Just Tea

Disclaimer: There is an anti-litigation charm [oogie-boogie boogie!] on this page, so don't even try!

Chapter Eighteen: Just Tea

-=+=-

Again, she sat alone. It was a beautifully cool day in January, and she was alone. It was this way all the time, now. She missed Harry more than anything. She missed people. And she was sitting alone, in the middle of an icy garden (under a warming charm), with a heavy herb digest in hand. Books, she thought. How utterly trite, Hermione. At least she would be seeing the snarky, cynical, sexy Potions master tonight.

"Gods! Where did that come from?"

Exhaling and tossing the faded book to the ground, Hermione stretched and lay across the old moss-ridden bench, peering into the blue sky. Merlin, she needed sleep more than anything, but it had become quite a triviality...a complication in her life. She was restless. There were no friends to occupy her time, no Dark Lord to plot against, no academic challenges to wile away the hours. She found odd things to do instead of dwelling on the lack of things to do...like organizing her personal library by alphabet, her closet by color by dreary color, and even the moving pictures hidden under her four-poster in a dusty box by category and date. She had taken up drawing, counting ceiling tiles, meditative breathing, staying deliberately away from her potion...which had become rather of a fixation... But, she always found herself checking in on the simmering concoction at odd hours of the night, when no one would see her.

She was, frankly, a mess.

Hermione closed her eyes, draping an arm over her face to shield it from the bright sun, and soon she fell into a lolling sleep. A sleep hopefully infested with none other than said sexy professor.

Damn it!

--

"Miss Granger."

"Professor." The girl nodded wearily as he held the door open to his classroom, stepping in and shuffling up to the desk usually assigned for detained students. Severus had other plans, though, and decided that he would let her figure things out for herself, walking down the hallway toward Hufflepuff House. When she turned around, she would most definitely find an empty room, the door left ajar. She would nearly sprint to catch up to Severus' retreating form and therefore be in an altogether more enjoyable mood...he hated (despite himself) to see her so resigned.

He was not disappointed.

"Where are we bloody going?" she growled, huffing and puffing after her near-run down the corridor.

"Language, Miss Granger. You will find out soon enough."

"If I had known this was my last night alive I would have said my goodbyes," she grumbled, silently lighting her wand and shrugging off her school robes, which revealed a teal jumper and trousers that looked to be black, but then again the near-darkness could be playing tricks on his eyes. Severus was glad that he could admire this exceptional specimen from his peripheral vision, noting the V-shaped neckline and subtle curve of her silhouette. Severus concluded that it was decidedly hot on the South side of the dungeons.

"Unfortunately not...we are going to the kitchens."

--

"Oooooh! A dinner date?" The sarcasm was evident in her tone. "I would've spruced up if I'd known." Having woken up from her nap with the sound of the eight o'clock bell and the starry night above her head, Hermione had sprinted down to the dungeons, leaving time only for a few calming breaths at the eighth chime to look composed enough as she entered his classroom. Everything seemed to be going wrong lately.

"Don't be ridiculous," the professor snorted in reply as they neared the portrait at the end of a long and winding hall. "Just tea."

Hermione halted in front of the portrait. "Excuse me?" I'm obviously having auditory hallucinations, she thought.

"I can't have you blowing things up in your state of disarray, can I?"

She stared blankly at him, having no idea why that would lead to tea, for Heaven's sake.

"Miss Granger, you have yet to wave your arm incessantly in the air and dole out quotes from Potions Quarterly for an entire three months, now. There is something definitely wrong with you."

The girl studied him for a moment with narrowed eyes.

"Therefore, we are going to do something slightly more productive."

Hermione harrumphed and stomped into the vast kitchens, waiting with crossed arms as Severus Noxed the torches in the hallways and entered as well. "So, tea, eh?"

"Accio 'Constant Comment,'" said Severus with a flick of his wand.

"Tea it is," Hermione said more to herself than to him. This man was the farthest from whom she wanted to have tea with at the moment. Might go as far to say that I'd rather discuss American politics with Voldemort than be in the same room as the man I'm having dreams about.

He swept over to the same table they shared in October and heated the underbelly of a surprisingly colorful teapot. "Have a seat, Miss Granger."

Well, it's not like I have much of a choice, she protested feebly and frowned, shuffling over to her once-weekly seat. Once settled, Severus transfigured two cups...both the same from their one-time encounter, but Hermione was too focused on the wall past her professor's left shoulder to notice...out of the salt and pepper shakers stationed on the counter and placed the tea tin in front of them. He lit the pot with the flick of his wand and set the water to boil.

"Let us review some plants and herbs, now, shall we?"

Hermione sighed dramatically, and folded her arms atop the counter. "As you wish, Professor."

"First, we'll be general. What are some plants that have healing properties, Granger?"

"There's Fluxweed, member of the mint family, sinus solution and muscle pain reliever when applied in a salve to affected areas... Hellebore generates a feeling of calm... Nettles cure boils... Dandelion juice is fairly medicinal..."

"Yes, but have you ever tried to ingest any of those ingredients?"

"Well, I would have said other things if I'd known we were talking edible plants!"

"I assure you they are entirely edible, but Hellebore generates too much of a euphoric feeling when ingested versus inhaling it, whereas dandelion juice produces rather violent nausea."

"Fluxweed, then?"

"Dry mouth."

Hermione made somewhat of an 'ew' sound.

"And nettles, well... you don't want to drink liquidated nettles. Their roots taste like sawdust and their thorns taste like the backside of a troll. So, if you wish for the flavor to be optimal, you crush them. Then baste them in water, salt, and mooncalf's milk and you get the best salve for any kind of boil possible."

"Well, for ingestion, there's ginger."

"Well done, Granger, now what would you combine with that?"

"Erm..." She paused to think. "Pomegranate juice?"

Snape scoffed.

"No, you're right. Are we making tea?"

"Theorizing tea, yes, before I make you explain your current state to me."

Hermione's head snapped up, and she heard a loud crack at the back of her neck. "'Explain my current state?'" She was sure that back in December he'd been on the verge of asking her while they'd been shopping, but the words hadn't left his mouth until now. The mouth that was snogging you senseless in that dream, Granger. She grimaced.

"Yes. You're not eating; you're not sleeping; you're not socializing; you're not participating in class, and you've begun other sorts of peculiarities that are so unlike the Hermione Granger I know."

"I... I..."

"And you're terribly inarticulate." He was mocking her, now. But it wasn't helping.

Hermione's eyes watered, despite herself, and she looked away.

"My apologies, Miss Granger," he said suddenly, as if he actually cared. "I didn't mean to hurt your...ah...feelings."

"No, no." She sniffled, wiping at her eyes quickly, but the tears slid down her cheeks anyway. "You're not making me cry. I do it all the time, now. I can't...I can't help it. It hurts..." She sobbed loudly, then swore, wiping her nose on her sleeve. "Gods, I am so pathetic!"

"No, you are not. You are entitled to cry, I should think."

"I shouldn't be crying."

"You have every right to."

"You think I'm weak, don't you?"

"Bloody hell, girl, I'm not judging you!" He frowned, a pained expression flitting across his face as she buried her face in her hands.

"I don't know why I'm crying. I'm sorry!" She sniffled again and looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes.

"Stop. Apologizing," he gritted out.

"Sorr..." She clamped her hand over her mouth and gave a small giggle.

He glared at her. "Let's start with the easiest one to answer, shall we?"

"I'd rather not talk to y..."

"Have you been speaking to anyone else? Making conversation?"

"Not... really? No. No, I haven't."

"That is my first inquiry. Why have you neglected...let me rephrase...why are you not spending your time with Mr. Potter?"

Hermione paused. There were many reasons, but she supposed it was how uncomfortable he and Ginny made her feel. They were so in love, and they'd be getting married in the summer, and then the next thing would be a glowing Ginny who would, although unconsciously, rub her pregnancy in Hermione's face. Voicing her last thought aloud, she murmured, "They're permanently glued at the hip, now."

"Mr. and Mrs. Potter-to-be?"

"Yes. It's nauseating."

"Indeed."

"I don't mean the two of them together. Or... or... Oh, I don't know! It's so difficult to carry on a decent conversation anymore without either of them bringing up the other or talking about wedding plans. It makes me feel... so..."

--

"Alone."

The girl nodded, looking up at Severus with watery eyes. "And... and I don't want to be mad at Ronald anymore."

Severus' face darkened, and he stiffened considerably.

"I know what he said was ridiculous and unforgivable, but I can't ignore him for the rest of my life. He and I will be Aunty 'Mione and Uncle Ron to Harry's kids! We've been through so much, and I know he's going through a rough patch with Fred gone. He wants a family, and I understand that. But I am obviously not the one to give it to him. I don't want all that. I want knowledge."

"He's not worth your time."

She rolled her eyes, and Severus smirked despite himself. "We've been through too much to drop the friendship completely. I'm not saying I'm going to march up to him and shake his hand when I leave detention, I just want... it all to go back to the way it was."

"Things change, Miss Granger," Severus said quietly.

A/N: Part two up next. No, the scene wouldn't just END like that! What do you take me for? Next part is basically the climax of the story or a semi-climax, if you will... And you'll find out what exactly is the reason for Hermione's dreams and peculiar behaviour. : ) –CC

Oh, and three cheers for ladyinthecloak for her infinite knowledge of the English language!!