Hermione returned half an hour later with nothing but the small, beaded bag she always kept with her and a long rain jacket. She had grabbed everything she had packed and left a quick note for the boys. Snape stepped into the living room from the kitchen, wiping his hands off on the kitchen towel. He glanced at the purple satchel.
"Did you get everything that you need? I imagined there'd be more books and…hygiene products. You did understand that you are to move in here permanently?"
She smiled a little. "Of course. I have what I need." She took a step away from the fireplace and glanced up into his face. Her nerves frayed every time their eyes met. She was reminded of his legilimency skill each time she saw those dark, bottomless eyes.
Snape leaned against the door frame, arms crossed. "Everything in that small bag? No trunks full of hair potion and books?"
She started rifling through the bag. His eyebrow raised as her arm all but disappeared to the shoulder as she rummaged. Undetectable extension charm. Impressive. "I couldn't decide which books I might need, and I didn't know which you already had, so I decided to bring all of them. Then, it took a while to find my nice robes, since I wear muggle clothes at home."
"I see." Of course, she brought more books than she would ever need. He had to deliberately stop his eyes from rolling to the heavens as she spoke. It took considerable effort.
"This is all my hygiene products," she said, yanking out a black makeup travel case. "Shouldn't take up much more than a drawer."
Snape took a moment to compose an answer, having to discard all of the snide comments he wanted to say. "You should get settled immediately so you can come make yourself useful.
"The door over there leads straight out into the corridor. I'll show you how to find the door while it's warded when we return from dinner. The wards are already set for you." He gestured to the pair of doors at his side. "The room on the left is the bedroom; the one on the right is the bathroom. There is already a second bed and lamp for you. If you don't like them, feel free to transfigure them."
Hermione smiled up at him. "Thank you. That was very kind of you. I'm sure they're perfectly fine."
She noticed for the first time that he had removed his robes, and she saw him in shirtsleeves and trousers for the first time. He wore a clean, white, button-up shirt tucked into the waistline of his black trousers, and the slacks fit his strong thighs perfectly. Hermione watched as he talked, struck by how elegant he was, even without the flowing robes.
She mentally shook her head and refocused on his face. Snape plowed on. "You are welcome to all food in the kitchenette. In the morning, you must run the tap for a minute to get hot water. This door in the kitchen leads to the hallway that enters into the storeroom, which you're familiar with. The classroom is on the other side of the storeroom, of course, and the office is beyond that."
Hermione's eyebrows practically rose to her hairline. She was surprised he was being so nice compared to their earlier interaction. Less antagonistic, and more indifferent. Indifferent was better than snarling, she supposed.
Hermione stepped closer to him. "Thank you for being so accommodating. I understand that having another person share your personal space can be a difficult transition."
"I spend most of my time in the classroom or the office. I imagine having a roommate won't make too large a difference." As he turned to the kitchen, he stopped. "We'll have to add another desk in here, I suppose. I will move this bookshelf into the bedroom to make space."
The clock on the wall above the kitchen table boomed twice and then sat silent.
"Two o'clock already?" Hermione's stomach growled as she realized that she hadn't eaten much all day.
"Lunch. I suppose we have time before we must start in on the ingredients," he said.
"Wouldn't want to miss the elves' food," Hermione said, following Snape out to the hallway.
On the way to the Great Hall, Hermione pondered why he had been so calm on her return. It practically went against his nature, not to mention the little uncomfortable spat they'd had earlier. Maybe he thought there could be a benefit from his actions. Maybe Minerva had given him orders to be pleasant. She doubted it. He wasn't very good at taking orders anymore.
When they arrived at the Great Hall, all the other teachers and their apprentices were sitting at a round table sat in the middle of the room. Hermione and Snape sat together in the seats closest to the door. Minerva, who was sitting on Hermione's right, leaned over as she sat.
"How's it been so far?" she whispered, spreading her napkin across her lap.
"Very good. He's been surprisingly nice after our little fight. He set up a second set of furniture for me. Without me asking, I might add." Hermione began to dig into her side salad, smiling gently at the curious look from Snape.
"He's been that way all summer. It's a little unnerving, is it not?" The two women shared a small laugh before focusing on their meals for a moment.
Once the chicken appeared and potatoes were being passed around, Minerva leaned toward Hermione again. "What would you say the timeframe is?" she whispered, almost too low for Hermione to hear.
She looked around to make sure no one was paying too much attention to the two of them. "About a month. Give or take. It must happen a bit before the date I saw." Hermione thought back to the grainy edges of the scene she had glimpsed. "Of course, I have no context, and the future changes constantly. Besides, it was only a moment before I realized what was happening and went back in time. And then, there's always the chance that it was an isolated incident and—"
Minerva stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Give it time. Severus moves slow as molasses. It took him years to even compliment me on my work. He's loosened up quite a bit since then, but I can't imagine how much effort it takes for him to open up enough to let someone su—"
"Minerva!" Hermione interrupted, her face bursting into a blush so intense, she felt like a beacon. Snape glanced over again, eyebrow raised in curiosity. She avoided his eyes and raised her hands to her cheeks to cover her flaming red skin.
McGonagall continued on as if she hadn't been chastised. "Of course, I hope it's sooner rather than later. We all think he needs someone to share a tryst with, just to relax a bit, if nothing else."
"We?! Who else feels this way? Who else have you told?" Hermione stared at her old teacher in horror.
"Oh, just Dumbledore and a few other colleagues. It comes up whenever we complain about how tense and hard-headed Severus can be. Of course," she laid a hand on Hermione's arm gently, "I never told anyone the particulars of your…experience."
Hermione quietly nibbled at the piece of chicken on her fork.
"I hope you aren't upset," Minerva said. "Charity Burbage mentioned during our meeting last week that it would be quite adorable if the two of you ended up together for Christmas. It turned into a bit of a running joke. We don't get a lot of drama between our faculty members, but the way the two of you glance at each other…"
Hermione shook her head. As she glanced around the table, she did indeed notice Snape's eyes flicking her way before bouncing away again. Her stomach erupted into little butterflies.
"I'm ridiculously nervous and embarrassed, but not upset. I don't think I'll be able to eat much more. Please excuse me." She stood and placed her napkin next to her full plate. Snape looked after her for a moment before he stood as well, excusing himself and following her out of the room.
He didn't have to look for long. She sat on the stairs right next to the front doors, head in her hands. Snape stood in front of her uncomfortably, not sure what to do, but feeling somehow responsible for her mood.
"What's wrong?" he finally asked. She gave a little laugh and sighed, looking up at him.
Snape had his hair tucked behind his ears and his head tilted to the side a bit. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Hermione had never seen him out of sorts like this. Hermione had just opened her mouth to respond when a sickly-sweet voice to her left stopped her.
"Severus Snape worried about someone? My, isn't this a splendid surprise?" Both teachers turned in shock to find Rita Skeeter standing there, quill and notebook hovering near her shoulder.
Snape was quick to glare and step forward, blocking Hermione from view to let her compose herself before the reporter could get a good look at her face.
"I thought you were banned from the school grounds. And I see you still have the quill. As I understand it, you aren't allowed to use it in the writing of your articles," he said, looming over the short columnist.
"The ban was only for articles I write for The Daily Profit, and it's actually a different pen now. No paraphrasing," she said, smugly.
"Still harassing my friends, Miss Skeeter? Miss the glass jar already?" Snape glanced over his shoulder to see Hermione had stood and now faced Skeeter with a determined expression. Rita gave her a quick withering glance before ignoring her and turning back to Snape.
"I was wondering if I could talk to you alone," she purred, eyeing Snape as if he were a candy treat, plastic smile still in place.
Snape's eyes narrowed. "What for?"
Skeeter flipped what little hair she had behind her shoulder. "I have some preliminary questions. For another interview, you know."
"I'm not interested." He motioned to Hermione with a flick of his finger and began to stalk down the hallway toward their rooms. Hermione followed quickly, Skeeter close behind.
"But our last interview went so well. I was hoping to get a continuation."
"I hadn't noticed an article about you, Professor," Hermione said as she struggled to keep up with his long strides.
"It never went to print," was his short reply. His lips were so thin, they almost disappeared.
"It would have gotten wonderful reviews. He was delightfully charming." Skeeter was struggling after them on her spiked heels, her breath coming in short gasps. "Oh, that reminds me! I have a gift for you."
Snape stopped in the middle of the hallway, rounding on her and grabbing the small package she was pulling out of her purse. "Let me put this as plainly as I can, and maybe it will stick in your little tiny brain. I am not interested in you or your newspaper, and I never shall be."
Skeeter gave a high-pitched laugh and flipped her hair again. "Not interested in me? It's not as if you have any more options, Severus."
Hermione's nose scrunched at the way the woman tried to seductively hiss his name.
"You are not the only woman out there. There are always other options." Snape turned around to look at Hermione in frustration. "Do you want to wait in the office while I sort her out?"
"Yes, some privacy, please," Rita pleaded, batting her eyelashes.
Hermione rolled her eyes and smirked at Snape. "Sure, but I'll be waiting for you," she said. "We still have to sort out our bedroom and move my stuff in."
He nodded and promised he wouldn't be long, sharing her secret smile. The moment Hermione had turned the corner, Skeeter turned on him, her face suddenly a strange shade of magenta. Snape almost took a step back in surprise. Neither of them noticed Hermione's head of curls pop back around the corner behind them.
"Are you seeing that Mudblood behind my back?" Skeeter demanded, her voice shrill.
Snape's eyes immediately darkened. "Never call her that again," he warned. "Or I shall curse you to your grave and back." He stared her down with a hardened gaze. "And there is nothing between you and I. How can I see someone 'behind your back'?"
Skeeter flipped her hair. "So, how's the relationship really going? Are you just in it for the power and status of the Golden Girl? Or is it the sex? She's young and pretty…enough." Her eyes flashed and her quill danced. Snape's glare hardened and cooled.
"Get out."
"Excuse me?"
"I said 'get out'. I do not want to see you again. You will stay away from Hermione. I shall make you suffer if you do not heed my warning. I promise you that," he growled.
"Threats don't scare me, Severus," Rita said, but her legs seemed a bit more wobbly than before, and she took a small step back before collecting herself.
"Mine should."
Before he could turn away, she pointed to the small bag with a bow he held. "At least accept my parting gift. It's a special tea blend a friend is working on. Maybe one day, we can have a more…pleasant visit."
"Don't count on it," he hissed. He made sure she was fully out the door before he stomped down to the storeroom and slammed the door behind himself. He began to blindly open boxes, throwing her gift onto the counter and cursing Skeeter under his breath.
After just a few moments, the door to the kitchen opened. "Severus?"
"What?" he snapped. Hermione didn't say anything for a moment. He looked up at her.
She was looking him over curiously.
"I just wanted to say thank you for what you did. I heard you tell her not to call me…well, you know. You didn't have to, and I'm sure your public image just decreased tenfold."
He slowly put the glass bottle in his hand back into the box and straightened. "Yelling at Rita Skeeter is child's play for someone who reprimands children every day and is known as an overgrown bat. If anything, I should be grateful to you for making your bedroom comment. She may actually get the hint now. She doesn't…have a good grasp of reality."
"You're welcome. I think I only made it worse, though."
His head snapped up. "What do you mean? Worse?"
"She's going to run off and print something about us sleeping together, and then we'll have to make a public statement saying we're not. It's just going to get out of hand very quickly."
"Let us hope that day doesn't come." They shared a small smile.
Hermione stepped forward. "You aren't an overgrown bat."
"And you aren't a Mudblood."
"Touche."
After a moment of thought, Hermione stepped forward quickly and wrapped her arms around his neck in what she thought was going to be a quick hug.
She had expected Snape to freeze for a moment, but she hadn't foreseen the tentative arm he placed at her waist or his other hand coming up between her shoulder blades. While it was true that it was quite possibly the most awkward hug she'd ever gotten, the meaning behind it touched her.
Hermione's stomach growled, and they pulled away from each other quickly.
"I didn't eat much at lunch," she laughed.
"I was able to manage a few mouthfuls before you bolted from the room. However, I do need to bathe. I feel horrendously contaminated after dealing with that woman."
"Is that the gift she gave you?"
Snape turned to look at the bag he'd left on the counter. "Yes, some fancy tea."
Hermione grabbed the bag of tea leaves. "It seems harmless enough. The label says chamomile and ginger. Trying to relax you before she propositioned you again?" Snape flinched and took a step back. "You shower; I'll get some food started."
Snape's face had changed. He was closed off again. Hermione sighed in sadness; she had hoped they were finally getting somewhere close to friendship. "Fine," he said.
With that, he swept away to the bathroom. Hermione could hear the lock click into place as she turned to the kitchen, wondering what she could say to bring back the sparkle in his eye.
