Chapter Three: Many Meetings

Disclaimer: I don't own it, and I'm not making any money from writing it.

Thanks, as always, to morethansirius and sshg316 for all their help with this story.

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On a Saturday evening about two weeks later, Hermione was returning to Hogwarts after spending a day running errands in London. She had asked a few of her colleagues whether there was anything she could pick up for them. Pomona had asked for a book on Muggle gardening techniques, and Severus had asked her to pick up a shipment of fresh potions ingredients at Slug & Jiggers Apothecary.

She stopped first at the greenhouses which she passed on her way to the castle. Pomona had told her that she would be working on a project there. Entering Greenhouse Two, she went to Pomona's office. Pomona was in the midst of a tricky manoeuvre with a Chinese Chomping Cabbage but was able to look up when Hermione said, "Here is a book on Muggle gardening, Pomona. It's one my mum recommends as being a good, general reference for most gardening methods."

"Thank you, Hermione, and thank your mother, too, for her recommendation."

"You're welcome. I brought back plenty of Thai take-away. Would you like to take a break and have dinner with me?"

"Oh, I'd love to, but I'm at a bad moment in the harvesting. If I leave now, the cabbages will chomp each other to death. Maybe another time?"

Now there's one thing I don't miss about Herbology. "No problem, Pomona. Be careful with those plants."

"Don't worry, dear. I'll be fine."

Hermione continued on her way to the castle. When she got there, she headed to the dungeon to Severus's office. "Come in," Snape answered when she knocked.

Opening the door, Hermione entered the Potion master's office. He was sitting at his desk grading essays. "Hi, Severus. I've brought your potion ingredients."

"Thanks for getting those. It saves me a trip."

"You're welcome." She placed the package on his desk and turned to go. She hadn't been planning to ask Severus if he wanted to share her take-away. They really weren't on friendly enough terms to make inviting him as natural as asking Pomona, but then she remembered him saying how much he had enjoyed the fish and chips. What could it hurt? "Severus," she said slowly, turning back toward him, "I brought back plenty of Thai take-away. Would you like to take a break and have dinner with me?"

Severus gave her a curious look and returned his attention to his essay while he finished writing his comments. "If you wish," he answered indifferently.

"You will?" Hermione asked in confusion. He looked at her with some exasperation. He said so, didn't he? She smiled. "I'm sorry, Severus. I didn't really expect you to say yes."

"Why did you ask me then?" Severus rose and went to a table sitting nearby covered with scrolls. He carefully placed the scrolls on top of a book shelf to clear enough space for them to eat.

Hermione brought the take-away over to the table and started setting out the boxes of food. "Well, I really do have a lot of food here. Do you have any plates?"

"On the shelf above my desk. I'll get them." He brought the plates back to the table and looked at the numerous food cartons. "Merlin, Hermione, why ever did you order all that food?"

"If you must know, I couldn't decide amongst my favourite dishes." Oh, that didn't sound at all defensive, she thought sarcastically.

Severus raised one eyebrow, expressing his disbelief.

"It's true, at least partially." They sat down and started dishing food from the boxes on their plates. They ate for a moment in silence. "Thai food was my family's favourite take-away. My dad always picked up the set meal for three because it had all our favourites."

"So, why aren't you eating this meal with your parents?"

Hermione stopped eating and sat back in her chair. Severus looked at her intently but kept eating. She looked down at the table. Should I tell him the truth? She took a deep breath. "Did you know that I... arranged to keep my parents safe during the war?"

"Arranged?"

She sighed. "I Obliviated my parents and gave them new identities and encouraged them to move to Australia. When the war was over, I searched for them and reversed the spell. They've recovered their memories, but... they've also changed. Little things, mostly. One thing is that they don't love Thai food anymore. Isn't that odd?"

"Unexpected, I suppose."

Hermione chuckled. "They developed some unexpected hobbies in Australia. My dad now collects historical bicycles, and my mum has taken up surfing."

"Surfing?"

"Yes. They're looking forward to visiting me now that I live in Scotland so that Dad can meet with the Scottish Section of the Veteran-Cycle Club and Mum can surf at Thurso East."

"So you're still on good terms with them? How did they react when they found out what you had done?"

Sighing, Hermione said, "About like you'd expect, I suppose. They can understand why I did what I did. They're not happy that they had no choice in the matter; I can understand that. We're trying to make the best of it."

They ate in silence for a moment before Severus observed, "You didn't have the best mentor for being open in matters relating to the war. Dumbledore had a habit of keeping secrets, even from people who needed to know."

"Not telling Harry the Prophecy, for instance," commented Hermione.

"Yes, among other things."

"Did he keep secrets from you?"

Severus raised an eyebrow in sardonic amusement. "Of course he did. Always for the greater good, he assured me. What I didn't know couldn't accidentally be revealed to the Dark Lord."

"I can't imagine what you had to go through all those years, Severus."

Severus pursed his lips briefly. "When I first started to read The Lord of the Rings, I thought I would have a difficult time reading about Gandalf. Wizard, lore-master, leader of destroying the Ring. Does that remind you of anyone?"

"Dumbledore," breathed Hermione.

"Indeed. One could argue that he manipulates Frodo into volunteering to take the Ring. That he manipulates the Fellowship of the Ring."

Hermione frowned. "I never really thought of Gandalf in that way, but I guess I can see your point."

"He tells everyone what they need to know and eventually sacrifices himself so that the Fellowship can continue, much like Albus did. The parallels were causing me to question everything the author seemed to take for granted. That's when I realised something. My memory of Albus is a lot like your relationship with your parents. I've come to understand why he made his choices, and even though I didn't always like what he did, I can try to make the best of it."

Hermione answered slowly, "That's a lot to forgive."

Severus gave her a shrewd glance. "And I've never struck you as being the forgiving type. Don't deny it." He looked at her expression and smirked. "I see that you weren't going to deny it." He ate a few more bites, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I never expected to live through the war. A lifetime is a long time to be angry with someone."

Hermione was considering what he said carefully. Is he trying to imply that perhaps Mum and Dad will someday be able to forgive me? She felt as though a weight on her heart was easing a little. She gave Severus a sudden, warm smile. She thought she saw a look of answering warmth in his eyes, but then he returned his attention to his plate.

"What Muggle item will we be exposed to at the next meeting?" he asked before taking another bite of food.

"I'm thinking wine and cheese. I placed an order for a variety of Muggle cheeses today. Mum and Dad helped me to pick out some good Muggle wines. I'll pick up wizard cheeses in Hogsmeade the day of the meeting. As for the elf-made wines, I'll owl Rosmerta at the Three Broomsticks and ask her for her suggestions."

"Why don't you let me take care of the elf-made wine? My Grandfather Prince was not a person I looked up to, but he did keep an excellent wine cellar. Rosmerta won't be able to get you anything nearly up to his standard."

"Those wines must be very rare, Severus. I wouldn't want you to give up something of so much value."

Severus gave her a lofty look. "I've already conceded points for the Muggle take-away food. I'm not going to concede points on the wine if I can help it."

"But I'm supposed to be showing you the good in Muggle culture, and I..." She suddenly realised there was a suspicious gleam in his dark eyes. "You're teasing me." She laughed. "I wonder how many times you were making jokes in class, and I never noticed."

He gave her a look from the corner of his eye. "I never joke in class. However, I won't deny engaging in irony from time to time."

Hermione laughed. "For all those times you engaged in irony at my expense without my knowledge, I will gratefully accept your offer to bring the elf-made wine."

He gave her a dignified nod. "It will be my pleasure to show you the superiority of wizarding culture." The corners of his mouth twitched with humour despite his dignified air.

~~o~~0~~o~~0~~o~~

The wine and cheese night at the book club was a success. In general, it was decided that Muggle cheeses were slightly better, probably due to using a natural aging process rather than an aging spell. Apparently, aging shouldn't be rushed.

On the other hand, Hermione had to admit that the elf-made wine was better than its Muggle counterpart. In discussing the techniques used to make wine, the club members decided that house-elves' ability to control the science of wine-making with magical precision probably was the factor that caused the elf-made product to stand out.

According to Minerva, the Prince Estate wine cellar was quite famous in the wizarding world. Everyone expressed their thanks to Severus for sharing such a treat with them.

Ivy, in particular, was full of praise for the wines. "Severus, I've dreamed of tasting the wines from the Prince Estate ever since I heard of the wine cellar there. They certainly don't disappoint. However did you know to bring wine to tonight's meeting?"

Severus responded, "Hermione told me a few days ago when we were having dinner." In a surprisingly short time, Ivy had excused herself to go to the other end of the room, supposedly to look at Hermione's bookshelves.

Pomona drew Hermione aside. "Watch out for Ivy during the discussion tonight. Just look at her."

Hermione did look. Ivy's face bore an extremely petulant expression. "What is she so upset about?"

"I'm not sure, but look at Severus."

Severus was looking at Ivy, a confused expression on his face, before turning away to congratulate Bathsheba Babbling on the recent publication of an article.

"Hmm. I don't know. I guess we better start the discussion and see what happens."

Hermione requested everyone's presence at the magically enlarged table to begin the discussion of Book Two. Once everyone was seated, she began. "I hope everyone found that the pace picked up a bit from Book One."

Septima responded, "You were right. The pace did feel faster."

Ivy commented under her breath, "If you call a long chapter where everyone sits and talks about history fast-paced."

Seriously? This will play well in a room full of teachers.

Cuthbert Binns's voice came from where he was floating at one end of the table. "Of course, I call all that history fascinating. The battle with the orcs in Moria and the sacrifice of Gandalf strongly reminded me of the Goblin Rebellion of 1612 and how many brave sacrifices were made."

Bathsheba Babbling barely glanced in Ivy's direction before turning away from her and saying, "I've been interested in the runes in the story. It's apparent that Tolkien developed these runes along with the various languages. It's fascinating how each language has its own set of runes and usage rules. The moon runes on the doors of Moria are also intriguing. I would think something similar could be done with a spell, although for what purpose I'm not sure." She trailed off as she pondered the possible uses of moon runes.

Pomona picked up from there. "There were also some references to Herbology. Aragorn was looking for a plant with special healing properties, did you notice?"

Sybill interrupted excitedly, "I didn't notice plants, but Aragorn has the Sight. He warned Gandalf not to go to Moria."

"Whatever small amount of magic we see from Aragorn, we see far more in the elves," Severus commented. "Aragorn has minor knowledge of healing with magical plants, but the elves are masters of healing. Aragorn gives a vague forewarning to Gandalf, but the pool of Galadriel can show events that are actually happening."

"Exactly," Septima responded, obviously thinking. "Why can't the elves take care of the Ring, then? If they don't want to keep it, they could take it to Mordor to destroy it."

Hermione responded, "You really get the feeling that the elves are distancing themselves from the events of Middle-Earth. They can leave and take their boats over the sea."

"They also don't want to be tempted by the Ring," noted Severus.

"Boromir is the only practical one," Ivy put in. "He's the one that wants to at least try to use the most powerful available weapon to save the ones he loves. If he were at Hogwarts, he'd be a Slytherin."

That would be a big blow to inter-House unity.

"Ivy, did you read all the way to the end of Book Two?" Minerva asked.

"We-e-ll, almost."

Minerva answered, "The knowledgeable characters, like Gandalf and Elrond, seem to indicate that the Ring itself is evil and corrupts anyone who uses it. I think we have a hard time with that because magic depends so much on the intent of the witch or wizard."

"Good point, Minerva," answered Hermione thoughtfully. "Even the Elder Wand wasn't evil of itself, even with a name like 'Deathstick'. It depended again on the intent of the caster. When Dumbledore used it, it was used for good. When Voldemort used it, it wasn't. That's very different from the One Ring in the story, which exhibits its own power."

"In any case," Ivy spoke as though bored by Hermione's comments, "the only real wizard in the story is dead. It made me wonder why we should bother reading anymore, although I have to admit that I am curious how the situation with the ring will turn out."

"Don't worry, we haven't seen the end of wizards in this story." Hermione waited to see if there was going to be any more discussion. Once again, Ivy's remark seemed to have brought the meeting to a grinding halt. And I was worried about Severus ruining meetings.

So Hermione concluded the meeting. "Book Three for next time. As you know, Frodo and Sam have left the Fellowship. Book Three follows what happens with the rest of the group. Some very different characters will appear in Book Three. I hope you enjoy it. Next time, as it will be December already, I'll be throwing a Muggle-style Christmas party. If you want to get into the spirit of things, you could wear Muggle party clothing or red and green robes. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for a great discussion. Have a good night."

As the club members were leaving, Minerva said, "Severus, could you stay for just a minute?" Severus turned to sit at the table again. Ivy, who had been trying to leave with Severus, glared at Hermione for a moment. Hermione, however, was busily cleaning up after the meeting and didn't even notice. Ivy gave a huff of annoyance and then left.

"What can I do for you, Minerva?" asked Severus.

"I'm wondering if you ran across a spell while you were headmaster that allows Hogwarts to be visible to Muggles?

"Not that I can think of, but that was never a spell I would have used during my tenure as headmaster."

"No, I suppose not."

"Is this just a theoretical question, or do you need a spell like that?"

"James Beekman has a twin brother who is a Muggle," Minerva explained. "He is coming to visit James in a few weeks, and naturally, James would like to show him Hogwarts."

"I suppose you've checked the regular headmaster files."

"Of course."

Severus rose. "Well, come on then."

"Come on where?" asked Minerva.

"I have some ideas of where to look, but it will be easier if I show you. It won't hurt to have another set of eyes for the files I'm thinking of."

"Sounds like fun," muttered Minerva.

"Good night, Hermione," Severus said, almost cheerfully.

"Good night, Severus. Thanks for bringing the wine. Good night, Minerva."

"Good night, Hermione."

"If you need help, let me know," Hermione offered as she walked them to the door.

Minerva smiled. "Oh, I do have an idea how you can help James's brother." Minerva walked off down the corridor, leaving Severus and Hermione staring after her, very puzzled indeed.