Chapter 12: the Aftermath (Sorry peeps, it's a boring chapter this 'un – but necessary... 'yawns and forces herself to push each key')
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Hermione's graduation finally comes around and on the spur of the moment she doesn't think and kisses Severus on the stage, in front of everyone. She decides it's better if she's the one to reveal what they have or else things could be a lot worse.
Oh... and there's a prank that's been planned on the Slytherins, thanks to the Weasley twins... PS: Sorry no evil yet... be patient! I don't even think I'm half way through with this story! Soon it'll be my biggest!
Hermione ignored the tenseness in the atmosphere so thick she could barely breathe. She had just kissed Severus in front of everyone. She stood there, drawing out the silence as she tried to read his reactions. It seemed that he, like everyone else, was too much in shock to be sure whether he was angry or not.
Everyone was horrified, including Draco and Ginny. She had a hand to her mouth and her eyes were wide with surprise. Draco was numb, eyes flickering from Hermione to Severus to Hermione again.
"What the fuck does she think she's doing!?" Draco said slowly. Ginny hated profanity and would usually tell him off for using such language but she just let it slide.
"She's lost her nut!" her voice was a soft whisper through the net created by her fingers. She tentatively dropped her hands from her mouth and turned to look at Harry and Ron's reactions. They both couldn't have looked paler and more petrified for their own mental health. Ron's jaw was hanging practically around his knees. Harry was fidgeting in his chair as he replayed what he had just seen in his mind.
Even Dumbledore looked floored. The silence hung above their heads on fine invisible threads like deadly drapes that threatened their lives should the threads break. And through the midst of confused stares and disbelieving gapes, Hermione stood still with her face close to his and waited for his reaction. The pause behind her meant nothing to her, nothing at all any more. All she worried about was what he would do next.
There was the overwhelming possibility he would keep up pretences and act confused and disgusted. But as she watched his eyes like everybody else she was sure he understood her actions. She wanted everyone to know. She wasn't afraid of what other people thought.
Slowly the corners of his mouth curved up into a small smile. Her nerves calmed down in a rush of comfort and bewilderment of the crowd grew drastically.
Harry was pinching the bridge of his nose and pinching his green eyes shut repeatedly as if it would help him clear his vision. Ron was rubbing his temples roughly, muttering rapidly under his breath. He stopped muttering for a moment of horror when Snape smiled and leaned over to Harry without taking his eyes off of the sight before him.
"Did Snape just... smile?!" there was nothing but pure shock that accompanied his words. He let his hands fall from his temples and gaped, like everyone else at the implausible spectacle.
Hermione straightened her back with a wide grin and spun on her heel, leaving the stage. She strode down the steps and over the grass to where Harry, Ron, Ginny and Draco were watching her, bug-eyed. She sat down sharply and turned to continue observing the ceremony.
Dumbledore recovered in record time because no sooner had she sat down on the grey chair, he called out the next name. He didn't look horrified, merely perplexed and even amused by what had happened. "Pavarti Patil," he said a little too loudly, but it was enough to snap everyone out of their dazes.
Pavarti stood, from somewhere nearby and shakily proceeded to walk over to the platform, throwing blank glances at Hermione.
As she was climbing the wooden steps of the stage, Harry and the others turned to face her, completely ignoring the rest of the graduation. Hermione was on a high and was not stung by their stares. Ron was the only one who dared to speak.
"What was that?!" he whispered as Dumbledore shook a dumbfounded Pavarti's hand. If possible the stares grew more bewildered and accusing as they waited for her answer. Hermione's smile never faltered and she grinned at each of them in turn before laying a finger on her lips.
"Ssh!" she said brightly, "Save it for after graduation..." She removed her finger from her mouth and turned back to the stage. The others looked blanker still and shared fleeting looks before following Hermione's lead. Graduation was not over yet. Harry and Ron were still to come and they wanted to have a more private setting for interrogation.
Pavarti was shaking hands quickly with each teacher, not bothering to hug them. When she finally reached Severus, she turned and left before even looking him in the eye as if she was afraid he would kiss her too, even though it had been Hermione and not him. Hermione snorted with amusement at how ridiculous Pavarti was being.
"Harry Potter," continued Dumbledore, allowing Pavarti to escape without having to shake Severus' hand. He stood wanly and managed to hold his composure as he went over to Dumbledore, accepted the scroll with his name in silver on the side and shook hands with each teacher.
When it came to Severus, who remained a little taller than Harry still, he shook his hand slowly, all the while giving him a funny look. Severus thought it prudent to not glare at him and just nod shortly. The bewildered Harry left and went back to his seat.
Everything that happened afterwards was like everybody had been put into an automatic gear. They went through all the actions and even the whole row of professors were watching Hermione and Severus intently.
...
Ron went up, collected his degree and came back and Dumbledore gave out several awards and finally the ceremony finished.
Dumbledore said a few words on how proud he was of all of them and that now they were free people. His last comment was enough for Ron to confirm that in fact they could not get into trouble anymore when they played their prank tomorrow.
The professors were the first to disperse, randomly getting off of the stage, completely opposite of how neatly they had filed up the stairs earlier. McGonagall was wide-eyed and muttering very quickly with professor Flitwick who was also talking quietly back as they walked over to the chairs and stopped to continue their conversation.
Some people, only a few, got up and headed back to the castle, deciding to spend the rest of their free time indoors. The majority, however, stayed outside to enjoy the sunshine and talk. And the topic of conversation was Hermione.
Most stood up and walked over to join crowds deep in discussion or just to join friends they hadn't sat next to. Hermione knew that now she would have to face the questions. But, before she did...
Hermione stood abruptly and Harry, Ron, Ginny and Draco were certain she was trying to escape their interrogation but they were wrong.
Severus strode down the steps unsure of whether to frown or smile so he settled for crossing his arms over his chest and looking totally blank, which was the best description for how he felt. Yet what he was feeling was too many things at once and he was bombarded with thoughts and emotions. Hermione wanted to show everyone what they had. He was not worried for himself in the slightest; he could take public scrutiny. But Hermione on the other hand... he wondered if she could handle it. He would not have done such a rash thing but if she wanted everyone to know then he had no problem with it.
He stopped by the front row of chairs and his black eyes roved the full circle around him. How could he escape without being noticed, especially since he was attracting so much attention? He unfolded his arms and decided that it would make no difference whether he were to slip away or to barge down the center aisle, shoving graduates out of his way and sending their square hats flying.
He was opting for the latter but after taking a couple of steps towards the center aisle he was intercepted. He felt a hand on his upper arm gripping him lightly. He almost didn't stop, and he resisted the urge to shake the hand roughly off as old habit advised.
He stood still and inwardly sighed, not turning to face whoever stopped him just yet. It was probably Minerva. She had seemed the most liable suspect seeing as she had been the most horrified of the whole staff, if only by a little. It could be Dumbledore, wanting a private word with him. Or even worse, it could be a bold student... well... graduate.
Finally he forced his gaze up from the ever-so interesting grass in front of him into the eyes of the person beside him. His eyes locked onto those of the one person he had not even considered, which he now realized was stupid on his part. How could he not consider the one who would need to speak with him the most?
Hermione was watching him tentatively and the whole crowd of gossipers froze and stared. The silence once again hung in the air like a stifling fog. But she was smiling nervously at him and he thought he had never seen anything more sweet and beautiful in its own right. The flowers in her hair added a fairy touch to her looks as if she had just stepped out of "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Her brown eyes were lit with a soft caring and a slight tenseness he wanted to erase.
Her hand lay gently on his arm and, despite the heat of the midday, he could feel the warmth through the folds of cloth. Although time went tantalisingly slowly for onlookers, it halted completely for the both of them. Hermione was lost in the blackness of his dark eyes until she could not take it anymore.
Giving in to temptation, and confirming many fears of others, Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck, taking her time and seeing no need to rush. More jaws dropped as she leaned her face closer to his and he even thought it acceptable to place his hands on her waist. There was a drawn out moment where they just held each others gaze, their faces inches apart.
In a short moment, he realized people might think it was a one way emotion from Hermione and that he was too stunned to move or some nonsense like that. He understood her feelings in that moment when he decided he wanted everyone to know that Hermione was his.
He pulled her closer and into a long tender kiss. He could feel her heart race because she was pressed so close and yet she relaxed immensely against him as though he was the only one who could make her feel better. He was.
Her hat toppled off her head and all the appalled eyes melted away into one large blur. It was too right to be wrong. The sensations that accompanied a simple touch were not normal... rather special.
Ron was paler than he had ever been before, even when he had found out about Ginny. Harry found it incredibly difficult to pull his eyes away from the impossible sight that lay before him to watch Ron. Ron was looking really ill, as if he was going to be violently sick. He could not understand what was happening. Hermione was kissing... Snape...
Nobody could tear their eyes away from the scene but as they watched there was still a strong belief that this must be some sort of dare or hoax. Harry was the only one not staring, instead his gaze rested on Ron. He lifted his shaky green hand to his mouth and his body made a rolling shake motion as if he had coughed silently and his eyes bulged a little.
Harry knew he was not pretending as Ron swallowed roughly several times. But he turned back to the problem at hand. Why was Hermione (he shuddered fiercely like many others had earlier)... kissing Snape? That was one of the things he had been certain he would NEVER have had to question in his entire life.
He wanted to rush over to them and pull them apart but horror rooted him to the soil beneath his feet.
Finally, after much too long for the befuddled mass, Severus pulled away and lifted his gaze to the swollen eyes of the crowd. He rose an eyebrow as if to say "So what?" and held Hermione closer in a protective way as if to shield her from their deadly looks.
Hermione rested against him just for the moment to gather her strength before turning around. She sighed deeply. He could feel her shift a little so he loosened his grip. She let her hands fall from his neck and sighed again. It seemed to take too short a while for her to turn around and fall prey to the hungry wolves she had once felt so comfortable around.
She bent down to pick up her fallen hat from the floor, deliberately ignoring them, and brushed the cut grass from it slowly.
"Hermione..." Harry rasped. Ron would have spoken first if he had been able to open his mouth. "What... Why did you just do that...?" he voice was nothing more than a hoarse whisper. Anger was all he could feel when he had discovered who Ginny was with but the emotion that pervaded him now was untainted blissful disbelief.
Hermione looked him straight in the eye seriously but she spoke to everybody.
"I know this is going to come as a shock-" several choking and snorting noises as people scoffed, "-but... I love Severus Snape. He's who I meant to be with-" she didn't need to say any more because Lavender fainted and people were too busy gaping, their eyes almost dropping out of their skulls, to give her any assistance. So Lavender just lay, crumpled at Pavarti's feet.
Ron now could not contain it any more. He bent down and ducked his head so no one could see as he vomited under a chair. No one helped him either. The image of what he had just seen was one which he had never could have been prepared for and her words just put it over the edge for him.
There was a mutual feeling of wanting to cry out from most onlookers but no one could make a sound. Not a single mouth was closed.
Ginny finally got the feeling back to her limbs and took several shaky steps before stumbling past the chairs over to Hermione. She was the only one who was not repulsed by the display but the shock of her actions had gotten into her system like everyone else's but it had also left sooner.
Hermione waited for Ginny to approach. She seemed to be the only one who could move. Hermione had not expected this. She had imagined yelling and being rejected by her friends; that she was prepared for. But this was a pleasant surprise to be met just by a googly-eyed silence.
When Ginny eventually stopped in front of her she shot a cautious look up to Severus. She had never imagined such a sight although Hermione had spoken of it, yet she saw the tenderness in his eyes and it made her wonder.
She grabbed Hermione's wrist roughly and yanked her face close to hers.
"Are you insane?" she hissed under her breath. She looked at her as though she was a stupid little girl although it was with the motherly concern of Mrs Weasley in her crystal blue eyes. Hermione beamed back, flashing her full set of teeth.
"Yes," she smirked giving Ginny a false sly look. Ginny frowned.
"You can still fix this by saying I dared you-" she started but her voice died in her throat as Severus gave her one of his most threatening glares. Hermione turned to look at him.
"That," he growled softly, "will not be necessary." Ginny gulped. All traces of the caring and unseen professor Snape had evaporated leaving in its stead the cold shadow of his classroom self. But a moment later he glanced down at Hermione and the malevolence dissipated once more from the depths of his raven eyes.
Ginny felt is wise to not speak again and gazed over her shoulder back at the others. Ron was now standing again and looking much better although his skin held a strong misty colored hue. Harry's lips were moving as though he was muttering but there was no sound. He could not blink. All others were watching Hermione's every move as if they weren't sure they were awake.
She looked round defiantly and pulled Severus' arm around her shoulder which he allowed her to do. She didn't put the hat back on her head because she was afraid of knocking him so she held it in her free hand, the other hand holding his that rested on her shoulder.
"Get over it," she said snappishly, starting to tire of the tense hush. She started to move, taking tiny footsteps forward and pulling lightly on his Severus' arm. He glared over the top of her flower speckled curls at anyone who dared to look him straight in the eye and let Hermione lead him away. "Let's go," she said quietly.
He walked beside her, keeping his fast stride down to a moderate pace for her sake. His robes dragged on the grass due to how long they were.
As they walked away Hermione felt the relief wash over her as the suffocating stares faded into the background. She knew there was going to be a long silence before they started gossiping amongst themselves but she was sure Ginny would do a sufficient job of trying to keep them calm. For now she would bask in the relaxing yet intense company of Severus.
Their own silence, so different from the one they had just left, was comfortable and soothing to the nerves. Hermione sighed deeply, breathing the fresh scent of summer leaves and flowers. Between her fingers was the stiff rim of the hat she no longer needed. They were now barely in the sight of the people by the stage so they were free to talk in private.
"Was that wise?" he finally spoke and his voice was soft yet demanded an answer. The arm of his robes cloaked her shoulders and she felt slightly over-warm. Hermione knew he was not doubting her actions, merely putting forth his worries.
"I don't know," she replied truthfully. "But I know that I couldn't have come up with a better way to shock them if I had planned it... That was the last thing they were expecting..." A small smirk tugged at the corners of his lips. He nodded, his black hair swaying.
"Indeed." There was a small trace of something Hermione had seen from him before in the classroom when he had taken pleasure in a Gryffindor's misfortune. She ignored it without thinking about it. "Yet I can't help feel uneasy about the whole school knowing... it can't bring any good..."
"It'll give us the freedom of not having to hide away, although I don't think they'll appreciate public displays of affection," she smiled too, her eyes lighting up with mirth, imagining the looks she had just seen on their faces. "Now people know, they can get over it like they did about Draco and Ginny."
"But this is not like Mr Malfoy and Miss Weasley. I am far older than you and the wizarding society will be mortified by the fact that I was your professor," he gave her a funny glance as though he only just remembered that she had been his irritating student once. It was hard to believe. She had the knowledge and wisdom of someone with as many years of life lived as he did.
"So you think it will be worse?" she bit her bottom lip nervously. He nodded again.
"More different than worse since this is a completely different situation." They were now walking past the lake and their path curved to keep to the edge of the shore. Their feet scuffed the gravel in timing with each other and for a moment there was a pause in conversation. They appreciated each other's presence, seeing no need to constantly talk in order to understand each other. Hermione was sure not many relationships held such security as theirs.
"It was worth it," Hermione said finally. She raised her head to look him in the eye and smiled at him. He did not smile in reply but instead reached down and kissed her.
"Yes it was," he said, lifting his face a little away from hers before straightening and turning to look forwards. Hermione was left feeling sufficiently pacified and pleasantly soothed. That was what she loved about him: he knew exactly how to treat her, keeping her excited and relaxed at the same time. And yet it was never enough.
Hermione leaned her head against him as they walked. Her lips still tingled from the sensation of his soft kiss. She felt much better now.
He accompanied her back to the castle. She got progressively anxious as they got closer.
They both stopped at the bottom of the wide marble staircase where they were to separate if Hermione went to the Gryffindor tower, which she had to. She had to face them.
He turned to look her directly in the eyes so they were standing opposite each other. The severe ebony stare dug deep into her soul and weakened her. In a gesture of tenderness he reached and took each of her hands in his own, gently.
"You'll be alright?" he asked and lightly squeezed her hands. Hermione closed her eyes and nodded. Her hair fell over her shoulders and she became aware that some of her spells had worn off because several small white flowers floated to the ground. Concern lined his features.
She gripped his hands back when he was about to let go. She looked up at him with big doe brown eyes.
"Can't you come with me?" she pleaded. He raised a corner of his mouth in a half smirk. He wished he could be there for her.
"How would it look if the head of Slytherin house broke into the Gryffindor common room, especially under these circumstances?" She saw he was apologetic but steadfast in his answer. "You'll be fine," he said encouragingly and sternly before letting go of her hands. They didn't have to worry anymore about someone seeing them.
She looked down at the floor resignedly. Yes. She should confront them alone. It'd be worse if he accompanied her. Much worse.
Without a word of farewell, he turned to leave. He swept away and around the corner of the bottom step down the dungeons corridor with his robes flowing out behind him. His tail of his black cloak whipped around the corner and he was gone. Hermione was left standing watching the space he had once taken. Her heart felt strangely empty and devoid of the comfort that filled her when she was in his presence. Now that he had gone she wanted to see him again already even though it had only been a few seconds.
She placed a heavy hand on the base of the banister and took a couple of slow hesitant steps up the stairs before stopping and glancing hopefully over her shoulder. He hadn't come back.
She sighed and proceeded to drag herself up the never-ending staircase. With each step it seemed it was getting harder and harder to push herself to move her feet. Her eyes seemed to be unable to adjust the dimness of the indoors. But there was one part of her that didn't feel drained or melancholy because, although now she had deliberately put herself under the scrutiny of the entire school, she was free of any secrets that filled her lungs like dust. Every time she had to speak to Harry and Ron it seemed more painful to look them straight in the eye and lie to them.
She squashed her hat on her head again. Several more white flowers fell to the floor behind her graduation robes that rippled over the marble steps. She would savour her time in the common room until they returned. Maybe she would read but her brain felt too full of thoughts at the moment to even consider it.
She would just sit and wait.
After about half an hour of the kind of tenseness that induces nail-biting, Hermione was starting to relax. She was alone in the common room sitting at the desk by the window where she had once sat watching the squid when she had screamed and thrown her book at the wall. She could see the stage from here, although it was very small, and the black dots of multiple hats as people milled around the chairs.
She watched through the glass of the large arched window to her right and rested her chin in her palm. She had lost interest in the tapestry hanging over the desk ages ago. The foxed pages of an enormous open book lay in front of her but she had lost interest in that too, surprisingly. Normally she would find comfort in the words of a book but now all she wanted was Severus and the words swam under her gaze as if they weren't going to allow her to read them. She wondered if this was how it was for Harry and Ron all the time. If so then she pitied them. She hated this feeling.
The tassel dangled in front of her eyes again but she could not find the resolve to move it to the side. So there it hung, swinging slightly and constantly brushing the tip of her nose. She ignored it and continued to stare out of the window at the greenery of late June. Things were definitely peaceful at the moment.
The Order was still working but since the last battle during February the other side had suffered a damaging defeat and many of the Death Eaters had been killed. Dumbledore now suspected he was working on finding the best supporters to fill their positions and that they would not have to worry for a while.
But so much had happened in that time that the thought of Voldemort had almost completely left their minds (at least temporarily).
She began to calm down and leaned back into her chair, slumping against it. She even started to get a little bored and tapped her fingers impatiently consecutively on the desk. When was the yelling and questioning going to start? Why had no one come in search of her seeing as she was their muse for conversation?
When she realized how ridiculous she was being she stopped tapping her fingers. She wondered if she should stay watching the black dots of the people by the platform when she could be reading.
She bent her head and tried to get her brain to focus on the shapes in front of her eyes and to make them stop floating around.
'...In 1423 Alfred Silverstein...' she closed her eyes briefly trying to push thoughts of Severus out of her head. She sighed and opened her eyes again to continue, '...Alfred Silverstein discovered the first five properties of wartroot of the four thousand known today...' It was no use; she could not concentrate no matter how hard she tried.
She wished Ginny would come back and inform her of the situation and exactly how bad it was. She didn't know what was going on. Had the stunned atmosphere worn off?
Not wanting to have another fit like the one two months ago, she gently closed the book with more care than was necessary and pushed it to one side.
"Do you think we should talk to her?" mumbled Ron numbly as they trudged hypnotically slowly around the chairs. Both he and Harry had not blinked since they had seen... the thing. Harry shook his head roughly and his black hair flicked his skin sharply.
"No," he said firmly. "If I see her I'll see it happen all over again... you can't forget something like that..." his voice trailed and he shuddered, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably. Ron nodded a little. He didn't look Harry in the eyes as they walked, preferring to keep his blue-eyed gaze on the ground that passed beneath their feet.
"First Malfoy and now Snape!" Ron said in disbelief, "I think something happened that made the Gryffindor girls go mad!" They were circling the chairs for the seventh time. The sun beat down on their heads. Both of their hats lay discarded on the chairs they had occupied earlier. Draco had wandered off with the promise of returning and his hat lay with theirs on the chairs.
"Yeah," said Harry half-heartedly. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of the borrowed robes. "Tell me about it," he sighed. "But would you ever have suspected something like THIS to happen?" he glanced at Ron who didn't return the look.
"Nope, can't say I would have," Ron shrugged. His tone was light and breezy as if the topic was nothing more than the weather but Harry appreciated it because it helped him deal with it better.
"Did you have to puke your guts out like that, though?" Harry raised an eyebrow at him and Ron glared back, not particularly amused by Harry's comment. He ran his fingers crossly through his bright red hair.
"Excuse me," he snapped with unadulterated sarcasm, "If it was an inconvenience to you!" He continued, dropping the sarcasm, "I couldn't control it. I mean... bloody hell... we've known Hermione since our first year. We should know her better than any other person, apart from each other," he added, nodding his head to Harry for emphasis. "If all those seven years wasn't enough for us to know her then what kind of friends are we...?"
Harry raised his hands as if to give in to the realisation of what had happened. "You can't blame us for that. It's not like anyone else expected it," he turned and glanced over his shoulder to make sure that everyone was still shocked and deep in discussion. "It's... Snape!" He shuddered again as a wave of disgust rolled over his flesh causing the goose-bumps to rise.
"But why him?!" Ron's voice lost it's consistency as he once again sounded disturbed and confused. "He's the head of Slytherin and he even made her cry several times. For all we know he could have a forked tongue!" Harry shared his look of repulsion and for a moment they shuffled through the grass with identical expressions on their faces.
Then they glanced at each other and both hid their smiles that they so often shared because they did not much feel like smiling with the image of their best friend kissing their most hated teacher burned into their minds.
"Hermione's the one who can answer that question for you..." he added. They both looked away from the other at the exact same moment as best friends tend to once they know each other as well as themselves. Harry looked down his nose as a passing daisy that dared to poke its head through the soil and Ron stared at the lake beyond the chairs.
Something was eating away at Ron more than anything else and he couldn't keep it in any longer.
"She said she loved him..." Harry's eyes snapped up from the daisy and into Ron's in a flash. Ron looked back. He really needed to talk about this, however much it made them uncomfortable. "Love is a pretty strong word to use. Do you think she meant it?" His blue eyes did not back down against Harry's subtle hinting that this subject should be left alone.
Harry continued to stare back at him for a few moments to try and make him take back those words. But when Ron showed no signs of letting go Harry answered honestly. "Hermione's never been one to mistake infatuation for love, unlike most other girls in our school. She's always had the sensible head on her shoulders. She even once said love was a creation of the imagination... remember?"
Ron nodded. At least Harry was being frank although it was definitely not what he wanted to hear. "Don't you think it's possible that infatuation could blind her like it does other girls and only because it's so unfamiliar that Hermione's mistaken it for love?"
"I doubt it. How well does Hermione hide things from us?" Harry already knew the answer but he wanted to see if Ron did.
"Very well, when she wants to..."
"Exactly," Harry nodded, his black hair falling about into a worse mess than it already had been. "But the fact that she showed us... maybe it was because she didn't want to hide it from us anymore..."
"How very noble of her," Ron said sardonically. "But if she kept it a secret from us it would have been worse. I would hate to find out that she's been with Snape for years behind our backs and get invited to their wedding-"
"No!" Harry shook violently in repulsed shock. "That is NOT going to happen. This is probably just a phase... She's finally found someone who can match her intelligence and that's enough for her to fall in love... I trust she'll see sense one day..." He sighed and stopped walking. He laid a gentle hand on the back of one of the chairs.
"I hope you're right..." Ron was looking less pale now they had talked about it and with his heart alight with hope that this wasn't a permanent arrangement he could sleep tonight.
There was a shared moment where they just stood, amongst the crowds of identical graduates in their robes. In the summer sunshine, the light covering of clouds floating lazily along, they were the only ones who stayed stone silent, looking away from each other.
Hermione snapped upright as the portrait swung open. She twisted her torso to look over at whoever could possibly have slipped away from the throng she had been absent-mindedly watching. Her hair swung out of the way and fell down her back, bouncing because of how hard she had spun round.
Her brown eyes roved the room and rested on the dark red and perfectly straight hair of Ginny Weasley. She had her back turned to Hermione but then she turned around. Hermione smiled wanly at her. Ginny didn't return the smile but she wasn't sombre.
Her rounded features held the same friendliness they always did even when she frowned upon approaching Hermione.
"I don't get it!" she said with conversational disbelief as she took a seat next to Hermione. She tucked in her chair and threw her hands up in the air as she continued. "I kiss Draco, the whole school goes nuts and hates my guts... then you come along and rescue me and the whole school hangs on your every word. Then you kiss Snape... everyone's shocked and sickened, but they're not angry in the slightest! There are even a few who are attempting to accept it... and doing a poor job of it. But how come!?" she whined. Hermione knew she was exaggerating.
Hermione grinned. It seemed things weren't going to be half as bad as she thought. "So they're not loosing their heads down there?" She replaced her head in her palm. Ginny shook her head, her eyes innocently wide.
"No! They're under the impression you're more mature and make wiser decisions – although none of them can understand this one in particular. Of course they're horrified. That's expected. They'll probably stay that way for a while... I don't believe it! Snape is far worse than Draco! Maybe they're just too stunned, that's got to be it." Ginny appeared to be talking to herself and she jerkily fiddled with her hair.
Hermione surveyed Ginny cryptically.
"What?" Ginny asked. Then her eyes widened and she snapped her fingers as if she had just come up with an idea. "I know what it is!" she said brightly with a slight knowing, "They've been mentally scarred and don't know how to deal with it!" She nodded mockingly at Hermione as if her answer was the wisest thing known to mankind.
"Haha, Ginny. I'm in no mood," she sighed and her frame expanded and relaxed. "But that may even be so..." She snorted with amusement although it was something Severus might find more entertaining. She wondered what he was doing right now in his quarters. Probably reading, like Hermione had attempted to. Although he could preparing lessons for next year... but she didn't think it would be what he terribly wished to do at the present time.
She wanted to see him right this second, even though Ginny wasn't bad company, because she wanted the feeling of security and dangerousness that welled up deep inside her at the mere sight of him. These feelings were not safe, she decided, it was as if she could not control her own actions. At the same time, she didn't want to.
She returned her thoughts to the bigger problem at hand. She glanced at Ginny out of the corner of her eye, sitting next to her.
"Was it planned?" Ginny broke her train of thought. She was genuinely curious. Hermione shook her curls, the last of the flowers that had tangled themselves into her hair dropped onto the floor around the legs of the wooden hard-backed chair she sat on. They rested delicately on the red carpet around her feet.
"Absolutely not! Did you see the look of shock on his face when I kissed him? He was just as surprised as everybody else!" she smirked softly and Ginny smirked back. "It was definitely a snap decision and I think I did the best thing... But it's too early yet to tell." Ginny nodded and was mentally admitting Hermione astuteness.
"You're going to be fine, from the looks of it," remarked Ginny looking Hermione up and down. Hermione didn't know how to reply so she didn't.
"This isn't going to interfere with..." Ron looked about him cautiously. They were on their way back up to the castle and he checked the path ahead and behind to make sure there were no stray Slytherins around, apart from Draco. He crunched the gravel path beneath his feet. "...the thing...?" Harry gave him the one eyebrow.
"Is that all you can think about? Even when Hermione kisses..." he hesitated before forcing the word past his tongue, "...Snape? Honestly, Ron!"
"But we'll still do it?" Ron asked excitedly. His step caught a brief spring to it as he walked. Harry rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. He wanted to hit Ron with his hat but resisted the urge because he might actually hurt him. Draco trailed along behind them, not wanting to interfere with the conversation of two long time friends.
"I don't see how this can interfere with your precious prank," he felt relieved as he spoke with the teasing that normal friends with normal worries do. He knew he was repressing the disgust with an ease that was too good to be true. Maybe it was denial. If this was denial then he liked it very much. Too much...
Ron beamed from ear to ear with his toothy grin. His eyes filled with more mirth than Harry thought possible under such circumstances. Ron was doing the same as he was. It wasn't denial. They both knew it had happened. It was pushing it away to the back of their minds in a vain and pathetic attempt to pretend things weren't any different. They wanted their old seemingly endless lifestyle back. But now they would be leaving Hogwarts and things were not going the way they had imagined.
But for now they would talk normally and act normally and hope things would turn out normal. But what was normal? Would the new normal be accepting their best friend had fallen in love with their potions teacher who had despised them all through their school years and that Ginny Weasley was with Draco Malfoy?
"Let's go see Hermione," sighed Harry. He decided that skirting it was not healthy. Ron's grin dropped off is his face quicker than you could say "Snape". The glee disappeared from his eyes and it was replaced with reluctant seriousness. He nodded solemnly.
Ron began to mumble as they approached the common room. "...Snape... bloody Snape..." and Draco ignored him good-naturedly, resisting the desire to slap him out of his daze.
Harry understood Ron's feelings precisely but he did his best to maintain as much of his normal behaviour as possible instead of resorting to muttering under his breath and wildly searching the room he was in with his eyes.
Hermione was sitting with Ginny and they were both silent as if they had run out of conversation. Under the large multicoloured and faded tapestry at the desk by the only window of the common room, they both sat on wooden chairs, looking into the air. Hermione's head was planted on her palm and Ginny had her hands folded in her lap with her head slightly titled.
Harry, Draco and Ron approached, careful not to startle the two girls daydreaming in front of them.
"Hermione?" Hermione's eyes refocused and she looked about her for the source of her name. She twisted roughly in her chair her serious gaze landed on Harry, Ron and Draco standing nervously behind her and Ginny. Draco noticed her eyes did not hold the look of youth they once had. Her eyes, instead, were filled with a dangerous and knowing flickering light that Draco was sure he had seen somewhere else before... but definitely not in anyone from Gryffindor.
"Yes?" she did not smile. Her features revealed no anxiety yet inside she was melting from it.
"Come sit with us, we need to talk..." Draco spoke for the others with a lot more civility. Hermione closed her eyes and nodded.
"Indeed," she sighed. She shoved her chair back in one rash motion and it swayed perilously. Ginny watched silently as Hermione stood, her hands resting on the desk, and faced the boys properly.
Ginny stood too and they all occupied the armchairs around a table.
...
"...So do you think this is possibly a phase that you may get over?" said Harry hopefully with wide eyes from the horrific story he had just heard. Hermione retold in every detail the events that had unfolded since April of how she had slowly discovered a peculiar attraction to Severus and her four stage plan, the party and when she had returned the book. That was terrifying for Harry and Ron enough because it had been two and a half months in which they had been blissfully ignorant of Hermione's life.
"I suppose there is a slight possibility..." she replied reluctantly but truthfully. "But I have to say that I honestly doubt it. I've never felt this way before. It's alien, exciting and intoxicating. I don't know if you understand..." Harry shrugged to show he didn't but Draco and Ginny nodded together.
Draco reached for Ginny's hand and gripped it tenderly. Hermione smiled at them and Ron could not resist wrinkling his nose at them.
"Did you know about this?" Ron suddenly asked. He had stayed silent now for the whole time Hermione had spoken and Harry had questioned. The pale look had returned to his cheeks. He was looking at Draco and Ginny intently and Harry frowned.
"What would make you think that?" he asked before Draco or Ginny had a chance to open their mouths. Ginny's eyes suddenly were wide and very rapidly looking from Ron to Harry and occasionally Hermione. Draco on the other hand remained calm with his impeccable Slytherin ability to lie smoothly.
"Because they haven't asked anything about what's been going on. It doesn't seem new to them..." Ron didn't once glance at Harry, keeping his gaze on his nervous sister and her boyfriend.
"Neither have you," Harry didn't know why he was arguing for them, yet he wanted to know how Ron was thinking. He raised a black brow at him but Ron still wasn't watching.
"Yes, but if you remember correctly, I threw up when I saw... it. Did you know?" he repeated, staring Draco deep in the eye. Draco stared back with equal defiance, his cold silver gaze not once faltering against Ron's searching.
Finally, after a drawn out moment, Draco looked to Hermione. She knew that he was unsure of what to say, as it was her problem and her decision to make whether or not to let Harry and Ron know.
"No," Hermione replied for him, firmly. She felt her mouth go dry as she lied once more to her friends. Draco nodded in agreement, his blonde hair hardly fell out of place. "But Ginny knew that I liked him..." she added, just in case Ron got suspicious of his sisters white lips that stood out so well against her freckles.
Harry changed the subject, feeling he had to say what he had to say sooner or later. He shifted in his armchair to see Hermione better. He looked into her eyes in a similar way to how Ron had just to Draco.
"I want you to know, Hermione," he started seriously, "You're a wonderful friend and we love you. I can't let something like this interfere with a friendship so old and so tight. But... I am not OK with this arrangement. I would prefer it if we talked about your relationship as little as possible..." Hermione nodded. It was a fair deal.
"Me too!" added Ron hurriedly. His wide blue eyes moved in succession from Hermione to Harry. Hermione nodded again, her coiled locks dropped down her shoulders over her chest.
"It's your choice who you choose to be with... just don't tell us about how wonderful he is," added Harry to emphasise his point.
"That's understandable," Hermione agreed. Thank goodness they were such good friends. Hermione was relieved. She had gotten off easy thanks to their overwhelming repulsion which resulted in them leaving her to her privacy. But she knew the rest of the school would not be so forgiving.
When some first years came back through the portrait they froze and stared at Hermione. She knew then that it had not taken long for word to spread of her personal life. She was the first one to move, raising an eyebrow then standing. She turned and decided her dorm was probably the best place to stay if she wanted to escape any more incidents like that one.
She chose to skip dinner that night. It was impossible to eat with the whole school watching you fixedly.
Harry brought her some drumsticks and sandwiches that the house elves had been kind enough to prepare and wrap for her when he had asked. He and Ron had learnt how to overcome the ancient ward on the girls' dorm with a simple levitation spell and they showed Draco the correct way to do it so that he didn't just levitate his feet, resulting in his head being dragged up the stairs as his feet floated up. Harry and Ron had both learned the hard way.
Now the three of them, plus Ginny were sitting on different beds of her dorm. The other girls who she shared the room with had been avoiding Hermione as if she was contagious.
They were talking animatedly about everything except Snape, as per Harry's request, and everything felt normal.
They discussed exactly how to carry out Ron's marvellous prank, which he had now managed to make seem a lot more wonderful than it in fact was. Ron even mentioned how it would possibly help distract everyone from "current events". That was as close as they got to discussing him.
Together they managed to make the time pass sufficiently quickly until the other graduated girls could stay away no longer. They peeked into the room and snuck in quietly.
Hermione asked them how many people were in the common room. Unsure of why she was asking, Lavender told her there were only four other people left. Hermione suggested to the others to wait with her down in the common room until it came time to sneak downstairs.
They agreed, much to the girls delight and Hermione, Draco, Ginny, Harry and Ron slid down the stairs that automatically turned into a slide when Draco set foot on it.
They spent the rest of the hours to go, chatting in front of the fire. Luckily the four people in the common room left as soon as they saw Hermione and they were left to their devices.
Draco was the only one awake... not counting Ron who had tried so hard to stay up that he was snoring with his eyes open. He kept nervously checking his watch. They were to go down at four in the morning. He couldn't keep still and constantly fidgeted in his chair. He was anxious because if the Slytherin house were to find out he had a hand in this prank then he would only live long enough to wish himself dead.
His silver eyes flicked around the room as he waited for the second hand to move gradually. Damn it moved slowly, he thought to himself. His eyelids hung low with fatigue but his control over his mind was too powerful for it to win. He watched Ginny who he held loosely in his arms on his lap. She was cuddled up against him gently like a kitten and her head lolled forward against his shoulder. He had his arms folded around her waist and his chin rested on the crown of her head.
The common room of Gryffindor was dark. The fire was now nothing more than a pile of smouldering embers, glowing dimly. He noticed how much cosier it was in comparison with the Slytherin room. Yet he missed the Slytherin common room more than he had managed to realise until now. It was so much classier. This one was too homely that it made him uncomfortable. It was suffocating.
Hermione was lying across an armchair next to him, her hair hanging in a column of corkscrews over the arm. On the other side off him Harry and Ron were asleep, practically upright in their chairs, except their heads had both tipped and so they were sleeping with the sides of their heads leaning against each other's, snoring. It was amusing in a stupid way.
Draco's mouth twisted into a smirk when Harry and Ron both snored at the same exact moment, equally loudly. Ron's open eyes were slightly freaky though. The pupils were diluted giving him the look of the Zombies that inhabited Australia.
He looked at his watch again. Three thirty. Should he wake them soon? He took a hand and stroked Ginny's back carefully as he thought to himself. What could Hermione possibly see in Snape...? And how was it possible that he felt the same way back? He had thought he had known Snape well but it turned out he hadn't. But he refused to attach himself to anyone so how could anyone possibly have known whether or not something like this would happen. How well did anyone know him, even Hermione? It had been two months... from what she had said, and that, in his opinion, was not enough to know someone well enough to love.
He looked down at Ginny curled in his hold and mentally took that back. He stopped stroking her back and let his hand lie at the base of her neck. It was so easy to fall in love when the right person came along, he concluded.
He looked back to Hermione whose head was hanging dangerously and her mouth was slightly open. Maybe she had found the right person for her. It wasn't his place to judge, seeing as he had known Snape most of his life. It was like some monstrous roadblock he couldn't overcome.
He sighed. It was time to wake them all, starting with the light body resting on his lap.
He gently shifted his hold on her and moved to be able to talk in her ear.
"It's time."
"I still get nervous every time I think how many school rules we've broken throughout the years," Hermione muttered, "but now we don't have them anymore and I still feel bad about it." Ron rolled his eyes exaggeratedly but Hermione could not see for the dark.
They were in the dungeons corridor, just approaching the Slytherin common room. The torches were put out at curfew and they thought it best to still not be noticed, even though curfew did not apply to them anymore. There were too many to fit under the invisibility cloak so they had left it behind.
They had had a bit of a surprise when they had passed the potions classroom and seen that the torches had been lit and heard noises of someone moving around the room. Everyone had immediately looked at Hermione who just watched the light coming from under the door. But no one spoke. There was a long moment before Hermione continued (with plans of possibly stopping by afterwards on her mind) and the others followed, relieved.
None of the Gryffindors knew exactly where the Slytherin common room was, although Harry and Ron had a vague idea from their second year yet they couldn't remember. So Draco led the way. Hermione had dropped back with Harry and Ron so they were walking in two rows through the thick fog of black.
"Did I have to be the one to hold the bag?" Hermione continued and Ron rolled his eyes again. Hermione lifted the relatively small sized sack that contained many more smaller sized bags tied with strings. Harry smirked and prised the bag from her grip.
"There, happy?" he asked sarcastically. Hermione folded her arms but didn't say anymore.
Suddenly Draco and Ginny halted and Ron, Harry and Hermione had to as well. They were standing outside what appeared to be nothing more than blank wall. She could not be certain, as it was so dark but Draco definitely was.
Hermione heard Draco sigh loudly before he leaned a little closer the wall.
"Sui generis," he said in a low voice. The stone slab began to rumble softly and groaned as it slid away to make room for them to enter.
Ok... VERY boring chapter... Sorry, yet it had to be done as you can see. Like I said, this story is just a practice. I actually plan on one day writing something with a good plot. Ill update as soon as possible to make up 4 it.
Sui generis means: alone of it's kind. Here's another. It's kinda Severus:
Odi profanum vulgus et arceo – meaning "I loathe the uneducated mass and keep them away from me". (!!!!) and here's one more for u: Difficilis facilis, iucundus acerbus es idem: nec tecum possum vivere nec sine te – meaning "Difficult and easy, delightful and severe, you are the same: I am neither able to live with you nor without you." Perfect don't u think?
This took a long time to write because my mind kept wandering (as I'm sure yours did too) and I was very busy... I'll try writing quicker the next chapter... should be less boring.
After the next chapter this will be my biggest story! Not only am I writing this to improve but I'm also writing this to work on my stamina to stick with a story to the very end. I made a promise and now I have to stick with it. And now I'm starting to think I'll finally attempt a book sometime after this. Do you think I'm nearly ready to write a book?
Luv Snakecharmer
THANK U FOR UR REVIEWS!!! Make me feel happy...
PS - I take back what I said about Johnny Depp and Severus!!!!! I think that just would not work.... but I still love em both separately! (don't get surprised but I have no thing for Alan Rickman – however everytime I hear his name unprepared eg: on Tv (it happened) I freeze because my mind makes the immediate connection between the two. Severus Snape may as well be acting in his other movies for the way I react.)