Chapter 4
Severus and Hermione stared at each other across the room in blank horror. She was the first to recover her voice. "Do you think he would believe us if I said I was collecting a hangover remedy?"
"Hardly," he said exasperated. "Whatever happened to 'who cares about Albus?'," he sneered in a high pitched voice.
"I don't care, you're the one who seems to be in a blue funk! Its just inconvenient."
"Inconvenient? I could lose my job."
The look she gave him was eloquent with exasperation and irritation, but it softened almost immediately. He realised, with indignation, that she was letching after him. Good god, didn't this girl think about anything other than sex? He suddenly felt very naked, and clutched at a bed sheet to cover his automatic response.
She smirked. That was definitely a smirk, he thought. She shouldn't be allowed to do that, and certainly not at him. He was the smirker in this relationship.
"For heaven's sake, Severus, it says very clearly in the regulations that a teacher cannot behave in an improper manner with any student. It also states that someone ceases to be a student at midnight on graduation day. I didn't kiss you until after midnight therefore it was all perfectly legal and aboveboard."
"Nonetheless, it's not going to be fun dealing with Albus. He looked furious."
"I suppose an obliviate is out of the question?"
"Probably," he said wistfully.
"Well if the worst comes to the worst, we will have to fall back on blackmail, bribery and corruption.
"Slytherin tactics, Miss Granger?"
"Whatever it takes, Professor Snape."
He scrambled to his feet, still keeping the sheet wrapped round him in an attempt to maintain his dignity. He headed off towards the bathroom with Hermione on his heels. He raised an eyebrow at her in mute query.
"If you're going to see the Headmaster I need to make sure you've cleaned behind your ears, don't I?"
Severus wondered if they would ever make it into a bed.
Severus looked wryly at his plate, piled high with eggs, bacon, sausages, chips, chips and more chips. And something Hermione had called a fried slice. She had been very insistent that he have a proper breakfast, and had ordered a full English breakfast for both of them from the house elves. The condemned man, or in this case persons, ate a hearty breakfast.
She had specifically requested white bread with the texture of cotton wool, and was busily engaged in constructing a culinary delicacy called a chip butty. She was explaining to him in great detail the various permutations of the butty, which apparently depended on which part of the country you found yourself in. He realised that he was smiling fondly at her, rather than snapping her head off for talking before he had finished his morning coffee.
She stopped talking, and looked at him, smiling a little shyly. "I'm sorry, I'm talking too much."
Their contented reverie was disturbed by Potter and Weasley bustling into the room with rather more noise than was strictly necessary, and coming to stand behind his chair. He was grateful for the opportunity to re-arrange his face into a more suitably forbidding expression.
Ron was nearly bouncing up and down in his excitement. "Look what we've found! Someone was having fun last night." Out of the corner of his eye he could see that Weasley was holding something white. He realised with shock that it was Hermione's bra, last seen sailing through the air to land on a candle sconce.
He looked at her, and she looked at him. They really weren't doing a very good job of keeping this a secret. Perhaps he could take out an advert in the Daily Prophet. Professor Snape shagged Hermione Granger, although to be fair it should probably be more along the line of Hermione Granger shagged Professor Snape. He answered her silent question with a rueful shrug.
"Thanks Ron, I was wondering where that had got to." She held out her hand for the offending garment.
"YOU!" they chorused together. You could almost hear their brains turning as they tried to work out who she had been with.
She stood up, dropped a quick kiss on Severus's cheek and recovered the bra. "I'd better put that back in my room before the meeting with Albus." As she headed off up the stairs there was a horrified silence as the penny dropped.
The two boys collapsed into chairs at the table. Shock kept them silent, mercifully, apart from ordering their breakfasts. It seemed they too had been treated to the thesis on the chip butty as they both began painstakingly constructing one in the Granger approved manner.
He sipped his coffee, undisturbed by anything other than the sounds of mastication, for several minutes. He was expecting recriminations and reproaches, and was surprised by how well they were taking it.
Harry broke the silence first. "That's ten galleons you owe me, Ron. I said she'd do it."
It was with great difficulty that Severus prevented himself from spraying his coffee all over the table.
"I know. I'm very disappointed in you, Professor Snape. I thought you'd put up more of a fight."
"You know how determined Hermione is," said Harry. "After all, she managed to get you to do your transfiguration homework on time."
"True. True," Ron sighed, digging around in his pocket for some money.
There was silence again.
"I don't envy you, you know," Ron said, addressing Snape for the first time since they had sat down at the table. "Your life won't be your own. It'll be have you done this, have you done that, morning, noon and night."
"I have faced Malfoy and Voldemort. I hardly think a slip of a girl is going to worry me."
Ron drew his breath in sharply through his teeth. "Mate, I'd prefer to face Voldemort than Hermione on the warpath. She's SCARY."
Harry interrupted before Ron could put his foot any further in his mouth. "So, what have you got to see Professor Dumbledore about?"
"He caught her leaving my room early this morning. He's not pleased." Severus couldn't understand the sudden urge to share things. He supposed felt oddly grateful for their calm acceptance of what had gone on last night, and it looked like he might need tips on how to handle Hermione in the future. They had seven years experience after all.
Ron winced. "I can imagine. So he's going to read the riot act to you? Not good. I think we'd better get Professor McGonagall to pick up the pieces, don't you Harry?"
"Hermione seems very confident that there won't be any difficulties. Surely you don't think Albus will be too hard on her?"
The boys burst out laughing. "The question is whether Hermione is going to be hard on Professor Dumbledore," said Harry. "I think both of you might be in for a bit of a surprise, now she's no longer a student, and she doesn't have to be polite to him anymore."
Ron wiped the last of his egg off the plate, and headed off. Harry lagged behind as Ron left the table, looking thoughtful. "It's nice though."
"What is?"
"Hermione. Ron doesn't understand 'cos he's got his mum, and he takes it all for granted, but it's nice to have someone, you know, look after you. I know she fusses about things, and she's a bit bossy, but she cares. I never really had that until I met her. " He paused, clearly looking for the right words. "It's just, well, I think it would be nice if someone looked after her for a change."
Severus just nodded.
Where the boys found her didactic tone annoying, he found all that certainty rather comforting. Nothing bad happened in Hermione's world. He rather thought he might like to live there. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing that couldn't be sorted out by just rolling up her sleeves and getting on with it.
He rather suspected that she could achieve anything she set her mind to.
She was quite simply magnificent.
Severus and Hermione stared at each other across the room in blank horror. She was the first to recover her voice. "Do you think he would believe us if I said I was collecting a hangover remedy?"
"Hardly," he said exasperated. "Whatever happened to 'who cares about Albus?'," he sneered in a high pitched voice.
"I don't care, you're the one who seems to be in a blue funk! Its just inconvenient."
"Inconvenient? I could lose my job."
The look she gave him was eloquent with exasperation and irritation, but it softened almost immediately. He realised, with indignation, that she was letching after him. Good god, didn't this girl think about anything other than sex? He suddenly felt very naked, and clutched at a bed sheet to cover his automatic response.
She smirked. That was definitely a smirk, he thought. She shouldn't be allowed to do that, and certainly not at him. He was the smirker in this relationship.
"For heaven's sake, Severus, it says very clearly in the regulations that a teacher cannot behave in an improper manner with any student. It also states that someone ceases to be a student at midnight on graduation day. I didn't kiss you until after midnight therefore it was all perfectly legal and aboveboard."
"Nonetheless, it's not going to be fun dealing with Albus. He looked furious."
"I suppose an obliviate is out of the question?"
"Probably," he said wistfully.
"Well if the worst comes to the worst, we will have to fall back on blackmail, bribery and corruption.
"Slytherin tactics, Miss Granger?"
"Whatever it takes, Professor Snape."
He scrambled to his feet, still keeping the sheet wrapped round him in an attempt to maintain his dignity. He headed off towards the bathroom with Hermione on his heels. He raised an eyebrow at her in mute query.
"If you're going to see the Headmaster I need to make sure you've cleaned behind your ears, don't I?"
Severus wondered if they would ever make it into a bed.
Severus looked wryly at his plate, piled high with eggs, bacon, sausages, chips, chips and more chips. And something Hermione had called a fried slice. She had been very insistent that he have a proper breakfast, and had ordered a full English breakfast for both of them from the house elves. The condemned man, or in this case persons, ate a hearty breakfast.
She had specifically requested white bread with the texture of cotton wool, and was busily engaged in constructing a culinary delicacy called a chip butty. She was explaining to him in great detail the various permutations of the butty, which apparently depended on which part of the country you found yourself in. He realised that he was smiling fondly at her, rather than snapping her head off for talking before he had finished his morning coffee.
She stopped talking, and looked at him, smiling a little shyly. "I'm sorry, I'm talking too much."
Their contented reverie was disturbed by Potter and Weasley bustling into the room with rather more noise than was strictly necessary, and coming to stand behind his chair. He was grateful for the opportunity to re-arrange his face into a more suitably forbidding expression.
Ron was nearly bouncing up and down in his excitement. "Look what we've found! Someone was having fun last night." Out of the corner of his eye he could see that Weasley was holding something white. He realised with shock that it was Hermione's bra, last seen sailing through the air to land on a candle sconce.
He looked at her, and she looked at him. They really weren't doing a very good job of keeping this a secret. Perhaps he could take out an advert in the Daily Prophet. Professor Snape shagged Hermione Granger, although to be fair it should probably be more along the line of Hermione Granger shagged Professor Snape. He answered her silent question with a rueful shrug.
"Thanks Ron, I was wondering where that had got to." She held out her hand for the offending garment.
"YOU!" they chorused together. You could almost hear their brains turning as they tried to work out who she had been with.
She stood up, dropped a quick kiss on Severus's cheek and recovered the bra. "I'd better put that back in my room before the meeting with Albus." As she headed off up the stairs there was a horrified silence as the penny dropped.
The two boys collapsed into chairs at the table. Shock kept them silent, mercifully, apart from ordering their breakfasts. It seemed they too had been treated to the thesis on the chip butty as they both began painstakingly constructing one in the Granger approved manner.
He sipped his coffee, undisturbed by anything other than the sounds of mastication, for several minutes. He was expecting recriminations and reproaches, and was surprised by how well they were taking it.
Harry broke the silence first. "That's ten galleons you owe me, Ron. I said she'd do it."
It was with great difficulty that Severus prevented himself from spraying his coffee all over the table.
"I know. I'm very disappointed in you, Professor Snape. I thought you'd put up more of a fight."
"You know how determined Hermione is," said Harry. "After all, she managed to get you to do your transfiguration homework on time."
"True. True," Ron sighed, digging around in his pocket for some money.
There was silence again.
"I don't envy you, you know," Ron said, addressing Snape for the first time since they had sat down at the table. "Your life won't be your own. It'll be have you done this, have you done that, morning, noon and night."
"I have faced Malfoy and Voldemort. I hardly think a slip of a girl is going to worry me."
Ron drew his breath in sharply through his teeth. "Mate, I'd prefer to face Voldemort than Hermione on the warpath. She's SCARY."
Harry interrupted before Ron could put his foot any further in his mouth. "So, what have you got to see Professor Dumbledore about?"
"He caught her leaving my room early this morning. He's not pleased." Severus couldn't understand the sudden urge to share things. He supposed felt oddly grateful for their calm acceptance of what had gone on last night, and it looked like he might need tips on how to handle Hermione in the future. They had seven years experience after all.
Ron winced. "I can imagine. So he's going to read the riot act to you? Not good. I think we'd better get Professor McGonagall to pick up the pieces, don't you Harry?"
"Hermione seems very confident that there won't be any difficulties. Surely you don't think Albus will be too hard on her?"
The boys burst out laughing. "The question is whether Hermione is going to be hard on Professor Dumbledore," said Harry. "I think both of you might be in for a bit of a surprise, now she's no longer a student, and she doesn't have to be polite to him anymore."
Ron wiped the last of his egg off the plate, and headed off. Harry lagged behind as Ron left the table, looking thoughtful. "It's nice though."
"What is?"
"Hermione. Ron doesn't understand 'cos he's got his mum, and he takes it all for granted, but it's nice to have someone, you know, look after you. I know she fusses about things, and she's a bit bossy, but she cares. I never really had that until I met her. " He paused, clearly looking for the right words. "It's just, well, I think it would be nice if someone looked after her for a change."
Severus just nodded.
Where the boys found her didactic tone annoying, he found all that certainty rather comforting. Nothing bad happened in Hermione's world. He rather thought he might like to live there. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing that couldn't be sorted out by just rolling up her sleeves and getting on with it.
He rather suspected that she could achieve anything she set her mind to.
She was quite simply magnificent.