"Severus? Is that you?"
Severus paused, one foot firmly ensconced in the warmth of Hogwarts, the other making a sizeable divot* from the grass seeds weeded into the gravel.
"Yes?" He admitted tentatively, looking around for Minerva - for it had been Minerva. She was nowhere in sight.
"Wait there, I'm coming down."
There was a flurry of activity above his head, and then a cat stood before him, glaring at a branch which had had the temacity* to shift beneath her weight on the way down, sending her tumbling quite undignified to land at his feet.
"Severus, glad I caught you," Minerva continued, brushing a sprinkling of frost from her shoulders. "Hermione left this last time she was in my rooms, and I keep forgetting to give it to her. I know you're going to her presentation - would you mind?"
Pinched between two of Minerva's fingers - Severus hesitated to consider where it had been held on her journey down - was a simple, gold bracelet. It wasn't engraved or decorated in any way, but the surface had been beaten to make a pleasing reflection when it turned in Minerva's hands.
"Yes, of course." He stepped out into the thin, late morning air, shivering a little as he slipped out of Hogwarts' protection.
The bracelet was warm against his fingers as he slipped it into his pocket, and even though he knew it was warm from Minerva, he couldn't help imagine that it was warmth Hermione had left there, like she'd left the bracelet. An echo of her, in his pocket, keeping him warm.
His cheeks burned a rosy glow, which Severus instinctively ducked his head to hide. Needlessly, as Minerva was already walking back into the school, taking control of the door away from Severus himself, and closing it firmly behind her.
Severus felt the blush spread down his throat and over his chest, in a manner most unbecoming a rational adult. It must be because he's cold, he told himself.
The anticipation of seeing Hermione in less than 20 minutes raced through him no matter what he told himself, setting his cheeks and fingertips to tingling as he crunched down the grounds to the gate.
—
"But what did you think of Arcbright's findings on handling stress in the classroom?" Hermione pressed, her spoon paused halfway between her cup and that delectable, pink mouth. "Have you ever tried meditation?"
Severus scowled, and Hermione chortled as she finished the arc, placing the spoon - and it's large helping of whipped cream and two tiny, pink marshmellows, where it belonged. There was a smear of whipped cream cutting across her lips as she waited for his reply, the spoon back in the mug. The sight was so distracting that it took Severus several moments to remember she'd asked a question.
"I have not tried meditating before classes, no."
"I have." Severus raised an eyebrow. "No, not before classes exactly. But when I took my driving test."
"You know how to drive?"
"Of course I know how to drive. I have muggle parents." Something that looked like pain flashed through Hermione's eyes. Severus considered digging deeper, finding out why she looked so distraught - but he bit his tongue. She would have to have all her wits about her for the demonstration in an hour.
Besides, Severus had never really been interested in emotions and feelings.
Another reason why Eri had been his heart's desire, he thought, the idea sobering. If one's desired mate is always asleep, they can't possibly share feelings. It was one of the reasons he found his interest in Hermione's life so fascinating.
That and how attractive the witch had become.
He felt sleazy realising that he was oggling a child he'd taught, someone he'd watched grow up, but at the same time… at the same time, it wasn't as though she were still a child. If anything, she was in a position of authority, however slim, over him.
"Did the meditation help?"
"Yes." Hermione dipped the spoon back into the remenants of whipped cream, pouting when she realised that there was barely any left. "I found that when I meditated before a lesson, I felt calmer before the wheel. When I was in a rush - or couldn't be bothered, or had Apparated one street too far away from the place I'd told him was my house… then my driving was much worse." Hermione shrugged. "Maybe you could try it sometime. I know you used to get awful headaches."
"I used to get awful headaches because I was forced to teach Potter," Severus drawled. His chest glowed at her laugh.
"I can't imagine I was much easier. Or Ron for that matter." She smiled, her eyes crinkling again at the corners. "Sorry."
"For?"
She blushed a rose pink. "I'm sorry that I lit you on fire. That we stole from you. That we ever bought into the idea that you were working for Voldemort."
Severus winced at the sound of the name, his hand instinctively going to the Dark Mark, which lay grey and fading still against his skin. Hermione was worrying at a napkin, tearing it into small shreds of fluff with the guilt that was surfacing.
"That was rather the point of a disguise," Severus said, waving his hand through the air. "If you hadn't believed it, neither would the children of Death Eaters. Even when we believed the Dark Lord to be defeated, the Ministry was more than happy to make use of my inside information to pursue artefacts and the like - as long as the information came through the sanitised source of Dumbledore, of course."
"That's even worse, in a way." Hermione tilted her head to one side and licked her lips clean. "We were safe in a large part because of you, and we still tormented you."
"Hermione," Severus leaned forward and took hold of the errant fingers. "It's alright. Really. And the headaches - that was a joke. I have suffered from migraines since I was born, there was nothing you, or Potter, or anybody could do to make them worse - or better. I can Occlude most of the symptoms away and still teach, but it's… trying."
Hermione's eyes widened in concern. "There's nothing they can do to heal you?"
"Apparently not even magical science has figured out why migraines occur." He shrugged. "Some people are just…" he nearly said cursed. He forced his tongue to change direction. If he said cursed, Hermione would go tearing off trying to fix it. "unlucky."
"Well that seems even more unfair. But… I guess what I'm trying to say is - thank you. For everything you sacrificed."
"You're more than welcome." He smiled across the table at her, then grimaced and tilted his head forward so that the welcome curtain of hair protected him.
"You don't need to hide you know. I like your smile."
He peeked up at her, half convinced she was teasing, but her expression - earnest, focussed on stirring hot chocolate that most certainly didn't need it - calmed his fears. Aware that he was staring, and not wanting to make the moment any more awkward than it needed to be, Severus forced his gaze around the room.
"How did you find this place, anyway?"
"It's actually just around the corner from my flat." Hermione grinned. "I was shocked when I discovered the Muggle repellant charms, to be honest, directly in the centre of London. I can't imagine how much ordinary people miss as they travel about their days - how many streets they avoid subconsciously, how many doors their eyes slide over."
Severus followed her eyes out of the window, across the empty park and onto the Main Street, where a snaking stream of people marched past, their eyes downturned.
"It must be lonely, in a way."
"Do you think they ever realise?"
"Of course not."
"Not that there's magic!" Hermione's eyes rolled up and Severus smiled. "But that there's something just at the edge of their conscious, something missing from their lives? I know I did, before we got the letter, but… I hope that's just witches and wizards. Otherwise…" she stared out of the window at the drab, grey suits and black coats that walked past. "Otherwise, imagine living with that itch of not-knowing and never finding out. Never finding that one puzzle piece that's missing from your chest."
Severus swallowed. This was far too maudlin a subject. He needed to distract her, and fast, or else the demonstration might well be a failure in more than one way.
"How long have you been working for the Ministry?"
"Two years!" Hermione grinned at him. "I started pretty much as soon as the war ended, served my time as a coffee fetcher, and then ended up in the DoE. It's maybe not the most glamorous of jobs, but I enjoy it. Plus," she leaned in across the table, a devillish grin stretching her cheeks. "I get a kick out of being able to say I never earned my NEWTS and work in the DoE."
"Has it really been two years since-" His voice tailed off at Hermione's stricken expression. He was here to soothe Hermione's worries, not add to them.
"Sorry!" She babbled.
Severus admonished himself quickly. "Don't worry. I just…"
"It's weird, right? How much has changed? How much has stayed the same?"
Severus thought of Eri, lying alone in a cold, dark Room of Requirements, and nodded slowly. A lot had changed. Two years ago, Severus had imagined he was going to die with his Dark Lord. Now he was sitting in the middle of London having coffee with one of the brightest witches in England.
"Come on," she said, squeezing his hand.
"Don't we need to pay?"
"Already did! My treat, since you're going to come and watch my presentation again."
Severus put on a show of sighing as he gathered his cloak over his shoulders, but truthfully?
He would suffer sitting through the presentation of a first year Burn Salve preparation a hundred times if it meant going to coffee with Hermione before each one.
—
AN- Since The Software (TM) doesn't seem to believe me, I'm going to define these words down here for people who perhaps don't speak English as a first language. Such as Americans ;)*
* divot. means an uprooted bit of grass or weeds, a sod, but in Scotland/that strange, boundary-less place we call The North
* temacity. Another real word, even if Google doesn't believe me. A blend of audacity and temerity. Yet more British slang. At least you're getting an education!
AN's to the AN:
*This was a joke, please don't hate me.
If this piece comes off a little bit wordy, blame Dickins. I'm reading The Old Curiosity Shop and, as my friend said, you can tell the man was paid by the word.
Also obligatory I'm sorry this is late, I wanted to like it before I published it, in hopes that one of you kind readers might perhaps leave a review.
Yes, I am shamelessly begging.
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