Author's Note: Can I say that I am truly, truly flattered and humbled (though people who know me would doubt that the latter is possible) at the number of story alerts and favorites, not to mention all the people who have taken the time to review. I am so thankful that I've found a place to share my work with others. It fills a need I didn't even know I had.
Ok, enough mush…
Without further ado: on to Chapter Two….
Chapter Two:
"Do you have to deal with that sort of thing often?"
Severus looked at the petite witch on his arm.
"What sort of thing…?"
She made a noise in the back of her throat.
"Well I suppose that tells me everything I need to know. The nerve of that woman, asking me how you are in bed, just because you were kind enough to offer me your arm! Even Harry didn't have his love life explored in such a vulgar fashion…and women tossed knickers at him for two years after the Battle of Hogwarts."
Severus chuckled darkly. "They do seem rather intrusive about my preferences." He sounded absolutely disgusted.
"I'm sorry. I doubt the publicity was what you expected your life to be like when the war was finally over."
He looked down at her and his expression softened. "I hardly expected to live at all. But if I had anticipated outliving both masters, I would have expected little more than a cell at Azkaban. The way the Wizarding world has embraced me is…not unwelcome…it is simply more intrusive than I would prefer."
Hermione nodded. She noticed that they were heading away from the conference rooms and back into the main hotel.
"I suppose we'd better keep an eye out for you fan club again."
He snorted. "I'm just glad that none of them seem adept at curse breaking…otherwise there is no telling what I might find in my bed when I returned to my rooms."
He looked around as if noticing something for the first time.
"Where the devil is Potter anyway? Why did he leave you to deal with those reporters alone?"
Hermione placed her other hand on top of his arm. "Harry is organizing all the law enforcement units for the symposium. I'm sure he has things under control."
Snape nodded. "I'm sure he has the majority of things under control. I am happy that we ran into each other. This way, I can examine your rooms myself."
She laughed. "If you want to, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise Harry will make me call one of the Aurors in…I'd rather have you in my personal space…and Harry can't deny you're more adept than most of his staff. Would you like me to return the favor? Make sure that you don't have fan girls hiding under your bed?"
He could smell her hair. It was unusual…violets? Hyacinth? Floral and light with powdery amber notes underneath.
He felt like teasing her. "My 'fan girls', as you call them, are unlikely to do more than try to compromise my already well-compromised virtue, whereas your admirer seems a bit more worrisome. "
She snorted. "That does seem somewhat less insidious than a kneezle's heart in a box…but …"
Severus was suddenly less inclined to tease.
"He sent you a kneezle's heart? Are you certain?"
"He's sent me the hearts of several creatures. Harry had the aurors check out the origins…the flying pig's heart looked very human…"
There was a something he should remember…something he'd read about many years before…something dark and strange….
They finally arrived at her door and she removed her enchantments. He nodded his approval. They were well done; the outer layer looked like a very common set of enchantments…underneath was a booby trap that wouldn't allow even a house elf to cross her threshold uninvited.
"Impressive."
She blushed. "Well, I did learn a thing or two after I left Hogwarts."
He pulled out his wand as she opened the door, moving her away from the entry as he ghosted through the room.
"I don't think this is really necessary…"
He opened the door to her closet.
"You don't?"
There was a small, heart shaped satin box floating mid-air…the kind that served as a box for a ring, or perhaps earrings.
Severus frowned as her cast spell after spell.
"As far as I can tell there is nothing actively harmful in the box itself…though Mr. Potter may want to…"
She flipped off the lid quickly, with an air of someone getting something unpleasant over with.
"At least this one is smaller."
Snape glared at her. "You might have waited."
"For what? Waiting just makes it worse, especially when I already know what it is."
She glanced down at the tiny, perfect heart in the box.
"Pixie?"
Severus nodded. "I think so. If you look closely, you can see that it has larger major arteries…flying requires more blood to be in circulation…" He was babbling, which was unlike him. But the idea of someone reaching this level of obsession and smooth violence in regard to this particular witch…he was a man who understood obsession. He didn't like to think where this was headed.
"Have all of the hearts been so prominently…displayed?"
Hermione nodded. "In one way or another. It's odd. The first one was nailed to my garden fence…it was still dripping blood when I found it."
She shuddered. "Now that I think about it each heart has been…carefully displayed to get a certain reaction. This one pulls at my heart because the victim was so small…it's the neatest and cleanest one yet."
She didn't poke the small organ. "If he were a muggle, I'd be shocked. Normally this kind of behavior starts neat and tidy like this heart and ends up brutal and bloody…"
"Send a patronus to Potter. I have a few spells I want to do around the room, try to figure out how anyone got in here. They did search the room before you came, correct?"
Hermione smiled at his tone, which reminded her forcefully of her time at Hogwarts: specifically, it reminded her of every time he'd asked a 'dunderhead' if they had blown something up because they missed a simple step.
"Of course. An Auror met me at the front lobby, brought me to the room, and then waited while I set up my wards. I sent him back to Harry before I found you hiding from fan girls in the hall."
The corner of Severus' mouth twitched…she wouldn't have seen it if she hadn't been hoping that her comment would cut the tension. In a matter of moments he'd reverted from the largely relaxed Severus Snape to the man who'd spent twenty years as a double agent…and that was her fault.
She sent her Patronus.
"Severus, thank you for being here, but this isn't really your problem you know…"
He ignored her completely and continued casting spells. She sighed and sat down on one of the scratchy chairs. It had to be the most uncomfortable chair she'd ever sat in. Was the thing actually made of horsehair? She shook her head, knowing that she was distracting herself from important matters with minutiae.
Harry knocked on the door. She opened it, wand in hand. Harry's brows rose slightly at the sight of their former Professor in Hermione's room, but he didn't say anything.
"Found another one?"
Snape pointed to the tiny box, but his wand didn't still.
Harry looked at the heart with a worried frown.
"I want you to cancel the rest of the conference Hermione. Publish the work without the speaking engagement."
She huffed. "And how exactly, do you expect me to get funding for my next projects? You know how things are at the Ministry."
Harry frowned fiercely. "Do a one on one interview…I know that three of the major publications are always after you…"
She snorted. "Only because it gives them the opportunity to make me look like an idiot. Did you even read that piece they did when I published the first of my Squib articles? The one that insinuated that I had more hair than wit?"
Severus laughed. Harry and Hermione turned and looked at him in disbelief. He waved a hand at Hermione's luxuriously full head of curling hair. "For some people, that might be an insult…but even if you did have more hair than wit, it still leaves you with more wit than any of them…"
Hermione smiled a little. It had been awhile since anyone had brought up the fact that she had once been a bushy headed know-it-all.
Harry was doing his own version of diagnostics on the tiny heart.
"I can't let this crazy man control what I say and where I go Harry."
Potter sighed. "Fine. I will assign…"
"I think not Potter." Severus was frowning. "Have you considered the fact that one of your Aurors would have both the skills and the opportunity to do this?"
Harry bristled. "We run all kinds of evaluations…"
Snape raised a dark brow. "As did the Dark Lord Potter, and I still managed to fool him. Somehow I don't think you have quite the same excruciating screening process."
Hermione sat back down in her chair and slumped slightly. "That's it then. I'll pack…Harry if you could let the chairman know why I won't be able to continue my speaking engagement…"
Severus stilled her with a warm hand on her arm.
"I don't think that we have to go as far as all that. I was merely pointing out that assigning some random Auror might cause more harm than good. I will gladly escort you…you might have to put up with some snide remarks from Witch Weekly…"
"After you terrified that poor girl this evening?"
"One thing about reporters, they tend to be resilient."
Harry was nodding to himself.
"This will work beautifully. Snape still scares the knickers off the better half of the Wizarding world, and we know we can trust him. Since he isn't an Auror it might pass for a friendship rather than overt protection, and we might still have a chance of catching this little bastard before he brings you another heart for your collection….do you remember how Crookshanks used to leave mice in your bathtub?"
Hermione coughed a little.
"Um, yes…"
Harry shook his head slightly. "I know it sounds weird, but this reminds me of that…like the person involved is trying to woo you with the best gifts he can think of…and has no idea that a dead rodent in a bathtub wouldn't be exactly to your taste."
Severus looked at Harry. "I would feel better if Hermione moved to my rooms tonight. I can extend the suite an extra bedroom so she will have her privacy, but this suite has already been compromised…" Harry agreed.
Hermione nodded, and pointedly ignored the little wisp of…something she wouldn't name…that she felt as being invited to share Severus' rooms for the night. It was a sensible suggestion.
She flicked her wand at her luggage which packed itself and shrunk within seconds. There were some days when she still got a little thrill from really simple magic. She scooped up her shrunken suitcases.
Harry was grinning at both of them. "You do realize that if I ever told anyone about this little arrangement, they would tease you both mercilessly."
Severus sniffed. "I highly doubt you know anyone has the temerity to tease me."
Harry smiled. "By the way, I saw Professor McGonagall last week, she said if I saw you on this trip I should tell you that she sends her love, and wanted you to know that the Severus Snape card from the chocolate Frogs has recently been bewitched…something about a frock coat and a strip tease."
Severus snorted and muttered darkly about hormonal teenagers.
Harry gave him a pitying look. "Who said anything about teenagers? My money is on Professor Brown."
The look on his face was priceless.
AN: Just a short note…Chapter Three is a short one, so expect two chapters up in the next 24 hrs. Just my way of saying 'thank you'.