Chapter Fifteen
"And heart shaped boxes" – Peter Gabriel
Hermione sat cross legged on one of the Infirmary cots, a book on one knee and a turkey sandwich on the other. It was late afternoon and the house elves had forced her to eat something. It was a really slow day in the infirmary, no one had come in since the morning. Hermione spent the entire time reading while Severus kept busy in the office. Taking another bite of her sandwich and turning her page Hermione had the strangest feeling wash over her, one she hadn't had before, the book she was reading had become incredibly boring to her. She sat back slowly staring at the tome in her lap, very rarely did Hermione find a book boring, and it had never happened inside Hogwarts before. Along with the feeling of boredom there was a weird tugging sensation behind her navel, tugging her body towards the office door. She closed her book and stood up, making her way to the door. She pressed her ear to it and was trying to hear if anything was happening inside, she leaned on the door pressing her ear as close as possible. Unfortunately that meant that when Severus threw the door open she fell into him, knocking his feet out from under him causing him to fall as well and the two landed in a heap on the floor. Hermione found herself tangled in his robe and… in his lap? She was sure how that happened as he fell on top of her. She struggled to get up, which cause her to do nothing more that squirm in Severus's lap. She continued to try to get up until two hands gripped her shoulders tightly, she looked up to her professor whose jaw was clenched and his eyes burned. Hermione assumed he was angry and promptly stopped moving. Severus, still gripping her shoulders, stood up from under her and quickly pulled her up. Hermione could still see his eyes burning even though he was trying not to look at her, "Can you manage the Infirmary for a while?" He asked through clenched teeth. She nodded, she couldn't find her voice, she'd never seen him look this way before. He swept from the room and turned towards the dungeons. Hermione collapsed onto a cot and tried to catch her breath, her heart was racing and her skin was burning. She had no clue why she felt this way but she needed to get a hold of herself before some came in and found her like this.
~*HGSS*~
Severus walked swiftly to his quarters, throwing the doors open and quickly making his way to his bathroom sink. He gripped the granite fixture hard and looked at himself in the mirror, he was panting hard and even he noticed that there was an unsated fire in his eyes, a burning that matched that which he swore was under his skin. He turned his sink on and let his teaching robe fall to his feet, he unbuttoned his shirt and untucked in. Severus leaned over his sink and splashed the cold water on his face, trying to cool himself down. Hermione's squirming caused more problems than Severus was willing to deal with right now. He may not be willing to admit much else at this point, but he could at least admit that Hermione was an attractive young lady, and he hadn't had a women in his lap in multiple years, and the fact that she had been wiggling around had caused a painful, embarrassing problem that he prayed Hermione hadn't noticed.
Severus turned his shower on, making it as cold as bear before getting in. As the cold water beat on his back his mind wandered, and his hand found the scar on his right side, where the scar that Hermione had healed by herself was. It was slightly raised, definitely not done by a professional, but it made him remember how well she handled herself. For a student who had only dealt with small injuries and only watched someone deal with the after effects of a Death Eater meeting. No matter how much he didn't want to admit it, Hermione was a talented young witch. In more ways than one.
Soon Severus started to shiver and he left the shower, sufficiently cooled down. He dried himself off, redressed and exited his bathroom. He found Lottie waiting for him in his study, "Miss Granger asked me to tells Master that he can rest for the afternoon, if he wants." She relayed. Severus let out a breath and immediately sat in his arm chair, he felt his muscles relax and he held out a hand, he grinned at the faint pop and the cool touch of a whiskey glass. He swirled the amber liquid and took a whiff before taking a sip, everything about the liquor calmed him. He laid his head back against the chair and closed his eyes, so far into his head that he didn't hear his study door open. Lucius stepped into the study and smirked at his oblivious friend, he walked up and sat down in the opposite chair and a glass of firewhiskey popped into his hand. He cleared his throat and Severus opened one eye and looked at him. "Not heading back to work?" Severus asked. "Please, I took the entire day off for this." Lucius replied "You know, have to sort out my troubled son and all." Severus scoffed at his friend and sipped his drink. "So you've chosen to leave Miss Granger to her lonesome?" The blonde man asked. Severus took a deep breath trying to prepare himself for the onslaught of teasing. "Miss Granger can handle the infirmary by herself for one afternoon." The dark haired man responded. "I'll return to relieve her at dinner." Lucius smirked into his drink, he knew that Severus was doing his best to reject his budding friendship with the girl. He knew that the younger man was desperate for friendship, though it never showed. Severus truly loved having people that cared about him, but there were very few who actually did. Lucius and Narcissa were always there for him, as well as Poppy, but that was really it. No one else trusted him 100%, so it would really help if there was someone else in his corner, someone else trying to keep him alive.
The two sat in silence, Severus reading his Journal and Lucius going through paperwork, until a small chiming in Severus's room signaled dinner. "Well I guess that means that you have to return to Miss Granger. Or Hermione, is it?" Lucius teased, Severus glared at him as he left, the smirk not leaving the blonde man's lips as he stepped into the floo. After he left the dark haired man made his way up to the infirmary so Hermione could go down to dinner. As he reached the doors he could he faint voices and moaning inside, he pushed the door open and swept his cloak out behind him, making his signature entrance. At the end cot, closest to the office, stood Hermione and a 5th year Ravenclaw girl, they were standing over another Ravenclaw, a boy who looked to be in the same year as the girl. All eyes snapped to him as the door banged against the wall, he saw the two Ravenclaws' eyes widen as their least favorite teacher strode towards them, Severus was surprised to see that Hermione looked sheepish, the Gryffindor was usually in her element in the infirmary even when facing the Potions Master. "I came here to relieve you, Miss Granger, but it looks like you have company." He drawled as he reached the cot. "Yes sir, Mr. Havock broke his arm in three places. We were just waiting for the numbing salve to take effect," Hermione explained, avoiding the professor's eyes. "Well I'm here now so go off to dinner. Don't come back here after, either. Go to your common room." He said, Hermione finally made eye contact with him and Severus saw hurt in her eyes. He softened his look in hope that she would understand that he wasn't being mean. The hurt faded and she nodded and left the room.
*HGSS*
Hermione left the Infirmary but she didn't go to dinner, she left the castle and went down to the lake. She pulled her shoes and socks off and sat with her feet in the water, kicking water across the lake every now and then. She heard foot steps behind her, she turned and was surprised to find Faye behind her. Her roommate say down next to her and dipped her own toes into the water. "What are you doing out here?" Hermione asked. "I saw you leaving the castle on my way out of dinner, thought I'd join you." The other girl answered. The two girls sat in silence for a minute before Faye started talking again, "Are you excited to be back to classes tomorrow?" Hermione nodded, "Yeah, I miss learning I guess, and I haven't been to the library at all since I started working in the Infirmary."
"And we have potions first thing tomorrow." Faye said, Hermione nodded in response. "Do you think Professor Snape may go easy on you now since you worked together?" She asked. Hermione snorted at the thought. "Please, Professor Snape doesn't even go too easy on his own house. Why would he go easy on me?" She responded. Even if she did have feelings for him, she'd never want him to go easy on her, the way he treated her pushed her to do her best. Hermione knew she'd never reach the point of impressing him, but she tried. Faye shrugged, "I guess that would be wishful thinking, wouldn't it?" Hermione laughed, "I feel like if a Gryffindor ever thought that Professor Snape would go easy on them for any reason, they would need to be sent to St. Mungo's sanity ward immediately." Faye giggled in agreement.
The two girls sat together at the lake for a while before they agreed to head back. They walked into their dorm and retired to their own beds. Hermione fell asleep and was assaulted by dreams of her Professor.
A/N HULLO! I MISSED YOU GUYS! I've been really busy. Between working and planning my wedding I haven't had a lot of time to write. Hence why the sad little chapter is a sad little chapter. Sorry its so short but I wanted to give you guys something. In other news I got a kitten. Which I named after our favorite dungeon bat. Please leave reviews and follow my social medias! *love hearts*