Conflict and Harmony
folder
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
1
Views:
1,452
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
1
Views:
1,452
Reviews:
4
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.
Conflict and Harmony
Disclaimer: Nothing is ours, J.K. owns everything, we’re not worthy, etc. etc.
The Deal
Hermione shelved the last of the library books on her cart with a glazed over look in her eyes. Returning the emptied cart back to its place against the wall, she turned to pick up her coat from behind the front desk and leave. Her nerves felt quite fried, and it annoyed her that it wasn’t simply a hard day’s work that was making her feel that way. No, what was wearing away on Hermione’s nerves had little to do with her job as a Librarian, although she wished like hell it did.
After three years of searching and several near death experiences, Harry, Ron and Hermione had managed to destroy three out of four of Voldemort’s horcruxes. The fourth, however, had remained elusive for several months now; this fact was very frustrating to all involved in the search for it. Over time, Harry had conceded to telling the Order what he was up to, as it became obvious that Voldemort and the Death Eaters had discovered what Harry was trying to do, and had therefore moved the last horcrux to a random, highly guarded place. It would take the combined efforts of the Order members to torture any number of Death Eaters so as to discover its whereabouts. But in the meantime, Harry was forced to wait in Number 12 Grimmauld Place, and no one had ever seen him sulkier as a result…except for maybe the summer going into his 5th year.
It was frustrating for Hermione as well, to bide her time with a job as a Librarian, simply to distract herself while the Order members worked to move their task forwards. A part of her wished that she, Ron and Harry had simply carried on with their efforts without the Order, but the more logical side of her knew that their skills and experience were needed to hunt down Death Eaters and question them. At least this pause in adventure had given her a chance to move into a flat quite close to her parent’s house…she missed them terribly and wanted to be near them during such dark and difficult times as these.
Hermione broke out of her reverie when she realized that she had arrived at a safe apparition point. Focusing on the comforts of her living room, she effortlessly popped into the exact same spot she always did, standing in front of her favorite armchair facing a couch. What she saw on the couch when she arrived, however, gave her quite a start indeed.
***
Harry Potter was more than a little frustrated with his current situation. He was uncomfortably aware that while being kept safe at 12 Grimmauld Place was probably a good idea, it was causing him to behave more and more like Sirius during his final days of hiding…and that scared him. He was bored. He was annoyed that he wasn’t out there getting his hands dirty. And most of all, he couldn’t stop mulling over the death of Albus Dumbledore, and all of the words of wisdom he had bestowed upon him during his 6th year. Terrified that even a single word of Dumbledore’s advice went forgotten, Harry was gifted a pensieve by Mad Eye Moody, where he placed all of his memories of their conversations. He had allowed Ron and Hermione to see them, but no one else. He thought it better that at least Hermione, with her clever eye, should study them just in case something was said that Harry missed, although he highly doubted it. He knew that when he finally came to face Voldemort he’d be ready…he just couldn’t wait for that day to come.
***
“Petrificus totalus” a voice hissed. Hermione had not reacted quickly enough. She began to fall backwards, but the cloaked figure caught her and placed her on the couch. Furious with herself for letting this happen, she had no other choice but to begin contemplating how she was going to escape from whatever situation she found herself in. The cloaked figure stood up, and started to remove his hood. Hermione would have gasped if she had the ability; standing above her was none other than Severus Snape.
“Miss Granger,” he said, and inclined his head slightly. “I assure you that whatever you think, I am not here to harm you, although I am sure that you find this hard to believe.” He paused and sat down in the armchair across from her. There he conjured a glass of water, and sighed deeply. “I am not here to play games, I will simply state my business and hope that you accept my proposal. If not, I shall have to try my luck elsewhere, although I have little idea where I shall turn…” A small pause, a sip of water, and “I have been made Secret Keeper of the final horcrux by the Dark Lord himself. I was by no means his first choice; however, after the previous Secret Keeper was killed, I insisted that I deserve a chance in proving once and for all where my loyalties lie, and I am doing just that. Miss Granger, I am prepared to inform you of the whereabouts of the final horcrux, if you would in turn become my Secret Keeper and hide me from the Dark Lord. I do not see what choice you have in the matter, if you do indeed wish to end this war anytime soon. I will release your jaw muscles so you may speak, but I ask you not to shout or accuse, as there is little point.”
With a quick point of his wand, Hermione could sense the feeling in her face return. “You said that you are out to prove where your loyalties lie. Am I to assume, then, that you’ve decided to come crawling back to the good side to save your own ass, after what you’ve done?” she spat.
“Miss Granger, I thought I asked you not to waste your time with accusations, it will get us nowhere.”
“I quite disagree, Snape,” Hermione said, attempting to keep her voice steady with the anger rising from within her. “As it stands, I do not have the capacity to listen to so-called reason from a man who claims to be loyal to a side whose former leader he personally murdered! Therefore, you can either begin explaining yourself, or I will use any means necessary to get you the hell out of my flat!” she screamed, cursing the remainder of the spell on her body. Snape, however, simply shook his head.
“You are not in a position to make demands. Either you accept what I say and learn the whereabouts of the horcrux, or continue to sit around and wait, praying that the Order find the information currently being handed to you oh-so graciously on a silver platter,” Snape hissed.
“Oh-so graciously isn’t exactly how I’d put it,” Hermione growled. Snape rolled his eyes.
“Well what do you expect? If I hadn’t petrified you, I highly doubt you’d be waiting for me to talk before you shot a killing curse in my direction.”
Hermione contemplated this. He had a point. If, crazily enough, he were on her side, it would still make sense that he petrify her. And if he really did know the whereabouts of the final horcrux, she could not afford to let him go. But what of the other part of the deal? Becoming Severus Snape’s Secret Keeper? What’s to stop her from telling everyone his whereabouts the second he reveal where the final horcrux is hidden? Perhaps he was relying on the Gryffindor inside of her…hoping that she’d give him a chance to explain himself…because if by some miracle he was on her side, she’d be throwing an innocent man to the dogs. After all, what else would motivate him to tell her the location of the horcrux but to vanquish Voldemort for good? He was putting himself at considerable risk in doing so, nay, committing suicide.
“So what am I supposed to do? Keep you in my flat until Voldemort is defeated?” Hermione asked, barely believing what she was saying.
“Indeed,” he replied. “Not only that, but perhaps until all of the more…dangerous…Death Eaters who will be wanting revenge are placed behind bars.”
Hermione’s eyes widened. “But that could be for months…years!”
“It is a small price to pay for the vanquishing of the darkest Wizard of our time, wouldn’t you say?” Snape sneered.
Hermione couldn’t argue with that, either. And even if she doubted Snape’s motivations, she could not give up the invaluable information being presented to her.
“Fine,” Hermione replied through gritted teeth.
“What’s that, Miss Granger?” Snape cooed, almost mockingly.
“I said, fine, I’ll do it.”
Snape simply nodded and finished his glass of water in one swig. He then released Hermione from the spell. She stood up. “On one condition.”
Snape rolled his eyes. “Need I once again point out that you are in no position to make conditions?”
“Oh, but I think I am. If your intentions are good as you claim they are, you will have no choice but to oblige me. For you see, I really am the only person in the Order who might consider even for a second your innocence, and you know it. Why else would you turn to me? Walk away from this deal, and you can forget any chance you have of passing on this information while being protected. All I request is that for every night you stay here, you answer one question I ask you. I don’t care how long it takes you to answer. Do this, or I will reveal your whereabouts. Answer my questions, and you’ve got a deal. Just save yourself some trouble.” Hermione finished her little speech with a triumphant look on her face. She knew she had him cornered; he had no choice but to agree.
This annoyed Snape greatly. Of course, the little prat had a point. With a heavy sigh, Snape replied, “I can see now Miss Granger that living with you will be an even more tiresome task than I imagined possible. Very well, we have a deal.”
He held out his hand to shake hers, but Hermione simply stared at it.
“The deal is bad enough, Snape, don’t make me shake your hand as well.”
Hermione shelved the last of the library books on her cart with a glazed over look in her eyes. Returning the emptied cart back to its place against the wall, she turned to pick up her coat from behind the front desk and leave. Her nerves felt quite fried, and it annoyed her that it wasn’t simply a hard day’s work that was making her feel that way. No, what was wearing away on Hermione’s nerves had little to do with her job as a Librarian, although she wished like hell it did.
After three years of searching and several near death experiences, Harry, Ron and Hermione had managed to destroy three out of four of Voldemort’s horcruxes. The fourth, however, had remained elusive for several months now; this fact was very frustrating to all involved in the search for it. Over time, Harry had conceded to telling the Order what he was up to, as it became obvious that Voldemort and the Death Eaters had discovered what Harry was trying to do, and had therefore moved the last horcrux to a random, highly guarded place. It would take the combined efforts of the Order members to torture any number of Death Eaters so as to discover its whereabouts. But in the meantime, Harry was forced to wait in Number 12 Grimmauld Place, and no one had ever seen him sulkier as a result…except for maybe the summer going into his 5th year.
It was frustrating for Hermione as well, to bide her time with a job as a Librarian, simply to distract herself while the Order members worked to move their task forwards. A part of her wished that she, Ron and Harry had simply carried on with their efforts without the Order, but the more logical side of her knew that their skills and experience were needed to hunt down Death Eaters and question them. At least this pause in adventure had given her a chance to move into a flat quite close to her parent’s house…she missed them terribly and wanted to be near them during such dark and difficult times as these.
Hermione broke out of her reverie when she realized that she had arrived at a safe apparition point. Focusing on the comforts of her living room, she effortlessly popped into the exact same spot she always did, standing in front of her favorite armchair facing a couch. What she saw on the couch when she arrived, however, gave her quite a start indeed.
***
Harry Potter was more than a little frustrated with his current situation. He was uncomfortably aware that while being kept safe at 12 Grimmauld Place was probably a good idea, it was causing him to behave more and more like Sirius during his final days of hiding…and that scared him. He was bored. He was annoyed that he wasn’t out there getting his hands dirty. And most of all, he couldn’t stop mulling over the death of Albus Dumbledore, and all of the words of wisdom he had bestowed upon him during his 6th year. Terrified that even a single word of Dumbledore’s advice went forgotten, Harry was gifted a pensieve by Mad Eye Moody, where he placed all of his memories of their conversations. He had allowed Ron and Hermione to see them, but no one else. He thought it better that at least Hermione, with her clever eye, should study them just in case something was said that Harry missed, although he highly doubted it. He knew that when he finally came to face Voldemort he’d be ready…he just couldn’t wait for that day to come.
***
“Petrificus totalus” a voice hissed. Hermione had not reacted quickly enough. She began to fall backwards, but the cloaked figure caught her and placed her on the couch. Furious with herself for letting this happen, she had no other choice but to begin contemplating how she was going to escape from whatever situation she found herself in. The cloaked figure stood up, and started to remove his hood. Hermione would have gasped if she had the ability; standing above her was none other than Severus Snape.
“Miss Granger,” he said, and inclined his head slightly. “I assure you that whatever you think, I am not here to harm you, although I am sure that you find this hard to believe.” He paused and sat down in the armchair across from her. There he conjured a glass of water, and sighed deeply. “I am not here to play games, I will simply state my business and hope that you accept my proposal. If not, I shall have to try my luck elsewhere, although I have little idea where I shall turn…” A small pause, a sip of water, and “I have been made Secret Keeper of the final horcrux by the Dark Lord himself. I was by no means his first choice; however, after the previous Secret Keeper was killed, I insisted that I deserve a chance in proving once and for all where my loyalties lie, and I am doing just that. Miss Granger, I am prepared to inform you of the whereabouts of the final horcrux, if you would in turn become my Secret Keeper and hide me from the Dark Lord. I do not see what choice you have in the matter, if you do indeed wish to end this war anytime soon. I will release your jaw muscles so you may speak, but I ask you not to shout or accuse, as there is little point.”
With a quick point of his wand, Hermione could sense the feeling in her face return. “You said that you are out to prove where your loyalties lie. Am I to assume, then, that you’ve decided to come crawling back to the good side to save your own ass, after what you’ve done?” she spat.
“Miss Granger, I thought I asked you not to waste your time with accusations, it will get us nowhere.”
“I quite disagree, Snape,” Hermione said, attempting to keep her voice steady with the anger rising from within her. “As it stands, I do not have the capacity to listen to so-called reason from a man who claims to be loyal to a side whose former leader he personally murdered! Therefore, you can either begin explaining yourself, or I will use any means necessary to get you the hell out of my flat!” she screamed, cursing the remainder of the spell on her body. Snape, however, simply shook his head.
“You are not in a position to make demands. Either you accept what I say and learn the whereabouts of the horcrux, or continue to sit around and wait, praying that the Order find the information currently being handed to you oh-so graciously on a silver platter,” Snape hissed.
“Oh-so graciously isn’t exactly how I’d put it,” Hermione growled. Snape rolled his eyes.
“Well what do you expect? If I hadn’t petrified you, I highly doubt you’d be waiting for me to talk before you shot a killing curse in my direction.”
Hermione contemplated this. He had a point. If, crazily enough, he were on her side, it would still make sense that he petrify her. And if he really did know the whereabouts of the final horcrux, she could not afford to let him go. But what of the other part of the deal? Becoming Severus Snape’s Secret Keeper? What’s to stop her from telling everyone his whereabouts the second he reveal where the final horcrux is hidden? Perhaps he was relying on the Gryffindor inside of her…hoping that she’d give him a chance to explain himself…because if by some miracle he was on her side, she’d be throwing an innocent man to the dogs. After all, what else would motivate him to tell her the location of the horcrux but to vanquish Voldemort for good? He was putting himself at considerable risk in doing so, nay, committing suicide.
“So what am I supposed to do? Keep you in my flat until Voldemort is defeated?” Hermione asked, barely believing what she was saying.
“Indeed,” he replied. “Not only that, but perhaps until all of the more…dangerous…Death Eaters who will be wanting revenge are placed behind bars.”
Hermione’s eyes widened. “But that could be for months…years!”
“It is a small price to pay for the vanquishing of the darkest Wizard of our time, wouldn’t you say?” Snape sneered.
Hermione couldn’t argue with that, either. And even if she doubted Snape’s motivations, she could not give up the invaluable information being presented to her.
“Fine,” Hermione replied through gritted teeth.
“What’s that, Miss Granger?” Snape cooed, almost mockingly.
“I said, fine, I’ll do it.”
Snape simply nodded and finished his glass of water in one swig. He then released Hermione from the spell. She stood up. “On one condition.”
Snape rolled his eyes. “Need I once again point out that you are in no position to make conditions?”
“Oh, but I think I am. If your intentions are good as you claim they are, you will have no choice but to oblige me. For you see, I really am the only person in the Order who might consider even for a second your innocence, and you know it. Why else would you turn to me? Walk away from this deal, and you can forget any chance you have of passing on this information while being protected. All I request is that for every night you stay here, you answer one question I ask you. I don’t care how long it takes you to answer. Do this, or I will reveal your whereabouts. Answer my questions, and you’ve got a deal. Just save yourself some trouble.” Hermione finished her little speech with a triumphant look on her face. She knew she had him cornered; he had no choice but to agree.
This annoyed Snape greatly. Of course, the little prat had a point. With a heavy sigh, Snape replied, “I can see now Miss Granger that living with you will be an even more tiresome task than I imagined possible. Very well, we have a deal.”
He held out his hand to shake hers, but Hermione simply stared at it.
“The deal is bad enough, Snape, don’t make me shake your hand as well.”