Disclaimer: It's not mine, it's all J. K. Rowling's.
A/N: Annie Talbot and Machshefa are the lovely ladies who beta-read this fic! : :hugs: :
Chapter 17: Wait
Hermione had been in Sofia, capital city of Muggle and wizarding Bulgaria, since Sunday morning, but her thoughts and heart remained in London with Harry and the ring. Did she make the right decision in sending Harry to Hogwarts? She would know in the morning….
She hoped Snape would understand that Harry was the only one she could trust with his ring. She hoped he didn't guess that she knew Snape would cooperate just to get rid of him... but would he cooperate? Never had a Monday taken so long to end.
She missed the ring. It was foolish, but she missed it. Hermione knew it had a symbolic value to her, that it meant surviving the war and honoring the dead, but since the first letter from Snape, it had acquired an altogether different meaning. It'd meant she had something connecting her to someone else in such a strong way that the physical absence of it felt like the absence of him.
Crazy, she knew. But some feelings were difficult to explain, if not impossible. She surely couldn't explain why seeing Snape so miserable had made her feel so guilty. He was always trying to make her miserable, insulting her in every way possible, yet she felt guilty and worried.
And now she missed him! How could she miss him?
Maybe the ring had really been cursed and she was under some spell.
Hermione sighed. There was no good that could come of this train of thought. Auror Konsta Petrov was almost finished with his explanation of how their legal system differed from Britain's. She would have to read in the books he'd lent her all she'd missed.
It ended up being a good thing. Hermione fell asleep reading and didn't have the opportunity to lose sleep over what she still insisted was unimportant: Snape's reaction to her letter.
o0oOo0o
Hermione knew her plan had worked because Harry had sent a letter telling her so, but that was all. No word from Snape, not even a message through Harry. She felt a little disappointed; she'd awaited some kind of answer.
Of course, now that Snape had his ring back, why would he write? To thank her? She didn't think so. She would most probably never hear from him again.
The idea was so sour that she lost her appetite, leaving half of her breakfast untouched. Three days had passed since Harry had delivered the ring, since Snape had read her letter asking him to answer. It had been a long shot, but she really wanted to know his reaction to the ring. She felt badly for not being able to deliver it herself.
Hermione spent the day gloomy about the absence of both the ring and Snape's answer.
At night, she'd been reading in bed, hoping to fall asleep, when an owl tapped at the window.
Hermione leaped from the bed and almost ran to the window. The freezing breeze that chilled the room didn't concern her while she disentangled the letter from the owl's paw, and the cold meant even less when she recognized his handwriting.
He answered!
Quickly, she opened the envelope and read Snape's letter.
Dear Miss Granger,
Your idea of sending Potter to torment me was appalling in the least. I'm only writing because I can't understand how someone as intelligent as you could have trusted my ring to such a moron. Despicable, Miss Granger.
It was purely luck that my ring got back to me safely. To think that you said it was precious to you. I wonder what you do with something you dislike.
I'm just glad the ring was saved in time.
Severus Snape
"Jerk," she cursed aloud, but she had a smile on her lips. She didn't know why such an insulting letter from Snape made her happy. Maybe it was the slipped compliment in it. He'd called her intelligent. She wondered if he'd even realized what he had said in the process of demeaning Harry.
Hermione folded the letter and went to bed. Suddenly, she was really tired, and sleep didn't take long to enfold her. Dark eyes with incredible depth were all she would remember of her dream that night.
Coming next… Letters that build a friendship.