AN:/ Hello! Time for a little bit of Ron bashing (I love Ronald, but I need a bad guy). His appearance is brief, however, he will return *laughs evilly*. A BIG thank you to Smithback, purplehedgehog13, Zedoc, Paladium, RhodaBush, Lunajen323, CrazySlytherin, Fingalia, and CyBr3 for reviewing, this one is for you! :D


Chapter 15: Interview.

Ron.

Hermione stiffened immediately and stepped in front of Snape. Ron watched her through drunken eyes, and she saw that he was struggling to stand up straight. Why does he have to show up now?

"You've been keeping yourself busy," Ron's eyes narrowed at Snape, and Hermione was unprepared for the protective flare that came over her. I can see the judgemental look in his eyes...Severus has done nothing wrong. "Is this who you left me for?"

"Ronald, I left you because you cheated on me," She clenched her hands into fists.

"Only because you wouldn't have sex with me," He slurred back, and she heard Snape scoff from behind. "Something funny old man?"

Hermione turned to look at Snape with wary eyes. I hope he doesn't take Ron seriously...

"Not that it matters, Ronald, but you and I had sex only for me to find you in bed with someone else the next day," She explained. "You're drunk."

"N-No, I'm not," His shoulders sagged and he didn't take his eyes off Snape. "Why is he with you?"

"I'm luring her away to keep her in my dungeon," Snape's sexy voice radiated sarcasm. Hermione cringed.

"You're not helping," She muttered. "Severus and I are...dating."

Ron laughed loudly. "Severus? Dating? As if 'Mione, he can do better than you."

Hermione saw Snape's wand appear in his hand, so she reached behind to grab his wrist. She shook her head and sighed.

"You're entitled to your own opinion, Ron. However, Severus and I were taking a walk—we'd like to continue."

"Has she spread her legs for you yet?"

Snape yanked his hand out of her hold. "Stupefy!" Ron flew back into the wall and fell to the ground with a thud.

"You shouldn't have done that-"

"If you think that I'm going to stand by while this twit talks about you in a derogatory manner, then you're as dimwitted as he," Snape lowered his wand and scowled at Ron's unconscious body.

"He was drunk!" Hermione bit hard on her bottom lip.

"Are you defending him?"

"No!" She exclaimed. "Of course not...he's just—he's Ronald and tends to say things he doesn't mean, especially when he's drunk."

"So you are defending him," Snape towered over her with a disgusted look. "He is nothing but a petulant child who is jealous that he no longer has his toy to play with."

Hermione looked at the ground. He's right. "Should we leave him?"

"Yes," He grunted. "Shall I take you home?"

"If you don't mind," Snape wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back into his chest. She relaxed into his hold as they disapparated.

...

Dear Miss Hermione Jean Granger,

I am writing to offer you an interview for a position at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There are two vacancies available, and I believe that both would suit you well—the choice is for you to make. I request your appearance this Wednesday at 12:00 pm.

Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall - Headmistress of Hogwarts.

"Do you not think this is odd?" Hermione asked Harry over breakfast.

She had received the letter on Monday morning. I wonder if Severus knows about it. Hermione was yet to contact him about it, but couldn't resist the idea of surprising him.

"Odd?" Harry retorted. "The pay will be much better than what you get now. At least you could tell people what you do for a living."

"That's a fair point," She bit into her toast. "I wonder what positions are available."

"I guess a place in the library or Muggle Studies professor," He explained with a smile. "I wish McGonagall would offer me a job."

"Why don't you ask for your job back as an Auror?" Hermione pushed the letter away and took a sip of her tea.

"I could, but it doesn't appeal to me anymore. I wish to do something that lifts me up rather than knocks me down. Plus, Ron is still working there."

Hermione felt guilty. "You can talk to him you know. Just because I no longer want to doesn't mean you have to stop being friends with him."

"The only time I will consider talking to him again is if he apologises to you," He replied fiddling with his glasses. "Also, he still thinks that I left Ginny to be with you."

"Well he now knows about Severus and I," She said with a sad smile. "He said some cruel things, but he was drunk."

"Don't defend him," Harry muttered. "Anyway, you should speak to Neville when you go."

"Oh! I forget that Neville works there," They'd lost touch with everyone from school and Hermione felt sad that it had turned out that way. However, Harry needed me at the time.

She was glad that he hadn't touched a drop of alcohol since her intervention, and he didn't seem inclined to drink anymore. I guess it's because Draco likes him back.

"When are you going to see Draco again?" She asked causing Harry to freeze.

"Erm...I...we haven't really—I don't know," His cheeks flushed, and Hermione wondered what had happened after Draco fled his wedding. I know they didn't have sex because none of them bear their mark.

"He's welcome to visit anytime. I know we don't tend to get along, but I feel like we're civil acquaintances now," She smiled at him. "It's cute that you blush whenever I ask about him."

"What were you and Snape doing in front of the fire?" Hermione immediately blushed.

"Idiot..." She grumbled, and Harry laughed. "If you really want to know, we were-"

"No!" He waved his hands around frantically. "I never want to know what you two get up to when I'm not around."

"We've only had sex twice."

"Too much information!" He exclaimed. "The idea of Snape doing that is-"

"Sexy," She raised her eyebrow, and he cringed.

"No, definitely not sexy!"

...

Hermione smiled as she took the seat opposite Professor McGonagall. She'd added her personal touch to the office, and it was more homely than it used to be. Hermione placed her bag next to her feet and accepted the tea Minerva offered.

"I'm glad you could make it today, Hermione," She said pulling out some parchment and a quill. "The old Muggle Studies teacher had to leave as unforeseen circumstances arose, and I believe you are the perfect candidate for the position."

"Thank you," Hermione sipped her tea. "However, I must point out that I'm not qualified-"

Minerva held out a scroll, and Hermione put down her cup to take it. "This is the curriculum, please look at it and see if there is anything you're unfamiliar with."

Hermione did as she was told, never having to pause to ponder on what the topics were. I know everything. She looked up with curious eyes.

"I'm familiar with the content, but I'm not qualified to teach children," She explained. "I may have spent a lot of my time in school teaching groups of people, but I don't think I could handle the drastic change."

"I have every faith in you," Minerva said. "I'm sure your old professors could tell me how good your leaderships skill are. I can vouch for you as I've overseen you practise before."

Hermione grabbed her tea, and looked around the room. Accepting a job at Hogwarts wouldn't be a bad thing, but she couldn't ignore the anxious feeling it caused. Will Severus be mad if I start working here? What if he doesn't want to be around me at his place of work?

I shouldn't overthink! Hermione could guarantee that he'd laugh at the idea of her working here, but she knew it wouldn't affect their relationship significantly—at least she hoped it wouldn't. We could spend more time together; I'd like that.

"Are you interviewing other people?" Hermione asked, and Minerva nodded her head.

"I know you will take this job. However, I must say that you'll need to be more careful about your relationship with Severus."

"Careful?"

"You're not to be in his quarters outside school times, and on the weekends."

So not at all...Why is she treating me like a child?

"Minerva, I respect your beliefs, but it hardly seems fair that you want to ban me from being with Severus," She finished off her tea, then got her feet. "Therefore, I must decline your offer."

"I thought you might say that. How about you consider the other position open, Severus is looking for a potions apprentice."

Hermione almost laughed—almost. She felt like she was dealing with Dumbledore; Minerva seems to have an ulterior motive. Could it be that she's trying to help us in our relationship? Hermione didn't know, but she was warming to the idea. I'd get to spend a lot of time with Severus.

Could I deal with him being my teacher again? It would be hard for her to settle back into old ways, and it was inevitable that they'd argue more. I don't want to argue with him.

"You're thinking too hard my dear," Minerva smiled and gestured for her to sit back down, Hermione did so and shifted anxiously. "You haven't gained a qualification in potions as of yet, and this will provide you with the right knowledge to move forward in your career. I can assure you that a lot of people will want to hire you afterwards."

"I'm not sure Severus will like the idea of us being back in a teacher and student role," She admitted with a heavy heart. "We get along better when that isn't hanging over our heads."

"I think he'd prefer you over the other candidates who have applied. He referred to them all as 'useless dunderheads'—he speaks highly of you when he's not trying to embarrass me," Minerva chuckled and summoned another scroll in the palm of her hand. "This is an agreement. Once you sign this, you're officially a member of Hogwarts."

"Do you think I should talk to him first? I'd need to write my resignation for my job," Hermione took the scroll and unrolled it.

"I've already handed in your resignation."

"Excuse me?" Hermione's voice was almost shrill. "What do you mean?"

"I know that you worked in the Department of Mysteries. They didn't tell me what chamber you were in; one can only guess—I've sorted everything, and you can start tomorrow."

"W-What?" Hermione stammered.

It was a lot to process. She didn't know whether she was happy or angry. Do I want to become Severus' apprentice? Hermione liked the idea of spending more time with him—it was the winning factor in Minerva's proposition.

"OK," Hermione nodded. "I accept."

"Brilliant!" Minerva clapped her hands together and offered her the quill. "Sign on the dotted line, and everything is sealed."

Hermione scribbled down her signature, then the ink glowed gold, and the scroll disappeared. She looked over at Minerva with a smile, just as the doors opened.

"Headmistress, it appears that-" Snape paused as his eyes landed on Hermione. Her stomach flooded with butterflies, and she looked away from his burning gaze.

He'd walked in with two other students and Remus Lupin.

"What is it?" Minerva got up from her chair.

"These two seem to be the main instigators of the prank war going on," Remus said. "Severus and I caught the smuggling in numerous prohibited items; ones that could've caused somebody serious harm."

Hermione could still feel Snape's eyes on her, so she slowly looked back at him. There was a wondrous expression on his face, and she could see he was trying to figure out why she was here.

"You're Hermione Granger," The blond seventh year grinned in a flirty manner, and Snape hit the back of his head.

"You're not here to schmooze boy," His voice was thunderous.

"Severus could you entertain Miss Granger until I've finished dealing with these two. I suggest you take her down to the dungeons and show her around your laboratory since she's your new apprentice."

"My—" He frowned. "Of course. Miss Granger, after you," He held out his arm towards the door, and she quickly made her way out of the room.

Hermione could sense Snape stalking behind her, but he waited until they were out in the empty corridor to grab her. He spun her around to face him.

"My potions apprentice?" He drawled.

"Minerva offered me the position," She said and looked up at him with hopeful eyes. "You're not mad, are you? She sent me a letter on Monday inviting me to an interview."

"You should've told me," He grunted. "Did you think I'd refuse you?"

"I didn't know she was interviewing me for the potions apprentice position. Initially, she offered me the Muggle Studies vacancy, but said we couldn't—she was going to ban us from ever being alone together," Snape narrowed his eyes, then let go of her arm. "I like the idea of working here, and it only gets better because I'm allowed to work alongside you."

Hermione wished to kiss him but knew he wouldn't appreciate the display of affection in the halls. She understood that he had a persona to keep up at Hogwarts, the children were to fear him, and they would thrive off the idea that he was snogging a woman in the corridor.

"The thought of working with you isn't as unappealing as I thought it would be," He muttered, and his eyes fell to her lips. "However there will be times when I'll have to take on an authoritative position."

"I understand that Severus," She placed her hand on his chest, then slowly slid it up to rest on the side of his neck—he didn't flinch away. "If you want, we can act out some of the scenarios from our dreams—"

He growled, then kissed her. She was enveloped in his warm embrace and she buried her fingers into his dark hair. Her smile was glowing between kisses; she was beyond ecstatic that he was letting his guard down around her.

She pulled her mouth away from his and gazed up at him. "I believe it's time you showed me around your private lab, sir."