It\'s All Done With Mirrors
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Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
38
Views:
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Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
38
Views:
10,646
Reviews:
120
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.
Chapter 15 - The Dare and the Countdown
A/N: Aoibheann, you may....I can\'t STOP!!!!! AAAAGH!!!! HELLLLP!!!!
Thank you for the reviews, dears!
Chapter Fifteen
The Dare and The Countdown
Headmistress\'s Office, Hogwarts, August 2
\"Let! Me! IN!\" Bang. Bang. Bang.
Oh, Hell\'s teeth and Dragon scrota...what was I going to do?
\"I\'m warning you, old man, if you don\'t open the door in precisely ten seconds, I will blast it into pieces so small you\'ll be pickthemthem out of your eyeballs for the next...fifty...years.\"
He wasn\'t shouting any more, but this was not necessarily a good thing.
But I did not dare open the door. I couldn\'t even move, I was so scared.
\"One.\"
\'Aaagh...help.\'
\"Two.\"
\'OK, keep it calm, Granger. Just walk to the fireplace and Floo yourself the hell out of here,\' I instructed myself.
\"Three.\"
I sidled over to the mantelpiece and dipped my hand in the bowl of Floo Powder.
\"Four.\"
A grinning face appeared in the flames. Oh, bollocks.
\"Five.\"
\"Not so fast, Granger\"
\"Six.\"
\"Out of the way, Malfoy, before I tread on your head,\" I sang, using my famous patient-but-not-quite-patient-enough tone.
\"Seven.\"
\"Not moving. Better open the door, Granger!\"
\"Eight.\"
\"So help me, Malfoy, I will - \"
\"Didn\'t think you were a chicken, Granger. Bawk, bawk!\"
\"Nine...\"
Chicken? Ooh, that was low.
I turned roswifswiftly, drew my wand, and muttered \"Alohamora.\"
And was blown backwards by the sheer force of the spell that came hurtling towards me through the open doorway.
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
Potioaboraboratory, Hogwarts\' Dungeons, August 2010 - earlier that night.
Severus woke from the enchanted slumber, and slowly and painfully extricated himself from the corner by the door.
How on earth had he got here? His hand came up to push his disorderly locks from his brow and cheeks, where they\'d seemed to have been glued on by saliva.
\'How wonderful\', he thought. \'An old man falling asleep in the corner of his rooms, drooling all over his hair. No wonder Draco says I have the social grace of an inebriated donkey.\' He wondered if his nocturnal habits extended to muttering, teeth-grinding and breaking wind. He hadn\'t exactly had a whole barrage of potential audiences over the past decade or so, which was probably just as bloody well.
He was about to take himself to a more comfortable sleeping place when his heavily booted foot knocked something, and the sound of breaking glass made him wince. He moved his foot, tentatively, and was rewarded by the sound of a sharp scraping on the stone flag floor. Looking down, Severus Snape looked in bewilderment at the large shards of mirror scattered everywhere.
Then his blood pressure began to rise as he angrily recalled exactly how he\'d ended up asleep in the corner in the first place.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Headmistress\'s Office, Hogwarts, August 2010
I looked at Severus. And he looked at me. Then he looked down, and so did I, and we both went the colour of a freshly smacked bottom.
My lovely robe was in tatters, rent all down the front, exposing my...
Well, my entire front view, to be exact.
I tried to pull what\'s left of the rose-coloured wool over at least the parts of myself which gave indications of gender, but I was fighting a losing battle. I reached into the torn sleeve of my robe for my wand, but then I remembered that I\'d just used it, which means I must have dropped it when I was blasted.
Cautiously, I cast several glances about for it, but it wasn\'t looking hopeful. The blast had also made the fire go out, so, although I couldn\'t Floo, at least I didn\'t have to worry about that little shit of a Malfoy seeing me in a state of dishabille.
And Severus bloody Snape - well, he\'d seen it all before. Still, there was no reason to flash my tits at him like some Knockturn Alley scrubber.
And he seemed to agree with me on that point at least, because y rey relief, I heard him mutter \"reparo\" and suddenly I had more than my blush to keep me warm.
I looked at Severus. And he looked at me. It seemed as if the fight had gone out of him momentarily, and I calculated that right then would be a great time to rush past him and out through the open door.
\'On a countdown, Granger: Three!Two!One!GO!\'
Using the wall as a lever, I sprang forwards and barrelled towards him, ducking under his wand arm. I was free! I was free!
Oh shit.
I was eating carpet.
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Potions Laboratory, Hogwarts\' Dungeons, August 2010 - earlier that night
That bloody old meddling son of a Gorgon! He remembered all right.
Severus had woken up, hours before, in his bed.
Was he ill? Last he recalled, he\'d been trying to get his head round a tricky alchemical formula. Through his barely-opened lids, he saw the unmistakable robe-sleeves of Albus Dumbledore.
He sat up abruptly, his shoulder coming into contact with something hard - causing the old Wizard to clutch eye eye and stagger backwards, uttering a surprised \"Severus!\"
Severus was immediately suspicious. He reached into his sleeve for his wand, fully prepared to Hex first and ask questions later.
But his wand was not there. Questions it would be, then.
\"What are you doing in here, old man?\"
\"Calm yourself, dear boy. I was merely checking on you, to make sure you were...\" Albus trailed off as Severus\' gaze slid to the uncovered mirror.
\"Get out.\" Severus\' voice was almost shaking with fury.
Dumbledore fled from the room, into the Potions Laboratory, hotly pursued by the livid Potions Master. Severus caught the older Wizard by the arm, and began to pull him in the direction of the exit to the Dungeon corridors.
\"Get. Out. Now!\"
There was a resounding crash as Albus wrapped his leg round a work bench, pulling it over. He stared up at Snape from the floor.
\"My dear Severus...\"
\"Isn\'t it enough that I have to tolerate you in my space without being subjected to your insufferable scheming? What have you done to me?\"
Albus\' tone was mild and hypnotic. \"I merely wished to ensure that you remain asleep for a while, in order to - dormitorio et kythara!\"
Severus tried to drag Dumbledore to his feet, but somehow found himself unable to do more than almost crack his jaw with a huge yawn. He grabbed at another workbench to steady himself, but that, too, crashed to the floor as he himself sunk to his knees in the corner.
Albus chuckled, as he conjured up a small mirror and propped it against the overturned bench, facing the sleeping Professor. He placed Severus\' wand in an empty cauldron before leaving the Laboratory, an amused smile on his wizened features.
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Headmistress\'s Office, Hogwarts, August 2010
Bloody Fawkes. What the hell was he playing at, grabbing the back of my dress just as I was making my brave escape? I rubbed my left cheek, which I was sure had obtained a delightful carpet burn, and deliberated whether to get up or just lie here with my bum sticking up in the air.
Staying put seemed favourite, actually. At least I had nothing more provoking than pink and silver shag pile to look at. \'Oh look,\' I thought stupidly, \'there\'s a lemon drop stuck to the - \'
Oh, Merlin\'s balls. He was helping me up.
\"Miss...err...Madam...are you quite all right?\"
I managed to gulp out a small \"fine\" as he set me, rather gently really, on my feet. Then he turned to the Phoenix and muttered savagely to it.
\"Out of here, Fawkes, you useless avian. I think you\'ve done enough damage for tonight. Go and find your equally interfering old git of a Master.\"
I was still examining the lemon drop stuck to the carpet. I have to say it was an easier option than looking at Snape.
\"May I ask you, madam, if you have seen Albus Dumbledore in this office this evening?\" he intoned, politely.
\"Well, I - \" Hang on a minute. Madam? \"He left, a little while before you...um...knocked.\"
Just then I spied my wand peeping out from under the coffee table. I bent to pick it up, then spent a few moments examining it for damage. Anything to avoid his eyes.
\"Then would you be so kind as to let him know I am looking for him? That is, if your business is not yet concluded here?\"
This was starting to feel extremely strange. Either he was astoundingly good at acting nonchalant, or...
I didn\'t know whether to feel relieved or disgruntled as it dawned on me. The man had obviously no idea who I was.
\"I, that is...I have no idea when Professor Dumbledore will decide to return, if indeed he will decide to return tonight,\" I managed to say without too much of a stammer. The man\'s damned scent hung around him like a cloud: spice...precious woods...tangy essential oils...and it was starting to get to me.
\"Then may I be so bold as to ask you exactly what you are doing here, madam?\" His tone was suspicious now, and I realised I was going to have to make something up, but his hypnotic aroma befuddled me to the point of having no more mental resources, so I instead blurted out at least part of the truth:
\"I\'m here because my application for the Potions apprenticeship has been accepted.\"
In an instant, two strong hands gripped both my shoulders and whirled me round to facm, hm, holding me at arm\'s length. I looked into a pair of midnight black eyes, which first narrowed in mistrust, then widened in surprise and recognition.
\"You!\"
I expected him to drop his hands from my shoulders in disgust and shove me away, but that didn\'t happen. Quite the opposite, in fact. He pulled me a bit closer ins. Ju. Just a bit. And then he stopped.
\"Hello,\" I whispered tremulously, as my heart raced and my blood sang in my veins. I drank in his scent, and my eyelids felt heavy with longing.
\"Hello,\" he murmured back, his dark eyes not giving anything away.
Face to face once again, for the first time in over a decade, we stared at one another, until we mutually closed the gap between us, and I felt the welcoming warmth of his lips on mine.
Thank you for the reviews, dears!
Chapter Fifteen
The Dare and The Countdown
Headmistress\'s Office, Hogwarts, August 2
\"Let! Me! IN!\" Bang. Bang. Bang.
Oh, Hell\'s teeth and Dragon scrota...what was I going to do?
\"I\'m warning you, old man, if you don\'t open the door in precisely ten seconds, I will blast it into pieces so small you\'ll be pickthemthem out of your eyeballs for the next...fifty...years.\"
He wasn\'t shouting any more, but this was not necessarily a good thing.
But I did not dare open the door. I couldn\'t even move, I was so scared.
\"One.\"
\'Aaagh...help.\'
\"Two.\"
\'OK, keep it calm, Granger. Just walk to the fireplace and Floo yourself the hell out of here,\' I instructed myself.
\"Three.\"
I sidled over to the mantelpiece and dipped my hand in the bowl of Floo Powder.
\"Four.\"
A grinning face appeared in the flames. Oh, bollocks.
\"Five.\"
\"Not so fast, Granger\"
\"Six.\"
\"Out of the way, Malfoy, before I tread on your head,\" I sang, using my famous patient-but-not-quite-patient-enough tone.
\"Seven.\"
\"Not moving. Better open the door, Granger!\"
\"Eight.\"
\"So help me, Malfoy, I will - \"
\"Didn\'t think you were a chicken, Granger. Bawk, bawk!\"
\"Nine...\"
Chicken? Ooh, that was low.
I turned roswifswiftly, drew my wand, and muttered \"Alohamora.\"
And was blown backwards by the sheer force of the spell that came hurtling towards me through the open doorway.
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
Potioaboraboratory, Hogwarts\' Dungeons, August 2010 - earlier that night.
Severus woke from the enchanted slumber, and slowly and painfully extricated himself from the corner by the door.
How on earth had he got here? His hand came up to push his disorderly locks from his brow and cheeks, where they\'d seemed to have been glued on by saliva.
\'How wonderful\', he thought. \'An old man falling asleep in the corner of his rooms, drooling all over his hair. No wonder Draco says I have the social grace of an inebriated donkey.\' He wondered if his nocturnal habits extended to muttering, teeth-grinding and breaking wind. He hadn\'t exactly had a whole barrage of potential audiences over the past decade or so, which was probably just as bloody well.
He was about to take himself to a more comfortable sleeping place when his heavily booted foot knocked something, and the sound of breaking glass made him wince. He moved his foot, tentatively, and was rewarded by the sound of a sharp scraping on the stone flag floor. Looking down, Severus Snape looked in bewilderment at the large shards of mirror scattered everywhere.
Then his blood pressure began to rise as he angrily recalled exactly how he\'d ended up asleep in the corner in the first place.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Headmistress\'s Office, Hogwarts, August 2010
I looked at Severus. And he looked at me. Then he looked down, and so did I, and we both went the colour of a freshly smacked bottom.
My lovely robe was in tatters, rent all down the front, exposing my...
Well, my entire front view, to be exact.
I tried to pull what\'s left of the rose-coloured wool over at least the parts of myself which gave indications of gender, but I was fighting a losing battle. I reached into the torn sleeve of my robe for my wand, but then I remembered that I\'d just used it, which means I must have dropped it when I was blasted.
Cautiously, I cast several glances about for it, but it wasn\'t looking hopeful. The blast had also made the fire go out, so, although I couldn\'t Floo, at least I didn\'t have to worry about that little shit of a Malfoy seeing me in a state of dishabille.
And Severus bloody Snape - well, he\'d seen it all before. Still, there was no reason to flash my tits at him like some Knockturn Alley scrubber.
And he seemed to agree with me on that point at least, because y rey relief, I heard him mutter \"reparo\" and suddenly I had more than my blush to keep me warm.
I looked at Severus. And he looked at me. It seemed as if the fight had gone out of him momentarily, and I calculated that right then would be a great time to rush past him and out through the open door.
\'On a countdown, Granger: Three!Two!One!GO!\'
Using the wall as a lever, I sprang forwards and barrelled towards him, ducking under his wand arm. I was free! I was free!
Oh shit.
I was eating carpet.
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Potions Laboratory, Hogwarts\' Dungeons, August 2010 - earlier that night
That bloody old meddling son of a Gorgon! He remembered all right.
Severus had woken up, hours before, in his bed.
Was he ill? Last he recalled, he\'d been trying to get his head round a tricky alchemical formula. Through his barely-opened lids, he saw the unmistakable robe-sleeves of Albus Dumbledore.
He sat up abruptly, his shoulder coming into contact with something hard - causing the old Wizard to clutch eye eye and stagger backwards, uttering a surprised \"Severus!\"
Severus was immediately suspicious. He reached into his sleeve for his wand, fully prepared to Hex first and ask questions later.
But his wand was not there. Questions it would be, then.
\"What are you doing in here, old man?\"
\"Calm yourself, dear boy. I was merely checking on you, to make sure you were...\" Albus trailed off as Severus\' gaze slid to the uncovered mirror.
\"Get out.\" Severus\' voice was almost shaking with fury.
Dumbledore fled from the room, into the Potions Laboratory, hotly pursued by the livid Potions Master. Severus caught the older Wizard by the arm, and began to pull him in the direction of the exit to the Dungeon corridors.
\"Get. Out. Now!\"
There was a resounding crash as Albus wrapped his leg round a work bench, pulling it over. He stared up at Snape from the floor.
\"My dear Severus...\"
\"Isn\'t it enough that I have to tolerate you in my space without being subjected to your insufferable scheming? What have you done to me?\"
Albus\' tone was mild and hypnotic. \"I merely wished to ensure that you remain asleep for a while, in order to - dormitorio et kythara!\"
Severus tried to drag Dumbledore to his feet, but somehow found himself unable to do more than almost crack his jaw with a huge yawn. He grabbed at another workbench to steady himself, but that, too, crashed to the floor as he himself sunk to his knees in the corner.
Albus chuckled, as he conjured up a small mirror and propped it against the overturned bench, facing the sleeping Professor. He placed Severus\' wand in an empty cauldron before leaving the Laboratory, an amused smile on his wizened features.
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
Headmistress\'s Office, Hogwarts, August 2010
Bloody Fawkes. What the hell was he playing at, grabbing the back of my dress just as I was making my brave escape? I rubbed my left cheek, which I was sure had obtained a delightful carpet burn, and deliberated whether to get up or just lie here with my bum sticking up in the air.
Staying put seemed favourite, actually. At least I had nothing more provoking than pink and silver shag pile to look at. \'Oh look,\' I thought stupidly, \'there\'s a lemon drop stuck to the - \'
Oh, Merlin\'s balls. He was helping me up.
\"Miss...err...Madam...are you quite all right?\"
I managed to gulp out a small \"fine\" as he set me, rather gently really, on my feet. Then he turned to the Phoenix and muttered savagely to it.
\"Out of here, Fawkes, you useless avian. I think you\'ve done enough damage for tonight. Go and find your equally interfering old git of a Master.\"
I was still examining the lemon drop stuck to the carpet. I have to say it was an easier option than looking at Snape.
\"May I ask you, madam, if you have seen Albus Dumbledore in this office this evening?\" he intoned, politely.
\"Well, I - \" Hang on a minute. Madam? \"He left, a little while before you...um...knocked.\"
Just then I spied my wand peeping out from under the coffee table. I bent to pick it up, then spent a few moments examining it for damage. Anything to avoid his eyes.
\"Then would you be so kind as to let him know I am looking for him? That is, if your business is not yet concluded here?\"
This was starting to feel extremely strange. Either he was astoundingly good at acting nonchalant, or...
I didn\'t know whether to feel relieved or disgruntled as it dawned on me. The man had obviously no idea who I was.
\"I, that is...I have no idea when Professor Dumbledore will decide to return, if indeed he will decide to return tonight,\" I managed to say without too much of a stammer. The man\'s damned scent hung around him like a cloud: spice...precious woods...tangy essential oils...and it was starting to get to me.
\"Then may I be so bold as to ask you exactly what you are doing here, madam?\" His tone was suspicious now, and I realised I was going to have to make something up, but his hypnotic aroma befuddled me to the point of having no more mental resources, so I instead blurted out at least part of the truth:
\"I\'m here because my application for the Potions apprenticeship has been accepted.\"
In an instant, two strong hands gripped both my shoulders and whirled me round to facm, hm, holding me at arm\'s length. I looked into a pair of midnight black eyes, which first narrowed in mistrust, then widened in surprise and recognition.
\"You!\"
I expected him to drop his hands from my shoulders in disgust and shove me away, but that didn\'t happen. Quite the opposite, in fact. He pulled me a bit closer ins. Ju. Just a bit. And then he stopped.
\"Hello,\" I whispered tremulously, as my heart raced and my blood sang in my veins. I drank in his scent, and my eyelids felt heavy with longing.
\"Hello,\" he murmured back, his dark eyes not giving anything away.
Face to face once again, for the first time in over a decade, we stared at one another, until we mutually closed the gap between us, and I felt the welcoming warmth of his lips on mine.