Chapter Text
He found her in the first hour after her NEWTs had finished.
Hermione Granger sat hunched on the worn curve of stairs leading up to an abandoned tower. A chill wind whistled and churned in the air, spinning dust and the debris blown in through the decades.
“Miss Granger.”
Her head snapped up, her mouth tight and dark eyes wary. Something…settled in her when she saw it was him. A hint of a smile twitched the corner of her mouth. “Professor.”
Severus dropped onto the step beside her with a deep groan and arranged his robes over his knees, aware of her now round-eyed stare. He offered his own hint of a smile. “I am no longer your Professor, Miss Granger.”
“Then do I have to be Miss Granger?”
His smile deepened and he shook his head. “Hermione.”
She blinked. Her lips tightened again and her pulse beat harder at the base of her throat. “Severus.” Her gaze fixed on him for a quick second before her shoulders relaxed. “Thank you.”
“Are you packed? The Express leaves in an hour. I am gathering…stragglers.”
She patted her robes, her fingers finding a dull wooden sound. “My trunk expanded, fixed with warding spells and shrank to a speck.”
“Ever the over-achiever…”
Her gaze dipped away and he held back a sigh. Gods, his sense of humour still cut…even as he tried to form a bridge between them. He had a set role within Hogwarts. The dangerous wizard whom none wished to emulate. The example of how the touch of dark magic…warped. Twisted. Made…ugly.
Severus pushed down the old resentments.
“You are an outstanding witch, Hermione.” Her name caught on his tongue. It was rare that he…conversed with any pupil outside of an academic setting. But she—she—was important. Hermione Granger could make things…right. “I never…allowed myself to tell you that whilst you were my student.”
Her eyes narrowed and there, there the ferocious working of her quite brilliant brain. Her mouth opened and closed, before her attention darted around the silent corridor. More narrowing on the shifting lines of a charm he’d cast to hold their conversation private.
“I have an apprenticeship set for the Ministry Archives, under Master Kinsman.”
“Of that I am aware. Your Head of House has been crowing for a fortnight.”
A huff of laughter broke from her. “‘Only the best, the brightest and the most…befitting of witches could fill the role’?”
“Her exact words, yes.”
Severus pulled in a long breath. Merlin, how did he go about this without appearing as if he were some foul—
“I’m meeting people tomorrow. My muggle cousin. Andrew. It’ll be strange. It was why I was here, trying to pull my thoughts into being in that world again.”
Her sudden blurting of words caught him by surprise.
“It’s behind the Royal Mews—Lower Grosvenor Place—a little teashop. Jane’s. Nothing fancy. At…at three.”
Severus blinked at her. Not people. Him. It was her offer. And yes, even though he’d cast a secrecy charm strong and subtle enough to fool Merlin himself, she was right not to trust the stones of Hogwarts. The Ministry was also not a place to talk. Not freely. Not safely. The thought that what he had to share would not be a complete surprise eased something in his soul. Gods, he shouldn’t have underestimated her. Not her.
He gave her a slow nod.
“I hope you’ll endeavour to…blend in. So long in Hogwarts, and the magical world, sometimes it is difficult to slip back.”
Her head tilted and her look sharpened. Yes, she’d caught it. He would not be wearing his own face. He would be her cousin Andrew.
Severus pushed himself to his feet and offered her his hand. “It would be bad form to miss the Express, Hermione.”
Her small hand slipped into his warm and thrumming with the power of her magic. Deep, strong, sharp and bright. A little too bright.
“I needed a quiet moment. For my cousin and the fact that this is very likely the last time I’ll walk these passages. And my friends…”
She was a Gryffindor. Her friends were currently shrieking down every corridor they could find, wishing farewell to every individual stone. Had he…influenced such behaviour as a diversion? This fairly recent House Gryffindor tradition? Had it happened for the last three years? His attempt to overwhelm the castle and drive Hermione Granger to the hidden sanctuary only he knew about? A plan for this very moment? Would he do such a thing?
Yes, he bloody well would.
After all, Albus Dumbledore had to be stopped.