Chapter 9 - Precautions

The potion took longer than expected to wear of, and she still continued to be disorientated after that. As time went on she found the memories of Adora Snape became fuzzier, it was still incredibly strange though. Severus had told her that by using her Occulemency skills she should be able to reach a level where she could hide her true identity, while still maintaining full control. Of course that was merely his theory, and she must remember it was just that, a theory.

They were sitting on either side of a table now and Severus was sitting opposite her, a strange level of concern within his eyes. She did not kid herself that it was about her welfare, more about how his potion had affected her. He was asking her questions.

"What is your name?" he asked gently.

"Hermione Jean Granger" she replied with a sigh, closing her eyes and leaning back in her chair. They had already been over this.

"What is your date of birth?"

"19/9/79"

"Who am I to you?"

Hermione paused at that question, some part of her wanted to say brother but that wasn't correct, but could she still refer to him as her professor? After considering it she realised this was probably her best bet.

"You are one of my professors at Hogwarts"

"What house were you in?"

"Slytherin-Damn it!" Hermione banged her fists against the table in annoyance; the past tense had gotten to her. Then she raised her palms to cover her face, letting her hair fall over them.

"Gryffindor, I am in Gryffindor" Was her muffled response through the hair. It had been the past tense that had gotten her. She heard him sigh and the creak as he leant back into his chair; that was the third time she had gotten a question wrong.

"This was a mistake, this is obviously too much to handle"

Hermione's head shot up, no no no he couldn't give up on this and on her! This was her only chance. She focussed her brown eyes on him, locking onto his dark ones, her look was pleading. He stared right back into her eyes, as if searching for something; then he rubbed his face tiredly with his hand.

"Fine, let us try again"


After another stressful and increasing frustrating hour of question and answer they finally decided to call it a day, or late evening as Hermione realized, unable to see a clock she had no idea of the time.

"How long was I changed?" she asked Severus curiously, it hadn't occurred to her to ask before now.

He thought for a moment before replying. "I think it was a little under two hours, which was incredibly surprising as you only managed to drink half the bottle before you passed out…this batch appears to be stronger than the original Polyjuice potion." He looked as though this was of great interest to him. "We may have to work on reducing the level of intake as it took you nearly three hours to return to a state that can be considered normal…and a further hour for you to get all of the basic questions correct, and you still are aware of the memories to high level are you not?"

Hermione was about to say that they were mostly gone when what he had just said sunk it. "I've been out for SIX HOURS? Holy shit that means it's nearly midnight!" Her mind worked in overdrive as she considered the implications of having been away for this long. Poor Zoey was probably worried. That was if she hadn't been caught! Hermione looked up to see a small smirk on Snape's face at her reaction to the time. Then something seemed to dawn on him and his face grew slightly darker.

"Does anyone know where you are going when you meet me?" Hermione shook her head.

"This is a problem; they will begin to worry about your absence"

"I have found someone to…cover for me, it's a new development" she moved uncomfortably, hoping she would not have to admit her use of Zoey and Polyjuice potion.

"Nevertheless I am assuming that this person is not available all the time, that would be…impractical. I am correct?"

Hermione nodded, wondering where this could be heading. His next words were not what she was expected.

"It is not safe or practical for you to remain at the Order, not as a living accommodation anyway"

"Wait what? Why?" Her eyebrows raised in confusion. Her voice was cautious, weary of what he might say.

"It will not be long before your absences may be revealed, I am assuming Potter is attempting to keep you under lockdown most of the time. It will not be long before he gets suspicious and investigates your disappearances"

Her blood ran cold as his words sunk in, as much as she hated to admit it, he was right. As much as she liked to think of Zoey as a permanent solution it wasn't really viable for long term. She could not always be Hermione, and even though Hermione might improve her control over herself after the potion, it would take practice, and lots of time. Time she couldn't spend away from Headquarters without someone noticing her. She groaned and sunk down in her chair. Then she remembered the time. She climbed to her feet, "Would you mind taking me to the apparition point, I really must be getting back"

Severus gave her a curt nod and rose gracefully to his feet. As they were walking back among the eerie corridors Hermione let her thoughts race around her head, most of the memories had receded now so she felt fully in control. She was finding it harder and harder to access all the alternate thoughts. So consumed was she with herself and her predicament. Where could she go? Would Harry let her go? What on Earth could she tell him? One of her hands came up in agitation and pulled its way through her hair.

The potions master did not speak as they walked along the corridor, not that she minded, too caught up in her own thoughts. Finally she asked one of the most important questions that had been burning in her mind.

"How exactly can I move out of the Headquarters? I am under age"

"That is simple Miss Granger; you must live with an overage Witch or Wizard" when she looked at him in annoyance he just continued to stare straight ahead, his face set and deadly serious, though his features were barely tangible in the darkness. For the rest of the walk they were both silent, Hermione in contemplation about where she could go and who knew what was going though the older mans head. She was about to open her mouth to ask him who could she possibly live with when he spoke.

"We are at the apparition point Miss Granger." Startled she looked around and realized he was correct. She removed her wand to apparate when he spoke again.

"Before you leave Miss Granger, I would like to take your magical signature to increase the security of our conversations. Will there be a problem with that?"

Hermione shook her head but made no other movement, why should she? She had no idea what to do so she held her wand loosely at her side. Severus smiled slightly and took a step forward, holding his hand out, cautiously offering her and to meet his, seeing her hesitancy Severus took her hand placing it a small object. Then he moved away, in her palm sat a ring, similar in design to the portkey she wore on her finger.

Severus's voice took on a teacher tone "There are two ways that you can imprint your magical signature, casting an ordinary charm on an object will leave a trace or you can just cast the Subcriptio impressio straight onto the object. But this means that instead of merely being able to trace the signature I will be able to harvest it onto other objects. Do you understand?"

"So you could make it seem like I cast a charm that I didn't?"

"Yes, I believe I will also be able to tailor the potion to react to only your magical signature. This would be useful for security reasons of course"

"Well...okay, how do I cast the charm?"

"So willing to trust me Miss Granger, it continues to astound me" Hermione shrugged, it needed to be done anyway. "No matter, it is not a complex charm. All you must do is visualise the essence of yourself in your mind and cast the charm on the object. Try it now; your Occulumency might help you reach the correct state of mind."

Hermione did as instructed, closing her eyes and trying to visualise her essence, it was definitely easier said than done. What did her essence consist of? Her love of knowledge? Her desire to be useful?

"Subcriptio Impressio" she murmured, wand pointing at the object in her hand. A small flash of light lit up at the end of her wand, leaving Hermione believing in her success until she saw the light die at the end, that didn't look quite right. "Darn it" she murmured, and attempted to do the same thing again, however once again the light died. She had a few more goes before she realised this was going to take some practice. No matter what she pictured the furthest she could get was shooting the light towards the object, however it merely rebounded.

"Practice is what is required Miss Granger" He held out his hand for the ring. Hermione was glad to see it go, she watched as Severus moved his wand gently across the surface of the ring. "It is very weak but there is something there that I can use." Hermione felt her heart lift slightly at the slight success. "This will however, not last for very long so if you would practice what I have instructed and give me a correct signature that would be useful. Goodnight Miss Granger"

Hermione nodded seeing the dismissal and prepared to apparate when surprisingly Severus spoke again.

"I am willing to allow you to take up accommodation in my manor, however if this is not pleasing to you I will not force it. It merely seems practical as eventually you will be pretending to be my sister. You may think about it before giving your answer."

Hermione stood there in shock as the figure in the dark retreated back in the direction they had come. The wind tugged against her hair and sent chills all over her skin but she did not care. So engrossed was she in the understanding of how difficult it must have been for him to suggest that she move in, he was a man who liked his privacy. And she could not imagine him being pleased at the notion of sharing his home with an 'insufferable know-it-all'. She closed her eyes and apparated away, she had a lot to think about.


Hermione's thoughts danced around her head as she made her way carefully up the stairs. She was almost confused when she saw the dim light of her lamp shining through the door. Instantly thinking that someone like Harry must be searching through her things, or even worse…waiting for her to return. She knocked gently, and heard the sound of sudden movement, as if they were looking for something.

"Give me a sec"

"It's Hermione" Hermione whispered and the scuffling stopped, the door opened and there stood Zoey, as herself. Hermione quickly slipped into the room and shut the door behind her. On the untidily made up bed lay a book, that's what Zoey must have been doing when she disturbed her. She smiled at Zoey nervously, unsure how she could explain the reasons for leaving the girl alone for so long. Zoey smiled back tiredly.

"I'm really sorry-" Zoey shook her head slightly, her messy ponytail swinging at the movement. She looked so young Hermione felt another twinge of guilt.

"As long as you keep your part of the deal, and be me for the raids, its fine. Oh and nothing much really happened when you were gone. No one really came looking for you, guess they known you like your privacy" Another small smile. This one was a bit more agitated, nervous and uncomfortable even. "But I guess that just makes it easier for the both of us eh?"

Hermione nodded and stepped out of the doorway to allow the young girl to pass; as she did Hermione caught a hint of a familiar scent hanging of the girl, unable to place it, Hermione let it slip to the back of her mind as she wished Zoey a goodnight. Gratefully closing the door and collapsing down onto her bed. Lying back she placed her hands over her eyes, trying to block out the dim light of the lamp while her thoughts danced about in her mind. It was all so difficult to follow, she felt the overwhelming and increasing complication of her life bearing down on her as she lay there.

She was lying to Harry, she was disobeying the Order's instructions, interacting with the known murderer of her old Headmaster, and above all that she was drawing a young girl into all this! And now Snape was asking her to move in with him? Where the hell had that come from? But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

She released the pressure on her eyes blinking at the light before pulling herself quickly to her feet, removing the offending light and slipping into her Pyjama's. Then she sank beneath her covers, revelling in the warmth on her cold feet. Darn wooden floorboards were nightmares. The silk of her Pyjama's was soft against her skin and she found herself trailing her fingers along the material in appreciation. She had really bought these for when she spent the night with Charlie, but that was becoming more of an unlikely scenario lately. It was becoming so difficult…her thoughts began to detangle as she let herself drift off into a well deserved sleep. What was she going to do about him? Her last thought before darkness took her was contemplation about which him she actually meant. She had so many problems with so many men.


She awoke with a start. The cool wood of her wand clenched in her fist. Her eyes darted agitatedly around the pitch black room. The silence of the room enveloped her, as though it was trying to suffocate the loud beating of her heart and her shallow breathing. After a few seconds she lowered her wand, reaching up to rub her face tiredly. When she felt damp on her cheeks she recoiled, tears? Her hand slid to her sore throat. It must have been some sort of nightmare. She was lucky no one had heard her, as she relaxed she felt the grogginess of sleep replace the adrenaline that had pumped through her veins a few moments ago. And before the warmth of her pillow could draw her back she quickly cast a silencing exam, stifling the yawn that tried to force its way though her lips. She didn't really want to take any chances of someone hearing her and coming to investigate.


As it is with events occurring during the late hours of the night, when Hermione awoke the next morning she couldn't tell if it had actually happened or was merely a dream. She had no recollection of a nightmare, but that didn't help. Not everybody remembered their nightmares. Her head ached slightly and she could only put it down to the exertions of last night. She rubbed it with her strangely cold hands and felt instantly soothed. Unwilling to leave the bed she lay in the semi lightness of early morning and thought. Eventually her thoughts became too muddled for even her to comprehend fully so she decided to write some of them down on paper. She rolled onto her side, causing the warm blankets to wrap even snugger around her body. The piece of paper and the book it was resting on lay on her pillow and she brought her pen to her mouth. Where to start? She scribbled the titles down while she thought, the lent down to rest on her folded arms.

She wrote down one name to get her started.

Harry

There was nothing she could do to him now, she had lost all her influence and she didn't think she was getting it back anytime soon. Hermione knew she would have to talk to him soon anyway. She couldn't just move out without telling him, and she had come to the conclusion that it was the best option. That led her on to her next point of discussion.

Charlie

What was she going to tell him? He was acting really strange recently, or maybe he was just reacting badly to events at the moment. She wasn't being the easiest person to be with. Then there was the whole new predicament of the L word getting involved. He couldn't love her, it was too soon, it made no sense. Her stomach felt hollow at the remembrance of her response. Charlie deserved someone who could say the word back and mean it, not hide from it. Before she would have to pull herself out of bed she wrote one more word down on the piece of paper.

Severus

This time no thoughts came to mind immediately. She stared at the name lying blank on the piece of paper; she had nowhere to start with him. Absent-mindedly she began to let her pencil doodle on the piece of paper as she let her mind wander. It was only when she came to her senses did she realise the doodle she had drawn was without a doubt the picture of the ring still on her finger, and next to it, was a very swirly heart. Quickly she scribbled it all out. What an absurd drawing. She scrunched up the piece of paper, throwing it angrily towards the bin at the other side of the room. Then something hit her. The smell, the smell she had sensed on Zoey, she recognised it now. Her hand clenched angrily, she was going to have a few words with that girl.

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