Ok...sorry for the relative delay between updates. Work started back up last week and I have been SWAMPED. I was exhausted today but wanted to get an update out. I know this hasn't been edited for content, grammar, etc. but i think the message is still there. Please read and review. Thank you all who reviewed and asked for more! Makes me feel like I actually have some decent writing talent...
As the door shut behind them, Hermione whirled on her colleague. "I'll be fine tonight. I told you that before."
Frustration and a trace of sarcasm dripped into Severus' voice as he gently led her back down the stairs. "Oh like you were fine when the first Howler showed up? Or how about when you nearly fainted in tears? Or how about when you suddenly looked like a frightened mouse, scared of its own shadow, rather than the brave Gryffindor you are? If that's fine, I'd really hate to see what It's like when you finally admit that you need someone."
Severus's voice got louder and edgier with each word so that by the time the couple reached the bottom of the stairs, he was almost shouting. His face softened a bit when he saw Hermione blanche at his tone and put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him for a quick kiss on her forehead. "I'm sorry, Hermione. You didn't need that."
Hermione's sigh was soft and resigning. "You're right. I guess I just feel like I have been through a Quiddich match….as the bludger. I want to be fine. …but my thoughts probably will get the better of me."
"I knew they would." With that, Severus stopped in front of a stone wall. Light shone softly from sparcely placed candelabras and sconces along the stone hallway. Hermione did not recall this particular place in Hogwarts. Even though it seemed to be in the dungeons, the hallway did not have that cold and dank feel of Severus' classroom. He had offered his old classroom to her as a potions lab when she started but she refused, preferring the spacious Defense Against the Dark Arts area to the dark and cold dungeons. With the renovations at Hogwarts, making the switch was really a non-issue. Although she sensed they were near Severus' classroom, this warmth radiating from the dimly lit hallway in no way resembled the cold room she knew.
"Sunset honey." The words brought Hermione back to the present. At the words, the bricks started to slide open, revealing a comfortable living area decorated in emerald green with black and grey accents. Hermione stepped through the opening and took in her surroundings as the bricks closed behind her. Light blazed from several lanterns and a fire glowed in the grate despite the fact that it was summer. The days were starting to get shorter and cooler so the fire was a welcome touch. Hermione silently absorbed all that was around her as Severus took off his cloak and summoned a house elf to bring Hermione's things to his room.
"Ok. The grand tour. This is the living room and study, my office is through that door. Should you need anything, my bedroom is through that doorway. The bathroom is here." Severus pointed each room out to her as he summoned blankets and a pillow to the couch. Hermione wistfully thought about how wonderful a bath and some wine sounded after her day. Suddenly she heard water running and wandered towards the bathroom to investigate. Unseen by her for a moment, Severus transformed a set of empty vases into a bottle of white zinfadel wine chilling next to two goblets.
Meanwhile Hermione peered into the bathroom and gasped. He also had a large bathtub that was reminiscent of the Head Girl's bathroom. The tub was black marble and had a bench that ran its entire perimeter of twelve feet on each side. The center slowly sloped down to about a 5 foot depth. Hermione noticed no taps but instead, the steaming water seemed to be appearing out of nowhere and filling the tub. As Hermione gawked at the steaming tub, Severus peeked in and told her to take her time and just relax. Before he left again, he flicked his wrist and gardenia scented bubbles also appeared in the water. She inhaled deeply and her mind went back to barely a week ago when she took another bath in a gardenia scented tub. As she stripped off her clothes and sank into the water, the words of Billy Joel once again enveloped her and she finally began to relax.
Why don't you realize….Vienna waits for you?
Meanwhile Severus changed into an emerald set of silk pajamas and settled into the couch to stare into the fire. He willed his mind to stay off the young woman soaking in his bathroom. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think there would be ANY woman, much less the former know-it-all Granger, undressed in his bathroom a mere five feet away. If the situation she faced hadn't been so upsetting, he would have almost laughed.
As his eyes watched the darting flames, the advice of his old mentor, ALbus Dumbledore came back to him. Albus was the only one who truly knew what Lily's death and Harry's mere existence meant to him. While Harry had been in school, he had protected him because he was Lily's son…and that was the reason he resented him so. If they hadn't had such a huge falling out just before they had left Hogwarts, Severus might have well been the one to marry Lily and give her children. If James hadn't swooped in, Lily might still have been alive. It had only been recently that Severus had begun to warm to the boy and develop a grudging respect. Harry thought Severus a hero because he had tried to protect his mother and later on, himself. Severus never let on to Harry that he only protected Lily's son because of a promise he had made to her. After Lily had died, Albus told him "she would want you to be happy Severus. Don't throw your life away. She knew there was a woman out there you would love more than her one day. She wants you to find her. Be happy."
Now why had those words come back to him when Hermione was in his life? Given all she had been through in the last couple of weeks, what was he doing thinking about love and Hermione in the same sentence? He didn't believe in love anymore anyhow. Anyone you loved eventually left. Still, he couldn't deny how much he was growing to care for her…
The soft click of the bathroom door closing roused Severus from his thoughts. He turned and was rendered speechless by the sight of Hermione wrapped in his black nightrobe over her red pajama pants. She had left her hair down to dry naturally and small beads of moisture still dotted her collarbone and neck. If Severus hadn't had years of practice with Voldemort, his face would have betrayed all his inner thoughts…chief amongst them was she's beautiful. Instead of speaking his thoughts aloud, he reached for the bottle of wine and poured them both a glass. Hermione gratefully accepted her glass as she curled into the other end of the couch from Severus and silently stared into the fire. Ron was no longer on her mind…her mind was focused on where she went from here. Severus didn't have to read her mind, only her eyes and face, to tell that she didn't know what she should do next.
"Don't think about it tonight. Tonight, just relax and know that there are at least two people in the world who know the truth."
Hermione was through speaking, so she nodded and just stared into the fire as she sipped her wine. Another flick of Severus' wrist produced her worn and well loved copy of Hogwart's: A History on her lap. Severus pulled a book from his end table and the two of them tacitly agreed to not speak any more of the day's events as they both lost themselves in their books.
The combined effect of the warm bath, wine, and comfortable location didn't take too long to relax Hermione to the point of falling asleep. She vaguely remembered the couch shifting as Severus stood up and gently pulled the book from her grasp before readjusting her so she was straightened out laying down. With a flick of his wand, the blankets settled over her before Severus brushed a kiss against her hair and went to bed.