The Makeover - COMPLETED

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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Chapter 24 ~ Torment, Thy Name is Severus

The next day Albus was deluged by requests for interviews with himself, Severus and Hermione. He scheduled a small press conference in the Great Hall right after breakfast. Severus was quite miffed, since Professor Binns had to take his morning class, and the ghost was bound to leave ectoplasm on his good swivel chair. So he was in bad temper.

The three told the press about the project to solve the Phantom Summons and a lot of focus was placed on why a muggle-born witch would devote so much time trying to help former deatheaters.

”Everyone deserves a second chance,” Hermione told the reporters, “those people who renounced Voldemort and took their proper places in society deserved a clean start and were still suffering. No one was looking for a solution to the Phantom Summons. I and the Headmaster believed that needed to be rectified, and I was simply willing to work on finding a solution. It didn’t matter I was muggle-born. What mattered was people needed answers. I did my best to find them.”

Professor Snape was drawn into the limelight too, as a brave hero who entered the lair, overpowered Pettigrew and destroyed the Dark Lord’s last remaining vestiges of life. The dark wizard simply told what happened without embellishment, but of course the newspapers made it quite dramatic, and the Potions Master was deluged with owls from interested witches again, most of which included photos of the women in various stages of undress.

Hermione also received posts from admirers, but nothing compared to the stacks of scented parchments Severus received.

The Potions Master had taken to eating breakfast with the rest of the staff…Hermione being the underlying cause, so they all witnessed the wizard’s breakfast being disrupted by armloads of letters dropped on his plate. The wizard would scowl, gather them up and miniaturize them, stuffing the letters into his pocket. The witches were dying to see exactly what the parchments contained, particularly Hermione. Since the capture of Peter Pettigrew, the Potions Master hadn’t really approached her…it had been close to a week since they had talked. She thought the wizard might be angry at her for not apparating with him to Hogwarts from the Ministry.

Hermione knew she should have been glad the wizard was no longer being suggestive towards her…but…she wasn’t. The Potions Master’s interest had been a deliciously disturbing aspect of her life, adding excitement and anticipation to her daily existence, not to mention eroticism to her nightly dreams. His seeming lack of interest in pursuing her affected the witch. She was…disappointed. Very disappointed, but didn’t know what to do about it. She didn’t want to throw herself at the Potions Master. It would be too embarrassing. What could she do?

Friday evening when she was on her way to her rooms after supper where she had turned down going on a “Girls Night Out” with the other staff members, she saw a strange witch walking ahead of her. She was a tall red-head with quite a curvaceous shape dressed in a blue cloak. The woman stopped in front of the Potions office and knocked. Hermione slowed down, and on a whim disillusioned herself. She moved as close as she dared and waited to see who the witch was.

The door opened and Severus looked at the woman, his dark eyes washing over her. Then he stuck his head out and looked up and down the dungeon corridor before once again looking at the unfamiliar witch. He’d been through this before.

For some reason, Hermione felt her belly grow cold as she watched the wizard.

“May I help you?” Severus asked the witch silkily.

The witch looked at the wizard with a glint in her eye.

“Hello, Professor Snape. My name is Elena Goodbody,” the witch said.

Severus smirked.

“Quite the name,” he purred, his black eyes drifting over her again, “And how may I help you, Miss Goodbody?”

“I just wanted to meet you. I read about your daring takedown of Pettigrew and wondered about the man behind the hero. Everyone loves a hero, Professor,” the witch said, her lips curling.

Severus considered her.

“Do they? And are you the type of witch that loves a hero you’ve never met, Miss Goodbody?” he asked her, his meaning unmistakable

“I could be,” she responded naughtily.

Severus once again gave her a considering look. His eyes rested on her hair.

“Are you a natural redhead, Miss Goodbody?” he asked the witch.

“I’m afraid I’m a bit, mismatched,” the witch admitted.

“I’m sure the colors are…complementary,” the wizard replied, opening the door wider. “Come in, Miss Goodbody. Let us get…better acquainted.”

“Thank you, Professor,” Elena said, walking past him.

Severus looked out the door once more, then closed it.

Hermione stood against the wall, feeling as if her heart were about to drop out of her chest. She didn’t have a relationship with the Professor, but seeing him bring another witch into his private office with such obvious designs on her actually hurt.

Hermione removed the disillusionment spell and walked slowly down the corridor, very upset. She had believed the Professor was really focused on her, but apparently she was just in his sights as a conquest. Her virginity was the prize…not herself. The wizard obviously liked experienced witches, judging by his quick acceptance of “Miss Goodbody.” What kind of name was that for a witch anyway? It sounded as if the woman should be wrapped around a pole someplace.

Hermione scowled as the unfamiliar tendrils of jealousy snaked through her. How dare he do this? Tease and tantalize her so, then fuck somebody else? Maybe he was randy and couldn’t wait until she was ready to be deflowered. But he had made no advances toward her in over a week…she could have become ready. Hermione was drawn to the wizard; she had already admitted it to herself, though it seemed so wrong. He was nothing like the kind of man she dreamed about getting involved with. He made no offers of eternal love or commitment or anything.

But gods, he turned her on so much. Hermione now understood what Severus meant when he said she had a lot to learn about the ways of witches and wizards. A long courtship wasn’t necessary or required to enjoy intimacy. Only the desire. And there was nothing wrong with that if both parties were willing. Hermione believed she was willing.

She was just passing the Potions office when the door opened and Miss Goodbody was ejected, stumbling a bit as she entered the corridor.

“Thank you, but no thank you, Miss Goodbody,” the wizard said to the scowling witch.

“How…how dare you!” Miss Goodbody raged, her blue eyes narrowed hatefully at the wizard as she brushed off her cloak in an attempt to regain her composure.

“I prefer to be the hunter, not the prey, Miss Goodbody,” the wizard said, his eyes shifting towards Hermione momentarily before returning to the witch. “Good day.”

Severus closed the door. It clicked as he locked it.

“Why that insolent, ugly bastard,” the witch seethed, “he’s got some fucking nerve!”

She stormed up the corridor.

Hermione watched her go, her heart feeling lighter than it had in a long time. He didn’t want what the witch offered him. She had been too easy. Smiling, Hermione let herself into her rooms.

In his office, Severus also wore a hint of a smile. The Potions Master had very sharp eyes due to years of making rounds through Hogwarts in search of rule breakers. He saw Hermione’s disillusioned form pressing against the dungeon corridor wall when Elena first knocked on his door.

Miss Goodbody had been attractive enough, but Severus had already been through this. He could have fucked the witch, but she would have been taking more than she was giving. His name probably would have ended up in some gossip column by the week’s end. The woman was just another status whore seeking to bask in his limelight. She had no interest in him personally. He would have simply been stud service.

The only reason the Potions Master had the dialogue he did and brought her into his office was because Hermione was spying on him, the little minx. He wanted to see if he could make her jealous. The look on her face when he opened the door and pushed Miss Goodbody out could only be described as one of shock and happiness. He definitely had made points with the witch, and that had been his intention.

The wizard had purposely avoided Hermione for the past week, hoping his coolness would have the effect of putting her off-balance while stoking her desire for him. The fact that Hermione was spying and looked so happy when he ejected the witch meant that she was still quite interested in him. He was waiting for Hermione to approach him. At this point in the game, he wanted the witch to make advances, even if she covered them up with lame reasons for interaction.

When she did that, he could move on to the next phase of the game.

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Saturday afternoon found Hermione in the library. She had a stack of books in front of her that she was supposed to be perusing, but she was doodling on a piece of parchment…using Severus’ name and making anagrams from it. Her brow was furrowed as she shifted the letters around, making new words that fit him and her situation.

SEVERUS SNAPE

Spun as severe.
Averseness up.
Sap uses nerve.
Saves up sneer.

Yes, that described him all right. She wrote two more anagrams.

Senses rave up.
Pass. Never use.

Hermione stared at the last two. The wizard really did make her senses “rave”…but it was the last anagram that seemed as if it were giving her advice. Pass…never use. In other words…leave the wizard alone and get on with her life. She sighed. Easier written than done.

“Anagrams, Miss Granger?” a silken voice said over her shoulder.

Hermione quickly covered up the parchment with one hand and looked over her shoulder at Severus, whose black eyes rested on her hand, then drifted to her face. He smirked at the startled, embarrassed witch.

“You’re too late. I’ve already read them,” he purred.

Hermione turned bright red.

The wizard reached over her and withdrew a piece of scrap parchment from the small box on the table, picked up her quill and sat down in the wooden chair next to her. Hermione could feel his heat and fought not to react. Severus wrote something on the paper…looked thoughtful then scribbled down a few lines and slid it over to her.

“There you go, Miss Granger. You aren’t the only one who can do anagrams,” he said to her, his dark eyes glittering.

The wizard then rose and exited the library as silently as he arrived, leaving the witch’s heart pounding. Hermione read the parchment.

HERMIONE GRANGER

Ahem. Erring goner.
Oh. Merger nearing.
Engage hornier Mr.

Hermione turned several shades of red as she read the wizard’s clever anagrams. Gods, she was a “goner?” “Merger nearing?” Did that mean…oh great grindelows. There was no mistaking the final anagram…it was a directive to engage him.

Well, the witch now knew one thing as she fingered the parchment. The Potions Master was definitely still interested.

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A/N: Whoo…Severus threw Hermione for a loop when he invited that witch into his office, but he knew she was there spying on him. Lol. He really is a bastard though, using Elena to make Hermione jealous then physically ejecting her from his office. :::shaking head::: No gentleman at all. Lol. And what about those anagrams? Fun eh? Especially “Engage hornier Mr.” lololol. Anyway, please review.