Confronting Christmas Eve

Chapter 6 - Confronting Christmas Eve

Hermione sulked around the Snape manor for most of the morning, reading, scowling at the various portraits and landscapes hanging on the walls, and completely ignoring Snape. She knew that it was an entirely immature gesture, but he deserved it. Why hadn't he trusted her enough to tell her about the Muggle family the night he had returned from the Dark Revels?

She sniffed haughtily and continued her reading in the first floor parlor, only because she knew that Snape would be in the study and had never ventured as far as the parlor during their time there.

'Miss Granger, I would hate to disillusion you, but I do know exactly where you are,' Snape's voice said close to her ear, sending warm breath down her neck.

She turned sharply, and her nose met Snape's with a muffled crack. 'Bugger!' she swore, hand flying up to her now sore nose.

Snape was a little less guarded with his words and began swearing loudly in both English and a number of other languages, one of which was French, which Hermione conveniently spoke fluently. He finished his rant with a snapped out 'Putaine de merde!’ before dropping into the seat opposite Hermione and pulling out his wand.

He muttered a charm, and the bleeding stopped as well as his nose returning to the most normal form it could. Hermione opened her mouth to ask what had happened, but he cut her off with a wave of his hand. 'You broke my nose, Miss Granger.'

Hermione blushed, still pinching the bridge of her nose, which apparently had been bleeding and was paining her quite a bit. Snape noticed then and moved lightning fast to her side and moved her hand away from her face gently. He pointed his wand at her face and looked at her, asking permission to proceed, and after receiving a nod, muttered a charm that stopped the bleeding and immediately took away the pain.

'Miss Granger, it seems that I have given you your first broken bone,' Snape said with amusement dancing in his eyes.

Hermione sniffed and continued reading her book, ignoring the stubborn, insufferable, uncouth, petulant man next to her now. 'Thank you for healing my nose,' came her muted response.

Snape sat and looked at her for a moment. She was still mad at him. He had been hoping that she would get over the whole bloody incident, but apparently she was as headstrong and relentless as himself. 'Miss Granger, you seem to have something bothering you. What, pray tell, is it?' he asked, pretending to be blissfully ignorant, meanwhile bracing himself on the inside.

He had seen her many a time at Hogwarts, yelling and fighting with one of her best friends, Ronald Weasley, and by the gods, she was a vicious little spitfire when it came down to it.

Hermione looked up at him with a mad glare, flames dancing in her honey eyes. If steam could come out of a human head without the assistance of wizard's candy, he was sure that she would be steaming like an engine.

'How dare you ask me that? You know very well what is wrong with me. Don't play coy, Professor!' she snapped angrily.

Snape schooled his face as best as he could to a tight-lipped glare.

'If I knew, Miss Granger, why would I have asked you? I do not usually ask inane questions that I already know the answers to,' he retorted skillfully.

'Ha! You say that, but I can see in blackness of your eyes that you know very well that I am mad at you for not confiding in me when you returned from the Dark Revels!' she said, voice rising in pitch and volume. 'I asked you, and you lied to me!'

'I was sparing you the gory details of something that you do not have a right to become involved in! The headmaster was wrong to allow children to become involved in an adult's war!' he said, volume also rising.

'Child! You think that I am a child?' she asked shrilly.

'You give me no reason to believe otherwise! Moping around the house. My house. Ignoring everything and scowling at portraits, for Merlin's sake!' he roared.

Hermione shut her mouth. He was right. She had been acting as a child that whole day, even then, when she had been arguing with him. 'I apologise, Professor. I was wrong to question your decision,' she murmured, bowing her head.

'There is nothing to forgive, however. I suppose it would only be proper of me to give you an explanation as to why I withheld those details from you,' he said, voice returning to the normal, silky tone.

Hermione nodded and wisely kept her mouth closed. 'Miss Granger, I am aware of your stance on issues concerning Muggles. And although your intentions are good, the Order will not allow you to place your life and those of people close to you at risk just so that you can traipse around the countryside trying to save unknown Muggles that can be taken care of more efficiently by a senior Order member,' he ground out evenly, pushing on no matter how many times Hermione opened her mouth to protest angrily.

'Now how do you know that I would have immediately rushed off like that?' she demanded angrily, her apparent distaste at his choice of words becoming more pronounced.

'Because you are honorable and courageous, and you believe in mercy and sparing the lives of the weak and vulnerable. You would selflessly give your life for another, because that is the person that you are,' he said seriously. 'But your brash decision would have been in vain. I will not allow such potential pass away without so much as living what one might call a fulfilling life.'

Although he would waste no time denying it if she mentioned it later, Hermione heard the compliment and careful consideration in his words. He seemed truly concerned for her life, despite the fact that she was Muggle-born and a Gryffindor.

'Thank you for caring, Professor,' she said softly, finally finding the courage to look up into his inky black eyes.

'It is of no matter. Just do not question the decisions that I make on your behalf as often as you do, Miss Granger. I would not make them if I did not see the need to,' he replied in a low voice.

'I understand, Professor, and I thank you again for your thought,' Hermione said, standing from her seat.

'Dinner will be as per usual,' he added as she walked towards the door to leave.

'I will not be late.'

****

Snape watched as Hermione pushed the plate forward slightly after finishing her meal, sliding the knife between the prongs of her fork as was proper and neatly folding the napkin that was on her lap into a square back on the table.

'Dinner was lovely,' she commented when she saw that he had finished eating too.

'I'll be sure to pass on your compliments to the elves,' he replied, noting her expression change when he had mentioned actually talking to his elves. 'Miss Granger?'

'Oh, sorry, Professor. I just didn't think that is was customary for masters to speak to their elves,' she said blushing an attractive shade of pink.

'Despite what most people think, I actually treat my employees properly, as an employer should and do compliment them and treat them as humans. And I even continue to do so with the elves in the kitchens at Hogwarts,' he said understandingly. 'Have you ever wondered where exactly it is I go when I am not present at the staff table for meals?'

Hermione nodded and smiled. 'I don't suppose many others do, so I have never had a chance to discuss with anyone else and speculate about it.'

Snape chuckled at her admission a little and knew she was right. Hardly anyone except Dumbledore ever wondered where he was whenever he was missing from a meal, or anything else for that matter.

'I suppose you are right,' he replied, looking over to the antique clock on the wall. 'And it is getting late. I must excuse myself and take my leave from the table. Goodnight, Miss Granger. I have no doubt that I will be seeing you in the morning.'

'Goodnight, Professor.'