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Chapter 21-Two Doors

Severus woke up feeling much better rested than he had since the last night he had shared Miss Granger's bed. Before he had even opened his eyes he knew the girl was there. Even if he couldn't feel her wrapped up in his arms, he'd have heard her soft breathing and smelt her apple-like scent.

Finally opening his eyes he looked down at her. She was still sleeping. A large part of him wanted to drift back to sleep and just hold her forever but he knew that was not possible.

He carefully dislodged himself from her and stepped out of the bed. Leaving her to sleep, he headed to his bathroom for a shower before getting dressed in his usual black.

Standing by the bed, he simply watched her sleep for a while before roughly tugging the pillow out from under her head. The movement woke her and she stirred before looking round in slight confusion until her eyes landed on him and realisation dawned on her face.

"Um…good morning." She tried weakly.

"Get out." Severus ordered in a no-nonsense tone.

She didn't move immediately. For several long painful minutes she stayed completely still looking up at him with a sad look upon her face. It was clear that she wanted to stay for a while, for him to say something else, a thank you perhaps, but Severus was not willing to comply. He stood his ground with his arms crossed over his chest fixing her with his deadliest glare. Most people would have run away screaming if they were receiving such a look but not Miss Granger, she didn't even flinch.

"Out!" Severus snapped at her.

Lowering her eyes, Miss Granger scrambled out of the bed. She then turned her back on him and quickly remade the bed before walking past him without another word.

She changed into her cat form and made her way back to her own living quarters.

***

Throughout the day, Hermione was somewhat distracted. In Transfiguration, it took her three attempts to change the hairbrush into a cactus. Usually Hermione completed everything on the first try but not today.

During Defence Against the Dark Arts, the students had been paired up to have a mock duel. An unfocused Hermione was partnering Neville and he easily disarmed her before she'd even had a chance to blink.

At break, Harry asked her what was bothering her and she replied with an odd remark about the muggle movie 'Edward Scissorhands'.

After break in her Ancient Runes class, Hermione was asked to read out a translation and to the students' and professor's confusion she started speaking in French.

Herbology was just as bad and she would have probably chopped her own finger off if Neville hadn't intervened. Seeing that Hermione was clearly not herself, professor Sprout had suggested she go see Madame Pomfrey in the hospital wing.

"Weasley, you make sure she gets there." Pomfrey said.

Grumbling slightly, Ron threw his pruning shears down and took off his protective gloves before leading Hermione out of the greenhouses.

They started off walking up to the castle about a metre apart with Ron slouching and looking down at the ground and Hermione looking skyward.

As they neared the school, they slowly drew closer together until their arms were brushing.

When they reached the stone steps that lead up to the entrance doors, Hermione sat down upon them.

"Mione are you ok?" Ron asked in a surprisingly gentle voice.

"Fine." She replied. "I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Do you need to see Pomfrey or not?" He asked her.

"No." Hermione told him. "I'm not sick."

Scratching the back of his neck, Ron sat down beside her.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled. "I don't mean to be so…so…"

"Frustrating." Hermione supplied.

"Yeah." Ron said with a small smile. "I just don't take rejection well I guess."

"I'm sorry too." Hermione apologised. "I enjoy squabbling with you all the time but I hate it when we have a proper fall-out. And I never meant to lead you on or anything…"

"You didn't." Ron interrupted. "I'm just an idiot."

"You're not an idiot Ronald." She told him sternly.

"Missed you Mione." Ron admitted offering her a lopsided grin.

"Missed you too." Hermione replied as she pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.

The two reunited friends stayed in their embrace until they heard the sound of somebody clearing their throat behind them.

Pulling away from Ron, Hermione turned round to find Severus stood above them.

"Professor." Hermione squeaked turning pink as she and Ron both jumped to their feet.

"Shouldn't the two of you be in class?" He asked in a fierce tone.

"Well…I was…we were just…" Hermione stammered out as she fell to pieces under the man's heated gaze.

"I was just taking Hermione to the hospital wing." Ron spoke up and Severus turned to shoot daggers at the redhead with his eyes. Ron gulped slightly but stood his ground and carried on speaking. "We sat down for a bit because she was feeling dizzy."

"Back to your lesson Weasley." Severus ordered. "I'll escort Miss Granger to the hospital wing."

"But I…" Ron tried.

"Go." Severus snarled.

With the tips of his ears turning red, Ron cast a look to Hermione and she gave him a small nod telling him to return to Herbology. Sending a suspicious look at the potions teacher, Ron made his way back to the greenhouses.

"Come." Severus instructed to his pupil as he spun on his heel and marched back up the concrete steps.

Obediently, Hermione followed. He led her not upstairs to the hospital wing, but through the corridors towards the dungeons where his office was located.

"Still feeling dizzy Miss Granger?" He asked her once they were in his office.

"No sir." Hermione replied. "I feel fine now."

"Nevertheless, I'd better check." Severus told her.

He moved towards her and placed his hand on her forehead. He then moved two of his fingers down to her neck and checked her pulse before slipping his hand through her blouse to feel her heart beat.

"Your hearts beating faster than it ought to be Miss Granger." He informed her.

"That's just the affect you have on me sir." She answered him.

Severus smirked slightly before pulling his hands away and taking a step back from her.

"I'm sure your condition isn't life threatening." Severus said calmly. "You may go."

"But I want to stay." Hermione dared to tell him. "I've already missed most of Herbology and you don't have a lesson to teach so…there really isn't a reason why I can't stay here until lunch…is there?"

"Miss Granger, there are plenty of reasons why you shouldn't stay here." Severus replied.

"Such as?" Hermione questioned as she took a step closer to him.

"There are papers I need to mark." He answered. "You should return to your lesson and try to catch up. As your teacher it would be inappropriate for me to allow you to miss Herbology and…"

"And what?" Hermione asked him in a breathy whisper.

"I'm not sure how much longer I can control myself around you." Severus admitted.

Hermione stepped closer to him and reached a hand up to his face. She gently brushed his lips with the pad of her thumb. He parted his mouth at the touch and his breath tickled her hand. He lightly wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pushed her hand away before striding to the middle of the room with his back to her.

He pulled out his wand and with two choice words the door that led out of his office opened as did the door that led to his rooms.

"Two doors Miss Granger." Severus told her. "You can only walk through one. Think carefully before you make your decision. If you leave my office you can join your friends at lunchtime with your virginity still in tact. But if you step into my private rooms I won't be able to keep my hands to myself."

"What if I just stay in your office and don't walk through either door?" Hermione asked.

"Then I'll take you on the desk." He answered.

The girl fell silent and Severus closed his eyes tight waiting to hear the sound of her footsteps or the closing of a door. Eventually, he heard her moving past him and he opened his eyes then looked to his office door to see her walking away from him closing the door behind her.

"Smart girl." Severus sighed to himself before seating himself at his desk and pulling a stack of essays towards him.

To Be Continued

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