Chapter 2

Hermione looked up from her plate to see Severus Snape watching her. Their eyes locked, and she felt like she was being sucked into their dark depths. She could not tear her eyes away, and slowly, time ticked by with neither of them looking away.

She could read the usual anger in his expression, as well as the ever present disdain, but this time, she sensed another emotion playing in the black pools of his eyes, one that she could not put a name to. Her heartrate doubled as she kept staring at him. Something was different. Something had changed about him.

It had been over a week since their last confrontation, she realized. That was quite out of the ordinary. Usually, they would fight every other day, except maybe for the first couple of days after an intense show-down that left both of them drained.

She had hoped that after her graduation, his behavior would change from animosity to acceptance. She had been oh so wrong. It seemed that she just had a secret talent to irk him in the worst possible ways, and vice versa.

At first she had been hurt by his behavior, but after a couple of months, when they had found their bickering routine, she had kind of enjoyed their confrontations. Often, they revolved around theories on the inner workings of magic, and they often clashed at his disregard of 'foolish wand waving', which made up a large part of her research that she conducted for her charms apprenticeship. Although he often riled her to no end, his snarky comments often proved to lead her to new ideas with her research, and a large part of her findings, she had to admit grudgingly, were due to his pointing out holes in her theories.

It was very unsettling to have this routine disrupted. That routine had given her safety, clear boundaries for her feelings. It had been so hard those first months to keep herself from giving away that she felt more for him than she should. He could read most people like open books, and she had been terrified of his reaction if he ever found out that she had thought herself in love with him. That had been the precise reason why she had never considered potions for an apprenticeship. She loved the subject, but she had wanted to study with the best, and that was Severus Snape. She would not have lasted a week working alongside him without transmitting her feelings as clearly as if she had shouted them from the rooftops.

She didn't know if he ever wondered about her reasons for not even inquiring about an apprenticeship with him. He had never asked her. Most likely, he had not even considered that she might be contemplating an apprenticeship in Potions.

She was snapped back to reality by the waves of heat coursing through her body, caused by a penetrating stare of black eyes. The blood rushing in her ears had drowned out the sounds of breakfast going on around her, and she had almost forgotten where she was, seated at the staff table in the Great Hall. Luckily, it was summer, and currently no students were occupying the tables. Those little devils were a lot more observant than adults usually gave them credit for, Hermione thought, having gained a new appreciation for the teaching job once she got to know the other side.

She should look away now, she reasoned. Not only because the other professors might notice, but also, because she could feel a deep blush creeping up her chest, caused by her inner turmoil. All those feelings she had buried deep inside, that she secretly had hoped to have overcome, suddenly flooded her, her heart clenching in her chest as she kept staring at him, her heart beating wildly. How she loved his dark eyes, the stern lines of his face in contrast to the dark lashes that looked so soft. Suddenly, she could not bear the tension any longer. She pushed back her chair, breaking eye contact. Mumbling her excuses, she hurried out of the hall.

She ran off as soon as the doors had closed behind her, taking a wild turn here and there before finally stopping. She rested her back against the cool stones of the corridor wall, catching her breath. Damn that man for affecting her so. No one else had ever been able to make her react that way. She needed to pull herself together. She could not afford to feel like this if she had to work here and see him on a daily basis. She had to guard her heart at all costs.

A shadow fell over her, and when she looked up, her heart stopped in her chest before racing off in a mad rhythm. Snape towered over her, his intense gaze focused on her.

He didn't know what had gotten into him to stare at her like that. What had she made of his behavior? He had seen her surprise, then confusion, then an amalgam of emotions he couldn't place. They had stared at each other a lot longer than social standards allowed, and whatever her reactions had been, they had made her flee the hall.

Seconds after the doors had shut behind her, he had made his excuses and followed her. She was gone when he exited the Great Hall, but he could hear the sound of heels slapping the floor as she was running, and he set off in a quick jog to follow her. He slowed when he heard her stop, and silently glided along the corridor until she came into view, resting against the wall, her chest heaving.

She did not notice him until he was right in front of her, and when she looked up at him, she almost jumped, and he wondered if it was because he had appeared so suddenly or if it was a reaction to his person specifically.

Their eyes locked again, and he felt the same anxiety mixed with desire as he had before in the Great Hall. Ever since he had seen the desire and longing in the eyes of the Granggob, he could not help but wonder what it would be like to see these sentiments reflected in Grangers eyes. He was annoyed at these thoughts, because he realized how much he had been thinking about her in the past week, and how little Lily had occupied his mind. He had almost forgotten about her during those last intense days of pondering why the Traggob had shown him Granger. More the reason to get on with his exorcism, he thought. He needed to overcome this silly obsession, to finally get the Traggob to show him what – whom – he really wanted.

Granger didn't want him; that much was clear to him from her behavior she had always shown towards him. Sure, sometimes he had gotten the impression that she enjoyed their little fights, but it boiled down to a grudging acceptance that was nowhere close to attraction.

Still, he decided it might be enough to kiss her once, even if she didn't respond to his kiss, to get her off his mind enough for the Traggob to change.

Maybe it wasn't enough, but at this point, he was past caring about the consequences if he acted now. He needed to get this over with, overcome this obsession with Granger, to finally be able to see Lily stepping out of that wardrobe. The last couple of days, it had been harder and harder to concentrate on work, and he felt his control slipping. Something had to be done.

He placed his palms against the wall on either side of her face, leaning a bit closer, his eyes never leaving hers. He saw her eyes widen in confusion, but she did not push him away. Finally, his gaze dropped to her soft lips, slightly parted and inviting. He closed the distance between them, brushing his mouth over hers almost hesitantly. He had played out the scene a lot in his mind, but when it came to the act itself, it was a lot harder for him to gather the courage to really kiss her.

Time seemed to stand still as he pressed his lips more firmly against hers, nibbling slightly on her lower lip. Her hands came up to clutch at the fabric of his coat, and for a moment he thought she might push him away, but instead, she pulled him closer.

He gasped in relief, and as his lips opened, she responded in kind, providing him with a perfect opportunity to deepen the kiss. A burning sensation started in his stomach, pulsing, spreading through his body, making his limbs tingle. When her hands moved from his chest to wrap around his neck, her fingertips grazing the sensitive skin of his neck, the powerful responses of his body were making him feel light-headed. His hands came up to delve into her wild mop of hair, angling her head into a perfect position for him ravish her mouth.

Dimly, he was aware of heated sounds of desire, but if they had fallen from her lips or his or both, he couldn't tell. He was lost in this primal inferno, lost in her. How could such an annoying little twat make his heart race and his head swim? He could not get enough of her, feeling her body pressed against his, tasting her delicious mouth and exploring her soft skin under his fingertips. Hot flashes raced under his skin, and again he could not comprehend how she could make him feel that way.

Granted, she had grown into a brilliant and beautiful young woman, with a rare talent and keen intelligence that surpassed every other witch he had ever known – even if she was a terribly annoying, insolent little know-it-all – but still, she should not have been able to affect him that much. No woman had ever confused him so.

That thought was like a bucket of ice water thrown over him. What had he been thinking? 'surpassing every other witch' – 'no woman had ever…' It was like blasphemy to his memory of Lily. Somehow it seemed like betrayal to think such things of a woman that was not her, his only love. Anger at himself rose in his chest, erasing the wonderful tingles that had put goosebumps on his skin. He pushed himself away from her abruptly, and he could see the hurt in her eyes when she took in his expression and saw anger flashing in the depths of his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he rasped, before turning around and disappearing before she had a chance to respond. He did not turn around to see her slide down the wall and bury her face in her hands.

A/N: *wriggles her eyebrows, points discreetly towards the review button*