Gosh! Massive thank you to everyone that has favourited, followed, reviewed, or given me kudos! It is very much appreciated. I do a happy little dance every time I get an email.
It's slightly unheard of to get a new chapter from me this quickly, but I forgot just how much I enjoy writing! All errors, and typos are curtesy of bad vision, and lack of caffeine.
Chapter 2 – Fluffy
"Severus, I'm fine," Hermione said, trying to pacify the man in question. She could feel his gaze burning a hole. Ever since he'd come back from seeing Minerva he'd been clingy, and that was a word she never thought she'd associate with the surly man. After avoiding him all day, she'd given up trying to evade him after he had waited outside the staff toilets for over half an hour waiting for her. She had hoped he would have gotten the message, but no such luck. They'd then walked back to his chambers together in silence, each waiting for the other to speak first.
Severus peered over his journal to assess the woman in front of him. She was reading a book, curled up in her 'nest' as she affectionally called it. No matter where she went, she made one – even if she was only there for 5 minutes. In his chambers she'd gathered all the books she'd an interest in from his shelves, journals of various specialities, her favourite mug, and an emerald green blanket. Severus had gifted her the blanket last Christmas, only because she wouldn't stop complaining about the temperature of the dungeons. He'd also gifted her the mug for her birthday, but that was because she regularly complained that her drink would get too cold too quickly. So, he had gifted her a muggle style thermos mug, adapted with a few intricate charms to keep whatever she put in it at the perfect temperature until it was drained.
"Are you really fine?" he asked.
Looking up from her book, Hermione felt her stomach drop. Fuck, she thought, he knew. She cast her gaze towards the fire - she knew he only lit it for her, and debated what to do. It would be rude to storm out, but she considered it even ruder to break down in front of a man who merely tolerated her presence. They had an odd sort of acquaintanceship, but it worked. He tolerated her presence, and she found company in someone other than Minerva. So she would not break down, and she would not put him in an uncomfortable position. If she had to be a little tough, and put on a brave face then so be it.
"Yes," Hermione said, her voice tight. She closed her book, and sighed. "Look, I'm not talking about. Minerva told you, that much is obvious, but I'm nottalking about it. So, drop it."
Severus opened his mouth to reply, but stopped as he heard her breath catch.
"Please," she whispered, still looking into the fire.
Knowing when to leave well enough alone, Severus nodded, and returned to his journal. The last thing he wanted to do was drive her from his presence. After all, he cared for her, and he didn't want to see her hurt. At least she had somewhat acknowledged there was something going on, even if she was unwilling to talk about it, but was it enough?
It wasn't too much later that Hermione feigned a headache, and returned to her chambers mumbling about the astronomy lesson she had to teach later. Severus had offered to walk her back, but she'd declined. She always did. After she had left, he'd settled back into his chair, but he felt uneasy.
Marking his place in the potions journal, Severus looked over at her nest. He either waited and hoped, or he could do something that might help – if it didn't explode in his face. He mulled over the pros and cons, before nodding to himself.
Decision made, he walked over to his desk to complete a quick missive to Minerva. After sending it to her via floo mail (a fabulous discovery he had made one drunken night), he walked into his bedroom to find two narrowed eyes looking at him.
"Artemis, you're going to cover the bed in fur if you continue to laze about like that," he said. And as if to prove a point she rolled around on top of his quilt. "Menace," he muttered.
Walking over to his wardrobe, he opened the door, and started to undress. When he had finished stripping down to his trousers and shirt, he turned to face his familiar.
"It seems my furry friend, you shall have some company. I have a job to do that will take me at least 2 weeks to complete – if not longer."
Artemis cocked her head, listening to her master. She watched as he folded in on himself, transforming into her favourite play partner.
Hermione awoke early next morning, and after a few minutes her brain caught up with her sleepy state, and she groaned as she remembered her actions the night before. Severus was only being nice, and she had pushed him away, yet again. Part of her wished she could open up to him, but they didn't have that sort of relationship. Heck, it was hard enough talking to Minerva without breaking down, and she considered the older witch the magical mother she never had. Not that anyone could replace her actual mother … but she didn't think about that.
After completing her morning routine, she decided a nice early morning jog would sort her out, or at least wake her up. Ever since her time on the run she'd taken to running in the morning to keep her stamina up. She never wanted to be caught out again and figured being in decent physical shape would help with that. She'd also noticed an improvement in her magical stamina, and found it was worth it for that alone.
Hermione pulled on her running gear, and made her way to the kitchens to collect her daily house-elf made mug of coffee. Somehow their coffee was always better, no matter how many different brands she tried.
"Missy SPEW must cut down, is not good for body," the elf squeaked whilst handing her a decidedly larger than average mug.
"I will," she promised, taking the mug. It was the same interaction every day, but today the mug had been magically enlarged. Hermione wasn't going to question it, so she thanked the elf, and made her way outside mulling over the day ahead. It looked like it was going to be a nice day.
It was Saturday, and yet she was still up at the crack of dawn. Her internal body clock had never righted itself, no matter how many potions she took, or early nights she attempted - the nightmares also didn't help. So, she was doomed to wake up early, and go to bed hellishly late. If she was being honest with herself, she wasn't too mad at the early mornings as it meant peace and quiet, something she sorely missed these days.
Hermione enjoyed the familiar walk down to her boulder by the lake, and sat down on the carved stone. When she had first started visiting the lake in the morning she had carved herself out a little nook (with Minerva's permission) to sit and enjoy her coffee before her morning run around the lake. Sighing in contentment – it really was a lovely day, she took a big sip from her mug only to spit out the liquid.
"What the HELL!" Hermione exclaimed, "that's NOT coffee!"
The giant squid then decided it would be the perfect moment to rise up from the depths and splash around. The first wave of water missed Hermione, but the second didn't.
Hermione swore. Now she was wet, undercaffeinated, and pissed off. She knew her coffee consumption was high, but you couldn't just cut a person off! Grumbling, she tipped the mug upside down saw a pale green liquid gather, and then sink into the sand. What fresh new hell was this, she thought.
So lost in her anger, Hermione didn't hear the soft crack of house-elf apparition. Nor did she see the self-satisfied smirk on the elf's face.
Deciding that she could still salvage her nice peaceful morning, Hermione dried her clothes, and set off on a slow jog around the lake. It wasn't the first time the giant squid had wished her good morning in his slightly unconventional way, and after the third time she had learned the hard way to always keep her wand on her in the morning. She had been trying to get better at being without her wand for brief periods of time, but that hadn't lasted long.
She'd only been running for ten minutes when she heard a noise.
"Hello?" she called out, peering cautiously into the bushes ahead. Hermione walked closer to the noise. It sounded almost human - like a child crying. Strange, she thought, who would leave a child here?
"Is anyone there?" she asked, casting a wordless. It might be morning, but was nearing winter, and the last thing she wanted was unknown shadows jumping out at her.
A lone figure slowly limped its way out of the bushes. Hermione saw a bushy black white tipped tail flick; it wasn't a human after all. It was a fox! What was a fox doing around Hogwarts, Hermione wondered.
"Hello there," she said, gesturing to the animal to come closer. From where she was she could see it was limping quite badly. The poor thing, she thought. Hermione stayed still, not wanting to startle the animal. As the fox limped nearer, she could understand why she'd had trouble seeing it, apart from the smidgen of white at the tip of the tail it was entirely black.
"Aren't you a gorgeous one! Do you belong to anyone?" she cooed. At the head tilt she received, she continued "It's just we don't normally see foxes around here, especially not black foxes."
The fox tried to rub itself against her leg, but faltered, and fell to the ground.
"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed, rushing to pick up the fox. "It's okay, I've got you. I tell you what, I'll take you back to the castle with me, and let's see if Hagrid can patch you up."
At the half-giant's name, the fox started to squirm in her arms. Hermione made soft noises and scratched the pointy black ears, settling the squirming fox. "He's friendly, don't you worry. He'll sort you out in no time."
Sensing it had lost the battle, the fox licked her cheek. Hermione chuckled, and started to make her way back to her nook.
"Can't forget my mug, it's one of my favourites. A dear acquaintance, or friend – I can never tell with that man, gave it to me for my birthday." As Hermione nattered on, the fox in her arms listened to every word she said.
With a fox half hanging on her shoulder, half bundled in her arms, and her favourite mug recovered, Hermione made her way back up to the castle. As she passed the Entrance Hall, she saw Minerva coming towards her.
"Minerva," Hermione called, "do you know where Hagrid is?" she asked, her sole focus on the fox.
Minerva smiled knowingly at the four-legged companion in Hermione's arms. "And what do we have here?"
"I was going to take her to Hagrid, as she has a rather bad limp," Hermione explained, having forgotten her desire to evade Minerva. Hermione could have sworn that the fox huffed, but when she looked down the fox was still. How odd, she thought.
"I'm afraid he's away for the next few weeks – he's visiting family. He said he'll send word when he's due back, but we know what Hagrid is like."
"Oh." Hermione looked crestfallen. Minerva realised with a start that this was the most emotion she'd seen on young witch in months. For once, Hermione was wearing her heart on her sleeve, just like she used to when she was a child.
Hermione worried her lip and thought for a moment. "Well, can you make sure she's okay? And that she's not hiding anything? I'd hate to think she's some animagus, just like Peter Pettigrew." Hermione could have sworn she felt the fox wince, but brushed it off. After all, foxes didn't wince.
"Of course, my dear. Just hold still." Minerva cast the diagnostic spells in quick succession, knowing they would all be fine. Severus wasn't usually one to injure himself on purpose to keep his cover, though he was a brilliant mime. The animagus detecting spells were little tricky to fudge as she had personally taught Hermione the spells after third year, but not impossible. With a bit of superfluous wand waving that produced multi-coloured sparks, Minerva sighed in relief.
"All clear. It seems he's got a nasty little sprain, but I'm sure all your companion needs is food and shelter for a little while," Minerva said, wondering why she'd hadn't thought of this solution before. "Why don't you take care of him? He might be good for you." Of course, she couldn't have kept Hermione company, as she knew her animagus form, but Severus had never disclosed his form to Hermione – too scared of ridicule.
Hermione looked at Minerva, shocked. "But I have so much to do!" she exclaimed.
"Nonsense," said Minerva. "That wee little thing won't take up much of your time, and I'm sure he'll happily laze about wherever you put him."
"He, Minerva?" Hermione asked, finally catching on.
"Surely you can see what I see, lass?" Minerva said, pointing at the fox in question.
Hermione looked down at the fox in her arms, and was slightly shocked to discover he had lifted a leg to help her understand. "Oh!" she said, her face crimson. "He's all black fur … it was a little hard to make out."
Minerva chuckled, but angled her body to give Severus a stern look. She received a miniature version of his patented glare, before he let his leg fall again.
"I tell you what, why don't you see how you get on this weekend, and we'll take it from there?" Sensing Hermione's mood start to dip, Minerva continued, "Now, let's get some breakfast, and we can mull over what we know of foxes, and their diets."
Too out of sorts to answer, Hermione nodded, and followed Minerva into the Great Hall. Thankfully as it was a Saturday most students didn't wake up until late, so they only had to deal with a few curious stares before sitting down. Hermione tried to detach the fox from her so she could eat, but he clung to her, and she decided that was one battle she didn't want to have just yet.
Minerva engaged Hermione in idle conversation about foxes as they ate, and watched her eat more than she had in quite some time. She'd eat a little for herself, and then try to feed her companion – slowly sussing out what he liked, and what he didn't like. It seemed he had a particular fondness for sausages, bacon, and crumpets, just like a certain potions professor she knew.
As their conversation started to wind down, Hermione's thoughts turned dour. She'd had no coffee this morning, and she could feel herself already starting to tire. She had so much to get done today if she wanted to have a somewhat successful week of teaching next week. Whilst the outcome wasn't entirely bad, the change in her morning routine made her unsettled.
Sensing her darkening mood, the fox licked her cheek again. Hermione's face brightened, "I can't wait to show Severus. Have you seen him this morning?"
Minerva's fork paused halfway to her mouth. "Ah," she mumbled. "Did Severus not tell you?"
"Tell me what?" Hermione said, confused. The fox tried to distract her, but failed. Hermione looked at Minerva pointedly, "Minerva, what didn't he tell me?"
Sighing, Minerva dabbed her lips with her napkin. She turned to face Hermione and saw all that openness from before start vanish. "He's gone away for a few weeks. Apparently, he needs some potions ingredients that you can only get during this time of the year. He sent me a floo missive late last night after checking his stores and realising they were dangerously low."
"Oh."
"Hermione-"
Hermione didn't let her finish. "Thank you for letting me know, Minerva. I should really get going, I need to see if this little one needs any wounds that need tending too. I shall see you at lunch, thank you for the talk."
The young witch pushed away from the table, and jogged down the isle. Minerva shook her head; she knew this delicate situation would go one of two ways. Either Hermione would open up to Severus and realise she had more friends than she thought, or she would continue to work herself into the ground and shut out everyone. Maybe even more so as they were technically betraying her trust. Minerva hoped it was the former, but she was willing to risk the latter.
She didn't know what else to do. Mr Potter and Mr Weasley had continued on with their lives, and had completely forgotten the third member of their trio. They had basked in the limelight, taking every opportunity offered to them. Whereas Hermione had turned to books to distract herself from the world around her.
Hermione had thankfully come to see her a few months after the war because she found herself lost and in need of help, and gradually they'd become close. Minerva had given her the odd job here and there whilst Hermione focused on her recovery, and it was only when she was sure Hermione was stable enough that she offered her a full-time job. She'd been clear when she offered the job that if Hermione ever found or wanted to try something new there would always be a room at Hogwarts for her, even if she was no longer an employee. To Minerva, she was kin.
Over the past few years the other staff had tried to get close to her, but Severus was the only one she had allowed in. Even Hagrid had been rebuffed, but Minerva knew that all his attempts to ask after Mr Potter, and Mr Weasley hadn't helped matters. She had watched as slowly Severus came to trust Hermione, and vice versa, and as their friendship had grown, Minerva relaxed. It seemed that the passing of Hermione's parents had undone everything good that had happened since the war, and she was not prepared to go back to square one without a fight. If that meant Severus had to keep tabs on Hermione at all times, then so be it. One way or another the witch would get her fire back.
Lounging by the fire in Hermione's chambers Severus felt both bliss, and intense self-loathing at the same time. How could he have been so stupid as to forget to send Hermione a note. He could theoretically write a note and send it via Minerva, but the damage had been done, and now he had a sobbing witch to comfort.
"He must h-hate me. I s-said some hor-horible things to him," she said, hiccupping. He tried to lick away her tears, but there were too many of them so he flicked his busy tail up to her face to dry it off. She hadn't said anything he hadn't already said to her, but as he had recently discovered Hermione's view of the world was slightly more … catastrophic.
Hermione gave him a small sad smile whilst petting his fur. "Thanks," she said. "I just thought we were g-getting somewhere, y-you know?" Her tears started to slow, and Severus bonked her on the chin, and rubbed against her cheek.
"Demanding little thing, aren't you?"
Severus tilted his head in response, and then bonked her on the chin again. Hermione chuckled, her gaze drifting back to the fire, and Severus was pleased to see her smile. They were sprawled out on a threadbare rug closest to the fire, and Severus could feel the crackling heat warm his fur. After Minerva's announcement, Hermione had raced back to her rooms, slammed the door shut, walked a few steps into the room and sank down onto the floor. She hadn't noticed the house-elves pop in to start a fire, nor did she notice them leaving a bowl of water for him, and a mug of actual coffee for her.
She broke herself out of her musings to look down at him. "I need a name for you, I can't keep calling you 'little thing'." Hermione hummed, deep in thought. "Maybe … maybe you can be Severus whilst the real one is away? How would you feel about that?"
Relieved. That was the first word that came to mind. There would be no 'Foo Foo', 'Fluffy', or 'Foxy' for him, just Severus. He bonked her on the chin once more to approve the name choice, then rolled onto his back, legs in the air, and demanded attention.
"Severus it is then," Hermione said smiling, and heeded the desires of her new temporary pet fox.
I've heard that plot bunnies work quicker with reviews …
