Hilltop Cottage

Hermione lit the fire in Severus’s quarters when she got there to take the chill from the room. Severus had told her he was taking Alicia for a walk around the grounds to soften her up a bit, and she was disgruntled to find that they hadn’t returned yet.

She went into the lab, leaving the door wide open, and spread the research notes around her. She lifted a sheet of parchment and read through it. She had been right; this was precisely the sort of Charm work they had been looking into. Useful for weeding out unregistered Animagi, it had originally been developed to pass on to the Aurors as a Revealing Spell. Unfortunately, while it was able to transform a witch or wizard to their animal form, it wouldn’t work in reverse. This ran the risk of the said person escaping in their Animagus form, particularly if they could fly or run at speed. It also meant that if they didn’t return themselves to their natural state, any prosecution that could have been made would be worthless. Only witches and wizards in the human form could be tried under the rules of the Wizengamot.

Hermione pondered the Charm for a while. There was no way of knowing if Minerva would have the strength to transform back after being healed in her feline form, and she wasn’t sure if it was a good risk to take. She would have to talk it over with Severus and Luna. She lifted her quill from behind her ear and made a note on the bottom of the parchment, and was about to start reading again when she heard the door of Severus’s quarters open and the low rumble of his laughter. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Alicia smiling as Severus removed her cloak, and then remembered the plan. She hated it even more now she saw them together, but she trusted Severus. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to maintain the charade for long. She cast her eyes downwards as Severus walked towards the lab.

‘Granger. I have to say I’m surprised to see you here,’ Severus said blandly.

Hermione looked up at him and hardened her gaze. ‘I am still interested in helping Minerva, even if you are not, Professor,’ she said with a steely tone. ‘It looks like you have other areas of interest now, however.’ She glared at Alicia with feeling, and the blonde witch averted her gaze and shifted to stand behind Severus slightly.

‘We went for a walk. Not that how I spend my time is any of your business anymore,’ Severus snapped at her. ‘Is that the Charm?’

‘Yes. I’ll explain it to you. If you come and look at this sheet here…’ Hermione shifted to make space for Severus beside her, but he cut her off.

‘No matter. In fact, perhaps now would be a good time for you to return to care for our son. I am quite sure Miss Maines will be able to decipher your work. She is very talented in the area of Charms, I believe.’ Severus turned to Alicia and held his hand out to her, and she took it with a small smirk of triumph on her face.

Hermione felt her face turn beetroot red, and she slid herself angrily from the stool she sat on and walked up to Severus with her eyes blazing.

‘You have no respect for me, Severus Snape. Why I ever thought you might love me is beyond me, quite honestly,’ she said harshly. She poked her finger into his chest to emphasise her next point. ‘You don’t rate my abilities as a witch! All you want me to do is stay home and raise Donovan, while you do whoever it is you want to do. Well, good luck finding what we had with anyone else, Severus.’

Hermione turned to Alicia, seething with fury. ‘I thought we were friends, but it seems I was wrong. Good luck with him, Alicia. You’ll need it.’

Alicia clutched Severus’s hand tightly and stepped back, but her face was calm and her eyes shining with the pure pleasure of Hermione’s display.

‘Goodbye, Hermione,’ she called as Hermione Floo’ed away.

She didn’t see the worried look on Severus’s face. He hoped he hadn’t gone too far. Coughing lightly, he let go of Alicia’s hand and walked to the workbench.

‘Alicia. Could you cast your eye over this? I am eager to return Minerva to full health as soon as I can, and while Granger has a certain expertise, she hasn’t been practising her Charm work recently, unless I am mistaken?’ He raised a questioning eyebrow at Alicia, who smirked and laughed out loud.

‘You have to be kidding.’ Alicia walked to Severus’s side. ‘I really thought she would be of great use to us in the department. That was why I invited her to stay, you know.’

She grinned at Severus, who twitched his mouth slightly in encouragement.

‘The silly witch thought we were friends, but all I needed were her research ideas to keep the department afloat. That award meant everything to me, you see.’

‘I see.’ Severus let out a laugh, but felt nauseous. ‘Are you sure you weren’t educated at Hogwarts? You have certain Slytherin traits, I believe.’

‘No, definitely not. Salem Institute. But I have always believed that there are ways to get what you want.’

Alicia stepped close to Severus and tipped her face towards his, eyeing his lips closly. Severus bent his head to hers and smiled, closing his hand over hers softly.

‘Alicia,’ he said smoothly.

‘Severus?’ Alicia licked her lips.

Severus stepped back quickly, and handed the parchments to her. ‘I will be in the Headmistress’s office should you need me. I shan’t be long.’

He turned quickly, his robes billowing as he walked away and closed the door firmly.

Alicia stared after him with her mouth open in surprise, and was so non-plussed that she was unaware of security wards being place on the door, effectively locking her in the lab.

***

As soon as Severus was sure that his wards were set, he walked to the Floo in two long strides, but it wasn’t to the Headmistresses’ office that he went but to Hilltop Cottage. As soon as he stepped out of the Floo, he found Hermione standing directly in front of him with a small, uncertain smile playing around her lips.

‘You were just acting, weren’t you?’ she asked him tentatively.

Pulling her to him, he enveloped her in his arms and nuzzled her curls as they caressed her creamy throat, and then kissed her fragrant skin lightly.

‘Of course I was acting. You know how much I need you, Hermione,’ he said, pulling away and taking hold of Hermione’s hands. ‘Did you do as I asked?’

Hermione nodded. ‘I did, but I still don’t understand.’


He looked down into her wide, brown eyes and sighed sadly. ‘You have been a victim of a nasty, vindictive ruse, I am sorry to say.’

‘Whatever do you mean?’ Hermione’s eyes narrowed and Severus filled her in quickly on his most recent conversation with Alicia.

Hermione walked over to the mantle and ran her finger absently over a framed photograph of Donovan, taken shortly after he was born. She didn’t focus on it. Her mind was trying to make sense of what she had just heard. She let out a deep sigh, and Severus took her hand and led her to sit beside him, where he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

‘I really thought we were friends. But you were right, Severus. She just wanted what she could get from me, and to make my research into her own success.’ Hermione laid her head softly on his shoulder and he gently kissed the top of her head.

‘We should return and see if the rest of my plan worked. I believe she has been alone for long enough.’ Severus hugged Hermione lightly and let her go, standing and straightening his clothes smartly.

‘I don’t know that I can face her without wanting to hex her, to be truthful,’ Hermione said.

‘If I know Miss Maines as I think I do, you won’t have to. Come, you’ll see.’ He pulled Hermione to her feet.

‘I will hex her, Severus, I warn you now.’ Hermione’s eyes flashed angrily, and Severus smirked.

‘That’s my witch,’ he growled, capturing her lips in a sudden, passionate kiss.

Hermione laughed loudly and pushed him away. ‘I should threaten other people more often. Come on, let’s get it over with.’

***

Hermione would have found the scene that greeted them more comical if she hadn’t been feeling so intensely furious with Alicia. As it was, she viewed the tableau as if through a haze.

As they stepped from the Floo, they immediately saw that the door of the lab was wide open, and lying on the floor in the doorway was Filius Flitwick, obviously petrified, with a look of pure surprise on his face. Severus stepped over to him with his wand outstretched, and helped him to his feet after a murmured ‘Finite Incantatem.’

He checked the lab briefly, a smug smile on his face, and then turned to Filius.

‘What happened?’ he asked him.

Filius turned to him indignantly, his hands on his hips as he rocked back and forth with irritation.

‘You locked the poor girl in your lab, Severus! Of all the ridiculous things to do! She alerted me with her Patronus, and as I unwarded the door, I obviously sprung some sort of trap you had laid. The poor girl was obviously so distressed, she left without realising I was incapacitated!’

Severus chuckled slightly. ‘My apologies, Filius. I had no idea you would be summoned to free Miss Maines, and I promise, when Minerva is back to full health I will explain everything. As it stands, however, Hermione and I have some work to complete, if you don’t mind.’

Filius looked at Severus as if he had never seen him before as the tall, dark wizard guided him from his quarters with a definite smile on his face. He walked from the room feeling more than a little bewildered, and no more so when he heard deep, booming laughter coming from the acting Headmaster’s quarters as soon as the door had closed.

Severus smiled smugly at Hermione.

‘It worked. She took the spell with her.’ He laughed again.

‘Oh, goodness.’ Hermione covered her mouth with her hand in a futile attempt to stop herself laughing along with him.

‘How long do you think it will be before she attempts the spell?’ Severus asked her.

‘Knowing Alicia,’ Hermione said with a trembling voice, ‘she will be testing it as we speak.’

Severus grinned at Hermione as she finally lost control of herself and collapsed in a fit of giggles onto the sofa.