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Chapter 8: Something Else.
Trying to enjoy herself as much as she could, which wasn’t too hard on a beautiful day like this, Hermione found herself dancing with Albus. She did have a few things that were troubling her though, and she was going to dance with the old wizard until she had all the details. But how to start? Hermione smiled.
“So, Albus, what exactly did you have to do to Professor Snape to get him out of his beloved dungeons?” She looked at him with a mixture of interest and laughter in her eyes. Hermione knew for sure that Albus had done something, because it was more than obvious that Severus didn’t want to be at the wedding. He hadn’t paid much attention at the ceremony and now, when he could leave without too many guests noticing, he was just standing to the edge of the party, watching her with a dark look in his eyes. She wondered where that look came from. She wanted to find out, from Albus.
“Oh, not that much really.” Hermione gave him a pleading look that had him grinning. “Actually, all I had to do was mention your name,” he said, adding a wink for effect.
“Now we both know that that isn’t true.” The shock, ‘ that can’t be true, can it?’ and the realisation that it most definitely wasn’t, followed each other visible on her face.
“Well no, not really. I told him that you were there and would hex him into oblivion if he had the nerve to not show up.” Hermione snorted.
“And that made him come with you?” she asked, disbelievingly.
“He knows you are more than capable of doing it, especially when you are, ah... shall we say, angered?” Did that twinkle ever leave his eyes? Hermione knew Albus wasn’t telling her the truth, at least not the whole truth, but the answer had surprised her nonetheless.
“You know I would never do something like that, not today at least.” She added the last few words shyly with a slightly guilty grin on her face.
“I know, and so does Severus, but he came, didn’t he?”
Still not much wiser about Severus and his dark stare in her direction, Hermione noticed that Albus was leading her in his direction. She stiffened a bit, even though she didn’t want to. “Hermione, please calm down. I’m an old man, I need to rest but you are young and should be dancing through the night.”
“But, Albus, you know, just like I do, that he doesn’t want to dance, least of all with me.”
“Doesn’t he?”
Albus had that tell-tale twinkle in his eyes and Hermione knew it would be no good to protest any longer. Turning to Severus and holding out Hermione’s hand in his direction, Albus said, “Severus, be a gentleman and dance with this beautiful young lady, she deserves the attention of a graceful dancer.”
Hermione blushed crimson when he said this and became warm all over when Severus actually took her in his arms and danced with her. With a start, she noticed this was the second time today that they had been so close to each other.
She looked into his eyes and even though his black eyes bored into hers, she still wasn’t able to fathom his thoughts. She didn’t think he was angry with her, as she had thought earlier.
Placing her head on his chest, they danced in silence for a moment. She realised that his dress robes were a dark, velvet green bordering on black, and now she knew why he had looked so different and yet the same as always. She also noticed that Albus hadn’t been lying when he had called Severus a graceful dancer, he really was an extremely good dancer and, ‘ My lord, he does smell good!’ “Hmm, maybe that dream wasn’t a complete figment of my brain going crazy.”
“What dream?” His silky baritone voice sending shivers down Hermione’s spine. He felt them and she knew it.
“E…excuse m…me, sorry?” Why on earth would she have to start stuttering right now?
“You were talking about a dream you had, so I ask again, what dream?” Severus had felt her responses course through her body, from delight to the sudden stiffness in reaction to his question. That dream had been about him.
‘Had she really been talking out loud? Oh, crap!’
“That is none of your business.” She felt a blush coming on and anger surge through her at the same time, although she wasn’t sure were the anger came from.
“Fine,” he stated abruptly and let go of her in the middle of the song, in the middle of the dance floor. Severus didn’t really want to let go of Hermione, he had liked dancing with her. He had noticed exactly just how much of a woman she had become. A woman who was intelligent, powerful and a skilled witch too. A woman that he could love, simply because she existed, a woman, he realised, he had fallen in love with all those years ago. But now all he felt was anger.
“Fine, then I’ll leave as you seem to want me to.” He turned around and strode back towards the castle, dark green robes billowing.
Stunned at what had just happened and her already present anger fuelled to the limit, she stormed after him. Ginny and Harry had looked up from their dance when they had noticed the sudden movements, and were now looking at Molly and Albus, who were standing next to them.
“Let me go see what is happening.” Albus left with a quick smile.
While Ginny was starting to doubt her plan once again, Hermione finally caught up with Severus at the entrance to his dungeons. She grabbed his arm and swung him around forcefully.
“And what was that all about?” When Severus looked at her she could see the fire blazing in his black eyes, just as it was in hers. Hermione didn’t back away, he noticed. Not even with his eyes blazing, towering over her, she still held her ground.
“What was what?” His voice, once again, cold and sneering. Hermione laughed coldly at him, it was like they were competing for something, who would be the first to back down.
“That whole act today. First, Albus has to practically drag you to the ceremony, which you obviously didn’t want to attend. Then you have plenty of opportunities to leave but you stay and watch me all evening. Finally, when we are dancing we have one small, silly, little argument and you leave! That thing!”
Snape was stunned for a moment, in awe that she stood up to him like that. Then he started to grin. ‘No, definitely no schoolgirl anymore, very much the woman he loved.’
“What are you grinning about?” Hermione was stunned to see the half-smile on his face. She had never seen him smile before. It looked good on him.
“Nothing.” His coldness returned just as suddenly as it had disappeared only moments before. “Look, Miss Granger, I can hardly refuse anything the Headmaster asks of me, even if it is a stupid wedding ceremony.” Hermione was growling at him. “But even I know what common courtesy is and therefore I didn’t leave until it was, ah, appropriate.”
“And leaving me in the middle of a dance, in the middle of the dance floor is what exactly?” she spat back.
“I was speaking of common courtesy towards the married couple, Miss Granger, I don’t owe you anything.” Hermione was seething by now and the first hot, angry tears were falling down her cheeks.
“Fine, but you could have at least had the common courtesy,” Hermione couldn’t believe this was happening, “to pay attention to the ceremony or to congratulate them with a smile on your face. You could have at least had the courtesy to tell Ginny how lovely she looked, or you could have told me…!” She gasped and shot him a terrified glance before she turned on her heel and fled the Entrance Hall.
As Snape turned to leave for the dungeons once more, unable to believe what he had just heard, Albus silently went after Hermione. He found her a little away from the celebrations, sobbing.
“Hermione?” Albus sat down next to her.
“I’m sorry, Albus. I don’t want to ruin everything for Harry and Ginny.” She looked into his troubled face, she knew now that he had known all along.
“I’m sorry too; I made you dance with him.”
“Don’t be, I loved dancing with him. But…I just don’t understand. Why do I love him so much, it makes my heart ache? A painful feeling every time I see him. And every time we do talk or even when we are just close to each other, we end up fighting!” She suddenly stopped and grinned through the tears that had been falling from her eyes. As she looked up at the old wizard her grin turned into a heart felt smile. “I guess I do really love him, then,” she sighed.
“Then follow me, please.”
AN: Hells, you are the perfect beta.