Chapter 14: Draco and the Dark Circle (When is this story going to end so I can start my new one?!?!?!!)
So far:
The Slytherin prank makes them go haywire. Hermione and Severus don't have to deal with the whole school knowing because they've been "hiding" or avoiding the mealtimes. Hermione hasn't eaten for a day and Severus makes her when he finds out. And today is Hogsmead.
"It doesn't feel like it's the last school trip to Hogsmead we'll ever have..." Hermione said sadly. She cupped her tankard of butterbeer with her hands on the rounded table of the Three Broomsticks. Together she, Harry, Ron, Draco and Ginny were sharing their last drinks at Hogsmead before they left Hogwarts.
Ginny was looking especially miserable. Her head was hanging and they could all hear the words she didn't need to say. The long deep red sheets of hair dangled, shadowing her freckles and her gloomy face. Draco kept a comforting hand on her shoulder but he wanted to try and keep the atmosphere away from depressing.
"I know. We probably should make the most of it," agreed Harry. He gulped down some of his foamy butterbeer then mimicked Hermione by cupping the tankard. Ron nodded to show he agreed as well.
Hermione looked around the room with her aged light brown eyes. It had never changed in the seven years they had been coming here. She had remembered when the fellow Hogwarts students around the room at other tables would be whispering together over their drinks, the attention directed at Harry. But now she was receiving a similar kind of treatment.
Lavender and Pavarti were being the least discrete of them all by staring blatantly at Hermione while they conversed rapidly in low voices. Hermione just ignored them. She didn't care what other people thought, as long as she had her friends. She was getting very used to being under the accusing eye of the student body.
The door creaked as it swung open and Hermione automatically twisted in her chair abruptly to see who it was. She was disappointed to find that it was just Seamus and Dean talking over two bags of Zonko's jokes. There was a bright shaft of light that escaped the outside air into the room until the door slammed it back out again behind the two young men who still managed to find amusement in children's tricks.
They were one of the few who didn't freeze and stare when they spotted Hermione talking with her friends. She was grateful.
She returned to her drink, sipping it slowly. There was a disheartened silence where the five of them did not speak.
Draco was the first to break the uncomfortable hush caused from old friendships of which he did not belong. He took his hand from Ginny's shoulder and prepared to stand.
"Do you mind if I steal Ginny for a while?" he said as he pushed his wooden chair back and stood. Ginny picked up her bowed head to look at him with a blank smile. Draco was not asking their permission, just informing them in his polite way that he was taking Ginny with him.
She got up from the table with a new energy that was dim but existent. Her rounded friendly face was devoid of the misery that had filled it a second ago. It showed her brother that Draco in fact made her a lot happier than he had originally imagined.
When they both left together at a relaxed pace, arm in arm, and walked out through the old wooden door it was once again down to the original threesome. Hermione didn't know how to tell them that she would have to leave soon to meet up with Severus as she had arranged.
"Brings back memories," Ron said fondly looking to his two best friends. He had read her mind exactly. But a second later his affectionate smile at old times dropped from his face. Hermione knew that he was thinking of how things had changed since then.
"I better go," Hermione said suddenly. She couldn't take the sadness anymore. She would wander Hogsmead for a while before she went up to the shrieking shack to meet Severus. She pushed herself up by the tabletop. Forget her butterbeer, the tenseness was overbearing. Harry looked more disappointed than surprised.
"Why?" he asked, his voice came out forced and Hermione felt even worse. She couldn't wait to be free of the mood.
"To see Severus," she said briskly, stepping away from her chair and tucking it in. Harry visibly flinched at his first name. Hermione didn't care.
"Fine," he said coldly with darkness in his green eyes. Hermione froze. She didn't like his tone in the slightest. She hesitated, standing still facing away from Harry. She straightened her back and chose not to turn around.
Hermione inhaled deeply while Harry and Ron stared at her back then headed over to the door.
"So much for making the most of it," Ron muttered dully to Harry as they watched her leave.
She at first had dragged herself around Hogsmead with a sad mood hanging on her shoulders but then after a long while of remembering some of the good times she had regained a spring to her step.
By the time she was supposed to meet up with Severus she was almost skipping. Her light pace resulted in a smile creeping to her lips that she was unaware of.
The summer air was warm but not too hot and the white light filled the streets making them look dusty and faded but welcoming. The cobbled paths shone with a lost radiance and the crooked buildings leaned perilously against each other. Hermione breathed in the fresh scent of greenery and something else that she could not place that made the air so enticing.
She had walked through different streets and stopped to look in the windows of several different shops. The bookshop had been very tempting but she didn't go in. She didn't want to be late for Severus. She knew this shop inside out as well and all the best books were already owned by her.
There had been a gorgeous black cat in the pet shop display window that Hermione had spotted immediately. It was sophisticated and sat away from the other animals proudly as if it was better than them all. It was poised, upright in the corner, licking its paws as if it were an honor for others to be around to witness it.
Hermione would have purchased that cat if she had not already owned a sufficiently wonderful one.
She loved summer, she decided; it was her time of year. She wanted to take off her shoes to walk barefoot in the grass of the round hill leading up to the view of the shrieking shack. She kept them on, however, but paused her strolling to pick several wild purple pansies. She recalled that that was the flower Shakespeare had used for A Midsummer Night's Dream.
The stems snapped without real resistance and by the time she reached the top of the hill she had a whole fistful of them. At heart she felt free on grassy plains with wild flowers; she was not the kind of person who would love the city. But she was fine with being locked away in a room if it was to read. Why that was, she didn't know.
She didn't see Severus when she got to the very top of the mound. She looked the full circle around her: to her right, the forest, to her front, the mountains and caves, to her left, the houses of Hogsmead she had just come from and to her back... a few scattered houses and the path back to Hogwarts. He had not arrived yet so she supposed that she must be early.
She sat down with the handful of pansies on the cool green of the grass with her legs folded under her and proceeded to fold the flowers into a wreath under the beating sun to pass the time.
...
Hermione had finished her violet wreath of delicate wild pansies and still he had not arrived. For ten minutes she sat with her head in her palm tapping the side of her jaw with her fingers in a bored manner. When he still did not show up she forced herself up, brushed the grass and creases from her skirt then went back down the hill to find more flowers to fold together. She had chosen a mixture of daisies and pansies this time.
She sat back down on the top on the small green hill and once again set to work. She wished she had had a book instead, that would have been more entertaining. Her nimble fingers managed to finish the second wreath faster than the first and she was left bored again.
She lay backwards on the cool earth, not caring if she got some blades of grass embedded in her fluffy mass of hair. She shuffled herself into a comfortable position and rested her hands on her stomach, her knees propped up. The warmth of summer, the rustling of leaves and the singing of birds was enough to lull her to sleep.
She had just closed her eyes to take a nap when there was a loud "crack" noise from behind her. She started and snapped upright in a second. Her wide eyes searched the space in front of her anxiously. There was no one there.
She scrambled to her feet quickly and stood up. She turned around to see if there was anyone behind her and there was. Severus was standing stiffly, black against the green around him, just behind her.
She relaxed. Why she had panicked, she wasn't sure but the silence that accompanied his arrival had set off warning bells from the days of always being prepared for an attack. But those days were still now, although recently that had been forgotten she realized.
There was something about him that was different, Hermione could tell. She started to walk over to him cautiously. He was radiating a bitter vibe that asked her to leave him alone (which Hermione had absolutely no intention of doing). His deep black stare was clouded by some emotion that looked a lot like sadness. She hoped with all her heart he had not become despondent once again.
When she was close to him, enough to feel his breathing, she tentatively laid a hand on the ebony robes of his chest. He stiffened a little but concealed it well. He looked back at Hermione looking up at him and felt more depressed inside.
"Are you alright?" she asked softly, staring him down with equal strength. He was the first to back down, surprisingly, and glanced away to the mountains. Hermione frowned. He somehow seemed paler and thinner since she had seen him last night. And the fact that he did not answer her question was enough for her to worry.
"Where is Mr. Malfoy?" he dodged her question but finally broke the silence. She noticed his breathing was ragged and harsh. His eyes refused to stay still and focus on one thing alone, flickering pointlessly to different scenery objects around them. She felt as though he did not want her to touch him and that he had tensed from the hand on his chest.
"I don't know," she frowned, further confused by his words, "Why? What happened? Where were you?" the questions rolled effortlessly from her tongue and she knew that he would not appreciate them.
"I was..." he searched for the word, "... unavoidably detained," he said coolly. His silky words were not enough to make her feel any better in fact they made her feel worse. Something dropped in her stomach.
"W-what?" she stuttered. She had always known he had been a spy but in the back of her mind she didn't believe he would come to any harm. Only just this second did she fully understand what his work entailed. There was a loud rustle of leaves from behind them as a particularly harsh gust ruffled the trees.
She gulped nervously and wrapped her arms around him tightly, just to make sure he really was standing in front of her, healthy and alive. She leaned the side of her head against him. Yes, he really was there, alive and well in her arms. But how could she be sure he was not hurt? Her heart started to speed up anxiously.
He put his hands on her back gently but Hermione could tell his actions were hesitant and forced, devoid of the tenderness she usually felt. It was all she could do not to break down into tears. She knew that she should not be so ridiculous and that he did not need to handle a crying woman on top of what he had just dealt with and that helped her hold it back.
"It is important that I find Mr. Malfoy soon," he continued and Hermione was grateful for some form of explanation, "He has to go," he wavered before continuing, "-into hiding, unless he wishes to become a Death Eater..." Hermione felt the lump in her throat dissipate and all her sadness was replaced with an icy numbness.
Severus could feel Hermione's disbelief. Her mind didn't want to accept it.
"I-I don't u-understand," she was not crying. She refused to let herself but her voice came out choked just the same. Severus pitied her some. He stroked her back and Hermione relaxed with it because it was an act of tenderness and she once again felt he loved her.
"Yes, you do," he muttered firmly into the bushel of fluffy hair. Hermione cuddled up against him more and sighed. She was feeling much better now he was acting normally again. And his sternness helped her nerves calm down from their shaky heights. The soft strokes on her back soothed the sinking in her insides.
Yes, she did understand. Draco was wanted as a Death Eater and had to go into hiding. She pitied Ginny strongly and it was helped by pity for herself. Draco did not have a dark mark burned into his flesh, Severus did and every single time it stung black he would have to go and answer to the Dark Lord's whim.
"Are you hurt?" she whispered into his clothes and Severus strained to hear her. He stopped caressing her back. Hermione wished he hadn't. There was a silence enforced by the lack of other people around them.
"No," he assured her. Hermione did not believe him. She tilted herself back from him to look him hard and long in the eyes. She was once again overcome with sadness when she saw they were misty with the remnants of pain. It also accounted for his heavy breathing. He looked back with equal defiance in an attempt to mask it. He was probably not wounded at the moment but had been under the... "curse" that she didn't even want to think about.
"You're lying," she said miserably. He looked surprised that she had seen right through him. Then he nodded.
"Yes," he admitted. "But I'm fine now." Hermione doubted it but she could tell that it was something he at least half believed. Now that he was being less frigid Hermione was dealing a lot better. She had been badly stressed but now she at least felt she knew him again.
She let go of him, finding enough strength in her to do so. Poor Ginny, she thought, again.
"We should probably go back to Hogwarts for a pain relief poti-"
"That is not necessary," Severus replied strictly. Hermione closed her open mouth. "I already told you, I'm alright now." She decided to do as he asked and let the subject drop.
They were treading their way through the staring crowd on the cobbled streets of Hogsmead, arm in arm. Hermione ignored the googly eyes as best she could but Severus chose to do the exact opposite. Whenever he managed to catch someone's eye he would give them a poisonous look. They would shrink back away from the depths of his deadly eyes.
He managed to part the throng of students and graduates with his dark stare alone.
"Impressive," Hermione mumbled. He wasn't listening since he was sneering at fifth year girl who could not believe her eyes.
"What?" he turned to her, replacing the coldness in his eyes for kindness. It made the watching people gawk.
"Your glare," Hermione stated with a small smile, "It's impressive." He raised a brow and a corner of his lips in mild amusement. He realized he not only loved her but was also "fond" of her as well. He didn't think it was possible. "Fond" was a word used for adorable puppy dogs and he was no fan of puppy dogs. But her smile... she had a hold on him that was deadly... and that was a good thing.
"Thank you," he smirked at her comment, "It takes talent," he boasted, "And practice". She snorted. He took pride in his glower but then again... he possessed a glower to be proud of.
"You should teach it to me one day," she grinned up at him and squeezed his arm in a playful manner. He was also not one to stand playful banter but from Hermione it was the opposite of irritating and he wished she would tease more often. He could hardly believe it himself.
"Indeed I should," he agreed with a full smirk, "I can tell you have potential." They turned a corner around a crooked shop into a backstreet free of prying eyes. It helped take any pressure off of them but they already were oblivious to it. Alone the two of them walked arm in arm, side by side, occasionally brushing and softly bumping into one another.
"Potential..." Hermione echoed sarcastically. "A strong word for something as simple as a glare."
"I dare to disagree," he was humouring her by talking a conversation which with any other person he would never have, "A glare can be so much more than simple. A subtle difference can mean a completely different emotion." Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Exactly," he said, nodding to her expression, "you are not being spiteful and it shows subtly."
"OK," Hermione admitted "So you have a point but what use will it be to me?" She liked this pointless conversation. It passed the time and helped make her more comfortable. And a plus was she got to hear more his voice that had such a strong affect on her.
"You may find that being able to read people's expressions down to the finest detail can come in useful..." he said with mock sarcasm.
He stopped walking abruptly and Hermione automatically copied his actions. She wondered what had made him stop and frowned as she looked about her, gripping his arm tightly. She was edgy and she knew it. What she was afraid of was that it could be a group of death eaters or something like that but when she saw what had made him stop she sighed deeply and flopped against him in pure relief.
"Hello Hermione!" Ginny called cheerfully. She waved enthusiastically from the other end of the street. Draco and she were glued together at the side in a similar way to Hermione and Severus. And, to her disappointment, Severus noticed it too and immediately let go of her when he realized he was acting in an identical way to a love-struck teenager.
It made her break into a smile, even though she was frustrated. It probably was a horrifying shock to him.
There a was a small silence where the two couples (not something Severus would like to be referred as) approached each other, stopping in front of a dusty window of an old falling apart house.
"Mr. Malfoy," he began formally with a small nod of acknowledgement, "We need to talk." Draco had been looking pleasantly contented (still a relatively new sight) but his face darkened with bewilderment. He had picked it up from Severus. Hermione marvelled at it. It seemed that it was a gift shared by Slytherins.
"Why?" he asked cautiously, looking to Hermione's face instead of Severus' for easier answers. Hermione tried to keep her face blank because she knew that this was not the place to discuss. His blonde eyebrows drew together sharply when he did not get an immediate answer and he scowled at Severus. "Professor Snape?" he pushed.
"A subject of this kind is for the private setting," he explained. Ginny frowned too at Hermione and Hermione was obliged to bite her lip instead of letting words spill from her tongue. She bowed her head a little, unable to look Ginny in the eye. This news was definitely going to sting badly.
"Something's not right..." Ginny said quietly into his ear as Draco eyed Severus carefully with cryptic silver eyes.
"WHAT?!" roared Draco. Hermione started in surprise and Ginny just gaped, pale as a sheet of parchment. He stood with such vigour that his chair crashed to the floor of Dumbledore's office behind him. His eyes shone with angry disbelief. Hermione gripped the edges of the armchair and stared at Dumbledore to see his reactions to Draco's rashness.
Ginny wasn't talking but it looked like she was trying to. Her mouth kept opening and closing numbly beneath her wide eyes. Then she started shaking her head. Hermione reached for her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Ginny was grateful for the gesture but too much upset and in shock to realize it.
He slammed his fists violently down on the grand desk. Severus noted coolly that he was acting more like a Gryffindor than a Slytherin.
"This cannot be true," he hissed through gritted teeth, leaning his face close to Dumbledore who remained absolutely unruffled. He had his fingers entwined, lying on the table, and he watched Draco over the top of his half-moon spectacles with twinkling blue eyes. Draco was fuming with a rage he knew should not be directed at those trying to help, yet he couldn't take it out on anyone else. His relatively longish blonde hair hung out of place around his high cheekbones.
"Malfoy," snapped Severus, giving him a disapproving glower, "Please restrain yourself. We are only suggesting a method that will keep the flesh of your forearm intact," he spat. He unconsciously rubbed the spot where his dark mark was through the sleeve of his black robes. Hermione noticed and her heart clenched.
She touched the hand on his arm gently and he flinched. He was astonished that he had been massaging the tattoo of the skull and snake. She could see in his face for a moment he was totally vulnerable and his surprise was plainly open in his eyes. He recovered quickly, masking his emotions incredibly well.
Draco watched the scene; all malice dropped, and he turned to Ginny after taking his curled fists off of the table hesitantly. He straightened his back slowly and kept his eyes of his former professor and Hermione who were engrossed in a silent conversation with their eyes.
Ginny was staring up at him with pleading eyes. He very nearly changed his mind from the way she looked at him alone but his conclusion was steadfast. Dumbledore was watching the spectacle with fascination. He admitted even he could not have seen such romance coming with all his years of knowing Severus. He had thought Severus would not give in to emotions even if they were strong.
"Please Draco," Ginny begged sadly, knowing it was no use, "I don't want... I wouldn't be able to... if you became..." She hung her head as she trailed off and then there was an uncomfortable silence.
Hermione kept her hand on Severus'. The cool touch was comforting and he was grateful for it as well.
Draco let out an audibly large sigh and bent down to pick up the chair that had fallen. It was heavier than he remembered it being when he had shoved it backwards. He pulled it upright and closed his eyes before he collapsed into it. It groaned at having been put under the stain of the weight of a man.
"I can't go into hiding," he said solemnly, avoiding anyone's eye. He propped his elbows on his knees and hid his face with his hands. "I won't. It could be for a month or a decade. I don't want to spend endless days trapped like a rodent in a cage with no idea whether it will be the day they find and kill me. I will not sacrifice my life for more time," he sighed again into his hands and closed his eyes.
Ginny looked as though she understood but she was mortified. She was staring at him like she had never known who he was.
"You're going to become... one of them?" she choked. Draco looked up from his hands so quickly Hermione almost started again. He gave Ginny a long hurt look from under the stray strands of blonde.
"Don't even think it," he ordered icily, looking intently into her eyes. Ginny's horror was substituted by blissful relief. "Ginny..." he said quietly, sadly. He looked away from her again.
Ginny got up from her chair to sit on Draco's lap. Her fingers rested on the arm of her chair a moment while she watched him looking up at her. Then she ensconced herself into the seat of his lap. Once she had her arms comfortably around his neck she placed a small kiss on the corner of his mouth.
"I'm sorry..." she mumbled. Hermione smiled warmly at them.
"You are a topic of great interest in the Dark Circle," Severus said quietly, but everybody heard him perfectly. He broke the emotional vibe with little effort. The room fell prey to a different type of silence. He looked each person in the eyes, boring into them like black flames and the serious tone returned. Ginny shrank away from Severus into Draco as if furthering herself from him would bring happiness.
Draco frowned. "What do you mean?" he was speaking slowly and for a long moment he forgot that Severus was not his Professor anymore.
"I mean that where your loyalties lie is still under much discussion in the Circle," he explained. "If you do not choose to be a Death Eater then your father's loyalties would be questioned since he has been one of the few who truly believed you were ready to join them-"
"I have no emotional ties to my father," Draco snapped, cutting in. Hermione could tell from the look in his eye that he meant it. "I do not care what happens to him. He deserves more than he can get."
"-And since they are aware of your relationship to a Weasley they are already planning on ways to either turn her or kill her-" he tried to continue.
"What?!" he interrupted again. His silver-grey eyes clouded with protectiveness and Ginny's brows shot up.
"-She is a weakness and weaknesses will not be tolerated in the Dark Circle," he seemed to speak with passion or experience and Hermione frowned. "They will see to it that they are destroyed." He finished, all the while watching Draco darkly to make sure he would not butt in again.
Hermione was watching his face very carefully because she had an inkling as to what exactly he meant by 'weaknesses will not be tolerated'. She was more than certain that she was the cause for his suffering earlier today and it hurt to realize that.
Hermione looked Severus straight in the eye and he realized that she was definitely smart enough to figure out... what had happened. He wanted to rip his eyes away but he couldn't from the questioning brown of Hermione's. The touch on his hand tightened until she was gripping him and Dumbledore pushed his spectacles further up his nose, silently, as he watched intently from his perch behind his desk.
"So am I in danger too?" Hermione asked quietly and the tenseness in the air quadrupled. Severus felt his mouth go dry. How could he tell her? He glanced at Dumbledore who raised a false ignorant brow in reply. For the first time in his life Severus wished there was more light in the room. It was too dimly lit and he had never ever felt claustrophobic but now he just wanted space.
He forced himself to answer. "Not at the moment but I doubt they will give us peace for long..." he sighed and once again Hermione was faced with expressions he forgot to mask. It worried her.
"Why not at the moment?" Hermione was feeling as though less and less blood was reaching her brain. The more she heard the closer she came to blacking out. If she did black out she supposed it would feel like sweet relief. She shakily brushed a tuft of thick hair behind her ear with a pale hand.
"They have other things to think about, recruiting being the main thing," Dumbledore finally spoke. It surprised them all and everyone watched Dumbledore who was fiddling with a gold pendulum. Severus was grateful. Dumbledore had saved this conversation from going down the path it shouldn't.
He nodded his agreement for Hermione and stroked her thick hair a few times and she looked into his eyes once more, searching hungrily for more answers. She was soothed by the softness which he gave her but her appetite for the truth was not completely impeded.
"Will I have to go into hiding?" Ginny piped up, curled up in Draco's lap. Draco shook his head, although the answer wasn't his to give. It seemed that he was firm on this subject.
"No, you won't," Dumbledore reassured her and Draco stopped shaking his head to shoot Dumbledore a look of misunderstanding. He had expected Dumbledore to rebut him. "As long as young Draco," the words stung like an insult but he ignored them with good grace, "is not a member of the Death Eaters then you have nothing to fear..."
Ginny smiled with relief and leaned against Draco with a deep sigh.
Hermione looked to the floor with a thoughtful frown. She could feel the burn of Severus' stare on the back of her head but she ignored it for now. She was seeing things in his eyes that asked more questions than answered them.
"Are you sure about your decision Draco?" Dumbledore asked kindly, watching him carefully over the rim of his spectacles. Draco looked slightly hesitant but then he nodded his blonde-haired head. "The offer will still stand, ready for if ever you should feel it would be too perilous. Come straight to me and I will arrange for your secret keeper."
Two days later, the last day of school saw Hermione studying Severus carefully over her lowered book. He was sitting once again on the sofa with Hermione's legs over his lap. His head was bent over his book and his hair hung beside his face but not enough to block it from her view. Her eyes skimmed over the features of his face. His dark eyes scanned the words of the thick volume in his hold in a hypnotically repetitive manner: left to right, left to right.
She smiled, unable to hold back the sign of affection. He was so absorbed in his book, lost in a world created for him by the author. She didn't want to disturb him. She looked around the room briefly. The bookshelf still looked as enticing and wonderful as it always did, stretched across the whole wall behind them. The desk with various potions bottled scattered around it had not been used for several days. That was unusual because almost every night Severus needed some potion or another to help him think or sleep. The chess set in the corner was set in a game they had left for another time and the fire beside them sputtered and crackled with the fresh wood, throwing flickering orange glows across the shadows and keeping the room bright enough to read.
Her soft smile grew when he turned the page with his brows drawn into a concentrated frown. He continued reading, oblivious to the eyes watching his every action. She laid the book she held down on her rising and falling chest, keeping her gaze on Severus.
"You look like a cat person to me," she mused affectionately. He looked up from his book at her as if he had misheard her. She beamed at him and he wondered exactly what importance this conversation would hold.
"A cat person?" he echoed. "I do not have much love for creatures with more than two legs. A snake has none," he pointed out and picked up his book as though to return to it. He slid a finger under the next page and flipped it and began to read. Hermione smirked evilly. She had no intention of letting him read.
"What about a snail?" she asked with mock fascination, hugging the book to her chest as she raised an eyebrow. "A snail has a foot – which we can call half a leg - under its belly. Do you love snails?" she pursed her lips not to laugh at the look of horror and surprise at her words.
"Most certainly not!" Hermione chuckled. She opened her mouth to speak again but he continued, "And before you ask, I have no love for maggots and worms and anything of that sort," he finished with finality and opened his book smartly to make it clear he wanted quiet so he could read.
"Fine, then what exactly," the second she began talking again he let out a large sigh and closed his book with a snap and laid it to one side. Hermione ignored his display and kept talking animatedly. "-is it that you "love" so much about snakes...hmm?"
She pulled herself upright, put her book to one side and took her legs from his lap carefully. She twisted herself around so she was facing the opposite direction and slowly lay back down, placing her head comfortably in his lap instead. She noted it made a much better pillow than the cushion she had been using previously.
She looked up expectantly at him, waiting for an answer and for an instant he just watched her looking striking with her fluffy hair blanketing his thighs. Then he decided to humour her. It was the last day he would see her before she left. He placed a gentle fine-boned hand on her forehead.
"What I love about snakes..." he said slowly, like it took all his concentration to think what it was that made snakes so special. He made it sound more like an essay with that sentence alone.
He laid his other hand on her stomach tenderly. She gripped it with her own in return, still keeping a sharp eye on him.
"They are delicately poised," he began. Hermione shuffled herself to get more comfortable. This was relaxing and his company was enjoyable. She wanted to make the most of it. "They are quick witted, sharp, silent and stealthy. They have an air of elegance and refinement but also dangerousness. That and the snake is the symbol for Slytherin."
"You're proud of being Slytherin, aren't you?" Hermione asked softly. She was watching the lowering flames beside her. In the comfort of his company and with her head resting in the warmth of his lap she was slowly relaxing to dimensions she had never reached before. If she wasn't careful she would fall asleep again.
"Most of the time," he replied slowly. His voice seemed remorseful. Hermione picked up on it immediately. She squeezed the hand on her stomach tenderly.
"What do you mean?" she murmured, not taking her gaze off of the flickering light.
"I do not mind that Slytherin has a bad reputation. It symbolises all the best qualities. But there have been times when I wished I wasn't one..." he trailed off and his black eyes unfocused as he recalled depressing memories. Hermione sensed him tense a little. "I don't want to discuss it," he added firmly. Hermione felt it was a fair deal because she didn't want him to be so miserable.
There was pause in conversation. Hermione glanced over to her discarded dark blue book more than once, wishing it were within her reach. Severus had been put off reading and did not pick up his own from beside him. He chose to think instead, something few people did nowadays.
"You have not told me," Severus started blankly, speaking his thoughts, "where you will be living after tomorrow..." It was a question hidden in a statement. Hermione frowned at the fire.
"To be honest," she said truthfully, "I, myself, don't know for sure where I will be living..." Severus raised a brow, even though Hermione could not see. "I'm moving in with Harry, Ron and most probably Draco into a flat Harry picked out in south London but the distance shouldn't matter because I can apparate and we have floo..." she realized he did not need an explanation of the ways they could keep in contact.
She shut up and sighed. She wanted to close her eyes, knowing she would fall asleep instantly but she could not spend the night here. She had some packing to do. It didn't feel real. She was sure she would be back next year. The knowledge would not be accepted by her heart. Hogwarts was her home.
"I will take you to see it as soon as Harry, Ron and Draco go out. I don't think they would appreciate it if I brought you there while they were there. It's part of the agreement that involves them accepting us," she said quietly, lightly playing with his fingers. He watched her from above carefully. "I promise." It was good enough for him.
"I'll hold you to it," he replied, equally quiet. The touch on his fingers held no description for him, being a too wonderful and priceless an addition to his memories.
They lapsed into a comfortable silence once more. The fire sputtered several times as it radiated its heat. Severus picked up his book, now that his mind had cleared of the thoughts that had disabled it. He began to read and Hermione found enough entertainment fiddling with his hand on her stomach.
"Will you tell me about Stella one day...?" Severus looked down to Hermione looking up thoughtfully. He did not know why she had reached such questions in the silence they shared. He gave it serious consideration. Watching Hermione's kind doe brown eyes a new feeling washed over him. Would there never be an end to them? He wanted her to know but the pain he felt when thinking of her, let alone discussing her, was still too fresh, even after all this time.
"One day," he assured her slowly, "I will."
Phew, finished it (and finally a full outline for all the chapters to come – 25 – I think – if it takes too much or too little space I'll have to adapt it). Now I have my outline for the interesting part then my desire to write this came back. Hang on. (not long now!!!)
Finally getting somewhere with this story!! A trace of what I've been waiting to write. Now my cousins are gone, my sources of entertainment and since they're older they get to take me places etc... (did I mention I was on tv – only in Lebanon but that's still cool) And now I have two and a half weeks of nothing to do but write. From my calculations, there are about 200 pages left to be written. (That's more than I anticipated – hopefully I'm wrong)
And I think I've revealed WAY too much in this chapter. (And I'm going to have to add angst to the subject in about three or four chapters).
I'm uploading from my new house in Qatar and it is fabulous!! Temperature is perfect and I'm right across from the gym and pool!! I'm so happy. (sorry to bore u with personal totally useless information)
Enjoy. Luv, Snakecharmer.