Disclaimer: World and characters belong to J. K. Rowling.
Chapter 5: The Secret Garden
Severus stayed at Hermione's the rest of the day, but they spent most of the time talking, both reluctant to push this new thing too far too quickly. Much of their conversation concerned the topics they already usually discussed, but occasionally a look or a touch would remind them. They would fall silent briefly.
"What are you going to tell your parents tomorrow?" he said at one point, when she sat down and leaned her head against his shoulder.
She bit her lip. "I think I'll say that we're seeing each other, but it's new. And it is. We haven't even..."
"Slept together?" he finished.
Hermione nodded, not sure how to ask. He saw the look on her face and continued. "I would like to take our time, Hermione. It doesn't feel right. Not yet."
She stroked his cheek. "I understand. Whenever we're both ready, then."
When her phone rang and she had to answer it, he wandered back around the room, noticing the desk with a laptop computer. Unused to such things, he traced a fingertip over the keyboard. Then he noticed the book next to the computer.
"You're reading Dante?" he asked when she got off the phone.
"Mmm-hmm," she answered. "I'm most of the way through Inferno. It's brilliant."
He smiled. "I remember. I did get bogged down in Purgatorio, though."
"Isn't that what purgatory's for?" she asked, with a grin. "What did you want to read next?"
His eyes lit with interest. "I had an idea. I'll send it to you by owl."
"What is it?"
He caught her in his arms. "Can't it be a surprise?"
The next morning, the book arrived by owl. She took the package, gave Beatrice an Owl Treat, and untied the string, unfolding the brown paper. It was a faded copy of The Secret Garden. The note on top said, I have, despite my age and gender, always been rather fond of this story. I think you will appreciate what it has to say—Severus.
Hermione started reading, realizing, when her clock chimed, that she needed to get ready to go to her parents' house. She had been planning to take the tube, but it was a little late for that. She changed into Sunday lunch clothes and Apparated to their back garden.
"There you are," said her father, offering her a glass of wine. "How's work been?"
"Good, Dad, thanks," she said. "Hi, Mum. Did you need a hand with anything?"
"No, the food's ready. You have good timing." They sat down to eat and Hermione waited for her mother to bring up the subject.
Eventually Barbara said, "And how is that friend of yours? Severus, was it?"
Hermione permitted herself a smile. "He's well," she replied. "He headed back to Hogwarts yesterday. It's term-time, after all, and he can't be away from school for long."
"How long have you been seeing him?" her dad asked. "He's a little old for you, isn't he?"
Hermione shrugged. "We have a lot in common," she explained. "It started when I ran into him at work when he was there for a meeting, and we got to talking. We both read a lot. And he's a Potions-Master, and potions are kind of my thing. It was just friendship at first."
"And now?" her mother asked, a little pointedly. "What is it now? He spent the night at your place."
"On the sofa, Mum!" Hermione said. "It was a little late for him to go home, so he slept on my sofa." She conveniently omitted that she had also slept on the sofa.
"What are his intentions towards you? You've been through a lot," her father said.
She set down her fork and knife. "So has he, Dad. We understand each other. He's older than me, but should that really be a problem if we love each other?"
Her parents exchanged glances. "So how long have you been romantically involved?" her mother asked.
"Since Friday evening," she said. "It's very new, and we're taking it slowly. I'm not in a rush this time, since we're not facing the end of the world."
"Good. Bring him round for supper sometime, and I'll find out his intentions for you," her father said with satisfaction.
She stared at him. "Excuse me?"
"You're glowing, Hermione," said her mother. "I haven't seen you happy in years. If he makes you happy, then we'll welcome him."
Hermione wrote a letter to Severus that evening, telling him about her parents' unexpected reaction.
...I had never thought they would take it so well, she wrote. I'm very happy about that, but it was a surprise. I've promised to bring you for supper at some point, but I didn't say when. I don't know how you feel about that...
Severus turned the letter over in his hands, gratified that her parents were happy for them. He still felt like his mind had been turned inside-out. I love her, he thought. I love her, and I think I want to marry her. This was new. He had loved Lily but had never thought beyond being with her. With Hermione, he wanted a future. It was terrifying. He had lived his life within such rigid prescriptions, especially after the first war, that he was uncertain of how to proceed now that he was free to live his life with a woman for whom his past was not a deterrent.
The next week, Beatrice arrived at the office with a letter for Hermione. It read: Halloween is on Saturday. Would you be interested in coming to Hogwarts for the celebration?-Severus.
Hermione smiled. A co-worker glanced over at her. "You look happy," she commented. "What's your bloke done?"
"Asked me to spend the weekend up at his place," she said, dipping her quill and writing out her reply. I'll be in Hogsmeade on Saturday morning—Hermione.
She took a room at the Three Broomsticks for the weekend and Apparated there on Saturday morning. She checked in, settled into her room, and then came downstairs to find Severus at a corner table with a pot of tea in front of him. She smiled and sat down across from him. "Hello," she said.
His eyes met hers and she caught her breath at the look in them. "I missed you," he murmured.
"So did I," she replied. "I finished the book."
"What did you think?"
Her hand closed over his. "Thank you," she told him. "I was...thank you."
"I am not overly demonstrative, Hermione," he said. "I thought that might help."
"It did, Severus."
They sat silently for a while, enjoying each other's presence, before Severus poured Hermione a cup of tea and they started talking. Since they were in public, they stuck to non-revealing topics, but the intensity of their discussion meant that anyone glancing at them immediately felt as though intruding on a private moment.
Except for the students.
"Is it a Hogsmeade weekend?" Hermione asked after the second student had come by to say hello to the Headmaster.
"Of course it is," he said. "It's Halloween. I'd be more of an ogre than usual if I cancelled a Hogsmeade trip on Halloween."
Hermione's private smile made him smile back. It said a great deal about how he had changed over the years, that students would actually go out of their way to greet him in public.
Hermione wondered idly what his students thought of him sitting here with a woman her age. She did not realize that the worries of the war had aged her expression, and that her natural maturity contributed. The way Severus had relaxed with her made him look ten years younger. While some of the seventh years at Hogwarts would have been there during her sixth year at the school, they, as first-years then, were rather in awe of the Hermione Granger. So with the natural tendency of the young, the students all lumped Hermione and Severus into the same category: grown-ups.
A third-year timidly approached their table. "Excuse me, Professor Snape," he said. "Sorry to bother you, but Alan ran into a post and his head's bleeding."
Severus pulled his headmaster demeanor on and stood. "Pardon me?" he asked Hermione, dropping a few coins on the table to pay for their tea.
"Of course," she replied. She went upstairs to fetch her cloak, and then went outside to where a young boy, a Hufflepuff, was bleeding profusely from a scrape on the side of his head.
Severus extracted a clean white handkerchief from a robe pocket, pressed it against Alan's head, and then took a good look at him. "Head back up to the castle and go see Madam Pomfrey," he ordered. "You'll be fine, but she should take a look at you just the same."
Hermione slipped her arm into his as they watched the two boys head back up the road. He looked down at her. "What?"
"You can be very kind when you want to," she commented. "I would be impressed if I didn't know you better than most people."
"It's your fault, you know," he said waspishly. "I never wanted to be nice to people."
"You weren't exactly nice to him," she said. "You were polite. You didn't sneer."
"I thought about it. Ran into a post? What were they doing?"
"Acting like third-years?" she said, and laughed at the expression on his face.
Minerva McGonagall, counting students as they entered the castle through the main gate, saw Severus and Hermione as they made their way up the path. Hermione was telling a story about a potion she had recently evaluated, dramatically waving her hands as she talked. Severus was laughing.
Minerva had known that Hermione had been invited to spend Halloween at the castle, but had not realized the depth to which this had gone. She was startled. Hermione was incandescent, and Severus looked like a new man.
When they arrived at the gate, Hermione eagerly made her greetings to her former Head of House. Minerva invited Hermione to take tea with her. When Hermione glanced at Severus, he waved a hand. "I have correspondence I should tend to. Come by when you're finished. The password is Robin."
She smiled. "You've been doing some re-reading this last week, too, haven't you?"
"Do you doubt it?"
Minerva pursed her lips.
"Miss Granger, how long has this been going on?" she asked, once the tea was poured.
"I beg your pardon, Professor?" said Hermione, adding sugar to her tea.
Her former teacher looked at her with concern. "You and Severus."
Hermione sighed. "I had hoped to keep it quiet longer."
"It will stay quieter if I can tell the rest of the staff what is going on," Minerva said.
"That would be up to Severus," Hermione said. "But we are seeing each other. We've only characterized it as that for two weeks," she added.
"Two weeks. I'm surprised he invited you here so soon. It's not unusual for instructors to invite...significant others...to celebrations here, but it is odd that he would do so this early."
"We've been writing to each other and seeing each other every time he goes to London for a number of months," Hermione clarified. Her eyes grew thoughtful. "It was a relief to have a friend with whom I felt no need for pretence. Surely you can appreciate that, Minerva?"
The woman nodded. "I see. Hermione, have you thought this through?"
"Do you doubt that I would?"
Minerva surveyed the young woman. "Don't break his heart," she advised.
When Hermione entered his study, she found him at his desk, finishing a letter to the Minister of Magic. He looked up at her and his face lit.
He crossed the space between them in a few strides, and wrapped his arms around her. When they emerged from their kiss, she realized that a number of the portraits on the wall were clapping.
"Do they always do that?" she asked.
"I don't know. I haven't kissed anyone in here before," he said dryly. "I have a sitting room."
"Where?" she asked.
He opened a side door and led her through it, shutting it firmly behind them so the portraits wouldn't overhear.
"I wish you were staying here," he said once they decided they needed to breathe for a while.
"I thought it would be better this way," said Hermione. At his look she shook her head. "Severus, what do you think people are going to say? There'll be more gossip if I'm staying here."
"Gossip? Since when do people care about my private life?"
"Since the war?" she said, feeling irritated with his determined ignorance. "I thought this through. Why didn't you?"
"Maybe because I've never done this before!" he snapped.
"Is that really an excuse to the man who plans out everything?" she retorted. "I thought about the propriety of visiting and that's why I'm at the Three Broomsticks, and not up here!"
"Propriety! Since when is this a question of propriety!"
"Are you daft, Severus?" Hermione demanded. "I was your student. Do you have any idea about the repercussions from this?"
He glared her. "And I suppose you thought of that when I asked if the age difference bothered you?"
"I did, and I thought it was worth it. But I am damned if I am going to let you jeopardize your career, your life, for me! I will do everything in my power to make sure that our relationship appears natural and appropriate to the people watching us."
His anger fell away when he realized what she was trying to tell him. He pulled her back into his arms. "I wasn't thinking," he said in apology. "It's unlike me to think over the consequences...and yet this is so new."
Hermione relaxed against him. "I don't want you getting hurt over this," she said. "It's going to be hard enough telling my friends, but the people who'll run right to the gossip columns? They like to speculate on the love lives of the war heroes. I'm not giving them any more fuel for the fire than I have to."
A cleared throat from the door caused them to look up. Minerva stood there. "I see you've already discussed what I came here to ask about," she said.
"How long have you been standing there?" Severus demanded.
"Long enough," she said. "Now that we're all on the same page, what are your plans? I need to tell the staff to minimize speculation."
"Speculation?" said Hermione.
Severus groaned. "You haven't spent time in the staff room," he said. "What do you want to know, Minerva?"
"Is this a serious relationship?"
"Yes," both of them snapped. They turned to stare at each other and the looks on their faces made Minerva briefly consider starting a betting pool as to how quickly they would be engaged.
"Anything else?"
"We're taking things slowly," said Hermione. "We'd appreciate it if they kept mostly quiet about it."
"Mostly quiet?" said Severus.
"Do you really think we can expect all of them to keep their mouths shut?" said Hermione, eyebrows raised.
He smirked. "I suppose you're right. Since when did you become so conniving?"
"What do you mean?" she asked innocently.
"If the teachers know, and eventually it comes out, that they all knew and there were no problems, that stops a lot of people dead in their tracks," said Minerva. "I am prepared to offer you my support, should you need it," she said. "I'll be going now. And Severus," she said, "don't break her heart."
She closed the door firmly behind her.
Most of the teachers ventured surreptious glances at Hermione and Severus that evening, but refrained from saying anything. Hermione chatted eagerly with Minerva, and Filius, and the current Arithmancy and Ancient Runes professors, but was largely silent with Severus, though several times she said something that brought a smile to his face. That told the more observant ones that this was, as Minerva had said, serious. Hermione was both grateful and a little sad that Remus and Tonks weren't there that evening. In the aftermath of the war, legislation surrounding werewolves had been relaxed. Remus was once more teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. Tonks worked part-time in the Auror department with Harry. The Lupins' son, Teddy, was five, heading towards six.
Several students ventured over to ask for Hermione's autograph. She was polite but Severus saw her wincing slightly. It was the way he felt whenever anyone praised his service in the war.
He walked her down to Hogsmeade that evening, and they sat up in the bar, talking quietly. The argument that afternoon had made him think harder about what might be necessary in this relationship. He remembered that his reputation was not the only one at stake.
He walked her to her door, and they kissed goodnight. "I should go," he said. "Or I won't want to leave."
She smiled back at him. "Good night."
That evening, he sat in his study, looking out the window towards Hogsmeade, the book they were discussing in his lap. Eventually he went to bed, and dreamed of her.
Hermione came up to the castle for breakfast the next morning, and, when asked to the staff room by Minerva, accompanied her while trying to work out what was going on.
"I suppose you will be a more frequent guest here," said Minerva. "So we'd like to welcome you."
She nervously followed the professor through the door and saw a few of the teachers gathered there. Remus, Tonks, and Teddy were there, having arrived that morning.
Remus hugged Hermione. "Congratulations," he said.
"You're not angry?" she asked, a little bewildered.
Tonks hugged her, too. "Angry? We saw what was going on a couple weeks ago."
Teddy ran up and flung his arms around Hermione's knees. "Aunt Hermione!" he shouted.
Hermione laughed and extricated herself from the group hug. "You won't tell them, will you? I haven't figured out how to explain it."
"No, but don't wait too long," said Tonks. "Harry'll be upset if everyone else knows and he finds out last." She looked down at her son, who was tugging Hermione's robes, trying to show her his latest shape-change for his hair. "Especially if he learns that his godson knew before he did."