Chapter 9:
A Little Message
It was only a couple of hours later when Hermione was pulled away from her reading of 'Weird Wizarding Dilemmas and Their Solutions' by a knock on her door. She uncurled her legs from under her and sat down the mug of hot chocolate that she had been holding in her hands on her small coffee table.
She walked quickly to the door, opening it and smiling at Professor Snape who was standing there in front of her, "Hermione, I was wondering if I could join you. I would like to have an intelligent conversation, and I wasn't getting that in the Slytherin common room."
Hermione opened her door wider and motioned for him to come inside; he took a look around her sparsely furnished room and decided it suited her. It was simple, yet lovely. He took a seat across from the couch, in the overstuffed armchair.
It had been changed since the last time he had been in here. Everything was unpacked and placed in a way that would let Hermione have enough room for all her books, and to walk throughout the room. He held back a chuckle, but it was very Hermione, all books and very few frilly nonsensical items.
She gave him a tentative smile and indicated her hot coco mug, "Would you like some coco or tea? The water should still be hot." With the slight nod of his head se went over to get the tea kettle and a mug, "What one would you like?"
"I'd prefer tea if that's okay with you," he said, looking to Hermione that he was very uncomfortable sitting in her chambers. She poured him a cup and let the tea seep, using her high-priced tea leaves to make the potions master's drink.
She handed him the cup and sat down on the couch, pulling her legs up under her. She followed his gaze across the room to settle on the flower she received earlier that morning, "I don't care if you think it's foolish, I like it."
"It's predictable," he sated with a bit of a shrug, "a guy with any amount of imagination would be able to come up with something a bit more interesting." His gaze wandered and fell on the book that had been sitting next to her, "Learning anything good?"
"I've read it before," Hermione said with a shrug, "but it was the first book that caught my eye when I came back after breakfast. I had no desire to go anywhere today, so I figured that I would spend the day reading."
She picked up the book and sat it down on the coffee table, "Any particular thing you wanted to discuss Professor? Or are we grabbing topics out of the air?" She looked back to him, taking a sip of her chocolate and tilting her head to the side in a quizzical manner.
"I was thinking about talking about Quidditch," Snape said with a sneer, "you see, I'm a big fan of chasing balls around, and I thought you might want to discuss the thrilling aspects of being treated like a mangy mutt."
Hermione couldn't resist letting out a giggle, it was true that most of her conversations with anyone in the past involved them talking about the wizarding sport and her blocking out just about everything they said. Snape's take on the sport just about matched her own, it was like playing fetch on brooms, and she wasn't one for acting like a dog.
Snape leaned back in the chair, finally making himself comfortable in the girl's quarters. He studied her face as she laughed, beginning his next plan of attack in wooing her. Even if he had admitted earlier that he wasn't being very original. It was then that he had an idea, deciding to let it mull over for awhile in the back of his mind while they talked.
They talked for awhile, each arguing a point in one of the newest breakthroughs in potion making. Hermione was all for the new development, where Snape preferred the old way. In the end he bent and agreed that the new way had a few good points.
It was time for dinner when Snape stood and offered to walk her to the great hall. She accepted and removed herself from the couch, stretching in a way that reminded the potions master of a contented cat. She took his offered arm and they made their way down the multiple flights of stairs to the great hall.
They took their usual seats and continued on with the conversation. At this time they had moved to the topic of muggle medications, whether or not they were of any use in the wizarding world. They were deep into their discussion throughout the meal, then back up to Hermione's room where Snape left her with a civil goodbye.
She closed the door with a smile and wrapped her arms around herself and rocked back and forth with a happy smile spread across her face. She enjoyed spending time with her previous professor; he didn't question her intelligence like most people did. He made her feel like an equal. She could easily say that she had a crush on the man, if her previous dreams were any indication.
She went to bed soon after, content to snuggle close to her pillow and think about the day that she had just spent with the professor. It didn't take her long to drift into slumber, her dreams of the professor welcomed for the first time ever.
It was when she opened the door to her quarters the next morning that she saw the message scrawled across a paper taped to her door: "I adore you". She let out a small squeal and looked at the door with a smile plastered across her face.
She stood there a good ten minutes before snatching it off the door and running down the stairs to the Great Hall to tell her beloved Professor about this new development. Little did she know, he already knew.
AN: Hello everyone! Look! It's a new chapter! And it hasn't been all that long since the last one! I'm excited, I've found a new way to move this story along.