Lendoren

Disclaimer : see chapter one.

Jo owns the characters, kelokelo the story, septentrion the translation, and Tanit the betaing


Chapter 24. A Slight Change in Appearance.


The last school day was exactly on the winter solstice. Severus noticed as soon as he woke up that something had to be done with Hermione’s appearance. She now had rather similar features with the Lendoren women that he knew, and rather similar to his own. Magic was still working silently inside of her. Luckily, between two daily arguments, and two daily very affectionate cuddles, he had had time to explain his different appearance and to warn her about her own upcoming change. He told her that she would have to master that change in her appearance. He looked at the clock, and saw with relief that they had an hour for her to master this. He shook her gently to wake her up.

“Mmm,” she grumbled. “There were times when you’d wake me up in a more tender manner.”

“Tomorrow, my dear, if you like, but we have work to do this morning.”

She moaned louder in protest.

“Look in this mirror and you’ll understand,” he said to her, thrusting a mirror in her hand.

Hermione opened an eye with difficulty, having been tired by all the emotional upheaval this term, and perhaps also because Severus had kept her awake yesterday evening for the most delicious reason. But what she saw nearly had her jumping out of the bed, while Severus was eyeing her appreciatively.

“Stop looking at me like that! I can’t go to classes with this head.”

“Your head is very lovely, my dear.”

His eyes clearly weren’t on her face, but were drifting to her curves, which were much more softer and pleasant to watch. She looked in the mirror once more, just to make sure Severus hadn’t given her an enchanted mirror.

‘An hour?’ Severus thought. She should be able to master her change of appearance in less time than that, shouldn’t she? He thus would have time to devote to his favorite activity: a thorough and intimate exploration of his companion’s body.

“Erwin, do you ever think to anything else?” Hermione sounded exasperated.

“When you’re wearing this kind of outfit, I can’t think of anything else,” Severus answered in a whisper.

“And what do I do to go to classes?”

“You think about your previous features, and you should get them back,” he resumed seriously.

It took Hermione nearly the entire hour to be able to changer her appearance at will, much to Severus’ disappointment. But he had to admit that it was needed, or she wouldn’t be able to attend her classes.

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She showed her new appearance to Ron, Ginny and Harry in the evening in her rooms. The three were relieved not to meet their professor very often in there. They were gobsmacked by her change of appearance; she had become a lovely young woman with the years, but she was undoubtedly beautiful in her Lendoren appearance. They all knew that the next day, they would depart from Hogwarts with their Potions Professor to the centre of the Lendoren Community. Professor Dumbledore had summoned them to tell them the news.
“Harry,” he had said, “the Lendoren know more than me about what happened the night your parents died. I only knew of this last summer, when you’d just gotten onto the Hogwarts Express to go back home for the holiday. They propose to welcome you during the holidays, so they’ll tell you everything. They know Miss Weasley is very dear to you, so she’s included in the trip, with Mr Weasley. As for Miss Granger, she goes with Professor Snape.”

“Professor, why can’t Professor Gryffin explain things to me, here in the castle?” Harry had asked.

“I don’t know, Harry. Or rather, I suspect that he wants the three of you to know the Lendoren Community, and those explanations are only an excuse to invite you.”

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Hermione had tried to get information from Severus about the mail that he had received and that had incited them, according to him, to make that decision to take them all to the Centre. But he had turned her down and taken her in his arms. He had then firmly told her, “My dear, when we are at the Centre, we’ll be able to give you a lot of explanations, but not until we can be sure you’ll be protected efficiently.”

“Can you do it only there?”

“Without attracting undue attention, yes.”

“Promise?”

“Yes, Hermione, I promise you,” Severus sighed. “But how have you managed to extort so many promises from me in such a short time?”

Hermione burst out laughing. He was as disagreeable as always in Potions class, but once he’d taken off the layers of his authoritarian personality, her companion was quite to her taste. If somebody had told her that the day she’d reach her seventeenth birthday …

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The day scheduled for the departure of the Hogwarts Express, Ron, Harry and Giny nervously headed to Hermione’s rooms; they knew that they were to meet their Potions Professor there. Indeed, Hermione had decreed that, as they were to spend a part of the holiday together, it was time to put aside the old grudges, and that they ought to speak to each other. She was growing fed up with repeating her friends what Severus told her, and to ask Severus the questions her friends asked her. Severus was the one who had protested the most when she proposed they all had breakfast together; he’d been tempted to pretext that he was a teacher, and that teachers and students didn’t eat at the same table.

“We’ll have breakfast in our flat, Severus. Harry’ll ask Dobby to prepare food for us, and as far as I know, you’re no teacher when you’re in our flat, or you’re still going to bring forth that argument?”

«Who’s Dobby?»

“He’s a house-elf, he used to belong to the Malfoys in fact, and he’s now working here in the kitchens …”

“Since when do you know how to go to the kitchens?” Severus exclaimed.

“Hm … since our fourth year,” Hermione answered. She always felt awkward when she had to tell him about one of their past mischief.

«Perfect.» He was being ironic. “You’ve admitted to have perpetrated some mischief in your second, third, and now fourth year. Only your first, fifth, sixth, and maybe seventh seem clear, or are they?”

“Oh, not during seventh year,” Hermione protested. “Do you think I’d had time for shenanigans with you always in my head?”

“So, I’m right in thinking that there was something in your first, fifth and sixth year!”

Hermione shot him a dark look, but didn’t answer. Honesty was a basis to their relationship, but it didn’t mean she should give him everything on a platter, did it? Anyway, she couldn’t change a thing to it …

«As it is, you’ll come and eat with us, Erwin, and you’ll tell us a bit about the Community who’s going to accommodate us for a fortnight.”

“My dear, they’re going to accommodate you for more than a fortnight, for I hope we’ll be able to go back there for the Easter holiday, then for the summer holiday, before we decide what we’ll do next year.”

He saw by her surprised face that she didn’t think that they would still be together the next year, even though she wouldn’t be at Hogwarts anymore.

"I hope it doesn’t bother you to speak about the future as I’m doing?”

“No, erm, it’s …, I believe that no,” Hermione whispered. “Actually, I think that I’ve completely forgotten that there would be a next year, and that I wouldn’t be in Hogwarts anymore … while you …”

“I won’t be here anymore either, my dear. I plan on giving up teaching here,” he said.

“What would you do instead?”

“I’ll tell you about the options I have when we’re there, Hermione.”

“And what’s the name of the place?”

“The ‘Silvery Circle’. You’ll see why when you arrive. But take warm clothes with you, because the temperature here is warm compared to the temperature there.”

Warm? Surely he was jesting? The thermometer was oscillating between –5°C and 0°C, and they were paddling in four centimetres high snow layers.

«But it’s easy to find suitable clothing there, and it’s easy to Apparate as well if one knows the strategic places.”

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Hermione’s friends arrived at her door and softly knocked. Hermione opened, and then she told Severus he could come out of the bedroom.

Hermione and Ginny took turn to make conversation during the meal as Harry, Ron, and Severus seemed willing to keep their teeth gritted. The first two remembered the contemptuous remarks of their teacher, while the latter remembered his students’ mischief, or their mischief that he’d known of, since they were at Hogwarts.

“Well, Erwin, that’s enough of this attitude. When will you speak to us about the Centre?” Hermione sounded irritated, and received a dark look from Erwin.

"You’ll know everything in a few minutes since I’ll make a Portkey as soon as everybody has finished their meal.” He shot an irritated look to Ron who was occupied stuffing himself with food.

“Take your time, Ron,” Hermione said to him. “It should allow us to receive more explanations. Erwin?”

Severus sighed. Once more, he wouldn’t have the last word. That was becoming a very annoying habit of hers; he had to find a way to reverse this tendency! So he explained to them what the Silvery Circle was, who was living there, and above all, why it was important that Hermione and he went and trained there.

Answers to reviews

Bella Snape: Hotness in good! Snape will learn to make a lot of concessions in this story. Thank you for commenting.


lisa: If Severus were real, I'd hide him in my most secret cupboard, for personal use only ;) Thank you for your encouragements, I certainly hope I'm doing better in English (it'd be a shame not to after so many chapters!).


firewall: You'll meet the Community very soon. The Lendoren are friendly people, so everything should be alright with them. Thank you for commenting.