Ch 13 - Advance
It had only taken an hour for Severus to check his wrist for Professor Granger's whereabouts - Staff Tower. But that was just to make sure it was working properly.
And after dinner, that was just to ensure that she had gotten to her rooms safely.
Then when he tapped his wrist with his wand after he finished grading papers at 9 o'clock, that was just to be sure she hadn't been assailed in her quarters.
Severus kept reminding himself that this was her idea. He wasn't breaking any rules of propriety; Hermione was under active threat.
After his evening workout, he checked again. When his wrist flashed the word Library in cursive at him, he'd rolled his eyes and cleaned himself magically before pulling his coat on.
Hogwarts' newly appointed Head of Security implemented drastic safety protocols, including alternating routes, staff checking in hourly, and lecturing the students about the importance of constant vigilance and personal safety. When Minerva had offered him the position, Severus was given full access to the arsenal - within reason. And Severus felt it was within reason to wake the gargoyles, who now stood sentry and watched the grounds at night, ready to yank an intruder off his feet and hall them to the Headmistress.
The ghosts had been successfully recruited too, which had resulted in a lot less moaning than he'd expected. Even the portraits came around, the lazy pomps, though it took a fair amount of threats to convince them to cooperate.
The willingness of the student body to cooperate had surprised him, but the rumours of the attack on Professor Granger had reached the student body by Monday morning. Perhaps the students didn't complain because these extra safety measures made them feel safer.
"Professor, when do you sleep?" Severus stowed his wand in his sleeve pocket and stepped into the glow of her candlelight. It had to be nearly midnight.
Hermione's curls obscured her face as she glanced up at him and then back down to the parchment in front of her. "I take power naps in my office between classes."
Severus leaned over the table. "Power naps?"
"It's a muggle thing."
"Indeed." It must be a newer phrase. Severus has always felt far removed from his Muggle side, a fact that drew him closer to the Dark Lord when he was young. It had always been easy to pretend his father's side of the family never existed. He scanned her messy piles. "What are you researching?"
Professor Granger sighed deeply. "Nothing really."
As he stepped closer to her, he could make out circles underneath her eyes. "Tell me."
She looked surprised but cleared her throat and gestured to her piles. "Kingsley said that muggles are being attacked regularly and frequently. If the Ministry can't keep up, I can't imagine how confused the muggle authorities are." She shuffled through her newspaper clippings and pulled one out. "So I've been cross-referencing all the random, unsolved violent crimes in the Prophet with any random acts of violence in the muggle papers."
"If the story is in the muggle paper, but not the Prophet's crime section," Hermione pulled a muggle paper clipping and held it next to a page from the Prophet, "then maybe the Ministry has a magical perpetrator that isn't even on their radar yet."
Severus considered her. "Where did you get this idea?"
She waved, "My mum watched loads of muggle crime shows; the local police will sometimes call in the FBI or the NCA, who show up and analyze the crime scene, and use that information to connect the perpetrator to other crimes in other areas. It's how muggles catch serial killers. Why not go to the crime scene and see if there is a magical signature?"
Severus was impressed by her enterprise, but concerned with her nonchalance. "And if you find anything? Do you plan to apprehend these criminals?"
"Merlin, no. My fighting days are over. I'll call the Aurors and Kingsley to deal with them," She laughed.
"It's a good plan. There are likely serial offenders all over the country. Have the Aurors not thought of this?"
Hermione hid a small yawn in her sleeve, shaking her head. "I'm sure they have, but they're all overwhelmed. Besides, I am quite a useful researcher. It's not glorious, but I want to help."
Severus removed his frock and dropped into the seat next to her, pushing his sleeves up past his forearms. "Alright. Which stack is mine?"
Her brown eyes flashed a questioning look. Severus only stared back, waiting for her answer.
Hermione pressed her lips together and handed him a stack of muggle newspapers. "Here are the ones I haven't read yet. I'd planned to be here at least another two hours-"
"We will work on this for one hour, and then you will go to sleep." He said simply, already flipping through the first paper. We will complete over two hours of work in one hour, which means you will be asleep by 1 in the morning."
Hermione furrowed her brow, "Hand on, what do you mean over 2 hours?"
Severus cocked his eyebrows, "I read exceptionally fast."
"You think you read faster than me?" She put a hand to her chest in faux-incredulity.
"Most certainly."
"Does your humility ever hold you back?"
A smile sprang to his lips, he found he didn't mind it when she teased him. "Never," he stated, and turned back to his stack of parchment.
Severus and Hermione spent the next hour in companionable silence while they scanned the papers, occasionally sharing notes or pointing out discrepancies. He tried to not glance up as often as he would have liked to and succeeded nearly every time.
He knew he needed to get a grip, but her very presence lifted his shoulders, the way she looked at him made him feel significant. Not as a weapon, not as a spy, but as a man. Like he was important to her.
What a narcissist I am. He rolled his eyes inwardly at himself and glanced at the time. She was immersed in her work, not noticing that he had stopped. "That's enough for tonight." He said gently. "We can continue tomorrow if you like."
Hermione blinked blearily up at him, nodding. Severus magically sorted, labeled, and filed their work before handing the papers back to Hermione.
"Handy spell. you'll have to teach me that one," she said, stashing them in her bag.
Severus nodded, "Shall I apparate us to your door?"
He held his arm out for her to take, but she only looked down at it and back up at him, hesitating, "Do you mind if we walk? It's alright if-"
"I would be happy to walk with you, Professor." To keep her safe. That's all.
Their peaceful silence continued a few corridors, but Severus could feel his heart pounding. On paper, his behavior was harmless, but the blush he felt in his chest and face did not feel that way.
When they neared the corner of her corridor, he struggled with himself internally for a moment. When she raised her eyebrows at his wavering, he pulled a hefty brown book out of his coat pocket. "Before Peeves joins our conversation," Severus started, "this is for you. Happy Birthday, Professor."
He placed the book in her hands, all 1000 pages, and watched as her expression transformed from confusion to one of delighted shock.
"Is this…?" Hermione's curls bobbed as she looked from the book in her hand to him and back again, flipping the cover open. "Is this an early edition of Hogwarts: A History?"
"Quite early."
She gasped, "You didn't, it can't be a -"
"No," Severus corrected swiftly, "it's not a first edition, but it is quite old." Severus looked down at her hands and avoided her eyes. "It belonged to the very first Muggleborn staff member Hogwarts, Professor Ambroise Hawthorn."
Her eyes brimmed with tears. "I can't accept this." But even as she said it, she held the book tighter in her hands.
Severus gave her a shrug. "Then use it as kindling. I have no use for it."
Hermione gasped, holding the book away from him, clearly horrified at the thought. "I would never-"
Severus stopped her with a sly smile. "Too easy."
"Thank you, I love it."She blushed, ignoring his taunt. She ran her finger over the title page where Professor Hawthorn had written his name.
"Did you charm it so it's not so heavy?"
"Naturally," he nodded, feeling warmed by her reaction. She looked radiant, dark circles and all. Truthfully, he had never bought a gift for a colleague before, and had argued with himself for days that a book was more than appropriate and did not give the wrong signal. Severus had already begun down the corridor again when her voice stopped him.
"That was very thoughtful, but I still haven't gotten what I really want." Her tall boots brought her closer to his eye level than usual. She lazily put one boot in front of the other as she closed the distance between them.
Severus blinked at her. "And that is?"
Hermione's tawny eyes held mischief, so beautiful as the torchlight flickered around her. "Severus, would you like to go to dinner with me?"
Severus heard a faint ringing in his ears. It took a moment for him to realize what she'd asked, and even then, "Excuse me?"
"I'd like to have dinner with you," Hermione walked a bit closer, her expression open and hopeful, "if you're interested."
Severus felt a surge of adrenaline in his gut. He didn't meet her eye. This wasn't supposed to be a possibility - what on earth is she thinking?
She was still looking at him, waiting for an answer.
Severus tried not to look at her soft decolletage or her incredible waistline. He stared down at his shoes instead. "You need to think very carefully about what you're saying and who you're saying it to."
"What do you mean?" The confusion in her voice made him feel strangely irritated.
"It's inappropriate." He shifted uncomfortably under her scrutiny.
"It's just dinner." She said it like a question as if there was nothing insane about this conversation. "And we're colleagues, it's not insane for us to-"
"That sounds like a date."
"I mean…I'm game if you are." Hermione flashed him a sly grin that settled somewhere in his groin.
Severus opened his mouth and then closed it. Once again, she had stunned him. He truly wondered for a moment if he was hallucinating. It was absurd, a delusion, that she would waste her romantic attentions on a bitter old death eater.
Perhaps buying her that book had given her the wrong message. Perhaps, to someone like Hermione, the book was a romantic gift. A small, needling voice in the back of his head whispered. It was a romantic gift, wasn't it?
"Professor Granger, please be serious."
"I am being serious." She looked hurt. "Severus, I'm attracted to you. I enjoy our conversations. I like you." Her expression implored him.
But how could he even entertain it? To become such a cliche? Severus shook his head, running a nervous hand through his hair.
Hermione took yet another step closer, and as much as he knew he should step away, his feet did not seem to want to remove himself from her attention. "You don't believe I could be attracted to you. Is that it?"
Too young, much too young. His neck was hot as he fumbled for words. "I am not a…viable option for you, romantically. I-I'm twice your age-"
He had expected her to recoil at his tone, but Hermione only smiled at him. "I am an adult," she said, "and we both know you've been a perfect gentleman."
"It's not ethical."
"I'm 22. I understand that to you, that's not very old, but please consider what I've been through; I am not your average 22-year-old." She smiled, offering levity to the tense atmosphere, "Actually, I'm 23 if you count all my time with the time-turner, which I do."
"You are my friend, and I care very much for your safety." Severus practically pleaded. "But I can't."
"If it's about what other people think, I don't care." Hermione's voice was strong despite her blushing cheeks. "I only care if you want me too."
Severus felt suspended in time as she waited for him to compose any kind of reply, her beautiful face so anxious. It didn't feel real; the room seemed to pulse with tension and he lost his mental footing. Every passing moment his opportunity to explain himself dwindled. Something was shifting between them, and he was not ready for it.
Severus felt the regret in his chest before the words came out. "I am flattered, Professor Granger, but my answer is no. I truly hope we can still be friends."
Hermione hesitated for a moment and then stepped backward. "Alright then." She directed a neutral smile in his direction. "If you're not interested, then I have to accept that. Thank you for being clear with me."
Not interested? Surely she must know that she is the most vivacious creature in a thousand miles. And now she thought that he didn't find her attractive, all because he wasn't enough of a lech to attach himself to a young woman who could do so much better?
It was somehow much worse for her to think that he did not want her, but Severus knew there was no way to correct this notion without sending the wrong signal. He faltered, "Professor-"
"And of course, we're still friends. I didn't mean to embarrass you, Severus. If you like, we can pretend this never happened." She gestured her book towards him and she turned to walk away. "Have a nice night Professor," she turned back to him, her face earnest, "and thank you for the book."
He could tell she meant it, that she was not angry with him. He stayed put for several minutes, checking his wrist until her location flashed - Sleeping Chambers, and then trudged back to his rooms, a prickle of tears obscuring his vision.