Chapter Two
Hermione was lost for words. She stared dumbfoundedly at the man in front of her and eventually his eyebrows narrowed in a familiar fashion as he glared at her. "Unusual for you to be so speechless Ms Granger." he remarked snidely, looking decidedly unimpressed.
She gulped, trying to compose herself and realised that Jeremy was still standing nearby. She glanced up at him and forced a smile onto her face. "I'm fine thankyou Jeremy. I was not expecting to see.." she paused, trying to find the right words.. finally settling on "an old friend tonight." She nodded, reassuring herself that she had said the right thing, and looked back at her old professor. "Would you care to join me?" she asked Professor Snape, motioning for him to join her table and desperately hoping that Jeremy would lose interest and walk away.
Jeremy seemed satisfied and wandered back to the bar as Severus begrudgingly got up from his seat and transferred to the one across from Hermione. The silence between them was awkward as he settled into his chair and it was obvious that neither of them wanted to be sitting next to the other; but as they were in a muggle establishment both thought it wise not to draw too much attention to themselves.
Hermione nervously took a drink of her red wine as she contemplated what to say next. She had not seen Professor Snape since shortly after the war had ended. In fact not many people had – he had become somewhat of a recluse after the demise of Lord Voldemort, shying away from the cameras and press that had wanted to hound him about how he had managed to deceive and bring about Voldemort's downfall and to be honest, she didn't blame him. Her fame as part of the "golden trio" made her uncomfortable at the best of times and whilst Ron had relished being in the limelight, Hermione had hated it.
She looked back up at the professor as he began to speak once more, breaking the silence between them. "If you insist on drinking wine with your meal, at least choose something better than that foul smelling liquid. It is an offence to the senses Ms Granger." He sneered, before taking another sip of the amber liquid in his own glass and diverting his eyes towards the musicians playing on the stage. "Well its not like I can just order up a butterbeer or some elven wine here is it!" she snapped back. Within a millisecond of the words leaving her lips though, it dawned on her just who she has spoken to in that manner, and bit her own tongue in shock.
I just snapped at Professor Snape! Bloody hell… Hermione you idiot. She mentally braced herself for the tongue lashing that would come next, but it never came. She looked at him, chewing on her bottom lip as she tried to work out what was going on. Was that a smirk? She wondered, looking at the strange sight of the corners of the grumpy bat of the dungeon's mouth, as they moderately curled upwards.
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"Indeed." He responded, trying to maintain his composure. Severus was surprised at the response from the Gryffindor girl – it was rare that anyone had the tenacity or courage to speak to him in such a manner, and he certainly hadn't expected it from this swot of a girl whom he had spent the better part of 7 years verbally tormenting just for the fun of it. Interesting. Perhaps my night is not ruined just yet… you have piqued my interest Ms Granger. He thought to himself.
When the girl did not respond further, he placed his own glass down on the table and decided on an attempt at civility. "I'm sure I could select something moderately better for you from the wine list of this paltry establishment if you intend on drinking further?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in her direction. He watched as she gave a small nod and let a breathe out. Good. He smirked internally. You're still intimidated by the dungeon bat. I've not lost my touch yet! He thought, and then reached for the ratty piece of cardboard on the table that resembled a wine list.
As he considered the wine list, he watched out of the corner of his eye as the girl picked up some bread and cheese and continued eating. She had matured since her schooling days and she no longer appeared as the bushy haired youthful sidekick of the boy-who-lived-twice. Her chestnut hair had been tamed into gentle curls that flowed down her back, and her figure was certainly more womanly than when he last saw her, but it was her eyes that intrigued Severus the most. Once full of fire, her eyes looked dull and lifeless. What has happened to the Gryffindor Princess? He pondered. And why is she here alone instead of celebrating the holiday season with her dull-witted friends? Hmm. Severus could feel his intrigue rising. He had certainly not planned to interact with anyone tonight, let alone Hermione Granger, but it seemed that for now, he was going to do just that. At least until the swot vexes me enough to drive me back to Spinner's End he mused.