After a month in the employ of Severus Snape, Hermione was bored. She had officially run out of creative ideas to keep herself busy around the house. Now that everything had been gone over, it took far less time to maintain it. The estate was large enough that she still had work to do, but not nearly enough to justify a full time job. So what was she supposed to do? There was a part of her that was afraid to mention it to Severus. It was possible that if he realized that the estate didn't require enough work to keep her busy, he might decide he didn't need a live-in care taker, after all. And then, she would be back to where she'd started. It wasn't a pleasant prospect. In spite of that, she didn't think she could simply fudge her time and pretend that she was utilizing all the day working. It felt deceptive to take his money and assistance for work she wasn't doing. She might not always have been honest to a fault with him in school, but she did have a sense of honor that she wouldn't compromise.
That evening, after she put Atticus to bed, Hermione cast her monitoring charm and went in search of Severus. She was unsurprised to find him in the library, reading. At her soft rap on the open door, he let the book he'd been holding drop forward against his chest.
"Hermione," he greeted, gesturing her inside. It was amazing to her just how natural her name had come to sound on his lips. It had taken her perhaps a little longer to get used to calling him by his given name, but now even that had become easy.
"I was wondering if I might have a minute to speak with you?"
Severus raised one brow. "That sounds serious. Is everything alright?" He closed the book and laid it on the table next to him beside a tumbler of glittering amber liquid.
"Yes, everything is fine- well, sort of." She perched on the chair near his and made a conscious effort not to twist her hands nervously. "It's just, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but-"
"Hermione." He said her name slowly, almost sensuously, this time. "It's not like you to be so nervous. Have I done anything to make you so ill at ease?" He searched her eyes, barely restraining the urge to rest his hand on her knee. But he couldn't be sure she would welcome the touch, and worse, he wasn't certain he trusted himself to stop at such innocent contact.
"No, of course not." Hermione took a deep breath and reminded herself that he was right. He'd been nothing but gracious to her. Yes, her livelihood and her ability to provide for her son depended on this job, but he'd never done anything to even hint that he would leave her in the lurch. "It's just that I'm finding it takes less and less time to keep up the house and gardens. It took quite a while to get them put to rights, but now that it's all done, it doesn't take me anywhere near all day to maintain things. I've been coming up with various projects to keep myself busy, but even still, I'm starting to have down time that I don't have any work to fill with."
Severus looked confused. "That's a good thing, isn't it?"
"Well, sort of. I'm glad that things are in order, but you're paying me for full time work, more than that, really, and I'm not doing that much work any more."
"I am paying you to maintain the estate. Part of the reason the salary was set at what it is, was because that meant unusual hours. It meant being on hand for when issues would arise. It doesn't matter to me at all how many hours your work actually takes, provided you aren't working yourself too hard. As long as the estate is running smoothly, what you do with the rest of your time is entirely up to you."
"It just feels... like I'm taking advantage of your generosity. I don't think I'm truly earning what you're paying me."
"While I appreciate your honesty, I hope you will allow me to put your concerns to rest. I am extremely happy with the work you've done on the house and gardens thus far. Things are running more smoothly than they ever have, and it is making my life far easier not to have to worry about them. Keep in mind that you aren't just being paid for individual hours you work, but for the convenience of having you on hand to resolve problems immediately, as well as the inconvenience to you of being so far from civilization. The fact that you accomplish everything required of you, while watching your son, in so little time, is a testament to your efficiency and hard work. It doesn't make me feel as if your salary is unearned in the slightest."
Hermione sat silently for several minutes, thinking about what he said. It was better than she'd been hoping for, but still she felt unsettled. At the least, she thought he would give her additional tasks to fill her time. Prep work in the lab, perhaps? The idea of doing nothing more to earn her pay was a little disquieting. Still, he had no reason to give her charity. He'd offered the salary before he knew she would answer his advert, and if he said he was happy with the work she was doing, then she should believe him. "Alright," she agreed tentatively. "So long as you know I have plenty of time available if you happen to come up with any extra work you'd like me to be doing."
"Of course," he acknowledged, not bothering to say that she was already doing above and beyond what he expected and he wouldn't ever have any extra tasks for her.
"Okay, then. I'll let you get back to your book. Sorry to have interrupted you." She started to rise, and this time, Severus didn't manage to restrain the hand that ventured out to touch her. His fingers alighted on her arm and she paused.
"You are welcome to stay, if you'd like. I seem to recall you having a particular love of libraries in your youth. This one certainly doesn't measure up to the library at Hogwarts, but between Albus' books and my own, there is plenty of selection."
"There is a fantastic selection," Hermione blurted, looking around excitedly. She'd been in the library often enough to dust and organize, and always the rows of books had called to her. "If I'm not intruding?"
"Not at all. I wouldn't have offered-"
"If you didn't mean it," Hermione finished for him with a smile. "I'm coming to truly believe that."
"As well you should. In point of fact, I think the company would be a refreshing change. Most of my evenings are spent in solitary pursuits, and while I am not averse to being alone, companionship does have its appeal. Even during a relatively silent activity."
"In that case, I accept your offer gladly." She strolled around the room trying to decide what book to choose. There were several that had caught her eye while she'd been cleaning. But which to read first?
"Would you care for a glass of firewhiskey? Or would wine better suit your palate?"
Hermione looked over at the grandfather clock by the door to check the time. She didn't often drink because she was always afraid Atticus would need something and she worried about tending to him while even slightly inebriated. But Atticus was deeply asleep and would stay asleep for another eight hours at least. "Maybe just a dram of firewhiskey." She could hear him pouring her a glass while she selected a book and returned to the chairs by the fire. He handed her the tumbler once she sat, then took a drink from his own.
"You are welcome to use the laboratory as well as the library to fill your time," he offered. "Of course, we would need to take care not to cross contaminate any brews, but otherwise, mea tua sunt."
"Wow, that's very... generous." She stopped herself from asking if he really meant the offer. "I'm surprised, considering how you were about the labs at school."
He raised one shoulder nonchalantly. "Being demanding about how space is managed when a group of children are handling potentially explosive ingredients is only prudent. You are a responsible, intelligent adult. I trust you not to blow us to hades. Besides, apart from your penchant for whispering instructions to Longbottom when the boy was supposed to be doing his own work, you never gave me reason to doubt your abilities in my craft."
Hermione sputtered on her drink. "First of all, you just said that children handling dangerous ingredients was a problem. It would have been much worse with Neville without him getting a little extra help. And second, you could have fooled me. I thought you had all the confidence of a niffler in water in my brewing skill." She half expected him to sneer at her and make some back-handed comment, and she had no doubt that the old Professor Snape would have. But Severus only chuckled.
"And you thought me inept enough to not prevent the boy from causing irreparable damage? Now I think it is my skill in question. Besides, I don't recall ever telling you that your potions were unsatisfactory. That in itself was high praise considering the circumstances."
"I didn't doubt your ability to keep him from messing up, but he was so terrified of you that I thought it was better for everyone involved if he got some help from someone who didn't intimidate him so much." Hermione tilted her nose up at him in mock indignation, enjoying their banter immensely.
"Oh, really?" Severus took another drink of his whiskey and cocked his head at her slightly. "You didn't think that when it mattered, when lives were on the line, that he could find his own courage and follow through? Because if I recall correctly, the last time that happened, he slaughtered Voldermort's snake... I'd say he managed perfectly well on his own." He tossed back the rest of his drink and smirked at Hermione as she gaped at him.
"Well... well... yes. Fine." She hid her grin behind a huff of annoyance. "Technically, you're right."
"Ah, ah," Severus chided. "No sore losers. But just to prove that I'm such a good sport, if you can admit that you should have let the boy find answers, and his courage, by himself, I'll admit that it was partly you and your friends' encouragement that brought him out of his shell."
"Alright, that's fair." Hermione laughed and took another sip of her drink. Severus inclined his head in acceptance and then plucked his book from the side table. She had almost forgotten that they were there to read. Despite how excited she was to get started on her book, she realized that she was just as happy to converse with Severus. She'd enjoyed their banter immensely and hoped they could repeat the verbal sparring soon.
Smiling, she turned to her own book and let herself become engrossed in the pages until her eyes grew heavy and she excused herself to go up to bed. Severus wished her a good night and turned his eyes back to his book, denying himself the pleasure of watching her backside as she walked away.
