The one thing Severus noticed as he stood out the front of Hermione's house was that is had charm. From the pitched roof to the large windows in which you could sit and watch the rolling hills for hours immersed in your own thoughts, set perfectly to catch the warm morning sun as it rose high above the hills in the summertime.
The house itself wasn't anything to write home about and you wouldn't even dare compare it with something like the Malfoy Manor but that is what made is so nice. It was cosy and homely. Of course, Hogwarts felt somewhat homely to him and he liked being there, it wasn't cosy like this, and his own home he inherited from his parents felt so industrialised and cold he may as well have been in prison. He just felt like he fitted well in the house with her eclectic styling and haphazard piles of books lying around, her collection vastly outgrowing the shelves in which she had to contain them and it was clear she hadn't bothered or maybe hadn't the time to organise new shelves within the home.
The house set amongst the rolling hills leading to nothingness and he wondered if perhaps she liked being alone to pick such a secluded spot. But then again, that didn't surprise him. She didn't seem the type to keep company or much of it anyway. She could tell that from the way her spare chairs were covered in piles of books.
She had been nothing but warm and welcoming since they floo'd into her home just a few hours ago. She had set him up in a spare room and given him a tour of the house. If he needed anything all he needed do was ask. He had to keep reminding himself why exactly did this young, pretty girl take him into her home and accommodate his every whim? People didn't just do this out of the kindness of their own heart, no. There was always something someone wanted and he would eventually come to find out what she wanted if it was the last thing he did in his life.
Needing to stretch his legs and take in some much-needed air after all the time he was cooped up within the hospital with little more than four walls to stare at and slowly send him crazy second by second. This was a nice change. The sun hung lazily over the hills beginning to set and the swallows in the trees above sang a melodic tune that slowly worked its way into his brain until he found himself softly smiling for the first time in a long time. Who knew that things he took for granted so many times before would end up being something he appreciated more than he would never come to realise?
The best part was the fresh, crisp air he could finally suck into his lungs, closing his eyes just so at the pleasure of being able to get in the fresh oxygen he inhaled deeply and sharply before exhaling and opening his eyes once again, taking in the exterior of the cottage a little more.
The charming little county cottage had a small front porch and was surrounded by gardens that looked as if she loving tended and spent her spare time creating, tending to and nurturing. Of course, that didn't surprise him one bit. Her whole personality seemed as if she was a nurturer… well, she had nurtured him tenfold and he didn't even ask for it.
If it wasn't for her, who knows where he would be? He wouldn't be out on his own because he was far too ill, and he no longer held a post at Hogwarts and who knew if he would ever go back there. Who knew if there would even be a position for him back there or if he even wanted to spend the rest of his days after what he had been through teaching little heathens who care for nobody but themselves.
He inhaled sharply as he continued to amble around the permitter of her garden, never straying past the front fence. His long legs stiff and slow wobbling as they carried his lithe frame around. Pale skin stark against the setting sun of the springtime, the warm air and the sun-kissed his skin.
The tight bandage still wound around his neck annoyed him to no end. Surely, he could take it off to air it out at some stage? Crooking his finger into a hook he gently wiggled it between the sensitive flesh of his neck and the bandage gently prying at it trying to loosen it just enough so he could get some relief from the constant pressure upon his throat.
"Severus!" Hermione's voice bellowed from the front door in a stern tone, floating down on the soft breeze.
He turned to see her trotting down the garden path towards him with a small vial clutched tightly in her hand.
"You can't be pulling that off! Imagine what bacteria you could expose your wound to. It could compromise your healing."
He just stood and stared at her blankly. He wasn't used to being told what to do by not only a former student but one much, much younger than he. He tried to process in his head why he should listen to her and not be defiant and he really couldn't come up with anything.
His head spun slightly the more he tried to think and he came to the conclusion that he wasn't up for arguing or walking around the garden any longer.
"Take this." She thrust the small vial at him. The light silver liquid shimmered and shone like a diamond in the setting sun as he held it skyward and scrutinised it harshly.
He had no idea what it was and it made him suspicious. He uncorked it, taking in a generous sniff of the potion and to his surprise, it didn't have the slightest odour and he looked at her incredulously.
She held a hand up, stopping him from talking before he even got the chance to draw a breath in protest. "It's my own potion. I brewed it and I think it might be able to help heal your wound, Severus. I promise I am not drugging you or handing you a vial of poison that will see you keel over and die in the garden. I am just someone with a semi-keen interest in not only potions but helping those who can't get help anywhere else. If I can help just one person in the world who can't be helped by the standards ways and means of medicine and magic then I will die a happy person."
His eyes full of suspicion held her gaze for a fleeting moment before he dropped his eyes from hers back to the potion almost as if he knew he had nothing to lose. Bringing it to his lips he downed the contents in one generous sip and handed the small vial back to her. She reached out softly to take it her fingertips grazing his own as his hand twitched just slightly under her warm touch.
He still felt the same so that was good… Unless it was a slow-release poison and he would die a little later. No. Why would she go through all of this just to bring him home and end it? Shit, on second thoughts he just broke his cardinal rule because he was swayed by the pretty girl who had, in essence, saved him; never drink a potion he himself hadn't made without an in-depth list of ingredients and method used to create it.
"And what makes you think you can heal and help me where the best in the field at St Mungos failed?"
Her shoulders came up in a slight shrug as she tucked the vial in her pocket. "I don't think it will heal you at all. At this stage it is trial, and error and I am just doing my best with the knowledge I have acquired from reading some of the oldest books from the darkest depths of the earth. If I can heal you it means I will have created a potion that can heal others as well. If nothing happens then I haven't lost anything, and you are no worse for wear."
She began walking slowly back towards the house with Severus ambling gently by her side. "And may I ask what is in it?"
She stopped so abruptly she almost tripped over her own feet. "W… What's in it?" She blurted out carding a hand through her brown curls. What exactly was in it? Just water and edible shimmer she got from a cake store down in town one day when she was there. Nothing more and nothing less. Afterall this whole experiment lay solely on the fact whether he could heal himself with the placebo effect.
"I suppose a good witch never gives up her secrets." He began to walk on slowly again.
She exhaled the breath she was currently holding in and her whole body visibly relaxed. Thank Merlin he didn't press the situation anymore because she honestly didn't know how she was going to dig herself out of that hole.
"And I suppose I shall get dinner started for the night." She moved off again falling into step beside him.
He eyed her sideways and she was blissfully unaware he had done so. There was something unusual with this girl and he had to get to the bottom of her motives. Nobody was this nice to someone they claimed made their childhood a living hell. What was her ulterior motive he wondered silently to himself?
A/N: Just a quick filler chapter so you know I haven't abandoned you all! I promise this story will get finished eventually.
-Aliasmel1