A/N: Thank you so, so much for the continued enthusiasm and support of this little story of mine! I'm so moved by your positive responses. It really means more to me than you know.
We're at the halfway mark with this story, so here we go...
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is copyrighted to and belongs to JK Rowling. The Sound of Music is copyrighted to and belongs to Rodgers & Hammerstein. I'm just playing in their sandboxes. No money, just fun. Artwork is credited to Goraell on DeviantArt and entitled, "Prince and His Princess".
Chapter 4
"Blossom of snow, may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever..."
"Look, it's Papa!" exclaimed Gretl, who began waving and jumping enthusiastically from inside the lakeside boat.
"Easy, Gretl," Hermione ordered the little one to desist but, by then, Friedrich, Louisa, Kurt, and Marta had joined in on the fun, howling with laughter as they made to wobble the boat back and forth. "You're going to tip us!" Hermione squeaked, though the children's incessant cackling soon made her unable to control her own fits of laughter.
"Stop it!" Brigitta whined, the only individual not partaking in her siblings' good fun. She clutched the book she was reading protectively. "Miss Hermione, make them stop! I'm trying to read!"
Thinking fast, Hermione charmed the book with a waterproof spell, somewhat resigned to the rest of the children's playful antics. She could only hope they would be able to reach the water's edge in time before either falling into the water or, worse, running into the professor. He wasn't privy to this sporadic outing, and Hermione intended to keep it that way—at least, until they were safely back on the wizard's property.
Alas, as the unsteady but magical boat, which steered itself, veered closer to where it would eventually dock, Hermione caught sight of the very person she had been praying to avoid: Severus Snape. He was looking on, awaiting their arrival with both hands securely at his back, and wearing the most dreadful scowl that forewarned Hermione of brewing trouble ahead. She also spotted two strangers sprinting to the scene and startled. The professor's company wasn't expected to arrive until nightfall, and she and the children were hardly presentable after rolling around in the outdoors all day long.
Hermione discerned a blond male with a dignified face and impish grin standing behind Severus Snape, as well as a striking young beauty with a perfectly cut bob and seductive, dark eyes, though she seemed far less impressed, either with Hermione, the children, or, perhaps, all eight of them.
Hermione made to politely smile and present herself but that wasn't to be, for the boat suddenly tipped too far to the right, and she and the children found themselves diving head—or feet—first into the lake. Splashing and squealing erupted as the boat collapsed beneath their combined weights. Hermione popped her wet head up just in time to catch Gretl from getting sucked underneath the water.
Severus Snape's commanding growls to "get out of the water at once!" barely registered above all the commotion but, somehow, the children hastened out of the lake one by one, drenched and remarking on their soaked clothes via amused snorts and giggles; but the joy of the moment was quickly dashed when they were met by their father's stern glare of disapproval, as well as the embarrassing realisation that he wasn't alone.
"Straight line!" he ordered and each of the children swiftly fell into formation, holding their breaths.
Hermione stepped forth from the water last, drawing unconsciously into the shadows. She watched a highly vexed Severus Snape pace back and forth in silence. She knew she was in for it and saw no need to push her reprimanding along so soon.
Finally, Severus Snape ceased walking and let forth an incensed sigh. He raked a hand through his stringy, long locks, and, with that severe scowl still firmly in place, presented the children to his guests, though through gritted teeth. "Well, as I'm sure you've surmised, Miss Parkinson and Mr Malfoy, these...are my children. Children, these are our intended guests for this evening, provided you haven't just run them off with your immature display."
Draco nodded and offered the youngsters a charming smile. Pansy's greeting, on the other hand, was a smudge more pained. "How do you do?" she asked respectfully, though reserved.
The children made a point of saying nothing in return, smartly waiting on their father's next instructions. His strict, narrow irises roved over each child individually, conveying their quiet displeasure, before he finally stated, after drying their shoes only with his wand, "Go make yourselves presentable and report back to me at once!"
The children skedaddled into action, patting down the pebbled walkway and into the house as fast as their feet could fly. Hermione awkwardly started to step forward, intending to return to the house as well and hopefully slip into fresh clothes herself, when she was told to hang back. "You will stay here, Miss Granger," Severus Snape instructed her with bite, staring her squarely in the face. Hermione was grateful when the professor's female guest, whom she still hadn't been properly introduced to, suggested that she and her male companion return to the house.
Once they were out of earshot, Severus Snape turned on Hermione, and fast. "Miss Granger, I demand an explanation."
Hermione prepared herself for the onslaught. "Certainly, Professor."
"Why have my children been parading about outdoors? I thought I had informed you upon your arrival of their strict classroom regime?"
"You did, sir. I thought the fresh air might do them some good, though."
"Did you, now?" His tone was scorning. "And why wasn't I informed of your plans to take my children outside of the classroom setting?"
"To my knowledge, you weren't here or available, so I made that decision myself."
Severus Snape's eyes tapered. "So, you took it upon yourself to take them not just outdoors but away from the security of this house?"
"With all due respect, sir, we merely hiked to the closest hillsides. They practiced their lessons and completed their homework for the day—"
"Be that as it may, you had no right to take them off this property!"
"Why? They loved it!" she tested, finding her voice and unwilling to withhold her opinions. "They need a change of scenery on occasion, Professor. You can't honestly expect to keep them cooped up in this house and think that that will somehow solve everything—"
"You're out of your depths, Miss Granger!"
"You need to hear an outsider's opinion, I think, especially considering that you've entrusted them to me."
"My first mistake!" he snarled and bore his teeth before abruptly turning his back on her.
"I resent that, sir," Hermione bit back, clenching her fists at her sides; they had begun to shake but she wasn't aware. Severus Snape slowly turned towards her, challenging her through an arched eyebrow. "I've told you before: I have their best interests at heart! All we did was go for a bit of a hike and enjoy a pleasant day out in the open air. Is that really such a crime? They deserve to be children, Professor; to play! I know you mean well—"
"Stop it, Miss Granger," he warned, waving a dismissive hand in the air.
"—and wish to protect them at all costs, but this was harmless fun, surely! And another thing—"
"Miss Granger, will you desist?"
"No, I won't!" she retorted, raising her voice another octave. "You've got to hear this from me because I suspect no one's told you before!"
"Tell me what, precisely?"
Hermione sucked in a breath before blurting out at rapid speed, "The children. I implore you, sir, Liesl's no longer a child! In the blink of an eye she'll be a woman and you won't even know her! You ought to spend more time—"
Severus Snape shot her a most affronted glare. "Miss Granger—"
"—with her and the others. Friedrich is absolutely desperate for you to show him how to be a man but you haven't given him the time of day!"
"I'll have you know I work for a living! I spend every moment I can with these children whilst I'm here!" Severus Snape stalked up to Hermione, invading her personal space, but she held her ground, refusing to back down. "How dare you insinuate that I spend no time with my children!" he barked, his own hands beginning to tremble at his sides.
"I'm afraid it's not enough. Brigitta could tell you all about herself and her siblings, as well as how little time they get to see you, because she notices everything!" Hermione carried on, not chancing a moment to draw breath. "And Kurt acts so tough to hide the pain when he's ignored!"
Severus Snape threw up a hand in Hermione's face. "That's enough!"
"Louisa hardly speaks a word at all because she's fearful; fearful of what she can't control and fearful of losing you in her life! If only you would take the time to listen to hers and the others' concerns!"
"I said, enough!"
"And the little ones, Marta and Gretl, are just pining for your attention all the time! Please, Professor, I beg you, just give them a little more of yourself! Please!"
"I've heard enough!"
Severus Snape whirled on his heel and started to stalk away from her when Hermione's next words stopped him short. "I'm not finished yet!"
He whipped his head around and met her challenge with equal fury. "Yes, you bloody well are, Hermione!" Hermione's mouth dropped open in shock. The professor had never addressed her so informally before—using her first name—and the sudden flush to his cheeks conveyed his realisation of that significant blunder. He uneasily cleared his throat. "Miss Granger," he addressed her coolly this time, and Hermione's heart sunk, "you will pack your belongings and leave these premises at once."
Hermione started. "But, sir—"
"We're done here."
Before Hermione could make to defend her position, Severus Snape stormed off down the walkway, heading back to the house at all speed, with his robes and hair rippling angrily in the afternoon breeze. Hermione watched his retreating silhouette until it disappeared inside the house, and then her eyes lowered to the ground in shame.
'Leave'?
She had failed. Not only had she managed to get herself sacked from a position she had so rapidly—and remarkably—grown to love, but she had also let herself down, the children down, and even gotten Madame Maxime's hopes up, for the gentle half giant had entrusted her with an upstanding referral and her good word. The dismal thought of returning home to her parents in London or to Beauxbatons and relaying to those she cherished most of her grave shortcoming was nauseating to consider.
Hermione sighed lamentably as she made a slow, morose progression back to the estate, knowing it would be her last. She was hardly able to grasp everything now that she had unloaded on the professor, and the more she reflected on their heated exchange the more upset with herself she became. After all, it wasn't her place to tell Severus Snape how to be a better parent. She wasn't a parent herself, merely a 'fill in' when he was away seeing to his appropriate duties. That hardly qualified her for telling the man how he should and shouldn't interact with his children, whom he had gone through the painstaking lengths and loopholes to adopt.
You've done a real bang-up job of things this time, Hermione, she chastised herself as she quietly stepped inside. Once again, you let your wretched mouth run amuck. Well done!
Still, hadn't it amounted to any good? She had only been trying to help; to speak up on the children's behalf. She knew how fiercely they loved Severus Snape, and vice versa, so what was the harm in telling him that they simply required more?
Just your bloody tone and tongue, really, her conscience snorted at her.
Hearing the soft fluttering of the children's laughter clenched Hermione's heart in two and she raised her eyes, in search of their beloved faces. She would have to say goodbye and the thought was agonising. Only, she didn't find them but Severus Snape instead, standing not far off with his back to her. He was peering into the sitting room, apparently mesmerised by whatever he was watching unfold, and that easily enticed Hermione to obtain a closer look. She had nearly reached his side when he slipped inside the room, unaware of his now former governess strolling up from behind.
Hermione discreetly peeked into the room as well and realised what so deeply had the professor's attentions engrossed. The children, all of whom had changed into new clothes, were taking turns showing off their magic for their two guests; but it wasn't in any sort of chaotic fashion as one might expect from rowdy youngsters but one by one, and with a level of professionalism that seemed to both delight and stun their adult company, including their father. Hermione spotted the faint curl of a smile twisting the corners of Severus Snape's mouth as he watched each of his children entertain Mr Malfoy and Miss Parkinson, his black eyes blazing with indisputable pride.
As Hermione observed from the shadows, Brigitta finished bestowing Mr Malfoy with a gift, a book that had been of her choosing for the occasion, and rattled off its summary for the wizard, who listened to her energetic words with kind-hearted enthusiasm. Gretl was the last to step forward, carrying a bundle of flowers in her hands that Hermione recognised to be the lovely edelweiss from the front of the house. They had been handpicked by the tot earlier that morning and she respectfully handed the small bouquet to Miss Parkinson, who smiled generously at receiving them.
"Edelweiss? My, my, they're lovely!" Gretl sweetly curtsied to Miss Parkinson who, utterly smitten, patted to an empty spot on the couch next to her. Gretl nestled herself against the witch, who then turned to the professor, still all smiles. "Severus, you never told me how enchanting your children are!"
Despite the unfortunate mess that had resulted in her firing, Hermione was grateful to not miss what transpired next. All of the children shuffled closer to the professor, surrounding him from all sides. His wiry arms extended to receive them openly and, in silence, they readily leaned into his embrace. Gretl, too, hopped off the couch and shimmied her way to be at the centre of the family's group hug.
Hermione couldn't hear what Severus Snape whispered to the children—or if he spoke at all—but his heart-wrenching gesture spoke volumes. She swallowed hard, overcome with unexpected emotion.
In that tender moment, she felt torn between elation that her words seemed to have, at last, gotten through to the stubborn wizard and resentful for having her position so unfairly snatched from her grasp. She settled for a mixture of both and, though deeply pained, tiptoed from the sitting room as noiselessly as possible, ducking into the nearest door she stumbled across, which happened to be the kitchen.
Hermione felt a hand compress her shoulder and blinked back tears. She was comforted by the empathetic, round face of Molly Weasley, who had been listening to her retelling of events without scruple or interruption. She waited for what the wise witch might offer in terms of advice, but Mrs Weasley ended up giving a sad shrug of her shoulders once Hermione was through.
"I'm afraid poor Severus can be quite headstrong in how he negatively views much of the world...and most people. Neither has provided him much kindness in the past, and I sense that that's why he's so terribly guarded and closed off. That unintentionally extends, in part, to the children as well, I believe. Make no mistake, Hermione, he cares for them immensely—"
"Oh, I don't doubt that at all, Molly," Hermione concurred.
"—but you may have overstepped it a bit by telling him that he doesn't spend any time with them."
"Well, I didn't mean it exactly like that," Hermione stammered to justify her remarks, flustered when Mrs Weasley merely stared at her, waiting on a more thorough explanation. "I just wanted to get through to him that the children need more than what he's sparing. It's not enough to simply be present! He should open up to them; take care of their emotional needs as dedicatedly as he takes care of their provisions and financials. Do you know, today was the first day since I've been here that I've seen the professor embrace them?"
To her growing dismay, Mrs Weasley didn't appear at all fazed by that. In fact, she actually seemed nearly offended. "He hugs them, dear. You may not see it—or see it often enough for your liking—but he does. You know, it took him a long time to learn how to do that with anyone."
"What, hug?" Hermione's eyebrows rose high on her forehead. She had never heard of such a struggle.
"Yes," Mrs Weasley chuckled. "They're not his flesh and blood, of course, and he hasn't wanted to overstep his bounds with them emotionally. He's had to approach and get every one of those children to trust him in their own time and in their own way. That doesn't mean he's uncaring, my dear; he's just... He approaches everything with painstaking caution. Believe me, I've been around Severus long enough to know: he may be cross and strict towards you but, with the children, his heart's generally in the right place."
By the end of Mrs Weasley's much gentler account of the professor, Hermione's face had sunk into her hands. "I've really botched things up, haven't I?" she groaned behind clasped fingers, to which Mrs Weasley laughed and patted her on the back.
"Not as badly as some of the others! You've got spirit, Hermione, and a set of balls on you! I'll give you that!"
Hermione's aggrieved expression came out of hiding, hardly improved by the witch's taunting bit of commentary. She was blushing madly and about to offer a reply when the kitchen door swung open. Mrs Weasley peered over Hermione's shoulder, prompting the young witch to whirl around in her chair to see what the commotion was.
"Oh! Miss Granger," came Severus Snape's terse voice. He awkwardly grunted and spoke again, this time exercising a kinder address. "I was hoping you hadn't left yet." He nodded towards the hall. "May I have a word with you, if you please?"
Although reluctant, Hermione shifted out of her chair and presented a silent, disheartened farewell to Mrs Weasley, who encouraged her onward with a heartening smile. Hermione exited the kitchen and waited, not daring to so much as meet the professor's eyes. She sensed him transferring his weight from one long leg to the other, as well as tugging aimlessly at the buttons on the front of his frock coat, both of which she thought quite odd for him. Was he...nervous?
"Miss Granger, I ask your forgiveness just now," he shocked her right off the bat by apologising. "I behaved poorly towards you, and I'm sorry for that."
Encouraged, Hermione lifted her eyes and was taken aback by the intensity of Severus Snape's gaze. It wasn't laden with irritation or ire, as had become customary to her, but was of the highest regard, a sincere expression that, until now, Hermione had only ever seen bestowed on the children. "I... I'm sorry, too," she found herself asking for forgiveness as well, proceeding to toil with her hands. Why did they suddenly feel sweaty and fidgety? "Sometimes I'm too outspoken about the things that matter to me. It's a horrible trait, I know, and even Beauxbatons couldn't knock some sense into me."
Severus Snape adamantly shook his head. "No, you were right. I..." His next words caught in his throat and came off as deeply regretful. "I don't know my children. I've wanted us to come to terms with our arrangements in our own time but... For better or worse, I am their guardian now, and I should have been pushing much harder to reach them."
Hermione half extended her hand towards him before catching herself. Why had she felt compelled to console him; to touch his arm? Her hand darted into her hair, and she hoped that Severus Snape hadn't noticed her silly antic. "There's still time, Professor," she suggested, gracing him with another smile. "They want so very much to be closer to you."
"Yes..." Any additional remarks the professor might have wanted to express faded into silence. Hermione decided that that was her cue to leave and, disappointed, she shrunk around him and started for the stairs at the end of the hall. Without warning, Severus Snape reached out and caught her arm, startling Hermione. "Miss Granger," he called, and she hitched a breath as their eyes locked. His hand hurriedly withdrew, his fingers uselessly rubbing on his trousers. "I'd, erm... I'd like you to stay." He paused to survey Hermione's reaction, which brightened at once, and chanced a step closer. "If you would, that is? I'd very much like you to remain here...with us."
"Well, of course I will, if... If that is your wish, Professor?"
"It is," he assured her, conveying no hesitation on the matter.
"I... I just ever want to be of help."
"You already have been, Miss Granger," he softly avowed, and something strange and unusual fluttered in Hermione's heart at hearing it, "more than you know."
"Papa! Papa! Uncle Draco says you're going to throw a party for us!"
Severus Snape turned around and scowled critically, his shrewd, suspicious eyes glancing from an excited Marta to a freshly sheepish-looking Draco. His scowl deepened once the guilty wizard was standing in front of him. "I don't know what Mr Malfoy's teasing you about, Marta," he rejected as he took a precious sip from his goblet of Ogden's Firewhisky, with Pansy hanging on his arm and Brigitta leaning into his opposite side.
Marta's spirits immediately dampened, as did the rest of the children's, who had all come galloping up to the professor following dinner on the back patio. It had been four days that Severus Snape had been entertaining his friends, Pansy and Draco, both of whom, as far as he was concerned, had overstayed their welcome; but the children had taken such a liking to them, particularly Draco, whom they were already affectionately referring to as 'uncle', that Severus Snape hadn't the heart to dismiss them. Yet.
Besides feeling a closer pull towards Pansy in these last days, there was also greedy amusement in observing Draco scampering about his house all the time, running after Marta and Gretl in one of his fine suits or struggling to hover on a broomstick on the back lawn with Liesl, Friedrich, Louisa, and Kurt during a highly physical game of Quidditch or having to tell elaborately wild stories to maintain the children's interest. Whatever it was that the boys and girls demanded of him, Draco hadn't been granted a moment's peace since being introduced, and Severus Snape was easily relishing the payback for all the long, torturous years he had spent babysitting Lucius Malfoy's spawn and his troublemaking mates at Hogwarts.
This latest conniving scheme between Draco and the children was a supposed private one Severus Snape hadn't had the luxury of overhearing until now, and he didn't approve of it at all. He waited for Draco to explain himself.
"I think it's a splendid idea, Severus!" Draco prodded, giving the children a hopeful wink. "The children say they've never had a party thrown in their honour, and with that enormous, unused ballroom you've got—"
"Oh, please, Papa! Please?" Liesl and Louisa begged unanimously. The boys were the only ones crinkling their noses, not understanding all the fuss. The youngest ones expressed their enthusiasm by clapping and jumping up and down.
Severus Snape turned to what he hoped would be one of his few supporters, Brigitta. "What do you think, my dear?" he asked the young girl, giving her shoulder a small nudge.
"Parties are tedious and long and there are too many people—"
"Oh, be quiet, sis!" Louisa reprimanded furiously, but Brigitta haughtily stuck up her nose and hugged the book in her hands tighter to her chest.
"I tend to agree with Brigitta," Severus Snape all too willingly concurred. Liesl, Louisa, Marta, and Gretl bemoaned him by whining all at once.
"You're very cruel, Severus," Draco didn't help matters by instigating, forcing out his bottom lip, "to deny us proper use of that gorgeous ballroom! What fun we could have!"
"'We'?" Severus Snape's eyes narrowed. "Who, exactly? Your friends?"
Draco shot the professor a long, measured look. "They're your friends, too, Severus."
Severus Snape didn't bother contending that score, but he did tack on rather defensively, "My children do not need to be put on display."
"I don't think that's what Draco's suggesting, Severus," Pansy interjected, offering forth some encouragement.
"That's precisely what he's put into their precious little heads!"
"Oh, no, Papa!" nearly all of the children argued, each trying to speak over the others.
"You have a family now, Severus," Draco contested in all seriousness once Severus Snape had settled them down; his gentle, steel grey eyes roved over each child's innocent, open face. "Why not allow some of our closest acquaintances to meet these wonderful treasures that have become such a part of your life?"
"I quite agree, Mr Malfoy," Hermione piped in with a smile, sneaking up from behind their group. Everyone cast their attention upon the governess, who had offered forth her own opinion so freely, including the professor. He was the only party amongst them who frowned with increasing exasperation at being overruled.
"You see? Even she agrees with me!" Draco proclaimed, grinning from Hermione to Severus, whose stern facial lines had deflated. "It's settled then, yes?"
Severus Snape rolled his eyes in response and took a much larger swig of his drink. The children reacted by bursting into spurts of shrieks and cheers, leaping and throwing their hands high in the air, and even Draco joined them. Brigitta wasn't game and, instead, sighed and said her goodnights to her father. She was the first to quietly leave the patio, but Hermione had the others soon following along. She shooed them off to bed as stringently as her voice could carry over their booming excitement. Gretl was the last to comply, however. She first bounded into the professor's arms, throwing her tiny arms around his waist, and proclaimed over her shoulder as she was rushed off by Hermione, "It will be my first party, Papa!"
Severus Snape might not have matched his youngest child's eagerness and cheer, but he could, at the very least, smile with understated warmth as her little form skipped indoors. She was followed closely by her governess and, for the briefest and most unexpected moment, his and Hermione's eyes met. Something akin to esteem—or, perhaps, arousing fondness—glimmered therein. Its discovery rocked the professor to his foundation.
Hermione closed her eyes, rolled up the parchment that had been hand delivered to her earlier that day, and ambled down the side of mountain that rested not far from her employer's estate, the high grass occasionally tickling at her bare ankles. She had resigned herself to hiking here following a late supper in order to read her parents' latest correspondence from London alone, though she wound up spending more time on the mountain than she had planned.
Once darkness finally hit, Hermione became aware that it was time to head back home. 'Home'? Well, it certainly wasn't her real home, per say, but it was as good as. It felt like a place she could see herself residing in for the foreseeable future anyhow, and shouldn't that count for something? Maybe...
Reaching the bottom of the mountain, Hermione headed north, wrapping her grey poncho tighter around herself as she carried on on foot. Her mind wandered again as she followed the uneven, winding path that twisted and bent towards the professor's obscured residence, burrowed snug amongst such magnificent surrounding woodlands.
Maybe there was 'something' to these new homebound sentiments the young witch's heart was nurturing. She thought lovingly of those seven bright faces, all of whom had been put to bed hours ago, and Mrs Weasley's delicious evening meal that had left Hermione feeling comforted and contented after another eventful day on the job, and couldn't help but smile.
The children were making exceptional strides with their wizarding and muggle studies, and even Severus Snape had taken a liking to regularly expressing his gratitude to her on more than a number of occasions. His quiet generosity and casual observances over the past week since their unforgettable row that nearly sent Hermione packing didn't fly under her radar, of course. In fact, such encounters had enlivened her, as well as stirred up unresolved feelings she wasn't sure what to make of.
Hermione shivered, but not on account of the light mountain breeze, and pressed on towards the house. Perhaps she should write to her parents about it...if she could ever pin these feelings down and give them proper terminology.
It was hard to believe she had been at her post for almost three months now. It was even more remarkable to her how time seemed to speed up considerably when one was enjoying themselves. Oh, for sure, Hermione had found pleasure in her studies at Beauxbatons, but she couldn't deny to herself that her school days hadn't been without their share of loneliness. Oddly, she wasn't feeling much of those old, familiar pangs of alienation anymore.
Had she finally found her professional calling? As a governess? She wrinkled her nose, somewhat dismayed by such a conclusion, if that was truly the case, and she wasn't entirely convinced yet. Surely not...
Had she found a sense of belonging at last? Amongst children? Well, perhaps...
And the professor? Oh... Hermione's lips formed one pensive line as she rounded a corner that led directly to the front iron gates of the enigmatic wizard in question. Home... The children... Severus Snape... Why did they all radiate such a cohesive, warming sensation inside of her, in her mind and in her heart? Bugger. Don't think about it. She adored the children, that much was clear, and she had naturally gained an affinity for the stirring backdrop of the Scottish highlands that were such an avid part of the professor's residence; but Severus Snape himself? Why did he feel differently to her all of a sudden?
You've thought enough for one day, Hermione. She shook her head, as if to rid her mind of matters that were too discomforting to analysis further, and extracted her wand so as to let herself through Severus Snape's night-time security wards at the front of the house. She passed over them without complication and headed for the front doors when the soothing scent of edelweiss halted her in her tracks.
She smiled, entranced, as her vision fell upon the vast array of white blooms. She stepped onto the grass so as to inspect them up close and knelt down in front of a batch. She inhaled a short whiff of their fragrance, her curious fingers lightly grazing their dainty petals. Ever since her arrival, she had wondered why they had been planted. Why edelweiss? Why not...lilies?
That puzzlement had expanded in Hermione's mind since that day, but it hardly seemed appropriate to ask. It was an intriguing choice of flower, however, and a mystery about Severus Snape that kept tugging at Hermione's overactive brain.
She found herself crouching down and scrutinising the flowers for some time, rethinking the ex-Death Eater she had sworn she would quit pondering on, and didn't even hear the man's footsteps as they strolled up behind her. "Are you all right, Miss Granger?"
Hermione jolted to her feet with a yelp, and her cheeks blushed beet red as she glanced up into Severus Snape's inquisitive, nonplussed irises. "Oh! Yes," she breathed and made to laugh off her embarrassment. "I was just, erm, admiring your flowers, sir. They're very beautiful."
"Edelweiss," he humoured her, thoughtfully regarding them with understated care; Hermione didn't overlook any of it. "Yes... They are beautiful."
"May I ask why you chose them?" Hermione pressed ever so quietly, fascinated about the potential to receiving an answer to the delicate question that had been nagging her. "Do they hold special meaning for you, Professor?"
Severus Snape didn't acquiesce her with a reply straightaway. Instead, he silently bent down to retrieve a couple of edelweiss from their stems. He then rose to his full height and turned them over in his hand, long, bony fingers twirling the thin stalks back and forth in contemplative quietude. The breeze rustled a few of his stark hairs, sweeping them appealingly into his eyes. Hermione found herself staring without awareness, utterly transfixed by both the inherent gentleness and the unexpected allure to his expression, and awaited his response. His gaze was markedly soft once those dark eyes met hers.
"These were handpicked by my mother's side of the family, the Princes," he candidly explained. "They've been charmed to survive in these harsher conditions and have been in my family's possession for decades. My grandmother, I remember, had a particular fondness for edelweiss. She had spent a great deal of her youth in the Alps, in fact, which is where she first met my grandfather while he was attending Beauxbatons."
"Oh!" Hermione replied, elated. "I had no idea you had relatives who attended my alma mater."
"Yes, indeed." Severus Snape gave a minuet nod. "I enjoy them. They remind me of my grandmother...where I came from... It's important to remember and honour stories of our past, wouldn't you say?" Hermione bowed in agreement, weaving her fingers through her unkempt, windswept curls. "Some of them are unpleasant," Severus Snape added with a sudden air of repentance that took her aback, "but they're a part of who we are—and what we've become—and hopefully the latter is better than the start."
He brought the bundle of flowers to the tip of his hooked nose and lightly sniffed their scent as Hermione observed, her interest piquing as the short period of silence passed. Then Severus Snape suddenly turned the conversation on her, forcing Hermione out of her musings. "How are your parents?"
Hermione removed their folded letter from inside one of her pockets. "They're well, thank you. I've been telling them all about the children and how much I'm enjoying their daily instructions. They love hearing what they're learning about, I suppose because it reminds them of when I was in wizarding school."
"Is it still your objective to become a professor?" he pleasantly surprised Hermione by inquiring. "Madame Maxime informed me that that was a pursuit you were considering."
"I am. That is, I think it's something I still want...at some point..."
Severus Snape blinked, a series of hard lines strewing his forehead. "You're no longer certain?"
A weighty, troublesome sigh escaped Hermione's lips. "I was never certain of what I wanted to do with my life."
"You're young, Miss Granger," Severus Snape assured her, offering Hermione a generous, handsome sliver of a smile that left her bereft. "You still have plenty of time to figure it out."
"Thank you, sir..." She wanted to tell him that she had become so deeply immersed in teaching his children—so captivated and invested in their futures—that she could no longer fathom doing anything else, but she stopped herself short of uttering the words that touched her tongue. "I'm sure you're right," came forth alternatively, and Hermione slumped her shoulders, casting her eyes to the stunning bed of flowers in front of them instead. Their petals fluttered with the wind but didn't wilt or flounder.
Severus Snape extended a hand to Hermione, who turned back to him, amazed that he was presenting her with the bouquet of edelweiss he had just picked himself. She tried to graciously accept them without blushing like mad, but it was an impossible feat and Hermione had never been any good at disguising her most treasured sentiments, so she hardly bothered.
In turn, Severus Snape didn't grin as Hermione's unpracticed, unsteady hands staggered to accept the flowers, but there was a breath-taking, genteel consideration in his regard in that moment that made Hermione terribly self-conscious, and yet, enthralled. She swallowed hard, unsure of what to say, and was grateful when Severus Snape, after the pregnant pause that followed, spoke first, "You should go inside, Miss Granger. It's getting late...and cold."
"Yes..." she concurred quietly, holding her breath.
Severus Snape gracefully bowed his head, those same sweeping, black hairs still streaking across his eyelids. "Good night, Miss Granger."
"Good night...Professor."
Hermione watched as Severus Snape twirled around and sauntered off with his hands loosely behind his back, his trademark robes billowing at his heels. She waited until he had completely disappeared inside the house before releasing the breath she had been sucking in. It came out more like an intense shudder, shaken and aroused by something not yet acknowledged.
From the far left corner of the second story, and peering down from her guest bedroom window that overlooked the private exchange between the governess and the professor, Pansy Parkinson frowned into the darkness. Her beady eyes trailed after the unobservant Hermione as the enamoured witch floated indoors, looking awfully smitten by Severus Snape's gesture, and flared her nostrils in discouragement.
After a moment, she shut the bedroom window. She would shun the outdoor breeze that hailed from the nearby mountaintops for the rest of her stay.
A/N #2: Thank you to those who review!