DISCLAIMER: Hermione, Severus, Draco and all their friends
belong to JK Rowling, Scholastic Books and everyone else with a copyright. I'm
just letting them out to play a bit 'til the next book or movie comes out and
they have to get back to their day jobs.


A/N: Sorry this was so long in coming, but I got a new computer for Christmas. Unfortunately, moving files wasn't all that easy and I don't have Word on my new Dell (just Wordperfect, which is trying hard to be Word, but doesn't quite make it) and my stories - and writing ability - seem to be reacting badly to the change over. Let's hope we both get over it soon.



A sound marriage is not based on complete frankness; it is based on a sensible reticence.
--Morris L. Ernst




Chapter 11


Severus politely refused a lemon sherbert, tea, biscuits and scones. He wondered, sometimes, if Albus requested these little meetings with people simply as an excuse not to have to eat alone.


"Now, Severus, how are things going with Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy? Any problems?" The Headmaster folded his hands on his desk and gazed at Severus benevolently.


Few things on earth annoyed him more.


Severus scowled. He certainly wasn't going to tell the old busybody about Her breakdown in the potions lab last night. If the omniscient Albus Dumbledore didn't already know about it, he was under no obligation to inform him. "No 'problems' as such, no, but this situation is untenable, Albus, surely you recognize that. Miss Granger is Head Girl; she has better things to do than spend her days trying to resist Mr. Malfoy's heavy handed efforts at seduction. Mr. Malfoy, on his part, should be concentrating on his duties as Head Boy and attempting to conduct himself in a manner which will restore some semblance of respect to the Malfoy name. Instead, they are both the central figures in a melodrama of epic proportions that is completely disrupting their lives - and this school."


Dumbledore frowned. "I am sorry to hear that. I'm afraid things will be getting more complicated in the days ahead, rather than less. Unless I am mistaken, Miss Granger will be receiving more offers of marriage from interested wizards with each passing day. There is little we can do to end this 'melodrama,' as you put it, unless she accepts an offer."


Severus ground his teeth. "I don't see that happening in the near future." Surely That Silly Little Girl was too sensible to fall prey to some celebrity loving stranger or, worse yet, subcumb to Malfoy's pathetic machinations. "There must be some alternative."


"I'm afraid not. The Ministry has made their position quite clear, and now it is up to Miss Granger to make a decision, which will undoubtedly take some time. If I'm not mistaken -" Severus snorted; both men knew the phrase was strictly rhetorical. "- none of her prospective grooms seem to have appealed to our Miss Granger. I fear her standards are quite different from the majority of witches, and she is unlikely to compromise them." Dumbledore twinkled at the younger man over his glasses. "It's a shame you aren't the marrying kind, Severus. The two of you are quite well suited."


Severus produced the expected sneer. "That has to be one of the most insulting things you have ever said to me."


Unbidden, his mind produced an image of Her, comfortably ensconced in one of his easy chairs before the fire, looking up from Her reading to greet him with a smile at the end of a torturous day of beating knowledge into juvenile brains...


"Oh, dear, is that the time? We really must be going or we'll be late for dinner! I'm so glad you made time for this little chat." Severus tried desperately to hold on to his vision only to have it fade, leaving him with nothing but the headmaster's ramblings.


Severus stood. "I won't be going to dinner, thank you. I'm not the least bit hungry. Thanks to some meddling fool's insistence, I spent the entire afternoon in double potions with Slytherin and Gryffindor. With any luck, the pounding in my head may even subside before I get to do it all over again tomorrow. "


Dumbledore ushered Severus out the door. "I'm sure the class will be educational for all, Severus. Remember, I'm always available if you wish to speak with me."


Severus looked at him in barely disguised amazement. Sometimes he really worried about Albus; he seemed to have forgotten that this little tete a tete was all his idea.


Sweeping from the Headmaster's office, Severus headed back to the safety of the dungeon. Lords above and below, how he hated these little 'talks' with the headmaster.



****************************

An hour later, Severus was happily ensconced in front of the fire in his sitting room, tulip glass of cognac in hand. Bringing the glass to his hawk nose, he sniffed deeply and closed his eyes; he had been nursing the bottle of Courvoisier XO for weeks and the thought of this moment had gotten him through the less pleasant parts of his day. He smiled as the scent of caramel, chocolate, and orange wrapped around him.

He rested his head against the leather of his chair, listening to the crackle of the fire. It was this time last year he'd noticed that the highlights in Her hair and eyes were the colour of good cognac. He had a feeling that, like brandy, She would only get better with age. In the last year, She had transformed from a girl to a woman, a force to be reckoned with. Since the final battle, the change had become even more marked.

Severus raised the glass, moving it gently, breathing deeply. The aroma of caramel, chocolate and orange wafted towards him, but an oaky, nutty note was detectable now, giving it a new depth, grounding the scent somehow.

It was fitting that Her eyes and hair were the colour of oak and nuts; there was something remarkably grounded and real about Her. He remembered the look on Her face as they stood in receiving lines and on dais after dais, receiving medals and accolades, just for cheating death.

He could see that She understood how silly it all was.

Lifting the glass, he took a mouthful of cognac. It slid down his throat, rich and smooth, warming his body and spirit.

"Claret is the liquor for boys; port, for men; but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy." Samuel Johnson's words echoed in his mind.

It had taken 20 years and an awful lot of brandy, but he'd finally achieved the status of hero.

A/N: Sorry this isn't longer, but I wanted to get this out ASAP. The next chapter should make everyone (except our beloved potions master, perhaps) happy; I think of it as "Severus Finally Gets a Clue."