The Emotions of Potions Rein Elanor
Chapter Six: A Christmas Dinner Incident
Disclaimer: I don't own them. I just lock them up in my room and tickle them until they talk.
A/N: Err...I'm really sorry again for the long delay. I haven't really got an excuse. I mean, I'm busy, but it's not like anybody writes fan fiction professionally. I mean, everybody has another life (and a probably very much duller life) that they have to lead when they aren't reading or writing this stuff. So I am sorry. I hope you find that the story was worth a wait. I was really excited to write it.
Chapter 6: A Christmas Dinner Incident
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After that door slammed, a few reflections took place on either side of it. Hermione moved down the corridor a bit, feeling somewhat lost. She could still feel the warmth of Snape's hand between her shoulders where he had placed it to lead her out of his classroom.
"And why am I so anxious to have these lessons so often?" she wondered. "I mean, he's not making it a bucket of laughs."
But she did realise that she had begun to feel almost at home in Snape's dungeon. It was almost a haven for her, a place to get away from the frivolities of Gryffindor Tower. In his presence, she could relax and be herself. Harry and Ron, though both were sweet and great friends, couldn't converse on her level, and she found herself hiding her intelligence to talk to them. But with Snape . . .
Hermione mentally slapped herself. "What am I thinking! He's bloody Snape!" she exclaimed aloud, causing a few portraits to look at her keenly. She blushed and began walking back up to Gryffindor Tower, reflecting on Severus Snape.
'He's not that bad, really,' she thought. 'He can be a bastard, but mostly, he's just misunderstood.' Then she snorted. 'Wait- of course he's a bastard!' she thought, pulling a wry face (anyone watching her would have thought her mad, really). 'But he's an intelligent and brave bastard,' she thought, almost fondly.
'And I really do enjoy working with him,' she thought. 'Christmas is going to be boring.'
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Severus Snape leaned against the dungeon door after he had pushed Hermione out of the room.
"Now, why did I refuse to see her over the holidays?" he asked himself aloud. "That was stupid." Then he seemed to realize what he had said, and his eyes widened in horror and a little disgust.
He tried to make up for his own thoughts, absent-mindedly rubbing the hand he'd touched Hermione's back with in his other hand. "It's because she needs the time and experience over the break!" he told himself. "It's not anything bad!"
Severus shook his head. Better watch his own mind. Wouldn't want anything weird popping out again. He set to work on a nice, distracting potion.
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Sooner than seemed possible, the students who were going home for Christmas had left (including Ron and Harry), and the castle was empty but for a very few students and the teachers. Hermione spent most of her time in the library, studying the Experimental Potions texts (or re-studying them, as she had already read most of the books). The library was normally empty of students during the days before Christmas, and this year was no exception. Hermione expected to be alone, and was therefore surprised on Christmas Eve when a soft voice suddenly spoke from behind her.
"Re-reading these books will not grant you holiday lessons, Miss Granger."
Hermione let out a little scream of surprise and what was almost terror. Her scream was cut off by a long-fingered hand that closed over her mouth. She would have panicked at this point, had she not recognized the distinctive smell of the herbs and spices of the Potions lab. It was Professor Snape. She relaxed, and pulled his hand from her mouth. She was surprised at how warm it was.
"I should have thought that you would be able to withstand the horror of my presence by now, Miss Granger," he said in an amused tone, sitting down across from her and pushing some books aside so he could see her.
"Your presence is far from horrifying, Professor," Hermione replied, placing her hand on her heart as though to check that it was still beating. "You merely startled me."
He smirked. "So I see."
She rolled her eyes. "Was there something you wanted, sir?" she asked in a mock-exasperated tone. "Or did you come here for the sole purpose of scaring the magic out of me?"
"What other purpose do I have in life but to scare young Gryffindors at every opportunity?" he drawled at her, leaning back in the chair and crossing his arms over his chest, his black eyes meeting her brown ones almost challengingly.
She raided her eyebrows. "I think your life is valuable in many other ways, sir," she said simply.
His eyes mocked her sincerity as he purred, "And what, pray tell, are those ways, Miss Granger? Please enlighten me."
"I think you're valuable as a teacher, for one thing," she began, looking a bit thoughtful. "For, despite your harshness, or perhaps because of it, you force your students to learn and to respect the art of potions-making."
He looked a bit surprised at this, and with a small smile, she continued.
"You are also valuable as a role model for successful scholarship- you are a brilliant Potions Master."
His mouth twitched a bit at this. Whether he wanted to laugh at her or to sneer at her words was uncertain. Perhaps he wanted to do both.
"Thirdly, sir," she continued, blushing a bit at her own words, "I think that you are valuable as a human being. I think that there's a great capacity for good in you. There's a great heart hidden inside you, sir, behind the harsh exterior and the great mind."
"I highly doubt that, Miss Granger," he drawled, standing up. "We must remember what I have been. The chance of the capacity for good in me is not great, although I thank you for your belief that it could exist. Not many would think it possible. Happy Christmas, Miss Granger."
So saying, the most feared and hated of all the Hogwarts professors turned and billowed out of the library, leaving a very confused Hermione Granger to sort out her reactions to his speech.
The next day was Christmas, and Hermione woke rather later than usual (Gryffindor Tower was rather more quiet than usual, owing to the absence of many who normally dwelled there) to find her gifts on the end of the bed. A new quill from Harry, and yet another bottle of perfume from Ron. Hermione frowned a bit at this. Why was Ron still buying her perfume, she wondered? Then she realized that he must have bought it before they had split up. An unusual act of efficiency that Hermione admired. Unless, of course, Ron had merely been too lazy to think of another gift to get her for Christmas.
Hermione spent most of the day lounging around the Common Room with Crookshanks, daydreaming and dozing off occasionally. When it was time for the traditional Christmas dinner, she headed down the stairs to the Great Hall.
As usual, the Great Hall was decorated wonderfully, with 12 Christmas trees and candles galore. Looking around, Hermione saw that there was one round table in the middle of the huge hall, with the teachers and three students seated around it.
When Dumbledore saw Hermione, he waved her over to the table.
"Ah! Miss Granger!" he cried. "Since there are so few students staying this year, I have once again decided to put everyone together at one table! Please sit down!" he gestured at the one remaining seat- between Professor Flitwick and Severus Snape.
She smiled at the other students and at the teachers as she sat. A few smiled back. Snape looked grumpy, and simply raised his eyebrows at her when she turned her smile in his direction.
Dumbledore clapped his hands once, and the magnificent Christmas feast appeared before them. The two second year Hufflepuffs exclaimed happily and began to eat so enthusiastically that Snape looked disgusted. Hermione suppressed a giggle at this- he was obviously in one of his very sarcastic and disagreeable moods.
Through most of the dinner, Hermione chatted amicably with Professor Flitwick about the various Advanced Charms they were learning (and scheduled to learn) in class. They talked until the coffee arrived at the end of the meal, when they were laughing over the Levitation Charm they had covered in first year. Hermione was once again demonstrating the old "swish and flick" motion when she accidentally knocked her full cup of coffee (which was amazingly hot) right into Snape's black-robed lap.
She gasped, grabbing a napkin. "Oh, I'm so sorry Professor!" she cried. "Let me get that. Oh, I'm so sorry!" she continued, while attempting to wipe the hot coffee off of his lap.
He grabbed her wayward hand and hissed, "I really don't think I need you here, Miss Granger." He then muttered, "Evanesco," and the coffee disappeared.
Hermione, blushing furiously, left the Great Hall soon after. She shuddered to think what it must have looked like she was doing. And to Snape of all people! She left right behind Severus, who went to the Hospital Wing to have a burn in a rather uncomfortable place healed.
A/N: I'm far too vain to leave off a chapter without an authoress' note to explain my cleverness (or lack thereof). So here it is. What do you think will happen? In the next chapter, we will be seeing the relationship progress to a certain important time. Like Hermione leaving Hogwarts for University. Where do you think she's going? Find out in...The Emotions of Potions: Chapter 7!