Doubts and Desires

A/N: Thank you for the reviews again!!! I appreciate them! Sorry it took a couple of days to get this chapter up. I had some school work to work on. I am trying though to get a chapter up a day when I can.


Chapter Three: Great Feasts and New Beginnings


Hermione looked at the mirror for what had to be the tenth time. She normally did not focus too much of her attention on her appearance, but she wanted to make a good first impression with the students. She was still nervous about taking the job. She had worked as an apprentice all last year while completing her studies at the same time, but she was going to be on her own now and had lots of students to taare are for whatever may come. She was already dreading the Quidditch season, remembering how many times she and Ron had visited Harry in here for various injuries. She slightly chuckled to herself as she thought that she used to hate to come and visit him in her e because it was the Hospital Wing and now she was working in it. Oh, the irony life could bring! Satisfied with her appearance, she left her quarters and locked up before heading down to the Great Hall.

Some of the professors were there, and she took her seat which was beside of Severus. She glanced over at him and almost laughed at the fact that he was already sulking and brooding. It was nice to know that some things never changed. She looked at the doors that were now being opened as the second through seventh years filed in, chatting rather excitedly about their summers to their friends as they got to their tables. She spotted a few students that she recognized while she was here, although most of them she could not remember their names at the moment since she was never close with the younger years.

Minerva then came in leading the first years. As they filed in front of the head table and faced their future house mates, Hermione was reminded of her own sorting and how she had been so nervous and hopeful and excited when it was over and that she had been sorted into Gryffindor. Gods, she felt old as the nostalgia hit her. She was only twenty-two though! Soon to be twenty-three! She shouldn’t be this sentimental.

The sorting was soon over and Albus was making his normal announcement about the Forbidden Forest and such. “Now, I would like to introduce our new mediwitch, Miss Hermione Granger.” he said, clapping for her and giving her a warm smile. Hermione nodded and gave a slight wave. She was smiling at the rather warm reception she was receiving, particularly from the Gryffindors who remembered her. She even overheard one of them mention loudly that she was friends with Harry Potter. She smiled, thinking fondly on her dear Harry. He had been quite busy with his auror training. She hadn’t seen him in a few months and thought that she should write him perhaps later. She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn’t realized that Albus had closed the speech and the tables were filled with food.

“Quite the popular one, aren’t we?” Severus commented to Hermione as he glanced over to her before selecting some food.

Hermione blushed lightly. “They just remember me. That’s all.” she stated. She was never the popular one. The students probably wouldn’t have remembered her as well if she weren’t friends with the Boy Who Lived also known as the Boy Who Defeated You-Know-Who.

Severus just nodded slightly and began to eat. After a few bites, he inquired, “Are you coming by tonight?”

Hermione looked up and swallowed the bite that she was chewing. Her brow furrowed, wondering why she would go down there tonight. “Why would I?” she asked. “Are you inviting me?”

“No, I was just reminding you that it was Sunday night, and I was wondering if you were going to work in my lab tonight.” Severus stated calmly while he wondered why in the world she think that he was inviting her there.

“Oh, that.” Hermione said. With the excitement and nervousness of today, she had completely forgotten what actual day it was. She had worked on Wednesday night to replenish the stock of potions she needed that would be the most important for the students to have. “No, I don’t think so. I will be there on Wednesday though as long as no one gets seriously injured.”

“Quidditch season doesn’t start until a couple of weeks, so I doubt anything serious will happen before then.” Severus commented and went back to eating.

Hermione nodded slightly, realizing that the conversation was over. She sighed softly and began to eat again. Her thoughts drifted over to the potions she was going to have to brew on Wednesday. The stock in the Hospital Wing was fairly limited to the minor ailments, but she wanted to have several on hand in case something major would happen. It was always good to be prepared.


* * * * *

Wednesday night came sooner than Hermione expected. “And, I was the one worrying that I would be bored…or have a lot of time to read.” she said to herself as her last patient left. These last few days had been busy to say the least. She barely got twenty minutes to herself during the day. All the other times, there was a student who wanted something for a headache or cramps. Then, there were the ones who had eaten too much and needed something for their stomach. The worst ones were the fakers who were already just trying to get out of attending their classes. She had no sympathy for those. They were just ruining their own education. This one fellow had come to her during every single one of his classes. She finally got fed up and said that unless he was bleeding to death or unconscious then she didn’t want to see him. Of course, then, she had to apologize and amended it by saying that he had to be ill and that she was going to write notes to all his professors about what she had found. That threat had done the trick, and she hadn’t seen him back since. She wondered if they were ever that bad when she went here. Well, at least, they were actually ill or injured when they came to the Hospital Wing.

She finished up, straightening the area and putting a sign on the door stating where she would be and until when. After gathering a couple of potion ingredients that she would need and her Medicinal Potions book, she went down to the dungeons. “Nevermore,” she stated the password and the door opened. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Severus was still here. “Don’t you have hall duty?” she asked. She didn’t exactly mind him being here. It was his lab, but it made her feel like a first year student to have the dreaded Potions Master watching over her.

Severus looked at her. “I do have hall duty. I was just finishing this potion.” He was dipping it out and putting it in labeled bottles.

Hermione nodded and entered, shutting the door behind her. She opened up her book to the two potions that she was going to work on: Skelegrow and the Blood Replenishing Potion. There was very little left of the former and none of the latter. Hopefully, she would never have to use either one, but she wasn’t going to take the risk of not having it on hand. She separated the ingredients and readied the cauldrons, only glancing over at the door as she heard him leave. She relaxed once Severus had left and continued working diligently on the two potions. She had just finished getting the bottles of the Blood Replenishing Potion closed when Severus re-entered from hall duty.

“You are still here,” he stated coldly, slight aggravation in his voice.

“I’m almost finished. The Skelegrow needs a few more minutes.” Hermione said without looking at him. “Bad night?”

“Yes,” Severus stated as he looked through his potions for the Headache one. He had a killer migraine. He downed the new headache potion that he had made with the spearmint and sat down in a chair. “The students seem to get worse every year.”

Hermione glanced over at him and laughed lightly. “Surely they are norse rse than us or the Weasley twins?”

Severus glared at her. “No, not worse than the Weasley twins, but I would take Potter over some of the students that I found tonight. At least HE was off saving the world for the most part while he was out of the common room.” There was a bitter edge in his voice as he talked about Potter. “You don’t know how many ‘relations’ I had to break apart tonight.” The bitter tone had carried over. At least he had scared a good many of them. All eleven pairs! “I hope that you have the contraceptive potion on hand for the female students.”

Hermione tried not to laugh. It had to be horrible if he was willing to have Harry back roaming the halls at night. “I do.” She began to bottle the Skelegrow. “I’m sorry that you had such a horrible night.”

Severus looked at her. “Thank you. And, I tell you that the Hufflepuffs are getting bold. I caught the same pair three times before I took them to their Head of House.”

“Hufflepuffs? Oh, god! I think you must be losing your touch, Severus, if they are not cowering in fear when you walk by.” Hermione stated as she suppressed a giggle when Severus gave her a menacing glare.

Severus ran his hand over his face and sighed. Maybe he was losing his touch. The students should be more afraid of him. Had he grown soft since the end of the Dark Lord? He hoped not! He had a reputation to uphold. There was quite a change from being a Death Eater to a spy for the Order. He had gone through this before the first time. He’ll snap out of it after a while and be his usual ‘charming’ self. He just had to find his place again, even though he thought he would have by now, since it was nearing the four year anniversary of Voldemort’s final demise.

Hermione finished the potions and cleaned up, leaving everything as she had found it and placed the potions in a box to be transported back to the Hospital Wing’s storage room. “Good night, Severus.” she said, looking at him. “Get some rest. You look like you could use it.”

Severus glanced up at her, giving her a rather sarcastic grimace at the comment that he could use some rest. Yes, he could use some rest, although he doubted that he would get it. If this first week showed anything of what was going to come to the school year, he was considering already turning in his resignation. “Good night, Hermione.”

Hermione left and went up to the Hospital Wing. She noticed that no one had stopped by, which was a relief. She wanted a nice hot shower and her bed. She laughed to herself as she thought that a nice hot man to go in her bed would be wonderful too. It had been a while, since she had one of those. She shook her head, not wanting to think about the last loser she had and put the potions up. She wondered how Madam Pomfrey had done it all these years treating the students, but Hermione was dedicated to have a go at these new beginnings at an old familiar place.


A/N: Again, now that you have read, please review! It brightens my dull life!