~ Chapter 3 ~
The next day, Severus found himself watching Hermione closely whenever she moved. A familiar tightness laced around his heart once more, and annoyance soon followed. I don't have any right to feel this way.
She finished putting the final bag on the cart, and he turned away from her as she climbed up into the seat next to him. He seemed to have now become the designated driver; it didn't bother him too much since Hermione was happy navigating them through the narrow roads.
"Ready?" he muttered and she gave him a lingering look when he didn't look her way.
"Yes," she whispered. "The road ahead doesn't have any intersections for a few miles, so we can go at a steady pace."
"Very well," he got the horse moving and they joined a few other travellers following the long road.
They moved in silence for a while and Hermione mapped out their route for the rest of the day. She kept biting her lip as she pondered on her thoughts, which caused Severus to grumble under his breath.
"Can I ask you something personal?" she said as the sun moved closer to midday.
"No."
She sighed in response. "Please?"
Don't look at her. Just don't look at her and you won't crack. To no avail, he glanced her way and saw the innocent look plaguing her face. "Fine."
"Are you interested in finding someone to be with?"
His head flew towards her and she bit back her giggle from the shocked expression on his face. "Why are you asking such a question?!"
She waved her hands frantically. "Eyes on the road!"
"It's a straight trail woman!"
"Stop avoiding my question."
What sort of question is that? Has she met someone she wants to be with? No, of course not, she's been with me this whole time! He stared ahead with a passive look on his face.
"The thought has never occurred to me," he lied.
"Oh," she sighed. "If you ever want to find somebody, please tell me, so I don't hold you back."
He glanced her way briefly and saw the sadness on her face. What did I say wrong?
"I can assure you that I won't be attracting anyone's attention," she inhaled sharply at his answer. "What?"
"Don't say things like that about yourself."
Why does that upset her? She shook her head at something then carried on studying the map. The personal moment passed and they carried on along the road.
They didn't converse for a while. Severus was very aware that something had passed between them both, but he didn't want to bring it up again. I'm sure everything's fine.
His mind kept wondering about the dance they'd shared last night. I can't believe I thought she was going to kiss me. How foolish. He looked her way again to see she was staring up at the sky.
Her hand tapped his arm and he noticed the hideous bird above them. The poor excuse of a hawk squawked over their heads and flew off into the clouds.
"That's one ugly bird."
"Don't be mean!" she hit his arm to emphasise her point.
"It's a bloody bird; it doesn't have any feelings that can be offended, nor ears that understand us," he glared at her playfully, and she responded with a tut.
"I didn't know you were a bird expert," she said sarcastically. "I guess you do learn new things every day."
He could tell by their pointless conversation that she was bored out of her mind. There's only so many things we can talk about without getting repetitive.
"Insufferable," he muttered, and she beamed with happiness. "It's not a compliment."
"But I love it when you call me that-" she clamped her mouth shut then turned away from him to stare at the passing scenery.
Love? His mind raced through thousands of thoughts, all of them meaningless and over-analysing the single word. They carried on in silence and eventually reached the crossroads. She kept her eyes on the map and hummed a soft tune to herself.
A rustling sound came from behind them, and they both turned slowly to stare at the moving bag in the cart. A high pitched bark sounded underneath the fabric, then a fluffy black head wiggled its way out of the bag filled with books.
Hermione screeched by his ear causing him to jump. The cart came to an abrupt halt just as she scrambled into the back towards the bag. Severus rubbed his throbbing ear and glared at the back of her head.
She fawned over the fluffy thing, then turned to beam at him with an awe-stricken look on her face. "Severus, it's adorable!"
He paused for a moment. When she looks at me like that —
"It's ugly," he settled on saying, and she covered its ears with a gasp.
"Don't be such a meanie!"
Meanie? How childish of her, I am not —
Once again, since arriving here in Heaven, he found himself cringing at his inner monologue. She brings out the child in me.
"Can we keep him?" the man-bending smile grew on her face, and he turned away with a roll of his eyes. "Thank you!"
"Are you sure its a boy?"
She held the puppy in front of her then smirked. "Positive."
She climbed back into the front, and the next thing he knew, a soft pair of lips pressed against his cheek. He stopped breathing for a few seconds, then eventually turned to stare at her in shock. She was mothering the puppy in her lap, not even acknowledging what she'd just done or how she'd made him react.
A warmth flooded his cheeks and he took a few moments to gather his composure. What…? He shook his empty mind and got the horse moving again.
…
"Get it to stop!" Severus yelled in the middle of the clothes shop.
"Come on, Bruce, leave Severus alone," Hermione clicked her fingers at the young pup who nibbled on his trouser leg.
They'd stumbled across the busy city after a long morning of travelling. He wanted to carry on for the rest of the day, but Hermione suggested finding an inn to stay in would be better. She said that she knew how much he hated camping.
"You're calling him Bruce? That's a middle aged man's name."
"You would know," she walked off with a chuckle, and Severus narrowed his eyes at her.
They carried on their stroll around the large shop, and Severus found himself more inclined to shop for clothes that he could wear. I'm not sure what would suit me the best, perhaps I should ask Hermione—
He turned around to find she was no longer behind him. His eyes caught onto her curly hair as she ran out of the shop in a hurry.
"Hermione!" he tried to catch up with her, but the moment he stepped outside she disappeared into the crowd with the puppy in her arms. He could hear the distant shouts of "wait!", but he couldn't spot the person she was chasing.
He came to a stop gasping for oxygen. "That bloody, insufferable woman!"
A few people gave him odd looks as he leant against the wall to gain control of his breathing again. Who was she chasing after? Who would she know that would make her run like that?
He couldn't help but think that she might have seen Lily. His back straightened and an uncomfortable pressure laced around his heart. Something inside of him didn't want that to be the truth.
It would ruin the 'thing' that has been forming between them for the past few months. He pushed himself away from the wall and carried on in the direction she'd ran in.
The fluttering of wings caught his attention and a familiar black hawk landed on a nearby stall. Severus stared at the ugly bird through narrowed eyes. Is it the same bird? It watched him through hollow eyes and Severus sensed something evil coming from it.
The teller of the stall shooed it away with a rag, and Severus followed it as it took off into the sky and into the clouds.
He shook the ominous feeling from his shoulders and walked off to find Hermione. I'd say she's going to be the death of me, but that doesn't apply to where I am now. She's the bane of my very existence.
A few of the stall owners tried to grab his attention, but he kept his eyes moving around for her familiar head of hair. Where the bloody hell has she got to? He carried on grumbling to himself about how insufferable she was, until he heard a bark coming from nearby.
He knew it could be another dog, however, he followed the noise down a nearby alley which led out into a small square. There were four doors that led to houses, and little balconies overlooked the moss covered floor.
Hermione had her back to him, and for once, his attention wasn't focused on only her. A familiar head of black hair caught his eyes and the air left his lungs.
Eileen Prince looked his way with a gasp. Hermione whirled around to stare at him and they all stood their in silence.
"I...I didn't mean to run off," Hermione said. "I saw the likeness through the window of the shop and couldn't help myself."
Severus' eyes softened. "That's understandable."
"Severus," Eileen's bottom lip quivered. "I had no idea you were here…" she pondered on a thought, then quickly raced over to hug him.
He'd long forgotten what it felt like to be in his mother's arms. For a moment he felt shame for having an audience to this personal moment. However, he knew that Hermione wouldn't judge him for wrapping his mother up in his arms, and burying his face into her neck.
They stayed that way for a long time, until the idiotic puppy started barking repeatedly. "Would you shut that scoundrel up!"
Hermione gasped. "Don't be so cruel! He's a puppy and doesn't know any better," she kissed his head and scratched his back. Eileen pulled away to wipe away her tears and watched the pair curiously.
"Well, teach it to shut up."
"Coming from the man who couldn't teach his students to shut up," she raised her brow and he scoffed in response. His next remark was stopped by the look on his mother's face. "I apologise, Miss Prince, my name is Hermione."
"Call me Eileen, my dear," she tucked some of her hair behind her ear. "I'm glad to see you've settled down Severus; I must say she's quite young, nevertheless, you seem like a suited pair."
Severus stared at her in shock and Hermione blushed a bright red shade.
"Oh," Eileen gasped. "I-I got it wrong…I'm terribly sorry!"
Yes, she's got it terribly wrong. Severus gave Hermione a funny look, then pushed the awkward situation to the back of his mind. He needed to focus on the fact that he'd found his mother — well, Hermione had.
"Would you like to come inside?" she gestured towards a wooden door, and they nodded their heads and followed her inside.
They walked up some stairs which led to another door and into his mother's small flat. The interior fit with the old-fashioned theme everywhere else, but the thing that shocked him the most, was a man's tie resting on the back of the sofa.
He walked over and picked it up, then turned to look at his mother. She was scratching the puppy's head while Hermione cooed over it. He felt angry at the thought of another man being in her life; the last one was enough to put him off ever seeing her with someone ever again.
Eileen glanced his way with a smile; it disappeared from her face soon after when she saw the anger on his face. "Severus?" she walked towards him and took the tie from his hand. "This belongs to my partner."
"Partner?" Severus saw Hermione shrink back against the wall, somehow sensing the extreme shift of emotion.
"He's a nice man," she said. "He comes from America, and we've been together for five years now. I'm happy, and he treats me well, Severus. I promise."
The anger didn't leave his face, and his mother glanced back at Hermione with pleading eyes. Hermione put down the dog and appeared at his side.
Her hand rested on his arm. "Let's go outside for a bit," she gave him a firm push, and he was led from the house with Hermione holding his hand.
They went through the private square and into the alleyway. She let go of his hand and stepped away to give him some space. I don't need space…I need...something.
"Harry told me about your father," she whispered. "I can't begin to imagine-"
"I don't need your sympathy!" he spat.
"Tough luck!" she yelled back. "How can you expect people not to feel sympathetic? He abused you-"
He approached her with a scowl. "Don't even finish that sentence."
She sighed and angled her head back to look into his burning gaze. "I feel sympathy because I know who you are now. The main reason for people feeling such an emotion is because they wish it never happened. You deserved better, and I'm angry that you had to live through that, alone."
"Where have you got this idea that you know me?" his words were meant to deliver a punch, but she simply smirked at him.
"Nice try," she placed her hand on his arm. "Stop trying to push me away. I'm not going anywhere."
He grabbed her wrist to push her hand away, but he stopped when a blush flooded onto her cheeks. They stayed that way for a while, until Hermione shook her head and put some distance between them.
"Are you ready to head back inside?"
They went back into his mother's flat to find she'd made them all some tea. She invited them to sit around the table where Severus and his mother caught up on all the things they'd missed. Eileen asked about the cause of his death, and he'd brushed her off and said he would tell her another time.
She also asked Hermione the same question; she choked on her tea and avoided eye contact with Severus for a while. We've never talked about it again. He didn't want to reopen that wound, yet a part of him wanted to ask questions.
She died because of me.
Around ten minutes later, a knock sounded against the front door. "That will be Michael," she placed her hand on his arm. "He's a lovely man."
Severus nodded his head and watched his mother open the door. She was embraced in strong arms immediately, then the blond haired man kissed her on the lips.
"I missed you terribly," he tried to kiss her again, but she sheepishly looked over at the table and he followed her eyes. "Oh! Well...this is a bit awkward...anywho, how do you do!" he raced over to them and shook both of their hands eagerly.
"Michael, this is my son, Severus."
"Hello!" The enthusiastic man tried to hug him, but it only resulted in an awkward tangle of limbs and a hysterical laugh from Hermione.
What is wrong with this man?! He glared furiously at Hermione as he sat back down and focused on his tea. She continued to giggle to herself and he reached beneath the table to pinch her leg.
Her leg slammed against the table. "OW!"
"Are you OK?" Eileen asked.
"Perfectly well," Hermione flushed with embarrassment and looked around the room to distract herself.
Severus took in the man's colourful appearance and couldn't help but wonder what his mother saw in him. However, the sight of the smile on Eileen's face made him change his critical thinking. I'm happy that she's happy.
Hermione got to her feet with a smile. "Michael, how about we go for a nice stroll while these two catch up."
The chirpy man was thrilled by the suggestion. "That would be lovely…?"
"Hermione," she took the arm offered to her, and Severus watched them leave with a soft look on his face. I hate when she's too thoughtful.
Eileen took a seat and poured herself some tea. "I'm sorry that you died, Severus, but I'm glad that I get to see you again."
He reached out and took her hand in his. There were many things he wished to say to her, yet none of it seemed to matter right now. I'm happy that I get to see her again. None of his mother's beauty was passed onto him; his features beamed Tobias Snape through and through.
He shook the thoughts from his head. "Where have you been? I checked at some of the Seeking Souls for you."
It still sounds like a damn dating agency.
"Michael and I have just returned from an expedition," she explained. "A group of us got together and went in search of an undiscovered location. The island was full of large bunnies; Michael enjoyed it a lot more than me," she chuckled as she recalled the memory.
"That sounds...awful," Eileen laughed some more, then beamed at him.
"I assumed he'd been travelling alone after that greeting?"
"Oh," Eileen blushed. "No, he just spent the morning catching up with his friends."
Severus almost threw up in his mouth. What a romantic, he thought sarcastically.
"So, tell me about this Hermione of yours."
Of mine?
"There's nothing to tell."
She raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?" Heat flooded his cheeks. Merlin damnit! "Tell me."
"There's nothing going on between—" she tilted her head to the side. "I don't know."
"Just as I thought," she tapped his hand. "There's nothing that a little alcohol can't help with."
AN:/ Hi! Sorry for the long wait, everything seems to be back on track now! So, Eileen is back in the picture, what do you think? Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter, and I'll get my typing fingers ready to form the next chapter!