"I've cleared everything for you," Severus said two weeks later as they sat in his office. "Through Dumbledore and registered you as my assistant with the convention."
"And now will you tell me more about this convention?" Hermione asked, her arms crossed over her chest. Severus raised an eyebrow.
"I'll have you know, Miss Granger, that I was waiting for Dumbledore's and the convention's approval of you as my assistant. I didn't want to needlessly raise your hopes just to dash them." Severus paused just long enough for Hermione to look properly abashed before continuing. "Now, as I mentioned, the convention has three main parts. New potion trials, lectures, and debates. Potions Masters and professors come from all around the world. Participation is not required; attendees are allowed to simply spectate and evaluate. It's been a long while since I've presented a potion for trial testing, and I hadn't planned on one this year-"
"Please, sir," Hermione interrupted, then blushed as Severus gave her a look.
"Yes, Miss Granger?" he said smoothly, annoyed at the interruption.
"I've been thinking of a potion for submission, sir," Hermione said quickly.
"You have?"
"Yes, sir."
"Let me hear it," Severus said, figuring he'd humor the girl before telling her no.
Hermione sat up straighter in her chair, smooting her robes over her lap.
"Well, sir, I was thinking about Memory Charms and how they're used, and how really strong Memory Charms, while effective at the time of application, tend to have aftereffects, namely enormous absentmindedness, forgetfulness, even clumsiness, as evidenced primarily in Neville Longbottom, who, as I'm sure you know, underwent large and intense memory modifications after witnessing what happened to his parents." Hermione was perched on the very edge of her seat and paused here only for a breath.
"And you propose an alternative?" Severus asked, taking advantage of the small pause.
"Yes, sir, a potion that will have the same immediate effect as a powerful Memory Charm, but that won't have the lasting effect of one."
"How do you intend to test this potion? The long term effects of Memory Charms are just that, long term." Severus was intrigued despite himself and also found himself positioned on the very edge of his chair.
"That's right, but I've also noticed that even small Memory Charms tend to affect memory and the like for days afterward."
Severus stared at her a moment. "I assume these observations were made recently?"
Hermione blushed again, confirming his suspicions that she had been placing Memory Charms on her friends, and also reaffirming just how bright and determined Hermione was, as she was able to perform Memory Charms at her age without having actually been taught the charm, though he remembered rumors of a Protean Charm in her fifth year.
"And you think a successful version of this potion can be completed by the end of the convention?" Severus continued.
"When's that?"
"The last day for potion trials is January first, the last day of the convention," Severus answered, trying very hard not to say something snotty. Hermione looked doubtful for a split second, but then nodded.
"Yes. I think it can be done."
"Very well then." Severus glanced at the small datebook on his desk. "Today is October 12. The convention begins a week before Christmas. I assume you can handle spending Christmas away from your family?"
"Of course," Hermione answered, though she didn't look as certain as she sounded.
"The convention ends January first, as I said. We will return to Hogwarts on January second."
Hermione nodded.
"You and I will both be making a good deal of sacrifices, Miss Granger. I would like for you to be down here every night, straight after dinner, to work on this potion. However, I cannot ask you to abandon your school work completely. Therefore, you will be allowed into my lab during your breaks. I have set it up with your other professors to allow you a little more time in handing in your assignments, although I have promised them no more than two days lateness. I don't expect you to make me a liar."
"Of course not, sir." Hermione looked as though she longed to take notes on everything Severus was saying.
"You will stay with me in the lab until nine every night. I trust this leaves you enough time for school work."
Hermione nodded.
"Okay, well, I think that's enough for tonight. I would like for you to come here tomorrow night, straight after dinner. I trust you've made notes on this potion?"
Hermione nodded as she stood.
"Alright, I'd like to see those."
"Okay, I'll bring them."
Severus stood up and opened the office door.
"See you tomorrow, then."
Hermione nodded again, smiling at him as she left the room.
After breakfast the next morning, Hermione, Harry, and Ron left the castle for Hagrid's cabin.
"So you're really doing this thing with Snape?" Ron asked, his dislike of the idea evident in his voice.
"Yes," Hermione said, glancing over at him. "So?"
"How can you stand to work with that git?"
"He's not a git, Ron," Hermione said irritably, brushing her hair from her face. "You just don't choose to understand him."
"Oh, what, and you do?" Ron snapped.
"No, but I'm trying, at least," Hermione shot back, glaring at Ron.
"Give it a rest, you two," Harry said wearily, staring up at the sky. "Your bickering is getting old."
"Sorry, Harry," Hermione and Ron muttered as Hagrid's hut came into view, Hagrid himself tending to his pumpkin patch.
"Hey, Hagrid!" Harry called. Hagrid stood and turned, waving to the trio.
"'bout time yeh came ter see me. It's been a month!"
"Sorry, Hagrid," Harry said as they followed Hagrid into the cabin.
"Yeah, we've been busy," Hermione added.
"Oh, yeah, I heard 'bout you workin' with Professor Snape, there, Hermione. Good on you!"
"Thank you, Hagrid," Hermione said, shooting Ron a nasty look. He returned it, then looked away.
A rustling sound from the corner of the cabin made the trio all look and Hermione gasped.
"Hagrid... is that a bird?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, yeh," Hagrid answered, following Hermione's gaze. His voice carried it's usual tone of pride and Hermione glanced warily at him.
"It's gorgeous, Hagrid, but..."
"Hagrid, you didn't create another species, did you?" Ron asked.
A flush crept into Hagrid's face and Hermione groaned inwardly.
"So what was it this time?" Harry asked, coming to stand beside Hermione.
"A Fwooper and a Jobberknoll."
Harry and Hermione glanced at each other.
"Does it, er, sing, Hagrid?" Hermione asked carefully.
"Nope. Silent as the grave."
"Wait until it dies," Hermione muttered, stooping to pick up one brightly colored feather.
That night, Hermione watched as Severus reviewed her notes.
"This is as far as you've gotten?" he asked, glancing up at her.
"Well, yes. I haven't had the time or means to make the potion, or anyone to test it on."
Severus nodded. "Some of these ingredients seem possible. I don't have them all, so we'll have to do a little plant gathering, and buying in Diagon Alley and asundry other places, but I do think we can pull this off."
"Well, good. I'm glad you think so," Hermione said. Severus raised an eyebrow at her, and then stood.
"Come with me and I'll show you the laboratory and the ingredient room."
Hermione stood as well and watched as Severus opened a door just past the bookshelf on the right hand wall, then followed him down a long flight of stairs, at the end of which was a large room, with at least three large cauldrons situated on two long counters, hung over naked burners.
Another counter against the wall held several smaller cauldrons, stacked one on top of the other, alongside wooden racks containing vials of varying sizes.
"That," Severus said, pointing to a door situated just after the counter, "is the supply closet. Beakers, more cauldrons, other various things." He walked forward, to the end of the lab, and opened another door.
"Ingredients. Fully stocked right now, but no doubt we'll need to get more before long."
Hermione had just long enough to peer into the room and marvel at the scale of the professor's stores before he ushered her back out and closed the door.
As they walked to the stairs to leave, Hermione noticed yet another door, almost hidden unless you were looking at it from the right angle, as she was now.
"Where does that door go?" she asked, pointing.
"My chambers," Severus answered after a momentary pause. "But you have no reason to be in there, and so you don't need to worry about it."
Hermione fell silent, fighting the urge to say she had no desire whatsoever to be in his room, which was a half lie anyway, as she figured he had volumes upon volumes of fascinating references, references she could probably spend hours sorting through.
"You'll notice," Severus was saying as they climbed the stairs, "the door to this lab has no password, just a key, which you will be given a copy of. The lock is unpickable, designed and installed by one of Gringott's top vault makers. The door to my office, however, is protected by numerous wards and charms, which is why you must always tell me when you're using the lab so that all you need is the password to enter."
"What'll happen otherwise?" Hermione asked.
"Something very unpleasant," Severus replied demurely, stepping aside to allow Hermione into the office first. Hermione's mind pondered what could possibly happen. She wondered how far he'd go to protect his office and his privacy.
Severus glanced down at Hermione's notes, which he'd left on the desk.
"If there's anything you'd like to add, go ahead," Hermione said, taking her seat in front of the desk.
"Thank you, Miss Granger," Severus said sardonically, glancing up at her. Hermione blushed, though she felt a small swell of irritation and a very strong desire to rip her notes from his hands.
"How much do you know about Lily of the Valley?" Severus asked, finally taking his seat.
"Enough to know that it could work," Hermione answered, sitting back in her seat and crossing her legs.
"It's a very volatile plant, Miss Granger," Severus continued patronizingly.
"I realize that, but if administered correctly-"
"It is not meant for human ingestion. Any reaction could be devastating, even fatal."
"I know that, sir," Hermione countered, leaning forward in her seat slightly, "but if that substance were to be used, it would not be ingested. Rather, injected."
"Directly into the blood stream?" Severus said, his eyebrows inching up.
"It would actually work faster that way."
"In aiding memory loss, or killing the subject?" Severus said scornfully.
Hermione frowned. She knew the professor was trying to intimidate her, and while that may work in class, it sure as hell wasn't going to now. This meant far too much to her for her to back down.
"The odds of death are small, if the substance is used correctly."
"You are trying to mix magic and science together, Miss Granger, and while potion making is a science, it is not a medical science, which is what you're attempting."
"It is a simple injection-"
"Most Aurors are not medically trained-"
"What kind of medical training does it take to find a vein?" Hermione finally cried, exasperated. "The only training they need is how fast or slow to inject the potion."
"Miss Granger," Severus began softly, but firmly, "even if you could train every Ministry official to use this method, you would be very hard pressed to then find a witch or wizard who would let you inject anything into their blood."
"But-"
"And so," Severus continued, raising his voice very slightly, "we will not use this plant. At all." He picked up his quill and made an angry slash through the ingredient.
"But, sir," Hermione began again.
"Miss Granger, that is the end of it. We will not discuss it further." Severus glanced at the clock in the corner. "And I think it is time for you to head back to your room. I will see you tomorrow night, after dinner."
Hermione sat a moment longer, holding back a tirade of horrible things to say to the professor, but finally she stood, having said nothing.
"Good night then, professor," she murmured as she turned to leave. Severus nodded briefly at her, his quill scratching against the parchment as he made notes on her notes. It was all Hermione could do not to slam his office door.
Her anger was still simmering by the time Sunday night came, lessened only by the fact that she didn't see Professor Snape all day, not even at dinner.
After parting from Ron and Harry at the staircase, she headed for the dungeons, staying clear of the Slytherins heading for their common room.
Hermione quietly entered the potions classroom and headed for the back of the room, to where the door to Professor Snape's office lay inside a small foyer-like room. She used her password, assuming the professor was already in the lab, and reached for the door handle.
Before she grasped it, though, a great shock flooded through her body, as though her veins had just become little rivers for electricity to run freely through. She was lifted into the air and thrown hard against the wall just behind her, down which she half slid, half fell to land in a heap on the floor.
She lay still a moment, trying to ascertain if she was still alive.
Finally, she sat up, very slowly, and slumped against the wall for a moment, checking herself over for injuries. Hesitantly she touched her hair and then exhaled gratefully: it wasn't a giant ball of frizz.
Moving from relieved to irritated, Hermione stood and stared at the office door for a minute, then glanced at her watch. She'd give him ten minutes; if he hadn't showed up by then, she'd leave.
She worked on calming her still twitchy hands while she waited, and at eight minutes, she pulled a spare bit of parchment and a quill from her bag and at nine minutes she began her note to the professor.
When the ten minutes was up, Hermione slid off her stool and was approaching the desk when the office door opened and a second later Professor Snape himself stepped into the classroom. Hermione crumpled the note in her hand and shoved it and the quill into her pocket.
"Have you been waiting long?" he asked, almost cordially.
"About fifteen minutes," Hermione answered, staring at the professor. He seemed different somehow. "I was about to leave," she finished.
"I apologize, Miss Granger. There is still plenty of time to work tonight."
"If you like," Hermione said slowly. Severus nodded once and turned, heading back into his office. Hermione followed, eyeing him shrewdly. He was limping, if only slightly.
"Are you alright, sir?" she asked, unable to stop herself.
"I'm fine, Miss Granger." Professor Snape turned towards her, holding open the door to the lab. "After you."
Still feeling disconcerted, Hermione decided to say no more and descended the stairs, hearing the professor's footsteps close behind her.
Hermione voiced her concerns about Professor Snape to Harry and Ron the next morning. Harry, at least, feigned a very minimal amount of concern while Ron snorted derisively, glancing up at the staff table where the man of the moment was seated, eating nothing and deep in what appeared to be an intense conversation with the headmaster.
"Humanitarianism. Try it sometime," Hermione said acidly, glaring at Ron. He tried to glare back, but seemed caught up in trying to wrap his mind around the word.
Rolling her eyes, Hermione turned to Harry.
"Well, Hermione, he is doing the whole double-agent, spy thing. I'm sure Voldemort's testing his loyalties. Oh, will you cool it?" Harry tossed his orange rind at Ron, who had winced horribly at Voldemort's name. Ron scowled and plucked the orange peel from where it had landed on his shoulder, dropping it to his plate.
I don't think Voldemort will kill him, Hermione. At least not anytime soon."
"Oh, well, that's comforting. Shouldn't he be coming up with more constructive uses of his time? Like find another way to try and kill you?"
"Thanks, Hermione," Harry said, laughing slightly.
"Well, it's his primary goal. He's supposed to be working towards it."
"Why don't you just go give him a pep talk then, Hermione?" Harry said, his smile fading.
"Oh, Harry, that's not what I mean. I don't want you to die. I don't want Voldemort to kill you. But I just don't understand all this waiting. We all know what he wants to do, so he should just come out and do it. Not saying he'll succeed, but just get it over with."
Harry shrugged. "I'm not keen on fighting to the death just yet, but that's me."
Hermione sighed. "I'm sorry, Harry. I'm digging myself a hole. I'll shut up now."
"It's alright. C'mon," Harry said, standing and slinging his bag over his shoulder. "We can get our seats in Transfiguration if we leave now."
Hermione and Ron nodded and stood as well, grabbing their bags and following Harry from the hall to McGonagall's classroom.
Hermione finished Transfiguring her raccoon before everyone else and still had time to brood about Professor Snape's condition. She thought about asking Professor McGonagall if she could leave early to go to the lab, but the thought of entering the potions classroom unannounced and asking to use the lab wasn't too appealing, and so she sat and watched everyone else, mildly pleased that most of the class was getting the spell down. She saved Ron from turning his raccoon inside out and corrected Harry's technique after his lamp ended up with bands around it and a tail where the cord should be.
Next was Charms, and after Hermione had successfully performed the charm for Professor Flitwick, he told her that Professor Snape wanted to see her.
Surprised, but also relieved, Hermione gathered her things and headed down to the dungeons.
Slowly, carefully, she opened the classroom door and peered inside. It was empty, so she figured he had planning this period.
"Professor Snape?" she called, announcing her arrival so as not to go through what had happened the previous night.
"Come in, Miss Granger," his voice called back from inside the office.
Hermione went in, looking at the seated professor.
"You wanted to see me?"
Professor Snape looked up from his grading.
"I thought you might want to work on the potion. I knew McGonagall would rather sit on a chair full of tacks than let you leave early, but Flitwick was more than agreeable. You may leave your things up here and work until lunch."
"But what about your class?" Hermione asked as she set her bag on the floor.
"Every class you spend in the lab will count as your grade for the day. You need not worry, Miss Granger."
"Thank you, sir." Hermione walked around the desk and paused before she opened the door to the lab.
"How's your leg, sir?" she asked hesitantly.
"My leg, Miss Granger?" The quill stopped moving, but the professor kept his back to her.
"You were limping last night."
"I am fine, Miss Granger." The quill began moving again and Hermione sighed softly, pushing open the door and heading down the stairs to the lab.
Her worries about Professor Snape and Harry and Voldemort disappeared as she began to work, and she got so involved that she didn't notice Professor Snape standing at the foot of the stairs, watching her, until she looked up from the simmering cauldron and jumped, startled.
The professor took in her disheveled state: the sleeves of her shirt rolled up, her tie on top of a black heap in the corner that was her robes, and a pencil in her hand, one behind her ear, and another in her hair.
"May I ask, Miss Granger, why you're using Muggle materials?" he asked, glancing at the open notebook in front of her.
"I find them more efficient, sir."
"Yes, " Severus murmured, approaching the table. "What have you got?"
"I've almost got a potion," Hermione said, setting her pencil down and pointing at the cauldron in front of her. Severus peered at the murky green liquid and raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm," was all he said, however, giving Hermione a quick nod.
"Sir, I was wondering... how do we intend to test these potions?"
"House elves."
Hermione looked scandilized. "House elves? But-"
"They work for this school, Miss Granger," Severus said, knowing where she stood on the elves. "It stands, therefore, that this is included in the job. And I won't hear another word about it," Severus added as Hermione opened her mouth to speak. She remained silent, choosing instead to look disgruntled.
"You may go on to lunch, Miss Granger," Severus said, peering again at the softly simmering cauldron.
"Okay, just-"
There was a muffled popping sound and a cloud of steam issued from the cauldron.
"There. It's done. How many vials should we make?"
"Three," Severus answered, backing away from the cauldron. "Just to be safe."
Hermioned nodded and Summoned three vials to her, using a dropper to fill each one.
"Yes, well, I suppose we can test these tonight. Good day, Miss Granger."
Hermione nodded, frowning slightly as she gathered her things and made her way up the stairs and out of the lab.
Professor Snape wasn't at dinner again that night and Hermione, rather than risk another shock, said the password at the office door and then chucked a wadded up bit of parchment at it.
It bounced off the door, unharmed, and Hermione, satisfied, picked it up and entered the office.
She pulled the key to the lab door from inside her robes, where it hung from a chain around her neck, just as her Time Turner had in her third year. It worked then, no reason to think it wouldn't now.
Hermione hurried down the stairs and deposited her robes and bag in their usual corner, rolling up her sleeves. One day, she'd think to change her clothes before coming down here.
She waited fifteen minutes, and when he still didn't show up, Hermione began work on another breed of potion, thinking it would be wrong to test the first potion without the professor there.
She worked for a while, unaware of anything but her own thoughts until the potion was simmering and Hermione became aware of a clock chiming.
"Nine o'clock?" she said, glancing up sharply. She'd been working for three hours straight, and the professor still hadn't shown up.
The timer went off on the potion and Hermione Summoned three vials, preparing to fill each with the blue potion.
She was on the last one when a loud crash sounded from behind the door leading to Professor Snape's chambers.
Hermione jumped so badly that the vial slipped from her hand and shattered on the stone floor, the blue potion spreading, reminding Hermione of something she'd seen in a movie once.
Flustered, Hermione repaired the vial and cleaned up the potion.
Another sound, a thud, came from behind the door, and Hermione absently set the vial down on the table top, walking around it towards the door.
There was another thud and a crash, but as Hermione raised her hand to knock on the door, it flew open, startling her.
"Miss Granger?" Professor Snape stared at her, clearly unprepared for her presence.
"Sir?" Hermione stared at the professor. Something was definitely wrong with him tonight.
"I thought we agreed that you would leave here at nine every night."
"I just finished a potion, but, sir-"
"Finish up and then go," the professor said harshly. He was holding himself differently, almost as though he were in a great deal of pain.
"But, sir, you're hurt," Hermione began, taking a step forward.
"I said go."
Hermione jumped as the door slammed in her face, and she stared at it a moment before returning to the table and refilling the the repaired vial and gathering her things, glancing at the door as she did, wondering about Professor Snape and how she could find out just what was going on.