Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling.

The Dool Tree

Chapter 11

The next morning, Hermione entered the library, still drained by the confusion to which last night's ponderings had brought her. It being a Thursday, the last day before the Practical Potions O.W.L., she was anticipating that few people would be in the library proper--and that one person in particular, namely Snape, would be.

She didn't know what kind of conclusion he and Lily Evans had come to the night before, but Hermione regretted that she hadn't followed Lily to the rendez-vous and looked out for Snape's welfare. While she wasn't, by habit, an eavesdropper, she justified herself with the knowledge that it was necessary for her (self-appointed?) duty of protecting him. Her indolence the night before was an oversight she fully intended to correct.

So she made plans to find Snape, interrogate him as much as she could (without blowing her cover) and make sure that the wrong thing didn't happen. Which, she wasn't quite sure what the 'wrong thing' was, but she was eager to prevent Snape--no, Severus--from making the same mistakes that led him to become the bitter, surly man he'd made in her time.

She'd briefly mused about her role as she rushed through breakfast, paying no attention to the looks in askance from Jenny Hazard and Dorcas Meadowes, wondering for the first time in her life about guardian angels. She'd always been a self-proclaimed atheist and skeptic of all things supernatural (save where magic was concerned), but if all guardian angels were just normal people like her who had extra knowledge, she'd be more inclined to believe in the existence of miracles.

Anyhow, she hoped that she might subtly draw out information from the reluctant Severus as to what happened. Quite frankly, she was bloody irked at how little she had apparently known about the relationship between the two. It was highly important that she rectify said discrepancy.

However, her plans came to a screeching halt when she realized that Snape had some company now: Lily Evans was sitting in the seat that Hermione had so recently reclaimed for her own. Now the only seat remaining was too close to the nearby aisle, making her vulnerable to getting elbowed by other students as they passed. She had no intention of accepting this simply because Snape had a crush on the other girl, none whatsoever.

Lily was in a state of constant motion, periodically picking up a book from the multiple stacks of books that she and Snape had accumulated and glancing through it before returning back to what seemed a rather impressive collection of notes and jotting something down. All the while, she spewed out words at an impressively-rapid clip. "...and you know how Jenny is, Sev. She's practically throwing herself at Pettigrew, Pettigrew of all people! I mean, if she keeps going through the guys at this rate, she'll be pregnant by seventh year..."

In contrast to Lily's frenzied movement, Hermione's former teacher moved at a much calmer rate of pace. He was an ice-covered lake to her tropical storm. Like his love interest, Snape was revising his notes in preparation for the O.W.L.s to come, but while he was performing the same actions, the feeling behind them seemed as different as night and day. Unlike his companion, he had noticed Hermione's presence. "Lily, there's a charm on the castle preventing that sort of thing, as you yourself mentioned to me. Also-"

Lily pouted, although she didn't take her nose out of her book as she continued, running over what her friend had been about to say, "I know, but-"

However, Hermione never had the chance to learn what was to come after that 'but', as Severus interrupted, "Lily, we have company."

Lily's head immediately jerked up, gazing about swiftly before her eyes locked onto the brunette observing the pair with an annoyed on her face. Blanching, the redhead stuttered out in embarrassment, "Err, nice to see you, H-Hermione. Having a nice day?"

Eyes narrowing, Hermione set her bag on the table brusquely.

"Absolutely brilliant," she said with a haughty sniff. The implications of Lily sitting with Sn-(no, she reminded herself)-Severus were clear. And Hermione did not like what she saw. Lily was supposed to be fawning over James Potter, not James Potter's worst enemy. More importantly though, Lily was in her favorite seat.

The dark-haired boy looked to his red-haired companion, and their eyes met in a sort of what's got HER knickers in a twist? glance. Apparently deciding to advance a rare demonstration of cordiality, Snape looked almost apologetic.

"What's the matter, Miss Granger?"

Wasn't it obvious what the matter was? Hermione felt like she'd had her throne usurped. Then again, Hermione remembered how dense boys (namely Harry and Ronald) could be concerning the wiles and whims of the female sex, and she realized that Snape probably attached no importance to the fact that Lily had taken her place.

"Oh...nothing," she said, her tone airy, "just looking forward to a bit of studying in my favorite spot." The message, as she perceived it, was clear: Lily's taken it! Get her out of here!

"It's only been a week...and you already replaced me, Sev?" Lily's attention was turned to her friend, and her (as Hermione enviously noted) punctiliously-manicured eyebrows waggled in a jocular manner.

Snape, for the first time Hermione could ever recall, turned a little pink and muttered some indecipherable excuse in a tone that could only be described as obsequious.

"Never mind," Lily said, squeezing his arm in a consoling manner and regarding Hermione with some amount of--something. Interest? As one might be interested in an insect. Disdain? Not quite, there was no spite in her eyes. Confusion? A little, perhaps, but not consuming.

Then Hermione was suddenly reminded of a lioness; Lily was secure, prideful, and held an immense amount of power. And she regarded Hermione as a little lion cub who thought itself a threat. This marginalization, this belittlement, this condescension irritated Hermione. Lily's next words confirmed Hermione's impression of the other girl.

"But, I must ask," Lily stated with quiet command in her voice, "what do you need to study for? There's only one O.W.L. left, and that's the Potions Practical tomorrow. And you're not even taking O.W.L.s until the end of summer, so you said."

"You're right, I'm not," Hermione replied, feeling sorry for Snape (poor bloke!). It was clear from his attitude--slumped against the back of the chair, his eyes steadily gazing at Lily--that he was so smitten by affection that he'd do anything for this girl. And Hermione was certain that Lily was not above abusing her power over him. I'll show her, Hermione thought, I'll demonstrate my solidarity. I won't quail in her presence like poor Snape here.

It shocked her that she could think so malevolently of Harry's mum, but she reminded herself that she won't be Harry's mum if I don't make sure that the Wrong Things don't happen in this time.

Thus she justified her defensive, almost hostile stance. "But that's only three months away," she continued hotly, sitting down in the empty (albeit non-ideal) seat, uninvited and without ceremony.

"And...you're starting now?" Lily questioned, her green eyes non-aggressive but penetrating. "Sheesh, I guess if you like studying, that's okay I guess."

Offended, Hermione pointed out the staggeringly large piles of books and notes surrounding the pair before crossing her arms and saying with an annoyed 'hmph'. "If one doesn't study, save for last-minute cramming, it's doubtful that they would learn anything at all. To truly plumb the depths of one's mind, it is necessary to save time for studying, isn't that right, Professor Snape?"

Snape just shrugged, but Lily frowned. "First off, I like practical experience...not absorbing information from books. If one's truly interested in a subject, one should do their own work in the field, not just rely on what some old bearded bugger thought it was important to tell us in a book."

Taking affront at the fact that Snape was overshadowed--did Lily even give him a chance to respond on his own?--Hermione stated coldly, "I wasn't talking to you, Lily, I was asking the Professor."

Lily's eyes widened at this, and Hermione wondered if she had made a mistake. Snape, who had grown accustomed to the nom de plume, didn't visibly react, except to open his mouth to speak. Lily, however, cut him off before he could say anything.

"I ask you so, Hermione--what's with this Professor business?" Lily asked, looking perturbed for the first time in the conversation.

Whoops.
Hermione hadn't thought about the fact that Lily was unaware of her nickname for Severus, and she realized that she'd probably made a mistake in emphasizing his 'title' in front of someone else. Snape seemed to accept it as a sign of...respect, or somesuch...but it was, she acknowledged, very odd. especially since it had only been a few days since she 'met' him. She just couldn't give it up though, after so long drilling it into Harry and Ron's heads; that would have just been too...strange.

"Uh, it's a nickname," replied the bushy-haired Gryffindor, scrambling for an excuse. "He's very intelligent, and I respect his mental capabilities immensely. I decided to call him professor because I see that he has the potential to be an..." She paused, realizing that adjectives that she normally associated with Snape as a teacher rarely were positive. "...excellent instructor."

Lily blinked, her mouth agape. "Severus? A professor! Are you out of your bloody mind, Granger? Sev would never be a teacher, not in a milion years! It's just absurd!"

This response surprised Hermione less than it ought to have. She knew Snape never really expressed any pleasure in teaching, but she'd always presumed that he had at least some choice in the matter of his career. Whether or not it was his first pick of a job, she would never know, but no man in his right mind would ever choose a profession he really, truly hated.

And so, rather brashly, she suggested: "Well then, Evans, perhaps you don't know Snape very well."

A jarring silence resonated in the quiet of the library for several seconds, creating a dark tension throughout the room. Previously leaving the girls to speak to each other undisturbed, Severus then spoke, his voice frigid.

"Miss Granger...I do think that it would be best if you left."

This was followed up by Lily's assertion, her eyes narrowed with anger, "Yeah, I think Sev is right. You should leave."

This rejection paralyzed Hermione. She was being directly told that her presence was not wanted, and she hated that. Especially because...well, she didn't want to say she was friends with Snape yet, but she certaily felt a sort of rapport between herself and him, built over the past few days, and she didn't like the idea that it could be treated in so cavalier a fashion. In hindsight, she could have handled the conversation better, but she didn't deserve this...did she?

Then in a moment she felt ashamed, and realized that she'd just criticized the woman that Snape--for better or for worse--seemed to adore. This made her more uncomfortable, and hence more irritable, and hence depressed at her own lack of tact.

"I..." She felt an apology rising in her throat, juxtaposed against the tears of self-pity stinging her eyes.

This was met by no response in the eyes of the pair opposite her.

"Goodbye," said Snape. He didn't sound angry or aggressive, instead indifferent, as though she were unworthy of his notice. His eyes glanced to meet Lily's, then down at his book. Not once did he regard Hermione.

With a tense clenching of the jaw, Hermione seized her bookbag and numbly walked away, not noticing the piercing glare of Lily's glassy green eyes following her as she left.

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