Severus Snape looked at himself in the mirror, trying to fix his collar. The blasted thing didn't seem to want to go straight. Cursing, Severus gave up. What did it matter how he looked. It wasn't as if any one cared.
He was in an extremely disagreeable mood this morning. And he knew he couldn't be in front of his hosts. Albus had spent so much time setting up these lectures for him. The old Headmaster said it would do Severus some good to see the world, to explore a bit. Severus still wasn't quite sure why he agreed to go.
And then what happens? He runs into old pupils his first night there. He hoped beyond hope that he wouldn't have to speak to them. He knew there was no lost love between them.
Severus cast an uneasy look at the contraption that made horribly loud noises this morning. He had just fallen asleep for the first time when a loud beeping noise could be heard. Severus had searched high and low for the noise. He finally found it in a small box that displayed the time. He cast Silencio on the box, and it stopped the infernal noise.
He left the hotel room, making sure he had his key. Again, he wished he could have just stayed at the University. But he had been told that the housing section was very small, that there literally were no extra rooms for visitors.
Severus walked past the elevator. He would not be making the mistake of getting on that again. Over the past few years, he had discovered a phobia of small, enclosed spaces. When he stood on the elevator last night, his heart began racing, and he almost broke out into a cold sweat. He quickly found the stairs after that.
Professor Xu was waiting in the lobby with the other professors. She wore another interesting combination of muggle clothes, a dark green silk shirt with a pair of cargo pants today. Professor Xu looked to be around his own age, most likely her early forties. He caught himself thinking that she had a handsome face.
"Hello!" the professor said happily. "We give you grand tour of our University today!"
Severus nodded. "I'm looking forward to it," he said, trying to sound pleasant.
"Good, good," she said. "Professor Zheng would like to know if you had a good night's sleep?"
"It was fine," Severus lied. "Thank you for asking."
Professor Xu beamed at him. "Good!" she cried. "Lots of walking today. Much to learn!"
Hermione sat in bed, and watched her husband get dressed. He put on a pair of track pants and a T-shirt. She stared at the muscles in his back. Ron started filling out when he first played quidditch. Now that he was in Auror training, his body was beautiful. Hermione would find herself just staring at his form sometimes.
"So what are you going to do today?" Ron asked brightly.
"I'm not sure," Hermione said truthfully. "I might do some shopping. Start buying souvenirs for everyone back home."
Ron sat at the edge of her bed. "Well, whatever you do, try to have some fun. You're in China, for Merlin's sake. Not just anyone gets to be here," he said, grinning.
"I know I'm in China, you prat," Hermione said, as she hit him on the shoulder. "Maybe I'll go to the library. That would be fun."
"Loads," Ron said, rolling his eyes. He glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand. "Time to go, Mione."
Hermione put her hand on his cheek. "Be careful," she said softly. Auror training could be very dangerous at times.
"I always am," Ron told her, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. One moment later, he was out the door.
Hermione sighed. Just what would she do today? This wasn't quite the trip she envisioned. She wished she spoke the language. That would make it much easier.
Determined to do something today, Hermione jumped out of bed and got dressed. Quickly she threw her hair up in a ponytail and was ready to go.
A few moments later, Hermione stepped off of the elevator and into the lobby. She wasn't sure, but she thought she saw Professor Snape greeting a group of Chinese wizards. Hermione decided that she was imagining it.
As she stepped onto the crowded Beijing street, a shiver of fear went down her spine. She had worked so hard to get rid of her fear of large crowds, but it still always came back. Memories started to come forth, but Hermione pushed them aside. She didn't want to remember.
Quickly, Hermione made the decision to go to the University. Beijing had the reputation of having one of the largest libraries in the wizarding world. Hermione felt the familiar feeling she always got when she was going to learn something new. She let the happy feeling wash over her, and quickly started walking.
Fifteen minutes later, Hermione found herself staring at the library in awe. It was the most gorgeous library she had ever seen. Beautiful vaulted ceilings and statues of dragons were all around. The bookcases went all the way to the top. Hermione remembered hearing a rumor about the library. That one could spend their entire lifetime reading all the books in here, and still not discover all of its secrets. Hermione just knew that had to be true.
Hermione quickly went to the information desk. "Excuse me?" she asked politely to the woman behind the desk.
The woman looked at her and shook her head, pointing to her mouth. Hermione took that as a sign that she didn't speak English. The woman then held up one finger, and hurriedly walked away. Hermione hoped that meant she was getting someone to help.
Five minutes the woman was back, accompanied by a male librarian.
"I help you?" he asked.
"Yes, please," Hermione said slowly. "Where's your section on Healing?"
"Heathens?" the man asked, sounding confused.
Hermione shook her head. "Healing. Medicine for the sick."
"Medicine!" the man said triumphantly. "Follow me."
Hermione did as she was told. He took her to a large room. Then he pointed to a spiral staircase. "Up there."
"Thank you," Hermione said, bowing slightly. She started walking up the stairs and was dismayed that every step squeaked loudly. Hermione truly believed that libraries needed quiet. She hated that she was making a racquet.
Finally she found the section she needed. Gazing happily at all her selections, she choose a few and sat down to do some reading.
Severus Snape looked without pleasure at the small Potions lab. 'This was it?' He grunted to himself. His lectures were supposed to have at least three hundred students each. The lab would have to be magically enlarged a great deal.
"May I see your supply cupboards?" he asked, trying his hardest to seem polite.
"Cup?" Professor Xu said, sounding confused. She then pointed towards some shelves that contained small cauldrons and beakers.
Severus shook his head. "Supply cabinets, for storage," he said with a bit of a sneer in his voice.
"Storage," Professor Xu said smiling. "Follow me."
Severus complied and went into a small room. Quickly, Severus started opening the different cupboards and looked around. He had sent them a detailed list of ingredient that he would need for the lectures months ago. He wanted to make sure they had them.
Luckily, they were all organized and ready for tomorrow. Professor Xu ushered him out of the room. Then there was a tour of the quidditch pitch, which Severus could care less about. The Greenhouses were interesting. He knew that Professor Sprout would love to have at least a couple of cuttings from their stock.
Last, but not least, Professor Xu brought him to the library, which was one of the most famous in the wizarding world.
Severus made a note to himself to ask if he could spend some time here later on. He knew he could find plenty of interesting material here. He found himself lingering by their restricted section, which had a great deal of books about the Dark Arts.
He stopped suddenly when he saw Hermione Granger curled up in an overstuffed chair, reading. There must have been ten books at her feet.
Professor Xu chose that moment to call his name, and Granger looked up instantly. Their eyes met.
Granger gave him a courteous nod, and then went back to her book. Severus turned around quickly and went to find his host.
Ron had one hand on Hermione's knee and another holding his drink. Hermione wasn't even trying to look interested in the conversation Ron was having with his fellow trainees. Inside, she was fuming. Why had he bothered asking her to go with him if he was just going to hang out with his new friends?
"Isn't that right, Hermione?" Ron asked, laughing.
That woke Hermione up from her reverie. She smiled. "That's right," she said, hoping she sounded cheerful. She didn't have the slightest clue with what she just agreed. But apparently, she must have said the right thing, because the crowd of Aurors-in-Training all started laughing.
Hermione let herself get lost in her thoughts again. She started people watching, and took a deep breath when Professor Snape came scowling through the door.
She watched with interest as he sat down and the bar and caught the bartender's attention. He looked more casual than he did the night before. Then it dawned on her. He was wearing muggle clothes. Hermione realized that she had never seen her former professor in anything but wizard's clothes.
He was wearing a pair of black slacks with a dark green dress shirt. The sleeves were rolled up. What Hermione found most interesting was his hair. It was tied back in a short ponytail at the nape of his neck.
Hermione nudged Ron and pointed out the professor to him. "He's here again?" Ron hissed.
"I guess so," Hermione said quietly. "Small world."
The conversation at Hermione's table lasted another fifteen minutes. The group then started to settle the bill.
Hermione decided she needed to at least acknowledge that Professor Snape was here. No matter what Ron thought, the man did save his life. Hermione flagged down a near by waitress and told her to send the man at the bar a Jack Daniels. The waitress agreed.
The drink arrived just as the group started standing up from the table. Professor Snape turned around and caught Hermione's eye. He lifted his drink in a silent toast and nodded. He then turned around and took a drag from his cigarette.