Disclaimer: As if!
AN: Thank you for the reviews! It really makes my day when I get one. Those of you hoping for more silliness ala the last part will be disappointed in this one. My muse is rarely in such a frivolous mood, and never holds it long. Sorry.
Part IX: Vengeance to Circe
1.
After a week's vacation to celebrate the demise of Lord Doohicky, life at Hogwarts slowly got back to normal; Hermione's schedule returned to pre-battle conditions.
The first evening back, Snape knocked on her door. When she opened it, she couldn't help but smile.
"You know," Snape purred, after parting from her lips, "I think I came up with a most suitable revenge for your grandmother."
"Do tell," she encouraged.
"Circe wants us to be happy together, yes?"
"Oui," Hermione agreed.
"Well, for revenge, all we need to do is act miserable."
A smile crept across Hermione's face. "Excellent!" she said.
2.
They spent their date ensconced in her room, plotting an outline for revenge. In private they could revel in each other (as much as Snape's honor would allow), but in public they would act as if nothing would please them more than to cause grievous harm to the other.
They decided to end the date with a loud fight, staged so everyone, but especially Circe, would hear.
"You miserable wanker!" Hermione screamed.
"Insufferable know-it-all!" Snape replied harshly, as he exited hastily. Pity for Hermione soared as their public kiss that night left no one in doubt of their mutual distaste.
3.
On their next scheduled date they made their way to Hogsmeade with as little amiability as possible. Snape strode forward with such speed that Hermione had to sprint to keep up. Only when they reached Le Cuisinart, the local French bistro, did Snape stop for her.
Dinner was actually enjoyable. Though they kept the vicious banter up, they played footsie under the long tablecloth. The most difficult part of the entire date was keeping from laughing at their silly game.
Snape waited at Hermione's door for several minutes before she arrived when coming back.
"Sorry," he muttered under his breath.
4.
They privately rejoiced that it was raining hard on the evening of their next date. They took the opportunity to seclude themselves in Hermione's room and whisper sweet nothings in each other's ears.
They didn't dare cast an imperturbable charm, lest Circe suspect their hate was an act, so they kept their voices down, and bodies close, to give the impression of silence.
Snape was musing that he didn't mind the arrangement at all as he nuzzled Hermione's ear and fondled her bum. Whenever she got close to laughing he had the excuse of muffling the noise by kissing her.
5.
After their last date's heated encounter, both had mixed feelings about making the next date an outing. Both wanted to continue where they left off in private but at the same time, both knew the temptation to cross the line they had already stretched was growing. So they resigned themselves to their public personas, and tried to relish the other's acting skills.
As they ate, Hermione came up with an idea. Testing the theory she stared at Snape balefully and thought at him, "Could we communicate through legilimancy if I knew it?"
Snape sneered back, but nodded his head fractionally.
6.
Neither could wait for their next date, though supposedly little snogging would be involved. Snape entered her quarters and dropped his displeased face as soon as the door closed.
"You, my dear, are brilliant," he exclaimed, as he made up for their last good night kiss.
"I'm only brilliant if I can learn it," she replied, then kissed him back rather passionately.
Snape laughed at her remark, making her look at him with real anger in her eyes.
"As if you couldn't learn anything you put your mind to," he said, smoothing away her anger with another kiss or two.
7.
They didn't leave much time for lessons, but Snape had brought Hermione a book on the theory, knowing she would find it useful.
By the end of her first lesson, she was barely able to enter his mind, which he laid bare just for her. The memory he left for her to find made her smile.
"Our first kiss wasn't terribly romantic, was it?" she asked.
"I think not," he replied, thinking for a moment. "But then it makes it eminently suitable, for I am not a romantic man."
Hermione shrugged at his whispered response. "I guess," she replied cagily.
8.
Circe watched with growing alarm as the couple parted that night with obvious dislike. She couldn't understand where everything went wrong, but was determined to find out what the matter was.
"Hermione, dear," she said softly the next day, "are your dates with Severus still uncomfortable?"
Hermione watched her Grandmother's face, which was unusually worried. "They're worse than ever before," she replied with a straight face.
Circe frowned, then looked down in thought. Hermione felt a momentary pang of guilt as she watched her grandmother's face cloud over.
"Well, I'll see what Severus has to say for himself," she said.
9.
Circe found Snape humming in his office, and decided to observe him a little before confronting him. Casting a quick disillusionment charm, she walked in to see what he was doing.
He was stirring a cauldron full of a shimmering, violet fluid that smelled of honeysuckle and grass. She looked at him in astonishment as she recognized the potion, and smiled as he hummed on, oblivious to her presence.
As she left the office she recognized the tune he was humming. She retreated to an empty classroom to think about how to proceed. Obviously, things were not as they seemed.