A Maid in the Devil's Manor
folder
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
51
Views:
39,404
Reviews:
483
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
51
Views:
39,404
Reviews:
483
Recommended:
1
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.
Moving Day
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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Chapter 23 ~ Moving Day
The installation of the lift at Snape Manor went off without a hitch. Eli was the perfect overseer, not allowing the workmen to slack off, but keeping them well supplied with ample amounts of food and drink. At first the work-wizards were dismissive of a house-elf as a representative of the Master of the Manor, but when Eli lifted and pulverized a large hunk of rock that weighed several tons with a simple flick of his hand, they became much more respectful in a surprisingly short span of time. The elf had them test and retest the lift until he was satisfied. Now when the suit of armor’s right arm was pulled down, the wall slid back to reveal the stairwell, but to the right was the lift door which could be opened with a series of presses on the stone. It was a rather quick lift, and riders needed to be prepared for the startlingly fast drop to the lower rooms.
**************************
On Tuesday morning, Neville Longbottom was wiping a bit of water off the front counter of his flower shop, when a raven swooped in the open double doors, landed on the very spot he just cleaned and cawed loudly at him, sticking out its leg. Neville removed the parchment from the bird’s leg carefully (that beak looked sharp), and read the message, turning several colors in the process. It was a letter from the most dreaded teacher he ever had the misfortune to be a pupil of…Professor Severus Snape. A rush of frightening memories washed over the sensitive young wizard as he read the signature on the page. It seemed the Potions Master wanted him to come to his Manor and help to set up an indoor terrarium of great size. Cost was not a factor. Wow.
Neville shook a little in reaction. He might have turned the job down but for two things. First, the obscene amount of money the Professor was willing to pay him, and secondly the fact that he would be working closely with Hermione Granger. Neville had a terrible crush on the brilliant witch though he knew she was way out of his league. Still, the opportunity to just be in her presence was enough to lead him to swallow down his fear and accept the Professor’s term. He would visit the Manor every evening after work and help set up the lab. The letter also said he would be required to take a Wizard’s Oath concerning his work there. Neville didn’t have a problem with that. He had set up terrariums for wizards and witches that required Oaths before, particularly if they were growing restricted plants.
He was to arrive at the Manor for his initial visit on Wednesday evening, meet up with Hermione and do a consultation and examination of the area he had to work with. He would learn what types of plants would be bred when he got there. Neville quickly wrote the Professor back, accepting his offer, and attached it to the waiting Raucous who was surprisingly well behaved for once, having spent his wait time walking the counter and examining the plants on display with one round, black eye. Neville fished under the counter and gave the bird a bit of jerky. Raucous wolfed it down, squawked a thank you to the wizard and took off through the double doors.
******************************
Hermione sold her king-sized four-poster bed for next to nothing, but still was extremely satisfied. She had placed the entire bed outside her flat, and her unfriendly neighbors came over to check it out. Hermione noticed a young witch, in rather threadbare robes looking at the bed from the sidewalk wistfully. She waved the woman over.
“It’s a beautiful bed,” said the witch. Hermione noticed she was about six months pregnant.
“Yes, and it didn’t get a lot of use,” Hermione said, half-smirking. She only had it a month before she busted Galen at the brothel. “Are you interested in it?” Hermione asked the witch, who looked at the price tag sadly and shook her head. Hermione knew that look. She couldn’t afford it.
With a little prodding Hermione found out that the witch was recently married, and she and her husband had a little flat, and were furnishing it bit by bit. She wasn’t working now, so it was slow going. They didn’t have a bed yet, and were sleeping on a full-sized mattress on the floor of their bedroom.
At that moment, her neighbor next door sauntered over. He gave the pregnant witch a nasty little once-over, looked at her as if she were trash, and dismissively stepped between her and Hermione. Hermione was fuming at his rudeness.
“Thirty galleons is too much. I’ll give ya twenty fer it,” he said. “And that’s being generous. I know you got to be out of here in a week or so. Best get what you can for it.”
He made a leering face at her. Hermione scowled at the man. Yes, she needed the money but…
Hermione peeked around the man at the pregnant witch, who was turning to leave.
“How much money you do you have in your pocket?” Hermione asked her.
The witch turned around and fished through her pocket. “Two galleons, eight sickles, and two knuts,” the witch replied, showing Hermione the coins.
“Do you need to get anything out of this?” Hermione asked her.
“A bit of food,” the witch replied.
Hermione took a galleon out of her hand.
“You’ve got yourself a bed,” she smiled at the startled witch.
“What?” roared her neighbor, his face turning bright red. “You turn down twenty galleons for one? You’re a right mad bird, you are!”
Hermione ignored him and wrote the witch out a bill of sale. The witch took the bill of sale with tears in her wide brown eyes.
“Thank you. We could have never afforded a bed this nice. My husband will be so pleased. His back hurts him so, you know,” she said softly.
“Enjoy it,” Hermione smiled at her. She reduced the bed and wrapped it up in parchment. The witch tucked it under her arm, and with another grateful thank you, went on her way.
The angry neighbor was back in his own front yard, muttering to his bulldog-faced wife. Both of them glared over at Hermione, who stuck her tongue out at them. They swelled indignantly as the witch walked back into her flat and closed the door. At least the bed would be used by a couple who loved each other.
She felt pretty good about herself.
********************************
Hermione brought all of her belongs to the Manor on Wednesday morning. Eli, the Professor’s house elf, appeared suddenly by her leg as she sat at the kitchen table, startling her so badly she almost dropped her coffee.
“Eli, what are you doing here?” she asked the elf, who grinned up at her.
“I comes to see if I can helps you move, Miss,” Eli said, looking at the boxes scattered about the living room.
Hermione stood up and walked into the living room. She looked back at the elf, then at all the boxes. There were about thirty of them, mostly clothes and books. She had already sent her lab equipment to the Manor by post.
“Yes Eli, I could use a little help,” she replied smiling at the elf, “it should only take two or three trips to get it all there.”
“No, Miss. Just one trip,” the elf said, shaking out a small fabric bag. “Is this all, Miss? Any boxes in the back?”
“No Eli, this is it,” she said, looking at the elf curiously.
Waving his clawed hand in a circular motion, Eli shrunk all the boxes to an impossibly small size, smaller than the Reducto spell could have managed. He walked around picking them up and putting them in the little bag. Hermione stared at him.
“How did you do that, Eli?” she asked him in a low voice.
“It’s house-elf magic, Miss. Helps us in our service, it does,” he said as he picked up the last of the boxes. The little fabric bag was bulging. He threw it over his shoulder.
“Anything else needs moving, Miss?” he asked her.
“No, that was it, Eli,” Hermione responded, still looking at the elf with a little awe. He certainly had strong magic.
“I will take these to your rooms and puts them away,” he said to her. Then he gave her a huge smile, “Eli is pleased you are bringing hope to the Manor again, Miss. It has been too long since our Master has had hope.” The little elf winked out.
Hope? What did the elf mean? She’d have to ask the Professor about it.
Hermione took a final look around the flat. She had liked living here. But, after all the only constant in the universe was change. She sighed, locked the door and apparated.
Snape Manor was her home now.
******************************
A/N: Neville has a crush on Hermione, hmm? He better not let Severus in on that. Nice what Hermione did for that witch. Good old Eli. All right, Hermione is officially a member of the House of Snape. Cool beans. Please review.
*******************************
Chapter 23 ~ Moving Day
The installation of the lift at Snape Manor went off without a hitch. Eli was the perfect overseer, not allowing the workmen to slack off, but keeping them well supplied with ample amounts of food and drink. At first the work-wizards were dismissive of a house-elf as a representative of the Master of the Manor, but when Eli lifted and pulverized a large hunk of rock that weighed several tons with a simple flick of his hand, they became much more respectful in a surprisingly short span of time. The elf had them test and retest the lift until he was satisfied. Now when the suit of armor’s right arm was pulled down, the wall slid back to reveal the stairwell, but to the right was the lift door which could be opened with a series of presses on the stone. It was a rather quick lift, and riders needed to be prepared for the startlingly fast drop to the lower rooms.
**************************
On Tuesday morning, Neville Longbottom was wiping a bit of water off the front counter of his flower shop, when a raven swooped in the open double doors, landed on the very spot he just cleaned and cawed loudly at him, sticking out its leg. Neville removed the parchment from the bird’s leg carefully (that beak looked sharp), and read the message, turning several colors in the process. It was a letter from the most dreaded teacher he ever had the misfortune to be a pupil of…Professor Severus Snape. A rush of frightening memories washed over the sensitive young wizard as he read the signature on the page. It seemed the Potions Master wanted him to come to his Manor and help to set up an indoor terrarium of great size. Cost was not a factor. Wow.
Neville shook a little in reaction. He might have turned the job down but for two things. First, the obscene amount of money the Professor was willing to pay him, and secondly the fact that he would be working closely with Hermione Granger. Neville had a terrible crush on the brilliant witch though he knew she was way out of his league. Still, the opportunity to just be in her presence was enough to lead him to swallow down his fear and accept the Professor’s term. He would visit the Manor every evening after work and help set up the lab. The letter also said he would be required to take a Wizard’s Oath concerning his work there. Neville didn’t have a problem with that. He had set up terrariums for wizards and witches that required Oaths before, particularly if they were growing restricted plants.
He was to arrive at the Manor for his initial visit on Wednesday evening, meet up with Hermione and do a consultation and examination of the area he had to work with. He would learn what types of plants would be bred when he got there. Neville quickly wrote the Professor back, accepting his offer, and attached it to the waiting Raucous who was surprisingly well behaved for once, having spent his wait time walking the counter and examining the plants on display with one round, black eye. Neville fished under the counter and gave the bird a bit of jerky. Raucous wolfed it down, squawked a thank you to the wizard and took off through the double doors.
******************************
Hermione sold her king-sized four-poster bed for next to nothing, but still was extremely satisfied. She had placed the entire bed outside her flat, and her unfriendly neighbors came over to check it out. Hermione noticed a young witch, in rather threadbare robes looking at the bed from the sidewalk wistfully. She waved the woman over.
“It’s a beautiful bed,” said the witch. Hermione noticed she was about six months pregnant.
“Yes, and it didn’t get a lot of use,” Hermione said, half-smirking. She only had it a month before she busted Galen at the brothel. “Are you interested in it?” Hermione asked the witch, who looked at the price tag sadly and shook her head. Hermione knew that look. She couldn’t afford it.
With a little prodding Hermione found out that the witch was recently married, and she and her husband had a little flat, and were furnishing it bit by bit. She wasn’t working now, so it was slow going. They didn’t have a bed yet, and were sleeping on a full-sized mattress on the floor of their bedroom.
At that moment, her neighbor next door sauntered over. He gave the pregnant witch a nasty little once-over, looked at her as if she were trash, and dismissively stepped between her and Hermione. Hermione was fuming at his rudeness.
“Thirty galleons is too much. I’ll give ya twenty fer it,” he said. “And that’s being generous. I know you got to be out of here in a week or so. Best get what you can for it.”
He made a leering face at her. Hermione scowled at the man. Yes, she needed the money but…
Hermione peeked around the man at the pregnant witch, who was turning to leave.
“How much money you do you have in your pocket?” Hermione asked her.
The witch turned around and fished through her pocket. “Two galleons, eight sickles, and two knuts,” the witch replied, showing Hermione the coins.
“Do you need to get anything out of this?” Hermione asked her.
“A bit of food,” the witch replied.
Hermione took a galleon out of her hand.
“You’ve got yourself a bed,” she smiled at the startled witch.
“What?” roared her neighbor, his face turning bright red. “You turn down twenty galleons for one? You’re a right mad bird, you are!”
Hermione ignored him and wrote the witch out a bill of sale. The witch took the bill of sale with tears in her wide brown eyes.
“Thank you. We could have never afforded a bed this nice. My husband will be so pleased. His back hurts him so, you know,” she said softly.
“Enjoy it,” Hermione smiled at her. She reduced the bed and wrapped it up in parchment. The witch tucked it under her arm, and with another grateful thank you, went on her way.
The angry neighbor was back in his own front yard, muttering to his bulldog-faced wife. Both of them glared over at Hermione, who stuck her tongue out at them. They swelled indignantly as the witch walked back into her flat and closed the door. At least the bed would be used by a couple who loved each other.
She felt pretty good about herself.
********************************
Hermione brought all of her belongs to the Manor on Wednesday morning. Eli, the Professor’s house elf, appeared suddenly by her leg as she sat at the kitchen table, startling her so badly she almost dropped her coffee.
“Eli, what are you doing here?” she asked the elf, who grinned up at her.
“I comes to see if I can helps you move, Miss,” Eli said, looking at the boxes scattered about the living room.
Hermione stood up and walked into the living room. She looked back at the elf, then at all the boxes. There were about thirty of them, mostly clothes and books. She had already sent her lab equipment to the Manor by post.
“Yes Eli, I could use a little help,” she replied smiling at the elf, “it should only take two or three trips to get it all there.”
“No, Miss. Just one trip,” the elf said, shaking out a small fabric bag. “Is this all, Miss? Any boxes in the back?”
“No Eli, this is it,” she said, looking at the elf curiously.
Waving his clawed hand in a circular motion, Eli shrunk all the boxes to an impossibly small size, smaller than the Reducto spell could have managed. He walked around picking them up and putting them in the little bag. Hermione stared at him.
“How did you do that, Eli?” she asked him in a low voice.
“It’s house-elf magic, Miss. Helps us in our service, it does,” he said as he picked up the last of the boxes. The little fabric bag was bulging. He threw it over his shoulder.
“Anything else needs moving, Miss?” he asked her.
“No, that was it, Eli,” Hermione responded, still looking at the elf with a little awe. He certainly had strong magic.
“I will take these to your rooms and puts them away,” he said to her. Then he gave her a huge smile, “Eli is pleased you are bringing hope to the Manor again, Miss. It has been too long since our Master has had hope.” The little elf winked out.
Hope? What did the elf mean? She’d have to ask the Professor about it.
Hermione took a final look around the flat. She had liked living here. But, after all the only constant in the universe was change. She sighed, locked the door and apparated.
Snape Manor was her home now.
******************************
A/N: Neville has a crush on Hermione, hmm? He better not let Severus in on that. Nice what Hermione did for that witch. Good old Eli. All right, Hermione is officially a member of the House of Snape. Cool beans. Please review.