Three Point Match, No Doubling Chapter 12, a harry potter fanfic

Albus Dumbledore was pleasantly astonished at the witch who walked through his office door the next morning. When Hermione Granger had left Hogwarts she had been an attractive, intelligent, young witch. Now, gone was the awkward youth. In its place, stood a magical woman. She moved with a gracefulness that silently spoke of the people and places she had seen. Her eyes shone with a confidence in the life she had lived, and the knowledge she had obtained.

"Hermione, my dear, it's been far, far too long." Albus rose to his feet and met her halfway around the desk. He felt the slightest twinge of regret at his advanced age at the scent of her perfume and softness of her lips on his cheek. Yes, she had indeed grown up.
"Headmaster, it's good to be back. It seemed I would never get things at the University settled. They insisted the team remain until the contracts and licenses were worked out." Albus indicated the seat opposite his own. Hermione continued as they both sat down. "Then, Harry shows up yesterday evening as I was packing. He was spouting something about Severus having been at the conference. I know I didn't see him there. From what Harry tells me, he saw me though."

Albus nodded slowly. "Yes, and from what we can gather you must have been in a bit of a compromising situation with another wizard."

Her confident eyes now blazed with fury. Inwardly Albus chuckled. Oh, yes. Severus would have his hands full. "What the hell did he expect me to do? He sent me away from here. 'Live your life, Hermione. See the world, Hermione. Have fun, Hermione.' Well, I did as he asked. I lived my life, I saw the world, and I had fun. Never, ever did he say, 'Be a bloody nun, Hermione.' For that matter, from what I heard, he wasn't exactly a candidate for the priesthood either."

Albus smiled at that. "No, he was not. I expect you both have a bit of talking to do. I have to tell you, he's been in quite a state since he's returned. He's been drinking himself into a stupor almost daily."

"Oh, he has, has he? Well, I suppose he's just going to have to sober up long enough to hash things out with me. He's not the only one with baggage that needs to be dealt with. There are things that I have to say to him. Things he needs to hear. Dammit, he's going to listen to me for once."

"That's the spirit, my Dear. Now then, I have put you in the suite across from Harry's. Your belongings are, undoubtedly, already there and unpacked." The old wizard made his way to the fireplace. With a pinch of floo powder, the flames roared to life. "Professor Granger's quarters. I will be making the announcement today at lunch with the summer staff, so try and keep a low profile until then. I do love a surprise."

Hermione stepped into the flames and emerged into the sitting room of her new home. Albus had assigned her a suite of rooms on an outside corner of the castle. The floor to ceiling windows ranked two of the walls in the expansive room. In the center of one of the walls of windows, Hermione could see a set of French doors and a balcony beyond. The windows were all open wide and a warm breeze blew in from the lake beyond, softly billowing the gauzy sheer curtains. She could see a small dining set and an archway behind it. Further inspection in that direction revealed a study lined with floor to ceiling bookshelves and a large desk. Hermione's own collection of tomes had been added to the well-stocked library.

Wandering back into the main room, Hermione noticed a small, twisting staircase in one of the interior corners. The second floor of her quarters mirrored the first floor. The bedroom's huge windows were hung with heavy velvet drapes. It was as easy enough task to wave for Hermione to wave her wand and ensure herself darkness. Hermione could see a pile of her belongings in the center of the floor here. Apparently, the House Elves had not been sure what to do with some of her more muggle devices. Ignoring them for now, she stepped out onto the balcony. Here, Hermione was pleased to see a solid stone wall running the entire length. Its height was such that no one from the ground would be able to see over it and view the occupants.

Where the study was on the first floor, there was an elaborate bath on the second. A deep sunken stone tub was the focal point of this room. Before she could explore the room further, she could hear Harry's voice calling from downstairs. He was standing just inside the door on the first floor as Hermione came down the steps. Hermione waved him in and watched in amusement as Harry looked around.

"Gee, Hermione, you need to set an amplification spell on the door. I was knocking and knocking. Luckily, I know all the starting passwords for these quarters. I figured you hadn't changed it yet. For all your smarts you really forget to do the simplest things sometimes. " Harry threw himself down onto the overstuffed couch as he rattled on. "Would you look at this place? Albus asked me what he thought you would like, you know, some decorating tips. I remembered you thought that resort we vacationed at in Jamaica was so neat. So, I called up a memory of your room there and gave it to him. Look what he came up with."

Hermione sat in an armchair across from him and smiled broadly. "Yeah, it's spectacular. Are your quarters like this?"

"More or less. You'll be seeing them later sometime, now, that you're finally here. Albus understands that the demands of this job can be draining. We are expected to be here for the children, for the most part, twenty-four hours a day. He figures that the least he can do is make our private areas the most comfortable and relaxing for us that he can. Hey, at least the summers are student-free." Harry sat up suddenly, "Crikey, I almost forgot, I have to get with the hotel in Madrid. I'll be back for you before lunch. You will allow me to escort you to the Great Hall won't you?" Harry grinned at her rakishly as he extended a hand and yanked her rather ungracefully to her feet.

Hermione laughed at his antics and half-stumbled with him in the direction of the door.

"Sure, sure, Harry. I have some unpacking to finish up anyway." Her face grew serious as she thought about the staff lunch. "I'm afraid I need a bit of mental preparation for this, you know, some time to myself. I don't know if I can face him. It's been so long."

Harry had been halfway out the door, but stopped and turned back at Hermione's words. "You can face him. You have no reason not to. Whatever happens, it will all, finally, get resolved between the two of you. You need this time. He needs this time." Harry leaned into her and brushed a brief kiss across her cheek. "Be strong, Hermione. It will work itself out."

Hermione swallowed down the tears welling up in her eyes and simply nodded her head. She heard Harry call out as she shut the door, "Don't forget to reset your password," and tried hard to laugh.

Upstairs, she surveyed the few items remaining from her life as a muggle that she just couldn't part with. Most notable were her electronic devices. With a few waves of her wand, she had a rather impressive audio and visual entertainment center sitting against the interior wall of her bedroom. Hermione made a mental note to travel up to London to make some purchases for another for downstairs.

A simple spell made electricity unnecessary. Within minutes, the digital clocks were set, the amps were adjusted and the sound of a Scottish pop band was flowing from the surround sound.

One day I'll have to face the truth
I will
I know I'll find it hard to wake up
And say these words to you

So did the days drag on for you
Was I gone for too longThere's something changing in me
I've got to show it
Got to show you
Cause day after day without you
I find that there's no one to turn to
All this madness that I've found
I'm so thankful when you're around

It's true, yes I do

In every place I'll face a world
Of strangers
We'll talk and laugh about the good times
We had together

So did the days drag on for you
Was I gone for too long
There's something changing in me
I've got to show it
Got to show you
Cause day after day without you
I find that there's no one to turn to
All this madness that I've found
I'm so thankful when you're around
Cause day after day without you
I find that there's no one to turn to
All this madness that I've found
I'm so thankful when you're around
It's true, yes I do

There are times when I see you
There are times when I'm mad
When I wake you disappear
That's what I always find so hard
Cause day after day without you
I find that there's no one to turn to
All this madness that I've found
I'm so thankful when you're around
Cause day after day without you
I find that there's no one to turn to
All this madness that I've foundI'm so thankful when you're around
It's true, yes I do

The remainder of her belongings found their way to a resting place and Hermione sank into the chaise lounge in the corner. What a mess she had made of things.

The years had been long and hard on Hermione. When she first arrived at the University, she had immediately thrown herself into her studies, immersing herself into learning and nothing else. She was determined to earn a degree quickly, any degree, whatever would be the easiest to obtain. She wanted nothing more than to uphold her end of the bargain and return to the castle and to Severus.

Then, there had been the night Harry had shown up in her dorm room with the news that changed so much for her. He told her of the tavern slut and Severus. In her hurt mind, Hermione tried to make some kind of warped sense of the situation. Severus was not in a relationship with a woman. He was fucking a whore. It really didn't mean that anything had changed in the long run between them. But, it also didn't mean that it didn't hurt.

It was a brutal and harsh lesson that Hermione learned. Love and sex didn't always have to go hand in hand. If Severus was going to find some sort of comfort in the warm flesh of someone else's body, then Hermione was going to as well. Maybe, if she had been a virgin, then her decision would have been different. If, finally when she returned to Severus, she had been able to offer him the gift of her innocence then, perhaps, she would not have seen other men. She did, though. She had dated other men. She had dated them, and used their bodies to try and feel something; some sort of the feeling or passion or inner fire that she felt when she had been with Severus. None of them ever did it for her though. They all left her feeling even emptier, even lonelier than she did before. So, she sought out another and another, and with each the result was the same. None of them was Severus Snape and no one could fill the void.

She also took her time with her studies. She could have easily completed her Potions degree in half the time. Instead, she joined the research team, which took up a great deal of her schedule. She also took the summers off instead of taking extra classes. She traveled with Harry, together exploring the wizarding world. Perhaps she had been unconsciously trying to punish Severus for hurting her. Make him wait for her, make him suffer. Who knows?

Now, she had returned to the castle, and hopefully she had returned to him. Did she feel guilty? She refused to examine any guilty feelings. He had not been pure of heart and body in her absence. They both had behaved like children through all of this, and it was time it ended.

Hermione wasn't sure where things would lead her now. She only knew that their lives, Severus and her own, were a colossal mess. They had left many gaping wounds when she had been made to leave those years ago. The wounds had festered and turned nasty. They had to heal now.

The music had changed and Hermione rose and strolled out onto the balcony, turning up the volume as she passed. Her mouth went dry as she looked to the lakeside.

Severus walked down the path toward the lake. He was dressed in simple black slacks and a white dress shirt, forgoing robes in the summer heat. Suddenly, he stopped and whirled around. For a moment, it seemed he looked right at her. Then she realized that he couldn't see her and relaxed and enjoyed just the sight of him after so long. 'He's grown a beard,' Hermione thought, feeling holes in her soul filling up with just the simple vision.

The music swirled around the balcony.

I'm taking my time
I'll fix it, don't worry now
I'm needing you there
Make sure that you're coming

All of my life
Is all I give you here
The meaning of me
Is something to pursue

You think I'm a saint
It's in your pretty head
Stretched out like a saint now
I love you to death

Catch another dream now
We can find them somehow
I know that there's a boy inside the man
Catch another dream now
Take all we are allowed
For I know that there's a man inside the boy

Grown ups don't know
How to dream anymore
Their heads in the sand
And they choose to ignore it all

All of my life
Is all I give you here
The meaning of me
Is something to pursue

You think I'm a saint
It's in your pretty head
Stretched out like a saint now
I love you to death

Catch another dream now
We can find them somehow
I know that there's a boy inside the manCatch another dream now
Take all we are allowed
For I know that there's a man inside the boy

You think I'm a saint
It's in your pretty head
Stretched out like a saint now
I love you to death

Catch another dream now
We can find them somehow
I know that there's a boy inside the man
Catch another dream now
Take all we are allowed
For I know that there's a man inside the boy

A man inside the boy
You think I'm a saint
It's in your pretty head

Severus had stopped as the sound of muggle music drifted through the summer air. He turned back toward the castle and scanned the high walls, but could see no one. It wasn't Potter's normal taste in music. This had a much softer, haunting rhythm to it. The lyrics, they made him think of Hermione and her pretty head. Damn! Where had that come from? It was the fault of whoever insisted on playing that cacophony at such loud volumes. Did no one have any consideration for the other occupants of this castle? They could have at least cast a silencing charm.

Furious at the person responsible for the racket, or at the music itself, or at the memories, or at something, Severus stormed to the castle. He was intent on seeking out whoever was polluting the air with that noise and insisting that they quiet it immediately.

Once inside the castle, the music was silenced, disappearing behind layer after layer of solid rock. Severus knew the music had been coming from an area that housed staff quarters and made for it. As he neared the wing, he could hear the music once again. He realized the music had to be coming from Potter's quarters after all, as the other rooms were either unoccupied for the summer or empty. He was surprised when he stopped in front of the Muggle Studies Professor's flat to find the music coming from the suite directly across. Those rooms had been previously unoccupied. Who was using them now?
The tempo was a sensual, grinding beat now, and obviously, the person inside couldn't hear his pounding on the door over the excruciating volume of the song. He decided to try the password that all of these rooms started out with, "Godric." The door swung open.

It doesn't feel right
The lights are too bright
I'm feeling uptight in my sensual world
I need to be you
I need to breathe too
I need to see through life
With these sensitive words

I could blame it on you
I could blame it on my instincts
I could blame it on the train to the plane
The boat to the shore
So tell me what's the answer

No trouble in my face
There's not one anxious voice
You know I can't listen
I can't listen
You say that you are everything
Do you taste good
So c'mon, c'mon, c'mon
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon

The music was coming from the second floor of the flat and Severus wasted no time in storming up the stairs. Without meaning to be, his footfalls were silent, years of sneaking around the castle searching for misbehaving youths having been ingrained in his stride. At the top of the stairs the sight that met him caused him to grasp the railing in a white-knuckled panic. Hermione Granger stood with the expansive closet doors thrown wide, flicking through outfit after outfit on the closet bar. She was clad only in a beige bra and (Oh, Merlin) a thong. With the beat of the music vibrating even the pictures on the wall she was unaware of his presence. While she chose her clothing, her body swayed provocatively to the music, and she sang along to the words.

No air around me
I need to feel free
I'm private property
In my sensual world
No indecisions
I have a vision
There's no collision there
With these sensitive words

I could blame it on you
I could blame it on my instincts could blame it on the train to the plane
The boat to the shore
So tell me what's the answer

No trouble in my face
There's not one anxious voice
You know I can't listen
I can't listen
You say that you are everything
Do you taste good
So c'mon, c'mon, c'mon
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon

All from too much choice yeh yeh

I could blame it on the train to the plane
The boat to the shore
So tell me what's the answer

No trouble in my face
There's not one anxious voice
You know I can't listen
I can't listen
You say that you are everything
Do you taste good
So c'mon, c'mon, c'mon
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon

Before Hermione could turn and discover him lurking there, on the stairs, spying on her like a lecherous vulture, Severus descended the stairs as silently as he had ascended them. He paused at the bottom, resting himself against the wall, panting in both the shock of discovering her here and his body's observations of her.

A thousand thoughts whirled through his head, most of them negative. Now, was not the place to try and puzzle this out, though, he had to get out of there. A deep breath cleared his head somewhat and he was able to slip silently from her quarters.

The staff lunch was forgotten in his haste to retire to the dungeons. The only thing on his mind was a dancing near-naked witch from his past. She had returned. When and how and most importantly, why? Oh, he couldn't deal with this now. He couldn't deal with her now.

He wasn't sure how much time had past. The fingers of whiskey left in the bottle measured time. He only knew that the room's edges had taken on a foggy, misty, look. Somewhere, there was an incessant rapping intruding on the blissful escape from his troubled thoughts. What was that noise? Another deep, drag on the harsh, amber liquid. It didn't even burn anymore. Someone was pounding on his door, that's what it was. No, he wasn't coming back today. "Bugger off!" He didn't want to see anyone, not while she was here. Another mouthful, and he felt himself slip out of the chair into a heap by the fire.

The room was finally silent as it seemed whoever had been knocking at his door had finally given up. A few more gulps of whiskey and he felt the sweet hand of unconsciousness grasping him. It was such a soft, smooth hand; lifting him gently, and tipping his head back. He felt cool glass at his lips, and assumed it must be the bottle again. He drank deeply.

'Wait, that's not whiskey,' his suddenly sober mind screamed at him. His eyes snapped open, looking down at the beaker of sobering potion being poured down his throat. He pushed it away and spit what remained in his mouth out on the rug. Clenching and unclenching his fists in fury, he got his knees under him. He was going to throw whoever had dared break into his private quarters out on their bloody arse, just as soon as he could get to his damned feet. Trying to muster some dignity, his eyes rose to meet the interfering party with fury. In shock, his legs gave way before he made it to full height and he found himself staggering into the chair.

Hermione Granger scowled down at him in disgust.

"Oh, Shit."