Disclaimer: I obviously don't own it. It's all for fun.

Mak is of course my beta; who is amazing.

No, it's not over yet. Here it is. Sorry it took so long to update. I hope you all enjoy it! Review please, it helps me get motivated to write…

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Eleven

Life in Pastels

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hermione was dying. Literally. She wanted to explode with laughter. Severus Snape lived in a pastel yellow house! It was probably the funniest thing she could imagine. When they were walking down the street and she realized there were only two houses left; a pink and yellow house, she hoped to all the deities in the universe that he lived in the pastel pink house. She was slightly disappointed when he turned towards the yellow one, but it was still comical that he lived in a pastel house. Who would have thought that Severus Snape, the most dreaded professor at Hogwarts, the Bat of the Dungeons, would live in a pastel house?

She couldn't get over it. All her thoughts were centred on the pastel yellow house. There was a small porch that ran along the front of the house. A large wooden door was in the centre, with long flat windows that stretched to the edges of the house. Along with the door and gutters, the windows were surrounded by ornate edgings in white paint. The outside of the house was beautiful and the only thing comical about it was the fact that Severus Snape called this place home.

Once inside, Severus went directly to the library, on the right side of the house, sat at his desk and started to sort post that had accumulated in his absence. Hermione was left standing in the doorway to look at the house. To say she was shocked was an understatement. To her it was gorgeous; it was exactly what she would have wanted in a place. There were no standing walls, except in the back of house, where she could see three doors spaced along the back wall. The rest was open space.

Severus was instantly lost in his post and quickly forgot about Hermione. "Is it alright if I look around?" she asked curiously. He distractedly waved his hand in approval and she started glancing around to get better acquainted with her surroundings.

The whole right side of the house tripled as a library, den, and office area with book cases lining the walls from floor to ceiling. Severus was seated at a mahogany desk which was placed in front of the window by the door. In the middle of the room was a black leather lounge chair with a small coffee table beside it; which had a stack of books, coasters, and an empty tea cup, with lemon peals still in it. Towards the back of the room was a large table cluttered with parchments and more books. Hermione assumed that desk was full of his research papers and the like. Heavy, dark drapes were hung over the windows to prevent the light from damaging the books. Small lamps were placed on the two desks and the coffee table to provide adequate support for the room.

A living room to Hermione's left was set with a long dark green suede couch (acting as a divider between the living room and library) that was faded light green from the light as well as areas that he liked to occupy the most. A low-to-the-ground wooden well-worn coffee table sat in front of it. The walls in the living room were also lined with books; however the drapes on this side of the house were open unlike their counterparts in the library.

Separating the kitchen and the living room was a waist high bookshelf full of books which doubled as a tabletop for eating. Two round topped wooden stools sat on the other side for dining. The walls to the right and opposite of the tabletop were lined with wall and floor cabinets. There was plenty of countertop space, but few appliances were visible. Between the cabinets and the tabletop bar was a wooden food prep table with drawers. The bottom shelf was stacked with baking sheets and hanging from the ceiling was an oval pot rack with copper pots handing from it.

To the right of the centre table was a refrigerator with two shelves to its left. On the opposite side of the shelves was a round fireplace with a stainless-steel circular range hood hanging from the ceiling to catch the smoke. Hermione had noticed three doors along the back wall but decided not to pry.

"Severus, where is the bathroom?" Hermione turned and asked.

Severus gazed up from reading his post to see Hermione standing in the kitchen. "Through the hallway behind you," he said with a nod of his head in the direction of the hallway that lead to the first of three doors.

He went back to his post and she entered the door from the kitchen. Hermione walked down the hallway with three doors. One was directly in front of her leading her outside. There were two doors on the left wall. The first door had a shower and sink. The second one was exactly what she needed, a toilet. She thought it was rather silly to have this kind of set up, but she would deal with it.

Once she was finished washing her hands, she walked into the library where Severus was. Hermione walked around looking at the books neatly placed on the shelves. Grabbing one about Advance Transfiguration, she settled down in the comfy leather seat in the middle of the room. She noticed Severus look up when she sat down, but decided to ignore him and began to read.

Hermione was still upset about their argument on the train. Plus, she was still pissed about how he treated her on the ride; mainly their sleeping arrangements. Now that they were settled in she was going to confront him about his behaviour sooner or later. He certainly wasn't going to get off the hook that easy. No one was going to treat her so disrespectfully. Not even Severus Snape.

Lost in her thoughts and the book, it took her awhile to notice Severus standing in front of her, his hands crossed over his chest. He was leering down at her; there wasn't a feature on his face that looked happy. "Yes?" she asked sweetly.

"I see my pretty pastel house has received your illustrious approval considering you've made your appraisal then settled into my library as if it were your very own. I do hope the title you are currently engrossed in is challenging enough for our resident know-it-all. Would you care for me to make you a pot of chai whilst I run to the grocers for food supplies? I wouldn't want to burden such a young and enlightened woman with such a trivial housekeeping task. So, I will return shortly and do continue to make yourself at home, since you clearly have done so already." Before Hermione could reply, he swept away and left the house.

She sat there a moment or two in shock with her mouth agape. How dare he! What did he want me to do? Just stand there in the doorway until he was finished with his post?! Absurd! What a jerk! She was too annoyed to read so she slammed the book closed and stood up. Hermione didn't know what to do with herself but she needed to do something to get that infuriating man out of her mind.

In order for her to get her anger out she needed to do something physical. Since she couldn't use Severus as a punching bag, she decided to do some yoga in the backyard. Walking out the back door she stepped into a beautiful garden. To her right and left were small herb gardens. Two stone pathways led from the back door; one to the back left corner of the yard to the potions garden and the other to the back right leading to a wooden building. Hermione got so caught up in her yoga routine she completely lost track of time. When she realized that it had been a while, she decided to go back inside, hoping to make it back before he did. Before she reached the back door, however, she decided to walk around the house to better view the neighbours lovely flower garden. Unfortunately, Severus was standing in the kitchen glaring at her when she entered from the front door. He was already in the process of putting away the groceries and instantly started in on her.

"Miss Granger, I've been remiss. Thank you. I've managed to neither die via Potter and Black's schoolyard torture nor as an active Death Eater. I managed to stay out of Azkaban after the first war and then survive another war as a double agent as well as a stint in Azkaban. My house has managed to stay intact for that amount of time as well, yet you saw fit to leave my abode unwarded and unlocked so anyone could ransack it. Again, I do thank you," he said harshly.

"I didn't leave! I was practicing yoga in the back garden to relax!" she retorted angrily.

Severus scoffed before continuing. "Be that as it may, I would like to not be burgled when I've only just returned to an intact household."

Hermione rolled her eyes. Yes, she knew it was a silly thing to do to leave the front door unlocked, but she really wasn't gone. The yoga exercises had calmed her but she couldn't help but snap, "I gave you your wand back to use, not to shove up your ass."

Severus simply glared at her. "Kindly remove it," she said quietly as she walked into the kitchen and began to help unpack the groceries. She noticed that there was no response from him. Hermione put a few things away, but quickly noticed that Severus would come behind her and move the groceries she had put away. Smiling to herself she started to put things in places she knew were completely wrong. To give him some credit, he tried not to be too obvious about what he was doing and he wasn't belittling her about it.

Once they were finished Severus leaned against the counter and pinched the bridge of his nose. Tired he said, "As I wouldn't want one of your potions, I do not want you handling the creation of our meal. Continue with the book you so rudely borrowed."

Hermione noticed his pained expression and decided not to reply to his comment. She had always been interested in other cultures and learning their customs. Watching Severus cook was going to be interesting but she knew she couldn't sit in there and see what he was doing. Picking up her book she settled onto the couch in the living room so she could discretely watch him.

Severus had rolled up his sleeves to his elbows and started making dough. As the dough was chilling in the refrigerator he pulled out some apples, carrots, and a head of cabbage and began to thinly julienne them. Hermione had stopped reading all together and watched as he expertly cut the fruits and vegetables. She couldn't keep her eyes off of his hands; they were working deftly and all the pieces were cut the exact same width and length. Once the fruits and vegetables were cut he drew out some potatoes and started peeling them. Pulling out the meat, he used a meat grinder, that had been hiding in one of the cabinets, to mince it. When Severus retrieved the chilled dough he rolled it out thinly and cut pieces out. The meat was placed in the middle of the dough and the ends were pinched. Once all the meat and dough were used up, he used his wand to freeze the ravioli-looking creations.

He took down two big pots and filled them with water. Both pots were placed in the fire stove and once they boiled, he added the frozen ravioli into one pot and the potatoes in another. He finished preparing the salad and cooked vegetables just as the potatoes and ravioli was ready.

Hermione went back to pretend to read when he started to set the table and she didn't see him complete the meal. When she thought things were ready she closed the book and walked into the kitchen. Hermione was delighted when she looked down at her plate. There were a good dozen of the small meat ravioli with sour cream on top, potatoes, salad, and vegetables. Severus silently poured her a glass of white wine and tucked into his meal.

Hermione noticed he was ignoring her but she decided to thank him anyways for the wonderfully delicious meal. This is going to be a long night, she thought to herself when he didn't reply. She drank down her first cup of wine quickly and filled her cup again. Idly, she noticed that Severus was quickly drinking his wine as well. Clearly they were both tired of each other, and Hermione was going to be thankful when the night was over.

"The ravioli is delicious," Hermione tried to draw out some conversation.

"We are not in Italy, madam, this is Russia. The 'ravioli,' as you call it is pelmeni."

Thankful he had fixed such a delightful meal; she kept her tongue for the rest of the dinner and made sure she finished first so she could help clean up the kitchen. They both managed to clean the kitchen without getting in each others way too much. Severus carefully folded a dish cloth and set it on the counter before going into his room and shutting the door with force. Hermione looked at the door and sighed before plopping down on the couch and stretching out. She needed to sleep this day off.