Orange and Red All Over

A/N: I don't know what to say for myself, except that I am extremely sorry for the wait on this chapter. My life has been crazy and exhausting recently, and I have every intention of finishing this story... though it may be slow coming. However, reality continues to mess with life especially by crashing my computer last weekend and losing EVERYTHING. I had a lot of data saved, but alas I had to rewrite a bit.

Big hugs to my betas Keladry and Subversa, who put up with me!

Chapter 5- Orange and Red All Over

Severus let himself into his chambers that afternoon to find his daughter lounging on the sofa in front of the dormant hearth. A hideous, fat, orange cat with a squashed face lay atop her chest, seemingly content with the steady rise and fall of its makeshift bed. The ugly beast was quite unprepared, though, for the sudden jolt of falling from its comfortable spot as Thea jumped to greet her father; the girl tried in vain to hide the smuggled animal away before he noticed anything out of the ordinary. Severus knew that it was going to take some time before his daughter would be a proper Slytherin; even if she had succeeded in hiding the beast, Thea's dark robes were still covered with ginger cat hairs.

The cat hissed at Thea, plainly incensed for her interruption of whatever feline dream had overtaken its mind.

"Can we keep him, Father?" Thea asked, stubbing the toes of her shoes into the ground and looking sheepish. "He's a nice kitty."

"Thea, I've said no to every creature you've brought home. What do you believe I will say about this one?" he asked the girl evenly, watching the cat move stiffly toward him. Yellow eyes flicked across Severus for a brief moment, as though making sure Snape could be trusted. The cat's flat nose immediately went into the air as he sat down heavily beside Snape's feet, its bandy legs unable to support the considerable weight of its body any longer.

"You'll say no," said Thea, but did not stop there, "BUT I can take care of him, Father. He can sleep in my room. Really! For my birthday gift, Father."

Snape sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You may have an animal of your choosing when you begin school here at Hogwarts, but not until then."

"But, Father," she whined, kneeling down and petting the cat.

"I've been to Hogsmeade just today to pick up your gift, Thea," he said in a firm voice he hoped would end the discussion.

All this did was make the child turn her blue eyes up at him, one final attempt at keeping this stowaway left on her lips. "Please, Daddy?"

She never called him that but for the times that she really wanted something, and would hate him forever...or at least a five-year-old's approximation of "forever"...if she did not get it. For this reason alone, he never allowed her to address him any differently than "Father." On any occasion, as soon as that little voice uttered "Daddy," it was everything he could do to keep denying her. Somehow, the title always hit the one soft spot in his hardened heart.

It was not going to work today. She simply could not have her own animal until she began school at Hogwarts.

Snape looked again at the cat, the squashed face turned to look up at him in an almost quizzical fashion. Something clicked in his head as he studied the massive feline. It couldn't be, could it?

He knew this cat... er... half-Kneazle.

"Damn it anyway," he mumbled to himself, sneering at the creature. Poor tom had to be ancient by now; no wonder the cat could barely walk.

"Where did you find this fellow?" Snape asked, resigned that he would have to speak with Granger again before the night had ended. She would be looking for her animal soon enough, and he did not want to be accused of taking the beast, on top of everything they had discussed and squabbled over today.

Not that their meeting had been terribly bad...it had actually gone more quickly than he thought it would...but that still did nothing to make him forget six years worth of irritation that she caused. Six years of his long life that he would never get back.

It seemed it would be much of the same thing now that she was a teacher here.

"Winky was feeding him in the kitchens, Father," Thea answered.

"I see," he replied and let out a long sigh. "You cannot keep this cat, because it belongs to someone else, Thea. It's not a stray. Do you remember Miss Hermione?"

Thea appeared confused, but nodded nonetheless.

"Miss Hermione is a teacher here now," he said. "And this is her cat."

"Miss Hermione is here?!" Thea jumped up excitedly, the animal forgotten. "May we go see her, Father? Please?"

The hearth suddenly flared a vibrant green and a head of bushy curls swirled to a stop. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Professor. Winky said..."

"Miss Hermione!" Thea exclaimed.

The woman in the fire let out a short laugh and looked at the girl. "Hello, love. How are you?"

"I am good, Miss Hermione. Father said you're a teacher now? Do you live in the castle, too?"

Snape cleared his throat, interrupting the beginning of a conversation.

"Your," he said and glanced down at his feet, distaste of the creature replacing annoyance, "mongrel is here."

"I'll come through and retrieve him," the woman replied evenly. "If that is all right with you, Professor?"

He nodded his head silently, moving across the room to busy himself with something...anything...to not have to speak with the chit at length over anything else.

In a few short seconds, the bushy head had sprouted a torso, arms and legs. She hitched up her robes to step out of the stone hearth, revealing a pair of bare feet... and a shapely ankle. Her short toenails were painted a hideous shade of crimson. Could she not have even put on proper shoes before coming through? It was improper. And even, in some ways, provocative of her to Floo like that.

Shaking his head to rid himself of these unwelcome thoughts, he looked back at the face of the woman who was now brushing soot from herself.

"Ah! There you are, you lug," Hermione muttered as she bent down to pick up the pudgy lump of orange fur. Instead of leaving immediately, Hermione turned to look at Thea and smiled warmly. "If Crookshanks bothers you again, Miss Thea, you just let me know. He's getting forgetful these days."

"He didn't bother me, Miss Hermione!" Thea said. "I brought him up here... I thought he needed a home."

"She has a penchant for bringing strays in," Snape mentioned.

Hermione glanced in his direction and chuckled, then lowered down onto her haunches, balancing precariously on the balls of her feet with an added twenty pounds...at least...curled up in her arms. "Don't feel bad, Thea. I tried to bring home everything that I found that looked hungry or hurt... even those I thought just needed a friend."

"Did you get to keep them, Miss Hermione? Father says I cannot keep one until I start Hogwarts." The anguish in the child's voice was thick.

Snape almost intruded in the conversation then. He would be damned if Granger confirmed that her parents had ever allowed her to keep an animal when she was a child. If Thea heard that, then there would be no end to the whinging. As though Hermione had thought the same thing, she glanced up in his direction, her brown eyes quickly flashing with understanding.

At least there was something to be said for intuition, and the gift of being able to comprehend it correctly.

Hermione smiled sadly at Thea. "Unfortunately, my Mum and Dad didn't allow animals in our house. I didn't get Crookshanks here until my third year! All my friends got their pets before I did."

"Really?" Thea asked.

Hermione nodded. "But you are more than welcome to come visit Crookshanks, whenever you want. He enjoys visitors who will sit and pet him... and feed him."

"Oh, may I, Father?" Thea asked excitedly.

He nodded slightly in the affirmative, now thoroughly interested in how the loud-mouthed, Gryffindor hoyden had suddenly turned into a compassionate, soft-spoken woman. He'd never seen this aspect of his former student's personality before, and even he had to admit that it was ... endearing.

Thea had never taken to another human so quickly; she had inherited that introverted, observing quality from her father. It was difficult to get her to speak to anyone but Minerva. Even the other teachers at Hogwarts were lucky to get Thea out of her shell and not blushing timidly, hiding behind her father's robes, at gatherings she attended.

Maybe having Granger as an instructor at Hogwarts was a good thing for everyone involved?

"Well, I best be getting back to my rooms," Hermione said, standing up slowly. "I'm sorry about the inconvenience, Professor."

He inclined his head to acknowledge her, unwilling to verbally accept her apology. Though he knew that Thea should hear it, Granger could not hear it... it would only make her read more into his "changed" demeanor. Then again, he supposed that the curt nod of his head was more than he had ever afforded her in the past. She would probably note and log this action as well.

"Oh! Miss Hermione," Thea exclaimed loudly, stopping Granger halfway to the Floo.

The woman turned slightly and smiled at the tiny girl. "Yes, love?"

"Father said I am to have a party on next Friday evening, for my birthday! Auntie Minerva will be there. Will you be there?"

Hermione chuckled. "Well, I was not invited, but if you want me there, then I will definitely see about joining you. I can't promise I will come, though. I think I might still be settling into my rooms."

Severus could see the apprehension in Hermione's face. He wondered casually if it was a hesitation from knowing that to join the birthday festivities, she would have to spend more clearly unbearable time with him. After all, it had been made perfectly clear earlier in the day he was wasting her time. And who was he kidding anyway? He did not wish to spend any more time with her than he absolutely had to, either.

The instant admiration between his daughter and his deputy made him realize that a slew of uncomfortable situations was inevitable. The thought that shy little Thea would take the initiative had not occurred to Severus; he had hoped to avoid Granger, except for meetings that were necessary, and at his behest.

Still, as long as Granger was as uncomfortable as he was, all would be right with the world.

"May I come play with Crookshanks now?" Thea questioned, her attention shifting rapidly to the squirming ball of fur in Hermione's arms.

"I think Crooks and I are both quite tired, Thea," Hermione said. "Come tomorrow. Your father can show you where I live, and you can keep Crooks company while I unpack my things."

Without another word, Hermione took a pinch of Floo powder and disappeared from the room in a swirl of emerald flames. Severus looked at his daughter questioningly, not knowing quite what he wanted to say. What was there to say? That he did not want Thea spending time with Hermione? That he felt guilty for using his daughter's innocence and gullibility to get into Hermione's good graces...not that he really wanted to be a part of Hermione's good graces?

What was it about Hermione that made Thea take to the young woman so impulsively?

Severus sneered slightly and turned on his heels quickly, heading back into the small study he kept, in search of solitude.

*******

Hermione always had a hard time feeling comfortable enough to sleep in a new place. When on holiday, it took her one or two nights to feel comfortable in a hotel room. Each time she came home from Hogwarts after a school year ended, there was a period of readjustment.

Moving into the Head of House's quarters of Gryffindor Tower was no different. Of course, the rickety old mattress probably had not helped matters much as she lay down on the bed and tried to sleep that night, too mentally exhausted to do any magic that would fluff it up. Hermione was also certain that her second "meeting" with Snape was contributing to her insomnia.

With her monumental work load staring at her in the face, courtesy of her first meeting with the headmaster, she had ventured back to her chambers in hope of peace and quiet for a little while before attempting to do any unpacking. She had gotten that, and it was only as she began unpacking that she noticed Crookshanks' carrier was empty and the blob of cat was nowhere to be found. Winky, who was a short call away, had informed her that Thea had confiscated the animal.

Vexation of vexations.

The last person with whom she wanted to engage in another conversation was Snape -- especially about a cat that should not have been in his personal quarters to begin with! What would he say? Would he snarl? Be his cantankerous self?

She had Flooed his rooms with a great unease, but had been delighted that most of her conversation had been centered around Thea. Snape had said only a few words to her, and yet the looks of... something... he had been sending her were in no way calming. As a matter of fact, they were rather frightening. Frightening in the sense that one moment he had incomparable snark, and the next his eyes were speculating.

It was the latter of the two emotions that worried her so. What should she glean from his eyes? Those bottomless pits usually betrayed nothing but an intense abhorrence for her... what had he been thinking, at that moment? Did he even realize that he had been so unveiled? Had he thought he hid it well? And why was he speculating anyway? Perhaps he was resigning himself to her continued presence in the castle, and was merely trying to make himself see some good in her... some part other than the knowledge that she was well-qualified to teach Potions. That was probably it, now that she thought about it. He was most likely struggling to see her as a peer rather than a student. Snape must be annoyed with the teachers at times, but they were his contemporaries...his colleagues...and he seemed to honor that distinction with them.

Hermione knew it would be a struggle to see him as anything other than her cruel, sadistic professor of six years. Gods only knew what he would have to square with, regarding her as anything more than an annoying chit who spoke out of turn and continually flouted his rules in class.

Grumbling into her pillow, Hermione flopped over onto her stomach for the thirtieth time that night, head turned to the side and eyes focusing on the dark windowpane that was bordered by silvery moonlight.

Ever so slowly, sleep finally came, and she felt her body shutting down for the night. The last thought in her mind before she was lost to the world of sugarplums was that she had made a mistake. What had she gotten herself into, anyway?

Maybe the new day would give her some answers.