Disclaimer: Okay, first, I am so so so sorry for not updating for so long! I realise that it's probably lost me most of, if not all, of my readers, if there were any from the start, and I'm not trying to excuse myself in any way, but I have been so busy this past year with school, exams, work, and other such things. I am now on Christmas break, and so I have twelve days to update ten different fanfictions, from several different fandoms. So, keep an eye out! ;)
Read and review as always, please.
As we reached Hogsmeade in silence, for Severus was never one for small talk, we slowly walked through the streets, assessing the damage done to a beautiful village with a growing sadness, though that sadness was never voiced out loud.
Several moments later, we reached the Apothecary, going inside. We were met with an overwhelming smell of a mixture of Potions ingredients, such as Root of Aconite and Wolfsbane. Severus cleared his throat loudly, and an old man shuffled out of a door in the back of the store, just to the side of the counter where an old, rusting till sat.
The man shuffled up to us, offering his hand in greeting. Severus took the hand, and the old man's eyes ran up and down my form, and I shifted uncomfortably. Severus must have noticed, for he cleared his throat again and the man, albeit reluctantly, tore his eyes away from my form and said, in a gruff voice; "How may I help you, sir?" His eyes flickered back to me and away again, looking at Severus with slight disdain.
"I require a number of Potions ingredients and wondered if you had them in stock." The old man nodded, wandering over to the many shelves containing jar filled with all sorts of strange, mostly grotesque, looking ingredients. He turned and looked at us expectantly, a clear sign that Severus should rattle off what he needed and quantities.
"The ingredients I require are as follows," The old man poised, ready to move. "three jars of Dragon Liver, two vials of Dried Billywig Stings, one vial of Infusion of Wormwood, and a jar of Rose Oil." Severus had rattled off the list quite quickly, and now the hunched over, old man had his arms filled to the brim with jars and vials, as he scurried over to the counter, literally dumping his arm's contents all over the counter, catching anything that threatened to fall. Severus rolled his eyes as the man straightened himself out, muttering to himself, and tapping numbers into the till.
Finally, he straightened up, cleared his throat, and said; "That'll be thirty-two Galleons, please, sir." As Severus paid the man, Hermione wandered over to the shelves, her hands almost lovingly trailing over the various jars, bottles and vials that filled the store. Seeing that Severus was about to leave the store, Hermione smiled politely at the old man, before hurrying out the door after Severus.
Once outside, Severus' demeanour changed almost instantaneously, becoming grouchier than normal. Hermione noticed this, and promptly asked Severus what the matter was. All she got in reply was a grunt, and so decided that Severus would talk to her when he was ready. And so the two lapsed back into a slightly awkward silence, until the two reached the Apparation Point in Hogsmeade village. Severus grasped Hermione's hand tightly as the two turned rapidly on the spot, feeling an uncomfortable tugging behind their navel. Hermione started to feel a bit sick, and then, just as quickly as it came, it went as both Severus and Hermione landed outside the Malfoy Manor gates.
Severus dropped Hermione's hand, leaving her hand tingling from the loss of warmth, as he dispelled the Wards around the grounds. Finally, he pushed the gate open, which opened outwards, and the two ventured up to the door, which had an ugly looking gargoyle door knocker, which Severus pulled forward and banged against the door in a series of three knocks.
While waiting for someone to open the door, Hermione observed her surroundings. The front lawn was very tidy, not a weed in sight, yet there were no flowers. The grass was neatly cut, and quite short. Before Hermione could speak to Severus, the door opened, revealing Dobby the House Elf, who bowed so low that his long nose brushed the highly polished marble floor.
The two stepped inside, and Hermione shuddered as memories came forth from the dark depths of her mind. She whimpered, and Severus rubbed her arm soothingly. A wave of braveness washed over her, and she wondered where Lucius was. Just as that thought crossed her mind, Lucius stepped through the doorway, surprise crossing his features before he gained control and his face slipped back into it's usual mask.
"Ah, Severus, Miss... Granger...," Lucius' lip curled slightly, "what can I do for you?"
Severus stepped forward. "Yes, Lucius, my dear friend, I trust that you are well? I came here with some news and asking for a favour from you."
Lucius nodded, as if to say 'go on'.
Severus cleared his throat, seemingly nervous, and glanced at Hermione, who nodded at him in encouragement. "As you are no doubt aware, I have been single for quite some time," at this, Lucius smirked, "however, in the past few days, that has been old news..." Lucius' eyes widened.
"Severus, you don't mean to say..." He looked from Hermione to Severus with a growing panic.
Severus stepped closer to Hermione, hesitantly wrapping an arm around her waist. "Yes, Lucius. Hermione and I are engaged, and we are, that is to say, I was hoping that you would be my best man, as I was at your wedding to Narcissa."
Lucius gaped at Severus, looking rather shocked, before composing himself with a smirk. "Of course, Severus. It would be... my honour." He attempted a smile, but it soon faded as he looked at Hermione with obvious disdain. Eventually, his eyes flickered back to Severus. "When is this... wedding, pray tell?"
Severus straightened up. "That is yet undecided. It's still early days."
Lucius nodded, and it wasn't hard to tell that he wasn't very happy with this arrangement. Hermione knew why, of course. She was Muggle Born, and Severus was a Half Blood. Lucius briefly considered inviting them both to tea so that they could talk about this is detail, but Lucius didn't want to spend any more time in the company of someone such as Hermione Granger. Severus noticed this, and cleared his throat.
"We really must be going, Lucius, we have a reservation at a restaurant."
Lucius looked almost relieved. "Of course, thank you for coming over, Severus, and... Miss Granger." Hermione wanted to roll her eyes, but she just smiled politely at him.
Severus let them out, and Hermione turned back to Lucius. "Thank you for giving us some of your time, Mister Malfoy."
Lucius nodded stiffly and watched as Hermione and one of his long time friends disappeared out of the door, which swung shut behind them. He didn't particularly like Severus' choice of a wife, but he was happy that Severus had finally found someone who was a good match for him. Lucius shook his head, and went back to his study.
Meanwhile, Severus and Hermione were once again walking in silence down the path leading away from the Malfoy Manor. This time, the silence was both awkward and more than a little uncomfortable, and so Hermione found herself clearing her throat and saying; "So, where the restaurant? Do I need to change?"
Severus thought for a moment, and said; "No, you look more than good enough. This restaurant is in Muggle London, and you may know of it, it's not overally posh, but I can go there without getting stared at." Hermione nodded, understanding that feeling all too well.
After a few more moments of walking, the two reached the Apparation Point in Hogsmeade village, and Hermione once more felt the uncomfortable tugging just behind her navel. And, just like last time, as she started to feel a bit sick, it was all over.
Opening her eyes, Hermione could see a posh restaurant with a doorman, and the tables were small and circular, with soft chairs and coasters. She gasped, and Severus took her hand, tugging her towards the restaurant door, where the doorman opened the door, bowing slightly at the waist.
"Thank you" Hermione muttered as they walked past, and she heard a deep "you're welcome, Miss." in return.
The two sat at a table, and Severus motioned for a waiter.
"Hello, and welcome to the Red Hearted Dragon. What can I get for the two of you this evening?"
Severus cleared his throat. "Yes, we'll have a bottle of the finest wine you have, along with lemon and garlic chicken for myself and..." he trailed off, looking at me.
"Oh, umm, I'll just have the chicken salad, thanks." I offered the waiter a small smile. It wasn't returned. The waiter turned and walked away, and Severus and Hermione were once again left to their own devices.
As the two waited for their meal, they talked about Hermione's future, such as what she hopes to be, whether she'll do her final year at Hogwarts, even though Severus said that she was one of the brightest witches of her age, and so could successfully get a job even without having done her final year. Then, they talked about teaching strategies Severus used.
Sooner than they expected, however, their food arrived, and the two lapsed into silence once more. After thirty minutes of eating, drinking and laughing, Severus motioned for a waiter once more, this time for the bill. As Hermione had the Muggle money, she pulled a rather large wad out of her clutch, and glanced at the bill. Twenty three pounds fifty. Sorting through the notes, Hermione gave the impatient waiter twenty five pounds, and Hermione was sure that the waiter sorted out her change slower than was strictly necessary, and she saw Severus get agitated with the waiter's dreadful manners.
When Hermione finally got the change back, the two gathered up their belongings and left the restaurant. Going into an alley behind the restaurant to Apparate back to Hogwarts, Hermione stopped walking, just looking at Severus' form. After a few seconds, Severus stopped and turned around, seeing Hermione standing there and he quickly walked over to her, placing a hand on her hip.
"Hermione. What's wrong?" Severus' eyes stared into her own, determined to figure out what made her stop walking.
"Nothing. Just... kiss me."
Severus wasted no time in granting Hermione's wish. He claimed her lips with his own, slowly backing her into the alleyway wall, one hand in her curls and the other hand resting on the alley wall, as a way of keeping her there. The kiss was slow, passionate, but slowly grew hungrier. The hand that had been in her curls slowly moved down to the hem of Hermione's dress, playing with it. Soon, however, he stopped playing with the hem, and he pressed himself closer to Hermione, so that she could feel everything as he kissed her. She moaned into his mouth, and he smiled, pulling away slightly. Soon, however, Hermione got slightly eager, and put her hand on the growing bulge in Severus' trousers, squeezing lightly, and feeling it expand in response.
Hermione giggled, and Severus pulled away, panting. There was a fire in his dark eyes that could have been anything, though Hermione thought that it was a cross between desire, want, and anger for her bold actions.
It turns out that Hermione was right about that last point... Severus was angry. Very angry. Hermione knew this for a fact because when they got to Hogwarts, Severus stormed ahead to the Dungeons, without waiting for Hermione. Knowing that Severus needed space, she went to the library, feeling slightly ashamed of herself. They had been having a great day, and, true to Gryffindor characteristics, she had acted brashly and ruined it all.
Sitting down at a table, Hermione grabbed her favourite book, Hogwarts: A History, from the shelves, and read it, not noticing as she drifted to sleep a tall dark figure lifting her up and carrying her to their chambers.
Carrying her home.
I hope that this was satisfactory enough, and, as I said, if you read any of my other stories, keep an eye out because I'm now updating them all. I'm so sorry, guys :'(