A/N- Thank you for the reviews from last chapter, I enjoyed them all greatly! Here's a chapter for you all, I will most likely update after Christmas, so enjoy your respective Holidays, folks! Enjoy :)
"What are you planning, Vegar?" Lestrange asked suspiciously. He had returned from Britain, pleased with his actions. The Head Auror was cursed, and several other lesser important ministry officials as well. He was back up north, gazing coldly at the man in front of him.
"I vant to attack Potter," came the rough reply. Vegar took a swig from the mug in his hands, wiping his beard off with the edge of his cloak. They were sitting in Vegar's office at Durmstrang.
Lestrange laughed. "I am all for that, but tell me, what does attacking the Ministry have anything to do with Potter?"
Vegar scoffed, Lestrange didn't, couldn't, see what he was trying to achieve. "I vant to see him suffer," he rumbled, glaring at Lestrange. "I vant to vatch him while his whole vorld, and the peace he fought so hard for, crumbles around him. He is the symbol of hope for the Ministry, if ve break him the Ministry vill fall."
Lestrange eyed Vegar coolly. "You were never a follower of the Dark Lord," he sniffed. "What is your deal with Potter? You hid away in your nothern country whilst I, and all the followers of the Dark Lord did the dirty work. What business do you have with revenge?"
Vegar looked back at Lestrange imperiously. "The Dark Lord knew about me. He trusted me, he told me to stay here. It vouldn't do if he only gained control of Britain. He vanted it all," the man said, his eyes lighting up as he recalled the fervor of Voldemort's speech to him, a month before the Final Battle. "He was stupid, vain, selfish, but vat he stood for, vas for the greater good."
"The greater good..." Lestrange trailed off thoughtfully. "I've heard that phrase before. It's written over that wizarding prison, Nurmengard."
"It is good to know you haf read your history books," Vegar sneered. "Yes, it is. The prison that my father built. It vill be used for the purpose it vas created for once more."
Lestrange frowned, looking at Vegar through the dimly lit space. "Grindlewald, the man Dumbledore defeated, was your father?" He tried his best to hide the incredulity from his voice.
"He vas. He vasn't much of a father, he kept me hidden away, in secret, so that he vouldn't be hindered by a son," Vegar spat. "I never knew him, but I knew vat he stood for, and I intend to make all of his, and the Dark Lord's ideals become reality, but first, ve must bring down Harry Potter."
Lestrange considered the mans words. The son of Gillert Grindlewald, one of the most famed Dark wizards of all time, second only to the Dark Lord, was sitting in front of him, offering him the chance of revenge on Harry Potter. It was because of that stupid boy that his wife was dead, and he hated the very air the famed Chosen One breathed. It seemed a good trade off. Potter suffers, the ministry falls to chaos, and then the Wizarding order, how it should be, resumes. "What do you want of me?"
"I vant you to attack those whom Potter is closest to."
The next morning, Hermione yawned as she stretched out on the bed, feeling the muscles burn as her body slowly awakened. Exhaling loudly, she turned and buried her face in the pillow.
She had kissed Severus Snape. Well, he had grabbed her, but she had been the one to kiss him. And it was absolutely amazing. Hermione felt chills racing down her spine at the thought of what had transpired the previous evening. His lips had been surprisingly soft, and his hair had felt amazing running through her fingers.
Hermione groaned quietly as reality suddenly smacked her full on. Kissing Severus Snape. Her coworker, her partner. Her house-mate. What did the kiss even mean? Was it simply excitement from their major break-through yesterday? Was it something more?
Hermione sighed softly, and sat up. It had felt like something more to her, but to Severus, Hermione was sure it had been nothing. He wasn't the kind of man to be moved simply from a kiss, and Hermione knew that perfectly. She needed to talk to him about it, to consider things with him, and establish where they were. What they were doing, or planning. Hermione had no idea what she was planning, or what she even wanted at that point.
Hermione decided she definitely needed some food in her before she had to tackle the rising issue in the back of her mind. Getting dressed quickly, she hurried downstairs to find Severus already up and drinking his coffee at the kitchen table. "Good morning," she said swiftly as she sat down.
Severus eyed her over his mug. "Good morning." Picking up the paper, he started to read, waiting patiently for Hermione to begin the barrage of questions he was sure was coming. If it were up to him, he wouldn't broach the subject. He wasn't good with things like this, but he knew Hermione's disposition, and had become quite familiar with it of late. She wouldn't be content until she knew where they stood.
Hermione waited as Frannel placed a plate of steaming food in front of her, and she dug in quickly, shoveling the food into her mouth at an almost inhuman rate.
Severus watched her eat in mild surprise, Hermione was usually very well-mannered at the table. "You're going to choke yourself," he pointed out evenly. "Slow down."
Hermione glanced up at him, and swallowed, coughing slightly as the food slid down her throat. "I'm hungry," she explained, taking a sip from her cup.
"I couldn't tell," Severus replied dryly.
"Oh ha ha," Hermione retorted, scooping the last of her eggs into her mouth. Finished, she set her fork down, and watched Severus eat. The man ate so slowly, she fumed to herself, watching as he cut up his sausages deliberately.
Severus ignored Hermione's burning stare as best he could, but eventually he had enough. Sighing heavily, Severus placed his fork down and glowered at her. "Granger, what exactly are you staring at?"
Hermione smirked slightly. Sharing a kiss apparently had no effect on his temper. "Severus, you know we have to talk...about, well, everything."
Severus raised his eyes to the heavens and picked up his fork again. "Go in the sitting room. I refuse to talk to you until I finish my breakfast, which I cannot do with you staring at me as if I'd suddenly sprouted wings."
Hermione bit back a giggle, and nodded as she rose and took a seat in the sitting room. Tapping her foot slightly on the ground, Hermione thought over what to say to him. What did she want? Hermione didn't know, all she knew was that kissing Severus had felt so incredibly right, and she had no idea what to make of it. Their entire friendship had sneaked up on her, it was as if one day he detested her, and the next, he was inviting her to live with him.
It wasn't as sudden as that, she reasoned. In fact, looking back, Hermione was stunned to realize their relationship had progressed rapidly. She had just never stopped to consider it, as the whole thing just felt...right. Which, she supposed, was how it was supposed to be. There weren't exactly planners out there for the building of friendships. It was just surprising due to the nature of Severus.
Hermione groaned and flopped back on the couch. "Absolutely bloody perfect," she muttered to herself. She now had strange, indescribable...feelings for her coworker, and there was no chance in hell that Severus felt anywhere near the same. Hermione frowned as she remembered the trial, and Severus's memories. His unbelievable love for Lily felt like ice in her stomach when she recalled those memories. She didn't know exactly what it was that she wanted, but one thing she knew wouldn't change. There was no way he could feel anything for her, she should really just forget about it and move on as if nothing had happened.
Startled from her thoughts by Severus's arrival, Hermione stood up straight and looked at him curiously, trying to hide the inexplicable disappointment her thoughts had brought upon her.
Severus arched an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.
"Severus, I–" Hermione began hesitantly. "What was that? Why did that happen? I mean, I don't know what I want, if I want anything right now, but it was amazing, and I can't deny that, but I mean, we work together; we're friends. That sort of thing messes friendships up, I know, but–"
"Hermione, be quiet," Severus said witheringly as he cut Hermione's ramble off. "Your knack for over-thinking things is not something you need to utilize here. It was a kiss, and where it will go from here, I do not know, but I firmly believe it will not affect us, or our...friendship."
Hermione gaped at Severus. That was the first time he had openly stated their friendship, and she felt the same pleasant, tingly warmth spread out from her chest again. And most importantly, he hadn't told her that it would never happen again, in fact it almost seemed as though he were considering... "I don't really know what the proper thing to do in these sort of situations. Me and Ron...well, it was practically expected of us after the war and we just sort of slid into place."
"Neither do I; in this one area you seem to have a modicum of more experience. I am more blind here than you are. I have never had a real relationship, what happened with Lily was more one sided than anything." Severus spoke quietly, and he was looking at Hermione intently, trying to judge her reaction. He was too confused at the moment to do anything more than agree to continue with their lives, but he still found himself feeling rather pleased that Hermione hadn't immediately said it was a mistake and it wouldn't happen again. You'd like it to happen again.
Hermione paused as she realized Severus wasn't decidedly against...whatever was happening between them. "I'm as confused as you are, but I doubt analyzing it endlessly will do much good; but how will the affect us? I'm not childish enough to assume a single kiss changes everything, and I definitely am past the stage of it being awkward, but still..."
"It wont; we will continue the same as we have been doing, working on perfecting the potion, the continuous research, and I will continue to put up with your ridiculous chatter."
Hermione grinned, completely satisfied with his response. There was no use over-thinking the situation, she realized. What happened, happened, and Severus didn't appear to be bothered by it, and Hermione firmly decided she wouldn't either. They were both fully capable adults, anyways, they could deal with whatever it was that happened. "Well, that sounds just fine to me. I'll be back later, I'm going out for a run."
Severus nodded and watched the witch walk out, feeling the gnawing urge to run after her, and kiss her again. He couldn't explain why, but he felt ever so slightly disappointed that Hermione had been all too ready to drop the matter so callously. But then again, he felt relieved as well. His feelings were too confused to explain to himself, let alone to her. It was best that she hadn't insisted on a deeper conversation, as Severus wasn't too sure if he wouldn't have hurt her by simply being honest. He knew he liked her, it had happened so suddenly that he had yet to come to terms with it, but serious discussion about it was beyond his abilities at the moment. Scowling, Severus leaned back, staring at the intricate designs of the fireplace.
His Patronus changing hadn't quite sunk in fully yet. Wonderingly, he cast the spell, watch the silvery wolf materialize again, tail already wagging furiously. Smiling slightly, Severus watched as the wolf bounced around. The eerie grace of the animal reminded him greatly of himself; which after some amusement, he realized was rather the point. The subtle contentedness that was present in the wolf's eyes reminded him of Hermione in some way; she was perpetually in a good mood.
His smile widening, Severus recalled when he had compared Hermione's enthusiasm to that of a dog. Even after getting to know the witch more and more, it still rang true. It was almost as if...
Severus stared at the wolf, refusing to finish that thought, and more confused than he had been in a very, very long while.
*Quick note: Severus's Patronus, in my eyes, reverted to what it should have been had Lily never been in the picture. It did not change to a representation of Hermione, even though he does see some rather vague resemblances. His Patronus changing marked him finally letting go of Lily, not changing his unrequited love to Hermione (come on guys, we all know Hermione's smart enough to figure it out at SOME point. Just have to pray that it's soon...*wink*). Anyways, just wanted to clear that up. Enjoy your holidays!