Coming Together
folder
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
16
Views:
16,443
Reviews:
38
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
16
Views:
16,443
Reviews:
38
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Passwords and Other Secrets
Chapter Eleven – Passwords and Other Secrets.
As Hermione walked toward the dungeons at exactly 7:50 that night she was begging every higher being she had ever heard of that Professor Snape would just give her some arduous task and she could get it over with quickly. The last thing she needed was for something to go wrong; which is probably the exact reason that it did.
A terrified voice from around the corner caught her attention.
“No… please Misters and Misses, I is not able to do this for you… I am not knowing the password.”
The house elf let out a small squeal and Hermione dashed around the corner to stop the torment of this creature.
“Leave that poor thing alone or I will…” she trailed off as she rounded the corner and saw who was on the other side. ‘Oh shit.’
Pansy, Millicent, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing around the elf. Malfoy had his wand out and was probably the reason for the elf’s cries. Until now, that is, because at the moment, Malfoy’s wand was trained on her.
“Oy, Granger… how nice of you to show up.” Malfoy hissed. “We were just talking about you.”
Hermione silently thanked her gigantic brain as it clicked all the details into place. She felt in the pocket of her robes for her wand. Her fingers tightened around it as she lifted her eyes to Draco’s and spoke.
“What do you want with the password of my rooms Malfoy?” She asked threateningly.
“Personally, I don’t want anything with it; although I dare say Crabbe might be able to think of a few uses for it, huh big guy?” He turned to his enormous friend and Crabbe grunted in response and nodded his head. She didn’t like the way that he was looking at her.
“But a friend of ours has decided that you are just too annoying for your own good. You are keeping something from them and they don’t like that too much.” Malfoy continued.
“Well why doesn’t your friend take it up with me them self instead of hiring a bunch of pathetic goons to do their dirty work for them?” Hermione countered.
Malfoy sauntered up to her, stopping just inches away from her face and whispered so softly that no one else would hear. “How are Mummy and Daddy doing, Granger?” Hermione’s eyes went wide and her heart skipped a beat. Malfoy laughed cruelly and turned dramatically on the spot. He raised his arm and snapped his fingers and the rest of his little gang turned as well.
Hermione stayed rooted to the spot for a good minute longer, her mind racing. ‘What does Malfoy know about my parents?’ After Voldemort had been defeated Hermione had found her parents in Australia and restored their memories. Dumbledore had decided that because of the few death eaters still on the loose that they would need to remain in hiding for a while longer. They were placed under the Fidelius Charm and Hermione was made their secret keeper.
She was still standing there in shock staring down the hallway when she heard the rustle of fabric that she had come to identify with her professor. Therefore she only jumped a little when the soft deadly voice reached her ears.
“Were you planning on standing here all night admiring the architecture of the castle, Miss Granger?”
Hermione spun around and was even more spooked than before at the proximity of her professor. He was standing only about a foot away from her. He wasn’t looking at her however. He was staring down the hallway as though he thought that if he stared at it hard enough it would break like a first year and tell him everything he wanted to know.
“Report to my classroom Miss Granger and proceed to scrub all of the cauldrons in the sink, without magic. When you have finished that wait for my return and I will provide you with further instructions.” Without another word or glance he slunk off down the hallway in the same direction that her schoolmates had gone.
#######################################
So it was that fifteen minutes later, Hermione was sitting in the potions classroom awaiting her professor’s return. Her mind had been turning so quickly that she hardly even remembered cleaning the cauldrons. Only her pruny fingers gave any indication that she had completed her task. There were a hundred different questions battling for dominance in her mind and her imagination kept coming up with several answers for each.
‘Who wants to get into my room?’ ‘What do I have that I am keeping from them?’ ‘Are my parents safe?’ ‘Could Malfoy be bluffing just to scare me?’ That last one was a good possibility but in that case why was Severus… PROFESSOR SNAPE… out roaming the castle in search of information?
The door to the dungeon creaked and Hermione instantly jumped to her feet and pointed her wand at the door. She relaxed slightly as the shadows parted to let in a man who might well have been made of shadows himself. He gestured one long pale hand toward the chair opposite his desk and no more than whispered “Sit.”
Hermione normally would have protested being spoken to in such a demanding manner but given the nature of the situation and who was doing the speaking she found that she wasn’t at all bothered by him giving her orders. She sat down and faced her professor, waiting silently for information.
######################################
Severus reveled for a moment in the rare silence of this particular student. He knew that she was purposely trying not to annoy him. Just the look on her face told him that she was dying to bombard him with a long stream of questions, and yet she was holding back and waiting for him to tell her what she needed to know.
“Miss Granger,” He began slowly and she leaned forward in her chair. “Do you know of anyone who would have a reason to harm you?” This question seemed to shock her at first but at length she leaned back to think about it.
“Well,” she began as though testing to see if she was allowed to speak. When he did not object she continued. “I suppose anyone who supported Voldemort would consider me an enemy. But I don’t know of anyone personally who would want to hurt me.”
Severus sighed inwardly. It was exactly as he expected. He couldn’t think of anyone who would single out Miss Granger before going after Potter himself. With no leads this was going to be much more difficult.
“I am aware of what Mr. Malfoy insinuated about your parents.” Severus began but Hermione couldn’t help her nature anymore.
“Do you think that he could hurt them Professor? I mean, I don’t see how he could. There isn’t any way to go around the Fidelius Charm is there?” She had interrupted breathlessly and without thinking.
Severus suddenly didn’t look so calm or understanding. He knew that his eyes were probably already impossibly dark with anger but he couldn’t help it.
“If it were not for the constant reminders from your head of house, I would find it quite EASY to forget that you are the brightest witch of your age! What exactly makes you think that your parents have any hope of safety if you are so eager to admit that the very thing that keeps them alive is hidden inside that gigantic head of yours?” He had moved to stand, towering over the witch who had also seemed to understand the depths of her momentary lapse in judgment and who was cowering in her chair. But not with fright, her head was down and she was twisting her hands together because she knew she deserved the scolding. This pacified the man and he sat back down, albeight rather darkly.
“I am sorry Professor,” she said in her smallest voice. “You are right.”
He looked at her, for she had lifted her head up to face him. Her eyes were filled with tears but he could see that her Gryffindor pride wouldn’t allow her to cry in front of a Slytherin. ‘She’s probably afraid that I would use it against her.’ And since that is exactly what he would have done he continued the conversation as though she hadn’t made a fool of herself.
“No Miss Granger, I do not know of any way to undermine the Fidelius Charm itself.” He stated and watched as Hermione let out a sigh of relief. “However, I do know that the location can be extracted by a powerful Legilimens.” Here she inhaled quickly and her eyes went wide.
“I take it by your reaction that you are not yet accomplished in the art of Occlumency?” It was more of a statement than a question but she nodded anyway. “I have a solution for this problem; however I think that you may find it somewhat… unsavory.” Hermione met his eye and he decided that the best way to do this was to just get it over with quickly.
“I can teach you Occlumency Miss Granger, but in the meantime… I will need you to tell me the location of your parents.”
###########################################
A/N – OOOOOhhhhh a cliffy! I know, I know, I suck. But I am going to keep you waiting for no more time than it takes you to click on the little box and go to the next chapter. (Which, by the way, takes much less time than a commercial break; so count yourselves lucky.)
As Hermione walked toward the dungeons at exactly 7:50 that night she was begging every higher being she had ever heard of that Professor Snape would just give her some arduous task and she could get it over with quickly. The last thing she needed was for something to go wrong; which is probably the exact reason that it did.
A terrified voice from around the corner caught her attention.
“No… please Misters and Misses, I is not able to do this for you… I am not knowing the password.”
The house elf let out a small squeal and Hermione dashed around the corner to stop the torment of this creature.
“Leave that poor thing alone or I will…” she trailed off as she rounded the corner and saw who was on the other side. ‘Oh shit.’
Pansy, Millicent, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing around the elf. Malfoy had his wand out and was probably the reason for the elf’s cries. Until now, that is, because at the moment, Malfoy’s wand was trained on her.
“Oy, Granger… how nice of you to show up.” Malfoy hissed. “We were just talking about you.”
Hermione silently thanked her gigantic brain as it clicked all the details into place. She felt in the pocket of her robes for her wand. Her fingers tightened around it as she lifted her eyes to Draco’s and spoke.
“What do you want with the password of my rooms Malfoy?” She asked threateningly.
“Personally, I don’t want anything with it; although I dare say Crabbe might be able to think of a few uses for it, huh big guy?” He turned to his enormous friend and Crabbe grunted in response and nodded his head. She didn’t like the way that he was looking at her.
“But a friend of ours has decided that you are just too annoying for your own good. You are keeping something from them and they don’t like that too much.” Malfoy continued.
“Well why doesn’t your friend take it up with me them self instead of hiring a bunch of pathetic goons to do their dirty work for them?” Hermione countered.
Malfoy sauntered up to her, stopping just inches away from her face and whispered so softly that no one else would hear. “How are Mummy and Daddy doing, Granger?” Hermione’s eyes went wide and her heart skipped a beat. Malfoy laughed cruelly and turned dramatically on the spot. He raised his arm and snapped his fingers and the rest of his little gang turned as well.
Hermione stayed rooted to the spot for a good minute longer, her mind racing. ‘What does Malfoy know about my parents?’ After Voldemort had been defeated Hermione had found her parents in Australia and restored their memories. Dumbledore had decided that because of the few death eaters still on the loose that they would need to remain in hiding for a while longer. They were placed under the Fidelius Charm and Hermione was made their secret keeper.
She was still standing there in shock staring down the hallway when she heard the rustle of fabric that she had come to identify with her professor. Therefore she only jumped a little when the soft deadly voice reached her ears.
“Were you planning on standing here all night admiring the architecture of the castle, Miss Granger?”
Hermione spun around and was even more spooked than before at the proximity of her professor. He was standing only about a foot away from her. He wasn’t looking at her however. He was staring down the hallway as though he thought that if he stared at it hard enough it would break like a first year and tell him everything he wanted to know.
“Report to my classroom Miss Granger and proceed to scrub all of the cauldrons in the sink, without magic. When you have finished that wait for my return and I will provide you with further instructions.” Without another word or glance he slunk off down the hallway in the same direction that her schoolmates had gone.
#######################################
So it was that fifteen minutes later, Hermione was sitting in the potions classroom awaiting her professor’s return. Her mind had been turning so quickly that she hardly even remembered cleaning the cauldrons. Only her pruny fingers gave any indication that she had completed her task. There were a hundred different questions battling for dominance in her mind and her imagination kept coming up with several answers for each.
‘Who wants to get into my room?’ ‘What do I have that I am keeping from them?’ ‘Are my parents safe?’ ‘Could Malfoy be bluffing just to scare me?’ That last one was a good possibility but in that case why was Severus… PROFESSOR SNAPE… out roaming the castle in search of information?
The door to the dungeon creaked and Hermione instantly jumped to her feet and pointed her wand at the door. She relaxed slightly as the shadows parted to let in a man who might well have been made of shadows himself. He gestured one long pale hand toward the chair opposite his desk and no more than whispered “Sit.”
Hermione normally would have protested being spoken to in such a demanding manner but given the nature of the situation and who was doing the speaking she found that she wasn’t at all bothered by him giving her orders. She sat down and faced her professor, waiting silently for information.
######################################
Severus reveled for a moment in the rare silence of this particular student. He knew that she was purposely trying not to annoy him. Just the look on her face told him that she was dying to bombard him with a long stream of questions, and yet she was holding back and waiting for him to tell her what she needed to know.
“Miss Granger,” He began slowly and she leaned forward in her chair. “Do you know of anyone who would have a reason to harm you?” This question seemed to shock her at first but at length she leaned back to think about it.
“Well,” she began as though testing to see if she was allowed to speak. When he did not object she continued. “I suppose anyone who supported Voldemort would consider me an enemy. But I don’t know of anyone personally who would want to hurt me.”
Severus sighed inwardly. It was exactly as he expected. He couldn’t think of anyone who would single out Miss Granger before going after Potter himself. With no leads this was going to be much more difficult.
“I am aware of what Mr. Malfoy insinuated about your parents.” Severus began but Hermione couldn’t help her nature anymore.
“Do you think that he could hurt them Professor? I mean, I don’t see how he could. There isn’t any way to go around the Fidelius Charm is there?” She had interrupted breathlessly and without thinking.
Severus suddenly didn’t look so calm or understanding. He knew that his eyes were probably already impossibly dark with anger but he couldn’t help it.
“If it were not for the constant reminders from your head of house, I would find it quite EASY to forget that you are the brightest witch of your age! What exactly makes you think that your parents have any hope of safety if you are so eager to admit that the very thing that keeps them alive is hidden inside that gigantic head of yours?” He had moved to stand, towering over the witch who had also seemed to understand the depths of her momentary lapse in judgment and who was cowering in her chair. But not with fright, her head was down and she was twisting her hands together because she knew she deserved the scolding. This pacified the man and he sat back down, albeight rather darkly.
“I am sorry Professor,” she said in her smallest voice. “You are right.”
He looked at her, for she had lifted her head up to face him. Her eyes were filled with tears but he could see that her Gryffindor pride wouldn’t allow her to cry in front of a Slytherin. ‘She’s probably afraid that I would use it against her.’ And since that is exactly what he would have done he continued the conversation as though she hadn’t made a fool of herself.
“No Miss Granger, I do not know of any way to undermine the Fidelius Charm itself.” He stated and watched as Hermione let out a sigh of relief. “However, I do know that the location can be extracted by a powerful Legilimens.” Here she inhaled quickly and her eyes went wide.
“I take it by your reaction that you are not yet accomplished in the art of Occlumency?” It was more of a statement than a question but she nodded anyway. “I have a solution for this problem; however I think that you may find it somewhat… unsavory.” Hermione met his eye and he decided that the best way to do this was to just get it over with quickly.
“I can teach you Occlumency Miss Granger, but in the meantime… I will need you to tell me the location of your parents.”
###########################################
A/N – OOOOOhhhhh a cliffy! I know, I know, I suck. But I am going to keep you waiting for no more time than it takes you to click on the little box and go to the next chapter. (Which, by the way, takes much less time than a commercial break; so count yourselves lucky.)