Hermione took a deep breath as she exited her flat and joined the other commuters on the sidewalks of London. Autumn was definitely in the air and she loved it. Oh, she certainly missed the unmistakable beauty of autumn in Scotland, but she very much appreciated the slightly milder climate of London. Adjusting her satchel and fiddling with the ends of her scarf, she set off toward the Ministry before deciding to take a brief detour into her favorite coffee shop. The weather, the aromas floating in the air—it was all just too tempting.
Slipping through the doors of Cool Beans, she was hit with a blast of warm air, so she began unwrapping her scarf as she stepped into the queue. Distracted by her task, she failed to notice the tall man with the black ponytail and black peacoat directly in front of her. They stepped forward obediently as the queue moved, and when the man in front of her reached the counter and said, "Grande pumpkin spice latte and pumpkin spice scone, please," Hermione's mouth fell open and her heart began to race.
Oh, she knew that voice. That voice haunted her dreams and slithered, unbidden, into her fantasies late at night.
Hermione closed her eyes, swallowed hard, and wrapped her Gryffindor courage around herself. She forced a small smirk to her lips as she murmured, "Really, Professor… a pumpkin spice latte? That's… unexpected."
The man in front of her stiffened and then slowly turned to face her. He raised a perfect raven brow and drawled, "I am sure it has not escaped your notice, but I am no longer anyone's professor, Miss Granger. Thanks be to all of the gods for that," he muttered as an afterthought.
Hermione giggled in spite of herself. "Touché. Indeed you are correct, Master Snape," she corrected herself. "I trust business is good?"
Snape raised his eyebrow once more, as if incredulous that she was resorting to small talk. However, he said only, "Quite adequate, indeed."
Just then, his order arrived, and he turned to pick it up. Hermione watched with unbridled interest as he lowered his generous nose to the coffee cup and inhaled deeply. Her regard did not go unobserved by Snape. Interest piqued, he leaned closer to her and his voice lowered to a rumble as he murmured, "There is no shame in appreciating a good latte with a bit of seasonal flavor, Miss Granger," before sweeping away and out the door.
Hermione was stunned and stood frozen until the barista asked her loudly for the second time what she would like. She placed her order and hurried to the Ministry, telling herself firmly the entire way there that if her order was identical to Snape's, well, that was just a coincidence.
OoOoO
The next day at lunch, a disillusioned Hermione loitered nervously outside of Snape's apothecary in Diagon Alley.
Snape had returned to Hogwarts for a single year following the war, and had surprisingly taken Hermione on as a teaching assistant for the lower years while tutoring her privately for her NEWT in potions. At the end of the year, he had resigned and promptly opened Prince Potions. It had been only six months, but by all appearances, business was thriving. Hermione had hoped that they would stay in touch following her graduation, but aside from a chance meeting here and there, there'd been no such luck. Their meeting in Cool Beans had spurred her to try to change that.
She peeked through the windows until, at last, the apothecary was devoid of patrons and Snape retreated to the back of the store. Hermione wandlessly silenced the bell over the door and slipped inside as quietly as she could. Hurrying to the front, she deposited her offering on the counter and slipped back out the door in seconds.
OoOoO
Snape felt his wards vibrate and his head popped up curiously when he failed to detect the ding of the bell on the entrance door. He moved back to the front of the store in time to see the front door closing, but no one on either side of it. Before he could ponder that any further, his attention was drawn to the glass countertop. On it sat a takeaway cup from Cool Beans Coffeehouse, a tiny pumpkin, a muffin in a foil wrapper, and a small piece of parchment. He picked up the parchment and read it with a small smile.
Master Snape,
Please enjoy this seasonally flavored latte, which I did not personally make, and this pumpkin spice muffin, which I did. And as for the pumpkin, well, there's no shame in having a tiny bit of decor with which to appreciate the season, is there?
H.G.
Snape smirked. Cheeky witch. After a moment of thought, he wrote a few lines on a new piece of parchment and called his owl. "Damocles! Please take this to Hermione Granger at the Ministry of Magic." He watched the owl fly away, hoping he hadn't made a huge mistake.
OoOoO
Having just arrived back at her desk, Hermione was perusing the work before her while contemplating what a shite workweek it was turning out to be and studiously not contemplating what she had just done when an owl flew into her office.
"Ooh, you're a beauty, aren't you?" she crooned while reaching for the treats. The owl dutifully stuck his leg out while noshing happily on a frog leg, and Hermione removed the missive. A smile spread across her face as she took in the familiar, spiky letters.
Hermione,
I would be honored if you would accompany me to dinner this Friday evening. If you are agreeable, please send your address with Damocles, and I shall pick you up at 7:00.
Severus
P.S. Thank you for your sneaky delivery.
As Hermione scribbled her address and attached it to the owl's leg, she smiled as she realized the week might not be so bad after all.