Chapter 10: The Dumbledore scare. (No evil twist just yet :P)
So far: (Last chapter only from now on)
Harry and Ron find out about Ginny and Draco. They confront her and Hermione sticks up for her. They let it rest for a while, until exams are over (they are over pretty fast because of lack of events) and once again the rumour queens get to work, spreading the news around the school. By breakfast everyone knows and all eyes are on Ginny. When Draco enters the Great Hall he is met with the horrible surprise of everyone knowing. The Slytherins wont let him sit at his table and Hermione offers for him to sit with them (gasps from everyone in the hall). He does (more gasps).
Later, Hermione dares to tell him her secret knowing he could tell no one because no one would talk to him. She then goes to visit Severus in his classroom, having not seen him for a week or so.
"We have to talk," she sighed. It was Severus' turn to dread what she would say next. He looked down at the mass of curls on her head that pressed against his heart. He frowned in worry and tightened his grip on her. She could not have decided to dump him, a voice said in his mind, she had just kissed him and been scared when he had teased her a moment before.
Yet he still worried.
"Maybe we should sit in my study?" she nodded into his robes but hesitated before letting go of him. He felt so good to hold. She let her hands linger on his shoulders a moment before she dropped them. He was so much taller than her and his figure loomed over her, imposing and threatening.
She licked her lips and watched him brush past her over to the storeroom, trailing close behind. She stuck to his shadow, preferring to be as close to him as she could.
He stopped before the door of the storeroom and Hermione waited as he unlocked it and opened it. He stepped aside to let her walk in first and once she was inside he shut the door behind him.
He turned and stayed behind Hermione as she crossed the narrow, dark room lined with wide shelves. She felt a little edgy but the rhythmic and sweeping strides of Severus behind her comforted her some.
She looked over at the outline that was Severus Snape. She sighed softly so that he could not hear. Then, tearing her eyes away from him as he halted and stood over her shoulder, she pushed the tall black door open. It creaked a little and once she stepped inside the room the fire flared up, filling the room with its orange glow.
She suddenly realized she was cold, despite the warm weather outside. She felt the tiny hairs on her neck prickle up. Severus did not notice, as he was used to the atmosphere of the dungeons. He brushed past her once more and motioned for her to sit in one of his chairs but occupied his favourite before Hermione could steal it once more.
She smirked a little and chose to walk in a relaxed pace over to him. His eyes followed her every movement and she knew that no one could stare in the calculating way he did. She was sure that he could read her as easily as the pages of a book, at least was that what it appeared.
She sat down in the tall, high-backed green chair, twisting in it so that she could face him better. Now she returned his captivating gaze, trying the smother her chill.
"Well...?" his voice quiet but demanding. "You wanted to talk?"
"That's the thing," she sighed, leaning back into the chair. "We haven't once talked." He raised a black brow. "I don't know that much about you other than what I've observed in classes..." Severus straightened stiffly, as if bracing himself for a bombshell. "I want to be with you, I know that too, but I worry that... I worry..." she trailed off not knowing how exactly to say what she felt.
Severus relaxed, although not visibly, and understanding was now starting to dawn on him. He was even able to guess she was about to say next.
"You worry that all we have is... promise?" he asked as she lowered her eyes. She bent her head and nodded, her curls coming over her face and anxious features. He smirked a little. "That is perfectly understandable," he stated blankly and in an odd way it reassured her. "We have, like you said, not ever properly talked."
She lifted her head once more. Once again he was faced with her soft, chocolate brown eyes. They had an effect on him he made sure she was unaware of. They made his nerves tingle all throughout his body.
"But I know it's not like we can force it, can we?" she added. He nodded.
"You're quite right," he said then paused to think, "There is the Hogsmead weekend coming up soon..." she noted a little uncertainty in his voice and she considered it sweet. "And I was wondering if you might be able to slip away and join me for the day?" She had not been expecting that.
There was a deafening silence in which he grew more and more nervous with anticipation of her reply. He had assumed she would say yes but as she simply looked at him with her eyes that knocked some of the sharp edge out of his own stare, he dreaded her response might be a rejection.
"Of course I can," she said eventually. A small smirk escaped him and she grinned back at him. The fact that he tensed at the thought of rejection was, to Hermione, adorable in its own right. She wished she could reach over the chair and hold him but the arms of them held her back and she suddenly despised the chairs as she never had before.
She put a hand into the inner pocket of her robes and immediately found her wand. When she pulled it out Severus tensed sharply. His kept a cautious eye on her every move.
"What are planning on doing this time?" he said, not taking his eyes off of the wand. She smirked widely at his reaction.
"These chairs are starting to irritate me. So stiff... and I want to be closer to you..." his posture softened somewhat. She pointed her wand at his chair and in a moment, in place of their two seats, there was a long dark red leather couch taking up the space of the room.
Severus eyed the color with distaste, "Did it have to be red?" he sneered. She grinned again and shuffled up closer to him. Once her leg was touching his she felt she was sufficiently close and stopped.
"Much better," she sighed, Severus just watched her carefully as she put the wand away. "So... How much do you know of the goings on from breakfast this morning?" she did not need to look at him, instead choosing to bury herself in his Victorian gothic clothes. He still felt a little nervous at her touch but did not let it show.
"I can guess, as most other staff members have, that, from the display this morning, Miss Weasley and Mr Malfoy are romantically involved. Correct?" Hermione nodded as she slipped her arms around his waist as well, no longer feeling so cold. "I was not alone in being shocked by your actions... and Mr Malfoy's too for that matter..." Hermione smirked against him. She was only half listening, the other half was thinking about how nice he smelt like musk with a touch of sandalwood.
"Mm... that effect was intended..." she mumbled against him. He looked down at her clinging to him and could not help feel a little odd. How strangely things had turned out. He could not see her eyes for the curls but that was probably for the better. They had the ability to weaken him.
"Call me crazy, but," he started sarcastically, without sting. "I was under the strong impression, as was everyone else for that matter, that you disliked Mr Malfoy?" Hermione snorted but the sound was caught by the thick black material.
"Of course I did... I am unsure whether I still do anymore, though," she said, leaning slightly away from him to be heard better, "what with what's been happening these days..."
"I did not think it possible to drop such a long term hatred such as that," he raised his eyebrow and Hermione frowned and looked away.
"Neither did I," she sounded sad, he realized and frowned too. "But things change..." He picked up her bitter vibe.
"You wish for things to return to the way they once were?" he asked it with no show of his anxiety. Hermione did not think that he was talking about them and nodded solemnly into his chest. He felt his heart sink. "It can be arranged..." this time he could not help the thin trace of disappointment. He was unwilling to let her go so easily.
Hermione jerked upright with surprise, a look of pure horror and regret on her face. "No, no!" she gasped, looking at him straight in the eye, "That's not what I meant! I was talking about Ginny and Draco!" The weight on his heart lifted. "Why would you even think such a thing?" She leaned against him once more, feeling a little cold again.
"About a million things," he sighed and Hermione felt his chest rise and fall with it. "It is still a wonder to me that..." he hesitated, "...that of all the people to choose from that I was even considered." Hermione felt as if a knife had gone through her heart, he was so insecure. She squeezed him tightly.
"It is still a wonder to me that no one else got to you before I did," she said as she listened to the rhythmic beating of his heart. "But why would I settle for anyone else? I was afraid for the longest time that you would never be aware of what I felt... that I was beneath you..."
He scowled. "Whatever gave you the impression you were beneath me?" there was a protective bite to his voice as if he would hunt down the source of such thoughts.
"You."
"Oh..." Hermione stifled a giggle. If had seemed he had forgotten all his snide remarks he had constantly shot her with throughout the years. "Well..." his tone was apologetic, "You must excuse my behaviour. I had automatically labelled you as a friend of Potter. I am aware that that is very closed minded of myself but then I have never claimed to have an open mind." Hermione nodded and twisted her head up to look at him.
"I don't need an apology, nor do I wish for one. Your actions were perfectly understandable," she looked up into his eyes and he could tell all was already forgiven. He let himself focus on the softness of her wide eyes. "I never really took the insult "insufferable know-it-all" seriously anyway..." he looked slightly caught by surprise.
"I am glad," he said, recovering fast, "As you probably have guessed, I could find no sufficient fault and resorted to twisting your intelligence to appear a negative thing when it is most assuredly not." She felt the compliment he implied and smiled softly at him.
"Thank you," she concealed her brown eyes and features once again in his robes. He noticed how her touch was soothing and comfortable and put his arm around her in return.
"But..." she remembered their original topic that they had been sidetracked from, "How bad do you think it will be if people find out about us?" Severus' black eyes clouded. This was not the sort of thing he enjoyed considering but he had to.
"It would be far worse than what you saw today," he said reluctantly with a returning bitterness, "They would not leave us alone for maybe months and it may even find its way into the newspaper because, unlike Miss Weasley and Mr Malfoy, I am still your professor and you are still my student." Hermione felt him shudder a little. She gripped him closer.
"Not for much longer," she reassured him. He nodded and watched the flames of the fire in front of them flicker, spreading its light around the room.
There was a silence as they just sat together on the maroon leather couch. Hermione snuggled into his robes and Severus kept his arm around her as he watched the fire crackle. It was a cosy atmosphere if it had not been for the concentrated frown on his face, shadowed by his long black hair.
Hermione was on her way back to the common room. She didn't think that now, after her visit, the glowers of her housemates would make the slightest dent on her happiness. They had had a successful conversation from which Hermione felt she had extracted more information about him. That was what she had been nervous about but now any worries were put to rest.
She was at the bottom of the steps that led up the portrait of the fat lady where she was greeted by the by the irritated glower of Draco Malfoy. She was startled back to reality.
"What kept you?" he snapped. Hermione bit her lip. She had totally forgotten that she had told Draco to wait for her. She looked up at him with false guilt. He frowned "I take that back. I don't want to know," he pulled an appalled face at the small smirk that spread across Hermione's lips, growing slowly.
"Yes, maybe you don't," she said mysteriously. She enjoyed the abhorrence in his features as she toyed with his imagination.
"Eugh," he stuck out his tongue. He didn't dare say more because of what she was about to do to help him. She smiled broadly and innocently at him, and he sneered right back.
She started walking up the steps and Draco was behind her quickly. His growing apprehension was blatant.
"I'm not so sure about this..." he started nervously as they stopped in front of the fat lady. The portrait eyed Hermione then Draco curiously. Her utter distaste at the fact she was perhaps going to have to let in an intruder was apparent in the way she ruffled herself.
"Nonsense!" Hermione said brightly. "Tomato Salad." She directed the password at the fat lady. She sent a reproachful look at Draco and offered her the chance to change her mind.
"Are you sure about that," she said eying Malfoy incredulously as she did.
"Yes," she said stubbornly. The portrait swung open slowly and Hermione crawled through first, deciding it was the better way to go about things. She looked over her shoulder to make sure that the portrait did not close before he had a chance to get in.
Once she stepped out on the other side she was greeted by three smiles from Harry, Ron and Ginny who had decided to emerge finally while she had been gone. She was also met by a wave of icy glances from everyone else but no one spoke.
Harry looked like he was about to say hello but when, a moment behind her, Malfoy stepped into the room his jaw dropped to the floor. Everyone else's jaws dropped too and there were several shrieks of surprise from the stunned crowd.
"H-Hermione..." Harry spluttered. "Are you out of your mind!" Ginny was sitting silently staring at Draco who stared back and Hermione knew they were ignoring the looks they were receiving.
Lavender stood up from one of the chairs and pointed an accusing finger at him. "There's a SLYTHERIN," she screeched, "in our common room!" and although she was merely stating the obvious it seemed to bring people back to the realisation that Malfoy, worst enemy of the Gryffindors (other than the Slytherin head of house) was now standing in their private space where they were supposed to be safe from him.
"HERMIONE!" yelled Dean, next to a speechless Seamus. "Did you let him in?!" The scattered glances that were on Draco, Ginny all directed at her suddenly and the whisperings subsided as people waited for her explanation. All the stinging eyes, sharp like daggers, did not daunt her in the slightest.
"Yes I did," she said plainly and there were collective gasps. "His own house has turned on him. He has nowhere else to go and since he is involved with a Gryffindor I see no harm in it," her voice now took on a rallying tone, "And as Gryffindors, I think it is our place to be the nobler and accept Malfoy's presence amongst us."
There was a buzz of mutterings that filled the air like bees.
"But how can we forget the things he's done to us?" Neville piped up from the back. He stood, like Lavender and there was a defiant and confident glint in his eyes that Draco had not seen before. There were several mumbled agreements. Draco looked Neville up and down with no hint of malice but none of apology either.
"Because he's changed," replied Hermione patiently. "And there are things about his personality we have obviously been unaware of, otherwise why would our Ginny," she gestured at Ginny who sent a horrified look at Hermione for dragging her into her speech. "see fit to date him? Think about it."
There was more mutterings and cautious glances at Draco and Hermione. While they talked Hermione decided to sit down with Harry and Ron. Draco cast an anxious look at the room before slowly, hesitantly taking a seat next to Ginny while Harry and Ron watched his every move, unblinking. When he sat down he saw their discomfort.
"Hermione..." gaped Ron, "Is Malfoy really sitting in front of me? Or am I going stark raving mad?" Hermione gave him an irritated look.
"Of course he's in front of you Ron," she said tersely as she reached for her book on the table next to their chess set. "Get over it."
"Get over it?! Hermione..." he said faintly. "This is not right..." He and Harry winced as Draco leaned over and kissed Ginny briefly on the lips. "I can't believe you just kissed my sister!" he snapped at Draco who looked up at Ron sarcastically.
"Now do you?" he said as he leant over again and gave her a much more lingering kiss. Harry and Ron both looked away in horror and Hermione chuckled. She knew the whole room was watching and she thought, although it would be an unwelcome sight to many, it would help them to accept him.
"Just don't try anything funny, Malfoy. You're on uncharted turf..." warned Harry once he dared to look back and Draco nodded to show that he meant no hostility.
She opened her book with a smirk to the page she had left it at. Sliding a finger under the next page to make it quicker to turn, she wished she could see Severus again but it would look suspicious if she left once more to go to the library while she had her own book in her hands.
She was also amazed by the fact no one took any further action after that and Draco was silently permitted to join them.
That lunch Draco walked down the Great Hall with them. Harry and Ron kept constantly muttering about how strange it all was. Hermione was thrilled that she had been the one to help Ginny with getting others to accept their relationship. Although she knew it was odd, she was too busy getting others to accept it that she did not have time to think about it for herself.
They walked over to the Gryffindor table and the whole hall stared as they had that morning, now equally blaming Harry and Ron as well and Ginny and her.
They managed to pretend to be ignorant of their eyes and all sat down together.
Hermione had only just started helping herself to food when she heard the sweeping steps and flutter of a heavy cloak that she recognised well. She paused and when the footsteps stopped right behind her, she thought it appropriate to turn and look. Severus was standing between the Slytherin and Gryffindor table at her back, tall and brooding. His robes hung down from his folded arms and there was a condemning hint to his black eyes that bored into her.
She wondered if was more than for appearances alone and frowned in reply. She so wanted to run up to him and kiss him but kept the glower for the sake of her privacy.
"Miss Granger, a word," he purred dangerously. She wavered a moment before following his direct order. She cast a confused look at Harry and Ron but not Draco and Ginny who, like Hermione, suspected he just wanted to talk with her. She got up and stepped over the bench.
In a moment he swivelled and was striding out of the hall and she hurried to keep up, almost tripping over her feet at one point.
Once they were well out of sight of prying eyes and walking together alone down the hall she finally spoke.
"What's going on, Severus?" She saw the look in his eye when she said his first name however he chose to shush her.
"Shh. You don't know who's listening," he said quietly then raised his voice once more. "The headmaster wants to talk to you and saw fit to request that I get you." Hermione frowned.
"Does he know then?" she said apprehensively. She saw her feelings reflected in his features.
"I don't know..." he said with a hint of tenseness. But he straightened his back a second later as if he had just revealed a weakness. Hermione looked over at him walking beside her with his robes flowing out behind him as a result of striding. They suited his character so well, plus they looked great on him, she thought to herself.
"You can't lose you job over this can you? I'm almost a graduate," she knew this is what had been eating away at him.
"But you are still a student at this present time and if he sees fit he may well choose to release me..." he retorted and Hermione let the sting wash over her. His frustration was understandable.
"He can't," she attempted to reassure him, "he needs you." His black gaze fixed on her.
"For the order you mean?" he kept his voice as quiet as possible.
"Yes," she nodded, also keeping her voice low.
"He does not need to keep me at the school for my assistance. However he may consider it important to have as many of us at Hogwarts as possible."
She nodded. So it could go either way... She began to blame herself. It was her fault. She was the one who had got the crazy crush in the first place and kissed him, given that he could not remember that kiss until after their proper kiss. But that had to be her fault too somehow and she searched for a wild reason to make it so.
There was a long depressing silence that spread out between them making it seem that they were further apart than they actually were. And yet, being in his presence alone was enough to make her feel better. She could not explain it.
When they finally arrived at the gargoyle that guarded his office Hermione wished that they would both keep walking together.
"Strawberry Bonbons," he said with a strong look of distaste at the password. Hermione could not hold back the smirk at his expression.
The gargoyle came to life and leapt aside for them to go up the moving staircase. Severus (always the gentleman) stepped aside for her to go in first. She did so and waited until he was once more at her side before getting on one of the steps with him.
They stood close together and Hermione again was surprised to find that she needed to restrain herself from leaning over and holding him.
Dumbledore's office door came into sight and at the same time they both stepped off of the staircase and Severus moved ahead to knock. He rapped on the door thrice loudly and moved his hand down to the door handle. He pushed opened the door and once more let Hermione in first.
Hermione walked into the round office lined with curious objects. She didn't spend too much time glancing around it however, she was too worried. She looked over at the desk at the back of the room and Dumbledore sat behind it.
His bright crystal blue eyes watched her intently as she tentatively walked over to him. For a moment she thought she saw his silver beard twitch as a sign he may have just smiled at her, but then she could not have been sure. She shot him a nervous look but he appeared not have seen it.
Once Severus closed the door he swept past her up to the desk. Dumbledore gestured he should sit in one of the two chairs opposite him. He cast a look over at her that she caught before he slumped into the soft armchair.
She reached the armchair and Dumbledore waved his hand again for her to sit as well. She did and glanced over at Severus before looking back at Dumbledore with a look of panic.
He put his hand into his pocket while they both stared silently at him as he pulled out his wand.
"Since you are both missing your precious lunch, my fault, then I was thinking that we should all dine together..." he pointed his wand at a small empty space on the desk and immediately there was a plate full of sandwiches.
He looked at them expectantly but they were both staring back at him blankly as if unsure what to do next. "Eat, eat!" he urged and Hermione glanced at Severus again before slowly taking a white bread cheese sandwich. He took one after her and Dumbledore smiled, choosing not to take any for himself.
While Hermione ate her sandwich quickly because she was so hungry, Severus chose to hold his until the old codger in front of him took one himself. He did not trust that barmy old man's tricks.
But his worry was unfounded since a second later he helped himself to some as well. He looked down at the sandwich in his hand and did not much feel like eating it. But under the gaze of the over-cheerful twinkle that was Dumbledore he forced it down.
Once Hermione and Dumbledore had had their thirds and fourths and were sufficiently filled, Albus made the plate disappear and the temporary relaxed atmosphere was once again replaced by the stress.
"Now Hermione," she was relieved to find that the twinkle remained in his eyes when his tone became more official. "I have become aware of certain happenings in Hogwarts that are apparently as a result of your actions-"
Severus cut him off with a frown. "Entirely her fault, headmaster?" he did not want her to take the blame alone for what he felt should be his punishment. Dumbledore smiled a little at his anxiety. The twinkle seemed to become far more evident.
"Well," he said as if seriously considering his last phrase, "maybe Mr Malfoy was to be held a little responsible but when given the password to the Gryffindor common room it becomes hard to resist temptations..." Severus frowned utterly befuddled. A moment later it was obvious he realized that he was not referring to him and Hermione being an item. His frown deepened.
"You gave Malfoy the password to the Gryffindor common room?" he turned to face her with a raised brow. Hermione smiled nervously at him. "Why would you do that?"
"He had nowhere else to go..." she mumbled, there was a good portion of pity that came with the guilt in her tone, "The Slytherins were making life hell for him in his common room so he was just wandering the halls... He wanted to see Ginny too..." She turned to look at Dumbledore sitting behind his desk with his fingers neatly entwined together. "I did not stop to think about the consequences..."
She bowed her head but kept her eyes on him to see his reaction and was relieved to be greeted with benevolence in his eyes. She raised her head a little.
"Yes, it was predictable that we would arrive at the subject of Miss Weasley and Mr Malfoy being together... after all it is all the whole school talks of," was Dumbledore smirking? "Under normal circumstances this would be a grave offence with an equally grave punishment..." Hermione held her breath. "But seeing as you were acting out of kindness instead of deliberately breaking rules, I see no reason why we should not do what we can to bend the rules..." Hermione let out her breath in one rush. All was well once more.
"So where will Draco sleep tonight?" she asked, still thinking in her friend's boyfriend's best interests.
"I think," now there was blatant mischief in his eyes, "that, seeing as how comfortable he is amongst the Gryffindors, that we might be able to put a temporary bed in the boys' dormitory." Hermione gaped then shut her mouth with a snap. They were not going to like this.
"But sir-" she started hurriedly.
"No buts, Miss Granger," he waggled a finger at her, "I'm sure that he will get along fine with the other habitants of the room..." she knew that he knew and just sat there watching him with wide eyes like a fish out of water.
"So I can go?" she wanted to escape. Dumbledore dragged out the space between her question and his reply. She just watched him intently. Finally he nodded slowly.
"Yes you may," he started, turning to Severus, "You as well, Severus." He nodded shortly at him and stood. Hermione pushed herself up from the chair to stand beside him. Severus was starting to wonder exactly why he had needed to stay with them for that. He shook it off. Hermione was standing close to him once more and the heat and sweet smell of her hair was enough to weaken him.
They both started for the door. Severus got there first and opened it for her to go through when Dumbledore spoke.
"Be careful, both of you, until Graduation," he called after them cryptically. Hermione froze but did not turn to look at him. She took a deep breath and continued to leave. Severus shot him a bewildered look before exiting and shutting the door behind them both.
"What was that?" she looked up at the tall brooding characteristics of Severus. He briefly met her eyes and then ripped them away.
"The old codger knows..." he sighed. Hermione gasped, raising her hands as though she was going to cover her mouth then changed her mind.
"How?!" she seemed surprised by Dumbledore's peculiar ability. He on the other hand was just relieved that he was going to leave them be. That was more than he could have hoped for.
"I have no idea but that is simply what he does. He knows everything that happens in Hogwarts," he could feel he was detaching himself a little from her but that was just his way of dealing with his brush with unemployment.
"Hmm..." she frowned at the floor. A moment later she buried her face in her hands, catching Severus totally off guard. He could not see whether or not she was crying but strongly suspected she was. For an uncomfortable moment he just watched her, at a loss for what to do. Then he turned and pulled her against him.
Her arms were crushed a little but she did not care. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, wondering what exactly he could say. She was shaking a little in his secure hold. Her quivering frame sent shock waves of realization through his body.
They reached the bottom of the stairs and where the stairs stopped moving they stood still, silent. His black robes cloaked her and made her feel sheltered. He was keeping a careful eye on the exit to be prepared for anyone coming in. But no one did.
When after a minute or so she still had not stopped quaking in his arms he stroked the full length of her back in an attempt to calm her. She shivered at the soft touch and slowly she relaxed, but he did not let go.
When she sighed against him as a sign she was now no longer sobbing, he pushed her back a little to look her straight in the eye. She dragged her gaze up to meet his and he saw her russet eyes were watery and red. She swallowed as he looked her over carefully. She could not remember seeing such concern before.
He brought a hand up to her cheek. "What's wrong?" he asked silkily, his voice quiet and gentle. She suddenly looked angry at herself for crying, and revealing her insecurities.
"I don't think I could deal with the reactions," her voice cracked a little, "w-when they find out... I thought I could because of what I did for Ginny and Malfoy but..." she pressed her face against him once more in an effort to hide, "It's a completely different thing..." the sound of her voice came out muffled from his clothes.
He frowned. "We don't have to worry about that yet," he said soothingly but she could not see the anxious look on his face. "Not for a while yet..." Hermione sighed once more against him, taking in his scent and feeling a lot better.
Suddenly he tensed and at first Hermione could not understand why then she jerked away from him, hurriedly when she heard "Strawberry Bonbon" being said by, most likely, Professor McGonagall outside. Severus likewise pushed her away from him so that she was standing a foot away and when the wall opened to reveal McGonagall, they both looked up at her, nervously.
She looked slowly from one to the other, taking in the watery eyes and blotchy cheeks of Hermione and when she saw Severus standing next to her she needed no further explanation. She gave Severus and accusing glance as she walked past them and up the stairs.
"Severus, it is not nice to make the students cry," she tut-tutted as she got on the moving staircase. She sent a slightly pitying look at Hermione but did not say any more. Severus narrowed his eyes and glowered icily after her until she disappeared from sight.
"Maybe we should go somewhere else..." Hermione muttered as Severus glared at McGonagall's back. He turned to look at her.
"Indeed. You should return to your house," he said, there was a slight stiffness in his order but she ignored it. He looked as though he was just about to leave her there but Hermione held onto him once more.
"Alright," she said and put her face up to his to kiss him. He shot a worried look over her shoulder at the staircase but Hermione doubted McGonagall would come back down so soon. She smiled at him for a moment before she closed the gap between them.
The feeling of kissing him once more conjured up hot liquid bliss that flowed through her veins in place of blood. She melted against his touch and felt a lot better this way than she had a few moments ago. Her worries died in an instant. It was too right to be wrong. The warmth of his kiss made her realize she did not need the approval of anyone, only him.
She did not want to break the kiss and when he did she was sorely disappointed and wanted more. She looked up at him and was frustrated to find that he was looking at her uncertainly, as though he still did not feel he was worth her time. She put a hand up to the back of his neck and stroked it softly repeatedly and was pleased to feel him shiver. He closed his eyes. Why did she do this to him?
Suddenly the door at the top of the stairs creaked open and Hermione leapt backwards, away from him in surprise. He shot an edgy look at the stairs and gestured she should leave quickly ahead of him.
She caught his eye shortly and turned to leave before McGonagall came down. She stepped out of the opening in the wall and raced away so there would be fair distance between him and her.
As she rushed down the hall she already felt withdrawal symptoms like an addict. She wanted to turn around and run right back to him but she could not. Her breathing became shallower. She needed him to be able to relax and to breathe. She was certain that if she was kept away from him long enough she would shrivel and die like a plant without water.
As she slowed and rounded a corner she frowned in thought. She was attracted to everything about him, his tall dark brooding posture the black of his eyes and the sweep of his walk but did she love him? She had not even considered it until now. She roughly shoved that thought away. She did not want to think of such things just yet.
When she got back to the common room she was not too shocked to see Draco sitting with her friends. And although this was still a new sight for sore eyes, she did not even bother to wonder at it.
Ginny was sitting in his lap and Ron and Harry were twisted violently in their chairs to block out the view as much as possible. They were still playing chess she noticed.
As she approached them Ginny grinned up at her "Hey! Look who's back?" she was smirking and Draco raised an eyebrow at her but Harry and Ron overrode her happiness to see her again with their curiosity. Harry's green eyes locked on her.
"What happened?" he asked her standing up as if he was going to help her over to a chair but she sat down in the spare one before he could do anything. She sent him a shaky smile and he sat down again, watching her closely. She looked at Ginny and Draco who were staring at her knowingly and appeared far too smug for her liking. But when she looked at Ron and Harry she was met with questions in their eyes and she sighed softly.
"Dumbledore wanted to speak with me," she began and suddenly the smugness disappeared from their faces. Hermione slumped back into her chair, feeling heavier and dragged down now that she was without Severus. The softness of the chair was a welcome feeling.
"What? Why?" Ron looked horrified by the fact that Hermione might get in such trouble.
"It was about the fact that I let Draco into the common room..." Harry glowered at Draco but Hermione shook her head. "No, no. It's alright, don't worry..." she sighed, exactly how should she break it to them? "He said since I was not acting in my own interests that he would bend the rules. However..." the boys tensed and she saw Draco looked a touch guilty for being the cause of her troubles (but it did not bother him that much) "Since he cannot go back to his own common room..." she hesitated.
"Yes?" Malfoy raised an inquisitive brow. Hermione shot an uneasy glance at Harry then Ron. Ginny frowned.
"There will be temporary bed set up in the boys' dorm-"
"WHAT!" Ron roared. Hermione shrank in her chair. Harry looked as though this was too much, even though what had already happened had been far too much as well. Ginny went pale. Things had been going well so far. Draco had almost been accepted as a presence by the other Gryffindors... but how badly would they react to him moving in...
Several heads turned but by now the urgency with which people's attention shifted to them was definitely diminishing.
"What now?" called Seamus from the other side of the room. He almost asked lazily. Several more people looked up from what their business.
"Malfoy's moving in with us!" Harry appeared surprised at the sound of his own voice and his looked around the room disbelievingly.
"Come again?" said the equally disbelieving voice of Colin Creevey.
"Says who?!" snapped Dean, thinking they were just trying to trick them. Draco wasn't allowed to move in with them, was he?
"Dumbledore," said Harry still sounding sceptical. Lavender gasped but she was the only one this time. Draco had not so much as moved a single hair since he had first heard the news. He had been more stunned than all of them. Moving in with the Gryffindors? He would have thought this would be his worst nightmare. But he found a small part of himself wanted to belong. The fact that he had no where else to go was what had made it more evident.
"Why did he do that?" The eyes of the people who were bothered to look up now turned to Hermione who seemed the only person who could answer such questions seeing as she was the one who was usually behind such happenings.
She looked up at them and for the first time since she had started being under the accusing eyes that breakfast she actually felt petrified of their attention. She had blindly helped them and not once considered the stares she got but now... now she was imagining different reasons for why they watched her every move. She imagined that they had found out about her secret. Would it really be worse than this? How much?
She outwardly kept her cool, glancing once at Ginny on Malfoy's lap. "He said it would not be wise for Malfoy to go back to the Slytherin common room at this moment and that since..." she was going to have to twist his words some, "Since the Gryffindors have been so kind so far that he was sure that we could find it in ourselves to let him sleep here too..."
Some looked happy, others miffed but Harry, Ron, Ginny and Draco watched her sceptically. Once everyone else had lost interest and turned away Ron leaned forward.
"He didn't say that did he?" frowned Ron, knowing her too well. Hermione raised the corners of her mouth nervously and shook her head.
"No..." her nervous smile dimmed some "But he did say that say that we have been getting on well enough and he was sure that you would be gracious enough not to rip out his throat..." Ginny snorted and looked at Harry and Ron.
"Be nice, won't you?" she glared at them. They looked tentative and for a long moment it looked as though they were seriously considering ripping out his throat but eventually they nodded slowly. Ginny grinned broadly at them then snuggled against Draco.
Hermione felt insanely jealous all of a sudden. Ginny had her forbidden relationship and people had accepted it and she was free to love Malfoy in public. What more, she wanted to be in Severus' arms in a similar way to the way Draco held Ginny. But she knew that it would take a lot for him to be so easily accepted.
So much was wrong in her world... it had been flipped upside-down in about a month or so. But she refused to imagine a life without Severus. They were meant to be, there was no question.
Sorry, no telling when the evil will kick in...(even I don't know! Well...sort of... I know when but not how much more writing...)
Also I have to give u guys the situation at hand 4 me to give u an idea as to when I can next update: I am using my dad's portable for the internet connected through the phone line to his company's connection. But I'm in the middle of a move from Norway to Qatar with a 7 week stopover in Lebanon with family. My dad is leaving before I am to Qatar to help unpack and get the boxes in the right place, etc. He's leaving tomorrow and taking his computer with him (and any access to the internet) but he's returning to lebanon on the 7th or 8th of August. So... That'll give me more time to write.
THANK U SO MUCH FOR UR SWEET REVIEWS!!!! they really make me enjoy writing much more.
Ok...I said my bit...
Luv Snakecharmer.