Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Finally they had come across another clue. It had seemed to take forever, but there it was. Jumping out at them was another reference to Holt's summer home. They had been beginning to lose hope, as they had long passed the entries for Sutton's apprenticeship. Fortunately, Sutton had kept his friendship up with Holt, and now they had found the clue they were looking for. Barnaby Sutton had been invited to summer with Horatio Holt in his villa in Venice.

"Now what do we do?" Severus asked Hermione.

"We finish looking through the diary entries. There are only a few left. Then we need to go to the Ministry and see if we can turn up anything on Holt's villa in Venice."

"Shouldn't we just go to Venice and look there?" Severus asked her.

Hermione shook her head. "The Ministry has records on more things than anyone could imagine. We very well might be able to find what we need right there. It would be silly to travel all the way to Italy while not knowing what we're looking for, when what we need is sitting so close by. Once we know where to look, we'll take our search to Venice."

Severus nodded, deep in thought.

"Will you come with me? To the Ministry, I mean," Hermione asked him.

Severus frowned. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to be seen in such a populated place.

"You could dress up like a girl or something," Hermione joked.

Severus arched an eyebrow at her. "You, young lady, have gotten much too cheeky in your adulthood."

Hermione got right up in his face.

"That's because I know your bark is worse than your bite," she said with a sly smile.

She got up and walked into the kitchen to get a drink. Severus' eyes followed her. Had she just flirted with him? No, it couldn't be. Hermione returned in a moment, toting two tall glasses of lemonade. She handed one to Severus.

"Well, will you come?" she asked again.

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"I will come, witch, but I will not dress like a girl."

Hermione chuckled at him, trying to clear her mind of the boggart that Neville Longbottom had conjured up in his third year. She found it quite impossible and doubled over in laughter, spilling half of her lemonade in the process.

"Are you through?" Severus asked caustically.

That of course, sent her into further hysterics. She luckily found the table and set her glass down as she fell to her knees, her body shaking with mirth.

Severus could only scowl at her. Forget the fact that he wanted to grab her and kiss that stupid grin off her face. He would continue to act put out.

"I..." Hermione tried to say, "I had this... flashback to third year... and you were... Neville's boggart!" Hermione managed to look up at Severus, her cheeks flushed a crimson color as she tried to control her chuckling.

Severus raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes," Severus drawled. "We all had a good laugh at that one, didn't we?" he remarked in his deep baritone.

Hermione shook her head wistfully. "Rumor had it that you were furious for a week!"

"There were appearances to be kept up" Severus responded tartly. "I actually was quite proud of myself for scaring the living daylights out of the boy enough to be his boggart."

"Oh, but, Severus, you should have seen it! You waltzed out of the wardrobe all foreboding, and before anyone knew it, you were prancing around in a green dress, complete with hat and a red purse and shoes!" Hermione could hold it in no more and doubled over in a fit of giggles.

"Yes, that certainly tops the time you resembled a beaver with enormous teeth," Severus commented snidely.

Hermione's laughter ceased. She gave Severus a stricken look. She rose suddenly and made her way to the kitchen. Severus watched her go. Merlin, he had only been joking. Why was it that every time he opened his mouth, something caustic had to come out of it? He rose and followed her into the kitchen. Hermione was leaning over the sink, staring blankly out the window. Severus came up behind her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I was just kidding, Hermione," he said softly.

Hermione didn't look at him. "You weren't kidding that day when you said those horrible things to me."

Severus' eyebrows furrowed. "What horrible things?" he asked, truly at a loss as to what she was going on about.

She turned and looked at him sadly. "You said you saw no difference in my appearance."

Severus stiffened. "Oh... that."

"Yes... that," Hermione said tartly. She looked away and back out the window.

Severus watched her for a few moments. In their new found friendship, he had forgotten that he had once been the most horrible person alive. He had forgotten how he had treated her as a student. Obviously, Hermione Granger had not forgotten. It was amazing that she even spoke to him at all after the way she had been treated by him.

"Hermione," he called to her and squeezed her shoulder. She looked back over to him. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

Hermione arched an eyebrow at him.

"I got into role playing a bit much in my Hogwarts years. I knew I could never be nice to anyone but the Slytherins. I admit that in a sadistic way, I had fun making you all fear and hate me. I know this sounds trite, but it was nothing personal."

Hermione turned fully to him. Angry eyes assaulted his. "Nothing personal? Oh, well, then forget it!" She threw her hands up and stalked around him and back into the living room. She turned back around and faced him again, pointing at him fervently.

"Do you have any idea what a complex I had about those teeth growing up?"

Severus shook his head no.

"I begged my parents to do something. They're dentists, for Merlin's sake! But they wouldn't do anything. I was plain enough as a child! I didn't need those enormous teeth to make me look so hideous."

Severus looked to her curiously. "You were never plain, Hermione."

Hermione rolled her eyes, brushed her hand in the air, and turned from him.

He was by her side in a matter of seconds. Severus grabbed her arm and turned her around, taking her arms in his hands.

"I'm sorry. I hadn't known you had been so sensitive about your teeth. I wouldn't have made such a callous comment if I had known. I'm sorry."

Hermione searched his face for duplicity, for some sign that he was just humoring her. She saw sincerity in his eyes. She softened immediately.

"It's alright. How would you have known? The whole incident gave me the opportunity to fix them myself at any rate." She smiled, showing off her now perfect teeth.

Severus pulled her to him and embraced her. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," she mumbled into his robes. Her arms had snaked around his body. She was enjoying his embrace immensely. She should play the wounded female more often. Not that she hadn't been upset, she had been. But now she was simply elated at his hug.

"We all say things we don't mean sometimes," she continued after a minute.

Severus realized what he was doing and stiffened. His hands dropped to his side, and he pulled away from Hermione. He stared at the floor and let his hair fall over his eyes, successfully hiding his face from her. "Sorry," he muttered.

Hermione scooted up next to him again, bent her knees and peered under Severus' curtain of hair.

"Don't be," she admonished before straightening back up and heading for the sofa. She settled herself into it and grabbed another journal entry, studying it carefully to avoid looking at Severus. She knew he was embarrassed and wanted him to compose himself.

Severus stared at the petite witch as she went about her business as if nothing had happened. But something had happened. He wasn't sure just what, but it had happened. That hug... and those... feelings! He would have held her all night if he hadn't thought it would have ended their friendship right then and there. Thankfully, she hadn't minded, nor had she noticed his heart beating faster as he pulled her close. He certainly didn't want to ruin their new-found friendship only a couple of weeks into it by falling all over her like some lovesick puppy dog. No, she would never want to be that friendly with him.

He quickly walked over to the coffee table and grabbed his drink. He gulped it down in three large gulps. Okay, so that didn't help. He still wanted to grab Hermione and snog her senseless. Finally, he just sat on the sofa across from her and pulled another journal entry up to his face. He tried ever so hard to read it, but it was a long while before any of the words on the page made any sense whatsoever.

oooOOOooo

Hermione opened the door, and her mouth dropped open. Severus and she had finished up the diary entries and were planning to go to the Ministry today. Severus had agreed to meet her at her house, and they would Apparate there together. There he stood, but he looked so amazingly different that Hermione was unsure it was him at first.

Severus Snape stood before her with his dark sunglasses on. He wore khaki slacks and a white shirt. A white shirt. He had a tan suit coat slung over his shoulder. His hair, which normally hung down and fell into his eyes, was slicked back with hair gel. Hermione felt her stomach tumble. The man was a sex god in loafers.

"Wow," Hermione exclaimed. "You really do clean up nicely," she muttered.

"Do you think anyone will recognize me?" he asked her. A small smirk played across his face.

"Severus, even your own mother wouldn't recognize you looking like that. You should dress like this more often," she said with a smile.

Severus gave her a quick grin, and they were off.

"You look nice also," he muttered.

She was dressed in black slacks and a gold knit sweater top with sleeves that came down past her elbow. The buttons on the sweater were left open to reveal a white tank top underneath. Her hair was pulled back from her face with a golden headband, and it flowed behind her. She grabbed a glittery gold purse that matched perfectly with her high heels, and they were off. In a few minutes they were making their way through the many wizards that crowded the Ministry. No one seemed to recognize Severus. It seemed that his disguise was working. Actually, much to Hermione's annoyance, she caught several witches staring after him longingly.

"You're making quite the impression with the ladies, Severus," she told him.

"You have no fewer wizards trying to catch your eye," Severus retorted.

Hermione smiled, happy that he had noticed.

They got into an elevator and went to the floor where the library and reference room was located. Exiting the lift, Hermione turned right and headed in the library's direction. She had been here often enough to get here in her sleep.

They entered the library, and Severus looked around in awe. He too had been here several times, but the enormity of the reference area never ceased to amaze him. There were books as far as the eye could see. Hermione went up to a desk and pointed to a square object that rested on it.

"Have you ever used one of these Requisitors before?" she asked Severus.

He shook his head.

"They're fairly new. You request what you're looking for, and then a list of possible categories and locations for your item appears here." She motioned to an empty box next to the Requisistor. "Why don't you search for bills of sale for villas, and I'll search for property documents and tax assessments."

Severus went over to another Requisitor and asked for what he wanted. The two of them were soon in different parts of the library, researching their given topics. After an hour, Hermione had checked all of the documents in her section, coming up with nothing. She wandered through the library looking for Severus. She finally spied him sitting on the floor in the stacks, surrounded by books.

She stopped for a minute and took in his appearance. He truly was a fine specimen of a man. She had never thought that he would look good in white, but, oh, how amazingly gorgeous he looked right now. And the way those pants fit his body... He was lucky she hadn't jumped him on sight.

She shook her head. They were still just friends. No matter how much she wanted to snog him senseless, he didn't have those feelings for her yet. She thought maybe he was coming close, but she wouldn't tempt fate. She would need to be patient. She approached him and sat down next to him.

"I've exhausted my resources. Have you come up with anything?" she asked him.

Severus showed her the book he had been studying. There was a bill of sale for a villa in Venice to a Horatio Holt in the year 980 A.D.

"It's amazing that a record this old could still exist," Severus mused.

Hermione nodded her head as a huge smile covered her face. The location of the property was written clearly on the bill of sale.

"Great work, Severus! It looks like we need to start planning our trip to Venice."

"When can you go?" Severus asked as they both rose from the floor.

Hermione helped Severus put the other books back on the shelf.

"I can leave immediately. My patrons are used to me closing up shop now and again. Shall we make plans to leave at the end of the week?"

A flash of excitement crossed Severus' face before his usual unemotional mask was restored. "That is agreeable with me," he said blandly, as if it didn't matter if they ever got to Venice.

Hermione smirked at him as she made a copy of the bill of sale.

oooOOOooo

It was Friday morning, and Severus and Hermione were to Portkey to Venice within the next ten minutes, as planned. They both had packed lightly for the trip, each putting everything they needed into a small duffel bag. Severus admired Hermione as she opened her door up to him. Her hair was left down, and her curls framed her face and bobbed as she moved aside to let Severus in. She wore a black business suit with a turquoise blouse underneath. Severus admired the way the pants accentuated her backside as she closed the door behind him. Hermione turned and smiled appreciatively at Severus. He was in another white shirt covered with a navy blazer. Navy pants finished the outfit. Of course, his usual sunglasses were on his face to ensure his anonymity. That man could look good in anything!

"Will you ever give up those sunglasses, Severus?" she asked in amusement.

"Not as long as people are living on Earth, Hermione."

Hermione laughed. Severus extended the Porkey, a broken pencil, for her to touch so they could begin their trip. Hermione ran over to the couch, grabbed her bag, and was back at Severus' side in a matter of seconds. The Portkey was set to leave as soon as the two of them were securely holding it. Hermione reached out and put her finger on the pencil. The world began to spin, and they dissolved into oblivion.

Upon arrival in Venice, they immediately went to their hotel. Hermione had chosen a Muggle hotel that was built in the 14th century called the Hotel Danieli. Hermione's mouth dropped open as she entered the lobby. It was beautifully ornate, with marble columns and arches lining the stairwell. Lush golden draperies decorated the windows and crystal chandeliers hung on the ceiling. Severus looked appreciatively at the décor as they moved to the reception desk.

"May I help you?" the hotel clerk said in Italian.

Hermione answered back in flawless Italian. "I have a reservation. My name is Hermione Granger."

Severus eyed her appreciatively. He had not known she was fluent in Italian. It seemed that Hermione Granger was full of hidden talents.

They waited at the desk until the desk clerk handed her a key packet, and the couple went on their way. Although the hotel was built in the 14th century, it had all of the modern enhancements. An elevator stood off to the side of the front desk, and in Hermione's hand was a keycard to enter their room.

"I reserved us a single room. I hope you don't mind," Hermione said to Severus as they made their way to the elevator.

Severus' eyes widened at her.

"I wasn't expecting to share a room with you, Hermione. That really isn't appropriate."

"Well, it's just easier," she said as they entered the elevator.

Severus looked a bit uncomfortable, and Hermione smirked to herself. Little did he know their room was a two bedroom suite. The elevator doors opened onto their floor, and they exited and soon found themselves at their room. Hermione opened the door and went in, closely followed by Severus.

"Wow," Hermione said as she looked around the lavish living room.

There were Victorian chairs and sofas in a light yellow color in the front part of the room. Towards the back was an elegant dark wood table and chairs with white cushions. Hermione looked up and gasped. The ceiling had a mural painted on it, surrounded by white stucco. On the mural were cherubs surrounding a man who was lying on a burgundy chaise lounge. The cherubs were feeding grapes to the man. The entire mural was simply breathtaking.

"I need one of these in my house," she said breathlessly as she stared up at the mural.

"It doesn't go with your décor," Severus replied.

She looked over at him and smirked.

"So, which bedroom do you want?" she asked him.

His eyebrows rose. "There are two?"

"Well, you didn't expect to be sharing a bed with me, Severus, did you? That would be inappropriate!"

Severus scowled at her. "I'll take the one on the right," he said.

Hermione headed for the bedroom on the left and was again awed by the beauty of the room. Thick luxurious draperies hung from the windows in a beige color. The bed had a beautiful canopy, also in beige. The furnishings were made of an expensive dark wood that elegantly complimented the room. She sat down on the bed and felt it sink down under her. She groaned in pleasure and lay down completely on the bed.

"Oh, yeah," she said as she got comfortable.

"Having fun?" Severus asked as he leaned against the door frame.

Hermione popped back into a sitting position, looking sheepish. Her embarrassment disappeared as she took in Severus' lithe form, completely relaxed, as he leaned against the doorway. She wished she could freeze Severus right there and keep him in that position forever. He exuded all sorts of sexiness just with a simple pose.

"This bed is amazingly comfortable," she explained.

"Yes, so is mine, I'm sure, but I am not here to take a nap."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Lighten up, we just got here," she told him in no uncertain terms.

Severus furrowed his brow. Normally he would be quite put out by Hermione's candor, but he had grown accustomed to her teasing over the past few weeks. He knew there was no malice behind it. He had grown accustomed to a lot of things about Hermione. He found he enjoyed her company immensely. She was smart and funny and easy to talk to. He found his heart growing fonder of her by the minute. Of course, he knew his feelings were nonsense; she could never care for him in that manner. For now, he was happy to simply have her friendship.

He frowned at her and turned back into the living room. Hermione frowned as well, thinking she had angered him. She rifled around in her duffel bag and removed the map she had gotten at the Portkey station. With the map in hand, she followed Severus back into the living room. Going over to the table, she opened the map and stretched it out so they could find where Holt's villa was located.

"I thought you didn't want to get started so quickly," came Severus' dry retort.

She smiled to herself. "I know you're excited to get going on this," she said simply.

"It matters not to me whether we do this now or later," he said blandly.

Hermione looked over to him. His face was a mask. She had realized a while ago that his expressions were the least readable when he was trying to hide something.

"Uh huh," she remarked.

Severus rolled his eyes and came up next to her and looked at the map. Pointing to an area north of the main city, he circled it with a finger.

"The villa should be somewhere in this vicinity," he said.

Hermione pulled out the bill of sale, and they began to look for Via Porta, which was the street, or canal, where the villa was located. It didn't take long to find.

"It's not very long, we should just Apparate to the head of it here and walk down it," Hermione suggested.

"Alright," Severus said. "Shall we do a Side-Along Apparition?"

Hermione nodded, and they were soon arm in arm. Hermione wished they could remain that way for the rest of the day, but that was not to be. With a pop they had Disapparated and reappeared next to a narrow canal. It was out in the country, and there were fields surrounding the canal. Off in the distance towered a castle. Hermione caught her breath.

"Do you think that's it?" she said breathlessly.

"That's quite a villa if it is," Severus remarked.

They made their way along the canal, and before long they were standing in front of the castle. It was surrounded by a wrought iron fence. The gate was standing open, and there was a modern looking sign that said Torre de Holt: Museo. Hermione grasped Severus' hand in excitement.

"It's a museum! We'll have no trouble getting in and looking around!" she exclaimed.

A shock went through Severus at her touch. He was slightly startled to note that she didn't pull away when she had realized what she had done. He didn't know what he had done to deserve the touch of this witch, but he wasn't complaining.

Hermione started to pull him through the gate at a fast pace. He smiled at her excitement. His was bubbling up inside him. The thought that they might have the book in their possession soon was making him elated. They both hurried forward to the entry of the castle, hand in hand. Hermione stopped short in front of the door and gave Severus' hand a little squeeze before letting it go.

"Here we go," she told him.

They entered the castle and admired its high ceiling. It must have risen twenty feet from the floor. To the right of the entry there was a woman sitting at a desk. Hermione and Severus went over to the desk. Hermione placed a few Euros in the collection box and spoke with the receptionist, asking if there was a library in the castle. The woman handed her a map and told her that there was a library at the top of the tower. She thanked the woman and turned to Severus.

He turned to the woman and said, "Grazie."

As they headed to the back of the castle, Hermione told him what the receptionist said.

"I understood her, Hermione," he told her.

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Why didn't you tell me you spoke Italian?" she demanded.

"You never asked," Severus replied.

Hermione huffed. "I should have known you did anyway. Is there anything you can't do?"

Severus regarded her with a raised eyebrow. "I am just as much of a know-it-all as you are."

Hermione blushed furiously. She shook her head and smiled a little.

"So, how many languages do you speak?" she asked Severus.

"I speak Latin, of course, because of their use in spells and potions. I also speak Italian, German, and Russian."

"Why Russian?" Hermione asked curiously.

He shrugged. "I like the sound of it."

Hermione chuckled.

"What other languages do you speak, Hermione?"

"I'm fluent in French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Swedish."

"How did you ever find time between your studies and fighting Voldemort to learn all of those languages?"

Hermione laughed. "I grew up speaking French. My parents love visiting France, and they taught me as a child. Italian and Spanish came easily with my knowledge of French. The German and Swedish are new acquisitions since I opened the book store."

Severus nodded in understanding. They had been climbing a spiral staircase during their conversation and finally had reached the top. Two great wooden doors sat open, revealing a circular room filled with books. Books lined the walls, and there were several shelves in the center of the room. All in all, it was an impressive collection.

"Where do you want to start?" Severus asked.

Hermione sighed. "Let's just walk around and see if the books are arranged in any sort of order."

They headed into the library and perused the stacks for a while. The books were arranged by category. There were many groupings including literature, history, and science. Severus noticed something odd about a grouping of books and wandered over for a closer look.

"These books have been enchanted to appear normal to Muggles, but they are all about Magic," he mused.

Hermione came closer. From afar, they had looked ordinary, but the closer she got, the titles began to shimmer and shift. As she came right up to them, all of the titles had changed to topics of the Wizarding world. Her heart began to race. Could the book possibly be here?

Before they had time to look at the titles carefully, a head popped through the books and glared at them.

"Just what are you doing in my library?" the ghost demanded.

A/N: Is he a good ghost or a bad ghost?

Will Severus and Hermione find the book in the castle? Will Severus finally admit he's in love? Will he realize, more importantly, that Hermione has feelings for him too? All these questions and more will be answered after the voting hiatus. Big hugs to my beta, who is awesome. Hugs and kisses to all of you for reading and for your enthusiasm for this little tale.