Summary: We find out just what's going on with these two.
A/N: Sorry for the late post. I know I said Friday or Saturday, but I really try to post on Friday nights. I was busy, however, at the Symphony. Dvorak New World… One of my favorites. The Utah Symphony did a beautiful job and the rest of the program was gorgeous as well. Anyway, here's your weekly fix.
Chapter 2
Night blended into day, and he heard the door open again.
"Good morning, Professor!" Granger gushed enthusiastically.
So, she'd returned. He had wondered if she would after the fight with her boyfriend and her seemingly flustered feelings when she'd left the day before.
"I hope you rested well," Granger chattered. "Well, I guess you are resting all the time," she said offhandedly.
He heard a chair scrape the floor.
"I brought you the latest Potion's Today journal. I thought you might like to hear me read to you. I wish I knew what type of literature interests you. Maybe a smutty romance?"
She waited for a beat before continuing. "Yes, you are right not to laugh at that joke, sir."
She read for what seemed to be a long time, making small comments about each article. He thought they were insightful. The girl had finally learned to think for herself. He'd hated the way she had parroted everything as a young student. She had such potential, but she never really used her reasoning skills… until now. Maybe the year on the run had helped her.
"Oh, Professor, I bet you would like another pillow. You're laying so flat on just the one. Let me get another one for you."
He heard her leave. She wasn't gone long. Soon after, she burst back through the door.
"Surprisingly, they had a nice fluffy one," she remarked as he heard her draw near.
He felt some light pressure on his chest which must have been the pillow, then felt her hand on his shoulder.
He saw stars, then he was kissing Granger again… passionately. She was enjoying it too.
The image disappeared quickly, and he felt she had drawn her hand back as if shocked.
"What on earth?" he heard her say.
There was silence for a few moments before he felt her touch him again. Once again, his mind saw him embrace the Granger girl and pull her close. The scene dissipated quickly.
"Okay… okay… that was… okay…" she fretted. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Just ignore me!"
Silence, except for pacing footsteps and finally a huge sigh.
"Well, there's nothing for it, is there?" she muttered.
He felt her hand on his shoulder. Immediately the vision came back. His vision-self pulled back from her and took in all of her with his gaze.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you, too," Granger replied.
While the vision was going on, he felt himself being lifted and gently laid back down, this time a bit more elevated than he had been.
"I will always cherish the day we decided to get together," Granger murmured.
He chuckled. "That was certainly a unique way to get together," he agreed.
How… How did we get together?
The image disappeared.
"Merlin," Hermione muttered under her breath.
Severus heard the chair scrape against the floor as if she'd flung herself into it.
"You won't believe this, Professor, but it seems that every time I touch you, I have a vision of the two of us."
She paused for a moment. "Oh, I hope you're not experiencing the same thing, Professor! If you are, you have my most sincere apologies. I know you'd hate every minute of it!"
He supposed he should hate it, but once again, it almost felt right. What did that say about him? Not only was he a murderer, but a lecherous old fool as well–feeling that an eighteen-year-old girl was the right person to be with.
What the hell is wrong with me?
"Professor?" he heard the girl call out. "I don't think that you can hear me, sir, but I want to get to the bottom of this. I hope it's all right if I touch you again."
She waited for what seemed like a full minute before he felt her hand touch his. At once his mind took over, and they were holding hands walking by the Black Lake.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Of course," she said.
"But… I am…"
She turned to him, and he was startled by the determination on her face.
"You are what I want, Severus Snape. Don't give me a list of reasons why I shouldn't want you. I know everything you're going to say!"
"You know I'm going to say that I don't deserve a woman such as you?"
She gave him a quick nod. "We deserve each other. You and I have much in common, and… No!" she cried suddenly. "Don't start questioning your worth; you are an amazing man!"
Her hand was removed, and she sighed. "Well, at least whatever this is, I can see myself saying all of that to you if we were friends or… involved. What on earth is going on?"
There was silence for a little while.
"I need to go, Professor. I'll be back soon, hopefully with answers."
He heard her leave the room and noticed his hearing was good enough to hear the door quietly close. His mind raced as he thought of what all of that had meant. This last 'vision' was more intense because it actually delved into feelings other than passion.
How could that chit-of-a-girl care for him? It was absurd. And the fact that he was even entertaining the idea that he could be involved with her was doubly so. Ridiculous, the whole lot of it.
oooOOOooo
It had seemed like an eternity before Granger had returned. Each time he heard the door open, he'd get 'excited' that she had come back, but it was always a Healer or Mediwitch casting spells over him and administering Potions and other spells to help him heal.
He waited… and waited… and waited some more. Still, she did not come. He began to wonder if she would return at all. Had the visions been too much for her to handle?
At long last, he heard the door open, and her voice greeted him.
"Hello, Professor. I'm sorry it's been a while, but I had a hard time finding out what was going on. I had to consult the Ministry Library, and you must know how huge that is. I did find something, you'll be happy to know… oh, I'm babbling."
There was silence for a few minutes while Severus waited with bated breath to find out just what was going on with the two of them. He heard her shuffling through something and then pages of a book turning.
"Here we are," Granger said absently.
There was another long pause before she continued.
"It seems that we are… soulmates."
Well, that was unexpected.
Soulmates?
Impossible.
"I know, it's hard to believe," Granger said as if she'd heard his thoughts.
Giving a nervous chuckle, she continued. "I consulted twenty books on soulmates, and they all confirm what this one says."
She began to read.
"Soulmates, if they have not realized their connection, will sometimes experience visions or dreams about one another. If one of the pair is critically injured, the chances of them experiencing visions increase almost one hundredfold. It could be through dreams or touch that the relationship is revealed. While the visions or dreams are in no way reality, they convey the importance of the other person to the one experiencing the visions, and also what type of emotions they may have for one another in the future. It is possible for both partners to experience visions or dreams as well."
She sighed and fell into silence once more.
"I'm sorry," she said finally. "I would imagine this is the last thing you want to hear." Her voice trailed off. "I know you are in love with Harry's mum."
She said it so softly that Severus had to strain to hear her. He felt somewhat mortified that she knew his secret. But evidently, it had been blown out of proportion. It had always been about Lily because he was always trying to make amends for killing her. Yes, he loved her once, but that had been ages ago.
He realized Granger was talking again.
"I know it's shocking, but from my studies, we don't have to move forward. We'll always have a connection, but we can ignore it and live our lives how we want to."
She paused. It took her a while before she spoke again.
"I wouldn't mind seeing where this goes, but I understand that you don't."
She was quiet for a long time before clearing her throat and speaking again. "Let's see what the new Potions Today journal has to say, hmm?" she asked after a while.
Granger spent the next bit reading to him. Sometimes she'd ask a question about what she was reading and actually would pause as if Severus would answer her out of the blue. He thought that was kind of her, especially since he really wanted to answer her questions.
"Well, Professor, I should be going," she said as she snapped the magazine closed.
He felt her hand on his. She immediately snapped it away from him, but not before He saw himself kissing Hermione… his bride.
"I'm so sorry!" Hermione cried. "I didn't… Oh!"
He heard her heels clicking away quickly as if she was running out of the room. The door shut a little more forcefully than he was used to.
He ruminated about the quick glance he'd seen. Hermione had been in a beautiful white gown. She had pearls dotting her hair, which was pulled up into an elegant bun. She'd looked quite beautiful if Severus were to admit it. Although the vision only had them kissing for mere seconds, he'd felt a fire fill him as his lips descended upon Granger's.
He was troubled. What the girl had said about them being soulmates made no sense. Even so, his heart had burned with the truth of it when she had revealed just what their visions had meant. Why had he felt that way? He barely knew her, why would the declaration that they were soulmates give him comfort? Was he that desperate for companionship?
He knew that wasn't the case. He was a loner, although he always secretly wished for someone to be close to. He hadn't been able to afford that kind of relationship, though. He faced death at every turn, and even when the Dark Lord had been vanquished before, he had known from Dumbledore that the evil despot would return. He couldn't get close to anyone. He had only found comfort in one-night stands.
Now, though, he was free according to Miss Granger. No charges would be filed… no time in Azkaban. He was free to live his life as he wished. And oh, how he wished for someone to share his life with.
But Granger? She was half his age! Why would she be the one for him? And why would she ever truly want him?
Her comment came to mind. He'd been floored that she'd even consider being with him, even in passing, but she seemed to be doing so. And Soulmates wasn't just a one-night stand… it could be forever. Why would she want to spend her life with him? There were so many other options, and he was a dour, unhappy man.
And why would he want to be with her? She was bossy from what he'd seen of her at Hogwarts. Obviously, a know-it-all. Too smart for her own good, really. Yet, she was brilliant, and she hadn't been unbearable as she'd visited him. Perhaps age had mellowed her need to be right about everything? She was quite pretty, too.
But really, that was neither here nor there. She wouldn't ever truly want him. It may be an intriguing idea right now to her, but once she realized just who she was soulmates with… well, he knew how that would end.
His mind was filled with all the reasons she wouldn't want him as he drifted into what constituted sleep for a comatose man. As he slept, his thoughts turned to dreams. Hermione and he were cooking together, preparing a salad. He was standing at the counter and she was seated at the table. She looked up at him in between chopping lettuce and smiled at him shyly. He arched a brow at her, and she blushed.
"What?" he asked. "It just made sense for you to stay here for dinner. We've been working on this Potions recipe all day."
She gazed at him and turned red once again.
"What is it?" he asked.
She shook her head and became engrossed in chopping up a tomato.
He rounded the table and bent over so he could look at her as she sat.
"Hermione, do not keep secrets from me!" he admonished.
"I'm not! It's just that… I…"
His eyebrow arched once again, urging her to continue her stuttered response.
"I… Severus…" She took a breath. "You look cute when you're chopping vegetables. It's like you're brewing, you concentrate so deeply."
"Cute?" Severus asked with a sneer.
Hermione blushed again. "Yes, cute."
Severus straightened. "I am not, nor ever have been cute."
"Handsome then?" Hermione countered as she raised a brow defiantly.
His eyes grew wide, and he began to stutter. "You… what… what do you mean?"
"I think it's rather obvious," she replied as she met his gaze.
"Not to me!"
Hermione put her knife down and rose from her seat. Coming up to Severus, who had straightened and was giving her the oddest look, she looked up at him, her eyes wide.
"I find you very handsome. And I'm glad you invited me to stay for dinner because I enjoy spending time with you."
He studied her for a moment before speaking again. "What is it you're trying to say?"
She smiled shyly. "I thought I was being clear."
"I have learned not to read too much into things, lest I be sorely disappointed."
"I've no intention of disappointing you, Severus."
"No?"
"No, because I'm quite enamored with you. I just am not sure of your feelings for me."
Closing the distance between them, Severus reached out and cupped her cheek.
"Really? You would like to… like to have a relationship… with me?"
She smiled and nodded. His hand didn't release her. Pulling her to him, he kissed her. Reveling in her, he showered her with affection. They finally broke apart, and his heart warmed at her caring smile. Unable to contain himself, he kissed her once again.
"I didn't think you would want someone like me," he murmured between kisses.
"Severus, you're all I can think about," she whispered before pulling him closer and meeting his lips.
They were enraptured with each other for a while before he pulled back.
"I can't believe this is happening," Hermione murmured.
"Me neither," Severus replied. "Hermione, I want to always have this feeling between us."
Hermione smiled. "Me too. If we work hard at this relationship, Severus, we can definitely keep this feeling forever."
He smiled then. "I want that."
She grinned back and met his lips with hers once again.
The dream dissolved into nothingness as Severus regained what little consciousness he'd had since the war ended.
That dream… that dream!
It felt so real. It felt so right. How could he feel so good with a woman he barely knew?
She'd said they were soulmates…
Impossible!
He internally sighed. He was getting whiplash from his back and forth about the Granger girl. One moment he was denying anything could happen with her, the next, he was intrigued and attracted to her. What was wrong with him? Obviously, they could never be together.
But…
The idea of having her was so desirable that he couldn't put it out of his mind. Of course, his mind was rather empty at the moment, so that may have had something to do with it.
No, it wasn't that.
The woman in his visions intrigued him. She was obviously no longer a child. She was intelligent and beautiful, and the more he thought about her, the more he felt his walls coming down. He wanted to know more about her… find out what she was really like. He'd learned a little from these few days of her sitting by him, and he had marveled at her eloquence when discussing the journals she read.
He still wasn't sure about the soulmate issue, but he was willing to take a chance with her…
If he ever woke up.