The Man Returns (SS/HG)

One cloudy night

It was a dark night in August, it had stopped raining about an hour ago but the smell of rain was still in the air. Hermione Granger was wandering home late one night with her head full of thoughts. She looked up into the sky her eyes were greeted with the sight of the full moon dipping behind a band of dark but thin cloud. Hermione took it as a hopeful sign as it had been cloudy and grey for the entire night; she didn't know what it was about the moon and stars, but she always felt better knowing that they were above her. She giggled to herself realising that she was still very childish even though she has celebrated her twenty first birthday only a month before.

Her age finally dawned on her as she turned a corner into a street she should know so well. A lot has changed since the defeat of Voldemort and her final year at Hogwarts. She had been the only one out of the trio to go back for her seventh year. Staff changes were common at Hogwarts, but that year it was different, Professor Mcgonagall had become the official Headmistress and she was welcomed into the post. A few other staff members had come and gone, but the one that surprised Hermione most was the return of the loathed Professor Severus Snape. Most people thought he had perished during the war. She suspected most of these rumours were down to Harry having actually watched him die... But apparently he was very much alive.

No one knew how he had survived and no one dared ask. If they weren't scared of him before, they were definitely now. The man had cheated death for gods sake! He was literally invincible. It goes without saying that when he did return (to the world of the living) he was less than pleased to be received as a hero. Another little thing Harry had done to clean Snape's name. Although Hermione suspected that Harry mostly did it so that Snape got the respect he deserved, she did think that a small amount of Harry did it just to piss the guy off one last time, even if he was no longer in this life.

When Snape had made his miraculous recovery and appearance back to the world of the living Harry had received a very strongly worded letter from the dead man himself telling him how much Snape appreciated the gesture. Harry had read the letter aloud and all three of them had burst into heaps of laughter. Hermione especially remembered the last line: 'If you don't mind Mr Potter, I would greatly appreciate it if you kept your incredibly famous nose (along with the rest of your equally famous self) out of my business and life!

Yours with a sustained lack of appreciation,
                        S.Snape' 

She was glad to know that her ex-professor still had his sarcastic glint and dry sense of humour. In fact it was one of the things that she had liked most about him.

Her reminiscing had managed to entertain her for the rest of her journey to her parents house.

"Hermione? Is that you dear?" A woman in her 50s was sitting in the Granger's lounge.

"Yes mother I'm home." Hermione called in reply while she was leaning one hand on the wall to stop herself from falling and the other unlacing her boots.

"Oh well my dear. You're early back. Your father and I didn't expect to see you back until the early hours of the morning."

"Well," Hermione had now entered the living room and went over to the delicate cream sofa to give her mother a light kiss on the cheek. "The party wasn't great so I decided to come home early. Anyway I have some important things to think about. Where's dad?" It was strange Hermione always referred to her mother as mother and her father as dad. She thought it was probably because she had a different relationship with her mother. She had always wanted the best for Hermione even if it meant at the expense of her happiness. Jean's husband however liked to indulge their daughter and would often sit down with Hermione and have debates about absolutely anything. Hermione preferred the company of her dad for that reason and many others. Especially because she had her dad to thank for allowing her to go to Hogwarts; her mother had been very against her going to a boarding in Scotland. Especially one that taught one how to wave a wand and make sludge in a cauldron. She would have preferred her to go to 'St Windsor's Grammar School for Girls' but Jonathan Granger was taking none of it. He put his foot down and insisted Hermione was going to Hogwarts. She asked her dad years later why he allowed her to go, he simply replied with 'it felt like the right thing to do.'

"Your father dear is in the library, again..." Her mothers words grabbed Hermione from her day dream.

"Oh yes of course. I'll just go-" She was cut off by her mother's hand going up for silence.

"No. You will not just go. You will sit down he and tell me how the party went. I heard Phillip Morgan was meant to be there. Oh you know how happy it would make me and his mother if you two got together..."

Hermione rolled her eyes at the mention of Phill, but obliged her mother and sat down. Phill was a nice enough guy, but didn't really hold that spark of personality that Hermione craved.

"Phill was there, yes mother."

"Well how is he? Did you talk much?"

"No we hardly spoke at all actually. He seemed to have his head still shoved up his arse so I couldn't stand to be in his presence for more than a minute."

Jean was shocked by her daughter's words and after a minute of uncomfortable silence, with Hermione smirking in her head and Jean trying not to go into shock, Hermione spoke again.

"Now if you don't mind mother." She said getting to her feet. "I have a very important letter to write. Concerning an apprenticeship at Hogwarts." With that she strode out of the room and ran upstairs.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You can not be serious Minerva!" Severus Snape sat in the headmistress's office having been summoned about a certain apprenticeship.

"I'm deadly serious Severus and you know that." The old Scottish woman started at him for a long term before continuing. "Miss Granger must be your apprentice. She is the most qualified for the apprenticeship, even you can see that!"

"But I don't want Ms Granger to be my apprentice! Even can you see that!" Snape sulked in his seat after mimicking Mcgonagall. He felt like such a child, sulking and complaining about things beyond his control.

"I don't care if you don't want her young man, you're having her! Now do I have to continue to talk to you as if you were a child or are you going to be a man about this and grow up! You have no reason to hate Miss Granger so live with it!"

"I have every reason to hate her." Mcgonagall gave him a death stare. She did not like her cubs (even former cubs) being insulted or hated for no reason.

"You're actually like a hormonal teenager Severus! What is with you today? You're grumpy, sluggish and a damn right pain in the arse!"

"So what's changed then?" He said with a cheeky smirk entering his face. Mcgonagall had to try to repress a smile from hinting at her lips. She really had missed Severus and she hated the thought of him being dead. She finally gave an exasperated sigh and spoke again.

"Severus would you please do this. For me. For our friendship. For Miss Granger's future. For Hogwarts. And to be quite honest with you, for yourself as well..."

"What?"

"I think, and now don't go biting my head off for this, but I think this is what you need. Teaching a student that has a passion for the subject and will learn from you."

Snape sat in silence for a few minutes contemplating his options. He had three options: one, he could accept Granger as his apprentice and be his usual snarky self, two, he could except and be nice to her and three, he could leave the school. Option number two wasn't going to happen and he didn't favour option three much either.
Oh sod it! Snape's thoughts were even going against him. Option one was the only option.

"Fine, you win Minerva. When does the know it all arrive?" He sighed realising that the quiet year that he had in mind was slowly slipping away.

"I will leave the writing back in your capable hands. And thank you." Mcgonagall smiled at him as he got up and walked towards the door.

"I should have just stayed dead..." Mcgonagall chuckled and bid him farewell. The door closed with a heaven thud and Snape leaned against it pinching the bridge of his noes with his thumb and index finger. He closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

What the hell have I just agreed to.... Granger my appreciate. I'm not going to last the year....