The Ties that Lead to Trust

I have a sketch of Hermione\'s Haircut up on WIKTT in the GFeather folder of photos. It\'s only free hand and not especially good or anything, but if anyone was wondering what I had envisioned you can see it there.

Chapter 26~Technicalities

Though Hermione had fallen asleep easily earlier, she woke in the middle of the night and felt too agitated to settle down again. Trying hard not to twist and turn in her restlessness, she found laying still impossible and got out of bed. Now familiar with the layout of the room, she could easily find her way in the absolute darkness and slipped out without waking Severus. Having left her dressing gown and slippers behind, she darted quickly through the cold hall and into the bathroom. A few candles lit themselves as she entered and she closed the door quietly behind her. After turning a few taps, water and bubbles began to fill the bath silently. In a smooth motion she shed her nightgown and eased herself into the steaming water.

As the hot water and soothing scents began to fill her senses, she closed her eyes and allowed the barely suppressed anxiety to slip away. She could hear the faint sounds of tiny bubbles popping close to her ears and felt them against her skin. It was magnificently relaxing, and Hermione allowed herself the luxury of emptying her mind of its many troubles.

She floated, relaxing in the bubbles for some time with her eyes shut, listening to the sound of her breathing and heartbeat, entirely wrapped up with simply being. It wasn’t until the water shifted around her that she noticed she wasn’t alone anymore. Opening her eyes she saw Severus move beside her and shifted herself into an upright position. Iridescent purple bubbles clung to her hair which he reached up and brushed away. “Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to fall asleep in the bath without a bubble head charm?”

Hermione looked at him blankly for a moment then smiled widely. “I don’t recall that one, no. She did tell me never to fall asleep in the tub, but I don’t recall any mention of bubble head charms whatsoever. What a wonderful idea though. I might have to try it sometime.”

Severus leaned in and captured her mouth in a soft kiss. Having been in the hot water so long, her skin was warm and his cool lips felt delightful against her heated ones. Smooth skin slid against smooth skin and when they broke apart Hermione was cuddled in his lap. Sitting quietly together they were reluctant to break the peaceful silence held suspended in the night. In a hushed voice he whispered, “Couldn’t sleep?”

She shook her head, “My body wants to, but my mind won’t let it. Does that ever happen to you?”

“It did before. All the time,” he nodded.

“I hope I didn’t wake you,” she said apologetically, reaching her arms around his chest.

“I noticed you tossing about and wondered where you were when you didn’t come back,” he informed her gently.

Hermione lowered her head and mumbled, “Sorry.”

His arms came up around her and held her closer to his body. “I find this late night bathing excursion much preferable to the previous one and I will admit that I was having difficulties sleeping myself.”

“Oh,” she said quietly and looked up at Severus’ face. His expression was soft and she pulled him into a deeper embrace. Whispering against his lips she said, “This is much nicer than the last time.”

“Particularly as you are much less likely to hit me I would hope,” he teased gently and kissed her nose.

Smiling lopsidedly she nodded. “I wouldn’t be over confident about that, but you are probably right. Despite not being able to sleep, I’m not nearly as upset as I was then.”

“You’re worried about what will happen because of young Malfoy’s stunt,” he said, sounding a bit agitated.

She sighed deeply. “Yes. What will the Ministry do?”

He snorted humourlessly. “There isn’t much they can do. They are well aware of our situation and the arrangements we have made. They can hardly insist upon my dismissal on the grounds of inappropriate behaviour with a student as they were the ones who insisted upon it. You can’t be punished either, as you fall under the terms of Act 275. I don’t think Lucius intended to play his hand in this manner as it is not a particularly efficient strike against either of us. At worst, you might be asked to drop potions as it is somewhat of a conflict of interest.”

“But I have my NEWTs at the end of this year! I can’t just drop the class now,” she said despairingly.

Severus spoke in a reassuring tone, “It isn’t the end of the world Hermione.”

She shook her head vigorously. “The year is only half over. I’ll never do well if I have to quit now.”

“You have forgotten one important thing, however,” he said trailing a wet path across her jaw with a long finger.

“And that is?” she asked testily.

“It seems you have forgotten that I am quite capable of instructing you privately. You will still be able to write your exam without being enrolled in the class and Albus will grade your independent assignment as planned. Besides, we don’t know yet if they will insist upon you dropping the class. I promise everything will work out,” his voice was soft and Hermione felt herself calm at its sincerity.

She wrapped her arms around his chest and held him tightly. “You’re right. I’m too tired to think straight.”

They sat together for a short while longer enjoying the hot water, but when Hermione began to yawn uncontrollably Severus let his hold loosen. “We should go to bed. Feeling relaxed enough to sleep?”

She nodded drowsily. “I’m beyond exhausted, but I feel much better now. Thank you.”

“Shh,” he whispered, “come to bed.”

Hermione allowed herself to be bundled into a fluffy towel and tiptoed across the cold stone floor in the corridor to the warm bedroom. Settling down into the soft sheets she hummed as Severus curled himself around her and nuzzled against her neck whispering, “Goodnight.”

She mumbled something incoherent and slipped into a peaceful rest.
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Stretched out along the leather sofa, Hermione flipped through her Spellcraft notes reviewing the past week’s lessons about diction and language adaptation. A large part of the crafting class had been dedicated to learning the basics of conjugation in a number of languages to allow them to alter existing spells and create unusual ways of performing some of the most common spells. Since first year she had been reminded time and again that enunciation was crucial, but actually choosing which words to use and settling on a language was much more difficult. She was quite grateful now for her ancient runes class teaching her a great deal about translation, but languages were so variable that mistakes were easy to make. She muttered to herself, “Ending up with a buffalo would be the least of my problems.”

“I’m not so sure Severus would agree with you. Such a beast would be far more intrusive than your lovely cat.”

Hermione jumped at the voice and saw Dumbledore’s smiling face sitting in the middle of the fireplace. Quite flustered she sat up and addressed him as formally as could be done while wearing only a dressing gown. “Professor Dumbledore. Good morning. Uh.. is there something I can do for you?”

“Good morning Hermione. Is Severus awake?” the headmaster inquired.

She felt her cheeks heat. “I think he’s in the shower just now. I expect he will be out shortly. Is it urgent?”

His eyes were twinkling with amusement as he spoke. “No, no nothing that cannot wait a little while. Would half an hour be enough time?”

“Well, I expect so. Is this about the Ministry?” she asked cautiously.

Dumbledore’s twinkling eyes dimmed a little. “I am afraid it is, but it’s nothing too serious. Don’t worry yourself. Tell Severus I will be down to your rooms in a half hour.”

Hermione nodded and watched the head in the fireplace disappear. She left the room quickly, not wanting to be seen in her dressing gown by anyone else that morning and bumped into Severus as he was coming out of the bathroom. His hair was still dripping and small beads of water were trickling down his back. Clutching him as she nearly fell, she noticed how warm he was and felt the dampness rising off his skin. His arm shot out to hold her up, allowing the towel around his waist to fall to the ground. Pressing her closer he spoke in a low voice. “Careful.”

Steadying herself quickly, she eased her grip. “Sorry.”

“Mmm?” he leaned into her and fitted his mouth to hers. He drew her lower lip between his own and nibbled it gently.

She felt her pulse quicken, but instead of deepening the kiss she pulled away. His eyes opened and he raised an eyebrow in a silent question. Hermione let out her breath shakily. “Dumbledore just flooed. He said he will be here in a half hour.”

His face fell a bit, but he didn’t let go of her. “I suppose there is no sense in delaying the inevitable. Are you alright?”

She gave him an slightly exasperated look. “I just talked to the headmaster from a teacher’s rooms wearing nothing but a dressing gown. It’s a bit unsettling.”

The corner of his mouth twitched as he tried not to chuckle while his fingers outlined the neckline of the garment in question. “I don’t imagine your presence being a great shock to him, though I may endure some indecent suggestions regarding your attire. I expected to hear from him this morning, but I will never understand why he feels the need to do so this early.”

“It isn’t that early. Nearly nine o’clock,” she informed him grasping his exploratory fingers to still them.

He sighed and bent down to collect his fallen towel. “I have no intention of speaking with Dumbledore in my current state of dress. Shall we?”

Hermione chuckled at the thought and followed him into the bedroom.

A short while later they were both sitting fully dressed on the sofa enjoying a cup of tea. When a soft rapping came at the door to the sitting room, Hermione felt her heart race and anxiety take hold of her stomach. Severus allowed the headmaster in and gestured to the armchair. “Good morning Albus.”

Professor Dumbledore sat down and took a steaming cup of tea for himself before speaking. “I expect you are both anxious about the events of yesterday so I will get to business straight away. Yesterday evening I met with Ministry officials from the marriage division and the school board and we were able to come to an agreement about suitable arrangements. The reaction has been much of what we anticipated Severus. Since very few are aware of the full situation, there are some upset parents but I don’t think anything that cannot be settled. The school board is concerned about the classroom situation, much as expected. However what is slightly unexpected is the marriage division’s concern about living accommodations.”

“Living accommodations? But I have my own rooms. What is wrong with that?” Hermione interrupted.

Severus put a hand on her shoulder as the headmaster continued. “Though the marriage division has no authority to dictate where you stay in the school, a concern was raised about you living with other students and the disruption this could cause them and your marriage.”

“What?” she asked, incredulous.

“You have access to the Gryffindor dormitories and common room even though you have private rooms. The concern is that they are connected and you have responsibilities to your house,” Dumbledore said carefully. “I told them of your specific situation, but they are insisting you be denied access to any and all student only areas.”

Severus spoke up. “Whatever for?”

“Hermione, you occupy a very unique position in the school. You are not only a student, but also a staff spouse. Though currently you are the only one, there have been others in the past and there are specific regulations concerning them. Any spouse of a staff member who is not him or herself on the staff is not to be given passwords to student only areas. There is a whole list of things you are and aren’t allowed to do regarding student conduct and so forth which the school board representative was prepared to overlook, but it was the representative from the marriage division who would not let the issue of access go. I’m afraid you will no longer be allowed in Gryffindor tower,” Dumbledore told her sadly.

Hermione felt tears struggling to escape. “But I belong there. I’m Head Girl. Oh no, I can’t be Head Girl anymore can I?”

Severus pulled her against his shoulder and rubbed her back in slow circular movements while raising an eyebrow in question to Dumbledore. “Can she?”

“The reason behind the marriage division official insisting you be denied access to Gryffindor tower has nothing to do with the position of Head Girl, Hermione. It is about their foolhardy objectives for Act 275. The school board recognizes the selection of prefects and so forth as the prerogative of myself and the Heads of House. You will be able to keep the position. However, all duties within your house will be turned over to the prefects as they are in houses without a Head Boy or Girl. Your rooms will have to be moved so they do not connect with the tower,” the headmaster explained.

She looked up. “Where?”

“Anywhere you wish. The principle behind the rooms is similar to that of the room of requirement. I believe the move can be achieved without too much difficulty. I should be able to manage something by this afternoon. That is if you wish too keep them. You could move in here if it is agreeable to both parties,” a pair of blue eyes regained their customary twinkle as he looked at them.

“I find it difficult to believe that the ministry isn’t demanding she move in here,” Severus said in his customary harsh tone.

Dumbledore shook his head. “They cannot insist upon it because she has certain rights as a student. I have the right to select the school’s Head Girl and the individual I select has the right to private quarters. The school board agrees with me on my decision, but there is another concern. One, I imagine, we were all expecting. Hermione will no longer be allowed to remain in Advanced Potions class on the grounds of conflict of interest. Even with our arrangements, the school board demanded it. They agreed to the existing provisions regarding the independent research project, and the exam at the end of the year is, of course, open to you.”

Hermione smiled weakly. “I expected as much. Is that everything?”

He nodded. “I know it appears that you are bearing the brunt of the restrictions, but yours was the easier set of restrictions to manipulate. You will be classified as an adult student, without house. Together with the officials, I drafted the guidelines for the classification not only for your benefit, but for any others who may encounter a similar situation in the future.”

“I would hope there will be no need for such a classification in the future, but I suppose this is a precedent setting situation. Was nothing else said about my classes or position at the school?” Severus inquired.

“Much was said, but nothing has resulted. Everything conveniently falls under regulations for teachers because I was able to create the adult student classification to take care of the rest,” Dumbledore explained.

Severus nodded in understanding. “I realize this must have been a difficult situation to manage. I am sure you did your best.”

“Thank you Severus,”the headmaster said standing, then addressed Hermione, “Think about what you would like to do about your rooms. I will meet you there after lunch to help you with whatever you decide.”

“Yes sir,” she answered as he turned and left the room, shutting the door quietly behind himself. She noticed that Severus was still gently rubbing her back and leaned against his chest. “I suppose it could have been worse.”

His hand left her back and wove its fingers into her hair. “I was quite worried that the school board would prohibit your weekend visits.”

“Really?”

“It’s something I would have expected from Lucius because he knows it would bother me to no end and force one of us to violate regulations. He must have lost some of his influence on the board. Though it would have been tricky business playing both sides of this confrontation,” he admitted.

“I would have expected Lucius to see me expelled or you fired,” she countered.

Severus nodded and kissed her cheek. “ It doesn’t matter now. Albus managed things well.”

Hermione sighed deeply. “I know. I hate the idea of losing my house though. That’s such a big part of Hogwarts.”

“You aren’t really. You may not be able to visit your common room or earn points for your house, but I know you will still cheer for them at Quidditch matches and retain your hopelessly Gryffindor qualities,” he said in a slightly disparaging tone.

“Hopelessly Gryffindor qualities?” she queried.

“Yes, but I love you anyway,” he said and kissed her thoroughly.
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