She dreaded the return to the castle and kept her head down as she walked straight to her dormitory.
She really didn't notice Harry, Ron and Ginny sitting around the fireplace in the common room, neither did she notice them watching her.
There was only a week until Christmas, and her newest task kept her busy and away from her ex-friends.
At meal time she sat wherever she found an empty seat; in class she either had her eyes on the teacher or firmly on her notes.
Every Gryffindor and mostly the entire castle had noticed the rift between the trio, but no one had managed to get anything out of Hermione. So they listened to Harry's recounting of events in which Hermione came out as the snobbish girl who abandoned her friends, because she didn't deem them interesting or worthy enough.
Hermione practically lived in the library and her dormitory. The Restricted Section was rarely used, and in her dormitory she pulled the curtains of her four-poster closed and placed a Silencing Charm on her bed.
Potions class was certainly interesting. The Professor didn't make one derogatory statement about Hermione, who kept her head and hand down. Instead, he targeted Harry and Ron mercilessly, and Hermione couldn't find it in her to feel particularly sorry for them. At the end of the class, she had deliberately stayed behind to give Snape a grateful smile.
He gave her a rather roguish smirk that made her chuckle. When his vindictiveness wasn't intended for her, it was a rather appealing feature.
xxx
One night, it was extremely cold in the castle and many students had taken refuge in the showers that never seemed to run out of hot water.
Hermione wanted to do the same, but Lavender and Parvati had locked themselves rather rudely into their shared bathroom, not even giving Hermione a chance to use the loo.
It was an hour to curfew, but it didn't look as if the girls would leave the bathroom anytime soon, and Hermione was shivering in her bed. When the two witches finally came out, Hermione had fallen asleep but woke up quickly at the noise they made.
They happily chatted away, not caring about the other witch in their room. Hermione kept quiet; she had got used to their rude behaviour.
She had cold feet again and couldn't fall asleep, despite the Warming Charm. As there was still time before curfew, she decided to do something productive. With a shiver, she eased out from her fairly warm bed and made to leave the room.
She hugged her cardigan tighter around herself, feeling the cold seep through her many layers of clothing.
She pulled her knitted hat from her pocket and pulled it over her head, forcing her unruly hair into submission. Goosebumps erupted all over her body, and she applied another Warming Charm.
She felt marginally better, but she still had her arms wrapped around her upper body as if they could make her warmer. If nothing else, they gave her some comfort.
She reached the kitchens without encountering a single soul. With reluctance, she pulled her hands from inside her cardigan to tickle the pear. She sneezed heartily, and another tremor ran through her body, making her feel cold all over again.
She stepped into the vast kitchen and found only a handful of elves in residence. They greeted her with smiles and kind ear-twitching, her presence there quite the regular occurrence. They didn't offer her food and simply went back to their business. They knew she would ask for whatever she needed when she was ready.
Officially, students were not allowed to be there, but the staff was aware of regular forays into the kitchens and usually turned a blind eye. This was what Hermione was hoping for when the door behind her opened, and she saw teaching robes descend down the stairs.
Even as she made out the familiar shape of her Potions Professor, she didn't breathe a sigh of relief, not quite knowing where she stood with him. But when his face came into view and he merely cocked his head in that adoring fashion she had come to like, she smiled and greeted him with a friendly, "Good evening."
He replied in kind and walked past her to sit down at a nearby table, his steady gaze quickly returning to her.
"What can I brings you?" a house-elf of unknown sex asked Snape, who ordered a hot cocoa and an omelette without taking his eyes of his student. When the happy elf scuttled off, Hermione raised a questioning eyebrow at him.
"I like cocoa. I would never drink it in public, though," he said, crossing his arms in front of him.
"Why did you come here? You could just have ordered it from your rooms."
"I wanted to know what the only student not in a common room was doing here."
"Are you spying on me?" She frowned.
"No, but I happened to see you slip in here on my patrol."
The elf came back and served Snape his meal, adding a few chocolate sprinkles to his cocoa with luminous eyes. Snape thanked her and began to eat, still watching Hermione calmly between bites.
Nervously her tongue darted out to wet her cracked lips, and she saw how he watched that gesture.
Distracting herself, she pulled a piece of paper out of a pocket and unfolded it before handing it over to an elf that had waited for her to do just that.
Now it was Snape's turn to raise a questioning eyebrow.
Hermione just quirked her lips, quite liking his enquiring look.
Severus took a sip from his cocoa when a horde of six elves came barrelling to his table and put various utensils on it before vanishing again. A moment later they returned, their thin arms laden with ingredients.
Snape could see where this was going, and he pulled the piece of parchment from her hands, but she snatched it back.
"It was supposed to be a surprise," she said a little sadly.
"For whom?" he asked stupidly.
"My dearest Potions master," was her dry reply, and she had to change her expression from mildly exasperated to meaningful before he believed that she wasn't joking.
"What if I don't like what you'll make?"
She pouted and handed over her recipe.
"Chocolate chip cookies," Severus read and handed the piece of paper back. "Proceed," he said haughtily and went back to his omelette.
Hermione snorted and began. She had created many concoctions down here: soups, gratins, traditional meals and a few more exotic ones. But her passion was sweets and treats.
She felt a pang as she remembered sharing her newest creation with the boys. Seeing her Professor's eager look, though, she felt better immediately.
They talked little, mainly about the different ingredients and about their likes and dislikes when it came to food. She got hot during the preparation and even took off her cardigan, revealing a black fleece jumper.
He complimented her on her excellent choice of colour.
She let him lick the bowl clean after she transferred the dough onto the baking tray. He looked at her, obviously debating whether to keep his dignity or give in and enjoy, but soon took a spoon to scrape the remains from the bowl. She chuckled when he replaced that spoon with his finger after a while.
After putting the tray into the oven, she walked back to the table, which had already been cleared and cleaned. There was not a single sign of the flour she had dropped earlier.
Severus had long finished his meal and ordered two more hot cocoas when she sat down next to him. Hermione giggled when the same elf from before came to put chocolate sprinkles over their beverages with an eager smile.
She looked at him fondly as he sipped. His hand came up to wipe the foam off his upper lip with his index finger and lick his appendage clean.
Hermione put her mug down and leaned over to him slowly, until she could feel his sweet breath on her moist lips.
"You missed a bit," she whispered, and felt her own lips part as she seriously thought about licking the milk foam off of his upper lip.
"Indeed?" he rasped, and blindly put his own cup on the table before closing the closing the inch that separated them.
His lips were as cracked as hers, but neither of them cared. He tasted peculiar: a mix of chocolate and the sharp onions that had been in his omelette. She fleetingly tried to recall what she had eaten last, but forgot to care when his tongue played with hers.
He drew back quickly and put some distance between them, frowning at his mug. Hermione was disappointed but also relieved that he hadn't run from the room, threatening her with expulsion.
She tried to act unaffected. It was either that or fly at him again to suck his tongue into her mouth.
The timer went off, and Hermione gave him a small kiss on his creased forehead before quickly striding over to the oven, missing his conflicted but needy expression. She pulled the finished cookies out, enjoying the hot air that wafted out and enveloped her.
Severus watched her swaying bottom that not even several layers of clothing could conceal. His mouth felt dry after their short kiss, but he was loathe to wash away her taste which still lingered in his mouth. After a short deliberation, he drank, hoping that he wouldn't be tempted to renew her flavour by kissing her again.
With a proud smile, Hermione came back, carrying a tasty looking bunch of cookies on a tray.
"They smell nice," he offered. "Which is not a guarantee that they will be palatable," he teased, trying to look serious.
She glared at him. "Careful, Mister, or I won't share them," she warned with all the ferocity of a new-born deer.
"I thought you baked them for me," he said, feigning deep hurt.
"I see your acting classes have paid off," she quipped, smiling at his overly tragic expression.
"Cheeky wench," he growled and snatched a still hot cookie from the tray before she could get them out of his reach.
They were crispy on the outside while the hot centre was still soft and even a little gooey, the molten dark and white chocolate chips coating his tongue. They were absolutely delicious.
"Not bad for a first try," was all the praise he could muster and had the rest of his cookie pulled from his grasp for his lack of gratitude.
"Cheeky git," she growled.
She stared intently at his still chewing mouth, licking her lips in time with his. She felt the earlier heat of desire coil in her stomach.
"You look delicious," she breathed, not noticing how corny her words might sound, and pulled his chocolaty mouth to hers. She didn't mind the mixture of thick saliva and dough remains and sucked them in to her mouth.
"That's probably unhygienic," he protested against her lips, even though his cock swelled in time with his sky-rocketing lust. He feebly tried to escape her advances, but not even his hands obeyed when he ordered them to let go of her.
"Rubbish," she whispered and resumed her attack.
It was some time later before they left the kitchens, both satisfied with the stormy kisses and hesitant caresses, yet yearning for more. Neither dared to take the next step into forbidden forays.
Severus carried his cookies to his rooms, graciously handing her two and keeping the other twelve.
Hermione came back to Gryffindor tower near midnight. The common room was empty, and no one had reported her missing. With a deep sigh she walked into her room and fell asleep in her clothes. Not only did they keep her warm, but they smelled just the faintest bit of Severus.