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Love Is No Big Truth	By : honeybee Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 10389 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
Chapter 13: I Have a Need

Hermione
woke up from the faint sound of creaking. She opened her eyes and spotted
Viktor�s head retreating from the door.

�I�m
awake,� she mumbled, rubbing her face. �What is it?�

He peeked
back in her room.

�I�m sorry;
I didn�t want to wake you. You just stayed up very late last night and I wanted
to check if you were sleeping on the desk.�

She grinned
and sat up in the bed, brushing her hair away from her eyes.

�I was, but
I moved at some point. What time is it?�

�Nearly 11 o�clock.
I�m going to my parents now, are you coming for lunch?�

Just then
the reality of the day being Saturday descended upon Hermione, chasing away the
last remnants of sleep. She shook her
head.

�I�ll skip
this week. Please, excuse me to your parents. I�m going to see Severus this
afternoon and I need to read some more.�

Viktor
stared at her.

�Severus?�

Hermione
blushed and snapped at him.

�Well, I
saved his life and then he saved mine. That�s more than enough ground for using
our first names.�

He raised
his hands in defence. �Okay, I didn�t mean anything. Sheesh,
you are a grouch in the morning. See you later.� He closed the door and hurried
away.

Hermione
squeezed her eyes shut and punched the pillow. Nice going, Granger. You scared the poor boy away. She got up, showered
and headed for the kitchenette in search of breakfast and coffee. She really
needed to get herself together and concentrate on the task at hand. She had
discovered some intriguing things in the book and wanted very badly to ask
Severus about them.

***

Severus was
finishing the last few stirs of the Pepper-Up Potion he was brewing, when he
heard the crack of Apparition outside the cottage.

�I�m
inside!� he said loudly.

He took a
deep breath when he heard the door open and turned around. He had spent the
several hours after Vesna left trying to persuade himself that he was an adult,
and ex-spy and generally controlled man, who could subdue all unwanted emotions
with his will. All the confidence he had managed to assemble crumpled at the sight
of her.

She was
wearing a dress! It was not in any
way revealing or attractive-a plain long dress with high neckline and wide
skirt. Her hair was gathered in a messy bun and she was hugging a stack of
parchments to her chest. She looked like a librarian. The problem was that she
looked like a woman, not like a girl. Her smile was shy and what one can call
girlish, but it just added to the overall effect of Severus feeling weakness in
the kneecaps.

Her smile
turned slowly into concern.

�Severus,
are you all right?� He realized that he was staring and looked away.

�Yes, I�m
fine. I�m stocking Pepper-Up for the winter, I just
need to bottle it and I will be right with you.�

She glanced
at the cauldron and asked, �Would you give me a ladle? I can help.� Silently,
he proffered the required utensil and for fifteen minutes they worked quietly. After
they were finished, Severus broke the silence.

�Let�s go
outside. You can practice, unless you want to discus the books first?�

She took
her parchments from the workbench and her eyes gleamed.

�Oh, I
definitely have some things to ask you.�

He groaned
in mock despair.

�The Fates
are cruel. Please, hold back until I�ve had my afternoon coffee.�

Later, mugs
in hand, they sat on the ground. Hermione shuffled through her parchments.

�I
understood what you said about arcane properties. I found some herbs in the
books that affect the Wielder�s power. It said that people gave those to their
children to suppress their powers until they were old enough to control them
and to realize the need to hide. I suppose they play part in your potion?�
Severus nodded in agreement.

�Life
reaches out to life, as I said. The Wielder has the power to establish an
actual connection. I believe that the herbs create a shield around the person,
so no life gets out and there is no way to connect.�

�If it�s so
simple, it should work the other way around. A person who drank such a potion
would have a shield around their life force, so no Wielder can come through.�

�Yes, it
works in general. However, not for the Killing Curse.�

Hermione�s
shoulders slumped.

�I knew it
couldn�t be so easy. There is something more, I can feel it. And I wanted to ask something else. Here, I
brought the book.�

She opened
the ancient tome and in the middle, there was a page missing. The centre was
burnt, leaving only the fringes. There were several words legible. �He has crossed the forbidden threshold��He shall be damned for eternity, but his
guilt and shame is ours to bear.�

�Is that
what I think it is?� she asked.

�Yes, this
is the page where Graolf�s deed was recorded. It was destroyed later. Vesna
told me that the elders decided it was better this way, the knowledge was too
dangerous.�

Hermione
fidgeted with her parchments again. Clearly she had some ideas of her own to
share, but she seemed reluctant. Severus was annoyed, until he remembered the
way he had treated her in school. Sure, their circumstances were different, but
he knew that habits were hard to overcome. He sighed and beckoned with his
hand.

�Hermione,
I see you have something to say. Please, don�t hold back. I�m not going to bite
you!�

She took a
deep breath and his eyes were drawn to the juncture between her neck and her
shoulder. Suddenly, biting seemed a good idea.

�I have
been thinking�what if your approach to the problem is flawed?�

He frowned.

�What do
you mean?�

�I saw your
Arithmancy on the potion. It�s all wrong. I mean, you did the calculations correctly,
but the results are total nonsense. An equation doesn�t look like that when you
need only to change quantities or the brewing process. It looks as if something
in your hypothesis is wrong. We are missing something very big.�

His eyes
narrowed. The impertinent chit�was absolutely right.

�I know.
There is a major piece of information missing. I tried to work around that, but
it seems impossible.�

***

Hermione
was gawking. Professor Snape admitted he was wrong. No, Severus admitted he was
wrong. Professor Snape never did that, but Severus apparently did. He reached
out for her papers and she handed them to him. She knew that her calculations were correct.
However, especially after the whole Wielding issue, she knew that there could
always be something she wasn�t taking in account.

He scowled
in concentration, deepening the lines on his forehead. Oh, how she longed to
reach out and smooth those lines. They did not belong on the face of a wizard
who was not even forty. He sighed and gave it back.

�I believe
you are correct. We are working with an unknown variable here. There must be
something that will help us make sense of this, but I cannot fathom what it is.�
He growled in frustration. �We will have time for this later. Right now, I
believe you wanted to practice?�

Hermione nodded
her throat suddenly dry. She had succeeded once before, but maybe it was a
fluke. The thought of failing in front of him terrified her. He apparently
noticed her concern and his features softened.

�Do not
worry, just do it. This time, you can try to touch without channelling first.
It will help your control. Besides, it is late autumn already. The pool is
calmer this time of the year.�

Hermione
looked at him quizzically.

�Nature
goes to sleep for the winter, Hermione. This is a safe time to practice. In the
winter it is too sluggish to let you realize the real scale of what you are
dealing with. And only the insane would teach an inexperienced Wielder in the
spring. Even for me it�s overwhelming. Summer and autumn are the best.�

Hermione thought
about it and realized the truth of the statement. It was plausible that the
energy of the life pool would follow the cycles of nature. Winter was rest
time. Spring was when everything came back to life. She remembered the violent
connection she had established at her first try and shuddered at the thought of
doing this in the spring. She wasn�t sure even Severus would have been able to
pull her out.

She reached
out towards the warm soil and her hand hovered in hesitation. Then suddenly
Severus� warm hand was wrapped around hers. She jerked her head around and
found him sitting right behind her. His eyes were looking straight into hers
and he said softly. �Do it. I�m here if something goes wrong.� His words and
his touch made her feel safer than she had ever felt before. She nodded and
plunged her hand into the soil together with his.

The
sensation was different, duller. She was pushing down, but she didn�t have to
use so much force. She also felt his presence. Then he whispered in her ear, �Now�feel.�

She obeyed
and gasped. When she wasn�t so focused on control, she realized that she could
perceive everything that lived under the grass. There are few places that
contain more separate organisms than soil. Even in the autumn, she could feel
insects, worms and various seeds like tiny sparks. They were somehow more
focused within the blurred movement of the pool. She could also feel Severus�
presence.

�Good.� he said softly. �Now I want you to try and channel to
yourself. Be careful, not too much.�

Hermione
wanted to ask what would happen, but she was too afraid to lose her
concentration. So she obeyed and decreased the pressure, allowing the current
to absorb into her own life force, instead of redirecting it. The feeling was
incredible, her whole being thrummed with delight. Then she felt a tug on her
hand and his voice said �Enough!� With effort and some reluctance she pulled
back and opened her eyes. He was still staring at her, holding her hand. She
looked down at their entwined fingers and gasped. Looking closer, she saw that
the fresh scab where she had grazed herself with the cutting knife was only a
pale mark on her thumb, as if it was months old.

�This is
one of the common effects.� He released her hand and pulled back. �You will
also find that your senses are heightened; you will not get hungry until
tomorrow and you will need only a few hours of sleep tonight. It basically
enhanced every function in you body for a short time.�

Hermione
lifted her astonished eyes to him and realized what he was talking about. Every
line on his face was suddenly clearer. She noticed a small scar on his forehead
which had been invisible until then.
Then the mountain breeze ruffled his hair and she sucked in her breath
in surprise. She could smell him! The
scent of Pepper-Up Potion, the coffee on his breath, lime and vetiver probably
from his cologne invaded her nostrils as if her nose was burrowed in his neck.
He smelled so delicious and she wanted more!
She caught herself leaning towards him and pulled back in embarrassment.
A throb low in her abdomen urged her to lean back, to inhale more of that
delicious scent. All body systems
enhanced, indeed, she thought as she scrambled to her feet.

�Severus, I
need to get back. I am going to a movie with Viktor and I will be late. I will
think about the problem with the potion.�

He stood up
with a slightly confused expression and Hermione knew that she was making
stupid excuses but she needed to get away before she hugged him and sniffed to
her heart�s content�or worse. She collected her parchments and the book, still
avoiding his eyes.

�I will owl
you about our next lesson. Goodbye.� She whirled around and Apparated, leaving
a very confused Severus behind.

***

Severus sat
back on the grass, contemplating the last half hour. Everything had been going
very well. Why did she leave early? He didn�t believe her cooked up appointment
with Krum. The lie was clear in her eyes when she said it, he didn�t need
Legilimency to see it. He replayed the events, trying to see what might have
scared her. Her odd fidgeting had started after she had absorbed the life
force. Was it too much? It was overwhelming in the beginning, the energy, the
heightened senses�He frowned. There was something.
Her nostrils had flared�and she had leaned towards him. Severus looked down in
mortification and anger. Did she smell his arousal? Did she even know what an
aroused man smelled like? However, she didn�t seem repulsed, only�flustered. He
took a moment to remember her face. Her cheeks were flushed; she seemed short
of breath and her eyes were glassy. Maybe she found his scent appealing? He
groaned and fell back on the ground, staring at the fluffy clouds. Today was no supposed to go like that. It
was supposed to be normal. Apparently normal was a too much to expect from
fate. Vesna�s words drifted back to him: There is nothing wrong with
letting yourself feel, Severus� Maybe, just maybe she was right.

***

Hermione
Apparated to the flat and startled Viktor from a heated snog on the couch. She
squealed and turned around.

�Sorry, I�m
so sorry! I just wanted to get home as soon as possible. I�m going to my room
now and I�ll stay there all evening, promise!�

Before her
embarrassed friend could reply, she sprinted across the living room and slammed
the door shut behind her. All she had glimpsed from the girl was flowing black
hair and a pretty impressive rack. Good
for Viktor. At least he�s getting some. She threw herself on the bed and
burrowed under the pillows, trying to shut out the persistent throb in her
stomach. It didn�t help that Severus� scent still lingered in her nose and
combined with the smell of her own sheets. Hermione growled in frustration and
punched the headboard.

A tiny knock
interrupted her self-pity session. She got up and opened the door.

�Sorry
about that.� Viktor stood there, looking absolutely mortified. She glanced over
his shoulder and the girl was nowhere to be seen.

�I�m the
one who should apologise. I shouldn�t have Apparated straight to the living
room. I�m sorry that I scared off your date.�

Viktor
shook his head.

�She was
about to leave anyway. What you saw was a goodbye kiss that got out of hand.�

Then he
took a better look at her and stepped inside, his dark eyes radiating concern.

�Hermione,
what�s wrong? You look worried.�

She looked
away, but he was next to her in a second.

�I am
having none of this. No offence, but I have seen what happened the last time
you tried to work out your problems by yourself. I swear that what you say will
go no further. Now spill!�

Hermione�s
eyes welled up and she lunged at Viktor, enveloping him in a fierce hug. It
felt so nice to have someone who cared. Harry, Ron and Ginny were too far away,
and they would have too many prejudices. Viktor was a good listener and she
knew he wouldn�t tell a soul. She inhaled his scent: ink and parchment, pine
and musk, a note of gardenia, probably from Mystery Girl�s perfume. It was
comforting and it definitely didn�t cause the reaction Severus� scent did. She sighed and pulled back.

�I�ll tell
you everything, but first you go get some wine. I need a drink. And I want to
hear about that girl.�
- 12
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- 14
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Love Is No Big Truth