A/N: Many, many thanks to both my beta RenitaLeandra and to everyone who has reviewed.
Chapter 3
The heat was sweltering and the sun beat down on Hermione as she walked through Diagon Alley on her way to the Leaky Cauldron. It had been another extraordinarily hot summer, much like the one the year before and Hermione couldn't wait until autumn. The small alley was unusually crowded due to it being the week before the start-of-termat Hogwarts. The crowd slowed her progress and tried her patience.
Hermione walked into the cool, dark pub and was grateful for the change in temperature. Unfortunately, she couldn't stop for a drink. Glancing again at her watch, she grimaced. She was running late.
She hadn't expected the emergency call to the Magical Menagerie so late in the day, but as the newest employee at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, it always fell to Hermione to perform these unwanted tasks. She wasn't quite sure why the Ministry needed to be notified over a loose Niffler, but she supposed that the giant hole it had created in the sidewalk had something to do with it.
Unwilling to go back out in the oppressive heat again, she decided to Floo back to her flat instead. Withinminutes, she was stepping out of her fireplace into her own living room and she carefully wiped her sooty feet on the welcome mat.
"Ron?" she called out. "Are you home?"
There was no answer and Hermione felt a little ashamed over the pang of relief she felt. He was going to be annoyed when she told him she was going to see Severus again.
Really, what does he expect? She thought to herself as she pulled a set of light weight robes off a hanger in her closet. It's the one year anniversary since we found him. I'm not going to ignore him on today of all days.
Her friendship with Severus was an increasing source of conflict between her and Ron and she was glad that she wasn't going to have to argue with him over it tonight. Instead she hurried into the bathroom and turned on the shower, thinking back over the past year.
Had someone told her a year ago that she would end up including Severus Snape as one of her closest friends, she would have taken them to St. Mungo's for a check-up. Even when she had met him outside of Hogwarts on the day he was released, she never would have guessed what was in store for her over the course of the next year.
Their friendship had begun tentatively when Hermione had shown up at Severus's small house the day after he had gone home. She had brought him a bottle of Ogden's and the name of the Ministry's Potions Department head, who was more than enthusiastic about Severus possibly brewing potions for them. For his part, Severus had provided some dry humor and managed to leave most of his bitterness and sarcasm behind. It had been awkward and a little forced in the beginning, but Hermione had expected it given their past history and previous association as teacher and student. Eventually, though, they had fallen into a relatively comfortable relationship.
It had taken a month before she had worked up the nerve to call him by his first nameand she had considered it a victory when he didn't toss her out of his house. It was another month before he started calling her Hermione. It was then that she knew she had finally succeeded in breaking through the former professor's tough outer shell.
The rest of the year had passed with Hermione visiting Severus at least once or twice a week. With the Ministry contact she had given him, he had begun brewing potions for the Ministry and the arrangement was providing him with an excellent living. Although he had still made comments about his plans to leave the country nearly every time she had visited, Hermione finally decided that he didn't seem too eager to do so and rarely worried about it anymore.
Most of their time was spent together quietly reading, discussing various potions and charms and, on the odd occasion when Severus was feeling open, talking about the past. It was those times that Hermione had cherished the most. When she had first attempted to learn more about him, after she believed him to be dead, she had often wondered about his past. Now, they were finally at a point in their relationship where if she had a question, she could just ask and not have to worry that he would kick her out, even if he wouldn't necessarily answer it to her satisfaction. She couldn't help but admit that she felt a certain amount of pride that she knew more about Severus Snape than anyone else ever had, save for Dumbledore and Lily. Severus was such a private man and he trusted almost no one. It still amazed Hermione that he had extended that trust to her.
Occasionally Harry would join her on her visits, although, if Hermione was feeling truthful, she would admit that she preferred it when he didn't. Even though he always meant well by it, and he certainly did his best to put aside those years of hard feelings, the conversation always felt strained when he was there. They had very little in common with each other, aside from Lily and neither was interested in conversing with the other about her.
Hermione also knew that Severus didn't feel comfortable with the Harry, yet. He had spent too many years holding too much hostility towards the young man to be able to change over night, or even over the course of a year. At Hermione's request, he had at least attempted to be polite and she knew that more than once he had bit back comments about Harry's father. His attempts to change decades' worth of hatred only increased Hermione's respect for Severus but she wasn't sure it would be enough to forge a friendship between himself and Harry.
One person that had never joined them, though, was Ron. When Hermione had first told him that she wanted to befriend Severus, he had laughed at her. When she had told him that Severus had accepted her friendship he had stopped laughing. Ron had never been the most secure of people and it seemed that their former professor always brought out the worst in him. Even though Hermione had told him time and time again that there was nothing more to her relationship with Severus than friendship, it was never enough for Ron. Eventually they had just stopped talking about it. Instead, Hermione usually made her visits to Severus correspond to the times when Ron was working late on Auror duty or he was out with friends.
He had also made it very clear that he didn't want Severus coming to visit them at their house. It was for this reason that her and Severus's friendship was confined to his small house. If they were spotted together anywhere in the Wizarding world, it would have caused such gossip that Hermione knew Ron's pride would be hurt. She didn't think his insecurity could handle reading in The Daily Prophet about her and Severus's relationship. Especially if the words came from Rita Skeeter's twisted little mind.
As Hermione stepped out of the shower and began to dry off, she thought about the very different relationships she shared with the two very different men. Generally, she avoided thinking of the two of them at the same time because the inevitable conclusions she came to made her feel incredibly uncomfortable. Why did it always seem that it was Severus who she had more in common with? After all, it was Ron that she had been friends with since she was just twelve years old. It was Ron who she had fought next to countless times during their years at Hogwarts. It was Ron that she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with.
I shouldn't even need to compare them, she thought bitterly. If only Ron would be more understanding. I shouldn't have to pick between my boyfriend and my friend.
Still, she couldn't help but feel some nagging guilt. Could she honestly say that there was nothing to her relationship with Severus but friendship? Certainly they had no physical relationship; they rarely had any more contact than an occasional pat on the arm and it was always initiated by her. Even now, after all the time they had spent together, Severus would never lower his guard enough to be considered affectionate in any way.
In fact, lately Hermione had noticed that Severus would completely avoid touching her at all. More than once she had caught Severus quickly move aside or step back rather than allow their bodies to come into any kind of contact. It was unsettling to Hermione and it hurt her feelings. She couldn't understand what she had done to cause this sort of reaction in him. She had very little experience with men aside from Ron and Severus wasn't like any other man she knew anyway. She wasn't sure what to make of his behavior and there wasn't anyone who she could ask.
Still, sometimes when she and Severus were together, she would get an odd,fluttering feeling in her stomach. One that she remembered feeling once upon a time with Ron. And occasionally when she was watching Severus brew, her mind would daydreamabout the other things he could be doing with his hands. This always left her flustered and confused. It felt like confused seemed to be the best word to describe her feelings lately.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the front door slamming shut.
"Hermione?" she heard Ron's voice call out to her. "You here?"
"In here," she called back and mentally cursed to herself. It seemed he wasn't working as late as she had been hoping. She heard footsteps moving towards the bathroom and he opened the door and stuck his head in.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"What does it look like?" she snapped. She was overcompensating for her own guilt with anger and she winced at her tone.
"What do you need a shower for? I thought you were just going to stay in tonight."
Hermione was regretting that lie now, but there was nothing she could do but tell him the truth. It would only be worse if she tried to cover it up even more.
"Well, you know, it's one year ago today that we discovered Severus. I thought I'd go see him for a little bit."
Ron frowned. Hermione knew that he hated it when she called Severus by his first name.
"Oh, I see. Well I wouldn't want to keep Sevie waiting for you."
If Hermione hadn't been so annoyed, she would have laughed. Ron's insecurity followed such a predictable pattern.
"Well, I wouldn't have made plans if I had known you were going to be home." Hermione wasn't sure if she was being honest or not, but she really didn't feel like fighting.
"Well, since I am home you can just stay here with me, then. I'm sure Sevie won't mind if you cancel your plans."
"I can't do that," Hermione said, performing a drying spell on her hair. "I told him I'd be by and cancelling wouldn't be very nice."
"You could just owl him." Ron was dangerously close to pouting and Hermione felt torn between feeling guilty and being annoyed. As she thought about it, she realized that those two emotions seemed to be going hand in hand with Ron lately.
"I don't want to owl him, Ron. I want to go see him. He's a friend of mine."
Hermione watched various emotions play across Ron's face. It seemed he couldn't decide what to feel either. Just when she was sure he was going to start yelling, though, he slumped against the door, looking defeated.
"And what am I, Hermione?" he asked quietly. She was shocked by the serious tone to his voice. Ron had always been one for yelling and bluster. A serious, heartfelt conversation had always seemed too much for him.
"You're my boyfriend," Hermione replied. "And my best friend." Sort of, she thought quickly to herself.
"Then why don't I feel like it? You always seem to be running me out and I have a feeling it's just so you can go see Snape. Since when did he become more important in your life than me?"
"He's not more important than you, Ron," Hermione scoffed, but her heart wasn't in it. His words had a ring of truth to them that made Hermione feel a little sick.
"Then why can't you stay home with me tonight?"
"Because tonight is important, Ron," Hermione replied impatiently. "If it was any other night…"
"Do you really think thatI don't know you go to see him every time I'm working late?" Ron interrupted. "You know, I might not have earned eleven O.W.L.s like you did, but I'm not stupid and I am an Auror. I can tell when someone is sneaking around."
"I am not sneaking around." Hermione said, but the words lacked conviction. She knew it was a lie.
When did I get myself into this mess? She thought to herself as she looked away from Ron guiltily. How did I get myself into this mess? I've never snuck around before. Even when Ron didn't like what I was doing, I have always told him the truth. Why would I act this way if Severus and I are only friends?
Ron sighed heavily and leaned his head back against the door, closing his eyes. His lack of anger made Hermione more concerned than anything. This quiet calm was completely out of character for him.
"Hermione," he said quietly, now opening his eyes to look at her, "maybe we should take some time to figure out if this is what we both really want."
Hermione stared at him in shock. Whatever she had been expecting him to say, that was not it.
"Are you… are you breaking up with me?" she asked in disbelief. Ron looked away and shifted uncomfortably on his feet.
"I dunno," he muttered, still not meeting her gaze. "Maybe I just need time to figure some things out."
"Wait a minute," Hermione said. "What things would you need to figure out? Aren't you just upset because I'm friends with Severus?"
Now it was Ron who looked flushed and embarrassed. "Well… that's part of it."
"Part of it?" Hermione could feel her voice rise.
"Hermione…" Ron paused and seemed to be searching for words. "We never see each other any more. You're always gone doing your own thing and I'm at work a lot. It just feels like we've grown apart."
As painful as the words were to hear, Hermione could feel the truth to them. She walked passed him into the living room and sat down on the sofa with a thud. Ron watched her for a moment and she supposed he was waiting for her to begin yelling. But she didn't have it in her to yell.
"Well…" Ron paused again. "Maybe I should just go stay at The Burrow for a bit."
Hermione nodded, but her lips refused to form words. When had this happened? When had her flawlessly planned life begin to fall apart? An hour ago her life was normal, almost perfect. It was shocking how quickly life could change.
And why, she thought to herself as Ron went into the bedroom to pack a bag, am I not crying? Shouldn't I be begging him to stay? Telling him how much I love him?
It was this realization, more than anything, that stunned her. She had always considered Ron to be a permanent part of her life. Someone that would be there for her, her entire life. Although she had never been particularly prone to silly, female day dreaming, she had still been fantasizing about their life together since her fourth year at Hogwarts.
She spent the next hour in a haze of conflicted emotions while Ron hastily packed a bag. There was an awkward good-bye in which neither of them were too sure how to behave and, as soon as he had left, Hermione collapsed back onto the sofa and eventually fell into a fitful sleep. It wasn't until the next morning, however, that she realized she had forgotten entirely about her plans with Severus.
It was late again the next day before Hermione could manage to get away from her job. She had owled Severus earlier and apologized for the previous night, but there had been no response.
Knowing that there was nothing waiting for her at home except an empty flat and a grouchy Crookshanks, Hermione Apparated straight to just outside Severus's home. The curtains were drawn as usual, but she was surprised to see there was no light on in the sitting room. It was already getting dark outside and Severus usually spent his evenings reading. She hurried up the front walk and knocked quickly on his door.
It took several minutes before she heard muffled footsteps coming from inside. The door cracked open for a moment and, when he saw who it was, Severus opened the door the rest of the way. Without a word, he turned and walked back into the sitting room.
Hermione felt her anger mount. She had just had a miserable evening the day before, perhaps the worst since the end of the war, and Severus was pouting.
"Did you get my owl?" she asked, following him. He didn't stop in the sitting room as she had expected but instead opened a hidden door and walked down a small hallway to the minuscule kitchen.
"Your owl was not necessary," Severus responded. "It didn't matter to me whether you showed up or not. At least I did not have to put up with your incessant talking."
Hermione sighed and watched Severus as he poured himself a cup of tea. For a moment, she thought he was going to walk away from her again but, at the last minute, he paused and turned back to her.
"So what was the cause of your delay?"
Now that Severus had asked, Hermione found she didn't want to talk about it. She opened her mouth, but no words would come out and so she closed it again, swallowing hard. Severus, sensing something was seriously wrong, set down his cup.
"Hermione?" he asked, moving to stand next to her. "What has happened?"
Hermione was surprised by the sudden tears that formed in her eyes. She had not cried once the night before and had managed to make it through her day without breaking down. Now, when she wanted nothing more than to appear unconcerned and unaffected, her body had decided to betray her.
"Ron," she said with a sigh. Severus watched her for another moment and then moved back to the stove to pour her a cup of tea as well. Once his back was turned, Hermione was able to quickly wipe at her eyes, removing any trace of her distress.
"And what has Mr. Weasley done now?" Severus asked as he handed her the cup. Ron had been a frequent source of Hermione's frustration and Severus had always made his feelings about the boy known. She sipped the hot liquid for a moment before sitting down at the old, scarred table and answering.
"We decided that we needed some time apart." Hermione fought to keep her voice under control and was only mildly successful. Severus raised an eyebrow but otherwise made no sign of surprise.
"I see." There was another moment of silence before he spoke again. "And how do you feel about this decision?"
Hermione sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what to think. It all happened so fast. One minute my life was normal, and in the next, Ron was moving back to The Burrow."
Severus frowned and sat down next to her. She was surprised by his action; normally Severus avoided any sort of close contact. She was glad for it, though. There was something comforting about sitting next to him and she found that she had to refrain from moving even closer.
"You know I am not very good at giving advice," Severus said quietly after several minutes of silence. "However, if you would like to discuss it, I would be willing to listen to you."
Hermione couldn't help but feel touched by Severus's offer. Although their friendship had grown during the past year, she knew he still wasn't comfortable in these types of situations.
"Thank you," she said with a small smile and, without really realizing what she was doing, reached out and covered his hand with her own.
Severus stiffened and quickly pulled away. Before Hermione could even react, he stood and carried his cup to the sink.
"I never believed you and Mr. Weasley to be well suited," he said as he cast the Scouring Charm on his cupand set it on the counter. "However, I am sure that does not minimize your pain. I am sorry."
Hermione gave him a sad smile as he turned back to her. "The odd thing, is that I don't even feel as upset as I think I should. And that makes me more upset. Does that make any sense?"
"Surprisingly, quite a bit." Severus regarded her for a moment before motioning with his head. "Come. I have something I would like to show you."
Severus walked through to the back door that led out into a small, overgrown garden. Hermione knew the way well; it was the way to the small shed in which Severus kept his potions lab. They carefully walked down the stone path, narrowly avoiding the Devil's Snare which Severus casually cast a hex on as they passed.
The outside of the shed looked run down and decrepit, but Hermione knew that the inside was anything but. It was meticulously clean, well organized and met the exacting standards of a man that had spent virtually his entire adult life being forced to deal with messy and unruly children. There was always an odd mix of smells when the door was first opened, often times unpleasant ones. But this time, it seemed that Severus was doing very little brewing at the moment, and there was just a faint, fruity smell as Hermione stepped inside. She looked at him curiously, wondering what it was that he had wanted to show her.
Severus did not hesitate as he walked across the room and Hermione followed him. He stopped at the small desk that he kept in the corner where he often times would do research. It was unusually uncluttered, Hermione noticed, except for a small package wrapped in brown paper and a crumpled piece of parchment tossed in the corner. She winced as she noticed her own handwriting on the parchment. It was the note she had sent him earlier in the day.
Obviously hoping she wouldn't see it, Severus quickly grabbed the wrinkled note and shoved it into a pocket of his robes. He then picked up the wrapped package and handed it to her.
"What is this?" she asked, surprised. Severus smirked at her.
"I believe it is commonly referred to as a gift."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, I understand what a gift is. What I meant was, why are you giving me one?"
Now Severus looked uncomfortable, nervous even. He fixed his eyes on a point just past her head and spoke. "It is a token of gratitude. I had intended to give it to you yesterday. If you hadn't… ah… rescued me, I would most likely be dead right now."
"Oh!" Hermione felt unusually flustered. "You know I don't want any gifts from you. Besides it was Harry who--"
"I have already expressed my appreciation to Potter," Severus interrupted. Hermione raised an eyebrow. Severus had given Harry a gift? Surely the earth had shifted off its axis with such an event.
"May I ask what you gave him?" she asked timidly.
"Are you more interested in Potter's gift or your own?" Severus snapped, his face now so red from embarrassment that he resembled Neville more than himself. "If you must know, I had some pictures of his mother. From when she was young. I thought he might appreciate them."
Hermione reached out to touch Severus's arm but he backed away quickly, once again avoiding any contact with her. She frowned and took a step back, feeling awkward and unsure of herself.
"Are you going to open it?" he asked.
"Of course." Hermione smiled up at him, but it felt a little forced. She couldn't understand how one minute he could act so kind to her and the next so cold.
She turned the package over in her hands. It was heavy, but flat. She was almost certain it was a book. Curious as to what kind of book Severus had decided to bestow upon her, she carefully unwrapped it, revealing a thick, hand bound journal with a leather cover. As she opened it up, she saw that the pages were covered in Severus's sharp, spiky handwriting. She looked up at him curiously and he answered her unasked question.
"If you will recall, you once asked me about all of the spells and potions I have invented."
Hermione did remember it well. On her first visit to his house, the day after he had left Hogwarts, she had been unable to contain her curiosity about the stasis spell he had used. He had reluctantly answered her questions, but it had only led to more questions about other spells and he had finally cut her off, insisting that he was not well enough recovered to be pestered in such a manner. She had never brought the subject up again, realizing that Severus preferred to share his knowledge on his own terms rather than have it forced out of him.
"I have written down all of my inventions as well as the variations I created on known spells and potions."
"It's wonderful Severus!" Hermione exclaimed as she began paging through the journal. There was much more information here than had ever been contained in his old Potions textbook. "This must have taken you ages."
"Not ages," he said. "Just the past year."
"You have been working on this, all this time?" Hermione glanced up at him, tearing her eyes away from his written words. Even now, she was amazed at how often Severus could surprise her. He was a much more kind and loyal man than she would have ever imagined. "This was so generous of you. I can't tell you how much I am going to enjoy reading this."
"Well, it is easier than trying to answer all of your bloody questions," Severus mumbled but from the gleam in his eyes, Hermione could tell he was pleased by her reaction.
Without another word, Hermione immediately went and sat down in the rickety chair he had pulled up at the desk and began reading in earnest. Severus watched her, looking amused for a moment and then he returned to the potion he had been working on.
They sat in companionable silence for the next few hours; the quiet only interrupted when Hermione requested clarification on something he had written. Eventually, though, her eyes began to feel gritty and she realized just how late it was. Just as the thought was going through her head, she felt a shadow fall over the desk and saw that Severus was standing over her.
"You need to rest," he said as she yawned loudly. "I am going to assume that you had a difficult night last night. You should be at home, asleep."
Hermione didn't like the reference to her unpleasant evening the day before. She had managed to not think about it since Severus had first handed her the journal and she wished she could go longer without having to think about it again. Even more, she wished she did not have to go home to the empty flat and be left to wonder if Ron was ever going to return or if this really was the end to their relationship.
"You're right," she said reluctantly. "And it has been a long couple of days. I didn't even tell you about the incident with the niffler."
"Niffler?" Severus asked with a small smile. "I recall those creatures coming in handy with Dolores Umbridge. Please, do tell me all about it."
As they walked back to the house, Hermione told Severus about the problems at the Magical Menagerie. She was pleased that he was appropriately sympathetic, even if he did laugh a little too loudly when she explained how she had to fight one of them off of her when it caught sight of her gold necklace. Severus let her in through the back door and together they walked through the house to the front hall.
"Thank you again for the journal, Severus," she said, smiling. She reached forward in an attempt to give him a hug, when he backed away, yet again. Feeling hurt and confused as to why he continued to behave this way, she glared at him. "Why do you keep doing that?"
"Doing what?" he asked a little too hastily to be considered genuine confusion.
"I know you don't care for physical contact, but honestly, am I that horrible? Can't I even show you my appreciation without being treated like I have Dragon Pox?"
"We do not need to be having this conversation," Severus replied coldly. "It is late and you need to be getting home."
"Not until you answer me," Hermione replied stubbornly. "Am I really so disgusting?"
"I told you I didn't want to discuss this!" Severus insisted.
"But why not? If we're friends, I should be able to give you a hug without worrying about your reaction."
"Must you be so stubborn?" Severus snapped. "I don't have the time nor the inclination to discuss this. Now if you will kindly leave me alone, I could have some peace and quiet."
Severus turned away from her, intent upon getting away as quickly as possible. Hermione felt the last of her patience snap and she grabbed a hold of his arm, spinning him around to face her.
"Damn it Severus!" she shouted. "Stop trying to avoid me and answer the question!"
"No!" Severus yelled. Hermione jumped at the force of his response. He had a pained look on his face as if he had just been forced to admit something distasteful. "You do not disgust me, Hermione. Far from it."
"Then why do you--"
She was cut off suddenly as Severus grabbed her by her upper arms and pushed her against the wall. As his body pressed up against hers, she had a vague thought that this was far better than the platonic hug they had just been arguing over.
"Merlin, Hermione, for such a brilliant woman sometimes you can be incredibly stupid." His mouth was so close to her ear that she could feel his breath on her neck. "I avoid touching you because I know that if I do, I won't be able to stop."
Hermione turned her head to look at him and instead felt his mouth covering hers. For a second she stiffened, shocked by such a swift turn of events, and then she felt his hand reach around to cup the back of her neck. Giving in, she opened her mouth to him, whimpering as his tongue invaded her mouth.
They stood that way for several long minutes, kissing frantically and pressed up against each other. It was only when Severus reached up to cup her breast that Hermione was suddenly brought back to her senses and realized that here she was, a day after the man she thought she was in love with had left her, snogging her former professor in his front hall. Without thinking, she pulled away.
"Severus," she whispered, trying to put some space between them. It took a minute before Severus even registered what she was doing. "Severus… I can't."
Those words seemed to have the same effect as a bucket of cold water on the man in front of her. He immediately stopped and looked at her. The expression of pain on his face was heartbreaking to Hermione and she understood its source all too well. This was a man who had experienced nothing but rejection in his life. If she didn't explain herself, he would think she was rejecting him as well.
"Not… not right now," she said, plaintively, hoping he would understand. "It's too… I mean, Ron just…"
As soon as she said Ron's name she saw the pain disappear from his face and a mask of complete indifference take its place.
"I apologize," he said in an agonizingly calm voice. "I have behaved inappropriately. I assure you, it will not happen again."
"That's not what I mean. I… I enjoyed it as well." Hermione felt horribly awkward and was completely unsure of how to explain her own feelings. "I just… I just need to sort some things out first."
"Of course." Severus bent down and picked up the journal that Hermione had dropped. He handed it to her and then took a step back, once again forcing himself to put space between the two of them.
"I suppose I'll just go then," Hermione sighed. "I'm sorry. I've made a mess of things haven't I?"
"If anyone has made an error in judgment, it is I." Severus's voice was so formal that it made Hermione nervous.
She gave a small nod and turned to open the door. As she stepped outside, she turned back to look at him. For a moment, his mask had dropped again and she saw him give her a look so powerful that she felt herself robbed of breath. Never had anyone given her such an intense look before. Not Victor and certainly never Ron. She tried to smile at him, but she must have been unsuccessful because his mask went back into place.
"Good-night, Severus." she said.
"Good-bye, Hermione."
It wasn't until later, as she climbed wearily into bed, that Hermione thought his choice of words was a bit odd. Two days later, when she returned to the small house on Spinner's End, she finally understood the significance of them.
She had intended to explain herself further. Explain that she did have feelings for him. Very strong feelings, as a matter of fact. And that if he would just give her a little time she would be more than willing to act on them. But as she walked up to the front door, she saw that the sitting room was once again dark, and this time, no amount of knocking would bring Severus to the door. Immediately, Hermione felt a sense of foreboding, but told herself that surely he was just in his lab working.
For a moment she paused, unsure of how to proceed. She was sure that Alohomora wouldn't work, but she wasn't sure what else to do. She pulled out her wand and cast the spell quickly. When she heard the telltale click of the door unlocking, she became even more concerned. Severus had far too many enemies to actually leave his home unwarded, even if he was inside. Especially if he was inside.
And as she pushed open the door and walked into the sitting room, she stared in shock-- and with a pain in her heart -- at the empty bookshelves. Severus Snape was gone.