"Severus?"
"Mhm?"
"What are you doing next weekend?" Hermione sat with bated breath in anticipation for his answer. Her eyes had not taken in any words from the parchment she had been reading for the past half an hour as she struggled to think of how to orchestrate her question.
"Witch you know as well as I do I have nothing planned, why do you ask?"
Hermione repositioned herself, fidgeted with the hem of her jumper and then averted her eyes before speaking, none of this nervousness however went unnoticed.
"Well it's just that I was with Luna the other day, and she has a holiday home in the south of France and said that I needed to get away, something about Wrackspurts and Nargles and that a holiday would help. She said that next weekend was free, and given the correspondence I used to have with Fleur my French is enough to get us through and I thought it might not be an entirely bad idea…" She trailed off, finally allowing herself to look at the stern man and decide whether he was appalled or intrigued. Severus of course knew what she was asking but wanted to hear it fall from her lips instead, wanted to really audibly hear her want his presence.
"And you're asking me because?" He drawled, clearly toying with her. She rolled her eyes at him now, clearly seeing his antics.
"Because I want you to come on holiday with me, otherwise I'll be shut up in some house and be dreadfully bored."
"I'm glad I'm a source of entertainment and not boredom." She chuckled at his words before raising to take his cup.
"More tea?"
"Please."
"So do you really want me to come along?"
"Why else would I have asked?"
"Mmm"
The sound of a boiling kettle filled the space between them when neither spoke.
"South of France?"
"Yes"
"I hear there's a particular type of sandworm down there with some properties we could utilise in our research."
"Is that a yes?"
"Do you need it spelt out for you witch?". A smile graced Hermione's face as pressed a fresh mug of strong black tea in Severus's hands, catching the edges of his fingers with hers ever so slightly, and sat down back to read the theories she was supposed to have finished an age ago.
Severus brushed his hair back before knocking upon the door of Hermione Granger, his hair was softer these days, no longer hanging limp in damp dungeons over steaming cauldrons, it was allowed to breathe and had adopted a cleaner quality that the greasy git had not been known for. Small trunk in hand he attempted to rap three times on the door but it interrupted him, opening after only the second knock.
"Severus, Hi! Just come in a second whilst I get the rest of my things." An unusually flustered Hermione was scurrying around her house, throwing various items and books in a patchwork bag that had been discarded on the sofa.
"I would have thought you of all people be packed and ready to go?" He smirked, observing her beneath raised eyebrows.
"Well I would have been, but I had an unexpected situation to deal with this morning, and so I was delayed in being ready."
"Situation?" Hermione considered how to answer, did she want to bring Severus into this mess just yet? Did he wanted to be included into her life in such a way?
"It's nothing, just made me a little late is all." And before he could question her further, she disappeared into another room to finished packing.
The pair had apparated to what seemed to be a 20 minute walk away from the cottage.
"She couldn't let us apparate to outside the house?"
"It upsets the Nargles".
Severus huffed at the answer Hermione had provided, clearly dismissing Miss Lovegood's usual nonsense as they began to walk along the cliffside.
Whilst he would rather have liked to dispose of his luggage, he could not fault the view that was before him, on the left the cliff edge with blue waves lapping at the banks beneath, he could smell the salty air that reminded him of his home but here there was warmth, and before the long he had undone the top button of his shirt, the white linen shining brightly in the afternoon sunshine. On the right-hand side were fields, but these did not attract his attention, instead his gaze was drawn to lightly freckled skin that was upturned to the sun, her face seemed as though it was drinking in the light. Each strand of hair seemed to have harnessed this power also, glowing in some strange and messy halo around her head.
"Home sweet home" Hermione said as she reached for a small note tacked to the door. Luna had left basic information about where the keys were, who to call if there was a problem and of course what to do if there was a snorlak infestation. As they walked in Hermione stumbled upon the bottle of wine and two empty glasses, another small note reminded her "When in Rome". Hermione chuckled, whispering to herself.
"When in Rome indeed".
A.N Again thank you all for your support, and keep favouriting, following and reviewing because I love to hear your ideas. If you haven't already, take a look at the one shot I've written for this fic – "Paraphernalia", it takes place between chapters 8 and 9. I'm thinking of writing a second chapter to it taking place in Severus' home so again, if you like the idea tell me! Also keep your eyes peeled in upcoming chapters of this for a competition I'm thinking of holding to decide the next oneshot I write for this story, let me know if this is something you guys would be interested in! Longer A.N than usual but lots to update you all on, and as always thanks again.