The New Old Hermione

a post-war fanfic by Cerys Dewar

Chapter Ten

Hermione spent most of the next while in Harry's company, but still saw Draco often, in fact spending most of her evenings in his quarters having a glass of wine or a cup of tea. Severus had cautioned Hermione to be discreet about her comings and goings, so as not to give the students something to talk about, but he did so more from his own irritation.

He had nothing to worry about, however. Hermone and Draco had agreed after their date that what they had was nothing more than a wonderful friendship, 'despite how ridiculously attractive they both were' as Draco said, and they had decided that since nobody had known about the date really, they had simply decided to let it go, and Hermione had sworn Harry to secrecy and trusted that Ron wouldn't want to admit that his now ex girlfriend had been seeing his worst enemy. Severus however knew none of this, and thought that these evening meetings were something significantly more than friendship, and often growled like his former self whenever Hermione wasn't around.

Hermione had mostly kept to the grounds of Hogwarts, which made life so much easier for him, until the weeks leading up to the Halloween Ball. Severus had wanted to skip the event, but that, as McGonagall protested, would be an outrage. The Halloween Ball was the event of the year for the students and staff of Hogwarts, as well as the board of governors and the Ministry, and the ticket sales brought in a great deal of revenue that the school desperately needed in order to continue repairs on the castle, despite the wonderfully generous donations recieved from all over the wizarding world.

Anyways, the first weekend in October, Hermione was kidnapped and brought to Diagon Alley to shop for robes by Draco, Harry, Neville, Luna, and Parvati, and they met up with Ginny there. Ron had been invited but refused. Hermione was hurt by this but was learning to hide her dissapointment. Severus had exasperatedly followed behind in disguise, determined to ensure that nothing happened to his apprentice. He told himself that he simply didn't trust her friends not to lose her in a crowd and thus endanger her.

The group had gone to Madam Puddifoots for their masquerade costumes and then on to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes to say hello to Percy and George, and then had dinner in Hogsmeade. As the Hogwarts-bound members of the group were returning home, Hermione suddenly told them all to go ahead and that she would catch up with them, and when they were on Hogwarts grounds, they did so without question, knowing that Hermione still needed solitude to think and deal with her emotions now and then. Draco took her bags for her, and she walked on her own in a different direction.

Hermione's pale skin took on a wondrous glow in the moonlight, and Severus realized with a start that the witch he had admired for being so natural, intelligent, and capable was also a very beautiful woman. He found himself casting a disillusionment charm and creeping closer, almost against his will. His mind screamed out that he was being an idiot, but his feet carried him forwards stubbornly.

He noticed that her brown curls had tamed greatly in recent years, and that they had threads of gold in them from her time spent in the sun while helping Neville repair the grounds of the school. Her golden brown eyes were large and fringed by long, delicate eyelashes, and their expression was full of pride, nobility, and a great tiredness that Severus longed to heal. Her delicate features were slightly asymetrical but it all came together in a way that Severus found himself entranced with. He reminded himself that she was aged to 25 but yet was still quite a bit younger than him, but then he told himself that looking at her did no harm.

Until suddenly she turned around and ran into him before his reflexes could react...

"What the HELL do you think you were doing, sneaking up and hiding on me like that?" Hermione demanded once they had both recovered from the collision, as well as the hexes Hermione threw completely by reflex. Severus found himself looking at her and noticing as always how alive she seemed when she was furious. But this was no amusing moment today. She was truly distressed, and he felt remorseful that he'd forgotten how jumpy she would be liable to be after all she'd been through. He hastened to explain himself.

"It was for your protection. You are immensely powerful, and people are afraid of you. You know this. It is not safe for you to be alone. It's not even safe for you to be out with anyone who isn't qualified to protect someone so important."

"I just want to be normal for once! I am so tired of being treated as if I can't defend myself, as if I am all brains but no skill at fighting. I can hold my own, as you well know, and I want some privacy now and then!"

And with that, Hermione swept away from the discussion and to her room, slamming the door with a force that Severus thought he would feel in his head for years.

And she did not speak to him for the remainder of the month.