Disclaimer: Don't own. Please see previous.
A/N: Thanks for reading and giving this story a chance. To begin with, it's more like peeking the their window, but things will build. If you look closely, you can already see the sparks... Hope you enjoy this one.
Like the Night
Chapter Two: Not At All
"Hermione?" Severus appeared again, his wand light falling across her papers. She had not realized the candles were burning low until then. He sighed heavily. "You're working late again." He observed.
"You're one to talk." She shot back. She already felt bad for spending the entire evening at work. On top of that she had worked through dinner, apparently, again. Her head was tinging painfully. His hypocritical comment came at the wrong time. He had been disappearing into his basement to work on his projects for days on end.
She forgot the anger bubbling up when the heat of his breath hissed into her ear, "You promised."
She leaned her head back into him, resting on his chest and smelling him. Herbs. Something else. He pulled away, but before she could turn to see why he had pulled her chair away from the table and pulled her up by the arms. His chest was warm, solid, and smelled heavenly.
"Come, bed."
She sighed, too tired to put up a fight.
She was almost too tired to respond to his kisses even as they reached the curve of her neck. She was almost too tired to stay awake as he peeled off her clothes. Her arms were weary they could barely wrap around his neck as he kissed her, murmured something. She was almost too tired to enjoy his strength on top of her. Almost.
Only twice had Hermione ever been hungover. Despite the fact she had not drank the day before, Hermione Granger woke the next day to feel as if she was dying. Her eyes did not want to open. Her ears rang as if there had been an explosion. The room tilted like it used to before the Shack was restored, swaying as if in the wind. She tried to moan, but it was too much trouble for her raw throat.
The moment she forced herself to move, she regretted it. Her brain felt as if it had toppled over inside her skull and smacked the side with a thump. It was sore, and the more she woke up the more she felt it.
"Uuuuuugggghhh."
She managed to pop up from the covers, her hair falling so wildly a hand could not uncomplicated the mess. Her eyes stayed closed, knowing the room well, but the moment she was a foot out of the bed, she was felt it coming up, another hot mess.
Sweat seemed to race her, trying to cover her skin before she could make it to the bathroom to hurl. When she was done heaving, she sat on the floor a moment, clammy and shaky. In true Granger fashion, she tidied up, but she did so in true Hogwarts fashion; she would not have had the energy to move more than her wand hand anyway.
After a moment, she wiped the sweat from her brow, inhaling its salty sweet scent, and stood unsteadily on wobbly knees. Her head was swimmy, ideas of calling for Severus or sending an owl to Luna or a patronus to Harry… but she did none of these.
She made it back into the darkness of the bed, the cool sheets, and slipped away.
The second time she woke, her eyes flew open in a hurry. She was instantly aware that last time it had not occurred to her to send word she would not be working that day. She also had yet to see anyone. There was a warmed cup of tea at her bedside, the only sign anyone had noticed.
Throwing on a robe, she went down the stairs to find the owl, Bernard.
A voice stopped her on the way past the sitting room to the kitchen. "Hermione?" It was Ron.
"Ron." She said, unable to hide her surprise. "What on earth on you doing here in the middle of the day?"
Ron looked to his right from whence emerged Harry. Harry's face was bright, the happy Harry she had seen in recent months, and he seemed pleased to see her. "It's not midday. It's nearly eleven at night."
"What?" Surely she had misheard.
"I'll go and get Severus." Harry offered, not repeating himself. He clapped Ron's arm and gave Hermione a reassured smile as he passed on his way to the cellar. She wrinkled her nose and she watched him go. So Severus was down there working then?
Well, she supposed if he had been ill or whatever she was and asleep so long she would have gone back to work at least. Still, something about him being buried in his work too far away to hear her call while her friends waited upstairs bothered her. Had he even set out the tea for her as she thought? Or was it one of her best friends.
"Worried you, have I, Ron?"
He smiled, "A bit, yeah. You slept a really long time."
"Nearly twenty four hours." She said quietly to herself.
The sound of hurried footsteps coming up gave her a little comfort. Severus' face was on her at once, looking quite surprised.
"You're well?" He asked softly, slowly. He looked her up and down, not bothering to hide his relief even in company.
"I feel fine now." She looked about the room as puzzled as anyone. "Except I'm starving." She suddenly realized.
"Do you think you could have been slipped something?" Severus suspected at once.
"Not possible." She walked barefoot to the kitchen, rummaging at once for something of sustenance. "I did not eat or drink anything yesterday."
She paused at the unlikely quiet in the room, a fat strawberry sticking out of her mouth and her arms full of goodies for a sandwich as she turned to see them. Ron looked bemused that a person could go so long without food. Harry looked unsurprised. Severus had stopped and was leaning against the door frame, arms across his chest, glowering at her.
"I was busy!" She said defensively.
"Yeah about that, Hermione." Harry scratched at the back of his head. "We think you've been stretching yourself a little thin lately."
She swallowed automatically, ignoring her rumbling stomach. "You. Discussed. Me?"
"It seemed necessary when we were deciding if you had been cursed and if to call a healer." Severus said sharply.
"Yes…well." She took a full bite of cheese. "Sorry to have worried you." Hermione was busying herself with the crisp lettuce and slicing tomato with her own hands, juicy and ripe.
"Can I have one of those, 'Mione?" Ron asked, taking a seat.
She smiled at him, too glad he was finally comfortable to tell him no.
"Luna came and found you when you didn't show up." Harry explained. Severus remained conspicuously silent. She wondered if that meant they'd have a row when the others left. "She couldn't rouse you but didn't see anything wrong with you, so she sent word to us all and left you with some tea. She has forbidden you to cross the threshold or send anything her way for the rest of the week."
"Really." Ron's mouth was full of food. "She's put a charm on it and everything."
"Thankfully one of you wasn't a useless Gryffindor." Severus contributed.
"Well I suppose I'll pop in at the bookstore."
The boys exchanged glances then looked down at the floor.
"You won't." Sev told her evenly.
She was too hungry to challenge it. The witch was smart and if she had nothing else to do all day she would certainly find a way around whatever he had done. She had no desire to fight with him more.
"Very well. I'll work a little here."
"Your body shut down. Collapsed from exhaustion. That should prove you need a break."
"It does appear you're right." She admitted. "I may have, well, taken on a bit much."
"Bloody hell, Snape!" Ron declared after swallowing. "You've done it. She admitted she was wrong."
Snape made a funny grimace that might have been a half smile. She was a little concerned. It was disconcerting that she could unwittingly sleep so deeply for nearly an entire day. All she cared about at the time was filling her aching stomach. It still rumbled impatiently even as she filled it.
"I'd better get back to the school I'll tell Poppy you're up and about." Harry said.
Ron all but scrambled to his feet. "Right, I, er, better be going too."
"See you later, boys." She smiled not bothering to get up from her seat and not caring the meat was cold.
Severus did not bother to bid them adieu. He circled her for a moment, watching her carefully. She waited for it, for the admonishing that was to come where he would berate her for worrying him, for not listening when he told her better. She would feel her face burn with frustration at being talked to like a child but biting her tongue as she burned with embarrassment that he was, after all, right. She'd make a jab about his age and shut him up, earning a hard glare and an hour of silence.
To her surprise, he did neither.
"I'll be downstairs." And he was gone in his usual billow of robes.
Hermione tried not to be hurt by this and failed. It would be impossible to get to sleep at that point, so she thought to go for a walk around the property.
It was dark out, but that didn't bother her. Lights appeared here and there, fairies or insects. Noises came from out of the darkness, sometimes urgent, sometime haunting, sometimes just cracking and crackling. She enjoyed the fresh air, the feeling of her limbs stretching. It smelled fresh, a mix of a million plants. Recently, she could name held by smell. She had picked up more with months of being close to Severus and his work than in her years of study at Hogwarts. Herbology was always something she had to study, make keys. It was hard to remember the leaves and roots; they looked so much alike. Sometimes the name and its history made sense; she had to remember all of something to remember any of it. The scent though, that she learned from him was distinct.
As her feet pressed against the damp ground without a sound, there was a scent she did not recognize. She clutched her wand. Then there came a sharp snap, and she pulled the wand out. Things seemed to fall quieter.
She squinted into the darkness. Yellow eyes squinted back a little higher than she stood. A moment later they flew towards her soundlessly.
A large ball of fur landed at her feet. "Crookshanks! Oh, you gave me a fright, you fuzzy devil."
She reached down to pet him, but a moment later his hair stood stiff and he let out screech and scurried away. "Crookshanks!" She called after him. "What's gotten into you?"
The silence stared back at her as the cat disappeared, startled. She felt eyes on her still. For some reason, she was reminded of the person she had seen the day before out by the path. She was not very close to it now, just inside the wood line but barely out of reach of the light of the house. She could see Severus' figure in the window, a shadow mostly. He was watching her.
It was like a warm blanket, comforting her. She ignored the nagging feeling. It was midnight she guessed. She might as well go inside.
"Still angry?" She called into the house as she removed her shoes.
There was no answer, but a moment later he stood a foot away. He had made no noise. He wrinkled his nose. "I was not angry. I was worried. I thought you knew me well enough to tell."
"You're very mysterious." She admitted.
His hand brushed her hair back, tucking it behind her ear. "I love you." He said. She exhaled, falling back from her tip toes. She had not realize she was on them; she did not realize she was holding her breath. "Is that so mysterious?" He barely spoke, the breeze of it ruffling her hair.
"What about your mysterious lab?"
"It's not locked." He protested. "Just delicate."
"I know, I know, don't disturb your precious potions."
"You hate it if I move your papers."
"I know." She sighed. "I think I may have overdone it a bit."
"People expect you to have no limits."
"You're saying I am limited?" She arched an eyebrow, challenging him.
He very nearly rolled his dark eyes. "Of course you do, bloody Gryffindor." It was an affectionate scolding. "And if you do not get better at knowing them, it will be the death of you."
"I have no limits." She teased, bouncing on her heel and passing him.
She shot him a smirk over her shoulder, swinging the hem of her robe. "I simply cannot sleep. Whatever will I do with my evening?"
"You're a very clever girl. I'm sure you'll think of something." His voice was impossibly low, his eyes suddenly hot as he watched her begin the stairs. He skipped quickly behind her, following closely.
"What were you doing outside?" His chest vibrated.
"Walking. I laid still long enough."
"I heard you exclaim."
"Something startled me." She recalled, thinking of the eerie silent wood a moment, then of the bed beckoning from upstairs.
"What was it?"
"Oh, just Crookshanks. He ran off. Now do you want to talk about the cat, or can I interest you in other modes of conversation?" She winked.
"Not conversation, so much."
As it happened, she managed to get enough exercise to even out her lie in after all.
Luna had, true to her word, prevented transmission of her work through any means. The fireplace had also been fixed to keep her from flooing to the bookstore. Even she, stubborn as she was, knew better than to try to apparate feeling odd as she was.
Odd indeed. First off she felt quite out of sorts waking up and odd hours and being home in the week. She barely knew the date or time. Then, she felt quite useless not being to work properly or check inventory or the books at either place, answer correspondence, fix the next issue of The Quibbler… there were dozens of things to be done.
Mr. Welling had been handling most of the work himself for years. She supposed he would manage. And perhaps it was time to take one someone part time to help him when she could not be there. She supposed she could pay them with the rent Ron paid; and he did always pay it. He liked paying his own bills. A ministry salary went much further when you did not have eight additional mouths to feed, he found.
A helper would please Severus, she was sure. Not as much as other things perhaps, but still…
Then there was Luna. She had been traveling, hunting down those humple-thingies, leaving Hermione with lots of the work. If her friend could go a little easier on it, stick around a bit more, the work might be split a little more evenly. Harry apparently, would not mind Luna hanging closer to the castle as well. She had not forgotten about that. Next time he came by, she'd ask about that.
She cleaned the house, save the lair of Severus'. She managed the yardwork but not the gardening, minus bringing in a few things. She went to feed the cat, but he had not eaten the rest of what was left.
Maybe Harry would drop by on his way back to the school, she thought. It was strange how lonely it could be with Severus just under the stairs. She made a fresh salad for dinner with some roast chicken and potatoes because they were easy.
"You've improved. Put your studying into this have you?" He asked, sampling a potato.
"I did buy one of the cook books I ordered for the shop. I've thought of printing one with a mix of muggle and magical recipes. Molly has some good ones. I think I can get a few house elves too."
"Of course you can. Though I thought they held onto to Hogwarts recipes rather protectively."
"Well, normally they do, but it needn't be too specific. And some of them who have chosen to leave Hogwarts, or who worked for fine families have been willing. It would be nice to pay them for their knowledge as well."
"Quite nice." She could not tell if he was humored or disdain. He was still hard to read from time to time.
"How goes your latest project down there?"
He frowned, wiping his forehead in frustration. "Not at all."
A/N: As I said, if you pay attention you may guess where things are headed. Do leave your thoughts! It would make my day.
Yours,
Elsie
