Thank you all for your patience... The busy crunch finally passed. I hope I will be able to return to a more regular updating schedule. Keep your fingers crossed for me! =) Thanks!
And a shout out to TMNinjaGinga! Thanks for taking the time from your busy schedule to help me with my draft!
All characters belong to the brilliant J. K. Rowling.
Chapter Ten - The "Affair"...
Hermione closed her eyes as she let the portkey pull her away from her mother's sunny rose garden. In a wave of dizziness, she felt as if she was squeezed through a tube, before being deposited onto the opposite side of the world. When she regained her balance again, she shivered, and found herself in a quiet street corner back in an England's winter night.
The snow storm that lasted all day in London had just stopped, leaving behind a thick layer of fresh white powder, covering the streets, tree branches and muggle cars parked sparsely along the streets. Pulling her cloak tightly around her shoulders Hermione shivered once more. A dark shadow came to her side, shielding her from the path of an intense wind chill. She couldn't help but smile - him and his subtle ways.
Severus didn't seem to pay attention to the smile lingering on the corners of the young witch's lips. With his brows slightly furrowed, he simply walked by her side in complete silence.
The memory of their quick trip to Australia brought the familiar butterflies back to Hermione's stomach. The feeling became stronger and stronger every time when she was near her former Potions Master. As her mother had teasingly pointed out during one of their girls' night time chat, this was not the first time Hermione was attracted to the one wizard she never seemed to be able to impress. Professor Snape was the only teacher who managed to make Hermione nervous throughout her school days. She had called him intimidating when she talked to her friends, although only she knew her fear for not doing well in his class had never been the reason for her stomach's flip flops.
For years Hermione had admired the Potions Master's intelligence. When they were in the same room, her attention was always uncontrollably drawn to his tall and lean figure, his cool smooth voice, and even, his sarcasm. Hermione couldn't remember how many times she had to hide her smile when she realized she was the only one in the classroom able to recognize the wizard's dry sense of humor. And oh, how could she forget... How could she forget the way he moved, the way he dueled, knocking Lockhart out with a flick of his wrist... and the way he made his exit, always with his black cloak billowing behind him...
Thinking back, if it hadn't been Harry's troubled relationship with Professor Snape, Hermione was sure her teenage self would have done some embarrassing things just to get the young professor's attention. Yet that girlish crush she had on the wizard was replaced by confusion by the time she left Hogwarts. Harry's recount of the scene of Snape's apparent murder of Dumbledore broke Hermione's heart. She simply couldn't join the others in condemning the alleged traitor, and had the hardest time accepting the image of her idol committing an unforgivable crime.
Things had changed, of course, when the truth about Severus' allegiance finally came into light after the final battle. Although secretly Hermione was glad to confirm her faith in her former professor was not misplaced, for a long while she thought she had lost the "special feelings" for Snape. She had thought she had finally outgrown that silly school girl's crush. But she overlooked the fact that she simply didn't get to be around Severus Snape after the war. And with her heart distracted by the existence of the mysterious wizard living between the pages, the striking image of the Potions Master simply disappeared from her dreams.
Yet the past few weeks seemed to have changed everything again. After their initial meeting at the Detention Center, Hermione quickly realized Severus' true intention when he tried to discourage her from being part of his case. He was trying to protect her, even when the danger from Voldemort no longer in existence. But he did more than protect her. Just as she thought her romantic future could only involve her mysterious pen pal, it was Severus Snape who brought her home when she was lonely and miserable on Christmas Eve. In her drunken state she still remembered the rare compliment she got out of him. Was that what he really thought of her? Did he really think of her as an attractive and interesting witch? He had no reason to give her a journal that took him over fifteen years to write if she was merely the "insufferable know-it-all" who forced her way to be on his case, and he certainly had no obligation to travel half the world to repair her parents' memory right before his important trial. Hermione was quite certain that the wizard walking by her side felt something special about her, even though he was showing it in a very Slytherin kind of way.
Yes, she had to be right... Hermione couldn't find another argument to explain Severus' actions. Just look at what they were doing at this moment: instead of apparating back to each of their apartments, which would have been a much quicker means of transportation to get away from the winter chill, they were both content walking next to each other, with only the sound around them being their boots crushing the white powder on the ground.
As she tried to avoid a small patch of ice on the road Hermione took a small step sideways and accidentally bumped into the tall wizard next to her. Feeling her hand brushed against his, her cheeks began to burn. Quickly Hermione cleared her throat, trying to hide her feverish blush.
"You shouldn't have let my mother get her way and make us stay for the extra day." She said, finally breaking the silence.
"I was not in a position to interfere with a mother's request for her daughter to stay for the holiday." He answered flatly. A moment later he added, "and it's not like I had anything pressing waiting for me back here."
"Of course you do!" She shot him a quick glance and shook her head, "Now we only have one day left before the trial. We won't be able to meet with all of your witnesses..."
"It doesn't matter." His calm and smooth voice stopped her.
"How can you give up so easily?" She frowned at him and stood in the middle of the road, with her hands planted firmly on her hips.
"Who says I'm giving up?" He arched an eyebrow and looked back at her, not slowing down his footsteps. "I'm only pointing out the obvious. The witnesses will not matter. The trial itself does not matter."
"What do you mean?" Hermione hurried and caught up with Severus and asked curiously, "You have a plan, don't you? What is it?"
He glanced down over her with his impassive dark eyes, and said, "The witnesses you've called and the documents that you've submitted to the court will not change the outcome of the trial. The trial was orchestrated before you even received the assignment. I agreed to have you work on the case because I agree with you that your chance to solve the case lies in the court. The individuals behind this fiasco will soon reveal their purposes during the trial, and you will soon find your answers."
"But what about you?" Her eyes widened. "What good would it do for me to find my answers if you end up being sent to Azkaban?"
"Your finding the culprit may shorten my visit with the dementors." He said quietly, seemingly not at all disturbed by her mentioning of his apparent fate.
"Is this what you had in mind this entire time?" She asked in disbelief, "If that's the case why did you even work with me for the past few weeks? Why did you bother answering my questions and sharing so much about your past with me? You should have skipped town when you had the chance! Leave London, leave the country, go somewhere no one can ever find you until this whole thing about them trying to prosecute you goes away!" She cried.
"Is this the Hermione Granger who bailed out a client using her own credit talking or is this the insufferable know-it-all trying to solve a problem that is obviously too big for her to handle?" He glared at her. For a brief moment Hermione braced herself for a heated argument. But then she heard him say, "I can't pull you into more trouble than you are already in." His voice softened, revealing a glimpse of the wizard that she never got to know in his classroom, "And besides, I didn't think it was a bad idea for you to get to know me."
Hermione held his gaze as she stared into his deep dark eyes. A moment later she turned away from him and sighed, "I still hope you are wrong about this whole political agenda thing. But if you are right, Severus," she swallowed and frowned as she search for the right words, "You know I will find a way to get you out as soon as I can."
"I can only hope so." He answered quietly, in a voice that was merely a whisper.
"And Severus," she turned and looked at him again, "When this is all over, if it is alright with you..." a blush quickly crept up her cheeks as she looked down at the snow on the ground, "I would like to see you again. And perhaps we could..." she took a shallow breath and cleared her throat, "start something a little... more than... friendship."
He arched an eyebrow and glanced at her, "but that's not what you had promised when I agreed to have you work on my case. You said you would leave me alone if I prefer."
"But is that what you prefer?" She carefully glanced up towards him, feeling moisture gathering in her eyes. "Me staying away from you?"
Pressing his lips into a thin line the wizard frowned. It took him a long moment to answer her question, "That's going to be up to you, I suppose. I certainly am not in the position to have any expectations."
"And why is that?" she frowned. A few moments later she buried her face in her hands and groaned, "Oh my... I'm just being silly, am I? I'm imagining it... You have no interest in me. You don't want to have anything to do with me. And you probably..."
"Hermione!" He took a quick step ahead of her and stopped her mumbling by placing his hands on her shoulders. Dropping her hands from her face she looked up at him intently, trying to understand the expression in his eyes. "Listen to me Hermione," he began, almost too quietly, "You've learned a lot about my history in the past few weeks. Heaven knows why you are still interested in me after hearing what I've done for the Dark Lord. But I must admit that I am... thrilled by the idea of..." he stumbled on the words, "of extending our... friendship. However," he hesitated, but only a brief moment, "there is one confession that I must make before you decide what to do with our... friendship."
Hermione's eyes narrowed as she considered his words. What kind of "secret" was Severus was hiding from her? What part of his past had he been hiding from her? If she knew one thing about Severus, it was that he was complicated. Was she ready for this "confession"? She bit on her bottom lip and asked cautiously, "Will this secret you're about to tell me be something I'd like to hear?"
"Probably not." Severus sighed as he moved his hands away from her shoulders and began walking ahead of her again.
"Does it have anything to do with the truth about your role as a spy in the war?" She asked as she quickly caught up with him, worried that the statement she submitted to the Wizengamot may contain noticeable flaws.
"No." He replied, without slowing down to look at her.
"Your loyalty?"
"No." He answered quietly.
"Did you make any other unbreakable vows that you wish you didn't? Other than the one you did for Draco?"
"No." His voice was calm.
"So is it about your... other relationships?" She hesitated.
"No." He slowed down his footstep and gave her a strange look.
"Your..." she blushed, "sexual preference?"
"No!" He growled. Abruptly stopping, he turned and glared at her. "Please stop your pathetic attempt to guess! I will tell you everything when we get to your flat. I don't want to have this conversation in the middle of the street. If you decide to give me a tongue lashing, I'd at least prefer to take it in private." Without giving her a moment to react, he turned and sped up towards their shared apartment building.
With her brows twisted, she hurried her steps as she tried to keep up with his long strides. Walking in silence, both the wizard and the witch were lost in their own thoughts. As they rounded the darkening street corner, neither one of them was prepared to face what awaited them at the entrance to the apartment building.
Without warning, the wizard and the witch found themselves attacked by the blinding flashing lights of wizard cameras as they appeared out of nowhere. By instinct, Severus swiftly pulled Hermione into his arms and pointed his wand at the small crowd that surrounded them.
It took their eyes a couple of seconds to adjust to their surroundings and notice the more than a dozen witches and wizards, dressed in slightly awkward muggle attire, holding cameras and note pads, crowding around them. A couple of colorful feathers were floating in mid-air, moving frantically. It took Hermione no time to recognize the dreadful quick-quote-quills.
The group of reporters took their time watching the pair with great interest, as if they were vultures examining the prey that they had pinned under their talons.
"Mr. Snape, are you always so protective of your witch?" A voice asked from the crowd, and immediately broke the silence.
"Was she under age when you first started the affair, Professor Snape?"
"Snape, is the rumor correct that you visited Miss. Granger's parents asking for permission to marry her?"
"Was an unplanned pregnancy the cause of your proposal?"
"We had information about your private wedding at a beachside chapel in Ireland. Could you confirm the news?"
"Hermione, were you promised any monetary gain from the hasty nuptial?"
Hermione was shocked by the accusation style questions. However it was the fact that her travel plans with Severus had been leaked to the reporters that truly mortified her. Not able to find her voice, she looked up at Severus hesitantly, and found his dark eyes glaring at the reporters with a murderous gaze.
Without a word Severus held Hermione closer and pushed through the group of reporters into the building. When he was sure they were out of sight from any muggles, he held on to her a little tighter and with a soft pop, they apparated right into the living-room of her flat.
"I can't believe this!" She screamed as soon as they reappeared in Hermione's flat. "No one is supposed to know about our trip to visit my parents! How..." But she was stopped in mid-sentence as Severus' hand suddenly covered her mouth. With his wand still raised, he walked towards her study quickly without a sound.
Following right behind him, Hermione carefully looked over his shoulder when he slowly pushed open the door leading to her study. Hermione's jaw dropped as she took in the scene in front of her.
Her study was an absolute mess: notes and files and books were scattered everywhere, with a few pieces of paper gliding through the room, as if someone just threw them in the air. Before she could blink twice, a black cat darted in front them from a corner behind the door, ran across the room through the books, files and paper, bounced onto the desk, and began to hiss loudly.
Following the cat's eyes, Hermione saw a tiny beetle hopping towards the window. "Get her T! It's Skeeter!" She screamed and ran towards the half-opened window. But the animagus was nimble. The beetle hopped right out of the cracked window before Hermione and the cat could get to it.
"Argh!" Hermione screamed in frustration. "It's Skeeter! Why does it always have to be her! This is terrible! Now they will have plenty to write about before the trial! What should we do?"
Unexpectedly to Hermione, Severus did not seem to be as bothered by the unpleasant event as she was. Wordlessly he pointed his wand at the mess on her floor and began to send the books back to her bookshelf and her files back on her desk. He shrugged at her questions, and said in an even tone, "I don't see the need to be so concerned."
"Why doesn't that bother you Severus?" Hermione turned back to her desk and said angrily. She could tell the Skeeter witch went through her research for undoing memory charms and also her notes for Severus' upcoming trial. She couldn't begin to imagine the damage of the break in. And to make things more complicated, it was obvious Skeeter had been tipped off about their trip. Without any evidence, Hermione wasn't sure how to even bring up a charge against the witch at the Ministry.
"I need to file a report about this! Have you gotten any ideas where I should start?" She made a sudden turn to face Severus, just in time to see him closing a familiar black leather-bound notebook. When she blinked again he had closed the notebook and was handing it to her.
"Where would you like to keep this?" He asked quietly.
Taking the magical device from his hand Hermione frowned. There was something strange about what she just saw, but in the mist of her fury, she just couldn't put her finger on it. Something was not right...
"You hardly have any time to deal with her." She heard his smooth voice saying to her, "Let them write whatever they want. It's all rubbish anyway. You can't possibly worry about their words damaging your reputation..."
"Of course I am worried!" She snapped. She had no reason to be angry at him. But she was so upset about her own carelessness, she couldn't control her rage. "It means everything about my reputation! Did you not hear them? Those are terrible accusations! Us being together! That's outrageous! Totally not acceptable!" She screamed.
He still did not speak as he listened to her rants. When she finally stopped he asked calmly, "Is it really that bad? To be linked with me?"
The strange tone of his question sent a chill down her spine. Too stubborn to retract her words she simply answered, "Not like this... Severus. I don't know... I don't know what's going on..." She dropped her head and ran her hands through her hair, "How am I going to deal with the press?"
Nothing had changed in his expressions. His dark eyes continued watching her. Yet when he finally spoke again there was a trace of coldness in his voice.
"It will pass before you know it." He said plainly, "The trial will be over in two days."
When she looked up again she noticed he was leaving. "Wait Severus!" She hurried after him. "I'm... sorry that I lost my temper. I... I was just not ready for this kind of surprise."
He stopped walking and looked back at her. Giving her a curt nod he simply said, "Understandable, Miss Granger."
"Aren't you going to tell me the biggest secret in your life?" She forced a small smile at the wizard, trying to change the subject and forget the drama they just experienced.
He narrowed his eyes at her and paused. A moment later he looked away, and continued his way towards her fireplace, "There aren't any big secrets. You have more than enough to worry about right now. Perhaps... some other time."
Later that night, Severus sank deep into his sofa by the fireplace. Raising the glass of fire whisky to the angry flames dancing in the hearth he murmured, "I didn't know how to fulfill the promise I made to your father. But I think you just gave me the answer."
We've had quite a little break since the last chapter. Do I still have your love? I'm desperate to know...