Special delivery for rayvyn2k Title: Muggle Movies (Part 1 of 3) Author: Recipient's LJ Name:rayvyn2k Pairing: Severus/Hermione Rating:Parts 1-2 are G, Part 3 is NC-17 Summary: The summer after the Final Battle, Hermione is struck with an idea while living with her best friends. The trio return to Hogwarts for a little bit of normalcy with their own form of Disney magic. Word Count: Part 1: 2,021 Warnings/Content: OOCness, semi-cracky, fluffiness Disclaimer:I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. I do not own any of the Disney characters. No profit is being made from this story. Author's Notes: Since I know little to nothing about Disneyland Paris, but still wanted to work in your prompt, this is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it, bb!
After she found out how horrible his childhood had been, Hermione took it upon herself to catch Harry up on what it was like to really be a child. She scoured the library looking for a particular spell. When she found the proper book after four days of searching, she did a little happy dance in the middle of the library, and let out an uncharacteristic squeal, causing Madam Pince to scowl and shush her. Blushing at the librarian’s rare reprimand, she scurried out of the library and back to the Gryffindor common room to share what she had found.
Her first obstacle was getting her hands on a Pensieve. They were rare, expensive, and usually made especially for the person ordering. What’s more, the only manufacturer in England, whose shop had previously been in the now decimated but recovering Diagon Alley, had fled when Voldemort came out in the open and started attacking. Harry pointed out that there were two that he was aware of, one in the Headmistress’ office, and one in Snape’s quarters. Hermione balked slightly at the prospect of asking Severus Snape for anything, much less the use of his Pensieve, for such a silly prospect. Harry was of the opinion that Snape would have a hard time refusing Hermione of anything, after saving his life right after the battle, but Hermione disagreed. The two hadn't parted on the best terms, after all. No, Headmistress McGonagall, who looked to Hermione as a surrogate daughter and favored pupil, would definitely be the better option.
SS
McGonagall listened patiently to Hermione’s plan, and agreed that the idea had merit, though she had a few conditions in the interest of creating unity between the Houses. If she could keep everything age appropriate, open invitation to all houses, stay in the Great Hall and find a willing chaperone for each week then she had free use of the Pensieve. Hermione learned technically belonged to the school, and could be used by anyone the Head deemed responsible. Hermione was practically beaming as she skipped down the circular stairs from the Headmistress’ office, as that fine lady had agreed to be the first chaperone. The next morning announcements went up on each house board that all students were welcome in the Great Hall on the first Friday evening in November for Muggle Movie Night.
The idea had sparked in her mind after the final battle, when she brought Ron and Harry back to her parent’s house for a bit of rest and recuperation away from the Wizarding world. Harry had been fascinated by the telly, explaining during his summer holidays from school, he had rarely been welcome in the family room. His aunt and uncle preferred him out of sight and out of mind. Ron was fascinated by all of the Muggle appliances, and certainly by the moving stories on the screen. The Trio spent most of their summer holiday watching films, although Harry developed an unhealthy obsession with soap operas. When they discussed returning to Hogwarts, the three agreed that they should attempt to finish their schooling, if for no other reason than to attempt a bit of normalcy after a year on the run.
The first showing was scheduled in November because it was almost Halloween and the house-elves already had traditional festivities for that holiday planned. In an attempt to encourage all of the years of all of the houses to attend, Hermione picked a film she thought would appeal to the masses. She, Harry, Ron and Ginny all agreed that the title would be kept a secret between the four of them, so that everyone would be equally entertained. Hermione knew that the Muggleborns in the school would be appreciative of a small reminder of the home they had left, and she hoped that the wizarding-raised students would enjoy the new experience. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Ron so excited about a Muggle invention, he reminded her of his father as his eyes lit up at the prospect of watching the "moving comic book story" again.
HG
The afternoon of the first showing, Hermione made her way to the kitchens to ask the house-elves if they could arrange snacks for the students that evening. She found that they were a lot more agreeable when she stopped demanding that they take pay for their work, and started respecting that their special kind of magic made their jobs fairly easy. When she tickled the pear in the portrait, Kreacher was the first elf to greet her.
"What can Kreacher do for Miss Mya today?" The elderly elf asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement, "Is Miss Mya needing a pick-me-up snack, or maybe some nice hot tea?"
"Tea would be lovely, thank you," Hermione replied to the wizened elf as she sat at the small circular table in the corner of the kitchen closest to the fireplace. She'd barely made herself comfortable with her cup of tea, and had just finished outlining her ideas for the evening with Kreacher when the resident Potions master stepped through the portrait.
"Good evening, Professor," Hermione smiled at the man when he looked around and caught her eye, "Would you like to join me for tea?"
"That would be acceptable, Miss Granger," Professor Snape replied as he accepted a cup of tea from a tiny little elf and settled in the chair across from Hermione. She placed her empty cup back on its saucer and watched with no small amount of interest as it refilled itself with more hot tea. Raising the porcelain to blow on it, she asked,"
"How is your term going, Professor. Well, I hope…" Hermione drifted off when her unexpected companion simply arched a brow at her, causing her tummy to do a small flip. Hermione had a teeny-tiny, barely there fancy for her Potions professor, even though she had convinced herself she would endure many rounds of questioning from Ginny Weasley, a torture in and of itself, before admitting to anything. She pursed her lips and blew on her tea to cool it before taking a small sip of her drink, almost choking on the hot fluid when the deep timbre of Professor Snape's voice replied, almost amiably,
"It's going rather well, Miss Granger. Of course, being able to pawn the younger dunderheads off on Professor Slughorn has improved my course load incredibly. I wouldn't have bothered with the advanced classes if the Headmistress hadn't been so desperate, and I have plenty of time to pursue more personal interests." Severus raised his own tea cup in a slight gesture before finishing off his own tea.
Hermione couldn't have been more flabbergasted by the Professor's candidness. He'd always treated her as little more than a thorn in his side, and had hardly seemed appreciative, and certainly not bordering on friendly, the last time she found herself in his presence. She found herself curious as to his motives.
"Not that I don't appreciate the good conversation, Professor, but why are you being so agreeable all of a sudden? I seem to remember you telling me you - how did you put it? - 'never wanted to see my swotty little frizzy-haired know-it-all face ever again.' Right before you threw a vase at my head. To be honest, I was thoroughly surprised I was admitted into your N.E.W.T. course."
Severus couldn't help but chuckle at the girl's frankness, a Gryffindor trait if there ever was one. She knew the game well enough, but not his ultimate motive, which was one of curiosity. Yes, the Headmistress had threatened him with unemployment if he didn't admit her into his advanced classes. However, he'd discovered over the course of the term thus far that she was very talented, almost on the same level as himself, and certainly on a higher level than any of her classmates. He simply wanted to know more about the young woman the know-it-all chit had developed into since he'd seen her last. He cocked his head to the side, black eyes boring into her amber ones, deciding whether to come clean or come up with a cover story. Well, half-truths were still truths, weren't they?
"I must apologise for my previous behavior, Miss Granger, it was uncalled for. I was very distressed to find myself still alive after fully expecting to die in the war. I was an unhappy person, and for that I am sorry." Severus did his best to sound contrite, although he remembered at the time that throwing that particular vase, one of his father's few heirlooms, had felt very good. "I must confess I followed you to the kitchens when I saw you pass in the hall, hoping to catch you alone. I see lady fortune was with me tonight." He gave her a slight smile before reaching for a chocolate biscuit to nibble on. Chocolate was one of his few weaknesses, and he found himself owling Honeyduke's more and more often. If he wasn't careful, he would have a paunch before he knew it.
"I appreciate the apology, and the honesty, Professor," Hermione replied, flushing prettily, the apples of her cheeks a pretty pink. At the last sentence, her mind had conjured up a rather inappropriate scene of the two of them alone in his office, but she'd cut it off before she could get too distracted from the conversation at hand, "What is it that you needed to know that you needed me alone?"
"I'm curious about this event you have planned tonight, actually," Severus replied. "As I'm sure you know, I'm half-blood, and was raised Muggle, so I'm familiar with the concept of cinemas and film, although I've never had time to see but a few. The last being sometime in the late seventies," here he smiled softly, lost in one of his few rare good memories, and continued, "I was curious how you were going to accomplish this feat."
At the implied question, Hermione's eyes lit up as she told him about the second half of her summer holiday and Ron's obsession with her film collection. She then told him about the spell she'd found and her adaptation of it, causing him to raise a brow in admiration. The young lady in front of him really was a lot more talented than he'd initially thought; adapting spells generally wasn't taught, much less attempted, until a Witch or Wizard’s third year of mastery. He knew when she finally took her N.E.W.T's, and her scores came out, his colleagues would be banging her door down to offer apprenticeships. It was something to consider, although he'd never taken on an apprentice of his own and had no idea whether she was more than passably interested in Potions work.
Severus glanced at his watch, surprised to find out that an hour had already passed, and he still had papers to mark. He found himself suddenly reticent to leave the warm comfort of the kitchens and the hospitality of the elves, but he stood anyway, letting out a small sigh. Hermione stood also, brushing biscuit crumbs off her robe as she did so.
"Thank you for the company, Professor. I need to head to the Great Hall to put things in order. Will you be attending tonight?"
"I don't think so, Miss Granger, I have a lot of work to do. You can expect a fifth year prefect and all of the Slytherin first-years. They are rather excited, and I'll be happy when this whole event is over and things go back to as normal as they ever get."
"Oh, didn't the Headmistress tell the staff? She's given us permission to show films through the entire year, if this evening is successful." With that, Hermione patted Kreacher on his elderly head and pushed the portrait open to reveal an empty corridor. As she walked off, she called, "Have a good evening, Professor!" over her shoulder. Severus simply groaned in reply, hoping he would manage not to strangle the little chit before the end of the year. Then again, he reminded himself, it wasn't as if his attendance was mandatory.