Summary: A trip to Hogsmeade.
A/N: Happy Labor Day. Enjoy this bonus chapter.
Chapter 4
Severus settled into his seat at breakfast. Jonathan wasn't far behind him and took the seat on his right. He arched a brow at the man. People weren't usually eager to sit next to him without being told to. To his great surprise, Granger appeared on his left.
"Is it okay if I sit next to you?" she asked.
He turned his head and regarded her.
"Yes, you may," he said before reaching for the pancakes. The three filled their plates with breakfast items before Jonathan spoke.
"I need to go into town for a few things. Does anyone want to accompany me?"
Hermione leaned forward. "I do. I need some basic items for the younger classes to Transfigure and I was planning on going today."
Severus contemplated joining them. It wasn't in his psyche to do so, but that was the Severus Snape who had died on the Shrieking Shack floor. No, he technically hadn't died, but that was what he was considering it… a rebirth—a chance to do things differently. Continuing to be solitary wasn't going to help him change his life.
He looked over at Jonathan. "I will accompany you as well. I would rather pick up the items I need instead of giving Miernva a list to get them for me."
"Oy, Severus. It's okay to delegate, you know," Minerva piped in from the center of the table.
Severus leaned over and looked at her. "That's true, but this is something I enjoy doing."
"All right, then. Get your ingredients. It's one less thing I need to do to get this year started."
"I figured it would take something off your plate."
"Yes, you understand all too well what the Headmaster needs to do to prepare for the new year."
Severus nodded and sat back. "When shall we set out?" he asked.
"I was going to go after breakfast," Hermione said.
"I'm free now. Shall we head out when we're done with our meal?" Jonathan asked.
"Yes, let's do that," Severus agreed.
As they finished up their breakfast, Hagrid entertained them with stories of the baby Hippogriff that had been born two nights before. Soon they had all finished and were heading out of the castle.
"So, Professor Cornelius, what did you do after Durmstrang?" Hermione asked as they walked to the gates.
"Oh, call me Jonathan, please. I take it you remember me?"
She laughed. "Of course! You and Viktor were almost inseparable."
"Except when he was with you, which was a lot."
She blushed. "How is he? We used to write, but lost track of one another over the last year or so."
Jonathan smiled. "He's great! He's busy with the Bulgarian team, of course. They've got high hopes to be in the World Cup again this year."
"That's brilliant," Hermione said.
"They don't stand a chance," Severus muttered.
"Whoa, where did that come from?" Hermione asked.
He shrugged. "They have had a terrible streak this last year. They will have to win every game for the rest of the season to qualify. Even with Krum as Seeker, that is a long shot."
"I see. Well, maybe they'll get lucky," she replied.
Severus eyed her. "Miss Granger, you are too much of an optimist."
"Not too much, Severus, and I asked you to call me Hermione yesterday."
"Ah yes. That will take some time to get used to."
She narrowed her eyes at him, regarding him thoughtfully. "That's all right. I'll just keep reminding you. I can imagine it's odd having me as a fellow professor."
He snorted. "You don't know the half of it."
She frowned. "I assure you, I am capable of being a professor here."
"That's not what I meant," Severus explained. "I have always thought of you as an adept student whether I let on to that or not." He gave her a sideways glance. "As you can imagine, I could not encourage you in any way."
She huffed. "Yes, and you were quite nasty most of the time."
He stopped short and turned to her.
"Miss… Hermione… I would like to apologize for anything that I said that was nasty to you. I can think of several examples, but I will refrain from listing them. If anyone saw me treating you kindly… well… I wouldn't be standing here right now."
Her eyes searched his, trying to glean his sincerity.
"I am trying to start anew. My appearance is much what it was when I graduated Hogwarts so I am taking the opportunity to start again, so I ask for your forgiveness."
She smiled at him then. "Thank you, Severus. I understand what you had to do. I honestly can't imagine how you did everything that you did. You saved our lives over and over again, and we didn't even know it. Thank you for always being there, and I forgive you for anything that you said to me. I'd like to start again as well."
They looked at one another for a bit, neither saying a word. Jonathan piped in then, uncomfortable with the silence.
"Well, since we're all starting over, I'd like you to forget what you knew about me when I attended Hogwarts before. I was a bit of an arse."
"Well, I wasn't going to say anything, but you were a bit full of yourself," Hermione said with a grin.
"Merlin, yes I was. Karkaroff instilled it in all of us, but I took it to heart and lived it with a passion. No one was better than me, not even Viktor."
"If I must admit it, I was a snooty student. Being Muggle-born, I constantly felt I needed to prove myself, which manifested itself in me being… what did you call me, Severus?"
"An Insufferable Know-it-all."
"Yes. That."
"Dang, you were harsh, Severus," Jonathan replied.
"I was. Again, I apologize. I did want you to feel that you were adept as a student, but I had no way of helping you with that."
"Aside from the numerous red marks on my essays."
"You deserved every one. I assume you have learned not to regurgitate facts."
"Most definitely," she agreed. "I'd be dead if I hadn't."
"What was it like… being on the run?" Jonathan asked.
"Horrible. We were hungry all the time, and fearful we'd be found. We almost were, once. A Snatcher came within a couple of feet of me. Thankfully, the wards I erected held, and he didn't detect me."
"Merlin. I can't imagine. I was living in London, and we were always afraid of Death Eater attacks."
Severus looked over at him. "Wait… Jonathan Cornelius as in the Cornelius living with Matilda Cornelius?"
Jonathan looked down at the ground. "She was my grandmother."
"Wait, what happened?" Hermione asked with concern.
"My gran was vocal about Voldemort. We both were. She submitted several editorials that were published in The Prophet and that put a target on her back. Death Eaters broke into our flat late one night. I woke up to wand fire. I tried to fight back. So did gran… but…"
"They killed her," Severus finished.
Jonathan nodded. "They left me alive as an example. They told me to spread the word that those who spoke up against Voldemort would suffer the same fate as Gran. Then they shot several Cruciatus at me. I was hospitalized for a week."
"You were lucky. Bellatrix usually didn't know when to stop," Severus said grimly.
"I was lucky, but it didn't feel like it at the time. Of course, I never said a word about why the Death Eaters left me alive."
"I was at the Manor that night, reporting on the school to the Dark Lord." Severus frowned and looked to the ground. "The group came in bragging about the attack. It made me sick. I knew your grandmother. She was an honorable woman. I'm sorry."
"Wasn't your fault."
Severus' lips thinned. "But I was a part of them all my life."
"Severus," Hermione interjected. "You're a hero. It's not your fault they were all maniacs."
"My later years were spent fighting against them, but I joined them of my own free will."
"How long did it take you to realize you'd made a mistake?" Jonathan asked.
Severus grimaced. "Too long."
"Was it when you heard the prophecy?" Hermione asked.
Severus nodded. "Mostly. A couple of things the Dark Lord had said prior to that had been… troubling… but not enough for me to regret my decision to become one of his group. When Lily's life was threatened…"
Hermione reached out and grasped his arm, giving it a small squeeze.
"I'm sorry."
He gave her a quick glance before looking away. "I have worked hard to rectify my bad decisions as a young man."
"Did Hermione calling you a hero escape your notice?" Jonathan asked.
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not."
"Mate, you are. We all know it," Jonathan countered.
Severus' eyes drew up to his colleague's. "Thank you for that."
"I'm just speaking the truth."
"He's right, Severus. Everyone knows it," Hermione agreed.
Severus felt an odd feeling within him. No one had ever stuck up for him before in this way; not even Dumbledore. Sure, he'd defended him at times, but it had always come with a price. This declaration held no such ransom.
They approached Hogsmeade when Hermione piped up.
"I hope you don't mind. I invited Harry and Ron to meet me here."
"I don't mind. I'll be at the Apothecary getting supplies."
She opened her mouth to protest but then closed it. "I understand," she said finally.
"Let's meet back at the Three Broomsticks in thirty minutes," Jonathan offered.
"Perfect," Severus said as he veered off toward the Apothecary.
"Will you come with me to meet my friends?" Hermione asked.
"Absolutely! I wonder if they'll remember me?"
Hermione laughed as they walked along. Soon they were within eyesight of Harry and Ron. She waved excitedly at them.
"Hey!" Harry said as they approached.
"I'd like you to meet the new Defense professor, Jonathan Cornelius," Hermione introduced. "He attended Hogwarts and was one of the Durmstrang students during the Triwizard tournament."
"Oh, yeah!" Harry said. "Nice to see you again."
Hands were shaken and then Ron pulled Hermione into an embrace. She stiffened but let him do so. Jonathan averted his eyes.
"I'll see you in half an hour," he said as he wandered off.
"I need to go to Dervish and Banges," she said as she pulled away from Ron. "It won't take long, then we can get something at the Three Broomsticks."
"So, how is it?" Harry asked.
She shrugged. "We haven't even started yet, Harry."
"I mean what's it like working with Snape?"
"Well, we walked over here. He's nice."
Ron choked. "Nice? What are you on about?"
"He said he wants to start over. I mean, he looks like he's our age. He has a lot of life to go. He wants a new beginning. He's been pleasant."
"He Imperiused you, didn't he?" Ron asked.
Hermione glared at him. "Stop it, Ron."
"Anyway," Harry said, changing the subject. "We begin Auror training on Monday. Should be fun."
"You both will do well."
Ron threw his arm around her, causing her to stiffen again. They got to the shop, and she moved away from him to enter it. Knowing exactly what she wanted, she went to several shelves and pulled items off them, one of each. A small box, a vase, a handkerchief, and a small toy ball. She brought them to the back.
"Hi," she said to the attendant. "I need fifty of each of these sent to Hogwarts in my name, please."
"Of course, Professor. We heard you were going to be teaching at Hogwarts this year. We are happy to help you with anything you need for your class."
"Thank you!" she said brightly. "Let me ask you… can you get some Muggle light bulbs?"
The attendant arched a brow at her. "I'm sure I can, but why on earth?"
"Well, a dual purpose, really. The students will Transfigure them into something else, and I'd like them to learn a little about Muggle items."
"Of course. I can get those to you before the term starts. Fifty of those as well?"
"Yes, please."
The three left the shop and Ron's arm was back on her shoulder. She shrugged him off as they moved toward the pub.
"What's wrong?" Ron asked.
"I thought we'd broken up, Ron. Why are you putting your arm around me?"
He shrugged. "I just thought…"
She put her hands on her hips. "You thought what, Ronald?"
"I'm going to head over to Honeydukes," Harry said as he slowly backed away.
Ron ignored him.
"Well, it's been a week. Haven't you missed me? Didn't that make you want to be with me again?"
"Ronald, what was the reason I said I didn't want to continue dating you?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. You said something about me not listening to you."
"That was after I had already told you why I didn't want to continue, and you ignored me."
Ron folded his arms in front of him. "Hermione, we're supposed to be together. Everyone says so."
"Everyone isn't a part of our relationship, Ron. They don't see when you're jealous and when you assume that I'm overreacting to everything."
"But Hermione!"
"Ron, I don't trust you. When the going got tough, you up and left. How am I supposed to have faith that you won't do that when things are tough between us?"
"'Mione, I just…"
"I've asked you a million times not to call me that!" she cried out.
"Is everything all right, Hermione?"
It was Jonathan. He'd meandered up to them while they were having it out.
"I'm fine, Jonathan, thank you. I just need to get something straight with Ron."
"Oh, I see now," Ron snarled. "You've got greener pastures here at Hogwarts, right? You'd rather have tall, dark, and handsome here, right?"
"Ron, stop this now," Hermione said.
He missed the danger in her voice.
"No, I get it. You just wanted to find something better. Well, I hope you're happy with him!"
The hex came so swiftly that Ron didn't even have a chance to shield it.
"Ow! Whadya do that for?" he cried.
"You'd better work on your reflex skills if you're going to be an Auror, Ronald," Hermione ground out.
His wand was out now, and he began shooting curses at her. She shielded every one and sent her own. Ron wasn't so lucky and soon his head resembled a pig's. At that point, Severus wandered up.
"Jonathan… Weasley… You're looking a bit swine-like."
Ron squealed before Apparating away. Hermione lowered her wand and glowered at the space where Ron had been standing. She breathed heavily in and out, trying to control herself.
"That was some fine wand-work, Granger," Severus said. "Whatever did he do to deserve that?"
She bristled. "I broke up with him a week ago, yet he still thinks we're together."
"Well, he doesn't anymore," Jonathan piped in. "He thinks we're together," he said with a waggle of his eyebrows.
Hermione gave him an incredulous look before laughing so hard she bent low and held her stomach. By the time she'd recovered, Harry had returned.
"Where did Ron go?"
"You missed it, mate. Hermione turned him into a pig," Jonathan cried.
"It was truly glorious," Severus remarked.
Harry stared at him like he'd lost his head.
"What, Potter? Despite you not realizing it, I do have a sense of humor. I can also appreciate a great hex."
Hermione blushed.
Harry decided to let it drop. "Do you want me to go after him?"
Hermione snorted. "Merlin, no. He needs to figure himself out. I can't take his thoughtlessness any longer."
"Ok, Hermione. Should we head to the pub?" Harry asked.
She nodded before looking at Severus and Jonathan.
"Do you want to join us? You're both welcome."
Jonathan shrugged. "Sure, I could go for a Butterbeer."
Hermione looked expectantly at Severus.
"I think I'll head back," he said.
"Oh, come on. You said you wanted to start anew. Now's your chance."
He eyed Potter. "There's only so much I can accomplish in one day, Hermione."
She chuckled at him. "Fine, but next time… if there is a next time… you are staying and enjoying yourself."
"I don't think that is possible. I will see you both later."
They said their goodbyes and Severus decided to Apparate to the Hogwarts gates. Entering them, he mulled over the afternoon. He had actually enjoyed the time with both Hermione and Jonathan. Perhaps he could make some new friends.
