Chapter 9
I made my way down to the black lake, keeping myself disillusioned until I'd reached the safety of the trees. The stars shone onto the calm surface of the lake. Like a black mirror, the water reflected everything. I took a deep breath and dropped the charm, then looked around.
It was quarter to eight.
Somehow, I was more nervous than usual before my transformation. Obviously because I wasn't used to having spectators gawking at me.
I felt a presence behind me and turned around. Professor Snape stepped silently out of the shadows, followed by- Professor McGonagall?
I nodded a greeting at them, but felt a bit confused why the headmistress was here.
"Your story is quite an interesting and unusual one, Miss Granger," said Professor McGonagall upon noticing my facial expression. "And I do believe you, but it will be easier for me if I can actually see your transformation."
I swallowed and nodded.
Professor Snape silently stood beside the older witch, his arms crossed. His face was hidden by his long, black hair, but I could feel his eyes on me.
I fiddled around with me sleeves, not knowing what to say, until I felt the moon rise. My eyes wandered up to the sky, seeing the pure white orb moving into view. My body began to tingle and a warmth spread from my chest out into my fingers and toes. A golden glow swirled around me and I closed my eyes, blocking out the two professors in front of me.
Once it was over, I looked up. Professor McGonagall looked positively speechless, while Professor Snape- well, I had no idea what he was thinking. I ruffled my feathers self-consciously and after a minute of silence, I gave a soft squawk. That seemed to pull Professor McGonagall out of her thoughts.
"Thank you, Miss Granger," she said and inclined her head slightly. "I will let you know in the morning if I have found another way to accommodate you in the castle."
I honked quietly, trying to express my gratitude. Then I turned around and waded into the water. I slowly swam out onto the lake, feeling quite glad that the ice had started to melt. Not until the professors had shrunken to tiny black dots on the shore did I stop and lay my head onto my back to rest.
Severus' P.O.V.:
Hermione Granger was a swan at night. And not just any swan. A Cyngus Cantare.
Somehow, knowing that she too had a secret that she kept from everyone made her more ... likable. At least that explained my sudden thirst for her blood. Even when she was not a swan, Granger retained some of the magical properties that came with being a Cygnus Cantare. Her blood had to be hundred times more satisfying than a normal human's.
Thinking about the past months, I should have noticed that there was something off about Granger. Her eyes were different. And so was the smell of her blood. I had to assume that not until Granger had cut herself did my vampiric side thirst for her blood, because of some natural protection of a sort.
Professor McGonagall walked beside me back into the castle, lost in thought as well.
"Miss Granger is a swan" the witch said finally. "Poor girl."
I remained silent.
"She will be limited to be keeping doing her work and studies during the day," continued McGonagall, "until she found a way to break the curse."
"Knowing Granger, she'll have it figured out before she's hitting her thirties," I said bluntly.
McGonagall's eyes pierced into mine. "You cannot expect her to live like that for a decade, Severus. You, as her Potions Master, should be supporting her."
"Why do you think I'm starting a new project tomorrow?" I said languidly. "It will be more work to find a new apprentice, than to help Granger."
McGonagall nodded and looked relieved. "Good. Please keep me updated with your progress."
I inclined my head slightly, then headed down the stairs to return to my quarters.
****
The next morning was a Saturday and I summoned Granger to my office, instructing her to bring all of her research on the Swan Lake Curse. When the Gryffindor entered the room, I cleared a space on the middle of my desk.
Granger was carrying an old book in her hand, not that thick. I raised my eyebrows.
"Is that all?"
Granger gave me a dark look. "I searched the entire library. This is it."
She put the book on the desk.
"It was written by Ruby Ravenclaw, Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter. Ruby's grandmother made a list of fifty ancestors, including their swan forms, to see whether there was any connection between them."
She bit her lip. "I couldn't find one either. I just know that Odette, the very first, was- a Cygnus Cantare too."
I picked up the book and skimmed it. My eyes fell onto the last sentence of the last page.
This inscription is copied from Nimue's Revelations, the sorceress who cursed Odette to become a Singing Swan.
My eyes flew over the unknown runes, then I looked at Granger. "Nimue's Revelations-"
"- is in London in the Royal Opera House, I know. I've been trying to figure out a way to get to the book because they only allow visitors on certain days to look at it."
"Next Friday," I said and placed the book back on its desk. "There is a convention for Potioneers that all Potions Masters and their apprentices attend. People from all over the world shall be there and all of the most rarest books will be on display, including that one. You and I will be there. It will also be an opportunity for you to meet other Potioneers."
Granger looked at me, bewildered. "Next Friday? Why didn't you tell me before?"
I shrugged. "I planned on today."
"But I don't have anything to wear."
My eyebrows slowly moved up. "What is it with women and having nothing to wear?" I said mockingly.
Granger crossed her arms stubbornly. "All wizards need to do is put on a set of dress robes and fresh underwear, and they're good to go," she blurted out, "for a woman it's quite different, I can tell you that."
I turned away to hide the twitch of my lips and grabbed a Potions book from a shelf that I had prepared for today. "I suggest you buy one at Hogsmeade," I said and turned around again, "the headmistress will make an acception for you, I'm sure."
To Granger's surprise, and mine as well, my tone was completely serious. I placed the book on the table.
She blushed. "And- how long will the convention go?" she asked quietly.
"Until seven. That should gave us enough time until moonrise."
Granger nodded relieved. "Okay."
I opened the book around the middle and placed my hands on my desk to lean on them. "Now, what ideas have you gotten so far about your potion?"
Granger reached out and flipped a few pages forward, until a sketch of a red plant appeared. "I wanted to use the seed of a Fire Seed Bush," she said, "they influence diseases that are inherited in families for generations."
I nodded. "Good. But we'll need the oldest Fire Seed bush we can find. And it's located in Brasil."
We continued for three more hours straight, time flying by. Granger had done great work, I had to admit and it was easy to imagine her working with me in the future. I had made a good choice when I'd selected her as my apprentice.
After three hours, my vampire instincts were beginning to sharpen due to Granger's nearby presence and I called our meeting to an end. I knew now of Granger's secret, but I had no intention of telling her mine.
Hermione's P.O.V.:
The week flew by. As Professor Snape had said, Professor McGonagall did allow me to go get a dress, and to take Ginny with me. Ginny was the best person to go dress shopping with because she was so straightforward. If something didn't look right, she'd say so immediately.
There were three shops in Hogsmeade that sold dresses. The first one had mostly old-fashioned dressed that were so wide, it was impossible to fit through a doorway. But I wanted something more- modern. Since the convention would be at the Royal Opera House, I was looking for a dress that someone would wear to the opera.
Too bad I'd never been to the opera before.
"I think we should stick with red," decided Ginny determinedly as we entered the second floor of the second shop. "Or black, at least. Blue is good on you, but you look fabulous in red."
I wrinkled my nose. "Red? To the opera?"
"A very dark red. It's still classy, but you'll stand out a little," said Ginny with a grin. Then she turned and looked across the aisles. "A wide ball gown is- too much, we've decided on that," she said, her voice trailing off as her mind was filled with various ideas, "so how about-"
And she darted into a direction.
I had to smile and quickly followed her. Ginny selected three dresses, shushing me when I began to speak because she needed to concentrate. Then she handed me the dresses. "Okay. Try these on."
"Thanks." I took the dresses and we headed for the changing room. Ginny waited outside, while I tried on the first dress. It was a black dress that had thin straps and hugged my body all the way down to my knees. It looked good on me, but I felt that it made me look too- curvy. Not that I wasn't happy with my curves. I was just not comfortable with accentuating them this way.
Ginny said so too once I stepped out, so I put on the second one. It was a wine-red and a little looser around my legs, but it had a slit in the side that was too high up and too inappropriate.
Then the last dress- that was it. I stared at myself in the mirror after I'd put it on, falling in love with it immediately.
"Hermione?" Ginny called out, "You ready?"
"Yes. This is it, Gin," I said and stepped out.
Ginny's eyes went wide as they traveled over the dress. It was a deep purple, almost black, that shimmered slightly in the light. The dress had no straps and hugged my chest, while it fell around my legs, all the way to the floor. I loved that the fabric below my waist had folds in it, making it look less stiff. There were matching gloves that went up to my elbow.
Ginny nodded and her face split into a smile. "Yup. That's the one. You look fantastic."
"Thanks," I grinned, then looked at the price tag. I sighed. "It's very expensive."
Ginny bit her lip when she saw the price. "Can you afford it?"
"I have some money saved. And besides, I don't own any dresses, except the one from fourth year, and it's way too small now. I'll just use this one for the occasions I need a nice dress for anyway," I said.
"Like your graduation," Ginny pointed out.
I nodded, but still felt a little guilty about spending so much money on a dress. Then I squared my shoulders and returned into the changing room to put my clothes back on. I'd never spent much money on anything like make-up or fancy clothes, so this was my treat to me.
****
It felt like I'd blinked once and it was suddenly Friday. Where had the days gone? Class passed in a blur. Professor Snape sent me a note stating that we were to apparate separately because he had a small detour to take. He would meet me before the opera at five.
I still couldn't understand why a wizarding library was hidden in an opera, but ... well, there were worse places.
I needed help from Ginny to put on my dress, and she was so kind to give me advice on my hair and make-up. I left my hair completely open because my new conditioner had finally reduced some of the frizziness. Now, my curls were sleek and shiny, but I knew tomorrow they'd be wild again. I just added some mascara and a see-through lip-gloss, and then I was good to go. Ginny was surprised that I refused to wear jewelry, but I felt odd at the thought of being covered in jingly metal.
I wore simple black ballerinas because my dress was so long. No point in putting myself through the misery of wearing high-heels, if I didn't have to.
At four-forty, I left the castle with a black cloak around my bare shoulders. The air was still quite chilly and I was suddenly regretting not having put on a jacket above the dress. Once I'd reached the apparition point, I disapparated.
By the time I arrived at the opera, it was five to five. The sky was already darkening, so the streetlights had been light. The opera was brightly lit with golden lights and I felt my stomach flutter a little with excitement. My anxiety for today had sort of suppressed everything else, but I couldn't deny that I was curious to see how this convention would go.
There had to be some magical entrance for the witches and wizards, but I had no idea where it was.
Someone approached me from behind and I turned around. It was Professor Snape ... in a suit. He was wearing a white shirt underneath and black suit trousers. His long hair was tied back into a low ponytail, surprisingly looking very shiny. In fact, I suddenly noticed that he looked several years younger.
"Granger," he greeted me with a curt nod.
"Hello, sir."
He stopped beside me, then, to my astonishment, offered me his arm. "Shall we?"
I took it, feeling a little perplexed, but I wouldn't complain. My stomach burst into butterflies and I focused on the building ahead to keep my thoughts from drifting into an inappropriate and completely unnecessary direction.
Once we'd ascended the steps, Professor Snape inconspicuously pulled out his wand and tapped it on the door handle. Then he opened the door, letting me enter first.
I let go of his arm and muttered a "Thank you".
Then my eyes widened in surprise. The foyer was filled with witches and wizards, goblins and even two centaurs. Golden lights floated beneath the high ceiling and a thick red carpet covered the ground.
The door closed and Professor Snape appeared next to me.
"Professor Snape!" A short wizard shuffled over. "And- you must be Miss Granger."
I nodded and shook his hand.
"I'm Belfried, part of the staff of the library," he said proudly and wiped over his thin hair. "May I take your cloak?"
"Oh, yes. Thank you," I said and quickly opened my cloak. I suddenly felt nervous about wearing a dress that left my shoulders completely bare, but a glance around revealed that several witches wore dresses that were quite more daring than mine.
Belfried took my cloak, then gestured to the opened double doors at the end of the foyer.
"Please enter the library, Mr. Schneider shall be starting in a few minutes."
We passed groups of chatting witches and once we'd left the foyer, I found myself in the largest library I had ever seen. I felt my mouth drop open, but was too busy staring to realize it.
"Close your mouth, Miss Granger," an amused baritone voice said into my ear.
I snapped it shut and glanced at Professor Snape. His face was as calm as ever, but I saw his lips twitch before he focused his dark eyes ahead again.
The walls were so tall, the ceiling seemed to be a tiny spot above me. Almost every inch of the golden walls was covered in shelves, with magical platforms moving up and down, as well as sideways. The library stretched on in front of us and at the end was an area where tables had been arranged.
I squinted my eyes. On the tables were opened books, with officials in black standing around nearby.
I really hadn't thought this through when I'd planned to simply 'copy the book'. There were way more eyes on it than I'd expected.
More and more people streamed into the library, forming groups. The chatting voices pulled me out of my trance and I suddenly felt very nervous again.
We chose a spot near the books and were soon joined by two more Potions Masters and their apprentices.
One of the apprentices came up to me, with spiky blue hair and bright blue eyes.
"Hello," he said and stuck out his hand. "Barry Drewmore."
"Hermione Granger," I said and shook his hand.
"Granger? Like the war hero?"
I sighed. "Yes. Like the war hero."
The other apprentice had sandy-colored hair and a scowl that could have matched Professor Snape's after Neville had blown up another cauldron. The two other masters were old with silver and grey hair. One of them stood on Professor Snape's other side, discussing with him the properties of black strawberries.
I listened intently, noticing that the opinions of the two wizards were quite different. The older wizard had a biting tone in his voice, obviously accustomed to defending his opinion to the death.
A waiter walked around with a tray, carrying bubbling champagne. I took one of the glasses when he stopped by and nipped at it.
"They should be picked on full moons because it balances out their darker properties," said the old wizard.
"Black strawberries are used because they strengthen potions that are considered a part of the dark arts," said Professor Snape smoothly. "Harvesting them on a full moon leaves them useless."
The older wizard narrowed his eyes and I lifted my glass to my lips again, trying to decide whether the champagne was too sweet or not.
"Imagine using one of those black strawberries in a simple healing potion," the other defended himself. "They could change the potion's properties entirely. A full moon is the best day to pick them."
Professor Snape raised an eyebrow. "Only an imbecile would put one of those berries into a healing potion."
I couldn't suppress a snort and quickly lowered my glass, trying to put on a neutral face.
But the older wizard had heard me. His keen eyes pierced into mine.
"Is this your apprentice, Snape?"
"Yes. This is Hermione Granger." Professor Snape lifted his own wine glass to take a sip.
"Miss Granger, meet Professor Vergo Ylvesmeer."
I nodded politely at Professor Ylvesmeer, who looked up and down my figure with a raised eyebrow. "What happened, couldn't find a proper apprentice, Snape?"
I froze. "I beg your pardon?" I said sharply. "Being older than me does not give you the liberty to be rude."
"Ignore Ylvesmeer," said the other master calmly. He looked at me with friendly, brown eyes. "He sometimes forgets his manners from standing in a lab all day."
He inclined his head slightly.
"Professor Arthur Red, Miss Granger."
I nodded at him, my fingers still clenched around my glass. Barely ten minutes had passed and already someone had insulted me. Geez.
"How is your research project going, Professor Snape?" Professor Red said with a light smile. "Or are you still not revealing what you're working on?"
Professor Snape raised an eyebrow. So no one seemed to know he was working on a cure for the Cruciatus curse.
Except me.
"You should know me well enough by now, Red."
Professor Red took a glass from a passing waiter. "I do. But you cannot expect an old man like me not to be curious."
I liked him instantaneously. It didn't come as a surprise to me when I found out that Barry was Professor Red's apprentice and the other scowling one was Professor Ylvesmeer's.
At exactly five o'clock, a man's voice echoed through the library, amplified by a sonorus.
"Welcome- ," said the wizard who had to be Mr. Schneider. "To the library of London."
Applause sounded all around me. The wizard stood by the tables with the opened books, dressed in deep red robes.
"As you can see," he continued in a thick, German accent, "today we have forty-six invaluable books on display."
He motioned with a hand around him. "You are free to take a look at these, and peruse our shelves as much as you like. Those who've had more than four glasses of our champagne, are advised not to go higher than the third floor."
Laughter rang through the listening people.
"At six, there will be a buffet set up for all of those who may be hungry."
Mr. Schneider canceled the sonorus and stepped back.
The others moved forward excitedly, most of them heading for the books involving Potions. I gave my glass back to a waiter and followed, keeping my eyes peeled for a book filled with runes.
After walking past several tables, I found it in the last row. It was small and very thin, the cover made of old, green leather. The book had been opened in the middle, showing the old pages filled with black runes.
I carefully touched the edge and turned the book around.
Nimue's Revelations, it said in faded letters.
Well, I had the right book now. But there were officials walking around, keeping a sharp eye on the visitors. It made sense, since we were allowed to touch these rare books, that they had to make sure we didn't damage them. But how was I supposed to copy it?
A shadow appeared next to me. "This is it?" said Professor Snape in a low tone.
I nodded and turned the book around again to look at the runes. My mind was working rapidly, going through the options of duplicating the book. A simple duplication spell was too risky. The copy would most likely be missing pages because the more difficult the object was, the more mistakes the copy had.
That was why I had been carrying several shrunken, empty notebooks in my clutch. In their normal size, they ranged in length and width, but luckily, I'd packed one that was exactly the same size as Nimue's Revelations.
I pulled out said notebook and enlarged it, then got out a pencil. Taking notes was allowed, I knew that.
"Ah," said Professor Snape quietly once he understood. "I'll give you that, Granger, you came prepared."
I smiled slightly, then whispered, "Duplicaris verbum." I couldn't duplicate the entire book. But what I could do was duplicate the words and transfer them onto the empty notebook.
Black runes appeared on the pages, as if written by an invisible hand. I kept my notebook as closed as possible, to hide what I was doing from the officials, and pretended to scribble down notes.
I needed to focus to keep the spell going and slowly turned the notebook's pages, my heart beating rapidly. If I got caught, I'd have a major problem.
There were only a few pages missing, when I saw out of the corner of my eye how someone neared us.
Professor Snape swept past me.
"Frau Rotenberg," he said in fluent German and I almost broke the spell in surprise. "Schön, Sie zu sehen."
He speaks German?
I looked down and saw that no more pages were filled. The spell was done.
Feeling dizzy with relief, I closed my notebook and shrunk it, then stuck it back into my clutch.
"Das ist Frau Granger," I heard Professor Snape say and approached them. The other woman was a stern-looking lady, with long silver hair falling down her back.
"Miss Granger, this is Professor Rotenberg. She teaches at the University of Berlin."
I nodded a greeting at her, having no clue what he'd said.
"Good day, Miss Granger," she said with a German accent and offered her hand, which I took.
I must have shaken countless hands before I made it to the buffet. Choosing a small tart to nibble on, I felt the knot in my stomach loosen up. The worst part was over, even though I still couldn't believe it. I had a copy of Nimue's book in my clutch and could now enjoy the remaining hour of the convention.
I turned around and saw I wasn't the only one at the buffet. Grabbing another tart, I stepped up to him.
"Thanks for earlier, sir," I said quietly. "I was already imagining what would have happened if-"
"You got the runes, that is all that matters," Professor Snape cut me off and eyed a small sandwich on his plate. It looked like it had salmon and some sort of yellow paste in between the bread slices.
"We will try to decipher them tomorrow."
I examined him confused. "Why are you helping me, sir? I'm sure it would be easier for you to find a new apprentice."
"Like I told McGonagall," said Professor Snape and looked at me, "it would be harder finding a decent apprentice."
My lips curved upward because I couldn't stop a smile from spreading onto my face. Professor Snape turned back to his plate and lifted his sandwich. Then he took a bite.
His face turned instantly sour.
"Not what you expected?" it slipped out of me.
Professor Snape swallowed and placed his plate on the buffet table. "For such an important event as this, one might think that they would try harder with the food."
"I'm sure it's not that bad." I grabbed one that looked like his and took a small bite. And almost spat it out.
Salmon and banana?
"Not what you expected?" said Professor Snape. I saw in his eyes he was holding back a smirk.
I grabbed a napkin and turned away to spit out the bite. Then I folded it and threw it into the nearest bin.
"Disgusting," I muttered.
"That will leave a lasting impression, I'm sure," said Professor Snape and grabbed a glass of champagne to get rid of the taste.
"Definitely. Of all the things I'll remember the most from tonight, it will be how terrible the food was."
Professor Snape took a sip, then glanced at me. "That is quite disappointing, considering this is your first official time meeting Potions Masters from all over the world."
"There'll be other times, I'm sure."
"And what makes you think you will have the opportunity to attend another one of these conventions?"
I had to grin from our bantering. It was actually fun. "Since I'm your apprentice and you're not sacking me, I'll probably see more of these. And you are the best Potions Master in the world, meaning you're probably getting invitations every day."
Professor Snape lifted his glass again. "I might rethink about keeping you as my apprentice," he muttered. "Remind me again why I should."
"I'm adorable," I said instantly, then bit my lip.
The champagne was stronger than I'd expected.
I quickly took a tart and took a bite out of it to stop talking. Meanwhile, as Professor Snape's eyes wandered over the bookshelves, his lips were still twitching.
As the convention neared to an end, I felt ready to return to Hogwarts and go to bed. It was only shortly before seven, but I felt exhausted. The champagne surely hadn't helped, it'd made me sleepy.
Professor Snape and I had said our goodbyes, which had taken a good ten minutes, and were about to leave the library, when a shrill alarm suddenly sounded. The double doors slid shut, just after a figure had passed through them.
"Attention, everyone!" Mr. Schneider's voice cut through the hall. "It appears that several books have been taken from the tables. It is strictly forbidden to do so and the one responsible is asked to return them immediately. The doors will be opened and the apparition barrier lowered once the books have been found."
Heads turned and an unsure whisper rose among the mass of people. I glanced at the wall. It was ten after seven.
Moonrise was at seven thirty-five.
That's plenty of time, I told myself, they'll find the missing books in no time.
But then it hit me. They would find my notebook.
"Oh fuck."
"Language, Granger," said Professor Snape, his eyes wandering to the ceiling.
I sent him a glare. "They'll find my notebook," I whispered.
"I am aware of that."
I followed his gaze and looked up. There were windows glinting up high above us.
"Even if we did manage to get up there unseen," I said quietly, looking at the hovering platforms by the bookshelves, "we'd be stuck on the roof."
"Leave that to me," said Professor Snape and slowly moved towards the nearest wall. He motioned me to follow him.
The people were standing so close together, I had a hard time squeezing through them without appearing like I was running from something.
The officials were asking people to one by one empty their pockets. They wouldn't leave a stone untouched.
Professor Snape grabbed my arm when we finally reached the wall and turned us around, so he was between me and the others. He placed the tip of his wand against my cheek and mumbled something.
Then he repeated the same with himself.
I looked down at myself when I felt as if cold water as running down me.
A disillusionment charm.
"Hurry," said Professor Snape into my ear once he'd become invisible. "There are spells here that will disable my charm in a few minutes."
He moved forward, keeping a hand on my elbow so we wouldn't lose each other, and summoned the nearest platform.
It came down with a creaking sound that was thankfully drowned out by the officials' voices. I stepped on it, followed by Professor Snape, whose shoulder pressed against mine so we'd both fit onto the platform.
"Vaderes," said Professor Snape sharply and the platform slowly began to move up.
My instincts told me to get up to the windows as fast as possible, but this was the only way the officials wouldn't become suspicious of a floating platform.
I looked down nervously as we continued to climb higher. The platform had no railing. What kind of a lousy job were the security people around here doing?
"ALL PLATFORMS, DESCEND!" someone ordered below us.
At once, the platforms that had been floating to the left and right and up and down, began to descend.
Except one.
"HEY! WHO'S THERE?"
Professor Snape sharply tapped his wand and the platform shut upward at a high speed. My stomach plummeted down into my feet and I grabbed Professor Snape's arm in panic. The ground shrunk quickly, the people blurred into a mass of black and red and green- and then I saw my hand clutching Professor Snape's arm.
The charm had worn off.
"AFTER THEM!"
I looked up. We were so high up already and the ceiling seemed so small- how tall was this building?
Below us, platforms with witches and wizards approached. They were not close enough to see our faces. Yet.
"STOP!" a witch ordered sharply.
My hair whipped past my face and I closed my eyes to swallow my nausea. Why couldn't this have ended normally? Instead of being stuck in a goose chase, where we might end up arrested?
The seconds ticked by and I forced myself to focus on my breathing-
Suddenly, the platform slowed down. I opened my eyes and found that we were nearing a window. The deep purple sky was visible behind it and above us was the round ceiling.
"Reducto!" I whipped my wand at the window, which burst into shards.
"Now what?" I exclaimed and turned to the wizard. Then I shrieked in surprise when Professor Snape hooked one arm beneath my knees and lifted me up.
And leapt out of the window.