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Flawed Chemistry	By : Prentice Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 7052 -:- 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
- 6
- 7
- 8
Flawed Chemistry

Pairing: Hermione Granger/Severus Snape

Category: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, drama, future-fiction, first-time

Rating: PG-13,with future R-rated chapters.

Warnings: None thus far. Unbeta'd.

Summary: Hermione Granger has finally done what everyone else
has said was impossible to do but was it worth the cost?

Story Notes: This is set post-Hogwarts, after the trio has finally
graduated. There will be little to no mention of the events in any of the books
but I do try to stay as close to canon as possible. Also, for every "real"
chapter there will be a connecting half-chapter that will either be an a. diary
entry, b. journal entry, or c. letter. Sometimes they will tie into the chapter,
other times they will be entirely independent of it. It's up to you to
distinguish which is which.

Author's Note: I'm sorry for the delay in posting. Real life has
been...particularly unkind to me of late and I wasn't able to update anything.
Hopefully, though, that will all change and I'll be able to update all my
stories (including this one) multiple times in the near future. I hope you
enjoy!

****

Part 4

The smell of rotted fruit and chemicals permeated the air; wafting from one
corner of the room to another as a cloud of iridescent gray smoke billowed from
the inside of a cauldron. Its pewter surface was dull and lacked the glossy
finish that most new cauldrons had nowadays; mute testimony to how often it had
been used in recent months. One lone flame danced beneath the cauldron bottom,
flickering from side to side magically so the cauldron�s contents would heat
slow and evenly.

The dark haired potion�s master sighed, pursing his lips as he dipped a
wooden ladle into the bubbling contents; It was still too thin and a shade off
the true vermilion it should be by now but he expected no less. After all, he
was sadly lacking the proper amount of rosewater to continue and was beginning
to severely wish that he�d had enough presence of mind to set some sort of limit
to the amount of potion�s he�d brew through the night.

As it was, there were three potions simmering on a low flame, still hours
away from being finished, and another two, the one he was currently working on
not withstanding, that would need at least an hour of cooling before being ready
to be bottled. Another sigh escaped his lips as he shifted stiffly on his feet,
face momentarily contorting as his leg gave a sharp twinge. He swallowed down
the hiss of pain that wanted to escape ferociously, cursing himself twice the
fool for making potions that kept him on his feet far longer than absolutely
necessary.

Grimacing in disgust at his own fallibility, Severus let his eyes rove over
his dungeon laboratory even as he continued to stir the bubbling concoction
counter clockwise. This room was very much like any other room in the dungeons
where he stayed: dark, dank and damp. Obviously not his first choice in
accommodations but certainly the best for making potions in.

There would never be any distractions here; never anything to get in his way
or become ruined should something in the mixture react badly. In fact, most of
the items he wasn�t currently using weren�t even stored directly in his private
chamber�s laboratory despite what many believed. No, he much preferred to keep
the stored elsewhere lest someone manage to make their way into his private
sanctity, however unlikely that was.

Unlikely, yes, he mused, but not entirely beyond the realm of
possibility. No, not entirely. In fact, Severus was sure that on more than
one occasion someone, most assuredly Potter or one of the two nuisances that
shadowed him all the way up until the end of the war, had been within these
walls before. Funny how the violation of his privacy then barely bothered him
now. In truth, very little of what the golden trio had done in times past
bothered him now, not that he would admit it, even in death.

But in awkwardly charitable moments, Severus would admit, if only to himself,
that those three weren�t entirely as�insufferable�as he�d always accused. Not to
say that he liked any of them or wished to suddenly become friends. No, he would
most definitely not go that far with his thoughts.

Scowling in revulsion at the sudden altruistic state of mind he had drifted
into, the Potion�s Professor lifted the ladle from the soup-like mixture and
stared at it for a moment, allowing slow drips of the liquid to fall back into
the cauldron.

Much better, he thought with satisfaction. The fleshy pink color had
darkened into a rosier hue and the fluid was becoming similar to a very thin
porridge. Very good, indeed.

Taping the dipper lightly against the side of the pewter cauldron to shake
off the excess, he laid the spoon to the side and turned to stare at the black
smoke that was beginning to churn out from a nearby cauldron. He cursed.
Violently. Black smoke from a cauldron only meant one thing: a potion was about
to be ruined.

Moving forward quickly, all the while cursing due to his inattentiveness and
the pain shooting up from the soles of his feet to his hips, he rapidly tried to
make right was going wrong so quickly. What an utter imbecile he was for
allowing his mind to wander during such a delicate process! It was such an
elementary mistake to make, he felt like hexing himself. This was something a
first year would do!

As swiftly as his he could allow, fore if he moved too quickly the potion
would unable to be salvaged at all, he pinched varying ingredients into the
mixture hoping that he was not wasting the raw materials at hand however easily
replaceable they were.

�Damned and blast!� He muttered, ignoring the needle prickling pain that was
pulsating from knee to hip. That sensation was beginning to become as familiar
to him as breathing and he would not allow it to distract him now.

Scooping a palm full of nettles into his hand, he dropped them into the
potion, tensely waiting for the resulting reaction. If that did not set the
potion right, it would most surely be ruined�

A relieved whoosh of air escaped him as, instantly, the concoction turned a
creamy pale green color that very much resembled the pea soup the house elf�s
made the previous evening for brunch. Thank Salazar�s ghost, he had not just
wasted a potion�s worth of ingredients.

Easily adjusting the flame, he allowed a hand to drop to his side and press
against his aching hip joint. No doubt about it now, he would have to take a
pain-reduction potion before he attempted to take classes today for fear that
he�d curse one of the brats attending. Too bad that wasn�t allowed, pain or not,
it would surely improve his mood.

Well, at least that�s over with. He thought dryly, eyes scanning over the
rest of the simmering cauldrons. They were all well in hand, none billowing
smoke they shouldn�t or bubbling too high. Thankfully. He very much doubted that
he would be able to move quite so quickly next time.

Or, perhaps he was wrong, since, with that thought, a resounding crash blared
from within the other room, spurring him into a grunting pain-filled sprint.
TBC...
- 6
- 7
- 8
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Flawed Chemistry