Those Who Favor Fire
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Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
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Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
8
Views:
10,860
Reviews:
45
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Stuck in the Middle With You
Chapter Seven
On the morning of September first, Hermione woke up and groaned. Although she was excited to officially begin her new career, she was certainly not ready for her first day of classes. The past week had been dedicated completely to devising brilliant new plans for Dumbledore’s Battle of the Sexes, and Hermione had done little with her lesson plans, aside from what he’d already begun when she’d first arrived.
She padded over to her bathroom, wincing as she saw her reflection in the mirror. Simply, she looked like shit.
‘Oh well… Never was a morning person.’
After brushing her teeth and winning the daily battle with her comb (for once…), Hermione dressed cheerfully and exited her chambers out into the corridor. Greeting each of the portraits, she smiled to herself happily.
And why shouldn’t she be happy? Clearly, Severus fancied her! He’d finally grown a spine and kissed her. Giggling to herself, she turned the corner, preparing to make her way down the stairs, when she ran head-on into a solid dark mass.
The breath knocked completely out of her, Hermione just gaped up at the nose, er, face looming above her.
Severus stared at her, his left eyebrow inching slowly upwards. “In a hurry, Hermione?”
She gulped. Her name! Out of those lips… ‘Say something, you dolt!’
“Er… no… As a matter of fact, I was just heading down to breakfast.” She glanced behind her, silently wondering where he was headed.
“And I was on my way to retrieve you from your chambers. What a coincidence, eh?”
Hermione smiled up at him. “If you say so!” Taking Severus’ arm, the two of them trekked to the Great Hall.
* * * *
Minerva shot Albus a little look as the two lovebirds sat down in unison, next to each other. He smirked back, his usual twinkle glittering mischievously.
“Are you prepared for today’s lessons, Professor Granger?” Dumbledore inquired.
Hermione paled slightly. “I’m sure I’ll be able to manage just fine. It will certainly take a little while to get used to teaching.”
Minerva lay a comforting hand on Hermione’s arm. “You will be brilliant, Hermione. There’s no doubt that you can be a fabulous teacher. Don’t think that I don’t remember that you used to tutor half my of Gryffindors!”
Grinning, Hermione replied, “Thank you for your vote of confidence, Minerva. Severus has been frightening me with all sorts of horrific stories about his ‘dunderheaded pupils.’ I’m not so sure I really want to be present in a room with seventh year Gryffindors and Slytherins…”
“And how do you think I managed? What with you and Longbottom and the whole, saintly lot… It was horrendous!” Severus groaned in revulsion.
Hermione glared. “I resent that, you know. You were truly terrible to us Gryffindors!”
“Yes, and my blatant favoritism toward my Slytherins was particularly nauseating, I know. All the better for my cover. I’m sure you’ve realized by now that I’m just a real softy underneath this cruel, bitter exterior,” Severus said with as innocent a face as he could manage.
Everyone laughed, while Hermione just glowed. She knew who Severus really was; the time the two of them had spent together had brought them closer, if before only as friends. What Severus said was true. He really was just a softy…
*****
Twirling his quill in his long white fingers, Severus contemplated what he should suggest to the other wizards for their first prank on the witches.
Now that he had made his intentions clearer to Hermione, he was sure that the two of them would quietly extract themselves from the Battle of the Sexes so that they would not embarrass each other. Severus smirked, thinking that just because he would perform any of the tricks himself did not mean that he would not be somehow involved.
Suddenly, a particularly devious idea came to his mind. He quickly scratched the idea down on a loose sheet of parchment. After he let it dry, Severus quickly tied it to the leg of a school owl and sent his message off into the night.
‘Hermione and the rest of them will never know what hit them!’ Pleased, Severus packed up his materials and set off to his classroom to begin the day’s first lesson.
*****
After her morning lessons had gone better than expected, Hermione enjoyed telling McGonagall all about how they went over lunch. Her students had seemed genuinely interested in her lecture on werewolves.
“But it was so strange, Minerva. Each time I’d turn to write on the board,” said Hermione, puzzled, “they would start giggling uncontrollably! When I checked my back in a mirror, there was nothing wrong, so I know it wasn’t that. I simply couldn’t think of anything that might have been tampered with…”
McGonagall looked thoughtful for a moment before he face lit up. “Perhaps he had somehow hexed your blackboard? I think there may be some sort of hex related to what one writes appearing to be different to certain people that read what is on the board.”
Hermione was relieved briefly before her face turned ashen. “I hope what they read wasn’t something terribly embarrassing. My reputation here at Hogwarts is still fairly impressionable. I can’t risk having my students think of me as being some sort of easy, flighty teacher!”
“HEY! I resent that!” Trelawney jumped into their conversation. “And don’t look surprised that I knew what you all thought about me when you were students here!” Hermione’s pale face grew even whiter. “Hermione… I am a better Seer than you think!”
At this, McGonagall chuckled. Trelawney looked sharply over at her. Forcing herself to hold back her giggles, McGonagall looked bashful.
“I’m sorry, Sibyll, but I just couldn’t help laughing at Hermione’s face! I wasn’t laughing at you…” McGonagall amended.
“Quite all right, Minerva,” Trelawney sniffed. “Hermione, do shut your mouth. It is unbecoming of a witch to stare with her trap wide open.”
Hermione’s jaw clicked shut instantly. She was truly mortified that Trelawney had known the entire time how much she and the boys had doubted her abilities. Of course, it had seemed nearly impossible to her at the time that any sort of batty woman like Sibyll would have ANY kind of abilities. Oh well. That was certainly in the past, now.
“I’m sorry, Sibyll,” Hermione murmured sheepishly. “I should have realized that Dumbl-Albus would never have hired a person without any sort of flare for a subject… Except for me, that is.”
Upon hearing this, more of the people sitting at the staff table turned to hear the conversation.
“Miss Granger, though it is amusing to think that you doubt your own abilities, I must say that I am shocked that you never realized how right you were for Defense Against the Dark Arts,” a velvety voiced drifted from behind Hermione. She turned to see Severus smiling, barely noticeable, however, at her.
“Why, thank you, Severus.” Hermione beamed at him, pleased that he’d made a public display of affection. Or, at least, it was as close to affection in public as Severus Snape would ever get, she was sure of that. Hermione returned to her breakfast, smiling lightly.
Before she took her last bite of her eggs, she felt someone tap her shoulder. Turning, Hermione saw Sibyll Trelawney’s smirking face.
“Hermione, I have a few things I would like to discuss with you…”
*****
“Severus, that’s incredibly sneaky of you!” Albus Dumbledore was glittering a good deal more than usual.
Severus congratulated himself inwardly. He had known his little plan to get Hermione back personally for his public humiliation had been somewhat fitting, even though it had involved her students. The one thing that worried him, though, was that she still hadn’t figured him out. Shifting a bit in his seat, Severus wondered how a witch as intelligent as Hermione hadn’t figured out that he had enchanted her blackboard to write flattering remarks about Hogwarts’ resident Potions Master.
“Albus, do you think she’s found out and just hasn’t said anything?”
“My dear boy, I wouldn’t think Hermione would not allow herself to sit idle if she knew that you were responsible for the disruption in her lesson plans on her first day of teaching.”
Severus gulped. He had not thought of how this could possibly traumatize her… He would have to tell her of his little prank, and apologize on his knees.
“Thank you, Albus. I’m afraid I have business to attend to.”
Watching Severus walk briskly toward his dungeons, Dumbledore smiled.
‘That boy’s completely whipped!’
*****
“I never knew you had it in you, Sibyll!” Hermione gushed to the Divination professor.
“Quite all right, Hermione,” Trelawney replied. “You are one of the few people who know me outside of my dreamy persona.”
Hermione grinned. “I’ll bet there are few that truly do, Sibyll!”
Looking at the list she had written, she glanced up at the witch with the wide eyes.
“We’ll have to make a quick trip to Hogsmeade to get some of these materials, but this should be doable!” Hermione stated.
Trelawney cackled.
“The boys will never know what hit them!”
*****
And the obligatory Author’s Note: Ugh. Major writer’s block. Leave a review. ANY advice is good.
Thanks!
-SS-
By the way, the song I used for the title and inspiration for this chapter is “Stuck in the Middle With You” by Stealers Wheel. If you want the lyrics, you can look them up yourself. I’m feeling too lazy… ;)
On the morning of September first, Hermione woke up and groaned. Although she was excited to officially begin her new career, she was certainly not ready for her first day of classes. The past week had been dedicated completely to devising brilliant new plans for Dumbledore’s Battle of the Sexes, and Hermione had done little with her lesson plans, aside from what he’d already begun when she’d first arrived.
She padded over to her bathroom, wincing as she saw her reflection in the mirror. Simply, she looked like shit.
‘Oh well… Never was a morning person.’
After brushing her teeth and winning the daily battle with her comb (for once…), Hermione dressed cheerfully and exited her chambers out into the corridor. Greeting each of the portraits, she smiled to herself happily.
And why shouldn’t she be happy? Clearly, Severus fancied her! He’d finally grown a spine and kissed her. Giggling to herself, she turned the corner, preparing to make her way down the stairs, when she ran head-on into a solid dark mass.
The breath knocked completely out of her, Hermione just gaped up at the nose, er, face looming above her.
Severus stared at her, his left eyebrow inching slowly upwards. “In a hurry, Hermione?”
She gulped. Her name! Out of those lips… ‘Say something, you dolt!’
“Er… no… As a matter of fact, I was just heading down to breakfast.” She glanced behind her, silently wondering where he was headed.
“And I was on my way to retrieve you from your chambers. What a coincidence, eh?”
Hermione smiled up at him. “If you say so!” Taking Severus’ arm, the two of them trekked to the Great Hall.
* * * *
Minerva shot Albus a little look as the two lovebirds sat down in unison, next to each other. He smirked back, his usual twinkle glittering mischievously.
“Are you prepared for today’s lessons, Professor Granger?” Dumbledore inquired.
Hermione paled slightly. “I’m sure I’ll be able to manage just fine. It will certainly take a little while to get used to teaching.”
Minerva lay a comforting hand on Hermione’s arm. “You will be brilliant, Hermione. There’s no doubt that you can be a fabulous teacher. Don’t think that I don’t remember that you used to tutor half my of Gryffindors!”
Grinning, Hermione replied, “Thank you for your vote of confidence, Minerva. Severus has been frightening me with all sorts of horrific stories about his ‘dunderheaded pupils.’ I’m not so sure I really want to be present in a room with seventh year Gryffindors and Slytherins…”
“And how do you think I managed? What with you and Longbottom and the whole, saintly lot… It was horrendous!” Severus groaned in revulsion.
Hermione glared. “I resent that, you know. You were truly terrible to us Gryffindors!”
“Yes, and my blatant favoritism toward my Slytherins was particularly nauseating, I know. All the better for my cover. I’m sure you’ve realized by now that I’m just a real softy underneath this cruel, bitter exterior,” Severus said with as innocent a face as he could manage.
Everyone laughed, while Hermione just glowed. She knew who Severus really was; the time the two of them had spent together had brought them closer, if before only as friends. What Severus said was true. He really was just a softy…
*****
Twirling his quill in his long white fingers, Severus contemplated what he should suggest to the other wizards for their first prank on the witches.
Now that he had made his intentions clearer to Hermione, he was sure that the two of them would quietly extract themselves from the Battle of the Sexes so that they would not embarrass each other. Severus smirked, thinking that just because he would perform any of the tricks himself did not mean that he would not be somehow involved.
Suddenly, a particularly devious idea came to his mind. He quickly scratched the idea down on a loose sheet of parchment. After he let it dry, Severus quickly tied it to the leg of a school owl and sent his message off into the night.
‘Hermione and the rest of them will never know what hit them!’ Pleased, Severus packed up his materials and set off to his classroom to begin the day’s first lesson.
*****
After her morning lessons had gone better than expected, Hermione enjoyed telling McGonagall all about how they went over lunch. Her students had seemed genuinely interested in her lecture on werewolves.
“But it was so strange, Minerva. Each time I’d turn to write on the board,” said Hermione, puzzled, “they would start giggling uncontrollably! When I checked my back in a mirror, there was nothing wrong, so I know it wasn’t that. I simply couldn’t think of anything that might have been tampered with…”
McGonagall looked thoughtful for a moment before he face lit up. “Perhaps he had somehow hexed your blackboard? I think there may be some sort of hex related to what one writes appearing to be different to certain people that read what is on the board.”
Hermione was relieved briefly before her face turned ashen. “I hope what they read wasn’t something terribly embarrassing. My reputation here at Hogwarts is still fairly impressionable. I can’t risk having my students think of me as being some sort of easy, flighty teacher!”
“HEY! I resent that!” Trelawney jumped into their conversation. “And don’t look surprised that I knew what you all thought about me when you were students here!” Hermione’s pale face grew even whiter. “Hermione… I am a better Seer than you think!”
At this, McGonagall chuckled. Trelawney looked sharply over at her. Forcing herself to hold back her giggles, McGonagall looked bashful.
“I’m sorry, Sibyll, but I just couldn’t help laughing at Hermione’s face! I wasn’t laughing at you…” McGonagall amended.
“Quite all right, Minerva,” Trelawney sniffed. “Hermione, do shut your mouth. It is unbecoming of a witch to stare with her trap wide open.”
Hermione’s jaw clicked shut instantly. She was truly mortified that Trelawney had known the entire time how much she and the boys had doubted her abilities. Of course, it had seemed nearly impossible to her at the time that any sort of batty woman like Sibyll would have ANY kind of abilities. Oh well. That was certainly in the past, now.
“I’m sorry, Sibyll,” Hermione murmured sheepishly. “I should have realized that Dumbl-Albus would never have hired a person without any sort of flare for a subject… Except for me, that is.”
Upon hearing this, more of the people sitting at the staff table turned to hear the conversation.
“Miss Granger, though it is amusing to think that you doubt your own abilities, I must say that I am shocked that you never realized how right you were for Defense Against the Dark Arts,” a velvety voiced drifted from behind Hermione. She turned to see Severus smiling, barely noticeable, however, at her.
“Why, thank you, Severus.” Hermione beamed at him, pleased that he’d made a public display of affection. Or, at least, it was as close to affection in public as Severus Snape would ever get, she was sure of that. Hermione returned to her breakfast, smiling lightly.
Before she took her last bite of her eggs, she felt someone tap her shoulder. Turning, Hermione saw Sibyll Trelawney’s smirking face.
“Hermione, I have a few things I would like to discuss with you…”
*****
“Severus, that’s incredibly sneaky of you!” Albus Dumbledore was glittering a good deal more than usual.
Severus congratulated himself inwardly. He had known his little plan to get Hermione back personally for his public humiliation had been somewhat fitting, even though it had involved her students. The one thing that worried him, though, was that she still hadn’t figured him out. Shifting a bit in his seat, Severus wondered how a witch as intelligent as Hermione hadn’t figured out that he had enchanted her blackboard to write flattering remarks about Hogwarts’ resident Potions Master.
“Albus, do you think she’s found out and just hasn’t said anything?”
“My dear boy, I wouldn’t think Hermione would not allow herself to sit idle if she knew that you were responsible for the disruption in her lesson plans on her first day of teaching.”
Severus gulped. He had not thought of how this could possibly traumatize her… He would have to tell her of his little prank, and apologize on his knees.
“Thank you, Albus. I’m afraid I have business to attend to.”
Watching Severus walk briskly toward his dungeons, Dumbledore smiled.
‘That boy’s completely whipped!’
*****
“I never knew you had it in you, Sibyll!” Hermione gushed to the Divination professor.
“Quite all right, Hermione,” Trelawney replied. “You are one of the few people who know me outside of my dreamy persona.”
Hermione grinned. “I’ll bet there are few that truly do, Sibyll!”
Looking at the list she had written, she glanced up at the witch with the wide eyes.
“We’ll have to make a quick trip to Hogsmeade to get some of these materials, but this should be doable!” Hermione stated.
Trelawney cackled.
“The boys will never know what hit them!”
*****
And the obligatory Author’s Note: Ugh. Major writer’s block. Leave a review. ANY advice is good.
Thanks!
-SS-
By the way, the song I used for the title and inspiration for this chapter is “Stuck in the Middle With You” by Stealers Wheel. If you want the lyrics, you can look them up yourself. I’m feeling too lazy… ;)