Three

Hermione accepted her invitation to DuPont and left late in the summer to make her home in the Shenandoah Valley. The east coast of America was vibrant and green and reminded her of England at times. DuPont Academy was small and meant to be so. It wasn't fair to compare it to Hogwarts, but she couldn't resist. The school had been converted from an old estate. It was a beautiful set of buildings dating from the late eighteenth century. The old manor was their living quarters, and the mill and stable served as laboratories. There was even a garden and actual farmyard where they raised and grew all of their own food. Of course, the estate came with house-elves that did all the work, but the students were expected to help in the garden...though only with the potion ingredients.

The small number of students meant more one-on-one time with the professors. Only twenty or so students attended DuPont, and half were in their first year. There were only two years of intense study and research before graduation. A full staff of seven professors specialized in various aspects of Potions, and they most certainly taught to Hermione's liking. She was always busy with research and brewing.

Every Sunday, she took a Portkey to visit Minerva for tea. It was Hermione's only current tie back to England. She treasured those few hours with her mentor. Hermione arrived directly into Minerva's study and would exit the same way. She had no desire to leave the confines of that room while at Hogwarts. Hermione could not handle coming face to face with Snape if he happened to be about. Teatime seemed to be a favorite of Minerva's as well. Her years had caught up to her, and she was losing some of her spunk; teatime was when she relaxed. It was near Christmas when Hermione finally told Minerva what had transpired between Snape and herself back in June.

"I feel like I really put my foot in my mouth when I told him everything," Hermione said. "I should have explained as little as possible; then he might not have said all those things." She explained how she was still hurt when he told her that she had no business with Potions. Yes, the rest of the Potions society had readily accepted her. But what she wanted most was his praise, or at least acknowledgement, that she had succeeded in that field. Snape had always been strict with his grading...especially with her...and she'd felt slighted. He had never seen her for what she was.

Everyone at DuPont loved her ideas in class, but what if she was still reciting textbook information? Could she even think on her own? Hermione had always been an over-achiever, but did she have an uncontrollable desire to prove herself to others? She had always had a fear of failure. It was the form her Boggart took; perhaps in practice as Minerva, but a false Minerva who'd told Hermione she'd failed everything. And right now, Hermione had most likely failed with Professor Snape.

Her first year at DuPont flew by. Hermione finished at the top of her class, as usual. She spent the summer holiday in the States with a boyfriend. Not only had he just graduated from DuPont but was also originally from Virginia. He showed her the sights over the course of the holiday as she stayed with him, but the relationship fizzled out by the end of the summer. While she had been forced to live with Harry and Ron on the run from Voldemort, she had never casually lived with anyone before. It was difficult; their schedules didn't coincide, and she found he had little quirks that drove her crazy. Yes, those were superficial things, but it left the window open for bigger problems to develop in the relationship. Like the fact he was extremely wealthy and treated his house-elves like the Malfoys did. Hermione was glad when school started, and she was able to leave. He didn't seem too upset either. She chalked it up as a learning experience, nothing more.

Hermione's second and final year at DuPont was much more demanding than the first. She had a large project that required either greatly improving an already existing potion or creating a new one entirely. After the antidote debacle, she decided she would find something fun and fanciful...nothing serious or related to life saving. In the end she developed a Bubble Potion. It was quite ingenious: no more spills, sticky fingers, or dripping bubble wands. The bubbles were random shapes: a unicorn, or a frog, a castle, broomstick, anything. Also in development were individually colored bubbles.

She remembered Muggle children normally had a hard time holding the bubble canister and the bubble wand at the same time, so she just put an Undetectable Extension Charm on a normal bubble wand and filled it with her Bubble Potion. Then she found that Blue Gum Eucalyptus extract kept the potion from spilling while in its liquid form. Only bubbles would be allowed out of the wand...no matter the angle the child held it at, nothing would spill. Once she was done, she sent a few bottles to her parents for little Hermione.

In early January, halfway through her last year at DuPont, she went to see Minerva for their usual Sunday tea. When she appeared in the office, Minerva was visibly flustered. After some coaxing, Hermione got her to sit down. She then poured the tea, and gave a cup to Minerva.

"Now, what is the matter, Minerva? Please stop beating around the bush," Hermione said.

"I have agreed to take a monumental step in my life, and although I don't regret it, I am quite nervous. And I never get nervous. I have always been in control of my life, but this shakes me to the core. Giddiness takes over if I stop to think about it too long, and . . . I dread telling you." Minerva didn't looked up as she spoke.

"Why would you be afraid to tell me anything? I've told you things I've never told Harry or Ron. You know me inside and out. Come now, I won't judge you."

Minerva spoke too rapidly to understand and pointedly looked out the window.

"You'll have to enunciate. Do just get it over with. Where is your courage, Minerva?"

"All right." She looked directly at Hermione, but her face was flushed. "I am engaged to marry Horace Slughorn." She forcefully put her cup back on the saucer, and they clinked unkindly.

Hermione was silent a moment as she ran it through her mind. Then jumped up screaming for joy. She sloshed tea on both of them as she gave Minerva an excited hug. After cleaning it off with a flick of her wand, Hermione demanded to see the ring. Relieved, Minerva revealed the ring, canceling a spell. It was beautiful, with hundreds of tiny emeralds and rubies in small clusters complimenting each other. It appeared to be what Minerva had always wanted.

"And I want you to be my Maid of Honor. The wedding will be this summer, so we have time to plan it. Will you help me? I know you're busy, but I can't do it without you, Hermione. I long ago gave up thinking I would marry, I have no idea what to do."

How sweet. Minerva had finally found love. Hermione had been wondering what was going on between them for some time, though she hadn't expected it to lead to marriage. But Minerva was happy, and it was beautiful. It also helped to see her mentor nervous and scared; the woman had the same fear and insecurity she did...failure. It bolstered Hermione, and she wanted nothing more than to help Minerva succeed and have a beautiful wedding this coming summer.

Hermione wanted to surprise Minerva with the debut of her bubble wands at the wedding. She thought it would be cute if all the guests blew multicolored, randomly shaped bubbles as the happy couple left the reception in a horse-drawn carriage. So, during their Sunday tea times, Hermione kept Minerva's attention focused on the wedding plans, not with her current studies at DuPont. She was usually successful, but one Sunday, late in April, Minerva succeeded in turning the focus onto Hermione.

"What do you have planned for yourself after you graduate?" Minerva asked as she sipped her tea.

Hermione was looking out the window at the English spring. "I was rather thinking I would apply to an Apothecary. I'm not too particular where; although, I would fancy it being in England. I do miss it, and I have my parents' house, so I'd already have my living situation sorted out."

"I hope you don't mind me in saying this, but I was thinking you should step back from Potions for a bit," Minerva said honestly.

What? Minerva had been the one to push her towards getting her secondary education in Potions. Why would she prompt her to change directions yet again?

Minerva continued, "Well, I want you to be sure you are happy. You love knowledge, and you would be happy in any career as long as you were constantly learning. I would hate to see you lose any connections to other avenues of learning by committing yourself entirely to one subject. You have so much to offer in any given career path. I just want you to be sure. I have always wondered myself if I should have stayed in Transfiguration."

Hermione tried to object, but Minerva stilled her with a hand gesture.

"I know, Hermione. I love my job. But I always wanted to focus on Ancient Runes and I never did, regretfully. I don't want to see the same thing happen to you."

Minerva did have a point. Hermione had some serious thinking ahead.

Graduation was a small event in the middle of June. Hermione's parents came, much to her surprise. Minerva must have had something to do with her parents' arrival, as she and Horace were there as well. The blossoms fell gently off the trees as the ceremony concluded in the beautiful Virginian springtime.

As Hermione led the small group through the grove back to the Manor, she announced her job interview with Amos Diggory in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. The interview was in one week's time. Hermione planned to head back to England whether she got the job or not.

Once back in England, Hermione had her interview with Mr. Diggory. He was pleased with her credentials and her war record. She was fairly certain she had gotten the post, but he had said he needed some time to think it over and interview a few more people. In the meantime, she had a wedding to attend.

The wedding ceremony was on the first of July, and it was one of the most beautiful events Hermione had ever attended. It was held against the setting sun in an ancient stone ruin near Minerva's birthplace in Scotland. Billowing banners of deep scarlet and silver decorated the dilapidated building and fountains of roses gave the place a rustic look. The courtyard of the castle, overgrown with heather, housed the wedding. Hermione stood by as the Maid of Honor. For Hermione, the only dark spot in the whole affair was Severus Snape as Horace's Best Man. He wore black and stuck out like a sore thumb with such a dark color on. Horace was standing by in a kilt. His large belly hung over the outfit and almost ruined the distinguished look he was trying to pull off. Hermione wore a deep-scarlet evening dress complimenting Minerva's colors. But nothing could compare to Minerva's silk gown. The aged woman looked years younger as she walked into the courtyard. The heather waved gently with the breeze. Her dress was a gorgeous tartan of scarlet and silver. Her usual bun was gone, and she wore her hair long and flowing, and her streaks of silver actually flattered her dress.

Watching Minerva walking towards the crowd, Hermione saw the beauty in her best friend. She fervently prayed that she would look that dammed sexy when she was Minerva's age. Tears welled in her eyes as she saw how happy Minerva and Horace were together; until she looked at Snape and saw how utterly disgusted he was by the whole thing. He had a sneer as he looked down his nose at them. Snape's eyes shifted to look at her, sweeping over her appearance, and his sneer deepened. Hermione directed her focus on the happy couple and not the sour man in black.

After the vows, Horace called everyone's attention then waved his wand, a dance floor appeared underneath them. The reception commenced. Hermione saw Harry and Ron there, but they weren't together. She waved to them individually and planned to talk to them as soon as possible. Immediately a traditional dance started with a few bagpipers playing a slow, sweet melody while the happy couple danced. Without warning, Snape turned and escorted Hermione onto the floor, sweeping her into the dance. Soon afterward all the other guests joined in.

Hermione was shocked Snape would touch her, let alone voluntarily dance with her. But it was expected for the Maid of Honor and Best Man to dance together. As the song went on, Snape led her around and around the outdoor dance floor. Really, he was a smooth dancer. She had never been keen on dancing for the same reason she disliked flying a broom...it was a skill that couldn't be learned from books alone. Thankfully Snape was the man; she just needed to follow his lead. Despite his smooth dancing, his arms were rigid and uninviting. Snape was obviously not enjoying himself. But when the song ended, he didn't let go. The next song started, and still he waltzed her around. Hermione could only let her eyes wander to the other guests for so long. She knew his black eyes were focused on her.

Deep in her heart she wanted to hear him apologize for his horrid behavior. But another part of her wanted revenge. She desperately wanted to belittle him in front of all these people. He had humiliated her...told her she was foolish. But here he was, alive...dancing...all because of her. Yet he acted as if he owed her nothing. Hermione didn't want recognition for her feat. What she craved was acceptance from this dour man. He had yet to speak, and she did not wish to be the one to break the silence. She gathered her courage and stared back at him. Whoever spoke first lost.

Severus Snape had black eyes. They were not dark brown but solid black, as if there were no irises. His gaze penetrated her, drawing her into his tunnel-like stare. He was rolling around inside her mind. She knew immediately what he was doing. Hermione Granger was raw and exposed to this man, as if he'd walked in on her showering, and yet she didn't shy away in embarrassment or fight him. She boldly faced him as he pulled memory after memory forward.

He was reviewing her processes with the anti-venom she'd created. And he viewed her visits to him while in hospital, all her conversations and confessions to him. So, he didn't believe she was capable of creating the antidote? Was that why he was pilfering through her mind? He must have suspected Slughorn and accepted the Best Man position as retribution. Fool. Slughorn rode on the waves of fame from others, not his own.

Her years at DuPont flicked forward. The memories of her Bubble Potion were up, and she cringed as he sneered at her creation. Then images of her love life with her last boyfriend at his manor came forward. Enough; this had nothing to do with him. She finally resisted him, and he retracted his connection without a fight. She'd been acting sweet long enough. The color was rising in her checks, but she was determined to tell him off. So what if she spoke first, he was going to hear what she had to say. In as normal a voice as she could muster she said, "Don't you have any respect for personal boundaries? I never gave you permission to invade my privacy. If you wanted answers, you could have asked me first."

"Ah, Miss Granger," he said. "You know how it feels, then. You have no respect for personal boundaries. It seems, from the memories I viewed; you were endlessly in my business...without my permission or consent. I was your major focus for a year. Yet you find it upsetting if I view those memories for mere moments? After all, they relate to myself; why should I not see them?"

"How can you even compare the two?" she said vehemently, "First of all, Severus Snape, I was saving your life, you ungrateful ass. I had to be near you to accomplish it. A simple 'thank you' would be appreciated. You wouldn't even be here if it weren't for me. Second, you viewed more than my memories pertaining to yourself. My project and personal life while at DuPont had nothing to do with you. Keep your oversized nose out of my memories."

Contrary to what she'd been anticipating, his arms relaxed, and he pulled her into his chest. He was inches from her, and she could feel his warm breath. Hermione's body was screaming in unexpected desire while her mind was still angry with him.

"I do so enjoy a good argument, Miss Granger." His voice was silky and captivating. "But I believe now is not the time for such discussions. I admit I had been harsh with you when we last met, and I had every reason to be. But I will not issue an apology now or ever for what I said."

Hermione risked a glance at the newlyweds. She wanted to give Snape a retort, but Minerva was eyeing her suspiciously. This tetchy man was sending mixed signals. Hermione wanted to be angrier, but it just wasn't forthcoming. His arms were inviting, and he smelled quite nice too. She had a strong urge to lay her head on his chest, but he abruptly stopped dancing. His arms dropped from around her, and he walked off in a swirl of black. People were staring at her like she'd done something to offend the Best Man. How dare he make it look like she had caused a scene! If anything, it should be the other way around. Hermione marched off after him. Snape had left the dance floor and was walking through the thigh-high heather into the setting sun. She struggled to keep up in heels but managed. When she was close enough for him to hear, she called to him.

"Don't you think you should apologize? You've been nothing but rude to me since day one. I remember how you treated me as a student! I have done nothing wrong. Trying to save you was the best experience of my life."

He actually stopped and turned around.

"I found what I love to do," she continued. "Potions was a hidden talent. And I see no reason why you should regret it. You obviously like living, or you wouldn't be here. You wouldn't be Headmaster at Hogwarts. You just can't stand the fact that I saved your sorry ass! Get over it!"

He stalked back to her, upsetting the graceful heather blowing in the breeze.

"You are nothing more than a know-it-all with a low self-esteem who seeks the recognition of others to sustain yourself. I will never acknowledge gratitude for being alive, let alone at your hands. I despise you, Miss Granger, and your unfounded fame with Potions. You are exactly like Potter, using your celebrity status to show off."

Snape resumed walking.

"If you hate being alive, why don't you jump off a cliff?" she yelled. But he was already gone; the loud crack of his Apparition echoed in her ears.

Severus Snape reappeared outside the Hogwarts gates. The sun was already gone by the time he made it to the front doors. He undid his bowtie as he climbed the stairs to his office. In his opinion, the best time of the year at Hogwarts involved no students and minimal staff members, and as most of them were still at the wedding, he had the entire castle to himself.

"How was the wedding, Severus?" Albus' portrait asked.

"Shut up, you old codger."

"Come now, Severus. Isn't it time we put my death behind us? Surely you can see why I did everything I did. It was for the greater good. If I hadn't..."

"I don't care for your self-proclaimed drivel. I'm in charge now. My life is finally mine, and I don't intend to have you ruin it. Let me be."

"Very well . . . but Minerva was just as much my friend as she is yours. At least tell me how the wedding went," Albus pressed on.

It had been a beautiful ceremony. But something was broken inside him, like he'd been wound up too far, and the parts had burst. Although he loved Minerva, he was jealous. She'd finally found happiness. It was difficult knowing she was married. If there had ever been any consolation in his life, it had been the fact that Minerva McGonagall was happily unmarried and still functioning at her age. He'd always looked up to her for her courage to be alone. His life had been hard after Lily's rejection: she had been his reason for living, and then their paths had split, and she'd gone for Potter.

Lily's wedding had been an outdoor ceremony as well. Minerva's dress was beautiful, but the Gryffindor color had made the memories of Lily's day flood back to him throughout the whole night. He had Disillusioned himself at Lily's wedding, watching her kiss Potter and exchange rings. He'd almost cursed the cocky bastard as his hands had wandered down her dress, but Severus had kept control over himself. If there was anything he'd learned while working for the Dark Lord, it was self-control.

Horace had really had no business asking Severus to be the Best Man. It was a flaky gesture. Minerva had probably pressed Horace to do it, and Severus knew if he didn't accept, Minerva would have been upset. So he'd gone to the wedding. It was his first wedding since Lily's, and he hadn't wanted to go.

"It was beautiful," he remarked absent-mindedly.

"Wonderful," Albus said.

"The heather was beautiful. She had Horace in a kilt. The ceremony was small, and except for the Maid of Honor, it was as perfect as Minerva could have expected."

"I believe Minerva told me Hermione Granger was to be the Maid of Honor, correct?" The old man's eyes twinkled.

How he hated those blue, watery eyes. Without a word Severus went to his chambers, slamming the door behind him. Knowing he was being petulant, he flung himself on his bed and kicked off his shoes.

"Winky," he yelled into the comforter blanket.

"Yes, sir, Winky is here to serve."

"Firewhisky," his voice was muffled.

Within minutes, she handed him the bottle and left him in peace. Well, perhaps "peace" wasn't the right term. It was more like hell with tonight's memories still fresh. He hated dancing. It involved being much too close to others. And he'd held Granger for too long. Towards the end his resistance had wavered: he had wanted it to be Lily in his arms. They were about the same height, or so he remembered. And it had been so nice to get lost in the music and the arguing. Severus missed sparring with Lily. It had been her way of flirting with him, or at least he'd always thought so.

The Firewhisky burned down the familiar path. It was starting to work.

He wasn't furious with Granger for restoring his life, just angry. Which was quite a different term in his mind. Life without Lily had been too painful, and he had wanted to see her again on the other side. And yet here he was alive, without Lily. By now the ache for Lily was a ball of swirling liquid lodged in his breast. It was a pain he was well acquainted with, a constant, dull friend.

A week after the wedding, Hermione was still brooding over Snape. She tried to put the events at the wedding behind her, but the summer heat always made her grouchy. Her new job in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures helped her forget her anger. After shaking hands with Amos Diggory, he showed her around the office on level four. There were a few desks and a small conference room for private conversations. Mr. Diggory had a desk at the front of the office so he could keep an eye on the employees. The office was cluttered but somewhat organized, and she felt comfortable in the surroundings. Her desk was small, and they had to levitate several old stacks of parchments and books and put them on a broken filing cabinet in the corner. She fixed the chair and evicted the spiders from the drawers.

Mr. Diggory was taller than Hermione, and she felt somewhat intimidated looking up at him. His smile was large and white when he joked around...which was all the time. He also had light blue eyes that were hard to make contact with. He was a bit on the competitive side, but Hermione was sure she could score big points in this office with her work ethic. There were three divisions in their department: Beast, Being and Spirit. Hermione was working under the Being Division in the Office for House-Elf Relocation. It had been said that this job was tedious at best, but Hermione had been thinking of S.P.E.W., and she was prepared to improve the department.

Thankfully, Mr. Diggory did not remember her from the Quidditch World Cup that had taken place six years previous. She had argued with him regarding Winky as Mr. Crouch had sacked the elf in the forest after the Dark Mark's appearance. Hermione would most likely not be in this department if he had remembered those events; but it was no skin off her nose if he hadn't done his research. When Hermione sat down at her desk, she already had a clear view of how to improve the department. She was the only woman in the office, and the lowest on the rung. But she was going to push her way to the top. They would remember her by the end of her ascent. The house-elves were on their way to equal rights.

Six months later marked the beginning of a new year, 2002, and Hermione had her proposal ready. She was presenting the establishment of the House-Elf Union. Mr. Diggory was fairly open-minded, especially since the war, so he would be easy to convince. Though the house-elves were going to be opposed to the idea, along with their masters, this was important. It was something everyone needed to conform to...it came down to equal rights, plain and simple. House-elves had rights whether they knew it or not. She demanded they see her point of view. There would be more happiness in future generations, guaranteed. The thought of Winky crying in the forest at the Quidditch World Cup had fostered Hermione's idea. That squeaky voice and those glassy eyes crying to Mr. Crouch as she had begged for forgiveness had always been Hermione's inspiration, her muse. These creatures were in a worldwide abusive relationship and didn't know any better. It was slavery. But after today, she would make history by fighting this institution.

As she presented her ideas to Mr. Diggory, she sensed his disapproval. But when she tried her marketing schemes, he bought it. If she could sell it to him, others would buy it too. He insisted that the union not be presented right away with such drastic changes; instead they decided to introduce some "recommendations" to the public. Once everyone had converted to the new way of living, they would make it a law and then introduce the union. The advertised changes were marketed to both house-elves and their masters as a "new and improved way of living." Hermione wished Dobby were still alive, as he would have been extremely helpful.

Fliers went out to all households who retained house-elves: red for the masters, and blue for the elves, each with species-specific advertising. The red fliers for the masters focused on the positives a union would bring, such as health care for the elves. It would ensure their servants lived longer if they had regular check-ups and were able to receive medical attention in emergencies. The concept of termination was updated as well: dismissal with clothing could be recanted if the master realized he or she had acted rashly. Violence and self-punishment would no longer be tolerated, though Hermione couldn't say it like that. Instead, she explained that all masters should refrain from injuring their house-elves so they appeared healthy and clean while in the presence of good company. Then they would look like exceptionally employed servants rather than burnt and bandaged helpers.

Hermione had a harder time with the blue fliers. She remembered her S.P.E.W. days, and she knew she hadn't been very tactful with the house-elves while at Hogwarts. But she had grown up since then and tried to focus the adverts so the elves would be persuaded. The current standard required a house-elf to answer a master's call at all times. But the union would ensure a workday including only eight to twelve hours. After-hours the elves were not required to respond to their master's call. She explained they would perform better during those assigned hours than all twenty-four because they would be well rested. If they were sleep-deprived or starved from constant care of their masters, they were more likely to make mistakes and end up inflicting unwanted pain upon themselves.

Mr. Diggory approved the fliers, and then she watched as owl after owl left to deliver them. Things were going perfectly. Hermione was quite proud of herself. A new year had begun with a new set of rules for the Wizarding world. She was that much closer to completing her New Year's resolution, and January wasn't even over yet.