Author's Notes: So I hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter, these two are finally cracking and it's going to big in a nice big bang :P So stick with it because there's going to be some ups and downs in the next few chapters that I hope you're going to enjoy. This is going to be a bit more of a light hearted chapter I think after the downer that was Luna's book and Severus throwing Hermione out. I might change my mind when I'm done writing it though...I really should do the Author's Notes when I finish the chapter! Ah well, here goes!
Disclaimer: You know the drill by now, I don't own it blah blah blah!
Chapter Twenty
Severus polished most of the bottle of firewhisky off before succumbing to tiredness and heading to his bed. Unfortunately sleep evaded him. He tried reading, tried just lying with his eyes shut and he tried reciting potions ingredients in his head. The same image kept flitting around in his head, Hermione clutching at him desperately.
He had considered the fact that there was an attraction there a couple of times before but he had never planned on acting on it. Grabbing her and kissing her like he did was crossing a serious line in his mind. How could he have lost control like that? She had kissed him back which had surprised him; he hadn't expected to ever know the taste of her mouth or to have felt her moan against his lips.
He had to stop things before he let himself get carried away. A moment longer of her lips on his and he would have been clinging to her like a lifeline and dragging her into his bedchamber. She deserved far better than that. He sighed and stared up at the ceiling; she deserved better than him.
Still no matter how inappropriate it would be, no matter how much he told himself he was not going to pursue her in any way...it didn't change the images plaguing his mind. He could feel his body reacting even now.
Eventually he gave up on sleep and made his way to the staff bathroom in an attempt to relax his body's reactions, failing that he could swim until it went away.
Hermione was surprised to see that the dour Potions Master sat at the table when she went to breakfast the next morning. He didn't speak to her and didn't even so much as grunt or look at her when she said good morning.
"Don't take it personally dear, that was the greeting I got as well." Minerva told her as Hermione took her seat.
"Oh don't worry if I was going to take anything personally it wouldn't be that." Hermione replied. "I'm actually surprised he came to breakfast at all as opposed to sulking in his office instead."
"I do not sulk!" the dark haired wizard barked suddenly. Minerva eyed the younger witch curiously and smiled when Hermione turned and patted Severus on the hand.
"So you are physically capable of talking to me then?" she asked. "Alright, that's fine then. You can go back to ignoring me now."
"I was not ignoring you, you insolent witch." He growled at her. Hermione didn't reply to him and instead finished her breakfast in silence leaving the man to stew. She finished just before he did and bid everyone a good day before excusing herself.
With that she left him and made her way out of the Great Hall. She cringed to herself as she went, she shouldn't have goaded him like that. Nobody goaded Severus Snape without a death wish but she was just so frustrated with him. He could have just told her no and let them pretend it never happened. He didn't have to scream at her and then ignore her.
No sooner had the doors of the Great Hall shut behind her than she felt her stomach clench in pain. She gripped at her abdomen with one arm and braced herself against the wall with the other. She had been having these pains on and off for weeks now and there didn't seem to be a pattern to it at all. They had also been getting more painful so once the worst of the pain had passed she decided to go to the infirmary to get it checked out just in case.
She made her way up the staircases to the fourth floor and sat waiting in the hospital wing for Madam Pomfrey to arrive from her breakfast.
"Hermione dear, what can I do for you?" the medi-witch asked as she entered the room.
"I'm sure it's nothing, but I've been having some pains so I thought I'd ask you to check." Hermione replied.
"Alright, over here then lass and let's get a look at you." The older woman said, ushering her towards the closest bed and charming the curtains closed behind them. "Sit up here and explain the problem." Hermione sat on the edge of the bed as instructed and gestured to her abdomen.
"I keep getting pains here, to start with they were just the occasional twinge but now...it's happening more often and they hurt a lot more." She explained. The medi-witch cast a diagnostic charm over her and frowned. She then got Hermione to lie on the bed while she checked her stomach more closely.
"Is there any pattern to the pains? Particular time of the month perhaps or after exercise, after sexual intercourse, eating – anything like that?" Poppy asked.
"No, no pattern at all." Hermione replied.
"I can't find anything at all wrong with you Hermione." The medi-witch sighed. "I will have a look into any tomes I can find for anything similar but...for now I can't find anything. Will you come back to me if it continues?"
"Yes, of course." Hermione nodded, feeling both relieved and disappointed. She was relieved that there didn't appear to be a problem but worried that she was having pains that she couldn't explain.
Hermione made her way back along the fourth floor to the staircases and then started the trek down to the dungeons; she didn't mind that the staircases moved a couple of times today since she wasn't in much of a hurry. She thought back to her grouchy Professor and sighed; he needed someone. He made it quite clear that he wasn't interested in any kind of romantic relationship with her last night but that didn't mean she was giving up on him. She hadn't been sure who and initiated the kiss but she assumed that since he pushed her off that it had been her that had made the first move. She couldn't believe she had been that bold but that wasn't exactly the point.
Severus Snape didn't want her and it stung. She couldn't help the fact that she felt a little wounded about it. It wouldn't keep her away from him though; he needed someone that saw through his cold exterior. If she couldn't be anything else she was still his colleague and hopefully his friend. She wanted to be there for him when he needed her...she would just have to learn to keep her hormones in check next time.
It wasn't until she reached the dungeon corridor and the potions lab that she realised something – he cared about her in some way too. She didn't want to read too much into it since he did push her away and kick her out of his rooms just yesterday but...he had made sure that she had dinner when she had missed it. It wasn't a massive thing but it was something. He had thought about her when he didn't have to. He could have had an elf leave the food under stasis in her room for her; instead he had invited her to his...why? She blinked in surprise to herself; he had wanted to check that she was alright.
She set up her work station still deep in thought and never noticed the object of her thoughts entering the room until she heard his office door shut. She glanced at the closed door in disappointment, so he wasn't done avoiding her yet then.
She got out her notes and started brewing from where she had left off. She was hoping her second experimental potion would also be a success. With the students returning in mere days her time was about to get very limited.
Fortunately a couple of hours later her efforts paid off as she found that although she hadn't finished her potion most of the experimental ingredients were added already with so far no negative effects.
"BUGGER!" came a shout from the other side of his door. Frowning he made his way quickly around his desk to the door to check on the girl. He shouldn't really have left her while she was experimenting but he knew her presence would distract him from working as it was so he wouldn't have been paying a great deal of attention to her cauldron.
"Bugger Bugger, bugger bugger!" Hermione chanted as she gathered anything on her desk that hadn't been ruined by the cauldron boiling over.
"Miss Granger, if you are quiet finished?" he drawled. She turned to look at him and flushed in embarrassment.
"Sorry, I'm just getting really annoyed now." She groaned. "I thought I was going to finish it today and instead...well...the result is fairly obvious."
"Quite." He agreed. "I suggest then that you perhaps take a break for lunch and try again this afternoon?"
"You know what the worst part is?" she asked, dumping the dirty cauldron in the large metal tub. "I was two ingredients away from finishing it and it gets even better than that! The ingredient that caused this – was salt! Three pinches of stupid salt! An ingredient that can be found on the table with fish and chips and it blows up my potion!"
Severus felt his lips quirk of their own accord while he watched her stomp around the room in her rage. She was brilliant. She was so enthusiastic and so caught up in her work, so driven...he didn't know how he had ever thought anyone else would fit this position. He couldn't imagine anyone storming around his classroom, his store cupboards...anyone but her.
"I'm sorry, I'm done now." Hermione said finally. "I just really wanted to get another potion out of the way before the school year started."
"Perhaps you have now learnt the result of rushing your work?" he asked her.
"Yes, yes." She sighed. "Lunch then?"
"I shall be going up shortly, I must finish the essay I was on before your racket made itself known." He replied. Hermione nodded and made her way out. She was glad that Severus was still willing to speak to her after what happened. She had been worried that he would avoid her forever. It was strange; in the last nine months as his apprentice she had learned a lot about the man that so few knew anything about. Now she couldn't imagine not having him around in some form or other just to share witty banter with.
She had to laugh to herself at that thought, what would Harry and Ron have to say when she went to the Burrow this weekend?
"You're looking in good spirits this afternoon Hermione." Minerva greeted her as they met at the entrance to the Great Hall.
"Actually yes, I suppose I am." She replied.
"Most unusual, since she was ranting about her ruined potion not five minutes ago." A voice came from behind them.
"The walk clearly did me good." Hermione laughed. "I think ranting helped actually; I can see why you do it so often."
"I do not rant." He snorted indignantly.
"Oh Severus, a bigger lie was never told! You manage to make students cry with your rants even in the summer holidays." The headmistress retorted as the three reached their seats. "How are you feeling about starting to teach next week Hermione dear?"
"Nervous." She replied honestly. "Even if it's just the classes that know me already, it won't take long for them to realise that Professor Snape is busy teaching Defence and not in his office..."
"Do not let them know that you're nervous for Merlin's sake as I will not be in either the classroom or the office to use as a threat, they'll eat you alive once they find that out!" Severus commented rolling his eyes.
"Can you honestly tell me that you weren't nervous teaching your first class?" Hermione asked him, lifting her drink to her lips.
"Fortunately Slytherin's are not well known for their honesty." He replied smugly. Hermione saw the headmistress' lips quirk on the other side of her as she stared at her potions master in disbelief.
"You know sometimes I forget that you're a Slytherin." Hermione replied with a straight face. "Sometimes I think you should have been in Gryffindor." Silence fell over the staff table as Severus looked like he'd swallowed a lemon whole for a moment. Soon the sniggers began and then the whole staff table was laughing at what was potentially the worst insult Hermione could have possibly given the head of Slytherin.
"Yes well, I think we all know precisely how misleading that old hat can be." Severus replied. "After all Hermione whilst your foolish bleeding heart may be befitting of your house we all can attest to the fact that your thirst for academics belongs in Ravenclaw and of course your conniving female ways would firmly put you in Slytherin."
"I like to think of it as embracing house unity." The young witch said cheekily. Minerva let out a rich laugh at that.
"Oh Severus, I think you're rubbing off on her a little too much!" She chuckled. "Please do try not to ruin my Gryffindor would you? I was rather hoping that she would be a future head of house."
"Oh I think that Hermione would consider Slytherin's to be much better that Gryffindor's, don't you agree?" Hermione saw the way he was looking at her and pursed her lips. He was calling in his bet.
"Oh yes Professor Snape I totally agree with you." She said with a big smile and silence fell across the staff table once more.