Why Me: Dragons May Not Be the Only Endangered Species in Romania

Why Me: Three Sides of the Same Coin by Pearle

Summary: Another interlude into the marital infidelity of Hermione Weasley and Severus Snape. This time, they take a few people along with them. HGSS

Companion piece to Why and Why, Indeed

Disclaimer: The characters, settings, etc. of the Harry Potter series are not mine they belong to J.K. Rowling and Co. I promise to return them when I am through. Well, most of them anyway.

~~~~~ Why Me: Three Sides of the Same Coin ~~~~~

Chapter 3 - Why Me: Dragons May Not Be the Only Endangered Species in Romania

Severus was lost in thought as he rode the moving stairs to the top. Hermione. He still found it difficult to think of her on her own. It was not a common practice in the Wizarding world, especially since she planned to leave her husband. He supposed having Potter as a best friend did not hurt. It was hard to know what he wanted from her, what would happen to them.

One thing was certain; he did not want Albus meddling in the two of them again. If he were going to make mistakes, he would make them on his own. Severus stepped off at the top of the stairs. He could see Albus through the open doorway. Squaring his shoulders, he strode purposely into the office.

Albus smiled as he discreetly watched Severus out of the corner of his eye. 'The man certainly has a flair for the dramatic,' he thought. "Severus, good morning. What can I do for you?"

The Potions Master placed a roll of sealed parchment on the desk in front of the aged wizard. "I am tendering my resignation, effective immediately, Headmaster. I shall remain until you can find a suitable replacement. I would hope a candidate could be found quickly."

He remained standing stiffly in front of the oversized desk. He needed another dose of pain medicine. His back had bothered him ever since last night, when he had carried Hermione over to the bed. If he had a bad back at forty, what the hell would he be like at one hundred? Maybe he had just lifted her wrong when he rose from that chair.

Albus knew Severus had to be extremely upset about something. This scenario had been played out before. He only quit when he felt a problem spiraling beyond his control. He schooled his features to express the worry he felt over the man's state of mind. "Please sit, Severus. May I ask what has transpired to bring you to this decision?"

Severus remained standing, his scowl firmly in place. "I should think it would be obvious to you by now."

"I am afraid you have me at a disadvantage. What seems to be the problem?"

His answer was terse, his eyes blazing in the dim sunlight. "Hermione."

The Headmaster suspected as much. It was the reason he had sent Harry on that little wild goose chase. His voice was neutral as he asked, "How is Mrs. Weasley?"

"Hermione is fine. When do you think a replacement instructor can be found? I should like to leave by the end of the week." He was not going to let Albus manipulate his life. Her name was Hermione. She would not be living as Mrs.Weasley much longer.

"Severus, I understand you feel something for the witch but she is married. Short of Mister Weasley's demise, there is no remedy for her in our world. Before you decide to hex me for interfering, please answer one question. Are you really acting in her best interest, or your own?" Albus sat back and watched the dark man he had come to think of as a son. He had rarely seen him look so defeated, not since he'd come to him over twenty years ago to confess his involvement with Voldemort.

Severus's shoulders sagged as he sank into the chair in front of the desk. The weight of Albus's words settled across his shoulders as if they were made of lead. One hand wearily dragged across his eyes before he answered. "She is not happy, Albus. Perhaps my actions were wrong. I may not have helped the situation but I did not create it. He has been unfaithful to her since the beginning of their marriage. I was merely a diversion that got out of hand."

"And how do you feel about her?" There was no easy answer out of this as far as Albus could see.

Severus rose abruptly, slamming his hand against the desktop. He barely contained his fury as he paced in front of the desk, shouting at the Headmaster. "Damn it, Albus. What do you what me to say? Do you intend to miniaturize yourself and sit on my shoulder? I believe the job of my conscience might be available." He stopped suddenly and sank back into the chair he had just vacated. His anger suddenly spent. It was with a heavy sigh he confessed, "I don't know what I want. I was jealous she was returning home to him each time she left me. It was wrong. I know it was wrong. But, I don't know. I am tired of the empty-headed little chits that keep turning up at the Ministry affairs. Hermione is an amazing woman. I don't know why she ever married that twit in the first place. You should have heard her that day at the lecture. She cut the speaker off at the knees. The man never knew what hit him."

Albus watched as Severus's eyes took on an unusual gleam. It was the first time the aged wizard could remember him remarking so fondly about anyone. Maybe there was something there. "What will she do now?"

"What will she do? Hermione plans to leave Weasley. She is looking for a flat to rent in London."

"How will she live? Perhaps she would consider teaching Potions, here at Hogwarts?"

Severus glared at the man. "Very funny. It seems your precious Potter has saved the day again. He is donating money to St. Mungo's for research with the stipulation Hermione is to control the grant. She will not be destitute if that is your concern."

"And what will you do when you leave here?"

His glare deepened. "I suppose that is my cue to say I will stay? Not this time. What do you think the fall-out will be when it becomes known we are seeing one another?"

"Are you worried about the Ministry? They will have no say. You are quite capable of teaching your classes. You only need to point out the lack of serious accidents or accidental deaths, compared to any of the other schools, to prove the point. Tell me, when have you ever worried about what the Ministry will say? Or it is Hermione you are concerned about? She will have to do what she feels is right for her, regardless of the outcome. Severus, this is your home. No one is forcing you to leave. However, if you are serious about leaving, I will not stop you." Albus watched Severus, waiting for his response.

They both knew it was a bluff, he would let it pass for now, too concerned about Hermione to worry about what Albus really thought. "Fine, I will remain for now. Remember, old man, you are the one who wanted me here." Severus turned and stormed out the door, his robes billowing out behind him in true Potions Master fashion.

Albus sat back. Maybe it was time he personally got involved. Perhaps a visit to the Minister of Magic might be in order. He only hoped he could help to effect some change before Severus decided to pay a visit to the unfortunate Mister Weasley. While Albus did not condone infidelity, there seemed to be deeper issues involved here.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ginny kissed Harry again. She marveled at the rush of love she felt for her husband. It still took her by surprise, even after almost three years of marriage. She laughed to herself, more likely it was the damn pregnancy hormones acting up again.

Harry gently rubbed Ginny's shoulders, trying to ease the aching muscles. They were sitting on the couch. Ginny was leaning back into his massage, sighing contentedly.

"I saw Hermione yesterday," he ventured.

"You did? Where? I haven't talked to her in months. She always seems to be so busy these days." Ginny turned to face her husband. "Harry, you don't think my pregnancy is bothering her, do you? I mean, maybe she can't get pregnant. Maybe that's the reason she seems to be avoiding me."

He looked into the worried eyes of his wife. Great. How did he explain to her that wasn't the reason Hermione was avoiding her? 'No, Gin,' he thought. 'She's avoiding you because your brother, her husband, is a lying, cheating arse. Oh, and by the way, she's having an affair with Snape. Do we have any of those cookies left with the chocolate sprinkles? I could do with a nosh about now.' Right. Wouldn't that play well?

"I stopped by her office and took her to lunch. It's been a while since I've talked to her, too. I thought I would see how she was doing."

"And?"

"And, what?" Great. Now what? Why had he ever started this conversation with her?

"How is she? Harry, what aren't you telling me?" Ginny frowned as she watched his eyes. She loved Harry but he was the worst liar in the world. She always knew when he was lying or trying to hide something from her.

Harry sighed. "How do you think Ron and Hermione are getting along?"

"Oh." Ginny sank back into the couch. "She found out about Ron?"

"What do you mean she found out about Ron?"

"Isn't that what you were going to tell me? Well, I wasn't going to say anything. My brother is an idiot but I know how close the two of you are. Not to mention how you feel about Hermione. Mum and dad were in Romania visiting Charlie about a month ago, when the Chudley Cannons came into town for a match. Mum was delighted to have two of her sons together and wanted to take them both out, after the match for a bite. She sort of walked in on Ron and some little chit. The idiot didn't even bother to ward the door. There they were on the desk of some office he was supposed to be using temporarily." Ginny shook her head. Her brother was such a prat. Poor Hermione.

"And you never told me?" How could she have kept this from him?

"All right, maybe I should have told you. I'm sorry. I've just been so angry at Ron." Tears started to form in her eyes.

Harry sighed and hugged her. "It's all right. Shhh. Really."

"Harry, I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. What, uhm, happened with your mum?" He wondered if he should tell her about Hermione and Snape.

"Well, I only know about it 'cause I overheard her and dad talking one day. I had stopped at the Burrow to pick up a jumper I had left there. I don't think they even knew I was upstairs. I stopped when I heard them talking. They were getting ready to leave the house and mum was going on and on about how Ron didn't deserve Hermione. How could he do that to her? What did Ron think he was doing shagging that little chit on the desk? How many others have there been? And what kind of idiot forgets to put up a ward, for God's sake? Didn't he care about his marriage? What if one of them got pregnant? Then what would he do? That kind of thing; dad barely got a word in edgewise. I know Ron and Hermione are not happy. That's pretty easy to see. I just can't see how they can make things better."

"It gets worse."

Ginny looked at him. "What do you mean?"

He might as well tell her. It was bound to come out anyway. "I stopped in to see Hermione because I found out she's been seeing...-Snape, for the last few months. Your mum's right. That wasn't Ron's only...infidelity. He's been fooling around since the beginning. Hermione finally got fed up with it. She ran into Snape one day after a particularly bad argument with Ron and...she and Snape, well. She's planning to leave Ron."

"Poor Hermione."

"Poor Hermione? What about her and Snape?" Harry couldn't believe it. She felt sorry for Hermione?

"You said Ron was fooling around from the beginning? Let me tell you, if he had been married to me he would have been dead or neutered by now. Snape wouldn't be my choice to have an affair with, but then I think she's always been a little attracted to him."

Harry sat back in shock. "I don't believe this."

"I don't either. Is there anyway we can help her? What will happen to her job if she leaves Ron?" Ginny was just as aware as Harry of the Wizarding world's reaction to separated women.

"He's your brother!"

"He's an arse. He obviously didn't take his marriage vows seriously from the beginning. He deserves whatever she does to him. How is she going to live? Maybe she could stay here with us for a while?"

"Well, I, uhm, was going to set up a grant at St. Mungo's for research, naming her as the administrator. That way they can't let her go or they will lose the grant. We'll split the rights to any discoveries she makes. She was going to look for a flat to rent in London. She said she needed to be out on her own for a while." Harry shook his head. This discussion had started off feeling odd and taken a turn into the surreal somewhere along the way. Maybe he should just wait and see if he was dreaming. His alarm could go off any minute and wake him up. Either that, or this definitely had to be the oddest conversation he had ever had, bar none.

"Oh, Harry, that's a wonderful idea. I need to owl Hermione. Let her know we care." Ginny kissed him enthusiastically on the cheek before going off in search of a quill and parchment.

Harry sat back stunned. Maybe his first explanation would have worked after all. He could only hope Hermione would fare as well when she confronted Ron.

TBC

A/N: Ron's point of view and the argument, and where is Hermione? I'm sure it will escalate past a simple discussion, between the two. Will Harry confront Ron or Severus or both? Will Ron and Severus have a go at each other? What could Albus possibly be thinking? What will Molly say? Tune in next time for more answers and more questions.

A grateful thank you to Nakhash, my beta for her corrections and suggestions. Another set of eyes is always helpful, the mistakes, however, are still my fault.

Please review and let me know what you think.

I love hearing from you! As always, thoughts, comments, reviews, whatever are always welcome.

Regards, Pearle