All canon characters belong to JKR. As this story is being written by me, a fanfiction author there will obviously be non-canon situations.
Many thanks go to June who is a great help to me.
Chapter 2
They walked to the dungeons in silence. Hermione kept a tight hold of the book she had taken from the library. She secretly hoped that Professor Snape had not seen what she had taken, although in the back of her mind she knew that smirk he was now wearing meant he knew exactly what she had held in her arms.
For his part, Severus actually had no clue why she held the large text against her breast as she did. He knew she was fond of books, but he had no idea she liked them that much. He also found himself secretly wondering what it would be like to be in the book’s place. For several months now, he had realized she was no longer the frizzy-haired know-it-all student that had driven him to drink on several occasions. He wasn’t quite sure exactly what changed, but he thought it happened one day as they were sitting in the Great Hall having breakfast. It was nothing out of the ordinary, really. Then Hermione asked him if he could pass the milk that was in front of him. As he handed her the carafe, he looked at her smiling face and felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him.
He remembered thinking, ‘When did she grow up?’ It was something that had him off-kilter for the rest of the day. From that moment on, he would steal glances towards her. He watched her from a distance during Quidditch matches. He would observe her quietly and wonder what her life was like. She hardly ever left the castle; save for the few weekends she would meet Potter and Weasley for lunch in Hogsmeade. She wasn’t much taller than when she graduated; she came up to about his shoulders. Her hair was still a bit of a mess, but it was now more curly than frizzy. She wasn’t beautiful, but she certainly wasn’t ugly. He could safely say she was a very pretty young woman. She rather reminded him of Lily Potter to a certain degree.
There were times when he thought she looked lonely as well, but he never dared to ask if she would like to share a bottle of wine, or if she would like to take a walk around the lake after dinner. In the end, he thought she would sooner be alone than spend time with him.
As they approached a wall, he whispered an almost inaudible command; a door appeared and swung open for them. Severus stepped to the side and motioned for her to walk inside. As she did, she noticed the warm glow of the fire first. It filled the room with an amber light that made the objects placed along some shelves against the walls dance. She smiled as she noted the many books that filled the large bookshelf that stood against the wall next to the fireplace. So enthralled was she, that she jumped slightly when he spoke.
“Have a seat and make yourself comfortable. Do you prefer red or white wine?” he asked softly.
“I prefer red, and Merlot if you have it,” she smiled at him and turned back to the bookcase. He took off his robes and placed them on a large hook near the door, leaving him with his attire of black trousers and black frock coat. As he walked towards his study, he began unbuttoning his coat. If he was quite honest with himself, he wasn’t sure what made him invite her down there. While he wanted to get to know her better, he wasn’t sure just what to do. Should he talk about her classes or the weather? He certainly wasn’t going to ask her about Potter or Weasley. He shook his head and decided to just let the conversation happen naturally. No doubt she would have a million questions about the books she had immediately noticed.
Hermione decided it was best to put down the book in her arms. She placed it on the table in front of the sofa, and then placed her teaching robes neatly folded on top, in the hopes that the book would be forgotten. She looked up when she heard Severus footsteps coming back from the study. He had two wine glasses in one hand, and a wine bottle in the other.
“Would you care for something to eat? I can call to the kitchens for something to eat if you wish.”
“No, I’m not very hungry, thank you,” she replied, as he handed her a glass and poured the wine. “How long until the new year?” she asked.
He turned and looked at a small antique clock on the sideboard.
“We have just under three hours. If you care to go to your rooms or to the party after you finish your wine, I won’t be offended,” he stated.
“I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I never thought you would ever be this nice to me,” she said as she felt herself blush and looked down at her wine. “Since you have been so nice to ask me to spend this time with you, I wouldn’t dream of leaving. Besides, I would only be sitting in my room alone anyway.” She turned and sat quickly, wondering if she had perhaps given him more information than he actually even cared to know.
He smiled and sat next to her, placing the wine bottle on the table in front of him.
“I apologize if I have been…unfriendly towards you since your return,” he said. “I must admit, I had some trepidation when I heard you would be joining the teaching staff. But I recently realized that you were no longer that frizzy-haired know-it-all that nearly drove me to the brink of insanity with her questions.” He chuckled and sat back. He was relieved when he heard her giggle next to him.
“I was a bit overbearing with the questions sometimes, wasn’t I?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Looking back on it, I wish I had more students like you. You wanted to learn. You took interest in what I was saying and didn’t just want to be told what ingredients to use for a potion. You wanted to know why one was used, and not another. You wanted to know the difference in using different ingredients, or spells. A student like you is a gift, Hermione.”
She took a sip of her wine and almost choked as she heard his last sentence. Not only had he just paid her the most wonderful compliment she had ever received, but he had finally used her name. Not Professor Granger, or Miss Granger, but Hermione. She felt something in her stomach flutter, and she thanked the heavens that the room was not fully lit, since she just knew she was blushing wildly.
“Thank you, Professor, I mean, um…Severus.”
He decided he liked when she used his given name. Her soft feminine voice made his cold-sounding name sound almost erotic. Wanting to find out a bit more about her likes and dislikes, he thought he would ask her what she had taken from the library. Surely it had to have been something important for her to want to spend the evening reading, instead of joining the other staff or even meeting up with her friends.
“What is this that you are going to read then?” he asked, as he leaned forward and took hold of the book under her robes.
Hermione’s eyes became two huge circles, and she quickly realized he was going for her book.
“Nothing!” she exclaimed as she lunged towards the book and spilled her wine all over her blouse. “Oh, my new blouse.” She stood and picked up her teaching robe and began to use it as a towel. The robe was red, after all, and she had been meaning to get new ones anyway. It didn’t matter to her if those got ruined, but not her brand new silk blouse. As she began to rub at the spot the wine created, she noticed Severus looking at the book’s title. She dropped the robe and quickly picked up the book
“Um…its not what you think. You see, I remember seeing it when I was a student here and I, well, what I mean is I thought it would be interesting to, um…I…” she realized that not only was she rambling, but she could come up with no other explanation than the truth. She bowed her head and dropped heavily on the couch. “Oh, blast, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. And since I had nothing to do this evening, and had no interest in spending the evening listening to Albus give out his recipe for clustered caramel coconut squares for the hundredth bloody time, I decided to spend my evening in solitary debauchery.” She stared at the book on her lap, and wondered if it would be possible to make a run for the door before Severus recovered from her embarrassing rant.
“Well, then,” said Severus. “Instead of a solitary evening of debauchery, might I suggest you join me in my bedroom so I can show you just exactly what the fuss is all about?”
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There is one more short chapter left and this story will be done.