All's Fair in Love and War
Summary: When Snape and Hermione attend the same Potions conference weekend, the battle lines get drawn
Hello! I've loved SSHG since I first started reading this pairing, so I decided to join in and try one myself. I appreciate any kind of feedback and I hope you enjoy!
CHAPTER 1
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Focus on something else…Something positive…
Nothing was helping at all. Hermione Granger was the first to admit she was not born with a natural eloquence when it came to public speaking, resulting in the almost nauseating bout of nerves that seemed to find her before any event at which she was due to present a speech. She had spent hours that afternoon getting ready in the room she'd been allocated for the weekend in the large, manor-style house where the conference was being held, but no amount of primping and preening could fill her with the confidence she craved.
This was perhaps one of the biggest moments of her career in the male-dominated Potions field to date. Having returned to Hogwarts after the war and completing her N.E.W.T's, the 'brightest witch of her age' took her top-grade results to the Ministry to become a Potions researcher, having had enough of wand-work and battles to last a limetime. It was the considerable success of the latest trial on her new experimental potion that resulted in her presence at the conference tonight; she was presenting the results of the trial in the hope of impressing the Head of European Potions Research and Development so she could win funding to further the development of her potion.
Hermione's attention was refocused on the stage when the host stepped forward and announced her name, welcoming her to the stage. With a deep breath, she straightened her robes and moved to the middle of the stage, raising her wand to cast Sonorus, magically magnifying her voice so she could begin her presentation.
When Hermione looked back at this evening, the thing she probably regretted the most was the dress she had chosen to wear, a rather elegant but seductive number she had loaned from Ginny when she had visited the previous week. When the red head had discovered that after the speeches had finished for the evening there was a formal dinner and a dance, she had practically forced her best friend to wear the dress in the hope it would finally get Hermione "some action", as she'd put it. In Ginny's defence, the dress was attracting attention from the males at the conference. Unfortunately, most of them were old enough to be Dumbledore's father and were as interesting as a History of Magic lesson with Professor Binns.
In order to avoid their wandering hands and dull company for a few moments, Hermione headed over to the bar, contemplating whether to skip the dinner and escape to her room for the evening. She ordered a Firewhiskey and was about to pull out her purse to pay when a vaguely European-looking, young-looking man appeared behind her. "Allow me," he smiled, taking a handful of coins of out his trouser pocket. "I'll take one as well please," he added to the barman.
"Thank you very much," she said, raising her glass to his.
He downed the shot, and his boyish features morphed into a grimace as he swallowed it before he grinned. "My pleasure, Miss Granger. I must say, your presentation was incredibly impressive. A very interesting idea. I'm sure my father would agree."
"Thank you," she said again, sipping her drink. "Your father?"
"Ah yes, my father is Tristan Cunningham, you know, the Head of European Potions Research and Development or some equally boring title," He offered a kilowatt smile, extending a hand. "I'm Julien, the prodigal son who spends the money my father makes."
Hermione laughed and shook his hand, trying not to blush under the appraising look he gave her. At that moment, the music faded and the next song started. He kept hold of her hand, indicating the dance floor with a tilt of his head. "May I?"
They took to the floor, and it wasn't long until Hermione was wincing in pain, trying to ignore the fact he was treading on her toes with every other step. Thankfully, Julien was a well-known man and they had to pause intermittently for him to reply to greeting from old acquaintances. The sixth time this happened, Hermione immediately began to subtly rub her feet under the pretence of adjusting her shoe.
When she looked up at who her latest saviour was, she was unable to prevent her mouth falling open in stereotypical pantomime-style shock.
There was no mistaking the deliciously rich tone, lean frame, obsidian black eyes or the smooth arch of the eyebrow that appeared when he caught sight of Julien's companion.
"Severus," Julien said genially. "This is-"
"Miss Granger," Snape finished evenly. If he was surprised to see her, he hid it well. Nowhere near as well as Hermione, who just about managed to stutter a greeting in return.
Something flashed in Julien's eyes before he composed his features into a forced smile. "Ah. You two know each other then?"
"Yes." Snape replied slowly, keeping his gaze fixed firmly on hers. "Yes, we are acquainted. Miss Granger was a former student of mine."
Julien's gaze flicked between the two of them.
"Ah, I see. Well, Hermione, shall we-"
"Actually, Mr Cunningham," Snape interjected. "Would you mind if I cut in?"
Julien's look of surprise matched Hermione's perfectly. He hesitated for a moment before realising he had no legitimate excuse to object, and he couldn't help noticing he was a good foot shorter than Snape. "Of course," he replied eventually, reluctantly dropping her hand.
Snape, his expression as unreadable as ever, extended his hand. "Miss Granger?"
In a slight daze, Hermione accepted the offer and with a perfunctory 'see you later', allowed him to guide her away from Julien towards the centre of the dancefloor.
"I apologise if I got the wrong impression," he said finally. "But I found myself feeling a great deal of sympathy for your toes, the amount of times Julien trampled on them."
Despite feeling slightly guilty for smiling, she couldn't resist. "Well, myself and my feet are incredibly grateful, thank you. Julien is a lovely man but he isn't a born dancer."
"Then allow me," He said, offering his hand to pull her into hold.
The music was soft and gentle, and they waited for the next start beat before he gently led her into the steps for the waltz, guiding her around the floor in time to the music. He turned with an easy grace, his movement smooth and elegant, allowing her to follow without difficulty. It didn't even cross her mind that there was a danger of him making a wrong step or treading on her toes. Yet, there was a sort of harshness to him, an underlying threat that the man who could lie to Voldemort shouldn't be underestimated. But with the heat of his body radiating onto hers, the supple movement of his muscles relaxing and tensing under her hand and the light pressure of his hand on her back, she found it very difficult to remember the man's past.
One song passed, then another. At the end of the third song, when the dancefloor began to empty out, Snape severed the contact between them. Hermione couldn't help feeling slightly disappointed at the loss of contact, until he said, "Shall we get some air?"
Rather surprised, she accepted immediately and they exited the room through the wide French doors, onto a rather crowded patio where those who were smoking were gathered. Instead of stopping, they continued past the patio onto a pave-stoned path and followed it away from the building further into the garden. The conversation was light and they avoided all mention of the war or their own personal well-being, instead they discussed Hermione's research and presentation. It was a genuine delight for Hermione to be able to review her current ideas and explore options with someone who for once understood what she was saying, and in turn could offer some real substantial advice. There was no need for her to suppress her intellect or inhibit her enthusiasm, and there was no sense of limitation to what she wanted to say.
The path led past a small, slightly secluded summer house, illuminated by the live fairies floating by the bushes placed outside. Approaching in the other direction, Hermione noticed was one of the men she had danced with earlier, who had a malicious smile and incurably wandering hands.
Without a moment's hesitation she shoved Snape in the direction of the summer house and bolted inside, dragging him in after her before slamming the door shut. With a wave of her wand she cast a silent spell to lock the door then moved to the windows, charming them so they became one-way, only allowing them to look out but preventing others looking in.
Once she had watched him walk past the summer house and disappear behind some trees, she breathed a quiet sigh of relief and glanced around the room.
There was a collection of small tables scattered around the place, each holding a different game enjoyed by the majority of the wizarding population. A few tables had a pack of Exploding Snap cards, some contained Gobstones set and on the table right at the back of the room was a beautifully crafted wizard's chess set.
As Hermione took in her surroundings, Snape used the opportunity to covertly watch her.
He'd always kept a distant eye on her progress since he'd discovered she was becoming a rather prominent name in the field of Potions. There was no denying she was one of the most promising, if not irritating, students he had taught, and he had always known that it was wise to keep your friends close but your enemies closer.
Throughout the last few years she had proven to be a very competent adversary and he found himself interested in her strategies. He imagined working with her was similar to a game of chess - strategy, the balance of defence and attack and anticipating the opponent's moves were fundamental to success.
Rather fittingly, she moved to the table containing the chess set, and glanced at him enquiringly.
"Is that wise?" Snape asked derisively. "You're chess play was as notorious as Longbottom's flying."
"I've been practicing." She replied defensively.
He seemed to hold her gaze for a moment longer than was necessary. "Of course, you can't be less than perfect at anything can you?"
Hermione shot him a death stare, which only made his smirk widen as he sat at the table. She took the seat opposite.
Snape started the game by commanding a pawn to move forward, a move Hermione mimicked afterwards. They played in silence for a few moves, both seemingly involved in their own strategies and game plan.
"So, you believe your proposal is going to be successful?" He asked, surprisingly without any trace of cynicism or disdain in his tone as he moved a knight forward.
She bit her lip thoughtfully. "Well, the speech seemed to go reasonably well, and I'll be submitting my proposal soon so it seems rather promising. I spoke with Julien earlier-"
"Risky move," he commented as she instructed her Queen to move to the front line.
"Meaning?"
"Potions is one of the most competitive fields, particularly for a fresh-faced novice. Remember you're at the adult's table now…it can be a dangerous world if you're in over your head." The memory of Julien's hand on her waist flashed in his mind. "Just make sure you know what you're getting yourself into…don't leave yourself too vulnerable." He said, before moving a bishop forward, trapping her King. Checkmate.
By the time they had made their way back into the hall, the rest of the party were being guided to the next room to be seated around an antique-style, oak dining table by a group of house elves who were incredibly excited to be entertaining such a large group of guests. One house elf hurried towards them and guided them to two spare seats, situated next to Julien who graciously acknowledged them, encouraging them to take a seat. Julien was glancing hopefully at Hermione, but Snape manoeuvred himself behind the seat next to Julien, and held out the chair on his other side for Hermione to sit down. Once Snape had taken his own seat, he quickly discovered that due to the over-subscription for the table, they were all packed very tightly together, and his knees were brushing Hermione's. He adjusted slightly to rectify the matter but found his knees resting against Julien's leg instead. Julien sent him an amused look so without hesitation he quickly reverted back to his original position.
Hermione smiled at the almost phobic way Snape seemed to avoid physical contact when she felt his knee move away from her. Therefore she was surprised but not entirely disappointed when she felt the pressure return seconds later.