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When Duty Calls	By : Astrid-Lemons Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 11204 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 8
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, nor do I make any money from this story.

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Hermione flicked her wand lazily pinning her hair in tight ringlets atop her head, leaving a few astray. Slipping on her black stilettos, she made her way into the lavish bathroom to take in her appearance. It was still awkward to see herself painted up with rouge lips, fancy hair, tight cocktail dresses, and heels. She had been undercover for almost a year now in New York City, posing as a trophy wife to the world famous quidditch seeker, Trenton Dogder. Over a year ago Dodger, his preferred name, had gotten mixed up in a counterfeit galleon scheme run by an infamous wizard mobster by the name of 'Boss'. Dodger was caught, and took a plea agreement of 10 years of probation in exchange for the goods on Boss.

She missed home. While being in the states as a wealthy wife to a rather handsome athlete was a once in a lifetime opportunity, she missed her quiet little flat, her friends, even her office was becoming more appealing than the city as time went on. It had been nearly three years since the war, but Hermione still had vivid nightmares from time to time. She would never tell anyone. She was one of the most respected aurors of her time, and feared losing that to a few silly nightmares.

"Eh, you ready yet?" Dodger called from the bedroom in his thick New York accent. He was nice enough, but his sexual advances had started working her nerves. The war had made her hard and callous. Sharing relations with someone was not a priority. Work had her full attention from the moment she got out of bed in the morning until her head hit the pillow at night.

"Yea, give me a minute." He hadn't dared to come into her personal space since the last time he tried to get a bit too friendly with her. Being hit by a total body bind and stunned had finally gotten the message across. She lifted the hem of her form fitting black cocktail dress to her hip, sliding her wand securely into the holster on her thigh. She let out a loud sigh smoothing the fabric back in place. If all went well tonight, Boss would be behind bars and she could be home the next day.

Hermione took a deep breath walking into the parlor of their hotel suite. Dodger was standing by the door fidgeting nervously. "It's now or never." She said grabbing her blood red shawl.

***

"I didn't realize just how stunning you are Melanie." Boss whispered into Hermione's ear as he dipped her low to the ground. Remus and Tonks waltzed over in their direction keeping an eye on the situation. She was happy to see that Shacklebolt called in two of her friends for back-up. The party was in full swing and Boss was playing right into her hands.

"Oh stop!" She giggled. "I just can't believe the most handsome man in the room chose to dance with me." Truth be told, the man in front of her looked more like a taller version of the muggle actor Danny DeVito than a stud. Lying was part of her job description and she did damn well at it.

He spun her out then pulled her back into his chest. He ran his nose along her neck pushing his hips into hers. The smell of scotch and the feel of his excitement made her want to gag. "Let's get out of here." He whispered into her ear.

"I know just the place." She purred taking his arm and guiding him out of the room. The party had been full of his associates and this was the perfect opportunity to separate him from his cronies.

They entered the elevator, heading to Hermione's suite where Remus and Tonks would be waiting. Boss rested his hand on Hermione's hip as the doors shut. They had started to ascend when he stopped the elevator spinning back around and pinning Hermione against the wall. His mouth fell onto hers, using his body to keep her in place. There was no way Remus or Tonks could get into the elevator without using magic in front of the muggle party goers. His hands roved over her body, until he felt the wand under her dress.

Hermione freed an arm catching the side if his face with her elbow. He stumbled back as she quickly withdrew her wand binding him to the adjacent wall. "You dirty fucking pig!" He bellowed.

"Got him." She breathed into her ear piece. "Intercept at the tenth floor."

Remus lifted the bind when the elevator stopped conjuring up a pair of muggle handcuffs to keep their cover with all the muggles present. "You're fucking dead! You here me?! Fucking dead!" Boss yelled as Remus ushered him out of the elevator.

Hermione smirked. "Good luck with that."

***

It was so nice to finally be home in her own space. After a year away she had forgotten what it felt like to be blissfully alone without anyone breathing down her neck. The night after she had arrived Harry and his newly wed bride, Ginny, practically kidnapped her for a night on the town to celebrate her victory. She was done with the party scene after her last case. Spending every night for a year sipping champagne in a room full of well off, pretentious, assholes was enough to last her a lifetime.

Hermione was lounging on the couch finishing up some last minute paper work when a small brown owl flew in through the open window in the kitchen, gliding into the parlor, and dropping a small scroll of parchment in her lap. It perched on the back of the couch pecking at the side of her head. She chuckled and put the paper work on the coffee table in front of her, placing the quill in her hair.

"You act as if Minerva never feeds you." She said heading into the kitchen to grab the owl a quick snack. She put a small paper plate of sunflower seeds on the counter. The owl hooted it's thanks as he tucked in.

Minerva McGonagall was now the headmistress of Hogwarts, and had become a good friend of Hermione's since she left school years before. Hermione missed her dearly, so when she read through her letter to see Minerva had invited her to Hogwarts to do a workshop with the students on dueling and auror training she was thrilled. She pulled the quill from her hair and scribbled a quick note back, tying it to the owl's leg. It let out a loud hoot and made its way back out the window.

***

From the moment Harry and Hermione entered Hogwarts, it had gone silent with the occasional whisper bleeding into the quiet as students moved aside, mouths agape. Harry and Hermione had come straight from Azkaban, looking every bit of hardened world famous aurors that one would come to expect. Harry in his all black ensemble punctuated with large silver buttons up the center of his high neck, long sleeve jacket, and Hermione in a fitted, long sleeve shirt that mimicked a corset with the boning around her middle, a black v-skirt that ruffled at the knee falling to the heel of her shiny knee high boots in the back, both complete with a long black billowing cloak, was something the students at Hogwarts had never seen up close.

They seemed to float through the halls opposed to walking, with their stiff posture and indifferent expression, they were almost as nerve wracking as Severus Snape. Snape had become more callous and solitary since his near death experience during the war. He relinquished his position as Head master, and took up as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor the moment he returned to Hogwarts.

Just as Harry and Hermione rounded the corner to the Headmistress' office, Severus Snape strode out of it looking more irritated than usual.

"Good afternoon, Professor." Harry said as they continued their steady pace.

"Potter. Miss Granger." He growled walking past them without a backwards glance.

"Harry. Hermione." Minerva said excitedly as they approached her door. "I'm so glad the both of you could come. It is wonderful to see you both again." She ushered them into her office with a broad smile.

"You two need to lighten up!" Slughorn called from a large armchair in front of Minerva's desk with a glass of mead in his hands.

Harry cracked a smile. "It takes awhile to unwind after dealing with inmates and dementors all afternoon."

"Don't you think it's a bit early for a nip, professor?" Hermione asked accusingly.

Minerva laughed. "I second that Hermione, but you really must breath and relax for a beat."

Hermione shook her head letting a smile creep across her face. "Sorry about that, after my last assignment I haven't had a chance to get used to being home."

"Don't worry, after your demonstration we can unwind with a few drinks and some much needed gossip." As a student Hermione would have never envision the frivolous professor to be such a humorous, and borderline inappropriate woman as the one she knew now.

"I will definitely take you up on the offer." Hermione said finally relaxing her posture.

Slughorn hiccuped as he stood to approach Harry and Hermione. "Can't wait to see your demonstrations!" He thundered clapping Harry on the back. Hermione had shifted far enough away that the drunken man couldn't get to her, so he gave a wink and stumbled out the door.

"Well we should probably head down to the great hall." Minerva said looking up at the clock on her wall. "Have you two sorted how you wanted to approach this?"

"Harry is going to start off with all the requirements needed to be accepted into auror training, and then go through the grueling process to scare the poor things to death." Hermione chuckled.

"After that, Hermione is going to outline the different strategies to dueling, then embarrass the hell out of me while giving a demonstration."

Minerva smirked looking over at Hermione. "I heard that you have been working on some new techniques that you have applied as an auror. I've also heard, from quite a few respected and talented wizards and witches that they wouldn't dream of dueling the fierce Hermione Granger."

Hermione nodded. "Thank you Headmistress."

"Let's get the show on the road." Minerva said walking out in front of them. Harry and Hermione resumed their professional posture and demeanor, following behind her.

***

The Great Hall was full to bursting by the time Harry had made his way onto the stage. It was conjured where the staff table normally sat, easily taking up a third of the entire hall. Hermione stood to the back of the stage against the wall, her arms crossed behind her back scanning the room. She could never seem to shake the uneasy feeling that came with her title. Minerva stepped beside her lightly bumping her shoulder in a 'lighten up' kind of way. The slight brush of a heavy traveling cloak to the other side of her announced Snape's arrival. She didn't have to see him to know it was him. His mannerisms never changed.

Harry made his way to center stage amplifying his voice over the screams of love crazed girls in the audience. Snape grumbled under his breath as Harry began his portion of the workshop.

"I don't take kindly to those who insult my partner or my department, professor." Hermione said flatly keeping her eyes forward. "Any issues or ill feelings you are harboring can be addressed once our job is finished." She could feel the irritation rolling off of the professor.

"My apologies." He snarled under his breath.

A thunderous applause broke out as Harry introduced Hermione to the crowd. She stepped next to him, her face unchanging. A young boy close to the stage let out a wolf whistle as Hermione cleared her throat. In the blink of an eye her wand was out and the young man's lips were sealed shut. The crowd let out a collective gasp and fell silent.

"Now that I have your attention," She began, taking in the shocked faces of the students and faculty. No one, with the exception of Minerva, had encountered her working auror persona. "Dueling is not something that can be laid out in black and white. In the real world, there is no wrong or right way to go about dueling, just results and dedication. Each wizard and witch experienced in combat will tell you that technique has nothing to do with survival."

She paused looking over the crowd.

"However, each witch and wizard has their own different style of dueling that works for them. Today, I would like to give examples of two that I use, myself, in the line of duty."

Excited whispers broke out in the crowd. Even the faculty exchanged hushed words.

"I'd like to start out by using silent spells. This young man in front gave a fine example of how quick and unexpected this method can be upon an enemy, catching them completely off guard."

The young man that had whistled at Hermione turned red as all eyes fell onto him.

"Using silent spells takes practice. It can give you a remarkable edge on your opponent. Mr Potter and I will now give a demonstration of this style used during a traditional duel. Please pay close attention."

Harry turned to face her with his wand at the ready. "Try not to seriously injure me this time." He whispered as they bowed and turned to take their places at opposite ends of the stage. The last time they had attempted a full on duel Harry ended up in the infirmary from a nasty stunning spell. Ginny was far from amused with Hermione after that incident.

Minerva stepped forward giving the signal to start.

Bright shocks of light flew between the two at a grueling pace. The crowd gasped, clapped, and roared with excitement. Hermione disarmed Harry before putting him in a full body bind with not a single word uttered during the whole duel. A thunderous applause filled the hall as Hermione released Harry from the bind and summoned his wand.

"You weren't even trying, Potter." Snape hissed just loud enough for Hermione to hear. She was growing tired of his snarky comments. It was time to put the surly professor in his place.

"Professor Snape, would you do me the honor of a duel?" Snape stepped forward, the corner of his mouth twitching up into a smirk. A fresh wave of hushed whispers emitted from the crowd.

"My pleasure, Miss Granger." He drawled.

Harry gave a quick bow and stood beside Minerva trying to keep the enthusiasm from showing on his face. "Oh this is going to be good." Harry whispered.

"Thank you, professor." Hermione continued. "This next style is a bit unorthodox, but extremely effective. When it comes to wand-to-wand combat, magic is normally the center for both defense and offense. A good deal of witches and wizards forget that the physical body, when trained correctly, can be just as important as your wand. It takes less time to physically dodge a spell while emitting your own than magically blocking before returning fire."

Snape scoffed crossing his arms. Oh, he was in for it.

"Since Professor Snape is so advanced in the art of combat, we'll make this a little more interesting." Snape raised an eyebrow looking mildly interested.

"I will not use any spells on the offensive until I am within five feet of the professor. I will be using silent blocking along with physical defense tactics until I can reach my target." Hermione looked over at Snape raising her eyebrows. "Do you agree with these conditions?"

Snape nodded curtly. Hermione unbuttoned her cloak as Harry stepped forward. She handed it to him, her eyes never leaving Snape. His physique had changed greatly since the war. He no longer looked thin and sallow, his chest had broadened, and his once stick thin arms were now wrapped in lean bands of muscle. He looked slightly startled at the sight of her without her cloak. She had become hard and slender from years of training, her severe face almost as menacing as his.

They faced each other with wands at the ready, Snape towering over her. To any one who had never seen Hermione battle it looked like it was going to be a very one sided match. The hall had become so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Snape locked eyes with Hermione.

"I won't go easy on you, Miss Granger."

She let the corner of her mouth curl up in a smirk. "Neither will I."

They bowed, slowly making their way to their positions on either side of the stage. Harry gave the command to start as they spun around to face each other.

Snape began flying spells and hexes rapid fire straight at Hermione. She weaved in and out of his attacks, sending a few back at him with a mirroring shield. In a matter of 30 seconds she was already 10 feet from the vexed professor. A smirk crossed over his lips as he slung a spell at her chest. The crowd gasped as Hermione performed a front hand spring landing at his right side. She could have easily used her magic to disarm and subdue him, but she had a better idea to show him who was boss.

In the blink of an eye she grabbed his right wrist, twisting his arm behind him, pulling his hand back causing him to release his wand. She gave one more quick twist rotating his shoulder and forcing him to the ground. She slid down with him keeping solid pressure on his trapped arm. His other flailed around in a fruitless effort to get a hold on her. She pressed her wand just under his Adam's apple, her head hovering over his right shoulder cheek to cheek with him. She saw Remus in the crowd shaking his head in amusement.

"Checkmate." She whispered into Snape's ear. The crowd roared as Hermione released his arm and offered her hand to help him up from the ground. He growled shoving her hand away, drawing himself up to full height. He glared down at her, his hands clenched into fists by his side. She couldn't help but be pleased with herself as he hastily retrieved his wand and stalked off the stage.

Hermione turned to face the crowd, causing complete silence to fall back over the hall. Harry stepped back beside her clearing his throat. "It is our pleasure to introduce you to, Head Auror and former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin."

With a loud crack Remus appeared on the stage with an amused smile on his face. "Let's give a round of applause to our two fantastic Aurors, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter, for their immense service to the whole of the wizarding world and taking time out of their hectic schedule to be here with us today."

The crowd clapped, whistled, and whooped as Harry and Hermione gave a quick bow with their heads. "At ease." Remus commanded with a chuckle. They smiled filing off the stage and through the crowd with Minerva on their heels.

"Now let's have some fun! I need 4 volunteers." Remus rang out as the three left the great hall. The war seemed to have barely touched Remus' cheery disposition.

"I think it's time for you two to relax a bit." Minerva said watching Hermione toss her cloak back over her shoulders.

"Absolutely." Hermione said smiling.

***

Harry had left shortly after their part of the workshop was done. Ginny was 6 months pregnant and terrified that Hermione had hurt him again. Ginny and Hermione were still very close, but Ginny had seen Hermione in action when it came to her work and knew what she was capable of.

"I feel bad for the Gryffindor students come Monday." Minerva said taking a sip of tea. "Severus is going to have a field day docking points because of a certain Gryffindor auror man-handling him."

"Someone had to knock him down a few pegs. He's had it coming for awhile." Hermione said smiling.

Remus strode through the office letting out a loud chuckle. "I am very impressed, Hermione. I was a touch worried with the strict stipulations you put on yourself going against Severus."

"Well thank you." She replied taking a bite of a biscuit.

"How would you like to do a protection detail at Hogwarts?" Remus asked sitting on the edge of Minerva's desk.

"It would be an honor. Although, I'm pretty put off that you failed to mention you were in trouble, Minerva." She cut her eyes at the older witch.

"Oh, it's not me." She smiled nervously.

The door to the office swung open violently. A tall dark wizard stood in the doorway visibly irritated. "You needed to see me, Headmistress?"
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When Duty Calls