If you know it, you know it's not mine.
I covered my shock as quickly as it appeared but it was too late, he'd already seen me react.
"Still useless at a poker, Hermione? I thought I taught you better than that," he scolded. "Surely after all that hard work I did, you could at least pretend to have retained some of it. I suppose you never learned anything that was written in a textbook though, now did you?"
I tried not to notice hair hung carelessly over his face, but it was lighter somehow, less oily. One obsidian eye was obstructed by a rebellious, but equally dark, strand.
I stood defiantly, but silent.
"You know exactly why I'm here. After all these years, it's finally time to collect on our debt."
At the mention of my lifedebt, I felt the skin near my eyes tense, my gaze hardening as I resolved not to let him affect me. Steeling myself, I finally spoke.
"Why all the trouble though? Wouldn't it be easier just to stand in my kitchen and try to terrify me into doing your bidding? What's with the flowers, Severus?"
I stressed his given name across my teeth tightly, hissing the last s like a snake.
He considered me for a moment.
"You're no longer my Mudblood student, Granger. I don't have to pretend to hate you, at least in private. Here in the Muggle world, we can at least be civil to each other as intellectuals, if nothing else. But perhaps in this case, I just felt like being generous."
Teasing was more like it, I thought, no, 'taunting' is a better word for it. You know my weak points, jackass.
I flinched at the insult but ignored it. I was angry, but I didn't want to let him incite me into giving him too much information.
How do you like that I'm not your open book anymore, Snape?
"Where've you been for the past ten years? We had a plan, a plan that you were an instrumental part of, that because you bailed, the Dark Lord now reigns over the Wizarding World." I finally relented to speaking, but tried to keep the hurt and longing from my voice.
Severus had been my lover once, before he failed us all and left us hanging out to dry while he took off for some unknown safe haven.
The dark man relaxed his demeanor a bit.
"Hermione, I had to leave. He knew, and he was going to use me as a trap to capture you and use you against Potter. Let's go inside and talk this out."
My gaze softened a bit and I blew out a sigh.
"Why couldn't you tell me, at least, Severus? If not all of us, why not me?" Tears threatened. I looked away quickly, refusing to let him see me cry.
I'm not going to give you the emotion you want, dammit.
He moved to close the distance between us, firmly but gently grasping my chin with his long, elegant fingers.
"That is why, Hermione. You wouldn't have been able to keep it a secret that you knew where I went. Please, forgive me. I hated leaving you with every thread of my being, but I had to, to keep you safe."
He inclined his head closer to me. His lips met mine in a gentle kiss. I savored the taste of him, a memory from a decade ago. He tasted like spices and cinnamon. It melded sweetly with the honey and citrus of the tea I'd had earlier this morning, before I'd noticed the petals. I pulled back first, pushing him away a bit more roughly than I intended.
"I can't, Severus, not until you explain yourself."
He nodded.
"Inside then?" he questioned, offering his hand to me.
"Yes," I relented, then brushed past him, ignoring his outstretched palm and leading the way into my kitchen.
You may have caught me off-balance, but I will be in control this time.
I'm truly sorry I've abandoned this for so long, but updates will be at least once a week from now on.