AN: Chapter 5!
He noticed when she started looking out of the corner of her eye occasionally. It was less than a week after he'd taken up invisible residence in her home, at her side. It wasn't as if he had anywhere else to be…and she wasn't in some lust-filled haze when he was around her. She was good company, if largely silent. She rarely vocalized as she made notations, didn't sing in the shower or mutter to herself as she went about her daily routine.
But she did seem to look out of the corner of her eye more than most people.
So it was somewhat shocking when she put down her book on a Friday evening as her neighbors rattled her lighting fixtures and called his name.
"Severus?"
He was momentarily stunned, then flabbergasted, then amused. Of course she'd found him out. They didn't call her the brightest witch of her age for nothing.
The real question was…to go or to stay?
One look in her bourbon-colored eyes convinced him that staying was the proper thing to do.
"I'm here."
She spun around…looking for him.
"This would be more comfortable if I could see you."
He sighed. "Of course Miss Granger."
"It's Hermione. If you're planning on haunting me for the rest of my life for my actions at the final battle the very least you can do is use by given name while doing it."
"Why would I haunt you?"
She wrinkled her brow in the most adorable way imaginable.
Her voice was very small. "Because we left you."
He couldn't help himself…he laughed.
"And what should you have done? Tried to save a known death eater while you should have been helping Potter save the Wizarding world? If you had doubted me enough to work to save me, Voldemort would have seen the doubt in Potter's mind and he would have killed me before I managed to get the blasted memories to the boy." He sighed thought back to those dark days of war. "I still can't believe that that crack-pot plan worked."
A startled laugh bubbled up from inside his companion. "Me either." She sobered quickly. "If you aren't here to haunt me, why…?"
"I'm not dead."
Her eyes widened and her mouth formed a wonderful happy sort of smile that tugged at his heart.
"But what have you been doing all this time…and why show yourself to me…now?"
He could tell her the truth…but would she believe him?
He ran a long pale finger over his mouth, thinking through every angle.
"I suppose you could say that I've been doing very detailed research into the history of magic. With sources that are a bit…unconventional. Being here, now is…part of what I've been doing these past five years."
She gave him a half-grin. "Mysterious as ever. I'll put the kettle on, and you can tell me how I can help."
He looked down his nose.
"What makes you think I need help?"
She didn't even turn as she headed to the kitchen. "Why else would you visit me?"
Why else indeed.
SS
He found himself telling her the whole story: "And so, with nary a moment to argue, I was handed a goblet and turned into this." He sneered at his own body. "I must admit that I don't mind relief from the various aches and twinges that I had collected over a lifetime of serving a madman…or two…."
She tried to hide a smile at his subtle jab at Dumbledore.
"That's why…"
"Why your neighbors are acting like nifflers in heat, yes." He shot a reproachful look at the wall.
He took a long sip of her tea, apparently organizing her thoughts. "I understand that…and the bit about the Gods…though Merlin, I'm not sure how to accept that…"
"It's best to think of them as people…they aren't anything like what we would expect of a true deity. All but a few of them have the emotional maturity of a three year old. Most of them are so wrapped up in their area of dominance that they don't really pay attention to the world around them, and some I could mention like Zeus and Eris are so short-sighted and petty they make Voldemort look like a brilliant long-ranger tactician with a huge capacity for mercy. From what I can tell, even the eldest of them are no more than four thousand years old."
She frowned "But that's even stranger in a way. It means that anyone with magic is actually part of this…"
"Family?" His voice dripped with companionable sarcasm.
She smiled slightly. "I'm fairly certain that's not the correct term…"
"Bloodline then." He took a quick sip of the tea. It was perfectly adequate, but lacked the kick he'd come to expect from nectar. "And according to the Olympians, that is correct."
"You don't trust them."
"That's not entirely correct. Athena is positively lovely. Hades is good company when he has a few minutes to chat. Hermes isn't a bad guy when he isn't running around after Zeus….Aphrodite? Well, as long as your interests align with her interests you are perfectly safe." He gave Hermione a half-smile. "Most of the rest of them? I don't trust them as far as I could toss Hagrid without magic."
"So why are you…"
"Accepting this? I had very little choice. No matter what their true origins are, their power is very real. I must admit that I prefer this existence, such as it is, to being dead. The power is a part of me now, and I find myself drawn to my area of supposed dominance."
She tried not to choke on her tea.
He smirked slightly. "Surprised."
She patted her mouth with a napkin lightly.
"A bit. You must admit you were fairly intolerant of liaisons during school."
"Pardon me if I saw it as my duty as a teacher to keep the hormonal dunderheads from procreating on school property. If I seemed annoyed, it was because I generally was during the years you were at Hogwarts."
"Only during those years?"
The corner of his mouth curled slightly. "I had my moments."
SS
As much as he enjoyed her company, nothing would make Severus agree to reveal his continued existence to the general public…and to her credit, Hermione agreed with him completely.
"Why should you? It's no one's business if you don't . If I had the opportunity to shed this entire persona, I'd take it in a minute. The papers follow me and Harry around looking for anything they can print. Ron barely speaks to either of us because of stories they've run…and Molly Weasley eyes me like a dog that is afraid I might steal her steak."
"I take it that she approves of the marriage between her daughter and Mr. Potter."
He was watching her carefully, but she didn't show any visible sign of unrequited love.
"Ginny will be perfect for Harry once she actually feels secure about him. She's just having a bit of trouble with the publicity. In between her Quidditch career and Harry's continued fame…" She shook her head slightly.
"She's jealous of you."
"I don't know about that. Harry and Ginny split up about the same time that Ron and I did the fall after Hogwarts. Harry and I didn't have anyone but each other. We sort of looked at each other one night and decided to give it a go. It didn't last long. I'm just glad that we managed to keep the friendship. Ginny and Harry started dating again about a year ago. I've been persistently single. It's just too difficult with the Prophet showing up every time I go on a first date."
"Thus, your current quandary about Potter's wedding."
"I don't see why I should have to bring a date simply to ease Ginny's paranoia."
"You shouldn't. But if you truly wish to bring someone, I can easily change my appearance to accompany you."
She looked torn. "I wouldn't want to impose."
He broke in with a silky assurance. "No imposition. Consider it a thank you for use of your library."
She glanced at her horde of books with a smug expression. "Just don't tell Ginny that I had to bribe you with reading material to get a date."
SS
In truth, Severus did have a slightly selfish reason for going to the wedding. He wanted to ascertain Hermione's true feelings toward Potter. If she did indeed love the dunderhead, he supposed he'd have to call in a favor and send Ginny Weasley to an uncharted island with an anti-apparition charm or some such nonsense. It would also be an ideal opportunity to observe Hermione among her peers.
To that end, he changed himself into a suave, classically handsome wizard. He was a bit shocked by the dismay on Hermione's face.
"You couldn't look a bit more like yourself?"
"My physiognomy is rather unmistakable….but if it would make you more comfortable…" He changed into a younger version of himself, with glasses. "This will not play well in the papers you know. They'll be ranting about my love child in tomorrow's edition."
She smiled up at him. "You would have had handsome sons."
He raised a brow. "I'll take you to see the goddess of glasses tomorrow."
AN: And there you are…expect chapter 6 Tuesday, though I admit I will post it earlier if I finish editing it first. My weeks are incredibly busy (I work 13 hour days, five days a week)