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Peppermint
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Chapter 4
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Hermione tugged the heavy scarf closer around her face as she glanced around one last time and, when she was quite satisfied that no-one had recognised her, she disappeared down the narrow side road. Her gaze darted towards the old, battered sign that hung against the brick wall and she shuddered, but still carried on walking. Knockturn Alley…. It had been a long time since she had ventured down this particular avenue. Fifth year at Hogwarts, to be precise…but she had no time for reminiscing. She shook her head briefly to clear her thoughts and hurried towards an old shop bearing the words Potions Ingredients and Texts. She had questioned many of her old university teachers under the pretext of ‘research’, and had located the whereabouts of exactly what she was looking for.
As she steadily moved forwards and neared the shop she had the sudden, overwhelming urge to turn on her heel and run. She couldn’t quite believe that she was doing this. But I can’t back down now, she quietly told herself. She hadn’t been able to sleep the previous night, nor the one before that. She had simply laid in bed watching the sleeping man beside her, listening to his rhythmic breathing and being unable to tear her eyes away as her thoughts ran riot and threatened to explode inside her head. And every now and then, as she had tried to reach out and touch Severus’s shoulder, or run her fingers through his hair in the way that had been second nature to her for so long, she had found that she couldn’t. She just couldn’t forgive him. No, he was playing her for a fool - and that was exactly what she would be if she put up with it.
Talk to him….
Hermione quashed the niggling thought instantly and almost laughed at herself for even entertaining such an idea. After all, for years Severus had been able to look at Voldemort himself and lie straight to his face without the Dark Lord realising. Did she honestly think that he wouldn’t be able to lie convincingly to her? Her expression darkened. No, all he would have to do would be to hold her and look at her with that impossibly intense gaze and she would believe every word he said.
Hermione wiped her eyes and hurried forward before she changed her mind. She raised her hand to the doorway and paused for a second, her heart racing. She hesitated for the briefest of moments but then, with a deep breath, she pushed the door and entered.
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Severus blinked and trained his eyes on the dark blur that had just disappeared from view. Had that been…? He shook his head and snorted at himself. Of course not. After all, what could Hermione possibly be doing down Knockturn Alley? He narrowed his eyes. But that figure had looked so familiar….
“Severus!” the witch beside him hissed, startling him back to his current position. “What is it?”
Snape stared a few more seconds at the alleyway that Hermione had just entered before returning his attention to the redhead standing next to him. “Nothing,” he murmured tearing his gaze away and dispelling the thought from his mind. He regained his composure. “Nothing…I just thought…never mind.”
Ginny looked at him slightly oddly and was about to say something but stopped, thinking better of it. “We’d better get going,” she whispered. “Same place again?”
Severus nodded, a little absent-mindedly, before following the witch into the side road and into The Wand And Cloak, their usual meeting-place. They quickly seated themselves in a corner and as Ginny went to the bar to make an order it wasn’t long before Snape’s thoughts turned to Hermione once more. Had that been her? But what could she be doing down Knockturn Alley? Purchasing some ingredients, perhaps? He doubted it. And anyway, if that was what she was doing why hadn’t she mentioned it? She would have known that I would happily have gone with her. After all, Knockturn Alley isn’t the kind of place you generally venture alone. He fingered a small package in the pocket of his robes subconsciously, out of habit, but quickly withdrew his hand as he saw the younger witch approaching.
“Here.” Ginny placed a Firewhiskey in front of Severus, oblivious of his sudden movment, and took a sip of her own before dropping into the chair opposite him.
“Thank you,” Severus murmured.
They sat in comfortable silence for a few seconds, and Snape found himself almost snorting at the situation. A few months ago, who would ever have thought that he and Ginny Weasley would be sitting together having a drink?
He looked across at her and felt an enormous sense of relief. Thank goodness for her. He found that he no longer regarded her as another annoying Weasley. Of course, her invaluable help and assistance with all the arrangements had no doubt been the cause of that. He thought of the recent months. It had taken many hidden meetings between the two of them to invent stories to throw Hermione off the scent, draw up lists of people to invite, argue about minor details for hours on end, visit everyone to make sure they would be able to attend, and finally organise the evening. In truth, if it hadn’t been for her, Severus would have gone half mad with all the preparations. Who would have thought it would be so difficult to arrange everyone to be in the same place at the same time?
Ginny addressed him with her usual question as she pulled the familiar sheaf of parchment from her robe pocket.
“Does she suspect anything?”
Severus shifted in his seat slightly. This time he wasn’t so ready with his reply. It was usually a prompt affirmative that no, Hermione didn’t suspect a thing “ but this time he wasn’t so sure…. His brow furrowed a little as his mind skipped over the episode the previous week, in the kitchen. Yes, that had certainly been tricky. Hermione had been asking some very awkward questions indeed. And he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there had been something about the way in which she had brushed him off and dismissed him so abruptly that had made him wonder a little if she had guessed that he was keeping something from her. But no, he quickly thought. After all, she had eventually settled at his rather lame insistence that he had been at the apothecary. And anyway, she would have just told him if there was something bothering her…. Then he remembered the warm smile that she had given him just moments after he had returned to the kitchen, and his heart lifted once more. No, he was quite sure that she didn’t know. True, she had taken a while to accept his explanation of where he had disappeared off to the previous week, but she hadn’t mentioned anything since.
Thankfully, ever since the kitchen incident she seemed to have forgotten all about his increasingly transparent explanations regarding his absences, and had stopped questioning him about his whereabouts. Thank goodness, Snape inwardly sighed. He didn’t think he had enough imagination to supply him with another month’s worth of stories. He rubbed his temple. He was certainly too old for all this.
So it was with a certain amount of conviction that Snape replied. “No, I’m quite sure Hermione isn’t aware of what we are planning.”
Ginny’s face cracked into a smile. “I’ll drink to that!” She raised her glass and downed the remainder of its contents. She replaced the empty glass with a thud and the table wobbled slightly. Snape instinctively reached out to steady the glass and the sleeve of his robes caught on the table edge. There was a soft thud as something rolled out of his pocket. It landed near Ginny’s feet and she bent down automatically to retrieve it.
Snape instantly froze as he realised what had happened. “No!” he barked, his voice slightly hoarse as he dropped at the same moment to pick it up. “I’ll get it!” He ducked beneath the table hurriedly, his hands fumbling desperately on the floor.
“Don’t be silly, it’s closer to me,” Ginny persisted, not noticing the anxiety in his features. She grasped the object and picked it up triumphantly. “Here you go,” she said, holding it out to the Professor, and watched him turn several shades paler. Her eyebrows shot up into her hairline in concern at his expression and she looked at the small package in concern. “What’s the matter? It’s not broken is it?” She eyed the cube and turned it over in her hands. It seemed to be intact. “What is it, anyway…?”
Suddenly Ginny’s eyes flew open as she registered exactly what it was.
“Oh my GOD! Is this…? Are you…?” Her hand flew to her mouth and her eyes widened even further.
Snape scowled and snatched it back.
“Yes and yes,” he growled, deftly pocketing it as the red-haired witch continued to stare. He saw no point denying it now that the annoying witch had obviously guessed correctly, so he instead treated her to a black look that would ordinarily have made her squirm had she not been so excited.
“I can’t believe it!” she squeaked, wide eyed. “I had no idea!”
Snape glared at her. “Forgive me, were you expecting me to run it by you first?”
Ginny visibly reddened. “Of course not,” she mumbled. She shook her head in disbelief. “It’s just so “ ”
“What?” Severus snapped a little defensively, suddenly frowning.
“No! Nothing like that! It’s just…. Oh my God!”
She suddenly leapt across the table and hugged him ferociously around the neck, then realised what she had done and immediately sat back down again, blushing furiously.
Severus quirked an eyebrow in amusement. “I take it you approve, then.”
“Oh, Severus!”
And for the rest of the evening, nothing could get rid of Ginny’s beaming smile.
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A/N: Just one more chapter to go….