Hermione sat in the chair; her heart had not returned from its place in her stomach. It was exceedingly hard to hear that the Headmaster, whom her best friend placed such high regard, did not do the same for him. It was a feeling of dreadful betrayal she felt for him.
"While we trust the Headmaster to do what is best for the wizarding world, the Greater Good as he likes to say," McGonagall said distastefully, "we don't trust him to do what is best for individuals. We feel there is something not quite right, happening under our very noses. You of course, have an alliance with Mister Potter, so I feel safe in letting you know these details that may assist you in your dealings with Mister Potter," she sighed at the end.
The younger witch trusted the Deputy Headmistress to do what was best for the students, regardless of what the Headmaster said, as she had done so before.
"Such as, Professor?" the curly haired witch inquired, opening the door for either to answer.
"Miss Granger, have you ever seen the Weasley's have any company other than yourself and Mister Potter?" Severus cut in, almost nonchalantly.
"No, sir," she answered, extremely curious where this line of questioning was going.
She could tell that whatever it was upset her head of house.
"The Weasley matriarch, while a loving mother, is also a quite self-serving witch," he said softly, "No one other than family members have been invited to stay with them. Unless it is under the request of the Headmaster, no other witch or wizard have particularly been inside of the Burrow."
"That would mean that she considers us family," the witch supplied, as it was the most obvious answer.
"Yes, but why? Out of seven children, Miss Granger, only the sixth son has had friends invited into the Burrow," he questioned, letting her come to her own conclusions.
"She… plans for us to be part of her family?" she asked, unsure of where this was going.
"Indeed, Miss Granger. The Boy Who Lived and the Brightest Witch of Her Generation," he said the last part sarcastically, even if it might be true.
"She wants us to marry into her family?" her voice raised and octave.
"It would be something that Molly would do. She has always had a reputation of wanting the best, feeling that she deserves it, no matter how baseless that idea is," Minerva supplied, slightly uncomfortable being so familiar with a student.
"That's how Ronald gets…" Hermione whispered to herself, now knowing that it seemed to be a family trait.
"Exactly. So you are to be careful Miss Granger, unless you want to marry one of her sons," Snape said with a slight sneer.
Hermione was unaware of the distasteful reaction she had at the mention of such a thing before it flitted off her face. For some reason Severus was pleased with her reaction. While not all of the Weasley's were horrible people, some of them were indeed intelligent, for example Bill Weasley, he still felt that she deserved better. What better was though, he was unsure of himself just yet.
"Please watch yourself when you are around Molly, Miss Granger," the elder witch said beseechingly.
"I will, Professor. Thank you for letting me know," she said earnestly, thankful for the information about the family who took them in.
"Potter will need your support with the upcoming task. We are not asking that you trail him through the … task, however you should be there with him when he sees his family. Normally it is not allowed, however I will see that this receives an exception, placing you as his sister, if that would be alright with you," McGonagall continued.
Hermione nodded, "I see Harry as nothing more than a younger brother, Professor. He is important to me, but I couldn't see myself with him as anything more than family."
This caused Severus to roll his eyes, however it pleased him to know that she would not waste her intelligence on the boy. She was obviously smarter than that, and not swayed by his riches or captivating eyes that looked so much like Lily's…
"You would probably consider making a blood bond with the boy. Becoming his blood sister would get you around this, easily. It makes it easier in the long run to cover our ends, and considering you are already entwined with Potter for an unforeseeable future, it might make things easier," he said.
"I will take that into consideration," Hermione replied.
"We need more than consideration, Miss Granger," Minerva said sharply, "Professor Snape is onto something. It would indeed cover our tracks and keep us safe instead of having us seen as using favoritism or some underhanded reasoning to break rules. It would also give you beneficial connections, you'd be more in tune with Potter in a way."
"In tune how?" the young witch asked, slightly uncomfortable with idea.
"Nothing as far as mind link unless you shared the same magical affinity, which I doubt. However it would make it so you are aware of where he is should he be in danger or in need of you in terms of emotional distress. You'd be more inclined to bond with him, spend time doing leisure activities together," the elder witch replied.
This calmed Hermione down in abundance and she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
"That is acceptable," she responded.
"We will have to perform the bond before term begins. I will ask you to come here and meet us as I gather Mister Potter myself this evening," McGonagall decided.
Severus was surprised at how insistent his friend was about the sibling blood bond. It would be beneficial, however it wouldn't be an end all, just a small leg up. Something they could have worked around should the witch decide she didn't want to entwine herself with Mister Potter for the rest of her life. However it seemed that his intelligent friend decided they needed the boost more than he thought. He trusted her and often used her a soundboard so if it sounded good to her, she must have thought of something else in the meanwhile.
Aside from that though, it really did cover their asses when it came to the family thing they were going to be doing. Albus would surely be upset and do his best to blindside them. However Miss Granger's mind would be unaffected should the Headmaster decide it was best to cast a memory charm or a confundus charm on the witch.
"Now Miss Granger, how would you feel about working closely with Professor Snape?" Minerva hedged.
"In what sense, Professor?" she asked cautiously.
Cautiousness was good, she wasn't trusting them blindly, and she hadn't said 'no'.
"Since you will be vital in Mister Potter's safety, Professor Snape is willing to take you under his tutelage for things we don't normally teach here at Hogwarts," she said primly.
"Such as?" the witch probed.
"I will teach you how to fight, physically, Miss Granger. It is something most wizards don't think about, and a surprise such as that could mean life or death," he interjected.
"It has come to my attention early on that most wizards seem to lack simple logic, so I could see that being a reality," she replied lightly, "Yet…"
"Your hesitance is understandable, Miss Granger. However I assure you that I will work you up to high standards and take care of any physical injuries you may sustain during sparring matches, or any physical injuries you may sustain should you prove… clumsy," he supplied.
This time Hermione rolled her eyes. If there was one thing she was not, it was clumsy. Unless someone cast a hex upon her person, she was very balanced. Probably part of the reason why she disliked broom riding, even when she only hovered. There was nothing but her magic to keep her balanced, she simply wasn't comfortable with that. What bothered her was the fact that she was told be wary of the Professor himself.
"My concern isn't that, Professor. I've been given intelligence by an anonymous source that you are a spy… for both sides. I don't know which side you are truly on, and I don't know how much you need to divulge to the other side if you are on the light side. However I am not one to put my life into the hands of another without fully knowing the facts," she said firmly.
At first his eyes widened in surprise then narrowed in anger, "What business is it of yours, Miss Granger?"
"It is my life, it is my business. I am a leg up for Harry. I am not stupid, Professor Snape. Should you be on the other side, I can become more of a target than I already am just by being his friend," she said, her voice turning light, almost unconcerned.
He had heard Narcissa use that tone quite a few times. He knew just how serious she was. She was correct however, it was her life that was being placed on the line in this case. If this information got to the wrong person, she would be more of a target besides being the muggleborn friend of Harry Potter. More so if she became the blood bonded sister of Harry Potter, she would be sought after for the bond alone.
"I solemnly swear to Hermione Granger on my magic, that I am on the side of light and will not give her secrets to others without her permission." He said softly, "Lumos."
The tip of his wand lit up as a ghostly blue swirled around the room, looking for Hermione's wand. When it found her wand in her pocket, it glowed gold before he incanted, "Nox."
Hermione's lips twitched into a ghost of a smile, "I would love to take lessons from you, Professor Snape."
Minerva felt her heart beating so hard it felt as though it was trying to break out of her chest. She was unaware that she was holding her breath. Somehow Miss Granger had found out inside information about Severus's side occupation. Granted if someone wanted to know they could look at the Ministry archives, but it was under tight lock and key, how Severus avoided Azkaban.
Minerva trusted her friend with her life, however she understood where Miss Granger was coming from. It was indeed her life she was placing on the line, more so than others in the war that was to come. She was glad that the potions master understood and gave an oath that would not be questioned.
"I will see you half an hour before dinner, Miss Granger," Minerva dismissed the younger witch with a smile of pure relief.
Later on Severus and Minerva would remember Miss Granger's tone that would remind them of high class society only seen by purebloods.
Hermione walked slowly, letting all that happened sink in. It would seem that she was no longer able to tell her other professors about this change, nor assure them of the potions master allegiance. She would only be able to tell them to trust her, and while they should know her better, she knew Moody wouldn't accept that flat out.
It had become more complicated than it already was. On the plus side, she would have more in her arsenal to protect Harry. She was actually a bit thrilled at having him as a brother, and she would let her parents know as soon as she was able. However it appeared that she would have to put a warded band on Elara's tarsus, to protect her mail, especially if the Headmaster was intercepting owls.
Who knew who else was intercepting owls?
It was almost late lunch though, so she decided she would meet the boys in the common room, knowing they would have to take off their cloaks before they went to the Great Hall. She was so glad that last day holiday meal times were different than regular term times, taking into consideration teenage sleeping schedules and the Hogwarts Express.
Ron and Harry came in through the portrait covered in snow and red in the face, breathless, but happy. Hermione smiled knowing that Harry had so little to be happy about.
"Hermione! When did you get back?" he asked with a huge smile.
She got up and hugged him tightly, "I've only just arrived today. I saw you on the quidditch pitch and figured I'd wait since I just took off my cloak."
"What you didn't want to see Vicky before us?" Ron asked snidely.
"Why would I put a boy before my friendship, Ronald?" she asked with a small sneer.
She hadn't seen them in quite some times and already he was picking on her! Not that she even thought of Viktor during break, honestly she had forgotten to keep up correspondence due to her strict regimen. The nerve of him though! She saw Harry become uncomfortable though and glared at the redhead before smiling again at her green eyed friend.
"Did you have a nice holiday?" she asked lightly, looking keenly on Harry.
Harry smiled, "It was alright."
"Did you do your holiday homework?" she wheedled with a sly look.
"I did some of it," Harry said with a nervous chuckle.
"Lay off, Hermione! Not everyone focuses purely on school work during their holiday," Ron stressed, his face reddening in anger.
"Indeed. Harry since you did do some of it, I'll gladly help you work on it later if you want," she said, looking coolly at Ron.
Harry's face smiled with relief, "Thanks, Hermione. I'll take you up on that. After dinner?"
"I'll hold you up to that," she said with a playful smile.
She waited while the boys ran up to their dorm to take off their cloaks.
"What's the matter with her!?" Ron yelled as soon as their dorm room door shut.
"What're you talkin' about, Ron?" Harry asked, clearly confused. His redheaded friend had been quite pleasant over the break.
"Hermione! She hasn't seen us all break and the first thing she asks is about homework!" he fumed.
"Well, honestly she asked about our holiday first…" Harry said, trailing off.
"It doesn't matter! She shouldn't go breaking a bloke's balls for enjoying his break!" he continued.
Harry remained silent and looked away, uncomfortable with how his friend was complaining about his other friend. She really didn't do anything wrong or out of character. She actually handled Ron well instead of exploding back on him.
Ever since he found out she was dating Krum, Ron had been letting his jealousy get the better of him. For all that he acted, it was like Hermione belonged to him and didn't have a choice in the matter. His friend never even expressed interested in their female friend... It was very disconcerting.
He was happy for his friend, he knew dating Krum was a confident boost for the witch. She held fast like a true friend since the whole debacle happened. She helped him with everything and actively tried to make sure he survived the tasks. Granted he was a bit annoyed at her persistence with the egg, but when it came down to it she was the only one who knew what to look for. He'd be dead if it wasn't for her, and her studious nature. He was decidedly very uncomfortable with Ron bad mouthing Hermione.
"Let's go eat, mate," Harry said instead.
"Oh good! I could eat," his quick tempered friend said happily.
The trio made their way to the Great Hall with no incidents. They sat down to the wonderful aroma wafting from the food.
Hermione made her plate neatly while Ron piled as much as he could fit on it. Harry almost laughed at how opposite they were all the way down to their eating habits. Hermione was neat and precise, with Ron it was a wonder the food made it into his mouth at all. Ron was his mate and all, but he agreed with the witch about the redheaded wizard closing his mouth when he chewed.
Thankfully Ron was too distracted by food to start another argument.
Time passed by quickly, the way it usually did on the last day of break. Hermione took the moment that the students were getting off the Hogwarts Express to make herself scarce, claiming she was going to take a bath in the prefects' bathroom. She grabbed her toiletries, but knew she wasn't going to do so, instead made her way to her head of house's office. The witch knew she was taking advantage of the craziness that normally occurred when the students returned.
Thankfully she made it to the office before the students made it to the top of the stairs and let herself in.
"Miss Granger, you're a little early," the elder witch commented.
"I decided it would be best to avoid the masses," she replied.
"A wise decision. Please relax and make yourself comfortable while I go retrieve Mister Potter, but not too comfortable," the strict professor said.
"Of course, Professor," was the easy reply.