A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters
Word count: 419
"You still up, Severus?" Hermione asked, poking her head into Severus' lab. He was standing over a cauldron. He quickly grabbed a stirring rod seeing her enter. She found the urge to roll her eyes. He wasn't fooling her, he never could.
"Yes," he answered, not looking up from the cauldron. There was no steam rising from it, nor was there a fire lit underneath.
"Are you brooding about the past or the future?" she asked, walking into the room, her pale blue silk bathrobe swishing against her legs.
"I am not brooding," Severus stated, not looking up at her.
"Could have fooled me. Past or future, and don't lie that it's neither. You only stay up this late when it's one or the other. Also, the cauldron you're pretending to be using is empty," she commented, nodding to the cauldron in front of Severus. He looked up at her finally.
"Maybe I'm brewing an invisible potion, did you think of that, Hermione?"
"The only three invisible potions you would actually have a reason to brew all have distinct scents. I do not smell roses, pine, or burnt cheese, therefore you are hiding down here brooding about something. Also, it's empty, not invisible. You've also forgot to light the fire for bringing the potion to a proper boil," she pointed out.
"Have I mentioned you are an insufferable know it all?"
"No yet today," she chirped, giving him a wide smile.
"You are."
"And you're a brooding dungeon bat, but insulting each other is getting us nowhere. Now, do you want to talk about it, or continue brooding in silence while I eat the last piece of chocolate cake?"
"There's cake left?"
"One piece which I'm planning on eating once I get back upstairs," she answered. Severus put down the stirring rod.
"I was not brooding,"he said, following her back upstairs. If he was lucky, she might split the piece of cake, if not, he could still have a cup of tea and enjoy her company.
"If you say so, oh, the piece is a bit bigger than I thought, want to split it?" she asked, setting the plate on the table in front of him, she slid into her usual seat.
"If you insist," he replied, taking the offered fork.
"Eventually you'll have to talk about whatever is bothering you," she said. Severus merely pointed to his mouth, full of cake, and remained silent. He knew how much Hermione hated it when people talked with their mouths full.