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She didn't sleep that night. She had become more and more afraid of sleeping as the nightmares became more and more real. They were so vivid that she could feel her body responding to the dreams and she would wake up with a surge of pain in her hips. For a moment, she could still feel him on top of her, grinding into her. Even after waking, she could smell his breath on her face and feel the heat leave her body. She decided to sleep as little as possible. She read most of the night and was grateful when the sun had begun to make its way up.
Hermione walked down to the dungeons at half past eight. She hoped he was up as she had been awake for so long and was anxious to get this trip out of the way. The door to the dungeons were open and she heard him in his rooms. She knocked on the door and it came open slightly. The sounds she heard were coming from his washroom. She sat down in the chair and opened the book he was reading on the small table. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. She giggled slightly at the thought of him reading muggle literature, this of all things. She put it down and pretended she hadn't noticed it. She leaned her head back against the chair and almost drifted off when she heard the door to his washroom open. He opened it and walked out, naked. They saw each other and he immediately fell back into the washroom with a crash shutting the door with his foot.
"Ouch," he called.
"Um, are you alright?"
"Miss Granger, in the future, I would appreciate it greatly if you would announce your presence when you are in my rooms."
She smiled and retorted, "Of course Professor… I didn't mean to embarrass you."
"I'm not embarrassed, you just took me by surprise is all. Do you think that you could pass the clothes from my bed through this door?"
"Of course Professor," she smiled as she walked across the room knowing that he was probably red with embarrassment from head to toe. A hand outstretched from the door as she passed him the clothes he had laid out for himself.
"Oh Professor?"
"Yes?"
"I'm in your rooms."
"Thank you for informing me in such a timely fashion," he remarked sarcastically.
She walked out of his rooms into the dungeon sensing that it might be a good day after all.
Ten minutes later he came out of the washroom fully clothed wearing his usual sour face. He gathered his wand and then put on his robes. He walked out to see her reading a potions book in the dungeon.
"Miss Granger? Are you ready?"
"Yes, of course Professor," she smirked back at him.
"Please don't call me Professor."
"Then don't call me Miss Granger."
"Alright Hermione, are you ready to buy a new wand?"
"Never been more ready."
They walked out the door and Severus smiled to himself. He could tell that she was amused by the whole incident. He even swore that she was smiling. As they walked toward Diagon Alley, he gracefully took her hand into his own and held it gently. She tensed at first and just as he was about to release her hand, she responded by lacing her fingers into his. For one moment, she was truly happy. Those fingers only belonged to one person, Severus Snape. They walked in silence, neither knowing what to say to the other. Their walk was too short and before they knew it, they were standing at the far end of Diagon Alley.
He'll probably be embarrassed to hold my hand here. He's just doing it to be nice.
She untangled her fingers from his and folded her arms across her chest. They walked down and stopped at several stores. She had completely forgotten that they were there to buy a wand and potions supplies. Instead, they looked in all kinds of stores, bookstores, candy stores, pet stores, even clothes stores. Severus had decided he needed to diversify his wardrobe so he bought himself a grey scarf.
"Severus, grey? You're so daring!"
"Yes my dear, I know, I am a slave to fashion," he replied with a grin. She had never really seen him smile before, but decided she liked this new Severus Snape. Maybe I should have seen him naked before now. He certainly has loosened up quite a bit since this morning.
"Severus, I hate to bother you, but…"
"What is it Hermione?"
"Well, I'm hungry. Can we get something to eat?"
"I thought you'd never ask, I was sure you could hear my stomach for the past hour."
"Good, I could use something to eat myself."
They stopped in a restaurant and had a very long lunch. She ordered her own food and ate hungrily. He liked seeing her eat, it was the most food he had seen her eat at one time since they had begun their work together. They talked of Muggle oddities, of Professor Hanson's relative inability to teach Muggle Studies, and of course the number of cauldrons Neville Longbottom had managed to melt in his seven years at Hogwarts.
"Severus, there's something I need to tell you," she began.
He looked at her inquisitively.
She took a deep breath. "Back in my second year, it was I that took those potions from your stores. I was making a polyjuice potion."
"I'm shocked!" he played along.
"I know, it's just that we thought Draco was the heir to Slytherin and so we decided to find out."
"I can't believe it, all this time…" he shook his head.
"I'm sorry. I mean, we were just trying to figure it all out and then…"
"Well, I suppose being turned into a cat was punishment enough," he smiled at her.
"How? You knew?"
"Yes, you'll find that secrets don't keep well at Hogwarts. Besides, who did you think made the potion to return you back to your beautiful self?"
She blushed at him and then continued eating.
A/N: Sorry, couldn't resist throwing in the 'Sense and Sensibility' thing…
