Him, Him, and Her

Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. JK Rowling owns it all, but I promise to return her characters in 'like-new' condition when I am done with them.

Hermione looked through her wardrobe in her room at Grimmauld Place, carefully selecting her robes for the day's proceedings. This was not like the day of Harry and Ginny's engagement party at the Burrow. That day she'd worn something comfortable, and something she had known was not flattering. At the time, she had been subconsciously trying to discourage Ron's interest in her.

Today she wasn't sure exactly what her motives were as she pulled down a set of robes in a light green. How should a witch dress for a formal inquiry against one of her best friends?

She knew that it would be better if she forgot about him completely, but no matter how she tried, she couldn't get him out of her head. Severus Snape consumed every waking and sleeping thought that she had. The fact that he'd gone out of his way to prosecute Ron in an overly chivalrous display was, in some strange respect, endearing. Frustrating, irritating, galling, trying, exasperating, maddening, annoying, overly troublesome on so many levels that she could hardly begin to even think about it... but endearing.

It was safe to say she was still mad at him, though.

That didn't negate the fact that, on some level, she knew Severus was right. As Hogwarts students, childish pranks were punished with loss of House points and detentions. As an Auror trainee, Ron should have been above such childish pranks and he most certainly was NOT above the law. It was time that they all started taking responsibility for their actions. When they were students, they'd always had some way of getting out of trouble; however, it was highly unlikely that they'd have been able to have that same luck follow them throughout adulthood. No, as adults, it was time that they admitted their wrongdoings and accepted the consequences of their actions.

Hermione believed that.

And that was precisely what she told Ron last week Monday, after she'd spoken with Snape.

And she in turn listened to Ron scream and rant at her for hours as he insisted that it was all fine and good for her to say such things when she wasn't the one facing the formal inquiry with the risk of having to stand before the Wizengamot.

"Hermione! How could you let your boyfriend press charges? I can't believe that you would betray me, your best friend, like that!" he'd said.

"Me? Betray you? That's the pot calling the cauldron black! Bloody hell, Ronald Weasley! Severus was right to report you! Honestly, Tonks should've been the first one to report what you did!" she'd replied. "Well, no," she'd corrected herself. "You never should've done something so utterly stupid to begin with. I still can't believe what you did. And I'm really not ready to forgive you yet."

Needless to say, it had not been a pleasant conversation.

Hermione sighed, looking at the robes in her hands again before she began dressing hastily. She was nervous about facing both Ron and Severus today, in the same room. Thinking about the way she'd yelled at Severus in his office the day she'd discovered he'd filed the charges against Ron, her face flushed red.

"You're a Gryffindor, Hermione," she reminded herself as she finished dressing. For some reason, ever since she'd yelled at Severus after receiving the notice of Ron's inquiry, Hermione hadn't been able to get Severus out of her head.

Growling at her inability to control her emotions and her still overzealous hormones, she pulled a brush quickly through her hair and grabbed a clip to pull it out of her face, before she ran out the door and down the stairs. Ginny and Harry were both standing there waiting for her.

"Ready?" Harry asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she said with a nod.

The three of them stepped out the door of Grimmauld Place.

They Apparated to the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic, and from there, they made their way to the Auror Department.

Hermione had to take several calming breaths while in the lift, trying to calm herself before the gates opened on level two. They walked down the hall towards the office that had been named in the scroll Hermione had received notifying her of the hearing. Steeling her nerves, she turned the doorknob and entered the room.

It was nothing more than a waiting room.

Tonks was seated in a chair nearest the door on the opposite side of the room. Along the opposite wall, Ron sat on a couch, flanked by his parents on either side of him. And standing in the corner was a scowling Severus Snape.

Ron looked up and made eye contact with her, and Hermione frowned. Mrs. Weasley crossed her arms and refused to look in her direction, while Mr. Weasley gave her an apologetic smile.

Looking back towards the corner, Hermione met Severus' gaze as he assessed her. At least he doesn't look as if he wants to kill me, she thought, relaxing slightly.

Hermione let Harry guide her to the other sofa in the room where she, Harry, and Ginny sat. The room crackled with uncomfortable tension as everyone shot glances at each other, although Hermione was certain that most were aimed in her direction. The worst glances were coming from Molly Weasley and her son.

Groaning softly and covering her face with her hands, Hermione wanted nothing more than for the sofa to swallow her whole. Or better yet... for the other sofa to swallow Ron. Or maybe a far better fate awaited her dear friend, for it was then that the wheels truly began spinning.

Before she could think much further on it, her thoughts were interrupted as a door opened from the opposite end of the room, capturing everyone's attention.

"Well, I appreciate everyone coming this morning," said Mr. Robards, after clearing his throat. "I wish that these were, of course, better circumstances." There was a meaningful glance shot at Ron with the last words, and a brief pause, before the Head Auror continued, "I intend for this to be a relatively short proceeding. I do not wish to take up any more of your time than is truly necessary. My goal is to ensure that the community is best served here. But let me just say that it would be a crime to lose such a hardworking and dedicated recruit for something as foolish as revenge for a broken heart," he said, shooting his gaze at Hermione.

Clapping his hands together, he said, "Well, now that the little stuff is settled, let's get on with it. Professor Snape and Miss Granger, come with me, please."

Harry squeezed her shoulder as she stood up and made her way towards the door that Snape now held open for her. Hermione reached the door and allowed her gaze to linger on Severus Snape's expression. His face was still closed to emotion, and Hermione found herself wondering how much more the man hated her today. After all, it had been just over a week since she'd gone into his office and yelled at him, and slightly longer since she'd confessed to having feelings for him.

Hermione seemed to hold her breath as their eyes met, and they wound up walking into the meeting room together. Severus came up and led her the rest of the way into the room, where there was a single long table with several chairs.

They approached the table where Mr. Robards now sat at the head. On one side was Kingsley Shacklebolt and on the other sat a man with long blond hair tied back in a ponytail. Robards introduced him as Gavin Williamson. Both men were Aurors who worked with the trainees. Additionally, Kingsley was now just under Robards in the hierarchy of the department.

These three men would be asking all the questions. With his hand on the small of her back, Severus guided Hermione to the center of the table, and pulled out a chair for her, politely helping her to sit down.

The entire process was, just as Mr. Robards had requested earlier, very quick and direct. Not what Hermione had truly been expecting. She gave her account of events, starting with when Ron gave her the Veritaserum-laced house-elf wine, up until when she'd consumed the antidote that Severus had been able to brew for her later on at Hogwarts. She skipped over the part where Mrs. Weasley had questioned her; Severus caught her eye, but refrained from saying anything. After all, this is Ron's inquiry, not Molly's, she reminded herself.

Hermione had decided that she would leave out as many details as she thought she could get away with. There was no reason for Mr. Robards, Kingsley, or Williamson to know about how Snape had baited and teased her while she was under the influence of Ron's Veritaserum. Hermione had considered that if she was truly seeking vengeance against Ron in this way, she would sacrifice that information about herself in an effort to paint a bleaker picture. However, as it stood, it wasn't worth it to her.

And though she wanted to get back at Ron, she knew that a formal lawsuit up with the Wizengamot was not the way to do it. She had no desire to make herself look worse in the process either... people did not need to know the things that Snape had truly said to her the evening that they'd brewed the antidote.

The thing that surprised Hermione the most during everything was Snape. She had expected the man to do and say just about anything possible to ensure that "justice" was served. After all, it was Severus who had first alerted Mr. Robards to the behavior of one of his recruits. Instead, Severus had offered his account of events, which varied from Hermione's only slightly; he gave pertinent details where she'd not been able to, including exactly how the antidote had been brewed.

The three other men asked a few questions about the ordeal, including how Snape had come to consider himself to be a victim. Hermione's face flushed as Snape calmly told the story of her humiliation by Mrs. Weasley.

"Mrs. Weasley took advantage of Miss Granger's state. Not only did she ask a direct question, but Mrs. Weasley, being an older woman and a motherly figure, was someone that Miss Granger had always trusted. She helped Miss Granger to lie down and just as she was relaxing..."

He continued to retell the events with absolutely no emotion while Hermione initially went from finding her fingers interesting, to staring at the top of the table. Then, as Severus reached the climax of his tale with no other emotion than a disgusted sneer, she looked the other three men in the eyes.

"And this made you a victim, Professor Snape?" asked Mr. Robards.

"It involved me unnecessarily in the entire messy affair, both on a personal and professional level. I had no desire to be a pawn in their childish little love games, or ridiculed by my fellow Order members and Hogwarts staff. After this little incident, I was called on the carpet by the Headmistress herself," the man next to her snarled.

At his biting tone, Hermione's stomach instantly soured. Come on, Snape, tell me how you really feel, she thought.

When Kingsley caught Hermione's gaze she could see the condolences in the kindly Auror's eyes. Not that he knew the entire story, of course. But he, like most of the wizarding world, knew how cruel Snape could be through simple words.

Suddenly his words sunk in. "Wait. You mean that Minerva cornered you about what I said?" Hermione asked him.

Carefully choosing his words, Severus answered, "My superior reminded me of my obligations and responsibilities, Miss Granger."

Hermione wanted to protest, however something in the way that he said her name caused her to close her mouth again. It was a discussion for a later time, she decided, and again the room quieted.

Before the dreadful silence could take hold of the room and its occupants again, Robards cleared his throat. "If there is nothing else that you'd like to add..." he said, allowing his voice to trail off and looking at Hermione and Severus each in turn.

Hermione shook her head and Severus said nothing further.

Robards stood up. "Then I will go get Tonks and Mr. Weasley."

Still feeling rather ill, Hermione turned her head and looked to the man sitting next to her, who was simply ignoring her. "Severus?" she asked.

He quit staring at the wall to look at her and raised an eyebrow in question.

"I just wanted to..." she began just as Ron and Tonks came into the room.

"Miss Granger," he hissed, cutting her off, "this is neither the time, nor the place."

Wisely, Hermione chose to say nothing more to Snape as both Ron and Tonks took chairs directly across from them.

Hermione held her tongue as Ron recounted the events, including how he'd procured the Veritaserum from Auror Training just the day before the incident. Apparently the trainees had used the potion on each other, and Ron just ensured that there were three extra drops left in his vial.

He looked at Hermione and smiled. "I thought it was rather clever, that. Just like something you would've done back when we were all in school. Eh, Hermione?"

Shaking her head slightly, Hermione covered her face with her hand. "Oh, Ron."

"Right, then," Ron said, awkwardly. He went on to tell everyone that originally he thought that he'd wait to give it to her, but the night of the engagement party he was feeling pressured by his mother and wanted to finally put some things to rest. He chose the house-elf wine that had been brought to the house by Dobby because Ron was hoping to help Hermione relax a bit as well. Ron said that he knew not to mix Veritaserum with firewhisky, however, he thought that house-elf wine was mild enough to not have any effect.

Hermione snorted loudly. "Yeah, maybe if it hadn't been wine made by Winky!"

"Yeah, well," Ron continued, "things didn't go as I'd planned."

"You do realize, Ron, that even if everything had gone as you'd 'planned' and I had made some profession of undying love for you that evening, that then would not have been the right time to propose marriage, right?" Hermione asked.

At the sight of his now enflamed red cheeks, Hermione rolled her eyes, and Severus snorted. Hermione again remembered that there were others present in the room because there was a sudden fit of coughing and snorts from amongst the other inhabitants as they attempted to cover up their snickering.

"Well," interrupted Mr. Robards as he continued to try to mask his grin, "I think we have a clear understanding of the events." He then asked Tonks to relay anything else that she knew, though by this point there really wasn't any new information to give to the Aurors.

"Now, Professor Snape and Miss Granger, you have the option to bring in any other witnesses to support your claims at this time."

Hermione looked to Snape who continued to sit with his arms crossed, appearing bored. "It doesn't seem to me that anything we've said is being refuted," Hermione said. "Harry and Ginny came with me and they'll support everything we've said, but that will just waste everyone's time."

Severus simply nodded his head once in agreement.

"Good. Glad to hear it," said Mr. Robards. "Then the rest of us can be left with our jobs of deciding what we are going to do with Mr. Weasley. Tonks, would you please escort Professor Snape, Miss Granger, and Mr. Weasley out, as well as their guests who are in the waiting room? Mr. Weasley, you will be summoned sometime within the next three days to appear before a general assembly with the other Auror Trainees, and your punishment will be read to you at that time. Professor Snape and Miss Granger, you will receive notification of our decision via Owl Post. Thank you for your time," he said, clearly dismissing them.

"Owl Post?" Hermione asked, slightly angered.

"Yes, these decisions take time," Mr. Robards answered.

And that was the moment that it became clear to Hermione that Ron would receive nothing more than a slap on the hand. Sure, it may be humiliating to be read a chastisement in front of one's peers, but that was hardly the same as the mini-holiday in Azkaban that Ron should be receiving for his idiocy.

Not that she wanted her best friend to go to prison, even if it was only for a few weeks, but it didn't seem quite fair that he should get away with... nothing!

Hermione stood up as her anger grew and she huffed. Just as she opened her mouth to shout at Robards, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Her mouth snapped shut instantly.

"I am sure, Mr. Robards, that you will see to it that Mr. Weasley is properly punished and no longer dispensing strictly-controlled potions to innocent citizens," Snape said with a snarl. With his hand still on her shoulder, he turned and led Hermione back towards the door.

Before they reached the door, Mr. Robards' words stopped them. "I can assure you, Professor Snape, that my recruits are not above the law. They face punishments just as any other law-abiding citizen does, and Mr. Weasley will learn a lesson... one way or another."

"Indeed," Snape replied as he reached for the door.

Tonks and Ron also left the table, and Ron quickened his pace to catch up to Hermione and Snape.

"Hermione, I just wanted to..."

"I know, Ron. You just wanted to say how sorry you are."

"Well, yeah," Ron said, lamely.

"I don't need any more apologies from you, Ron. I need my friend back. My friend, who actually knows how to be a friend," she responded as Severus opened the door for her.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," Ron muttered.

"Yeah, I know, Ron."

The four of them entered the waiting room, where all eyes turned to them instantly. Tonks, thankfully, spoke for all of them, informing the waiting Weasleys and Harry that they were all going to have to wait a few days to find out what was to come of Ron's career as an Auror. Casting a careful look at Severus and Hermione, Tonks informed the others that things looked "good" for Ron at this point.

Mrs. Weasley gave a relieved sigh and put her arms around her son. "Oh, Ronald, I'm so pleased. We should go have lunch to celebrate; there's a new restaurant next to Florean Fortescue's. Ginny, you and Harry should come along, too."

Ginny looked from her mother to Hermione and stammered, "Oh, well..."

"Well, yes, of course. Hermione, dear, you're invited to join us. You and Tonks, and you too, Severus," Molly insisted after only a few flustered moments of hesitation.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione. "But I have plans this afternoon with my mum." She could hardly bring herself to look Molly in the eye as she fabricated the lie and knew that nobody would believe her, but there was no way she was going to spend the afternoon with Ron's family 'celebrating' his idiocy and dumb luck, all at her expense.

"Yes, and I need to help Gawain and Kingsley close up Ron's file," answered Tonks.

Molly looked expectantly to Severus. They were all Order members, weren't they? All on the same side?

"I ensured that the charges were filed against your son, Molly. There is no way that I am going to attend a celebratory luncheon when it appears that he is not going to have to pay any penance for his crime," he answered, staring down his long nose at her.

"Oh," Molly said, looking somewhat abashed. "Well, Ginny, Harry, Arthur, Ron?"

Hermione nodded her assent to Ginny and Harry, letting them know that she had no ill feelings towards them for leaving her for the afternoon.

Harry and Ginny then answered Mrs. Weasley in the affirmative, and the group of five left the room for their celebration.

Tonks looked between Hermione and Severus and gave Hermione a sly grin before saying, "I really do have some papers to file. Have a good afternoon, Hermione. Good day to you, Severus."

"Thanks," Hermione said as her friend left.

Once the room was empty, Hermione turned to Severus and prepared herself for the hurtful and stinging remarks that were certain to be coming from his tongue.

"I owe you an apology," she began.

"Indeed."

"Though I think you could have gone about things a different way," she said in an effort to justify her rant several days ago. "I apologize. You were right to bring the incident to the attention of the Ministry. Even though it appears that such a thing is rather pointless because they won't punish their own recruits."

"Yes, now you have some idea what I went through for years, dealing with you and your friends, Potter and Weasley."

"Indeed," Hermione replied with a mixture of sympathy and amusement.

A few minutes of silence passed as Severus debated his next move. Finally making a decision, he looked at her with an odd gleam in his black eyes and said, "There are other, more satisfying ways to ensure that people pay for their crimes, Hermione."

"I don't want him to be hurt, Severus."

"I am not talking about anyone getting hurt, nor anything illegal."

"Go on," Hermione prompted, intrigued.

"Would you care to join me for lunch, Hermione? I've always found that revenge is best discussed over a meal." Severus extended his arm to her.

Smiling, Hermione nodded her head, sliding her arm through his, and the pair walked towards the door. Hmm, perhaps I can talk him into going to the new restaurant next to Florean Fortescue's, she thought wickedly.

A/N: I am so sorry about how long it has taken to update. I always think that I'll have more time during the summer to get some writing done, but it never works that way. Truly, having four kids at home makes it much more difficult. They go back to school in two weeks. YAY! :)

I am proud to announce that "A Slip of the Tongue" has won in Round 6 of the Multifaceted Awards in the Pride category. Please know that I am truly humbled by all the support I have received from everyone. Thank you so much to everyone who voted.

Thanks to SnarkyRoxy and JuneW, betas extraordinaire!