1 Disclaimer: Don't own anything, not making any money, no infringement
intended. I just love these characters too much to leave them alone.
1.1 Rating: R for language
Summary: Hermione finds comfort from an unexpected source after Ron breaks up with her. Takes place 7th year, two months before the Trio graduate from Hogwarts. Severus/Hermione.
2 Rebound
by Auror Borealis
Chapter 6
When Hermione returned to Gryffindor an hour later, it was to find a message from Professor Snape. Ron scowled as she opened it, a sullen Parvati looking on. Harry sighed, watching his friends. All this drama was beginning to wear thin. The ongoing tension between Ron and Hermione was threatening to ruin the last weeks of their time at Hogwarts. They would be going in such different directions soon. Harry knew that if they didn't work things out soon, it was unlikely that they ever would.
Miss Granger,
Please come to my office this evening at your earliest convenience.
Professor S. Snape
Hermione sighed and stuffed the message into her bag.
"What did he want?" asked Ron.
"I have to go to his office. I'll see you later," she said to the common room in general.
"What? You're just going to go?" Ron demanded.
Hermione rolled her eyes impatiently. "For heaven's sake, Ron, of course I'm going to go. A teacher just instructed me to report to his office. Am I supposed to say no, my ex-boyfriend doesn't approve? And why do you care, anyway?"
"What is there between you and Snape?"
Hermione was stunned. "What possible business is that of yours? You dumped me, remember? You gave up your right to have any say about what I do; not that you ever had as much as you think you did." She was shouting now, and Ron shouted back.
"I'm your friend, damn it! It's my business if that greasy git tries to take advantage of you."
"Could you repeat that, please, Ron?" asked Harry calmly. "I don't believe they heard you in Ravenclaw."
"Ron, I don't have time for your jealousy right now." Hermione swept back through the doorway.
"I'm not jealous!" he shouted after her.
"Aren't you?" asked Parvati before stalking up the stairs.
Hermione stood in the Potions classroom, surveying the door to Snape's office. The thrill of knowing that she would see him mixed with fear over what he might have to say, and hurt over the harsh words that had sent her running so short a time ago. Plucking up her courage, she knocked.
"Come in."
She pushed the door open. Snape was seated behind his desk, gazing at her with piercing black eyes. "Please have a seat, Miss Granger. Would you care for some tea?" Hermione did not know how rarely Snape offered refreshments to his visitors, or gave them any reason at all to think that they might be welcome in his office. He had done so for her twice in less than a month.
She took a chair, the same one as that night several weeks earlier. So much had changed in that time. She shook her head to decline the offer of tea, as she was far too nervous to drink any.
Hermione hoped that he would come to sit next to her as he had before, but he stayed where he was. In the silence that followed, Hermione noticed several scrolls on Snape's desk, some of them tied with pink ribbon. There was also a small bouquet of flowers.
"Do you know what these are, Miss Granger?" he asked, following her gaze. She shook her head again.
"In all the years I have taught at Hogwarts, I have never once been the object of a crush from one of my students." She winced at the word 'crush'. "In the last week, I have received no fewer than eight owls bearing messages signed by an assortment of young ladies, all of them styling themselves my 'secret admirer.' I had no idea you were such a leader of fashion, Miss Granger." He picked up the bouquet, looked at it as though it were about to squirt him with bubotuber pus, and dropped it onto the scrolls.
"Is that why you were so… angry with me before?" she asked timidly.
Snape sighed. "No. I was not angry with you at all. When you opened the door, I thought that you were someone else. I would like to apologize for the way that I spoke to you."
"Oh." She couldn't think of anything else to say. She felt dizzy with relief for a moment; he didn't hate her after all.
"Indeed." Snape seemed not to know what to say next, as well. They gazed at each other for a moment, Hermione's eyes shining with hope.
"Miss Granger, I told you the last time you sat in this office that if you ever repeated what I said to you, I would deny it. Is that not so?"
Hope drained out of Hermione as though a plug had been pulled. "Yes, sir." I'm going to kill Lupin, she thought.
"I'm afraid I shall have to retract my words of that evening."
"Yes, sir." Hermione's voice was flat. He hadn't meant it after all. He just said it to get me to stop crying, she thought miserably.
"I found that when it was in fact repeated to me, I did not wish to deny it. I stand by my opinion. You are lovely, intelligent, and remarkable."
Hermione's emotions had bounced up and down so much in the past few minutes that she felt dazed. He remembered the exact words he used? He could not know how many times she had hugged those words to herself, savoring each one.
Snape rose and went to stand by the fireplace, where a blaze burned merrily. He had no notion what to say, but it had to be addressed. She could not be allowed to think that there could be anything between them. He glanced down at her face, her emotions laid bare on its surface. It was a heady thing, he realized, to know that someone so young, so full of life, so desirable, could love him. Even if it was just a crush. A flicker of something he didn't recognize passed through him, leaving him shaken.
"Hermione," he said gently, "I am your teacher. As I said, you are intelligent; abundantly so. You must know that your age, your status as a student here at Hogwarts, everything about our respective situations makes it wholly impossible that there should ever be anything more between us."
"I know that, Professor. And just because I love you, I know that doesn't mean that you love me." He wanted to do something to heal the hurt in her voice, but it was beyond his power. He found himself wondering for a moment what it could be like if the obstacles he'd pointed out to her did not exist. "I know I'm being a nuisance to you, and I'm sorry. You'll only have to tolerate me for a few more weeks, anyway," she said, a little sadly. This thought jolted him. She would be graduating soon. He had known that, of course, but this was the first time that he had thought of it with regret. Allowing his impulse to overrule his judgment for a moment, a rare occurrence, he walked over to her and knelt, taking her hand in his.
"You're not a nuisance, Miss Granger. You've made my day, perhaps my year, if you must know. It's not every day that 'that vile Professor Snape,'" he said with a mocking look, "has a beautiful young woman confess that she loves him. If I were free to return your feelings…" He paused, appalled. What had he been about to say? Disengaging his hand, he stood and stepped back. "It's time you returned to your common room. This must be the last time we speak on this subject, do you understand me?" All at once, his tone was harsh, unyielding, forbidding, the same tone he used when Neville Longbottom melted his cauldron yet again in class.
Hermione registered the change, but it failed to have its usual effect. She had latched onto one phrase, as he had feared the moment he uttered it. 'If I were free to return your feelings…'
"I understand, Professor Snape. I'll remember." She stood, turning as if to go; and then before he could move away, she had closed the distance between them, and pressed her soft lips to his cheek. Blushing, she left him standing there, completely stunned.
His hand went to the spot on his cheek where she had kissed him, still feeling the tingling warmth. Let her down gently, Lupin had said. He'd gone one better, he thought, completely disgusted with himself. He'd inadvertently, through his own clumsiness and susceptibility to the first pretty girl who had given him a second glance in years, given her reason to hope.
Snape feared that his words might have unfortunate repercussions, and that in the grip of her youthful crush, Hermione might convince herself to commit some indiscretion that could only bring her ridicule from her classmates, and cause him discomfort with his fellow professors. However, as the days went by, he was impressed to see that she conducted herself with complete propriety, never once inventing an excuse to talk to him after class, or to come by to see him after hours. Two Slytherins and a Ravenclaw did so, but not Hermione. He almost began to wish that she would. Aside from occasional smiles in class and in the Great Hall during meals, it would be easy to forget that she had sat in his office telling him that she loved him.
It seemed the crush was fading. He tried to tell himself that he was glad.
1.1 Rating: R for language
Summary: Hermione finds comfort from an unexpected source after Ron breaks up with her. Takes place 7th year, two months before the Trio graduate from Hogwarts. Severus/Hermione.
2 Rebound
by Auror Borealis
Chapter 6
When Hermione returned to Gryffindor an hour later, it was to find a message from Professor Snape. Ron scowled as she opened it, a sullen Parvati looking on. Harry sighed, watching his friends. All this drama was beginning to wear thin. The ongoing tension between Ron and Hermione was threatening to ruin the last weeks of their time at Hogwarts. They would be going in such different directions soon. Harry knew that if they didn't work things out soon, it was unlikely that they ever would.
Miss Granger,
Please come to my office this evening at your earliest convenience.
Professor S. Snape
Hermione sighed and stuffed the message into her bag.
"What did he want?" asked Ron.
"I have to go to his office. I'll see you later," she said to the common room in general.
"What? You're just going to go?" Ron demanded.
Hermione rolled her eyes impatiently. "For heaven's sake, Ron, of course I'm going to go. A teacher just instructed me to report to his office. Am I supposed to say no, my ex-boyfriend doesn't approve? And why do you care, anyway?"
"What is there between you and Snape?"
Hermione was stunned. "What possible business is that of yours? You dumped me, remember? You gave up your right to have any say about what I do; not that you ever had as much as you think you did." She was shouting now, and Ron shouted back.
"I'm your friend, damn it! It's my business if that greasy git tries to take advantage of you."
"Could you repeat that, please, Ron?" asked Harry calmly. "I don't believe they heard you in Ravenclaw."
"Ron, I don't have time for your jealousy right now." Hermione swept back through the doorway.
"I'm not jealous!" he shouted after her.
"Aren't you?" asked Parvati before stalking up the stairs.
Hermione stood in the Potions classroom, surveying the door to Snape's office. The thrill of knowing that she would see him mixed with fear over what he might have to say, and hurt over the harsh words that had sent her running so short a time ago. Plucking up her courage, she knocked.
"Come in."
She pushed the door open. Snape was seated behind his desk, gazing at her with piercing black eyes. "Please have a seat, Miss Granger. Would you care for some tea?" Hermione did not know how rarely Snape offered refreshments to his visitors, or gave them any reason at all to think that they might be welcome in his office. He had done so for her twice in less than a month.
She took a chair, the same one as that night several weeks earlier. So much had changed in that time. She shook her head to decline the offer of tea, as she was far too nervous to drink any.
Hermione hoped that he would come to sit next to her as he had before, but he stayed where he was. In the silence that followed, Hermione noticed several scrolls on Snape's desk, some of them tied with pink ribbon. There was also a small bouquet of flowers.
"Do you know what these are, Miss Granger?" he asked, following her gaze. She shook her head again.
"In all the years I have taught at Hogwarts, I have never once been the object of a crush from one of my students." She winced at the word 'crush'. "In the last week, I have received no fewer than eight owls bearing messages signed by an assortment of young ladies, all of them styling themselves my 'secret admirer.' I had no idea you were such a leader of fashion, Miss Granger." He picked up the bouquet, looked at it as though it were about to squirt him with bubotuber pus, and dropped it onto the scrolls.
"Is that why you were so… angry with me before?" she asked timidly.
Snape sighed. "No. I was not angry with you at all. When you opened the door, I thought that you were someone else. I would like to apologize for the way that I spoke to you."
"Oh." She couldn't think of anything else to say. She felt dizzy with relief for a moment; he didn't hate her after all.
"Indeed." Snape seemed not to know what to say next, as well. They gazed at each other for a moment, Hermione's eyes shining with hope.
"Miss Granger, I told you the last time you sat in this office that if you ever repeated what I said to you, I would deny it. Is that not so?"
Hope drained out of Hermione as though a plug had been pulled. "Yes, sir." I'm going to kill Lupin, she thought.
"I'm afraid I shall have to retract my words of that evening."
"Yes, sir." Hermione's voice was flat. He hadn't meant it after all. He just said it to get me to stop crying, she thought miserably.
"I found that when it was in fact repeated to me, I did not wish to deny it. I stand by my opinion. You are lovely, intelligent, and remarkable."
Hermione's emotions had bounced up and down so much in the past few minutes that she felt dazed. He remembered the exact words he used? He could not know how many times she had hugged those words to herself, savoring each one.
Snape rose and went to stand by the fireplace, where a blaze burned merrily. He had no notion what to say, but it had to be addressed. She could not be allowed to think that there could be anything between them. He glanced down at her face, her emotions laid bare on its surface. It was a heady thing, he realized, to know that someone so young, so full of life, so desirable, could love him. Even if it was just a crush. A flicker of something he didn't recognize passed through him, leaving him shaken.
"Hermione," he said gently, "I am your teacher. As I said, you are intelligent; abundantly so. You must know that your age, your status as a student here at Hogwarts, everything about our respective situations makes it wholly impossible that there should ever be anything more between us."
"I know that, Professor. And just because I love you, I know that doesn't mean that you love me." He wanted to do something to heal the hurt in her voice, but it was beyond his power. He found himself wondering for a moment what it could be like if the obstacles he'd pointed out to her did not exist. "I know I'm being a nuisance to you, and I'm sorry. You'll only have to tolerate me for a few more weeks, anyway," she said, a little sadly. This thought jolted him. She would be graduating soon. He had known that, of course, but this was the first time that he had thought of it with regret. Allowing his impulse to overrule his judgment for a moment, a rare occurrence, he walked over to her and knelt, taking her hand in his.
"You're not a nuisance, Miss Granger. You've made my day, perhaps my year, if you must know. It's not every day that 'that vile Professor Snape,'" he said with a mocking look, "has a beautiful young woman confess that she loves him. If I were free to return your feelings…" He paused, appalled. What had he been about to say? Disengaging his hand, he stood and stepped back. "It's time you returned to your common room. This must be the last time we speak on this subject, do you understand me?" All at once, his tone was harsh, unyielding, forbidding, the same tone he used when Neville Longbottom melted his cauldron yet again in class.
Hermione registered the change, but it failed to have its usual effect. She had latched onto one phrase, as he had feared the moment he uttered it. 'If I were free to return your feelings…'
"I understand, Professor Snape. I'll remember." She stood, turning as if to go; and then before he could move away, she had closed the distance between them, and pressed her soft lips to his cheek. Blushing, she left him standing there, completely stunned.
His hand went to the spot on his cheek where she had kissed him, still feeling the tingling warmth. Let her down gently, Lupin had said. He'd gone one better, he thought, completely disgusted with himself. He'd inadvertently, through his own clumsiness and susceptibility to the first pretty girl who had given him a second glance in years, given her reason to hope.
Snape feared that his words might have unfortunate repercussions, and that in the grip of her youthful crush, Hermione might convince herself to commit some indiscretion that could only bring her ridicule from her classmates, and cause him discomfort with his fellow professors. However, as the days went by, he was impressed to see that she conducted herself with complete propriety, never once inventing an excuse to talk to him after class, or to come by to see him after hours. Two Slytherins and a Ravenclaw did so, but not Hermione. He almost began to wish that she would. Aside from occasional smiles in class and in the Great Hall during meals, it would be easy to forget that she had sat in his office telling him that she loved him.
It seemed the crush was fading. He tried to tell himself that he was glad.
