A/N: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Chapter Two—An Invitation
Hermione's head still ached two days after the Christmas party. Whatever Fred and George had added to the eggnog had been strong. She didn't remember much past giving Professor Snape his Christmas present, although Harry assured her that she had led them all in a rousing round of 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.' She tried not to think about it; it hurt too much to think.
Dragging herself to Snape's office, she tried desperately to remember what she had read the previous week without much success. She was never going to another party with the Weasley twins again. Never!
She knocked on Snape's door, grimacing at the sound. He answered, ushering her in. She rummaged through her bag, getting out paper and quill, and started taking notes as he lectured. Once again she cursed the Weasley twins. He was talking about human to animal transformations using potions—the different potions used and their properties as well as comparing the effects of potions versus transfiguration. It was a subject in which she had a great interest, but she was too tired and sick to ask any questions.
When it came time for them to discuss what she had read, she said very little. She prayed he would sense that she was ill and let her go, but it seemed he was oblivious and Hermione was not the type of student who asked to go early.
"That's all," he said finally, dismissing her. Gathering up her books and quills, she was surprised to hear him address her again.
"I wanted to thank you for your Christmas gift Miss Granger," he stammered. He obviously was not accustomed to thanking people.
"You're welcome," she said meekly, feeling uncomfortable and wanting to leave.
"Since it's a dinner for two, I was…I was wondering if you would join me?"
Was he asking her to dinner?
Did people become delirious with hangovers? Hermione didn't know; she never had been one to overindulge in alcohol but she felt sure that hearing things did not come with it. Perhaps she was coming down with the flu. She realized he was waiting for some sort of response.
"Umm, yes that would be nice," she heard herself saying, too sick to think of a plausible excuse. She heard him mention something about next Thursday before she finally escaped his office, making her way back to bed. Damn those Weasley twins—now she not only had a headache but a date with Snape as well.
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Severus had contemplated Hermione Granger's gift the last two days. At first he was repulsed by the idea of having dinner with her. He saw her enough during the week in their tutorial sessions. She drove him crazy with her constant questions, interrupting the carefully prepared lectures he had written and inevitably leading them off-topic.
But as he began to think on it, the more the idea appealed to him. It had been years since he had had dinner with a woman. Being a spy had left him little time for wining and dining women. And then of course there was the slight problem of both his personality and looks which made getting dates near impossible.
Ok, impossible, he admitted to himself.
Except somehow Miss Granger had overcome both and the formidable age difference; he found himself slightly flattered.
He decided he would take Albus' advice and ask her to dinner. If conversation faltered they could discuss Potions and if she started to irritate him he could always hit her with a silencing charm. It was less pathetic than going alone at any rate and he decided to ask her at their next meeting.
She arrived early as usual but she seemed quiet. Not that they engaged in anything as trivial as small talk, but she hadn't asked a single question. He found himself somewhat disappointed. He had rather thought she would be interested in his interdisciplinary comparison but apparently she was not. Oh well, so much the better. Most of Transfiguration was a waste of time in his mind anyway—foolish wand waving. When did you ever need to turn a hedgehog into a pincushion or a turtle into a teacup?
Since he wasn't concentrating on keeping himself from strangling her, he found himself noticing her in other ways. When had she tamed her unruly hair? Was her skin always so pale, her cheeks so rosy?
He had decided to ask her for next Thursday. They didn't have a tutorial on Friday and she rarely came to the lab over the weekend so that gave him three full days to recover from spending extra time with her, and time for her to heal from any hexes he might be forced to throw at her during the course of the meal…in defense of his sanity naturally. There was one moment of suspense when he wasn't sure whether she would accept or decline his invitation.
'Just like a woman to play games,' he thought, but he found himself relieved and a little excited when she had agreed. But then sheer panic set in as he realized what he had gotten himself into. He had a date and not just with anyone but with the insufferable Hermione Granger.