Chapter 14: In which the Plan is foiled before it's begun
Ginny returned to the room to find Hermione sitting in the same spot she had left her, the letter held out in front of her, crying silently to herself. Concerned she perched beside her distraught friend and rapped an arm about her shoulders. "Are you alright?"
Hermione sniffed loudly and pressed the note into Ginny's hand.
"Dear Hermione, Friday was wonderful, and I would be honored if you would agree to have dinner with me again on this Saturday night. Draco had been kind enough to offer his flat so I can cook for you without the constant presence of the nosy Hogwarts staff. As much as they would love to see you, I'm not one for sharing, so they will have to wait their turn. If this plan is amenable to you just give me a time, and a few favorite foods and I will get back to you with the details. Yours irrevocably, Severus Snape" Ginny looked at her friend with a raised eyebrow.
Hermione buried her head in her hands and cried harder.
"Um… Hermione?" Ginny poked her friend's shaking back with a tentative finger. "Why are you crying?"
Hermione stopped her tears long enough o send Ginny an accusing look before collapsing back into her sobs.
"This is a good thing isn't it?" Ginny asked.
"Of course it is," Hermione said, her voice muffled by the pillow she had buried her face in. "It's just…." She sat up and wiped her face on her arm causing Ginny to grimace, "It's just too nice, too perfect." Her mouth wobbled slightly. "I don't deserve him." With that she broke into sobs again.
Fighting a laugh Ginny pulled Hermione into a hug. Their conversation would wait for another day. For now Hermione obviously just needed a shoulder to cry on, even if Ginny couldn't fathom the tears.
"Its just…" Hermione pulled from the embrace and wiped her face on her sleeve. "I never ever even thought that something like this could happen to me, you know? I mean Harry has Draco and you have Neville. Ron and I were obviously a match made by Voldemort himself so I guess I naturally assumed all I would ever have was my work. But now…" She sighed dreamily flopping back against the couch. "Now I have Severus. I know its absolutely insane but I think I love him. He's just so.. so…"
Ginny suppressed a giggle. She'd never seen Hermione so happy but at the same time she was worried what would happen to her friend when the euphoria wore off and all she was left with was the truth that she fancied her greasy, cruel ex-professor.
Twenty minutes later Hermione was starting to act more like her normal self. "Thanks Gin," she said, "I needed that." She gave her friend a hug, "I think I'll go write Severus back now, we'll talk more later alright?"
"Come over sometime soon," Ginny smiled and apparated out with a pop.
Hermione settled herself down at her desk to reply to Severus' note. Her reply was brief, not that you would have been able to tell by the seven rolls of parchment and three quills she went through while writing it. She fastened it to the leg of the owl that had brought it earning a glare and a nipped finger for her efforts.
Severus threw his head back in frustration. His gratitude towards his students after Hermione reminded him of the horrors of Neville Longbottom had lasted less than a week and he was quickly becoming convinced that they were indeed getting stupider with every passing day. If today's batch of essays was any indication of intelligence he would be better off simply failing the lot of them before they got to the difficult portion of the course or they would blow themselves up.
Vampires are fowl cretures who lik to suck people's blood. They are not two particular about the types of blood they suck so long as the purson they suck it from is still live…
With a furious growl Severus crumpled up the offending document and threw it at the wall. What was the point? As far as he could see the students weren't learning from him and he certainly had no interest in trying to teach them if they didn't want to learn. In fact if he were truly honest he had no interest in teaching them whatsoever.
A wicked smile on his face Severus rose and stalked from his chambers. His robes billowed magnificently sending timid first years scampering as he strode through the halls. Berty Botts Every Flavor Beans he said briskly wrinkling up his nose at the unsavory choice of a password. The gargoyle leapt to life and he waited not a moment before ascending the stairs behind it.
"Ah, Severus, what can I do for you my boy?" Albus twinkled at him from beside Fawkes' perch.
"I give up Albus. The war is over and the children grow more idiotic every day. I quit." His grin growing wider and more fearsome Severus spun on his heel and departed in a swish of black.
"But…"Albus seemed to be at a loss for words for quite possibly the first time in his life. "Severus?"
"Severus? Come in Come in." The matronly woman in her eighties gestured for him to follow her.
"I'm sorry to come at such short notice Tildy. I promise it'll only be for a short while."
"Nonsense, the missus would hear nothin' of the sort! Imagine her own son feelin' like he be an intrusion in her home." Tildy clucked her disapproval loudly. "Now you know she's been waitin fer a day jus like thin one fer years. Ever since you've gone off she been waitin fer ya to come home again."
Severus shifted uncomfortably. His last day in this house was not one he liked to remember. His father had been alive then and they had been fighting. They had faught a lot in those last few days but that fight was etched forever in his mind. His mother had stood in the doorway watching, tears trickling down her cheeks as Haden and Severus snarled at each other like cornered wildcats.
"I will not tolerate that kind of behavior from a member of this family Severus! You WILL cease these inappropriate liaisons instantly!"
"I will do nothing of the sort!"
"Do you or do you not want to remain a member of this family?"
"What family "father"?" Severus spat the word father with venom he hadn't known he possessed. "As I recall we've never been much of a family."
"How dare you-"
"How dare I WHAT Haden? Speak my mind? Share your blood? Don't worry about it after today you can erase me form the family tree and maybe you'll do us both a favor and obliviate yourself in a pathetic attempt to eradicate the black sheep forever."
With that final bitter statement Severus had turned and slunk out of the house never to return again. Or so he had thought. But as life was he had ended up here in need of a place to sleep before he faced Hermione. As chance would have it their dinner was the next night and he knew that he would have to tell her then that he was unemployed and had no prospects. It wouldn't be easy but he was used to the harsh realities of his life.
A/N: I'm sorry this took so long to post; I have no excuse other than my laziness. I left the first part of the chapter on my other computer and kept forgetting to go retrieve it. And then I forgot about this story completely…. sighs anyhow You can all thank 'On-A-Rainy-Day' for this update, if it weren't for her I probably wouldn't be updating at all.
On-A-Rainy-Day – Thank you for all your reviews, it makes my day every time you request an update from any one of my stories. So good for the ego to have a fan winks
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