Infatuation: Chapter Three
Summary: see previous chapters.
Disclaimer: see previous chapters.
Chapter Three: Liars!
Hermione leant against the wall outside Flitwick's Charms classroom; waiting for lessons to begin for the day, though everyone was still in the Great Hall.
She was fuming about her last row with Severus. He could be such a sometimes. She knew she shouldn't have told him she didn't know if she could trust him, but she knew she couldn't have lied about it; it wouldn't be fair to him. So maybe it was for the best, or maybe it wasn't.
Hermione's head rolled to the side as she heard footsteps sounding from that direction. She hoped it was Professor Flitwick; she seriously needed something to divert her thinking from the subject of one, Severus Snape.
Though in thinking it was Flitwick, she was extremely mistaken.
An attractive, black-haired woman, dressed in a sort of toga/sarong turned around the corner, in what seemed to be some kind of fighting boots. A smirk played across her lips as she saw Hermione.
"Ah, Miss. Gran-ger, I haff been lookin' for you," she said, her voice heavily accented.
Hermione took a step back from the advancing figure. "Can I help you?" she asked, her hands raised defensively. She didn't like the look on her face.
"I am Miriska, ser'ant of Lord Snape," she said, still walking forward menacingly. Her hand seemed to be holding something behind her back as she advanced. "You haff no been nice to my mas'er. He has no been he-self la'ely. 'Dis is your faul'."
Hermione's eyes widened. What on Earth was happening? Did Severus hate her so much that he wanted her... taken care of? There was no way. But what other explanation was there.
Suddenly, Miriska pounced. Catching Hermione against the wall, a very sharp-looking dagger at her thoat. The smirk still in place.
"You are to lea'e my mas'er a-wone. He is no happy. You is to apolo'ise to 'im."
Hermione's eyes narrowed, despite her current inferiority. "I will certainly not apologise. I have nothing to be sorry for. You tell your master that I am waiting for his apology."
Miriska's knife pressed against Hermione's skin as she bared her teeth angrily. "You is no to talk of my mas'er so!"
Hermione gasped as Miriska's knife pierced her skin slightly.
"I could kill you now," Miriska informed her. "With jus' one s'roke of my knife."
Hermione's breath caught in her throat. Was she about to die?
All of a sudden, footsteps came from around the corner, though Miriska did not seem to notice as her eyes bored into Hermione's with such intensity Hermione didn't seem able to tear hers away. But the footsteps were there, they were getting closer.
Then there came a halt in the steps, and a flash of light sounded before Hermione felt herself slipping down the wall into a small pile against the wall.
The soft call of... "Hermione," was hear to her before she slumped into strong arms.
"...don't know what happened?"
"She had her pinned against the wall, with a knife."
"So you attacked her!"
"Severus, you can't let your... creatures... roam around the castle. Hermione could have been seriously hurt!"
"Seriously hurt! You've killed my last Junei! And you can talk, werewolf."
"Don't even go there, Severus. Plus, she was going to kill a student!"
"You don't know that!"
"You can't just kill magical creatures, Lupin!"
"I am authorised to do as I wish if it is threatening the safety of a fellow witch or wizard!"
"I've had enough of this!"
The sound of angry footsteps left the room.
A sigh was heard before the sound of a chair being drawn closer to her bed was heard.
Hermione lay on a comfortable bed, she figured it to be one belonging to the Hospital Wing. Her eyes slowly opened and she looked up into the face of Remus Lupin.
Remus was looking sadly down on her. "How are you?" he asked, taking her hand.
Hermione forced a weak smile. "Was that Sev-Professor Snape?" she asked, causing Remus to raise an eyebrow.
"You were about to call him Severus?"
Hermione shook her head quickly, which wasn't exactly ideal at this point in time. Her head pounded at the sudden movement.
"Yes, you were!" Remus stood up, moving away slightly. "Why were going going to call him Severus?"
Hermione sat up quickly; a little too quickly. Her head swam. "I wasn't. It... I..." she looked at him, defeated. "We... We, Severus and I, were seeing each other?"
Remus stepped back again. "I knew it! I knew there was a reason for him trying to talk me out of seeing you. You're with him!"
"Remus! No! We were together. It's over now. His... servant had just tried to kill me."
Remus eyes narrowed now. "Hermione, why didn't you tell me? You lied to me! You were with another man!"
"I... I couldn't. You meant so much to me and..." Hermione fumbled over her words as she looked pleadingly into Remus' eyes. "You hate me, don't you?"
Remus took a final step backwards before turning on his heel and leaving the infirmary; saying nothing and leaving Hermione with a million of her worst fears.
Severus waited outside the Hospital Wing; waiting for Lupin to leave. He knew their friendship was nearing its breaking point, and Hermione was going to push it over the edge.
He couldn't believe Lupin had killed Miriska, his last Junei; his last warrior. What was he going to do for his spy now? But Miriska has deserved to die. She had almost killed Hermione. What would he have done then?
That he didn't even want to think about.
Sure, he was angry with Hermione. But that didn't mean he didn't love her anymore. It was just angry love.
Well, more like hurt love now. They couldn't see each other without having an argument over anything. And she thought that he considered her a child.
If he considered her a child would he be with her? Would he make love to her? Would he be so infautated?
No, he wouldn't. She was a woman, a young woman, but a woman at that.
And he loved her. He just had to learn how to admit it to her besides himself.
At that moment, Lupin walked out of the infirmary and in the opposite direction; towards his office.
Severus took his opportunity and entered to seek out Hermione again.
Hermione leant against the headboard of her bed, staring up at the ceiling.
"Hermione?" he asked softly, standing at the foot of her bed. Hermione looked towards him, a soft smile came across her face.
"Severus... I'm..."
Severus walked up to her side, placing a finger over her lips. "No, I need to talk to you."
Hermione closed her mouth and blinked at him as he took a seat and took her hands in his.
"I'm really sorry for how I acted this morning. I... I shouldn't have lied. I said I didn't love you. But... But I do, Hermione. I never meant for this to happen to you. Miriska, she... she just went out of control, I couldn't stop her. She didn't hurt you, did she?"
Hermione's hand went to he throat, there was a long, shallow cut across her throat.
Severus' eyes widened as his fingers reached up to touch it. Hermione pulled away from his touch. Her eyes traveled down to her bed sheets.
"Today... It was a hard day," she said, taking one of his hands as he had done to her. "I don't want to think about it. I just want to know one thing."
Severus nodded as if to ask what it was.
"If you've lied to me before, how do I know this time you're not lying?"
"Tell me is this is a lie?" Severus said before leaning forward and capturing her lips with his own. Moving his hand up to caress her cheek as his lips moved against her own.
There was a gasp from behind them as what sounded like something ceramic smashed against the floor. "Hermione and... Snape?" a voice gasped.
Relax people; it's not the end of Hermione and Remus. I just need him out of the picture for a chapter or so. I need to concentrate on Hermione and Severus.
So... who do you think gasped behind them? Virtual cookies for the person who guesses it right.
Until next chapter...
