Severus cracked open Miss Granger's bedroom door just enough so that he could slip his hand onto the wall to tell the room he wanted the lights on. At his touch, the room brightened immediately, and Severus was able to see the form of a sleeping lion on the bed to the left. Now that he knew where she was, he pushed the door open, and waited for her to wake.
She was lying on her side, completely flat, one leg up near her chin, the other stretched out straight in front of her. A blanket covered her bottom half. Her mouth was open, her tongue lolling to the side, and for the first time, Severus got a clear view of her mouth without any meat in it. Her teeth were large and sharp, startlingly white for a lion - then again, Miss Granger's teeth were, so it would make sense these ones were too. Her incisors looked like dangerous daggers protruding from her mouth, but seeing them like this, while she was asleep, was the antipode of threatening.
She stirred, yawning, her open mouth stretching even wider, before opening her eyes and blinking slowly, groaning as she twisted her body so she could plant her front feet into the mattress to push herself up. She stretched like that, leaning forward so she could lengthen her back, then her hind legs pushed up and the blanket fell away. She turned, and halted, surprised to see him in the doorway. He marched into the room, closing the door behind him, and motioned for her to follow. She gave him an incredulous look, as if offended he would wake her up early and then stride through her territory, and he looked at her wearily.
"Your training?" He offered, and she immediately bounded from the bed, her body still slightly heavy from sleep, her paws hitting the floor with a thud. She trotted eagerly after him, her feet barely lifting from the floor as she started to officially wake up as they made their way outside.
It was completely dark but Severus was used to being outside this early and could see quite well. He knew once the lioness at his side adjusted to the light change she would be even better off.
He led her down to the jogging path and stopped to address her.
"We'll be jogging today. Not sprinting, but not a leisurely pace either. I'll set the pace, you stay beside me. This is part of your physical training. I want you trotting, not running," he added firmly at the end, not waiting for her to nod as he turned and took off.
Hermione burst into a trot after him, her legs lengthening under her to catch her up. She did in a few strides, and for the first time noticed as she looked over at him that he did not look like Professor Snape.
He was wearing black sweat pants and a fitted grey athletic top, made of that material that stretched and practically molded to every curve of your body.
She could see the lines of his ribs, and then his stomach which was completely flat, almost inverted, but there were lines of muscle along his chest and down and across his abdomen. His collar bones stuck out creating two hollows at the base of his neck. He looked down at her, catching her eye, and she immediately turned away, embarrassed at being caught staring and pleasantly surprised he didn't verbalize it.
They moved forward around the track at a brisk pace, Hermione now jogging with her mouth hanging open, trying desperately not to pant. Professor Snape appeared no different, he was breathing easily, his breath swirling in the cool morning air.
They finished their first lap and started on their second, Hermione feeling the dread of her impending failure. There was no way she'd make it another lap without slowing.
A quarter of a way around she gave up trying to control her breathing and felt the tightness in her chest release as more oxygen came into her, although it did nothing for the pain she was beginning to feel in her side.
She had never actually panted before and it was a strange sensation. It was almost like hyperventilating only it seemed to be having a positive impact as opposed to a negative one.
They finally made it around the last bend and down the final stretch and Hermione collapsed into a heap when Professor Snape finally stop.
"Get up, that was nothing," he grumbled, and Hermione scoffed in response but obeyed. Her legs were trembling and she had a cramp (she hadn't even thought lions could get cramps) and she glanced over at him to see how he'd fared. He had a line of sweat between his shoulder blades, which stuck out through his shirt, but that was it. He was breathing deeply but wasn't out of breath, much to her dismay. She paced in circles, getting her breath back, then stood in front of her Professor.
He glanced down at her but otherwise ignored her as he turned and made his way back up towards the castle.
That's where she thought they were headed, that is until he darted down a side path she hadn't seen, and she quickly followed after him. The path was inside of one of the big rocks of the cliffs that Hogwarts was built on, and it was cool to walk through. It was steep, and curved to the right slightly as they made their way down. It was pitch black but she could hear Professor Snape's footsteps and managed not to run into any walls, thankful for the whiskers on her nose that helped to guide her.
They emerged out of the rock and continued down the path, Hermione immediately realizing where they were headed.
The lake.
Sure enough, they ended up along a rock ledge, water lapping up against it calmly. She could feel the cold the water emitted and turned to Professor Snape reluctantly.
"The cliff goes straight down, and this is a very deep and clean part of the lake. Jump in first and I'll follow, I'm not going to get in only to have you dawdle around to gather some Gryffindor courage," he gave her a mocking stare and crossed his arms, clearly waiting for her to just plop into the water.
Hermione hesitated. She wasn't a great swimmer as a human, she had no idea how to swim as a lion, and the Professor couldn't use magic on her in case she started to drown...
Feeling the panic rising and the heavy stare of the man beside her, she halted her thoughts and gathered her Gryffindor courage as quickly as she could. She was determined to prove herself and her lioness form as capable and not wussy in any way, so she inhaled deeply, bunched her hindquarters together, and lunged towards the edge.
As soon as her front paws hit the edge, she brought her back legs underneath her to meet them, her claws grasping the rough rock, and she lifted herself up into the air. She curled her front legs up under her chin, her paws drawn in tightly. Her already burning hindquarters shook, but tightened and then released, her back legs pushing her up and forward, her claws the last thing to release until she was flying through the air. Her tail swung behind her, and she arched through the air, angling her body so that she would dive completely into the water rather than to keep her head above it.
If she was going to get wet, she was going all in.
She closed her eyes and pinned her ears back, breaking through the surface of the water and stifling her urge to inhale sharply in shock. The rest of her body followed her under, and then she began pumping her legs, spreading her paws wide to gain as much purchase on the water as possible.
Severus was really getting tired of being impressed. But no matter how hard he fought it, it was futile. Hermione Granger as a lioness Animagus was impressive.
His snide comment seemed to be the drive she needed to dive into the water. She took a deep breath, lunged forward in a run, and launched herself with absolute grace off the ledge.
He could see the shiver of muscles in her hindquarters as they gathered together and the lean curve of her stomach as she drew her forelegs up under her chin. The coiling energy in her released like a spring, and she pushed off into the air, her body arching with flawless positioning.
He almost lost it right then and there out of spite. He'd show her grace and power and...
No. He couldn't.
And he didn't.
Instead he watched her disappear into the water, sending a whirl of ripples out from where she broke through the surface. The tip of her tail disappeared, then he saw her head coming back up and she broke the surface.
He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Thankfully there'd be no rescue mission today.
The girl's earls were pinned back flat against her head, her teeth were bared. As she puffed out air a mixture of water and saliva shot out in an almost mist and her legs churned ferociously underneath her.
"Just relax," he told her, and she shot him a look of absolute terror, "You're swimming Miss Granger, don't worry, you aren't going to drown,"
Then she realized he hadn't gotten in yet and her look of panic turned to fury. He looked at her firmly, eyebrows drawn together.
"I'll get in when you calm down. If I got in now, you'd clamor all over me and drown us both,"
He knew he was right when she looked away sheepishly, and he watched as she swam in a few small circles. After a moment, her breathing quieted and she was swimming slower, less frantic.
Recognizing this, Severus waited until she was swimming away from him and slipped out of his pants, folding them neatly and placing them far enough back so they wouldn't get wet, then ran towards the edge and dove in.
Had anyone been watching, Severus knew they would have seen another perfect arch into the water, and when he entered there was no splash, and no sound, only a slight ripple as he disappeared.
As the cool water enveloped him he laughed at himself. Since when did he care what others saw in him? Since when did he strive to impress? Never, and he wasn't starting now.
He broke through the surface, flicking his head as he did so his wet hair wouldn't fall over his eyes. The dark ends splayed out beside him, floating on the surface, no longer looking greasy but soft as the lake water refreshed it.
He looked over to find Granger, who was a few feet to his left, giving him a pleased quirk of her lips before swimming towards him. Severus quickly back paddled out of the reach of her long legs and reaching paws and gave her a stern look. She nodded and stayed where she was, treading water.
"We'll swim out a little ways and then return," he told her, turning to face the far end of the cove they were in which led to the middle of the lake. He began swimming overhand, his arms pumping and entering the water smoothly over his head, his abs tightening and back twisting, his legs kicking easily behind him.
If Severus loved anything, and was a natural at anything besides magic, it was swimming. It didn't put strain on his bones or joints, which had suffered enough at the hands of the Dark Lord, and the cool water that surrounded him chilled and relaxed his nerves in a way nothing else could. It worked all of the muscles in his body, yet it didn't hurt.
He surged forward, barely putting in an effort but moving swiftly. He caught a glimpse of Miss Granger behind him, struggling to keep up, but now that she had somewhere to go and someone to catch up to she was finding her groove and doing better.
Good. She needed to benefit from this.
They swam to the end of the cove and he turned around, swimming underwater for a few seconds before resurfacing. He loved the feel of the water rushing over him, even if it was freezing cold. He switched to a breast stroke until they were halfway back, then rolled over and swam casually, watching Miss Granger in their final stretch.
She was tired, moving much more slowly, but her movements were much more effective. Her legs churned through the water, her tail floating behind her, and her ears were back in concentration. She was putting power behind her strokes now, not frantic speed, so she glided through the water more easily than before, but Severus could imagine that her legs were positively burning.
Knowing he was close to their destination now, he turned back over and faced ahead, finishing the last few strokes before pulling himself out of the water, momentarily forgetting that he was in green swim trunks.
He strode over to his pants, grabbing his wand that was hidden inside, cast a swift drying charm, and quickly pulled the black sweats on.
As he looked over, Miss Granger was planting her front paws on the ledge, then she heaved herself up, her back legs clawing against the rock, finally grasping the slick surface, and she pulled herself back up onto land. She was dripping and looking quite pathetic now, as pathetic as she could as a lioness, and she caught his eye, winking, then shook ferociously, sending water everywhere, but thankfully not towards Severus.
He rolled his eyes at her and they made their way back up to the castle in silence.