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Interesting	By : EvaBrick Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 20800 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or anything else related to the Harry Potter franchise. I'm not making any money from this story. All credit goes to JK Rowling.

Chapter List
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Hermione scrambled out of the pit she’d dug and chased the escaping vampire badger through the moonlight, with her spade gripped firmly in her hand. The Hogwarts grounds were infested with them this year and Hagrid was more than happy to have the extra help. Of course, Hagrid didn’t want to kill any of the deranged beasts, but Hermione had strict instructions from Snape to get as many spleens as she could, since they were generally very rare and therefore expensive.

“Dobby, where are you?” she puffed as she ran. “He’s getting away!”

The little house elf popped out of another pit and moved to cut the creature off. The vampire badgers had long, sharp claws and Dobby had made himself an improvised suit of armour out of two pot lids and a colander that he’s attached to his head with a chin strap.

The badger’s eyes glowed red and it’s huge fangs dripped in rabbit blood. Dobby tackled the it from behind and clubbed it with his little spade. The dazed creature shook it’s head and turned on Dobby, but Hermione swung her shovel down on its head and knocked it out with a loud clang.

Dobby flipped the creature over onto its back and Hermione pulled a stake from her belt, which she plunged into its undead heart, finishing it. She quickly snapped on a pair of gloves and removed the spleen, which she deposited in a fresh bottle that she‘d pulled from the pocket of her protective leather apron. Then, she and Dobby dove to the ground with the hands over their heads as the badger corpse burst into flames. Hemione passed the bottle to Dobby, who vanished to the shop to deposit it. He reappeared a few seconds later and they went to find a fresh den to dig up.

Hermione wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve and sat down on a rock next to Dobby with a heavy sigh. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Dobby,” she said.

Dobby pushed his helmet back on his head and patted her hand. “Missy Hermione misses Master Snape?” he asked. “Dobby misses him too… even if he is gwumpy.”

“Yes, I do,” Hermione said. “You’re my only friend, Dobby… and I thought Severus was too.” She sighed again and tried to brush away a dirt smudge that was drying on her cheek. Since they’d kissed two months ago, Snape had been keeping his distance. He sent her lessons and instructions by owl and requested that she send the results back in a vial. Occasionally he’d turn up at the shop, but it was usually when she was busy with a customer, so they couldn’t really converse. Hermione wondered how long he could keep it up, since she was obviously missing out on learning some more difficult potions that would be on her master’s exam. She shook her head and stood up. “Let’s get a few more and go home, Dobby. I’m tired.”

“Dis is worse dan weresquirrels,” Dobby sighed. Something growled nearby and he and Hermione looked at each other for a moment before grabbing their shovels. Dobby re-adjusted his helmet and they rushed into the shadows.

*****

From the astronomy tower, Severus watched his apprentice and the house elf through a special night-vision lens in one of the telescopes. Even with dirt on her face and badger blood soaking through the knees of her jeans, he thought his apprentice was beautiful. Part of him wished that he could go down there and help her, just for the fun of it, but he couldn’t… he just couldn’t.

“You’re being ridiculous,” a voice said from behind him.

“With all due respect, Minerva,” Snape drawled, “mind your business.”

In the distance, the teachers could hear Hermione shout, “Get him, Dobby!” then “Oh shit!” There were sounds of a scuffle and a distinct battle cry from Dobby before a loud ‘clang’ echoed across the lake and everything was quiet again.

“If you don’t snap her up soon, then someone else will,” Minerva said.

“Good,” Snape growled. “Someone young, I hope.”

“You’re being ridiculous,” the headmistress repeated.

“Am I?” Snape asked. “I don’t even know if we could…” A ball of flames erupted out on the grounds as the latest badger went up in smoke.

“Love each other?” Minerva guessed. “You’ll never find out if you don’t get to know her as a woman and not just as your student or apprentice.”

�@

“She’s too young for me, Minerva,” Snape went on. “You see how the students behave now - they have no sense of romance… the girls are too fast and easy and the boys treat them like toys! Remember when I was a student here? The teachers used to check the rose gardens for kissing sweethearts… you didn’t have to worry about students fucking on your desk! I don’t understand these modern, young girls… I wouldn’t know what to do with one. I don’t want a young tramp that’s been fed a steady diet of Witch Weekly and cheap pornography… I’ve seen enough old whores among the Death Eaters to know what those girls will turn into.”

Minerva clicked her tongue and shook her head. “Oh Severus, Hermione’s not like that… and you really are being quite ridiculous.

“And if things did work out,” Snape went on, as if the headmistress hadn’t spoken, “then when she’s in her fifties, she’ll have a husband in his eighties. I doubt that’s what every girl dreams about. I’m an old man and I’m set in my ways,” he finished.

Minerva snorted and leaned against the railing. “Girls dream about being loved and protected by a man who’ll treat them with reverence and respect. The rest doesn’t really matter.” She took the telescope from him and watched Hermione through it. “It isn’t safe to be a young woman alone,” she said, “and I don’t care how sexist that sounds... she needs someone who can protect her from the wolves. You may not believe me, but I know that my Hermione is an old-fashioned girl… she’ll respond well to an old grouch who’s set in his ways.”

Snape snatched the lens back and watched as Hermione sliced open a badger and carefully extracted its spleen with a silver-tipped blade that she’d found in the old apothecary’s things. He smirked with pride at her neat work. He’d taught her how to do that…

“Go and see her tomorrow, for goodness’ sake,” Minerva said, gently. “I’ll take your classes.” She turned to go, but stopped. “And Severus…”

“I know, I know,” he grumbled. “I’m ridiculous.”

*****

The bell rang above the shop door and Hermione pulled off her leather apron and smoothed her hair before hurrying out front to help her customer. She had a green sweater and grey pencil skirt on today that made her feel… witchy. She laughed at the thought - only a muggle-born could ever understand that.

“Good-morning!” she trilled as she walked to the far side of the store where she could hear the customer shuffling. “How may I help - Ron!” Hermione gaped at her ex-boyfriend for a moment, then put her hands on her hips in annoyance. “What are you doing here?”

“I… I wanted to see you,” he stammered.

Hermione crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. “The last time I saw you, you tried to hit me,” she said.

Ron rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and shrugged. “Yeah,” he said. “I’m sorry about that,” he said. “I guess I panicked.”

Hermione snorted and rolled her eyes.

“Merlin, you look like the old bat when you do that,” Ron cringed. “Look, Hermione… I really am sorry. I want us to be friends again… I miss you.”

Tears welled up in Hermione’s eyes and she pulled herself up to her full height to make herself feel brave. “What did you tell everyone about me?” she asked. “Why won’t Harry and Ginny talk to me anymore?”

Ron waved his hands around in frustration, then jammed them in his pockets. “I told them the truth… that you’d spent the night with the great greasy git.”

“Did you tell them that he took me away from the burrow because I was so upset that you’d fucked Lavender?” Hermione spat.

“Can you blame me?” Ron shouted. “It’s not like I could get you to put out at all! Look, Hermione, I came here to make peace with you about this - why are you making this so difficult? I wasn’t trying to hurt you… I’m a man with a man’s needs… but you… you fucked Snape just to get back at me!”

“MASTER Snape is a gentleman!” Hermione retorted. “He could have taken advantage of me when I was so distressed, but he didn’t. If it wasn’t for his benevolence and generosity, I don’t know what would have happened to Crookshanks and I. I didn’t have any money, Ron! I didn’t have a place to live! All I had was you and you broke my heart! After all we’d been through together, you just tossed me aside because I wasn’t ready to have make love.”

“Taken advantage? Make love?” Ron looked at the potions apprentice like she’d lost her mind. “What century are you living in, Hermione? Or is this a muggle thing that I don’t understand?”

Hermione’s jaw fell open and she made a croaking noise.

“You’re not going to apologize at all, are you?” Ron gaped. “You’re making this very one-sided.”

“I have nothing to apologize for!” Hermione hissed. “I did not sleep with Master Snape! Now unless you are interested in buying something, I suggest you leave!”

“You can’t throw me out - I’m not finished talking to you!” Ron barked.

Hermione gave him a wicked smile then shouted, “Dobby!”

The angry little elf appeared instantly and Ron’s smile faded. A moment later, the redhead found himself lying face down in a snowbank on the outskirts of Hogsmeade.

“You is rude!” Dobby squealed before he disappeared, leaving Ron alone in the cold.

Hermione marched back into the lab and stopped short when she saw Severus calmly stirring a potion that was nearly ready to boil over. She stared at him in silence for a long moment as her emotions bubbled like the potion. Ron had picked the scab off a deep wound, and the surprise at seeing her much-missed master was messing with her head even more.

“How much of that did you hear” she asked.

“Probably too much,” he said, in his low, even way. He cleared his throat and added, “At the risk of invoking Dobby’s wrath, I would like say that the Weasley idiot is an embarrassment to purebloods and the wizarding world in general. Romance is not a ‘muggle thing.’”

“I know.” Hermione wiped at her eyes and reached for her handkerchief before she remembered that the skirt didn’t have pockets. Severus pulled his from his coat pocket and held it out to her, stirring all the while. Hermione looked at it, then at his face, which was full of… regret?

“I missed you,” she said. “I was so lonely…” a strangled sob fought it’s way out of her throat and she covered her mouth with her hand.

“I know,” Severus said, roughly. “I’m sorry.”

In three paces, Hermione was at his side with her head against his chest and her arms around his waist as she cried. Severus kept stirring, but put his spare arm around her and rested his cheek on top of her head.
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Interesting