Settling In

Disclaimer: I wish I created and owned it, but we all know it belongs to Jo!

A/N: Much thanks, praise, applause, and love go out to the two greatest betas of all time, queenp and Southtern_Witch_69. Without their constant nagging and endless supply of commas, comments, and suggestions I would be completely lost. I love you both!

Chapter 4: Settling In

Hermione was lost in thought as she listened to the squeaking wheels of the carriage and clomping hooves of the Thestrals as they traversed the dirt path to Hogwarts. She'd had a very interesting week. Panic had set in the day after she had signed the contract.

She had spent the last week pouring over books about wizarding law to learn what rights she would have as a surrogate. The law clearly stated that a surrogate had rights to the child she carried, especially if the child belonged biologically to the surrogate. However, she had rejected those rights by signing the contract. All three of the wizarding solicitors with whom she had met told her that by signing, she had legally crippled herself. She had considered going to Professor Snape to tell him she had changed her mind and ask that he rip up the contract, but she knew that would be futile. He would never allow her go back on her word.

After giving up hope of finding a legal way out of the contract, she had decided that the best thing she could possibly do would be to follow through with her original plan...finding a way to make Professor Snape change his mind. She had almost a year, so she was confident she could manage it. The rest of her last days of freedom had been spent pouring over old Daily Prophet articles and books looking for every scrap of information she could find on Professor Snape and his family. What she found had been mildly helpful, although unpleasant.

There were several articles about him right after the first war with Voldemort. They detailed Professor Dumbledore's defence of him and his somewhat narrow escape of Azkaban. There were even a couple of editorials lobbying for his immediate imprisonment.

The most intriguing ones, however, were about his mother's death. Professor McGonagall had told her that his mother had been killed, and the murderer had never been found. However, what had shocked Hermione the most was the violence surrounding her death and the level of attention it garnered. Professor Snape, who had been sixteen at the time, was home when his mother was killed, but he'd claimed he had been asleep, hearing and seeing nothing. The press had had a field day with the story. She couldn't be sure how much was fact and how much was the Prophet's usual exaggerations, but the story had definitely garnered much attention.

She also learnt from these articles that Professor Snape came from a wealthy pure-blood family. Why is he teaching at Hogwarts if his family is that rich? she wondered. She added that question to the ever-growing list of things she just didn't understand about the man...this man she had agreed to carry a child for.

With a shake of her head, she brought herself back to her previous thoughts...the information she had gathered on Professor Snape. It was with this information that she was able to arrive at her plan. The Plan, including all her research, was painstakingly drawn out over countless sheets in her notebook, and it included several bulleted points and countless references and cross-references. As the carriage continued to jostle down the path, she read over the list one more time.

1. Whenever possible, subtly hint at how difficult raising a child alone will be.

8. If all else fails, enlist the help of Minerva and Headmaster Dumbledore.

The carriage finally pulled up to the large oak doors of Hogwarts Castle, breaking Hermione away from her scheming. She felt a small smile tug at her lips...seeing the castle with its towering turrets and many windows never ceased to put a smile on her face. The door to the carriage opened, and Hermione peered out to see who was waiting for her but saw no one. Confused, she poked her head out further. She startled slightly, bumping her head on the top of the carriage, when a small, high-pitched voice suddenly came from below her.

"Hello, friend of Harry Potter! Is Miss needing help getting out of the carriage?"

Hermione smiled while rubbing her aching head. "Hello, Dobby. No, I can manage myself, thanks. How are you? Are you still enjoying working here at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, stepping out the carriage with a hissing Crookshanks under her arm.

"Oh, Dobby is wonderful, Miss. You is kind to be asking after Dobby," the elf replied. "Dobby loves working at Hogwarts. Master Dumbledore is a very kind wizard. He is good to Dobby. Dobby has saved up enough from what Master Dumbledore pays him to buy four new pairs of socks and two new hats!" the elf said with evident excitement.

"Oh, that's...good, Dobby. So, where is Professor Snape?"

"Oh, Professor Snape is in a staff meeting, Miss. He is begging your pardon for not coming to meet you himself. He is asking Hogwarts elves to show you to your rooms for him, but most elves is still not liking Miss, so Dobby is volunteering to do it. Dobby is proud Professor Snape is trusting him to show Miss to her rooms," said Dobby, puffing out his chest in pride.

Hermione beamed indulgently at Dobby, thinking about S.P.E.W. She had never managed to get a single elf to accept wages and freedom; a part of her ached to make one more go of convincing them to at least accept wages. However, she knew she had already bitten off more than she could chew by agreeing to sign the contract with Professor Snape, so freeing house-elves would have to wait for another day.

"Here we are, Miss, your rooms." Hermione looked down at Dobby, who was looking back at her with his big, round eyes gleaming. "Professor Snape has set the password to 'twenty points from Gryffindor,' saying it is easy for you to remember." As soon as the words left Dobby's mouth, the portrait...a life-sized painting of Salazar Slytherin...swung open.

Oh, honestly, Hermione thought as she rolled her eyes. Why does he consider me to be so concerned over Houses still? I'm here to learn, not hold House grudges. All concerns about inter-House rivalry brought up by the portrait and password were pushed aside as Hermione took in her new rooms. Wow, Hermione thought as she sat a squirming Crookshanks down on the floor. This is a bit more than I expected.

The room was not large, but it was very tastefully done and had everything in it she could need. To her right was a small living area with a small dark brown sofa positioned just in front of the crackling fireplace. Next to the sofa, there sat a dark green, squishy armchair. Perfect for cuddling up in for reading, Hermione thought with a smile.

Speaking of reading, she took in the sight before her with relief. Her eyes lit even further, taking in the far side of the living area. It was lined with three enormous oak bookshelves that went all the way to the ceiling. There were already a couple hundred books on the shelves, but there was a large enough area at the bottom of the shelving for her books. It was perfect.

Forcing herself to turn away from the bookshelves, she looked right in front of her. There was a writing desk strategically placed in front of a window...obviously enchanted...which currently displayed a beautiful spring day. Continuing her perusal, her eyes found a door off to her right that stood slightly ajar.

"That's the bedroom, Miss," said a high-pitched voice suddenly, startling Hermione causing her to jump.

"Oh, Dobby! I nearly forgot you were here. You startled me!" Hermione said, clutching her hand over her heart.

"Begging your pardon, Miss. Dobby is not meaning to startle you," Dobby said tearfully.

"Oh, it's all right, Dobby," Hermione said quickly. "Don't worry about it. It was my fault. Now, you said that door leads to the bedroom?" Dobby nodded his head enthusiastically, causing his big ears to flap. "All right, well, I guess I'll unpack, but...oh, where's my luggage?" Dobby snapped his fingers, and her trunk appeared. "How did you...?"

"House-elf magic, Miss," Dobby grinned.

Hermione laughed as she continued into the bedroom while Dobby levitated her trunk into the room. It was a rather simple room...just a bed, nightstand, and a wardrobe. The bed was a four-poster that was much like the one she had slept on as a student. The only visible difference was the duvet, which was...unsurprisingly...emerald green with silver leaves stitched delicately throughout. Hermione shook her head at the Slytherin colours. It was obvious the colours and password had been chosen to irritate her.

Next, she entered the bathroom, which was connected to the bedroom. It was fairly simple. There was a tub, a toilet, and a sink with a mirror. Hermione glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was quite out of control. With the rain the U.K. had been getting recently, she was having great difficulty keeping it from looking like a bird's nest. When she gave herself a disapproving look, the mirror snickered rudely. She glared it into silence, shut the door to the bathroom, and began to unpack her things.

A few minutes later, Dobby left after having instructed Hermione to call on him for anything she should need and informing her to be ready for Professor Snape to escort her to lunch at noon. The remainder of the morning passed rather quickly, and before she knew it, she heard the door in the living room open and close, followed by a very distinct rustling of robes.

There was a sharp knock on her closed bedroom door. "Miss Granger, are you ready for lunch?" said the deep voice behind the door.

"Er...yes, sir, Professor Snape. I'll be right out." Hermione bustled around for a few minutes, straightening her hair the best she could and fussing with her robes, which were wrinkled after her trip in the carriage. After making no observable progress, she huffed in resignation and opened the door. Professor Snape was standing in front of the fireplace with his arms crossed, a blank expression across his face.

"Hello, Professor. I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long," Hermione said, mentally admonishing herself to remember The Plan...objective number 6: Be nice to Professor Snape.

Professor Snape's lips thinned a bit as he said, "I left instructions for you to be ready at precisely twelve pm, Miss Granger. It is now twelve fifteen. I do hope you will learn to be more punctual whilst working as my apprentice. I do not tolerate tardiness."

"I apologise, Professor," Hermione bit out. "I'm still trying to settle into my rooms. I must have lost track of the time."

"See that it doesn't happen again," Professor Snape responded with equal acidity.

It was most unfortunate that Crookshanks chose this exact moment to make his presence known by jumping up onto the chair where they were standing. He and Severus merely looked at each other with mutual distaste. Crookshanks eyed Professor Snape warily and seemed to decide he couldn't be trusted.

With a look of utter disgust, Professor Snape said, "What is this infernal beast doing here?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "This infernal beast, as you call him, is Crookshanks. He's half-Kneazle, half-cat, and he's mine."

"Miss Granger, I did not specify that you were allowed to bring a familiar on your apprenticeship. This...thing will have to leave the dungeons. Perhaps you can set it loose in the Forbidden Forest or ask Professor Grubbly-Plank to care for it, but it is not staying here," he finished with an air of finality.

Hermione looked at Professor Snape as if he were an escaped patient from St. Mungo's Spell Damage ward. "I'm not setting Crookshanks loose in the Forbidden Forest!" She swallowed, thinking of their fallen mate that had given his life to protect the headmaster. "Besides, since Hagrid died, Professor Grubbly-Plank has enough on her hands with teaching the Care of Magical Creatures classes. The contract also said nothing about my not being allowed to keep my familiar. He is staying here with me," Hermione said in a tone that brooked no argument. As if to solidify her argument, Crookshanks leapt from the chair and took a great swipe at Professor Snape's legs with his sharp claws before hissing and running into the bedroom to hide under the bed.

Professor Snape looked down at the gash in his trousers, noticed the blood on his leg, and glared at Hermione again. "Get...rid...of...it!" he spat out.

"No. I'm sorry he hurt you, but he stays." Hermione defiantly met his obsidian eyes and straightened her posture.

Severus knew that fighting her over this would only make things...more unpleasant for them both. In fact, the clever witch might even try to say he was breaching the contract. Therefore, he quickly determined that as long as the vile creature was kept away from him, it could stay. "Fine," he bit out, "but I don't want to see that thing you call a pet roaming around the dungeons. It is to stay in your rooms at all times."

For a long minute, master and apprentice glared daggers at each other. Hermione wanted to prove she was a capable adult and not some snivelling first year that he could intimidate, so she was determined not to back down. Her body, however, had other ideas. When her stomach let out a loud growl of hunger, Professor Snape smirked at her.

"It appears that we should go to lunch, Miss Granger. You can finish settling in later." Hermione merely nodded as she followed him out the door. After they passed through the portrait hole, Hermione looked back at the portrait of Salazar Slytherin, who was currently wearing a very arrogant expression.

She narrowed her eyes at him before turning to face Professor Snape with a half-annoyed, half-amused expression. "It just had to be Salazar Slytherin, didn't it?" She shook her head.

Severus looked between her and the portrait a couple of times before responding. "I suppose the password is not to your liking either?" he asked without attempting to hide his smirk of amusement.

Hermione smirked back. "Why didn't you just go with 'Slytherin Rules'? At least it fits the portrait."

He smiled nastily suddenly. "That was the password last month," he answered acridly.

Hermione rolled her eyes, and they continued the rest of their trek to the Great Hall in silence. She wondered briefly why he would need to change passwords on quarters that were never used. Surely, it had been years since an apprentice lived there. Shrugging her thoughts away, she mentally prepared herself to appear in front of the staff at Snape's side for the meal.

When they arrived at the Great Hall, Hermione noticed that the rest of the staff was already eating. Silence fell over the room at the sight of the Potions master and the school's former know-it-all walking in together. Then, after a moment, as if someone had turned up the volume in the room, there was a rush of noise.

"Oh, Hermione! How lovely to see you, my dear!"

"What brings you here, Miss Granger?"

"When did you arrive?"

"My, how you've grown up!"

Hermione's eyes darted from one person to the next, trying to take in all that was being said as each of her former professors took turns hugging and greeting her. She smiled, greeting them all while Professor Snape watched with disgust evident on his face, which Hermione...and the rest of the staff...promptly ignored.

Hermione noticed that the only member of the staff who did not seem pleased to see her was Professor McGonagall. In fact, she had barely said hello to Hermione and kept throwing saddened looks to the young witch. She's probably really worried about me. I should talk to her, explain why I signed, thought Hermione. She did say she didn't think signing the contract was a good idea.

Professor Vector's voice brought Hermione out of her musings. "So, Hermione, you haven't told us what brings you back to us."

Before Hermione could answer, a voice at her side said, "Miss Granger has requested to be my apprentice, and I have accepted. She will be living here for nearly a year, and I expect all of you to allow her to fulfill her duties as my apprentice and not pester her with your prattling and inane questions."

"My, my, Severus, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed again?" Madam Hooch asked in a sing-song voice.

"Perhaps he still hasn't had his morning coffee yet," Professor Flitwick offered a bit too cheerily.

"Perhaps he misses terrorizing the students, and he's feeling a bit peckish," muttered Madam Pomfrey, who was unable to hide her smile behind her glass of pumpkin juice.

Severus narrowed his eyes at his colleagues as he snapped, "That will be quite enough from you lot."

Madam Pomfrey just laughed. "Oh, Severus. You do make it far too easy on us to wind you up."

"Yes, you certainly do. Now, quit being so tetchy and sit down and eat," ordered Madam Hooch. With a final glare at all present, Severus sat down and began filling his plate.

Hermione stood motionless, mouth slightly open. She had never seen the professors so relaxed before, and she never imagined that anyone would tease Severus Snape and live to tell the tale. She couldn't get over her shock that he had calmly taken the teasing and sat down when Madam Hooch said to.

"Sit and eat, Miss Granger," Professor Snape said, setting his fork down. "We have work to do this afternoon, and I don't want to waste that time with your dawdling." With that he went back to ignoring Hermione and concentrating on his food. Mentally adding another item to her list of "Things I Don't Understand About Professor Snape," Hermione sat down and enjoyed her lunch.

********************

The afternoon was spent exactly as Professor Snape had promised...preparing for the students' arrival the next day. The student stores had to be organized and replenished. The ingredients' potency confirmed, and those that had outlived their shelf life had to be thrown out. The classroom had to be cleaned, as well. While Hermione did all of this, Professor Snape watched and revised his lesson plans.

After dinner, they headed back down to the dungeons. When Hermione went in the direction of the classroom, however, Professor Snape suddenly stopped in front of her, turning to face her. He shoved a piece of parchment into her hands.

When she looked at him quizzically, he rolled his eyes, sighing exasperatedly. "If you would open the parchment, Miss Granger, you will see your required reading for the week. Your days will be spent working in the lab on experiments I assign you while I am teaching, and your evenings will be spent assisting me with marking and reading the texts that I assign. You will find all of these books on the shelf in your room. I expect you to have this list completed by Friday at dinner. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir. I understand perfectly," Hermione said, trying to remain civil in spite of how frustrated she was becoming with his attitude towards her.

"Good. To the left of your fireplace, you will find a doorway. It leads to my living area. From there, you can access the lab by pressing in on the left third book on the fifth shelf from the bottom and saying 'monkshood.' Immediately upon finishing breakfast daily, you need to report directly to the lab." At that, Professor Snape gave her a curt nod, turned on his heel, and walked off, obviously heading to his private chambers. Hermione shook her head at his retreating back and started toward her own rooms.

As she turned the knob to her door, Hermione suddenly realized something. Neither of them had mentioned the surrogate clause all day. It's like the proverbial pink elephant in the room...we don't talk about it, even though we desperately need to, Hermione mused. However, a part of her had to admit she wasn't prepared to address the stipulations in the contract, so as long as Professor Snape didn't push the issue, she wouldn't either.

********************

The next day went much the same as the first. Hermione had neatly arranged and cleaned all the students' desks. The ingredients in the cupboard were neatly arranged and ready for the first potions of the semester. Things were as ready as possible for the student's arrival.

As Hermione sat at the High Table at the start of term feast that night, she couldn't help reminiscing about her days at school and smiling. She had been excited yet scared the night of her own sorting. The smile faded from her face, however, when she thought about the child she would be having for Professor Snape and how she may never even know what House the baby was sorted into.

********************

The next morning Hermione met Professor Snape in the hallway as they walked to breakfast. They politely nodded at each other, but that was the extent of their pre-caffeine conversation. Hermione could tell from his facial expressions that conversation before he had had some coffee or tea would be pointless.

During breakfast, several of the professors attempted to include Hermione in their conversations. Every time she would respond to their prodding, however, Professor Snape would glower at her. Finally, after about the tenth time, Hermione glowered back at him, to which she received a raised eyebrow.

Madam Hooch, seeing the exchange between master and apprentice, leaned over to Hermione and whispered, "Don't worry, dear. He's always in his foulest mood on the day classes begin." Hermione smiled at the kind professor, an idea forming in her head. If she was to begin implementing The Plan, she had some thinking to do.

********************

Severus flew through the portrait hole to his chambers. No other day of classes vexed him the way the first day of classes did. It had only been one day...one bloody day...and already three cauldrons had melted. Insolent dunderheads, he fumed as he gracelessly fell into his favorite armchair. He let out an exasperated sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose and firmly closed his eyes. The first day of classes always resulted in an atrocious headache.

"Good afternoon, Professor," an overly cheery voice called from behind him, startling him.

As he jumped from his seat, he growled, "Miss Granger, what are you doing here in my chambers?"

Hermione gave him her best innocent look and said, "I only want to help, Professor. Would you like a cup of tea? Perhaps I could get you one of those vials of Headache Potion?"

"Tea, Miss Granger? Tea is hardly enough to rid me of this headache. I highly doubt a dose of Headache Potion would do much good either," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose again.

Hermione bit her lip and looked around. If he didn't want tea and potion, what did he want? An image of her father coming home after a long day sprang up in her mind. Didn't he always fix himself a glass of brandy when he'd had a bad day?

Nodding her head in firm resolve, she headed to the small cabinet in the corner, having earlier noticed a bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhisky on it. She opened the cupboard, and finding a shot glass, poured a generous amount into it.

As she handed him the drink, he raised his eyebrows raised with a mixture of amusement and suspicion. She rolled her eyes. "Just take it. My dad has always claimed nothing helps you forget about a bad day better than a stiff drink."

He reached for the glass, snatched it from her hand, and downed it in one gulp. "That's a bit better," he sighed, his shoulders relaxing slightly.

"So, what exactly happened today?" Hermione asked.

"Two words: third years."

"Oh," Hermione responded. "Which class?"

"Which do you think?" Severus sighed. "Gryffindor and Slytherin, of course. Simmons and Eddington decided to fling Dungbombs at each other through the entire class, and one landed in Simmons' cauldron. We were reviewing the Deflating Draught."

Hermione hissed in horrified understanding. "What happened?"

"The potion let off a noxious gas, which landed Simmons and two others in the hospital wing, and the cauldron exploded, of course. Two more exploded before class finally ended, as well."

Hermione took the empty glass from him and silently refilled it. As she handed it back to him and watched him swiftly knock it back, her mind suddenly wandered to the pink elephant that seemed to be in the room with them. Should she finally bring it up? She didn't want to, but it had been two days since she had arrived, and he had yet to say anything about her contract. They had to speak about it at some point, and the suspense was killing her.

As if reading her thoughts, Severus suddenly looked up at her. "We have an appointment next Saturday at ten am with the head of the fertility clinic at St. Mungo's. You'll be filling out all the necessary forms, and they will be attempting conception. We'll go to breakfast at nine before Flooing to St. Mungo's at nine forty-five."

"Saturday? So soon?" Hermione asked as she felt her throat beginning to constrict.

Severus narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head in exasperation. "Yes, Miss Granger, this Saturday. It is usually the day that follows Friday," he snapped. "We've been over this. It is a relatively simple procedure; I expect you to be ready by eight thirty Saturday morning," his clipped tone let her know that there would be no further discussion on the matter.

"A-a-all right. I'll be ready," Hermione said. Her throat was suddenly dry. As she silently headed for the door that led to her living area, she felt a knot in the pit of her stomach. Oh, God, what have I gotten myself in to?

Author's Notes: Why did Severus and Crooks not get along? Poor Hermione. Now she has two tetchy men to deal with. *sigh* Further more, why does Severus let the staff get away with teasing him so much? They must all have a good relationship. ;-) Also, Hermione once again neglected to mention to Severus that Ginny works at St. Mungo's. Let's hope in the next chapter she's in the right frame of mind to remember. ;-) I want to give a big thanks to Fyiagcg and Pearle over at Potter_Place. They helped with the humorous password bit. Thanks also goes to GinnyW for helping via yahoo messenger when I got stuck on the ending. Love ya Gin!

Up next: A visit to St. Mungo's! This was originally supposed to carry through to the St. Mungo's visit, but I decided to break it up and leave a bit of a cliffie. Don't worry, though, as the second part of the chapter is only a couple days behind this one.

Southern's Notes: I don't nag, only tease a bit. I'm glad the chapter is here though, and I'm looking forward to the development of the relationship.