It was the second week of their pursuit. They had left the park and started moving south, following the trail of dark magic that Hermione had detected with the use of the spell persequor noctae aeternam. The trail had appeared, a dark ribbon in the earth that burned a fiery red each time Hermione cast the spell to see if they were still going in the right direction. Each day that brought them nothing, they grew more frustrated. They had been following the trail exactly, yet no sign of either the Death Eaters or of large gatherings of potential recruits had been found. Hermione yearned for a hot shower and her soft bed in the girl's dormitory. The bunk beds in the tent from the Triwizard tournament were lacking in comfort, even though her grinchy companion did not seem to mind. Each night he grew more quiet, even when Hermione peppered him with questions, just because she wanted to find out more about him. She was miserable, because she felt that even though he had seemed impressed with her intellect and deemed her worthy of his notice, he still wouldn't hold a conversation with her. It was like sitting down by the campfire every night with a marble statue. As the days went on, Hermione could feel herself getting increasingly pissed off. What gave him the right to ignore her like that? She was tired of always having to reach out to him.
One night she couldn't stand the silence longer. "Sir, am I a boring partner to have a conversation with? Because frankly, I've had enough of always asking you questions and never getting an answer." He ignored her question for a while, a frown marring his pale face. " Do not presume that you know me, Granger, we are partners on this mission and nothing more. Why should we talk to each other at all if not about work?" Severus carefully kept his face passive thereafter, it would not do for the Granger girl to notice that he desperately wanted to talk to her. He had been ignoring her all week for a reason.
It had started almost as soon as Hermione cast a spell that researchers had been trying to pin down for years, ever since Necromancy was published as a book. She had laughed with exhilaration when the fiery red band had appeared beneath their feet, pointing their way, having no idea at what she had just achieved. Her eyes had been so…. luminous. Severus could not find a better word for the way her eyes had glowed and her hair had shone. The only word to describe her at that moment was beautiful. Later, when the girl's soft breaths filled the room and he was still lying awake in his cot, he thought about it more. I have finally cracked under the strain of spying on the Dark Lord. She is my STUDENT. He groaned and rolled over. Sleep eluded him that night, just as it had since he had started sharing space with one Hermione Granger, who, by and by, seemed to have no trouble at all falling asleep.
The next morning they finally spotted signs of the presence of the Dark Wizard group they were pursuing. In a town they passed through, a muggle house was blasted to bits in a yet unexplained explosion. Hermione took the lead in questioning several witnesses, an old muggle lady with a struggling cat in her arms, and a tall lanky youth of about 15 years. "It just happened, while I was retrieving Shelly here – my neighbors house just blew up! BOOM." The old lady garbled, while hugging her cat so tightly the animal turned purple. The youth had more to offer. "A group of people went into the house, all dressed weirdly, like for a costume party." The young man explained, "Shortly after there was a huge explosion. But not as much a explosion as the house being torn apart from the inside out, you know? I wonder what kind of chemical reaction could do that – do you know? Are you with the police? Have they found out what it was?" Hermione cut his stream of questions short with a quick gesture. "Did they find the bodies of the…oddly dressed people?" She asked. The young man shook his head. "No ma'am, they didn't even find the owner of the house yet. They assumed he burned to death but no remains have been found. Do you think he, like, vaporized?" Hermione, looking slightly irritated, thanked him for his help, pressing a 5-pound note into his hand for his information. He looked delighted and strode off, whistling.
She rejoined Severus, who was leaning against a low stone wall surrounding the Church of the town and who had been listening to her interviews with some amusement. "How many cats do you think that lady owns?" He asked her with a straight face. Hermione looked surprised at his talking about something not "work related" but then her face relaxed and she smiled at him, making his cravat suddenly feel far to tight for his dry throat. "About 20 I presume," she said, laughing.
"Alright, so we know that the explosion in the muggle house was definitely caused by magic, otherwise the forensics would have found evidence of arson." Severus nodded his agreement. "Do you think we can get inside the house to take a look around?" He looked at the yellow police tape pointedly. "We will probably need to wait until night. I highly doubt they will appreciate us messing with a crime scene." He replied. She was surprised that he was familiar with the workings of the muggle police, and wondered how he had grown up. Had he been raised in a muggle environment, just like her? She resolved to ask him about it later. She took her backpack off and rummaged around to find her wallet. "Sir, I think we have just enough muggle money left to go buy dinner while we wait for night to fall since its only 6 pm. " She said dinner! She wants a date with me! He screamed inwardly. But all he said to her, with a carefully schooled face was: "That would be agreeable."
Hermione ordered fries and a shake, Severus a black tea and roast duck. They ate while darkness fell outside, and the silence between them seemed to grow ever more ominous, especially against the chatter of the other guests in the background. Severus, you sod, make her think you can actually hold a conversation! "So Ms. Granger, what are your plans after Hogwarts?" She looked delighted at him asking a question. "I'm not sure sir, I always wanted to study International Relations at a muggle university before I entered Hogwarts. I'm not sure a life only in the wizarding world would agree with me, to be honest. "
"Ms. Granger, I daresay you are the brightest witch of your age. I'm sure you would find the occupation that you desire without much trouble. You invented a spell. You should join the Spell Testing and Development Department in the Ministry. With your talent they would give you a management position in no time." He said it all in a cool tone, but Hermione detected a hint of praise behind his words.
"Do you really think that highly of me sir?" She said so quietly it was almost a whisper, staring at the table with red cheeks.
"I do," He said softly. She raised her head to meet his dark eyes, and felt a chill run down her back. They stared at each other, wide brown eyes meeting dark obsidian, for what felt like an eternity.
Boom. The earth shook slightly in tandem with the muffled sound of an oil tanker exploding. Hermione and Severus jumped; part of the ceiling dislodged and crashed down onto the bar. The magnetism between their eyes was broken and they returned to the real world. Hermione chose that moment to let loose a stream of curses that made Severus look at her in absolute shock as she realized the Death Eaters must still be here, had been all along while they had been eating. Does Ms. Granger know what that word actually means? Severus mused, before realizing she was already out the door. He hurried after her.