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The Professor and His Pint-Sized Shadow	By : SeverelySnaped Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 9792 -:- Recommendations : 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.

Chapter List
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Chapter Three: Finding Peace and Quiet�the Hard Way

Jonette slept, thankfully, through most of the night. There were a few moments where she stirred in her sleep, but nothing that roused the professor from his own slumber. When he opened his eyes, he noticed the ceiling was in the opposite direction from the usual view he had when waking up most mornings.

Ahhh�I�m on the sofa, he thought with irony. A female moves in with me and already I�m sleeping on the sofa.

He sat up and moved his neck around, lightly groaning when it popped in all the right places. He looked over to the bed and noticed that the girl was still asleep. This would at least give him time to wash up and have some breakfast in peace. He would continue to let her do so for as long as she wished, which was another three hours.
He was almost finished with the large stack of essays in his study when he heard the howl, as if an animal was being tortured, nearly making him spill his ink. It didn�t take him long to make the short walk from his desk to his bedroom where he found a very upset Jonette huddled on the bed.
�Now what is the matter with you this morning?� he snapped, instantly regretting it. Especially after the talk they had last night. She could be crying over just about anything this morning.
The girl jumped and clutched the blankets even tighter. �You said�you� You said you wouldn�t leave!�
He almost rolled his eyes before pinching the bridge of his nose. �Ahhh�� he sighed. �I was in my study, right through this door, see? I have a ton of papers to grade and wanted to get a head start this morning. If I was going to leave, Jonette, I would have called on someone else to watch over you, understood?�
The girl nodded but was still shaken. He figured he probably should have used a gentler tone with her, but after damn near giving him a heart attack, he wasn�t in the best of moods.
�Go wash up and then come have some breakfast. After that you can bathe and put on a fresh set of clothes. We have much to do today.� It was more of a command than a request, and the girl slowly got out of bed.
�The washing facilities and toilet are through this door, and there is another door leading to the bathing room. You should find all necessary towels in the cabinet. If you have a problem, do try and come to me first before screaming,� he smirked. �Now go wash up and meet me in the study.�
He turned to leave and didn�t notice the fresh tears starting to leak from her eyes. She quickly rubbed them away and went to do what he asked. After another ten minutes, she emerged from the bedroom looking a bit more alert than when she had upon waking up. She quietly sat down at the small table he had a house elf bring for him. She silently said her prayers and began to eat.
�We will have breakfast in the Great Hall most mornings,� he said, not even looking up from his paper. �However, there are times when I wish to have a quiet breakfast away from all the noise. On these mornings, you may eat in here with me if you prefer.�
�Yes sir.�
He looked up from his paper, watching her sip her juice while shifting her eyes quickly away from him.
�There is no need to be so quiet and jumpy around me. I�m not going to eat you,� he scowled. He didn�t think there was anything truly hilarious about his statement, but apparently Jonette thought otherwise, and he was surprised when she started giggling.
It was the first time he ever saw a full set of teeth from the girl. Thank God she didn�t have her father�s crooked teeth, not that he had room to talk.
�Does the thought of being consumed by your relatives amuse you?� he smirked.
This made the girl giggle even harder. �Mummy says sometimes that �tigers eat their young.��
�Usually when you were misbehaving, I assume,� he countered, not correcting her on the fact that she was referring to her mother in the present sense. The girl would deal with it in time.
She nodded. �And Daddy tells me that he will feed me to the Dementors if I mess with his nattomy model again.�
It sounded just like the way his own grandfather use to threaten him as a small child. It was a Snape thing, he figured.
�His what?� he scowled.
�His nattomy model. It stands about this tall and it shows you the parts of the body. You can touch it and it will tell you what each part of the body does. I don�t know what I did, but the brain parts got mixed up with the tummy parts and Daddy got really mad.�
�Ahhh. An �anatomy� model. I have one in my laboratory as well. Madame Pomfrey, who is the mediwitch of this school has one, too. It is safe to say that both of us would also be angry if our models were rearranged.� He scowled again as she giggled some more.
�Since you seem to be finished with your breakfast, I suggest you go take a bath and put on some fresh clothes. And brush your teeth. We have a lot to do today.�
She quickly swallowed the last bit of her juice. �Yes sir.�
He nodded his head. At least the girl had some manners. If he was stuck with a noisy, squalling brat, he would have handed it over to Filch already. However, it was a relief to know that the girl took orders rather well. His brother and his wife must have ran a tight ship back at home.
After another forty-five minutes, the girl emerged cleaner, granted, but her hair was a mess. It was still wet and had a million tangles. There was no way he could take the girl out looking like that, even though he was tempted to.
�Why isn�t your hair brushed and dried?� he snapped. It didn�t occur to him at this point that she would have needed a wand. All the children he had been around over the last fourteen years were mostly eleven year-olds on up, and all of them had wands.
The girl�s expression changed and again he knew he was on shaky ground. Would he have to walk on eggshells twenty-four/seven around her?

She�s too young for a wand, you dolt� he chided himself.
�I tried, sir�but Mummy always fixes my hair, and Kathy at the orph�nage.� She stood there looking apprehensive and he sighed. He walked over to his shelf and pulled out a book of standard spells, flipping through it to the �Personal Grooming and Hygiene� section. After he located a de-tangling spell, he set to work. A drying spell he knew already.
After a few minutes, the girl looked presentable, but barely. �Go brush your hair so we can get on with it. You do own a brush, right? Good.�
Was he going to have to do this every day? She hadn�t even been awake for over an hour and already she was taking up a good bit of his time. He knew that the circumstances that this girl came to him were tragic, yes, but he just wasn�t ready for all of this. Sod the Ministry straight to hell, he thought. Sod my brother and his wife and sod my cursed, rotten luck.

It didn�t even take two minutes for the girl to do as she was told and looking somewhat more presentable, although not as nice as her mother or �Kathy,� whoever she was, would have done. But it would do for now.
He took Jonette on a tour of the main parts of the castle only. He would show her the outside grounds on a later date. He showed her the usual path he took from his study---where they ate breakfast---to his main office to his classroom to the main corridor leading out of the dungeons. From there he showed her the way to the Great Hall, stopping at various places along the way and afterwards. When he was certain that classes were about to change, he would head towards a secluded room or corridor as not to be seen. Then they would head back out into the main hallway.
Her eyes took in everything and it was one non-stop question after another. Once again, he felt that if he could keep her occupied and busy long enough that she would deal with the news of her parents a lot better than she had been. But her mood kept changing all day, happy one minute and sad the next. At least there had been some progress.
Jonette did her best to keep up with the professor�s long strides, but she was too adrenalized at the moment to feel tired. The castle was so big! There were so many paintings and windows, a million more than at home! She shrieked the first time one of the staircases started moving underneath her feet. Her grip on the banister tightened and he told her that it was normal, pointing to the ever-changing staircases above her, and there were so many of them that it almost made her dizzy.
The halls seemed to stretch on forever and everything was, �use this,� �don�t use this,� �come to this room if you ever get lost in this part of the castle,� �don�t touch this,� �try not to do this,� and �don�t go through this door unless you want to die.�
She cringed at this, and Severus mentally slapped himself. It was hard being patient and considerate, especially when there was a child involved. He sighed again.
�For the most part, Jonette, you will be escorted by me or a staff member at all times until you are old enough to attend classes here yourself. You are not, under any circumstance, to roam off alone by yourself. Is that understood?�
�Yes sir.� The girl quickly nodded her head, just wanting to get far away from the bad door as possible.
�Good. Because the last thing you want is to be lost in this castle. It is far too big, and while most things inside these walls will not hurt you, there will always be a few exceptions that make cub-eating tigers look rather tame in comparison.�
This time the girl did not giggle, but she nodded again. Castle will eat you if given the chance, she mentally noted.
Severus noticed that she stayed a lot closer to him through the rest of their walk. When it was nearing the time for the classes to be let out entirely, he started making his way back down towards the dungeon. They had not encountered one single soul nor ghost on their entire walk, for which he was thankful.
When they entered the darkened corridors, he picked the girl up again so she could rest her legs and he could move at a faster pace.
�Professor?�
�Yes?�
�Do you have a wife?�
�I do not.�
�Why?�
�Because some people do not wish to be married.�
�Uncle Benny says that, too. He says that it�s easier to go down to Knockturn Ally and to��

�I�m sure he does.� he cut her off. This dreadful specimen known as Uncle Benny must be on her mother�s side.
�Uncle Kent has a wife, though. He says that it�s cheaper to keep her. Once he tried to trade her in, and they sent her back, he told me.�
At this, Severus snorted. He knew his Uncle Kent rather well, and that it was typical of the way he talked about his wife, Francis. But he hadn�t seen either one of them in quite some time, even though they were on speaking terms.
However, his main goal right now was to shut the girl up. There was no way he would be able to get any work done with the girl following him around all day and night. It was simply unheard of. Yet he couldn�t just run off and leave her, he had at least that much common sense when it came to children. Especially curious ones.
Albus had mentioned some type of day care was being set up for the children. Perhaps the headmaster could tell him more about it later on that evening. But he wished there was something available in that area right now. He needed some alone time and he was feeling rather selfish. Yes the girl needed him, but right now, he want some time all to himself.
The girl kept on with her questions and there was no end.
�How old are you?�
�You�re really tall. Did anyone ever tell you that? Daddy is tall, too.�
�I wonder how many blocks made up this castle?�
�I can bend my fingers like this�see?�
That last one caused an excruciating expression to wash over the professor�s face. �I suggest if you want to be able to hold a wand when you are eleven that you refrain from doing that.�
�I can do that with my toes, too!� she giggled. Severus looked mortified.
�I hope you don�t ever study dancing then, either.�
She smiled. �I like you.�
He looked at her as if she were mad. �You are obviously deranged.�
�Are you deranged, too?�

�Very.�

The reached the door to his classroom and he walked in not expecting to see anyone inside. When he did, he came close to dropping Jonette right then and there.
Standing over a bubbling cauldron was none other than Hermione Granger.
Students were allowed to become lab assistants in their sixth year if they retained a certain grade level in Advanced Potions. Hermione was the only student since he taught at Hogwarts to sign up for the position, even though he didn�t tell her that. Now into her seventh and final year, Hermione was a normal fixture in his classroom on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, which he had forgotten about today, apparently.
Miss Granger raised her head. �Oh, hello Professor,� she said with a small smile, and her smile grew wider when she saw the little girl. �I was just starting on our last batch for Madame Pomfrey.� He said nothing in return but nodded at her.
�Hello,� Jonette waved with a shy voice, barely moving her hand. The professor set the girl down beside him.
�Hello there,� Hermione smiled, turning back to her cauldron. �My name is Hermione. What�s your name?�
The girl took a few steps towards her. �Jonette. Jonette Marie Snape.�
�This is my niece, Miss Granger,� the professor quickly added, suddenly nervous. �She will be staying here at Hogwarts.�
�You�re a Snape?� Hermione looked the girl, and the way she said it made the professor cringe. �Well then, you must be very smart.�

For some reason, that made him feel ten times more uneasy, even though he knew that it was a compliment.
�Yes, well�Miss Granger is very busy, so I must ask you to stay away from her workspace,� he said in Jonette�s direction.
�Yes sir,� Jonette said in a quiet voice, but her eyes still very much fixed on Miss Granger. She was standing on her tiptoes trying to get a better view of what Hermione was doing. This girl was going to prove to be a handful. With her barrage of questions earlier and her curiosity she was starting to act just like�Miss Granger.

Suddenly, Severus� scowl broke into a very Grinch-like grin and he pondered for a moment. He could trust the girl with Miss Granger. He wasn�t entirely thrilled with the idea of Jonette being watched over by house elves. He found them to be creepy as a small child and could barely tolerate them now.
But Granger here�she was the type who could teach the girl things. Maybe even tutor her before she attended school. Granger was already being groomed to be a teacher and would hopefully be on the staff the following year if her studies went well.
Before the war, this was not possible. The law required at least two-to-four years of study depending on the subject. However, Albus had made a request to the Ministry on the school�s behalf. Her grades were already impressive, and staff positions could not be filled as easily as they could years prior.
The Head Girl was ecstatic. To have a prestigious job such as that pretty much lined up for her before she even left school was more than she hoped for. She was not allowed to teach past the seconds-years until all of the qualifications had been met, but it was still quite an achievement.

Yes, he thought. Granger might be good for the girl. If he played his cards right, he and Miss Granger could mold the brightest student Slytherin House had ever seen�besides himself, of course. With this in mind, he called Jonette to him as he walked to the opposite end of the classroom. She quickly followed and she stepped into his office when he motioned for her to do so.
�Sit here for a moment. I have something I need to discuss with Miss Granger.�
�Yes sir.�
�Can I trust you to keep your hands to yourself and not touch anything?�
�I promise.�
�Good girl. Here, if you want something to do, here�s a book.�
�These words are too big for me to��
�Then look at the pictures.�
He left the room and missed the girl�s exasperated expression as she flipped from page to page. With a scowl, she realized that there were no pictures in this particular book.
In the next room, Hermione was stirring her potion and checking the timer to see how close it was before adding the next ingredient. She didn�t have to wonder how the Professor came to be responsible for a child as word of the adoption law had already leaked out to some of the students. Hermione was surprised, however, that Snape took in a child at all, relative or no. She figured they would have had to drag him down there spitting and clawing before that happened. The headmaster must have talked him into it, she smiled.
The little girl was very pretty, but she definitely looked like a Snape. You didn�t find hair that black on pale-skinned people often. She added the last bit of the crushed beetle powder into the mixture and stirred until it was evenly distributed. She didn�t even hear the professor approach from behind.
�How is it coming along, Miss Granger?� the silky familiar voice piped into her thoughts, almost making her jump.
�It�s right where it should be, Professor.�
He said nothing further, simply walking to the other side of the table and sitting down. He pressed his hands together and stared at her. She knew him well enough to know that something was up, and he knew it.
He sighed. �I need you to help me with this,� he said with heavy defeat.
�With �what?��

�That!� he spat in a low voice, with his finger pointed towards the office door.
�Oh Professor! She�s lovely!� Hermione chided. �She doesn�t look like she could be that big of a problem.�
�Well, for the most part, she hasn�t been,� he replied in a low voice. �I�m not entirely sure, however, that I�m going about it the right way.�
�Well, you seemed to be doing a good job earlier,� she said. She had never seen the professor look this unsure about anything before. She nox�ed the flame underneath the cauldron and waited for the elixir to cool down. Seeing his distraught state, she sat down as well and sat patiently while he collected his thoughts.
His fingers were tapping on the table and she knew that he was fighting an inner conflict she was pretty sure wasn�t a walk in the park.
Finally, he closed his eyes and spoke. �Miss Granger�could you�help out�with the girl, perhaps?�
Hermione straightened up a bit. �Is that all?�
He opened his eyes and looked at her, deciding to elaborate a bit. �I�m not asking you because you are my assistant or anything�� he trailed off, nervously. �But I do think that Jonette needs another female to talk to.� He paused for a moment, �You see, the girl recently lost both of her parents��
�Oh, how horrible!�
��and she�s lost just about everyone else in her family��
�I can�t even imagine! The poor thing� Well, at least she still has you, Professor.� He felt butterflies in his stomach just hearing that for some reason.
�Well, I will be honest with you, I did not know of Jonette�s whereabouts until Albus asked me to accompany him to the orphanage yesterday. It was by luck that I found her at all.�
�Oh Professor!� she cried. �That�s almost divine intervention right there, and you know much how I feel about Divination!� He fought off a grin as she continued, �Do you know how many orphanages there are in the wizarding community? Just in our area alone? The odds of you finding her like that are just�incredible!�
He had never quite looked at it that way, but yes indeed, it was rather odd.
�Yes, well� At any rate, she�s here and I need your help�please.�

�What do you want me to do first?�
�I thought maybe you would have some idea.� Severus hated sounding unsure of anything. �I guess you could�spend some time with her tonight? I need to get a few things done and��
�Of course, Professor. I�ll be happy to take her off of your hands for a while.�
�Thank you,� he said, looking relieved. �I don�t know the first thing about children.�

�Well, I�m not an expert on them, myself�but I think I can manage.�
�I will pay you for this, Miss Granger.�
She looked shocked for a moment. She hadn�t even considered the fact that she might earn anything from it.
�Oh, Professor�that�s quite all right�� she started, but he interjected.
�No. Honest pay for honest work. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.� His tone was one she knew not to argue with. He must be desperate, she thought. She watched as he went to retrieve Jonette from the office, who was muttering something along the lines of, �You said it had pictures.�
He explained to the little girl that she was to go with Miss Granger for a few hours and that she would bring her back before bedtime. The little girl wasn�t so sure at first, but after a few minutes of Hermione asking her some questions, she warmed up quite nicely. This was working out far better than he had planned.
After Miss Granger took the little girl to the Great Hall to get some dinner, he walked to his study and sat down in silence. Drank his sherry in silence. Read and graded and pondered and put his feet up�in silence.
Everything was so nice right now, and as he picked up another bit of reading material to peruse through , there was a loud popping sound in the fireplace and Severus knew exactly who it was.
�Albus��
�Sorry to interrupt you, my boy��
�Don�t call me that.�
��but I was just checking in to see how things were coming along.�
�Everything is fine, Albus. She is adjusting as well as she could be, under the circumstances.�
�So you told her?�
�Of course I told her! The girl should have been told from day one!�
�I know, Severus�but think of it this way. Imagine being the one having to tell every last child in the orphanage about their loved ones.�
He hadn�t though of that. �No�I suppose not. She took it bad enough just hearing it from me.�

�Yes, well�you seem to have done well. I saw her at dinner tonight with Hermione. She�s a very sweet little girl, Severus. I think she will adjust to being here before you know it, all in time. I was also able to introduce her to Gunther.�
�Who?�
�My newest addition.�
�Ahhh�I didn�t even consider that just yet. I had too much on my mind last night at dinner that I didn�t even think about it.�
�Well, I wasn�t able to bring him home until today. He had a slight fever yesterday and it was under policy that he wasn�t allowed to leave until it was at a normal temperature again.�
�Some policy,� he muttered.
�I didn�t even know he was sick with the way he was running around.�
�How old is he?�
�Gunther is ten years old.�
�Lovely. I can expect him in my class first thing next year, I�m sure.�
The headmaster laughed. �I see fatherhood hasn�t softened you up one bit!�
�Nor will it. As far as child care, I know you mentioned that something was being arranged, but where will the children go when we have to teach our classes?�
�The sixth and seventh year students who have signed up will each take off some time to help us with this. They will each receive extra credit and the Ministry has also offered those who students who have volunteered promise of an early Apparition license as reward.�
�What about their classes?�
�Well, we will need about three students to help out with the Children�s Day Room each day. So far, over sixty have signed up, one-third of them being boys.�
�The Apparition offer found it�s mark I take it?�
�Precisely. So the students who have volunteered will only work in the Day Room once or twice a month. This should ensure that they keep their grades up, and all of them have been told that if their grades slip they will have to forego it.�
�Well, that takes care of that.�
�Was it weighing heavily on your mind?� Albus smiled.
�Was there anything else you wished to discuss, or may I enjoy the last of my peace and quiet for this evening?� Severus snapped.
�Always so polite,� the old man teased. �By the way, I commend you on your choice of helper with the girl. She�s been following Hermione like a hawk.�

�Good. At least I know that I can trust Miss Granger to keep her out of trouble.�
�How times have changed, Severus.� The old man winked at him, and then in a �pop!� he was gone.

Now what is he on about, I wonder? Severus thought, shaking his head. He turned another page in his book and enjoyed another two and a half hours of uninterrupted silence.
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The Professor and His Pint-Sized Shadow