heart to heart

The resolute thud of the infirmary door behind her sent a jolt through Hermione's body, her attention drawn away from her thoughts for the time being. The hall was barren of other students and staff, except for her guide for the morning, but it seemed almost alive somehow. The faint flutter of what Hermione assumed to be magic in the corner of her eyes brightened the corridor, even with the morning light beginning to pour in through the windows. She could hear the castle shift and groan around them, something she hadn't been able to hear before her Veela instincts awoke. The scent Hermione connected to Professor Snape still lingered in the hall, whether it was because he had been in that part of the castle recently or because Hermione's inner Veela instinctually sought out whatever was left from when he had been there yesterday she wasn't sure. There were other scents in the hallway that Hermione didn't recognize, but the one belonging to the Potions professor overpowered nearly all of them. Would this be how she would live for the rest of her life? Her body attuned to constantly seeking that man out? 

Her night in the infirmary had been uneventful following the departure of Harry, Ron, and Ginny and she had eventually found sleep. A restless sleep, her body wound tightly as if ready to pounce at a moment's notice throughout the evening, but sleep nonetheless. Professor McGonagall had arrived in the infirmary when the sun began to rise in the sky, telling Hermione that she would escort her to her new dormitory while there, hopefully, would be no other students in the halls. Madam Pomfrey had given her approval for Hermione to leave that morning, saying that there wasn't much she could do regarding creature inheritance and the accumulation of them. She had insisted Hermione take a potion that would help her regulate her emotions, in the hope of her not reaching a feral state near the one she had entered when she awoke her Veela nature. A potion that Hermione had all but gulped down, not wanting a repeat of what happened in Potions anytime soon, if ever again. 

Speaking of the older witch, she was gazing at Hermione with a worried look, not even trying to hide it either as she appears to have stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed the younger witch had stopped dead in her tracks. 

"I'm sure this is a lot for you to take in right now, so I do apologize" Professor McGonagall says, her tone bordering on something maternal. 

Hermione nods, unsure of what to say. 

The two women continue walking then, a delicate silence hanging between the two of them. The distinct lack of other students or staff in the hallways is something that Hermione deeply appreciates, knowing that the judgemental gazes of her classmates and professors are something that she is worried about. Would people approach her to ask what happened or would they gossip about her when she walks past, sneering at her as she goes? The mediwitch had informed Hermione that her eyes had returned to their normal hue but now had flecks of gold within them, hinting at her Veela nature as well as her canine teeth that remained sharper then ever before, so Hermione knew that at a passing glance, she seemed back to normal but that didn't matter if rumors had spread about what had occurred in Potions days prior.

The castle is mostly silent as they walk, the creaking and groaning of the older parts of it only heard by Hermione. The nearer they get to the Dungeons, and the farther away from Gryffindor Tower, a knot of anxiety begins to form in Hermione's stomach. It spreads throughout her body, her heart beating wildly in her chest as a tremor passes through her hands. Will they pass Professor Snape on their journey? Or other Slytherins? 

"Pardon my curiosity, Miss Granger, but I didn't know that there was Veela heritage within your maternal family" Professor McGonagall says after a little while of silence, trying to make conversation with the younger Gryffindor as they walked. 

Despite her want to keep her adoption a secret, as she had yet to fully come to terms with it herself, Hermione knew that in the long run, it would help her if more people knew about her biological heritage. It would make navigating the world post Hogwarts easier if those close to her knew the truth and delaying that would be more of a headache than it's worth. The truth would come out somehow, whether it be from Hermione or not, so she would rather be the one to tell those who matter the most to her. 

"It's from my biological maternal side.....I was adopted" Hermione admits quietly, not knowing entirely how much she should say at once. 

Professor McGonagall slowly nods, perhaps trying to make her shock less apparent to Hermione to not affect her in her emotionally heightened state. 

"I won't pry, don't worry. However, my office door is always open should you need a listening ear" The professor says, giving Hermione a reassuring smile. 

"Thank you, professor" Hermione says with a small smile of her own. 

Perhaps the potion that Madam Pomfrey had given her was wearing off sooner than it was supposed to, or her Veela inheritance made her emotions more violent than before, but Hermione couldn't help the tears that nearly sprung to her eyes at Professor McGonagall's offer. The knowledge that she still had the professor in her corner, Veela or not, brought comfort to Hermione, as she wasn't sure how people in her life would treat her now that she technically was a magical creature. Her closest friends, despite her innermost anxiety, were bound to stay by her side regardless but it wasn't a given with other people in her life. Despite leaps and bounds being made in the entire magical world holding humanoid magical creatures to the same standard as witches and wizards, there were still some that held onto old prejudices. 

~*~

Instead of stopping in front of a portrait, Professor McGonagall leads Hermione to a newer-looking wooden door at the end of a hallway in the Dungeons that the younger witch has never been down before. Was this a new edition after the war or was this just an area of the castle that Hermione had never been to before? The door is a decent distance away from where Hermione assumes the Slytherin Common Room is, based on how far away the sounds of other students are coming from as well as the distant smell of them. The Potions classroom is also past this hallway, which is off from the main hall and far enough away that most students won't come wandering down it as well. The smoky scent that Hermione knew belonged to Professor Snape was heavier in this part of the castle than the rest, which made sense as he was both the Potions professor and Head of Slytherin house. The smell set her body at ease, something that the logical part of her brain disliked immediately. Would he always have an effect on her where the logical part of her brain went dormant? 

Pulling a single dark key out of the pocket of her robes, Professor McGonagall hands it over to Hermione silently. The younger Gryffindor delicately plucks the key out of her hand, the coldness of the metal a sharp sting against her palm. 

"If you misplace the key, there is an extra in my office. Just try to not lose it" Professor McGonagall says with a small smile. 

"Of course, professor" Hermione says with a nod. 

"You aren't expected in class today so I'd take the day to rest, Miss Granger, and get acclimated to your inheritance" The professor says, looking at her with a stern look in her eye. 

"What about my coursework?" Hermione asks, a small amount of panic lacing her tone. 

Luckily, if any part of the incident in Potions had been lucky, Potions had been her last class of the day yesterday so she didn't miss any coursework from the day before but missing an entire day of classes? That was completely unlike her, as a student who liked to be ahead in her classes at best, and the mere thought of it nearly sent her into a panic. Would she be allowed to make up her missing assignments or would her grade be docked because of it? 

"I have instructed Severus to bring all of that to you this afternoon" Professor McGonagall says, a twinkle in her eye reminiscent of the one that Professor Dumbledore used to have. 

A blush blooms on Hermione's cheeks at the mention of the Potions professor, something that doesn't go unnoticed by the older Gryffindor. He was to be coming here, to her new dormitory, to drop off her assignments. If her inner Veela could swoon, Hermione was pretty sure that that's what it was doing, as a foreign feeling of elation and excitement bubbled up into her chest. The logical, the still Hermione part of her brain rebelled against those feelings, knowing that they weren't truly hers. He wouldn't be coming here because he wanted too, his storming off out of the infirmary after he learned of Hermione's Veela status made his feelings on the matter quite clear, he was only doing it because Professor McGonagall asked him to do it. Why couldn't she ask anyone else to do it? Like Harry, Ron, or Ginny? She had been fine interacting with them in the hospital wing, even with her instincts not fully under her control, so why did it have to be Professor Snape?

She squeezes the key in her hand, the edge of it jabbing into her hand sharply enough to get her out of her thoughts. It wouldn't do her any good to allow her thoughts, and subsequent emotions, to get the best of her even with that potion in her system. 

"Why can't Harry do it instead? Or Ron or Ginny?" Hermione nearly begs. 

Professor McGonagall sighs. 

Hermione knows that it's best if Professor Snape is the one who does it, as her instincts are still not fully under her control and are only being reined in by both her self-control and the potion that Madam Pomfrey had given her this morning. Her fragile state of being could be worsened by people other than the Potions professor coming to her dormitory once said potion wears off, at least until her instincts have been curbed a little bit more. Hermione didn't want to potentially hurt anyone because she couldn't remain in control of her instincts, she was lucky that she hadn't with her accidental magic when her inheritance awoke in the first place. Based on Laurentin II's journal, he said that his siblings didn't come home for nearly a week because of how rampant their instincts were so Hermione is shocked that she feels so normal. Maybe it's because she came into contact with her mate instantly after her Veela instincts awoke? Or maybe it's something else entirely, or maybe the change hasn't finished, Hermione won't ever really know. 

"With your instincts still not fully being in control, it's in your, and everyone else's, best interest if it's Severus who does it" Professor McGonagall explains softly. 

Hermione nods. 

"I'll leave you to it then, if you need anything don't hesitate to reach out to me, Poppy, or Severus" The professor says. 

Hermione nods again before Professor McGonagall turns and starts walking back the way they came from. It must be close to when breakfast begins in the Great Hall as Hermione can start to hear more movement in the building around her, despite being in a more secluded hallway. Quickly using her new key to unlock the door to her new dormitory, Hermione hurriedly enters and closes the door behind herself. 

The room she enters is a decently sized sitting area, albeit much smaller than the Gryffindor Common Room that she was getting used to again, with partly barren bookshelves lining the walls apart from two doors on the right-hand wall and a small fireplace in the middle of the lefthand wall. The walls that are uncovered are covered in a neutral light gray wallpaper, and the stone floor is covered in neutral color carpets. In front of the fireplace is a couch that could fit three, maybe four people if they were to squeeze, and a chair to the left of that with a coffee table in front of them. The identical doors on the right-hand wall are both a chestnut color with darker doorknobs. For a previously unused single dormitory, Hermione couldn't find anything to necessarily complain about. 

Walking toward the door closest to her, Hermione mentally noted that the sounds and smells from the rest of the castle had been dulled since the second she set foot into her new dormitory. Was this due to some sort of charm placed on the room? Had this room been used for students who have come into magical creature inheritances before? Professor McGonagall did say that this dormitory has been used to similar situations as hers before so maybe that's why? If so how come she hadn't heard about such a dormitory from Remus before? Or did he not stay here because he hid his werewolf status? Knowing that she won't be leaving for the foreseeable future, Hermione shrugs off her robes, drapes them over the couch, and takes off her sneakers before she continues to look around. 

Opening the door to the room closest to her, Hermione walks into what is her new bedroom. A queen-sized four-poster bed is in the direct center of the room, the red and gold-colored bedding reminiscent of the bedding in the Gryffindor dormitory, a welcome comfort in Hermione's mind. There's a light brown nightstand on the right-hand side of the bed and a door on the right-hand side of the wall. On the left side of the room against the wall, there is a dresser, where Hermione knows that if she were to open any of the drawers her clothes would already be inside of it. The floor in this room is carpeted, a beige color that matches the neutral-colored wallpaper, and the lack of windows reminds Hermione again that she is in the Dungeons, not Gryffindor Tower. 

The room connected to the bedroom is a modest bathroom, comfortable enough for one person and Hermione can't remember the last time she hadn't shared a bathroom with at least one other person. Memories of spending nights at the Burrow, brushing her teeth and chatting with Ginny, memories of listening to other Gryffindor girls gossip as she tried to reign in her hair, and memories of her mother singing softly to her when she was little whenever she would braid her hair in the bathroom of her childhood home flooded Hermione's mind at that thought. Tears begin to stream down her face as she looks at herself in the mirror, as she has a hard time recognizing who she sees in the mirror. 

She knew that nothing would be the same as it was before she knew that she was adopted but that didn't mean she hadn't held out hope. She hadn't hoped that this had been all some sort of sick dream that she had yet to wake up from, that she would wake up and that her parents would remember her, and that she wouldn't be a pureblood witch, that she wouldn't be a descendant of both the Travers and the Black families, that she wouldn't be a Veela. 

That she would still be Hermione Jean Granger, not some stranger that she can't hardly recognize.