A/N: I'm so glad you all enjoyed the last chapter and the story overall so far. I am beyond words at how shocked I am to have so many people following and favoriting my story and myself. As promised here is the surprise I promised within the chapter. Read on my dears! ;)
The Forbidden Crush
Chapter 10
Hermione woke filled with excitement Friday morning. She had her meeting with Severus and Minerva about her apprenticeship. She looked at the time on her clock and saw that she had 1 hour til her meeting. She ran into the bathroom and took a nice hot but quick shower. Once she got out she used a spell one of the other girls taught her yesterday and her hair dried and straighten and looked like silk. She then went and got her favorite lucky blouse which was a baby blue and a jean skirt that was a little bit darker shade of blue but came down to her knees. After she was dressed she found a pair of black heels in her trunk and threw them on. She had 15 minutes til the meeting so she walked down to the Headmistress' office and spoke the password. She then waited til exactly 9am and knocked on the door. She heard Minerva say "Come in Dear" and so she opened the door and walked in. Minerva was wearing her usual teaching robes but when she looked at Severus she was surprised to see what he was wearing. He was wearing a pair of black muggle jeans and a black polo shirt. She must have been looking at him for longer than she thought cause he tilted his head and raised his eyebrows in confusion.
"I'm sorry Professor it's just that I've never seen you wear muggle clothes so it took me by surprise."
At that Severus laughed hich again surprised Hermione. "I don't have to deal with students anymore til next term so I am able to relax and wear more comfortable clothing. There is much more to me then you students seem to think."
Hermione blushed beat red and said "Yes, I suppose you are rght, We don't see you in any environment other than teaching here so you may be different than we think outside the classrom. I appologize Professor."
He simply waved her off saying "Do not worry, You are not the first to make assumptions and be surprised at how I dress away from the students."
Minerva laughed sweetly then turned to Hermione. "Please take a seat deary and we will get this little meeting started."
Hermione walked over and took a seat on the couch next to Severus while Minerva sat in the Arm Chair next to it.
"So Hermione, Severus here has told me you accepted his offer to be his Apprentice. As such you do understand you would be required to stay in the Castle during the school year for the duration of your apprecnticeship. During you first break you may go home for a time to see them but you must keep in contact with Severus and meet with him if he requires you to do so. Can you accept and agree to these conditions?"Minerva asked her looking seriously yet kind.
Hermione figured this would be a part of beng an Apprentice. "Yes , I agree to those terms."
"Very well then" Minerva said before she continued to speak "Now lets talk over living arrangements."
Hermione sat shocked and she could see out the corner of her eye that Severus tensed up a little bit. At least she wasn't alone feeling a little nervous about this situation.
"As you both may know an apprentice is expected to live with their Master of whichever subject it is, However, Being your doing this straight after graduating they are allowing you to go home for a short time to see your parents and explain this to them."
Hermione felt fear run through her veins but at the same time excitement. She got to live with the Potions Master who snuck his way into her Dreams months ago. Her feelings only grew from there but at the same time she was worried how Snape would feel about this. "Thank you for allowing me to return home to see my parents and I believe I can live with Snape as long as it is okay with him."
Snape thought about things for a moment and finally spoke "I can agree to whatever arrangements Hermione feels comfortable with and can be arranged by you Minerva." turning to Hermione he continued "And I thought I've already told you when we are speaking as equals you are to call me Severus. You may be an apprentice but outside of class I cannot look at you as anything less than an equal being we fought together on the same side in the last war."
Hermione blushed then turned to Minerva as she began to speak.
"I believe we can enlarge your living quarters snape and make an equally large bedroom with a private bathroom attached to it for Hermione and add a new labratory to your living quarters for you both to use in privacy when you are working on a project you don't want to be disturbed working on. Does that sound sutible for you both?"
Hermione and both without looking at each other spoke in unison saying "Yes." They both looked at each other and Hermione giggled a little while Severus' lips turned up in a small smirk.
Minerva clasped her hands with a joyus glee on her face and said "Well that settles it then. Your room will be ready for you in a few days Hermione so you can start moving things back whenever you like. You will be expected to be moved in an to start your Apprenticeship in 3 weeks."
Hermione smiled "Thank you very much. I appreciate having the time to move things and see my parents. I do have one question though. Would I be allowed to chose the colors for my room?"
Severus said "As long as it sticks to your bedroom I don't see why not."
Hermione let out a sigh of relief "Wonderful, I would like my rooms to be royal blue and dark lavendar."
Severus turned letting out his own sigh of relief. "I'm glad you choose reasonable colors. I would have vomitted if you said pink on top of pink on top of pink."
Hermione had a look of horror and said. "Living in a dorm full of other girls I can say quiet reasonably I am sick of Pink!"
Minerva laughed whole heartedly while Severus smirked then continued. "As your head of house I quit agree. Pink after some time can get quit boring and after that sickening."
They spent another half hour setting up their arrangements and other things then Hermione bid them her goodbyes and went back to her dormitory to get ready to leave. She felt a sense of relief she'd be coming back to the castle she had come to love and call home. She was excited to be returning in just 3 weeks time but this time as an equal to the other Professors. This was going to be an amazing adeventure.
Shortly after Hermione had left Severus and Minerva bid goodbye with agreement they'd get started on the enlargement and decorating the next morning. Now they were standing there performing the spells to enlarge the living quarters and put up walls and doors for the seperated spaces. They spells the walls in Hermione's room a light Royal Blue with the a large Queen 4 poster bed, not much different than his own, with linens in the colors of lavendar and lilac. They also added a large herth fireplace for heat and some armchairs by it along with a small end table and another wall they added a large walk in closet for her things as being a female they decided she'd need a larger closet than his was. They also gave her a decent sized 4 piece bathroom. It was painted a light lavendar with royal blue accesories. I hope she likes all of this. Even if she finds out she doesn't like me as she thought she did and things don't advance between us she'll be stuck living here for the remainder of her apprenticeship. I just hope things work out for the best. He thought to himself as he waved the last spell from his wand.
Hermione woke up in her room of Pink and Lilac and groaned. She got so sick of seeing the big dormitory overdone with pink that she was looking foward to moving back to the castle in a room that would be blue and lavendar. She went to the bathroom across the hall from her room and took her morning shower and got dressed for the day. She then ran downstairs for some breakfast. She was looking foward to it as her mother told her of a new breakfast she learned while vacationing in America in the Southern states. It was called Biscuits in Sausage Gravy. When she finally dug in she found it tasted as good as it sounded. When she was done her and her parents went into the living room to do some catching up. She finally decided to tell them of the news she had.
"Well mum and dad I have some exciting news." She said smiling.
"Well what is it dear?" Her mother said looking happily curious holding her father's hand.
Hermione took a deep breath and thought well here it goes then said "I got offered an Apprenticeship. I will be a potions Apprentice and will be learning under the best potions master Professor Snape." When she finally got it all out she took another breath and smiled.
Her father smiled brightly "Well congratulations honey. We are so proud of you. So when do you start?"
Hermione was dreading this part of the news. "In 3 weeks time. According to the laws of the Ministry I must live with Professor Snape during the time of my Apprenticeship..." before she could finish she was cut off by her father.
"THEY WANT YOU TO LIVE WITH A MAN WHO IS TWICE YOUR AGE? WHAT ARE THEY THINKIN? HOW COULD YOU ACCEPT IT KNOWING THIS?"
Hermione was hurt by this and defended herself. "FATHER IF YOU WOULD LET ME FINISH I COULD EXPLAIN EVERYTHING!"
Mrs. Granger put her hand over her husband's mouth and turned to Hermione "Please proceed Hermione" Then she turned back to Mr. Granger "And you will keep quiet until she is done."
Hermione stiffled a giggle then conitnued. "I will be living in Professor Snape living quarters but I will have my own bedroom and bathroom seperate from his own. We will only be sharing the sitting room and potions lab. For meals we dine in the Great Hall just like when I was a student."
Mr. Granger sat there looking a bit more calm "So you won't actually be sleeping with the Professor?"
"Of course not" She replied in shock.
At her daughter's response Mrs. Granger quickly said "You forget we are not familiar with Wizard society's customs. We are non-magic afterall or whatever you call us again."
Hermione laughed at this and replied "Yes, I know. And the term is muggle mum. You both are muggles."
The 3 weeks past quickly. She enjoyed her time with her parents very much. They spent time going to the muggle movie theaters, her mother took her shopping for a brand new wardrobe of both muggle and wizarding attire including formal dresses and robes considering apprentices were expected to attend any formal events their mentor attended. She shrunk everything down and put them in her purse as they shopped store to store. Now she was packing her things and getting ready to move out of her childhood home and in with Professor Snape. She was both nervous and excited to enter this new endevour. He said he would be coming to pick her up as they would be staying somewhere else for a few weeks before they returned to Hogwarts and said it was his personal home. He said he had set her up her own special room. She was happy that he thought to do that for her.
It was 8am, The exact time he said he would pick her up. She kissed and hugged her mother and father goodbye and then walked outside onto the porch to wait for him. She spotted him walking down the block and waved to him. He arrived in front of her house and came up onto the porch to her. She smiled nervously and said "I'm ready to go sir. I have all my things shrunk into my purse. Don't worry though I didn't pack my entire room or house, just some small nicknacks is all I took and my clothes of course. Only extras I took was my laptop, printer, and a few portraits and pictures I had hanging on my walls."
He looked at her a quirked his eyebrow with a slight smirk that was barely noticeable. "The rooms set up for you at the Prince estate and the Castle are yours to decorate and set up as you please. The other rooms can be discussed. Also the Libraries in our quarters at Hogwarts and in the private residence have been doubled to have enough room for your books and can be enlarged or shrunk again depending on how many books you undoubtedly have."
"I do have many books" she confessed. "Well I am ready whenever you are and am looking foward to seeing the first of my 2 rooms and homes." She chuckled softly.
He held out his arm to Hermione. "Grab onto my arms so I may disillusion us and apparate us to the house."
With that she grabbed hold of his arm and with 2 waves of his wand they apparated into a large home with 10 foot ceilings and a grand staircase. To her left she saw a formal sitting room and to her right she saw through french glass door what looked to be the library and in front of her to the side of the stairs a long hallway. She looked at the home in awe and turned to him. "This is beautiful Professor. I never imagined you owning a home like this. I imagined you in a much smaller home."
He had taken a few steps to the side already and looked at her. "I did during the war but after the war my inheritence from my grandparents on my mother's side was finally released to me. I found this place much more appropriate for a large Potions lab and a large Library. We have 3 house elves here. Joby who is my main servant, Dolli who is your private servant, and Tallen who is the general servant for the house."
He showed her around the house to see a large dining room that could probably fit 50 people in it, then a more informal sitting area, and a large Kitchen which was beautiful and bright, he brought her downstairs to the Potions lab which was huge, then brought her upstairs and showed her 4 guest rooms and 2 bathrooms, He then showed her the direction where his room and bathroom were, then he finally brought her to her own room. Her bedroom was a medium lavendar and had royal blue trimmings around the windows and doors. There was a large queen bed in the center which was white with royal blue and purple bedding on it. She walked through the door and saw a gorgeous bathroom with a huge counter mirror and a beautiful undermount sink, a large shower with a rain showerhead in the center and a handhelf showerhead, a large stand alone soaker tub and light lavendar walls. She walked back into the bedroom and saw french doors on the other side and opened them to reveal a large walk in closet the size of her bedroom at her parents house with a full body mirror and shelves for shoes. She walked back into the hallway to see Severus just standing there waiting as patiently as he could.
"Thank you this room is gorgeous. This must have taken you forever I appreciate it so much."
"It was only a few spells so it didn't take much. Get yourself settled in and I'll come tell you when lunch is ready."
Hermione ran out into the hall after him and yelled "Wait Severus."
He stopped and turned back to her. Before she could stop and think she ran the few feet over to him and hugged him tightly then something came over her and she looked up into his eyes and kissed him on the lips and savored the taste of his lips for a few moments then quickly pulled back.
She stared at him for a second and quickly rambled out "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have done that!" And with that she ran into her room and shut the door. Merlin what have I done? I probably just blew any chance I had at making anyting happen with him doing that already. Agh! She walked into her bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror and frowned. You're so stupid Hermione. You've just turned what could have been an amazing experience into a long brooding one most possibly. With that she decided to take a shower so she stripped and turned on the hot water and let the water clear her mind.
A/N: I'm so sorry it took so long to post this chapter. Somebody did an unathorized transaction so the money I usually pay my phone with was gone and we had to wait for it to be refunded. But my phone is on now so here is your update my loves. Thank you so much for your patience as it is really appreciated.