Chapter 33~ The Cost of Carelessness

Hermione watched in temporary shock as George crumpled to the ground. Jolting herself into action, she whipped around, groping for her wand. The fabric of her wand pocket caught on the handle and she couldn’t pull it out before hearing the cold, sneering voice call out, "Petrificus Totalus."

As she stiffened and ( Read more... )

Chapter 32~ Exams and Advice

Severus stood in the front hall of the farmhouse and listened to the creak and groan of the house settling around him. His house. It was a bit of a surprise, but a great relief, that the negotiations and paperwork hadn’t taken long and in less than a month he had taken possession of the property. Hermione had provided ( Read more... )

Chapter 31~ Decisions

Hermione’s reprieve came less than a week later when an old, stately looking owl landed in front of her and gave her a sour look. She offered a piece of toast, which the owl refused, and tucked the letter into her bag. Harry had given her a questioning look, but knew better than to interrogate her about the letter. She noticed ( Read more... )

Chapter 30~ Responses

Across from Severus, the tall auror leaned back in a newly conjured office chair and put his feet up on the desk with an air of exaggerated comfort. Kingsley Shacklebolt stretched his arms and put them behind his head breathing deeply. "Well Snape, you’ve seen the report and everything I’ve got. What do you want to do with it?"

( Read more... )

Chapter 29~ Plans for the Future

Hermione stuck out her tongue after she swallowed the last mouthful of pepper-up potion Severus had insisted she drink. He threatened to hold her nose and pour it down her throat himself if she didn’t take it willingly and she had the sense to know it was no idle threat. As steam started billowing out her ears she ( Read more... )

Chapter 28~ Weary

By the following weekend, Hermione was a wreck. She hadn’t slept well all week and lay awake with restlessness late into the night. When she thought about it she was reminded of her first months at Hogwarts, only worse. Much worse. People whispered about her behind her back and would suddenly stop talking when she approached. Draco ( Read more... )

Chapter 27~Misunderstandings and Memories

Hermione shuffled through her weekend homework for a couple hours before noticing it was well past her habitual time to leave for the library. She didn’t want to face the school today, but she knew the time would come and if she wanted to spend a few minutes in Gryffindor tower before she was permanently ( Read more... )

Chapter 26~Technicalities

Though Hermione had fallen asleep easily earlier, she woke in the middle of the night and felt too agitated to settle down again. Trying hard not to twist and turn in her restlessness, she found laying still impossible and got out of bed. Now familiar with the layout of the room, she could easily find her way in the ( Read more... )

Chapter 25~ Conflicting Interests

Hermione shivered in the cold as another gust of wind found its way into the folds of her cloak. The warmer weather Hogwarts had been enjoying for the past couple weeks had ended abruptly with a cold snap this morning. Not only was it bone chilling cold outside, but the platform at Hogsmeade station funnelled the ( Read more... )

Chapter 24~ Laughter and Love

Hermione blinked her eyes and encountered a rather prominent nose directly in her line of vision. Shifting a bit she recognised the face it belonged to and smiled. It appeared she and Severus had dozed after making love and she propped herself up on an elbow to watch him. It wasn’t often she could watch him while he ( Read more... )