Wow. Just wow. The amount of reviews last chapter simply blew me away. Do you guys know what you all did with those reviews? Inspired me to write another three whole chapters. It made me so warm and tingly inside when all of you expressed your anger at Ron! Ah! Anyways, here's a chappy for you all! Enjoy :)
Severus looked at the clock, and felt irritated as he realised only thirty minutes had passed since he last looked. Scowling to himself, he turned back to the book. It wasn't as if she were required to come home in the afternoon, he told himself sternly. She is an adult witch, perfectly capable of staying out however long she wants. She said she'd be back in the afternoon. It was barely a few hours into the afternoon, and Severus felt himself beginning to get anxious, despite himself.
The night away from Hermione had been very long, and he wanted her home. Plus, he had a debt he was itching to repay. Waiting was never enjoyable when one had someone as wonderful as Hermione to wait for. He disliked himself for it, but he hoped she would return soon.
"Goddamn it all to hell," Severus swore as he stood up, tossing his book on the couch. "I got around without the stupid witch for my entire life, I can do it again," he said to himself as he stalked into the hallway and grabbed his traveling robes. It was a weekday, so he might as well go work at the Apothecary for a few hours. Waiting around and wistfully staring at the clock would do more harm than good. Besides, he did need to open the Apothecary for at least a few hours that day.
He arrived at the shop feeling rather moody as he flipped the closed sign to 'open'. He ran through the opening inspection quicker than usual, and settled himself behind the counter once he was done. It took nearly all of his will power to stop his mind from wandering to Hermione, and it didn't work.
It was utterly dumbfounding to step back from their situation and look at where they were now. It was barely two months since the day he had found her, and he couldn't think of his life being anything but what it was now. Hermione was...well, she was the most amazing person he had ever met. It was astounding to think that his feelings went from total dislike to almost...love.
Love. Severus stopped what he was doing and stared blankly in front of him. Was it even possible that he loved Hermione? Yes, he liked her. He liked her more than a lot, and the idea of being away from her was something he detested. But was it love? What he felt for Hermione was entirely different from what he had felt for Lily, it couldn't be love.
Lily had been...well, Lily had been a disaster. His love for her had only ever been unrequited, but that was the only thing he had to compare his relationship with Hermione to. He had loved Lily at first sight, but that didn't mean the same had happened with Hermione. The attraction he felt towards her in the beginning hadn't been love, and it had been unwanted. But had it grown into such? "Brilliant."
Severus shook himself, and pushed all thoughts on the subject of the disastrous 'L' word out of his mind. It was far, far too early in their relationship to be thinking anything of the sort. Two months was hardly enough time to love someone. No one said there was a proper time.
"Go away." He didn't want to deal with the stupid voice in the back of his head. That voice could go buggar off for all he cared. It popped up in the most annoying manner, and he was quite through with it.
At that moment, the ringing bell signifying a customer walking in sounded, and Severus was immensely thankful for the distraction.
Severus looked at the clock, and found himself quite relieved. It was half past six, a more than appropriate time to close the shop up for the evening. Plus, it was getting in to the late evening and he suspected that Hermione would be home and waiting for him.
He started inventory, and kept his mind focused on the task at hand, refusing to think of why Hermione hadn't contacted him at all. He counted the shelves and their contents, and was satisfied with the list. He exited the shop quickly, locking the door securely behind him. He headed past the wards, and stood there for a few seconds. He shrugged, and headed down the street. A quick walk always helped to clear his head. His house was only a few blocks down, anyways. It was almost quicker just to walk.
He arrived home in a few minutes, and didn't waste any time entering the house. Eager beyond himself, he walked into the sitting room. A small pang of disappointment sliced through him at the absence of Hermione's mane of hair. Severus turned sharply and headed upstairs, knocking quickly on her bedroom door. Hearing no answer, he opened it to find the room empty.
Severus growled. It was highly unthoughtful of her to say she would be back by a certain time, and not alert him to any changes. They lived together, damn it. Didn't she know that he would be concerned about her?
Finding himself getting angry, Severus called for Fergus. The elf appeared instantly, and bowed deeply. "Mas–" the elf coughed abruptly. "Sir."
"Has Miss Granger entered the house at all?"
"No sir," Fergus replied. "I had thought the Mistress Sn–Granger was out with you."
Severus shot Fergus a glare at his mistake, but he couldn't say anything about it because the elf had caught himself. "Nothing at all? She didn't stop by to pick anything up by any chance?"
"No, sir. Nothing."
Severus nodded curtly, and Fergus disappeared. He ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath. Hermione was an adult, not a child. She didn't have to tell him every little detail of what she was doing. Stomping back down stairs, he sat on his chair and stared moodily at the rug. If nothing happened by tomorrow, he would go to Longbottom's house and take her back himself.
Hermione opened an eye warily, trying to ignore the pounding in the back of her head. Taking a deep breath, she waited for the fog of sleep to lift. Vaguely, she realised her hands were tied. My hands are tied?
She sat up, and looked down. Her hands were tied, along with her feet. What the hell?She was in a bed, though. A familiar feeling one. She jerked up, and scanned the room. This was her room.
Or, it was before she moved in with Severus. Her eyes widened. Severus! She hadn't been home, and she told him she would be back by mid-afternoon at the latest. That brought up another question, what time was it?
Hermione laid back down. Her gut told her she wasn't in any immediate danger, and she needed to calm her mind down. She was tied up, in her old bed, in her old room. She figured it was safe to assume that she was in Ron's apartment. Damn.
Ron. That's right. He had approached her outside of Neville's house, but after that Hermione couldn't quite recall what had happened. She certainly couldn't remember how she got her. Wiggling her hands together experimentally, she stopped suddenly. Funnily enough, something Ron had said to her years ago floated across her mind. "Are you a witch or not?"
Smirking despite the strange situation, she focused hard on the ropes, and an unbinding spell. Nothing happened. She frowned. That was an unbelievably easy spell to complete, and she was quite adept at wandless magic. Why didn't it work?
At that moment, the bedroom door opened, and Ron walked in holding a tray. "Hello, Hermione," he said amicably as he set the tray down.
"Ron. What are you doing? What time is it? Where are we?"
Ron gave her a sympathetic look. "Well, you woke up pretty late, but it's about five in the afternoon. I placed a sleeping charm on you because you kept kicking in your sleep., and I think I cast it too strongly, because you just continued sleeping. And we're in a safe place, don't worry." Ron offered her a cautious smile. "I figured out what he's done to you, 'Mione. I really have. You don't have to worry anymore, or feel confused. I rescued you."
Hermione stared at Ron as she tried to comprehend what he had just said. "Wait. Rescue me?"
Ron nodded eagerly, and Hermione burst out laughing; the entire situation had become clear to her. "So, you kidnapped me because you think I'm what, under the Imperious curse or something?"
If Ron was offended by her outburst, he didn't show it. "Well, I don't know if it's that yet, but I know he's done something to you, 'Mione, and I intend to find out what exactly he's done, and reverse it."
Hermione tried hard to get her laughter under control. The entire situation she found herself in was just too amusing, though. Ron's skill in magic was, all though he had improved greatly over the years, was next to nothing compared to hers, let alone Severus's. That he had managed something like this was impressive, for him.
Also, she had been friends with Ron for ten years. Somehow, she couldn't be afraid even though she was tied up, and effectively at his mercy since her wandless magic wasn't working. "Ron. This stupidity is ridiculous, even for you. Let me go. You know exactly how I feel about you, and believe me, it's the truth. Even if I hadn't become reacquainted with Severus, how I feel about you doesn't change."
"See? The Hermione I knew would have forgiven me, especially if she knew how sorry I was. This isn't you, 'Mione," Ron said in a tone of voice that suggested he was talking to a confused child.
Hermione felt all the amusement she found in the situation drain completely. He honestly believed that Severus had coerced her into living and being with him. She felt the anger boil up in her and she glared at Ron. "Ron. Stop this absolute nonsense. Now."
Ron arched an eyebrow at her menacing tones but stayed where he was, a mulishly stubborn look on his face. "No, Hermione. You need help, even if you can't see it yet. I'm going to make you fall back in love with me."
Severus felt himself getting more and more irritated as the evening went on. It was getting close to midnight, and there was still no word from Hermione. He hadn't felt this anger since the stupid Weasley boy had arrived on his doorstep. Well, it wasn't quite the amount of rage he had felt seeing the redheaded prick's face. But he was still angry. Where the hell was Hermione? Why hadn't she told him where she was going if she was staying out later?
You knew this would happen. She's come to her senses.
Severus stiffened, and shoved the gloom that had settled over him at that thought off. He was too angry to be pitying himself. Hermione was an adult, and as such she should know that she held a responsibility towards those who cared for her. Never mind that it was terribly unsafe to not alert someone to your location. Even though he was mostly sure he knew where she was. She was probably still at Longbottom's, he told himself firmly.
It had been a while since she had been out with her friends, admittedly, and she probably just wanted to spend another night with them. Even though it was very uncharacteristic of her not to alert him to her plans. She was always thoughtful and responsible. Sighing, he got up and headed upstairs to his bedroom. He left the front door unlocked, knowing that only Hermione could come through the wards. He left his bedroom door open as well, just in case.
Placing the covers over himself, he stared at the ceiling. Despite reasoning with himself, he was still inexplicably angry. He didn't know whether it was because of how distressed he was at Hermione's actions, or all the insecurities he had slowly resurfacing. But whatever it was, he was pissed. And couldn't fall asleep.
Severus slammed his fist on the bed and groaned in frustration. It wasn't right for him to be this angry. Yes, Hermione should have been responsible. But she was capable of making her own decisions, and if they were going to be in a relationship together than Severus had to accept that some of those decisions wouldn't include him.
But why she couldn't find the time to simply floo call him or send one of her dunderhead friends owls? It wasn't that difficult, and just a word or two from her would have satisfied him.
He heaved a sigh. Here come the doubts, the questions, the insecurities. Oh, why couldn't sleep come to him?
"You honestly believe this, don't you?" Hermione said coldly, as she stared at Ron. The evening had passed slowly, with Hermione saying nothing despite Ron's prompts. He tried to feed her, read to her, mentioned something vague about some Potions debate that was going on. Hermione stoically ignored it all, until just then.
Ron jerked up at the sound of Hermione's voice, looking hopeful. "I do, 'Mione. You need help. No one in their right mind could willing be around Snape, and I want to make you fall back in love with me, as well as break whatever enchantment the git has put on you."
"You're absolutely deluded. When are you going to let me go?"
"When I'm satisfied that you won't go running back to him."
"Running ba – Merlin, Ron, I can't fucking believe you," Hermione said. "I never, ever want to get back together with you. Ever. And honestly, you have most certainly ruined any chance of becoming friends again. Let me go. I won't ever speak to you again, you won't hear from me. You can keep all the things in the apartment. I won't interfere with your friendship with everyone else. You can move on in peace."
"I don't want to move on, Hermione. I want to be with you. And I know we can be happy, it'll just take time. You'll see."
"You're fucking insane!"
"And it looks like you're tired," Ron said, even though he paled visibly at her acid tones. "I'll be back in the morning. Tomorrow, you're eating, okay?"
Hermione glared at him icily. "I will not touch anything you give me."
"Fine, starve then," Ron spat at her. "Your mind will change tomorrow. Goodnight." He walked out and shut the door behind him. Hermione heard the click of a lock, and sighed heavily.
She would have never, never in a million years thought that Ron would be capable of kidnapping to in her affections back. Never minded that he kidnapped her. Ronald Weasley. Successfully kidnapped Hermione Granger. The very idea was laughable, and Hermione knew that if she wasn't so mind numbingly angry at Ron she would be laughing again at her situation.
Wait a minute. She was Hermione Granger. Hailed as the brightest witch of her age. She could outsmart Ron Weasley, couldn't she?
She laid back on the bed, and settled into the most comfortable position she could manage with her hands tied, and stared at the ceiling as she started to think.
Severus peered blearily around the room, he couldn't help himself from being disappointed when he realised Hermione wasn't laying beside him. He laid back down and waited for the fog of sleep to lift.
That's it. He was going to go to Longbottom's house and drag her home with him. He didn't care that she wanted to spend time with her friends. Two days was more than enough time to catch up, and he wanted her home.
He got up and got dressed quickly. He didn't bother rushing through his normal morning routine, though. He ate his breakfast and drank his tea with his usual deliberateness. He was scanning the morning paper when Fergus appeared by his side.
"Sir?"
"Glad to hear you remembered, for once. What is it?" he asked, not unkindly.
"Where is the Mistress Granger?"
"She isn't your mistress, Fergus. And she's at her friends house."
"Ah. I hope she isn't in trouble, sir."
Severus turned to look at the elf. "Why would you think that?"
"Sir may call it a gut feeling," the elf replied casually before disappearing with a loud crack.
Severus stared at the place the elf had been standing and felt the back of his neck prickle. House elves didn't have gut feelings like humans did. If something was wrong with one of the people they served, their magic usually warned them in some way.
Shrugging the feeling off, he finished his breakfast off and headed towards the sitting room. He settled down onto his armchair, and glanced at the clock. Quarter to 11. In a few hours, he would go to Longbottom's. Hermione had told him where it was, so there would be no issue in finding it.
The hours passed slowly, and when the clock struck two, he jumped up with an urgency he didn't know he had. He grabbed his cloak and headed outside, and stopped short on the doorstep before turning briskly and disappearing with a loud crack.
He appeared in front of a white gate, and proceeded opened it. The pathway led to a cozy looking small house, covered in ridiculous looking plants and shrubbery. Longbottom's house, indeed. His lip curled in disgust. He couldn't believe he was actually doing this. Sighing at himself, he raised his hand and knocked briskly on the door.
The door opened and riotous laughter could be heard before it stopped suddenly. "I, er, Professor Snape?" Longbottom said.
The stuttering. Again. Something really don't ever change. Severus sneered at him, and said "I am not your professor any more, Longbottom. While I understand that it may have taken you a few years to comprehend that fact, it's really time you do so."
Longbottom narrowed his eyes at him. In...annoyance? No more fear? Perhaps he has grown up.
"What are you here for, Mr. Snape?" Longbottom asked, his tones cooler than they were before.
"I am here for Miss Granger. She has work that needs to be done at the shop." Severus smirked inwardly. It was good to know that a few years hadn't lessened his ability to lie flawlessly.
Neville looked at Severus in surprise. "She went back two nights ago. I thought she was at home, with you."
What? Severus contained his surprise, keeping his exterior the same except for the rise of an eyebrow. "She left? When?"
"The night of the party. We all got drunk and she wanted none of it, so she left." Neville started to look worried. "Is anything wrong? Isn't she with you?"
Severus stayed silent as he digested Longbottom's words. Hermione had left the party on the night of. She hadn't come home. He paled. Containing himself, he nodded curtly at Longbottom and turned on his heel.
"Wait, Snape! Where's Hermione?"
He ignored the boy, too busy restraining his feelings to reply. With a quick twist, he disappeared and arrived on his doorstep. He raised a hand to the doorknob, and found himself mildly surprised to see his hand trembling violently. Ignoring it, he entered and hung his cloak up before heading to the sitting room and taking his customary seat.
Severus stared at the rug as a bone-chilling feeling of despair crept over him.
She left.
Are you all as pissed at Ron as I am? Goodness. Poor, poor Severus. If only he knew, his anger would be unbelievable... ;)