Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Not mine. I just borrowed them for a while. I promise to put them back when I'm done. Oh, nope, no money either...just for fun.

I want to give a great big thank you hug to EverMystique and DuchessOfArcadia for combing through this to point out my numerous errors and help me make this presentable for reading. You're the best, thank you!

It hadn't taken Madam Pomfrey very long to set Black and Pettigrew right. However, that didn't mean that Potter and Black weren't going to retaliate. Just as Severus had predicted, Professor McGonagall had sent a fifth-year with a note after his Charms lesson, demanding that he be in her office at the end of his last class. Severus had decided to interpret the note to mean his last class of the day, not the last class of the morning. So at lunch, he had told Avery his potion was at a critical stage as he'd rolled roast beef sandwiches and corn on the cob in his napkin and stuffed apples and oranges into his pockets before he'd left to eat in the classroom with Hermione.

He had been heading for the library after Arithmancy when Black and Potter attacked him from two sides. Fortunately, Severus had been wary, expecting something to happen. He'd managed to duck, roll, and fire on Black, thankfully avoiding Potter's hex. He hadn't been so lucky with Black's counter curse. Severus fired a Body-Bind on Potter, but Black's Severing Charm slashed across his left arm, making his blood stain his sleeve.

"Engorgio," Potter shouted. The spell whizzed by Severus' head and bounced off the wall behind him. Unfortunately, it hit his foot.

"Guys!" Lupin shouted as he skidded to a stop behind Potter. "Stop, he's bleeding!"

"So, did you see what he did to Peter and me?" Black snarled, still aiming his wand at Severus.

Severus scrambled to a crouched position, his eyes now focused on Black while Potter was distracted by Lupin.

"Lily said he didn't do it!" Lupin shouted at Black as Potter snarled, "It was his potion! Everyone knows he made it!"

Severus knew that as soon as he moved, one of them would attack him. He tensed up, deciding between using a Stunner or the Jelly-Brain Jinx, choosing a Stunner in case a professor showed up. He had the spell on his lips ready to spring.

"Just because he made it doesn't mean he used it on you!" Lupin said, trying to get his friends to see reason.

Black aimed his wand at him, and Severus sprang up, firing the Stunner as he took off running. "No," he heard Lupin shout as Black went flying backward into the wall. A yellow jet of light hit the wall next to Severus as he started for the stairs.

"McGonagall is expecting him in her office, and he's now bleeding..." he heard Lupin saying as he ran down the stairs as fast as he dared with his grotesquely-enlarged foot. By the time he'd made it to the Entrance Hall, he was limping again. He leaned against the wall. "Damn, bloody Potter!" he cursed as he tried to reverse the Engorgement Charm.

As luck would have it, Avery, Rosier, and Rowe appeared from the stairs that led from the dungeons. Bugger, this is not my day!

"Oi, mate, you all right?" Rosier asked, running up the last few steps, hurrying over to him with the other two on his heels.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Severus snapped, testing out his foot. The foot was still large, but thankfully, not sprained or broken. He tried taking a step toward the stairs, trying not to limp.

"It's Black and Potter again, isn't it?" Avery asked, his eyes ablaze with anger. Both of Rowe's cheeks had visible ticks from his jaw being clenched so tightly.

"You're bleeding!" Rosier said as he reached out a hand to touch his sleeve, but Severus shrugged it off.

"I got off easy. It's just a scratch."

"Where?" Avery asked, glaring angrily. "Where are the snots?"

Severus jerked his head toward the stairs. "Fourth floor," he said reluctantly.

"That means you were outside the library! Those wankers!" Avery snarled.

Rowe nodded as Rosier asked, "You need anything?"

Severus shook his head. "I've got Essence of Dittany in the room. I'll be fine," he said as Avery tugged on Rosier's sleeve, growling, "C'mon guys! I bet they're bragging about it already."

Rowe was already heading for the stairs. Rosier raised his eyebrow, giving Severus one last unspoken inquiry, then turned and followed Avery and Rowe.

Severus stormed into the old classroom and blasted one of the old desks to splinters, which made Hermione run and duck for cover.

"What in the blazes is wrong with you!" she shouted.

"Potter and Black...what else! I got attacked again!" Severus snarled, using the Severing Charm on one of the desks, making deep gouges in the wood. "And I still have to go see Professor McGonagall and get reamed for supposedly using the potion on her pets."

Hermione's soft, brown eyes widened in alarm as she stared at his arm. "You're bleeding!"

"It's a scratch," he replied casually, smiling inwardly at the caring expression on her face. It was nice to have someone care...really care. "I need my Essence of Dittany." He tried reducing his foot again, smiling as the swelling went down. He'd take Pain Potion later if the ache didn't go away.

Hermione ran across the room to get the potion and picked up a rag and a cup. He hoped the rag was a clean one. "Severus, take off your clothes so I can see the cut," she said and turned around. "Oh!" she gasped when she saw that he was already pulling his jumper and shirt off.

"That eager to see me strip?" he teased her. "Well, you only get to see half of me."

She blushed two shades of pink and then turned her attention to his arm. "Oh, my! This is bad."

"It's not as bad as it looks," he said, checking the cut on his arm, which made it ooze more.

Hermione paled slightly. She started to clean his arm with the rag and the water in the cup. "Talk to me, will you? Tell me something about yourself...anything."

"There's not that much to tell," he said, amazed at how gently she was cleaning up the blood. "Use the dittany, Hermione. I can clean off the blood later." He watched her as she examined his cut. Hermione was bossy sometimes, but she had a good heart, which he liked about her. "Just a drop or two on the wound until the skin closes."

"Do you want me to faint?" she asked as she dipped the dittany bottle on a corner of the rag.

He looked up at her, and she swallowed before touching the rag to his wound. "Not with the rag, Hermione, directly on the wound," he told her, realizing she'd probably never used dittany before. "Just put a few drops in the cut, okay?"

She nodded and held the rag under the cut and tipped the bottle carefully so only a single drop of the dittany landed on the cut. Hermione swallowed and cleared her throat at the sight of the greenish smoke that billowed up into their faces. "Oh, gods. Please, talk to me. Tell me something about yourself. Tell me about your parents."

He didn't want to.

"Please, Severus. Distract me," she pleaded and sucked her lip under her front teeth as she allowed another drop to land on his arm. Unfortunately, with her hand shaking slightly as it was, she missed the cut. "What's your family like?"

He could tell that he'd have to say something; she looked ready to faint. "I don't come from a rich family; we didn't have much when I was growing up." He looked at her as she cringed when another drop landed on his cut and changed his mind about talking about himself. "Mum's a witch; she's really good at Charms and Herbology and such. She won a Gobstones medal and a trophy when she was at school. She taught me how to play. But Dad doesn't like her using her wand. He's a Muggle," he said and looked at her hands instead of her face. "He was a doffer at the factory and became an overseer just before he married my mum. He wanted me to be a doffer. Mum didn't...but he did...until the factory closed. He doesn't do anything now but drink."

She'd added two more drops of dittany while he'd talked and was now dabbing gently at the healing flesh. He liked watching her; she had a graceful fragility, which belied the capable witch she was. She was very tender and showed her feelings easily. Her finned-boned fingers were dexterous and smooth and so gentle at times. Her wrists and arms were thin like the rest of her, but he knew that she was stronger than she looked. Just like his mum.

"Where did you grow up?"

"Manchester," he said. "It's just a mill town. Only not many people still live there anymore, at least on our side of the bridge." He flexed his arm and smiled at the job she did. "Looks good." She dipped the rag in her cup and started cleaning off his arm. "You don't have to do that. I can go to the bathroom and clean it."

"Okay." She looked up at him with her kind doe-like eyes, and her lip slid from its confinement. Her soft, bushy brown hair framed her face. It fit her.

"You know, my best mate isn't from a rich family. There's nothing wrong with not having loads of money. Some of the happiest families I know have limited means," she said as he pulled on his shirt.

He turned away as he put on his robe. "It sucks being poor." He sighed as she collected up everything and turned away. "Thank you. I appreciate you doing this."

"No problem," she said, dumping the cloth and putting the dittany away.

Severus walked over and picked up the cloth and cup, and she handed him his vial of Pain Potion. He took a swallow, handing the vial back to her outstretched hand. "Thank you. I'll be back," he said, heading for the door.

Rowe was standing in front of him when he opened the door as if about to open it himself. Severus quickly stepped out into the corridor and closed it. "I was looking for you. Avery's in the dorm room," Rowe said and looked at his arm. "How is it?"

"Healed now that I got some Essence of Dittany on it," he said as he walked past him headed for the common room. "I need to change. Comin'?"

Rowe looked at the door to the classroom and turned to follow him.

"So, did you get Potter and Black for cutting me?" Severus asked, and Rowe's look of concern changed into an evil grin.

"Oh, they'll be limping for a few days," he said, opening the door to the common room. "So, who were you talking to in there?"

Severus mentally swore at himself. "No one...myself...I was really mad. That dittany hurts when you use it."

Rowe nodded and let him enter first. "I know how that stuff stings."

Severus sighed in relief that he bought the lie. If Rowe had opened the door, he'd have to really come up with an excuse for the way the room was set up...let alone explain Hermione's presence. He was going to have to do something about the room, like muffle the sounds and hide the bed.

Hermione paced the room after Severus had gone, wondering why Harry's dad and Sirius Black hated him so much. From what she'd gathered, Sirius Black and Potter ganged up on Severus a lot. Not too dissimilar to Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, except usually only Malfoy was dumb enough to use his wand on her. Crabbe and Goyle only cracked their knuckles and scowled at her, trying to look intimidating, letting Malfoy do the hexing. Of course, Hermione also had to deal with the occasional taunts and hexes from Bulstrode and Parkinson, as well, but when Ron and Harry were with her, all Bulstrode and Parkinson did was sneer and make rude comments.

She wished that Severus hadn't taken the cup. She was thirsty. She filled the pitcher and drank from it, smirking at the thought of how her mum would've scolded her if she'd been witness. Still shaky from having to heal Severus, she lay down on the bed. She was getting so bored just staying in the room all the time. Severus was attentive enough, and he brought her piles of books on all subjects, but the small room sometimes felt claustrophobic.

She fell asleep wondering what Ron and Harry were up to.

The sound of someone rattling the doorknob woke Hermione up with a start. She had no idea what time it was or how long she'd slept.

Whoever it was on the other side of the door was having a hard time opening it, and for a minute she wondered if Severus had locked it. Finally the door opened, revealing half a body holding a pile of books topped with a tray of food. She jumped up and ran to help him. "I'm sorry, I wasn't sure if it was you, or I would have opened the door for you," she said, lifting the tray down.

"I'd rather you didn't," he said with a frown. "Rowe almost came in here. In fact, my friends are getting too curious about why I'm in here so much. We are going to have to do something about the bed." He dropped the books on the table. "Go ahead and eat, I have some things to figure out."

Hermione grabbed her silverware and sat down across from him. He'd brought her a bowl of stew and hot buttered rolls. "Is there anything I can do?"

He looked at the corner of the room that made up her bedroom. "We might have to shift things around a bit. Move the desks and bedside table to the other side of the bed against the wall or hang up blankets somehow. I dunno." He turned back to his books. "If this were a tent or a kind of fort it'd be easier." He looked up. "Do you mind if I borrow some parchment?"

She smiled and fished some sheets out of her bag for him, pulling out a quill and ink as well. She watched him flip through the books as she ate. He had that determined-concentration look on his face that was so intriguing. "I know what will work on the door..."

"What are you looking for?" she asked softly between bites.

"Ways to hide you in case anyone opens the door," he replied. "Protego and Salvio, in case they try using spells..." He drew his wand, aiming it at the pitcher. "Occaeco, Occare..." He shook his head and tried again. The pitcher vanished after the fourth try. He flicked his wand saying, "Finite," and the pitcher reappeared. "Invisum perlucidulus," he said a few times, the third time the pitcher vanished. "Finite. Okay, maybe. Transmitto." Nothing happened. He tried it a few more times. "No... Tramissum caecus...yes, that'll work. Finite."

Hermione watched as the pitcher appeared and disappeared. He got up, and she followed him.

"Circumventum," he said, making circle with his wand. Hermione didn't see any difference. "Occare inclusium, Invisum perlucidulus, Tramissum caecus...Protego totalum. Salvio hexia," he said, casting one spell in quick succession after another. The bed and bedside table vanished. He shook his head and reversed his spell work. "Damn. Finite. Circumventum totalum," he said, making a larger circle with his wand and added the other spells again. This time the desk disappeared as well. Satisfied he turned to face her. "What?"

"That's so amazing!" she said, walking forward until her hand touched the bed. She stepped into the space between the bed and the desk. "Hey, there're back!"

"You're in the ring of the spells," he said, unable to hide his snug satisfaction. "From where I'm standing, all I see are stone walls."

Hermione turned to face him. "So you can't see me?"

"No," he smirked, holding his wand casually. "So if anyone tries to come in here, duck onto your bed. They won't see you. I could add a Repelling Charm so no one wants to get near the bed, but you'd have to fight the effects as well. Come out, I have something to ask you."

She walked out of her magical enclosure. "Sure, what do you need?"

Severus laughed at her. "Hermione, never blindly offer to help a Slytherin unless you know what he wants and what the strings are."

"Okay," she said, nodding as if she understood. "So what did you need?"

He shook his head. "I was hoping you'd help me with the Engorgement and Reducing Charms."

"Sure!" she said enthusiastically.

He laughed and shook his head again. "Strings...remember? What I want is to try them on you. Enlarge, say, your hand and then reduce it."

She shrugged and looked at him expectantly. "Okay, but only if you are going to show me how to do it, too."

He shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. "Oh, my brave little Gryffindor, now you're talking like a Slytherin. Okay, get your wand."

As Severus rounded the corner, he caught sight of Potter and Lupin standing in the bailey talking to someone, or some ones, who were apparently sitting in an arch of the bailey wall. He caught a glimpse of a girl's leg as it swung forward. Thankfully, Potter's back was too him, one hand on the wall as he leaned over her. The sounds of two girls, Lily's laugh and another girl's giggle, rose above the other sounds of the open corridor. "I can't! I have too much revision to do," he heard Lily explain.

"But how am I to treat my girl to a day of frivolous shopping if she's stuck up here in the castle?" Potter asked, his free hand reaching toward Lily.

Severus knew that Potter was trying to convince Lily to go with him. "I'd love to, but I promised Remus I'd go with him on my next trip to Hogsmeade," Lily said.

Lupin turned his head to avoid Potter's glance at him, and his eyes locked onto Severus'.

"You know you want to go to Honeydukes and the bookshop," Vargas said with another giggle.

Severus scowled at Lupin's nod of acknowledgement, and he quickly ducked back around the corner to make a hasty retreat. The bookshop. Lily's second favorite shop in Hogsmeade... Potter will convince her to go. But even if I hope to see her there, she'll be with Lupin and Potter. Severus decided to forgo going down by the lake to meet his friends. He suddenly wasn't in the mood. Instead, he headed to his workroom to see Hermione. He would tell the guys later that he ran into Potter and Lupin and that they hexed him to impress Lily and Vargas.

He saw Hurshiser and Rowe talking to two Ravenclaw girls in the Entrance Hall as they walked up the marble staircase. He smirked at them, watching Hurshiser as he apparently tried his moves on the one with the long, blond braids. "One guess who he's taking to Hogsmeade," he muttered to himself as he ran to the stairs that led down to the dungeons. For the hundredth time that week, he wished that he could ask someone, well a specific someone, to go to Hogsmeade with him. But he knew he couldn't.

When he entered the classroom, Hermione was nowhere to be seen. He called out her name as he scanned the room quickly and hurried over to the bed. Nothing. Damn it, she's not here! He tried looking under the bed and behind it, thinking she might have gotten stuck, hiding from one of his house mates, but she wasn't there either. Angrily, he turned on his heel, thinking she'd defied him and had left the room to wander around the castle.

He took two steps toward the door and heard a tiny squeal. He looked down, wondering what he'd stepped on or if there was a mouse in the room and thought that he'd heard his name. He turned around again and saw her, squatted down behind one of her shoes. "What happened to you?" he asked, pulling out his wand as he knelt down.

"You know that annotation to the charms in your book...the one that increases the spell," she shouted up at him in her tiny voice. "I cannot undo this." She pointed to her wand that lay on the floor a few feet away. "I can't even lift my wand!"

Severus picked it up and held its tip to his wand tip, using the Priori Incantatum to identify the spell she'd tried. The spell she'd cast had a bluish-white tint. The tint indicated the addition of Maximus used in conjunction with a charm. "What spell did you use with it?"

"Reducio," she shouted.

Severus smirked and reversed the effect with her wand, watching in amusement as she enlarged back to her normal height. Thanks to the practice with Hermione, he'd gotten really good at it. "How in the world did you manage to cast it on yourself?" he asked, handing her back her wand.

Hermione blushed in embarrassment. "It bounced off the cauldron. It's on the floor over there somewhere by the desks. Only be careful, it's tiny now."

He stood over her as she crawled on all fours around the legs of his worktable, smirking at her cute bum. "There is an easier way," he suggested, barely able to hide the mirth in his voice.

"Oh, right," she said, sitting back on her heels. She whipped her wand out and tried to summon the cauldron. The one on the workspace rolled off and fell onto the floor next to her. Severus burst out laughing, and she turned around to glare at him. "What's so funny?" she snapped, putting the cauldron back with a Repelling Charm.

"Hermione, you were only twenty-eight centimeters; the cauldron will be about two, maybe three. Try the Locator Charm first, then enlarge it," he suggested. He pulled out his wand, placing it flat on his palm, and said, "Point me." The wand made a slight adjustment. "Excussum inveni," he said, pointing his wand in the direction his wand had indicated. The miniscule cauldron glowed a bright blue in a crack on the floor. Severus swished his wand, and the cauldron rose and expanded to its normal size. He turned his head to see Hermione trying the Locator Charm, making her wand swing around at different things in the room. "You're welcome."

"Oh, sorry! It's just that that was so cool how you did that!" she stammered, looking at him with amazed adoration.

"Hermione, it's only magic," he said, turning his head. He sat on the floor and leaned on the leg of the workbench. She sat down crossed-legged in front of him. "You want me to show you the other one?"

"Oh, yes! Please," she answered him, her doe-like eyes widened with glee.

Severus shook his head as he chuckled to himself. Her enthusiasm and smile were contagious enough to lift Severus' mood.

~ T. B. .C. ~

Author's Notes:

The Latin used in this chapter is:

occaeco –are [to make blind , to blind, to darken; to conceal, make invisible, to make dull or numb]

invisus [unseen , secret]

perlucidulus [transparent]

caecus [blind, not seeing; intellectually or morally blind; uncertain, objectless, unseen, hidden, obscure, dark]

transmitto and tramissum [to go across, pass through or over; to leave unnoticed]

circumventum [to come round , surround, encircle]