The Spy
AN: This is was a little idea which popped into my head while I was supposed to be working on something else which should have claimed my attention.
As always, I make nothing from this endeavor and thank JKR for allowing us to play with her creations.
Thank you so much to everyone who had read, reviewed, followed or favourited this story. You are the reason I continue to write.
SS
Gilmere opened the door and flapped his ears a few times with excitement. "Come in, Miss Granger!"
"How are you this evening?" Hermione asked twisting her head behind her as she tried to follow his enthusiastic skipping as he closed the door.
"Very well, very well," he replied. "Gilmere will take you to the Master."
Hermione grimaced a little, she could not help it. The house-self seemed happy, but to refer to Snape as his Master had too much of an imbalance of power, which she found distasteful. Snape could plead the elf's acquiescence, but that did not make it right in her mind.
Once again, he led her to the same door at the end of the hallway which led to the dining room.
As she entered, she saw Snape standing next to the fireplace, as he had the night before. He glanced in her direction and immediately gestured for her to take the same seat. The same elaborate place setting had been prepared and Hermione could not help herself but smile.
"I did try to tell him that all this was unnecessary, but as you can see, my opinion counts for nought in the matter." Snape commented, as if reading her mind.
Hermione laughed softly. "He seems quite excitable this evening, he skipped all the way down the hall."
Snape shook his head in disbelief and allowed the merest hint smile of a smile to grace his features. "We had words before dinner and I was put in my place," he replied. "He seems very taken with you, Miss Granger."
"I don't know why that would be, we've only just met."
"Indeed."
Before Hermione could decide if he had intended the comment as a slight, the door burst open. The elf pushed his trolly up to the table and deposited the same cloche covered serving dishes from the night before.
"Eat well!" Gilmere smiled and clapped his hands before pushing the trolly back out the room, closing the door behind him.
Snape gave the table a withering look as if the extravagance were wearing him down.
"He's put on quite the spread."
Snape grunted. "May I pour your wine? I am led to believe we have sole fillets cooked en papillote, so I would suggest the white."
"Please."
Hermione observed Snape as he played the dutiful host, pouring the wine and handing over the dishes so she could serve herself. It was odd how excited Gilmere seemed to be at her presence, as if he rarely had the opportunity to show off his skills. She wondered whether Snape was a simple pie and chips or ham, egg and chips type of man.
"This fish is delicious," Hermione commented, spearing a cherry tomato on the end of her fork. "I shall have to get the recipe before I leave."
"This is his idea of a less extravagant meal; I can hardly imagine what he would come up with if I asked him to prepare something special."
"Well I think it's lovely," she smiled. "He is obviously very fond of you." She wanted to broach the subject of Gilmere referring to Snape as his 'Master', but it seemed a little rude to bring it up over dinner, especially as she was a guest in his home.
"He does have talent in the kitchen, I can admit to that," agreed Snape. "What he thinks of me is of no matter as long as he takes care of the house and stops it falling to ruin."
"How long have you lived here?"
Snape pressed some peas on the back of his silver fork and cast her a wary look before putting them in his mouth. He seemed to be considering how he would answer as he chewed.
"I bought the house a little over eight years ago but had to complete considerable refurbishment before I took residence. As you are probably aware, this is a Muggle building, which suited my purposes, but required some upgrades. I have lived here for seven years."
"You have done a magnificent job," Hermione gushed. "It's very beautiful, from what I have seen."
"Are you asking for a tour of my home, Miss Granger?" Snape asked suspiciously.
Hermione dabbed at the corners of her mouth with her napkin, attempting to hide her embarrassment.
"I would never presume to ask such a thing; I am sorry if I came across that way."
"Perhaps later in the week, if you still feel inclined," he offered at length.
He seemed to be in an odd sort of humour; she wondered whether it was a hangover from their conversations during her training. It was if he were holding a carrot out to her but keeping it just out of reach.
They both declined dessert, much to Gilmere's irritation and once again he offered her to join him in the library. 'He can't completely detest my presence,' she thought, although a small part of her wondered if he were just being polite. At that thought she stifled a giggled, Severus Snape did not humour anyone, for politeness sake or otherwise.
"I didn't think to bring the books I borrowed yesterday back with me this evening, I haven't read them yet, I hope that's okay?"
Snape settled himself in the same corner of the leather sofa and crossed one long leg over the other, casually.
"I don't care if you take half the library as long as you return them all before you leave and you don't interfere with the books upstairs, at the far end, of course."
"You're too kind." Hermione smiled.
He merely grunted a reply and opened a small book with a red cloth cover.
The care in which the books had been placed upon the shelfs was obvious, each book housed by subject. Hermione was perusing his arithmancy titles when she noticed a familiar name written on the inside of one of the front covers.
Property of S. Vector
"Does Septima know you have her copy of Arithmancy and the Ancients?" she called down from the gallery.
"Excuse me?" he asked, looking up from his book to the gallery.
Hermione waved the leather-bound book over the railing as she looked down at him. "Does Septima know you have her book?"
"I haven't the faintest idea," Snape replied, "your guess is as good as mine." He did not seem bothered about having the book in the slightest.
Hermione carried the offending item down the spiral staircase and moved to sit in the chair next to where he was seated.
"At least tell me she knows you borrowed it at one time." Hermione added, flipping to the contents page.
Snape set the book he had been reading down on the coffee table, deliberately, and turned to her. "Are you insinuating that I am a book thief?" he asked with a hint of amusement in his voice, which belied his expression.
"Not really, it's just that as a bibliophile, I would hate to think that one of my own books had gone astray." Hermione stated, matter-of-factly.
"I expect she's forgotten I even have it as I don't recall ever borrowing it, for all I know I have had it since I was at school." He tapped his finger on his knee absently. "Are you planning to 'grass me up'?"
"Hardly," she snorted. "I'm not twelve. If you choose to have stolen goods in your house and still sleep at night, that's your own business and nothing to do with me."
Snape chuckled, which was such an unfamiliar sound.
"You should laugh more often," she said, without thinking and instantly regretted it when she saw his changed expression.
Obviously uncomfortable, yet again, with her comment he reached for his book once more. "You are welcome to borrow it or take it back it her, it's of no matter to me."
Hermione glanced at the fireplace and noticed a pack of cards sitting on the mantle, she was determined to tempt him out of his cocoon, if only for the evening.
"Do you know how to play whist?" she asked, gesturing over at the cards. "Two players are a little different from four, but we could give it a go."
"I am familiar with the game… we can play for money if you like," he smirked. "Whist is one of the few things I learned from my father."
'This is more like it', she thought. "Certainly, but only for token wagers, I'm not going to risk galleons until I know what I am up against." Hermione grabbed the deck of cards from the mantle and inspected them carefully. "I'm going to assume that this isn't a magical deck in any way?"
"No, just shuffle the cards, Granger," he ordered, impatiently. "How many points shall we play to?"
"Well, I always play to fifteen," she answered, shuffling the cards carefully before dealing then out. "No cheating."
Snape did he best to look mortally wounded by her comment, but she could see past the façade, after almost two days in his company.
After only two rounds, both won by Snape, he was up by ten sickles and looking far too smug for her liking. "Don't get too confident, Slytherin, I'm just biding my time."
"Oh, so it is revenge you seek?" he asked, slyly. "I would be very careful what you wish for if I were you."
"Is that a threat?" she cried, taking a peek at her freshly dealt hand. "I'll have you know that I am no one-trick pony!"
"Prove it," he challenged.
Snape picked up his own cards not taking his eye from her, in what she was certain was an act of intimidation. In response she raised her chin and returned his stare, daring him to look away until they both moved to look at their cards at the same time.
"Spades are trumps." Snape announced.
Forty-minutes and several passive-aggressive shuffling exhibitions later, Snape had reached the fifteen points required to win their competition.
"Well played, Miss Granger, you have proved a worthy opponent."
'At some point before I leave, I demand a rematch," replied Hermione, irritably. "I'll have you know I am the reigning Granger family whist champion and I am defending the honour of my house."
Snape chuckled. "Is that so?"
"It is."
"Shall I ask Gilmere to bring us tea?"
"Tea would be lovely if you don't mind?" Hermione reached across to the table to pile of cards and made to gather them up into a tidy stack.
They both settled into an easy silence afterwards, both engrossed in their books even after Gilmere had served the tea. He had been thoughtful enough to leave few biscuits on a small serving dish, which they both enjoyed. Hermione discovered Snape had a fondness for a bourbon biscuit.
It was approaching ten o'clock in the evening when Hermione realised the time.
"I am so sorry I had no idea it was so late," she apologised. "I'll take this with me, just for tonight, if you don't mind." Hermione held up Vector's book.
"I've already said you can borrow what you like as long as they are returned."
Hermione nodded and grabbed her bag, in doing so she accidentally knocked the pile of cards, scattering half the deck on the floor between their chairs. They both moved to pick them up from the rug at the same time, almost clashing heads in their haste and for a few seconds their gaze locked upon one another.
"Sorry," she apologised, before suddenly standing and throwing the book into the bag. "Here, pass me the rest of the cards and I'll put them back on the mantle."
"I will see you at the barn in the morning?" Snape confirmed.
"Yes, the same time as this morning." Hermione pick up her bag and made for the door. "I'll see tomorrow."
SS
Hermione lay awake in bed, unable to sleep as her mind was racing with all manner of things. Firstly, there was the prospect of her lessons the following day, in which she was certain Snape would expect nothing less than perfection. When she made the decision to follow through with the training she did so out of curiosity, but now she could not help but want to excel, as she tried to do in all things. She had enjoyed her visit to the local town, but now she appreciated that her time could have been better spent.
Secondly, her curiosity regarding the wizard in the manor house had grown exponentially in the last twenty-four hours. In some ways he was as she had expected and in others, he was entirely different. It seemed he lived well, if the fine house was anything to go by, and he valued privacy. His precious library was beautiful, and it was clear he had put a great deal of thought into the room. He has said spent a lot of time there, so it was natural to assume he was a great reader. Hermione resolved to pay more attention to the books on the lower floor to see what he might enjoy in his pleasure reading. Perhaps she would learn more about him as a person.
The other matter, which she had yet to give much thought until now, was that he appeared to be single. That was not a startling revelation, except that he had brought a woman to the Hogwarts benefit auction. Who was that woman? What was her relationship with Snape? Had they broken up or were they still together? Obviously, they did not live together, unless he kept her locked in the attic. The thought made her giggle.
Neither of them seemed to know who had paid for her to be there in the first place. It was maddeningly, frustrating. She had hoped that Snape would have been able to offer some insight, but he appeared to be just as clueless.
Lastly, there was the look they shared in the library when she had accidentally knocked the cards from the table. It had disconcerted her and made her feel uneasy, although not any kind of threatening way, it was more intense, more personal. Perhaps it was just their proximity which had been unusual. Snape had always towered above her in her mind; not in his physical stature, per se, rather that she had manifested an image of him in her mind, which had always been larger than life. After the end of the war, when they had all found out what he had done, the danger in which he had placed himself, she realised now that she had placed him on a pedestal.
How had he managed all those years to place himself in such dangerous situations? Obviously, she knew of his great love for Harry's mum, but to do what was right, even when it was most difficult, that took a considerable strength of self. How many times could he have simply given up? When Dumbledore asked him to end his life? When he returned to the school with Death Eaters in tow? When he knew he would be carrying out some unsavoury task for Voldemort? Yet, despite that, he had managed to create a life for himself; taking the skills he had developed over the years and using them to step out of his own shadow, the shadow of the Spy.
SS
Exhausted after an almost sleepless night, Hermione was relieved to find that Gilmere had paid an early morning visit and left two croissants, butter and a pitcher of milk for tea, in the kitchen. She may not have been a believer in house-elves as servants, but that was not to say she was not grateful for his presumption.
She took a croissant and a mug of tea upstairs while she showered and dressed, ready to face another day of Snape's demanding standards and exacting execution. It was no wonder he was the European Grand Champion, his quest for perfection was exhausting. In some ways it what comforting to know that his expectations had not changed, despite the time which has passed.
By the time she walked across the courtyard to the barn, she had already spent at least thirty minutes practicing several non-verbal jinxes.
"Good morning, Miss Granger," he greeted her, pulling open the door promptly at eight o'clock. "I hope you have come prepared to push yourself today after the subpar performance of yesterday."
Hermione turned her head away and took a deep breath to compose herself. This was who he was, it was what she expected from him, so she resolved not to take offense and instead to rise to the challenge.
"Absolutely," she replied, firmly.
Snape moved swiftly to the piste in the middle of the room and silently summoned one of the dueling dummies to his side. He wore a dark brown ensemble today with a burgundy cravat and a white shirt. He dressed well, Hermione thought as walked towards him, but then he always did, even when he was a teacher.
"Let us refresh yesterday's lesson after which we will move on to some intermediate offensive spells."
He made her start right from the beginning, going over absolutely everything from the previous day, pointing out any areas which did meet his exacting standards.
"Stop projecting your intentions, I can read you like a book," he snapped. "Tighten up your movement, we went over all this yesterday. Concentrate."
With every criticism Hermione felt her resolve strengthen, he was relentless, but she was determined. By the time their two-hour lesson had come to an end she about ready to tell him where he could shove his 'balance and subtlety.'
"I will see you at two o'clock for this afternoon's lesson?" Snape raised an enquiring eyebrow.
"Of course," Hermione replied.
As she walked back to the cottage, she could feel he was watching her, even if was only a few casual glances over his shoulder as he made his way back the manor house. Hermione had no doubt in her mind that he was trying to get the measure of her, to understand why she had changed her focus from the day before.
Upon entering the kitchen Hermione soon realised that she had not bought much in the way of food and optimistically hoped that Gilmere had paid one of his visits. She opened the pantry door looking to find something in the way of a baguette and some cheese but was left disappointed. As she saw it, she had two choices, knock on the door of the manor house and ask if she could borrow a few items for lunch, or apparate to the town and buy a few supplies.
Opting for the latter choice she walked out the back door of the cottage and decided to apparate to the same wooded area and she had done the day before, this time knowing the direction from Snape's estate.
Thankfully, she knew where to find a boulangerie for some fresh bread and had seen a charcuterie and a small local supermarket in which to stock up on a few supplies. All in all, it had only taken a little less than forty-five minutes before she was back in the cottage kitchen preparing herself a lunch of freshly baked baguette, a few slices of cured meat and a lovely piece of brie.
As it was such a wonderful summer's day Hermione took her lunch, a glass of water and a book out to the bench in at the back of the cottage garden and enjoyed some relaxation. The book she had chosen to bring out to read was the dueling manual from Snape's library. After reading a particularly interesting chapter relating to offensive tactics and combination spells, Hermione wondered if she had been remiss in not inviting him to have lunch together. He had been inviting her to dinner each evening, so perhaps she should return an invitation. 'Maybe tomorrow if he proved to be in a reasonable mood,' she thought.
Unfortunately, the afternoon did not off to the brightest of starts when she was immediately admonished for being late for their afternoon session.
"I'm sorry, I had to get some sleep, I didn't sleep well at all last night and I was exhausted," she apologised. "I set an alarm but fell back to sleep."
"Do not take my time for granted, Miss Granger," he sneered. "Do you not have better things to do than sleep the day away when you are expected elsewhere?"
Hermione started back in disbelief at his anger. "I am a little over five minutes late," she declared. "While I appreciate that you are quite literally donating your time to this endeavour, I do not appreciate being scolded as if I were a child. I fell asleep and I have apologised. Now, can we please move on and stop wasting any more time with this nonsense. I'm a grown woman now and it's about time you treated me as one."
Snape maintained a stoic expression; the only sign of his irritation was the flaring of his nostrils. "Do you have cause to complain regarding my treatment of you since you have been here?"
"Actually, I had been rather enjoying myself, all things considered," she replied, calmly. "This conversation being the exception of course."
Snape nodded in way of acknowledgement. "Shall we proceed with spell chains?"
With no more than thirty minutes left at the end of their session Snape offered her the opportunity of a couple of practice bouts. Hermione accepted enthusiastically, it one thing to work against a charmed dueling dummy, it was quite another to throw spells at another person and have them counter and defend.
"Let's keep it simple, I would like to see how you formulate your attack and defence."
They lined up in the piste and followed the usual dueling protocol, as he had taught her the day before. Almost before she had taken her stance Snape had fired off his first offensive spell. Hermione leapt to one side in an attempt to evade its trajectory; unfortunately, the tail-end of the spell caught her foot and she found herself sitting on her arse with Snape's smirking countenance looking down upon her.
"You're supposed to use a shield charm, Miss Granger."
Snape held out his hand to help her up, which she accepted gladly in lieu of protecting her pride.
"Sorry, I don't think I was quite ready."
"If you are unable to block a simple Jelly-leg jinx, then we will be having problems."
"I can do it, as I said, you where quicker off the mark that I expected." Hermione brushed the dust from her trousers. "I want to try again."
On the next attempt Hermione was successful in blocking his spell and the subsequent spell before he hit her with a knock-back jinx sending her back onto her arse.
"That's much better, I can see you are looking to anticipate my movements."
Hermione's pride was somewhat wounded at being so easily beaten twice in less than five minutes, but she tried to remember that he did this for living and was capable of besting some of the best duelers in the world.
After six more attempts Hermione finally got off her first offensive spell, which he blocked easily. "More conviction!" Snape instructed.
As the session came to an end, she came to the conclusion that she would need to be much faster and creative if she were going to give him any kind of the challenge.
"An admirable attempt and something we can build on tomorrow." Snape sheathed his wand as he approached from the other side of the piste. "You must work on your projections; I can still read you like a book."
"I am trying," Hermione replied. "You are very fast, and I find that I just don't have a lot of time to move myself to the next step, mentally."
Snape cocked his head slightly before nodding his agreement. "It will come with more practice."
"I hope so."
They walked to the door and once again Snape extended his invitation to dinner at the manor that evening.
"I would love to, but wondered if, perhaps tomorrow, we could go out somewhere?" Hermione suggested. "I thought Gilmere might appreciate the break."
"He most certainly will not," Snape scoffed. "He'll be beside himself."
"Well, if you agree, perhaps I can have a word with him and reassure him that it's nothing he has done.
Snape let out a long-suffering sigh. "Did you have somewhere in mind?"
Actually, I was hoping you could suggest some where nice."
SS