Hermione stared at Severus with an open mouth. Draco Malfoy sent her potion to Snape?
"Why would Draco Malfoy have my potion?" she asked. "And why would he send it to you?"
"I am the Potions Master, in case you have forgotten," he growled. "Malfoy has always asked my expertise on potions questions."
"How could he have gotten it to begin with?" She stood and began pacing. "I made that extender especially for Harry!"
Severus arched an eyebrow as he studied her. "You make a potion for Potter and a few months later, Malfoy has it. It would seem that something befell Potter, or he is in league with Malfoy."
She turned to him, anger in her voice. "How can you even suggest that? Harry would rather die than join Voldemort!"
Severus eyed her coolly, before he responded, "Yes, I suppose you are right." She resumed pacing. "Perhaps there is a spy in the Potions department at the Ministry."
"I didn't tell anyone at the Ministry about this; Harry made me promise. He never said why."
"Didn't you think to ask? Or do you trust the famous Mister Potter more than your own judgment?" he sneered.
"Yes! I would trust Harry Potter with my life!" she answered, a fire burning in her eyes. "If he tells me not to ask, I do not ask. He will tell me when I need to know."
"He will tell you when you need to know? You are breaking Ministry rules by not reporting that potion to Potions Development, but you don't even know why?" Severus scoffed at her. "Who would have imagined? Hermione Granger once again breaks the rules for Harry Potter."
She could take no more. She rounded on him; he was still seated in the armchair by the fire. "And what exactly have you done while he's been out there trying to fight Voldemort?"
Severus rose and faced Hermione, only inches separating them, and he glared with all his might, but she did not back away.
"What. Have. I. Been. Doing," he repeated, each word its own statement. "While you and the Boy Wonder have been running around with your heads up your arses, I served at the mercy of the Dark Lord, suffering from crucio and innumerable broken bones."
"Which is nothing but penitence for past crimes!" she answered hotly. "Nothing you didn't deserve."
After she said it, Hermione knew she had gone too far. His eyes flared, and in his face she saw rage, like nothing she had ever seen. She flinched and took a half-step back, but when she looked back to his eyes, there was nothing but his usual cold demeanor.
"Perhaps you should keep closer tabs on your friends, Miss Granger. It would seem they are not to be trusted," Severus said finally, his voice icy. He then dismissed her with a wave as he walked over to the potion. "I have work to do."
Hermione picked up the rest of the volumes of notes from the desk and headed for the door. Deciding she didn't want to leave things on such a bad note, she stopped beside him at the cauldron and put her hand on his bicep. He ignored her.
"I was wrong to say that," she said quietly. "I know you put your life in danger every time you went to see him. I'm glad you're on my side, Severus."
With that, she quickly moved to the door, but his voice stopped her.
"As soon as you are finished with my notes, inform me so that I might apprise you of what I have been doing the past month," he called without looking up at her.
"Of course," she answered, then fled the room.
As she walked back to her quarters, she knew she had to owl Harry. She didn't want to jump to conclusions about Harry being involved with Death Eaters, but she really needed to hear his side of things. There had to be a rational explanation for Draco Malfoy getting that potion. When she reached her room, she placed the potions volumes on the table and suddenly realized she left her other books in the dungeons. She would have to retrieve them later, because she didn't feel up to facing Snape again.
She found the letter Ron had owled her last night, which included Harry's contact information. She scrawled a quick note, then sealed and addressed the letter to M. Faldco, care of the Hamburg post office. Finished, she went downstairs to owlery and found a volunteer to deliver the message. She returned to her room and tried to focus on Snape's notes and not Harry.
After dinner, Severus sat at the desk in his office, his head in his hands. He had not meant to provoke Hermione, not really. Her observation on his service to Dumbledore had cut him to the bone, but he knew she was right. He was also certain that if Harry Potter's name had not been mentioned, he would have said nothing, but the memory of Potter's fist colliding with his face was still too fresh to be ignored.
He wasn't quite sure what was going on with Malfoy and the potion, but he felt the least he could do for Hermione was to find the letter that Malfoy had sent with the potion; he was sure he had kept it, somewhere. He opened the bottom right drawer of the desk, which had been charmed to hold an entire filing cabinet. He flipped through the labeled files until he found one marked "Personal Correspondence." He withdrew it and laid it open on the desk. He thumbed through various letters, but Draco's letter was absent. He returned the file and found another, this one labeled simply "Potions." He found Malfoy's letter on top of the pile and pulled it out, then returned the file to the drawer.
Standing, Severus picked up the letter and the books that Hermione had left in the dungeons and left his office. He started upstairs, not sure where to look for her first, but as he reached the second floor, a voice stopped him.
"Severus," Albus Dumbledore called from another corridor.
"Headmaster."
"You seem to be in a hurry."
"Albus, you certainly are a master of the obvious."
"Am I correct in guessing you are looking for Professor Granger?" Albus asked with a twinkle.
"I have never understood why you ask questions when you already know the answer," Severus answered curtly, not for the first time irritated with the old man's seeming ability to read minds.
"I think you will find her in the library." Severus nodded in appreciation, then the old wizard added, "I hope it is nothing too serious."
"Of course not," he replied, not sure whether he was telling the Headmaster a lie. "If you will excuse me."
Severus continued to the library, stopping only to threaten Peeves, who had been chasing a pair of first years. He reached the library and found Hermione in the back corner with his journals. He paused and watched her as she read.
She absently brushed back a lock of bushy, brown hair and tucked it behind her ear. The nearby candle flickered, casting shadows across her face. He felt as if he were seeing her for the first time. Since she had returned to Hogwarts, he had never thought of her as anything other than his old student, even though she was now a woman, a beautiful one at that.
Hermione started when she saw him standing there, observing her.
"I did not want to interrupt you," Severus murmured. "You left your books."
"Yes, thank you," she said as she took the books Snape held out.
"I also found Malfoy's letter."
She took the letter and read it quickly. "This is definitely my potion," she said with a sigh. "I owled Harry this afternoon, so hopefully he can shed some light on this."
"Indeed."
"Had you thought about using the extender with the mortalis fallax potion?" Hermione queried.
"I had," he answered as he sat down across from her. "However, many adjustments would have to be made in order to keep the potion viable."
"I suppose I could work with it, see what I can do. I am on the last notebook." She added with a slight smile, "I must say, I am impressed with the depth of your notes."
"It would be foolish to not be so detailed, for anything can affect a potion, as you well know."
"Of course."
They sat for a moment, regarding one another, until Severus stood abruptly.
"I must check on the potion. It should be ready to test tomorrow afternoon, after classes. I would appreciate your presence."
He turned on his heel and stalked out of the library before Hermione could respond. She shook her head, still unable to comprehend the wizard's strange behavior towards her.
That night, after the Hogwarts owl had delivered the message to Hamburg, a hooded figure made his way to the small post office through the torrents of snow. He entered and shook of the snow that had gathered on his cloak and lowered his hood. He approached the counter and the clerk, recognizing him immediately, handed him Hermione's letter. The man did not thank the clerk, but instead opened the letter and scanned it quickly.
"When did this arrive?" he asked with a scowl.
"Just a few hours ago, Mr. Malfoy. Is everything alright?"
Draco Malfoy trained his ice blue eyes on the clerk and scowled again. "No. I need paper and a quill, now."
"Of course," the clerk answered and hurried off to procure the items. Malfoy reread the letter, running his hands through his white blonde hair.
Malfoy has the potion I made for you. He sent it to Snape, and gods know who else. What's going on? I'm getting worried. H
He knew he had taken a risk sending that potion to Snape, but it had to be done. Now Hermione Granger was getting suspicious, and knowing her, she would be unable to resist getting involved in the matter. It was going to be tricky, but Hermione would believe anything Harry said.
The clerk returned with the paper and quill and handed them to Malfoy, who began to write, his penmanship matching Harry's nearly illegible scrawl perfectly.
I know he has it, he lifted it from me when I saw him early summer. Tell you the full story later. Everything is fine, I promise. Tell Ron I'll be at the Burrow for Christmas.
When he was satisfied with the note, he sealed it and addressed it. As he handed it to the clerk, he said, "Make sure this arrives by tomorrow morning."
"Yes, sir, Mr. Malfoy."
But Malfoy was already pulling on his hood and opening the door.
___
A/N:
To those who keep wondering if this is a romance, yes, eventually. The thing about romance is that it takes time, especially when you're dealing with someones as complex as Sev and Hermione. Can't just throw them together -- well, that's not true since that's what happens in my other fic -- but I promise, it's coming. Eventually.
And thank you, THANK YOU to all of the reviews for Ch. 12. They were all uplifting. You may not realize it, but every review does make me feel better about writing. Please, continue to review, even if you don't like it.
For those of you waiting on the update for Subterranean Homesick Potions Master, I'm still working on getting the rating down to 'R' and also fixing a few bugs. That should be up by Sunday. Thanks again!!!