𝙻𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝙸𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 II SS/HG ✔️

Green Thumb

Severus stood before the mirror in the washroom. A chunk had fallen off the top corner during the battle. Severus wanted the structure repaired before cosmetic issues such as broken mirrors or singed tapestries.

He had decided to remain the headmaster. Thanks in no small part to Minerva scolding him for suggesting she 'take up such a task in her old age.'

Severus gently peeled the last plaster away from his neck.

There were two, deep divots in his neck from Nagini's fangs, and two shallower bite marks on his shoulder and beneath his jaw. The veins had swollen in a pattern like frost on a window. They stretched outward from the teeth marks and spread down to his collarbone and across the top of his shoulder.

Severus felt the tiny ridges with his fingertips.

His hand had stopped spasming as often. The burning in his throat had subsided.

Severus exited the washroom to ready for the day. Fully healed, he intended to get to work on setting the greenhouses to rights with Pomona. She had ordered new plants a month ago and some were due to arrive today.

He pulled on the jeans he had worn in Australia and one of his usual shirts. Hermione had gone to breakfast without him. Severus had grown lazy in his morning habits and would stay in bed later than he ought.

"You deserve it," Hermione assured him.

Each morning Hermione woke at half past six. Severus watched her dress and wrangle her hair into something manageable. Sometimes he pretended to be asleep; whenever he did, she pressed a careful kiss to his forehead. Then she departed for the Apothecary. Arsenius had tried to stick Hermione with someone else. Severus implied that the school would buy their Potion supplies elsewhere if he did not train Hermione personally. When that was not enough, Severus had gone to Diagon Alley himself and found Arsenius in the back room of the store, elbow-deep in a Veritaserum of all things, which ran very counter to what Aresnius had said in his letter about being in retirement and too feeble to train another.

"When you want something, you don't quit, do you, boy?" Arsenius said as he grabbed his cane. "Alright. If she has the stones to put up with you, then I would be a fool to set her loose on some other poor sod."

"I agree."

Then the old bastard smirked at him. "Go on. Have your gloat. Next I suppose you'll publish a few books to show me up."

"I thought I should stop at headmaster. Save a few accomplishments for you."

Arsenius shook his head as he sank onto a stool. "I'll see her Monday. Eight sharp."

"She'll be here before you are."

Arsenius did not like the sound of that. Severus left, secure in knowing he had warned his mentor about the oncoming storm.

The wizards hired to restore the structural integrity of the castle inspected the school from dungeon to Astronomy Tower. After the once-over, Severus was informed that no one should enter the third-floor corridor or dungeons. Severus did not mention he and Hermione had been in the Potions classroom when the school had been most likely to collapse on them.

Filius attempted to clean what he could but the contractors would shoo him away. The only area the teachers were permitted to tackle in June had been the Divination Tower and the library.

Irma was near to tears on their first day attempting to clean the place up. Filius and Irma handled cleaning each book. Severus and Filch were each given a Muggle broom and told to sweep. Minerva fixed the broken windows and repaired some shelves. That was a five-day project.