Through the Looking Glass ~ COMPLETED

Chapter 8 ~ Escaping Gryffindor House

As Severus Snape billowed back to the dungeons, he was turning over this new Hermione's situation in his mind. Obviously, she was just as smart as their Hermione although much more crass and uninhibited.

Which was good for him. He intended to take full advantage of her traditions. She was sort of an exchange student after all, and everyone was encouraged to respect the tradition and culture of others. That's all he'd be doing really. Most likely, she'd be more comfortable with that. Albus might not like it if he found out, but really there'd be very little he could do. Of course, Snape wouldn't be able to give her extra credit for her attentions, but he could slip her a few points here and there in class, practicing the nepotism he was known for with his own Slytherins.

He thought about her requesting the Mirror of Erised being placed in her room. It was a good idea, it really was . . . but, it wouldn't get her home. Everyone was overlooking the obvious, something he saw quite clearly.

When Hermione passed through the mirror, she was a Gryffindor in Gryffindor House. Her proper place in the universe. This Miss Granger would be a Slytherin in Gryffindor House, and so, would be out of sync with the natural order. The transfer wouldn't work the way things were. This Hermione needed to be in Slytherin House for the balance to be restored.

Now, another teacher might have brought this error up immediately, but not Snape.

He was in no rush for her to go back. She would be a pleasurable distraction for him. Snape didn't get much pleasure at all, especially of a sexual nature, so of course he'd want the witch to hang about for a bit. He'd like to try out her other skills. It would be nice to have something other to focus on other than his continuing existence.

Snape had been trying to figure out a way to get out of his service to both Dumbledore and Voldemort for years. The blasted Dark Mark was the reason he had to continuously return to the scaly despot over and over. It caused him so much pain when he was summoned, he had to appear. Then he underwent all kinds of interrogations and tortures once he got there. Crucio'd and whipped until he could barely move. It was a horrible way to live. At least he continued to survive, but for how long?

Snape frowned slightly as several of his Slytherins greeted him in passing. He didn't answer them. He rarely returned greetings. He was never happy to see any of the little buggers and didn't pretend he was. All spoiled little Death Eater wanna-bees. They had no idea what service to the Dark Lord was like. None at all. If he had known, he never would have joined him.

Never. But that was all water in the moat now. He was stuck with this situation unless he could find a way to save himself. Let Dumbledore and Voldemort raze the whole wizarding world to the ground if they wanted to. All he wanted . . . was to be free. He'd done more than enough for Harry Potter and his mother's memory. Lily didn't even give a damn about him in the end. It was insane to keep this up. Albus may have caught him young, weak and impressionable when he pressed him into service, but the old wizard had broken his promise to save Lily and used Snape's grief to keep him bound.

Well, he'd woken up over the years and would have quit this madness long ago if he could have, but there was no way out. He was in too deep, too enmeshed in both Albus' and Voldemort's schemes. If only he had someplace to go out of both their reaches, far from their influence.

He opened the door to his office and let himself in, his mind shifting back to the Slytherin Hermione.

Hmm.

Making a connection with this Miss Granger could have benefits other than a bit of sexual relief. Great benefits that he could live with. As a Half-Blood, he really didn't give a damn who was the upper crust of the wizarding world. He was squarely in the middle after all. All he really cared about at this point, was his own ass. This bloody war could go on forever, and he didn't have much faith in Harry Potter's ability to best Voldemort, and actually Snape believed that he'd be dead before any clear winner was claimed.

That wasn't good either.

Yes, he really needed to get in good with this Hermione. She could be the answer he'd been looking for.

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"Well, at least she has decent marks," Hermione said as she looked over her counterpart's transcripts.

"She's the brightest witch in the school. She even outperforms Ravenclaws," Minerva said proudly.

"She must not have much of a life, since she has to do so much extra credit work," Hermione said, frowning slightly.

"Ah, yes. Miss Granger is very focused on her work, almost to the exclusion of all else," Minerva agreed.

"Does she have a boyfriend, a girlfriend or at least some partners?" Hermione asked.

Minerva turned red.

"Sexual interaction is not encouraged here, Miss Granger. The focus is on education," she said rather primly.

"Done right, sex is very educating," Hermione replied, giving McGonagall a naughty smirk.

Minerva was once again reminded that this young witch was intimate with her counterpart, and flushed as Hermione rested her brown eyes on her thoughtfully. The flush didn't escape her. Maybe this McGonagall had some deep set desires she never thought about. It was something to keep in mind anyway.

"Not here at Hogwarts, Miss Granger. If you are caught in a compromising position, you will be reprimanded for it," Minerva warned her.

"Yeah, I know. You'll take points from me and give me detention. Oh, horrors," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"You must also take Miss Granger's reputation into consideration," Minerva added, "what you do here will reflect on her when she returns, even if she wasn't the one in the wrong."

"In the wrong?" Hermione said, scowling. "If you ask me, you all are in the wrong. Sex is natural and pleasurable and a way to work off stress. It's also a form of fair exchange, comparable to money and goods. It's not fair to deny access to it if a person wishes to indulge in it. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, a shag would come in handy right now."

"I'm sorry if you are frustrated Miss Granger, but when in Rome . . ."

Hermione sighed, wondering how soon she could get to Snape's office. It would probably be after the stupid meeting with the Gryffindors. She wasn't looking forward to it.

"All right. All right. No shagging allowed. I've got it. How long until the meeting?" Hermione asked bad-naturedly.

"Well, I've sent summonses to all my Gryffindors. So, after supper we will meet in the Gryffindor Common room, at seven o'clock.

"How long do you think it will last?" Hermione asked her.

"Possibly forty-five minutes to an hour. I need to introduce you and . . ."

"I know them already. You don't have to introduce them. Can't you just tell them I stumbled into this world and will be here a couple of days and leave it at that?"

"No. They have to be made aware that although you look like Miss Granger, you aren't her. And the only way to do that is to explain your universe works a bit differently than ours and to reveal . . . your house affiliation."

Hermione snorted.

"I'm sure they'll be overjoyed at the opportunity to try and convert a Slytherin," she said darkly.

If they started bugging her, they could count on a few fried robes. She wasn't about to be set on by a bunch of well-meaning dolts. She was a Slytherin and they'd know it. House be damned.

"They might be," Minerva said with a smile. "But they'll give you space as well, if you just tell them that's what you want."

"That's precisely what I want," Hermione said frowning.

She hoped this didn't go past an hour.

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Hermione stood frowning in front of the fresh faced Gryffindors waving their hands. They were in the Common Room and Minerva explained the magical process that brought Hermione among them. It had gone rather quickly and Hermione was glad of that, but then, Minerva asked, "Are there any questions?"

And that's why she was still standing here. It was a quarter after eight now, and she only had forty-five minutes to get down to the dungeons and Snape. His unsmiling face would be a welcome change from all these bright, helpful smiles.

"Don't worry, Hermione, we'll help you get along," Ron had said to the witch brightly, with a broad smile.

Hermione was put off by Harry and Ron in this universe. They were so . . . wholesome looking, had none of the swagger and male confidence of their counterparts and were just so . . . so eager to please. Like Muggle puppies.

What was worse, neither of them looked as if they'd ever been laid in their lives.

Well, she wasn't up to training newbies, that's for sure. So, her only option for anything remotely pleasurable here, was the snarky professor Snape. Well, at least he had a nice-sized cock, a huge one really. Hopefully, he'd know how to use it when the time came, but she didn't plan on shagging him right away. She'd work up to it, getting all she could out of the wizard before she handed over the goodies. When it came to wizards and sex, it was best to keep them hungry.

"So Dumbledore's the Dark Lord in your world, and Tom Riddle is Hogwart's Headmaster?" Ginny asked her.

Hermione sighed.

"I've already answered that fucking question five times," she hissed.

Everyone fell silent.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for language, Miss Granger," Minerva said darkly. "I don't care how you speak in your universe, but here we use proper language."

"But everyone's asking me the same questions over and over. Can't we end this? It's annoying," Hermione said to the Transfiguration teacher.

"Very well. You can all mingle now. Curfew is in forty minutes. Try and make Miss Granger feel welcome. Good night."

Minerva rose to leave and Hermione was immediately surrounded by Gryffindors.

Oh good gods, she thought as a sea of smiling faces and more questions came at her from every side. She was about to pull out her wand and clear a path when Harry's voice rang out.

"Hey, give her some room, everyone. She's just got here and she answered a lot of questions. Let her breathe!" he said to his housemates, who all backed away from Hermione.

She looked at Harry, who gave her a smile. She scowled at him slightly.

"Thanks, she said, heading up the stairs to the girl's dormitory and making a beeline for her private room. She needed to figure how to get past all those sappy do-gooders without getting caught. No doubt they'd all be like "you shouldn't go out so close to curfew" in nasally voices.

But she just had to get out of here. She stared at the Mirror of Erised. All she saw was her own reflection, her black robes adorned with a Slytherin tie. She was wearing Gryffindor colors, which she pulled off and flung to the floor. The mirror still showed her staring back at herself dressed as a Slytherin.

She sighed, thinking about Hermione.

"Where the fuck are you?" she hissed, frowning into the mirror.

Then she pulled out her wand and Disillusioned herself, creeping out of her room and stopping on the landing. Many of the students were still in the Common Room.

"Damn it," she growled, her brown eyes hard. Then she got an idea.

She studied the path to the Common Room exit, then whirled her wand over her head.

"Nocturnis," she cried, plunging the Common Room into darkness.

"Hey! What happened?" voices rose as Hermione shot down the stairs, bumping into a few bodies as cries of "Lumos" arose and wand tips lit up.

"Somebody light the torches," Harry said, then felt himself bumped by someone.

"Watch it," he hissed.

Hermione hurried down the corridor that led to the exit, then out into the castle just as the Common Room lit back up.

Whew. She'd made it.

"It's late, you know," the Fat Lady sang out, aware someone had left the tower.

"Good to see you can tell time," Hermione replied, making her way to the shifting stairwells.

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Snape was about to leave his office and retire for the night when there was a pounding on his door. Not the light, tentative knocks he was used to, but loud, heavy pounding.

Snarling, he pulled the door open to see a shimmer standing there.

"Let me in," Hermione's voice hissed at him.

The wizard blinked, then stepped aside, watching as the shimmer walked by him. He closed the door as it sat down in the chair in front of his desk.

He watched as the shimmer flowed downward, revealing a scowling Hermione Granger.

"I hate this fucking school," she said to him, rubbing her temples.

Snape thought it was something else they had in common, although he didn't comment. He continued staring at the witch.

There was a reason for her being here, after all.

And he was sure it would be a pleasurable one.

She turned in the chair, her brown eyes washing over him.

"I need something from you," she said to him, "and I'm willing to trade for it."

"Do tell, Miss Granger," the dark wizard replied, folding his arms and arching an eyebrow at her.

This sounded quite interesting.

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A/N: Thanks for reading