Chapter 7: Curse
Severus settled on a settee in the drawing room and eyed the closed door connecting it to the library. He didn't trust the elf or the portrait of Walburga Black to leave Granger alone and so he felt it wise to stay nearby. However, they needed space from each other. He had been serious when he said she was growing entirely too comfortable with him. What he did not say aloud was that he was growing entirely too comfortable with her.
Those moments of physical contact – her toes tucked under his leg, her hand on his arm – were more than he had in years. Yes, he had technically come into physical contact with other human beings over the years. Being a professor and Head of House ensured there were plenty of opportunities to shove a child under the desk before their potion exploded on them, or to haul a miscreant off for a scolding by their arm, or (his least favorite) gathering an unconscious child up and taking them to the Hospital Wing. But those were different. They weren't – there wasn't – he wasn't sure how to put it in words, even in his own mind.
Trust. Perhaps that was it. Or part of it, anyway. Granger trusted him, so she said. But she also demonstrated it by trusting him to watch her back while she slept. Literally. And she trusted him to take care of her when she was sick. She hadn't even considered that he might have poisoned her food, which, logically would have been ridiculous as he had put so much time and effort into healing her from poison, but he knew her idiotic friends would have been suspicious. Any of his other students, actually, Slytherins included.
She trusted him and appeared to be…fond of him. That was unsettling and the main reason he was hiding in the drawing room, even though the library was cleaner and more comfortable by far. Surprisingly, it wouldn't be the first time a student had formed an…attachment. Though it wasn't common by any stretch of the imagination, it also wasn't limited to one particular house. When it occurred, perhaps once every few years, Severus always made quick work of it, cutting the ridiculous girl (or boy, as was the case one time early in his teaching career) to the quick as soon as he picked up on it. He would be cruel, vindictive, and would humiliate the child, ensuring their ardor turned to hatred, with which he was much more comfortable.
Yet something stopped him from doing this to Granger and he'd be damned if he could put his finger on it. He only knew it had something to do with her trust. And, he supposed, her legs might have played a small part. It wasn't very often he got to see a witch's long and shapely legs, covered in robes as they usually were. She might not be a great beauty like the Black sisters or Lily had been, but she was pretty in her own right with gold flecks in large brown eyes and a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. The unruly curls that popped out of her hair's restraints were tantalizing, always drawing the eye. And while Lily would always have his heart, he was a red-blooded male and could not deny that Hermione Granger was a pretty witch with gorgeous legs. But she's underage and a student to boot, which meant don't touch and don't get caught looking.
Honestly, the fact that she's pretty meant he should be even crueler to her to drive her away. It's what he would normally have done. And yet. He tried to rationalize it away by blaming Potter. For precious Lily's sake, he kept an eye on the boy, kept him safe. And he was always getting into worrisome death-defying disasters. So wasn't it a good idea to be on good terms with the little witch who always follows him into these stunts? It was weak, and he knew it.
Just accept it, Severus, he told himself. If you were closer in age and not still in mourning, you'd…what, exactly? He felt heat creeping along his cheeks and the back of his neck. Well, it certainly didn't matter as it wasn't relevant. He stood abruptly and paced, trying to shed his sudden burst of nervous energy. And it was her damned fault for imagining him as a student! Because now he was imagining himself as a student and wishing futilely he'd been born later, able to go to school without the Marauders. The infamous Golden Trio were much kinder and more compassionate than the Gryffindors of his generation. And while he'd have to watch out for the Weasley Twins, they did not target any one Slytherin, or even any one House, maliciously. His Slytherins had no idea how much better they had it right now.
He stomped over to the window and glared at the street outside. It was poetic, perhaps that he was stuck here, in the absolute worst Marauder's house with Hermione Granger and a murderous house elf. His increasingly agitated musings were cut short by a buzzing sound to his left. He turned just in time to see a doxy shoot out from between the folds of the curtain.
"Shite! Flipendo!" A loud BANG issued from his wand and the doxy flew backward with such force that it splattered against the wall in a gory, pulverized mess. He grimaced. The door to the library flung open and Granger came dashing in, holding a heavy book aloft like a weapon.
"What happened?" She spun around, surveying the room, then caught sight of the mess on the wall. "Ugh, ew!" She wrinkled her nose and lowered her book.
"Quite."
"Are there more of them?" she asked, still holding the book defensively in front of her chest.
Severus shrugged. "Probably, but we shan't go looking." He eyed the curtains suspiciously as he vanished the doxy smear on the wall. "It wouldn't do for you to get bit again, now, would it?" He raised a brow in her direction.
She smiled up at him, "At least you're here, now," she said sweetly.
His heart stuttered. She was so trusting, it was painful.
"Yes, well. No need to tempt fate again," he muttered, flustered. He gestured to the library, and she preceded him through the door where he tried and failed to avoid looking at her long legs as she walked. He had thankfully moved his eyes to the whisps of curls that had escaped her bun and were fluttering about her pale neck by the time she turned around. He defensively raised an eyebrow and looked at her expectantly, a tiny jolt of adrenaline dissipating in his body at the fact he'd nearly been caught looking. As he'd calculated, Granger flushed and appeared somewhat flustered before she rallied and offered him a seat in one of the armchairs in front of the fire.
Severus made a point to heave a long-suffering sigh as he lowered himself into the chair and scowl in annoyance as he opened his book. While he stared down at the page before him blankly, his peripherals were heavily engaged and he observed Granger fold herself sideways into the armchair angled next to his. Her knees were bunched up against the armrest nearest him and she propped a heavy tome against them, one finger marking her place in the index while she flipped pages to whatever she was referencing. He peeked from the corner of his eye, without moving his head, and boldly stared, remembering to turn a page in the book on his lap for appearance's sake. Her forehead was wrinkled in concentration and a whisp of a curl slid forward, tickling her nose. She wiggled her nose and blew a puff of air, sending that curl flying up and to the side before it slowly made its way back to her nose. She repeated the cycle a few times before irritation seemed to get the better of her and she licked her fingers, caught the curl between them, pulled it straight and plastered it to the top of her head with her saliva. Severus snorted.
Granger looked up and stared at him questioningly, one finger still squashed in the back of her book, so he made a show of snapping his own book shut while muttering "Imbeciles" loud enough for her to discern. He stalked to the bookshelf and shoved it back in place on one of the top shelves. "Do you intend to leave the library anytime soon?" he barked at her.
She shook her head, "No, sir. I mean, if that's alright by you. Of course, if you need me to go somewhere else…" she trailed off and stared at him, expectantly.
Severus shook his head brusquely. "No, stay. I shall fetch you for lunch," he said before exiting the room quickly. He stormed down to the kitchen and collapsed in a seat at the table with a groan. Merlin's balls. He should not be spending this much time around the girl. It was maddening.
It was also far too early to start lunch and he had abandoned his book in the library so now he was bored and irritated with himself. He crossed his arms on the table and thunked his forehead down on them with a growl.
The next couple of hours passed interminably slowly. Severus perfected some half-invented schoolboy hexes from his youth, laid the groundwork for a particularly nasty curse he had in mind to practice on Black should the occasion arise, and one marauder leading to another went on a theoretical jaunt down possible improvements upon the Wolfsbane potion. A possible solution to decreasing the brewing time by half was teetering on the brink of his mind but as his frustration grew, he decided to take a break and realized it was time to make lunch. Finally.
He put together some sandwiches and headed up the stairs. Spying Kreacher peeking out of the boiler room, Severus unceremoniously kicked the door shut as he passed by before halting outside the library. He peered into the room and his lips twitched in amusement at the veritable nest Granger had made of books surrounding her. She was sitting on the floor, leaning back on her armchair with open books in a semicircle in front of her and a few stacked on the chair behind her. Her head was tilted back, exposing the long column of her thr- no. Oh but those whisps of curls were fluttering about her neck so tantalizingly. No, Severus. Her eyes were closed and she was clutching a book, holding it to her forehead as if she was trying to absorb it through osmosis. Severus smiled softly, recognizing a fellow deep thinker.
He crept forward curiously and let his eyes rove over the titles she had pulled. She had delved into ancient Roman mythology. He smirked. Getting warmer, Granger. Stepping up so he was towering over her, Severus tilted his head and looked down his nose at her then cleared his throat loudly.
She shrieked and threw the book she had been holding to her forehead. It clobbered him in the chest and he slapped a hand against it, pinning it in place reflexively. Severus hid his amusement behind a scowl. Granger gasped and her hands flew up, one to cover her mouth in horror and one to cover her chest as if to hold her pounding heart in. Her eyes were wide as she began to sputter from behind her hand, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to – oh my gosh, oh my gosh…"
Severus slowly ran his tongue over his teeth to hold in the smirk that was threatening to spread across his face. It must have looked particularly menacing paired with his scowl because Granger paled and stopped babbling. He made a mental note to add that to his intimidation repertoire. Maintaining direct eye contact with the girl, he held the book disdainfully between his fingertips and set it on the nearest stack. He continued to stare at her without blinking and with his eyebrows furrowed furiously as he slowly turned toward the door. The moment she was out of his eyesight, he moved swiftly to the door, paused, then threw over his shoulder in a sneer, "Lunch, Miss Granger," before stalking out.
Once in the hallway, his lips twitched in amusement and he allowed himself a silent chuckle before pulling himself together again as he heard her footsteps approaching from behind. He swept down to the kitchen and pointedly glared at her once before smoothing his features and summarily ignoring her for the rest of their time eating. She ate quietly, cowed by his hostility and Severus was quite pleased with himself. Despite her earlier familiarity, he hadn't lost his touch.
After she finished eating and had cleared away the dishes, timidly taking his along with hers to the sink, Granger cautiously got his attention while standing well out of his reach. "Um, sir?"
He replied with a raised brow, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in his chair as he turned a cold gaze on her. She overtly gathered her Gryffindor courage and said, "I'd like to…erm, that is to say, would it be alright if I…go upstairs?"
Severus tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. Truthfully, he didn't care whether she was in her room or in the library. As long as he knew where she was and that the elf wasn't near her. But he was enjoying the intimidation game so he played it a little longer and just stared at her without answering.
She, as many do, felt the need to fill the silence with babbling. "It's just that I'd really like to take…I mean with the fever and everything…and…oh gosh, this is awkward…what I'm trying to say is that I'd really like to take a bath, sir. If that's alright." She grimaced.
Severus' eyebrows shot up in surprise and Granger cringed. The ridiculousness of Gryffindor's most insufferable know-it-all requesting permission from the head of Slytherin to bathe struck his funny bone. He must not crack. Lowering his eyebrows slowly, Severus stared a moment longer then gave a sharp nod and jerked his head toward the door, dismissing her silently. The girl visibly sagged in relief before scuttling off and clambering up the stairs. He allowed himself a moment to chuckle once she was out of earshot.
Wandering into the library, Severus carefully stepped over Granger's book nest and perused the shelves for a few interesting titles to stash away in his room in case he had need to storm from the library again. This morning's boredom was insufferable. He was idly flipping through a fascinating book on cursed potions when the ward monitoring Granger's health twinged. He dropped the book and pounded up the stairs. He ran to the end of the hall and indulged propriety with only the briefest pause until he heard frantic splashing on the other side of the bathroom door. The door was locked, but he blasted it open and stormed in to find Granger lying on her back in the bathtub, her head underwater and her arms gripping the sides of the tub, straining with the effort of trying to heave herself out. Her legs were kicking wildly. There was no outward reason for her to be stuck underwater so Severus knew there must be a curse on the tub itself.
He was at her side in an instant. Without bothering to roll up his sleeves, he plunged his arms in the water, hooking them under her armpits and hauled upward. The curse fought back, and Severus grit his teeth as he strained to pull her up. "Puella dimittere…puella dimittere…puella dimittere…" he chanted under his breath as he fought the cursed tub. Combining the chant with a mighty heave, Severus managed to yank Granger out of the water. He stumbled backward and landed on his arse on the bathroom floor, his lap full of a drenched, hacking and sputtering and very naked Granger. Her hands were fisted in his robes, and she curled inward on his lap as her lungs rattled, trying to expel inhaled water. Severus was just becoming alarmingly aware of the fact that his arms were around her, his palms on her naked flesh, when he felt her shivering. He raised his hand and a towel zoomed into it. Without bothering to pluck the girl from his lap, he wrapped the towel around her and held her close as she sobbed into his chest.
As the adrenaline began to fade and his own breathing slowed to a manageable speed, Granger's body responded in kind and her sobs dwindled to sniffs and hiccups. He looked down at her wet head and pondered their current predicament; one soggy arm was wrapped around her shoulders and the other around her waist, and both his hands were holding her towel in place. No matter who stood first, Granger would find herself in the unlucky position of exposing herself once again to her dreaded potions professor.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" a voice exploded from the doorway.
Severus' head snapped to the side to find Sirius Black standing on the threshold to the bathroom, wand aimed at his face. Granger squealed and pressed further in on herself and, to Severus' dismay, further into him as well, trying to keep herself covered.
Of course.
Of bloody course.
The irresponsible cur disappears for days and returns at the precise moment to cause Severus the absolute most mortification and difficulty imaginable. A familiar fury, reserved specifically for Black, burned in his gut and the bathroom fixtures began to rattle around them in his rage. Granger whimpered and he immediately unclenched his hands, realizing belatedly he had been digging his fingers into her, likely leaving bruises. The towel slipped down her shoulder when he flexed his fingers and he caught it, tucking it back in place with a deliberately gentle hand. It took every ounce of strength of will to remain calm. The rattling in the bathroom increased, betraying him.
Severus inhaled slowly, prepared to verbally flay the mongrel when he was interrupted by a cheerful voice.
"Hey-o! What's this?" Arthur Weasley called from the hallway. Black spun halfway around, his wand still pointed at Severus. Granger groaned and buried her face in his chest with a mortified, "Oh God."