Severus was unsure what to expect when he arrived at the museum the next day, but it was not what he encountered to be sure. Hermione sat on the bench near the entrance with two covered cups in her hands. Her hair was down around her face, her eyes bright and her expression calm. The cloud of the previous day's morose emotions was gone without a trace.
"Severus! I was hoping I would catch you." Hermione was excited in her speech as she got to her feet.
"I am somewhat predictable," he replied plainly, meeting her in the middle of the atrium before the exhibits.
"Thankfully." She held out one of the cups in her hands toward him. "Here, I brought this for you."
Severus inspected the cup, noting that it was from the cafe on the opposite side of the lane. He took the cup from her with an incline of his head, ignoring how her fingers brushed against his.
"That was thoughtful of you." His eyes darted to the side, catching the curator glancing in their direction. Artists and those associated with them were terrible gossips, and he knew no matter how he conducted himself with Hermione, those in the art club would have their own versions of this interaction by the time the sun went down.
"It is not poison, but feel free to check," Hermione mused, reaching into her leather satchel and pulling out some packets and small round containers. "I don't know how you take your tea, so I brought some cream and sugar along."
His attention moved back to the cup in his hand, and he removed the lid, whispering a spell over it. It was, as she said, hot tea. "How kind of you, perhaps we should move into the building and not block the entrance?"
"Splendid idea." Hermione tugged her bag up onto her shoulder, striding in the direction of the exhibits.
Walking at her side, he mindfully added a touch of the cream to his tea before dismissing the rest. "Thank you."
Hermione stopped to the side of the doors that led out to the gardens. "How is your research coming?"
"Hmm?" Severus glanced at her with confusion as he took a sip of the tea.
Her forehead wrinkled, and she leaned forward a bit in questioning. "Of the plants?"
Suddenly, he understood what she was asking, recalling that he had told her that he was there to research the plants in various stages in the gardens. He swallowed and nodded, trying not to inelegantly choke in the process. "Ah, well, very well."
"Can I see your research?" Hermione asked him eagerly.
Severus bristled, taking a step back defensively, his hand moving over the pocket in which his sketchbook sat. "No, you may not."
"I don't mean to intrude," she admitted, holding her hand up in surrender. Hermione huffed a breath up, making the hair at her temples move.
Severus found the movement and her enchanting.
"I really wanted to tell you thank you for yesterday and to apologize for being so morose and kind of dumping it on you. It was a bit of a tough day for me."
Tough days were something he was acquainted with, having lived a lifetime of them already.
"We all are entitled to those. I don't suppose you think I am this cheerful all the time," he humoured. Severus clenched his fist, feeling awkward the moment the words left his lips. Why did he think that was the best response?
Hermione laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. "I suppose not. Will you be here long?"
"I have only just arrived." Severus reminded her, not wanting her to assume he was there merely for her. No matter how close to the truth it had become.
Her eyes scanned out toward the sunny garden, and then back to him with hope in her eyes. "Do you—would you mind if I walked in the gardens with you? While you research? I won't be a bother, I promise."
He found himself wanting to tell her no and yes simultaneously. His heart started pounding harder again, and he swallowed nervously, checking outside before returning his gaze to her.
"I do not mind," Severus agreed, moving to open the door for them to both exit.
Hermione jumped a little with what appeared to be delight and went through the opened door that he held for her with a bright smile.
The back of his neck started to sweat, and it had nothing to do with the warmer spring air outside. Closing the door behind himself, he strove to grapple with the strange series of sensations that seemed to sprout up around her. Even his breathing seemed to quicken in her presence.
"So, where to first?" She interrupted his thoughts.
"I tend to follow the path," he told her, starting off along the cobbled path.
Hermione followed him, moving to stroll at his side. "Of course."
As they advanced, Severus tried to think about what had possessed him to agree, to allow her to accompany him. There was an unspoken drive in him to entertain her company because he wanted to bask in her presence, in that unnammed thing about her that entranced him. It was foolish, and while he knew it, he agreed anyways.
Now he'd get nothing done, not with her so close!
She'd know he was drawing her!
He felt off-balance, her proximity and presence wreaking havoc in ways that sent a torrent of confused emotions and pleasure through him that made him uncomfortable. Taking another drink of his tea, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes.
She seemed in a much better mood than the previous day. A smile sat on the edge of her lips, as if it were waiting to be allowed to take them over. The sunlight caught strands of her hair, making it look like spun brass. Hermione looked like spring incarnate, the light showcasing the scant freckles that dotted her cheeks.
Her beauty distracted him, and a lump in his throat was formed even as he tried to drink it away with hot tea.
"So, how long have you been coming here?" She broke their silent gait and his focus on her.
"Two years." Severus explained.
"Wow." Hermione seemed impressed. "Every day?"
Before she'd arrived, it had been where he went to enjoy himself. To appreciate both art and nature, and lose himself in a garden. He did not have the space for a garden, except for the indoor plants that he kept on the second floor, and this had been somewhere he found he could enjoy the feeling of having one without the work. Nodding as they walked, he answered her quietly, "unless my work or weather prevents it."
"And you've been working on the same research project the whole time?" She quired.
"Yes."
"What are you working on?"
While it seemed a convenient lie at first, he regretted it now. Severus refused to tell her that he was actually here for his hobby. That was no one's business, but his own. He could not imagine she'd be kind about it either, as it was not something he imagined fit the world's view of him. Severus shook his head. "That is information I do not wish to share."
"Fair." Hermione agreed, stopping to smell a rose along the path. "I will not ask you again."
He halted in his stride, not leaving her behind as she took in the aroma of the bloom. Having been blessed with a superior olfactory sense, he did not need to get so close, he could smell the roses from where he was standing.
Hermione closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath, and Severus felt his pulse jump at how lovely she looked.
Needing a distraction and not wishing to talk about his nonexistent research, he probed her for information. "What about you, why did you move to Aberdeen?"
In an instant, her face soured as she leaned away from the rose she was breathing in.
He realized by that expression that perhaps he made a mistake in asking.
A huff of air escaped her as he watched her brush her hair away from her face. "I split up with my ex, Ronald, and I needed to get away from London. Everything there felt like close quarters with him, and I was tired of him causing scenes."
Two things came to his mind with this new information. One, that Ronald Weasley was still an idiot and a child who had tantrums for not getting his way, and two, that the beautiful woman he was drawn to was unattached.
Severus crushed down anything that sparked up from that realization, glancing at her. "I assume the break-up was not a clean split."
"No, it was not." She was agitated, he could tell by her body movements. "It was all over the Prophet, I'm surprised you don't know about it."
It was his turn to get stone-faced as he shook his head. "I do not patron a paper that said letting me live was the biggest mistake in Wizarding history."
A flush of what he supposed was embarrassment spread over her face. "They are a menace, aren't they? Maybe I should cancel my subscription as well."
He took another drink of his tea, letting the flavour wash away the bitter taste in his mouth that came from thinking about the paper. Severus swallowed and agreed with her decision. "It has done wonders for my life."
"Are you happy here, Severus?"
The question came out of nowhere, and Severus paused, thinking it over. He had a suitable income, good health, and something to entertain his time that wasn't working for two megalomaniacs set on making him a martyr, one way or another. Reflecting on it, Severus supposed this was the happiest he'd ever been. "Yes."
"Good." She beamed at him with all the intensity of the sun. "You deserve it."
Glancing away at the surrounding bushes, he worked on slowing his steadily increasing pulse. His face felt hot, and he could not believe she would smile at him so brightly and say that he deserved to be happy. Most of those who knew him, knew what she knew, believed he deserved to be in prison or worse.
But not her, she seemed to radiate joy at the fact that he was happy with where he was in life. Severus did not know how to handle this attention, so he turned the conversation back on to her. "Has the move been beneficial to you? Are you happier?"
"When I first got here, I felt isolated. I almost went back to London a few times. But then I found this place and—" she paused, looking up at him and then looking away. "Well, it has helped a lot, so yes, I am happier."
"You also deserve that," he repeated her words back to her.
Her face was still pink as she looked back at him with her bright brown eyes. "Thank you, Severus."
Severus said nothing, inclining his head before continuing along the path. They walked in silence as he struggled to tame the runaway manticore that his emotions had become. A fear was rising in him that he might be interested in the woman beside him in more than an artistic fashion, that he might actually be attracted to her. He tucked his hands into his pockets to try to keep them from sweating as he ambled along at her pace.
"Shouldn't you be taking notes in your journal?" She asked him curiously.
He scoffed. "I am well aware of what I should be doing, Hermione. I sometimes take a loop around observing before I settle into my note taking."
"I understand," she hummed. "I just wanted to make sure I was not distracting you from your work."
"You are not distracting me from my work," he told her in half-truths, because he was very much distracted by her at the moment.
An idea came to him then, as suddenly as if he were unexpectedly struck by lightning. He could draw her while she thought he was researching.
"Wait." Severus fished out his sketchbook, glancing around at their location. He stopped and moved over to a spot, gesturing to it. "Would you stand here for a moment while I do this. You'll help block the light from casting strange shadows."
"Certainly," she agreed, moving to stand where he'd directed her.
Severus bowed his head, opening to a blank page. "My thanks."
He held the sketchbook higher than she could peer over, glancing at her, but doing his best to make sure it appeared as if he were looking at the plant to her side.
Hermione laughed at him, shaking her head so that her curls bounced over her shoulders. "I am not going to try to peek, you don't have to stand like that."
"Forgive me if I do not trust your Gryffindor sensibilities from making an attempt to do so," he retorted, continuing to sketch her.
"I suppose you are well within your right to assume that, with my history of curiosity," she shrugged, looking down at the plant to her side. "You are cataloguing common plants as well?"
"I am," he replied as he drew the small cupid's bow of her lips. He had not noticed it before, but he'd never been able to study her up close in this way.
"Curious," she mused, glancing back up at him.
It was not his best sketch, his hands were shaking with his nerves, but he had to admit that her hair almost displayed right in it.
Severus spent the rest of their circuit taking small moments to draw her details. Her lips, eyes, the line of her jaw all were etched out with his pencil. He'd even made an attempt at her hand, but they were the bane of every artist's existence.
He also learned a great deal about what she'd been doing since he disappeared from London. Hermione had not gone to work at the Ministry as he imagined she would have, instead working with a rehabilitation and support foundation for those wounded or disabled from the war. Not something he would have considered for her, but she seemed keen about it. Her hours made it so that she got off precisely half an hour before the shoppe closed, and that was why she was always there first.
As they came back around to the museum doors, Severus almost dreaded that the afternoon was coming to a close. Her conversations had not been tiring, and even though she made him uneasy, her company was not irritating.
She had her hands closed in front of her as she turned to him, her lip worried between her teeth. Hermione hesitated as he held the door open for her, turning to look at him. "Would it be presumptuous of me in imagining that I might accompany you on this trek tomorrow?"
"Why would you want to?" Severus questioned her. Surely she had better things to do, better people to entertain her time with.
"I find I rather like your company," she explained with a smile.
Severus arched an eyebrow at her disbelievingly.
That smile quickly dropped into worry as she seemed to backpedal. "But I won't force my own on you, I know you are a private man."
Again, he was drawn in two different directions. If he said no, then he might never see her again, and that felt like a loss, but if he said yes, he was risking himself being even more emotionally off-balance.
Severus ushered her into the door, closing it behind him as he contemplated.
She walked at his side quietly, and he could see that she was crestfallen at his silence. That surprised him nearly as much as his own desire to see her again and stroll with her.
As they reached the doors, Severus stopped, coming to his decision. "I will be here by four-thirty."
The frown on her lips flipped, her cheeks rounding as she clapped her hands. "I'll see you then."
Again, he caught the curator, and now his assistant, staring at him with curiosity. "Yes, you shall."
He held the main door open for her, gesturing her outside.
She was still smiling as she reached out and touched his arm again. "Goodbye, Severus."
"Goodbye, Hermione," Severus replied in confusion, looking at his arm where she had touched him and then to her.
With that, she wandered the opposite direction he needed to go. Severus watched her until she was out of view, and then slowly took himself home. He was baffled at his reaction to her and her reaction to him. It made him fruitlessly try to piece together the whole situation over his dinner.
After dinner, Severus went up to the studio, glancing over his work of the day. Then he started a new sketch, putting the brilliant smile she'd given him at the end of the day into his sketchbook. When it was done, he put his head in his hand, shaking it softly.
Severus was in trouble.
He had developed feelings for Hermione Granger.
And he didn't believe they were going to go away anytime soon.