Disclaimer: The characters, settings, etc. of the Harry Potter series are not
mine. I just play with them.
Part Seven
"Wish I knew why Arthur thought it would be a good idea to let Ron drink firewhiskey," Harry said, as he tried, unsuccessfully, to brush some of Ron's drool from his shoulder.
"I have no idea," Hermione said as she began to tuck the sheets around Ron, who snored loudly and slept on.
"Hermione," Harry began tentatively after a few moments of silence. "I need to talk to you."
Hermione looked away from Ron to Harry. "What's wrong? Is it about Voldemort?"
"No, no," said Harry, waving a hand at her panic. "Calm down, all right? It's about you, not me."
"About me?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Right," Harry said, nodding towards the doorway. "Come on."
Hermione followed Harry out into the hallway and trailed behind him as he walked over to the staircase, seating himself on the top step. Hermione looked down at him, wondering what he wanted to discuss before sitting herself beside him.
"All right," said Hermione, "what is it?"
"Hermione, I think we need to talk about you and Professor Snape," Harry said slowly.
Hermione raised her eyebrows. She had not been expecting that. "Ok, what about us?"
"I am of the opinion that Snape fancies you, but what I want to know is how do you feel about him?" Harry asked.
Hermione laughed. "Why is everyone so interested in how I feel about Severus?"
"Because, Hermione, I think he really likes you."
She frowned. "We're friends, Harry, and it's not like we know how he acts towards his friends. So maybe he's just treating me like he treats all of his friends, and we just can't recognize it because we've never seen it."
It was Harry's turn to raise his eyebrow. "Well, I've never seen him look at Dumbledore the way he looks at you, and I know for a fact that they're friends."
"They're not friends, Harry. They're colleagues. It's different."
"Well, that's not the point, Hermione. I want you to answer my questions."
Hermione shrugged. "I don't hate him."
Harry frowned. "Is that all?"
"Yes," she sighed, "and no. I don't know, Harry. It's rather confusing. He makes me feel these wonderful things that no one else ever has."
"Not even Ron?" he asked.
"No," she shook her head, "not even Ron."
"Wow," Harry murmured, running a hand through his messy hair.
"Exactly," Hermione replied. "All I know for certain is that I don't hate him, and I think that should be enough for now."
"Right," said Harry. "So, how do you feel about him fancying you?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "You're very persistent when you want to be, Mr. Potter."
"It's part of the Potter charm," he said, smiling at her. "Now go on, how do you feel about it?"
"Well," Hermione began, doing her best not to blush, "if he did, which I think is highly doubtful, I'd be flattered. And very pleased, I think. I'd be very pleased."
"Really?" said Harry, grinning happily at her.
"Really," she responded, smiling back.
"Well, that's great, Hermione," said Harry as he patted her lightly on the arm. "That's excellent."
"Why?"
"I don't know," Harry began, shrugging. "I'd just like to see you happy. You know, maybe even happily not-hating someone for a long period of time." He paused to grin at her again. "You deserve that kind of happiness, Hermione."
She smiled brightly at him. "So do you, Harry."
"I suppose," said Harry, looking down the stairs thoughtfully. "But I've no place for it right now."
"But you will, Harry. It will all be over soon," Hermione said, moving her hand to rest on his arm.
"Yeah," Harry said, sighing. "Not soon enough, though."
Hermione squeezed his arm gently. "Are you scared?"
He sighed again. "No. I'm terrified."
Hermione tried to fight back the tears she felt gathering in her eyes. "That's ok, you know. It's all right to be frightened, Harry. You have every right to be."
"Oh, I know that, Hermione," he said softly. "Dumbledore's told me plenty of times. I always thought it would be over by now, though. Really didn't want to have to face both my NEWT scores and fulfilling my destiny in the same summer, you know?"
Hermione laughed. "Yes, you've really got it rough."
"You don't know the half of it," Harry said, looking up at her and giving her a small, crooked grin. "You're a great friend, Hermione. You and Ron both. You've made me really happy, and I can't thank you enough for that."
"Oh, Harry," Hermione said, wiping away the tears that had started slipping down her cheeks. "You don't have to thank me for being your friend."
"I know," he replied gently, "but I wanted to. You two have helped my life seem normal even thought it's anything but. These last few weeks have been great, you know. Just waking up every morning and going about life as if we were just normal kids taking a nice summer off before starting University. You don't know how much that means to me."
Hermione didn't know how to respond and settled for gently squeezing Harry's arm again.
"If I die, Hermione---"
"Oh Harry," Hermione said, cutting him off. "Shut up."
"No," Harry said, his voice wavering slightly. "No, I need to say this. If I die, Hermione, you have to take care of Ron for awhile. I know you'd be sad, but you'd be all right in the end. I don't think Ron would do too well if I went and died on him, you know?" He gave her a small, tight smile.
"Of course, Harry," Hermione said quietly, wiping some of the tears on her cheeks away with the back of her hand. "Of course, I will."
"He loves you, Hermione," Harry said gravely.
"I love him, too. I love you both." Hermione replied.
"But not like you love Snape?" said Harry.
"No," Hermione said, sniffling and wiping her tears away. "Not like that."
Harry grinned madly at her in response.
"Hey!" Hermione exclaimed, realizing what she had been tricked into saying. Harry erupted into laughter, and when Hermione punched him, he laughed even harder. Eventually she joined in on the laughter, neither of them noticing the tall figure who had stood in one of the doorways in the hall behind them, listening to their entire conversation.
The next few days passed without incident. Mornings were spent having breakfast with the boys and Severus who would spend the rest of his day in the lab. Hermione and her friends would tidy up the house before spending the rest of their afternoon relaxing. Hermione would usually lose herself in a book while her friends had tournaments of wizards' chess and exploding snap or had debates about quidditch and whether Pansy Parkinson was fitter than the Patil twins.
One morning after Harry had served everyone their omelet and toast, Ron made an announcement. "After much pleading with Dumbledore, I have managed to arrange for all of us to take an outing today."
"An outing?" Harry echoed, taking a bite of his toast. "Where to?"
"Diagon Alley." Ron replied, looking very smug. "I figured it would be fun, you know. We could go to see the shops and get some ice cream at Fortescue's. I'm sure you'd love to stop by Flourish and Blotts, Hermione. And Harry and I could take a look at the new shipment of brooms the Quidditch Supply's got in. Oh, and I thought you could stop by the Apothecary while we were there, Professor, in case you need to restock on anything."
Hermione watched Severus as he nearly choked on the bit of egg he'd been chewing. "We? You're inviting me along, Weasley?"
"Of course!" Ron exclaimed. "You've been cooped up too long, Professor. You have to come."
Snape frowned. "I don't have to do anything, Weasley."
"Oh come on, Professor," said Harry. "It will be fun. We'd love for you to come along, wouldn't we Hermione?"
Hermione could not stop herself from blushing as Severus turned his eyes on her. "Yes, we'd love it," she paused, suddenly feeling brave. "And besides, I'll need someone to go with me to Flourish and Blotts while Harry and Ron look at broomsticks."
Severus raised an eyebrow at this, and Hermione tried to ignore the look of glee Harry and Ron exchanged.
"All right," Severus said, keeping his eyes on Hermione, "when are we leaving?"
"Oh," said Hermione, as they stepped through the brick entryway into Diagon Alley. "I thought I'd never see sunlight again."
"Indeed," Snape said from where he stood at her side.
"Let's make a plan," Harry said when they all came to stand on the other side. "Why don't we arrange to meet at Fortescue's in about two hours? That should give Hermione and Professor Snape plenty of time to look at books and ingredients, and give me and Ron more than enough time to drool over broomsticks we can't afford. So, sound good?"
They all nodded in agreement, and within seconds Hermione was left standing in the middle of the street alone with Severus. "Well," she said, turning to look up at him, "where would you like to go first?"
"Flourish and Blotts, I suppose," he replied, his tone one of indifference.
"Oh, please do try to stay calm, Professor," Hermione said, grinning up at him. "Don't overexcite yourself."
He smirked. "I'll do my best, Miss Granger," he said as he offered his arm to her, "Shall we?"
Hermione felt her smile grow in size as she looped her arm through his and set out down the street with him. It was a lovely summer day, very warm with plenty of sunshine. She and Severus walked down the street towards the bookshop, and she did her best to ignore the gaping stares of passersby.
Snape help the door open for her when they arrived at the shop, and she walked in, thanking him. Hermione took a deep breath as they entered and smiled. "I love the smell of bookshops."
"Do you?" Severus said.
"Yes," Hermione replied, glancing up at him, "is that odd?"
He shrugged. "I couldn't say, really, as I enjoy it very much myself." Hermione smiled at this and watched as he turned quickly, walking in the direction of the Potions section. She followed him slowly, meandering her way in the direction he had traveled.
Eventually, after looking at more than half of the displays in the shop, she made it to the Potions section, where he stood reading the back of one of the books. For some reason, her attention was immediately drawn to the health and beauty part of the section where she found a book titled Hellacious Hair?
"Hellacious Hair?" Hermione murmured, reaching up and pulling the book down from the shelf. "Contains instructions for over one thousand charms and potions that can be used to tame the wildest mane and create the perfect hairstyle for you," she read from the back.
Snape snorted from her side. "You're not actually going to purchase that, are you?"
She looked up at him and frowned. "Why not?"
"I thought you were beyond such petty, shallow concerns, Miss Granger," he said, sneering.
"Well, Professor, I suppose I'm not. I do enjoy feeling pretty once in awhile, and it's rather difficult with this tangled mess threatening to take over my head," she said as she ran a hand through her hair, frowning when her fingers snagged on a particularly large snarl.
"It's not that bad," Snape replied softly.
She raised an eyebrow. "You only say that because you've never had to live with it."
"Hermione, take it from someone who has less than perfect hair," he responded, "you will come to a point in your life when you realize that there are many more important things than the state of one's hair and appearance."
Hermione sighed. "I know."
"And anyway, I don't see what the problem is," Snape said gruffly. "Your hair is not unpleasant to look at, and it looks as though it would feel lovely."
She felt a blush rise immediately on her cheeks. "Thank you, Severus," she said, softly.
"Yes, well," he said, turning his attention to the shelves as his cheeks flushed slightly.
"If you think my hair isn't too awful, then I suppose I will leave it as it is." Hermione said resolutely, putting the book back where she found it.
She was pleased to see his cheeks redden further. "Do not allow me to keep you from happiness in your appearance," he said quickly.
"Oh, I'm not," she replied. "You're right; it's not that important. And I trust your judgment. If you think that it's not too horrible looking, then that's good enough for me."
Snape gave a noncommittal grunt, and turned his attention on the books before him. After a time, Severus selected a few titles to purchase and announced that he was finished. Hermione followed him to the counter where he paid for his books. He had just charmed the books to reduce their size, and tucked them into his pocket when Hermione glanced up at the clock on the wall.
"Oh!" she said, realizing they only had half of an hour before they had to meet Ron and Harry. "Come on, Severus, we won't have enough time in the apothecary if we don't leave now!" She grabbed his hand, and pulled him out of the shop and into the street.
"Really, Miss Granger," he drawled as she started leading him towards their next destination, "calm yourself. I don't have that many purchases to make."
"Oh," Hermione said, stopping and attempting to pull her hand from his. She was surprised when she found that he was holding her hand rather tightly and seemed to have no intention of letting go.
"Come along, then," he murmured softly, pulling on her hand gently and leading her to the Apothecary as Hermione stared in wonderment at their hands.
They entered the shop, and Hermione's eyes had to adjust to the sudden darkness. The shop was small and lowly lit with walls covered from floor to ceiling with shelves upon shelves of ingredients. Snape led her over to a wall on the right side of the shop. She looked at the ingredients before her and tried to ignore the way her stomach was tumbling and turning. Severus was holding her hand. He was holding her hand. And doing it voluntarily, too. It was a display of affection; it was completely unexpected; it was almost surreal. And, goodness, it was absolutely wonderful.
She felt him squeeze her hand slightly, and she raised her eyes to his face. He was smiling down at her, his gaze kind and gentle. "I'll only be a few moments, Hermione," he said softly, in a voice that was both warm and smooth.
"Ok," she squeaked and did her best to ignore the smirk he gave at her reply.
"Severus Snape!" a voice boomed immediately on their left, causing both she and Severus to jump. "Why I haven't seen you in here all summer! How are you, my dear man?"
Hermione watched as Severus took his hand from hers, and offered it to the little rotund man who stood beside them. "I am well, Marcus. How are you?"
"Oh, I'm grand, Severus, thank you. Shop is doing very well this year, so I cannot complain at all about that," the little man, Marcus, said as he laughed jovially and patted his stomach. Hermione assumed he was the owner of the shop, and noted that something about him reminded her of Father Christmas. "So," Marcus boomed on, "why didn't you ever mention that you had a daughter, Severus! She's lovely, though she must take after her mother because she doesn't look a bit like you."
Hermione tried not to laugh at the round little man, and watched Snape go rigid beside her. "I…she's…"
"She's lovely!" Marcus repeated loudly. "What's your name, young lady?" he asked Hermione.
"Hermione," she replied dutifully, waiting for Severus to correct this man's mistake. But as Hermione saw, Severus was apparently frozen and could only watch on as Marcus continued to speak with her.
"Hermione Snape, eh? That's a lovely name. Suitable to a lovely girl like you," said Marcus. "Now is your Daddy going to buy you a lovely gift from one of the jewelry shops today, Miss Snape?"
Hermione sighed, realizing she'd have to correct him herself as Snape had seemingly become catatonic. "He's not…"
"He's not!" bellowed Marcus. "Oh, Severus! You should treat your darling little girl better than that! You tell your Daddy to buy you something nice, love. It's no more than you deserve," the man concluded smiling at them. "Well, it was very nice seeing you both, but I must go say hello to other customers," he said, and turned away from them, booming "Geoffrey!" as he walked towards the center of the shop.
Hermione began giggling when Marcus was far enough away not to hear. "Well," she said, "he certainly is an interesting man."
Severus turned his gaze on her, and she was taken aback by it. "Indeed," he said, his tone cold, and looking at her as if she were a first year dunderhead.
Hermione frowned. "Is something wrong?"
"No," he said abruptly. "But if we don't leave now, I believe we'll be late meeting Weasley and Potter."
"Oh," said Hermione, terribly confused at his sudden change in demeanor, "all right."
He nodded in response, and turned towards the door, striding quickly to it and out of the shop. Hermione trailed behind him as closely as she could, trying to ignore the hurt she felt when he did not take her hand again.
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Author's Note: As always, thank you for taking the time to read this. And thank you so very, very much for the lovely reviews. Only three chapters left! Oh and the epilogue I decided to write, as well. Just because you're all so sweet. hehe. Thanks again!