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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
- 13
- 14
- 15
Chapter 14: Let Go

Viktor and Hermione
stayed up late, drinking wine and talking. Bit by bit, Hermione managed to tell
her story, this strange attraction to Severus which both fascinated and scared
her. After she was finished, Viktor took a large slug from the bottle.

�I don�t see the exact
nature of your problem. Is it him or is it the feeling itself?�

Hermione sighed.

�It�s a little of both. I
haven�t felt this way about anyone else, and it is strange that it�s exactly
him. He was my professor for six years.

He was always mean to me and I suppose I irritated him to no end.�

Viktor chuckled.

�Well, people change all
the time. You�ve grown up, so has he. You don�t have Voldemort�s shadow hanging
over you. Which bothers you more�the
fact that you are attracted to him or the possibility that he doesn�t feel that
way about you?�

Hermione had chewed her
lip raw, so she absently nibbled on her hair.

�I�m not sure I want him
to feel anything about me. If it�s one-sided, maybe it will go away by itself.
Merlin, I�m so messed up. I hate this.�

Viktor removed her hair
from her mouth and earned a glare.

�Do you think he might
reciprocate?�

�How the hell am I
supposed to know? I�m clueless when it comes to boys. You had to invite me to
the Yule Ball before I realized you were interested in me.�

�He is hardly a boy, but
I have to agree about you being clueless. Look, don�t stress too much over it,
because you can�t really do anything about it. You are attracted to the man and
that is that. Maybe it will go away, maybe he likes you too and you can live
happily ever after or at least shag like rabid nifflers for a while. End of
story.�

Hermione swatted him on
the shoulder.

�You make it sound very
simple. And you lifted way too much vocabulary from Ron and Harry.�

�It is simple.
People just make it complicated inside their heads.� Viktor yawned and blinked
at the clock.

�It�s two in the morning,
Hermione. We can talk again, but you should get some sleep first.�

Hermione pouted and
grabbed the bottle.

�I can�t sleep because of
that stupid Wielding exercise he made me do. Channel life-force into yourself,
he said. Enhances all body systems, he said. Now I can�t even sleep to get him
out of my mind!�

Viktor sighed and stood
up on wobbly legs.

�You might be running on
turbo drive but I�m dead tired, so I�m going to bed. Try to get some sleep,
please!�

Hermione wrapped herself
in the thick blanket and stared morosely at the wine. Even after a full bottle,
she wasn�t feeling even a bit woozy. Another blasted side effect of the extra
life force coursing through her system. She put the bottle away and dutifully
tried to sleep, but with no success. Finally she admitted defeat and threw back
the covers. The least she could do was finish some of her homework.

***

Severus woke up and
instantly regretted it. The sun was already up and the meagre light filtering
through the curtains stabbed his eyes. He groped blindly around the floor by
his bed and finally grabbed the blessed bottle. Thanking himself for the
forethought, he downed the hangover potion, instantly feeling better. He sat up
in bed and looked around. Yes, the bottle of brandy was empty. His liver
wouldn�t thank him for last night�s fiasco. He rubbed his face and stood up.
His brain still felt fuzzy. Staying up all night drinking himself to
unconsciousness had not been a very good idea, but it had been the quickest ad
easiest way to get Hermione out of his head.

A quick shower and two
cups of coffee later, he felt alert enough to pull out a book and read up on
the ulcer cure he was trying to improve. By noon, he had a list of possible
ingredient substitutions. His mind kept straying to Hermione, but he pushed
back the thought and focused on the potion. Midway through the brewing process
however, he realized with horror that instead of mint leaves he was about to
add lavender. His eyelids were drooping and he wasn�t fit to brew in such
sleep-deprived and distracted condition. With a resigned sigh, he put a stasis
charm on the cauldron, reduced the heat and cleared the table. He turned
towards the door to ward it, when his eyes riveted on a strange cloak hanging
on the nail. Hermione had left in a hurry the previous day; it was probably
hers. Slowly he walked over to the cloak and picked it up. Then hesitantly he
brought it to his nose and inhaled. Merlin, must she smell so divine? Against
his better judgment, he carried the cloak back to bed and hugged it to his
chest while he gave up and contemplated the mystery that was Hermione Granger. He
had never regarded her as more than a bright, if annoying student. After she
saved his life and they said their farewells at Hogwarts, he hadn�t expected to
run across her for at least several years. Then he found that flower in the
Shrieking Shack and some part of him knew that their paths would cross sooner
than he thought. However their current situation was beyond anything he could
have imagined.

He sniffed the cloak
again and unconsciously rubbed his cheek against the soft wool, thinking about
his life. His early childhood had taught him about love�love made people weak
and caused them pain. His mother�s love for his father had cost her her magic,
her happiness and eventually, her life.
He still remembered her dressing his cuts and bruises, after his father
expressed his rage about Severus� first bursts of involuntary magic. Her own
lip was bleeding and her left eye was black-and-blue, yet she kept telling him,
�He loves us, Severus, he just doesn�t understand. Daddy loves us, try not to
do magic in front of him and everything will be okay.� So he tried and tried,
but it was never good enough. A drop of porridge on the table, a shirt not
ironed properly�the smallest things caused Tobias Snape to descend with fists
upon his wife and son. The only thing that made his life better was when he met
Lily. She had been vibrant, full of life and she had liked him, despite his
obvious flaws. He would stay awake at night and dream that she was his
sister. That awful Petunia did not deserve her anyway. However, young as he
was, he was actually happy that he didn�t have any real siblings; that would
only mean more victims to his father. Later, in Hogwarts, he would see happy
couples snogging and holding hands, but when he closed his eyes, all he saw was
his father�s raised fist and his mother�s ruined face, so unlike the happy
looking coupe on their wedding photo. People changed. He couldn�t risk it.
Romance was for fools. Anyway, every person he had dared to love in any way,
his mother, his Lily and Dumbledore, had died a violent death, a death that was
fully or partially his fault. He thought that he had sealed his heart. Now
Hermione Granger, the former bane of his existence, was slowly but steadily
worming her way into his life. His every instinct screamed to hide, to retreat,
to strike back, to spare them both the pain that would surely follow. Love
equals pain. Yet her cloak was so soft and it smelled so good and he was so
tired...Lost in his warring emotions, Severus fell into fretful sleep, still
clutching Hermione�s cloak for dear life.

***

At some point, Hermione
returned to bed and managed to doze off for a few hours. When she woke up, it
was past noon. Dragging herself out of bed, she found a very grumpy and
hung-over Viktor cooking breakfast and nursing a headache. She sat contritely
at the table and fiddled with the edge of her dressing robe.

�Sorry about last night.�

Viktor managed a pained
smile.

�It�s fine, that�s what
friends are for. Are you still high on life force?�

Hermione giggled.

�I think it�s starting to
wear off. I even managed to sleep.�

�Then the scent of coffee
won�t kill you. Make yourself useful and make some.�

Hermione complied and
soon they were sipping hot coffee and Viktor was stuffing himself with fried
eggs and yogurt. Hermione still didn�t feel hungry.

�I was too busy wallowing
in self-pity and you never got to tell me about your date last night,� she
said.

Viktor choked on a piece
of egg and went bright red.

�Well�she is a childhood
friend actually, but we haven�t seen each other in fifteen years. She has come
here to study Herbology. We went out to
see a movie and catch up and well, you could see for yourself.�

Hermione chuckled and
patted his shoulder.

�No need to be
embarrassed. I�m happy for you. Are you going to see her again?�

�Yes, but I will limit
the snogging to my room.�

�Do remember a silencing
charm, Viktor dear. Now if you�ll excuse me, I need to catch up on my reading.�

Viktor rolled his eyes.

***

It was late afternoon
when Hermione finished her essay and closed �Magical Plants of the Balkans�
with a heavy thud. Her eyes strayed to the locked and charmed drawer where she
kept the other books. She couldn�t let the discomfort get in the way of
her work. She had promised to help and she knew that there was a lot more to learn
that the simple exercises Severus had shown her. Nevertheless she shuddered as
she said his name in her mind. Maybe it would have been wiser to keep
addressing each other formally�Hermione pursed her lips and un-warded the
drawer, extracting the books and her notes. She reviewed the Arithmantic
equations and started listing the different variables that could be missing.
Not all of them seemed terribly important, but sometimes even the smallest
thing could have tremendous influence. She needed to check every possibility
and Hermione Granger famous for her thoroughness.

Two hours later the light
was fading and Hermione looked up from her parchment. She realized that her
fingers were cramped and her stomach was demanding food. She went to the
kitchen and opened the fridge. A lone
apple and a minuscule piece of cheese met her sight. With a deep sigh she
grabbed her bag and headed for the front door. She reached for her cloak, but
it was missing from its usual place. Hermione frowned and returned to her room.
No cloak. Of course, she could wear her Muggle coat, but the cloak was much
warmer. When had she worn it last? Yesterday�she closed her eyes and collapsed
on the bed as she realized that her cloak was still hanging on a nail in
Severus� cottage. Okay�deep breaths�Muggle coat it is. The store is not so
far away. I will use a warming charm. There. Then she bit her lip. It was
six o�clock, hardly a late hour for a visit. She could pop over, get her cloak
and apologize for her sudden departure on the previous day. Her senses were
back to normal. She wouldn�t do anything stupid. Apologize, get her cloak,
arrange a time for their next meeting. Yes. Summoning her Gryffindor courage,
she concentrated and Disapparated.

She appeared under the
fig tree. It was an easy anchor with its distinct shape. It was getting dark,
so she hurried over to the cottage and knocked. The door remained closed. She
knocked again.

�Severus?�

Still no answer. Maybe he
was away. She thumped on the door in frustration and it opened. Confused, she
raised her wand and drew it along the frame. It wasn�t warded or even locked.
Suddenly, fear gripped her throat. New life or not, it was very unlikely that
Severus had left his door unwarded. There were still people out there who would
want to hurt him. She gripped her wand
tightly and peeked through the crack. It was too dark inside and she could only
see vague shapes.

�Lumos!� the tip
of her wand glowed and she pointed it towards the table. There was a potion
under a shimmering stasis field and neatly arranged ingredients. No sign of
struggle, which calmed her down somewhat. She looked back at the door, but her
cloak was missing from the nail. Was it possible that he had decided to bring
it to her? No, he didn�t know where she lived. She pointed her wand to the back
of the room and exhaled with relief.

He was sleeping, sprawled
on his stomach with arms tucked under the pillow. His hair obscured his face,
but she could make out a nose and slightly parted lips. Her eyes fixed on
something brown and woolly sticking out from under his body. Bloody mother
of Merlin, is that my cloak? She gasped in surprise and her wand clattered
on the floor. The light went out.

There was a flurry of
movement from the bed and his voice snapped.

�Who is there? Reveal yourself!�

Hermione cringed and went
into full student mode, �It�s me, Professor Snape. I forgot my cloak here and
came to get it. Your door was unwarded and I was worried that something
happened to you. I�m sorry, Professor.�

***

Severus relaxed and was
about to light the lamps and give Hermione a stern talking to. The life
expectancy of those who crept up on Severus Snape while he slept was very, very
low. Then he froze. She had come for her cloak, the cloak that was currently
snuggled to him like a teddy bear. He closed his eyes. Had she seen? He had
thought this level of mortification was unreachable without the aid of the
Marauders, but apparently he was wrong. Maybe she hadn�t seen it. So he coughed
and said, �Please, turn around for a moment, I need to get dressed.�

�Yes, professor,� she
said in a small voice.

He illuminated the room
and blinked against the lights. Quickly he grabbed the infernal cloak and
arranged it on a chair. He struggled into his trousers and shrugged on a shirt.
When the last buttons were fastened, he looked at Hermione. Her head was bowed
and her back tense. No doubt she expected him to be very angry at her; perhaps
he should have been. However, the honest concern in her voice when she said she
was worried made it impossible. He knew her well enough already; she wouldn�t
be sneaking into his cottage to do mischief.

�You may turn around,
Hermione.� Her shoulders instantly relaxed at his mode of address. She turned
around and looked at him, her face flaming red and her eyes shining.

�I�m not mad at you,
girl! Stop looking at me like I will hex you and stop with the �Professor� and
�sir� nonsense. I appreciate your concern, but you could get hurt creeping on
me like that.�

�I didn�t mean to! The
door was unlocked, the cottage was dark, and you didn�t answer. I thought
someone had attacked you!

Merlin, she is genuinely
upset. He walked up to her and after a moment�s hesitation put a hand on her
shoulder.

�I think we have ascertained that is not the
case. I believe you were looking for your cloak?�

She first glanced at the bed and then Severus
knew she had seen him; never mind that the stupid thing was probably still warm
from the contact with his body. He closed his eyes and waited for the
inevitable question. She was quiet, though, and he risked a glance. Hermione
had picked up the cloak from the chair and her fingers stroked the wrinkled
fabric. A small smile was playing on her lips, not mocking or condescending,
merely pleased. She looked at him and blushed again.

�I�m sorry for causing
such a fuss for nothing, Severus. If I hadn�t needed to go out for food, I
wouldn�t have noticed it missing. I�ll be going now.�

She wrapped herself in
the heavy wool and only because he was watching closely, he saw her bend her
head and sniff the fabric. Severus made a quick decision; he cleared his throat
and she looked up.

�If I understand
correctly, you have nothing to eat at home; would you like to stay for dinner?�

She stared at him for a
few seconds and he was starting to think that he had severely misjudged the
situation. Then she smiled that dazzling smile of hers.

�That would be lovely. Do
you mind if I pop back to my place to get my notes? I made a list of variables
that we might be missing and I wanted you to look them over.�

�Go ahead,� he nodded.

She closed the door behind her and a few minutes later he hear the crack
of Apparition. Then he slowly walked into the small bathroom and splashed his
face with cold water. His reflection glared at him from the mirror. I hope
you know what you are doing, old fool. He shook his head. It�s only
dinner. Can�t leave the poor girl to starve. He went to the pantry and
started rummaging. He could throw something together before she returned.

***

Hermione
kept her eyes closed when she arrived home. She waited until she heard Viktor�s
amused voice.

�I�m alone,
you can look now.� She opened her eyes and grinned sheepishly.

�I just
wanted to make sure.�

�You didn�t
leave a note, I was worried.�

�You and
your notes! I�m sorry; I only meant to be out for half an hour. Anyway, I�m
leaving again.�

�Where are you going, hmm? You look flustered and there is a very silly
grin on your face. What�s going on?� Viktor was practically jumping up and down
with curiosity.

�Well, I had forgotten my cloak with Severus and I went to get it. He
invited me to stay for dinner and I want to show him my notes.�

Viktor�s
eyebrows wriggled like a pair of fuzzy caterpillars.

�Well,
well. You don�t seem so conflicted about your feelings anymore.�

Hermione
waved him off.

�Oh, it�s
just dinner.�

�Sure, pull
the other one.�

She
scowled. Definitely too much vocabulary from the boys, and perceptive on top of
that.

�Look, I
have a reason to think that he is�interested. I need to see where this is
going, okay?�

�Okay, I
understand. Go on, have fun and tell me all about it later.�

Hermione
smiled with gratitude and dashed into her room to grab her notes. A glance at
the mirror stopped her short. I�m not
dressed for dinner even with the local bum! A quick rummage through her
wardrobe replaced her worn jeans and shabby sweater with the soft woollen dress
she had worn the previous day. Hurrying
to the living room she almost pumped into Viktor, who was holding a bottle.

�It�s
polite to bring something when you visit. Take this, it�s your favourite.�
Mercifully, he did not comment on her changed clothing. Hermione grabbed the
bottle of wine, gave him a quick peck on the cheek and Disapparated.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who left a word. This chapter's title belongs to Frou Frou.
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Love Is No Big Truth