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Patience on Sunday	By : Snapeoutofit Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 14167 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: All characters and settings are the creation of JK Rowling. I own nothing of Harry Potter and make no money from this story.

Chapter List
- 1-One
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-Ten
- 11-Eleven
- 12-Twelve
- 13-Thirteen
- 14-Fourteen
- 15-Fifteen
- 16-Sixteen
- 17-Seventeen
- 18-Eighteen
- 19-Nineteen
- 20-Twenty
- 21-Twenty One
- 22-Epilogue
- 8
- 9
- 10
Severus Snape was the type of man who somehow managed to have both a commanding presence and the ability to go completely unnoticed at any given time. It was odd, to say the least, that he could ensure all eyes were on him without saying a word just as easily as he could stealthily move through a crowd undetected.

Now all he could feel were her eyes burning into his back as she followed him up the stairs to his living quarters. What was his doing? Was he making a mistake? He had never invited anyone into his chambers before and he was fighting to urge to change his mind and tell her to leave.

The door swung open as he approached and he stepped to the side to allow Hermione to pass. She nodded cordially in his direction as she entered the sitting room. Looking around she was struck dumb, though not surprised, by the number of bookcases lining nearly every wall. She had to use all of her willpower to resist running her fingertips over the spines.

Severus was amused by the awestruck look on her face. He closed the door and came up behind her.

“Any titles of interest to you?”

Hermione jumped at the sound of his voice. She turned around swiftly to face him and nearly stumbled back because of how near he was.

“Yes. Many,” she said. “You have more books in here than I could have ever imagined.”

“You’ve imagined what my sitting room looks like?” He raised his eyebrow along with the question.

“No,” she bit back sharply. “I just, I assumed...”

Severus chuckled at her discomfort. “I’m just fooling around, Hermione. Come here.”

She followed Severus to a small writing desk by the window. On the surface was an ink pot and some parchment but otherwise the desk was very neat and tidy. He sat down and opened the top drawer. Hermione felt awkward standing at his side, but she remained there. His hand cupped a small object and he withdrew it, closing the drawer as he did.

“This is for you,” he said as he opened his hand to reveal the gift.

“Is that a scallop shell? Attached to a green ribbon?” Confusion was prevalent on Hermione’s face. She was having trouble understanding.

“It’s the birthplace of Venus,” Severus spat. “Don’t you know who that is?”

“Well of course. Venus was born on a scallop shell and is the goddess of,” Hermione swallowed, “love.”

Severus took her hand and tied the ribbon around her wrist to form a bracelet. The contact sent a shiver through Hermione’s body.

“And desire,” he continued. “Beauty and prosperity...”

“I don’t understand,” Hermione’s breath was just above a whisper. “Why are you giving this to me?”

Severus sighed and hung his head.

“No. No, no please don’t react that way I just,” Hermione reached out to lift his chin, “thank you.”

His eyes were sad when he looked at her. Still, he reached to tuck a lock of fallen hair behind her ear. Hermione closed her eyes and relished the way his hand felt against her face.

“The way you make me feel is inexplicable.” The words hung in the air between them as they fell from his mouth. The honesty in them was palpable. Hermione was at a loss for expression. All the things she wanted to say or do in that moment bottlenecked and she was pinned under his gaze.

He stood abruptly, forcing her to take a step back. “I’m sorry, this is very unprofessional of me. You may go.”

“No!” Her voice was sharper than she intended. “I don’t want to go...” she took a step towards him to close the space he had just created. She tilted her head up to look at him and he could feel himself falling into the abyss. “You just surprised me, that’s all.”

She punctuated the sentence with a small smile and he felt as if his heart could burst. He wanted to touch her so badly. He wanted to touch all of her. Instead, he brushed her hair back from her face even though it wasn’t imposing, and looked at her; reading her eyes for any hint of dishonesty he was sure would be there but simply could not find.

“This is lovely,” she said as she held up her wrist between them and looked at the shell, “and very thoughtful.”

“An old drunkard gave it to me in a bar and I charmed it to the ribbon,” he said with a chuckle as he held her wrist in his hand. “He claimed that it was the real deal.” Severus smirked.

Hermione laughed and for once he realized immediately that she was laughing with him rather than at him. A warm smile spread across his face.

There was a faint scratching at the door that pulled their attention from each other. Severus snarled slightly before leaving Hermione at his desk and cautiously opening the door a crack. A gray half-kneazle scurried between his feet and darted straight towards Hermione and jumped onto Severus’ desk chair with a contented look on his face.

“Omni! What on earth?” She turned to face Severus, who was still standing in the doorway. “He’s never gotten out before.”

Severus closed the door and walked back into the sitting room. The cat curled up into a ball and looked as if he planned to take a nap.

“I am so sorry,” Hermione said as she went to scoop the animal into her arms.

“No, no. Let him be.” Severus removed his jacket and loosened his cravat before sitting on the sofa in the center of the room. Hermione felt her breathing hitch as a small sliver of skin below his neck was now exposed. She moved to sit beside him.

They were silent for several long moments as Hermione looked at the bracelet on her wrist. It was a bit odd, she had to admit, but incredibly sweet in its own way. She didn’t really understand what he wanted by giving it to her, but she suspected that he didn’t really have an answer for that either. Rather than overthink this, she decided to appreciate the sentiment for whatever it was.

Severus watched Hermione for a while before his vision trailed to the animal snoozing on his chair. He had never had a pet so the thought of a little, relatively helpless being sleeping about his quarters and waltzing in as if he’d owned the place was rather strange. He had to admit it was hard not to want to pet the thing. It looked so incredibly soft.

“Severus?” His name was a question on her lips and it pulled his attention back to her. He swept her hair back from her face.

“Hmm?”

She could feel all of his attention on her and frankly it felt incredible.

“I’m quite tired. I took the potion right before we left the lab. I didn’t assume I’d be coming here and figured I’d be in my bed by now,” she said sheepishly.

Severus brushed her hair back again. The contact was exceedingly comforting and made her even sleepier.

“Let me escort you home,” he said, hiding any overt disappointment in his voice. He had obviously known she’d leave eventually, but it felt too soon for his liking.

His eyes grew large with surprise as Hermione toed off her shoes and tucked her feet beneath her on the couch. She let her head fall onto his shoulder. “I don’t want to leave, though. Apparently neither does Omni.”

Severus was unsure of what to do with his hands, so he left them in his lap. He didn’t know what to say, either. They sat in silence for a long time; the only occasional sound coming from the snoring cat on his chair.

“May I have a drink?” Hermione asked meekly after noticing his bar cabinet across the room.

“Hermione, I’m still going to need to get you home eventually. It’s already getting late.” There was unmistakable longing in his voice.

She nuzzled against him slightly. “I’ll be fine as long as you walk me back...which you were planning to do anyway.

Severus thought for a minute. “Very well.”

He begrudgingly left Hermione’s side and went to the bar. He had to dig behind some bottles to find a second tumbler, since he usually had no need for a second one. Carefully chilling the glasses first, he poured a small measure of Ogden’s Finest into each glass. He handed her the drink before sitting back down beside her. He went to take a sip, but Hermione interrupted.

“Cheers,” she said eagerly, holding up her glass and Severus moved his away from his face to cling his against hers. “Cheers.”

They enjoyed there drinks and Severus felt himself starting to relax. They laughed as he told her all about his earlier errand and the old man in the bar who gave him the scallop shell. Before long, Hermione eyes were glistening from laughter. She looked stunning.

“Oh my goodness,” she said as she wiped her eyes and laughed as she looked at her wrist, “now I appreciate this so much more. That is rich.”

She took the last swallow of her drink and Severus nodded in agreement as he finished his as well. She put her glass down on the coffee table and snuggled against his shoulder again. Severus wanted nothing more than to wrap his arm around her and pull her body even closer to his, but he resisted.

She tilted her head to look up at him. Her eyes were tired but full of longing. He gazed down at her as well, willing her to speak first.

“What do you want, Severus?” She asked suddenly and he was perturbed by the question.

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Never mind.” She turned her face away.

“No, no,” he grabbed her chin and tilted her face back up to look at him. “I’ve never wanted anything in my life so I don’t understand. What do you mean?”

“Oh Severus,” Hermione chuckled, “you cannot make me believe you’ve never wanted anything. I know that isn’t true.”

He sighed. “I haven’t wanted anything in a very long time. And in my experience I typically lose what I want before I’ve realized I wanted it.”

Hermione thought about his words for a long time. She understood what he meant and it reminded her a bit of her parents. Frankly, however, at this point she was too tired to think or press any further. She yawned.

“Let’s get you to bed,” he said but she shook her head against him.

“Hermione, you’re going to fall asleep on my sofa,” he said.

“It’s fine, everything’s fine,” she replied sleepily and he laughed.

He decided not to resist any longer. He snaked his arm between their bodies and draped it around her. She felt small in the crook of his arm and he was able to rub her side affectionately. He was placated when he heard her let out a contented sigh.

They sat like this for some time, and Severus could feel his own exhaustion hovering. He knew he had to get her to leave, but moving from this spot was the last thing he ever wanted to do.

It was possible that he had fallen asleep for a few moments when he heard Hermione snore quietly. Her breathing was slow and methodical and he hadn’t the slightest clue what time it was. Slowly, he stood from the couch and slid his other arm beneath her legs. She made a small noise when he hoisted her into his arms, but he knew she wouldn’t wake. The potion was strong and the drink made it stronger.

Carefully Severus carried her into his bedroom. With a bit of wandless magic he pulled down the duvet and slid her beneath it. She instantly curled up on one side and snaked her arm beneath his pillow. He pulled the blanket up over her and brushed her hair back from her face. He never thought the sight of anyone sleeping could be so beautiful.

He went to the wardrobe and grabbed a quilt and pillow before returning to the sitting room. Omni had left his spot on the chair and was now perched on the sofa’s armrest.

Severus scratched beneath the animal’s chin and he purred as he leaned into his hand. “I need to sleep here, Omni.”

The cat meowed before jumping from the sofa and strutting through the open door to Severus’ bedroom. He chuckled before making up the sofa and sitting down. Severus removed his shoes and socks before discarding his button down shirt as well. He slipped beneath the quilt in his trousers and white T-shirt before snuffing out the candles with a flick of his wand and falling asleep easily.
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Patience on Sunday