A/N: I really appreciate all the support I received on the time I took to grieve for my family and friends. I already had this chapter mostly done, but I lost my flash drive and have to re-write it, so here goes.
Chapter 5
Standing up from the door, she walked over to her trunk that had been placed at the foot of the bed on the floor. Opening the lid, she reached in and grabbed a gray short sleeved shirt with a twist at the bust and a long, black folded skirt. Closing the lid, she moved to undress and put on the new clothes. As she did this, she thought about the new situation.
'I hope everyone takes this news okay. I mean, I am positive that Harry and Ron will have a bad reaction, but as soon as it is explained a little better, they will be okay with it. Well, maybe not okay, but they will be able to deal with it. Luna will be her normal self so I have no Idea what she will do or how she will react. Ginny and Neville⦠I really don't know about them either. I hope I don't lose any friends today, just because of something that we couldn't help.'
As soon as she had finished dressing, she heard a knock come from the front portrait. 'Here goes nothing.' She thought as she headed for the door. When she opened the bedroom door, she saw that Snape had already answered the door and opened it to allow the group to enter. Harry and Ron were the first two to enter. They immediately saw her and walked over to meet her in the middle of the room.
"Hey, Hermione. What's going on? Why did Dumbledore tell us to meet you here? And who is that guy who opened the door?" Harry said quickly, not giving her a chance to answer.
"Yeah, who is that guy, Hermione? He's very cute, where did you meet him? And why is he here?" Ginny said, having entered the room with Neville right after Harry and Ron.
"Hello, All!" Luna said, standing next to Draco, whom she had entered with.
"Okay, everyone. Hello. Everything will be answered as soon as we all get comfortable." Hermione said and then stopped, just realizing something that Ginny said. "Ginny, did you just call him." She pointed at Snape. "Cute?" When Ginny nodded, Hermione laughed. "That's what I thought you said. Let's all sit down." Hermione started walking over to one of the reclining chairs, shaking her head and Ginny's comment, when she realized that Snape must have transfigured a second couch to accommodate the extra people. Before she sat on the chair, she turned to look at Snape and nodded a thank you, adding a slight smile when he smirked at her in response. Hermione sat and watched as Harry and Ron sat on the new couch with Luna, Draco sat on the second couch alone, and Ginny and Neville sat in the Loveseat.
Hermione opened her mouth to start answering some questions, when Draco suddenly spoke.
"Why am I here? I understand why the others are here, but why am I?"
"Because Draco, I asked for you to be here. Everything will be explained." Snape answered sitting in the other recliner gracefully.
Hermione started the story of what happened in Divinations, including her dream, leaving out what she had seen in the mirror of Erised and the identity of the person she had knocked into. She continued on to tell of the accident and consequences of the fall. Snape added anything that he deemed necessary as she told the story. When her friends were told that the person she had knocked over had been a teacher, most of them had surprised looks on their faces. Luna was the only one who didn't, which didn't really surprise Hermione. She continued by telling them about Madam Pomphry's verdict and their walk up to Dumbledore's office.
"When we got to his office, he looked like he had been waiting for us, but he was surprised to see my companion. After we explained what happened, he asked us to do an experiment for him to validate what he thought had occurred." At this point, Hermione looked at Snape to see if he thought her idea was a good idea. Apparently he had the same idea, because he was reaching over to her with his right hand. She lifted her left hand and placed it in his, knowing now what to expect. As planned, Hermione felt the same sensations as in Dumbledore's office, and she again looked into obsidian eyes filled with emotion. Hearing her friends and Draco gasp, they quickly let go of each other. Hermione looked back at her friends and continued.
"That was the result last time, too. At that point, he told us that since I had just turned 17 yesterday, the answer to this riddle is that, we are Soul Mates, meant to fall in love and get married, but that he wasn't sure what kind of Soul Mates, as he said that aura's are never supposed to be visible. He is going to find out more, but in the meantime, we have to be near each other every hour for the first year and that is why we have this apartment." Hermione rounded down, getting ready to drop the bomb shell of the entire thing. "And now Severus will be going with me to classes and he won't be teaching." She finished, and waited for the explosions.
The room was very silent for several minutes, before Harry and Ron said in unison, "WHAT?" Draco started laughing, while Luna nodded a few times and then smiled. Ginny's mouth had dropped open, when she realized, who she had thought was cute, and Neville just sat there, with eyes open wide and his jaw on the floor.
"Draco, why are you laughing?" Severus asked calmly. It took a moment for Draco to calm down enough in order answer.
"A few reasons actually. First, everyone's reaction to who you are. Seeing the Weaslette speechless and the boy wonder and side-kick astounded is very funny. Lastly, you two have HATED each other since you met, and now fate or destiny or whatever is saying that you guy are meant to fall in Love? Not going to happen. Fate might as well have me fall for Loony Lovegood here, with how much you two are going to work, which is not at all." Draco finished his explanation with a shrug.
"I don't hate him."
"I don't hate her"
Hermione and Severus looked at each other in astonishment when they realized that they had said this together. Hermione turned back to her friends, to ask her friends if they had any questions, when Ginny stood up and walked over to Hermione. Grabbing her hand, Ginny pulled Hermione up onto her feet and towards the closest door, which happened to be the bedroom. Hermione looked back at Severus and, seeing his questioning look, shrugged and indicated that they would be back in a moment. He nodded and turned back towards the others, just before the door closed between them.
A/N: That is Chapter 5. I am writing chapter 6 and will probably publish it the day after this one.
I really appreciate all of the support that you all have given me, in this time of grief. With all of the loss I have had in the last 2 months including one I wasn't aware of until much later, I didn't know if I could continue writing these stories, but you all helped me get back on track.
Thank you and here is what you have been waiting for.
I Hope you enjoyed it!
Please Review!
Questions I leave you with:
What will Ginny say to Hermione in private that she couldn't say with everyone else there listening?
How will the others treat Severus while he is alone with them?
Will they accept the possible bond between Hermione and Severus?
