Chapter 5
Hermione's whole body tensed up nervously on hearing these words and her breath caught in her throat.
He couldn't mean? No - surely not!
"I do?" she asked hoarsely, before clearing her throat, trying her best to look unconcerned
"Yes.." Harry answered smiling at her self- conciously.
He looked down at the floor and began nervously fiddling with his fingers
"I mean it might just be a crush, I really don't know.. All I do know is, is that I've had these feelings for a while and I.." then he shook his head, as if it was too hard to continue
"Harry! Are you going to tell me who it is or what!" Hermione demanded impatiently
"Okay! Now don't laugh! But it's erm..it's Ginny"
Hermione breathed a huge sigh of relief, then smiled happily - he'd really had her worried there for a moment! She did want to laugh, but not for the reasons he thought. She knew she would have been flattered, but she was truly glad it wasn't her he was in love with, her life was complicated enough at the moment!
"I think I've burnt my bridges with her now though, I mean, I know she used to like me, but that was a long time ago and I think she's moved on since then" he continued sadly
Feeling for his dilemma, Hermione went to sit next to him, putting her hand on his comfortingly.
"Why don't you ask her and find out?" She suggested helpfully
"Oh I'll probably just make a fool of myself like I usually do" he replied, self-deprecatingly.
"Oh Harry! So what if you do! Look, you're not that shy, awkward boy anymore - you're a man now and a great one with it! Just be honest with her about your feelings, if she doesn't want to go out with you, I'm sure she'll let you down gently."
"Couldn't you, you know, test the ground for me first? I mean, ask her what she thinks of me and if she still likes me and stuff?" Harry asked her hopefully
"Oh alright! Next time we're alone I'll ask her!" she sighed, smiling indulgently
"Thanks Herm, but.. you won't tell her what I've said will you?"
"No of course not, I'll just mention it in passing and I'm sure she won't suspect a thing.. I promise" she proclaimed faithfully
They both stood up
"Oh Harry, I'm so pleased for you!" Hermione gushed suddenly, reaching up to hug her friend and kiss him on the cheek. He blushed a little at this unexpected display of affection and smiled awkwardly.
"You're going to have to get used to that you know, if you're going to go out with a girl!" Hermione teased; then a thought struck her.
"Erm Harry, you have actually kissed a girl haven't you? I mean properly - not just a peck?"
Harry wenteven moreawkward and pushed his fingers self-consciously through his hair.
"Well.. yes, but I don't think I'm very good at it to be honest! I haven't had that much time to practice lately!" he shrugged
"Hmm, well I've got a tip for you, whenever you kiss a girl, don't just go for the tongue sandwich; start off soft and light, then go harder if she wants, let her guide you - if you do that you can't go wrong. I know for a fact that Ginny hates it when guys kiss her too hard! She says it hurts her neck!"
"Err.. thanks I'll remember that!" Harry answered gratefully, smiling
"And relax! If you tense up, you'll never be able to do it properly!" she added
He nodded, still smiling and turned to go,but just as he was reaching for the door, Hermione grabbed his arm to stop him
"Erm, by the way Harry.. how's Ron, I mean.. has he said anything about me lately? He seemed a bit more friendly this morning"
Harry shrugged
"To be honest I don't know for sure, or if he's forgiven you yet, but he doesn't seem quite as angry anymore. I think it was quite hard seeing you here everyday at first, but he seems to be getting used to it now. I think knowing you and Snape are over helps, and I swear I caught him looking at your picture the other day, but he denied it and I wasn't going to push it"
Hermione nodded, feeling a stab of guilt in her heart. She let Harry go then and he walked out, shutting the door behind him, leaving her to muse over her thoughts alone. She had been unfair to poor Ron, she knew that, but she couldn't help the way she felt about Severus. She had known for some time that her relationship with Ron was coming to an end, even though she did still love him - just not in the boyfriend girlfriend kind of way anymore. Towards the end of their relationship, they had become much more like just friends again, at least from her point of view; there was no passion, even though they were still having sex. Whereas with Severus the passion was almost overwhelming, like a mist that filled her mind and body. She loved it; it was an incredible feeling and so good tobe little out of control for a change. Severus was dark, mysterious and more than a little dangerous and his intellect was also on a par with hers, making him all the more attractive to her. Plus with the fact that she loved him deeply, she got such a kick out of being with him, it was almost like an addiction.
Later that day when Hermione and Ginny were alone in their room, she surreptitiously asked her friend what sort of boys she liked and what qualities she'd like them to have. When she casually slipped in the question of whether or not she still liked Harry, Ginny came over all flustered and to Hermione's delight she discovered that the pretty red-haired girl still held a torch for him. Ginny then explained that she had given up all hope that he would ever look at her in that way, or ever see her as anything more than a friend and Hermione had to try very hard to hide her amusement at this strangely familiar presumption.
Armed with the good news she'd been hoping for, Hermione happily informed Harry as soon as possible who, on finding out, couldn't wipe the grin off his face and punched the air for joy. She left him to it then, hoping that his courage wouldn't fail him and he just went for it and asked the girl out!
She wasn't disappointed, when later on, she heard giggling coming from the room she shared with Ginny, just as she was about to go in. She had smiled when she heard Harry's name mentioned in amused irritation by her friend and his laughter in return. When everything went quiet, she decided to leave them to it and went back downstairs.
When Ginny had eventually told her, an hour or so later, that she and Harry were now together, she had feigned surprise expertlyand the two girls talked well into the early hours.
The next day, even though tired from her late night,she was so excited that she could hardly contain her self. Ginny was in the same state of high spirits and the two of them were in fits of giggles most of the morning, much to everyone else's bemusement. Molly had seemed very happy for her daughter, when she'd been informed of the relationship, but warned Harry that she had very good hearing and could hear a squeaky floor board a mile off. Harry retorted that in that case he would use a silencing charm on his feet, which got him a swipe from Ginny. Arthur had smiled and given Harry a warm hug round the shoulders, telling him he couldn't wish for anyone better for his daughter.
Morning soon turned to afternoon and then afternooninto evening -although the day went all too slowly for Hermione. To try and calm her nerves, she sat in her room and picked up the huge tome they had all been given by the Ministry to read in preparation for their forthcoming Auror training program. Even Hermione had only got halfway through it so far, but she had to give up after only a few pages, as her mind was just too preoccupied.
At dinner that evening Molly suddenly announced she had some important news andeveryone stopped eating to listen. (The twins had joined them that night - much to Hermione's annoyance, as Fred was still persisting in his attempts to flirt with her and it seemed he wasn't going to give up easily.)
"Someone will be coming to stay with us for a few days" Molly solemnly explained, looking around at all the expectant faces.
"Who?" Everyone immediately asked in return, alive with curiosity. (All except Remus and Arthur, who were obviously in on the secret).
Hermione, of course, knew exactly who it was and as she waited apprehensively for the answer, all the muscles in her body tensed up and her belly squirmed with butterflies; she hardly even dared to breathe, lest she give her self away.
"Now I know you're not too keen on this person, but he did ask Dumbledore if he could do this as a special favour and seeing as he is a member of the order, well, we could hardly refuse.." Molly continued rather testily
"Mum! Who the hell is it? Just tell us!" Ron demanded impatiently
Molly took a deep breath and Hermione braced her self.
"Professor Snape" she revealed, looking around wearily, as if expecting a tirade at this answer
She wasn't to be disappointed – everyone shook their heads and looked incredulously at each other, apart from Ron, who instead, stood up with a face like thunder
"WHAT! No way! No way Mother! He's not coming to stay here, it's bad enough that he comes to visit!"
"I'm sorry Ron but it's not your decision, it's already been arranged - he's coming"
"Then... then I'm going!"
"Where to, I'd like to ask young man?" Molly snorted incredulously, but then her tone softened with understanding
"Look I know he's not your favourite person - he's not mine either particularly, but it's only for a few days. Can't you put up with him for just a little while?"
Ron scowled fiercely as if to express his feelings on the matter
"Hey chill out little bro!" Intervened George chirpily, looking from his Mother to Ron. "Look you can stay with us if you like! I mean I know our place is small, but you can crash on the floor..well if you can find it that is!" he sniggered and his Mum gave him a dissaproving look.
"Thanks.." Ron said dully, sitting down, his face, now full of mere seething resentment instead of fury.
Hermione felt his eyes burning into to her for quite a few minutes, but she didn't dare look up, as she knew only too well that one glance at him could give her away. She turned purposely instead to Ginny, who smiled sympathetically and behind her hand whispered
"Oh, that will be so awkward for you won't it? Are you going to be ok?"
"Hermione nodded cautiously, she knew she had to be very careful not to show her real feelings. She attempted to make out that she would take it with fortitude and just put up with it, when in fact, all she really wanted to do was jump up and down for joy!
Much to Molly's chagrin, Ron did go back with his brothers to their rather pokey flat that night. Hermione had never been, but Ron had, a few times and from the way he described it, it had sounded like he was really glad he didn't live there. She knew then how much he still hated Severus, to be willing to stay away from his home comforts, to get away from him.
Later on that evening she began to get even more nervous so she went up to her room,to try and relax on her bed, but ended up pacing the floor endlessly instead. She kept telling her self to calm down, but it didn't work, her belly persisted in staying knotted up and she just couldn't relax – even after trying her usual meditation techniques.
A little later on, Ginny came up with Harry in tow to announce the dark man's arrival.
Hermione blanched, but at the same time she felt so happy that she could barely conceal it. They offered to stay with her and give her support, for what they presumed would be a difficult time, but she dismissed this out of hand and assured them she was okay - much to their disbelief. After watching them smiling at each other adoringly and holding hands for a while, she told them she was going down-stairs and would be some time, while winking at them suggestively. They both smiled gratefully back.
She positively skipped down the stairs, both at her friends' happiness and her own. She grinned expectantly, but as she got to the kitchen, where she presumed Severus to be, she began to get nervous - could she really pull this off? She knew she really had no choice now though, as she wasdesperate to see him and could wait no longer.
She walked in breezily though the door, trying to be nonchalant, but when she saw only Remus and Arthur in there, playing wizard chess, her heart sank a little in disappointment. In some ways though, she was relievedat the respite.
The two men looked up on her arrival and greeted her warmly, then continued with their game.
"Is he here then?" Hermione asked casually, pouring her self, some tea, after feeling the pot -which was still hot.
They nodded
"Molly's gone to help him set up his room" Remus explained, not looking up, as it was his move
"Annoy him more like!" Arthur chipped in jokingly
They both smiled and Remus snorted softly in reply.
She stood by the table for a while, not really knowing what to do next,but after spotting a newspaper that had been left on the kitchen counter, she began casually flicking through it, while sipping her tea.
Very soon, Molly came bustling in, announcing that she'd set up the potions master in a room down in the large basement and how she couldn't understand why he'd want be down there, when there were perfectly good rooms available above.
Hermione didn't hear what the men's reply to this was, as she had decided that she'd been there long enough and left. She began to ascend the stairs again, when she remembered she'd told Ginny and Harry she'd be a while, so she decided to go and sit in the creepy sitting room instead.
No one liked it in there, so it was very little used. Although it had been decorated like all the other rooms it had retained it's dingyness and damp smell for some reason and the atmoshpheremade you feel quite depressed. She did stayed there for as long as she could stand, then headed for her room, hoping her friends wouldn't be too disappointed at her early arrival. Luckily, they weren't and Harry soon left for his own room, anyway, as it had, by now, gone 11.30 and Ginny, worried about what her Mother would say, hadurged him to go.
At 1 a.m. in the morning Hermione was still lying awake, listening to the sound of Ginny breathe and mutter indiscernibly in her sleep, when she had a sudden déjà vu. She realised how similar this situation was to the time at Hogwarts, when she'd sneaked down to see Severus in his room one night there and she smiledat the remembrance of it.
After half an hour, she decided that everyone, had to be inbed, so she got up and took off her rather scruffy old nightshirt.
Going over to her drawers she picked out her pre-prepared outfit - which she'd made sure was the sexiest yet. A short fitted chemise in black satin with lace up sides and lacy cup edging and a matching short robe. The only disadvantage with the robe being, that it kept sliding undone, but that didn't matter as she could easily hold it fastened.
"Anyway!" she thought naughtily to her self "I won't be in it for long!"
She lit her wand and began to make her waydown Severus's room, all the time with her heart pounding and blood rushing in her ears. Every little noise made her jump and start and even when she'd put a silencing charm on her feet, she still didn't dare get off her tiptoes.
Just as she had got onto the flight of steps that led to the basement, a sudden noise from the floor above her made her stop and listen. It sounded like someone was up and about! Well it certainly sounded like someone! What were they doing at this time of night?
She sincerely hoped they were just going to the loo or something and not coming in her direction!
She froze to the spot, put out her wand and stood there in the dark her ears straining for every sound. She began to get very hot and beads of sweat ran uncomfortably down the sides of her face, but she dared not even lift her arm to wipe them away.
When she heard the noise of a door being opened, just above and to the left of her, she panicked. Oh God! They must be coming down! She couldn't be seen down here! What would be her explanation? Shit!
With her heart pounding madly in her chest, her hands, now clammy with perspiration, slipped on the wooden hand rail as she belted the rest of the way down the cellar steps.
There were three doors down there and seeing a light under one of them, she dashed towards it, hoping it was the right one.
She turned the handle and walked in, quietly closing it behind her
Her first reaction was confusion, the room didn't seem quite right; where was all Severus's usual paraphernalia? She shrugged this off though when she saw that the chair just in front of the un-lit fire was occupied and she smiled excitedly. Now safely behind the door, she had markedly calmed down and felt much more confident.
She threw off the unruly dressing gown and was just about to call out her arrival, when, on hearing her name tentatively being called out first, she suddenly stopped dead. All the blood drained out of her face, then rushed back again, as she gasped in shock, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. The owner of the voice was not Severus, but someone else very familiar - Remus Lupin.
"This is an unexpected surprise!"Remus added, as he got up out of the chair to face her.
What the hell is he doing down here? She thought angrily, in a mixture of panic and frustration.
His first reaction was surprise and hers, complete mortification. She suddenly felt rather under-dressed and tried to cover her self up with her arms.
"Well.." he continued awkwardly, after observing her appearance, "this is a bit unexpected!" Then he smiled, averted his eyes a little,and shifted uncomfortably, obviously waiting for an explanation.
Hermione's mind was racing, she had to think of something fast and it had to be good in case she aroused his suspicions!
Oh Shit! If ever she could wish for the ground to come and swallow her up it would definitely be now!