The Pitfalls of Being an Insufferable Know-it-all

Twenty Five

We lay together after, silently, as was our wont. Yet, this also felt different. His arm was underneath my shoulders and the tips of his fingers moved idly in my hair. I wondered if he knew how much I enjoyed the feel of his hand in my hair. Perhaps he was not even aware of his own movements.

It would have been easy to let my thoughts drift, but I tried to keep my mind focused. I didn't want to consider the implications of how his hand had come to be in my hair —not when I'd expressly told myself I would not engage with him again. So much for my resolve. I think I enjoyed too much the idea that it was something illicit to be a part of, when really, I should have used my common sense.

Instead, I distracted myself with thoughts of the Aurors and of Azkaban, but I made no move to speak, instead preferring the stillness and quiet.

To my mild surprise it was he who eventually broke the silence.

'I need to ask a favour, Granger.'

His voice vibrated pleasantly through my ribs.

I took a breath. 'Yes?'

'I appear to have fallen on hard times and am currently homeless. I wonder if I might impose upon you for a time?'

I froze, blinking up at the ceiling. 'Homeless?' I repeated dully.

'Indeed,' he replied with supreme unconcern.

I turned onto my side, propping myself up on my elbow to look at him with a bewildered expression.

His eyes looked me up and down before replying. 'I lost my right to my rooms in Edinburgh when they suspended my tenure.'

'I see… Well, of course, you may stay…' I trailed off, thinking with mounting horror how difficult it would be.

Perhaps he sensed the direction of my thoughts. 'I presume nothing, of course; your, ah, spare room will be most adequate.'

I pulled myself up into a sitting position, hugging the covers to my chest. 'Indeed; don't want you getting too comfortable, do we?' I smiled to myself wryly.

To my surprise, he chose not to reply. I watched him stare unseeing up at the ceiling and decided to prod once more.

'You could have just asked, you know,' I commented dryly. 'There was no need to go to all this trouble.'

I observed the small quirk of his lips. 'I am more selfish than that; the room was merely a bonus.'

I said nothing. Was this an admission of something? There were several nuggets to digest in that moment. He had nowhere else other than his rooms in Edinburgh — nowhere else that he called home. Or so he said, of course. There was always a chance he could be playing one of his little games. But to what end?

Perhaps he had changed his mind about us. I could have deemed his behaviour as almost ardent since his return.

Ardent… Well, perhaps in the loosest sense of the word.

I smoothed my hands over the covers and decided with infinite confidence and poise that I would not fall into any traps. Besides, there were far more pressing matters to dissect in the short-term. I took a breath, ready to demand he tell me about the Aurors, but when I looked down at him, I could see he was sleeping.

Initially, I felt a pang of outrage. Then I considered that nearly a week of incarceration was probably not conducive to getting much sleep. I sighed to myself silently. I should have liked to have stayed there with him — perhaps watching, or sleeping… I should have liked to have done many things, but what I wanted was not necessarily important right then.

I slid out of the bed as quietly as I could, wrapped my dressing gown around me and went into the kitchen. One of the first things I did was close my Floo connection. I didn't need the hassle just yet of Harry or Ron Flooing straight into the path of Severus Snape. Once that was completed, I set about occupying myself with some cooking.

Following that, later in the evening, I was lying on the settee with my book. There was a cottage pie in the oven and I'd also given the house a once-over to remove or hide anything I didn't want my guest chancing across. I'd made sure to Banish all empty wine bottles and I'd hidden my collection of Muggle romance novels. If there was anything else I'd forgotten, well, I'd have to take the hit as and when, I thought.

So there I was on the settee, outwardly collected, but inwardly a myriad of conflicting thoughts. Eventually, the door opened and in came he, looking annoyingly unruffled. I lowered my book and watched his progress to take the armchair by the fire. He said absolutely nothing and I grit my teeth together with irritation.

'Has anyone ever told you that you are the master of suspense?'

He tilted his head thoughtfully. 'Amongst other things, of course,' he said in a serene tone.

I sent my book back to the bookshelf and I pulled myself into a sitting position. 'Will you just tell me what happened?' I demanded. 'It's been doing my head in all week.'

His chin dropped forward and he appeared to contemplate his hands for a moment. Then his head lifted and there was almost a smile on his face. Several dark chuckles sounded and I felt myself straighten up in mild bemusement.

'Very well… The Aurors presented their evidence to me – so-called evidence, of course. I asked them if they really thought I was stupid enough to let myself get photographed carrying out nefarious deeds? Did they really think, for instance, I would sign my own name to incriminating documents?'

He glared at me then, for effect, I think.

I nodded my agreement.

'An oversight, they reckoned. So, I asked them, how on earth could I have fooled the Dark Lord for so long with such poor judgement?'

He chuckled again. I never knew sojourns in Azkaban could be so amusing.

'Or perhaps that was it, I suggested to them — perhaps I'm much too practised at the double-bluff, after all.'

I groaned loudly and closed my eyes. 'Severus, how could you wind them up like that?

'They had nothing on me, Granger, and they knew it.'

'You've been charged with smuggling, theft and fraud!' I exclaimed in disbelief. 'Not to mention feature as a prime suspect in a murder investigation.'

'It's flimsy and they know it. And what of Cresswell? All they have is a professional dispute… Merlin, I've had enough of those in the past and I managed to refrain from killing all of them.'

'Only just, probably,' I muttered under my breath.

He shot me a warning look.

'You should have told them straight-away where you were when he was killed,' I continued with a frown. 'People have not been kind.'

I folded my arms and shifted uncomfortably as I recalled some of the comments I had read.

He only spoke when I deigned to look at him again. 'I care nothing for what people think, Hermione.'

I frowned. This was part of the problem, I thought. Was I included in that sweeping statement? I liked to think not. I hoped not.

'You should have told them,' I repeated.

He ignored me. 'There was method in my madness, Granger. It wasn't only the Aurors who thought they were on to something, eh?'

'Ridley?'

He nodded appreciatively. 'I must say it was somewhat of a surprise when Greenwood put to me that I'd been laundering money through the Society…'

'Hmm… Perhaps those phantom expeditions to Norway were really not such a good idea, after all.'

He gave me a look of almost surprise, and I could see he was very nearly about to laugh. 'You are developing a shrewd sense of humour, Granger — I'm not sure I like it.'

I shrugged my shoulders flippantly, secretly rather pleased by my own wit. I realise how tragic this sounds, but such was my desire to be noticed by him.

'Ridley took a gamble,' I stated, feeling confident. 'It was obvious which way the tide was turning against you, and he sought to put the final nail in with forged accounts and Merlin knows what else.'

'Yes…'

'Except, he should have held out a moment longer, because now you know someone is framing you, and you are not in Azkaban…'

'Indeed… You see, this was not all for naught.'

There was a somewhat peculiar look that came over him — I think he was pleased. Age had perhaps not withered that vengeful streak he held.

'And yet, you still face being convicted of several crimes.' I gave him a sardonic look.

'A minor detail,' he sniffed, getting to his feet. 'What does a man have to do to get a cup of tea around here?'

I started to unfold my legs, but he held out his hand. 'I'll do it… I won't be able to recompense you for imposing, after all, since the Auror's have frozen my Gringott's account. I was lucky to keep my wand.'

I shook my head at his blase tone, watching him approach the kettle and select two mugs. I felt a smile pull at my mouth.

'Who said recompense had to be monetary…? I'm sure I can find alternative ways for you to earn your keep.' I bit my lip when I witnessed the sudden stillness in his posture. 'The garden needs weeding for starters.'

He ignored me. I could see he'd spotted something on the kitchen counter and I sank back against the settee, mentally kicking myself.

'Granger? Are these for me?'

He crossed the room, holding a white paper bag with two mugs trailing in the air behind him. He'd found the liquorice wands I'd bought on a whim — liquorice wands that I didn't like.

'Help yourself,' I mumbled, hoping my cheeks were not too aflame.

'I'll keep them for later— after whatever it is you have cooking in the oven.'

'You don't let the grass grow, do you?'

He did nothing except to smirk to himself. He regained his chair and he considered the fire. 'I trust you've closed your Floo connection?'

I fidgeted slightly. 'Of course.'

'I'm not sure how long we may keep our alliance quiet…'

'Tell me about Ridley,' I asked, changing the subject. 'Where does he fit into all this?'

'I should say he has had had his head turned by several galleons and the opportunity to oust me. It's always rankled him that he was not chosen to take charge of the Society. The Trustees chose me, even though Theo was already the deputy.'

'Ouch.'

'Indeed… He is somewhat intelligent, but lacks common sense. Not only that, at one point I believe he was an excellent potioneer, but that has been eroded over time. Such is the danger of resentment.'

He shot me a sidelong glance and I straightened reflexively.

'What isn't well-known is that Cresswell and Ridley were contemporaries.'

My eyebrows shot up.

'They once had an Apothecary in Diagon Alley.'

I leaned forward in earnest. 'You never said… Why, they may have been colluding together…'

'Mmm.'

I put my head into my hands and let out a frustrated groan. 'You've known this all along… You've known that they may both have been in on everything. I can't keep up with you.'

'Relax Granger; I had nothing on Theo until now.' There was somewhat of a faraway look on his face.

'So what do we do? What do we do to end this all once and for all?'

His head tilted thoughtfully. 'I haven't quite thought that far ahead yet…'

'Ridley must be the Polyjuiced you, don't you think?'

'Perhaps…' He trailed off, before suddenly getting to his feet and consulting his pocket watch. 'I need to go and collect some personal effects from my rooms.'

I blinked and stood up quickly. 'Now? Are you allowed?'

'Not really,' he murmured shrugging on his cloak. 'What the Aurors don't know won't hurt them.'

I shook my head despairingly. 'Hang on…'

'Your presence is not required.'

'I should say it is.'

We glared at each other for a moment or two, before he grimaced and relented.

'Quickly then.'

I snatched up my cloak and scarf and took hold of his arm as he Disapparated. We popped into the courtyard at the rear of the building, which looked to be entirely in darkness, and we took silently to the steps. He opened the door into his rooms and he lit them up with a muted glow.

I felt myself sigh — it was obvious the Aurors had been rifling through everything.

'Don't worry, Granger; anything important I hid away prior to my arrest.'

I stood by somewhat uselessly as he collected up certain books and shrunk them down into his robes, before disappearing to what I assumed might be his bedroom. In a matter of moments he was back in a flurry of robes.

'Now that we're here….' He motioned towards a door at the far end of the room that I hadn't particularly noticed the previous time I had been there.

Ah, I thought; the real reason for the visit.

He opened the door and lit up the darkness with his wand. We were at the top of the staircase that led down into the Society building proper. I paused on the threshold, wondering if this was really such a good idea.

'Do you, ah, need something from your office?' I whispered.

'No…'

'Severus, what if we are caught trespassing?'

He spun around and leaned down to whisper in my ear. 'We'll simply have to hope they are good enough to give us cells next door to each other, my dear.'

Without further ado he began to descend the stairs.

'Fine,' I muttered to myself as I dutifully followed.

He came to a pause on a landing halfway down and indicated I should follow him down the corridor. The building was obviously empty, but I listened hard anyway for a sign of life. He halted at a door and gently tried the handle. It was locked. As he moved aside to aim his wand at the handle, I caught sight of the name on the door — it was Mr Theobald Ridley.

'Is this a good idea?' I repeated weakly.

He ignored me as the door clicked open.

I raised my own wand with a Lumos charm and followed him inside. The room was immaculately tidy and furnished quite sparsely, apart from the bookshelves that took up much of the walls.

'What are we looking for?' I whispered.

'I don't know,' Severus replied.

He sat down behind the desk and began trying each of the drawers. With a shrug I walked over to the shelves and began scanning those. They were filled with potions texts mostly. I moved past those and and considered the mantelpiece. There were some trinkets adorning it but nothing of note. I bent to the fireplace, recalling the previous luck I'd had examining Severus's own fireplace. There was nothing there but ashes.

I got to my feet and found myself next at the cloak-stand. There were a few cloaks hanging up and I found myself rummaging through the pockets. They were mostly empty but for one small envelope — an empty envelope, but it was the large broken wax seal, which particularly caught my eye. I recognised it.

I was about to call out to my companion when a muffled sound arrested me. In an instant, Severus was on his feet at the door. There were footsteps and voices which sounded increasingly more audible and it was obvious that, whomever they were, they were ascending the stairs.

I looked around wildly, wondering what on earth we would do. We could not Disapparate away and we could not leave the room without crossing through the stairwell. Having replaced the Locking charm, Severus appeared at my elbow and was nudging me gently towards the window.

I felt my jaw slacken with outrage and I grasped his arm with a strong, warning grip.

'I'm not flying out of the window,' he hissed quietly, looking as though he wanted to roll his eyes.

I felt my breath return as he motioned to go behind the large, heavy curtains. Now I wanted to roll my eyes at the ridiculousness of it. To my relief, the window behind was large and crenellated, affording some space for us both. We extinguished our wands and held our breath. I'd hoped that the footsteps would continue beyond, but soon enough there was the click of the door opening. My grip on my wand was so tight my nails dug into my palm.

A voice sounded into the room. 'We hoped they would keep him in Azkaban for longer than a few days.'

I glanced sideways and found my partner in crime to be smirking to himself.

'I've done what you asked; it's not my fault it didn't work.'

This was Ridley now.

'I'll not play dress-up anymore,' he continued. 'If you wish for more Polyjuice I can supply it, but that's all.'

There was the sound of the desk drawers being opened, and I prayed Ridley would not notice that anything looked disturbed.

'You'll do what we say,' hissed the unknown voice. 'We wouldn't want you going the same way as your old friend, would we?'

I felt my skin prickle and I wondered if I could edge towards the middle, where the curtains met, in order to try and ascertain who this unknown person might be. I'd barely conceived the thought when I felt fingers curl around my wrist.

We exchanged a look and I dutifully abandoned that line of thought.

Suddenly, the room returned to darkness and the door could be heard closing. Evidently Ridley had retrieved whatever it was he'd come for. I felt my body sag with relief.

'Come on,' Severus murmured, stepping silently across the floor.

Delicately, he opened the door and listened intently. Dimly, the sound of footsteps could be heard retreating down into the belly of the building.

'They're going to the store,' he said in an undertone. 'It's full of all manner of concoctions; Polyjuice included. It's heavily protected, including by key, of which Ridley has one.'

I nodded. Clearly, that's what he'd collected from his office. I watched a flicker of indecision cross over Severus's face as he peered down over the bannister.

'Let us go,' he said in the end, heading back up to his rooms, where we could reach the courtyard and disappear.

'Thank Merlin for that!' I exclaimed gratefully when we were back in my living room once more. Severus, however, said nothing.

'Well, at least we know now for certain that Ridley is an active participant in all this.'

'Mmm.'

I watched him with interest as he sank onto the the edge of the settee in contemplation. He seemed to consider his hands for a moment, before roughly shoving them through his hair and muttering an irritated 'Fuck.' Rising to his feet he then shrugged off his cloak and threw it down with a grimace. He tugged next at the tie at his neck.

I flinched when a fire violently erupted into the grate. He moved to stand by it, head sunk on to his chest.

'What's wrong?' I asked, approaching him warily.

His jaw clenched tightly before he spoke. 'I've fucked this up, Granger.'

I was mildly surprised at that. I folded my arms and regarded him openly. 'In what way?' I asked patiently.

'I thought the Society was free from this rot — this is what I have been working hard to ensure. ' He scowled deeply. 'And all the while it was happening right under my nose.'

I considered my words before speaking. 'We don't know how far the Society itself is embroiled… Ridley may not have sunk it so very low…'

He glared at me fiercely. 'He is my deputy, Granger. I know what he is capable of and I chose not to see it. Irrespective of my opinion, he is a long-standing, respected member of the industry... And without respect, we Potioneers have very little left in this day and age.'

He looked entirely earnest, and yet, to my alarm, I felt humour bubbling up in my throat. I tried vainly to swallow it, but whilst I did not laugh aloud, I did feel my mouth tug into a small smile.

At the subsequent warning flash of his eyes, I reached a placatory hand up to his shoulder.

'Don't you think that ship may already have sailed, what with you being charged with several offences yourself?'

I felt myself smile widely now and, in somewhat of a brazen move, I let my thumb brush under his jaw, as if to mitigate my teasing.

To my delight, his eyes took on a particular gleam and he let out a pained chuckle.

'Fine; I realise there's very little that's respectable about me.'

I had always been taken by his commitment and, I suppose, his love for his work. It amused me he should care so little for his personal well-being, but be so concerned about the future of his craft. Selfishly, I desired that dedication for myself — his dedication to me.

'The truth will come out, Severus, and you can rebuild from there.'

I did something really brazen, then. I brought my other hand up to his jaw and stretched up to kiss him; only once, and almost chastely, on the lips.

A kiss of encouragement, perhaps.

I say almost chaste, mind. The reality was far from it, of course. Chaste kisses do not linger, or tingle, or set off inside a heat that burns.

I released him with a small smile and, unsure of what to do with myself from there, set about removing my cloak.

'Allow me.'

His fingers came up to unfasten the clasp and I felt my heart begin to pump as if in anticipation of what might come next. We both knew what that might be. It ebbed and flowed in strength and volume, but it lingered around us all the time. He was watching me carefully — to see if I wished to resist. However, I would have done anything he'd asked, right then. Shamefully, perhaps, I could not imagine having the strength to resist ever again.

He Banished my cloak silently away. Even as it went, I thought of the envelope I'd stuffed within it, but made no move mention it. I preferred not to derail the moment between us. This is how far I'd fallen.

I put my hands to work on the buttons of his waistcoat and he looked at me with a mild rise of his eyebrows.

'I think I might like to go to Azkaban more often.'

I faltered and began shaking with laughter. 'What a thing to say!' I admonished.

He smirked and lifted my chin up so that he might kiss me.

The sudden clatter of the letterbox arrested us both and we looked to see the Evening Prophet sail in and deposit itself on my coffee table.

I Summoned it to me and unfolded it for us to see. There on the front page was a photograph of Severus leaving Azkaban. It wasn't the only photograph displayed there, however. At the bottom of the article was a photograph of me.

We looked at each other; Severus sighed loudly and threw himself into the armchair.

It had begun.

AN: Have I ever updated this quick before? : )

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