Severus could not hide his sudden intake of breath, but thanks to his training from an early age to think as all Slytherins did, he quickly disguised the reaction as nothing more than a bored yawn. Looking almost callously upon the unblinking woman before him, who surely had grown so still in the fear that even the slightest movement would cause the tears to begin Severus prided himself on his innate Slytherin ability to mask all emotions.
"And why do you think that this should mean anything to me Miss Granger?" he found himself saying in a snide and cruel tone while inside he was lamenting the passing of his only remaining friend. For a moment Hermione could do little more than stare at the man before her in a sense of utter shock, her eyes drawn wide while her mouth hung open listlessly, her throat having grown suddenly quite thick and dry with the tears that hung stingingly at the back of her eyes. But then she saw it, the truth she had known he would hide at all costs, the deep black pools of his eyes betrayed him. In the gleaming black orbs that looked up at her from a face twisted with aloof detachment she saw the endless seas of pain that her words had brought to him and for a moment she felt a small stab of sympathy in her stomach. Quickly swallowing her own emotions as she had learnt to do in her years of training in Auror School she drew herself together, displaying an air of business-like efficiency as she continued to gaze down at him. Yet despite her masterfully controlled emotions she could not manage to control her tongue,
"Because I know…" she began falteringly.
"And pray tell, Miss Granger, what it is that you think you know?" Severus asked in a crooning and mocking tone, though his sarcasm could not even begin to hide the tremendous emotional pain that shone in his eyes, for now that she had recognized it for what it truly was, Hermione would never be able to deny its existence again. Scowling at the man before her, who despite his current position pinned beneath a mountain of books and parchments still managed to maintain the air of authority with which he had ruled the dungeons during her years at school, Hermione let a sigh of exasperation roll forth over her lips though she did manage to quell the urge to roll her eyes at him.
"That you and Minerva had been corresponding ever since you disappeared that night" she said plainly, watching with a secret leap of delight deep inside at the shocked expression that flitted across his face for a brief moment. At first Severus was at a loss for words with which to respond, the surprise of this revelation striking him deep to the core and rendering him unable to think let alone come up with some cutting and witty reply, inside he found himself numbly asking,
"And just how did you know of this communication?" Well at least I didn't sound like a complete fool he thought to himself as he looked up at the woman continuing to tower above him, a situation that made him feel quite irritated. Suddenly feeling awkward standing there staring down at her former Professor while still covered in her rather heavy traveling cloak and talking of such things Hermione glanced about the room in a search for somewhere to sit, but finding nothing but the maze of books stacked precariously she gave a small shrug and once again shifted her weight from one foot to the other before taking a deep breath and plunging into her explanation.
"Minerva told me of the nature of your correspondence several months ago when she first became ill, she knew that the inevitable would happen eventually and felt that once she had…. passed…" Hermione paused for a moment to fight back the sudden tightness in her throat and burning in her eyes as she struggled to keep her emotions in check. "That… that someone should continue in her stead" she continued after a moment, her voice holding a subtle shakiness that had not been present before.
"I see" was all Severus could mumble in response, his brain seemingly frozen with the realization that his friend was dead and now he truly was completely alone in the world. The one person who knew the truth of his past and disappearance was gone, he had been cast adrift in this sea of loneliness for so long now, but always there had been the reassurance that Minerva knew him, truly knew him and still cared for him. Her though sometimes infrequent letters had always been an immense comfort to him as time passed almost meaninglessly out here in the middle of nowhere, and now she had left this earth, her letters would come no more, her words of reassurance would no longer soothe his aching heart.
"And now you are to be my 'pen pal' as they say?" he asked with bitter amusement, "I can only hope to Merlin that you manage to keep your letters shorter than your essays." Hermione could not suppress the small yet slightly strained chuckle that rumbled up from her throat, the corners of her eyes wrinkling slightly as it flowed forth.
"Heavens no, my letter writing skills are atrocious" she said almost breathlessly as she attempted to pull her laughter under control.
"Then Merlin has truly forsaken me" Severus mused almost warmly, his own eyes dropping down to his clasped hands as the weight of Minerva's passing settled heavily in his chest.
An awkward silence stretched out over several minutes as Severus sat listlessly staring at his hands, the hands which had brought down the man who had acted more as a father than his own ever had, his dearest and closest friend, the hands that had spent many an hour writing letters to his only other friend who was now also gone into the void beyond, the crushing sense of abandonment beginning to press down on him uncomfortably. With a groan of pain from stiff limbs and protesting joints Severus slowly and carefully extricated himself from the pile of books that surrounded him and slowly rose to his feet, pushing the long snake-like braid of jet black hair back over his narrow shoulder as he leaned against the wall for support.
"Tea" he said simply when he slowly pushed away from the wall, trusting his own tired and weak limbs to carry him. Slowly Hermione looked over at him questioningly, her face showing the signs of weariness akin to that which he felt coursing through his veins.
"I think revelations such as this calls for a cup of tea" he said softly in response to her unspoken question and with that he swiftly turned and walked out of the room, padding soundlessly down the hall on bare feet to the kitchen where he busied himself with preparing two cups of tea, reveling in that fact that something utterly mundane could so easily distract him from the pain that was tearing his cold and black heart to pieces. A few moments later he reappeared with two cups of steaming tea, one of which he then proceeded to offer to Hermione who gladly accepted and then began to glance around the room once more in a futile attempt to find somewhere to sit. Nudging a few books aside with a slender and pale foot Severus slowly eased his aching body back down to the ground and after settling himself as comfortably as he was able said,
"Anywhere you can find an open spot is as good as any." Frowning reprovingly Hermione gave a small sigh before carefully lowering herself to the floor where she stood, taking great care to not spill the scorching tea all over herself. Once again they feel into an uneasy yet equally soothing silence, the only sound that of the wind and an exhalation here and there to cool the burning liquid clasped in tense hands.
"Thank you" Hermione murmured over the rim of her cup after a moment, her eyes rising to glance at the man seated only a few feet from her. Raising his gleaming black eyes for an instant he offered up a small wan smile and a subtle nod of his head before turning back to the mug in his hands, gazing at the liquid within with a pondering expression.
"So, what is this nonsense about taking me back to Hogwarts?" he asked when he was halfway through his tea, the liquid now a quite tolerable temperature, allowing him to savor the smooth and rich flavor rather than sipping at it tentatively to avoid burning his tongue. "I assume that Minerva divulged the true events that happened that night, as well as those preceding and following. But I still do not understand why on earth you would wish to drag me back to that hell" he finished as he looked at her expectantly. Taking a long sip from her mug Hermione couldn't deny the calming effect that tea always had on her, perhaps it was a vestige of her youth when her mother would soothe her with tea and biscuits, or a remnant of many evenings spent with Minerva in her office drinking tea and discussing students as well as old friends and certain Professors. Setting her mug down in her lap, her fingers woven through the handle she thought for a moment for how best to phrase her response, she knew that Severus would not appreciate any sugarcoating of the situation as Albus had done tirelessly over the years, but at the same time she thought it best to exclude a few certain facts to help win him over.
"Well due to certain circumstances there is obviously an open position at Hogwarts, and Minerva thought it best if you return to fill it" she stated simply, revealing as little as possible while still providing key information. At first Severus seemed taken aback, flabbergasted in fact by what he perceived her to be suggesting, and when he finally found the ability to speak it was with exclamation that he said,
"You expect me to return and become Headmaster? Did the war addle your brain Miss Granger!" A sudden snort of amusement as she was bringing the mug to her lips for a long and soothing drink had Hermione quickly placing it back in her lap and trying to avoid having tea coming rushing out of her nose.
"Merlin no!" she exclaimed with a laugh which quickly died away when she saw the sour expression on his face. "Not that I am implying you are unsuitable for the position of course" she added tentatively.
"Mmm, of course" he responded sourly, more offended by her initial outburst than he had believed himself capable of, for indeed it was a laughable and completely ridiculous suggestion, wasn't it?
"Then why exactly, is my presence needed?" he went on after a moment, clamping down on his hurt pride and locking it anyway deep in the dark recesses of his mind to ponder at a later date.
"Well, the current Potions Professor will be filling the position left by Minerva, and well honestly, despite your cruel, belittling, callous and biased behavior, you were the best Potions Professor Hogwarts ever had" Hermione replied smoothly.
"Such glowing compliments regarding myself you spout, Miss Granger" Severus said silkily, his eyes gleaming with dark amusement warmed with the hint of anger. "Why, I feel the ice melting off this old heart as we speak" he continued sarcastically with a smirk over the edge of his mug as he brought it once more to his pale lips.
"So, will you come back?" Hermione asked at last, swirling the dregs of her tea lingering in the bottom of her mug as she looked from it to the equally dreary face of the man sitting in front of her, a small glimmer of hope shinning in her eyes. Rolling his eyes dramatically at her childlike hopefulness, he drawled in frustrated tones,
"Do I even have a choice?" After a moments pause Hermione couldn't hold back the ghost of a grin as she replied,
"Not really. Minerva being the true owner of this cottage included a clause in its contract, that upon her death if you did not fulfill her dying wishes that it would once again become plottable. In effect anyone wishing to know your location would easily be able to locate you." A scowl eased over Severus' face as he gazed at the former student in front of him before answering in a weary tone,
"I should have guessed as much. She did become rather like Albus with her meddling in recent years." You have no idea, Hermione mused to herself as she hide her smile behind the rim of her mug and downed the cold dregs of her tea, pulling a sour face at its bitter aftertaste as she nodded her head in agreement.