14

AN: Huge thanks to Ayerf for betaing! I will apologize in advance for any corrections she made that were missed in my hurry to get this posted, for lo! A tired Avery is a lazy Avery.

Snape felt like his face was still flaming as he closed the door behind him and faced Amycus. The Death Eater grinned lasciviously and slapped Snape on the shoulder in a congratulatory way.

"I had no idea you would be on her already, otherwise I would have made an appointment."

Snape smiled tightly. "Yes, well, seeing as you have interrupted me, do me the favor of being quick?"

Amycus winked. "Righto. Whatcha gonna do about that bitch, McGonagall? Her outburst tonight was pretty outrageous."

"I've warned her that should she challenge my authority one more time, she will be dismissed without a recommendation."

"That's all? She's been fighting us all year!"

"This is your first year here as a teacher, Amycus. I assure you her behavior has been similar to that of previous years. She was putting the students first, which is also as our Lord wishes. Had she confronted me in front of the children, then it would have been a simple challenge of authority and she would have been dismissed then and there."

"But--"

"She's an excellent teacher, Amycus. The Dark Lord and I would be hard pressed to find someone who is as dedicated and adept at pounding such difficult magics into the dunderheads we teach."

"Yeah, but she's been subverting us every which way!"

"And she has been told that should she voice her opinion so publicly again, she will be sacked."

"But what about the detentions? She actively helps that fucking Longbottom kid and his gang!"

"Do you have proof of that?"

Amycus opened his mouth, but shut it with a growl. "Not solid, no."

"Then there is nothing I can do. I will not fire a well-respected pureblood on hearsay."

"But--"

"That is my final say. Should you get proof of her subversions, then bring it to me and I will make sure she gets what she deserves. Now, is that all?" Amycus nodded resentfully. "Then I respectfully ask you to mind your duties while I mind mine." He forced his mouth into a dirty smirk, which garnered a return smirk from Amycus.

"Of course, sir. Have an enjoyable night."

"I intend to."

As soon as the door shut behind Amycus, Snape let out an angry huff. "He is as arrogant as he is stupid."

"They tend to be the most dangerous. Watch him carefully," Dumbledore said from behind him.

"I know that, Old Man," Snape growled back, not bothering to turn around.

"Now Severus--"

"No!" Snape yelled "No lectures, chastisements or such. Not right now." He sank down into his chair, defeated.

"You handled the situation very well."

Snape gripped his hair in frustration and growled out, "Just leave me alone, Albus."

After a few moments of silence, Snape dared to peek at the painting, sighing in relief when he found it empty.

He couldn't face Dumbledore right now. Not after getting an erection from seeing one of his students.

He groaned, further disgusted at himself. It wasn't even the shock of seeing that hint of breast as she'd reached down to the floor that had made him hard. No, he had to react to her willingness and trust as he shackled her to the bedpost. To her almost amused, innocent surprise.

He groaned again and put his head on the desk, feeling rather ill.

"Sir?"

Snape sat up as if shocked and looked to the bedroom doorway and found her looking at him in a concerned way. The guilt rushed in again, forcing his mood even further south.

"What is it?" he snapped.

She frowned, but still looked too concerned. He inwardly cursed her for being so damned empathetic. and waved for her to speak with an impatient, "Any day now!"

She pursed her lips, but approached the desk. It was only then that he noticed she held one of the books clamped to her chest.

"I may have found a picture of what the diadem looks like, sir," she said tentatively, laying the book down on his desk.

There was a small illustration of a slight, older woman with a curious tiara on top of her head. The caption stated it was a reproduction of one of Rowena Ravenclaw's portraits. Severus was struck by how sad she looked.

"I suppose that will help us should we come across a stash of relics, but I don't see the immediate importance of this information."

Hermione pulled back as if struck. Snape looked back at Rowena's sad smile.

"No, sir, it doesn't help at the moment. I was... Well, there was always the possibility that you had seen

the diadem and not known it, seeing as hiding things in plain sight is often the best strategy."

Snape sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, suddenly worn out. "It is perhaps a good strategy for most, but trust me, Miss Granger, the Dark Lord does not think that way. He would never have found the Chamber of Secrets had he only been looking for the obvious."

Hermione opened her mouth and uttered a stunted huff before saying, curtly, "Of course, you're right. He's a megalomaniac with a penchant for grandeur and showboating. He makes sure all his followers know just how sneaky and clever he is, at all times, and then controls them with ham-fisted fear. He would never do something as simple as hide something where everyone would look through it and smirk to himself about how everyone is such an idiot compared to him."

Snape clenched his fists in anger at Hermione's snide tone, but forbore responding, tempting though it was to vent his anger on her. Especially as she was the cause.

The guilt swirled again, and he tamped down on his rage.

"You forget," he bit out coldly, "that his soul is at stake. Not even the most openhearted, idiotic Hufflepuff leaves their soul out where others may find and destroy it. You tend to keep that close to the vest. Especially with Dumbledore watching your every move."

"But that's just it! He would love to have a one-up on Dumbledore. No, he may not have shared the knowledge with anyone, but to be able to think to himself, 'I'm better than Dumbledore, the blind old fool,' would have enormous appeal."

Snape considered her words. The logic was sound.

"It wouldn't be 'in plain sight,' however. He did not underestimate Dumbledore."

"Alright. But I suspect it would have been too tempting to not hide it in Hogwarts somewhere."

"Agreed."

He looked up at Hermione to find her smiling down at him as if he had just awarded her the House Cup.

"What?"

She shook her head and muttered, "Nothing," but continued smiling at him happily even as she leaned in to look at the book.

"You do realize," he said repressively, "that Hogwarts is very possibly one of the best places to hide anything? Even if we are correct, our task is still rather daunting."

"Oh, I know," she replied cheerfully. "But couldn't we use the house-elves' knowledge?"

"Yes, but even they are mortal and..."

They looked at each other with identical expressions and as one, said, "The Grey Lady!"

Snape stood so suddenly, Hermione jerked back to avoid him.

"I will go find the Lady and ask what she may know of the diadem."

He took several steps forward, but was stopped by a hand on his elbow. Looking at Hermione, he found her shaking her head at him and looking uncomfortable.

Snape understood even before she said, "You... you're supposed to be here. With me."

He gritted his teeth and nodded. "You're correct, of course. That would be suspicious in the extreme. I will have to ask Minerva to question her tomorrow."

"Couldn't you send a Patronus?"

He shook his head. "They are infrequent, but the Dark Lord has been known to perform wand checks."

"What about my wand?"

Snape looked at her, breathless from shame at his oversight. "Yes," he said curtly. "That would work."

She beamed at him and ran to the bedroom. A moment later, a shot of silver flew through the office and disappeared through the stone wall.

Hermione came out of the bedroom looking rather pleased with herself, though when she looked at him, her good mood wilted a fair fraction.

"Now we need to hope that no one is with Minerva when she receives the message."

Hermione put her hands to her mouth and blushed. "Oh, God. I... I didn't think."

He was rather aghast to see her eyes start to fill up, and he closed his eyes in a bid for patience. At the first sniffle, he bit out, "It matters little if someone is with her. She is as adept at memory charms as I am."

Another sniffle, along with a quiet, "I'm sorry, sir."

He opened his eyes and nodded. "Try not to let Boy Wonder's influence rub off on you quite so much in the future."

He smirked at the glare he received, and his heart felt a bit lighter when she responded to his smirk with an annoyed huff, a roll of her eyes and an exaggerated flounce out of the room. His heart lightened even further when she came out of the bedroom only moments later, carrying a tray of food and books.

At his look, she shrugged, placed the tray on the corner of his desk and said, "I hate eating in bed. Crumbs, you know."

He snorted softly. "Indeed." He plucked a biscuit and a book off her tray and sat down again, feeling almost content. Things were looking brighter than they had in many, many years. In fact, he hadn't felt this level of hope since he'd first found Lily.

He sighed, his mood destroyed. He hoped everything went better this time around.

"Sir?"

He looked up at the bright, pretty face before him and almost cringed. "Yes?"

"Thank you. I'm... almost glad things have turned out as they have. As glad as is possible."

His chest tightened painfully and he willed himself not to lash out at her. "Yes, well, let's finish killing off soul bits before we get too comfortable, shall we?"

She nodded. "Yes, sir. But thank you, anyway. I'm glad you rescued me. I'm glad to have had this chance to work with you."

He shook his head, and looked back to the arcane book in his hand to hide his growing despair and anger. "You're an odd one, Granger."

Her giggle only cemented the feeling of hopelessness in his chest. He was going to kill her. Just like he'd killed Lily and Emmeline. And what a fucking waste that would be.