CHAPTER 6
Story goes here.Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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Chapter 6 ~ Dancing with the Devil
”Professor, Harry is the first person to survive a direct Dementor attack with some of his facilities,” Hermione began.
Severus snorted.
“It is my understanding that Mr. Potter cannot speak, dress or even feed himself. What kind of facilities does he have Miss Granger that even warrants further investigation?” the Potions Master asked. “You’re just wasting your time. He is little more than a vegetable. He doesn’t even interact with his environment. Leave him alone.”
“He does interact! He can laugh and he can cry, Professor. Those are distinctly human reactions…it shows he retains some soul,” Hermione said.
“It shows nothing. It could just be autonomous. Like blinking,” the wizard replied.
“Yes, if he only did it intermittently. But he laughs when I arrive and cries when I leave, so he feels something. He is not totally gone. I think he can be restored, Professor. All I need is to learn more about the soul and spells that affect it. The books of light don’t go into depth about this. Your dark books probably contain the information I need,” Hermione said. “Harry gave up everything to rid the world of the Dark Lord, who was your cruel Master. Voldemort would have ended up killing you if not for Harry, even if he had come into power. He always suspected you as a traitor, Professor. Your usefulness to him would have ended, and so would you. You owe Harry.”
Severus stared at the witch.
“Miss Granger, if you had come to me five or six years ago, I would have believed you capable of handling the dark knowledge contained in my books. Your mind was sharp then, honed by constant challenge, when learning was your only interest. But now you are a mental slacker. You haven’t had to use your mind in over four years, following formulaic designs creating potions and spells of no real significance for the profit of private enterprise. You sold out, Miss Granger…I have no doubt that mind of yours has atrophied in the process. You probably couldn’t produce an original spell or brew an intricate potion now if your life depended on it. Even now, I see a fatal flaw in your approach to Potter’s condition. Back in the day, you would have been more prepared in presenting your case to me. But you come empty-handed and apparently empty-minded expecting me to put books of immense power into your hands based on sentimentality and a sense of owing Potter. He did not kill Voldemort to free me, but to free himself. I know the wizard was driven to kill the Dark Lord not to save the wizarding world, but to save himself, Miss Granger. He wanted to be free of the evil constantly hanging over his head since the day he was born. Gryffindor or not, his motivations were selfish. I owe him nothing.”
“That’s not the case, Professor!” Hermione declared, “You know that Harry was always groomed to face the Dark Lord. You yourself protected him so he would survive to face that day. He may have had his own reasons to want him dead, but he did what he did for everyone’s sake…including yours. The Dementor only got him because he was so caught up in the Dark Lord’s death. It’s not fair that he survived Voldemort only to have his soul partially sucked out of him. He deserves a chance at a happy life, Professor.”
“A happy life. Pah!” Severus said, “He has life. That should be enough for anyone.”
Hermione scowled at the wizard blackly.
“Just because that’s enough for you, Professor, doesn’t mean it’s enough for everyone else. You choose not to interact with the world…to hide down here with your books gathered around you like some kind of literary miser, gloating that you have something no one else does. Yes, you’ve been mistreated and misunderstood, and it’s horribly unfair, but you’ve done nothing to claim the respect due to you. You simply hide here in the dungeons and make others miserable as possible when you interact with them.”
Severus scowled at the witch. How dare she talk to him this way?
“You’ve done good but live like a pariah, shutting out the world because of the pain you experienced. And you like your pain. You wrap it around yourself like a cloak of invincibility…nothing can hurt you, nothing can touch you, nothing can make you feel. Well, you like that Professor and choose to live that way. Harry is forced to because of what has happened to him. You may have the answer to his freedom in your libraries…but because you are so cold and miserable, you would deny him another shot at life. It is as if you are condemning him, Professor, condemning him because of your own selfishness and misery. You need to let me research your books. You need to give Harry another chance, like he gave you! Just because you didn’t take it is no reason to deny him,” Hermione said, her amber eyes glittering.
Severus looked at the witch.
“And what about you, Miss Granger, hiding in the private sector wasting your life because you are too proud to give up a bit of trim to advance yourself and your fields of study? Many people invested time and faith in your abilities…you were accepted into our world and learned our secrets, our knowledge in the hopes that you would advance that knowledge…but how did you reward us? By turning your nose up at our traditions. You may be a witch, Miss Granger…but you are still very much a judgmental muggle who thinks your moral standards to be superior to our own. To think of all the hours I spent poring over your work, your lengthy essays and theories. How I answered all your infuriating questions with the hope that it would all be worthwhile. I can tell you now that I had great hopes for you, Miss Granger…and you failed me and everyone who ever taught you. And now you come to me asking for more knowledge…knowledge that most likely you can no longer handle. As I said before you are a wasted witch and deserve no help from me,” the wizard said, his face contorted with disappointment and anger.
“I am not a wasted witch. I am making my own way,” Hermione countered.
“You are wasting your gifts,” the wizard replied, “You haven’t created one spell or potion you can claim as your own, and so cannot move into a higher, better position. You’ve had your degrees for four years and done nothing with them. Nothing at all. In four fucking years!” the wizard said, slamming his hand on the desk in anger. “You should at least be working in the Ministry or as a teacher. But no, you make sex spells and elixirs, or other worthless items. Even if you did show a little creativity…it would mean nothing since all you create is claimed by your employers. You are a stupid little witch. The sight of you sickens me.”
“I can create spells and brew potions with the best of them,” Hermione claimed. “Just because I work in the private sector doesn’t mean I can’t still use my skills and knowledge. You have no right to assume I am less than I was four years ago, Professor.”
“Four years ago, you might have been the only person I would allow access to my books,” the wizard said evenly, “But seeing what you have done with your life, I believe my expectations of you were wholly erroneous.”
“They weren’t!” Hermione claimed, “I just chose a different direction. I am still brilliant.”
Hermione paused a bit. She had never, ever described herself that way before. She felt it too pompous. But the Professor pulled the declaration from her. She wasn’t stupid…she hadn’t changed. She was just as capable as ever.
Severus studied her for a moment.
“You really believe that?” he asked her quietly.
Hermione lifted her chin.
“Yes I do,” she replied without hesitation. “And I believe I can solve Harry’s problem if I have the right research materials.”
Severus looked at the witch consideringly. She had finally claimed her own intelligence, like a Slytherin would have. As a Gryffindor she had always sidestepped stating she was the brightest student Hogwarts had seen in fifty years, trying not to seem big-headed. But her vapid desire to excel always spoke louder than her lack of words. At least she was being honest now…if a bit late. The Potions Master wondered if she did indeed still have that intelligence he had greatly admired when she was a student, that fire to excel?
If she did, would she be willing to exploit it and go for the magical gold she had always been groomed to gain? He tapped his fingers on the desktop as he looked at her.
Hermione fell silent. She could see the wizard was thinking. That was good. Finally he spoke.
“As I said Miss Granger, I see fatal flaws in your approach to Harry that I believe you would also see if you had remained on your original path to possible greatness. However…”
Here the Professor paused.
“However…” Hermione urged, getting a black look from the wizard as he continued.
“…however, in deference to the witch you used to be…I am tempted to put you to a test, to see if you have still have the abilities you once did. You are a full-fledged Spells Mistress and Potions Mistress…at least in name and on parchment.”
“I am willing to take any challenge you put to me,” Hermione said eagerly, seeing she might have a way in.
Severus’ eyes glinted at her.
“Very well. I will give you two tests, but there is more to it than that. If you manage to pass these tests, you will quit your job in the private sector, move into my home and accept me as your patron. I must receive some compensation for giving you access to my books if I grant you access. And I mean patronage in every sense of the word,” the wizard said evenly, his dark eyes glinting at her.
Hermione stared at the wizard. Professor Snape as her patron? Good gods.
“But, if I accepted you as my patron then that would mean I’d have to…to…” she said in a tremulous voice.
“Precisely,” Severus purred, “But fortunately, Miss Granger, I am not attracted to you physically, so your being in my presence will not automatically trigger my desire to fuck you. It would only happen when my own body expressed the need for female companionship, a need that comes very rarely. I have been celibate for a very long time and no worse for wear. If you were to accept another patron, most likely you would be required to perform quite often since you are well-formed and not too terrible on the eyes.”
Hermione looked at him rather wild-eyed for a moment. This pleased the wizard.
“You do want to help Harry don’t you?” he purred.
Hermione cleared her throat. She felt if she had spoken immediately, all that would have come out was a squeak.
“So what is in this for you, Professor…since sex is not a driving force?” she asked the wizard.
“I have a love for the field of Potions and feel it is stagnating and needs an influx of new blood as it were. I think you will be the blast in the arm the field needs if you were given free reign to research as you wished. Any advancement or new discovery would please me greatly. Plus the residuals you earn with original creations are cut sixty/forty in my favor, so I will earn money in the process of sponsoring you. Of course you would be free to work on Spell Making as well, though I would hope since your patron is a Potions Master, you would primarily focus on research concerning my art. I will supply everything you need and give you an allowance for personal needs within reason if I find you worthy to sponsor,” he replied truthfully.
If Hermione proved to be as sharp as she was when a student, then Severus would have another dimension added to his sour existence. There would be something to look forward to, something that he would be a part of. His life was dull and empty. It would be of benefit to both of them.
Hermione looked at him, then drew a deep breath.
“All right. Let me see if I can pass your tests first…just to prove to you I still have it,” she said, “Then we will talk about the possibility of patronage.”
“Without the patronage, I will not grant you access to my library,” the wizard said, frowning at her. “This is a package deal. All or nothing.”
Hermione thought about this. She’d be giving up her independence…her flat, everything. Yet there was a time she would have gladly done it in exchange for greater knowledge, greater learning opportunities. She looked at the pale wizard. Yes, he was cold, disciplined and snarky. The Professor didn’t look like he was one to fuck often if at all. He claimed he wouldn’t want sex often. She believed him. It required contact with another human being after all, something he tended to avoid. Plus, she would have a lot of freedom…but she wondered what his home was like.
“Do you have a lab?” she asked him.
“Two of them,” he replied. “Both fully stocked. But I rarely go to my home. You will be there alone for the majority of the time. Well, not totally alone. I have a house elf named Eli who takes care of the place. He will fix your meals, shop and do the domestic work. He will serve you while you are under my protection…IF you can pass the tests and agree to be sponsored.”
A house elf? Hermione hated house elf servitude. But Eli was already there. She bet the poor thing was miserable serving someone as snarky as the Potions Master. The Potions Master probably beat him for fun. She thought about Harry. Poor sweet Harry.
“Very well. I will accept your patronage, Professor, but under duress. I really want to help Harry, and if I have to make a deal with the devil to do it, I will,” she replied.
Severus arched an eyebrow at her.
“The Devil, Miss Granger?” he said with a rather evil smirk. “I assure you that particular deity has nothing on me.”
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A/N: Severus is something else. Two tests and an acceptance as Hermione’s patron in exchange for access to his library. He is taking full advantage of the situation, though he doesn’t seem to have any designs on her sexually, other than relieving himself on occasion. Funny Hermione thinks he wouldn’t enjoy sex much since it required intimate contact with another human being. Anyway, I am interested to know what you thought about this chapter, so please review. Thanks.