Song Of The Guardians

What's A Little Groping Between Friends?

AN:  I would love to hear what everyone thinks of this.  If you see any errors, let me know and I would gladly fix them.  

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Caroline paused in front of Hermione's door and looked at her companions seriously. "Alright, we're not here to do some Snape-bashing," she said firmly. "We are here to be supportive and to cheer her up."

"What if Snape-bashing would cheer her up?" Ginny suggested with a grin.

"As therapeutic as that may seem at times," Caroline replied with a laugh, "I think our goal should be to smooth things over." She knocked on the door and waited patiently.

Hermione opened her door and was surprised to see the Freemans, Ginny and Andy, looking at her expectantly. She reached up to touch her face and hair self-consciously, realizing that her face was probably red and blotchy and her hair even more unruly than usual. To her dismay, the sight of Caroline's expression of mingled compassion and pity made her eyes well with tears. She scowled angrily to herself, but stepped aside to allow her friends to enter the room.

Ginny caught Hermione in a tight hug, allowing Hermione a moment to regain some measure of her composure. Then, Ginny took a step back and met Hermione's eyes. "Don't you dare let him get to you," the red-head said firmly.

"Severus wasn't himself today," Caroline said carefully. She then explained what Draco had done with the calming draughts.

"Is he mad?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Probably," Jenna said giggling. "I don't think he meant any harm. He seemed to genuinely want to help Snape out."

Hermione sat down in front of the fireplace with a pensive frown. The extreme fluctuation in behavior made sense with this explanation, but she couldn't help feeling very hurt by the things Severus had said and the way he treated her. She was an adult and what he said shouldn't have mattered. But it did matter, and that thought only upset her more.

Jenna and Sam frowned at Hermione's morose expression and then turned to look at Andy. Recognizing his cue, Andy walked over to sit next to Hermione. "You know," he said casually, "I think Snape doesn't know what he's talking about." When Hermione gave him a curious look, he went on. "He was being a grouchy pain in the ass and he saw you as an easy target. As for his comments, don't give it a second thought. You are a genius and much prettier than I think you give yourself credit for." He grinned at Hermione's embarrassed blush. "Why don't you let me show you?" He stood up and held out his hand to her.

Caroline smiled and sat down on the couch with Sam. Jenna was practically dancing in her excitement. "I love it when you're like this," she told Andy with a delighted smile. "Can I help?"

"I'd be insulted if you didn't," Andy replied playfully. He glanced over at Ginny before returning to running his fingers through Hermione's hair. "Come along Ginny, it's time to play dress up."

"It's a bit late for 'dress up' isn't it?" Hermione asked uncertainly.

"Never," Andy responded, waving his hand dismissively. "This is a test run. I'll show you how to do it on your own for tomorrow." After a brief pause he added "Hell, I may have so much fun that I just come back to fix you up myself."

Hermione sat in a chair apprehensively while Jenna worked on her hair and Ginny applied her make up. Andy busied himself making some changes to an outfit that he picked out for her. He moved to stand in front of Hermione and eyed her figure carefully. He cast a look at the outfit levitating behind him and then back at Hermione's body. She gasped in surprise when he cupped her breasts with a contemplative expression.