"Ooomph!" She gasped as she swirled about at the doorway to her new quarters, prevented from falling by a pair of arms wrapped firmly around her shoulders. She looked up at her benefactor. "Severus!" she exclaimed.
His name shot from her lips and struck him like a physical blow, even more affecting than having this woman suddenly in his arms. His breath caught in his throat as the eyes that had terrified students for more than two decades struggled to remain impassive.
Hermione's wide eyes, flushed cheeks, and shallow breathing caught the full attention of the dark man. She is even more appealing up close, thought the taciturn man. He took a slight step back, stood tall, and said in his best first-day voice, "You should watch where you're going, miss. Or I shall have to give you a detention."
She shook her head to shove away the sudden invasion of memories, and her blush intensified. Then she blinked at him. "Did you just… make a joke?" she asked incredulously.
"Professor Granger, I insist you keep such fancy to yourself," he said with a scowl.
Her answering smile lit her eyes and face, and he struggled with an unfamiliar want to respond in kind.
"It's very good to see you, Sev… erm, Professor Snape." she stuttered, blushing. "I, uh, I trust you are doing well?"
His eyes narrowed, and he tried his best to intimidate her. "Miss Granger, it is unbecoming for one of your intellect to engage in pedantic small talk. I came, at the Headmistress's insistence, to see that you are well settled and..." he stood straighter as whatever scent she was wearing was causing him to become very… uncomfortable. He would have to keep his distance from this former student - this woman - unless he wanted to make a fool of himself. Leave it to Minerva to meddle.
"I am to escort you to dinner in the Great Hall." The twisted sneer on his face showed his displeasure, and Hermione could not help but feel a little put out, while still being amused; it took an order from the Headmistress for him to come see her - she knew he thought himself above such gestures - and Minerva was trying to out-fox a man who had been playing this game for decades.
She decided to play it simple, in the hopes that he would be civil tonight. "I am honored to be welcomed so. Shall we go?" she asked as she her held her hand out to him with a small smile. His answering sneer was enough to make her flush in embarrassment, and he stalked ahead of her down the hall. With a small shudder of anger mixed with desire how appealing he is when he does that, she followed, knowing this was just the beginning and that she should stay smart.
When they reached the instructor's entrance, he stopped and waited for her to catch up. "Far be it from me to disobey the Headmistress," he muttered as he held his arm out to her. Her answering glare only made him cock an eyebrow at her, and after a tense moment she subsided, and took the proffered arm.
"If only Harry could see this," she said with a wry grin.
"Indeed," he responded, with a smirk that looked suspiciously like a smile.
The Grand Hall was noisy with the anticipation of a new school year, and they were the last teachers to enter. Of course, their seats were on the far side of the dais. They walked the width of the Hall arm-in-arm, whispers and stares shooting their way. As Snape courteously pulled out Hermione's chair, the Hall quieted, struck dumb by such oddity. Hermione took the proffered seat, then smiled at her former instructor, who turned up one eyebrow and one corner of his mouth before scowling darkly at the shocked student body.
"May I have your attention, please!" Minerva's strong voice rang out over the Hall. "Welcome, students, back to Hogwarts. Please welcome your newest classmates as we begin the Sorting!"
The Sorting took its usual time, filling each House almost equally. Hermione was taken back to her own First Night At Hogwarts, and she couldn't help but smile. At that moment, Severus Snape glanced her way, and his breath lodged in his throat. He was still staring at her, mesmerized, when she felt his gaze; she turned to him, and smiled. His answering smile and the softening of his eyes made her heart melt. They sat smiling at each other - a seeming eternity though it was only a moment - until thunderous applause startled them from their reverie.
Dinner was to begin.
As the Headmistress announced dinner and the tables were suddenly shuddering with the weight of the food for the Feast, Severus Snape forced his heart to beat again and to ignore the presence of the people - the woman - beside him. He scowled at his setting as he would an errant student, and he berated himself for what had just happened, stabbing at his dish with malice.
Why was I staring at her like an errant schoolboy? Why did I offer her my arm? WHY did I smile at her? I'm a grown man with decades of evil hardened in my soul, and she's a young, brilliant, beautiful former student of mine who is sitting too damn close to me!
Hermione noticed the closure of his entire being, his fiery scowl, and her countenance fell. Why was he acting like this? She had never seen him so much as smirk happily in all the years she'd… well, known was too strong a word. In all the years since she'd first met him, this odd reaction to her tonight coupled with his standard menacing manner had her pondering his former life as a spy and the facets of his less-than-amicable personality… Perhaps he was just out of her league?
Then her mind shuffled back to his breathtaking Potions skills; his hands moving swiftly and surely over cutting board and cauldron, through the processes of separating and identifying color, depth, and liquidity; sensual in an altogether unnerving way was his exceptionally swift and bright mind; his sharp, though dark, sense of humor; his scent, reminiscent of all that time spent slaving over bubbling pots with various concoctions but with his undeniably male scent underlying. She decided she didn't care if he was going to act oddly: she was urgently attracted to him, and she noticed that his close proximity was causing her some rather personal discomfort.
Her gaze fell on one long-fingered hand, which was mere centimeters from her smaller one. She stared as if willing it to move, take her own hand, caress her palm in sensual mimicry of what he would do to her whole body if he possessed her. Her breathing shortened as it quickened, and she knew a blush was trying to overtake her face. She quickly removed her eyes from his hand and bit her lip, willing herself to calm down. Then a stern, silky whisper invaded her ear:
"You should know the importance of self control in this situation. I suggest you reign in your adolescent behavior and concentrate on the fact that the Headmistress has called the attention of the whole Hall to your surprisingly enticing display."
Her mortified blush and expression were outshined by a sudden sneeze, and the resulting giggles at her expense covered her embarrassing lapse. She stood shakily and waved and smiled to her new students, relieved beyond measure that her body had reacted to save the day.
Wait,enticing display?
Her sharp glance to Severus Snape as she sat back down missed meeting his sly gaze by an instant. He smirked into his tea as she visibly reacted to what he had said.
He had noticed her shift from smiling to contemplative and was very surprised when she moved on to aroused. He hadn't had a woman respond to his presence that way in…. well, never. Not without an ulterior motive, at least. He'd thought on her as he'd watched her breathing quicken, and her skin flushed dramatically when he'd leaned close to her ear and spoken.
She had really grown into a striking woman, with a beauty that was only enhanced by her stunning mind. She was more skilled at magical chemistry than he had been at that age, and she surpassed most all of the other instructor's skill levels in their own fields by a comfortable margin. She was well-read, intelligent, had a genuine and honest personality, was fiercely loyal, and though she had been molded by the war, she was merely a stronger, wiser, and (above all) quieter woman for it.
She was also causing him extreme discomfort; her scent was intoxicating and the fact that she had unintentionally brushed his thigh as she sat down cause him to scold himself for wanting to act like a hormonal teen. He stifled a groan and replaced his pained expression with one his students usually recoiled from.
He knew he was in trouble, and that his actions already spoke louder than words.
Her slightly angry whisper was just above the threshold of silence.
"You should get your eyes checked, Professor."
She left the Hall quickly. He stared after her, wondering if perhaps he was out of his depth.