Chapter 16

Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this fiction belong to JK Rowling, her heirs and assignees, except for those who belong to me.

Author's Notes: I want to thank GrammarPolice for her beta and SlytherinsHeirx for his brilliant Britpicking. Thank you to the readers of this endeavour for all the lovely reviews.

Chapter Sixteen

...September 1st...

At Minerva's signal, Filius, as Deputy Headmaster, tapped his spoon against his goblet. After supervising the Sorting as Minerva's deputy, he had taken his seat at the High Table and now smiled at his newest Ravenclaws as the Great Hall slowly quieted.

"Thank you," Minerva said. "Before we start the feast, I have a few announcements to make: the list of banned items includes all Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. Mr Filch has the complete list posted outside his office. The Dark Forest is off limits to all students." She glared at the Gryffindor table, although Hermione could not tell who the recipient of her glare was.

"Professor Diomedes Babakitis, from the Athenian Academy of Magic, is the Transfiguration teacher this year," she continued as the olive-skinned instructor stood for his introduction. "So please give him your complete cooperation. Some of you in the upper levels will have recognized Miss Hermione Granger." Minerva turned to smile at Hermione, who also stood up to be introduced. "Miss Granger has returned to join the staff this term as Potions Journeyman to Professor Snape." She paused as the Hall erupted into cheers. "I'm sure Miss Granger will be as easy on her lower level students as Professor Snape is on his upper level students." She smiled as the students looked in stunned silence at Hermione's smirk...identical to the smirk of the dark man sitting next to her.

* * *

After the feast, Hermione and Severus joined Minerva in her office. Albus and the other portraits seemingly drowsed within their frames, and the fire crackled as if welcoming them.

"Another Transfiguration teacher, Minerva?" Severus asked, sipping his tea and firewhisky. "This makes the third in the last three years. Perhaps Transfiguration is as cursed as the Defence Against the Dark Arts position once was."

"Three in three years!" Hermione was aghast. "What happened to the others?"

"Apparently, they seemed to feel as if the position should be a sinecure." Minerva shrugged in dismissal. "When they found out it was not a holiday outing, they served out their contract and left." She sighed. "I have high hopes for Diomedes, however."

Severus snorted. "Diomedes Babakitis. Could the man be any more Greek?"

Minerva good-naturedly bapped his arm with the back of her hand. "He can't help his name, Severus, and he does come highly recommended." She poured herself some more tea and added firewhisky to her cup. "He taught at the Athenian Academy of Magic for several years. Headmaster Niklos was reluctant to let him go."

"Why was he let go, Professor?" Hermione asked.

"Hermione, I think you can call me Minerva," she said gently. "After all, you are a member of the staff now. According to Archimedes Niklos, Diomedes asked for a sabbatical to come to England to study at the British Wizarding Library and visit with relatives. When he finished his studies ahead of schedule, he discovered he did not wish to remain idle and asked permission from his Headmaster to apply at Hogwarts."

"Didn't want to return to Greece, you mean," Severus said with his customary sarcasm.

"Well, that too," Minerva admitted. "His contract is only for this school year. I'm hoping for a more permanent solution by this time next year." She looked at Hermione meaningfully.

"Me?" Hermione choked on her tea, thankfully free of any alcoholic beverages. "You're expecting me to teach Transfiguration next year?"

"Minerva," Severus chided with a definite gleam in his eye, "Hermione's my journeyman. Don't poach."

"I'm not poaching Hermione." Minerva grinned toothily. "I'm hoping she'll be willing to work with me this term as my Transfiguration apprentice during what little spare time you might give her."

"She is sitting right here," Hermione said with a huff. "And does not appreciate being talked about when she is present."

"I'm sorry, dear," Minerva quickly apologized. "This is an old argument between me and Severus..."

Hermione smirked. "I know. It all started back in my seventh year. Professor Snape..."

"Severus. If you can call the Headmistress by her given name, why shouldn't you do the same with me?"

"Thank you, sir... er... Severus," she stammered. "As I started to say, S... Severus and Professor Flitwick asked Draco to take apprenticeships with them, and the two of you, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Vector asked me." She gave a quick laugh, remembering. "Draco called you the 'Duelling Professors'. That's what led up to our wager, by the way."

"Hmph," Minerva snorted. "I had wondered about that. The boy has no voice to be singing with, but it was joyous to see the look on Lucius Malfoy's face." She giggled into her tea like a first-year student.

"Be that as it may," Severus said with a sigh, looking into his almost empty teacup, "you're still poaching on my journeyman until such time as I see fit to release her to her Master status."

"I'd not be asking much of her, Severus..." Minerva began.

"May I say something?" Hermione interrupted. Both professors turned to look at her. "Sir, if I managed to complete four courses in three years at University, couldn't I at least try? No, please let me finish," she said, stopping the others from interrupting as he took a breath to answer. "If I find I can't do it and still meet your rigid standards, then I will withdraw as Profess... I mean... Minerva's apprentice until such time as I do receive my Potions Mastery. But, if I can manage both at once, then I'll be that much closer to becoming the Transfiguration teacher next year. Doesn't that sound all right to you?"

Minerva and Hermione looked at him while he contemplated Hermione's words.

"I'll probably regret this," he said with a snort. "But, if anyone could do something like that and make it work, it would probably be you. I will agree to it on the condition that you don't shirk your potions work for me. After all, you'll be teaching first- through fourth-year Potions. Those seem to be the classes most notorious for creating noxious messes and melting cauldrons. If you cannot do a proper job in my estimation, then I will have to insist that you withdraw as Minerva's apprentice. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," Hermione agreed.

"Quite clear," Minerva murmured. "I think I will allow you the month of September to become accustomed to teaching your classes and grading, Hermione. Then, on October first, you can give me your decision. What are you laughing about, Severus? You won."

He snorted. "Filius and Septima will be beside themselves," he said. "They didn't think of this idea first, and there is no way I will split Hermione's time in four different ways."

"Not without a Time-Turner." Hermione laughed, enjoying the carefree sound of his almost unheard of laughter. "And I'm pretty sure we destroyed all of them during the battle at the Ministry my fifth year."

"No," Minerva said, smiling at her old friend's laughter. "I still have the one I borrowed from the Ministry. With everything that happened in your third year, I never returned it nor was I asked to."

"Time-Turner?" Severus said, his laughter stopping abruptly. "What were you doing with a Time-Turner, Minerva?"

"I used it to take more classes than usual that year, sir," Hermione confessed. "I couldn't decide what electives I wanted to take, and using the Time-Turner was how we figured out a way I could take the classes I wanted."

"Only in your third year, Miss Granger, or were there other times as well?" Severus asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"Yes, sir. I mean... no, sir," Hermione answered. "Just my third year. I really didn't think it was worth the exhaustion after that. But at least I found out what subjects I enjoyed most." She smiled disarmingly.

"Very well." Severus smirked. "I will amend my conditions to include not using a Time-Turner in any way, shape, or form, to add extra time to your day. You'll be tired enough just trying to get through the regulatory twenty-four hours."

* * *

Hermione all but slammed the door of the office she shared with Severus. Curious, he looked up from the papers he was grading and hid his grin at the look on her face.

"Dunderheads," she snapped angrily. "How you kept from strangling Neville all the times he melted a cauldron, I'll never know."

"Melt many cauldrons today?" he asked with a smirk.

"Oooh!" she groaned, tugging at her hair. "Gryffindor-Slytherin second-years: somebody lobbed a Fizzing Whizbang into Emily Brown's cauldron, splashing her not quite completed potion base all over her. I had to send her to the Infirmary with second-degree burns, and the entire class was assigned an extra essay as punishment since the perpetrator wouldn't come forward. Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw first-years: I had three...count 'em, three...cauldrons melted before the class was half through." She slumped in the chair at her small desk, which sat at right angles to his larger one, forming a T.

"Surely something went right today?" Severus asked, pouring her a cup of tea from the pot sitting on his desk and pushing the cream and sugar closer to the edge and within her reach.

"There's this one first year who reminds me a lot of myself." Hermione smiled in reminiscence as she fixed her tea. "She knew all the answers and wanted to answer every one of my questions. Hand waving included."

"A Ravenclaw, no doubt," Severus said, sipping from his cup.

"No, actually." Hermione smirked at him. "She's a Hufflepuff."

Severus choked on his tea. "A Hufflepuff know-it-all? Has the world ended and nobody told us?"

Hermione laughed, delighted at having astonished her new colleague. "I spoke with her after class. She's Muggle-born and from Wales. Apparently, the Sorting Hat wanted to put her in Ravenclaw, but she asked it not to because she didn't think she was smart enough. Oh, she's smart enough all right. She just doesn't have the best self-esteem."

"Does this paragon have a name?"

"Nimue Pendragon," Hermione said, as Severus looked at her with annoyance. "I know. I know." She held up her hands in surrender. "That's why I asked her to stay after class. She has almost as bad a name as I do."

"Hermione isn't such a bad name," Severus muttered under his breath.

"Anyway," Hermione continued, ignoring him. "I had to ask her about her name. Her father teaches Literature at the local Grammar School and her mother taught Celtic legends at the University before she married Mr Pendragon." She giggled. "Nimue has two older brothers named Merlin and Arthur."

Severus snorted in amusement. "At least her parents were consistent," he said. "I take it she's the only one who has any magic?"

"Yes, and her entire family is very supportive of her. She told me there's an old story her Gram used to tell about a witch in the family from a few centuries back, but that's all she thought it was...a story like most families have."

"Apparently not so much a story as a bit of family history," Severus said, leaning back in his chair. "It does happen from time to time. You may even have had someone like that in your family, and the story's been lost to time."

"It's possible," Hermione agreed absent-mindedly, and she turned to her desk to begin grading essays.

* * *