A/N: Sorry it took so long. First Thanksgiving. Then finals week. Anyone who has ever been in school knows that charming week from you know where. I'll be better from now on, I promise!
Read and review, please! I'll email you back as a holiday gift! And just to warn you, my lovely friend who read this told me she needed a little Merlot to go with the chesse...
Hermione Apparated to Hogsmede from her mother's backyard the Monday before term started, and stopped to buy some chocolate at Honeydukes before strolling back to the castle at a leisurely pace. Several teachers had returned to their families for a long weekend before term started, and she was able to stroll through the halls of Hogwarts without meeting another person. Once in her chambers she threw the windows wide open to let in the refreshing breeze and sat on the bed, beside the spot the flower had appeared on her pillow.
She gazed at the preserved Gardenia now sitting on her shelf and thought about him. How uncharacteristic of Severus Snape to do something with even a hint of romance. Granted, he did have to break into her room to...
Her eyes suddenly widened. She didn't know for sure it was Snape who had left the flower. Her chamber had all sorts of wards protecting it, several of which would have alerted her had they been breached. It would be nearly impossible for a person to enter without her knowing. Then who had managed to leave the flower? The only creatures who could get in and out without setting off the wards were the house-elves.
'Of course!' she thought, mentally slapping herself on the forehead. But how to summon one? Dobby was dead, and Harry had taken Kreacher back to Grimmauld Place with him.
"Winky?" she asked the air tentatively.
A sudden crack and the wobbly, shy house elf appeared standing in front of her. "What can Winky do, Miss Granger?" she asked softly.
"Someone left a flower on my bed the other day. Since whoever did didn't set off my wards, it must have been a house elf. I need to know who told that house elf to put it there. Could you tell me, please?"
Winky shifted nervously. "I is knowing, Miss Granger, but Winky can't tell. Winky promised she would not tell Miss Granger who is sending the flower."
Hermione exhaled. She should have seen this coming. She thought for a moment. "Could you tell me if it is someone who lives in this castle?"
Winky blushed furiously, giving the answer away, before stammering "No, no Winky can't give any clues as to who is asking Winky to do it."
Hermione thought for another moment. "If I asked you who it wasn't, could you tell me?"
"Winky is sorry Miss Granger," the house elf said, going wide-eyed. "But the person who is sending the flower told Winky that you would ask that very question. He is telling Winky not to answer those questions."
Hermione sighed. She saw no way to question the house elf further without risking Winky doing harm to herself. "Thank you, Winky," she said, unable to mask the disappointment in her voice. Winky bowed and with another loud crack disappeared.
She laid upon the bed, now twirling the flower above her lazily with her wand. She knew it was him. It just had to be. But now the question was how to make that next step. She had run out of the room the last time they were alone together, saying that a relationship was not possible but failing to give a reason.
She decided, before heading to the Great Hall for dinner, that she would return the hint and let him make the first move. She replicated the flower, shrunk the copy, and placed it into her hair. With a bounce in her step she hurried down to eat, and found herself one of a small number who remained in the castle. The large house table was gone, replaced by a smaller, round table. Hagrid, Professor Trelawney, Firenze, McGonagall, and Snape were already eating and, with the exceptions of Snape and Trelawney, laughing at something Firenze had said. The last open seat was between Hagrid and McGonagall, and Hermione happily sat down and started spooning food hungrily onto her plate.
"Hello, Hermione," Hagrid beamed down at her. "Had a good weekend at home?"
"Of course I did," Hermione smiled back. "Mom's doing well, and it's always nice to go home and see her. It's so difficult to do once the term starts."
Hagrid looked slightly saddened for a moment, but then resumed smiling. Hermione knew that there were times he missed his family greatly.
"Hermione," Firenze said, placing his soup spoon down. "That is a stunning flower in your hair. May I inquire as to who gave it to you?"
Hermione shrugged her shoulders playfully, loving the nearly too-perfect setup. "I'm not sure. But I really love it."
She thought she saw Snape sitting up slightly straighter.
_______________________________________
Snape realized after Hermione had gotten up to leave that he hadn't taken a single bite of food since she had entered the room. The flower was in her hair, his flower! She was smiling, happy. Was she trying to tell whoever sent it she was interested? Did she know it was him?
At the risk of looking like one of the Weasleys he started spooning food into his mouth rapidly. Hagrid got up and left the table, leaving him sitting alone with McGonagall.
Her eyes followed Hagrid's broad back from the room before rounding on her colleague.
"Feeling alright, Severus?" she asked. An impish grin played across her lips, causing Snape's stomach to drop like a stone.
"I'm feeling fine, Minerva," he snapped back, staring down at his plate.
The smile turned knowing. "Hermione certainly seemed happy today."
He sighed, pushed his plate away, and put his head on the table. "Is it really that obvious?"
"A niffler could smell it out."
"I'm crazy, Minerva. She's too young for me."
"She's old enough to make her own decisions."
"She hated me all throughout her student years."
"So did most of the students that weren't in Slytherin, and quite a few who were."
"Luckily enough for me all those students didn't set me on fire. Hermione Granger, however..."
"She thought you were jinxing her friend!"
"You are determined to defend her, aren't you?"
"You're determined to talk yourself out of seeing her. One of us is going to have to relent at some point."
"And you know how stubborn I am."
"You are rivaled only by me." They stared at each other for a few moments. "She is obviously interested in you, Severus. I cannot make your decisions for you, nor am I going to speak to you as I did when you were a student. Do what you want, and I hope it makes you happy." She smiled, stood, and left him alone in the Great Hall.
He slowly stood and walked aimlessly around the castle, weighing the pros and cons of courting Hermione Granger. One of the biggest problems was that he had never successfully wooed a woman he had any intention of spending more than a night with. He had tried with Lily Potter, tried since he was eleven years old, and he had failed miserably. His personality was somewhat off-putting, and while he was able to hide his normal self for a night or so, it would come back rampaging at the slightest provocation. And ever since Lily, the woman he had loved so much he almost died for her, he had no desire to have a long-term relationship.
Hermione was so like Lily. Both beautiful and elegant, though they would never list those as among their top attributes. Smart, driven, in awe of the magical world and the new discoveries made almost daily in it. Lily would have never been his, even if she had survived. He had no chance, his personality had once again done him in, along with the incredibly stupid choices he had made as a much younger wizard. Hermione hadn't seen him in that stage. She knew him as a hero. A man who had done everything to protect the son of the woman he loved. A man who had lost his life while trying to save Harry's, just to be brought back by a combination of potions and, Hermione's brilliant idea, a Muggle device called a defibrillator. No magic could bring the dead back, but Muggles don't take finality for an answer.
Hermione may be interested in him now, but what if they started a relationship and it lasted? Would she want to be with an old man? Was she even looking for a 'settle down' situation, or did she realize she was still a beautiful young witch with all sorts of possibilities open to her? What if, Merlin forbid, she wanted a baby? He shuddered at the thought.
Reasons that a relationship with Hermione Granger was a bad idea were swirling around his head, but they all quickly were snuffed by his overwhelming attraction to her. He'd have to be slow, take it cautiously, and be prepared for a rejection that more likely than not was coming, but he had lost one woman he loved. He wouldn't let another one slip through his fingers.