Chapter Five

"Wait, the both of you!" Came an abnormally high shout from Molly Weasley.

I sighed heavily and stole a glance at Hermione. "Looks like we're about to go at it again, eh?"

She only nodded, for the Weasley's appeared directly before us.

"Explain..yourselves.." Molly sputtered, shifting a heavy bag that Arthur soon relieved her of from behind, along with the rest of his clan who stood near him, peering at us from behind Molly's plump frame.

"Mrs.Weasley.." Hermione began. "Ron's probably told you.."

"I've heard him, but I'm quite sure I haven't heard it all." She stated.

"Molly...If I may.." I started a bit meekly.

She looked me from head to toe, in apparent disgust. "Go on."

So I told her the whole nine yards, from beginning to end. When I was finished, it wasn't me she was looking at, She was staring at Hermione who stood beside me, head hung.

"That's..." Obviously she couldn't find a word. She didn't even bother finishing.

"Severus...I really thought Ron was mistaken.." Arthur said slowly. "A trusted Professor as yourself being lover to a little girl like Hermione?"

"I'm not little." Hermione said, huffily.

I almost chuckled. She'd sounded so much like a child then, it was humorous. I turned to Arthur. "Hermione is old enough to make her own descisions."

"That may be true." said Arthur. "But what you're doing is illegal. Do you know I could have you in Azkaban for being intimate with a minor?"

I nodded, solemn. "I understand. At the beginning, Hermione and I assesed all the risks, and that being one of them, I was willing to take it, and am to this day."

He ran a hand over his balding head and sighed hollowly. "I just.."

"Do your parents know?" Ron said suddenly. "About you shagging Snape?"

"Ronald Weasley!" Molly scolded.

"No." Hermione said, looking up. "No they don't."

"Maybe we should owl them.." Harry offered, staring Hermione down.

In reply, Hermione looked to her shoes.

"No...No we will not.." Molly said heavily. "We will not speak a word of this to anyone. Understood?"

They all nodded.

"Severus Snape, I hope you understand I'm not doing this for you. Its for Hermione." Spat Molly. "You don't deserve her."

"Yes he does." Hermione whispered, still fixed on her shoes.

Molly opened her mouth to speak, but shook her head and held up her hands, brushing past Hermione and I. They all followed, one by one, and Harry last. He stared at me, almost in a victorious sense. Like he'd won something. Harry Potter won nothing by any means. If it weren't for such a busy scene on the dock, I'd of strangled the boy then and there.

Hermione was still staring downward when they were out of sight, and I could only slip my arm around her, heaving the luggage in the other hand. I nudged her with my shoulder and she looked up at me as we walked.

"Princesses always have their heads up." I offered.

I got a genuine laugh out of her and an arm around my waist in return. "Princess?"

"You're more than a Princess." I replied. "No Princess could ever out shine you."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Severus." She said, turning pink.

"Sure about that?"

And we both looked at eachother and smiled.

---

We waited in the elevator, as it climbed up, floor by floor.

My arms were growing tired of carrying heavy suitcases, and my mind was weary from the days events. I just wanted to sleep, though I knew Hermione probably wouldn't want to. She'd want to go walk the city, see the Eiffel tower. That girl never really seemed to be completley exhausted no matter what. Maybe it was my age catching up with me.

We stepped out of the elevator and walked down the hall, and Hermione slid the key card through the slot on the door of 432 and it opened with a click.

Eagerly, she pushed it open the rest of the way and looked around.

It wasn't as small as I thought it'd be. It was actually rather large. Too large, in my opinon, for just her and I.

The walls were adorned with a light tan color, maybe sepia. I couldn't tell, it was almost pitch dark with the blinds shut.

I felt along the wall and soon flipped a switch, revealing the true creamy color of the room, and the tan shades pulled down over the one large window. The floor was carpeted with a light brown as well, being as otherwise it wouldn't match.

There was a bathroom, stocked full of all the bathing necessities, a spacious closet that would soon be occupied by our clothing, a Queen-sized bed that I frowned upon, being very much used to a king sized bed, and a television set upon a dresser.

I turned to see Hermione sitting on the edge of the bed, looking up at the light on the celing and giving a breathy sigh. "What a day."

"What a day." I repeated after her. "I pity a non-smoker such as yourself in times as such."

"I don't see how you manage." She replied, looking over at me, crossing her hands on her lap. "I wish you would stop."

I bit the side of my lip and sat beside her. "I couldn't if I wanted to."

"Why not?" She insisted.

"Because you drive me to the point of insanity, and if I didn't have nicotene, I would probably of hung myself by now." I elaborated, a bit playful.

She pouted and upon realizing she had not the energy to be playful, she flopped backward, hands on her stomach. "I should phone my mum, shouldn't I?"

I nodded, leaning back, my weight on my arms that rested behind me. "You should."

"I'm so tired though.."

"Well." I began. "Have a rest, Then phone her when you wake up."

"But if I don't phone her now.."

"Look." I said, exhasperated. "I'm not going to argue when you can't seem to make up your mind. Just phone her, Get it over and done with."

She frowned, defeated. "Alright." She reached over and snatched the phone off of the nightstand, Dialing her mother and waiting as it rang. Mouthing 'Nothing' to me, She recorded a simple, 'Hello mum, Just arrived in Paris..' and gave her the number to the hotel, the number of the room, and told her to ring her later on in the evening.

"Better yet in the morning." I interjected.

"Yeah mum, Better off in the morning. Love you." Then she hung up. Shutting her eyes, she pulled a pillow under her head, and blew air between her lips. "I think I'm going to take a nap."

"You do that." I said, standing. "I have some matters I should attend to while you rest."

She perked up almost instantaneously. "Matters of what kind?"

"Well, if I wanted to tell you, I would have by now." I replied. "Just..matters." I assured her.

"Can I come?" She questioned eagerly.

"No, you certainly may not." I answered. "Now rest. I'll be back in a bit."

"Sever-usss..." She mumbled pathetically. "Please?"

I paused and looked at her, stuffing my wallet into my pocket. She did look particularly endearing when she whined. Though the matters I needed to tend to couldn't exactly be tended to in the presence of Hermione. "I'm afraid not. Night love."

With that, I stepped out of the door, locking it with the card key and testing it before I left, and was on my way.

I finally found myself walking along the sidewalks, admiring the late afternoon shadows on everything. It was certainly a lovely place, Paris was, but there was no time for sight seeing with what I had planned for that evening. No time to waste with all I had to purchase, prepare..

As I walked down the busy town sidewalks, Not paying much attention to anything besides the concrete, I knocked into a young woman, catching her by her wrists before she fell.

"God, Sorry there, Wasn't watch.." I found my mouth go dry and my chest constrict.

Slightly taken aback, The young woman put on a tender smile up at me. "Severus.." She said almost inaudible over the noisy clamor of the cars and people chatting around us.

"Riley...Is that you?"