Chapter 16

Things begin to get bad for our couple from here.

All canon characters belong to JKR.

Thanks to June for the beta work.

Chapter 16

Hermione Apparated just behind the Apothecary. She remembered the last time she was here. That was the night Severus had taken her to London, to Al Casbah. As she walked to the Three Boomsticks she felt an odd feeling, like she was being watched. She looked around but noticed no one looking at her. She stopped and was about to turn around, when she heard Harry's voice.

"Hermione! Hermione, over here."

She looked to her right and saw Harry waving wildly to her. She smiled and rushed to him and hugged him.

Severus took the opportunity to slip into the alley next to them. He had placed an Invisibility spell on himself, but now decided to get a bit closer. He altered his appearance, then came out of the alley looking like an old man. He now appeared short and slightly hunched, with white hair down to his shoulders. He wrapped his cloak tightly around him and resumed his spying. He noticed Hermione and Harry entering the restaurant, and followed them.

Ron had been waiting inside, having already secured a table for them. As soon as they sat down, they wasted no time in telling each other what had been going on since they had last seen each other.

"I can't believe Dumbledore tricked you like that, Hermione," said Ron, as he reached for his butterbeer. "I guess that's the only way he could have gotten you there. I mean, who'd want to work with that slimy git willingly anyway?"

Harry rolled his eyes and took a sip of his own drink.

Hermione had planned on telling them of her relationship with Severus, but felt the need to work up to it gradually. Her legendary Gryffindor courage was waning fast. She decided to take a much needed break; she excused herself and made her way to the ladies' room.

Severus, who had been looking through the window, walked inside as she left the table. As he walked past the table where Harry and Ron sat, he lightly brushed a Knut along the top and situated himself in a corner table. He whispered an Audito charm as he bought the small coin to his ear. As he settled himself back in his chair, he heard Ron's voice.

"Can you imagine, Harry? I wish I could be there to see the look on that greasy bat's face when Hermione tells him it's all been a joke." Severus heard Ron laughing. "I mean, all the while he's been thinking she's madly in love with him, and it's a joke?"

Severus froze. He dropped the Knut and rose from his seat so fast he nearly knocked over the table he had been sitting at. He felt as though his heart stopped beating at that very moment. He walked to the back exit, never seeing Hermione come back to the table. He stood outside, trying to catch his breath. He could feel the bile rising in his throat, and knew he needed to get out of there fast. In his haste to leave, he never realized that what he had heard was but a small part of a cruel fantasy in the mind of a very stupid and immature young man.

Hermione came back to the table to find Ron laughing and Harry shaking his head.

"You're acting as thought she's already agreed to it, Ron," said Harry, thoroughly disgusted.

"Agreed to what?" asked Hermione as she sat back down.

"Go on, Ron. Tell Hermione what you spend your free time doing."

"I don't spend all my time thinking about that git, Harry. Don't tell me you haven't thought about getting back at him for being such a bastard to us all those years," said Ron defensively.

"No, I haven't," Harry said. "I've moved on, and in case you hadn't noticed, he may have been a bastard to us, but there were reasons he acted the way he did. He was a spy. And he did save our lives in the final battle, something which you have very conveniently forgotten. He risked his life to distract Voldemort that day, Ron. I would never have been able to get to him if Snape hadn't done that. If for no other reason, you should be grateful to him for that." Harry was fuming. He had grown up quite a bit in the last few years. He had even come to terms with how Severus had treated him during his years in school. While there was no love lost between them, he had to admit that he had a great deal of respect for the man.

"Ron," Hermione looked at him, her face burning with anger. "What have you been saying?" She knew Ron's hatred of Severus knew no bounds, yet she now had a sick feeling he had been plotting something, and it was something she most assuredly would not be happy with.

Ron rolled his eyes and leaned his upper body against the table. "Look, all I said was, wouldn't it be great if we got old Snape back for tormenting us all those years?"

"And how would we be doing that?" she asked as she folded her arms and sat back against the chair.

"Easy. All you have to do is pretend to fall in love with him. You lead him on for a while, then just when he's head over heels, you tell him it's all been a joke." Ron started laughing. "I mean, can you imagine anybody being desperate enough to fall in love with that wanker? Blimey, I'd love to see the look on his face when you told him he would be the last person in this world you would let touch you."

Hermione closed her eyes. She began to count; her father had always told her to count when she felt angry enough to burst. Then, as calmly as she could bear, she uncrossed her arms and leaned forward.

"Ronald Weasley," she said, her voice just above a whisper, "you are the most disgusting, immature, idiotic little boy I have ever had the misfortune to know. Not only would I never be part of such a cruel and malicious joke, but, if I ever find out you have had any part, in any plan, to hurt Severus, I will hex your balls so far up your ass they will come out of your ears, and you'll be wearing them as earrings. Have I made myself clear?" She pushed her chair back so fast that the noise made all the patrons turn to look at what the commotion was all about.

"Hermione, wait. I know you work with him, but you don't have to get so upset," Ron said as he tried to go after her. Ron's complexion grew so pale that his freckles had disappeared.

Harry put his hand on his friend's shoulder and pushed him back down.

"Don't," Harry said as Ron looked at him. "Just leave her be, Ron. That was a bloody stupid thing to say, and you know it."

"Okay, maybe it was, but why is she so defensive of him anyway?" Ron took another sip of his butterbeer and shook his head.

Harry knew why she had been so upset. He had suspected her of having a crush on Severus during their seventh year. Today, seeing her so upset confirmed that not only did she have feelings for him back then, she may still feel the same way.

* * * * * *

As soon as Severus reached the castle he immediately retreated to his rooms. He rushed to the sideboard next to his desk and poured himself a shot of firewhisky. He downed it in one gulp, and then poured himself another. Osiris had heard him come in, and flew down from his niche near the ceiling and stood on the fireplace mantle.

"What's happened?" he asked. Severus looked pale as a ghost.

"Leave me alone!" Severus drank down the shot in his hand and poured another. "I am in no mood for questions or company."

"That's too bad because you have it regardless. You followed her, didn't you?" Osiris looked at his cousin drink his third shot in less than five minutes. "For Merlin's sake, stop doing that and tell me what the hell happened."

Severus was about to take another drink, then realized getting himself drunk would accomplish nothing. He threw the glass into the fireplace and sank heavily into his favorite chair. Head in hand, he sighed heavily.

"It was a joke," he said sadly.

"What was?" Osiris flew down and sat on the chair's armrest. He looked up into Severus' eyes and was shocked to see what looked like tears forming. "Severus, what was a joke? Please, tell me what happened. Is it Hermione? Is she all right?"

Severus leaned his head back and closed his eyes, then laughed slightly.

"Don't you understand? It was a joke. All this time, her words, her actions, her feelings, it has all been a lie!" he said now at the top of his lungs.

Osiris bowed his head, trying to let what Severus had just said sink in.

"You mean.... she was pretending? This whole time she was pretending to have feelings for you? Why?" Osiris was fairly laid back, and rarely let things upset him, but this was something inexcusable. Severus was his family, his friend. He had taken care of him all these years, and the fact that someone had so willingly tried to hurt Severus made him angry. Still, Osiris had spent time with Hermione, and he was a pretty good judge of character. It seemed, though, she had fooled him too.

"I was not kind to her or her friends when they were students here. I suppose they were trying to exact some sort of revenge," Severus' voice sounded hollow and mechanical.

"Are you sure? You said she showed you things. She had a picture of you, and on her last day as a student here she was thinking about you. What did she say when you confronted her?"

"Perhaps she may have had an infatuation with me at some point in the past, but not anymore. Besides, she is a powerful and talented witch; even when she was a novice at Legilimency, you know that she could have easily projected false images. And as far as confronting her, I want nothing to do with her," he spat out.

"You mean you aren't even going to give yourself the satisfaction of finding out why?" asked Osiris as he threw his wings in the air, as though they were arms.

"I have told you why! They wanted to play their stupid little childish game of retribution. I don't care to hear her explanations or excuses!" Severus rose and took off his cloak. Then he began to undo the buttons on his shirt; as cold as it usually was in the dungeons, his anger was making his body temperature rise.

"Fine, I'll go ask her then." Osiris was getting ready to fly out the window, when Severus' hand came down and picked him up.

"Don't you understand? They were laughing at me, Osiris! They can hate me all they want, but I won't stand for anyone laughing at me! That I can never forgive! I forbid you to go over there. You are not to speak with her about any of this, do you understand?"

"Maybe you don't want to know what the hell happened, but I do."

"No, Osiris," his voice was softer now. "It's over. Just...just let it end, all right? Please, just let it end." He put Osiris down gently on his desk and retreated to his bedroom, where he stayed for the rest of the afternoon.

Osiris flew to the window and looked out. He saw that Hermione was making her way back to the castle, looking as angry as his cousin had just been.

He wanted to fly down and ask her what had transpired that afternoon. He wanted to know how Severus found out about her deception; he wanted to know why she had done it. Why had she hurt him? Severus was not a man to give his love freely, and Osiris had never known his cousin to have ever before truly loved any woman. Now that Hermione had deceived Severus, there would be no hope of him ever letting anyone touch him like that again. Osiris turned and sat quietly on the windowsill. He knew he would never get the look on Severus' face out of his head. Never had he seen his cousin look so defeated.

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