Chapter Three

Disclaimer: The Potterverse is not mine. The plot, however, is.

Chapter Three

Hermione woke with a start. It took her a while to get her bearings as to where she was. Smiling as thoughts from the night before rushed back, she curled up tighter under the cloak she was under and listened to Snape breathing before dozing back off again.

Snape on the other hand was wide awake. He had a crick in his neck, and his arms were wrapped around Hermione in one form or another, and his legs had stiffened and numbed straight, having propped his feet up on the coffee table at some point the night before.

He groaned and forced himself to move and in the process nudged Hermione back into wakefulness. "I know you're awake, Hermione."

"Not." She snuggled into his lap, gripping his trouser leg with one clenched fist whilst her other supported her cheek.

"Hermione, you can't stay under there forever, besides, if I don't move soon, I think my legs are going to fall off." He rolled his eyes as she giggled. His body, on the other hand, was not quite in such a relaxed state as he would have liked. He was highly sensitized and he was struggling to contain his reaction as she wiggled and moved about. Deciding that if he waited much longer, it would be too long, he tickled her as an excuse to move her, and gingerly slid out from under her. Wincing as his back clicked and his legs creaked. "I sound like an old man. Now, what would you like for breakfast?"

"Breakfast?" Hermione asked as she poked her head out from under his cloak, her cheeks flushed.

"Yes, breakfast." Holding out his hand, he waited for her to take it before pulling her up. "Traditional fry-up or something boring?"

"Well, when you put it like that, Severus, how could I pass up the chance for something boring?!" Smiling, she followed him into the kitchen. "Urgh, I hate wearing yesterday's clothing!"

"You can use my bathroom, if you wish. And you could take one of my shirts and transfigure it into something suitable for you to return home in." Snape moved around his kitchen, gathering up things he would need for making their breakfast, and went about setting them up, leaving Hermione to watch on.

"I couldn't, I know how precious you are about your shirts." Hermione grinned as he threw her a look.

"Go. You'll only pester me with annoying questions about what I'm doing!" Snape's lips twitched, but he stopped the smile before it could widen. "Up the stairs, first door on the right, there's a couple of shirts in the cupboard just next to it."

"Oh, how will I choose between the colours?" Hermione giggled and shot out of the room, quickly making her way to the bottom of the stairs where she slowed to a walk before continuing. She'd never been upstairs before, having only stopped over for brief chats before moving down to his potions lab in the cellar.

She ran her fingers over the ornate wood carvings that covered the walls up the stairs and along the landing. Reaching the door she had been directed to, she pushed it open to check it was the right one before moving to the cabinet next to it.

She had been correct in her assumption that choice of colour would be slim, well, actually nil. They were all white, but their styles were different. Grabbing the closest one to her, she continued on into the bathroom and turned the shower on.

***

Feeling fully refreshed, she stepped out of the shower and dried off, cringing at the thought of casting a freshening charm on her underwear, and deciding instead to go without. Turning to the shirt, she laid it out and thought about what style would be best considering the material; for all the things Hermione excelled at, the ability to transfigure one material into another, she failed to succeed in.

Finally deciding that a long dress would be better than anything else, she searched through her dirty clothing for her wand.

"Shit." She began to panic when after her second check of each item of clothing, she failed to find it. Sitting there and staring at a shirt was not an option, so she quickly slipped the shirt out and crept to the door. Checking to make sure Snape was still in the kitchen, she waited until she heard the sound of movement from below before sneaking down the stairs, her eyes sweeping each stair in search of her wand. "Where are you?"

She had only made it halfway across the living room on her way to the sofa when Snape came through from the kitchen.

"I thought I heard you-" He visibly gulped, and Hermione flushed pink as his eyes washed over her. Taking in the white shirt, which only just reached mid-thigh, her wet hair hanging in loose curls over her shoulders, the wet material under them causing the material to stick to her skin.

"I couldn't find my wand, and I -"

"Yes, um, well, breakfast is ready when you are. I just wanted to ask whether you wanted fried or scrambled eggs."

"Fried, please." Hermione smiled and twirled a wet curl around a finger. "I'm just going to have a look for my wand around the sofa before coming through."

Snape tilted his head in response and strode back into the kitchen, past the frying pan, and towards a cabinet next to the back door. Flinging one side open, he reached in and grabbed a deflating draught and downed it without hesitation. With a flick of his wrist, the now-empty vial flew towards the cellar door, and Snape turned back towards the frying pan and started to make Hermione her eggs.

Hermione slid onto a chair at the kitchen table and pulled a plate towards her. "Mmm, this smells delicious, Severus!"

"Thank you." He flipped the eggs over to make both sides slightly crispy before lifting the pan and making his way over to Hermione, sliding them onto her plate, draining as much oil off each as he did so.

"I thought that you could transfigure your shirt for me; I didn't want to spoil your shirt by my 'foolish wand waving'."

All Snape could do was nod as he forced his gaze away from her bared collar bone.

***

Hermione ate her breakfast with gusto, and Snape found it very hard not to just sit there and watch her. His watching her became such a distraction that Hermione stopped eating and looked up.

"What?!"

He smirked. "Nothing. You seem to have a very healthy appetite, and it just shocked me slightly."

"Severus, eat your breakfast before it gets cold." Hermione shook her head and continued to eat. Sometimes it wasn't worth exploring what Snape was thinking; it often left her more confused then before she asked.

They didn't get too much further in their meal before there was a loud knocking on the back door. Hermione looked worriedly up at it. "Are you expecting someone, Severus?"

"No, are you... right, my house." He drew his wand and moved slowly towards the door. He cast a few charms to protect the insides of the house and opened the door, only to be bowled back as Harry and Ron stormed in.

"Where's Hermione?" Ron's eyes swept the room wildly before coming to a rest on Hermione, who was frozen in place, a slice of toast half way to her mouth. "What the bloody hell is going on?" He turned his gaze to Snape and glared.

Recovering from her shock, Hermione launched to her feet. Unfortunately, this made her state of undress even more obvious. "Ron! You can't just barge into people's houses and start shouting! And Harry, you too! What were you thinking?"

Harry placed a hand on Ron's shoulder to stop him speaking. "We were thinking that you may be in trouble. Your mother informed us that you had gone for a walk to clear your head, but that you hadn't returned. We tracked you to here, and here we are. And I'm with Ron. What is going on, Hermione?"

"I'm eating breakfast, which I might add is getting cold because of you two!" Hermione clenched her fists together at her sides. She may love the boys, but they were forever butting into her life when she really didn't want or need them to.

"But, Herm-" Ron started.

"No. No 'buts'. I want you to leave." As Hermione sat back down and picked up her fork, she glanced back up at them before returning her gaze to her plate. "Leave. I'll come to the Burrow a little later; you don't need to worry about me."

Ron started to argue back, but Harry realised that Hermione would not be bullied on the matter and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, mate. She'll be round later." Pulling Ron with him, he left, glaring at Snape as they passed him.

"I don't know why they have to be so over-protective of me. It's ridiculous really." And with that she silently went back to her breakfast. Ignoring Snape as he too returned to his food.

***

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