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Chapter 3

Feeling refreshed, she stepped from her shower, dried her hair with a spell and got dressed in her uniform. She missed the red and gold accents it once had. Everything was just plain black, but she couldn't do anything about it. With a sigh, she went to the library.

Once there, she searched for a book and sat down in her usual niche from where she had a beautiful view over the grounds. She began reading in her book about potions and antidotes when someone cleared their throat.

Startled she looked up and straight into the black eyes of her not-so-dead professor.

"Uhm, good morning, Sir", she quickly said.

"Same to you, Miss Granger, although I have to ask myself and you why you already frequent the library at 5:30 in the morning - even though school has not yet started", came his answer, but without his characteristically arched brow.

It was really odd for the young woman to have Severus Snape talking to her without signs of malice or sarcasm.

War changes people.

"I wasn't able to sleep any more, Sir."

He sat down in a chair near her and asked: "Is there any reason why you couldn't sleep?"

"I... uhm, I had a night- a nightmare. This place brings back some memories is all", she answered slightly stammering.

She was about to flinch because she knew that there was going to be a sarcastic comment from him or something belittling, but it never came. Instead, he did something she would have never expected him to do.

He smiled. He smiled at her and nodded in understanding. "Should those dreams reoccur don't hesitate to come to me. I can give you dreamless sleep potions. And I ask you to not brew some of your own in Myrtle's bathroom again. Trust me, I'd know should you try such a thing".

She had to smile at the last part remembering her second year when she brewed polyjuice potion. She couldn't help but laugh.

Surprisingly, he started laughing, too.

First, she was shocked and thought that there must be a third person there, but it really was her professor's deep and raspy laugh she heard. This must be the first time any student has seen him smile or heard him laugh. She wasn't even sure whether his colleagues had seen him smile, as he always looked sour and bitter.

When the moment of shock had subsided, and they both had calmed down again, he said: "I think it's time for you to go and eat some breakfast. It will begin in 5 minutes and I guess your friends will be waiting for you."

He stood up and left the library, leaving his dumbstruck student behind him, wearing his familiar scowl again.

She stood up, not knowing what to think of that conversation, and went to the great hall for breakfast where her friends were indeed already waiting for her.

Together they went inside and saw the four house tables, the high table and another smaller one standing in proximity to the teacher's table.

As there were eight chairs placed around it, they knew that this was their own table, and so they all sat down.

The breakfast appeared on their table and Professor McGonagall approached with Professor Snape following close behind.

"I wish you all a good first morning back. I hope you are settling in quite well. We have your schedules for the next two weeks here. We want you all to choose three to five subjects in which you will get more detailed schooling than the normal seventh years."

"It would be wise to think about what you want to do after graduation", added the man all clad in his usual black robes.

"You can always get advice concerning your future career from either of us. Until everyone has decided on their subjects, you will have a few hours of school together. Today will be four hours of potions for example. I'll see you there and don't be late", he said before retreating to his chair at the high table.

The headmistress bid her goodbyes and returned to her seat as well.

After breakfast, they all went to fetch their potions books and then waited in front of the classroom.

Just before the bell rang, the door opened. Not slamming as when it did when they were there before the war, but quietly and slowly without anyone having to fear for their lives.

Everyone just stared at each other looking puzzled. What happened to Snape that he can now, after seven years or more, open a door like a normal human being? Still unsure about that, they entered the room and took their seats.

"As clearly not all of you will want to take on potions as one of your three or more subjects of choice, we will start with a bit of revision. You will brew an ageing potion today. The recipe is written on the board and the ingredients are in the cupboard. And please, don't blow my lab up just after it was reconstructed. You have the full four hours. You may begin."

He went to his desk and eagerly started writing on a piece of parchment.

The students stood up and fetched their ingredients and began to brew.

After a while, the Professor decided to walk around to have a look at his students' brews. Some of them were not even halfway finished while a certain bushy-haired witch only had to stir clockwise twice and then hers would be finished.

She turned off the heater as a voice behind her said: "Very well done Miss Granger. As expected fast and correctly brewed. I would have been disappointed if it were any other way. I do hope that you consider potions as an optional subject of your choice as you are one of the very few students I ever had who could get somewhere with their potions."

Hermione stood there, frozen, trying to wrap her head around what he just said. "Tha- thank you, Sir",  she answered utterly confused.

Did he just praise me in front of the others? 

The rest of the small class was looking just as confused as the young witch herself.

What happened to him? was what everyone seemed to be asking themselves. First, he opened the door like a civilized human being, and now he is praising a student? 

Before someone could actually ask anything, Pansy's cauldron began to blubber and turquoise fog began to waft throughout the whole room. 

"Get down!", shouted Snape and in the next moment, a loud bang was to be heard.

He quickly got down and took Hermione with him, covering them with his cloak.

Then after some time, the fog began to lighten again and Hermione cautiously stood up. Neville and Astoria got up from under their tables, too, but the others weren't.

Then somewhere in the room, someone began to cry loudly. The four of them quickly walk around, trying to find out who it was that was crying like that.

There, under Pansy's work table, was a small girl sitting in a nest of school robes. The girl seemed to be no older than one year old.

Astoria quickly scooped her up and tried to soothe the girl down. Just as she was quiet again, another baby began to cry somewhere else in the room.

"We have to find the others," said Hermione, looking around.

"Here's another baby! Looks like Ron", said Neville, scooping a small red-headed baby up. "Here's Blaise!" added Astoria taking him on her other arm.

Neville stood a little to the side with a pale face looking at the floor. "Hermione, I do believe that we have a problem here." 

His tone was flat.

Hermione went over to him and sitting in their old clothes were three babies. One with platinum blonde hair and stormy blue-grey eyes and two black-haired boys. One with big black eyes and one with big emerald green eyes, a way too big pair of glasses on his nose and a scar on his forehead. The blonde baby was the wailing one and the black-eyed boy looked at him with a distasteful look.

"Oh no!", exclaimed Hermione taking the two black- haired boys into her arms while Neville took the crying one on his free arm. 

"Take them to the hospital wing. I go to the headmistress. She needs to know this." 

They nodded and each went their different ways as quickly as possible with the more or less asleep babies.