AN: Thank you for all the support! It is very deeply appreciated!
"Melonie will not stop listening to Elvis," Hermione slumped into her chair at Severus' table. She ran her hands in her hair and groaned, "If I hear Don't Be Cruel one more time, I'm going to ram my head into a wall until I lose consciousness."
"Please do not do that," Severus poured himself a double shot of rum. "I would prefer not to play cards with you in the hospital."
"You would go to the hospital to play cards with me?"
He nodded. "I have every incentive to play with you. If you were comatose, I would win every game without issue."
"I suppose so," she groaned.
"Anyway, you were saying about your neighbor..."
"Yes, Melonie. She's getting on my last nerve. I try to be a good neighbor, I really do, but," she stared at him. "You aren't interested in any of this, are you?"
He hummed before turning to her, drink in hand.
"I suppose I get it. This whole evening I've been whining about a neighbor. In the grand scheme of things, a little music isn't such a huge deal. She's a kind person who did allow me to use her shower when mine wasn't working. Do you think I'm making too much out of a neighbor who enjoys music too early in the morning?" Hermione shook her head.
He opened his mouth.
"Perhaps I am making too much of this," she continued. "It may be time to invent a spell or some kind of special wall to block her music. Granted, I don't want to block out all noise, lest there be a storm siren or someone knocking on my door. Still, it would be nice to sleep in every once in awhile."
"If anyone could invent a spell to only block out Elvis, it would be you," He slumped into the chair across from her.
"You could invent it the spell too, but," Hermione grew quiet as she observed Severus, really observed him. He hadn't slouched this much since he was in the defendant's chair during his trial. His expression was the same he wore on the stand, one in which everything around him had fallen apart, and all he could do was pick up the pieces as best he could. It explained his uncharacteristic silence and the fact he went for straight rum, something he only did when his day had been horrendous.
Her voice was soft, "what happened today?"
He took a gulp of his rum.
"What happened?"
He took another gulp, as if drinking the libation would make it as if the day had never occurred.
"Severus, talk to me," Hermione's voice was gentle. "Something is troubling you. What happened today that has you in such a dark mood?"
"You don't know?" He slammed his tumbler on the table. The only reason it did not break was because he'd cast a spell to make it indestructible.
"Should I know what occurred?" She swallowed. "Did I do something over our lunch break to sour your mood? If so, I apologize."
"No," his voice was quiet. "You could never sour my mood."
"Unless I answer all your questions when you're trying to teach. That tends to sour your mood for the rest of the day."
He looked at her as if she'd stabbed him at the word, "teach."
She swallowed. "I'm sorry, that may have sliced too close to the bone. I wasn't trying to be offensive. Sometimes I say the stupidest things."
"No, you said nothing which wasn't true. I was not the best professor in Hogwarts history, something people are all too eager to point out." He took another swig of his rum.
"You got us through the war."
"Oh yes, I did such a stellar job during the war," he snapped. "I let the Carrows cast unspeakables on students and I killed Dumbledore. My tenure is remembered fondly by all."
"You seem to be worried about something tied to your past." She swallowed. "Is the city launching some kind of investigation?"
"I would much prefer the city of Las Vegas launch an investigation against me to what occurred today," He scowled. "The city would at least give me a chance to explain myself without judgment."
"But other people wouldn't."
He shook his head.
"Is The Daily Prophet running a story on you?"
His lips twitched upwards, "Whoever said you lacked perception and were incapable of listening to others was a dunderhead."
"Oh," her stomach sank. "How did you find out about the story?"
"Rita darkened my doorstep this morning, telling me that she was writing a retrospective on Dumbledore's Army."
Hermione's stomach churned.
"She asked if I had a comment, but I told her no," he picked up his tumbler.
"Why? You could've defended yourself against baseless accusations, explained the truth to those who don't know."
"What would be the point of saying anything?" He took another gulp of his rum.
"If the reporter were from the United Stated I'd say there was much to gain from an interview. People could learn how much you've done for the Wizarding World, and how you should be honored for your role in the war. Since she's Rita," Hermione fidgeted. "You're right, there isn't much of a point. She will only distort everything you say."
"There's little distort. I'm not a hero."
"You are a hero to me," She touched his hand.
"Perhaps you consider me one," he rubbed his thumb along her fingers. "But you are in the minority."
"I've never minded thinking differently than the majority."
"Perhaps you don't, but you don't control a newspaper. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, I'm a right old bastard who destroys everything he touches." He removed his hand from hers.
"Except that isn't true," she argued.
"According to you it isn't," he finished his rum.
"Well I do tend to be right about these kinds of things," her lips curled upwards.
He raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, nobody else would've gone so far out of their way to help me move learn to navigate Las Vegas, help me find a store, help me negotiate rent for my store until I could buy it, help me find book seller conventions so I could make deals with them, help me to stay away from the strip during tourist season, and help me find some real news sources."
"You make me sound like someone with a soul who is capable of caring for others."
"That is what you are."
"I'm not half as altruistic as you think I am."
She licked her lips.
He huffed. "My motives for helping you weren't pure. I didn't want Ginevra on my doorstep complaining that I was making you feel unwelcome or that I was being a bastard towards you. If I didn't help you somehow, I was going to receive a howler every day until I spoke to you in a friendly manner."
"So if Ginny wasn't your goddaughter-in-law…"
"You'd be in the Venetian giving gondola rides, pleading for any kind of tip."
"That still sounds more enticing than reading about Ron's whirlwind romance with Cindy, right above a picture of her showing off her baby bump."
"Ron was the biggest dunderhead alive."
"I'm beginning to believe it."
"You should believe that. It's the truth."
"Perhaps, but something doesn't make sense," Hermione held up her piña colada, "Why didn't Rita visit me? She knows where to find me, so why not sneak in and try to have an interview with me?"
"I told her that if she attempted to contact you, nobody would find the body, and if they did, they'd think she was killed by a tourist from Denver?"
"Denver?"
He shrugged. "It was the first city I could think of. I know the head auror of Vegas doesn't like the head auror in Denver, so I said someone from Denver would kill Rita and sneak into the night, never to be captured."
"So," she relaxed and smiled. "You defended me."
"No, I kept her from causing a scene across from my store and disrupting my business because the aurors closed off the block to investigate you hexing her into oblivion."
"And here I thought you liked me."
"No, I dislike you immensely. Your quarters on the other hand…" he smirked.
"I'll never understand your obsession with the quarters. What do you use them for once you win them?" She asked.
"Bubblegum and Tutti Frutti jellybeans."
"Oh Merlin." She groaned. "How can you eat those?"
"Simple, I put them in my mouth, chew, and swallow. I repeat the process for each one. If I get adventurous, I put two in my mouth and eat them at the same time."
"I couldn't even put one of those in my mouth."
"Which explains why you struggle to eat them."
"It also explains why I don't have any cavities and you've had three in the last two years."
He chuckled. "I plan to buy more candy tomorrow. If you would like some, I am more than happy to pick something up for you."
"No, I'm fine on candy except," there was a spark in her eyes. "Instead of quarters, which I'm running out of, do you want to play for Dum Dums?"
"Dum Dums?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, those little suckers they give out at parades and banks."
"I know what they are." He ran his fingers along the rim of his glass. "I just didn't know you enjoyed them."
"Of course I enjoy them. I mean, who doesn't enjoy a Dum Dum?"
"I do not know anyone who hates Dum Dums."
"So you even like them," there was a gleam in her eyes.
"I tolerate them." He gave her a mock scowl.
"How can you only tolerate Dum Dums when you eat so many jellybeans? It's all sweet sugar."
"Simple," Severus answered. "Unlike jellybeans, Dum Dums get stuck in my teeth and are difficult to remove. That makes it difficult to floss, and can lead to poor dental hygiene."
"I didn't know you cared anything for dental hygiene."
"I care deeply about dental hygiene," Severus answered. "Poor dental hygiene can ruin the effect of a scowl on a dunderheaded customer."
"True, and it could lessen the impact your smiles have me."
He blinked.
"Oh, you don't think I enjoy you smile?" Her eyes glistened.
"I smile around you?"
Hermione nodded before taking a gulp of her piña colada.
"Remind me to stop grinning like an idiot," Severus scratched the table. "It must be traumatizing to see me with a pleasant expression. I never mean to cause you trauma, at least not anymore."
"Cause me trauma?"
"Yes, seeing me smile must be a traumatic experience for you."
"How could your smile ever cause me trauma?"
"My grin must appear grotesque because I rarely smile, and it must make you question your sanity to see me take any pleasure in life. Then there's the fact that if I smiled too much around you, you would be tempted to tell people I was capable of feeling joy. That would be a travesty since nobody would believe you."
"Or they would try to make you happy so they could see you smile."
"Which would annoy me to no end. I mean, the last thing I need are people throwing flowers at my feet because they think I will enjoy their scent, or telling me the same joke twenty times hoping I will finally get it."
"We cannot have that."
"No, so either remind me not to smile around you, or to teach you occlumency so that when you discuss me, you can clear the image of me smiling out of your mind. Then, you won't be tempted to tell anyone I can smile."
"I will keep that in mind."
He sat up straighter.
"Would you ever teach me occlumency?" She asked.
"If you ever wanted to learn it, I'm amenable to teaching you."
"I'm amenable to it, but I warn you, I may ask quite a few questions. If you ask me to write an essay, it will be long. After all, I must write down everything I know."
"I can endure that," his lips curled up.
"You can?" Her heart fluttered.
"Indeed I can," he answered, "Especially if the alternative is having a hostile business across my apothecary because I wouldn't teach the store owner something she desperately wanted to learn. The last thing I'd ever want is for you to begin leaving romance books around my store, leading people to believe I enjoyed reading them. I would be mortified if anyone ever mistook me for a Jane Austen fan."
"We cannot have that now can we?"
"No, we cannot."
"Fine," Hermione finished the last of her piña colada.
He pointed to her glass. "Do you want me to make you another piña colada?"
"You don't have to trouble yourself doing so."
"It's no trouble," he stood. "I am in the mood to make one for myself. I may as well make one for you."
"Fine, but don't drink too much," she stood as well. "I don't want you to be too exhausted when you brew tomorrow."
"I will drink moderately for your sake."
"Do it for your own," her voice softened. "I would be devastated if an accident were to befall you in the lab. I don't know how I'd live with myself if you had frog legs."
"For my own sake and the sake of your sanity, I will drink in moderation and be careful when brewing tomorrow."
"Thank you."
He strolled over to the refrigerator to begin collecting his supplies.
"And Severus?"
He hummed and turned around.
"Thank you," she smiled. "Regardless of your reasoning for defending me, I appreciate you standing up for me and keeping Rita away."
"You don't deserve to be harassed," his voice was soft. "You deserve to live in peace. You deserve to be accepted for who you are and live life on your terms."
"I could say the same of you," she stepped towards him. "You deserve peace and happiness in your life. Don't ever forget it."
"I take it if I forget, you will remind me?"
"You'd better believe it."
Hermione's heart fluttered as Severus gave her one of his warm, genuine smiles.