Insufferable Attraction

SeverusxHermione

Rated NC-17

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters from the franchise. That honor belongs to JK Rowling

Insufferable Attraction

Chapter 4

Daphne Greengrass? Daphne Greengrass was Harry's chosen betrothed? This had to be some sort of joke, but she knew by this point it wasn't. If the Ministry could drag her into this new Act, they could drag Greengrass in it too. Deciding not to be rude concerning Greengrass' presence, Hermione said, "So you're Harry's chosen betrothed."

Greengrass nodded slightly and replied, "I suppose I am, and apparently have been since the Ministry sent me a letter stating how thrilled they were that I was a willing participant in this new Act. I suppose you received a letter saying the same thing?"

"Yes."

"I thought so. Apparently, you were the most fought over with who should have you as their wife. But Harry has told me that you were chosen for Professor Snape; how curiously interesting."

Hermione turned towards Harry and asked, "You told her?"

Harry nodded and said, "I figured it was alright. Besides, she said she won't tell anyone until after your wedding to Snape."

Greengrass nodded and said, "I promise, I can keep a secret. Besides, we are—as the Muggles say—all in the same boat."

"I…Thank you, Greengrass," Hermione said.

"Please, call me Daphne," the blonde witch replied.

"Only if you call me Hermione."

Harry smiled before asking, "What is it that you wanted to talk to me about, Hermione?"

Hermione looked momentarily confused before blinking and saying, "Oh, right. I wanted to speak with you about how my outing with Severus went."

"Severus? You're calling him by his first name now?"

A blush appeared on Hermione's cheeks. "He said that since he is no longer my professor and that we will be wedded soon, I should call him by his first name."

Daphne giggled and said, "Wow, big step being on a first name basis."

"Anyway, for our outing he took me to Cokeworth which is where he and your mother grew up."

Harry's green eyes widened before he asked, "Really? He took you to where my mother grew up?"

"Well, just the town, but yeah he did. And he took me to a coffee shop and library kind of place, and we had coffee there. The owner apparently has known him since he was a little boy and…and he said that he was happy that…Severus had…found love…"

Silence followed her words as Harry stared incredulously at the brunette. Daphne however had a smile on her face, though it wasn't a smile of amusement or one of possible scheming. She seemed to look as if she was genuinely happy about the information. In truth, she was. Not many people believed that their feared former Potions professor had the capacity to love, but unlike those people she believed that he could and would should the perfect woman step into his life. She really wanted her former Head of House to be happy with life and find someone to love him. Even though he had done some horrible things before that people were still going to hold against him, she believed he deserved happiness more than anyone else. And even though the circumstances of them coming together was rather unorthodox, she had a feeling that Hermione was going to be good for Snape and that possibly—just possibly—she'd love him the way that probably has always needed and deserved. And in return, he'd love her the same way as well. But she'd let them figure that out for themselves.

Hermione felt her cheeks warming once again in a blush before she willed the blush away. Shaking her head she said, "But yes, that's what happened today."

"Well…alright. It sounds like you had a good time," Harry responded. "When are you going to have another "date" with him?"

"I'm not sure, but soon since we are to be wed in a few days. But I need to get back home now. I will see you later, Harry. Nice meeting you formally, Daphne."

Daphne nodded towards the brunette. "You too, Hermione. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again real soon."

Hermione nodded before bidding Harry and Daphne 'goodbye' and stepped back into the fireplace of the library, tossing down some Floo Powder and speaking her destination. After traveling through the Floo Network and ending back up in her home, she went to her bedroom and changed out of her clothes, putting on a comfortable jumper and her jeans. Grabbing the book she was currently in the middle of reading, she sat comfortably on her bed and picked up reading where she had first left off. As she read, her mind couldn't help but wander back to the Potions Master that was her betrothed.

She still couldn't believe that he had decided to share a small part of his childhood with her, even though his childhood was less than stellar according to Harry. Perhaps there really was more to Severus than his hard exterior. But she wondered how long it would take for her to break through that wall he had up around him. Or rather, if he would allow her to. He was a rather stubborn man, but she could be just as stubborn. Even so, she still wasn't sure if this whole marriage thing was going to work, especially when they were both reluctant.

A few days later, Hermione was waiting on a park bench in London, waiting for Severus to show up. It was another day that they were to spend together, and this time she was taking him someplace. She only hoped that he found where she was taking him to be a little interesting. She failed to impress him while she was in school like she had all her other professors, and she was hoping not to strike out once again now that he was her chosen fiancé.

She had shown up a whole thirty minutes earlier than expected and she was trying to keep her nerves down. She didn't understand why she was suddenly feeling nervous about this. Maybe it was because she and Severus were literally going to be husband and wife in two days' time. Maybe it was all getting to her now since she was trying to make the best of it after hearing the news about her arranged marriage. And it seemed like Severus was attempting to make the best of it as well, even with his upmost reluctance. Hopefully things would go well today and they could get along now and into the future. She just hoped the future would be kind to them both.

Five more minutes of waiting, and soon Severus finally arrived. Hermione couldn't help but stare as she took in his clothing for the day. The weather was a bit cool, but still warm enough to not wear a coat. Severus was wearing a black t-shirt that was showing off his arms that—surprisingly—had muscle on them. He also wore a pair of dark blue jeans that seemed to hug his thighs perfectly with black boots on his feet. It was hard to believe that this man that she had known most of her life had a nice body and muscle hidden underneath his black robes. Not only that, but he also had his hair tucked behind his ears, oddly enough making him look younger than he was. Hermione was so busy staring at the man that she didn't notice that he was standing in front of her until he cleared his throat.

Blinking in surprise, Hermione looked up into Severus' face to see him looking down at her with an eyebrow raised in either annoyance or curiosity towards her blatant staring. Blushing Hermione stood and greeted, "Hello."

"Hello," Severus replied as he too took in her appearance. The brunette was wearing blue jeans that hugged her legs perfectly and a white shirt with lace short sleeves and a modest neckline that didn't show off any of her cleavage. Her curly brown hair was pilled back in a bun with tendrils framing her face perfectly, and on her feet she wore flats. He had to admit to himself that she looked nice.

Hermione fidgeted slightly under his scrutinizing gaze before asking, "Are you ready to go?"

"I'm here, aren't I? Where is it that you are taking me?"

"You'll see."

The two of the began walking down the street, mostly silence between them as they went on their way. Before long Hermione stepped into an alleyway, Severus following before allowing her to Apparate them away. When their feet hit the ground again, Severus was surprised to see that they were standing in front of a shooting range. Looking down at her he raised his eyebrow, silently asking her what they were doing there.

Hermione gave an almost bashful smile before saying, "My father brought me here before against my mother's wishes. I had a good time and thought you might like it, too."

Not waiting for a response, Hermione walked up to the front door and opened it, stepping inside the building with Severus not far behind her. Once inside, Hermione paid for an hour-long session before they were escorted to some open shooting stalls. Donning the safety glasses and soundproof earmuffs, Hermione picked up a handgun, loaded it, and pointed it at the target in front of her. Severus watched her as she took aim before shooting at the target, unloading the handgun of all of its bullets before finally stopping. Looking at her target, Severus was surprised to see that she had hit it completely on target, hitting the bullseye three times.

Turning to face the older man, Hermione smiled and said, "Your turn."

Severus smirked before picking up a shotgun and making sure it was loaded. Seeing that it was, he also put on the pair of safety glasses and ear muffs before taking the shotgun and aiming it at the target. Cocking the shotgun, he began firing at it, doing just as well as his companion as it fired away. When he was finished he put down the gun and said, "I haven't shot one of these since I was around your age."

Hermione smiled and picked up a machine gun before saying, "I haven't shot one of these since my father let me. He helped me fire it because I couldn't control it in my hold myself."

"If you already know that, then why try it again by yourself?"

"Because I know I can shoot it by myself."

Severus wasn't so sure but allowed her to aim it at the new target. Not sure if she could really control the machine gun, he stepped towards her just in case. Hermione eyed the target for a moment before pulling the trigger. As bullets exited the barrel of the machine gun, Hermione's control on it began to slip quickly. However before it could completely, strong arms wrapped around her from behind and large hands took control of the machine gun, moving it back towards the target that the bullets had diverted from. Surprised by the sudden touch, Hermione released the trigger, stopping the barrage of bullets on the target.

Looking up over her shoulder Hermione looked up at Severus and said, "Thank you."

Nodding Severus replied, "You're welcome."

Taking the machine gun from Hermione, he placed it with the rest of the guns before picking up an assault rifle. Looking at Hermione he said, "Maybe you should start with this. It's about as big and easier to handle."

Hermione looked at him for a moment before nodding and taking the gun from him, thanking him as she took it. She gave him a smile before turning back to her shooting. In doing so, she missed the small, almost imperceptible smile that the Potions Master gave her.

Later as they left the shooting range and walked towards a nearby café for lunch, Severus thought about how—interestingly enough—he had been having a good time at the shooting range. He had had a good time doing something new on this outing, and it was thanks to the little brunette next to him. It was almost hard to believe his former student could handle a Muggle firearm, and he wouldn't have believed it had he not seen it for himself. He hated to admit it, but Hermione Granger was surprisingly interesting.

However, she is still an insufferable know-it-all, Severus thought to himself.

Despite that, he found himself wondering exactly how this marriage would work. He did not in the slightest want to marry, especially Hermione, but he was being forced to by the Ministry and thus they would make sure that he did in two days. He could already see the slandering headlines in his head that very moment. The headlines were sure to say he corrupted the female of the Golden Trio and tricked her into marrying him or some rubbish like that.

His morbid thoughts instantly caused his slightly good mood to dissipate as he thought of the hell he was sure to go through concerning his soon to be marriage to the brunette by his side. Merlin, of all people, why did it have to be him?

Author's Note: I don't know much about firearms and shooting ranges, but I did look up what kind of firearms are used at some shooting ranges. I'm sure it's debatable whether that information is accurate or not. Either way, the information was used for creative flow for the story with the possibility of it never being used again. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter and will be around for more. Love, SehunsBae37.