reaction to her gift.
Snape just stood there for several minutes, staring at the parcel in his hands. Sure he had received gifts on the holiday before; Albus, Minerva, and Lucius never failed to remind him that he had friends. But he hadn't received a gift from a student before. He made it a point to keep his students at a distance so that they felt uncomfortable and would not seek attachments or advice from him that would make his life more difficult.
He opened the parcel gently to find a temperature gauge. Turning it around he could see that although it was based on the Muggle design, it was subtly changed to better suit a Potions lab. He smiled a genuine smile when he realized that this wasn't just something that she had seen and thought he would like; this was something she saw and knew it would be put to good use. It was practical and, dare he say, the best gift he had received this year.
He put a charm on it to prevent it from breaking and put it back in the parcel. He left the library but couldn't find Hermione and he knew that he should be getting back to his lab. He bid farewell to the Weasleys, Albus, and Minerva, and then went back through the Floo.
Hermione hoped that he liked her gift, and started planning a few new defenses so that when she saw him next, he would know that she had taken his lessons to heart.
She turned back to the conversations at the table and decided that she should work more with Ginny over the next couple days on her dueling strategy.
She had wanted to ask Dumbledore about the prophecy, but she had decided that she would find out soon enough. Besides, she didn't want to give the Headmaster anything to hold over her head; once he knew that she wanted to know the whole prophecy, he would keep a closer eye on her. And that was something she couldn't afford right now.
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I know! That took forever and I'm sorry! And this was a relatively boring chapter, but it will get more exciting soon.
The next chapter will be the end of the holiday break and the first month or two back at Hogwarts. I'm just beginning these.
After that there will be one or two chapters- haven't decided yet, that will cover the end of year two. I'm part way through these.
Since you've been really nice to me I decided to give you a sneak peek to the end of Hermione's second year, don't worry, it's nothing really important:
Harry and Draco had been following Hermione silently under the Invisibility Cloak, worried for her but determined not to let her know that they were following her.
They saw the strange boy enter Myrtle's bathroom and watched as Hermione walked in behind him. They silently crept to the door only to stand there in silent horror as the strange boy picked up Hermione's limp form and walked to the sink, hissing as he moved.
The sink sprang apart and the boy descended without hesitation, leaving the two boys rooted to the spot in shock. As the sink was closing Draco snapped back to reality and ran over to it, trying in vain to stop it from closing.
He was powerless to stop it, however, and the sink closed with a rumble, locking Hermione far out of reach. He stared at it defiantly for a moment before running over to Harry who had not yet moved.
"Harry!" Draco shook his friend. "Go get the Headmaster. Tell him what happened. I'm going to get Snape."
The blond took off at a sprint and it took Harry a moment to process what happened before he, too, sprinted out of the bathroom.
Please, Hermione. Please be ok.
Thanks for reading!
Always,
Sinkme