In an Alternate Universe

Chapter 40 ~ Spreading the News

“Really Bilbo, I don’t see why Barnabas sent me down here to interview Snape and Granger. I can’t stand that Gryffindor,” Rita snapped as she and her photographer made their way down the damp dungeon corridor.

Bilbo didn’t say anything. The chubby little photographer just fiddled with his camera as they walked, Rita’s heels clicking on the stone flooring.

Rita Skeeter, reporter and columnist for the Daily Prophet was bemoaning having to interview Severus Snape, the bloody little know-it-all. She couldn’t stand him because he had a secret he’d been holding over her head since his fourth year.

He knew she was an unregistered Animagus.

Not only did the little bastard know, but he had kept her a prisoner in a glass jar for more than two weeks a couple of years back. Now, she was supposed to make him look good? Were there no gods in heaven?

Barnabas Cuffe, the owner and editor of the Prophet, wasted no time getting permission for Rita to visit Hogwarts and get a one on one interview with the school’s new golden wizard and his mentor. Rita didn’t dare tell him no. So here she was.

Rita primped her hardened blonde curls with her well-manicured but mannish hands, then adjusted her jeweled spectacles as they approached the Potions office.

”And that Potions mistress, Hermione Granger. Brrrr,” Rita added. “She’s a bit of sunshine, isn’t she, Bilbo?”

Bilbo said nothing as they stopped in front of the office door. Rita knocked heavily.

”Come in,” Hermione said coldly.

She sat behind her desk, looking totally as if she’d rather be anyplace but here. She had hoped to get back to her afternoon class when Albus informed her she was to be interviewed for the Daily Prophet. Professor Binns, who was standing in for her, probably had ectoplasm all over her good swivel chair. It was hell to clean.

Rita eyed Hermione and the pickled creatures that provided her background and shuddered slightly before she addressed the dark witch. Where was golden boy?

”Hello Professor Granger. Where is Mr. Snape?” Rita inquired.

Hermione was about to answer when she was blinded by a bright flash. She blinked rapidly as Bilbo looked from behind his camera and said, “Got it.”

Ooh. He’d get it all right if he did that again without warning her. Hermione blinked as spots swam before her eyes.

”Sit down. Mr. Snape will not be giving an interview at this time. He has to focus on his schoolwork. As his mentor I have the right to answer any questions concerning my apprentice as well as deciding who he will and will not talk to, Miss Skeeter,” Hermione said, still blinking away the spots.

As soon as her vision cleared she scowled at Bilbo.

”I suggest you don’t take another picture of me if you want to keep that blasted camera in one piece,” Hermione growled at him.

Bilbo blinked at her stupidly. Hermione sighed, her amber eyes turning on Rita.

”Now what do you want to know?” she asked the reporter.

Rita took out a parchment pad and her Quick-Quotes quill. The quill wavered slightly over the pad, ready to start writing as Rita studied Hermione.

”The first thing our readers will want to know is why Severus Snape went with such a poor mentor,” Rita said with a cheesy smile. “Master Vargas’ generosity to his charges is legendary. You have next to no resources, Miss Granger. Not very advantageous to the young wizard. How do you explain it? Vargas believes he has been bewitched.”

Hermione scowled.

”The problem is, at least as far as Vargas is concerned, that Severus Snape wasn’t bewitched by his glamorous smoke screen and empty promises, Miss Skeeter. As you know, all an Apprentice’s work is usually claimed by the mentor, who receives all the residuals and credits in exchange for ‘teaching’. Furthermore, the apprentice is locked into a four year contract that makes him or her little more than an indentured servant. They leave such Apprenticeships with the title of Master, but nothing substantial to show for their years of service. Mr. Snape chose me because I gave him full rights and credits to his work and did not lock him into his Apprenticeship. He can leave whenever he wishes,” Hermione said plainly. “Clearly a much better offer in the long run. He has his freedom and control of his intellectual property.”

The Quick-Quotes quill wrote down every word clearly as Rita looked at Hermione in disbelief.

”You mean to tell me that you will not receive anything from the young man for your time and effort? That’s just a bit too selfless, Miss Granger. There has to be something in it for you,” Rita pressed.

Hermione gave her a wan smile.

”Well, I got my reward when Vargas stormed out of here without another apprentice in his pocket,” she said to the reporter.

“Ah, the underdog won,” Rita said with a smirk.

”Exactly. Besides, money has never motivated me concerning Potions. I practice the art because I love it. Vargas and the rest of the fame-seekers run it like a business. Personal gain and not work is their motivation. They do not wish to advance the art, but fill their pockets off the hard work of others, who they then change into carbon copies of themselves. Being published, interviewed, in demand at seminars and expos are what they live for. I doubt Vargas has dabbled in his own experiments in years. All he has to do is claim what others have done. A sad commentary for the state of Potions today. If I can provide the proper guidance to Severus Snape, he may one day restore the dignity and distinction our art once had. Right now, it is nothing but barter, buying and selling the abilities of others. The whole lot of our so-called Potions masters are nothing but big-bellied posers!”

“Can I quote you on that, Miss Granger?” Rita asked her. Vargas had the biggest belly out of all the Potions masters.

Hermione’s eyes glittered.

”You certainly may, Miss Skeeter,” she replied.

”Thank you,” Rita said to the witch, “but you know that quote isn’t going to make you many friends in the Potions field.”

Hermione shrugged.

”I didn’t have that many to begin with,” she replied coolly.

************************

“You bloody WHAT?” Ron yelled at Severus in the Gryffindor Common Room.

All their fellow students stopped and stared at the red-faced, red-haired Gryffindor. Ron was in such a state at finding out Severus had turned Vargas down it looked as if he were going to explode.

”Ron, calm down!” Harry exclaimed as Severus sat between them, calmly watching Ron go into meltdown.

“I chose Professor Granger,” the wizard said again, “she was the best choice out of all of them.”

Ron clapped his hand to his face and groaned.

”Sev, you could have visited Madam Nasty’s whenever you felt like it . . . and probably taken friends! How could you do that to us?” Ron demanded.

”Speak for yourself Ron. I’ve got Gin . . . um . . . never mind.”

Harry trailed off, realizing this wasn’t the best thing to say to Ron right now. Or probably ever. Ron glowered at him for a moment then returned to his foolish, foolish friend.

”Paris . . . you could have had a place in Paris and we could have come to visit you! Severus, you selfish prat!” Ron continued as Severus looked at him calmly.

Severus had expected this reaction out of Ron. He took everything so personally, even if it didn’t involve him. Harry didn’t say too much . . . at first.

”So Sev,” he said in a low voice as the rest of the students went about their business, “what did Granger really offer you?” Harry asked him.

Severus scowled.

”What do you mean?” he questioned the boy-who-was-probably-about-to-get-killed.

In the background, Ron continued to groan as if he had been mortally wounded.

Harry looked around the Common Room, adjusted his glasses and leaned in to be absolutely sure no one else but Ron heard him.

”Did she offer to shag you?” he asked Severus, who frowned blackly.

”No! You think she’d stoop to that to apprentice me, Harry?”

Harry shrugged.

”Well, she is a Slytherin, Sev and she knows you wanted to get at her, so why not? I mean, she’s not rich or anything. She can’t give you what Vargas would have. The only reason I can think of for you to turn all that down is that she agreed to shag you,” Harry said earnestly.

Ron wretched.

”I know you didn’t give up the girls at Madam Nasty’s just to . . . to . . . gods, I can’t even say it,” Ron groaned. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

He staggered away.

Severus watched Ron go, terribly tempted to cast a Tripping hex on him, before he turned back to Harry, his black eyes glittering.

“For your information, Harry, she didn’t offer me anything other than to teach me,” he said to his friend.

”That doesn’t sound like much. She does that now, Sev,” Harry replied, blinking at him.

Severus sighed. It wasn’t Harry’s fault really. He didn’t know how these things worked.

”If I had gone with Vargas or any of the others, I would have had to let them take control of anything I produced. They would get the credit and the residuals. I wouldn’t be able to claim any of it. And I wouldn’t be able to leave the Apprenticeship for four years,” Severus told him.

”That sounds like slavery,” Harry said, his eyes going dark.

”It is. So they weren’t really giving me anything Harry. They would have gotten more from me than they gave to me, and when I finally became a Master, I wouldn’t have anything of my own, I’d have to start from scratch. Suppose I never created anything original again? I’d be finished before I even started,” the young wizard said. “Professor Granger told me I could take all the credit and keep all the residuals of my work, and I could walk away from the Apprenticeship any time I felt it wasn’t beneficial. No one else was willing to give me that. So that’s why I went with the professor, Harry. She is a true Potions mistress and loves the art. I would rather study under her than slave for Vargas,” he said sincerely.

Harry nodded.

”When you put it like that, Sev . . . it makes sense. I’m going to have a hard time making Ron see it though. I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t dress in all black and go through a period of mourning,” Harry grinned. “He was really looking forward to Madam Nasty’s.”

Severus snorted.

“Well, Ron’s just going to have to reacquaint himself with his hand,” the wizard said, rising.

Harry blinked up at him.

”Sev, you’re going so soon?” he asked him.

Severus nodded, trying to hide his excitement.

”Yeah. Professor Granger told me to disappear for a while. I think it’s been a while now,” he replied. “I’d better get back.”

”Are you going to brew?” Harry asked him.

Severus smirked.

”I think so,” he replied obscurely, then hurriedly departed.

”He thinks so? That’s a weird answer,” Harry said to himself as Severus billowed up the Common Room exit. Harry eyed the billow.

”Granger really is rubbing off on him,” he said, shaking his head.

Then he went to find and comfort Ron.

********************************

Hermione was in her bedroom, still in her teacher’s robes, staring at the rose on her dresser. Since the day the Gryffindor had given it to her, it only faded once, then miraculously restored itself. Slowly, she plucked the flower out of the narrow container and studied its blue-black petals. It really was quite beautiful.

Severus said it represented her.

Hermione’s eyes welled up for a quick moment, and she blinked the wetness back, irritated with herself that she allowed it to happen. She was no romance-struck little witch with delusions of a Happily-Ever-After. She was a hardened woman who had seen and experienced more than her share of pain. She had walls. She had boundaries. These things protected her from more ache, more hurt.

In fact, they were all she had.

”Not necessarily,” a small, unwelcome voice said in her head. “You could have him.”

”I’m too damn old for the boy,” she hissed, plunking the rose back into its vase, “I mean, he’s an interesting distraction for the time being, just as I am for him. That’s all it could ever be.”

She sat down on her bed, letting her head drop forward.

It would be too much to even think that Severus Snape would always be as attracted to her as he was now. He was young, impetuous, naïve, believing that the way he felt right now was something that would last forever. But Hermione knew nothing lasts forever. Time ravaged all things. It would ravage her body long before he began to show any change. It would also ravage what the boy thought was Love.

“For the moment then, if not forever. Give him some happiness . . . give yourself some happiness,” the voice in her head urged.

”How could I ever be happy, knowing what’s ahead? Knowing one day he’ll look at me and want to go?”

”He’s young, but he’s wise. He said live for today, and not to worry about what tomorrow will bring,” the voice said.

”He didn’t say that!” Hermione cried in her mental dialogue. “Stop trying to build him up. He’s an idiot boy who knows nothing about life.”

”Maybe that’s what good about him,” the voice whispered. “He’s pure. Innocent. All he wants is you. Enjoy it while it lasts.”

Hermione sat there for a few moments, then slowly rose and went to her wardrobe, pulling out a Slytherin green silk nightgown, then entered the bathroom to shower.

As she turned on the spigot and slipped under the warm spray, Hermione snorted.

“Innocent? Severus Snape? Right.”

As she bathed, a slow rather wicked smile crossed her face.

It was time to pull out all the stops.

Severus’ “innocence” wouldn’t last the night.

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A/N: Ah, had to do a bit of build-up, interaction etc. Also had to touch on Hermione’s feelings and doubts. I imagine Severus in his usual role has his reservations concerning Hermione’s youth, fears she would leave him as he grew older. I don’t think I’ve ever explored that with him in depth. Well, in a Matter of Matrimony I had him act a fool, so that isn’t completely true. Anyway, Ron cracks me up. Lol. Now it’s time for the nitty gritty. Thanks for reading. ***