It\'s All Done With Mirrors

A/N: A prelude to a Lemon (in the next chapter).
Thank you Mel, your Snape goodies are coming, Promise!
Aiobheann, ran - so glad you are enjoying this fic!

Chapter Eleven
How the Witch was Won

Headmistress\'s Office, Hogwarts, August 2010

I turned towards each of them in turn. Lavender first - she looked pretty emotional, actually, her eyes shining with tears.

Malfoy seemed pretty unruffled - \'well, he is a Slytherin too\', I considered, before turning to Dumbledore, whose countenance was grave, but I thought I could detect a faint twinkle in his eyes.

Then I looked at Harry - staring at me with his green eyes, an expression of tenderness and pity on his face.

I let out a sigh that could have outdone the Lady of Shallot. I supposed it was about time I was straight with everyone. I pointed my wand at the teapot to refresh the contents, and it set about pouring me a cup. Taking it from mid-air, I sat myself down on the armchair nearest the flickering flames of the fire.

I glared at the assembled. \"Are we sitting comfortably?\" I asked, tersely. Lavender and Harry nodded, Dumbledore waved his hand in accord, and Malfoy treated me to one of his famous sardonic grins, the bastard. I took a deep breath.

\"Then, I\'ll begin.\"

My cup rattling slightly in its saucer, I frowned as I began to recount events I had once thought long buried.

\"Professor Dumbledore, guys...my final year was pretty lonely. Harry, you and Ron got hugely into girls, and I didn\'t feel so comfortable in your company any more...\"

Harry looked guiltily.

\"...I knew it couldn\'t last forever, Harry, for Merlin\'s sake! I\'m amazed you let me tag along for as long as you did, if I\'m being honest. I wasn\'t into all the stuff I\'d have needed to gain your attentions - the powder, paint and pomades, or the sartorial discussions in the Gryffindor girls rooms.\"

Here, Lavender let out a guilty little titter, for it had been she who had presided over the girlie evenings. After the first few invitations I\'d turned down, I didn\'t get asked any more. Not her fault really. I smiled wryly at her, and even managed a wink before continuing.

\"The bottom line was, the Classrooms and the Library were the only places I felt able to hold my own. I practically lived for classes...and not just because I was eager to learn, but because I felt safer there. I couldn\'t be victimised, or made fun of by other students...\" I faltered, and sipped some tea to stall for time.

\"In the first week of term, I received an anonymous note. It read something along the lines of \'I\'m going to teach you a lesson, you filthy mudblood.\' It was sealed with green wax, so I knew it had to be from a Slytherin, and...well basically, from our earlier encounters, I assumed it was from you, Malfoy.\"

He had the decency to look away, and I was diverted momentarily by the faint blush of colour staining his cheeks.

\"A great many notes followed, throughout the winter term, and mostly I attempted to belittle them, making a big show of sighing andlingling my eyes if I received them at breakfast in the Great Hall, in case the sender was looking my way.
\"I never showed them to anyone...didn\'t dare even mention them to Harry or Ron, because gods only knew what they\'d take it upon themselves to do in revenge.\"

And by the way Harry was clenching his fists in anger, I knew that my concerns in that quarter had been warranted.

\"By November, none of the threats had been carried out...so I decided that they were merely intended to make me upset, and that I wasn\'t in danger at all. They were just your common-or-garden insults: \'You\'re an ugly know-it-all, a bushy-headed teacher\'s pet, next time you stick your shit-poking hand in the air in class I will be ready to break your fingers\', etc etc.\"

I took another sip of tea, watching the expressions on their faces. Even Dumbledore looked shocked. So there were things even our omnipresent Headmaster hadn\'t foreseen!

\"But at Christmas, things became rather more serious. I\'d had to stay at Hogwarts, because our house was being redecorated...my parents went to stay with my aunt, and there wasn\'t room for me...and anyway, I hadn\'t minded in the slightest, as I could get on and study for my NEWTs.
\"Among my cards, on Christmas morning, there was another note, which read: \'Your present is waiting for you outside your room. Merry Fucking Christmas, you ugly little cow.\'\"

My cup clattered to the floor as the memories flooded back.


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Gryffindor Tower, Hogwarts, Christmas Day, 1997

Hermione was rooted to the spot with shock. Lying on the floor in front of the doorway to her room was the twisted body of her beloved Crookshanks. Her hand flew to her mouth as she felt the bile rise in her throat.

And then she felt nothing for a while, because she had passed out.


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Headmistress\'s Office, Hogwarts, August 2010


Harry ran to my side, stroking my hair in consternation. I leaned into him for a while, tears pouring down my cheeks. Then the anger took over again, and I sat up.

\"They\'d wrung Crookshanks\' neck,\" I spat. Lavender let out a sob of distress, and even Malfoy looked disturbed.

\"I must have passed out, because suddenly I was on the floor, looking up at Professor Snape.\"


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Gryffindor Tower, Hogwarts, Christmas Day, 1997


He was holding her as she came to. She wondered what she was doing, lying on the floor in Professor Snape\'s arms. Then she remembered everything, and grief flooded over her. His arms around her tightened as she sobbed with great, agonising gasps.

After a while, Hermione was too exhausted to cry any more, and she just lay there in that powerful embrace, her head resting on the strong shoulder, strangely comforted, considering she was in such close proximity to her Potions Master.

\"I have moved your cat out of the way of prying eyes, Miss Granger,\" Snape murmured. \"But I must get you out of the corridor and into your room.\"

Hermione nodded, dumbly. He lifted her easily, waved his wand to open the door of the Head Girl\'s room, and carried her inside. Instead of putting her down upon the bed, he stood on the bedside rug, and set her on her feet in front of him.

She wondered why he didn\'t just leave. She stood, looking at the floor. After a while, he spoke.

\"Miss Granger...I saw you open your mail this morning. You looked so disturbed, I decided to follow you up here. I take it you have received other notes in the past?\"

She stiffened.

\"I found their latest offering beside your unfortunate animal.\" Snape held out a folded piece of parchment with a green wax seal, and pressed it into her hand. Trembling, she opened it, and read the poisonous words.


The filthy cat was not quite as ugly as his Mistress,
But I thought a little experiment was in order
To see if looks could be improved by death.
Why don\'t you do us all a favour and join him?


Her knees buckled, and Snape pulled her into his arms, holding her against his body, stroking her hair. She inhaled the male scent of him, a mixture of Sandalwood and spices, and felt her face grow warm as she experienced a jolt of pleasure deep within her. His voice brought her out of her sensual reverie.

\"Hermione...\" the voice sounded oddly emotional. \"Whoever wrote this does not know who you really are, that is obvious. This series of noxious letters is the product of a diseased mind.\"

Shehed,hed, and pulled out of her robes the nasty little missive she\'d received with her cards that morning, and handed it to Snape. He took it, and she saw his eyes burn with rage as he cast it down, pulling her close, her head against his chest.

\"You are not ugly, do you hear me?\"

Hermione wrenched herself away from him, and she looked her Potions Master straight in the eyes.

\"Hermione Granger, ugly little mudblood, irritating little bushy-haired Know-It-All, would beg to differ...sir.\"

He glared at her in exasperation, but instantly regretted it when he felt her cringe. He took her chin in his fingers, and lifted her face to his once again.

\"You...are...not...ugly, Miss Granger. In fact you are quite, quite beautiful,\" he murmured.

Her surprise showed clearly on her face. He shifted in embarrassment and suddenly they were both aware of their close proximity. Hermione did not dare to move as their gaze locked. The air seemed to take on a magnetic quality between their faces...

Eyes open, hearts pounding, the two figures on the floor sighed in unison a split second before their lips met.


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Headmistress\'s Office, Hogwarts, August 2010

\"Snape...dealt with Crookshanks...and brought me to my room. And I don\'t really know how it happened, but suddenly we were kissing.\"

My voice seemed to resound in the room, and there was no other sound other than the crackle of a log on the fire, and the muted ticking of a carriage clock on the mantelpiece.

\"I had felt so alone until then. When I kissed Snape, it was as if I suddenly had a...well, a life outside the Library. I hadn\'t realised how my existence had seemed so purposeless until that moment. I suppose everybody feels that way when they first discover love...\"

I watched furtively as Malfoy shared a tender look with Lavender, and Dumbledore\'s eyes twinkled like Christmas Lights as he handed me a fresh cup of tea.

\"...but I was young, and hurting, and desperate for someone to show me affection.\"

I swallowed some tea.

\"Don\'t think badly of him, Professor Dumbledore...I wouldn\'t say that Professor Snape took advantage of me - quite the opposite, I\'d have to admit. It was he broke off the kiss, and he looked so terrified that I actually laughed. \"


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Head Girl\'s Room, Hogwarts, Christmas Day 1997


\"Miss Granger, I must apologise for my conduct. It was most inappropriate.\" Snape\'s eyes were wide with shock. He\'d just kissed a student! And a Gryffindor, at that. What must she think of him?

He felt her shoulders shake. Was she crying? They were still standing, leaning against each other, the heat of their bodies co-mingling through their robes. Snape put his hands on her shoulders, made sure she was steady on her feet, and stepped back a pace. He was about to turn to leave, feeling completely at a loss.

Hermione spluttered, \"Wait!\"

He stiffened. She was going to tell Dumbledore, she would get him fired. It was the proper thing to do. He had acted appallingly. Severus stiffened, preparing for the expected diatribe. He inhaled slowly, trying to force his heartbeat to slow down to a respectable pace.

\"Professor Snape, if you must apologise, then so must I.\" She swallowed, and he watched her slender throat work. \'Don\'t look at her neck, for Merlin\'s sake, Severus!\' he thought angrily. He forced himself to meet her eyes.

And felt a jolt through his entire being as he saw the expression on her face was one of honest desire.

\"I must apologise, Professor, because I have acted out of character.\"

Hermione began to walk towards him, and Snape took a step back, but it was too late. She reached her hands out and grasped the cloth at the front of his robes, beneath which his heart pounded traitorously.

\"I must apologise, Professor, because I am afraid I enjoyed that far too much,\" she said softly, her eyes searching his. Snape felt transfixed by her stare, as Hermione stood on tiptoe, pulling him nearer to her.

\"I must apologise, Professor, because I want you to kiss me again,\" she whispered, almost into his mouth, as he bent his head with a groan and did as she requested.