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Unquestionable Love	By : CRMediaGal Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 3383 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is copyrighted to and belongs to JK Rowling. I own none of her associated characters. New characters belong to me. No money/profit is made from this story.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
A/N: Hope you're enjoying the progression so far... I've been trying to update rather frequently but these chapters seem to be taking a long time to appear. My apologies for making you wait.

Many thanks to my beta reader, Brittny!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is copyrighted to and belongs to JK Rowling. I own none of her associated characters. New characters belong to me.

Chapter 6: A Time for Talks

"Ah, Severus! Come in, come in!"

Headmistress McGonagall waved the elusive, shadowy figure at the door into her office and laid down her quill. Severus shut the door and cautiously approached her desk, his hands behind his back.

"Minerva," he offered with a curt nod.

McGonagall removed her wire-rimmed glasses and examined the Potions Master with an enigmatic smile. Light trickled in through a window behind her chair, illuminating a few silver hairs hanging down from the bottom of her pointed hat which had fallen loose from her very tight bun.

"I trust you've made a decision about your assistant?" She folded her hands and waited patiently for his reply.

Severus gave another short bow. "I have, yes."

"Excellent! Who have you chosen then? Surina?"

There was a short pause before he replied. "No."

Severus waited for McGonagall to offer a remark, but she only raised her eyebrows at him. He ran a hand through his hair and glanced away, clearly out of sorts. Noticing his frazzled disposition, McGonagall's grey eyebrows came together.

"Is everything all right, Severus?"

"Perfectly fine!" he snapped, running his hand through his black locks again.

"I see." McGonagall hesitated, choosing to ignore his outburst. "Well, who have you chosen to be your assistant then?"

Severus straightened and recomposed himself, peering down at the elderly witch. "Hailey," he answered dryly.

McGonagall's aged, gentle smile resurfaced. "Oh! That's wonderful, Severus! I think she's a lovely choice. Do you think she'll be able to handle an assistantship along with her classes?"

"Yes," Severus answered matter-of-factly and without the same enthusiasm as the Headmistress. "I have every confidence in her."

"Oh, terrific! You know, Aberforth has really taken a liking to her; says she's doing beautifully in Transfiguration and that she's leaps and bounds ahead of her classmates! You must be very proud. I trust you've told her about the position and she has agreed to it then?"

"I – No, not yet."

McGonagall gazed up at him, confused. "You haven't asked her, Severus?"

"I have been a bit preoccupied this week," the Potions Master hissed through clenched teeth. "I will ask her as soon as I am able, Minerva."

McGonagall sighed heavily and folded her fingers together. "I must insist that you ask your daughter before the weekend is out, Severus. I understand that you are very busy, but this matter needs to be taken care of. I would like to notify the Ministry before they start sending me a dozen owls inquiring why they have not received a more prompt response."

"Prompt?" Severus growled, losing his previous self-control. "This has been thrust upon me against my will and without my consent! The damned Ministry can wait! I have made my selection! Give me a few more days to put things in motion."

McGonagall rose and placed her arms on top of her desk, leaning in to examine Severus more carefully. "Severus, please," she emphasized, her voice both calm and collected, "I know you don't want this. You've made that perfectly clear. But you must do it. Believe me, it's in your best interest and will do you a great deal of good. You have to try and lessen your workload this year. It's taking its toll on you. We all can tell."

Severus abruptly backed away and shot her a dangerous sneer. His lips curled unpleasantly, his eyes glaring at her reproachfully. "Don't presume to tell me what I can and cannot handle, Minerva," he challenged. "I am well-aware of my own capabilities and what I can manage. I don't require help!"

"I know you are well-aware," she replied in a raised, yet still composed voice, "but the Ministry has already consented. You must have someone assist you in order to complete all of your tasks. One person simply cannot take on what you have been doing for so long, Severus. It's preposterous! The decision has been made and that's final. I expect to send out an owl Monday morning. Make sure you have informed your daughter by then. We need you both to sign a binding contract that will be sent on to the Ministry, so her full cooperation is needed in this matter."

Severus continued to glare at the Headmistress. He seemed to be calculating his next move but then waved his hand at her dismissively.

"Very well!" he snarled. Severus turned on his heel and stalked out of McGonagall's office, his dramatic robes trailing swiftly behind him as he faded into the shadows once more.

"Hailey?"

Surina waltzed towards her younger sibling, who was seated alone at a desk by the window in the library. It was Friday evening, the sun was just beginning to set, and Hailey was seated before a stained glass window that showed the picturesque pink sunset. Her button nose was scrunched up as she reread a few lines from a thick book in front of her. She peered up at Surina as she approached, then immediately returned her attention to her reading, as if not wanting to be bothered.

"Yeah?"

Surina's perfectly shaped, black eyebrows came together. "What on earth are you reading?"

Surina took a seat opposite her sister before she could answer. Hailey dropped the book and it landed on the desk with a loud thud that reverberated throughout the hushed library. Several annoyed "Shhhs!" followed, and Surina shook her dark head in disbelief at her sister's carelessness.

"Could you be any louder?" she hissed mockingly, much to Hailey's displeasure.

"What do you want? I have a lot of reading to do."

Surina's scowl disappeared but her mouth drooped, slighted by Hailey's dismissal. Hailey swiftly leaned in and turned her head sideways, offering her sister an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, Surina. I'm just overwhelmed with all of my Charms homework. I didn't mean to be snide."

Surina grinned again, relieved. "It's all right, sis. I just wanted to check and see how you're making out so far. But judging by the state of that," she nodded towards the heavy book on the table, "I'd say you've got your work cut out for you."

Hailey let out a miserable moan of agreement, her hands flipping through its countless pages to demonstrate for Surina just how much reading she had to complete. "Tell me about it!"

Surina, however, shrugged, unimpressed. "You'll adjust."

Hailey sighed. Surina always had a manner of saying the one thing she did not want to hear and, at the same time, made Hailey's problems seem like no big deal. It reminded her a little too much of their father, the last person whom she wanted to give any thought at the moment. Ironically, the topic of conversation turned to him before she could think.

"How was Potions this week with Dad?"

Surina had asked the question casually, unaware of what had transpired between them earlier in the week. Hailey's stomach sank and her brown eyes widened, entirely caught off guard. Surina surveyed her alarmed sister, and her expression changed to one of curiosity and concern.

"Um, is everything all right, Hailey? Did he give you a hard time or something?"

Hailey could not answer right away. She swallowed hard, remembering the awful event play-by-play, wishing she could just wipe the memory of it from her mind. When she met Surina's dark eyes again, her sister was on the edge of her seat and squeezing one of Hailey's hands.. Surina's pallid brow was furrowed.

"Hailey, what's wrong?" Her tone was serious now. "What happened?"

Albus and Hugo had tried twice—unsuccessfully—to discuss it with Hailey that week over breakfast and dinner, but both times she had cowered from rehashing the incident. Thankfully, the boys dropped the subject without any further questioning. Hailey knew that Surina, not at all privy to anything regarding what had happened, just wanted information, but she had not spoken to anyone about it all week apart from their mother.

Fresh tears threatened to fall from her eyes. Surina noticed, inclining further, the worry in her handsome face mounting. "Oh, sis... Was he mean to you? What did he do?"

"He – He," she could hardly form the words but somehow managed, between quivering lips, "he drew his wand on me."

Surina's eyes became abnormally large. "He did what?"

Hailey trembled before speaking again in a hushed voice, "He threatened to use his wand on me in class."

Surina was having apparent difficulty grasping what Hailey revealed. After a long pause, she drew in a breath before inquiring in an angst-ridden, low voice, "What did you do?"

Hailey's nose wrinkled. Her eyes suddenly stung and she could feel the heat in her cheeks rising. Surely, she had not heard her sister correctly.

"What did I do? I didn't do anything!"

Her defensive response was louder than she had meant it to be, and a few curious glances turned in the direction of their table. Surina waited for the eyes she knew were on them to shift away before replying, "I meant, why did he draw his wand on you? I - I just can't believe Dad would do that for no good reason."

"There was no good reason! There was no reason at all!" Hailey growled faintly so that no one but Surina could hear, and the memory of the incident spewed out of her. "I - I kind of giggled at one point, and I guess Dad assumed I was somehow laughing at him or poking fun of his class, but I wasn't! I wasn't, Surina, honestly! I wasn't poking fun at all! I - I'm not sure why I sort of laughed, but no one heard it except him! He was making some snarky comments and I couldn't help myself. I wanted to answer his questions, but he wouldn't call on me. Anyway, Dad heard me laugh and he didn't believe me when I told him I wasn't making a jab at his expense, so he drew his wand on me and threatened to kick me out in front of everyone!"

Surina shifted in her chair and placed one leg under her weight for support. "He didn't—" she stopped, almost unable to continue. "He didn't cast a spell on you or anything, did he?"

"What? No."

Surina fell back in her chair, her shoulders collapsing as if they had borne some great weight. "Oh! Oh, that's good. I'd be more shocked if he had."

Hailey could not quite comprehend what Surina had said. Her sister's words pierced through her tough exterior like a knife.

"What do you mean, Surina? Isn't it bad enough that Dad drew his wand on me over something as trivial as a giggle?"

To her surprise, Surina threw back her head and laughed softly, too low for anyone else to hear. "Oh, Hailey!" She shook her long mane. "Yes, of course it's trivial. And I agree with you, it wasn't nice. Dad should have acted better. It's just that—"

"WHAT?" Hailey cried out, aggravated to no end, and, again, less subtle than she would have liked.

Surina clasped both hands over Hailey's palm, still resting on top of her book, and waited for the staring eyes to drift away from their table. Her demeanor was warm, despite her cool complexion.

"Hailey, you're not the first student Dad has ever drawn a wand on in class, trust me. I daresay you won't be the last. He has a habit of scaring at least one or two first years really badly the first week, though I don't think he's ever drawn his wand on such a young student before... He usually reserves that for the older kids, according to Lily and some of the fifth and six years in my house. Usually he resorts to terrorizing the first years by giving them a hard time. I'm definitely surprised he picked you out to make an example of!"

Hailey gawked at her sister, flabbergasted and unsure of what to say or how to reply. So her father's nasty behavior during her first day of class was considered normal? How did she not know?

"Did you know Dad made me swallow another git's poorly concocted potion in front of the entire class my first year?" Surina asked her younger sibling in a surprisingly casual manner. "It was when I accidentally blew up my cauldron. It wasn't pretty. Dad was furious. We were making a rather rare antidote but my explosion made the lab smell ungodly for about three days. He gave me at least a week of detention. It might have been two, actually."

"Wha...?" Hailey's mouth dropped in stunned silence.

How had Surina never told her about that story? She shuddered at the notion that her father could be so mean, but recalled the sinister glare he shot her when his wand was just inches from her face, ready to utter some horrible incantation. She had never known him to be anything but kind, albeit very strict, though nothing like who he was in this magical setting. How could she not have known this other side of him? Of course, Hailey reflected, that was not entirely true. She shook her wild curls to regain her focus.

Dad made Surina drink that potion? What if something terrible had happened to her? How could he do such a thing?

Surina sensed Hailey processing this new information, and her expression softened. She squeezed Hailey's hand affectionately.

"I'm sorry he did that to you, Hailey. He shouldn't have, and I would venture to guess that he feels pretty awful about it."

Hailey glanced up at her with a pout. "What – What happened when he made you drink that potion?"

Surina smiled reassuringly, which only unsettled Hailey further. "Well, that stupid Gryffindor prat, Robert Paddle, mixed up the steps of the ingredients. I ended up with sores all over my body for about a week. Dad was horrified. Paddle had thrown in an ingredient he wasn't supposed to, to try and earn higher marks. As if that would somehow pass by Dad's attention! Anyway, he made Paddle pay, too. The dingbat got an entire month of detention, which I thought more than reasonable."

Surina brushed her fingers through her straight hair as she continued, "Dad must have apologized at least a dozen times—in private, of course—but he did feel really, really bad about the whole thing. I was mad at first. I wouldn't speak to him for a few days and talked it over with Mum, but I got over it. You have to understand, sis, Dad doesn't have any patience when it comes to Potions-making, probably because something can go wrong at any given moment and kids are always getting injured. I don't know if you realize it yet, but it can all be very dangerous, the stuff he has us brewing in class; it's a wonder more students don't get seriously hurt, and I know for a fact that they don't because of Dad. He knows Potions-making better than anyone. I think the nature of his job just sets him on edge."

Hailey lowered her gaze, staring at the heavy book in front of her, though she had no interest in finishing her reading assignment. She carefully considered what Surina was saying, but the hurt still showed on her face, and her lower lip quivered at the frightening incident she could not seem to forget.

Noting her sister's pain and uncertainty, Surina tightened her grasp on Hailey's hand and spoke as soothingly as she could. "You can't take his professional attitude so personally, Hailey. I know that that's hard to understand right now because you just started, but it'll get easier. The more potions you brew, I think the more you'll realize why Dad can be such an arse sometimes. It took Lily and me a while to come around, especially Lily, because, frankly, he's nicer to me."

Surina paused, tilting her head to one side and sitting back in her chair, removing her hands from Hailey's. "Didn't Lily tell you any of this before class? She was supposed to give you the head's up. She promised Mum she would if you were placed into Gryffindor."

Hailey noted Surina's rather accusatory tone and sucked in a breath. Surina and Lily clashed more now than in the past and more often than either of them should. She certainly did not want to instigate another argument between her older sisters.

"Yes, she did. She told me not to take it too personally, but that was before all of this happened! I just wasn't prepared for Dad to be this vile! It was awful, Surina."

She crossed her arms, bitterly disgusted with the whole thing, and gazed at her sister, who stared back sympathetically. Her expression reminded Hailey of when their father had given her that miserable look, his woeful eyes aching for her to understand his abominable actions. The resemblance made her a little nauseous.

"And anyway, if he favors Slytherin House so much," Hailey huffed, "I'm surprised he bothered making an example of you at all!"

Surina's rose-colored lips formed a positively wicked grin. "Why wouldn't he? I'm no different than any other student here, and neither are you."

Hailey's eyes narrowed. She simply could not believe that her sisters were not as damaged over their father's altered nature as she was. Was she really so much more sensitive than they were? Deep down, surely they must understand what she was going through...

"Why didn't you ever tell me he did that to you?"

Surina considered her question for a moment before replying, "Mum didn't want me to. She thought it would frighten you. And anyways, just last weekend you were miserable about coming here anyhow. If you had known, wouldn't you have felt a lot worse than you already did?"

Hailey glanced down at her small hands. Surina had a point, but she was still frustrated. Any kind of a warning would have been appreciated. Hailey immediately began to ponder what else she did not know, what else her sisters and her mother might be keeping from her. What had her father done to Lily, for that matter? Considering what he had done to Surina, and she a favored Slytherin, he must have been far worse to Lily. The mere thought was tough to comprehend and made Hailey shudder in her chair.

Thankfully, Surina interrupted her disturbing thoughts. "I'm surprised Scorpius never said anything to me, actually! Wasn't he in Potions with you that day? That little chump!"

Hailey blinked several times and then her mouth dropped, recalling the very blond, spiky-haired boy that she and her family knew well, though Hailey herself did not think much of him. "He was there, yes! He was in the front row, at the end nearest to Dad's desk. I don't remember seeing his reaction to everything though." Hailey suddenly scowled, her dark eyes narrowing considerably. "He probably didn't think anything of it. He wouldn't, with Uncle Draco being his father and all."

"Hailey," Surina shot her sister a reprimanding look, though the grin on her face told Hailey she was not being too serious. "Scorpius is a nice enough chap. If you had ever bothered to get to know him, you'd know he's not as cocky or arrogant as you've been branding him for years."

"He is exceedingly arrogant, Surina! Just like the whole lot of the Malfoy family. But he's your friend, not mine, so..."

"Well, he's going to get an earful from me the next time I see him! I can't believe he didn't tell me about this!" Surina crossed her arms in dismay, abruptly changing the subject. "Have you talked this over with anyone else besides me?"

Hailey nodded. "I wrote Mum on Wednesday. I got a reply last night."

Surina raised an eyebrow. "What did she say?"

Hailey grumbled, unable to disguise her disappointment. "Only that she was 'sorry' and to 'hold tight.' She said she would write again soon. Oh, and I completely forgot to tell her which house I was sorted into. Mum is going nuts and wants me to write back to her 'pronto.'"

Surina snickered. "Well, she's probably going insane not knowing! I can't believe you forgot to tell her. Anyway, maybe she's waiting to talk things over with Dad? He's going home next weekend, you know."

"Yeah, Lily told me. I haven't really spoken to her about it either. I've been meaning to, but she's always with James."

"Really?" Surina cocked her head to one side and showed off a rather impish grin. "I didn't know that. I bet Dad doesn't know either..."

Hailey's eyes widened in horror. "Don't you dare, Surina!"

Her sister continued to give her a wicked look. "Oh, relax, Hailey! Dad wouldn't do anything. It'd be fun if he did though. I'd love to see James Potter rattled up a bit."

I wouldn't; not by Dad anyway, Hailey thought to herself, remembering that chilly stare from her first day.

"Well, in any case, if Lily's been telling you that I somehow have it easier than you two, she's right! Oh, Hailey, if only you had been placed in Slytherin. Dad would have gone a lot easier on you. You'd have had it made! What a shame."

Surina flipped her shimmering hair to one side, toying with Hailey to provoke a retort, bringing a devilish smile to the younger girl's face. "I'm quite content in Gryffindor, thank you very much!" Then her expression turned serious. "But thanks for listening."

"Of course!" Surina rose from the desk. "Anyway, I ought to get out of this area. You know, it's considered an abomination for a Slytherin to be seen conversing with a Gryffindor." She winked at Hailey playfully.

"Is it really? Well, in that case, you had better run along because people have already been staring at us. Wouldn't want word to get back to your inferior little friends that you have a soft spot for a Gryffindor, would you?"

"My thoughts exactly!" Surina reached down and squeezed her sister's left shoulder. "Hang in there, sis. It'll be fine." She went to leave but halted, and turned back around. "Oh, and give Dad the chance to apologize. I bet you've been avoiding him all week. I stopped by to see him this morning and was wondering why he has been so glum all week."

Surina offered her sister a pleasant smirk before slipping around one of the library stacks and disappearing. Hailey stared at the spot where she had vanished, not sure what to think. How the hell could she face her father and, more to the point, accept his apology when she was still enraged and struck nervous by the mere sight of him?

The third Snape sighed and wrinkled her nose. There was still the tail end to the incident that she had failed to disclose to Surina, and she was unsure if she was ready to forgive or forget so readily.
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Unquestionable Love