This took so long. My apologies. I've been busy. My wedding is in 3 weeks!
To my beta, MysticSong1978: You are just too wonderful for words.
To all my reviewers... You guys rock.
Awkward Conversations
Hermione sat in the dining room, sipping at a goblet full of pumpkin juice. She had been awake through most of the night, watching over Severus. His body weakened by the tremors from the Cruciatus Curse; horrifying nightmares plagued him through most of the night. She smothered a yawn with her hand and looked up in time to see Ginny enter with Fred and George.
"Hello there, Hermione," Fred said with a dramatic bow, his red hair falling toward his face. He swept over to her chair and placed a kiss on her hand. Hermione smiled and shook her head.
George plopped down in a chair next to her. "We hear you're taking care of Snape," he said taking the pumpkin juice out of her hand and taking a drink.
"Yes," Hermione said, watching George finish off her pumpkin juice. "He's sleeping right now, but he should be well enough to be up and about today."
"Oh, that's wonderful," Fred said dryly, sitting across from Hermione next to Ginny. "I just can't wait to have him stalking around all over headquarters."
Ginny giggled. "I think you'll find that he's much more agreeable these days," she said with a sly look at Hermione.
"I doubt that," George commented, not seeing the look that Ginny was shooting at Hermione. "I don't think that git could be agreeable if he was hit with a bunch of cheering charms."
Hermione and Ginny smirked, but made no comment. Ron and Harry shuffled into the dining room yawning. Harry's messy black hair was sticking up at odd angles while Ron's red hair looked as if it had been hit by a cyclone. "You two look about as tired as I feel," Hermione commented with a weary smile.
"They always look like that," Ginny said, wrinkling her nose.
"Not morning people, I assume?" Fred asked with a chuckle.
"No," Harry and Ron grumbled.
"We were just discussing the fact that Hermione's been looking after the grouchiest git that ever walked this earth," George said conversationally.
"I thought that was Voldemort," Ginny mused.
"No, he must be referring to Snape," Harry said with a grin.
"Right," George said. "I can't imagine having to sit in the same room with Snape all day." He shuddered.
"Hermione doesn't mind it," Ron grumbled. "She's all too happy to play medi-witch for that git."
Hermione shot a disgusted look at Ron and left the room silently. Ginny left the room behind her. They heard Fred say "Did we miss something?" Hermione didn't really care to hear the response to that question. The twins would corner her for questioning at some point. She walked into the room were Severus was and moved toward the bed.
Severus woke up and met her gaze. "How are you feeling?" she asked, forcing the thoughts of Ron's rudeness out of her head.
"Fairly well," Severus said gruffly. Hermione watched nervously as he sat up in the bed and, manoeuvring his legs carefully over the side, stood up. He stepped away from the bed and walked in a wide circle around the room, relieved at the lack of pain in his muscles.
Hermione let out a sigh of relief. "You healed very nicely," she said quietly. Her mind drifted back to the events of that night. Her heart ached at the memory of Severus thrashing about in the bed, within the grip of some gruesome nightmare. When she had rushed to his side to comfort him, he had clung desperately to her, beads of sweat standing out on his brow.
Severus turned away from Hermione, knowing what she was thinking about. He was furious that she had witnessed such a moment of weakness from him. He had never intended for her to find out about the nightmares which often haunted him, reminding him of a past that he would prefer to forget. When he finally turned to meet her gaze, he saw sympathy within her warm brown eyes. This frustrated him even more. "I'm perfectly fine," he snapped coldly. "You may go now."
Hermione took a step back, startled by his outburst. Her wide eyes began to fill with tears, but she blinked them back quickly. "You needn't snap at me," she said coolly. "I'm not your student. I'm not a child anymore. I may be your apprentice but you have no reason to treat me that way." She folded her arms over her chest stubbornly.
Severus smirked. He found her determination to stand up to him rather attractive. He took a step toward her, enjoying the brief look of uncertainty that flitted across her face. He leaned forward so that his face was only inches from hers. "I will not tolerate impertinence from an annoying little Gryffindor know-it-all," he said silkily.
"And I will not tolerate rudeness from an arrogant, miserable dungeon bat," Hermione retorted fiercely. She waited for him to scold her, but was surprised to see the corners of his lips twitch upward slightly, betraying his amusement with the situation. Severus closed the distance between them, pressing his lips to hers. He tugged her closer to his body, enjoying the way she felt in his arms. Hermione let out a soft, contented sigh.
"Good heavens!" a startled voice cried out from the doorway. Severus and Hermione stepped back and saw Molly Weasley standing at the entrance looking horrified. "I... I heard you arguing in the hallway," she stammered. "It got quiet so I came to check on you." Her eyes widened suddenly as if she had just comprehended what she had seen. "Severus Snape!" she shouted. "Have you taken leave of your senses? You could lose your job for this." She whirled around to glare at Hermione. "I expected better from you Hermione. He's your professor. You're a student."
"I assure you, Severus won't lose his job," Hermione said quietly, before Severus could snap at Molly. "I'm no longer a Hogwarts student."
"Albus practically dropped the girl into my lap," Severus said irritably. "Why would I lose my job?"
"What?" Molly cried. "You can't be serious. This is inappropriate. She's a child."
"Not anymore Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said, nervously wringing her hands. "I'm a little older than you think because of the time turner."
"I do believe Miss Granger will be celebrating her twenty-first birthday this year," Severus added, glancing at Hermione. She nodded silently.
Molly sputtered in angry confusion. Finally, she pressed her lips together in a thin line and walked out of the room. Severus growled in annoyance and looked at Hermione. Her face was pale. "What an infuriating woman," Severus commented, stepping closer to Hermione and drawing her into his arms hesitantly. Hermione sighed heavily into his chest. She knew that Mrs. Weasley meant well. It would be difficult for her to accept this new relationship.
"There is a meeting with the Order this evening," Severus said, releasing Hermione and picking up the fresh robes that he'd set on the bed earlier.
Hermione's stomach clenched painfully. "They'll want to know what happened to you. And why it happened," she added, a soft blush rising in her cheeks.
"Indeed," Severus agreed smoothly. "However, I have no intention of sharing any information that is not absolutely necessary. We can only hope that Mrs. Weasley won't go spouting off any details that we do not wish to be known." He rolled his eyes impatiently.
Hermione smiled slightly. "That famous Weasley temper could be a problem," she said.
"We will deal with that later," Severus replied silkily. "Now, you go find the dunderheads while I take a shower."
"The dunderheads?" Hermione asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.
"Your friends," he answered dismissively as he walked out of the room. Hermione shook her head, chuckling. She picked up her wand and flicked it toward the bed. The bed sheets were soon laying flat and neat across the mattress and the pillows were perfectly straight. Nodding in satisfaction, Hermione turned to leave the room. She stopped when the twins came bounding into the room.
"Hermione!" they exclaimed together, as if they hadn't seen her in a year.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes?" she asked, trying to be patient.
"We heard some interesting news," Fred commented, peering at her curiously.
"We were wondering if it was true," George added.
"And what news would that be?" she asked, folding her arms over her chest.
"That you're shagging Professor Snape!" George blurted out. He yelped when Fred smacked the back of his head.
"You have no tact," Fred told his twin disdainfully. Fred turned back to Hermione and clasped his hands behind his back. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again, apparently unsure of what to say. He tried again. "So Hermione, are you shagging Professor Snape?" George snorted with laughter.
Hermione let out an exasperated sigh. This could be an interesting conversation. She searched her mind for a suitable way to respond. "Where's Ginny?" she muttered anxiously.
Fred and George exchanged meaningful looks. "She didn't deny it," Fred said with a shrug. "If she weren't, you'd think she'd speak up and say so."
"Perhaps it's a complicated story," George responded stroking his chin as if in deep thought.
"Why would she need Ginny in here?" Fred asked in exasperation.
"You know girls," George said with a shrug. "They can't even visit the lavatory by themselves. Maybe it's the same way with certain conversation topics."
Hermione shook her head in amusement. Perhaps the twins would take the news a bit better than Ron had. However, she wasn't about to discuss the topic without Ginny there to support her, just in case they did react badly. She marched over to the open door with determination. "Ginny!" she shouted into the hallway. In moments, Ginny scurried into the room, her eyes wide with worry.
"Is everything ok?" Ginny asked anxiously, looking from the twins to Hermione.
Hermione was wringing her hands, unsure of what to say. She glanced at the twins uncomfortably. Fred and George looked back at her curiously. Finally, Fred spoke up.
"We asked if she's been shagging Snape," he said with a grin. "She got all flustered and then called for you."
"Oh," Ginny said, sighing with relief. She shifted her weight nervously. "Well, this will be an awkward conversation." She turned her gaze to the twins. "Look, Professor Snape isn't so bad. He's really quite nice to Hermione. She became his apprentice at the beginning of the year and they... got on pretty well," she faltered, giving Hermione an apologetic look.
"That's an understatement," Ron muttered, entering the room. Hermione glared at him. It was, most likely, his fault that she was having this conversation right now.
Fred and George looked over at the grimace on Ron's face and then exchanged looks of revulsion. "Snape?" Fred said incredulously. "What on earth made you go for someone like him?"
Ginny grinned miscievously. "Those sticking charms that you put on the mistletoe last Christmas were a big help," she said slyly. "That's when everything became interesting."
"The mistletoe?" George asked, puzzled. Suddenly, his face lit up with a broad smile. "You got caught under the enchanted mistletoe with Snape!" he cried, pointing at Hermione and chuckling merrily.
"Bloody hell," Fred muttered, shaking his head. "Can't really be angry with her because it's partially our fault."
"Right," George said with a small nod. "It's still weird though."
"Absolutely," Fred agreed.
Ron made a noise of disgust and stalked out of the room. Fred, George and Ginny exchanged knowing looks while Hermione watched Ron's angry exit with confusion irritation. "Come on Hermione," Ginny said with a smile, tugging at Hermione's arm. "We'll talk about what's going on with Ron downstairs. Besides, we don't want the twins to be in here when Professor Snape comes back." The twins nodded fervently in agreement. The group hurried away from the room before Professor Snape returned.
