The Quicker Fixer-Upper

Love and cute woodland animals to reviewers (and they won’t have bad gas like my cat apparently does *gag*).

AV: I am trying to write a more mature Severus (and yes, occasionally even he screws something up). When I write him, he tends to be, well, a train wreck. And I’m trying to turn over a new leaf.

And mariteri, the hostage is this chapter—nothing/no one else. But… the technique is NOT very effective. Ah, well. If you think a person would be more effective collateral, you can always take me hostage—seriously, about anything to get away from all this noise. In other news, it’s 10:30 pm and I just realized that I missed trash day. Oops.

Chapter Two
A Promising Encounter

Hermione Granger jumped when a knock sounded at her door. She had informed all her employees and her supervisors that she was not to be disturbed. She was working on something. That something was a form for a leave of absence, a sabbatical. She needed to get things together. As a Healer, she had a major weakness; she got entirely too involved with her patients, and was wearing herself down fast.

Irritated even though she had completed the form, Hermione got up to answer the door, prepared to verbally ream whoever she was about to see. The sheer shock of who she found at the other side of the door made her lightheaded.

“Hello, Professor, what can I do for you?” she asked, still thoroughly surprised.

“Miss Granger, I trust you have been well. I am here to request your assistance in a matter of some importance; if you consent to assist me in this matter, I believe you will find great personal satisfaction, as well as a fair amount of residual dividends.”

“You want my help,” Hermione could not help but smile a bit as she said this, “what is the nature of your project and what would be my role?”

“I have reached something of a dead spot in my own research; it seems I could use some fresh blood. Minerva is behind me on this, I believe, so I won’t hesitate to throw all her resources at my problem.”

Hermione could not believe her luck. Her first reaction was sheer giddiness, which she quickly repressed. She would need something to do during her leave of absence, something challenging and purely intellectual, and if it would pay off, that would be an added bonus, and she would be working with someone she greatly respected, who was widely recognized in the field; sure, the notion of a problem he couldn’t solve was somewhat daunting, and very, very exciting. But she was also a little shrewd. How would she maintain herself in the meantime?

“In the interest of full disclosure, Professor, you should know that I just requested a leave of absence from my job. Though I have saved enough to live off of, I would still require income and am in the process of seeking part time employment. Will that be a problem?”

“I believe I might have a better solution, if it is amenable,” he said smoothly. “You could come back to stay at Hogwarts, thus cutting out living expenses, and I am certain Minerva would be ecstatic. I have acquired a grant which will allow you to draw a minimal, but sufficient salary while we work.”

This was truly too good to be true. Perhaps she would buy a lottery ticket on the way home. Still, her face was schooled into a neutral look.

“What do you say, Miss Granger? Will you assist me in improving the wolfsbane potion?”

The wolfsbane potion? This was right up her alley, helping people; but in a situation where she would not be directly involved.

She could have laughed; the professor appeared to be waiting on tenterhooks for her response. She felt honored.

“When do we start?” she asked, finally allowing herself a smile.

“You may plan to settle in as soon as possible… shall we say the day after tomorrow, Friday?” Severus knew what it was like to make major changes, and wanted to provide what stability he could; he remembered wishing at the time that someone might have done the same for him, but there was no one.

“Friday is perfect; it won’t take me long to relocate. Would you like to send me your notes by owl so I can get caught up on the project?” Hermione was beginning to get excited.

“That won’t be necessary. You may catch up over the weekend and we will begin working in earnest on Monday morning.” How he loved summer. No students; just work that really mattered. Not that teaching didn’t, just that this was so real.

Severus made his way back to the door; it was time to leave her to her work—what was left of it.

“Good day, Miss Granger. Thank you for your assistance in this matter.”

“Thank you, Professor. It’s really strange how things work out sometimes, don’t you think?”

“Very strange indeed, Miss Granger. I shall see you Friday.” And with that, he left, closing the door to her office behind him.

Hermione collected the paperwork from off her desk and headed toward her supervisor’s office. It was time to face the music. Truth was, she could not handle this job, emotionally, and was honestly unsure she would ever come back, but she didn’t have the guts to burn the bridge. Leave of absence was resignation lite. ‘Baby steps,’ Hermione thought and smiled. Whereas she had been apprehensive about this move before, she now had peace. It was strange how things fell into place. Maybe she should have kept that thought to herself, realizing how few things had worked out well for Professor Snape. Well, he hadn’t seemed to be thrown off by her statement, so she wouldn’t dwell on it, either.

That night, packing her things, Hermione had a feeling of going home. She was ready. By midnight, all of her things had been reduced to fit in a single suitcase. It had taken a good, long time to pack all the books, but apart from the books, she had very few possessions.

Since she had packed all in one night, she was able to spend Thursday however she desired. It began with a run in the park, after a nice lie-in the likes of which she had not indulged in for years. Returning to her flat, Hermione showered and dressed quickly. She had a busy day of relaxing planned. Work hard, play hard. The day passed in what felt like an hour, and she was ready for her last night in her flat. It was time for the start of something new, and she was ready.

First thing Friday morning, Hermione picked up her bag and apparated to the boundaries of Hogwarts. She was met at the gates by one incredibly happy looking Minerva McGonagall, who showed her to her rooms. After settling in, which consisted of dropping off her bag, she headed straight to the dungeons to let Professor Snape know she was present, and to collect his notes. When she reached his office, she paused to note the butterflies in her stomach. Who invited them? Now was not the time to get nervous. Why was she nervous, anyway? Pausing a moment to compose herself, Hermione raised her fist and knocked.

Severus took his sweet time answering the door. Hermione was not entirely sure he was going to answer at all. She had just raised her fist to knock again when he opened the door.

“Ah, Miss Granger, I must apologize for the change of plans,” he said silkily, inviting her into his office with a sweeping motion of his hand.

“Change of plans?” she echoed.

“Yes, you see, when we made our arrangements, I failed to realize that tomorrow night is the first night of the full moon. When you arrived, Lupin had just flooed to inform me. I’m afraid I have obligations for the rest of the morning and well into the afternoon. I’ve begun the potion—I trust you’re familiar with the process?”

Hermione nodded rapidly and walked with the professor through his office and into his private laboratory.

“Then you won’t mind taking over?” It was more of a statement than a question.

“Of course not.”

“Then you will find the notes for suggested and attempted formulas for improving the potion—what didn’t work and what I intend to try. They’re next to the cauldron on the workbench. You can study them in the downtime. I’ll be back before the potion is complete, but you can take the notes with you tonight. I encourage you to list anything that comes to mind when you go through the formula, anything at all,” he was speaking rapidly and had begun to retreat toward the door.

“Professor, sir, may I ask where it is you’re going?” It was a forward question, but Hermione was somewhat amazed at his twitchy, hurried nature. It seemed so unlike the man she thought she had known.

“Ah, yes. It seems that one cannot simply test potions on people at will. Every two years I must sit and pass an exam, as well as go before a board to ensure that my practices are… ethical.”

“I simply cannot believe that anyone would question your ethics,” Hermione said, not aware at all that it sounded like she was flirting.

“As surprising as you may find it, it happens. But it isn’t an exercise in ethics so much as an exercise in knowing the ‘right’ answer. I must go now; mind the potion. I should return two hours before dusk. Lupin will arrive sometime after me to collect the potion.”

And with that, Hermione was on her own. The potion was essentially finished, and merely needed to simmer for hours at this point. She carefully cast a stasis spell on the cauldron so that the temperature would continue to be ideal and sat down to read Snape’s notes.




Thank you, AV, for catching my whoops. It is exactly as you speculated. And... I will be camping out with you, if indeed one can stand in line for such a thing. Don't worry. I'm fantastic at cooking over a fire.