The Switch (or The Switcharoo)

YAY! Another chapter! Sorry about the wait. Hope you like it!

Enjoy!

Romeo's Waiting ~~ chapter 20

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When Snape heard the knock on his potions room door, he didn’t expect it to be Hermione AND Draco. He waited for them to come to his desk and state what they wanted.

“Professor,” Hermione started, “I have a plan that could save us all a bit of time. And maybe some trouble. This Friday we, us three, will all go down and meet Voldemort. Everyone gets what they wanted and we get there within the time frame.”

Severus listened to their reasoning and waited for them to tell him how they were going to only tell Ron and Harry some things and go about doing the things Voldemort wanted. Hermione was going to get her way, if Voldemort didn’t flub things up with his attitude.

“Hermione, you have a great plan, but I have a concern that you may want to include into her equation here. When you got your letter, Voldemort also sent me a letter. He said if you came up with a plan like this he would give you an ultimatum. You could only choose one person who got a reward. I get something and Draco gets something. If you pick Draco to get his reward, then I have to be your bodyguard and if you pick me to get my reward, Draco has to be your bodyguard.” Severus stopped talking and let the ultimatum set in.

“Sir, what is your reward, if you don’t mind me asking?” Draco asked quietly.

Severus looked at Draco and nonchalantly answered him, “I, Mr. Malfoy, get to go unpunished and I get to stay in good standing with Him.” What Severus didn’t let show was his anxiety over all of this. Severus then wondered why Draco would be worried, “What is your reward, Draco?”

“My reward, Sir, is I get to keep Harry.”

“Keep, Malfoy?”

“Yes, I get to keep him. He is going to technically be my servant. As long as he isn’t trying to kill Voldemort, he will be in my care.”

Hermione interrupted then, “Professor, Draco, this is what I’m going to do: I’m going to take you both with me and play Voldemort. I will go through the ritual that he has set up for me and then be on his side. I will choose the reward for Draco, so he can keep Harry and Professor, you will be my bodyguard. Voldemort will probably try to give me something like the Dark Mark, so I’ll take it, but not on the arm.”

There was a knock on the door and the three got quiet and exchanged glances. When the second knock resounded through the room, Severus went and opened the door.

“Professor, are we still doing the dare thing or is that over with?” Harry stood on his tip toes to see past Severus. “Hey, Hermione and Draco. Sorry about earlier.”

Severus looked over at Hermione and Draco, both shrugging, and let Harry in. He followed Harry over to the table and sat down beside Draco and the empty seat.

Harry walked over to Hermione and held out his arms for a hug. She didn’t immediately go to him, but reluctantly hugged him. “I’m so sorry. I suppose if Draco wants to date you than I have nothing to complain about, I still get to see him around. Plus I’m getting tired of talking to Ron about “guy” things.” Harry whispered in her ear.

Hermione pulled Harry tighter and laughed at him because of the Ron thing. “I forgive you for being human, Harry. It’s all okay.”

Harry smiled at her and then walked over to Draco and did the same, but with different words, “I can’t see why you really changed your mind, but I’m okay that you are at least going to be hanging around. I hope you change your mind, even if it is later.”

Draco said he forgave him, than spontaneously placed a chaste kiss on Harry’s lips. He sat down and looked at Hermione who just nodded and asked Harry to sit down. When he did, she dropped their Voldemort conversation and went on with the game idea, “So, Harry, what did you have in mind for this game?”

“Well, I was thinking we could all try something fun.”

“What’s your definition of fun, Potter?” Severus looked skeptical.

“Professor, I was meaning something like a piercing or a semi-permanent mutation of the body.”

“Harry, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I mean Snape already has a tattoo and he already completed the dare.” Draco pointed to Severus’s Dark Mark.

Harry put his chin in his hand and leaned on the table with his elbow, thinking.

Draco came in and gave his idea. “You said semi-permanent, yes?” Getting a nod from Harry, Draco went on, “What if we all did something different, but still semi- or totally permanent? Anyone disagree?”

No one said anything, so Hermione conjured up some paper. When everyone had a piece of paper, Draco suddenly called out, “I wanna pick Hermione if that’s okay with everyone.” Hermione looked at him with a confused face and the other two shrugged their shoulders.

Everyone wrote down their dares and passed them around the table. Hermione took hers from Draco and nearly gasped in surprise, because it would help with their Voldemort plan. She was getting a tattoo.

Draco got his dare and glared at Harry. He had to get two piercings that were totally visible and the original piercings had to be Gryffindor colors. He wasn’t mad about the piercings, just the colors.

Severus read his dare and smiled. Hermione had dared him to take Catherine out and ask her to stay a night. At the bottom it said to tell her it didn’t have to mean sex. It also implied that Severus would be staying with Catherine for a while, his semi, hopefully, permanent situation.

Harry got his dare from Severus, and was surprised with what Severus had dared him. Severus had dared him to get three piercings. He also had to show them to the group when he got them. It didn’t say where he had to get them.

The three students shared their dares and everyone laughed at Harry and Draco. They started talking about where they were going to get their piercings and Hermione about her tattoo.

“Well, I think I’m going to get two eyebrow piercings, one gold and one red.”

“I don’t have to get visible ones, so…” Harry paused for a little suspense, but Hermione spoke up.

“I think you should get a dick piecing, a tongue piercing, and a eyebrow piercing.”

Draco stared at her and Severus nearly fell out of his seat and Harry laughed. “That was almost what I was thinking. I was thinking along the lines of tongue and nipples. I thought about the dick ring, but I’d rather not get a dick infection.”

Draco looked at Hermione and smiled, “What are you going to get for your tattoo, Hermione?”

“I’m thinking about something Celtic. Or a dragon. Maybe something in Latin.”

“What would it say? What kind of….” Harry was cut off by a knock on the door. This knock was a louder, faster knock.

Severus cast a charm at the door and made it look transparent. Dumbledore was on the other side of the door and it looked like he was in a hurry. Severus returned the door back to its natural state and lead the other three to an almost hidden door by a potions cabinet. “This leads to my rooms, just follow it and you’ll be able to go into Hermione’s rooms from there.” He tapped a pattern on the door and then left to let Dumbledore in.

Dumbledore walked in and looked around. He put a silencing charm on the room after seeing the hidden door had been used.

Severus had sat down in Dumbledore’s exploration of the room. When he noticed Dumbledore had put a silencing charm on the room he got a bit worried. “What is the matter, Albus?”

Dumbledore walked over to Severus and told him, “It’s about two things. The first is about rumors and the second is about Dark Marks showing up here recently. I haven't heard anything from you about either so, I came to ask you about them, Severus.”

Severus took in Dumbledore’s disheveled appearance and tired look. “I haven’t heard anything about Dark Marks or raids from Voldemort. And what rumors are going around and about what?”

"The rumor is that Hermione is going to become one of the Dark Lord’s inner circle. He has plans to tell her about her real family and take her through the Ritual. She can’t be part of that circle or do the ritual or know about any of it, Severus. She would be too powerful if she went through it. I took her away from the magical Medici family for a reason.”

“Why did you take her away? Why can’t she know any of it?” Severus was surprised at all this information. Harry was one thing, but Hermione too?

“She can’t know because she’ll look it all up, as much as she can, and we have the whole story in our library. The story about the nameless baby that was dead on arrival and the last chance of the Medici family of seers. The child wasn’t dead, she was taken and a magical twin was put in her place, dead. They believed it and no one has wondered about it. Hermione’s present parents had a baby girl also, but she was kidnapped and I was not part of that.” Dumbledore stopped and took a seat. He sighed once and went on with his story, “I took her away for their safety. She will be THE most powerful witch in all history if she goes through that ritual. She would become an immortal and those that protected her would suffer the consequences.”

This peeked Severus’s interest, “What would be the consequences, sir?”

“Bad. Her protector would have to go through the ritual with her. They wouldn’t become a seer, that’s inherited, but they would become immortal. They would share a mental connection and they would be slightly more powerful, but not as powerful as Hermione would be.”

Severus took all this information in. He conjured up his bottle of firewhiskey and poured two glasses. After taking a swig, he continued with his questioning. “How many protectors can she have? What would happen if Voldemort went through the ritual with her?”

Dumbledore sat and contemplated his golden drink and sipped it before answering. “Severus, there can be as many as fifty people. Her mother went through with many more to test it, but still only fifty survived. The best results came out when there was only two or three people. Now, if Voldemort wanted to go through with her, she would have to accept him into HER circle of trust along with her protector, if there was another person. If she didn’t trust him but accepted him into her circle, he would live, but without the extra power.”

“So he would still be immortal, but with more weaknesses? Do you think he knows about that? Or your part in the story?”

“Yes, immortal with weaknesses, but I don’t think he knows that. That was the mother to daughter secret. I was only told about it because I told her biological mother about the switch on her death bed. I also don’t think he knows about my part in the story because I went by an Italian name that I’ve never used any other time. It’s not even in the hospital records.”

Severus wanted to know more and was about to ask more, when Dumbledore got up from his seat and came over to him. Severus stood up and waited for Dumbledore to talk.

“I have to get back to my office, someone is waiting for me there.” Dumbledore looked at Severus and nodded, “I got an anonymous letter from a strange owl, that blew up on my window sill. It was typed up and just said ‘She is going through the ritual.’ Signed Medici. Nothing else was on it, not even magic. Goodnight, Severus.” Dumbledore walked himself out and shut the door behind himself, leaving Severus stumped.

Severus went to his rooms and found his mail waiting for him. His potions had arrived and he had a letter with his name on it. He opened the letter and looked over the writing, which was strangely familiar, and then at the name on the bottom, Catherine. He smiled and started to read.

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Severus,

I was thinking about another date. Do you think you could free up some time?
Just send an owl or use the floo. It would be easier. Don’t try to come through though. Only allows for mail to be delivered fast.

Kisses,
Catherine

~~

Severus immediately went to his desk and wrote a letter to her.

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Catherine,

It’s good to hear from you.
Would you like to come to Hogwarts for dinner? I’ll cook something.
Come this Thursday around 8 p.m.
I’ll meet you at the gates. Wear a nice summer outfit.
We’ll go through the floo for now on?

Thanks,
Severus

~~

Severus folded it, sealed it, and sent it through the floo. He then went to take a shower and go to bed.

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Hermione heard Severus get water ready for a shower, when she realized she still had his letter in her bag. When she opened it, she thought it was Severus’s letter from earlier, but when she scanned the letter, it looked like his writing, but it wasn’t signed by him. It said “Medici” on the bottom.

~~

Hermione,

I had hoped to never send this to you. It would have automatically been sent to Dumbledore, but seeing as how you now know some of your family history, I thought it would be best to send it straight to you. You can’t tell Dumbledore anything about this, he doesn’t want you to know about the Ritual and what comes along with it.

The Ritual has been in our family for thousands of years, no one married into the family has gone through the ritual unless they were a protector. Everyone who goes through the Ritual lives immortally, though many haven’t lived over 200 years. I have lived for about 500 years. I also am the last Medici, besides yourself, but by the time you get this I’m afraid I won’t be around to see you through the Ritual.

If you look through the library you will probably find a lot about our family. We are one of the oldest, probably THE oldest, families, but we were reclusive, and have been thought to have died long ago. We are or rather, were related distantly to the muggle Italian Medici family, but they were cruel people and are no more. Look, for me. Don’t believe what the book says about the last baby girl. You didn’t die, Dumbledore just stole you away from us.

Now, to more pressing matters, the Ritual consists of many things.
First, the Ritual last for two days.
Second, you may pick up to 50 people to go through with you, but it’s better to stick with yourself and one or two protectors. You have to trust your protectors to have them live immortally. Anyone who you don’t trust will live immortally, but will not get the power boost someone you trust will. They will die easier. Anyone who jumps in, uninvited will die almost immediately. If someone does jump in uninvited, it depends on how you want them to die., they will die according to however you image them dying.
Third, you will get the Medici gift, or curse, which ever you see it as. The gift is the ability to see into the past, present and future. Depending on how powerful you were before the Ritual, the more powerful you will be after. The more power you have in you, the farther you can see. I advise trying to not look ahead into the future farther then needed. I have seen the future in 500 years, but it will change and hopefully it will. Every decision anyone ever makes will change the future no matter how minor the decision. Also, if you are still virgin, you will have even greater power then you would otherwise.
Fourth, the Ritual limits how many children you can have. This also depends on how long you live. The Ritual was designed so you can’t have hundreds of children, no matter how long you live.

This is all I can tell you, because the Ritual is the only thing you don’t know about. The procedures, at least. I understand that Voldemort will be taking you through the Ritual, and he knows how to do everything, but I still think it would better if one of the family did the conducting. Voldemort knows and I may die before the Ritual, so I wish you the best.

Medici, Augusta

Know this: No one can mess with the incantations and no one can mess the Ritual up. Just relax and be relaxed before and during the Ritual. It will be much, much easier on everyone.

~~

As Hermione finished her letter, she heard her fireplace roar to life and die back down. She was thinking about the three days that she would have to wait, when she seen a letter on her hearth. She went from her deep thinking place to her happy place when she seen that it was an actual letter from Severus.

She ripped open the seal and was shocked to find Severus was going to take the bait and invite her, or really Catherine, to his rooms and dinner. When she read that he would be cooking she had to ask him about it.

She finished the letter and went to knock on the bathroom door. Severus told her to come in and the door opened for her. She went in and sat on the large tub which was also a hot tub, that he was waiting to fill up.

He was wearing a towel around his waist and was still wet from the shower. “What do you need Miss Granger? I hope you’re not here to ruin my mood with Dark Lord talk.”

Hermione smiled and wove her way to the subject she wanted to talk about, “No, actually, I came to tell you Draco and Harry are friends now and we are all going to go get our dares done separately. To make it easier for Harry not to know our plans. So, what mood are you in?”

Severus motioned for Hermione to turn around so he could get into his bath. “I’m in a good, no, a really good mood. Okay?”

When she turned around the water was a sea blue and not clear, but she went on with just a glance to the water. “What put you in such a good mood? You don’t seem happy. You look pretty regular.”

“Dampening my mood doesn’t help with your answers, Miss Granger. But to answer, I set up a date with Catherine.” Severus held his hand up to Hermione, to stop her from asking more questions, “We are going to eat dinner here and I’m going to ask her to stay like you dared me to.”

“You’re going to eat school food? That’s a lame dinner. It’s tasty and all, but not a very good date.”

“Do you not think I have imagination? I will have the house elves help me put a kitchen attachment on to our rooms. I was hoping you could help me a little bit in what woman like to eat.”

“So, attached to OUR rooms? That’s awesome. And how am I supposed to help, being a woman doesn’t mean we all like the same things.” Hermione tried to look slightly offended and tried not to smile, because she would be able to pick something she liked.

“Being a woman in this case, just means you can help me generalize and…” Severus paused. “You can help me cook properly. I’m not that great a cook without magic. Magic tends to dull the taste of the food a bit. Will you help me?”

Hermione walked over to the mirror and started brushing her bushy hair. She made Severus wait until she had all her hair brushed and then asked, “What do I get out of it?”

Severus stared at the audacious girl. “You need to get out of the dungeons and date someone else. Slytherins are way too easy to rub off of. But anyway, I can give you whatever beauty products you want, if you want them.” Severus tried to save himself at the end.

She smiled, she was becoming a bit like a Slytherin. “Okay, deal. Nice save. What do you think she likes?”

He thought for a moment while he heated up the water. “Well, I don’t think she drinks alcohol. I think she eats a wide variety of things.”

Hermione thought about their last dinner. She did eat a variety of things and he was correct in that she doesn’t drink alcohol. “Maybe we can fix a few things? What kinds of things do you like, Professor?”



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OOOOOH, it gets better from here. I promise.