Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except Stanley, Sylvia, Katrina and Damon. They just need to be around to build the characters. Anyways do not sue anything or me. The characters are by J K Rowling and most of the plot is borrowed from Circle of Gold by Diana Palmer. But bare in mind that I spent hours typing this ::sighs::

Warning: If you don't like AU (Alternate Universe) fics then don't read this …

Forbidden Love

By: GaiNax … tha silent one

Hermione was almost tearing her hair out by the next afternoon.

Severus not only ran potion-making company (A/n: I don't know what to call it), but he dealt with the majority of the support companies that were its satellites. He knew all the potion masters by first names; he often spoke with medi-wizards and others in need of his potions. Besides that he was also involved in muggle activities such as scientific studies of new plant species. He was a powerhouse of energy, working from dawn until well after dark. The problem was, every single task he undertook was accompanied by a ton of requests for potions to be made. And his part-time secretary, Pansy Parkinson, was the most disorganized human being Hermione ever encountered.

            Stan came home late on Friday evening, and was surprised to find Hermione still at work at the lab.

            He scowled as he tossed his robe onto a rack. "What are you doing in here? It's almost ten o'clock! Does Sev know you're working this much overtime?"

            She glanced up from behind the potion bottles and the bubbling cauldron. She was trying to finish the last few potions needed immediately at St. Mungo's. Besides, Pansy never finished any of them.

            Hermione lowered the flame on the boiler and sighed. "I think of it as job security," she offered.

            He moved around beside the desk and looked over at what she was doing. "Good God, he's not sane!" he muttered. "No potions assistant could handle this load in a week! Is he trying to kill you?"

            "He's been giving me this much work even since he was still teaching at Hogwarts. Besides Pansy claimed to have hurt her thumb," she said miserably. "I get to do her share of the work, too. It's got to be done. The patients need these potions, otherwise Severus would be the one spending the whole night making these potions."

            "He'd spend nights," Stan said dryly, his pale eyes twinkling. "Pansy made sure of it. She's indispensable, I hear."

            Hermione's eyes narrowed. "She won't be for long. Once I finish all these potions," she assured him.

            "Don't tell her that unless you pay up your life insurance first. Pansy is a girl who carries grudges, and she's got stuck on Sev. "

            "I noticed."

            "Not that he cares." Stan added slowly. "He never got over losing his wife. I'm not sure that he'll ever remarry."

            "He told me."

            He glanced down at her. "Excuse me?"

            "He told me specifically that he didn't want a mother for the girls or a new wife, and not the get my hopes up." She chuckled. "Good Lord, he must be all of 40. I'm barely twenty-two. I don't want a man I'll have to push around in a wheelchair one day!"

            "And I don't rob cradles," came a harsh, angry voice from the doorway.

            The both jumped as they looked up to see Severus just coming in from the greenhouse. He was still in work clothes, chaps and boots and a sweaty shirt with a disreputable robe hanging off his shoulder.

            "Are you trying to make Hermione quit by any chance?" Stan challenged. "Good God, man, it'll take her a week just to get a fraction of these potions done."

            Severus frowned. He pulled off his robes and ran his hand through his greasy black hair. "I didn't actually look at the list of requests this week," he confessed. "I've been busy planting potion ingredients."

            "Well you'd better look," Stan said curtly.

            Severus moved to the desk, aware of Hermione's hostile glare. He peered over her shoulder and cursed sharply. "Where did all this come from?" he asked.

            "There's a flu going around and I need to make at least 50 pepper up potions for those in St. Mungo's hospital and of course they also needed all these other potions," she replied flatly.

            His eyes began to glitter. "Isn't Pansy helping you with any of these?"

            "She claimed to have hurt her thumb. Besides, the people at St. Mungo's need proper treatment, not some potion mixed by a tart like her."

To be continued… next chapter will be longer … I promise.