Chapter 11: In which Numerous Contemplations Occur
Hermione slid onto her couch, her mind already occupied by that evening's date. At the start she had been more than ready to write it off as an enormous mistake, but there had been moments throughout the night where she'd been very glad she had gone. Severus was the perfect picture of a gentleman, his manners were impeccable without being showy and he had appeared to enjoy her company. She had been embarrassed by the one-sided- ness of their dinner conversation, but her silent dinner companion hadn't objected or even interrupted her once.
Deciding she needed to change out of her adorable dress before she ruined it, Hermione rose and wandered slowly towards the bedroom still lost in thought. She couldn't wipe the intense look in Severus' glance as they said Farwell from her inner eye' the look that had both intimidated and excited her with its strength. She had been so used to seeing either the guarded expression of war-time or the hostile glare from her Hogwarts days, to see an expression so passionate was disconcerting and flattering. The Look as she christened it, for lack of a better title, ran through her brain repeatedly, her vivid imagination adding to it with each repetition.
By the time she went to bed, four hours later, she was certain the look had meant that Severus loved her. In the morning she would remind herself that people like Professor Snape were incapable of love, just as people like herself were undeserving of it, but for the night it was a thought of comfort that gave her joy. Reality could wait for the morrow.
The last thought across Hermione's mind as she slipped into the waiting arms of sleep was that she wished she had kissed him goodbye.
~
Birds were singing merrily from the forbidden forest when Severus stood from his resting place. When he left Hermione he had been certain he would never sleep, so he had instead spent the night walking around her neighborhood, all the while humming a ridiculous song he had heard in a Muggle play Albus had dragged him to, some nonsense about "here on the street where you live" that had a surprisingly catchy tune. Finally, several hours after he had left Hermione he realized he was acting a fool and apparated to Hogsmead.
The streets of the Wizarding town were deserted and wonderfully silent. He continued his wanderings thinking over the evenings events. Constantly assessing as he was want to do with things he wasn't completely confident about. He decided that he had behaved fairly well, and other than the awkward silence that had hung over most of their dinner he was determined the date had been a success. Hermione had turned out to be even more interesting than he remembered. Her brilliance and enthusiasm shone through her eyes in a very endearing manner; when he had said good night to her on her porch it had taken every once of self control he possessed not to kiss her on the spot.
He had returned to Hogwarts an hour before sunrise and settled in the soft grass beside the Lake to watch the sun rise. Thoughts of Hermione kept him company throughout the early morning and even through breakfast at the Staff table. He had been seated next to a sullen Remus - one of Albus' tactics he was certain - but even his former friend's less than sunny mood had been able to have the slightest effect on his own disposition.
The late morning and early afternoon were spent attempting to get a batch of Wolfs bane potion started, but he was constantly distracted by memories of his date the night before. This was both unusual and annoying for the master; he was barely ever distracted when working. He would have to owl her in a few days and ask her if they could repeat the experience, only this time he thought he should cook for her at her place so that there would be no problems with the restaurant.
A minor problem with this particular plan was that he had never dated before and was completely unsure of whether it would be appropriate for him to suggest such a thing to Hermione. Well, he thought with a determined smile, he would just have to ask someone.
~
Remus Lupin stared pensively into his brandy glass. Severus had been in an exceptional mood at breakfast that morning, obviously the date with Miss Granger had gone well. He was rather ashamed of his early negative opinion of the match, and deeply regretted voicing it to Severus. The man hadn't spoken to him since that day and Lupin missed their conversations.
He wasn't sure what to expect from Severus and Hermione's budding relationship, surely Hermione couldn't be thinking of a long-term attachment. But then again she wasn't one for frivolous flings, especially not with former professors. As for Severus, Lupin was convinced the man expected this relationship to last, at least for a time. The man was in his late thirties and had never had any romance to speak of in his dismal life. He probably still expected the ordeal to be all smiles and roses. If so he was definitely in for a surprise.
Disgusted with his own cynicism, Remus downed his drink in one swift gulp, relishing the quick burning sensation it left. This was his fifth such drink, and he was well on his way to becoming staggeringly drunk. He had just poured a sixth when there was a knock at the door to his chambers.
He stood slowly - carefully, in order to maintain balance - and walked unsteadily to the door. It took three tries for his fingers to actually grasp the knob and two tries to open the heavy oak door. "Well," he slurred "Good evening prossiffer" his drunken mind skewed the pronunciation of "professor", earning a deep glare from his visitor.
_____________________________
A/N: Thank you!!! I realize that this chapter is about 200 words shorter than most of my others, but this is really all I had to say about their after thoughts so far(.
Next chapter: Who is knocking at Lupin's door? Will Severus ask Hermione out again? Will she say yes? Tee hee! You'll just have to wait.
Hermione slid onto her couch, her mind already occupied by that evening's date. At the start she had been more than ready to write it off as an enormous mistake, but there had been moments throughout the night where she'd been very glad she had gone. Severus was the perfect picture of a gentleman, his manners were impeccable without being showy and he had appeared to enjoy her company. She had been embarrassed by the one-sided- ness of their dinner conversation, but her silent dinner companion hadn't objected or even interrupted her once.
Deciding she needed to change out of her adorable dress before she ruined it, Hermione rose and wandered slowly towards the bedroom still lost in thought. She couldn't wipe the intense look in Severus' glance as they said Farwell from her inner eye' the look that had both intimidated and excited her with its strength. She had been so used to seeing either the guarded expression of war-time or the hostile glare from her Hogwarts days, to see an expression so passionate was disconcerting and flattering. The Look as she christened it, for lack of a better title, ran through her brain repeatedly, her vivid imagination adding to it with each repetition.
By the time she went to bed, four hours later, she was certain the look had meant that Severus loved her. In the morning she would remind herself that people like Professor Snape were incapable of love, just as people like herself were undeserving of it, but for the night it was a thought of comfort that gave her joy. Reality could wait for the morrow.
The last thought across Hermione's mind as she slipped into the waiting arms of sleep was that she wished she had kissed him goodbye.
~
Birds were singing merrily from the forbidden forest when Severus stood from his resting place. When he left Hermione he had been certain he would never sleep, so he had instead spent the night walking around her neighborhood, all the while humming a ridiculous song he had heard in a Muggle play Albus had dragged him to, some nonsense about "here on the street where you live" that had a surprisingly catchy tune. Finally, several hours after he had left Hermione he realized he was acting a fool and apparated to Hogsmead.
The streets of the Wizarding town were deserted and wonderfully silent. He continued his wanderings thinking over the evenings events. Constantly assessing as he was want to do with things he wasn't completely confident about. He decided that he had behaved fairly well, and other than the awkward silence that had hung over most of their dinner he was determined the date had been a success. Hermione had turned out to be even more interesting than he remembered. Her brilliance and enthusiasm shone through her eyes in a very endearing manner; when he had said good night to her on her porch it had taken every once of self control he possessed not to kiss her on the spot.
He had returned to Hogwarts an hour before sunrise and settled in the soft grass beside the Lake to watch the sun rise. Thoughts of Hermione kept him company throughout the early morning and even through breakfast at the Staff table. He had been seated next to a sullen Remus - one of Albus' tactics he was certain - but even his former friend's less than sunny mood had been able to have the slightest effect on his own disposition.
The late morning and early afternoon were spent attempting to get a batch of Wolfs bane potion started, but he was constantly distracted by memories of his date the night before. This was both unusual and annoying for the master; he was barely ever distracted when working. He would have to owl her in a few days and ask her if they could repeat the experience, only this time he thought he should cook for her at her place so that there would be no problems with the restaurant.
A minor problem with this particular plan was that he had never dated before and was completely unsure of whether it would be appropriate for him to suggest such a thing to Hermione. Well, he thought with a determined smile, he would just have to ask someone.
~
Remus Lupin stared pensively into his brandy glass. Severus had been in an exceptional mood at breakfast that morning, obviously the date with Miss Granger had gone well. He was rather ashamed of his early negative opinion of the match, and deeply regretted voicing it to Severus. The man hadn't spoken to him since that day and Lupin missed their conversations.
He wasn't sure what to expect from Severus and Hermione's budding relationship, surely Hermione couldn't be thinking of a long-term attachment. But then again she wasn't one for frivolous flings, especially not with former professors. As for Severus, Lupin was convinced the man expected this relationship to last, at least for a time. The man was in his late thirties and had never had any romance to speak of in his dismal life. He probably still expected the ordeal to be all smiles and roses. If so he was definitely in for a surprise.
Disgusted with his own cynicism, Remus downed his drink in one swift gulp, relishing the quick burning sensation it left. This was his fifth such drink, and he was well on his way to becoming staggeringly drunk. He had just poured a sixth when there was a knock at the door to his chambers.
He stood slowly - carefully, in order to maintain balance - and walked unsteadily to the door. It took three tries for his fingers to actually grasp the knob and two tries to open the heavy oak door. "Well," he slurred "Good evening prossiffer" his drunken mind skewed the pronunciation of "professor", earning a deep glare from his visitor.
_____________________________
A/N: Thank you!!! I realize that this chapter is about 200 words shorter than most of my others, but this is really all I had to say about their after thoughts so far(.
Next chapter: Who is knocking at Lupin's door? Will Severus ask Hermione out again? Will she say yes? Tee hee! You'll just have to wait.