A/N: Thank you to Drakien (BEST BETA EVER) and my reviewers. Ya'll rock.
Digging in the dirt always made her feel better. From her earliest memories of helping her grandmum garden, to helping her mum during summer breaks, Hermione enjoyed growing things. She had never wanted to do so full-time, although she was impressed with Neville's abilities, but after watching Druizlen grow his own ingredients for two years she was determined to do the same when she returned home.
The garden itself was small, situated on the side of the manor, right next to one of the terraces. Hermione had installed a broad stone staircase, so she could access the terrace when she took a break. There was a low opening under the terrace, where she stored her supplies, that was currently propped open. Twelve rows of plants, as straight as she could make them, ran the length of the garden. Small marble nameplates hovered above each species, identifying it for the onlooker.
This afternoon she was taking Neville's most recent advice and installing a new-fangled magical gnome fence that was guaranteed to keep out pests. She had already finished the weeding, and was fighting with the last of the charmed pegs that made up the perimeter when Eakey appeared at her side.
"Mistress told Eakey to get her at 6. Eakey is here to get Mistress."
Hermione gave a final swish of her wand, along with a firm kick of her foot, impaling the wooden stake into the ground.
"Thank you, Eakey. If you hadn't come out here, I would have forgotten all about dinner. What has Lord Snape been up to?"
"Master has been working in Mistress' lab. Master has already gone to prepare for dinner."
"What is on the menu?" Hermione questioned, while waving her wand and watching carefully as the gardening tools cleaned themselves and floated to the storage area.
"Master requested Roasted Lamb with Rosemary."
"Excellent, Eakey. Anytime Lord Snape has a special dinner request, please do your best to fulfill it."
"Mistress, what if Master wants a dinner on Mistress' do not eat list? Then what is Eakey to do?" said the small elf, a little distressed at how dinner options might get complicated.
"Eakey, you can just bring me something later to my room. Lord Snape has spent far too long not being able to eat what he wants; let him request what he will."
Eakey gave a vigorous nod of his head before popping away. Hermione shoved her wand into her pocket and sat on the steps to take off her shoes. Tying the laces of her trainers together, she carefully slipped into the house and made her way upstairs to get ready for dinner.
Severus was nowhere to be seen; she had half-expected him to be sitting on the settee scowling at her dirty clothes. Breathing a small sigh of relief she scooped up Sebastian, who was asleep on one of the chairs, and slid into her room.
Hermione crossed the bedroom quickly, depositing Sebastian on her bed, and began to run a tub of water to soak in. She peeled her clothes off, tossing them in a corner of the room, and then sank into the warm water, submerging herself to wet her hair, and then settling back against the cushioned charmed edge to rest her head. A plaintive meow from the side of the marble basin was rewarded an arm thrown out to scratch his head. Sebastian rubbed himself lazily along Hermione's outstretched hand, wetting his whiskers and ears, before plopping down on the rich blue mat that covered the floor.
Hermione smiled to herself, and looked around the bathroom that she had so carefully redone with the help of the Snape house elves. It was identical to the master bath that she had prepared for Severus, except his was done in black marble, and hers in grey marble. One corner held the huge tub, solid marble with six scented faucets. It was large enough for two, but she still wasn't convinced that just hadn't been wishful thinking on her part. There was a shower in a second corner, for when she was in a hurry. A sink sat on the long counter running the length of the opposite wall, and her array of Muggle and Wizarding beauty products were hidden behind an invisibly charmed partition. She thought the clutter looked dirty, and preferred to keep such things concealed. In between the shower and the tub there was a long rod that held her towels and kept them warm. They were all fluffy and blue, a wedding gift from Molly and Arthur. Molly had even splurged to put her initials on them, a scrolling HGS, in silver.
Letting out a contented sigh, she began to scrub her hair and body. She could at least be on time; she had no need to annoy Severus for no reason.
Severus stood in his own bathroom, wondering how much effort she had put into the renovations. He could vaguely remember the basic layout of the room, but the black marble was new. He figured Hermione had her own bathroom, since he couldn't see a door to her bedroom from here (and what did that bedroom look like, anyway). He had a black towel wrapped around his waist, his initials embroidered in silver peeking over the top, and was staring into the mirror.
"Bloody hell, I shouldn't have used that bottle of stuff. I'm old enough to know better than to assume just because it says shampoo, doesn't mean it's actually good for me," he grumbled to his reflection. His reflection just grumbled back.
Severus entered the drawing room just as Hermione was closing her bedroom door. Sebastian had moved to the back of the settee, stretching his kitten frame along the top. He crossed to the outer door and held it open, gesturing for Hermione to exit first. Without speaking, he followed her in a comfortable silence down the hall to an upstairs family dining room, much less ornate than the formal room downstairs.
A small table, just big enough for the two of them, sat in the middle of the room. The walls were a rich golden, radiating out because of the strategically placed lanterns that hung around the room. A large landscape painting, containing a small herd of unicorns, hung above a side buffet. Hermione was surprised that he stopped behind her chair and pulled it out for her, helping her to adjust it before sitting across from her. As they waited for Eakey to make an appearance, his gaze fell on a small brocaded mat on the floor, with two bowls on top.
"Sebastian's food and water dish. I have an extra water dish in my bathroom, but usually he likes to dine with me," Hermione explained, when she saw what he was gazing at. As if on cue, the small bundle of fur made his entrance and wandered over to his dish, pawing the empty bowl greedily.
Eakey soon arrived along with the dinner plates of lamb. Sebastian's bowl also gave off the aroma of mutton, although his was in smaller kitten-size chunks.
Severus waited until Hermione seemed comfortable eating before he began his second round of questions.
"I noticed a green velvet pouch on your worktable, that I couldn't remove when I was cleaning up. The bag seemed stuck to the table, and my tries to open it were thwarted magically. May I inquire as to what is inside?" He was slightly shocked to see Hermione blush.
"That's my muggle music."
"Music?"
"It works similar to the Quick-Quill, in that it takes the muggle music as it's played and stores it inside the pouch. I just open the pouch when I'm in the lab and can hear my music. I can't work in silence."
Severus snorted. "Can't work in silence, you worked in silence for six years when I taught you!"
"Druizlen loved music, especially muggle music. We never worked in quiet, and I guess I just got used to it," Hermione admitted, shyly. Then, trying to change the conversation, she asked, "You cleaned the lab yourself? I specifically asked Eakey to have a house elf do it."
"I am perfectly capable of cleaning a cauldron, even without magic. Even I had detentions at Hogwarts in my youth," Severus answered, dryly.
"Severus Snape, did you just make a joke?" replied Hermione, a grin spreading across her face.
She's beautiful when she smiles. Intoxicating.
"I don't believe I have ever told a joke, Lady Snape."
"Well, for being so out of practice, you're rather funny." Sebastian let out a rumble in agreement.
Severus raised an eyebrow and continued with his inquiry.
"What was your final potion to receive your Mistress title? I had assumed you would have chosen to work with Wolfsbane, Lupin being your friend and such."
"Oh, that had crossed my mind, but working in America they had such a low population of Werewolves, and amazingly enough, a huge population of Vampires, that I found myself drawn to working on their problem," explained Hermione, quickly warming to her topic. "The Cruor Victus potion must be administered every evening, and Druizlen and I developed a concoction that could be taken twice a week, and retain its effectiveness."
The remainder of the dinner was spent discussing the pros and cons of the ingredients used in the Cruor Victus, fresh versus dried herbs, and Hermione's published paper on the topic. Severus couldn't quite recall how they had made it from the family dining room back to their drawing room, or how fast the time passed as they sat together passing Potions journals back and forth, debating the merits of various masters and their methods of development.
What he did know was that as he watched her yawn and politely excuse herself for bed he was surprised to have enjoyed her company. She stretched her arms above her head, her dress lifting off the floor just enough to reveal her bare feet, and a tiny silver anklet. He allowed himself a brief moment of disappointment when Sebastian quickly followed his mistress through the bedroom door. He wouldn't have minded sleeping with the Kneazle again, or sneaking a peek inside the ever elusive bedroom, he thought, as he headed to his own bed.
Hermione closed the door behind her, slipping her dress over her head and dropping it in the closest chair. She slipped into a pair of pajama pants and a tank top, her feet shuffling along in her pink slippers as she went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Sebastian hopped up on the counter, waving his paw under the running water, and perked his ears up, listening intently to his human.
"That was pleasant. Now if I can just get him to follow my same path: respect, admiration, devotion, love. Or lust, my little furbucket. Or, if I'm lucky, both!" She exclaimed, scratching him on the top of his head, before tossing him onto the bed, landing close to him after throwing herself towards the pillows. "Night, night, my dear sweet Sebastian."
A satisfied "merower" was her only answer.
Cruor Victus – roughly translated blood food in Latin