Disclaimer: Same as usual.

Life For Rent

Chapter 17

Hermione was in a foul mood, worse than she had been in a long time. She was working on making Veritaserum with Severus and had messed it up twice already. Severus had actually stormed out of his lab with his robe billowing behind him in full Professor Mode. Hermione had slumped down on her stool weeping in frustration. She didn't blame him for being angry because the ingredients she had wasted were rare and expensive. It wasn't his fault that she had been snapping at him all morning either. The previous night they had argued extensively over their guest list for the wedding and what kind of ceremony they would have.

Severus didn't want to invite more than a few immediate friends and family which Hermione agreed to, but then he didn't want to do a separate wedding for her Muggle family that didn't know she was a witch and he had firmly refused stating that it was going to be bad enough standing up in front of people he did know in a traditional magical ceremony and that she couldn't possibly expect him to do it again for a bunch of Muggles he had never met. Hermione had insisted that if he really loved her he wouldn't care and he had insisted that it had nothing to do with that. She finally relented but only after she said they could just have the civil union he wanted in the first place or they could fly to Vegas for all she cared. He had looked at her strangely when she mentioned that.

Then they argued about how much time they were going to be spending in the lab. Severus had given Hermione a syllabus and when she mentioned that it was intense he had made a sarcastic comment about her not being up to the task which led to another fight. He apologized for the comment but Hermione ignored him and in her temper had succeeded in messing up two batches of Veritaserum. As Severus had stomped up the stairs she could hear him mumbling under his breath about being up all night and having to cancel dinner with the Malfoys to brew the damn potions himself.

The dinner with the Malfoys was one of the reasons that her mood had been on edge all week. Instead of admitting to Severus that she still felt weak with fear when she imagined being in the house she was once tortured in she set herself on a path of self-destructive bickering and moodiness in hopes that he wouldn't want to take her. She realized that her behavior was ridiculous and was causing problems but talking about the war with Severus was just as hard for her as it was for him. She didn't want him to know about her experiences and she especially didn't want him to know that her palms got clammy and her stomach threatened to empty every time she imagined what had happened to her at the Malfoy Manor. He would just see her as cowardly and she couldn't live with that. Now she had to live with the fact that he thought she was a moody and incompetent potions brewer and a bridezilla on top of it all.

When Hermione heard Severus muttering that he was going to have to cancel dinner with the Malfoys to fix the potions she felt a brief flash of elation followed by sadness at the true disappointment she'd heard in his voice. She knew he was disappointed with her but he also missed his friends. Whether Hermione liked it or not Narcissa was one of Severus' best friends and in his own way he must want Hermione to like her too. Wiping her tears away and composing herself Hermione set off to find Severus and to come clean with why she had been such a bitch lately.

She found Severus in the library sitting at his desk writing something, a glass of Scotch sitting next to his left hand. He looked up at her when she entered but his face was expressionless and he just bent back over his paper and continued to write.

"Severus, can I talk to you for a minute?" Hermione asked tentatively. The true difference in their ages hit her like a brick wall in that moment. She felt like a fourth year student approaching the feared potions master rather than a grown woman asking her fiancé to listen to her apologies.

Severus didn't look up from his paper but he stopped writing for a moment. "I daresay you can."

Hermione bit back her frustration at his attitude. She shouldn't have expected him to be kind and grovel. She had been purely honest with him about her feelings up until this point and it killed her to have to admit that to him. She could be just as headfast as the best of them, including Severus. Hermione took a tentative step toward him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He stiffened at her touch but she didn't remove her hand.

"I know that I have been quite obstinate lately and I want to apologize. I also apologize for ruining the potion in my distraction and I will fix it. I won't insist on a Muggle wedding either. That was more for my parents than for me and I am sorry I pushed the issue. I will admit to you that I was trying to pick a fight." She said quietly not really willing to admit more unless he was responsive to what she'd just said.

Severus surprised her by reaching for the hand on his shoulder. Holding it in both of his hands he turned his chair to face her.

His expression was unreadable still but he stroked her hand with his thumb for a moment before releasing it and standing up. He walked away from her and went to look out the window. "What would possess you to goad me that way? And what is bothering you so much that you would actually destroy two batches of a very important potion? I don't know how to deal with histrionics, Hermione."

Hermione seethed a little at the word 'histrionics.' She wasn't that bad, well maybe a little, but still. "I said I was sorry and that I will fix the potion. I won't intentionally pick a fight with you again. I know it was immature and childish and I had something on my mind that I didn't know how to deal with and I reacted badly."

Severus turned to look at her finally, one of his eyebrows practically disappearing into her hairline. "Had? From the tone of your voice I would say you are still in a snit. Now, if you will excuse me I need to inform the Malfoys that we will not be attending dinner tonight because the Veritaserum needs to be finished and shipped today."

"I said I would do it right, and I will do it right now. I still have plenty of time before the dinner." Now that she saw how angry he was about missing the dinner and messing up the potion she felt even worse. It wasn't as if she had messed up the first two batches on purpose but in hindsight it would have been better to admit that she wasn't in a fit state for brewing.

Severus sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Hermione, I realize that when it comes to potions I am your teacher in a technical sense but I don't want to have this conversation as if you are my student. Please just tell me what it is that's bothering you so we can put it behind us and you can focus on learning potions."

Hermione thought he was being particularly insensitive if all he could think about was how his precious potions turned out. He didn't want to sound like her teacher but he did anyway. Of course, she was supposed to be learning how to be a potions master herself but his lack of concern for their relationship still infuriated her. She was going to tell him about her fear of returning to the Malfoy Manor but changed her mind. She would just have to suck it up and get past what had happened. It had been almost four years for crying out loud.

"I would rather not. Despite what you just said you are still treating me like a student. I would not wish to have this conversation with you if were just my teacher, it is too private. If your potion is all that you care about right now, I understand. The Ministry is an important client and for the last time I am sorry I messed it up. I will fix it right now. Please do not cancel the dinner invitation." Hermione turned on her heal and strode from the room.

Severus made no attempt to follow her. He was perfectly confident in her abilities to complete the potion because she had done it before, but what worried him was that something was bothering her deeply and she wasn't willing to discuss it. Whatever it was, it was turning her into an impossible shrew and he had no idea how to deal with that. For the first time in his life he was ready to seek relationship advice and the first person to come to mind was his friend Narcissa. Maybe she could shed some light on the situation. Severus scribbled a quick note to Hermione telling her he was going out for a little while but he doubted she would come up from the lab before he returned. He still thought it would be a bad idea to leave when they were both angry without a note. She would probably come to a whole slew of wrong conclusions if that happened.

Severus knocked on the door of the Manor sincerely hoping that he wasn't interrupting anything. He disliked ignoring proper protocol and showing up unannounced but when it came to his Hermione he was willing to forego social graces. He just wanted her back to her old self as selfish as that sounded.

"Severus! We weren't expecting you for hours." Narcissa exclaimed as she led him in the house. It was still fairly early but Narcissa was dolled up as if she had been out on the town for hours already. Her fastidiousness was one of the things that Severus found amusing about her. Hermione's lack of fastidiousness was one of the things he found most amusing about her. Severus could not help but think how ironic that was. His two favorite women in the world were polar opposites when came to looks and fashion but they were both intelligent and indescribably beautiful to him.

"I need some advice." Severus blurted before he'd even shrugged off his traveling cloak. "And yes, before you ask, it is about Hermione. She has turned into quite the harridan the past week and while she admitted that there is something on her mind she refuses to tell me about it. My instinct tells me it has something to do with the dinner tonight."

Narcissa covered her mouth to hide her smile. Severus was being overly melodramatic and that was not his usual style. This girl must really have a hold on him. "My, those are strong words, Severus. But tell me more."

Severus spent the next few minutes pacing in the parlor telling her the basics of their arguments. He glossed over some of the wedding details but explained with careful enumeration her mistakes with the potion. Narcissa rolled her eyes openly at that one. Leave it to Severus to gloss over the big picture, which is their relationship, but to describe minutely her mistakes with the potion. Tuning him out momentarily, Narcissa thought back to the last time she had personally encountered Hermione Granger. When the memory of the event surfaced in her mind, her breath caught in her throat. Narcissa held up a hand to stop Severus' tirade about the potions.

"Her mistakes with the potion are irrelevant Severus. Let's talk some more about why you think it is the dinner party that is weighing on her mind."

"I imagine it is because she is nervous about being around you and your husband. She has already expressed that she if afraid you will treat her poorly but she also said she would be fine. I assured her you both had no intentions of doing her harm and that I trust you, that should be good enough." Severus said helplessly.

Narcissa sighed. She didn't want to be wrong on this but it was important that Severus hear her theories. "Draco has become friendly with her so I am sure she could tolerate an evening with Lucius and I. Draco says she jokes that she wouldn't touch Lucius with a ten foot wand no matter how much he claims to have changed but she isn't serious. Now that she is with you I am sure that isn't the issue at all. After all, you don't even have to know Ms. Granger to know that she can take care of herself."

Narcissa stopped speaking long enough to pour herself some tea and pause for dramatic effect. After she stirred her tea a few times with a thoughtful, faraway look in her eyes, Severus huffed audibly. Narcissa smiled, she had achieved the desired effect. Impatient men were always willing to give in to what women had to say more quickly.

"No, Severus, I think she is afraid of returning to the scene of the crime."

"The crime? What crime?" Severus demanded. "What did you do to her?"

"It's not I who did to her, or Lucius for that matter. It was Bellatrix and Greyback. Severus, don't you remember? When the Greyback caught her and her friends this is where they brought them. That day Potter escaped Bellatrix tortured your little Hermione within an inch of her life and it happened right here in this house." Narcissa said with a satisfied smirk as Severus mouth formed an 'O' of realization.

Severus sat heavily in a chair. "So, she doesn't want to go back to the place it happened and she didn't want to tell me about it."

"I could be wrong but it wouldn't kill you to be a little nicer to her when you ask her what's bothering her. Based off of what you told me about your argument earlier today you weren't exactly trying to be sympathetic or even nice. After everything you went through for both wars she is no doubt convinced that you would view her as weak. Does she never talk to you about her part in it?" Narcissa asked.

Severus closed his eyes and rested his head on the back of the chair. "No, Cissy. She is very open about her feelings and her life in the present but when it comes to the war she loathes speaking about it as I do. I am curious about what she went through of course, but I don't bring it up. If I ask her questions, she will return them, and I wouldn't be willing to answer. You can tell me though, what happened that day? I never got the full details."

Narcissa thought carefully for a moment. It really was not her place to tell Severus anything but he looked happy for the first time in many long years and she wanted to help him get to know his fiancé better even if it was meddling a bit. But Narcissa Malfoy was never one to qualm at meddling in other people's affairs. After a few moments contemplation Narcissa conjured a small vial and placed the memory of the day inside.

"You may use the Pensieve in the library if you wish."

Severus took the proffered vial and made his way to the Malfoy library. The Pensieve was sitting in a lovely display cabinet in the center of the room. Removing the heavy basin from the cabinet and setting it on a table, Severus wasted no time in plunging into the memory.

The memory began with a thin, dirty, and bruised Hermione being held down by Greyback. Severus' stomach turned as the wolfish man yanked hard on her Hermione's hair exposing her throat. Greyback was up against her close sniffing from her chin down to her cleavage. Hermione's eyes were squinted almost closed and her nose was wrinkled in distaste. In Hermione's lap was the sword of Godric Gryffindor. The sword that just hours earlier Severus had hidden in the Forest of Dean for them to find. Severus tuned out the argument that was going on between all the people in the room and focused on Hermione. She looked terrified and tired, a combination Severus knew from personal experience was disastrous in the kind of situation she was in. It meant that she was weak and wouldn't last long under torture.

Hermione surprised him however. He watched with a heavy heart as Bellatrix fired Cruciatus after Cruciatus at Hermione and she still wouldn't tell where the sword came from, eventually claiming that the sword was a fake. He continued to watch in disgust as Bellatrix threw a weakened Hermione to Greyback to be brutalized but that was when Weasley and Potter escaped from the dungeons to rescue her. When Bellatrix grabbed Hermione again and stuck the tip of her knife into Hermione's throat, Severus actually felt tears prick behind his eyes. He had noticed that scar on her neck but had never asked her about it. She had a lot of scars, as did he, and he preferred to keep quiet about it. But now seeing this happen to the woman he loved made him wish that he could bring Bella to life just so he could kill her again. The memory ended as Dobby disappeared with Hermione.

Severus replaced the Pensieve and went back to the parlor where Narcissa was waiting patiently. He handed the vial of memories back to her without saying and sat back down in the chair he had vacated earlier.

"Well?" Narcissa asked dying to hear what he had to say. She knew Severus was quite capable of feeling intense emotion even if he didn't show it but this was one of those times he was having difficulties hiding it. Storm clouds were brewing in his eyes.

"Well what, Narcissa?" He snapped angrily. "I should have known. I am an utter fool. It all makes perfect sense; of course she doesn't want to come here. She probably did mess up those potions knowing we had to cancel but I made her feel like such an incompetent fool she immediately regretted it. I am sure I just made matters worse."

Narcissa placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You behaved as you typically do and whether or not that is a good thing is not relevant right now. Whether you actually decide to talk to Hermione about what you saw is up to you as well, but I will advise you to try to be a little more sensitive to Hermione's moods. She is not an irrational person from what I know of her so if she is behaving irrationally you might want to consider why that might be. Maybe you should cancel tonight so that you can work this out with her."

Severus considered cancelling and then decided against it. "No, I don't want to cancel because I know she will feel guilty about it no matter the reason. I will go back and help her finish the potion and see if what you told me today is correct."

"If it helps, we can change the venue. Why don't we meet at a Bonus Victus for dinner tonight at eight o'clock instead of here at seven?" Narcissa suggested.

"That would be better. Thank you, Narcissa. I really must be going now." Severus kissed his friend on the cheek and apparated home. Narcissa touched her face where his lips had been and smiled fondly. If she wasn't so in love with Lucius Severus wouldn't stand a chance. She just hoped that Hermione Granger was woman and witch enough for her friend.

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A/N: I don't really have much to say today…. I love your reviews, love em, love em.

Special thanks to my beta whoopsydaisy who even reads my chapters when she's sleepy. How cool is that?