A Matter of Circumstance

Chapter 27 Severus Goes A-Looking

Ron apparated to Knockturn Alley at noon the next day. He was supposed to have lunch with Hermione. As he walked toward her flat, he saw that the door was wide open. The wizard’s heart began to race. Hermione would never leave the door to her flat open in this area. Someone would come in uninvited.

Ron ran through the open door, his eyes wide as he looked around the ransacked apartment. Most of the furniture was gone, the kitchen table turned over and items from the cabinets scattered all over as if someone had torn through them.

“Hermione!” Ron cried as he ran into the bedroom. It was also a mess, all the drawers of the dresser smashed and on the floor…the mirror broken and the mattress of the bed flipped over. The crib was broken as well, the adorable bedding gone and the stuffed animals ripped to pieces.

”Oh gods…no…no!” Ron let out in a choked voice, thinking the worst as he stood in the doorway of Hermione’s destroyed bedroom.

Someone had broken in, robbed and abducted or killed Hermione. He should have never let her stay here. He should have made the witch come stay with him instead of giving in to her “independent” streak. Look where it got her. Hurt or probably killed. Her and the baby.

Ron drew in a deep breath, trying to decide what to do. Who would know about this? Who?

Half blinded by tears the wizard stumbled out of the flat, eyeing all the occupants of Knockturn Alley. His blue eyes fell on Cedric’s Sex Symposium. He wiped his nose and headed for the store, his eyes wet and hard.

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Cedric was in the back of the store, in the “Blue Pensieve” room where customers could view pornographic pensieves for a few sickles. The proprietor was scourgifying a number of come stains on the floor.

”Why can’t they use the damn bucket I provide?” he hissed, pointing his wand at the little patches of dried semen and making them disappear.

He heard the bell chime that announced when a customer entered the store. The wizard hurried out, simpering up the aisle to the counter, ready to serve. He had just stepped out into the lobby area when suddenly he was collared by two strong hands and shaken roughly.

Cedric got an immediate erection.

”Where is she?” Ron demanded, shaking the little wizard again, his eyes murderous.

Cedric’s head flopped back and forth, his eyes glazed.

“Where is Hermione Granger?” Ron demanded, “What’s happened to her?”

He stopped shaking Cedric, but held his collar so tightly, the wizard was standing on his tip-toes, face to face with the angry wizard.

“Miss Granger left last night. Moved out I think,” the wizard gasped, feeling as if he were about to come on himself, Ron was so angry and rough, “According to a couple of wizards she left with Severus Snape, the Potions Master.”

Ron stared at him, feeling his heart slow. Thank the gods. He let Cedric go, not noticing the disappointment in the wizard’s eyes. If only Ron would have hit him…

“Where did she go?” Ron asked Cedric, who began rubbing his knuckles and looking at Ron in a disturbing manner. He wondered if the redhead went both ways? Cedric could use a bit of rough, angry reaming.

“I don’t know. But her rent was paid up and she’s not getting a refund of her deposit because she didn’t give me notice. I’m keeping the furniture too,” Cedric replied.

“Right,” Ron said, thinking Cedric was in for a surprise when he went to Hermione’s flat.

The pervy wizard had gone to the flat to investigate last night after several Knockturn Alley regulars told him how Snape came by and took his tenant away. After carefully checking the knob for booby traps, Cedric entered and found all of the witch’s clothing gone. He exited the flat, locked it and returned to the store. He should have known it was going to be looted.

Well, Ron wasn’t going to ruin the surprise. But he did want to know where Hermione was. Since she left with Snape, Snape was the one to question. He still had some time left. If he hurried, he could make it to Hogwarts and back to the Ministry on time, provided Snape didn’t act an ass as he usually did.

Ron thanked Cedric and left, the proprietor walking to the door and watching the wizard disapparate.

God, he would have loved a go at him. Most males were real redheads.

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Severus was at lunch when the doors to the Great Hall were opened and Ron strode in. The students all stopped eating as the wizard walked determinedly up to the dais.

”Professor Snape, I want to talk to you,” Ron said angrily.

Severus, who had been about to bite into a turkey sandwich, paused.

”Can’t you see I am eating my lunch, Mr. Weasley? If you wish to talk to me…wait by my office. I will see you after I finish my meal,” the wizard replied, his dark eyes glinting.

He knew why Ron was here.

”But this is important,” Ron said, not wanting to say what the matter was in front of the whole school.

”So is my nourishment, Mr. Weasley. Either wait for me by my office or come back this evening,” the Potions Master said snarkily.

Ron’s face turned red, but he turned and stalked out of the Great Hall, slamming the door behind him.

The student’s returned to their meal and the staff looked at Severus curiously. The Potions Master ate his meal at a leisurely pace.

Let Ron wait.

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Twenty minutes later, Severus came gliding down the dungeon corridor, robes billowing to find Ron leaning against his office door. His blue eyes were hard as he watched the Potions Master approach. He straightened and confronted him.

”Where is Hermione?” Ron demanded, “You took her from her flat last night. What did you do to her?”

”You mean other than fuck her, Mr. Weasley?” the wizard purred at him.

Ron frowned at him blackly. Yes, he could have taken Hermione someplace and done that. She was so stuck on the bastard.

”No. I mean, where is she now?” he said, not answering the dark wizard’s jibe.

Severus gave him a condescending look.

“Miss Granger is in a much safer place than she was last night or for the past few weeks. My question to you, Mr. Weasley, is how you could let her live in Knockturn Alley? I thought you were her ‘friend.’ A true friend would not let another friend put her life in danger,” he said to Ron.

“Hermione wouldn’t listen to me,” Ron replied, “She’s stubborn.”

”Well, she listened to me and is under my protection for the time being,” Severus said, folding his arms.

”Where is she?” Ron demanded.

”That is none of your concern, Mr. Weasley. All you need to know is she is safe and being provided for,” the Potions Master answered.

Ron scowled at him.

“You’re not going to cut her off from me,” Ron said angrily, “I don’t care if you did get her pregnant. Hermione’s been my friend since I was eleven years old. She means a lot to me.”

“Yes, I could tell how much she meant to you when I saw her living arrangements,” Severus replied, “Now she is being properly cared for, Mr. Weasley. She may not mean as much to me as you claim she does to you, but be assured I will take better care of the witch than you did.”

”For how long?” Ron spat at him, “You aren’t fooling anyone, Professor Snape. You don’t care about anyone other than yourself. I don’t know why you’re helping Hermione, but it can’t be for any good reason. You don’t love her, because if you did…you’d marry her and spare her all this pain and humiliation. I don’t know what the fuck you’re up to…but if Hermione ends up being hurt any more than she is now, you’re going to answer to me, Professor. I don’t know if I can actually outduel you but I swear to the gods, I’ll die trying…so help me!” Ron scowled.

Ron stormed away, not able to trust himself to keep his temper. He already wanted to blast the wizard because he wouldn’t reveal where Hermione was. He was probably holding her in the bowels of some old, dark house someplace deep in a forest or something.

Severus watched Ron storm off, an unpleasant smirk on his face. Let the wizard stew. He didn’t want him around Hermione anyway. He was…distracting.

The Potions Master had lied however. He didn’t fuck Hermione last night, though the witch was quite amicable to the possibility once she was settled in at the Three Broomsticks. The little witch had been correct, Rosmerta was hesitant to rent her a room.

It wasn’t because the innkeeper had anything against Hermione, though she thought her situation unfortunate. It was because of the possibility she would lose the business of other patrons who were not as open-minded as she was. Severus ended up paying the innkeeper three times the going rate for the room. Since it was the best room Rosmerta had, the witch accepted the terms. It was twice the cost of a normal room as it was. Hermione could stay indefinitely as far as Rosmerta was concerned.

However, Severus didn’t intend to run Rosmerta’s establishment single-handedly, so went back to Hogwarts so he could get an early start and find Hermione a place to live. He decided it would be best to go to an agency, got a directory and made a list of them. He had spent the next morning going from agency to agency, filling out paperwork and telling them what was needed. A three-bedroom flat close to shops.

Everything went fine until he was asked who would be living there. The forms were designed with an honesty alarm that would blast horribly if an untruth were written down.

“A young woman,” the wizard replied when asked who would be residing in the flat.

”Is she related to you?” the agent asked.

”Not in the conventional sense,” Severus replied, “but we do have something in common.”

The agent looked up and gave him a small smile.

”Ah, a mistress,” he said.

Keeping a flat for a mistress was a common practice in the wizarding world and perfectly acceptable.

Severus looked at him. He didn’t consider Hermione his mistress.

”Not exactly. She is expecting my child,” the wizard said reluctantly.

”Ah, your betrothed, then,” the agent said, writing it down before Severus could reply.

A loud whistle sounded and the agent scowled at him.

”You want to rent a flat for an unattached pregnant witch?” the agent said in disbelief, putting the quill back into the holder.

”Yes. I see no problem with that. I will be paying the rent,” the Potions Master replied.

“Oh, but there is a very big problem, Mr. Snape. No one will rent a flat to someone of such poor character. And these forms are standardized, Mr. Snape. The moment an untruth is caught, it is stored along with the information of the offending applicant. Every legitimate agency is going to know what you are looking for. As of now, Mr. Snape, you are blacklisted. No one will take your application,” the agent said, frowning.

The Potions Master soon found this out to be true. The moment he identified himself he was told there was nothing available to meet his needs. So he returned to Hogwarts, furious. He couldn’t believe how Hermione was being discriminated against. But he had to do something. Her stay at the Three Broomsticks was too costly. She could rent three flats for what he was going to be paying for a single week. Hell, it would be cheaper to pay a house note.

The wizard paused.

Hm. A house.

Severus lived at Hogwarts because he had no need of a house. Everything he required was provided by the school. Yet, if he purchased a house…it would be an investment rather than expenditure like a flat would be, and Hermione wouldn’t have to worry about being targeted by others.

The Potions Master looked thoughtful. A house with a big yard for the child to play in, and an herb garden. And a house elf to help Hermione. She was moving about with some difficulty and might overexert herself, or even fall and injure the child.

Yes, this situation definitely justified him buying a home. And it would be better than paying for someone else’s mortgage through monthly rent payments.

He would return to the first realtor agent this afternoon.

He was sure the wizard would be singing a different tune this time.

Having made his decision, the wizard returned to Hogwarts to get a bite to eat.

In Mount Olympus, Hera was smiling ear to ear.

“Yes…you’re going to make a fine husband, Severus Snape,” the goddess grinned.

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A/N: Thanks for reading. ***