Chapter Three

Hermione sat quietly and nibbled on some more cheese and bread whilst trying not to convey any feelings of discomfort at being unexpectedly in a social situation with her old potions professor. This was definitely not how she had expected her night to go. She had planned to have a small meal, a few drinks to numb her feelings and then depart to her little apartment where she could bury herself under her doona and try to forget for a few more hours about the pending Christmas festivities.

Hermione.

You have to talk to him.

It would be rude not to.

Think. She said to herself. She had already almost finished her second glass of wine in less than an hour and it was making the process of thinking a little harder than normal. Which had been the whole point of her coming here.. but now she actually had to converse with someone, and not just anyone – a taciturn man who would take great pleasure in insulting her if she veered onto the wrong topic. Bracing herself, she swallowed her mouthful and took a breath.

"It's been some time since I last saw you Professor. You look well?" She commented, her voice rising at the end to infer a question. She was telling the truth – the last time she had seen him was at the awards ceremony where the ministry had bestowed Order of Merlin awards on the key players in the destruction of Voldemort, herself and Snape both being among the recipients. He had not long been discharged from the hospital after the horrific snake bite that he had received, and along with the sour demeanour he had about being forced to attend such a ceremony, his appearance then was pretty poor. Nagini's venom had caused his muscles to wither away, his skin had been grey and he had worn a thick scarf around his neck to stop people from gaping at the wound that still hadn't healed. In stark contrast, now his skin had a nice flush to it again, he had obviously regained the weight he had lost and his hair looked immaculately groomed, silky and black. She noticed as well that he was no longer hiding his neck from view. He was wearing a charcoal woollen knit jumper, trench-coat and slacks (black, obviously!) – the collar of his coat was high, but he wasn't actively shielding his neck from view anymore.

She watched as he placed the menu back on the table and murmured a response.

"I suppose so."

His voice was as deep and resonant as she remembered, and she looked at him with encouragement in her eyes, trying to coax more out of him.

"Did you select another beverage for me that is more to your liking?" she asked, as she reached for her glass and finished the last mouthful. He nodded, responding in the affirmative.

"Cheese and bread is better paired with a white wine than a red. If you drink white wine i would suggest the riesling. The selection here is limited, but I'm sure it will have a better aroma than the swill you are currently drinking."

Hermione smiled briefly, glad that he gave more than a few syllables in response. "Then I shall go to the bar and get more drinks. I take it, that is a whiskey in your glass?" She asked.

The professor gave a curt nod of his head, and she left the table to retrieve fresh beverages for them both.

«•»«•»«•»«•»«•»«•»

Severus contemplated their interaction whilst watching Ms Granger fetch the drinks. He had not expected to meet anyone he knew whilst visiting the area, and his evening was definitely not going as planned. Still, out of all of the students he had once taught, Ms Granger was probably the most intelligent he had ever come across and despite his constant berating of her know it all attitude whilst at Hogwarts, he was interested to know whether or not she had gone on to fulfill her potential, and secondly… he was curious to know why she was here alone when it was the festive season.

shouldn't she be at the burrow drinking eggnog with the Weasley's and celebrating this stupid holiday? he pondered.

He observed her body language as she made her way to the table with drinks in her hand, noticing that she seemed deflated. She was capable of putting a smile on her face when needed, but the smile never reached her eyes. This was definitely not the spirited version of Ms Granger that he remembered.

Perhaps she has finally realised that life is just that shit. He muttered to himself.

When she returned and placed the drink in front of him, he turned to speak to her again.

"thankyou Ms Granger. I find myself curious as to why you are here tonight. should you not be celebrating the holiday season with your….. friends?" his last word took a moment to spit out. Those imbeciles barely had 2 brain cells between them and how she could maintain a friendship with them given her intellect was beyond his understanding.

She looked up at him, chewing on her lip for a second before responding.

"Well, actually Professor I live not far from here now. I come here some nights after work to wind down. I quite like the music." She said, pausing for a moment as she tried not to let her emotions show. Her final response came out softly, as if she almost didn't want him to hear it.

"Spending Christmas day with them is more than enough time for this holiday." she said grimly.

Severus smirked, he couldn't agree more with the young witch. He was forced to attend the gathering once a year himself, since Minerva all but threatened to make weekly check-ins on him if he did not make an effort to socialise occasionally. Attending the Christmas gathering of the remnants of the order was one of the concessions he had been forced to make, just so he could be left alone for the majority of the year. He was about to comment on her statement, when she turned to ask him a question.

"What brings you here tonight Sir?"

Severus took a drink from his glass before responding.

"As it happens, I had a business meeting down the road today regarding some potions patents I have been working on. And whilst the beverage selection is highly inadequate, the music here is quite satisfactory." he finished.

He could see her interest stimulated at the mention of his work and for a while, they settled into a somewhat comfortable conversation about different potions and their efficacy. Severus would much rather have an intellectual conversation with the witch than discuss trivial things like the weather, and he found himself enjoying the opportunity to converse with her about the topic. She had always shown good promise in his classes, and he could tell from their conversation that she had obviously kept up with her interest. She mentioned some potion's journals in her responses to him and he could tell she had a keen interest in the subject, leading him to wonder what exactly it was that she was doing for work since leaving Hogwarts. Had she taken on an apprenticeship? Surely I would have heard through the grapevine if that was the case. Minerva couldn't resist bragging about the achievements of her cubs.. and if this one had gained a potions apprenticeship, he definitely would have been told about it. several times.

"Ms Granger. What are you doing for work now? If you are not undertaking a potions apprenticeship, I would find myself asking why. you clearly have an interest and an aptitude for the art." he asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at her sternly. He could see that the question made her uncomfortable and he waited patiently for a response.