AN. Here you go! For anyone who is wondering, the chapter after next contains a surprising twist which throws our dour potions professor and our bubble defense teacher together! Anyways, enjoy the chapter, and review if you'd like!
Hermione shooed the last stragglers out of her class, eager for it to end. She glanced at her watch, it was ten to four. She hurried out of the classroom, and headed for her rooms. She changed quickly, donning a pair of jeans and a jumper. It was her birthday, and she didn't feel the need to dress up for drinks with her friends. Tossing her cloak over her shoulders, she rushed outside. Practically skipping to the doors, Hermione paused to wave to Hagrid.
"Eh Hermione! Happy Birthday!" Hagrid shouted, trying to be heard over the mass of students who were headed outside to enjoy the afternoon.
"Thank you Hagrid!" Hermione shouted back happily.
She walked outside and started towards the gate. Once outside, she apparated to Hogsmeade. Catching her breath she looked around, wondering if maybe she was too early. Her worries were unfounded though, as she heard a loud CRACK from behind her. She whipped around to see Draco brushing himself off, and a beaming Ginny rushing towards her. The girls collided, hugging and squealing. Draco stood back, rolling his eyes as he watched the exchange. Hermione and Ginny broke apart, both breathless.
"Oh 'Mione I've missed you!" Ginny said happily as she held on to Hermione's hands.
"I've missed you too, Gin, how've you been?" she replied. Letting go of Ginny's hands, Hermione turned to Draco.
"Oh, realized I'm here as well, have you?" he sniffed, an injured look on his face.
Hermione grinned. "Stop with the snobbery, Draco, it really doesn't suit you" she said with a smile.
Reaching forward, she pulled Draco into a hug. He stood stiffly, and patted her on that back. He may have become one her best friends, but he still kept up the stiff, sarcastic Malfoy demeanor. She knew it didn't mean anything, though. Still smiling, she let go of him.
"Shall we go in?" she asked, starting towards the Three Broomsticks.
Just as they were about to enter the pub, another loud CRACK rang out from behind them, and the three turned to see a grinning Harry, and a giggling Luna. Hermione waved them over, and they all participated in another round of hugs, with the exception of Harry and Draco, who chose to give each other a friendly handshake instead.
"It's so great to have the group together again," said Harry, beaming. "I've missed you all!"
Hermione grinned, hugging Harry again.
"Can we please get a move on?" Draco drawled, attempting the shove the group through the door.
"We're going, you big prat," Ginny retorted, giving him a light smack on the shoulder.
Draco smiled, and yanked Ginny back, giving her a kiss.
"Oi! You lot get inside, no one wants to see that nonsense," Harry shouted back at the couple with a grin.
The group got a round of butterbeers, as no one had a taste for anything heavier at the moment.
"So Hermione, how do you feel being two years older than everyone else?" Luna asked, taking a sip from her bottle.
Hermione grinned in a roguish way. "Oh, I feel amazing! I always knew I was mentally older than you bunch of slackers," she said with a mischievous look.
Draco looked affronted. "I take offense to that, Granger," he said in a slightly amused tone.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "You take offense at everything, Draco, honestly."
"You should see him working at the Quibbler, Hermione. He's so focused he forgets to act like he's above everyone else," Luna said serenely.
Draco glared at Luna. "Anyways, Hermione, how are you enjoying teaching?" he said pointedly.
Harry rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. "Now you've done it, Draco. She won't shut up for hours now."
The group burst out laughing, and Hermione joined in heartily.
"It's going quite well, Draco," she said between sips of butterbeer. "but I'd rather not talk about my job on my birthday."
Harry stared. "This coming from the girl who does nothing but focus on work or school during every vacation," he said in an awed voice.
Draco huffed. "She never mentions her homework to me," he said imperiously. "We have more important things to discuss."
Ginny burst out laughing. "Draco, if you're going to lie, do it about something that isn't as unbelievable as that."
Hermione blushed. "Just because I take my work seriously, doesn't mean I don't know how to enjoy a vacation," she sniffed.
Harry cracked up. "'Mione, everyone knows that you don't consider a vacation a vacation unless you get your homework done."
The group continued to banter back and forth, enjoying each others company and catching up. They ended the evening with an enthusiastic chorus of "Happy Birthday", and they walked out of the bar, strolling through Hogsmeade and enjoying the air. Eventually they parted, but not before pressing an assortment of gifts into Hermione's protesting hands. She apparated to the Hogwarts gates, and pushed them open. She didn't hurry in her walk up to the castle, she loved to walk under the stars. She heard soft footsteps behind her, and whirled around, wand already out.
"While I can appreciate your quick reactions as well as anyone, I would appreciate it if I didn't have to make an unnecessary trip to the hospital wing," a bored sounding voice drawled.
Hermione sighed, and put her wand away. "Hello, Severus," she said. "What are you doing out so late?" she asked in a friendly tone, as she headed towards the castle.
Severus sneered, but it went unnoticed by Hermione, as the darkness kept most of his features from being seen. "Granger, I hardly think our relationship is so familiar as to pry into each other's personal business," he said coldly.
Hermione had the grace to blush, it had been a nosy question. "I was just trying to make conversation," she said, a little harsher than before.
"I would ask you not to bother," Snape replied delicately. "I do not believe you could offer any conversation I would find interesting enough to partake in."
Hermione scowled. Why did he have to be so rude? "There is no need for the scorn, Severus. I was trying to be friendly."
"Miss Granger, we are colleagues, not friends."
Hermione huffed. "Oh, we are? I apologize. You didn't make that clear enough," she said sarcastically.
Severus almost smirked, he hadn't expected her to reply so cheekily. "Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, Granger," he said dryly, as they reached the doors to the castle.
Hermione snorted. "I've never known you to be hypocritical, but perhaps my impression was wrong," she retorted.
He turned to look at her coldly. "You are correct in that regard, Granger. You have never known me."
Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but shut it quickly as a flush suffused her face. He was right, she didn't know him. She watched him stride away, at loss. That man was the most withdrawn being she had ever come across.
Severus scowled as he walked away from Hermione. Who was she to think that she knew him well enough to distinguish his distinctive traits? He growled to himself as he approached the teachers bathrooms. He had his own of course, but they were slightly smaller and he fancied a swim. He needed to clear his thoughts. He had responded in a less-than kind manner to Granger, and if he were perfectly honest with himself. He tried to tell himself that she had deserved it, but he knew that was wrong.
He approached the ornate door that protected the teacher's bathroom, and whispered the password. They had been Dumbledore-related for the past few years, as a small tribute to the former headmaster. Severus scowled, remembering when he had been offered the headmaster job. He didn't accept, even after the castle proved that it thought of Severus as the true headmaster. He had relinquished the job to Minerva though. He wanted no part of the busy life that being headmaster entailed. He preferred his dungeons.
Severus surveyed the giant pool of glistening water. He waved his wand and quickly warded the doors, even though they locked automatically when someone was inside and wished to be left alone. His lip twitched as he imagined how many teachers performed their illicit trysts with other members of the staff in this room. He knew Pomona and Flitwick had more than a few fun nights in this room, all though they had no idea anyone else knew. The castle still partly viewed him as the proper headmaster, and as such, the portraits warned him of far more than he would have liked to know.
He made quick work of undressing, and dived into the pool. It transfigured itself to the needs of whomever wanted to use it, and at the moment he wanted a deep pool. He shuddered slightly as the luke-warm water hit his body. Surfacing, he floated quietly in place. He leaned back, and spread his arms as he drifted on the ripples his dive had created.