Author's Notes: First a note to thank everyone who has reviewed so far. When I first started posting this it wasn't getting much interest so I didn't expect that to change much but have been blown away by the response from the last two chapters. I hope you will also enjoy this one.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, nor the characters or anything recognisable and make no money from writing this story.
Chapter Thirteen
Hermione picked up her overnight bag in one hand and her coursework in her other hand and made her way down the corridor to the Potions classroom. She couldn't see the Professor anywhere, so she made her way through to his office, which was empty also. She placed her work on the desk and then scribbled a quick note on top of it.
"What are you doing Miss Granger?" his voice came from the doorway. She jumped and it jogged her quill hand, leaving an out of place line of ink on her note.
"I was just leaving a note, to let you know that I'll be at the Burrow until Sunday if you need me." She said quickly.
"Why on earth would I need to know your whereabouts?" he sneered. Hermione tried not to laugh, he was acting like his old self again but somehow she found it just didn't affect her like it used to – not now that she knew there was more to him.
"You may not need to." She shrugged. "But I thought I'd let you know that that is where I would be. Have a nice weekend Severus." With that she levitated her bag and left him be.
The wizard watched her go thoughtfully; she was a most unusual young witch...but she thought of him, which was more than most people had done for him throughout his lifetime. It was the fact that she generally seemed to care about him to some degree that caused him to allow her to get closer to him. He was a private man and would likely never fully open up to another person but like Minerva...Hermione Granger was beginning to get under his skin.
As Hermione made her way down the Hogwarts grounds to the gate, she thought that perhaps when she had time she would make a new bag. Her beaded bag had been damaged during the final battle and a few days afterwards she had gone into her room to find that all of the contents had exploded out over the floor because the extension charm had failed. Another bag would certainly be preferable to bulkier ones. She didn't like to shrink books because it tended to damage them, so when going somewhere for longer than a quick visit like this weekend, required a larger bag than she would like.
Upon arriving outside the Burrow she immediately heard voices.
"That'll be Hermione!" Ginny called. Sure enough, moments later the youngest Weasley followed by Harry and Ron, had charged into her to envelope her in hugs. "We've missed you!"
"I've missed you too!" she said, feeling a little choked up for a moment. She had really needed a hug these past few days after what had happened with Gideon. When they actually reached the house she received more hugs and as Mrs Weasley reached her and held her tightly, a sob escaped her throat and the tears followed.
Molly Weasley ushered the young witch inside brushing off the questions of the others for a moment.
"I'm sorry..." Hermione cried. "I don't know what came over me."
"Is Snape being a git?" Ron asked, causing Hermione to leave the arms of the Weasley matriarch and turn on him.
"Ronald Weasley! You will not talk of him like that! He may not be the most pleasant person in the world but he is a good man!" she snapped at him. "He helped me when I couldn't help myself, when he could have left me to my own stupid mistake!"
"Hermione...whatever is the matter?" Molly asked softly.
"Gideon...I start going out with him and he had too much to drink..." she said quietly.
"Oh Hermione, what did he do?" Ginny asked not needing to hear anymore.
"Nothing, thankfully." She replied, regretting that she had said anything. She hadn't wanted anyone to know, but she had gotten too emotional and it had just slipped out. "Please don't say anything to anyone. Nothing happened; Professor Snape heard me shouting at him and ejected him from the castle before Gideon did anything, so you don't need to worry. He wouldn't have done it if he wasn't so drunk, not that I'm defending him but I also shouldn't have let him escort me to my room knowing how drunk he was. I was just a little shaken up is all."
It was a few minutes until she got her crying back under control and the hugging came to a stop but she had to admit that she felt like a huge weight had been lifted and she felt a lot better.
"Now, let's all have a nice cup of tea and some cake." Molly announced firmly. Everyone heartily agreed and just as they were all sitting down to enjoy a piece of cake, the twins arrived.
"Afternoon everyone." They said together.
"Come on in and sit down you two." Their mother said warmly. Hermione loved being at the Burrow sometimes – it was so homely and warm and full of love. On other occasions of course she longed for peace and quiet so that she could read...
"'Mione, nice of you to join us." George grinned taking a seat opposite her. "We thought we'd stop by-"
"Especially for you, since we knew you were coming today." Fred smiled, squeezing in next to her. "And how is our favourite little sister?"
"Hey!" Ginny protested.
"Can you really blame us dear sister?" Fred asked.
"When you spent all your time finding ways to get us in trouble with mum growing up?" George said shaking his head in mock seriousness.
"Don't take it personally Ginny, they obviously want something." Hermione told her.
"Fred; can you see a hole in my chest? I think I'm wounded!" George gasped.
"Really 'Mione, you think so little of us?" Fred pouted before a grin slipped onto his face. "Although as it happens..."
"There you go." Hermione laughed.
"There is a little something..." George agreed.
Everyone laughed as the twins explained to her their latest invention and that they were having stability issues making it. Knowing that she was currently studying for her potions degree they thought that she might have some insight into it and be able to help them. She agreed to come and visit them in the shop one day this week and have a look.
"So how is the famous Hermione Granger doing with her apprenticeship anyway?" Ginny asked.
"Good, I think." She nodded. "I've done all the pre-set work now well – with the exception of the potion that I apparently can't make. It's just the research and experimenting part left."
"There's a potion Hermione Granger can't make?" Ron gasped in mock horror.
"It's not a skill issue, it's a um...brewer requirement." She replied uncertainly.
"What she means is that they think a virgin can't brew the potion." Ginny explained bluntly. The four boys burst out laughing.
"Oh yes, the fact that I'm a virgin is so funny." Hermione muttered.
"No, that's not the funny part." George chuckled. "Always had high standards you have."
"It's the fact that you and old Snape had to discuss the fact that you're still a virgin!" Fred laughed.
"Yeah, and since he brewed it he's obviously not." Ginny snorted. The boys all made disgusted faces and made a hasty exit, leaving Ginny and Hermione giggling at their speedy departure. "So Snape's not been an arse as much?"
"No, he really hasn't." Hermione replied. "He hasn't been a completely different person and all cheery and sunshine don't get me wrong but...he hasn't been horrid to me at all."
"That's good, he's got to pull the Voldemort stick out of his butt at some point right?" she smirked.
"Gin, that's not very nice." Hermione murmured.
Sunday found Hermione walking her way back up to the castle. She smiled softly as she passed Hagrid's rebuilt hut, she glanced around but didn't see the half giant anywhere, so she assumed he was out tending to the grounds. As she headed to the circle of stones she spotted a dark shadow heading from the owlery in the same direction – only one person had robes that billowed like that. She met him at the covered bridge, noting the open letter in his hand.
"It must be important for you to start reading it before you've even got back to the castle." She mused.
"Somewhat." He replied, not taking his eyes from the parchment in his hands. "Bloody fools." He frowned and shoved the letter into his cloak pocket.
"Problem?" she asked, hoping that she didn't sound like she was prying too much.
"The British Potion Master's Guild, at the moment their verdict is; that without completing the Mater optans potion, you cannot complete your degree." He explained. Hermione glanced around the clocktower courtyard to check that it was in fact empty before replying.
"So they're saying I have to choose; my degree or go and pick up some guy to lose my virginity to?" she asked. "That hardly seems very fair..."
"They confirmed that our assessment of the problem was correct, I can also confirm that it doesn't make a difference for a male either way...only female, but I suppose there is no magical or physical change for a wizard with regards to virginity." He said. They entered the clocktower and Hermione headed straight to the secret passageway that lead to the main castle staircases.
"Hang on...you're saying that my magic will change when I decide to..." She pointed out, suddenly realising what he had said.
"It will." He nodded. They exited the building and headed across the viaduct. "Wizards and witches come into their powers as children as you know, their powers grow over the years and often suffer "growth spurts" particularly during puberty however once they reach seventeen, most of their power has reached its peak."
"That doesn't make sense...all the most powerful wizards are older ones." Hermione frowned.
"Just because they have their power doesn't mean they know how to use it. You should know by now Miss Granger that most teenage boys aren't using the correct brain, if they did they'd figure out how to use their full abilities a damn slight quicker." He smirked. They bumped shoulders as they went down the narrow spiral staircase and he gestured for her to go first as they headed down to the dungeons. "The actual power level of an of-age wizard doesn't change much for the rest of his life only the knowledge to use it. Witches however get a bit of a boost when they lose their virginity, whether or not it is before they are of age, as well as a boost when they're of age. The part that is relevant to you, is that in instances where a witch is of age with her virginity still intact they get several more power boosts after they turn of age until they do lose their virginity. An adult virgin witch is considered a prize because they often very powerful and on some occasions the wizard to take their virginity also gets a power boost...though this isn't a guarantee it only happens when there is a strong emotional and magical connection."
"What like they would take some of my power?" she asked in surprise.
"No." He shook his head. "A couple with a connection actually raise magic during intimate acts, it goes away again after obviously, otherwise you would find a whole bunch of morons going at it constantly just to get more powerful. If the witch is pure then they get to keep the power, but only that once."
"But why would this stop me brewing a potion? Surely if I'm supposed to be more powerful, it would mean it's easier for me to brew potions."
He gestured his head for her to follow him to the classroom and through to his office. She frowned, he never had a chair in front of the desk just so that people would have to stand and feel awkward; so she lifted a piece of blank piece of parchment from the desk and transfigured it into a chair.
"Do you know why you managed to heal me from near death so dramatically, without knowing anything more than common healing spells?" he asked, taking his own seat.
"I'm guessing you do."
"A witch is changed physically by losing her virginity, that's what changes her magic. Your body is still pure and so your magic is pure. I didn't know that the first time but the second time I did; it should have hurt you more than it did." He told her, she opened her mouth but he cut her off. "If I had not known that you had already successfully healed a worse injury and known of your situation, I would not have let you attempt it. In the end, you were being stubborn and curiosity got the better of me."
"So maybe I should just hold out until I'm so powerful I don't need any degrees, everyone can just bow down to me." She grinned.
"It doesn't work like that Hermione." He said seriously, meeting her gaze. "You won't just keep getting more powerful indefinitely. The Master's Guild have opened a case; they will discuss the option of replacing the potion with another for your degree but at the moment their word is that without the potion you can't complete your degree."
"What now? I go crawling back to Gideon and let him finish what he started?" she demanded, leaping up in disgust.
"Sit back down." He snapped. "Now, we continue as planned and if the Master's Guild still say no then we will cross that bridge when we come to it."
"And have two years of work be for nothing?" she asked.
"Go back to your rooms, rest and tomorrow we will continue as planned." He told her firmly. She accepted that the subject was no longer open for discussion and rather than irritate both of them further she turned and headed back to her rooms.