Hermione stopped at the hotel apparition point. "This is where we part ways. I look forward to seeing you when we finish class tomorrow."
"As do I," Severus replied.
The tension was palpable as they considered each other. Something in Severus wavered for a moment, then he closed his hands around hers. She regarded his long graceful fingers against her own. His hands made hers look so small and insignificant. He lightly squeezed her hands in his and said, "Tomorrow I want to try the dhansak."
For a moment, kissing her seemed the perfectly natural thing to do but that moment quickly passed. They had class tomorrow and he had to weigh his options for handling the little girl that wasn't. She had grown up, gotten a position in one of the most Muggle intolerant institutions in Europe, and was a Ministry approved professor of professors. His reverie was broken as she asked him where he was staying.
"I have a house in Manchester that I rarely see, but I do require an occasional escape from the dunderheads. And you?"
"My parents are in London not too far from here. I plan to stay there until mid-August. They kept my room same as it ever was and I think they would be insulted if I bought a flat that I only stayed in for ten weeks a year."
"That sounds sensible, coming from the parents of an only child. Do you miss them, being so far away?"
"Only at first," Hermione laughed. "When I come back, I'm twelve again, complete with curfew."
"Well, far be it for me to annoy your parents. Thank you for your company this evening."
He dropped her hands and popped out of sight without a word. Hermione blinked as if startled out of her dream that he actually invited her to dinner tomorrow. She took a deep breath and sighed to herself. 'After tomorrow, what next? He goes back to his house and I'm with my parents for a fortnight more. Then back to Durmstrang. What is he doing for the rest of the summer? Travel? Research? Catching up on some sleep debt from patrolling?' She gathered up her teaching notes and apparated to her parents' house, where a cup of tea would be just the thing to calm her nerves. As she appeared in her own bedroom, she plopped down on her bed. The conversation at dinner was pleasant enough but she had a deadline of tomorrow evening to work out how to handle this surprising turn of events. He was so geographically unsuitable but she really wanted to spend more time with him. This was the first time in a while she had an actual conversation with someone who could hold his own, usually she could count a guy's brain cells on one hand. The machismo rolling off of them rid her of any hope for more. Summer was usually a whirlwind of catching up with old friends before she went back to far away Durmstrang for the next group of students. Harry, the Burrow, family events filled her time but she definitely wanted to see Severus after the continuing education classes finished and she wasn't sure how to make it so. Scheming was not as strong a quality in her as implementation, but there was dinner tomorrow.
a/n I have two more chapters, but they are not cooperating. Typical.