Hilltop Cottage

A/N: MASSIVE apologies. I just heard from my Beta and she realised I had mis-numbered the chapters. I didn't notice this when posting and subsequently, Chapter 44 was not posted and I skipped to 45. I have amended this, and below is the correct chpater. I intended to complete the story posting today, so please let me know your thoughts.

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Hermione walked along the corridor to her office with a heavy heart. She had hoped that she had found a kindred spirit in Alicia, and she couldn’t fathom what had happened to change things between them. Her thoughts drifted to her time in America, when they had spent hours talking about Charms, how to advance this spell or that spell. Alicia had hung on her every word, encouraged her to think in different ways. They had worked so well together.

Naturally, her pregnancy had changed things, because she spent less time discussing Charms and more time thinking about her new baby and what was to happen in the future. When Severus hadn’t responded to her letter, she had sunk into a depression for over a month, and it had taken her longer than that to feel any way normal again.

Donovan’s arrival had been a catalyst for many things. Alicia had helped out initially, but they started to spend more time doing different things. Alicia was still a party girl, but Hermione had Donovan to think about, and there was no way she would want to go wizard-hunting with Alicia and leave her son with a stranger. The more time Hermione had spent with Donovan, the more her thoughts had turned to home, and to Severus. It was only a matter of time before she decided to return, and as she started to make plans to move, Alicia all but faded into the background until her farewell party, where she had arrived, glammed up to the nines, and grabbed all of the attention.

Hermione was just about to walk past Harry’s office, and almost jumped when he called out to her.

Harry was at his desk, surrounded as he usually was by memos, some coming in and some going out. The space below the ceiling was swirling with bits of paper as they waited patiently for their turn to be read.

‘Busy as usual,’ she said with a smile.

Harry rolled his eyes. ‘You know I didn’t call you in to talk about work. Why are you here? You don’t start back until next week,’ he replied.

‘I need some research notes. We’ve had a breakthrough with Minerva.’

Hermione perched herself on the edge of the desk beside Harry, and twirled a length of hair around her finger absently.

‘That’s fantastic news.’ Harry beamed at her. ‘Why aren’t you more excited?’

‘That’s a story for another day, but let’s just say you don’t always know who you can trust.’ Hermione frowned as she recalled the sight of Alicia touching Severus.

‘Not Severus, I hope? I thought you might work things out between you,’ Harry said sincerely.

‘You’ve changed your tune, and Severus did mention your name the other day. What did you say to him, Harry?’ Hermione eyed him suspiciously.

Harry raised his hands defensively. ‘I thought I was helping. I told him you’d written to him, that’s all. He hadn’t checked his post for over a year, you know. He had no idea about Donovan,’ he said gently. ‘It was a disaster, then, I take it?’

Hermione giggled and wrapped her arms around Harry, hugging him tightly. ‘No, it was not a disaster, Harry Potter,’ she said happily. ‘In fact, there’s probably going to be a wedding soon,’ she said, smiling down at him.

‘Wow,’ Harry said. ‘He didn’t waste any time, did he?’ He grinned at Hermione, who was quite obviously glowing with inner happiness. ‘Congratulations, Hermione.’

‘He didn’t tell me you had given him a push in the right direction. I think we have a lot to thank you for.’ Hermione squeezed his hand.

‘Any time.’ Harry laughed. ‘What about Donovan? Do they like each other?’

‘Harry, you wouldn’t believe how close they are already. It’s really wonderful,’ she sighed.

‘I’m glad, although even I’m struggling to see Snape as a dad!’ Harry said, laughing.

‘You just wait and see. He could probably give you tips.’ Hermione replied with a giggle.

‘I have to go,’ she said, walking to the door. ‘See you next week?’

Harry nodded. ‘Bye, Hermione. Let me know how it goes with Minerva.’

***

Severus arrived back at Hogwarts in time for lunch. It hadn’t escaped his notice that he had spent less time attending to his duties as Headmaster recently. The guilt he felt had less to do with the running of the school, or lack thereof, but more to do with not looking after Minerva’s post as he had promised he would. Resolved to check in with his colleagues, he walked purposefully through the entrance hall and into the Great Hall with the air of a man in charge of things. He almost choked when he saw Alicia Maines sitting beside Filius Flitwick, chatting away as if they had been friends for years, but he schooled his features. No point letting the mask slip before the dish was chilled and served.

‘Miss Maines, Filius.’ Severus nodded by way of greeting and walked on past to his own seat. He saw Filius crane his neck forward, and he turned slowly to catch his eye and raised his eyebrow in question.

‘Severus, I found your friend Miss Maines wandering around the castle and I thought it only fair to invite her to join us for lunch,’ he said by way of explanation.

‘My thanks, Filius. Miss Maines, I apologise for my absence. It was unavoidable, as you know.’ He looked at Alicia and allowed his lips to curl in a small smile.

Alicia beamed back at him. ‘Did everything work out, Professor?’

‘Sadly not. I think, however,’ he said softly, and paused, letting his tongue run over his lower lip as he looked at Alicia appraisingly, ‘it shall not bother me for long.’

Severus almost laughed out loud as he saw a pink blush rise up Alicia’s throat, and she dropped her gaze coquettishly. It was almost too easy.

‘I wonder, Miss Maines, if you would care to join me for a walk after lunch? The grounds are quite extensive, and I would be pleased to show them to you.’ Severus stared at Alicia pointedly, and her eyes lit up with pleasure.

‘I would love to, Professor, thank you.’ She smiled at him almost shyly.

‘Please,’ he said smoothly. ‘Call me Severus.’

They ate in comparative silence after their exchange, but Severus was aware of the small glances that were aimed his way, and he smiled smugly.

After lunch, Severus persuaded Alicia to wait for him in the entrance hall. Using the need to collect his outdoor robes as an excuse, he dashed to his quarters and Floo-called Hermione to let her know his plan. She was reluctant to go along with it at first, but Severus was determined. He had a feeling that there was more going on here than they knew, and he needed to get to the bottom of it.

As he left his quarters with his robes over his arm and a further set for Alicia, his face was grim. He felt a surge of anger as he remembered what Alicia had said to Hermione, and how deeply it had affected her. The woman had almost cost him the love of his life, something he would not forgive or forget.

***

Hermione found the file she was searching for at the back of an old filing cabinet. Being the only person with the knowledge and skills to progress the research, the project had been shelved in her absence. She was grateful that the Ministry had a ruling that research files must be retained for at least fifty years before disposal, otherwise all of the work, and the vital information that could restore Minerva, could have been lost.

Hermione sat back in her chair, her fingers tapping the file absently as she thought about Severus. His plan was risky, and she wasn’t sure she felt happy about playing along with it. It was clear that Alicia was a loose cannon when it came to trampling over people, and the whole thing could go too far without Severus realising he was out of his depth.

The only way to deal with the unease Hermione felt was to get to Hogwarts as quickly as possible. The least amount of time Alicia spent alone with Severus, the happier she would be.