Chapter 10

All canon characters are owned by JKR.

Thanks to June for doing the beta work for me in this story.

Chapter 10

After Severus and Hermione finished their meal, they thanked Coman and then left with the promise of returning again soon. It was nine o'clock, and Severus wondered if he would be pushing his luck by asking Hermione if she wanted to take a walk to his favorite bookstore, which was located a few streets away. He didn't want to go back to Hogwarts just yet. Much as he hated to admit it, he was having a good time with her.

He hadn't wanted for them to become so familiar. He had wanted to keep their relationship strictly business, hence referring to her as Miss Granger, yet the minute he had sat down with her in that restaurant he realized they had ceased to be just colleagues. Severus had been alone for most of his young life as well as during adulthood. The life of a spy doesn't bode well for romance of any kind. Was this what he wanted with her, a romance? He knew that he looked forward to their conversations, and that he enjoyed her company, but he hadn't wanted to let himself get sucked into caring for her. That path usually led to heartache and disappointment.

If Severus had decided to use his skills of Legilimency at that moment, he would have known Hermione was thinking along the same lines. At first, being around him felt awkward and uncomfortable; yet in the last couple of weeks she had grown quite comfortable around him. He was a highly intellectual person, which she found to be incredibly stimulating and sexy. She also knew that they would never be bored around each other as far as conversation topics went, since they had a lot in common. But, regardless of all these things, she felt apprehensive. He had never been in a serious relationship before, at least not any that she knew of. Hermione realized that his life as a spy had made it difficult for him to have the time for romance. There was no doubt though, in her mind, that he had lovers in the past. He was a man, after all. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and sighed. 'Yes, he is most certainly a man,' she thought. Then she began to wonder a whole slew of things. What would he be like as a lover, or a boyfriend, or even a husband? So many questions, yet so few answers. At that moment she wished that Sybil Trelawney wasn't such a quack, then maybe she would have some clue as to how to proceed.

Hermione noticed that they had stopped in front of a small building, which looked like a cottage. In the windows were stacks and stacks of books, old and new. She smiled and looked at Severus. He looked down and guided her to the door.

"Have you ever been here before?" he asked.

"No, I don't believe I have. It's rather out of the way," she said as she walked through the front door.

"Yes, it is, but sometimes one finds the best books in places like this." He looked around and noticed the shopkeeper at the counter. He waved to the old woman and moved towards the back corner of the store. "I try to come here whenever I am in London. There is a section over towards the other side of the store that may interest you. It is an Occult section; I myself found it quite amusing." He pointed the way for her, and then went to search for a book he had left behind on his last visit.

Just as he had said, Hermione found the Occult section interesting, to say the least. There were many books on spells and incantations, as well as mythical beasts. She always thought it funny that many of the Muggle books written on magical spells read like fiction, but were meant to be real; and the books on mythical beasts, which were meant to be fictional, were real!

She shook her head as she laughed, then decided to walk towards the literature section. The books all looked old but not too worn, which indicated to her they had been loved. As she brushed her fingers along the spines of the books in front of her, one book in particular caught her attention. Hermione hadn't read any Muggle books in almost two years. She had been so busy trying to graduate, that most of her reading time was spent on schoolbooks. She took the book and turned around, only to run smack dab into Severus' chest.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" She would have fallen back, had it not been for his arms coming around her waist to hold her steady. "I.... I should have been paying better attention." She looked up into his eyes, which were now staring deeply into hers.

"It's my fault. Did you find anything interesting?" His eyes now became less intense and more amused. He could feel her trembling slightly against him, but having just scared the living crap out of her, he attributed her shaking to being surprised.

"Umm...yes...I..." She stepped back slightly, but not enough to free herself from his grasp. She began to open the book and flip the pages. "I found this. I have always wanted to read it."

Severus released her and took the book from her hands. He looked at the title. "Pride & Prejudice. A very good choice; you will enjoy this." He handed it back to her, letting their fingers slightly brush against one another.

Hermione felt the telltale sign of a blush coming on and quickly spoke, hoping to distract him from noticing.

"What about you? What did you get?" she asked, almost too quickly.

"Nothing. It's getting late; we should be getting back to Hogwarts." He took her by the arm, and they walked to the counter.

"But you have something there. What is it? Did you find a potions book hidden in here?" She wondered why his mood had changed so suddenly. She also thought it odd he would not let her see his book.

"No, it is not a potions book. It's just some old book I saw the last time I was here, and I thought it might be interesting to read. It's not important." He took her book and quickly paid the old woman, then they both walked out.

Her curiosity was getting the best of her. She saw no reason why he should not tell her what he had chosen, when she so willingly told him what she had found; it was silly, really. Still, she let him hold her arm as they now walked briskly to the same point they had Apparated from. When they reached the site, she shook her arm out of his grasp.

"I know it's getting late, but I don't see why we had to practically sprint back to here."

"I need to get up early in the morning, as I am sure you do as well. I just wanted to hurry back."

"You just want to get back so you don't have to worry about me seeing what you got back there. Honestly, Severus, you tell me this incredible secret about Osiris, yet you get all secretive now over a book."

Severus looked at her, knowing she was right. It wasn't such a big deal anyway. It was after all just a book. He sighed deeply, then opened the bag and handed her the book. He may as well get it over with.

When she looked at the inside cover, her face lit up. "I love Coleridge! His poetry is beautiful. Why didn't you want me to see this?"

"So you can laugh at my expense? I think not." He snorted and backed away from her.

"Why would I laugh?" She stepped closer to him and tilted her head slightly.

"Come now, Miss Granger. The evil Potions Master of Hogwarts, the greasy git, a poetry lover?" He turned away from her, not wanting to witness her laughing at him. He had always loved poetry, yet could never enjoy it while living at home. His father caught him reading it once and beat him severely for it, after saying that only weak-minded sissy boys read poetry. During Severus' student years at Hogwarts, living amongst his Slytherin housemates, he would have been ridiculed for reading something so pure and inspiring. As a teacher, he was loathed and feared. He was seen as some evil bat roaming the dungeons, with no feelings or knowledge of what it was to love or be loved. Perhaps that last bit was true to a certain extent, but Severus Snape did know how to appreciate beauty in all its forms. That was something no one had ever taken the time to find out. He had kept his love of poetry a secret for these many years, and now she knew.

"I think it's lovely, Severus," she said softly, as she approached him. "I think you're lovely." She reached out and touched his shoulder, wanting to quell his fear of her mocking him. He turned slightly, and took hold of her hand.

"I'm sorry... I," she began to apologize, thinking he was going to push her away, but before she could finish her sentence, he took a step towards her and took her face in his other hand. He caressed her cheek with his thumb, then leaned down and kissed her gently. He lifted his head and looked into her eyes, which were fluttering open.

"Sorry for what, Hermione?" he whispered.

"For...for over....s..stepping my bounds," she answered, as she felt his arm wrap around her waist once again.

"I'm not," he answered, just before they Apparated back home.

They arrived back at Hogwarts within seconds. This time Hermione felt none of the sickness she had suffered with the last several Apparations. Severus wanted to pull her closer still, yet he thought better of it for the moment, and began releasing her slowly.

"I'm afraid it is I who must now apologize, Miss Granger, for I believe I may have overstepped my bounds."

"I do not accept your apology," she said as she smiled and bowed her head down shyly. "I rather liked what you did."

Severus was flabbergasted. What should he do know? He had been in conflict with his emotions ever since she had arrived. He had not wanted to surrender to the possibility that he might be falling for her in any way. She had barely been back at Hogwarts for two weeks, and he was acting like a hormonal teenager. Yes, there had been times during her seventh year when he would think about her, but he would not let himself go beyond thinking she was intelligent and quite beautiful. And now she was here on staff, she was a grown woman, and she was clearly willing to let him be close to her with no complaint. Could it be that he was letting that one blasted vision, from so many years ago, turn into some self-indulgent, self-fulfilling prophecy? Was he trying to make something happen with Hermione that should have happened with someone else? Was what he saw even real or even supposed to happen? Since the night he was in that room, he had not returned. It was so many years ago; could it have been her? How could he have known then, what he would want so desperately today?

Hermione wondered what was going through his mind. Would he revert to his former self? Would he refuse to let her address him as anything other than Professor Snape? She'd had a wonderful time that evening, and found herself not wanting it to end. She had wanted him for so long, and now he was here, releasing her slowly from their embrace. She remembered what Draco had said to her earlier: "Go for it." But the apprehension was still there. He was obviously still getting used to the grown-up Hermione, and it had been such a short time since they had begun to work together. She could feel he was in conflict with himself. One thing she knew for a fact was that she wanted this to be something lasting, and real. She was willing to give it a bit more time ... time to let things take their natural course, as it had this evening. She did, however, want him to know she was open to more.

"Perhaps we can do this again soon?" she asked hopefully.

Severus reached into his pocket and took out her cloak. He waved his wand, and it slowly expanded to its normal size. He took it and placed it around her shoulders, letting his hands linger and caress her slightly.

"I believe that can be arranged," he whispered. He felt her shiver beneath his hands, much like she had done earlier in the evening, only this time he knew he was the cause of it. With that, he waved his hand gesturing to her that they should begin walking. They walked towards the castle in silence, yet he gave himself the pleasure of placing his hand at the small of her back. He wanted to keep touching her, if only to make sure she was real and this night had not been a dream. Their evening had begun in silence, and now it was ending the same way. The only difference was, they now walked with the knowledge that there was something they both wanted, and were just a hair's breadth closer to getting it than they were before.

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And so we conclude this date. So, now the real fun begins.