Disclaimer: The characters, settings, etc. of the Harry Potter series are not mine. I just play with them.
Severus pulled nervously at the collar of his shirt as he walked down the street towards her shop. He felt particularly self conscious today. The warmer weather of this late September afternoon left him no choice but to abandon his usual sweater and slacks. Today he donned, instead, a plain button-down oxford and slacks.
He still wore the cap low on his head, but felt very conspicuous without the high collar and bagginess of his sweater. Hermione would be able to see just how frail he was in this outfit. He hated being so thin, but he made no effort to change his appearance.
Severus came to the shop more quickly that he had expected. He sighed and gave his collar one last tug before opening the door and entering the shop. The bell rang, signaling his arrival, but he did not see Hermione as he entered.
He walked over to the counter, but no one was there. Well, no human was there, anyway. Her cat, the large ginger one that had often seen stalking around the castle, sat curled in a ball on top of the counter. It raised its head and stared at him. After a moment of scrutinizing, it offered a low purr of approval and lowered its head again. Snape watched it, surprised that it seemed to fall back to sleep immediately.
"Lovely to see you too," Severus sighed and glanced up at the clock behind the counter. It was almost quarter 'til five. Hermione had been here at this time in the evenings before. The door was unlocked, and her cat was still here so he doubted highly that she had closed up shop earlier than usual.
Snape frowned. Maybe she had just stepped out for a moment. He imagined that if she had, she would probably return soon. Severus resolved upon waiting around until five o'clock. He looked around and saw that there were two chairs a few feet away from the counter. Crossing the room, he sat down in one. It was quite comfortable, and left him with absolutely no desire to get up in the near future.
Snape settled himself into the chair and began to observe his surroundings. It was quite peaceful here. The shop was small, but contained numerous shelves of books. Severus supposed Hermione had charmed it to hold more shelves than it would be able to under normal circumstances. The dim lighting was also very soothing. The atmosphere was everything he thought it should be: comfortable and inviting. Snape could easily see himself spending hours here, just sitting and reading.
"Oh, I didn't hear you come in," a voice said on his left. He looked up to see Hermione crossing the room from the bookshelves. He moved to stand up, but the desire to stay in the comfortable chair was too overwhelming. He settled for smiling at her as she walked over and sat in the chair across from his.
"Hello," he said. Once again, he felt like moron, and was happy to remind himself that he looked like one too.
"Hi," she smiled back. "So, did you obtain much insight into the world of divination?" She sat back in her chair and stared at him.
"No, not really," Severus confessed and felt his heart beat pick up its pace when her smile grew. "I did enjoy your notes, though. Particularly the drawings of that woman."
He was surprised to see her blush at this. "I'd forgotten about those," she confessed. She cleared her throat. "I suppose I attached some horrid attempted witticisms to those drawings?"
Snape grinned, raising an eyebrow. "Well yes, you did, actually."
Hermione giggled softly, and Snape continued to smile at her. She was too beautiful to be as interested in him as he was in her. He knew that the moment she discovered his identity this developing relationship would be over. He found he was rather saddened at the prospect of their friendship ending.
He was quite disturbed to see her look of amusement turn suddenly to one of confusion and suspicion. She cleared her throat a few times, and he watched as her cheeks became more and more flushed. "How exactly did you know the notes were mine, sir?"
Severus did not have any idea how to respond. "Well," he began, searching his mind for an answer. "The handwriting was quite feminine."
He watched her as she narrowed her eyes, inspecting him. "I see," she said softly.
"So…" He glanced away from her face towards the shelves, eager to find a new subject for discussion. "You certainly manage to fit quite a bit of stock into such a tiny building."
He noticed that Hermione simply smiled at this. "Yes, well it's the lighting. It creates the illusion of this place being smaller than it actually is."
He nodded and tried to think of yet another topic to talk about. He realized that when she began speaking he would not need to find one.
"What do you do for a living?" she asked gently.
"I teach," he replied, not even bothering to come up with a lie, but hoping that she would not ask what subject he taught.
"Oh, how nice," she said and he nearly sighed with relief. "Do you enjoy it?"
"Yes," he replied honestly. "There's nothing like transferring knowledge to young people. An incredible feeling of well-being seems to accompany watching students improve themselves through learning."
Hermione grinned at him. "I'm sure your students are quite grateful to have such a committed teacher."
Snape felt his face grow hot at her words. "Well, most of my students hate me, so grateful is hardly the word one would use to describe their feelings towards me."
Hermione leaned forward slightly in her seat. "They think they hate you, Professor, but later on they will realize just how many valuable lessons you taught them. You truly prepare them for life."
Snape looked at her skeptically. She had called him Professor. Did she know who he was? If she did, how long had she known? And why hadn't she thrown him out of the shop yet? "For all you know," he said, allowing his voice to take on its classroom tone, "I could teach kindergarten."
He was surprised to see her laugh. "In all of my life, I have never met such an intimidating kindergarten teacher!" she exclaimed.
"Yes, well," Severus frowned. He was at a loss for words.
He was surprised to see her stand from her chair after a few moments of silence. She walked over to his chair and stood before him. Severus froze, unsure of what to do or of what was happening. Was she making a move on him?
He waited and, quite suddenly, she lifted her hand. Grabbing the bill of his cap, she pulled it off in one swift movement. He had no time to stop her. He was exposed.
He watched her as she continued to stand before him, staring down at him. He noticed her eyes were slightly wider than they had been before, but she did not seem terribly astounded to see him seated before her. After a moment, Severus sighed. "Well, good evening, Miss Granger," he grumbled and dropped his gaze from hers.
He could practically hear her smile. "Why Professor Snape," she said, "this is a pleasant surprise." He glanced up at her and she was indeed grinning down at him. She did not look upset that it was he who had been coming to visit her these past few evenings. In fact, much to his surprise and delight, she looked quite happy at this discovery.
She backed away from his chair and made her way over to the counter. "Would you like a drink, Professor? I am afraid all I have is water, but I imagine it's better than nothing."
"Er, yes please," Snape called to her from his seat.
"So Professor," she said as he watched her pour water from a bottle into two tall glasses. "Are you going to explain to me why you wandered into my store?"
Snape sighed. "I occasionally visit muggle shops to see if they have any potions books in stock. Occasionally antique stores have very rare copies of older texts. I like to frequent muggle stores in the hopes of finding something valuable."
He paused before explaining precisely why he had come to this store. "The headmaster had mentioned this store had quite a few books about magic. And he said that the owner was quite friendly and willing to help her customers."
Hermione smiled as she walked back to him from the counter. She handed him his glass of water before seating herself across from him once again. "You'll have to thank the headmaster for the compliment on my behalf," she paused to shake her head. "It's been years since I've seen him."
"It's been years since you've seen anyone from what I understand," Snape said, taking a sip of the water. "Why did you leave, Hermione?"
Her eyes shot up at the sound of her name. Snape was, once again, just as surprised as she was at what he had said. For the second time in her presence, his speech had made him look like a bumbling fool.
"Post traumatic stress disorder is what the muggles would call it," Hermione said, offering a small sad smile to her companion. "The war was over and everyone was using Harry's wedding as the symbol of hope. They all saw it as proof that Voldemort could not ruin us, and that he had not ruined us. But he ruined me," she paused and let her eyes drift up to meet his, "Severus."
Severus sighed, once again fully aware of the twenty years he had on her. "There were many deaths, Hermione. And you were probably far too young to be fighting in such a war."
She simply shrugged in response. "Far too weak is all."
Severus frowned. He was unequipped to deal with emotional situations. Firstly, he wasn't very good with emotions. In general, his range seemed to start at angry and end with extremely angry. He was not sure where his feelings for Hermione fell in that range, but it was not exactly a pressing matter. The sadness, regret, and guilt he saw in Hermione's eyes were rather foreign to him. He did not have the faintest idea what the appropriate response would be. Something told him that Minerva, if presented with this, would take her hand and gently explain that it was not her fault. But he was not gentle, and he was certainly not going to initiate physical contact with a former (and, mind, beautiful) student. So, settled for using the only device he had left: logic.
"Miss Granger," he began and nearly grimaced at his tone and address. He was reverting to Professor and authority figure. He hoped she would forgive him. "Obviously you were not too weak. You were younger than almost all of the wizards you fought alongside, and what's more, you stayed on board longer than many of the wizards you fought beside. I distinctly recall many instances when hope seemed lost, when yet another well-respected friend and comrade had been lost, when some of us were just too tired to keep going, during which you made every effort to rally the troops. You were not weak, Hermione. You were, in fact, quite the opposite."
Snape let a heavy sigh escape his lips when he was done. He supposed he might have done well should he have considered becoming a motivational speaker.
Hermione looked up at him when he had finished speaking, and he noticed her eyes were rather wide. He did not pretend to think he had caused some major epiphany, but as he could see, his words had struck some chord.
"You're right, Severus," she said slowly. "I suppose I was just being immature about the situation." He saw her frown at this thought.
"Hermione, we are all immature from time to time; some of us more than others. I, for one, have been extremely immature on more than one occasion. And only now, in the middle of my forties, have I been able to recognize what an ass I can be."
He was pleased to see her giggle at this. "You're right," she replied. "I remember quite a few instances during my seven years at Hogwarts when you were a terrible prat."
He shrugged, and could not help but smile. "Well, I've grown wiser with age and experience, Hermione. I am much less of a prat these days. I imagine if you sat in on one of my classes you'd be unable to recognize me."
"The change is that dramatic?" she asked, casting him a skeptical look.
"Yes," he nodded. "Indeed."
"Well, Professor. I suppose you have matured a bit." She smiled wickedly at him. "But only a little."
"You've become quite the adult yourself, Miss Granger," he replied. "You are most certainly a beautiful woman."
She blushed at his words. "I suppose you say that to all of your former students?"
"No," Snape shook his head. "Just you and young master Malfoy." He was extraordinarily pleased to hear her laughing again.
"Oh Severus," she sighed once she had finished giggling. "I am glad you walked into my store."
He couldn't help but grin widely at this. "I am, too."
Their conversation was interrupted by a rather large ginger cat jumping onto the coffee table between their chairs. The cat sat down facing its owner and stared at it.
"Oh, Crookshanks!" Hermione exclaimed in response to its sudden appearance. "I'd forgotten about you," she glanced at the clock on the wall behind the counter and stood up from her chair suddenly. "My goodness, it's late!"
Severus stood, too, and looked at the clock. They had somehow managed to pass almost two full hours sitting in the chairs. "Time does fly," Severus said softly, regretting that their visit had to end so soon.
He watched as Hermione turned abruptly to face him. "Severus, I would like to see you again." He saw her eyes widen in surprise and felt his own do the same.
"I would enjoy seeing you again, too, Hermione," he replied softly. She took a step towards him and he watched as she raised her hand, resting it lightly on his arm.
Severus waited, but nothing happened. They stood there, staring at each other. He did not find this particularly unpleasant, though. In fact, he found it to be quite nice. Her eyes were a very warm brown.
"Hermione," he heard himself saying after a few moments. "Would you allow me to take you out for dinner one evening? Or maybe for a few drinks? I don't know which you would prefer."
She nodded and stepped closer to him. He hated to admit it, but her being so close frightened him. He awaited an onslaught of memories of her as a child that would make this seem so, so wrong and that would turn the lovely feeling in the pit of his stomach into something awful and warning of danger. But it didn't come; instead, he simply noticed again that she smelled like vanilla and was pleasantly surprised to feel her soft lips brushing against his cheek.
She pulled away and smiled up at him, causing him to realize that he had an enormous grin on his face. "Thank you, Severus," she said gently. He loved the sound of his name coming from her mouth. "Dinner would be lovely."
"Okay," he said, stepping away from her. He walked backwards towards the counter. "I, uh, I'll pop in sometime soon. Probably tomorrow. We can finalize then." He had backed into the counter.
She simply smiled at him, and nodded encouragingly.
"Well," Snape said, clearing his throat in an effort to gather himself together. It was time to look like a man, not a nervous school boy. "I look forward to seeing you. Good night, Hermione."
"Good night, Severus. I can't wait until tomorrow."
He nodded in reply, and turned to walk to the door. Smiling to himself, he walked out of the shop and into the night. As he walked down the street he suddenly remembered that he'd forgotten his cap. Stopping, he decided against going back to get it. For some reason, he was quite certain he was going to have many opportunities to get it back.