Occultus Intus Vos

Occultus Intus Vos

Title: Occultus Intus Vos - Meddling Friends

Chapter: 2/?

~*~*~*~*~

“And you’re quite certain she didn’t see you, Minerva?” Pomona Sprout asked from her place beside the fire in the Room of Requirement.

“Positive,” she said, smiling as she poured herself a fresh cup of tea. “Far too busy instilling the idea of a… I believe Miss Creevey called her a ‘Female Version of Snape’.”

Roberta Vector clutched her sides as she laughed, “I’d say that sums it up nicely,” she wiped the tears from her eyes, “she was always a rather bossy student, in regards to her friends at least. Incredibly strict when it came to the rules of proper student conduct.”

“There’s a load o’ rubbish if e’er I ‘eard one.” Hagrid eyed the Arithmancy professor carefully, “It wasn’t jus’ ‘Arry who was runnin’ about the school after ‘ours. ‘Ermione an’ Ron Weasley were jus’ as bad.”

“He’s right, Roberta,” Pomona said, grinning slightly, “I can’t help but wonder, that, if it weren’t for Hermione, Harry and Ronald would still be cleaning the trophies in the trophy room with Argus.”

“She does have an annoying habit of being able to circumvent the rules, doesn’t she?” Rolanda Hooch said from her place on the sofa, “Including getting dismissed from flying lessons without actually failing the class.”

“Not to mention the amount of times she was woken up in the library after hours.” Poppy Pomfrey frowned, contemplating her next question. “Do we’ve any idea what actually happened to make them both this miserable?”

The rest of the staff shared a quick look of discomfit before Minerva threw her arms up in a defeated sigh.

“Last Valentine’s day, she sent him what she thought was a harmless Valentine -”

“Instead, it turned out to be a prototype of the gag Valentines from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.” Roberta finished, her shoulders slumping as she sobered a little, remembering that day quite well. “It abused him most callously in the middle of his fourth year Potions class.”

“Oh dear,” Poppy said, shaking her head; she’d been absent the previous year due to Sabbatical.

“Now, now,” Pomona said with a slightly defensive tone, “Severus is as much at fault as Hermione.”

“Why?” Poppy looked at the older woman, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“’E thought ‘e was sendin’ ‘er some o’ Pr’fesser Sprout’s roses,” Hagrid began, frowning as he remembered. “She ended up in St. Mungo’s fer two whole days.”

Poppy’s eyes widened in alarm, “What on Earth happened?”

“It seems that some of the Slytherin and Gryffindor seventh-years thought it funny to hex several bunches with a series of hexes. Needless to say, Hermione was not the only one with her nose protruding from her chin.”

Poppy bit her lip to keep from laughing. “If all these things were an accident, how is it they’re still as grumpy – if not more so – as they were before I left?”

“Well, it’s like this,” Rolanda began, leaning forward, her hands clasped in front of her, “when Hermione was in the hospital, Severus did not go and visit her, much to her dismay. And Severus never visited because he believed Hermione to believe him an old, cold-hearted, pervert who preys on the attention of younger women. In fact, when Hermione returned to the school, he avoided her at all costs – typical Severus tactics if you ask me – but when she finally managed to corner him in the dungeons corridor during the Easter holidays, they had a most explosive row.”

“He blamed her for betraying his confidences and belittling his feelings.” Minerva shook her head.

“And she blamed him for sending her to St. Mungo’s.” Pomona sighed and frowned.

“’E called ‘er an overzealous, blow ‘ard. An’ she called ‘im a black ‘earted bastard.” Hagrid ran a large hand down his face, “They ain’t spoken t’ each other since.”

“Has anyone tried to explain to them that it was all a misunderstanding?” the school mediwitch asked, looking at the crestfallen faces of the teachers around her.

“We have tried several times, Poppy,” Albus supplied as he stepped inside the room and tapped the door with his wand as it swung shut. “I’m afraid, Pomona, that the roses will not be ready for delivery tomorrow.”

“That’s all right Albus, I feared he might revert to form so I made sure to convert Greenhouse nine into a rather large rose garden two weeks ago.”

“Splendid, splendid,” the Headmaster said as he dusted some snow from his shoulder before sitting down near the fire. He reached into his robe and pulled out a handful of disgustingly bright pink sweets. “Strawberry Kisses, anyone?” He nodded as the teachers around him all shook their heads before popping one into his mouth.

“What are we going to do, Albus?” Pomona eyed the Headmaster carefully, looking for any signs that he had a plan up his sleeve.

“We, my dear Madam Sprout, do nothing.” He beamed, his eyes twinkling slightly, “Tomorrow morning, Hermione and Severus will receive their morning mail and upon opening it, will be Portkeyed to a hidden location just north of Devonshire, where they will remain for the next three days.

“Suffice it to say, Potions and Charms classes will be cancelled tomorrow, unless one of you feels up to the task of taking over?” He smiled softly, waiting for the staff to offer their services. “Very well, Poppy, you will find Severus’ lesson plans in the top most drawer of the desk in his office; he is terribly concise and you should have no trouble at all instructing third and fourth-years on the creation of Pepper-Up and Skele-Gro. Rolanda, Hermione’s plans for her first and sixth year Charms class can be found arranged by House and date in the bottom most cupboard near the portrait of Filius.

“She is terribly methodical and I’m quite sure her sixth year students are up to Protean charms and her first-years are discussing the various language barriers one often faces when using charms.” Rising from his seat, he smiled at those assembled before him. With a slight smirk he announced, “Operation S.S.H.G. has begun,” though he pronounced it ‘shag’, before sweeping from the room in a flurry of magenta robes.