"Hermione, what a surprise," Snape drawled from behind his door when he opened it. "I guess it was too much to ask to have a Saturday to myself." As he said it, however, he opened his door wider giving her enough room to enter, so she didn't take it to heart.
"Well, I thought about it, but I figured it was good to have people see me come down here, and I really couldn't be in that room anymore," she said cheerfully.
"Ah, are Draco and Potter still making the air 'thick', as you say? I would've thought last night would've helped ease the tension; make things glide smoother," he surmised, walking towards the far end of his office towards an open door.
His choice of words painting an unpleasant scenario in her head to add to the noises she heard, Hermione decided to make a noncommittal noise and continue to follow him. Walking through the door she gasped.
There were books everywhere. He had shelves that started at knee length and rose to the top of the ceiling, and circled his whole front room. In the back of her mind, she figured they must be in his private quarters, but that was unimportant to her right now. Immediately, she gravitated towards the nearest shelf and had her had halfway extended when she remembered her place. She pulled her hand back instantly, and heard a soft chuckle from behind her. She spun to see Snape leaning against another shelf watching her.
"I guess I should get used to you attempting to touch my possessions," he drawled, arching an eyebrow at her, and giving a deep chuckle again when she blushed. "Come, you'll have plenty of time to admire them later."
He walked over to where a huge fireplace sat, burning away, and sank into one of his chairs. She followed, and when she sat down she never wanted to get back up. The chair was heaven. It was squishy, and plush, but with enough body that you wouldn't sink into it forever.
"Severus, thank you again for the dress. I know I keep thanking you, but it was so beautiful. I had a really great time last night. Oh god, and those shoes! Those were incredible. When I first pulled them out of the box, all I could think of was dancing with you and then falling flat on my face, or bottom, or breaking my ankle," she laughed, and was delighted when he joined in with his soft chortle.
"Yes, I confess that I had a very similar picture painted in my head as well. For awhile I contemplated letting you go in flat shoes, but you're just so short. Finally, I asked the lady at the counter if there was a charm I could place on them and she gave me list of commonly used ones," he explained. "And once again, you're welcome. I admit I didn't dread the night as much as I thought I would."
"I think we stole the show for the night. For awhile it was Draco and Harry, and everyone was trying to figure out who they were. But after our final dance, I'm sure we took first place," she said, and noticed him looking tense.
"Yes, well, I suppose I should apologize for that. It was a little rash, and very impulsive," he said tersely.
"Don't! Really, it was fine, Severus! I told you that you didn't have to run everything by me. I think you're still having a problem seeing me as only a student," she said.
"That's probably because you are my student. Although, I'm not sure for how much longer," he trailed off.
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it, Hermione. Now that it's not a rumor anymore and people are convinced of it, how long before the complaints set in? Every time you answer a question correctly in class, or complete a flawless potion, or get back a faultless homework assignment, people will complain. They'll complain about special treatment and the like," he shot at her.
"But that…that's ridiculous! I've always had good grades, and you've been extremely fair this year with treating everyone equally! Even when you had to favor the Slytherins, you still gave them their correct grades! It was just how treated them that was different. How could anyone in their right mind-"
"Well, now, there you go; they won't be in their right mind. People say and think crazy things when upset. Imaginations run wild, especially in this school. Think about all the rumors that you heard about yourself when this began. I know Draco and Potter didn't come up with all of that; the student body made it up. No, just give it some time; you'll see," he told her, leaning his head back against his chair. "Tea?"
She absentmindedly took the proffered cup of liquid, and sat back to drink it while she thought. Honestly, the idea of what students would think of her class life never crossed her mind; she'd been somewhat occupied by the whole a-madman-is-after-me-who-killed-my-cat-and-will-stop-at-nothing-to-get-his-hands-on-me thing.
Lucius, who had still yet to write since after poor Crooks but they were expecting it soon, was still out there. And while he was still out there, waiting and watching, she was in danger. And if she was in danger, it meant the people she loved and cared for were in danger if he went to drastic measures to get to her. And if she had to suffer through some rumors or be put in private lessons to protect the ones she loved from her bad fortune, then wasn't it worth it? Compared to what her friends and professors were sacrificing to save her?
"Right; I'm fine with that then," she said abruptly, finishing her train of thought out loud. Snape had been enjoying his tea in silence, waiting for her to finish thinking, and merely raised an eyebrow at her announcement.
"Care to elaborate?"
"It upset me when you told me about my classes because I hadn't thought of it before I agreed. My schoolwork is extremely important to me, as everyone knows. However, now there's no way to back down; the plan's been set in motion," she said, and shrugged.
Snape sat for a few seconds thinking and finally asked, "If someone would've pointed this out at the beginning, do you still think you would've agreed?"
"No one would've pointed it out; only you. They coddle me, and you're not afraid not to," she pointed out.
"Answer the question."
"I'm not sure. I think it would've taken me longer to agree, that's for sure. I think that you being blunt about it now is the best thing; it's made me realize I have much bigger problems than getting the best grade in Potions," she said, shrugging again.
"Which is?"
"Lucius. As long as he's out there waiting for me, everyone I know, love, and care about are in danger. It's one thing to put myself in danger; it's a whole other thing to put others," she told him.
"Ah, courage. How very-"he began, but was interrupted when a sugar cube hit his forehead.
"If that sentence ends with 'Gryffindor of you', I swear there's more cubes where that came from," she said, waving another one in the air. For a moment, she was scared that she had finally crossed the line, and then he laughed. It was a hearty, deep laugh; husky, like his voice. And although it sounded out of place, as if he hadn't laughed in awhile and was out of practice, it made her smile and laugh as well, and she vowed to make him laugh whenever she could; the sound was delicious.
The conversation went back to the previous night, so as to get their minds off of Lucius for even the smallest span.
"I swear, Severus, the student's eyes were big as galleons when you took your mask off," she laughed.
"Yes, I believe I may have given the youngest Weasley a heart attack," he said.
"I wouldn't be surprised if on Monday I hear how jealous everyone is of me," she said, and laughed as he choked on his tea.
"How can they be jealous? You danced with the dreaded Bat from the cave; the Greasy Git; The bane of their years here," he said, still coughing.
"You obviously didn't see yourself very well last night when you got dressed. You looked absolutely amazing. When you came down the stairs I thought I was going to have a heart attack," she laughed. "Even though the front part of my brain processed that this was part of the plan, the back part was extremely smug that I was finally going to a ball with the best looking guy in the Hall."
"I'm not familiar with this form of taunting, but it's very mean," he said and smirked.
"Oh hush."
"But I believe," he continued, "that you may be mistaken. I think their eyes got wide when they saw it was you under your mask."
"Yes, that too," she sighed. "Ginny was very blunt about not believing I could look like that. I think everyone was surprised someone asked me to dance. You're right."
"Oh shut up, silly girl. That's not what I meant. You looked damn near impeccable last night. You didn't look as if you even belonged at a school. You looked beautiful," he finished somewhat lamely.
"Thank you," she said softly.
They both took drinks from their cups for a few minutes. Finally, Hermione could stand it no more.
"Severus, can I go look at your books?"
Chuckling, Snape told her yes and watched her gravitate towards one of his shelves.
Trying to get the image of Snape last night out of her head, Hermione attempted to submerge herself in reading. As she ghosted over the titles, however, mental pictures kept creeping up.
Suddenly, he wasn't wearing the suit from last night; his chest was bare. And they weren't dancing anymore; no, they were in his chambers like now. And the sounds that were coming from Draco's room were now coming from Snape's-
Hermione had to force her mind to stop right there, because any other thought was absurd. He said it himself; he's the Greasy Git from the Bat Cave. She was just still strung up from last night, and got caught in the moment. He even said he still thought of her like a student.
Did he? Her inner voice argued with her. I'm pretty sure he said you still are his student, which is technically true. But he didn't mention thinking like that anymore.
Oh, shut up, she told herself. Seeing a promising title on a very old Potions book, Hermione reached to get it. Unfortunately, it was two shelves taller than her head, and just out of her reach.
Suddenly, there was a warm, hard body behind hers and another arm shot out and plucked the book easily off the shelf for her. She whirled around and saw Snape freeze. It seemed that he hadn't realized how close he had gotten to her before, but he definitely was aware now. There were barely inches between them; close enough that when she had turned around she had rubbed against his chest in the process.
Neither person moved; both just stared at the other. Finally, Snape slowly held out the book to her, and she went to grab it. When their fingers brushed the other, an electric shock got them both, making them automatically pull their hands back. The book fell to the ground between them, but they paid no mind to it. Their eyes were back on the other. Slowly, Snape's head bent a little; cautiously. Hermione rose to her tiptoes in the same pace; both seemed to be unaware of what they were doing. Hermione, having already gone as tall as she could, reached up to place one hand on his shoulder to help give her more leverage.
Her touch seemed to do it; their mouths came together with a force that left them both breathless. Her hands were in his hair, pulling his face closer. His arms were like steel rods behind her back, attempting to pull her closer. He lifted her off the ground and trapped her between his body and the bookshelf as her legs came around him.
It was when Snape's hands traveled up her waist that she let out a soft moan, which was swallowed up between their mouths, that Snape realized what was happening. His whole body stiffened as he abruptly ended the kiss, and moved back from her, catching her by the arms when she almost dropped to the floor.
Both breathing hard, Snape looked anywhere but at the woman in front of him.
Finally he cleared his throat. "Forgive me, Hermione. I seem to have forgotten my place. That was extremely inappropriate. My mind must still be confused with last night," he said formally.
Hermione just looked at him, confused. She had thought it was fine; better than fine, in fact!
"Severus, I wanted that! It wasn't inappropriate!" she exclaimed.
Snape just shook his head. "We were both out of line; it won't happen again. You're confused on what you think you want. I'm sorry for giving you false hope."
Confusion turning to anger, Hermione started walking towards the door. She walked just past the doorway when she whirled around.
"I'm 18 years old, Severus. Don't tell me what confuses me. I know enough to know what I want," she said in a low, dangerous voice, attempting to keep her cool.
"No, you aren't. You're a naïve little girl starved for affection. Now leave; I have grading to finish." Snape turned his back on her and flicked his hand over his shoulder, slamming the door shut in her face.
XXX
Fuming, Hermione stalked outside to the castle grounds forgetting that the weather was growing colder by the day. It was now November 1st, and already she could see the clouds darkening overhead like they wanted to snow but couldn't bring themselves to do it quite yet.
Placing a warming charm on her cloak and pulling it closer, Hermione stalked off, eager to let off some steam. She was reluctant to return to the Head room knowing that by now Harry and Draco must be done (hopefully) and probably sleeping. She was in no mood to deal with that issue just yet.
She didn't realize where she was heading until she was less than 100 feet from Hagrid's cabin. She couldn't be too surprised, however; didn't they always go to Hagrid's when something was bothering one of them? Wasn't Hagrid the one to make her feel better in her second year when Draco had first called her a Mudblood? Hadn't Hagrid been the one to help comfort her in third year when Ron hated her and she had no friends? After all, she was the "third wheel", as Harry had eloquently put it. And again in 4th year after the horrible episode with the foul Skeeter woman, wasn't it Hagrid who had understood better than anyone and gave her solace when she was upset by the howlers? She never really thanked him for everything he did for her and her friends, and now because of that damned war, she'd never be able to thank him or Ron, or ask them to forgive her for not being able to save them.
Standing there in the cold, she just stared at the hut waiting for the onslaught of tears and memories and regret she knew was coming. As predicted, the corners of her eyes started to prickle, but before she could blink them back, the door swung opened.
Charlie Weasley strode out of the hut with an axe over his shoulder and stopped dead when he saw her. In the months that school had started, she had yet to come see him. She was never very close to Charlie since she barely knew him, and since she didn't take his class, she was never faced with the awkward moment of talking to him. She wouldn't know what to say either. Unfortunately, he walked outside at the worst time. He had let his hair start to grow, so it was shaggy now, and that was the first thing that she saw when he flung open the door.
The memory of Ron hit her like a ton of bricks, and the moisture in her eyes went from being a prickle in the corner to gushing out without warning, leaving her breathless. She felt like someone had punched her in the gut and she almost doubled over from the pain.
Dropping his axe, Charlie rushed to Hermione's side.
"Hermione! Are you ok?" he yelled, shaking her slightly.
She stared up at the face so like Ron's, yet so unlike his. His eyes were the same blue like Ron's but Charlie had so many freckles he almost looked tan, and he was built like the twins; shorter and muscular. Identifying these differences made it easier for her to slow down her tears and attempt to form a coherent sentence.
"I-I-I was w-walking and-and…I don't know! I was here! And thought about H-Hagrid and R-Ron and then I w-was being caught up in m-memories! And then y-you walk out, and I wasn't expecting it! And-and-and…your hair! It was your hair! I just…I just…" Hermione sobbed, and broke off, unable to finish her convoluted outburst. Thankfully, Charlie seemed to have grasped the basis of it, and wrapped her in a hug.
"Oh Hermione; it's alright. I miss them too! Shhh. Listen, I understand; more than you could know. Come in and warm up for a bit. That's it. Come on," Charlie coaxed, slowly shuffling them towards his door.
Almost afraid to look and cause another dam to burst, Hermione hesitantly stepped into the hut. Part of her was relieved; Charlie had redone the entire place, magically enlarging it to fit a living room, kitchen, and separate bedroom, complete with a door. The other half of Hermione was sad; it wasn't Hagrid's hut anymore and this made it real.
Charlie sat her on the couch, went to get her a cup of the tea he had just made, and came back to sit next to her.
"I'm, uh, sorry for frightening you. Or startling you, or whatever I did. I had just finished chopping some wood, and had brought my axe inside with me in case I needed to cut them a bit more. I find I like doing it by hand rather than a severing charm; releases tension better. I was just bringing it back outside. You surprised me, actually," he said, chuckling slightly.
Hermione gave a faint smile after she took a sip of her drink. The hot liquid seemed to calm her down, and she turned to face Charlie.
"I'm sorry, Charlie. I think it was because I was so caught up in memories that I had forgotten you lived here. Next thing I know, all I see is a head of shaggy bright red hair; it just surprised me. I think I'll be ok now."
"Good. We can't have you bursting into tears at every meal when I walk in the doors; I'd have to dye my hair, and I've become rather fond of the red," he joked, attempting to make her smile bigger.
It worked to an extent; she gave a watery chuckle and smiled a bit wider.
"Thanks, Charlie. And I'm sorry I surprised you. I guess my feet just led me here because I was upset, and it's where I used to go," she told him.
"Hey, it's no big deal. I've wanted to talk to you for some time, but I didn't know what to say. We never exactly talked much in the past, but I knew you were close to Ron and I wanted to make sure you were ok. Mum's got me on watch duty for you, Harry, and Ginny as well," he told her, rolling his eyes.
"How is your mom doing? I feel wretched that I haven't gotten to go see her. I didn't exactly go see anyone, really," she said, feeling ashamed.
"She's doing better. My mom's always been a strong woman, and she'll get through this. It's better now that Bill moved back in as well. She's still thin and cries often, but not as much as before. Fred and George come round almost every weekend to see her and Bill, and sometimes more as well, so that's helping," he explained. "Also, I told her how much better Ginny is doing. Harry came to see me awhile ago and told me that he and Gin had finally sat down to talk. I see him with her more, and they both look better."
"Yeah, Harry and I had a row right before that about Ron and Draco. It was horrible, but it finally made Harry talk about it, which is what he needed. He really does look better, and so does Ginny," she agreed.
"Yeah, I noticed Draco had joined your group; that's good," he told her, and laughed at her surprised look. "Don't look so shocked; I think it's good you've accepted him. I knew right when he joined our side that if he lived through the battle, it was going to be hell for him fitting in. If Dumbledore trusts Draco, then I trust Draco. I haven't mentioned much of it to mum yet, although I know she'll take the same view I do. I haven't told her about you and Snape either though, so I'm sure Draco will take backseat to that news."
Hermione blushed and ducked her head. What could she tell him? She wasn't sure if she should tell him the truth, or the story. If he didn't know the truth, then that means Dumbledore hadn't told him. If Dumbledore hadn't told him, should she? She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but Charlie cut her off before she could.
"Hermione, it's cool. I really don't want to know the details. You looked like you were thinking really hard, so obviously it goes deeper than it seems. If I don't know about it right now, there's probably reason, and I'm fine," he said, and smiled gently.
"Thank you, Charlie."
For the next few hours, she and Charlie sat around talking. They didn't have much in common in the outdoors interests, but he surprised her with a wide knowledge of books and other subjects.
They talked about his family and how he liked his new job. He told her he missed working with dragons, but taking this job felt like an honor and he was proud to do it. Since she wasn't in his class, he showed her his detailed lesson plan, proving that he was just as methodical when it came to lessons as Snape or McGonagall. They spent at least a full hour discussing certain types of animals that he was going to be showcasing over the year.
Before they knew it, it was almost midnight. Charlie made them a quick meal, having learnt from watching his mother, and they continued to talk. Hermione found it was incredibly easy to talk to Charlie; she told herself she would come visit him more often. It was well after 1am that they both felt the ambush of sleepiness, and finally surrendered to it.
Hours later, Hermione was startled awake when she heard pounding on Charlie's front door. She had fallen asleep lying curled in a ball on her side on the couch, while Charlie had simply dozed off still sitting on the couch with his head back over the cushion. She sat up in time to see his head snap up, wand somehow already in his hand, and then the door was blown apart and off its hinges.
Charlie automatically fell on top of her, knocking her back on the couch so he could cover and protect her from the bits of flying wood, while simultaneously casting a shield charm.
"This looks… pleasant," a cold voice drawled from the entry.
"Snape! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Charlie exclaimed, jumping up from the couch, wand still at the ready.
"HERMIONE! Thank god!" came Harry's voice, and suddenly she was caught in a bear hug. Next moment, Harry was wrenched off and she was caught in a different strangled hug, one she wasn't accustomed to yet. As he pulled back, she saw a shock of platinum hair and realized it was Draco.
"What's wrong with you guys?" Hermione asked, confused.
"That's what I'd like to know! Look at my door!" Charlie yelled, still looking at Snape, who still had his wand pointed at the redhead.
"Calm down, Mr. Weasley. Severus, lower your wand. Reparo," Dumbledore said calmly, walking in behind the group. "Ah, I see you three have found Ms. Granger; excellent."
"Don't DO that!" Harry yelled at her.
"Do WHAT? I'm still confused!" she exclaimed.
"Disappear, Ms. Granger. If you wanted to spend your night gallivanting around the grounds and spending it in…other's….company, then at least tell someone," Snape said coldly.
She met his steely gaze with one of her own. "I wasn't 'gallivanting'; I was upset yesterday, and took a walk. I wound up here, where Charlie talked to me, and we lost track of time. We both fell asleep. It's the weekend, so I know I didn't break any rules."
"Hey, Severus, nothing happened, ok?" Charlie said, holding his hands up slightly in mock surrender. "She was upset and just needed to talk. That's it. I was taught not to come in between a relationship." He tried a small smile, and then gave up when Snape refused to answer.
"You see, Ms. Granger, when you didn't come back last night, young Malfoy here got worried, but figured you were already asleep. Apparently, you two had not hung out during the day," Dumbledore explained. At that, Draco and Harry both got slight color at the tops of their cheeks but said nothing. "When he got up for breakfast, he went down to the Hall without you, assuming you were there before him. It was when he walked in and saw Harry alone that he got worried."
"Sometimes you show up with Draco, so I didn't wait for you. I thought I'd meet you in the Hall. But when he showed up alone and said he thought you were with me, we got confused," Harry cut in.
"When Mr. Malfoy was talking to Harry, however, the mail came. You have a letter," Dumbledore continued, and pulled out a letter from his robe. He looked at ease enough because Charlie was there, but even from where she stood she could make out Lucius' handwriting. "Naturally, the boys got worried and fled from the hall. Severus saw the entire affair and met them at your quarters, where they entered your room to find your bed made."
"That's when I remembered my map, summoned it from my room, and we realized you were here," Harry finished.
"I'm sorry for scaring you all, but really, if you saw on the map I was at Charlie's, why would you bust down the door? Obviously Charlie's not a threat," Hermione asked.
"We couldn't be sure of anything under the conditions, Ms. Granger," Dumbledore told her calmly.
"We knocked on the door a few times, and called your name, Hermione, but no one answered. That's about the time Professor Snape got irritated and destroyed Professor Weasley's door," Draco explained.
"We were sleeping. Can I ask what the 'conditions' are?" Charlie asked, looking confused.
"No," Snape said simply, eyeing Charlie with dislike.
"Severus," Dumbledore chided, "I believe Professor Weasley is trustworthy enough to inform."
"No!" Hermione burst out. Everyone stared at her, and she hastened to explain as her face grew red. "You can't. I don't want anyone else dragged into it!"
"Dragged into what?"
"Ms. Granger, he can help. It's good to have more eyes and ears, especially from a teacher which none of you have. He'll be around students that none of you are. I'm sure Professor Weasley is perfectly capable of watching over himself."
"I am…when I know what I'm watching myself for," Charlie hinted, growing impatient.
Dumbledore warded the hut and turned to Charlie.
"First, Professor Weasley, how many O.W.L.'s did you receive your 5th year, and how many NEWT's, if you will," Dumbledore asked.
Still confused, Charlie said, "I got 11 O.W.L's. I only failed Divination, and I got Outstanding in 7 of the 11. I received 10 NEWTS in my seventh year but didn't fail any because I dropped Divination. Why?"
"Precaution, my dear boy; had to make sure it was you," Dumbledore said and proceeded to explained everything to Charlie, starting with the first letter Hermione had told them she got, and up until that morning.
"Wait. Let me get this straight," Charlie started. "Lucius Malfoy has been sending threatening letters to Hermione."
"Yes," Dumbledore answered.
"And he killed her cat."
"Yes."
"And he has a spy at Hogwarts."
"Correct."
"And Professor Snape and Hermione are pretending to be a couple because of his spy here, so Friday's masque was basically them putting on a show."
"Yes."
"And no one knows why he's after her, but he definitely wants her dead."
"YES, Mr. Weasley, YES. Headmaster, I believe he's grasped the finer points. Shall we move on?" Snape interrupted.
"So, Charlie, can I ask for your help?" Dumbledore asked, ignoring Snape.
"Of course! I'll keep 'Mione safe," Charlie said, putting an arm around her shoulder and shaking her a bit. She rolled her eyes up at him, but couldn't help but smile.
"Splendid. Now, I believe we should hear what Lucius has to say in this latest letter before you leave, Ms. Granger."
Sighing, Hermione slit open the envelope, opened the letter, and began to read out loud.
Hermione Jean,
I'm done playing these games. Your cute little stunt at the ball was great and all, but if you don't want your new boyfriend's head to wind up in the next box left in your room, I suggest you take my advice and end it now.
Don't make things difficult, Hermione. The plan is in motion, and this will be over soon.
-Lucius
The silence that followed was punctuated by a snort coming from Snape.
"Bit overconfident, isn't he?" he said in Draco's direction, who then added his snort in.
"Just a tad, yes," he replied, but his eyes showed the concern he truly held.
"Well, that's over. Now, I believe the house elves will be more than happy to send some breakfast to your dorm, Ms. Granger. You should go eat while I discuss some more information with Professor Weasley here. Oh, and Professor McGonagall would also like to see you three when you're done," Dumbledore said to Hermione, and then turned his attention to Draco & Harry. "I trust you two can see her safely to her room?"
"Yes, Professor," came the reply.
"Bye Charlie. And…thanks; for everything," Hermione said, giving Charlie another hug.
"Anytime, Love, don't even mention it. Everyone needs this once in awhile; remember that," he said, and tried to hide the worry in his eyes.
Without a glance in Snape's direction, Hermione walked up to her two friends and linked each of her arms into one of theirs and walked away back up to the castle.
XXX
Snape stood glaring at Hermione's retreating back. Who the hell did she think she was? She scared her friends half to death this morning and thought nothing of it!
Scared you a little too, though, his mind reminded him.
After Hermione left the day before, Snape didn't go back to grading like he said he was. Instead, he sat in front of his fire nursing a few glasses of firewhiskey until almost 1am. He couldn't believe he had kissed his student! Hermione Granger, at that!
"I knew this was a bad idea," he had mumbled to himself, half drunk.
He had fallen asleep in his chair, only to wake up around 7am with a mild hangover and a neck ache. Grabbing a hangover antidote from his cabinet, he downed it before cleaning up and heading to breakfast. He had thought about skipping breakfast altogether so he could avoid Hermione, but decided she wasn't worth him feeling uncomfortable over. He would walk in there like normal and go about his day; to hell with her.
To his dismay, however, his blasé entrance was for nothing; the girl was not in the Hall. Apparently, she was the one playing the avoidance game.
It wasn't until he noticed Draco walking in alone with a confused look and walking over to Potter, who was also alone & looked confusedly at Draco, that he grew curious. Both looks of confusion grew into downright alarm in mere seconds, and only got worse when Lucius' falcon landed on the table. He saw Potter snatch the letter from the bird, and both took off from the Hall. He immediately got up and swept out of the Hall towards the Head room, where he knew they would be headed.
"Ms. Granger's gone missing?" he said to the boys as they rounded opposite corners. At their nods, he whipped out his wand and shot it over his shoulder as he continued walking. The boys saw a glimpse of a big animal fly out of his wand and realized he was sending word to Dumbledore.
They all walked into the Head dorm and made a beeline for Hermione's door.
"Ms. Granger! Open this door!" Snape said loudly, pounding his fist on the door. When no answer was heard after a few minutes, Snape used alohamora on the lock and opened it to find her room empty.
"No sign of her?" Dumbledore asked as he walked into the room.
"No, sir. She also got a letter from Lucius this morning, but she wasn't there to get it. I thought she'd come down with Draco, and Draco thought she had come down with me," Harry told Dumbledore as he handed the letter over.
"We didn't really hang out much yesterday, so I didn't see her go to bed. When she wasn't waiting for me in the morning, I figured she had gone with Harry," Draco said, hanging his head.
"It's not your fault, Mr. Malfoy. However, we need to conduct a sweep of the grounds immediately," Dumbledore answered.
"OH! Hold on! I can do that! ACCIO MAP!" Harry exclaimed, and then muttered, "Why didn't I think of this sooner?"
"What map?" Draco asked, but was answered the next second when the parchment in question zoomed around his head into Harry's hand.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Harry said as he tapped the parchment.
"Hermione Granger," he said to the map, and a second later a red dot glowed. "FOUND HER! SHE'S AT HAGRI-CHARLIE'S HUT!"
"What the devil is she doing there?" Draco asked. "Hey, Severus, you don't think Charlie…." His eyes got wide, but Snape was already striding out the door.
"Hey, wait. Charlie's ok!" Harry said as he started after them.
"You don't understand Lucius, Harry. He'd play anyone, use anyone, or kill anyone to get what he wanted. I wouldn't put it past him to trick Charlie," Draco answered grimly, and then broke into a sprint as they reached the grounds.
Upon reaching Charlie's, Draco went over and pounded on the door and yelled Hermione's name. When no answer came, Harry tried, but there was only silence.
"Move aside," Snape said curtly, and with a casual flick of his wrist the door exploded, and he walked inside with his wand at the ready.
At the sight of the redhead covering Hermione, Snape's temper rose to a dangerous pitch. It took all of his restraint not to hex him into last week. He didn't have time to analyze why he felt so strongly, however, because the next moment Dumbledore walked in and settled everything.
And now here he was, standing in Hagrid's old house, watching the little brat walk back towards the castle as if nothing happened. She was definitely more trouble than she was worth.
"Isn't that right, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, bringing Snape back to the present.
Putting on an air of indifference, Snape turned his back to the retreating figures, and towards the discussion at hand.