A Long Way Back ~ Editing

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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Chapter 14 ~ Household Changes

Hermione was having a difficult time with the workers and the lab technicians, who were so busy focusing on her that it was interfering with the work they were supposed to be doing. More than once a piece of equipment was almost broken because the wizard unboxing it had his eyes on her.

It seemed the Queen influence was going strong and every wizard in the lab was attuned to Hermione. It took the witch a little while to figure out what was going on because Severus could control his attraction. These wizards couldn't. Hermione informed them she was leaving the lab for a moment, and every wizard in the room protested.

"But we need your input," one puppy-eyed technician said.

"Don't be ridiculous," Hermione said, pissed now, "You do this for a living. You don't need me present. Now please do what you came to do."

The tech's shoulders slumped and he returned to his work. Others blocked her way, the witch shooting them down one after the other.

Hermione finally made it through the protesting workers and upstairs. The moment she hit the first floor she sought out Severus.

"Severus? Severus! Where are you?" she called.

The witch went upstairs and checked his room, then checked the kitchen, then walked down to the pool room. She opened the door just in time to see a very naked Severus spring off the diving board and into the pool. She got a good look at everything before he did so, and flushed. He was as well endowed as ever.

Hermione turned around and backed into the room. Severus reappeared at the other end of the pool, brushing the water from his face and looking at the witch's back, an eyebrow arched. He climbed out of the pool, walked over to a table and wrapped a towel securely around his waist.

"You can turn around now, Hermione," he said.

The witch did, her amber eyes sweeping over his body quickly before resting on his face. She looked upset. Severus wasn't sure if it was because he was naked under the towel or for some other reason.

He soon found out.

"Severus, I need you to go oversee the lab setup," Hermione said, "My Queen influence is making everyone all gah-gah and they aren't getting the work done in a timely manner. I can hardly move with all of them crowding around me."

Severus scowled at this. He was able to fight the desire for the witch and not act like an idiot around her, but he was still quite territorial. A room full of men who were attracted to her pissed him off immensely.

"I'll be out in a minute," he said darkly, starting to hastily undo his towel.

Hermione skittered out of the room and into the corridor before he removed it. Gods, seeing him like that brought back such memories. His body was once the major source of her pleasure after all.

Hermione felt a little pulse in her lower belly and cursed under her breath.

"Oh no you don't," she said to her body, "you are in no condition to be creaming over Severus Snape. He's not ours anymore. And besides, even if he were interested in us that way, in my condition he'd snap me in half. Not the way I want to go."

Her body pulsed again…calling her a liar. Hermione sighed.

Presently Severus emerged from the pool room, his eyes glittering and a slight scowl on his face.

"I'll take care of this," he growled, striding toward the lab stairs quickly.

Hermione was a bit taken aback. She knew this mood well. The Potions Master was jealous. It must be the Queen influence. He could fight groveling for her, but apparently not the possessiveness…probably because he had a possessive, covetous nature to start with.

"Um Severus, remember I do need them to set up the equipment…the lab techs anyway," Hermione said hesitantly. The wizard grunted. He stood at the top of the stairs, then looked back at her.

"Stay here," he said commandingly. "First I'll make sure all non-essential wizards…go. Then I will oversee the techs until they complete the setup, then they will go too. Go read or something," he said to the witch, then descended the stairs.

Hermione stood by the top of the stairs listening. There was silence for several minutes. Suddenly she heard shouting and a loud blast. The witch ran down the hall a distance and watched as the doorway fairly exploded with running worker wizards, heading for the front door at a good clip, pulling at each other's robes in their haste to squeeze through it. Finally they all managed to get out.

Well, Severus had cleared the non-essentials all right. Hermione could imagine him standing in the middle of the lab, his arms folded and wand in hand, scowling and overseeing the lab technicians, who were probably working quite quickly. When the Potions Master wanted something done, he wanted it done.

Hermione shook her head and began walking toward the kitchen. She was hungry again. Just as she got to the door she heard a crash, then some screeching and yowling then another crash.

"What in the world is that?" she cried, pulling out her wand and running down the corridor that led to the pool room.

She saw Ying and Yang hanging on to a small creature and tearing at it viciously. It was screeching like a banshee and spinning, trying to sling the cats off of it. Dear gods, it was a house elf.

"Ying! Yang! Let him go! Now!" she yelled running to the little creature's aid.

The cats held on, batting at the elf until Hermione actually made it there, then released it, hissing and spitting as they sat on their haunches.

The house elf panted and looked up at the witch.

"I couldn't hexes the kitties, Miss. They lives here. Can't hurt the Miss' creatures Miss," the house elf said, turning baleful eyes on the hissing cats. He had scratches and bite marks all over him. Hermione felt terrible until the house elf waved his claws and healed himself. That was powerful magic. Ying and Yang looked quite miffed about this. They had worked hard to punish the little creature they found snooping through the manor. They had to protect the Mistress after all.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Hermione asked the elf.

"I am Leaf Ear, Miss. I comes from Hogwarts to works, Miss. I and my companions," the elf replied, still eyeing the cats.

"How did you get in?" she asked him.

"A tall, pale wizard lets us in, Miss. Some say he's the Snape, Miss. Very frightened of him is some, from long ago," the elf said.

So the house elves had arrived and Severus didn't tell her. Well, he had been rather distracted.

"How many of you are there?" the witch asked.

"Twenty-one, Miss. Eli is our overseer," the elf replied. "Could you tells your familiars not to be troubling us, Miss? We has work to do."

"Yes, I will tell them," Hermione said, scowling at the two cats, who sat lashing their tails. "You can go back to what you were doing."

"Thanks you, Miss," Leaf Ear said, bowing and giving the cats a narrow-eyed look before winking out.

Hermione turned on the cats.

"I don't want you bothering the house elves. If you do, I will set your food and water bowls outside and you will stay out there until they are finished here. Do you two understand me?" Hermione said. After her dream she suspected they did understand her, though they hadn't said a word to her outside the dream.

Both cats yowled at her. She took it as a yes. Ying and Yang strolled away, their tails high.

Hermione returned to the kitchen and made herself a ham sandwich. She thought about making Severus one, but thought better of it. If she went back down to the lab and the technicians started reacting to her, heads would roll. She made the sandwich anyway however, and wrapped it with plastic wrap. She would tell him it was in the cooler for him when she saw him next.

Hermione ate her sandwich quickly, washing it down with pumpkin juice. She wanted to see what the house elves had done so far. They were notoriously fast workers. She exited the kitchen and walked down toward the study and looked in. It looked just the same. Then she headed for her blackened living room. She hadn't been back in it since Severus had made the floo back up. She walked to the door and gasped.

The room was spotless from top to bottom, the curtain of cobwebs completely gone and the mahogany walls gleaming richly. The threadbare furniture was gone and small groups of plush armchairs, sofas and tables filled the enormous room, set up to offer privacy and promote conversation. A large, ornate wooden desk was in the corner, quills, inkbottles and parchments resting on it, ready for use. A fire was blazing in the fireplace. Her living room looked beautiful and was ready to entertain company.

"Oh my gods," Hermione said, walking into the room and examining everything. She tested every armchair and sofa and found them all extremely comfortable. There was a liquor cabinet in another corner, and a small bar with four stools. Behind it all kinds of glasses were stocked, ready for use. There was no liquor however. Apparently house elves couldn't transfigure items into alcohol. She would stock it herself.

She walked to the center of the room and whirled around happily. Her house was starting to feel like a home, and she couldn't wait to show it off. Albus and the rest of her visitors would really enjoy themselves. They would be so shocked at the change.

"House elves are wonderful," she said, clasping her hands together, "I really wouldn't mind them hanging about if they can work miracles like this."

Suddenly Eli winked in. He had a broad smile on his face.

Hermione smiled at the mottled elf, who bowed low.

"I am Eli. You are the Mistress of the manor?" he asked her politely.

"Yes I am," Hermione replied.

The elf looked ecstatic at this.

Suddenly all twenty house elves winked into the living room, smiling happily at the witch.

"We can work miracles like this Mistress," Eli said, beginning to glow.

Hermione looked around and saw that every elf in the room had the same golden aura around it.

"What's going on?" she asked Eli.

"We is going to hang about as the Mistress requested," he said, a tendril of golden light flying from him and wrapping gently around Hermione. Then she was covered with twenty more warm pulsing lengths of light. They squeezed her slightly then snapped back to the elf that generated it. All the elves bowed.

"We are in your service, Mistress. We keep our Mistress' secrets," Eli said, smiling happily.

"What? What! Noooo. No you can't be in my service. I won't enslave you," Hermione said desperately. What had they done?

"We is not enslaved, Mistress. We is your servants, willingly," Eli responded.

"No. You can't be. You are enslaved to Hogwarts. To Dumbledore," Hermione declared.

Eli shook his head.

"No Miss. Elves at Hogwarts is Masterless. We is all searching for good Masters. Dumbledore is kind and lets us lives there until we can bind with a kind Master. So we binds with you because you are so pleased with us. We will serves you and protects you until we dies, Miss," Eli said, still smiling. The other elves chattered agreement. "Bonds can only be broken by the death of the Master or Mistress."

Hermione looked at all the elves, then sank into the closest armchair. She had an army of house elves. Dear gods.

"We needs to go back to work, Mistress," Eli said, "We will make everything pretty. So, so pretty."

All of the elves bowed and winked out, leaving Hermione staring at the spaces they had occupied. Wasn't this rich. Hermione had inadvertently bonded with twenty-one house elves as if she were some kind of aristocracy. Merlin. And she couldn't reverse it. Severus would get a real kick out of this, she was sure. She hoped Ying and Yang could adapt. They were used to being the only creatures in the house.

"Where would the elves sleep? And what about food…twenty-one elves were a lot to feed. Hermione didn't know that house elves had different tastes than humans, and most of the time foraged for their own food. As for where they would sleep, they could curl up anywhere. But she did have a large guesthouse out back. She could give them that as servants' quarters. She could also give them an allowance.

Hermione liked the thought of that.

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Downstairs in the lab, Severus sat on a stool carefully observing the technicians as they silently set up the equipment. When he first entered the lab he found the workers standing about, doing nothing. They had unpacked all of the equipment. When he asked them what they were doing, the wizard told him they were waiting for the Mistress to return. When he asked them why, they couldn't tell him. Then he found out they were being paid by the hour and exploded, roaring at them to leave and sending a blast out of his wand that harmlessly hit the ceiling. But it was enough to set them running and the dark wizard watched with satisfaction as they all scrambled from the room.

The lab technicians stood there huddled together and staring at the wizard in terror. He looked at them scowling.

"You have jobs to do…do them. Now," he said, glaring at them and striking his wand into his palm for emphasis. The techs hurriedly obeyed.

"Waiting for the Mistress to return," he growled to himself. "Fucking idiots."

He watched the technicians closely for lollygagging, his arms folded and face frowned.

The sooner they were gone, the better.

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A/N: Quite an interesting chapter. Ying and Yang, fearless Elf Fighters. Lol. And lol at poor Hermione. What a dialogue to have with your body…she's starting to show some signs of attraction to Severus, though she doesn't believe anything will come of it. I think we know better . She now has house elves. Twenty-one of them. Damn. lol. And Severus running the workers out of the lab. Too funny. Please review.