Disclaimer: I own nothing at all. It is not mine. I just borrow it and take it out to play on occasion.
Before we begin, I would like to heap praise upon RavenclawGenius, who so lived up to her name and told me the secret of working around this stupid technological issue the site seems to be having at the moment. This chapter is for her, since it would not have been posted otherwise!!!
XOXOXOXOXOXOX
Severus Snape sat in the grassy clearing. He had a lot to mull over, and not much time. Salazar Slytherin had left, leaving Sarmad his regular self. Sarmad left as well, promising to delay everyone for at least hour. It would be a surprise if he had even that much time; Hermione's friends would come after her if she was gone too long.
Hermione Granger.
Admittedly, he'd never thought of her as much more than an annoyance in his classroom. She was a know-it-all.
No…that wasn't quite fair. After her third year, she'd started showing signs of independent thinking. She was still quoting textbooks verbatim, but she began to actually analyze what she was reading as well. During her fourth year, he noticed that she'd begun to look at outside sources for information…the bright yellow ties on Ars Alchemia and the lurid orange ones of Potions Monthly were hard to miss, even in the chaos of the morning mail delivery. A few subtle inquiries and he found that she was also reading advanced journals in Charms, Transfiguration, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy.
If he was honest with himself, it was after her battle at the Department of Mysteries that he found himself watching her more closely. That she'd even survived her encounter with Dolohov told him how skilled she was becoming. He would see her in the Great Hall, noticing the way her face lit up as she tried to explain a new theory she'd read about to her dunderhead friends. He saw her frustration as their eyes glazed over and they changed the subject to Quidditch or something equally inane. And he found himself wanting to talk to her.
It was ridiculous, of course.
Wasn't it?
Snape could admit, with no false modesty, that it wasn't often he came across someone who was up to his demanding intellect. For a long time, only Dumbledore could keep up with him, though the irritating old man had an infuriating tendency to end a very satisfying debate early with that damnable twinkle and an offer of sweets. And though most people wouldn't believe it, he had dated on occasion, mostly during the time before the Dark Lord returned. But none of those witches had ever made it beyond a second date, as he quickly grew weary of the insipid chatter that seemed to make up their entire intellectual repertoire.
He wouldn't have to worry about that with Miss Granger…Hermione. He'd overheard her arguing with her wayward compatriots, and had a feeling she wouldn't be one to brainlessly agree with him on everything. The conversations they could have…the debates, even the arguments.
And so it all came down to a single thing, didn't it? Did he, Severus Snape, greasy bat of the dungeons and poster child for unsociable people everywhere, want her in his life? Hell, in his bed? Could he love her?
His mind drifted, and he saw the small frown that came just before she asked a question; he saw the contented half-smile that appeared when she was working on a particularly challenging potion. He knew a hundred things about her, yet today had proven that he'd only just scratched the surface.
She was headstrong, courageous, fiercely loyal, and brilliant.
He'd been a Death Eater, a spy, a traitor, and an all-around git, and he'd gone out of his way to be particularly nasty to her and her friends.
But she wanted him.
And he wanted her too. The realization was startling, nearly robbing him of breath.
Slytherin had talked of redemption for both him and his House; the small voice in his mind (that was often ignored) told him that being at her side would be enough.
Decision made, he stood and briskly set off after the woman who already seemed to be weaving her way into his heart.
A/N: Short little transition chapter, I know. Next one will be up this weekend; hopefully I'll have some time again! Thanks again to everyone for all of the wonderful reviews thus far. I'm immensely pleased you're enjoying the story thus far. Also, I have to share this with people who will appreciate it…I was sitting in class Thursday and NO LIE our teacher said, "Take out your textbook and turn to page 394". I just about fell out of my chair, swear to god. I love my life.
