Author's Note: Thank you to my beta justine34 for all of her encouragement and constructive criticism! I had meant for this story to be a one-shot, but I felt like it was too long for that so I have split it into three chapters. The characters belong to J.K. Rowling and the title and the lyrics at the top of each chapter are from Interpol's "C'mere." I highly recommend checking out this band!

It's way too late to be this locked inside ourselves
The trouble is that you're in love with someone else
It should be me. Oh, it should be me

A crash welcomed Severus Snape as he entered St. Mungo's Hospital Potions Lab. Sighing, he directed his attention to one of his hapless assistants scurrying to vanish the spilled solution from the linoleum floor, while the others suddenly became very interested in their own cauldrons. Apparently, his decision to leave Hogwarts in no way limited his exposure to dunderheads. Biting back an insult, Severus dropped his briefcase under the front counter to the left of the entrance.

It had been two years since he nearly bled to death on the floor of the Shrieking Shack. Thankfully, Voldemort did actually die, and an unconscious Severus was found on the instructions of a very insistent Harry Potter and taken directly to St. Mungo's. Few had expected him to recover from Nagini's fatal attack, least of all Severus himself. The blood loss was incredible and the Dark magic unheard of, but past experiences with Arthur Weasley's encounter with Nagini had left the staff better prepared. After weeks of languishing unconsciously in his hospital bed, Severus wrenched open his eyes with a start, and the shock of being alive and not chained to the bed nearly stopped his heart. Luckily, in a typical Snape manner, he was able to pull himself together enough to snipe at the gasping attending Healer that he would appreciate a glass of water, as his throat was very dry. Now, two years later, he was left with two knut-sized imprints on the side of his neck and an occasional jolt of pain, but nothing permanently disabling.

While he was sure he had made his attending Healers' lives a living nightmare, they had been kind and conscientious over the year he'd spent recuperating, even in the face of some of his more violent barbs. Thus, Severus decided his time was better served providing his brewing services to them, rather than dealing with the clumsy imbeciles that he had been indentured to serve for the last 20 years of his life, and took the position of Head Potioneer at the hospital. As such, he oversaw the creation of every brew distributed and had the freedom to do his own personal brewing, time permitting. Although his certified team of potioneers sometimes seemed more like a band of buffoons, he enjoyed the work and the sense of satisfaction he felt about its benefits.

Sitting at a bench behind the front counter, Severus cast a glance at the team working behind him. Brewing in a neat row of five cauldrons, each member worked on their standard morning supplies, including commonly used antidotes, such as Deflating Draught (used at an amusingly high rate), Blood-Replenishing Potion, healing pastes, and Calming Draught. Eyeing the sheet of parchment tacked to the wall, he called over to his assistant for the morning report.

"Jones, what's on for today?" he asked the clumsy tech who had just botched his efforts at bottling. Looking relieved to have avoided a verbal beating, Jones pulled the list off the wall and began to read off the requests.

"Let's see here, sir, they need some more Strengthening Solution, Wound-cleaning Potion, and-"

"Several cauldrons of Calming Solution, stat," finished a female voice behind Severus. Turning, Severus was struck by the sight of Hermione Granger, smiling at him from across the counter, wearing lime green robes and a "Healer-in-Training" badge. He had heard whispers that one of his more infamous (in his opinion) former students might take a training position at the hospital, but he had hardly expected to be ambushed by her cheerfulness that morning.

Seemingly unperturbed by the presence of her former Potions Master, Hermione continued, her bright smile never faltering.

"Sorry, guys. We've got a floor full of mothers in labor and half of the fathers are nearly purple in the face with anxiety."

Feeling the eyes of his assistants boring into his back and waiting for him to react, Severus turned towards them sharply. It was clear everyone in the room recognized the young woman.

"Well," he barked, "on with it, then!" Turning back to face her, he fixed his face with an impassive look despite the confused thoughts buzzing in his brain. Why wasn't she more surprised by his presence? He could barely remember their last encounter, he was dying after all, but they certainly hadn't made amends for all of his snide comments, and yes, cruel behavior. Why wasn't she a little intimidated, or even more, angry with him? He was Severus Snape, damn it! Had he really lost his touch?

"Miss Granger," he replied smoothly. "I had heard you had taken a position here. I suppose the offers for a war hero like you must be endless." He emphasized the word 'hero' as if it were unpalatable.

Not taking the bait, though her smile-he noticed with satisfaction-faltered for a millisecond, Hermione simply shook her head.

"No," she replied, meeting his stare. "I only applied to St. Mungo's. Anyway, I must get back before my superiors start looking for me." There was a glint in her eye that Severus could only define as defiant.

With that, she turned to leave, only pausing to leave a parting remark.

"Do hurry with the Draught," she said from the lab's entrance. And she was gone.

At noon, Severus was still thinking about this latest revelation. A member of the 'golden trio' was at St. Mungo's, and it seemed he might be forced to come into contact with her far more than he liked. It also seemed like she wasn't in the least blindsided by his presences as he was by hers. Attempting to push the thought from his mind, Severus left the lab en route to the staff tearoom. While he preferred eating alone, he found the tea served there strangely pleasant, enough that he endured the rowdiness of his fellow staff.

His ears were assaulted by a wall of voices as soon as he opened the staff room's door. The room was packed with lime-green-clad men and women seemingly trying to yell over each other while eating sandwiches of various types and drinking hot tea and coffee from ceramic mugs. Moving his way to the side counter, Severus quickly poured a cup of tea from the dispenser and found a seat towards the back of the room. Well-practiced at blocking out inane noise, he settled into the blue plastic seat and pulled out a medical journal, leisurely turning the pages as he sipped the delicious tea.

"Oh, hello, Professor Snape!"

It was that high-pitched, chipper voice once more. Rousing him from his deep concentration, Severus nearly spilled his tea everywhere.

"Is it your aim to have me burn myself?" he asked angrily as he steadied his cup and shot her a glare. Throwing him an apologetic look, Hermione pulled up a seat next to him.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to startle you, I just noticed you over here by yourself, and I thought I'd say hi…again," she finished, looking slightly unnerved. 'Finally,' Severus thought to himself, noting the look.

"And it didn't occur to you that I might be alone by choice?" Severus inquired, wearing one of his patented sneers.

"Well, yes," Hermione responded, her boldness returning. "But, I saw the journal you were reading, and I was hoping you might discuss an article in there. You know, the one about the uses of dragon blood?"

Seeing that he couldn't simply scare her away, he attempted a simple brush-off.

"Unfortunately, I haven't gotten that far yet, Miss Granger," he said casually, opening the journal once more and beginning to read in hopes that she would just leave.

"Oh, well, I'll wait," Hermione replied. Lowering the periodical to steal a glance at the girl, Severus realized that she would not leave until he engaged her in conversation. This had to be her revenge for years of his criticism and brushoffs. With a sigh, he placed the journal to the side, threw her an annoyed look, and gave in. Perhaps Nagini's attack really had taken something from him.

"Well, Miss Granger, let me hear your thoughts."

Hermione lit up at the invitation (and perhaps victory, but Severus would never concede to that), and Severus found himself having an enthusiastic debate, well, on her part, regarding the usefulness of dragon blood in certain remedies. Though he would hardly call the interaction enjoyable, it was quite distracting, and it was only once they noticed the exit of their colleagues that their discussion came to a close.

As they walked down the hall to their respective destinations, Hermione turned to him, looking unnerved once again.

"I really enjoyed our discussion today," she began.

"Hmm," Severus replied noncommittally.

"Well," she continued, "I was thinking that perhaps tomorrow we could go somewhere quieter." This halted Severus, who gave Hermione a questioning look. Realizing the implications of her statement, she stopped, holding her hands in front of her, as if surrendering.

"No, no," she said quickly, looking embarrassed. "What I meant was I know somewhere quieter to take our breaks. Somewhere you can read in peace." Though he had every intention of refusing the offer, Severus paused for a moment. 'A quieter place might be nice…' he considered.

"Where?" he asked bluntly.

"I'll show you tomorrow!" she said gleefully, clearly pleased with his acceptance. "It'll be a surprise. Just meet me on the third floor at break time tomorrow." Catching a glimpse of a nearby clock, she sped up her pace.

"Oh, I must be going!"

With that she rushed off to her assignment, leaving behind a very flustered Severus Snape.

"Miss Granger!" he called after her in annoyance. "I don't like surprises!"

"You'll like this one!" she called back over her shoulder from halfway down the hall.

Grunting, he began walking in the direction of the potions lab.

"We'll see about that," he muttered to himself.

Severus stood impatiently at the doors of the third floor ward. He had been waiting nearly 15 minutes for Hermione's arrival, though he hadarrived 10 minutes early. Still, she was already five minutes late, and he felt like a fool waiting while staff and patients passed, throwing him inquisitive looks.

A minute later, she arrived, looking out of breath.

"I'm sorry, sir," she apologized. "The influx of babies to the maternity ward is running us ragged. I thought Muggle babies were a handful!" Wiping perspiration from her brow, she looked at him, as if trying to measure his level of annoyance. Standing straight with his arms folded tightly to his chest, he tried his best to give her a look that said 'Well, get on with it!' Clearly understanding the look, she gestured at him to follow her, and pushed open the doors to the ward. Silently following, Severus looked around at the patients who seemed to be suffering from all types of maladies. Some seemed to have taken on strange colors, while others' reactions were less physical and more emotional, something he noted while passing a women laughing hysterically for no apparent reason.

Severus found himself at the opposite side of the hall when Hermione finally stopped. They stood in front of a door which simply said "Hospital Garden." Turning back to grin at Severus, Hermione opened the door and walked through, Severus following closely behind her. Once inside, he could only stare in awe.

It was clear that this was no ordinary room. Although logically the room must have had walls and a roof, its perimeters seemed to be charmed to appear endless, with lush greenery encompassing the expanse and an enchanted ceiling complete with fluffy clouds blocking the sun's most oppressive rays. The gravel path they stood on sloped downwards, into the heart of the garden. Mature elm trees loomed over the curved path, leading to a small pond in the garden's center. Metal benches with intricately designed back rests were placed throughout. A few visitors were in attendance, some sitting on the bank of the pond, others occupying benches or strolling towards the room's borders. It felt as if a light breeze blew. It was an actual park on the third floor of a magical hospital, hidden in Muggle London. Severus couldn't help wondering if magic would ever cease to amaze him.

It was then Severus remembered who had brought him there, looking down to see a smug Hermione smirking up at him. Grumbling, he walked over to a shady bench, settling down with his journal in hand. Sitting next to him, Hermione quietly pulled out a sandwich and her own periodical, and began to peruse it as she ate her lunch.

It was there that they spent the remainder of their lunch break, silently reading and enjoying the enchanted fresh air of the charmed hospital garden room. Severus, of course, wondered about the specific mechanics of such a place, but there was no way he would give the know-it-all the satisfaction of lecturing him about its origins. When it was time to go, they both picked up their things and walked through the door and down the hallway in silence.

"Well, what did you think?" Hermione asked as they reached the staircase. Looking down at her face, Severus couldn't help recognizing the familiar expression she wore. She always seemed eager to please, and this time was no different. Unable to think of an insult, he elected to give a simple answer.

"Thank you."

Within a week, their trips to the Hospital Garden had become routine. They would meet at the doors of the third floor, usually with Hermione out of breath due to some strange emergency, and they would then make their way to the room and select a bench upon entering. At first it was quiet, each of them keeping to themselves while they ate and read. However, after some days, Hermione ventured to ask his opinion on one thing or another, and Severus eventually found it easier not to resist conversation.

Things were cordial, some might even say friendly. Sometimes Hermione would bring him an extra sandwich, and Severus would bring some tea from the staff tearoom from time to time. In time 'Ms. Granger' became 'Hermione' and he ceased flinching as 'Severus' began to pass freely from her lips. It was in this emerging ease that he finally asked Hermione about the room's history, curiosity overcoming his own pride. The properties of the room, as he had guessed, were quite similar to those of the Great Hall, in terms of the charms placed its ceiling and walls. The plants and pond, however, were created in a typical Muggle fashion, though Severus had his doubts that no magic was involved, considering the size of the elms.

He often wondered why he had previously been unaware of this room. He had, after all, spent a considerable amount of time as a patient of the hospital and had not once been brought there. He conceded, however, that-as Hermione put it- he was not the most enjoyable patient and thus not likely to have any of his Healers eager to spend any personal time wheeling him around a garden.

As time went on, Severus also began to notice things about Hermione. Though he knew her to be an insufferable know-it-all, he was begrudgingly impressed with her abilities not only to recite facts, but to argue their importance with a quick wit. He also noticed, and attempted to ignore, that her brown eyes seemed to light up just so in the heat of an argument. She would also unconsciously bat wayward curls out of her eyes, eager to maintain eye-contact with her opponent. When she completely disagreed with a point, she wrinkled her nose, her eyebrow knitted in annoyance. But, these observations were inconsequential, Severus reminded himself. He was simply sizing her up in the midst of a battle of wits.

Through their conversations, Severus also learned that Hermione had returned to Hogwarts following the Dark Lord's defeat. Having seen the casualties of war, she had determined that healing was her calling, and returned to school with the intent of achieving her NEWTs in order to gain acceptance to St. Mungo's prestigious Healer-in-Training Program. He learned that she had visited him once during his stay, a thought that annoyingly made his heart skip a beat, but it had been during the period in which he was unconscious. It seemed Potter's revelations of his war efforts had left her determined to turn over a new leaf in their previously hostile student/teacher relationship, thus her defiant cheerfulness during their first meeting. But, all was not forgiven, and they would often debate heatedly as to whether his cruel tactics were actually well-taught lessons or expressions of blind hatred. Even then, the argument usually petered out, unresolved. War, it seemed, rendered these things less significant.

The revelation which may have rattled him most, though his face was schooled into an emotionless stare, was the news that she was seeing Ronald Weasley. Only under threat of an Unforgivable might he have admitted that this left a rather hollow feeling in his stomach.

Despite their growing intimacy, Severus refused to believe that he felt anything more for Hermione than collegial friendship. She was pleasant to talk to, and far more immune to his more caustic sense of humor than his peers. She was simply growing on him. Even his mounting urge to set something on fire at the mere mention of Weasley's name wasn't enough to convince him that perhaps he was feeling something more.

One afternoon Hermione suggested they relocate to under the shade of a particularly large elm tree. It was only after her liberal use of the Cushioning Charm on the ground that Severus followed. The experience was not as uncomfortable as he imagined. He appreciated the shade from the charmed sunny day as well as the firm back rest provided by the trunk of the aged elm. He might have also enjoyed the slight touch of Hermione's shoulder on his as they sat close together to share the elm's stable support, but he chose to ignore the slight tingle where they touched as best he could.

When it was time to leave, they each stood and brushed themselves off. Dropping her magazine, Hermione leaned over quickly to retrieve it at the same time as Severus. A second later, he found himself at face level with her wild hair. Usually precariously restrained in a bun, it had fallen out, curls spread loosely over her shoulders and back. He detected the slight scent of citrus, perhaps grapefruit or maybe orange, and found himself leaning forward to get a closer smell. Unfortunately, Hermione also chose this moment to straighten up once more, hitting his nose squarely with the back of her head.

"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed, covering her mouth in horror. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Severus!"

Groaning, he covered his nose with his hand, vaguely aware of the blood which was flowing freely from it. It was not the pain of the injury which clouded his mind, however, but the thought that it had occurred while he was sniffing Hermione Granger's hair. And he had enjoyed it.

It was then Severus realized he was in too deep, and once again, the object of his affection was taken.