***Chapter Four***
Severus paced behind his desk as the time they'd agreed to meet approached.
Was this stupid?
Was he dressed acceptably?
What if she didn't show up?
What if she didn't like what he'd come up with?
Should he have offered to pick her up at her rooms? That seemed rather ridiculous, but perhaps that was a misstep on his part.
He still hadn't decided on that last one. She was a more modern witch, though, so he didn't think she'd expect him to pick her up when she was coming to his office anyway.
It was the first time in many, many years he'd allowed his heart to guide him. He could admit the first time he'd been a bit foolish to do so, at least so blindly. It also hadn't gone very well. (To say the least.)
He wasn't so sure about now. She seemed receptive, but he'd thought Lily was, too. Of course he wasn't fourteen any longer. He'd had years to observe other couples, and to recognize actual signs of interest. He hadn't even had an example of parents at home who liked one another to look to when he'd met Lily.
So that brought him back to the fact that Hermione seemed receptive. And that he had more knowledge, and experience, now to know things he hadn't as a prepubescent young wizard.
"You're going to make us dizzy, Headmaster," Phineas Black quipped. "What is wrong with him?"
Severus scoffed at the fact the former Slytherin wasn't asking him directly what was wrong.
"He has a date," Albus offered.
"Albus," Severus said sternly.
He'd been very careful not to label tonight a date. The dinner and night at the theater was a date. This was. Well, he'd invited her here for a book signing.
"Does he?" Headmaster Dippet asked. "With whom?"
"He hasn't told me that," Albus said, sounding very much as if he might be pouting. Severus refused to look at the portrait in question to find out if he was correct or not.
"Well, if she's coming here, which it seems she is judging by his pacing, we'll know soon enough."
"Enough! All of you. Find somewhere else to entertain yourself."
"Severus!"
"Albus, give me my deserved privacy. All of you!"
They all disappeared, but he suspected they weren't far from their frames, listening.
He heard movement outside of the office door, so knew she was approaching. He moved to the door then, opening it for her. She seemed surprised.
"Hi," she said.
"Hello."
She'd changed her slacks and top he noticed. He couldn't recall the last time he'd seen her wear robes. It must have been for something to do with the Ministry.
"Am I late or something?" she asked.
"What?"
"You seemed to be at the door."
"Oh, no, I heard activity."
"I see."
"Are you ready then?"
"I am."
He turned then, offering her his arm which she took. He glanced at Albus' portrait. He had no doubt the man was there, hovering at the edge of the frame for a glimpse of identifying information as to the identity of this witch.
He led her to a room off the office, hoping he'd chosen right. His quarters were too personal. So, he'd chosen this room that was rarely used. At least by him. He couldn't say if previous occupants of his position used it regularly.
The small room was charmed to look like an Italian village.
"Oh, Severus," she said as he led her to the table and chairs that looked very out of place. It looked as if they were in the middle of a street. "It's lovely."
"You really think so?" He knew the question betrayed his nervousness and uncertainty, but he had to know she was sincere.
"Yes," she said.
"Good," he said, pulling her chair out for her. She sat, eyeing the table while he sat across from her. "Wine?"
"Please," she said. He filled her glass and then his own, setting the decanter down.
He held his glass to hers.
"To a pleasant evening," he said.
"I can drink to that." She touched his glass with hers before taking a sip of the wine.
"Oh, that's very good. I guess I should expect no less from Hogwarts by now."
"Indeed. So did the book signing go as expected?"
"It did. It was nice to see so many students have copies already."
"You are surprised?"
"A little. I haven't exactly had my face plastered in Witch Weekly or the Daily Prophet the past few years."
"You are still Hermione Granger. Mr. Potter sings your praises anytime he can. I think partially in an effort to try and deflect the attention from him once in a while. It's only been five years. The seventh years remember you."
"I suppose they do."
Dinner was served a few minutes after they sat. She seemed genuinely impressed and pleased with his choice of menu. The elves were more than pleased to cater to his wishes this evening. He very rarely asked them for anything above and beyond their normal duties around his office and quarters. He rarely ate away from the Great Hall to require specific or special meals.
He did everything he could to make the room feel, look, and sound as if they were in Italy. Magic, and being in control of Hogwarts, truly was wonderful. She seemed sufficiently impressed. The scene he chose was even on a waterway with a gondola appearing to float on the water, the sound of waves serenely lapping against it could be heard.
Once they had finished with dinner, the room changed to a wintery scene as if they were in a chalet in the Alps somewhere, looking out over a snow-filled mountain. A sofa appeared with a fire adequate for the setting. There was even a subtle chill in the air, as if the room they were in was truly filled with windows looking out at a cold view.
He offered her his hand as they stood from the table, which disappeared then and he saw a bit of intrigue in her eyes.
"Is it like the Room of Requirement?"
Of course she would ask.
"No, I mean I suppose, but I was very specific in my details," he said, leading her to the sofa. There was a fresh decanter of wine and two new glasses on the coffee table there. She sat and he followed suit, pouring both of them another glass of wine.
She did exactly as he'd hoped she'd do, settling against him, head resting against his shoulder.
"This is … nice," she whispered.
"I agree."
"You don't get to relax much, do you?"
"No," he said. "This is not normal." Not to say he didn't take time for himself once in a while. Sure. Not like this, though. It was with a book, or a potion, or something.
"Well, I'm glad you asked me to dinner so that you could enjoy some relaxation, too."
He scoffed softly, resting his cheek against the top of her head.
"Perhaps one day you will join me for dinner in a true Venetian village and dessert in a remote Swiss cabin. I suspect the reality would be even more enjoyable."
She tilted her head back a bit to regard him. He wasn't sure what she was looking for, but he fought the urge to look away. She was obviously searching for something.
"I thought Harry and Ginny were crazy," she whispered, shifting her head again as it was.
"For what?"
"That you were interested in me."
"I'm not sure how they detected that, but they were not wrong."
She moved away from him then and he closed his eyes, wondering if he'd been too forward. She brought it up though! She set her wineglass on the coffee table in front of them and then leaned against him again. This time, though, she was facing him, and settled a hand against his chest.
"I've wanted to talk to you for years." This was said against his shirt front.
She had? He truly had no idea. They'd talked, small talk, but he'd never left those conversations thinking she wished they could be extended.
"Why haven't you?"
She laughed softly, settling against him even more. He took the hint, concentrating for a moment to wandlessly set his wineglass on the table and draw her closer against him once that was done.
"I felt so stupid."
He snorted and gave a bark of laughter. The very idea of this witch being stupid was ridiculous.
"I did! Here you were getting beaten and tortured, torn in two different ways, insulted by adults and students alike, and God only knows what else; and I'm hounding you with ridiculous questions and tedious papers inches longer than you assigned. What if I was the reason you didn't get sleep one night?"
Oh.
He had no idea.
"If I'd known that was what was bothering you, I would have eased your mind quite some time ago. You were twelve, thrown into a world you knew nothing about until receiving your letter. Do I wish your papers weren't quite so tedious? Yes, but you were not a reason for any loss of sleep by me."
"You're not just saying that?"
"No," he murmured.
He shifted his shoulder a bit and she did as he hoped, looked up at him. He leaned in a bit, closing the distance between them and kissed her. He could practically hear the blood rushing in his ears when their lips touched. It had been far too long since he'd kissed anyone, and none had interested him in the way this witch did. He hadn't been lying when he told Draco the idea of courtship and marriage to this witch wasn't abhorrent to him.
Lips parted slightly but nothing more as the kiss continued. Some might be disappointed tongues weren't involved, but it was fitting of a first kiss.
He drew away, settling the pad of his thumb against her lower lip, watching at the bit of moisture he swiped away. From him.
"Does that indicate that I am harboring ill feelings or resentment toward you?"
"Well, no, I suppose…"
"I made the choices I made, Hermione, to be in the position I was in. I was bitter, and not at all happy to see Harry here. He behaved exactly as I expected him to, without the bullying, mind you. I didn't see that at first, that he was different from his father. I'm not sure when I realized it, truthfully. After the war, so far too long. No one was responsible for anything that happened to me but me. I didn't have to return to his side when he came back. Others did not."
"But we wouldn't have won."
"I'm not sure at the time I cared anymore. Winning or losing. It was all pointless. I committed to doing a job. I care about the wizarding world too much to walk away from that promise."
"I guess I just didn't know what to say." She tilted her head a bit, kissing him again. She drew away almost immediately, though.
"And I never dreamed a witch such as you, based on my past, would ever be inclined to give me the time of day."
"Is there a time limit on this room? The enchantment?"
"No."
"Good," she said. She shifted again, seeming to get … comfortable against him, grabbing the arm at her side and drawing it more securely around her. Not that such an action was a hardship.
"Tell me about the past five years, Severus."
"I could ask you the same thing, you know where I've been and what I've been doing."
"Mm."
"I do have one question for you," he murmured, summoning a blanket to drape over them.
"Only one?"
"Who is Maynord?"
"What?" she asked.
"I heard you tell Mr. Weasley the night of the dinner party that Maynord did not like him."
"Oh!" She laughed then.
"That amuses you?"
"Well, yes. You should've just asked me. It's one of my Mastiffs."
"You have more than one?"
"Yes. Well, I adopted Glinda."
"You named your Mastiff Glinda?"
"Of course I did! She is a good dog, so I named her after a good witch."
"Go on," he said with a low chuckle.
"I was assured she'd been spayed and all of that. Well, about forty-five days later she had puppies."
"Obviously they mislead you."
"Obviously. Or I have an immaculate conception after a dog was spayed on my hands. Anyway, Maynord is the last of her puppies. Harry took two, and I managed to give away the others to suitable homes."
"Is she spayed now?"
"She is."
"And Maynord does not care for Weasley?"
"No. He doesn't bite him or anything, but he growls anytime he comes over. Not constantly. Once he's settled in, he's fine, but he's the only friend he does that to."
"Hm, I'd say it was a sign of good taste, but that would probably not be received overwell."
She laughed softly. "No. I don't know. Glinda likes him."
"And that beast of a feline you had?"
"Crookshanks is still around. He adapted to Glinda okay, but when she had her puppies he was not happy with me. Lots of treats were involved for a while to gain his forgiveness. And then when the puppies started disappearing…"
"He no longer felt so outnumbered."
"Yes. They have an agreement I think."
"Crookshanks tolerates their interloping in his domicile?"
"Precisely that, yes. They do all sleep with me so for a few hours they can get along."
"You have a bed big enough to fit two Mastiffs?"
"I do."
She glanced up at him again and he saw a blush on her cheeks. He wondered what that was about. He was just questioning the size of her bed. He certainly wasn't implying or suggesting anything with the question.
"A year living in a tent, out of a bag with an undetectable extension charm on it. Well, let's just say I've come to learn there are some things I like. A big bed is one of them."
He scowled slightly. Not about the bed, but about her reference to her time hunting horcruxes. Harry talked about it some, but not much.
He was angry at Albus about a lot of things he seemed to deliberately keep to himself, but sending these three out to hunt those horcruxes was something he wasn't sure he'd ever forgive the old man for, if he'd lived. Even five years ago he felt that way.
What was worse, Harry told him it was really only supposed to be him. Albus had to realize his two best friends would join him, but there were no absolutes. Weasley and Hermione both had families who cared for and would have missed them.
"Your thought process on that is remarkably in line with mine. I wasn't experiencing what you were at the time, but I learned long ago that if I was only going to get a few hours' sleep at a time I'd best ensure they were the best possible."
Both grew quiet after that. He'd never stopped to realize there were things like beds he was particular or fussy about. She was right, though, there were certain things that, despite his rather common upbringing, he was rather snobbish about.
"So tell me how you started writing? I never got the impression your ambition was to be a writer."
"It wasn't," she said and went on to talk about things they both had to be relieved to be talking about other than the war and horcruxes. She didn't seem to want to go down the road of discussing those things anymore than he did.
XvXv
"So, who was it, Albus?" Phineas Black asked.
"I don't know."
"You've got the best spot in the room to hear everything."
"Phineas. Do you really think Severus is incapable of preventing me from hearing the witch's voice if that was what he wished to do? Clearly, he didn't want us to know."
"Ask his elf. Surely he would know," late headmaster Dippet said.
"No," Albus said, sliding his hand along the length of his beard. "We'll know when he's ready to let us know."
"Do we want him to have a witch?" Phineas asked.
"Why wouldn't we?" Dilys said, sounding shocked at the very idea of Phineas suggesting otherwise.
"Well, he'd leave then, wouldn't he?" Phineas asked.
"I know who it was," Headmaster Viridian offered.
Silence.
"Well, Vindictus," Dippet prompted.
"I didn't say I was going to tell you who it is. I agree with Albus on this. The headmaster deserves his privacy, but I don't think we have to worry about her taking him from Hogwars."
"Why not?"
"Because she loves it, too. And can't you feel it?"
"Feel what?" Phineas blustered.
Albus knew what Vindictus meant, though.
"Hogwarts accepts her," Albus said.
Silence.
Albus had a suspicion who it was. Vindictus probably didn't recall complaining about the gall of Hermione Granger threatening to have his area haunted by the ghost of Myrtle Warren.
Albus remembered, because Albus knew the significance of them gaining access to the Room and told Vindictus he was not to thwart their efforts after that. Unless they were under threat of being caught. That they were eventually caught wasn't Vindictus' fault. Albus knew that, and as such never revealed to anyone their … deal.
"Besides, it's Severus, he's not going to rush out and marry anyone," Albus offered. He knew Severus better than anyone. He would not rush into anything, most especially marriage. Forget his experience with Lily Potter nee Evans. No. It was his own example of a marriage that would make him take his time.
And if he was right. If it was Hemione Granger. Well, something told Albus the witch wasn't in any particular hurry either.
NOTE: Happy Sunday! No granddaughter yet (she's due March 8th, not February, sorry to anyone I worried with that goof!). Have a great start to your week, and thank you for reading.
