Chapter 14

Disclaimer: The ownership of Harry Potter has not changed.

As always, thanks to my beta. Believe it or not, Harry is less of git due to her.

Chapter 14

Severus hurried towards the Gryffindor common room, alerted by his scrying that all was not right with Hermione. It was almost curfew, so there were few students still in the corridors. The portrait of the Fat Lady swung open as Hermione blundered out, wiping at her tear-stained face with his donated handkerchief.

Her thoughts were easy for him to pick up, her new Occlumency shields in tatters. She was raging at Potter, coarse language running through her mind as she mentally badmouthed the scar-headed brat and his ancestors.

She didn't seem to register that he was there and struggled when he pulled her into his arms.

"What did Potter do? Why did you slap him? Not that I blame you..." Severus murmured, pleased when she relaxed a little under his hands.

"That empty-headed, single-minded, idiotic twerp decided to bring up the subject of building up an undead army against He-Who-Kills," Hermione hissed, almost spitting with fury.

"Your friend has proved my point; he is nothing more than a boy with an over-inflated opinion of himself, thinking that he knows best just like his father."

"He's no friend of mine." Hermione's vehemence made Severus step back, despite who it was aimed at. "Two-faced spawn of a Venomous Tentacula can rot in Hell for all I care. He thinks that just because I refuse to bring back my parents that I don't love them!" As she wailed that, her body tensed again, so tightly that he wouldn't be surprised if she dislocated her joints.

The torches perched on the curved, iron holders sputtered and extinguished, even as a deep chill extended to Severus's bones. No ice formed on the floor, but what little light was left began to dim. Complete and utter darkness swallowed the castle, something that no light source seemed to be able to break. Repeated tries of Lumos and more advanced variations failed entirely.

"Hermione, what are you doing?" Severus called, shaking her in a further attempt to rouse a response from her. There was no answer, only ragged breathing from Hermione's direction.

Dim points of light began to shine a few moments later. Severus had the presence of mind to exchange his advanced light charm for a simple one to avoid blinding himself as the darkness lifted entirely.

"Sorry... I didn't mean for that to happen," Hermione gasped out, slumping forwards to rest against him. The chill also began to lift as Severus began to massage the tension out of her shoulders.

"I think we had better pay a visit to the Headmaster. He may know how to deal with Potter. Also, I don't think we'll be alone out here for much longer; that darkness will have scared just about everyone."

Harry walked into Dumbledore's office, escorted there by McGonagall as it was beyond curfew. His face and hands stung from the deep cuts inflicted by Hermione's rabid canary attack. What really hurt was the guilt sinking down into his soul as he had come to the realisation that Hermione loved her parents just as much as he loved his own, if not more because she had far more time with them. He'd jumped to conclusions and had most likely lost a friend because of it. Worse, Dumbledore obviously knew what had happened.

Dumbledore looked disappointed, no twinkle showing in his eyes. He said nothing, and the weight of his gaze made Harry fidget until he finally couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"I'msorryIshouldn'thavesaidthattoHermioneandnowshewillneverspeaktomeagain," Harry blurted, the words blurring together into an unintelligible mass.

"Breathe, Harry. I can understand many languages, but not what you just said."

"I'm really, really, really sorry I misunderstood Hermione. Now she'll never want to be my friend again."

"Damn right, Potter." Hermione's voice came from a high-backed chair in front of the fireplace. She stood up, turning to face him. "You need to learn to think before opening your big, fat mouth."

Harry cringed at the sight of her. Her eyes were bloodshot, her hair was what could charitably be called a mess and her voice thick with unshed tears.

"I'm sorry... I didn't think."

Hermione turned her back on him. "Sorry isn't enough, and it's painfully obvious that you didn't think."

"Harry, I am very disappointed. Even your father knew when to hold his tongue, and he barely knew how to stop talking," Dumbledore said, making Harry feel as if he were about six inches tall.

"Yes, sir. I know. I disappointed myself, too," Harry squeaked. He winced; he thought his voice had broken years ago.

"So you say. You have needed to grow up fast these past few years, but your mentality needs to mature too. Trust in those who know better. No one knows more about Necromancy than Hermione, so don't question her." Dumbledore reproached Harry until the sixteen year-old's gaze was fixed on his loose shoe laces.

"...m'sorry..." Harry mumbled to the floor. He swallowed. "I'll trust Hermione's judgement in future, I promise."

"Why make promises that you can't or won't keep?" Hermione sneered to him over her shoulder.

Harry fell to his knees and crawled over to her. "Please, 'Mione, give me another chance. I won't say a word against you, ever."

"Don't call me 'Mione! I don't like it when my friends call me that, let alone people like you." Hermione glared down at him.

"I'm begging you, Hermione, please. I need you. How am I going to get through this year without you, let alone graduate?"

"Don't be so melodramatic. You do have a brain despite all evidence to the contrary; I suggest that you use it." Hermione walked away, reaching out to open the door to leave the office. She yelped, pulling her hand away from the door handle and glared at Dumbledore as she waved her either burnt or shocked hand.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, but you need Harry just as much as he needs you. I cannot let you leave this room without reconciling." Dumbledore offered a lemon drop to both of them, only for them to decline.

"With all due respect, Headmaster, I think you lace those things with something. That is the only explanation for the nonsense that just came out of your mouth."

Dumbledore smiled at Hermione's words. "No hallucinogenic, my dear. A little hint of Calming Draught, yes. Well, this situation is thirsty work, so I must insist that you both drink something." He popped one of his sticky sweets in his mouth.

A drinks tray appeared on the desk, with a whole variety of drinks laid out on it. Hermione stomped over and selected her poison. Harry got up from the floor and made his way over, wincing as Hermione flinched away from him. He chose a goblet of pumpkin juice and gulped it down. Hermione had taken a small sip of hers, only to drop the glass, spilling her juice on the floor.

"How dare you!" She spluttered. "You meddling buffoon, did you have to lace these with Veritaserum?"

"My dear, I didn't. Severus did; he is the Potions master in this castle."

Snape materialised beside Dumbledore, scowling at his employer. "Thank you ever so much. Did you have to land me in the path of the harpy?"

"Severus, Headmaster, Potter, I'm not a harpy. I'm a Necromancer; get it right! As far as I'm concerned, you're all in the doghouse." Hermione drew her wand, levelling it at the door, only for it to fly out of her hands. "Give that back!"

Snape had caught the wand, slipping it inside his robes. "My apologies, but this must be resolved."

"Right! The Headmaster is an interfering old goat, you are a complete and utter snarky bastard, and Potter is a rotter." Hermione hammered her fist on the door. "Now let me go or the door gets it."

"Hermione, do you need Harry's friendship?" Dumbledore asked, ignoring the insult. The girl had been given Veritaserum, after all.

"Ah! Nuh-uh." Hermione shook her head, refusing to answer, only to find herself nodding. It seemed that Veritaserum could force her body to be truthful, too.

"What will it take for you to accept me as a friend again?" Harry asked, his gaze pleading.

"Ditch that bloody book for starters!" she growled, earning the rare sight of a puzzled look from Dumbledore.

"Done! I'll do it. Hell, I'd streak to Hogsmeade and back if it'd fix this mess."

Hermione grimaced. "Not on my account, you won't. No offence, Harry, but the thought of you naked is just..." She shuddered.

Harry's expression lifted. She must be softening to call him by his given name again.

"Give me some time. I'm still extremely angry with you." Hermione tried the door again, having to suck her stung fingertips in an attempt to soothe them.

Dumbledore gave her a reproachful look, which she ignored entirely. "For the last time, open this door, Headmaster!" Hermione's voice was rising dangerously, obviously on the verge of losing her temper.

Harry watched as Dumbledore refused. Hermione rested her wand hand on the door, the light sources in the room dimming slightly even as Harry's scar stung with the Dark energy filling the room. Suddenly the door wasn't there anymore, just swirling ash slowly falling to cover the floor, the now rusted door fittings stuck to the walls. Hermione's footsteps faded away, pacing down the spiral staircase.

"Holy shit!" Harry couldn't believe his eyes. "S-sir? I think it's just as well Hermione, ah, let herself out. She was pretty ticked off with me, and I'd hate to have that happen to me."

"Merlin's balls... I do believe you are right, Harry," Dumbledore murmured, staring at the missing door.

Snape followed Hermione out of the doorway, his billowing robes spreading the ash further across the polished stone floor.

Severus had to resort to scrying to find Hermione, and even then it was a challenge. She had hidden herself away in a broom cupboard, of which there were no less than a dozen spread throughout the castle. Every single one of them looked the same (especially in the blurry view given in the crystal ball), so it was in the seventh cupboard that he found her, down in the dungeons.

"Hermione? The Headmaster isn't angry with you, so why are you hiding?" Severus laid a hand on her shoulder, noting with some concern that she was trembling.

"I'm not hiding from him; I'm not hiding at all. I'm attempting to calm down, far away from morons like Harry Potter." Hermione's voice was thick with anger, still. That explained why she was shaking.

"In a broom cupboard? Surely the Room of Requirement would be better, you could have it provide mannequins in the shape of Potter for you to throw around." Severus smiled at the thought, although throwing around the real brat would be far more satisfying. It had been gratifying to watch Potter be upbraided by Albus and Hermione from his position under the Disillusionment Charm. Although he would rather it had happened without upsetting Hermione.

'Complete and utter pillock never deserved her as a friend... only realised when it was almost too late just how essential she is.'

"I was under the impression that Necromancers could only affect humans, not inanimate objects. How did you reduce that door to ash?"

"The rule is that if it is or was alive, I can manipulate it down to the very atoms that form it. I'd have difficulty doing that with rock, but it's still theoretically possible, especially with those made up from dead creatures. Chalk, for example, I could reduce to dust given time and energy." Hermione looked away from Severus's pale face.

He stared at her, absently thanking the founders for largely building the castle with, and on, igneous rock. "Thank Merlin for small favours..." he breathed.

Severus shook himself and pulled her wand out from his pocket, offering it to her to take. "I realise that as a Necromancer you hardly need a wand to defend yourself, but the idea is to keep it secret. What if one of my Slytherins had attacked the wayward Gryffindor in their territory?"

Hermione took her wand, stashing it in her pocket. "Then that Slytherin would have less than the intelligence of the lowest pond life. You claimed me today. No student is likely to risk angering you, much less your pet snakes."

Severus wearily ran a hand over his face. "This day feels like it has gone on forever. That was only this morning, and it feels like it happened a lifetime ago."

"I know the feeling. Some birthday, huh? I guess I better get to my dormitory before tomorrow." She stood up, pushing the door open.

Severus followed her up to the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Not so fast, my dear." He grabbed her from behind. "I have yet to give you your present."

"I thought that was the display in Defence."

"No wizard worthy of the name would only give a kiss. Even a Weasley gives a material gift to their 'sweetheart'." Severus all but spat the last word, contemptuous of such a term. He used his wand to wordlessly summon a parcel from his quarters, where he pressed it into Hermione's hands.

"Open it in your dormitory, preferably within sight of your gossiping room mates. Don't even think of returning it, you must know that to do so is a great insult and a clear sign that you reject me as a suitor. Goodnight." Severus used a couple of his long fingers to tilt Hermione's chin up to claim her mouth with his own in a fervent kiss. He left her gasping for breath as he sauntered back to his dungeon lair.

Minerva McGonagall watched with some concern at breakfast as Potter did his utmost to get Hermione Granger back as a friend. She herself was resigned to the fact that there was very little she could do to mend the split between her favourite student and the Boy-Who-Lived.

It had been a little over three weeks since Hermione's seventeenth birthday, and whilst the girl was allowing Potter to talk to her, she wasn't being overly friendly as she was still quite rightly feeling betrayed and angry with Potter's demands and accusations. It was Ronald and Ginevra Weasley that held the group of friends together, running interference when they could. However, Ronald seemed to be a little caught up with Miss Brown, engaging in quite scandalous behaviour, which meant that Minerva had already been forced to take even more points off Gryffindor, leaving her own House still in the negative, despite the famous trio's brave rescue of Miss Bulstrode.

Perhaps it was time to intervene. Minerva was ashamed to admit to herself that she had been remiss in avoiding Hermione. Her encounter with Grindelwald shortly before Albus killed him was a nightmarish experience, but no excuse. Hermione showed no signs of turning evil, venting her blackest emotions on the door to the Headmaster's office, which still hadn't been replaced although the ash had been swept up by a mystified Argus Filch. The girl could have chosen to do so with Potter; so she was obviously still in control of herself.

So it was that on the second Friday in October, Minerva asked Hermione to stay behind after Transfiguration. The stern witch summoned a house-elf and ordered lunch for two, inviting Hermione to sit down in front of the desk. The girl did as she was asked, after transfiguring the uncomfortable stiff backed chair into an armchair that seemed to have come straight from the Gryffindor common room.

"Miss Granger... Hermione... I'm sorry that I haven't really been there for you at this difficult time. All I can say is that my experiences as Grindelwald's captive left me petrified of Necromancers."

"I know. I read about it." Hermione half-heartedly nibbled at a sausage roll. "Even if I hadn't, the rate at which your heartbeat rockets and the skipped beats when you don't expect to bump into me would tell me." She rubbed at her face, heaving a tired sigh. "Professor, I have always respected you. I would never do anything to harm you."

"I know. But my fears are not why I wanted to talk to you. I understand why you're giving Potter the cold shoulder, but it is time for you to let bygones be bygones. I have managed to persuade the Headmaster to allow you to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow on the understanding that you will have at least one escorting member of the Order. I would like you to go with your friends; including Potter."

Hermione's face lit up at the thought of escaping the castle even for a few short hours. She shook her head ruefully. "You drive a hard bargain, Professor." She bit into a sandwich, chewing and swallowing before continuing. "Very well. I'll go and tell Harry the good news. But if he doesn't toe the line, he'll be out of my life faster than you can say 'banish'."

"Before you leave, Hermione, I hope that Severus Snape is treating you right. I'll transfigure him into a kitten if he's not."

A dreamy smile crossed the girl's face, her eyes sparkling. "He's a perfect gentleman, Professor. Whilst he doesn't give me chocolates and lots of flowers, he does give me jewellery... and books!"

"Hmm, so he does know the way into a bookworm's heart. What sort of jewellery? I did hear the odd rumour, but pearls the size of coconuts tend to be a little more visible."

Hermione laughed. She pushed up her sleeve a little, revealing a platinum charm bracelet. "One for every time I did something that gained his notice."

Minerva leaned forward, turning the bracelet to examine each one. A potions bottle signifying her solving of Severus's riddle in her first year. A cat, obviously a private joke as Minerva failed to see the significance. A serpent for her discovery of exactly what the monster of the Chamber of Secrets was. A waving hand; Minerva had to suppress a snigger, apparently Hermione tried to answer too many questions in Severus's lessons as well. A quill, resting on a letter; apparently they had corresponded at some point. The last charm was an embracing couple.

"Which books?"

"Several very rare ones that aren't in the library or in Flourish and Blotts. He won't let me return them after I've finished reading them either." Hermione danced around the question. Obviously, some of the books were of questionable content.

"Sweet Nimue. The man must really care for you if he's giving you books from his own collection." Severus's personal collection was split between his quarters and his parents' old home, rivalling Albus's for sheer size and rare contents. "Well, if he does do you wrong, come straight to me."

"Professor, if he does wrong me, there won't be much left for you to deal with." Hermione's tone was light enough to minimise the shiver that passed down Minerva's spine. The youngster thanked her elder for the lunch and said her farewells.

Minerva chewed thoughtfully at the remainder of her lunch. Judging by the girl's body language when the topic of Severus came up, she was more than half in love with him. 'You had better reciprocate, Severus Tobias Snape, or I'll turn you into a ball of wool for playing with in my Animagus form.'