Chapter 4
When Daniel's closed for the night, Daniel immediately went off home five streets away. Hermione was the only guest who remained behind to help tidy the place up. It would have been better if Hermione had sat in a corner and behaved demurely, but Hermione the adult retained something of Hermione the student in her eagerness to help whenever she could. Upon her insistence, Opal relented and passed Hermione the broom, but the girl embarrassed herself by sweeping the dust on the floor so vigorously it lifted up into the air in little puffs.
"Haven't you ever swept before?" Opal asked incredulously, as she took the broom back from Hermione. Soon, the restaurant was as speck as it was before it had opened, thanks to the lone wonder that was Opal.
Hermione blushed, "When I was a child, my mother did the work. When I moved out, all I need to do is use my… special help-maid. I guess I'm not good at housework." She looked at the dust now in the dustpan. Then she looked at the floor, cleaned and waxed. "It looks so much easier."
Severus was more amused than annoyed. To him, the girl was oddly endearing and had a refreshing air of warm sincerity.
"It's late. Shouldn't you be off?" he asked Hermione as he and kitchen crew helped stack the chairs atop the tables.
Hermione tugged at her jacket, replying laconically "I should," but she made no move to leave. After the frolic, it was time to ask questions. She did not want to alarm Severus too much though. "Where do you live?"
"I live right above this restaurant." He pointed at a stairway at the back of the restaurant, leading to the upper floors. "Daniel's kind enough to provide lodgings and food for his employees."
"At a low salary," Opal said. "A very low salary."
Severus shrugged, "Daniel provides with what I need, and I don't spend much. I like the arrangement."
"You don't think it simple?"
"I do, but there's something beautiful about simplicity, isn't there?"
Maybe so, Hermione thought, but she did not think the Snape she had known would agree. Then again, maybe he had always desired a simple life after his tumultuous past, but never had a chance to pursue it. And Severus was not one to show his innermost thoughts.
"I've not had much experience at simplicity. I'm a bit of a workaholic." Hermione admitted.
Severus smiled, "I deduced as much from our conversation." He added shyly, "Perhaps you'll like a look around? You seem interested in the building."
That was true. When the guests had dispersed, Hermione had the opportunity to admire the interior design that had kept much of its Edwardian history intact. There were many pictures hanging on the walls too, showing various owners and famous patrons throughout the ages.
Hermione happily accepted his invitation.
Opal, observing them, shook her head. She was a practical woman, and she believed that Hermione was acting on her whim and trying to get closer to the pianist who was a sort of celebrity in this district. She worried that Severus might get hurt. Had she known better, she would be spared having to fret over the once formidable Potions Master and his equally remarkable former student and partner.
She went home, and Severus was left to lock to place up. Then, he led Hermione up the stairs.
"No one lives here other than Marc and I." Severus said, "You didn't see him. He's gone back to Scotland for the holidays."
Hermione followed Severus to his room, which contained a single bed and a small closet propped against the wall. There was a piano against the opposite wall and a cabinet with a cup on it. Several notebooks and yellowing newspapers were piled in a corner. Hermione could see nothing else in the room. Her mind wandered back to Severus's private chambers in Hogwarts, which she had only seen twice in her life. Those chambers, whilst similarly sparse in furniture and neat, were luxurious and rich in detail and had a more personal touch. There was something austere about the ambience here. Time did not exist in this room, for there was no hint as to when it could belong. It could be the warden's room, a cabin hide-out in a children's adventure, a priest's cell, a modern-day prison...
"It's… nice." Hermione commented uncertainly. Severus raised an eyebrow and Hermione saw the first sign of the old sardonic soul within.
"It's plain," he echoed her thoughts dryly, "I thought you would be more original than other visitors who say the same thing, as though they do not wish to offend me. I like it." He said the last sentence defensively, daring Hermione to contradict him.
Which, of course, she did not. Hermione knew Severus too well to argue with him when he was right.
"I'm sorry," she said.
Severus relaxed, "At least you do not have the foolish cunning, oxymoron as it is, to protest and say I'm mistaken."
Not with you.
He sat on the floor. "It's not very hospitable I admit. Try to make yourself comfortable."
"The company more than makes up for it," Hermione said as she sat beside him.
Severus was about to mock her attempt at saccharine politeness when she said, "I enjoy your company Severus, truly."
He was surprised. People were usually caught off-guard by his acerbic tongue because they expected him to be entirely without churlishness and cynicism after seeing him work in the restaurant. In all honesty, he was not acting. He liked people in general but he also liked to challenge trite conventions. He was fine as long as he flitted around social circles and not become too involved. He found ordinary conversations among acquaintances boring. It was why he was fond of the nonsensical Opal, who always meant what she said.
There was more to Hermione than he had imagined. And he realised, that there were many things to love about her. He decided to know more about them.
"What do you do Hermione?"
"I'm a researcher," Hermione replied.
Severus's interest perked up a little more, "Really? What kind of research?"
"I travel around the world to know more about science and culture. Lately, I went to Greece to collect ancient stones believed to have authentic inscriptions on them," It was technically true. Transfiguration was a science and she had gone to Greece to see how the subject evolved in that country.
"And now it's Christmas." Severus smiled, "You've come home."
Oh, you don't know half of what you just said.
Hermione smiled back, "Yes, I believe I have."
~***~
When Hermione went back to her home, Crookshanks was already there.
"Hello there, you big lump." Hermione greeted cheerily. Scooping her pet into her arms, she let out a whistle, "You always seem to put on more weight each time I carry you."
Crookshanks did not appreciate her humour, much less her return at such a late hour. He dug his claws into her shoulders.
"That, my little one, is uncalled for." Hermione scolded as she released him and rubbed off the bruises. "I was this close to calling one of the stones after you. So the world will remember your name. But now I think I'll use some other name that is worthier. As for you, why don't we name Fred's and George's new dungbomb after you? Hey Harry, would you like a Crookshanks? A nice Crookshanks to stink the classroom?"
Crookshanks made an expression akin to disdain.
Hermione laughed, "Sorry love, but I'm giddy with joy." She lay down on the carpet.
Crookshanks leapt up onto her stomach and stared at her solemnly.
"Nothing escapes you." Hermione scratched his ears to appease him, "I don't know what to do next. He's genuinely happy. Should I tell the others?"
Crookshanks nudged his nose against her palm.
"You're right. Maybe I should find out more first."
She did not have the heart to Severus about his past back at his lodgings. They had talked more about their work. She had learnt that he was not merely a pianist at the restaurant. His interests covered chemistry. In the weekends, he would go to a nearby laboratory. He did not have a certificate, but Hermione knew that he had studied chemistry alongside Potions when he was young. It had become apparent to the researchers that he was as competent and knowledgeable as any one of them. And they allowed him to use the laboratory like he was part of the team. So remnants of a scholar remained in him.
But she needed to know more.
And Hermione, member of the famous Trio and the Order of the Phoenix, always relished a good mystery.
~***~
Severus viewed Crookshanks with ill will. "I don't like cats," and he yelped in anger when Crookshanks scratched his ankles.
"He doesn't like people calling him a cat." Hermione informed him.
"Well, he is a cat." Severus sneered and jumped away when Crookshanks took another swipe at him. He was amazed that the cat could understand him. There was intelligence not to be tangled with. "He doesn't like me too."
"Oh, you two will get on famously," Hermione said carelessly.
Severus and Crookshanks looked at her disbelieving.
It so happened that when she stopped by Daniel's the next day, Severus was going to the hospital. She proposed to follow him and Severus consented.
"But with your… with Crookshanks?" Severus asked, "It's an odd name."
"Says the person with the Latin name." Hermione countered.
Severus stared at Crookshanks. A niggling feeling overcame him. It was the same feeling he had when he first saw Hermione, like he had forgotten something very important. "He looks familiar. This doesn't make sense." He turned to Hermione and smiled in resignation, "But then, a lot of things don't make sense to me."
"Come along. You'll be late for your appointment."
When Severus and Hermione set out, he asked Hermione, "Why did you bring Crookshanks along?"
"Just to be doubly sure of something," she murmured.
It was only after the check-up, which involved physical therapy, when Hermione inquired about the reason of his going to the hospital.
It turned out that Severus had been found unconscious near Trafalgar Square last year, without identity and memory. He was brought to the hospital by a passerby, where it was concluded that he had suffered severe concussion. He had recovered rapidly although the hospital said he needed at least two years of observation. He would not have been able to pay for the bills and would have been lost had it not been the same, kind-hearted passerby who had helped him.
"I never did find out his name and I've lost all contact with him. But he was wonderfully kind."
"It must be terrible, to wake up not knowing anything." Hermione shivered.
Severus shrugged. It had been. When it had become clear he had no kin or friend in London or anywhere else in England, he had been lost and frightened. He had spent a good full month trying to find out who he was, to no avail. It was only through his saviour's advice that he had accustomed himself to the fact that he was alone. Later on that year, with a bit of money that man had given him, he had rediscovered London and was delighted to see the world with new eyes. For unknown reasons, he felt free. Instinct told him he had never been happier. His life was a clean slate and he could do whatever he wanted. Slowly, he also rediscovered what skills he possessed, which were surprisingly many and varied. Then, he had come across Daniel's and fortune had beckoned. He found a stable job and settled down.
He had sought to repay the stranger, but could not find him.
When Severus and Hermione got back to Daniel's, he thanked her for her concern.
"Is there any way I can help?"
"No, Hermione." Severus said, "The little I had with me when I was found was useless." He could not resist continuing, "But if you like, you can see my few belongings."
He cursed his susceptibility towards Hermione. She probably had a boyfriend and three illegitimate but charming children for all he knew and merely treated him as a friend. But when she had danced with him and looked at him with such warmth as she was now, he banished the warnings from his head.
Hermione, in turn, was eager to see what he had. Entering Severus's room, she watched him take a box out of his cabinet.
There were three items. There was a handkerchief and two vials of translucent liquid. Hermione recognised one to contain a death potion and the other a restoration potion. He had always carried them with him in case of emergency. What she would have done if he had committed suicide.
"A fat lot of good these bottles were. No one could find out the components, myself included. There's another item." He put the box on the cabinet and drew a chain from under his shirt.
Hermione's heart pounded hard when she saw the pendant. It was an oblong-shaped crystal. She had given it to him, telling him that Muggles believed crystals warded off evil. He had called it sentimental claptrap. Well, she could not scorn his sentimentality for the moment.
"Where were the clothes you wore?" she asked.
"They were removed from me before my operation and these things you see were taken out of the pockets, but the clothes disappeared. Strange, isn't it? I'm told I was wearing an ordinary, respectable suit. It comforts me to know I wasn't dressed as a madman."
Or in a costume.
Hermione frowned in concentration. There was something not quite right.Severus held the crystal up and scrutinised it. "This leaves me bewildered too. But the old man said it must be very important to me or I won't be wearing it all the time. He told me to keep it safe."
Something clicked in Hermione's head.
"This man who rescued you… what was he like?"
"He's a gentleman, although his humour was rather eccentric."
"What did he look like?"
Hermione's intense tone made Severus frown, "What does it matter? He's rather old, close to ninety but healthy and energetic for his age. He has the longest beard and the maddest twinkle in his eye."
"Severus," she asked desperately, "I didn't ask you before." How could I be so stupid? "But how do you know what your name is?"
"According to the gentleman, he found a name card in my pocket with my picture on it. But it provided little information, only that I'm supposed to be a freelance researcher."
Hermione's eyes widened. He had confirmed her suspicions.
~***~
A/N:
"…a boyfriend and three illegitimate but charming children…" is Hugh Grant's line in Love Actually.
Thank you everyone for the awesome reviews.
AnnabelleElizabeth: I'll say Hermione's the objective sort who knows what others think of Sev even when she's in love with him.
Meriadoc/Celithrathien (I love both names): I do read Laurie R. King. If you read my other fic, Midnight Swimmer Midnight Sea, you'll see more influences there. And here's a raised eyebrow for you in this chapter. =)
Porthos the Pirate: Yes, bear with me please. I'll update whenever possible.
