As Long As You Need Me

Chapter V

If thou remember'st not the slightest folly that ever love did make thee run into, thou hast not loved.
- William Shakespeare (As You Like It)
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"Granger! GRANGER!"

Hermione woke with a start, unable to figure out where she was or what she was doing. Then the last day's occurrences came to her and she realised it was her new boss, who was calling from the other side of the door.

Spending idle time alone at home, she had grown out of the habit of waking up early in the morning and last night after the exhaustive makeover of her room, she had fallen asleep, forgetting to set an alarm for the day after. She was about to get out of bed when she heard a 'pop' and she let out a loud gasp, pulling the sheets back up to her chest.

"Oh! Cobblepot never meant to frighten miss."
It was a small house-elf who had materialised in her room.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Cobblepot. An elf of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry- kept at master Snape's disposal. What name shall I address you by? Miss-"

"Granger."

"It's nice to meet you Ms.Granger."

"Nice to meet you too. But can you promise me something, Cobblepot? Don't come into my room without my permission again. Allright? Even if your 'master' tells you. You should always respect others' privacy."

Elven magic worked differently than that of wizards', which allowed him to get himself in and out of anywhere he desired with a click of his fingers. He was rather shy of this. "Yes of course, Ms.Granger. Cobblepot meant no offence. It's- it's just that master seems furious with you and wants you out there right this instant."

Hermione had forgotten about him and rushed up; grabbing her toilet-bag, she ran out of her room. She saw Snape standing with his arms crossed over his chest, visibly annoyed with her late-rising but she didn't stop till she reached her bathroom. Brushing through her teeth quickly, she realised there was no time for a shower or even trying to bring her messy hair in control, so she rushed back in and changed out of her pyjamas to regular clothes. And a sweater- always something to cover up her arms. It was rather chilly in there, so she also had an excuse. She came in front of him again, looking sheepish; it was like reporting for duty in front of a drill-sergeant. "Should I have my breakfast before we begin or-"

"In this school, breakfast is served at 8 am sharp." he said precisely. "Seems like you have missed it."

"Okay, no problem."
Watching him tap his foot impatiently, she realised he was waiting for her to get ready to begin the work. She ran back inside her room to dig through her belongings and bring back her book, parchments, quill and ink. She neatly arranged the parchments, with the potions book on top, opened the lid of the ink bottle, ready to be used and perfectly aligned the quill so that it was parallel to the parchment. He observed her behaviour, which was somewhat symptomatic of O.C.D, without saying a word. Hermione waited for him to start but he didn't move from behind his desk and seemed like he was enjoying his own secret joke. Wasn't he just now impatient to start?

"It's a pity that you took so much time in getting your desk organised. Seeing that you would only be doing some cleaning work."

She could have sworn she saw his lips curling, trying to contain his amusement. She was confused. "I'm sorry, 'cleaning' sir?"

"Yes. You need to clean out the cupboards containing the potions ingredients, label them and rearrange them alphabetically."

"You want me to do-"