Chapter 2

A/N: As always, thanks to my wonderful beta sshg316 and to JKR for letting me take her characters out for some fun.

***

Severus walked quickly through the hallways, glaring at any student who dared notice the bare feet under his billowing robes, desperately wishing he had a voice to remove House points. When he finally reached the headmistress' office, he was infuriated to find the gargoyle would not move. Pointing his wand at the stone guardian and mouthing the password seemed to convince it to allow him entrance. Once the gargoyle moved aside, Severus stepped onto the moving staircase and impatiently waited while the staircase slowly spiralled to the top.

Taking three long strides toward the headmistress' door, he slammed the door open and leaned his hands against the doorjamb.

Minerva jerked up from the paperwork on her desk when she heard the door slam open. She took note of her Potions master's dishevelled state, her eyebrows rising as she noticed the hospital gown and bare feet peeking from beneath his teaching robes.

"Is everything alright, Severus?" she asked, her voice filled with concern. "Did Poppy release you?"

Severus walked to Minerva's desk, removed the quill from her hand, and reached for a clean piece of parchment.

That WITCH will not be entering my classroom!

"The reason we brought Hermione in to investigate your case is that not only is she a trained Auror but she is also a Potions mistress and can help teach your classes while she provides protection to you."

I don't need protection, and I can instruct without speaking.

"Severus, even as talented as you are, you will need someone who can speak in your class. As for needing protection, may I remind you that you currently have no voice and what appears to be burned vocal cords, not to mention that we don't know how someone managed to hurt you?"

I have a perfect balance of fear in my class. Even without a voice I can keep complete control of my class.

"I know how protective you are of your space, but you don't have a say in this. Ms Granger will be with you twenty-four hours a day. She will assist you in teaching your class, and she will protect you as she works to solve the mystery of why you have lost your voice."

Minerva removed the quill from Severus' hand before he could write anything more. Putting her hands on his shoulders, she turned him towards the door as she gently said, "I promise we will make this as painless as possible for you. But," she added firmly, "I will not risk you."

Severus walked to the door, his back straight, shoulders back, refusing to allow the headmistress to see how defeated he felt.

"Severus," Minerva began when he reached the doorway. He stopped, but did not turn to face her. "I just don't want to see anything happen to you. I'd miss your surly disposition around the castle."

***

Severus walked through the hallways of Hogwarts, trying to decide where to go. He truly felt it was a shame that he didn't come across any students out of their rooms It was past curfew, and he knew it would have helped his mood had he been able to remove some House points from the other Houses. Once he decided he didn't really want to return to the hospital wing, he started to relax some. As he continued to walk, he realized his feet were starting to feel a bit cold from walking barefoot for so long on the cool floors in the castle. Feeling confident in his decision to go back to his rooms, he decided he would return to the hospital wing to retrieve his things on the morrow.

When he entered his chambers, he was not surprised to see Hermione sitting in one of his oversized side chairs. He walked to where she was sitting, removed his previously unread copy of Potions Monthly from her hands, and strode into his bedroom.

Hermione sighed as she watched him leave the room. Uncertain of where she should sleep, she decided the least invasive thing to do was to Transfigure the couch into a bed. She hoped that Professor Snape would be more willing to discuss the sleeping arrangements once he had a chance to become used to the plan she and the headmistress had decided on. The following day would be an early morning since she had to meet with one of the other Aurors before classes to discuss the case.

After Transfiguring the couch, she retrieved her overnight bag and brought it into the loo next to the office. Completing her evening toilet, she changed into her most comfortable flannel pyjamas. Before climbing into bed, Hermione set several wards on each of the doors in the dungeon room. One of these wards was an 'alert ward' that would notify her if someone attempted to enter the living space, although she suspected it would most likely be tripped by Severus trying to leave without her knowledge. Once she was sure that nothing unexpected could occur without her being aware, she crawled between the covers, set a wand alarm to wake her in the morning, and quickly fell asleep.

***

Severus was sitting at his desk, drinking his coffee and organizing his day, when he heard a knock on the door.

"Professor Snape," he heard when he didn't answer, "I'm leaving for my meeting. Auror Brown is in your sitting room if you need anything. When I return, I'll tell you what we have learned."

Severus put his head in his hands. Wonderful, he thought. More people I want nothing to do with spending time in my space.

That afternoon found him still grousing mentally about his "guest." I want her out of my classroom. This is my space. I can teach without her help. Severus found this mantra running through his head as he walked around the classroom with a scowl on his face and his arms crossed, irritated by the annoying presence of the witch who was preparing to speak to his class.

He had tried to convince her that he didn't care what was happening with his case, but Hermione insisted on telling him the update from her morning meeting. Thankfully, the update was brief since the interview with Rosmerta had resulted in a dead end. It seems that she knew no details about the wizard who worked in her restaurant. He had given her a first name only and asked to work for her to pay for a place to sleep. When she'd woken up the next morning, the wizard had already left, leaving only a clean room behind.

"Good morning, class," Hermione had read from a piece of parchment earlier that day to his first class. "My name is Ms Granger, and I am a Potions mistress. I will be interning in Professor Snape's classes for the next few weeks. I will be teaching the class based on Professor Snape's notes. He would like for me to remind you to treat me with the same respect you show him. He will not be speaking during this class, but if he needs you to do something, he will point to you. Since I will not have the authority to take House points away, if Professor Snape or I feel you have done something to cost or add House points, he will point to you and will indicate the number of points he is either adding or deducting."

Severus had hoped that, in this way, it would not be apparent to the students that he was unable to speak and would better explain why Ms Granger was in his classroom.

He had been surprised when Ms Granger agreed to his plan so readily. She had even complimented him on creating an idea that explained why an Auror would be at Hogwarts. He had known it would not be simple. She could not leave his speech alone and had tried to make several changes to his choice of words. He had finally acquiesced and allowed her to modify the introduction from his original wording of "Ms Granger, former know-it-all of Hogwarts." Beyond that, all her so-called rational reasons for changes had been dealt with by a simple threat to ban her from his classroom.

But that had been hours ago. Now, they were sitting in his rooms Severus was back in his favourite side chair, the one he had found Ms Granger sitting in the night before. She was now ensconced in the matching chair directly in front of him. They were in complete silence. He was seated with his elbows on the arms of the chair, his fingers steepled in front of him, watching Ms Granger as she read yet another Potions journal. He was a bit surprised at how well she dealt with both the silence and his stare. There was a time when his watching her would have made her so uncomfortable that she would have been compelled to fill the silence. Maybe her training in interrogation techniques had helped her develop patience.

When she finished reading the journal, she closed the periodical and looked at Severus.

"What did you think of the article on the Waxman experiment?" Hermione asked, as if she discussed Potions with Severus every day.

Severus slowly separated his hands and picked up the quill and parchment from the table next to him and wrote a quick note. He then put his hands on the arms of the chair and slowly rose from his sitting position, walking towards his bedroom. As he passed Hermione, he dropped the parchment in her lap. Before he retired into his room, he heard her say, "Professor, if this journal is only read by novices, why do you have the last ten years' worth of issues in your private library?"

He paused in the doorway to his room and turned to see what Ms Granger was doing, pretending he was just closing the door. She was looking directly at him, an evil little smile gracing her lips.

Hermione 1, Professor Snape 0, she thought.