THE RACE IS ON
CHAPTER FOUR
It wasn't that she didn't appreciate Severus' attempt at an interesting and engaging conversation. She loved the discourse she was receiving on the uses of several different animal parts in various potions. Like, how powdered boar's hoof could reduce the lingering affects of the Cruciatus Curse, provided it was mixed in with a proper base of water, bubotuber pus, and liquefied turtle spleen. But, her attention was beginning to wander, and she followed the track of the soft light with her cinnamon eyes. The light began it's play on his black hair, which was tied away from his Romanesque face with a leather thong. It lingered on his brow, scooping downward to his eyes, lighting the depths of his obsidian eyes. It danced in a play of shadows across his cheekbones, and roman nose, and then down to his lips. They were a little on the thin side, but the way he pursed them as he talked, or thought, made her wonder what it would be like to feel them slide against the soft skin of her throat.
"And the end of the world should happen in the year two thousand twenty six, anno domini."
"Hmmm?" She forced her eyes away from his lips, blinking away the confusion and readjusting herself in her seat, a blush staining her cheeks.
"You weren't paying attention to me, were you, Miss Granger?" His voice was deceptively soft, and she couldn't tell if he was displeased that her mind had wandered or smug that her attention was concentrated on his lips. The use of her surname threw her back to the innocent time she spent in school, and made her feel childish, and at the same time, a certain thrill that she was with her dark potion's professor.
"I'm sorry, my mind wandered a bit." She admitted with a sheepish grin, her hands working at the linen napkin in her lap. She had thought it strange that Severus had insisted on a muggle restaurant, until she realized that he might not want to chance any of his old cronies seeing him bandy about with a Muggleborn, and she had voiced her concerns to him, only to have him laugh it off. It turned out that he actually frequented this particular Italian restaurant, since the squib sister of a friend of his actually owned it.
"Your mind wandered? And where exactly was it traveling?"
She smiled beguiling at him, choosing to gesture with her glass for more wine, in lieu of answering. He took the bait, filling her glass with a little more red wine, which she rewarded him further with another smile. She took a sip of the dark liquid, allowing it to sit on her tongue for a few moments before swallowing. She noticed that Severus' eyes were locked on her in an intense stare. "Is there something on my face?"
"No, it's just that it is rare to find someone to will hold their wine to absorb all the taste." He cocked his head to the side, which made her notice that his hair, instead of being lank and hanging about his face in oily locks, was silky, smooth, and clean. The blue-black of his hair shimmered in the half-light of the restaurant, and she was struck by a sudden urge to run her fingers through his hair.
Ignoring that particular primal need, she smiled at him. "Yes, well, I've always prided myself on the enjoyment of the simple pleasures, such as tastes and textures." If she could have packed more innuendo in one statement, she would have amazed even herself. At her statement, Severus' eyebrows raised, as if she were all but challenging him. To what, though, he could not say that he had the slightest inkling.
"Should we move this conversation to a more comfortable atmosphere?" He smirked as he noticed that she was pushing the remainder of her linguini around on her plate.
"Please." She breathed, hoping that he didn't mean the dungeons…maybe her own rooms? Would that seem too forward?
Severus stood, gesturing for the waiter to bring the cheque, as he helped Hermione out of her seat. Leaving a tip for the harried man that brought the bill, he then paid and ushered the brunette out of the quaint Italian restaurant, and onto the streets of muggle London. Heading for a deserted alley, both he and Hermione disapparated back to the gates of Hogwarts. The large, imposing castle made the perfect backdrop against the brilliant summer night sky, in which thousands of stars were dancing merrily and the crescent moon was inching her way across the velvety violet background.
Hermione turned to face Severus, all thoughts of conversation receding from her mind as he stood there, in the darkness, a figure almost as imposing as the school. The black slacks and black button down shirt made him meld into the darkness, a shadow that was neither here nor there, a shade that was ethereal and ephemeral. His pale features were shadowed by the lack of light, his dark eyes searching her own face with an intensity that seemed so unlike her former professor it made her breath catch in her throat.
He moved toward her, his face unreadable. She stood there, her cinnamon eyes widening as he moved closer, her heartbeat quickening, her breath coming in slight gasps. Catching hold of her face with both hands, he leaned down, pressing a chaste kiss to the corner of her mouth, the barest flicker of his soft lips before straightening and turning on his heel. Striding away from her, he entered the gate and disappeared into the darkness.
Blinking, she stood there, staring at the spot he had been in, her fingers touching the corner of her mouth, where his lips had brushed. She had just been kissed by her former professor…a soft, yielding kiss that was but a promise of much more.
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Severus didn't stop until he was standing outside of his office, his breathing labored and his body tingling. He had kissed her, and he hadn't meant too. He was just going to continue the conversation, perhaps turn it toward Charlie so that he could ascertain her feelings on the matter before he and Remus proceeded further with their scheming and plotting.
But she had stood there, in the darkness, and he had lost his mind! Bloody insufferable Gryffindor! He raged internally, hissing the password so that he could slink into his rooms. This called for some serious thinking and firewhiskey…less of the former and more of the latter. What, in the name of the Gods, would possess him to act like a third-year, a hormonal teenaged male! He was her senior by a good seventeen years!
Grabbing an aged bottle from the bar in his sitting room, he opened it. He would think about it in the morning. Right now, getting pissed sounded like a smashing idea! How to tell Remus that he was…perhaps…developing an infatuation with the very girl he shouldn't…couldn't…because of his love of a happy ending?
Somewhere in the recesses of his mind, a tiny voice whispered softly, And when do you get your happy ending?
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One look at Severus the next morning was enough to let Bill know that no…play…had gone on the night before. The professor had receded into a shell, barely eating at breakfast, wincing at loud noises and keeping his eyes on the table in front of him.
Charlie and Remus had picked up on Severus' lack of appetite and foul mood, both of them deciding, in tandem, that keeping quiet would be best for the health and welfare of all involved.
Hermione, on the other hand, was oblivious to anything, her eyes faraway, her attention wandering. Dumbledore had even had to ask her three times to pass the butter before he just accioed it.
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"What is wrong with you?" Remus asked gently, cornering Severus after the morning meal. His old, but new, friend just shrugged and tried to continue on toward the safety of the dungeons, and maybe another bottle of Firewhiskey, but Remus would not budge.
Sighing angrily, Severus put his hands on the werewolf, and forced him out of the way, stalking past him and toward his hole. His nest…his safehold. Only to find himself pulled back, and staring into the golden eyes of an angry Remus Lupin.
"Snape, what has you in such a foul humor?" He all but growled. "Surely your date with Hermione could not have gone as bad as all that."
At the girl's name, the man in question winced. "No, it did not go badly at all, Remus. You will not get the sordid details."
"Are there sordid details?"
Severus' wand was in his hand and he spun on his heel, his hand leveled at Bill Weasley. "Don't ask me if there were sordid details, Weasley." His voice was a low, dangerous purr that Remus recognized.
"Why not, Snape? Did you not bed the girl on the first date? For shame!" Bill smirked, his full lips curling up as he stared at the angered man. Remus shook his head, trying to warn the eldest Weasley boy with his eyes that he was making a mistake. If Bill noticed, he did a right job of ignoring him.
Severus lunged at him, pressing him against the wall, his forearm over the man's throat. "Let me tell you this now, Weasley." His voice was soft enough that only Bill could hear him. "If you ever refer to Miss Granger in that way again, I will make your life a living hell. I am warning you now, and you best pay heed to me. I will not having you show a Lady disrespect." He stepped back, sneering at Bill as he gasped, trying to get his breath back. Turning on his heel, he disappeared into the dungeons, leaving only Remus and Bill in the hall.
"What did I say?" Bill shook his head. "Mental!"
A/N: Thanks to the reviewers! You guys keep this going!
