Chapter 13

Disclaimer: As I am not J K Rowling, I also don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 13

Harry and Ron had been disappointed to learn that Hermione had been afflicted with the forbidden Quidditch allergy curse. Ron, in particular, had been sceptical until Hermione had broken out into a spectacular bright blue rash when they had slipped into their usual habit of talking about Quidditch around her. They suspected that Malfoy might have had something to do with it, but Hermione claimed that she had never seen her attacker.

Both boys had given her an abbreviated account of the Beater and Keeper trials (not mentioning anything other than 'broom', 'ball' and 'ring' with the names of the player, which seemed to keep Hermione from breaking out in the blue rash), with the deciding factor between Ron and the overgrown lout, otherwise known as Cormac McLaggen, being their attitudes. While Ron did have problems with confidence, McLaggen was an egocentric prat who thought he could play every position at once. The seventh year was almost tall and burly enough to be a one-man team.

Harry trailed behind Hermione, mystified as to why she was so annoyed at both Ron and him that morning. Ginny had also given them both the cold shoulder. Harry had thought that his and Hermione's friendship was on the mend after McGonagall's lecturing of them at the end of the previous week, but he was apparently mistaken. There was nothing special about Thursday mornings, especially when they were on their way to Snape's Defence lesson.

They reached the classroom before anyone else, leaving them alone with Snape, who had just emerged from his office. He prowled closer, approaching Hermione with a strange glint in his dark eyes.

"Allow me to take the opportunity to wish you a Happy Birthday, Miss Granger. You are the first student of your year to come of age. Congratulations."

Harry's eyes widened as he exchanged a chagrined glance with Ron. They'd forgotten about Hermione's birthday. Again.

"You displayed your knowledge of Wizarding etiquette last week. I wonder... I might be able to educate you further. Are you familiar with birthday salutations? They are somewhat similar to those in the Muggle world."

Harry watched as Ron's eyes widened at Snape's words. Hermione looked puzzled for a moment, then her expression cleared.

"Do you mean the birthday bumps, sir?"

Snape chuckled at her words, shaking his head. "Finally, something that you don't know. Allow me to demonstrate."

Ron choked at the greasy git's words, his eyes almost popping out. Harry watched, his jaw dropping as Snape took Hermione's face in his hands, his long fingers burying themselves in her bushy hair. Both boys stared, transfixed, as teacher kissed student.

This was no chaste kiss, but a passionate exchange. Hermione seemed to recover from her shock somewhat, but she didn't push Snape away. On the contrary, she closed her eyes and deepened the kiss, opening her mouth to let the dungeon bat devour her.

'I'm going to be sick. My hated teacher is kissing one of best friends. Oh, God, no. Is that tongue movement I can see? I don't wanna know! Close your eyes, pretend this isn't happening!' Harry buried his face in his hands when his eyes refused to cooperate, his mind screaming incoherently. There was a thud from the floor beside him, finally allowing his eyes to break away from the horror in front of him. Ron appeared to have fainted, and Harry only wished that he could do the same.

'If Hermione hadn't started kissing the git back, I could've attacked him...'

The majority of the rest of the sixth year Gryffindor and Slytherins arrived, chattering amongst themselves only to fall into a shocked silence.

"What's the hold up? Move!" Draco Malfoy's drawling voice demanded as he elbowed his way through the crowd of students. "Bloody hell!" His grey eyes widened at the sight of the Head of Slytherin snogging a Muggle-born Gryffindor.

Snape finally drew away from Hermione, who staggered back against one of the desks as her knees threatened to give way. For the few students still arriving who hadn't seen them, her kiss-stung lips indicated what had been going on moments before.

"What are you waiting for, an invitation? Sit down." Snape barked.

The students hurried to their seats, leaving Harry attempting to rouse Ron, and Hermione was still leaning on the desk, a dazed look on her face. She absently reached up, touching her lips as an almost dreamy look crossed her features. Hermione blinked, shaking her head as she suddenly seemed to register exactly where she was and who had just witnessed Snape's action. Her cheeks burned.

"Psst! Mudblood, you deaf? Professor Snape said to sit down. Then again, I suppose that a dry bookworm like you has never been kissed before. Snogged your brains out, did he? If I'd known it'd take that to put you in your place, I'd have got Crabbe or Goyle to do it. Wouldn't want to befoul myself with your dirty skin..."

Snape cut off Malfoy's faint whisper. "Twenty points from Slytherin, Mr. Malfoy."

"But sir, she's only a Mu..." Snape was suddenly looming over where Malfoy sat, his long, greasy, dark hair creating sinister shadows on his sallow face. Malfoy involuntarily drew back, his already pale, pointy face losing all hint of colour. The ferret had obviously attempted to insult Hermione without Snape hearing and had made the mistake of underestimating bat-man's unparalleled hearing.

"Ten more points, Malfoy, and detention. I will not tolerate any more insults directed at Miss Granger. Do you understand me?"

"Perfectly, Professor." Malfoy managed to croak, somehow avoiding stammering. The rest of the students were watching in shock and disbelief. Whispers were being exchanged, elbows nudging sides.

"Do you think Snape's saying what I think he is?"

"Seems that way. I wonder what the school rules say about it, can't imagine..."

"Granger?! And Snape?! If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes..."

"My father will hear of this. Our Lord will want to know about this."

"He means to court her. He must; he'd never defend a Gryffindor Mud-, I mean, Muggle-born otherwise."

"Silence! This is a Defence lesson, not the Great Hall. Gossip has no place here, unless you mean to use it to talk your enemies to death." Snape's voice cut through the chatter, as the whispers increased in volume. "Potter, use a 'Rennervate' on Weasley and return to your seat. Miss Granger, in your own time, sit down."

Ron awoke as Harry muttered the Revival Charm then dragged his taller friend over to their desk. Hermione had sat down beside Neville, her cheeks still flushed.

"Harry, please tell me that was a nightmare. Snape didn't just snog Hermione."

"Sorry, Ron. If it was a nightmare, we all had it. Although you did miss Snape taking points from Malfoy for calling Hermione a Mudblood."

Ron shook his head. "Even if he did, it's still not worth it. Poor girl must be sickened."

Harry looked over at Hermione. She did still look rather embarrassed, but there was no hint of disgust on her face. Ron was the one who looked sickened, his green face contrasting with his red hair.

The rest of the Defence lesson passed in a blur, none of the students really able to concentrate on copying down what Snape was lecturing to them about. Even Hermione was struggling to focus, although Harry knew that she had an iron clad reason to be distracted.

"I can't believe you did that... in front of EVERYONE!" Hermione paced in front of Severus, having waited until everyone had left the classroom (including Harry and Ron, although she had needed to all but order them to leave).

Severus just stood there, smirking at her. "Now, now, my dear. It was just half of the sixth years, not in front of the whole school. Besides, you had it coming what with your amorous advances towards me before this day, even after I told you to wait."

"Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil were both there, so it might as well have been in front of every single soul in this whole damn building. By the end of the day, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole Wizarding world knew." Hermione suddenly stopped moving and spun to face him, her bushy hair swirling around her. "You did it on purpose! You want everyone to know."

"Finally caught on, I see. Yes, the Dark Lord himself will hear of this, as there were several students watching us whose parents are Death Eaters."

"Did you really have to do it in front of Harry and Ron, though? It'll scar them for life."

"All the more reason to do it," Severus muttered. "I don't quite see what you're so upset about. Last week you wanted me to kiss you, and this week you don't want me to. I had hoped that you wouldn't be quite as unfathomable as every other witch."

"Severus, you are just as clueless as every other man, so why should I be different to other women? I'd be hunted down by a raving mob of feminists if I actually gave you a hint."

"My seduction of you cannot be subtle. It has to be obvious to be noticeable. Whilst the Dark Lord might take my word for it, my rivals cannot interfere if the evidence is plainer than the nose on my face."

"Rival Death Eaters or rivals for me?" Hermione asked.

"Both, judging by the expression on Weasley's face. When he recovered from his fainting fit, that is." It seemed that Severus's opinion of Ron was not much better than his opinion of Harry, but at least the predominate emotion was contempt rather than hatred judging by his scoffing comment.

"Severus, did you know that I can sense magic? I felt you Stun him," Hermione said conversationally.

"The hot-headed idiot was about to attack me. His thoughts were screaming so loud that Legilimency was hardly necessary."

"Well, how would you have reacted if you saw You-Know-Who steal a kiss from me in front of you?"

"That won't happen! The Dark Lord has me seducing you; his standpoint on love is that there is no such thing. Not to mention that he could hardly arrange to meet you at Madam Puddifoot's." Severus's face twisted at the thought.

Hermione sighed, bending over to retrieve her bag. "I'm going to be late for Ancient Runes. See you later."

"Don't I get a goodbye kiss?"

Hermione's eyes narrowed. She stepped close to him, slung an arm around his shoulder as she jumped up to land a peck on his cheek. She darted off, slipping out of the door to her next lesson, leaving Severus no doubt fuming.

'Honestly, he should specify what a "goodbye kiss" is.'

Despite Hermione's presence in the Great Hall, the enchanted ceiling was working perfectly. Obviously the book provided by the Room of Requirement was invaluable, if dangerous. Severus was impressed by the speed with which Hermione had managed to control her unnatural powers. Her Occlumency was up to scratch, although she couldn't seem to get the hang of Legilimency.

He smirked into his almost empty goblet. The majority of the conversation in the cavernous room was fixed on the birthday greeting he'd given Hermione. The only reason his colleagues weren't giving him askance looks was that he'd broadcasted his intentions regarding Hermione in the teacher's meeting the previous afternoon. Despite the forewarning, both Hagrid and Minerva were shooting venomous looks in his direction. Perhaps Albus could enlighten them as to the circumstances before Severus found himself accosted by the self-proclaimed defenders of Hermione's virtue.

Albus seemed to be observing the number of students glancing between Hermione - who was studiously ignoring everything except the contents of her plate - and Severus, whose smirk widened. The aged wizard nudged Minerva, who rang the side of her goblet with a fork as a call for silence and attention. All eyes turned to the Head Table.

"I daresay everyone within the school knows of what transpired this morning between Professor Snape and Miss Granger. So for the benefit of those ignorant of the school rules, I shall paraphrase them for those who cannot decipher legal language.

"Fraternisation between teachers and students is forbidden before the student passes the age of majority, and strongly discouraged before the student comes of age. Miss Granger passed the former a year ago and the latter today, so Professor Snape is well within his rights to pursue her. In the event of an affair, all assessment of work is carried out by an impartial observer, usually the Headmaster. If any of you have further questions, do not hesitate to ask." Albus turned his attention back to his lemon tart.

The students went back to talking amongst themselves about Quidditch, the previous subject far less interesting now that they knew it wasn't as scandalous as they'd previously thought.

Severus was both alarmed and bemused when Hermione's skin abruptly turned bright blue as she swept a poisonous glare between Potter, Weasley and Dumbledore. The enchanted ceiling above flickered as Hermione's temper flared. She used a napkin to collect the remainder of her lunch together and stalked out of the Great Hall, the door slamming behind her despite the fact that she had her hands full.

"Ah. I'm afraid Hermione is not best pleased with me," Albus murmured, wiping lemon stains from his beard.

"Why is that? What have you done now, you old coot?" Severus asked, rolling his eyes. The meddling man couldn't keep his crooked nose out of anything.

"She found that enchanted Quidditch balls fail when she is within the stadium, so she asked me for help in disguising the real reason why. She thought that the truth might widen the gap between her and her friends. I applied the Forbidden Curse."

"So now she comes out in a painful blue rash with the merest mention of Quidditch. Wonderful. Do you have any idea how hard it will be for her to avoid the subject?" Severus swallowed the last of his drink from his goblet and rose to his feet. "I'll track the chit down and offer the usage of a pain relief potion."

Hermione returned to the Gryffindor common room after dinner, having applied a drop of Severus's potion to the tip of her tongue before entering the Great Hall. While the rash still broke out, it was far less painful and well worth the 'cost' of giving Severus rather more than a peck in exchange.

She stepped through the portrait hole to come to an abrupt halt upon finding Ron standing in the middle of the room with Lavender Brown wrapped tightly around him, their lips glued together. Hermione looked away to meet Harry's gaze, who sidled over to her.

"I see Ron's been ensnared in Lavender's tentacles, I mean, arms."

"Yeah. I think it might be a ploy to make you jealous, 'Mione." Harry gave her a quizzical glance. "What do you mean by 'tentacles?'"

"Seamus hasn't told you? Lavender holds onto her boyfriends with more suction power than the giant squid and apparently she kisses like she belongs in the lake too. So instead of making me jealous, all Ronald's done has made me pity him." Hermione shook her head with mock sadness. "Poor sod."

"Hermione, how could you let Snape do that?"

"Honestly, Harry! This is not a conversation to have here." Hermione grabbed Harry's tie and used it to drag him up to his dormitory, where she cast an Imperturbable Charm. "For your information, Severus was ordered by Voldemort to seduce me. Otherwise he wouldn't have attempted to pursue me until after graduation."

Harry's jaw dropped, his glasses threatening to drop off his nose. "You just called Snape..."

Hermione waved her hand impatiently. "Yes, so what? I counted him as a friend by this time last year. I don't call my friends by their surnames unless sufficiently annoyed, Potter."

The Boy-Who-Lived-To-Be-Shocked removed his glasses, rubbing at his eyes as if to prove to himself that the entire conversation was just a weird dream.

"Harry, the majority of those letters I wrote to Viktor were actually to Severus."

"I don't want to hear this," Harry muttered, his face twisting. "Why can't you reject the git and stake your claim on Ron? You fancy Ron, I know you do. In our fourth year..."

"I fancied him. Past tense. By the end of fourth year, that crush had gone; Ron has to be one of the most immature boys I know, and that really turned me off. I know you don't want to hear it, but I've had a crush on Severus ever since he showed his Dark Mark to Fudge."

Harry made a gagging sound to express his disgust.

"Come to that, you're not that much better than Ron, either, in terms of maturity. Harry, Severus has to seduce me, and I have to let him. Voldemort is one of the only wizards out there who can kill me. If he thinks I won't join him, I'm as good as dead."

"Can't Dumbledore protect you?" Harry asked, replacing his glasses and frowning at her.

"Harry, Dumbledore is over one hundred and fifty years old. He won't live forever. Voldemort is a lot younger and is possibly immortal. I have to learn to rely on myself."

"Hermione... it must have occurred to you that it's within your power to bring back the dead. If you brought back every victim of Voldemort, it'd be almost guaranteed that we could win this war!"

Hermione stared at her bespectacled friend, speechless. That thought had not occurred to her, and now that Harry had raised it, information from The Book spilled forth.

"That is something I will not do," she said flatly, her tone final.

Harry's cheeks flushed, his eyes narrowing. "How can you say that? You have no idea what it's like to have your loved ones murdered by that madman. Right the wrongs he has done!"

"You don't understand. Harry, the dead can never truly return to the living."

"What about you? You died, and here you are. Alive!"

Hermione buried her face in her hands, trying not to scream in her frustration with Harry. "That is the only exception. I don't know how it happened. More to the point, I don't know how to bring back the dead in practice; I only know the theory."

"You could do it; I know you could. You could start off small, just bringing back a few people. I never knew my parents. I didn't get enough time with Sirius. How can you take that chance from me?" Harry all but yelled, his voice rising. "I thought you would understand, having lost your parents. Maybe you don't love your own enough to want them back..."

Hermione cut him off with a backhanded blow across his face. She grabbed his collar, leaning in close to lock her own furious eyes with his. "How dare you! I told you, my parents wouldn't want me to bring them back." Her breath hissed between her clenched teeth, her nose almost touching Harry's. "You don't know if your parents or godfather would want to be brought back from the beyond. Your desire to have them back is selfish."

Harry's face twisted as his mouth opened. "YOU'RE THE SELFISH ONE! YOU WON'T SHARE YOUR GIFTS!"

"SHUT UP!" Hermione roared, making Harry step back. He wasn't used to being yelled at, although this was his comeuppance for all of his shouting the year before. "You don't know what you're talking about." She attempted to calm herself with a few deep breaths before continuing, her voice trembling as tears welled up. She tended to react with tears when angry, something that had mortified her for years.

"Understand this: if I brought anyone back from the dead, they would be an empty shell. The dead cannot feel emotions. Would you wish that on your loved ones?"

Harry's jaw worked up and down, but nothing came out of his mouth.

"You never think, do you? It never occurred to you that I have good reasons to deny your demands. And to..." Hermione choked back a sob. Harry was looking more and more uncomfortable. "I love... loved my parents. Never suggest otherwise. How c-can you call yourself my friend when you say things like that?"

Harry backed away from her, sitting heavily on his bed as her tears started to flow in earnest. He was still speechless, frozen in the fear that his misinformed demand would irrevocably damage one of his few friendships.

Hermione wiped at her stinging eyes. "Fuck you, Harry Potter," she murmured then turned to leave. She lost her fragile hold on her temper before she could leave the room and whirled on the pale-faced boy, her wand out and firing off a newly learnt spell. 'Oppugno!'