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Spark	By : DivineAngel Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 20930 -:- 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
Chapter
7: New Year at the Burrow

Hermione returned to her
dormitory shaken and excited. He'd been drunk, she told herself. He
would never have laid a finger on her if he'd been sober. Confusion
filled her, she couldn't work out where these desires had come from,
how could she be so attracted to a man she had always disliked so
much? In truth, it had been a long time since Hermione had disliked
Severus Snape, she had been defending him from Harry and Ron's
pessimistic comments for years. A deep respect for him had been
building since her third year and now she had come to see him as a
complicated man that she wanted to get to know properly, a man she
hoped wanted her. She found it hard to get to sleep and when she did,
her dreams were frenzied and erotic. Severus was holding her again,
his lips met hers with passionate desperation that subsided into
tenderness. His hands were in her hair and on her back. Hermione
moaned in her sleep as the dream progressed, a smile playing on her
lips.

Snape's absence for the
last few days of term was commented on by many students, his lessons
were covered by a supply teacher who did little to win the favour of
the student population, being almost as strict and difficult as Snape
himself. Harry and Ron were stirred into the liveliest mood Hermione
had seen from them for months, speculating and gossiping about what
sort of mission might require the Professor to miss school. Hermione
obviously hadn't told them anything that she knew and joined in the
discussions with less enthusiasm than her friends. She was
increasingly worried by Snape's continued absence.

The term came to an end
and the school was alive with the buzz of students preparing to head
home. Hermione had promised her parents she would be spending
Christmas with them, but had arranged to join her friends at the
Burrow for New Year. Christmas itself was uneventful and passed in
relative peace and quiet. Hermione spent the necessary time with her
parents and visiting family, smiling and making polite conversation.
All the while her mind was with Severus, wherever he was.

On the 27th of December,
Hermione packed her things, kissed her parents goodbye at the town
station and boarded the train into London. Thankful that she had
enough sense not to bring much home with her, Hermione made the
chaotic tube journey from Marylebone to Paddington with only a
heavily stuffed backpack. London was busy with muggles heading
reluctantly to work and tourists in town for the festive season. Much
to Molly Weasley's horror, Hermione and Harry had arranged to meet at
the station and travel together to Devon by train. Harry had
grudgingly spent the first week of the holiday with the dreaded
Dursleys and had also caught the train into town, not that he planned
on telling Molly this. She was petrified of Harry travelling on his
own without an adult wizard to protect him. She was only mildly
appeased by Ron pointing out that technically, Hermione was an adult
now.

Hermione made her way
through the crowds, along the pedestrian tunnel that connected the
Bakerloo line to the Circle and District lines, and up the escalators
to the main entrance area of Paddington Station. She saw Harry
waiting under the large clock, as planned and waved to him as she
made her way to him.

"Harry! Good
Christmas?" They hugged briefly and Harry rolled his eyes.

"I'd rather not talk
about it." He smiled broadly and the pair moved slowly to the
platform to catch their train, which was miraculously on time and
managed to stay that way all the way to Exeter. Hermione and Harry
disembarked and found their way to the exit. Arthur and Ron were
stood outside, off to one side out of the way of the people trickling
from the station.

"How are we getting
to the Burrow?" Hermione asked Harry as they approached the
Weasleys. He shrugged.

"Hi guys!" Ron
called, he hugged Hermione and gave Harry a whollop on the back.

"Come on chaps."
Arthur said quietly and set off walking away into the bustling
street. The trio followed him along, dodging the muggles on the wet
pavement. It was a cold day, the clouds were threatening to snow.
They came to a narrow side-street and ducked down it, following it to
a deserted parking area by some offices. Arthur strode over to full
skip and rummaged for a moment, pulling out a dirty rag. They each
held a corner and felt the usual tug of the portkey. They landed in
the garden of the Burrow, Molly came rushing out to meet them with
tight hugs all around.

"Thank goodness. I
was so worried."

"Mum." Ron
moaned. "Like Dumbledore said, travelling the muggle way is
pretty safe, no one who would want to hurt Harry is going to do it so
publicly."

"Yes, yes."
Molly fussed as she ushered them into the house. The kitchen table
was laid for lunch, a magnificent buffet of leftover turkey, cheeses,
crackers, cranberries, potatoes and every good thing lay before them.
Ginny came rushing into the kitchen and dished out hugs to Hermione
and Harry and conversation began to flow about the holiday so far.

The next few days were
filled with sleep, food and games, Hermione taught the Weasleys how
to play charades, to Ron's grumblings that there were no explosions.
New Year's Eve came around and the house filled with all of the
Weasleys and a large number of members of the Order and other friends
of the Weasleys. Midnight was approaching when Hermione saw Remus
standing on his own across the crowded living room. Remembering his
letter and his desire to talk, Hermione excused herself from her
conversation with Ginny and made her way over to him. The party was
loud and bustling, many were busy enjoying themselves, but there were
also muttered discussions about Order business and the progress of
the war. Hermione greeted Remus with a shy smile among the noise and
shuffling motion around them.

"Hi. How are you?"
She asked.

"Not too bad. You?"
He looked tired, which wasn't unusual.

"I'm ok. I got your
letter. I didn't really know what to say in reply, sorry."

"That's ok." He
looked around, seeing the stairs in the hall, a few people were
gathered at the foot, clearly having a lively debate. "Can we
talk?" Hermione nodded and followed him, drink still in hand,
past the small group and up the stairs. They sat down on the top step
and Hermione took a swig of her mulled wine.

Remus took a breath and
smiled. He ran a hand through his hair as he gathered his thoughts.
"I'm really sorry." He said at last.

"Don't be daft!"
Hermione exclaimed, giving his knee a gentle shove.

"No, really, I
shouldn't have kissed you in the first place, let alone been such a
git afterwards." Hermione laughed out loud.

"Have you forgotten
that I was there too? I kissed you back and was perfectly ok with it.
As for not talking afterwards, I wasn't talking to you either. I
thought it was the best way to deal with it, just pretend it didn't
happen and get on with things. Not engaging in awkward conversation
seemed sensible." Remus looked defeated. "Have you been
brooding all this time?" Hermione asked in a more sensitive
tone.

"A bit. It's what I
do." He shrugged with a weak smile. "I felt like I'd taken
advantage of you or something. I wasn't in my right mind."
Hermione put her hand on his and squeezed it. She shook her head.

"No, Remus. You
didn't. I promise." He looked into her eyes and nodded. They
both smiled.

"Ok. You are a good
friend, Hermione. In a way I'm glad I'm not your teacher now,
likewise with Harry. I couldn't be the friend to him that I am with
that barrier in the way." Hermione shifted uncomfortably,
thinking of the distinctly inappropriate incident with Severus. If
Remus felt he couldn't even be friends with his students, what must
Severus be feeling about what happened between them? Sensing her
tension, Remus took hold of her hand in both of his. "What is
it?" Hermione chewed her bottom lip and screwed up her face in a
frown.

"Do you think
friendship with a student is impossible?" She asked.

"No, it's perfectly
possible. Close friendship isn't particularly appropriate though."

"I thought you might
say that."

"Hermione, what's
bothering you?" She looked back at him and gave a brave smile.

"Nothing. Honestly,
I was just curious." Not entirely convinced, Remus nodded but
decided not to press the issue.

Downstairs, the kitchen
door opened and a black-clad figure entered in a hurry, pushing his
way through the people. He made his way through the hall, looking
around for someone and drawing glances and muttered comments about
his rudeness. As he passed the foot of the stairs he looked up to the
figures sat at the top to ascertain if either were who he was
searching for. He stopped still at what he saw, Remus Lupin and
Hermione sitting close together, engaged in conversation, holding
hands. Snape stalked away, resuming his search for Arthur.

After a distracted
discussion with Arthur about his new intelligence, Snape left the
party and stood outside, his cloak gathered around him against the
bitter night air. He looked up at the stars glittering overhead and
sighed. He'd been a fool, he'd allowed his loneliness to confuse him.
Of course Hermione hadn't wanted him to kiss her, she was happy and
in love with someone else. He wondered what Lupin had been
apologising for in the letter, an argument, obviously, but what
about? It didn't matter, she had forgiven him. It occurred to him at
last that if he hadn't witnessed that kiss last summer, he probably
would never have ceased to think of Hermione has simply his student.
But seeing her in the arms of a man his own age made her seem older,
more attainable, he had looked at her as a woman for the first time.
He let out a single, quiet laugh at the irony of it. It was so
typical that it would be the one remaining Marauder who would prompt
him to look at a student in such a way. Even now, the bane of his
school days was continuing to get one over on him, causing him to
lose his footing. It had to stop, he had to draw the line here. With
a stirring resolve, Snape set his sights on what he wanted, Hermione,
and decided to pursue and win her.

Hermione and Remus were
talking light-heartedly about nothing in particular, exchanging tales
of escapades in and around Hogwarts. They were laughing merrily when
Harry appeared at the foot of the stairs, he began climbing towards
them, a glass of something amber in his hand, he was swaying a bit
and Hermione felt relief that he seemed in a good mood.

"Hello you two. How
long have you been hiding up here?" He slurred slightly and
Remus blushed at the thought that others might think they were
hiding.

"Oh not long."
Hermione answered easily. Harry eased down onto the step below them,
steadying himself with the banister.

"Are you ok, Harry?"
Remus asked, clamping a hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry nodded. He
looked up at Hermione and gave her a sort of pleading look. Hermione
tried to read him, it was his very deliberate eye movement up towards
Remus behind him that finally made the penny drop.

"Well, if you'll
both excuse me," She said, standing up, "I'm going to find
Ginny I think. It's almost midnight, I'm going to need somebody to
count in the new year with. Thanks for the chat Remus. See you both
later." She made her way down the stairs and disappeared into
the packed lounge.

Harry looked at his glass
and slowly raised it to his lips. He took a long drink, Remus simply
watched him.

"Can I tell you
something?" Harry said at last.

"Of course. What's
up?" Remus replied, concern filling his voice and face.

"I haven't told
anyone this, but I know what that prophecy about me was."

Hermione couldn't find
Ginny anywhere, she checked the sitting room and headed for the
kitchen. Percy and Bill were stood talking quietly in front of the
sink, there was otherwise a distinct lack of familiar faces. Hermione
sighed and went out the back door to get some air. The garden was
dark but for an eerie glow from the squares of light from the lit
windows. Hermione took a few steps away from the house, the cold
seeping through her clothes and the warming effect of the mulled
wine. She shivered and drew her arms around herself. A twig snapped
somewhere to her right and she startled slightly, straining her eyes
in the dark to see who it was. A dark figure moved from the shadows
and her face lit up with a radiant smile when she saw that it was
Severus. He seemed surprised to see her, his face half in shadow, but
the frown was evident.

"Hi. What are you
doing here?" Hermione blurted out before she could stop herself.

"I just returned, I
had to pass some information on to Arthur." He stepped nearer to
her and she saw clearly the mixed look in his face that she couldn't
begin to interpret.

Severus looked at
Hermione longingly, filled with passion but restraint kept him from
rushing to her. He knew he had to woo her, but hadn't figured out
how. He knew he was not a charming or handsome man, if he was going
to draw her affection from Lupin, he would have to win her with his
intellect.

"Oh. Did everything
go... ok?" She asked, knowing he couldn't give her details. He
nodded, but he seemed far away, he wouldn't look directly at her.
Hermione didn't know what to say. Their previous encounter had been
so deliciously intense, but so confusing, she had no idea what he
might be thinking about it and was afraid of saying or doing the
wrong thing. She decided flattery would probably be the way to go to
ease the situation, after a long pause she gave him a coy smile and
leaned close to him. "You're very brave." He looked
incredibly startled, he cracked a disbelieving smile.

"Miss Granger..."

"No really, what you
do is so dangerous. I don't think many people really appreciate it. I
just wanted you to know that I do." Severus tilted his head and
let her words sink in.

"Thank you." He
managed to say at last. He didn't feel very brave, he mostly felt
foolish for working so hard for people who had no idea what he did.
Hermione gave a visible shudder.

"Ok, it's really
cold out here." She set off back towards the house, Severus just
stood, numb, watching her go. Finally, as she opened the door, he
followed her inside. Once in the kitchen, Hermione looked back at him
and smiled again.

"There you are.
You're just in time." Bill called to them, he ushered them
towards the hallway where everyone was crammed. There was a lot of
noise and the air was heavy with anticipation. It started in the
lounge and spread quickly through the gathered crowd, the ten second
countdown to midnight.

Harry and Remus appeared
on the stairs and joined in. Hermione turned to watch Severus, he was
barely opening his mouth, chanting the numbers under his breath with
a firm scowl fixed on his brow. Hermione laughed.

"Three...Two...
One... Happy new year!" Everyone chimed. A cork popped
somewhere, accompanied by a cheer.

"Happy new year."
Hermione smiled, capturing Severus's eyes with hers, he returned the
smile and she realised what a change was made to his face when he
smiled like that. The severity he was renowned for was gone, he
looked younger and sort of handsome.

"Happy New Year."
He said quietly, he brushed a stray lock of hair from her cheek, his
thumb lingering on her face. Hermione tilted her head into his hand,
welcoming the contact. A split second later his hand was gone, Bill
was thumping Snape on the back and grinning broadly.

"Happy new year
Sev!" The scowl was back and Hermione silently scolded Bill for
interrupting. But now one thing was certain, she wasn't imagining it,
there was most definitely a spark between them.

AN: Another delicious
serving for you, there will be some action in the next chapter! Thanks to my reviewers, keep them coming ;-p
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