Hi everybody!
This OS is a bit longer than the last one, but it's still a bit difficult for me to write in english ^^
I got this idea watching "The Nanny". There is this scene when Fran says "I just want someone who..." and then Maxwell comes in and says exactly what she was asking for. These scenes had me laugh so hard that I decided to apply the same principle to my favorite pairing :)
If you think that Ron & Hermione make a beautiful couple, don't read. Honestly, I think they're as well suited for each other as Ron and Dumbledore are. And this is how I try to prove it :) I believe Severus and Hermione are meant to be together and I hope you'll agree after this little story :)
Enjoy!
A/N: I'm not english speaking.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Hermione entered her quarters, threw her bag on the ground and roughly collapsed onto the couch. Her eyes finally shut, she took the time to actually breathe for the first time today. When Minerva had told her how difficult teaching Transfiguration was, she hadn't believed her. Now she only wished she had. She wouldn't have changed her mind no matter what, but getting used to her new schedule was a bit difficult. And above all, she now understood Severus' ill humor better than ever. If she had to read one more essay saying that the Growth Charm needed to be performed at midnight in front of a werewolf to be fully effective, she swore to Merlin she would blow up the entire castle. Students included.
"Hermione! I'm home!"
The young witch let out a sigh and opened her eyes to the sight of her now long-term boyfriend standing in front of the fireplace. She had started dating her best friend right after the war had ended. Three years ago that is. He had wanted to marry her right away but she had made it very clear to him that she didn't plan on being a housewife so soon. So Ron had agreed to wait, and nothing had happened since then.
"Hi, how was your day?" Hermione said, lazily standing up from the couch.
"You don't wanna know." He answered grumpily. But just as she was about to say "fine" and let the matter drop, Ron added: "It was terrible, ok?"
Hermione closed her eyes once more and faked an interest: "What happened? I thought you liked working at the Ministry?"
"I do." The red-hair replied as he slumped into a nearby chair and summoned a House Elf.
"Ron, the diner will be served in the Great Hall in no more than ten minutes… Can't you wait until then?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't know being hungry was illegal in your country."
Hermione simply sighed and sat at the opposite of the table. Ron placed his order and Hermione could only find the time to mouth an 'I'm sorry' to the Elf before it disappeared. When it came back with a plate full enough to feed the whole castle, Hermione chose not to comment. Ron was already enough of a pain in the ass as it was. When he took his first bite and started to relax, Hermione felt she could start talking again.
"So what happened?"
"Kingsley. That's what happened." Hermione shot him a quizzical look and he went on: "He just barged into my office and complained – once again – that I had – presumably – lost the Carrow file."
"Well? Had you?" Hermione tried to keep the reproach from her voice but apparently, even Ron wasn't so thick that he could miss it.
Ron glared in her direction and Hermione got the answer she needed. "You can't blame him, Ron. He's only doing his job. Maybe you should try a new filing system; it might… might make things easier for you."
The young witch could see the nerve on Ron's face begin to twitch and prepared for the storm. "You don't even know what you're talking about! It's easy for you to say, you don't even really work."
"Oh, so you think teaching here is easy?" She burst out. "And at least I've never lost one of my student's essays!"
"You can't compare. Your situation is completely different."
Hermione understood that this discussion wouldn't lead them anywhere, so she simply gave up. She sighed, only realizing now how hungry she was. Her voice softened as she asked:
"The dinner must be ready. Do you want to come?"
"No thanks! I'm way too tired to move. Say hello to Harry and Ginny for me, will you?"
"But everyone will be expecting you…"
"Tell 'em I'm sorry. They'll understand."
Ron laid down on the couch and Hermione simply left. She entered the Great Hall alone and walked up to the Teacher's Table. Everybody was already seated and eating, including Minerva ( who was only here as a Deputy Head ), Luna ( who was now the Care to Magical Creatures' teacher ), Harry ( the new Flying Instructor ), Ginny ( who taught Charms ) and Remus ( who had gotten his old DADA teacher post back ). Albus Dumbledore sat in his usual chair and Severus sat to his left. Weird as it may sound, Hermione enjoyed the Potions Master's company, they had actually formed some sort of friendship over the years. It was amazing what fighting a war side by side could do to your old grudges.
"I thought Ronald would be with you." Luna softly said as Hermione took her seat right next to her.
"He was a bit tired, but he asked me to say hello." The Gryffindor princess answered as she filled her plate.
"Oh I see." The blonde woman seemed to be lost in her thoughts for a moment before she softly turned towards her friend. "I heard he was having some difficulties at the Ministry."
Hermione bit her food a little harder than was necessary. "Yes, he told me about it."
"You don't seem to be very happy about it." Luna put a reassuring hand on Hermione's shoulder. Most people wouldn't have noticed but Luna had grown since the war. She was still air-headed but she could be very perceptive sometimes.
"It's just that… Well, I do love Ron, you know that?" Luna simply nodded and Hermione went on. "But he never listens to what I have to say. He's so stubborn sometimes!"
Luna laughed at that. "You can be pretty stubborn yourself Hermione."
Yes, but in this case I'm right. So I'm allowed to be!
"I know Luna. I just wish I was with someone who valued my opinion a bit more than Ron does, that's all."
Luna nodded and resumed eating. They finished their meal in a comfortable silence and soon they were both on their way to Hermione's quarters ( Luna had insisted on escorting her there in case she came across a horde of Nargles. ) They were only a few feet away when a voice stopped them in their tracks.
"Hermione, Professor Lovegood."
Both women turned and smiled at Severus who was now walking towards them, cape billowing and all. His features seemed more relaxed than before the war but Hermione had gotten used to this. What amazed her however was the smile that was playing across his lips.
"I tried adding dittany to the potion, and I think you were right. We will only be able to see the full effect – if effect there is – tomorrow but I feel quite confident this time."
Hermione couldn't contain her joy and jumped into her former professor's arms. Luna half expected Professor Snape to push her away, but when he didn't she assumed that potion brewing led people to insanity. Then she thought about what Hermione had said earlier. She waved the both of them good night and made towards her own chambers, apparently lost in thought.
On the weekends, Hermione enjoyed reading the new issue of Potions Weekly by the fire, and this Saturday was no exception. She was comfortably seated in her favorite armchair with the precious copy on her laps. Her mind was wandering to the potion she had been trying to perfect with Severus when she read something interesting. She jumped to her feet and grabbed her quill, starting to write furiously.
When Ron came back from his usual Quidditch game, he found his girlfriend frantically scribbling notes. Then he saw what she was writing about and he frowned. How come she could find time to help the Greasy Git in his research but not the time to take better care of him? To make matters even worse, she was doing it for free, because she enjoyed it. How she could only stand to be in that bastard's presence was beyond him. But whatever the reason, it really started to piss him off. He sat at the table and grabbed the parchment Hermione was trying to write on.
"Ron! What are you doing? I'm trying to work!"
"The last time I checked, Snape was still the school's Potions Master. And you taught Transfiguration."
"But you know I work with him sometimes. And I may have found something new for our research! I need to write it down!" She snapped trying to get her parchment back, but Ron held it out of her reach.
"Let him do his bloody research on his own! Don't you have anything better to do?"
"Oh like what? Watching you play Quidditch perhaps? I can do what I bloody want in my free time, now give it back!"
She reached for it but Ron kept a firm grip on the piece of paper. "Fine!" She finally snapped, her voice as cold as ice. She grabbed her wand and her copy of Potions Weekly and left, slamming the door in her wake. She made her way towards Ginny's chambers, knowing her best friend would at least listen to what she had to say. When she finally barged into Ginny's quarters, the red-head immediately knew that something was up. Hermione's cheeks had turned pink, her jaw was clenched and she looked like she was about to hex someone's private parts off. The Charms teacher slowly took her wand away and kept it with her. Just in case.
"Hermione?" She asked softly. Her voice seemed to have pulled the young witch out of her rage, but her features weren't back to normal yet. Ginny perceived a look of sadness before Hermione closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she simply sighed and sat down.
"So what's up with Ron?"
"How do you know it's about Ronald?" Hermione answered darkly.
"Because he's the only idiot in this castle who could mess you up like this."
"We just had a fight. There's nothing really unusual about that…" Ginny raised an eyebrow, she knew Hermione wasn't done. She couldn't have got so upset over a simple fight, there was definitely something bothering her. Something bigger.
Hermione let out a long breath before asking: "Does Harry ever… tell you what to do on your spare time?" Now Ginny was frowning.
"You know, we usually spend our free time together. Mostly playing Quidditch… among other stuff." She grinned.
"Ew. That's really more than I needed to know, Ginny." The Weasley girl sent her an apologetic look, but Hermione simply ran a hand through her hair. "But Ron and I are so different. I'd love spending time with him outside of classes but, we just don't have the same interests."
"Hermione…" Ginny sat next to her friend and softly put her hand on her shoulder. "There is no such thing as a perfect relationship. They can't always be easy."
"I know, but ours never seems to be. I simply wish he could understand my thirst for knowledge, you know. We could never work together but he could at least try to support me in our research, don't you think?"
"You know my brother is an ass, right?" Hermione laughed at her remark. Merlin yes, she knew. "But if you really love him, it should be enough. You do love him, don't you?"
"You know I do. He's been my best friend for over ten years now." Hermione simply said, her voice a bit frail.
Ginny was a bit surprised at her answer. Her best friend? She needed to think about this. Until then, it was time to go to lunch. "Come on Hermione. Let's go eat something and we can go shopping afterwards!"
The young woman got up, quickly followed by her best friend. Hermione didn't usually like shopping but thought it might actually take her mind off of things right now. So she smiled at Ginny and followed her to the Great Hall. On their way they ran into Professor Snape and Hermione pulled at her friend's sleeve.
"I'll see you in the Great Hall, I need to discuss something with Severus."
Ginny simply nodded and watched Hermione catch up with the Potions Master. They certainly made an awkward duo. She heard them talk about some sort of research and decided she didn't care. But just as she was about to stop eavesdropping, she noticed something that made her stop dead in her tracks. Hermione was smiling, really smiling. Ginny could tell she wasn't faking it, even her eyes had lit up. Merlin, Professor Snape didn't even seem to mind her company ( which meant a normal human being would have been frankly smiling ).
"Ginny? I'm sorry, but do you mind if we go shopping another time?"
Hermione's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. She noticed Professor Snape was waiting for them and assumed that he had offered her to work on their project this afternoon. Ginny really wanted to cheer her friend up, but when she realized how happy Hermione seemed to be, she gave her a reassuring smile:
"Not at all."
Hermione thanked her and assured her that they could go to Hogsmeade next week. But Ginny didn't care anymore. She had just spotted something even more interesting than a beautiful pair of shoes. She remembered what Hermione had told her a few minutes earlier and smiled to herself. Maybe she would be able to help her friend after all. She noticed a few details, like the way Hermione spoke, the way Severus seemed to enjoy her company, the way she slightly brushed his arm when she got a new idea, the way Professor Snape put his hand on the small of her back to lead her into the Great Hall… She definitely needed to talk to Harry about this.
On Monday night Hermione came back to her quarters just before dinner and opened the book she had been dying to read for two weeks now. It was an essay on the dangers of the Animagus status. She had never thought of becoming one herself but the subject itself was fascinating nonetheless. She had managed to read almost a third of the book when the usual sound of the floo announced Ron's arrival. She quickly hid the book under her students' essays but it was too late.
"You shouldn't read too much you know. You never get to do anything fun."
"Reading is fun for me." She hissed through gritted teeth.
"So you're saying that…" he pulled the book from under the papers and shook it in the air. "this crap is entertaining?"
"Highly, yes."
"So you'd rather read your stupid books than take care of your boyfriend?"
"For god's sake Ronald!" She yelled standing up. "I'm not here to take care of you, I'm not your mother!"
"Fine. Just ignore me then!"
He smashed her book on the table and collapsed on the couch. Hermione picked it up and moved towards her chair, only this time she didn't sit on it. She simply sat on the floor, settling her back against the chair. The Gryffindor common room had always been so crowded than she'd gotten used to sitting on the ground. She always felt comfortable in this position.
"Why do you have to sit on the ground? It's not very ladylike."
"That's it!" She snapped, abruptly closing her book. "I'm going to the Great Hall and I would advise you to eat in here if you want to keep your balls attached to your body!"
She rushed through the door and into the Hogwarts' corridor. Why did Ron always have to criticize everything she did? Wasn't he supposed to love all of her habits? Wasn't it what being in love meant? And even so, she never complained when he chewed his mouth open, when he put his feet on the table, when he talked his mouth full, when he… bam!
Hermione had apparently run into a UWP (unidentified walking person). However that person felt more like a wall than anything else. They both fell to the ground, her on top. She opened her eyes and was about to apologize when she saw who she had fallen onto: Severus Snape. Her whole body froze under his gaze. She opened her mouth but all she could focus on was how firm his whole body felt under her touch.
"I… I'm…" she stuttered.
"Hermione, Severus! Is everything all right?"
Minerva was walking towards them now and her interruption seemed to have pulled Severus out of whatever thought he'd been focusing on.
"Would you mind?"
Hermione felt her cheeks heat up a bit and abruptly stood up. She was… embarrassed to say the least. But most of all she felt so flustered she could have sworn her heartbeat was echoing against the brick walls.
"I'm sorry Severus, I was…" She remembered what she had been running from and her features saddened. "…lost in thought."
Minerva raised an eyebrow and Severus recognized his cue. He walked past them but stayed in hearing distance.
"What's wrong dear?"
"Oh nothing really. Ron simply said that I shouldn't read as much as I do. He might as well have told me not to breathe as much as I do. You can't read too much."
Severus rolled his eyes but nobody witnessed his exasperation. What Hermione was still doing with that Weasley idiot was beyond him.
"You can't stop breathing, darling. You shouldn't have to change who you are."
"I know Minerva. I suppose I'll just have to find somewhere else to read."
Severus' eyebrow shot up. Maybe this was his opportunity. He turned around and steeled his expression.
"You could come in my quarters. If you wish, that is. They are quiet, and as I'll be reading there myself, it shouldn't be a problem."
"Really?" Hermione almost shrieked.
"As long as you promise to sit on the floor."
Minerva's eyes shot open at Severus' smirk. She was about to lecture him on how to treat a lady but Hermione began laughing, and surprisingly enough, Snape's features relaxed. What the hell was that? She had the feeling she had just missed a private joke. She simply watched as her former student literally skipped towards her Potions Master to show him the book she'd been reading. Minerva pinched herself before it dawned on her. She would wait until this weekend's Order meeting to share her thoughts and come up with a plan, whether anyone agreed or not.
Hermione had tried to stop thinking about the 'Severus incident' this whole week. She had tried not to think about it when she saw him in the corridors, when anybody used the word 'hot' ( no matter what the context was ), when Minerva stared at her, when Ron kissed her… But every effort had been vain. The more she tried to forget, the more she thought about it, and the more confused she became.
She had never imagined she could feel that way about Severus, and the worst part was, she didn't know what she was feeling. Had it been attraction? An old fantasy coming back to life? Or had it only been the tension of the situation, and the way he had been staring at her. She shivered a bit remembering the moment but Ron didn't notice it. He never noticed anything, and for once she was almost thankful for his complete lack of sensitivity.
After her last encounter with Severus, Hermione had started to remember a few details about her own behavior. She felt like she was seeing herself from someone else's point of view, and what she witnessed was frightening to say the least. She remembered their work sessions, the evening they had simply read together in his chambers, their discussions at the Great Table… and so many other things she felt her head spin. She had never known she was capable of smiling so completely when being herself. Hermione imagined she had seen a spark of joy in Severus' eyes once, but she knew she was deluding herself. She shook her head and prayed Merlin Ron hadn't noticed anything.
She took his hand in hers and apparated them both to Headquarters. When they entered the old house she was still shaking a little but Ron didn't pay any attention to the state she was in. He saw the twins in a corner and went to join them without looking back. Seeing this, Hermione let out a deep sigh and walked towards her other best friend, Harry.
"Can I talk to you for a minute? In private?"
Harry understood the urgency of her demand and followed her into the next room. Severus clenched his fists at that sight but tried to relax when he saw Albus coming towards him. Unfortunately, the old man could see everything, especially what you tried your hardest to hide from him.
"There's no need to worry my boy. Harry is nothing more than a friend to her."
Severus bit his tongue trying to contain his retort but couldn't restrain a low groan. Albus simply winked at him and the Potions Master decided that walking away would now be the only way to keep himself out of Azkaban.
Hermione closed the door behind her and immediately turned to her best friend.
"Harry, I need you to be very honest with me, all right?"
"Uh… ok, I'll try." Harry answered, unsure of what he was supposed to do.
"You know that after the war, everybody expected Ronald and me to be together."
"It was about time, I should say!"
"Please, don't." Hermione whispered. "Do you really think that… that we were meant to be together?"
Harry put both of his hands on his friend's shoulder. "What are you talking about?"
"I think I'm a little scared, Harry." She jumped into his embrace and buried her nose in his neck, trying to hide the tear that was rolling down her cheek. "I think I've been fooling myself all this time…"
The-Boy-Who-Lived simply stroked her hair, holding her tight. "We are not meant to be together at all, are we?"
"It's not my choice to make, you know that…" He softly kissed her forehead before asking: "So are you in love with somebody else?"
Hermione shook her head against his before whispering: "I never cheated on him, Harry…"
"So you do love someone…" He murmured, more for himself than for Hermione.
"I never meant to hurt Ronald, you know that right?"
"Of course I do…" Harry would never admit it, but he felt his heart break a little, knowing he had partially caused his best friend's unhappiness for more than three years now. He hadn't believed Ginny last week, but now he could see she had been right. He didn't want to take sides in this story, but knowing what he knew, he didn't have much of a choice.
"Just… just don't do anything until I come back, ok?"
Hermione nodded and Harry pecked her on the cheek before leaving the house.
Neither Ron nor Harry attended the meeting this day. Actually they weren't the only ones missing. Remus, Sirius, Luna, Ginny and Minerva weren't there either, but Hermione didn't spend much time dwelling on it, she had other things to take care of. What she didn't know was that her friends had just taken care of it for her.
"And don't forget about the Ball tonight, in the Great Hall." Dumbledore announced, closing the meeting.
Hermione came back to reality and almost jumped from her seat. She had completely forgotten about the ball. It was going to be torture having to attend with Ron… She pushed that thought to the back of her head and gave a small smile to the retreating form of Severus. A few minutes later everybody had gone and left her alone to wait for Harry. However, she didn't have to wait for long as a minute later, all of the people missing from the meeting entered at once. All of them, except for Ron.
She tried to smile but nobody moved. She looked at every one of them individually. Ginny holding Harry's hand, Sirius with his arm around Remus' waist…
"What's going on?" She whispered, a little worried by now.
Harry and Ginny exchanged a look before he came towards her, holding a picture in his right hand.
"I'm sorry you had to find out, Hermione…"
The Gryffindor princess took one look at the photograph and sank to her knees. How could that bastard…
She hadn't cried. She hadn't even yelled. Of course finding out that Ron had been cheating on her had come as quite a shock to her. But she realized it was best this way. In a weird sort of way, she was relieved she hadn't had to break his heart, but now that she knew what he had done, she was a bit disappointed to have missed out on her revenge. However, it seemed that everybody else had avenged her, and this was good enough for her.
As Dumbledore declared the Ball open, she glanced at Ron, alone in a corner. He looked miserable and this fact only increased her own happiness. She made her way towards Sirius and Remus and asked the former to dance. He softly took her to the dance floor and she was surprised to see that her smile came naturally. She felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
"I'm sorry you had to miss the moment I bit his leg." Sirius smirked.
"Oh that's ok, you can always show me your memories." Hermione smiled as she looked in Severus' direction.
"Are you sure it's what you want, Hermione?" Sirius had tried his best to keep any feeling of disgust out of his voice, but Hermione didn't mind he had failed.
"Oh yes, I'm sure."
When the dance was over, she invited Remus, and then the twins. When Harry's turn came however, she could feel he was a bit tense.
"Are you all right?"
"I'm so sorry Hermione! I thought he would stop, he promised me he would, and I didn't want to hurt your feelings, and…"
"I'm not angry Harry." She interrupted him softly. "I'm actually quite… relieved. It was my fault; I let myself be fooled by other people's opinion, that's all."
Harry let out a breath for what seemed the first time of the evening. "I'm still sorry it had to end that way…"
"I'm not." Hermione simply answered with a smile on her face. "Thank you Harry."
She kissed him on the cheek before he took Ginny to dance. After all, she was his girlfriend. Hermione took a deep breath and walked towards Severus. She could feel her friends staring at her and it kept her going. When she finally stood in front of him, she simply extended her hand.
"Will you dance with me, Severus?"
"Why?" He asked skeptically, his eyebrow raised.
"Because I want to." She put her hand in his and intertwined their fingers, leading them on the dance floor.
Severus cleared his throat before saying: "I'm sorry you broke up with Weasley."
"No you're not." She smirked. "And I'm not either."
"It was no secret that I hated the kid." He sneered.
"Was there a particular reason behind your antipathy?"
Severus swallowed hard as she put her arms behind his neck and got a little bit closer to him. "Yes."
"And what was it exactly?" She whispered in his ear, running her hand through his hair.
Severus gently put his forehead against her and closed his eyes. "He had someone that I had wanted to make mine for a very long time…"
"I've been yours for a very long time too Severus…" She softly whispered before pressing her lips against his. She could feel a broken part of her grow whole again, and she could swear Severus felt the same thing inside his chest.
Harry, Ginny, Minerva, Sirius, Remus, Luna and Dumbledore saw them break the kiss before Hermione nestled against Severus' chest. The Potions Master was facing away from them but Harry could have sworn he had seen him smile not two seconds ago.
"Are you sure she made the right decision?" Sirius finally asked.
"He is her choice Padfoot." Remus pointed out.
"And I am sure she made the right decision." Minerva's statement was quickly approved by Luna, Ginny and Harry.
"I'm just relieved they finally realized what had been in front of their noses for almost three years." Albus announced in a playful tone.
The whole group turned towards him in shock, but Minerva was the only one who could actually answer him. "You mean to say that you have known all along?" Albus simply nodded. "And you never thought to mention it?" His wife exploded.
"But Minnie…"
The rest of Albus' defense was lost in the group's laughter. Harry looked at her best friend still on the dance floor and saw something on her face he hadn't seen in a long time, a loving smile.
THE END
I'm really not sure about the ending, but I hope you enjoyed it nevertheless. I love the scene between Harry and Hermione ( they almost made me cry in the deathly hallows part 2, so I guess this is where the whole scene is coming from ).
I didn't have this story beta'd so if you see any grammatical error, feel free to point them out :)
Again, I'd really appreciate a review, it took me a while to get this written and I'm very insecure when it comes to my writing. And as Barney would say: "Reviewing don't cost you nothing sugar."
See ya!