#4 ~ The \"Up Against the Wall\" Wars

Disclaimer: All characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine.
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Chapter 4 ~ She’s On Her Way

Hermione awoke to a floo summons to Albus’ office. She showered, threw on some comfortable jeans and a t-shirt, shrunk down her suitcase and put it in her front pocket, tucked her wand in her waist and stepped through the floo.

Albus greeted her with a smile and handed her an itinerary as she sat down. She looked at the parchment. She would meet her ride at the Main Gate of Hogwarts and be taken directly to Headquarters.

“And Miss Granger,” Albus said, “train very hard. Severus is quite distraught over this. Your successful mastering of hand-to-hand combat will defuse this situation quickly and effectively, as well as put all of us at ease.”

Hermione looked at the Headmaster with a steady gaze. “I fully intend to do my best this week, and return to Hogwarts ready to defend myself more than adequately. I’m tired of being treated like I’m made of glass. Harry and Ron did it, now Severus. This is going to stop, if I have to break a few bones to prove I can handle myself.”

The Headmaster looked at Hermione over his glasses and saw the familiar square of her shoulders that meant she was determined on finding a solution to some impossible problem. He was extremely pleased to see it.

“Very good, Miss Granger. Let’s just hope it’s only a few bones, shall we?” he grinned at the small witch.

She snorted non-committally. “As many bones as necessary,” she replied with surprising fierceness.

The Headmaster stifled a delighted laugh. “Very well, Miss Granger. We’ll see you in a week, then. Train hard, my dear.”

“Goodbye, Headmaster,” the young witch said, as she stood and stepped through the floo.

Albus sat there a moment, looking at the floo and tapping the tips of his fingers together. He began to chuckle, his blue eyes closing in merriment…then he laughed until tears rolled down his cheeks and into his braided beard. He removed his glasses and wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand before replacing them.

He swiveled his chair to face the phoenix, who stood on her perch with her head cocked, watching her Master.

“Fawkes…” Albus began, but before he could finish his statement, she began to sing a most beautiful song.

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Hermione walked to the main gates, unwarded them, let herself out and replaced the wards. She looked up and down the road expectantly. It was almost nine, and she was anxious to get to Headquarters. She needed to sit down with Tonks and Kingsley, to discuss what problems she was having with her training, and the best way to get past it. She also wanted to stop by the library and take out some books on assassins and their methods, as well as defense against them. Once again, she was turning to the tried and true, her mind. She was willing to fight her enemies, but it would be so much better to outsmart them. Especially Severus. She had time to think about his “new training method” after he had stormed away and she returned to her rooms. What disturbed her was that Severus didn’t seem to have considered she might be able to thwart him, now that she really understood the danger she was in. She had no intention on being the star of a coronor photo. And she had no intention on suffering weeks of painful attacks by the Potions Master.

She surmised that Severus’ was worried about two major issues. The first was that she was a target of deatheaters, and could be killed if not prepared, and the second was that he was afraid that he would have to hurt her in order to give her greater drive to protect herself, and that she would not forgive him for that.

Now, the first issue, being a target, was in her mind a moot issue. She had technically always been a target, although never abducted, until recently. And she took some action to prevent that from happening again…but not enough. She needed to be able to come and go on her own, and not rely on the presence of others all the time. It cramped her style. She loved to browse bookstores for hours, but with a companion she had to consider their time and cut her browsing short. It was a big headache she’d be happy to leave behind.

The second issue, about Severus hurting her, all she could do there was make sure he couldn’t do it. She smiled to herself thinking how shocked he would be when she escaped him all five times. Severus was a wizard, and thought like a wizard for the most part. No matter how well read he was, and familiar with things muggle, he had no idea of the creativity necessary to live without magic inherent in muggles and muggle-borns. In this aspect, non-magical folks had a kind of superiority. She would be able to utilize her natural born abilities to beat him at his own game. Sure, he had greater physical strength, and she assumed his attacks would be physical…but she would be prepared for both scenarios, just in case. Severus Snape had a surprise coming. A big one.

It was now five after nine, and her ride had not yet appeared. She was getting antsy and stood in the middle of the road now, a frown on her face. She liked to be punctual. Suddenly she heard someone call her name.

“Hermione!” It sounded rather distant. She looked up and down the road again, but saw no one.

“Hermione! Up here!”

Hermione looked up and saw someone approaching at top speed on a broom. Oh gods. A broom. She hated flying. As the person drew closer, she could make out messy black hair, and glasses…

“Harry!” she screamed, waving frantically.

Harry Potter flew in low, skidded to a stop and leaped off his broom, stumbling in his efforts to get to his best friend. They collided in a great, smarmy hug.

“Harry, they didn’t tell me you were coming to get me!” Hermione smiled, hugging him again.

“Yeah, well, I wanted it to be a secret. That’s kind of hard to do now…with everybody always watching me, hoping for a new story.”

He stepped back and looked at her. “You look great, “Mione. You seem happy. I guess Snape hasn’t sucked out your soul like Ron said he would. Ron claims he has dementor in his blood.”

“Oh, bugger Ron,” Hermione snorted. “Severus treats me just fine…” she faltered here.

Harry studied her, his bright green eyes a bit narrowed.

“All right. Out with it,” he said in a tone that meant business. She told him about her training and what she had to deal with when she returned to Hogwarts. Harry looked thoughtful.

“Well, I’ll be happy to help you all I can. Tonks and Kingsley are great trainers, and you already know the basics. You just have to get over being a peaceful polly and put some iron to it,” he said encouragingly, “if there’s anything else I can do, just let me know.”

Hermione looked at him thoughtfully. “You know, Harry…I really think you can help me. What do you know about magical weapons?”

Harry raised his thick eyebrows at her. “I know a little,” he answered, curious, “I am in Auror training after all. We have some pretty cool items. Things not available to the public.”

“Well, I’m in the market for a couple of specific defense items…defensive, not offensive. You think that because I’m on the list, I might be able to get them?”

Harry looked alarmed. “You know about the list?”

“Yes,” Hermione replied, “The Headmaster told me about it. All about it.”

Harry sighed, visibly relieved.

“I’m so glad you know, Hermione. It was killing me to know I had to keep it from you,” He lowered his voice, “and I know this wizard, brilliant bloke really, who might be able to help you out…under the table. Since you are targeted…there shouldn’t be a problem.“

Hermione smiled. Things were starting to come together already.

Harry looked back at the broom. “I know you hate flying, Hermione, but it was the safest way to transport you. I’ll keep you steady, and apply a sticking charm if you want…”

Hermione took a deep breath. “I’m sure I’ll be fine, Harry. Let’s just go. We’re behind schedule as it is, and there are a couple of things I’d like to do before I settle in.”

“Right-o,” Harry said, walking over to the broom. He mounted it, and then had Hermione get on in front of him. He wrapped an arm around her waist securely.

“You good?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Hermione replied and braced herself for takeoff.

“Oh, wait a minute,” Harry said, removing his arm from around her waist. She felt a tap on her head, and a flowing coldness seem to drape over her body.”

“Disillusion Charm,” Harry said, “it doesn’t make us completely invisible, but we will blend in with our surroundings. It’s camouflage really. People might notice a ripple in the sky, but that’s about it.”

Hermione filed that one away.

“Ok, here we go!” Harry kicked off.

Hermione let out a little scream as they soared away.

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A/N: Most of my stories will tie into the “What was I was Thinking?” world. So the much-coveted “happy ending” has already been established in the epilogue of the sequel “What was I Thinking 2.” These little stories just describe their lives in the interim.

In the epilogue, I describe a sexy little game Severus and Hermione play. This story ties into how they started playing that game. So actually, that is the entire point of this story. And the story “You Shouldn’t Walk About in the Dark” ties into this one, since Hermione was so easily abducted by Severus, which led to his concern about her apparent lack of concern for her own safety and (in his opinion) her inability to protect herself.

I would like to remind the readers that Hermione is not a teacher, but an employee at Hogwarts who creates commercial spells whose residuals bring in galleons for the school’s use. Since Voldemort’s death and the muggle families’ return to the non-magical world, the demands on her are not as stringent . She meets her quotas however, does market research, earns university credits and assists Snape in developing potions as well. She is also not an Order member yet, and so is any information she receives is on a need to know basis. This info is available in the previous stories. I am a sensitive soul, and don’t like my readers to get miffed. Lol. Hence, the little rehash. Thank you all for reading and I appreciate all the reviews. (And a special thanks for having my back, Snapelover11, it’s all good, girl ;)