Chapter 24: Contemplation And Anticipation
{A/N: Here's Another Update...}
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The Great Hall, Hogwarts Castle,Wizarding World...
Morning had come but Hermione Granger was still in bed struggling fiercely with her dreams as she replayed the date she had with Professor Snape over and over in her mind. In the dream the kiss didn't end with them parting ways as the Potions Professor lifted her into his surprisingly strong arms and walked her toward the nearby wall. She had been half way into finding out what would have occurred next when Ginny suddenly shook her awake. The young Gryffindor Witches rushed to get ready for the morning and ended up meeting the boys at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. Ron had apparently gotten over himself and attempted to act like a gentleman when Hermione arrived, even going so far as to offer her his toast as she reached for the now empty plate.
"I-I've been meaning to speak with you." said the red head wizard attempting to get his feelings in order. "C-Could we chat a bit later on?"
Hermione had only been half listening as her amber eyes once more traveled to the staff table for the second time that morning. It seemed everyone had been present aside from Professor Snape for breakfast. Curiosity had gotten the better of the inquisitive witch and she found herself delving into yet another mystery concerning the dour professor.
"Mione." said the voice of Ron Weasley getting her attention once again.
"I'm sorry Ron where you saying something?" she asked turning her attention back to the Gryffindor table.
"I-I asked to chat with you latter on." he said.
"Are you alright Mione...you seem a bit distracted lately." said Harry watching her with a good deal of concern.
"I-I'm fine...it's just this project that I'm working on is heading in a direction I hadn't even considered." she replied half-truthfully.
"Well don't work yourself into a stupor Mione." said Ron trying his hand at being supportive. "I mean...it's good that you work hard but it wouldn't kill you to not over do it...life is for the living you know."
"He's right you know." said the green eyed wizard in agreement. "For once."
"I'll take your concerns into consideration." said the amber eyed witch getting back to eating her meal. "But for now...I'm not sure what I wish to do at the moment."
The two Gryffindor wizards decided to drop the topic knowing further pressing from them would only result in an enraged outburst followed by weeks of the silent treatment. Harry Potter turned his attention to the staff table. It had been relatively strange to be at breakfast in the Great Hall and not see Severus Snape in his usual seat brooding beside Professor McGonagall
The concern he felt had been extended to the dour Professor despite the fact that Snape made it a point to keep his distance from him. He had hoped the wizard had not gotten into any trouble given his tenancy to get blind drunk within the confines of the dungeons. Surviving the war might have curbed the Professor's self-destructive antics, but there was always a chance he could revert back and Harry had been determined to keep a close eye on him.
He had been his mother's best friend after all and that practically made him Harry's Uncle.
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The Potions Class Room, Hogwarts Castle, Wizarding World...
Sitting back against his professor's chair, Severus Snape's pale eye lids had been closed while the vivid flashes of his night with Virginia Holton continued to flood his memory banks. The feel of her soft warm body being pressed against his own tense form had been intoxicating even in it's aftermath. It was difficult of the Potions Master to focus on his current task of readying the lecture for the students due to enter his classroom following breakfast. His schedule had told him the class was another mix of Slytherin and Gryffindor which meant he had to be bothered with the ever pesky Golden Gryffindor Trio and the antics of his own godson.
With a roll of his eyes, Snape sat up at his desk still clinging to the wisps of memory that held the woman he had been in pursuit of. He wanted nothing more than to cart her off to his home, strip her down to nothing and prove to her just how much his desire for her had a hold of him in the form of his impressive appendage exploring her depths in the semi-darkness of his bedroom, but she had not been ready for a thing like that.
No sooner had he opened his eyes and the wisps faded, the large oak wood door to his classroom opened and a flood of Slytherin-Gryffindor students entered and moved toward their respective desks. With a none too silent sigh, the Potions Professor got to his feet and moved with his usual grace and lack of enthusiasm toward the front of his desk where he was set to begin his lecture.
"Quiet." he said almost immediately doing away with any form of lingering idle chatter from the hormonal teenagers before him.
The chatter from the students fell away as they gave the Potions Professor their mutual undivided attention.
"Today you each will be trying your hand a brewing a rather complex batch of Restore Health Potion and given the ingredient...even the most...(looks at Neville Longbottom)...inept of you could brew it within five minutes." said Snape moving about the classroom as if he were merely gliding on a cloud. "This means, Miss Granger that none of your fellow Gryffindors will require you to brew their potion for them."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at the ebony clad Professor then felt her mind being pulled back to the previous night he had pressed his harsh pale lips into her soft pink ones and her cheeks turned red. Snape seemed to believe this was a result of him calling her out amid the class and the various snickers from the Slytherin side of the room.
"This potion is as simple as it gets for this terms Potions Class especially given that it can be done by an untrained baboon." said the Potions Professor moving back to his desk. "Begin."
All at once she shuffling of students getting their ingredients prepped and the slow heating of cauldrons had become the only sounds to fill the room. Snape made his way back to his desk taking up his quill in his hand and dipping it into the deep black ink. He set to work on the small stack of parchments before him as the students began their task.
"What's gotten into Snape?" asked Ron a low whisper. "He's never given us an assignment that even Neville could do before."
"I don't know." replied Harry finding his curiosity further piqued in matters concerning the Potions Professor. "He seemed to be in a hurry to get back to his desk...usually he hovers over everyone and mutters what complete failures we are in the field of potions."
"Maybe he's just exhausted." replied Hermione knowing better. "I did see him return late last night."
"He returned late while you were out passed curfew and he didn't give you a detention?" asked Ron amazed.
"Quiet." said Snape looking up from his parchments with a stern expression filed across his sallow pale face.
"Sorry." replied Ron turning his attention back to his potion.
"Something is definitely going on with him." said Harry not taking his emerald green eyes off the dour wizard whom had returned to his spidery scribbling.
"I'm sure he's find Harry." replied the amber eyed witch making sure to keep her eyes on her own potion. "You're making too much of this."
"No." replied the green eyed wizard. "I'm not...something is going on with Snape and I'm going to get to the bottom of it."
"Since when did he become your responsibility Harry?" asked Hermione with an arched brow.
"Since he nearly died for me during the final battle...since I found out he kept me safe before Dumbledore took me to my Aunt and Uncles'." replied Harry confused as to why she had to ask. "Since I found out that he was my mother's best friend...he's my only link to her Mione...if something were to happen to him..."
Hermione sighed.
"Alright." she said conceding the point. "Just...tread carefully...you know how he gets."
Harry nodded recalling just how abrasive Severus Snape was when faced with unwanted meddling.
The Potions Professor would have normally listened intently to their supposed whisper conversation but his mind had been on other matters. He could not wait until the close of the week with dunderheads and the welcome of the weekend. The taste of Virginia Holton's soft pink lips still lingered on his own pale ones and had him longing for more despite his surroundings. His mind drifted to wondering what she had been doing at that very moment and how she was getting on.
Little did he known, Hermione Granger's amber eyes had lifted from her boiling cauldron a time or two as the memory of feeling just how impressive her Potions Professor's appendage had been heavily concealed via his teaching robes and ebony trousers. The young witch caught herself and forced her focus back onto the task at hand. She had been utterly terrified about what might happen should she continue to see Severus Snape outside the confines of Hogwarts but the prospect of discovering more about him at leas for the sake of her dear friend Harry had been what lead her to finally make a decision. She would continue to befriend him, after all she had endured Ron's constant begging and had been alright she figured managing the sexual attraction of a man like Severus would be no different. Unlike Ron, she could express her thoughts on the subject and he'd respect her decision to remain friends.
It was just one more of the perks of being in the company of a grown man as opposed to boys.