Chapter 20: Back to Hogwarts

"New things are made familiar, and familiar things are made new."

― Samuel Johnson

July 16th, 2011

The next few weeks passed by quicker than she had anticipated. Between the release of her book and the publicity surrounding Severus Snape's appearance at her publishing event, she was glad when things finally began to calm down nearly a month later. Minerva said she would keep her new staff appointments quiet as long as possible, Hermione knew. That is, until she had to notify her board of governors.

After telling Ginny, who was more than thrilled, she had done the tough job of telling Harry and Ron. They had been excited for her, and though she had thought Ron would be irritated with her for taking Henry all the way to Hogwarts, that hadn't been the case at all, at least at first.

"Just like old times, but it'll be the next generation this time around," Ron had told Harry, "Right?"

Harry had laughed, "I don't think Henry is the type to get up to the mischief we did, no offense, Hermione."

She had told them no offense was taken but thought about the comment for some time afterward. If Henry got up to even half the things they had while they were in school, well… they were in trouble, to say the least.

"He'll love living in the castle, especially a year before all his friends do. It gives him a headstart on all the secrets there," Ron had added.

She had hesitated in this part of the conversation, but they would find out sooner or later, and she would rather it be from her than the press.

"Yes, I expect so. He'll have one friend with him at least," they looked at her quizzically, so she went on, "Katherine and her father are also moving into the castle. He's taken up the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor again."

Ron had said nothing but was visibly processing the information with various expressions. Harry, on the other hand, looked thrilled.

"Excellent! That will give him time to adjust back into the wizarding world, and then maybe he'll talk to me."

Hermione was doubtful following this conversation, though she knew Harry still held hope. She continued to ponder his hope of communicating with Severus even after she had left.

Severus would find it challenging to discuss any topic with Harry in the near future, she felt. Though she had seen him casually bring up Lily in conversation with his daughter on two occasions, the time they had taken the kids to an empty field near Cokeworth one evening to label constellations and the time he took them all to an old muggle theatre for a movie. He would casually mention Lily as an old friend he used to spend time with in these places, and Katherine enjoyed the connection it gave her to her father in his youth.

Despite the good memories Severus held for the town of Cokeworth, she had the peculiar sensation that he could not wait to leave. Following his shocking acceptance of Minerva's offer, he spent days packing up his potion's storage in a particularly calculated manner, "These are too volatile to package by magic. It will take too much time to do before we move in August, and by then, it will be chaos; I'd prefer just to complete the task now."

But that hadn't been the only case of him packing early. Many of his books were now gone as well. He hadn't explained this to her as she had with the volatile potion's ingredients, but in the end, she thought better of herself than to ask.

Packing was going to be its own endeavor for her, the question of whether she would pack all of her books was a daunting one. Severus had already advised her that it was a pointless question, as she would take them all regardless of the space she thought she might be lacking.

She had to concede, he was probably right.

August 20th, 2011

Despite the start of September looming upon them, Severus found himself at ease with the announcement that the prophet Hermione had tossed him when he arrived to help her move her things. Given Skeeter's usual writing, it was not the extended dramatic release he was expecting; perhaps she had received critiques on how she responded to Hermione's new release.

Hogwarts Newly Hired: Has McGonagall Finally Lost Her Touch?

Headmistress McGonagall made two new appointees just shy of starting a new school year at the no longer esteemed school of magic, Hogwarts. Clearly lost in nostalgia and due to recent news features, she has hired the ill-begotten author, Hermione Granger. Granger will be teaching arithmancy, according to our sources.

Despite this tragic error in hiring, this esteemed author must concede that Granger's hiring was not the most egregious of appointees the aging headmistress has made. Granger at least possesses the skills needed to instruct young minds, though we can expect erroneously, with her odious magical prowess.

The new Defense Against the Dark Arts position will be taken by none other than the once-powerful dark wizard, Severus Snape. This appointment has raised many questions, as the public and myself were under the impression that he no longer possessed the magic he once did. Perhaps Severus Snape may surprise us yet, but we all must be anticipating that this will be a repeat of the past. Just as he once did years ago, we fear that he may end up traumatizing another decade's worth of children.

With this turn of events, we can surmise that the once powerful headmistress has lost her touch with age, and Hogwarts is set for an uncertain future.

Rita Skeeter, Head Correspondent to the Daily Prophet

He tossed the paper aside, pulling out his wand, "She may be onto something here, Minerva does seem a bit more comparable to her predecessor now than she was when she began her reign as headmistress."

Her snort in response was comforting, "I'll be sure to let her know you feel that way."

"I believe she is fully aware of my feelings about her mental state."

She shook her head at him with a fiendish grin on her face, and he held her gaze for a moment, unable to hide his partial smirk. His mind wandered to Astoria's thoughts on how close they had gotten, and he found himself tightening his face, looking away quickly. He still caught her eyes for a brief enough moment to recollect each time he found himself getting lost in thought of her chestnut brown eyes for the past month.

"Do you have the portkey ready then?" He looked over at her, thankful she was putting the last of her things in her bewitched bag so he did not have to make eye contact again. They had two large trunks prepared for their departure, each completely full of the things they intended to take to the castle, excluding their children, who were somewhere outside, and the meowing cat in the crate atop the counter.

"Yes, if you are ready, we can cast the final wards to protect the house, gather the children, and be off." She turned to face him as he spoke, and he found himself avoiding eye contact, glancing behind her to see Henry and Katherine bounding into the house.

"They seem to have gathered themselves," he said as they approached. He knew they were excited, Katherine was pointing at the watch he had seen Astoria gift her, apparently belonging to her mother in her youth. She had not taken it off since being given it.

Henry nearly bounced out of his shoes as he approached his mother, "It's time, mum. Can we go now?"

Hermione met his eyes once more, smiling as their children exuded enthusiasm between them. He returned the gesture against his better judgment.

Thankfully, she broke contact this time and responded to Henry, "Yes, I believe our portkey should be activated in the next three minutes. Are we sure we have everything? Your notebooks?" They nodded, and both grabbed at their satchels on their waist.

He waved his wand, muttering an incantation under his breath. The house began glowing with a bright lilac shade and then faded, nodding at Hermione after it was done. She pulled out her wand and spoke a similar spell; this time, the house emanated an amber glow before fading away. He noted the difference in the coloring of their protections; their magic was oddly complementary of one another.

Shaking himself once more, he transfigured their trunks to fit his pocket. He watched as she grabbed the protesting cat and turned to speak to the children.

"Henry, Katherine, take each other's hands, and you will each grab the coffee mug on top of the trunks in a moment. Remember not to let go until your feet hit the ground."

August 22nd, 2011

Hogwarts was the same, even after the numerous renovations following the war. However, Hermione's knowledge of the castle was no longer the same. She was beginning to realize that though the marauder's map may have allowed them to see the castle's many secrets, they had never spent much time exploring certain aspects in their youth. The castle's East Wing apparently held quarters for staff members in residence of the castle. This in itself was not too surprising, what was were all the passages that led to hidden alcoves throughout the entire castle.

As she crossed through another tapestry just outside their rooms that led to the third floor, she hummed at the ease with which she found herself in the library. I'll have to tell Harry that the Room of Requirement wasn't the only thing unplottable on the map…

Severus had taken some time to describe how the private quarters worked before they had departed, but nothing could have prepared her for unlimited access to the castle with such ease. No wonder Severus had always found Harry lurking, she chuckled aloud as her hands grazed the spines of the books she passed. Irma was not due back until the day before the start of term, so she was alone with one of her favorite locations in the world.

She had shown Henry and Katherine the library on their first day in the castle. The two were in awe of the place. Recalling how she felt the first time she stepped foot in the library, she sighed. It was her only friend for a time before Harry and Ron took her under their poorly misguided wings.

Henry was lucky to have a friend like Katherine before entering the castle, and she knew Severus felt the same. This castle and life itself were always easier with a friend by your side.

As she plucked a book at random from the arithmancy section, her mind wandered back to the conversation she'd had with Severus at her release party. He hadn't answered her question. Well, he had. But with sarcasm, because the reason he took this job could not have been to take Nabirye as an apprentice alone… could it?

It may have been in her head, but the moment they'd had in her study was something. She simply couldn't place her feelings. He had come to support her, yes. That in itself was something. It was what friends did. Was it what Severus would do for a friend, though?

He appeared at the end of the aisle as if she had thought him into existence.

"I believe you have already visited the library here more in our two days than most students ever do their entire tenure." She chuckled at the prod at her love for knowledge, but she knew he, too, loved the library.

Rolling her eyes in response, she coyly responded, "We have got to stop meeting like this, Severus," she thought back to the day their children met in the muggle library in Cokeworth.

Hermione took note of the angles and scars on his face, each one telling a similar story to the brave man in front of her. His classy ruggedness was not something many considered handsome, but in this light, she was beginning to note how attractive she found the man. Dark and brooding though he could be, it was all a front for the gentle father and kind friend he truly was.

"Are you alright?" he was only a few feet away from her at this point, and she shook herself.

Bugger.

"Yes, sorry. I'm just tired, is all," shutting the book, she popped it back into place in the empty crevice on the shelf.

He looked at her with a crooked brow, almost concernedly.

"The children are eating, Krema popped in to check if we had any special requests. The children suggested I find you before it gets cold," he stepped closer, leaning against the shelf. He looked at ease in his black slacks and gray sweater.

He peered over her to look at the book she had shelved moments prior and glanced down at her; Gods, she should not be thinking about the things she is in the moment.

"Hermione, if you are concerned about how you will fare as a professor, I can ensure that you will do just fine. You are lucky to only have to deal with third years and above. The first and second years are filled with puberty-ridden adolescents; by the third year, they are beginning to round out some," she sighed in relief that he believed her silence was an indicator of fear of teaching.

"Thank you for the voice of confidence, Severus; I suppose I just feel…" she paused, wondering how she did feel.

He laid a hand on her shoulder, and she stood stock-still, "You'll do fine." He gave her a half-smirk before removing his hand and backing up, "Come now, Krema awaits with dinner."

Shaking herself mentally before she made herself look like a fool in front of him, she tried to act as normal as one could after they realized they were attracted to their friend.

"I truly abhor the fact that we were assigned our own house elf…"

"You've said," he said with a slight chuckle before heading back through the passage that led to their quarters.

That was certainly a strange encounter.

She had been looking at an arithmancy text, jokingly referred to their chance meeting at the Cokeworth library, and then stared at him as though he had grown a third eye. A quick glance in one of the mirrors in the stone 3rd floor professor's quarters common room told him his face was perfectly normal, well, as normal as it had ever been, he supposed.

Their children had been ecstatic when they discovered Professor McGonagall had given them neighboring quarters. Nabirye lived on the 2nd-floor quarters, Filius on the 5th, Hawthorne on the 4th, and the rest of the professors lived off-grounds; all heads of houses aside from Nabirye, who chose to live at Hogwarts for ease.

He voiced to Minerva that he and Katherine could take the dungeon floor quarters as the professors' quarters were limited, but Hermione and Minerva both scoffed at this.

"And separate the kids by several floors? You know they'll be running amok; you might as well ensure they are doing so together," Minerva knew an adolescent mind well.

"Severus, we will not relegate the two of you to the dungeons, Katherine isn't the bat her father was," he relented at this. Though he did note she had distinctly said was. He certainly wanted to keep up his appearance, so he attempted to look menacing. She clearly didn't buy it.

Thinking back to their library encounter moments ago, he wondered what had truly been on her mind because now he was not so sure it was nervousness around the job… The children were still eating their food and laughing together when they arrived to sit at their shared table. He observed Hermione sit and begin to fix her plate; he couldn't tell for sure, but he thought she was avoiding his gaze and appeared a bit pink in the cheeks.

He was still reeling at the odd interaction they'd had in the library when Krema popped into the room once more, "Masters and Misses Granger-Snape, I hope you'll let me know if you be needing anything else. Just say my name, and I'll be back in a jiff."

Hermione dropped her fork, and he realized why at once, the kids looked over at her with raised brows. He cleared his throat and began eating himself, not wanting to voice the reason he believed she was aghast.

Perhaps she had deduced he was becoming increasingly lost in her gaze and realized her distaste for him; it would explain their awkward encounter and her clear affront to being referred to as the Granger-Snape.

He would not allow himself to hope for more.