Negotiations
xoXOXox
Severus made his way to the Gryffindor table with a slight spring in his step. He had slept well the night before and even managed to sleep in an extra hour. As such, he would be doing this next step with a room full of staff and students. A room full of people who would know in just a few moments that she was his.
He almost faltered in his steps at that thought. She was not his. Not like he made it sound in his head. Not the way his greedy Slytherin nature tried to label it. She was not a possession or some thing to be claimed. She was a powerful, brilliant witch and she agreed to be his apprentice.
Having set his mind right, Severus moved until he stood at the table. Every Gryffindor had turned their heads to stare at him and the hall had fallen nearly silent. The quiet seemed to be the thing that penetrated his apprentice's bubble of concentration. As she glanced up, the smile that lit her face was like the sun coming out after a long winter.
"Good morning, Miss Granger."
If possible, the smile grew as he addressed her first.
"Good morning, Professor Snape. Had a lie in this morning, did we?"
The small gasps in the hall and from her housemates brought a smirk to his face.
"Well, yes. I thought I'd try laziness out for a day."
She laughed, straight, pearly teeth flashing as her head fell back.
"And did you enjoy it?"
He wrinkled his nose in faux disgust.
"It was abysmal. Extra sleep in a warm bed. Just dreadful ."
That laugh again. Like rain falling on stained glass. Clear and bright.
"It sounds terrible. I think I'll stick to my early rising then. Thank you for letting me know."
He inclined his head, playing the court to her queen once more. Reaching into his robe, he pulled out and resized a stack of books and journals he had gathered and tied together with some twine. Setting them down on the table before her, he had to smother the grin at her wide eyed stare of wonder and trepidation.
"Your reading list. To be completed with a foot long essay on each part to show you retained enough of the knowledge while still studying for your NEWTS. You are not to write in the margins of my books, Miss Granger. If you see anything you find to be outdated or an error, you may write it in a separate parchment with book name and page as reference and we will discuss them in our bi-weekly meetings. We will meet every other Wednesday to discuss your upcoming apprenticeship and fine tune that archaic contract. Are these things acceptable for the time being?"
Her cheeks had dusted light pink with pleasure as she reverently touched the spines of her stack of books.
"Yes, Professor, entirely acceptable. Thank you."
The last was said with her eyes locked with his. He inclined his head once more, murmuring his response.
"No, Miss Granger, the thanks are entirely mine. See you this evening. Seven O'clock sharp."
At her nod, Severus turned with a billow, reveling in the fearful squeak of a few second years closest to him as he made his way to his seat at the table. Glancing over, he caught the smug smile of the Headmistress and sent her a mental ' thank you, Minnie' as he took his seat. She preened in her chair, her adoration for him written plainly on her Gryffindor face.
Yes. Today was definitely a day of days.
xoXOXox
His excitement lasted all day. He knew the next few months would feel so long trying to get to the end of the year but it would be worth it. He had not had anything to look forward to since his own apprenticeship.
The knock on his door came at exactly seven. He smirked as he bade his apprentice to enter. He took her in as she turned to close the door. Her hair was in a messy up do, her wand stuck in it haphazardly. She was dressed in a long sleeve red shirt with jeans and simple black trainers. If she ever wanted to make a statement about her much fucks she had to give about Pureblood ideals and being a muggleborn witch, she was doing a marvelous job.
Coming to sit before him, she gave him one of those soft smiles of greeting that he returned with barely any hesitation.
"Good evening, Miss Granger. As I feel tonight is going to be a bit tedious and taxing, would you like some tea?"
She nodded, matching his calm and soothing tone.
"That would be lovely, Professor. Thank you."
With a flick of his fingers, he summoned the tray of needed items, pouring them both a cup and watching as she added a slight bit of milk to hers. He took a sip of his before setting it down and bringing forth the dreaded tedium of the night.
“This is the general apprenticeship contract. You and I are going to go through it line for line and change it to match our own needs and agreements. Keep in mind, Miss Granger, I did not write this blasted thing and the archaic views in it are not ones that I share.”
She chuckled, sitting forward to take her copy and an ink pen. Though he preferred the elegance of a quill, with how many changes he knew were coming, an ink pen would just be easier this evening. He watched her start to read and smirked as she frowned already. He waited and was not disappointed.
“The apprentice will refer to her Master as Master and nothing else, both in public outings, as well as more private settings. The apprentice will defer to the Master’s every command and provide any needs the Master may have whilst dining with other Masters or important delegates.”
She looked up at him, fire burning in her gaze.
“What the utter tripe is this?”
He chuckled, gesturing to the parchment in her hand.
“That, my dear Miss Granger, is the customary contract for an apprentice. Which I can assure you Barnaby Buchanan would have forced you to sign as is. Luckily for you, there was a much better choice of Master to pursue and I for one despise the very nature of the old bond and agreement. As I said, this is about to be tedious as we are going to be rewriting the entire thing paragraph for paragraph.”
She gave him a considering look before leaning forward and placing her chin on her palm.
“You’re different. Is this something I get to get used to and see more and more each day or is this one of those lures from a Slytherin to make sure I sign the paperwork before you go back to being exacting and venomous?”
Her bluntness made him snort, amusement rolling through him. After all she had faced, he wasn’t surprised she no longer feared him. He actually quite enjoyed it.
“Possibly a little of both. I no longer have to play a role. However, I am still finding my way out of that. Some days I forget that I don’t have to be the evil death eater anymore and it slips out. Others, like the first morning I spoke to you, I find myself learning that I can be something new. It comes with a large learning curve. I only ask that you be patient with me on days that the other side slips back out. Nightmares can bring it about. Lack of sleep or pain. I will do my best not to spit venom at you, but I know it will happen inadvertently. As for being your Master, I am and have always been an exacting and stern teacher. That will most likely not change. In potions, a quick reaction is usually what saves a witch or wizard from injury or worse. I won’t always be able to take the time to be polite about the orders I give you. Will you be able to handle that, Miss Granger?”
Still looking at him in that soul seeking way, she nodded.
“I don’t expect an overnight change. Nor would I expect you to pussyfoot around when it comes to the safety of both you and I, as well as the students in your classroom. Just knowing that some days you will be Dr. Jekyll and no Mr. Hyde is enough for me.”
He snorted as she giggled, giving him a sassy look that made his heart skip. It was strange. Making jokes and laughing with a Gryffindor again. It made him miss his friendship with Lily but there was a new layer to it. He had a chance to have a friend that would be more. More loyal. More understanding. Someone who knew he had all those dark places and still agreed to spend time in his presence without ulterior motives. It was refreshing.
“Good. So for this first part. I will require you to call me Master or Master Snape in public. In private, you may call me Snape. Or if you prefer, you may call me Severus.”
Her eyes widened and filled with a strange light of awe.
“And what will you call me?”
Her voice was hushed, soft and light as if she were holding her breath.
“In public, I will refer to you as Apprentice Granger or just Apprentice. In private, I will continue to call you Miss Granger.”
He looked up to meet her eyes, that odd vulnerable spot opening that he was becoming accustomed to in her presence but still disliked immensely.
“Unless, of course, you do not mind me calling you by your given name.”
As if she could see his worry, and Merlin maybe she could, she reached out and gave his hand a gentle squeeze before resting her chin on it again.
“You may call me, Hermione… Severus.”
It felt like electricity shot along his nerves as the syllables of his name rolled out in her sweet voice. His auto response was to fall back on his snark.
“Cheeky witch. We have not yet signed the contract.”
She grinned at him with a wink.
“But we will, so why wait?”
He rolled his eyes good naturedly as he nodded.
“Very well. As for the providing bit. It is customary when meeting important people that apprentices serve the tea and such. I know it is a somewhat archaic idea but it is one I would like to continue the tradition of. Older Masters and such will expect it and will frown upon your training if it is not done. I would never treat you as a servant, Hermione, but I also do not want to start you off in the Wizarding world with marks against you beyond what the war already tried to do.”
She lifted her hand, pausing him from going further.
“I am perfectly fine with that, Severus. My mother taught me to be a hostess from the moment I could hold a tea cup on my own. I have no issue filling the role beside you when the situation arises.”
His mouth went dry.
Filling the role beside you
He knew she meant as his apprentice but after her words and the dreams that had been plaguing him for weeks, Severus couldn’t help imagining another scenario where she would be beside him. He shoved the yearning of such a life down as deep as it would go. No matter how kind and beautiful she was, she was too young for him. She had been his student and was going to continue in that role as his apprentice. He might earn her friendship but he would not take away her chance at love and a family with a more worthy wizard once she earned her Mastery.
“Excellent. I will make notes and rewrite that part to fit our agreement. Continue with the next paragraph if you please.”
She nodded and he sat back, ready to enjoy this evening debating with her on their wants and needs for this arrangement. He knew it wasn’t always going to be this easy or enjoyable, but he looked forward to every new sensation that being near her would bring.
xoXOXox