Strong Enough

CH 5 WHAT’S UP

Thanks at the bottom!

She does, I don’t!!


“And so I cry sometimes when I’m lying in bed,
Just to get it all out what’s in my head,
And I am feeling a little peculiar,
And so I wake in the morning and I step outside,
And I take a deep breath and I get real high,
And I scream at the top of my lungs,
What’s going on”

-What’s going on, 4 non blondes

Hermione apparated from her flat to the huge iron gates that signalled the entrance to Hogwarts grounds.She had ended up sending her team ahead of her. She wanted to go in alone.She was terrified and had no idea why. Well, she had some idea why. She hadn’t seen anyone from the school since graduation and was well aware of how much she had changed in the two years since she left, physically and mentally.

(Come on Granger pull yourself together) She scolded herself silently. But as she pushed open the gate and began to walk up to the school, she felt the fear rising in her chest. She felt like a child playing at being a grown up, felt like a student all over again. Dumbledore would be able to see it in her eyes if she didn’t hide it, he would see how afraid she really was underneath the tough exterior, that she would fail and they would all die, that she wouldn’t be strong enough to save them, like she couldn’t save her parents. She called up all the things she’d seen and done over the past two years and pushed the fear away and by the time she reached the entrance hall she was back to being her same old badass self.

She walked through the halls to Dumbledores office, they were deserted at the moment but come this evening the school would be full of students, some coming here for the first time. Before she knew it she found herself in front of Dumbledore’s office doors although she was so lost in her own thoughts and memories she didn’t remember saying the password or getting on the spiral escalator. (Oh well, here goes) she thought as she knocked once and stepped into the office.

Her breath caught as she walked into the office, this was the first time she had been here since the night of her parent’s death. Any business she had with the headmaster after that was usually conducted in Professor McGonagall’s office. She could feel the lump forming in her throat and swallowed hard. There would be time enough for reminiscing and coming to terms with the past, when she was alone, for now she had to face her family, whom she hadn’t seen in two years.

Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall both rose from their seats where they had been having afternoon tea and turned to look at the young woman in front of them. Giving her a moment to adjust, the two professors glanced at each other, this wasn’t their brightest student and surrogate daughter standing in front of them, this was a woman, who looked like she’d been to hell and back. Because she was often undercover and the press had been forbidden from mentioning the names of any Aurors, for fear of their families lives, the order were the only people who knew, via information from Moody what she was doing, how she had become the best at what she did and that a good amount of the death eaters that had been stopped so far was because of her. But with the Dementors now fighting on Voldemorts side there was no jail, and the ministry was ill equipped to hold prisoners, so many of them managed to escape within days. However very few of them had ever got back to their master, they always turned up a few days later, dead. The ministry was turning a blind eye to this, but they, the Headmaster and his deputy all knew who was responsible.

Dumbledore bought them all out of their revere by coming around the small table he had been sitting at and approaching Hermione slowly. He came to a stop in front of her and placed his old wrinkled hands on her shoulders “Welcome back to Hogwarts Miss Granger”

~*~*~*~*~

“Please call me Hermione” She said, smiling at him “When you call me Miss Granger I feel about 12 years old, or like I’m in trouble”

Dumbledore chuckled and went to stand behind his desk, as McGonagall went over and planted a kiss on Hermione’s cheek “We’ve missed you dear” she said kindly.

When they were all seated, Dumbledore spoke “Hermione, everyone is very pleased you have agreed to come back and help us. As it stands, the teachers all know why you are here, the students do not. As far as they know, you and your team are here as a teacher’s aide and nothing else. This is one of the reasons that you, and not Mr Potter and Mr Weasley were sent here as they are too well known, as Aurors and you are not”

Hermione smiled “I understand Sir, I won’t let you down” She was starting to relax. It was like coming home.
“Do you have our cover stories and classes? As I need to brief my team before dinner”

Dumbledore handed her the folder and the two professors looked at each other, \'Assume the crash position\' They both thought as Hermione opened it and starting reading.

The room went deadly quite as Hermione’s eyes narrowed on the sheet of paper she was reading. She stood suddenly, causing all the papers on her lap to fall to the floor and stalked over to the desk, slamming both her hands down on it and glaring at the Headmaster “Goddamn it, old man, have you completely lost the plot?” She shouted, all formalities and manners forgotten “You always do this, Considering you are, to most peoples knowledge, the greatest wizard of our time, the only explanations I can think of are senile dementia or that you are in fact evil and have been luring us into a false sense of security all these years”

He looked at her with a shocked expression on his face

“Don’t look at me like that” She raged “Like you have no idea what I’m talking about. For seven years you put Slytherin and Gryffindor together in nearly all subjects especially potions, knowing that no good would come of it, then if that wasn’t enough amusement for you, you made me train with the most hated professor in the school knowing how much we detested each other and now you’ve done it again.
Does he know about this?”

“Professor Snape?” Asked Dumbledore, trying to hide the amused expression that was creeping onto his face, while McGonagall had her face in her hands in despair.

“Yes Professor Snape. I cannot believe you would assign me as his teaching aide and I’ll tell you right now I won’t do it!”

“Yes you will Miss Granger,” Said Dumbledore raising his voice and standing before her. She stepped back, not expecting anger from him.

“Go and brief your team, Minerva will show you where everyone is staying, the sorting will begin in 30 minutes”
His eyes met hers and she saw the finality in them.

“Fine” She said picking up her papers off the floor “But don’t say I didn’t warn you” And with that she stormed out of the office, with Minerva following her shooting him a “You’ve really done it this time” glare.

He smiled to himself, thinking that if this was how Hermione reacted, Severus’s face was going to be priceless, just as well he would only find out at dinner where he couldn’t make a fuss.

Thanks to:

Darkfaith
Hannah
Cookie
Anna
Lady Aidil
Andrian
Fish (My first Woo Hoo!)
Rilla
Zephyr

Oh my god!!

You guys are the best reviewers a girl could ask fo am am so pleased you like it.

As for the use of song titles as chapter titles. I am a huge fan of music, all music especially the bands I have used.
I didn’t want this to be a song fic, but I think music can express so much in the way of invoking emotions and memories and because I always listen to music when I am on the computer, certain lyrics just seemed to fit the moods of the characters to perfectly not to use.

Next chapter: They come face to face, Dum Dum Duuuuummmm!!!