Safe in the Arms of Love

 

 

By: Griselda La Fey

 

Disclaimer:

I don’t owe the characters, J.K. Rowling does. If I owed Snape… never mind. (Disclaimer applies the whole story)

 

Author’s Note:

I started this story months ago, but I got stuck with a major writtersblock. Now I finally know how to end this (does happy little dance) Enjoy

Hugs to my sister, Witch Whoopie who thinks this ship is gross. Sorry hon, I don’t think so

 

Many thanks to my beta- reader Corrin

 

Set after the seventh year… (obviously, other wise, Hermione could not be a teacher)

 

 

 

Chapter 1:

From Past to Present

 

Professor Hermione Granger made her way to the Great Hall through the corridors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy. She was running a bit late and the corridors were already deserted. Most students and teachers were already in the Great Hall having breakfast.

 

This was her second year as Potions teacher at Hogwarts. After her seventh year she gone to the Wizard University of Scotland, were she had graduated four years later, magna cum laude. Her major subject had of course been Potions.

After graduation she had briefly wondered what to do with her life now, but then Dumbledore had send her an owl, asking her to become Potions teacher at Hogwarts. She had been surprised to say the least, but agreed to see him. Over a cup of tea in his office he had explained the situation to her.

 

Voldemort had still not been defeated. True, he had kept a low profile for quite some time now, but that only increased Dumbledore’s worries. “I believe that he is still forming allies and making plans”, he explained to her. “Eventually he will unite his allies and followers and strike with one major attack, attempting to conquer our wizarding world. When that time comes, I need the best wizards and witches to stand up against him. And that is why I need you on the post of Potions teacher at Hogwarts”.

 

It was needles to say that she was flattered, even honoured by his offer. Still, one thought tugged on her mind. “What about Professor Snape?” she asked.

 

Dumbledore had smiled over his spectacles and said, “I believe it is time to appoint Severus to position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher”.

 

And so she had become Potions teacher at Hogwarts. She loved being back at her old school. The atmosphere in the Great Hall during dinner and breakfast, the wonderful castle with it’s moving staircases, the four-poster bed in her room and working alongside the people she had respected a big part of her life, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, Hetty Sprout and Severus Snape.

 

Her friends Harry and Ron had been ecstatic when they heard she’d become a teacher. Harry was an Auror now. The training had been very hard, but the further he got, the more he had become convinced that this was what he wanted to be. He was engaged to Dunya Tonks, Nymphodora’s youngest sister. Tonks (she still wouldn’t allow people to call her by her first name)  had married Remus Lupin. They had a one year old son called Sirius.

 

Neville Longbottom had become an Auror as well. He worked a lot together with Harry. Ron worked for the Ministery of Magic on the department of Magical Sports. He thoroughly enjoyed it. Standing in the shadows of others for the most part of his life, he was now at his best at a job he was good at. Her frequent owling with Ginny kept informed at the latest developments of his love life. Apparently he was currently dating a Veela.

 

Hermione entered the Great Hall, which was buzzing with noise. Hundreds of students chatting over homework, the next Quidditch match or the next Hogsmede trip. Hermione sat down at her usual place between at the Staff Table, between Hetty Sprout and Filius Flitwick.

 

“Did you sleep well dear?” Filius inquired, while he filled his plate with slices of bread and bacon. Hermione had often wondered how such a tiny man could eat such enormous amounts of food.

 

“I did, thank you”, she answered him. Next to Filius sat Albus Dumbledore. His beard was even longer and there were more lines in his face. ‘He’s getting old’, Hermione mussed, while buttering her sandwich. But he was still the only wizard Voldemort had ever feared.

 

Next to Dumbledore sat Minerva McGonagall. She had been her tutor during her first year of teaching. Her experience and advice had helped Hermione to become a capable and respected teacher. Apart from being her teacher and colleague, Minerva had also become a good friend. She was not only a very wise and powerful witch, she was also extremely funny. A side Hermione had never known when she was a student.

 

Next to her sat Professor Charlie Weasley, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher. Hagrid had left Hogwarts. He had married Olympe Maxime and worked now for the Ministry of Magic as a contact person for the giants.

 

Next to Charlie sat Severus Snape. Hermione sighed inwardly. During her last year at Hogwarts as a student she had asked Snape for extra potions lessons in order to achieve outstanding marks. Reluctantly he had agreed. During those private lessons he had never given her a compliment, not even when she had the potion exactly right. He had always been cold an full of criticism, telling her were she could improve herself. In the end her hard work had paid off well. Her Professors at Scotland University had been impressed by her knowledge of potions.

 

Although Hermione never had loathed Snape as much as Harry and Ron had done, she had never liked him either. Until that event at the end of her fourth year, when she had seen him… After that the fear had gone and was replaced by deep respect.

 

During her years at Scotland University she had come to appreciate what he had taught her. And her feelings had changed from respect and admiration of his skills into something more. Could it be love?

 

Then she had meet him again at Hogwarts. His attitude towards her still hadn’t changed. At first he had been suspicious, but she had proven to him that she could handle her students and teach them how to brew potions. Slowly his suspiciousness had subside. But hid attitude never changed. He was polite to her, but also cold and distant. Very Snapeish.

 

Throwing a glance at her watch, Hermione saw that it was five minutes for nine. Hastily she shoved the last bit of sandwich in her mouth and headed for the dungeons.

 

Chapter 2;

Hidden Longing

 

Severus Snape made his way to his living quarters at Hogwarts. He placed his books and parchments on his desk and sat down in  his armchair by the fire. Today had been one of those days.

 

The third year Gryffindors had been buzzing with excitement because their first Hogsmede trip was due next weekend. He’d ended up taken fifty pints from Gryffindor. Minerva McGonagall would not be pleased.

Then he had spend two hours trying to get the fifth years’ Hufflepuffs up to OWL level. If any of them would pass their exam with an ‘acceptable’ he swore to himself, he would laugh out loud in the Great Hall.

To top it all he’d found out during the afternoon that this years first years’ Slytherins were the stupidest students he ever had misfortune to teach.

 

Sighing deeply he sat back and closed his eyes for a moment. Deep down inside him he knew that he wasn’t in a foul mood because of his students. True, they had been annoying, but they had been annoying for the past twenty years.

 

The real reason for his anger was of course Voldemort. After Voldemort had risen for the second time, now nine years ago he had spend five years working as a spy for the Order of the Phoenix. Attending to Death Eater meetings, pretending to play along. But after five years Voldemort had suddenly disappeared again. He had retrenched to Albany and no-one knew what his plans were.

 

For three precious years, life had been quiet, almost peaceful. No more Death Eater meetings, no longer acting as a double agent. The Dark Mark on his arm had faded. And he felt himself unwind a little, just a little.

 

Until a year ago. One night the Dark Mark on his arm had burned fiercely again. Voldemort had summoned his Death Eaters. He had apparated on his side immediately and so did the other Death Eaters.

 

Voldemort had told them he had a plan. He would not give many specific details, but he promised them that a year from now, he, Voldemort would rule the Wizarding World.

 

Of course he had immediately contacted Dumbledore, who had taken the news with resignation. “I’ve been expecting this”, he told him, “the final battle will come soon”.

 

From that day on, Death Eater meetings were held on a regular basis again. He attended every single one of them, passing the information he learned to the Order of the Phoenix.

 

The meetings became more and more horrible. Voldemort was on the edge, going almost insane with his thirst for power. Violence had become a standard part of every meeting. Severus felt that the constant strain was demanding it’s toll. He was tired of the war, tired of the fear. For as long as he could remember he was fighting against Voldemort. He felt as if half of his life has wasted away already and that he was running out of chances to live the life he truly wished for.

 

There was also another thing that was bothering him greatly. Every time he let his mind wonder he saw the vision of two big, hazel eyes.

Hermione Granger…

 

She had become Potions teacher after he had became Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. She was an excellent Potion brewer, he’d made sure of that personally. He had given her extra lessons in her seventh year. Of course he hadn’t been kind or supportive. She was a Gryffindor after all and he had to pretend to dislike Gryffindors. But he had been able to stimulate her to achieve her full potential and in the end she had.

 

What she never knew was that he wrote a recommendation letter for her to the Wizard University of Scotland, recommending her in the highest praises. He had felt an odd sense of pride when he heard that she had graduated with top marks.

 

Then she had come to teach at Hogwarts. He had got the shock of his life when he saw her after four years. She was no longer a schoolgirl. She had grown into a young, very attractive woman. The first evening he had been unable to take his eyes of her.

 

Afterwards he had scolded himself inwardly. ‘You fool! You are at war. You have an obligation to the Order. There is no room for stupid, lovesick behaviour. And even if there wasn’t Voldemort to worry about, have you taken a good look at yourself in the mirror lately? She could never possibly be interested in you!’

 

From that evening on he had worn a cold mask whenever he was near her. At first he worried about her. Would she be able to handle her classes? But due to the fact that Minerva McGonagall was tutoring her and that she was one of the most talented witches that had ever attended Hogwarts, everything went fine.

She teached the students according to the same high standards as he did. And he loved her even more for it.

 

Chapter 3:

Words Like Daggers

 

Hermione let out an inward sigh of relief when the fourth years Slytherins left her classroom. Thank Goodness that was over! She didn’t have any troubles with her classes. Only this lot. Apparently they seemed to be under the impression that they didn’t have to listen to a Muggle- born Professor. They had become more and more rude and uncontrollable over the past few weeks. She had taken points from Slytherin, gave out detentions and talked sternly to the class, but it hadn’t worked. Now there was only on option left. She had to talk to the head of Slytherin House.

 

*          *          *

Severus was just about to start on his dessert when a large, black owl dropped a letter in front of him. Leaving dessert for what it was he took the letter and made his way down to his living quarters. Sitting down on his armchair he unfolded the letter and began to read.

 

Snape,

It may have escaped the notice of other Death Eaters, but you are not clever enough to fool me or my son.

You are unfaithful to the Dark Lord. You are not as loyal and committed as you ought to be.

Take this as a warning, you might want to take a little more effort in serving our Master or you suffer the consequences of your lack of loyalty.

 

Lucius Malfoy

 

Anger bolted up inside. How dare he? How dare this filthy, big headed piece of scum   interfere with his plan?

He knew perfectly well that Lucius Malfoy didn’t suspect anything about his double agentship for the Order of the Phoenix. It was just his way of egging him on, making him feel uncomfortable. Malfoys jealousy and spite was another reason he had become to dread the Death Eater meetings.

 

And apart from that, in a way Malfoy was dangerous. If he pointed out to Voldemort that he thought he was being disloyal, Voldemort was bound to take more notice of him and that was precisely the thing he tried to avoid. Fresh waves of fury washed over him. He felt he was at the end of his strength. He had given everything he had to give to the Order and still it wasn’t enough. People asked more of him, they were pushing him on. The burden on his shoulder became almost impossible to bear.

 

A knock on his door made him look up. “What?” he snapped. The door opened and Hermione walked in. Another wave of fury hit him. Because of Voldemort, because of this whole ordeal, he had to conceal his true feelings for her. Even this bit of private happiness was not allowed.

 

The anger and most of all the grief over his wasted life rose from his stomach to his throat, forming a big lump. It had to come out, it needed to be released and he took it out on the closest person present.

 

“What is it?” he asked again, cold fury clearly in his voice.

 

“I’ve wanted to talk to you about the fourth years’ Slytherins”, Hermione said tentatively.

 

The timid tone of her voice angered him even more, it didn’t suit her. “What about them?” he snarled.

 

“They are out of control”, she told him, “their behaviour is rude and disobedient. I’ve given them warnings and detention, I’ve taken housepoints, but they just seem to think they don’t have to listen to a word I say”.

 

“And that’s why you’ve come whining to me for”, he scolded at her. The anger was pouring out of him like hot lava, he was barely aware of what he was saying. “Don’t you think I have more important things on my mind?

Where are your brains, stupid girl? If you can’t control your class, then don’t be a teacher! You should be strong and consequent, instead of a weak, wailing child. But then again, I should not have expected more from a Mudblood!”

 

A ringing silence felt between them. Hermione had gone deadly pale. She felt she was shivering all over her body and she fought her tears back. She was not going to cry. She would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She merely said, “I can see now were your students got their attitude from”. And with those words she turned and left.

 

He wanted to do something. Call her back, apologise, but somehow his body refused to take orders from his mind. He stood there motionless, watching as she left the room and shut the door behind her. Then he sat down in his armchair and buried his face in his hands.

 

To be continued...