Why Me: Now What?

Why Me: Now What? By Pearle

Summary: Another interlude into the marital infidelity of Hermione Weasley and Severus Snape. This time, they take a few people along with them.

Disclaimer: The characters, settings, etc. of the Harry Potter series are not mine they belong to J.K. Rowling and Co. I promise to return them when I am through. Well, most of them anyway.

Chapter 2:

~~~~~ Why Me: Now What? ~~~~~

Harry took a deep breath before knocking on the office door.

"Come in," Hermione's voice rang out.

Harry opened the door and stepped inside. "Do you have time for lunch with your brother-in-law and an old friend?" He was hoping he would still be her friend after lunch, the brother-in-law part he was not so sure about.

"Harry! Come in." Hermione's smile was genuinely bright as she greeted him.

"I was in town running a few errands and it occurred to me that you and I haven't talked in a long time. Just the two of us. So, here I am. Are you free for lunch?" Harry hoped he could count on the easy friendship they had shared over the years, 'cause she sure as hell was going to be furious with him by the end of lunch.

Hermione studied her friend for a moment. Something was wrong. She was sure of it. "Is Ginny okay? Is something wrong between you and Ginny?"

"Of course not. Why would you ask?'

"Because you are the worst liar in the world, Harry. I would love to have lunch with you. But I am sure that is not the only reason you are here. Do you want to tell me now, or should we have lunch first?" Hermione smiled as she watched his face.

Harry's mind was whirling. Should he talk to her now, in the privacy of her office where she could just throw him out without making a scene? Should he talk to her at the restaurant? Maybe she would be a lot calmer with other people around. Should he say anything at all? He still wasn't sure what to do.

"Harry? Harry!" Hermione was trying to attract his attention. "Talk to me, Harry. What is it?"

That settled it. Without preamble he asked, "How long has the affair been going on?"

Hermione's shoulders sagged as she sat back in her chair. Well, this wasn't the conversation she thought she would be having. "How did you find out?"

"I saw him coming out of the hotel." Well, so far so good. She wasn't screaming at him and she hadn't thrown him out yet.

"Where?"

What difference did it make? "In London."

"Ron brought one of his little bimbos here, where anyone could have seen them!" Hermione was furious. She failed to notice Harry's reaction to her words.

"Ron? I'm talking about Snape. The barkeep at the hotel, Afternoon Enchantment, told me you had been meeting Snape there. I saw him leave a few minutes after you did. What has Ron got to do with it? What bimbo? Is Ron having an affair, too?" This was worse than he thought.

"What do you mean you're talking about Severus? How dare you follow me? What are you doing here? What do you want? Did Ron send you?" Someone had just lit a match to the first round of explosives.

"Severus? Hermione, what is going on here? I am trying to be your friend. Albus asked me to pick up a package at the shop across the street from the hotel. I saw you going in and thought it was a little odd. You left about an hour later. I was going to go after you but then I saw Snape leaving. The barkeep filled me in on you two. Seems he works the same shift and noticed the two of you meeting on a regular basis. Your both pretty well-known, you know, heroes of the final battle and all that. What were you thinking, and with Snape of all people? Do you love him?"

Hermione seemed to shrink in her chair. "Do I love him? I don't even know him. Pretty much we get together, have great sex, and leave."

Harry winched. Not exactly what he wanted to hear. "What is going on with Ron?"

Her laugh was bitter. "What did he tell you; we're happy as two clams? Ron has been having his little flings almost since the beginning of our marriage. We had a great friendship before we got married. It just wasn't enough. I never should have married him, and now I'm stuck. We love each other, but not like that. Sex with Ron is barely tolerable. It was after a fight about eight months ago, when he told me the little chit he had slept with the night before was so great and I wasn't, that I decided I'd just had it with him. I ran into Severus a few days later. One thing led to another and, here we are." Hermione shrugged her shoulders.

Eight months? And Ron had been having affairs all along? Harry was going to wring his neck when he got his hands on him, brother-in-law or not. He was partially responsible for this if he had been fooling around from the beginning. "Here we are. Now what?"

Hermione rose abruptly and started to pace. "That seems to be the question, doesn't it? Now what? Do I leave Ron and lose my internship? I will be finished here in two months. Even if I finish, who will hire me if I leave him?"

"What about Snape?" Harry cringed at the thought of the two of them together.

"What about Severus?"

"Will you stay with him?"

Hermione sank back into her chair. "Harry, I don't even know him. Did I tell you the sex was great?"

"Yeah, you, ugh, mentioned that already." Harry looked embarrassed. The topic of sex didn't bother him. It was the thought of sex with the greasy git that was getting to him.

"Did you say Albus asked you to pick up a package? He never stops does he?" She would kill the headmaster when she saw him.

Harry flashed her his infamous boyish grin. "So, you still want to have lunch with an old friend? I can at least offer you a shoulder to lean on."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Severus walked through the lobby of the hotel. She was going to listen to him this time. He would not let her leave before they talked.

He noticed the change in her the minute he walked through the door.

Hermione was sitting at the table on the far side of the room. A bottle of firewhisky and two glasses were on the table. "Hello, Severus. Sit down, we need to talk." She hurried on without waiting for him to speak. "We can't go on like this. We don't even know each other. We have said three-dozen words to each other the last few months, and most of them have been either each other's names or 'faster'. I don't know about you, but that must be some kind of record for me."

Severus burst out laughing; the little witch had a sense of humour after all. "Yes, I seem to recall a hand being waved in my face on a regular basis by someone who could have talked my arm off. All right. What do you suggest, Hermione?"

"I suggest we get to know one another. And then, well, we'll see. I don't know what type of foods you like to eat, what books you read, what your favorite colour is. We jumped into bed without finding out who we are or how we are together. At least we know the sex is great."

"Italian."

"I beg your pardon?"

"My favorite food. I am partial to Italian. North Italian, actually; there is a difference. I normally frequent a small bistro in a very tiny border town. It is run by a wizard I helped escape from the Dark Lord a few years back. He even bottles his own wine. Perhaps you will permit me to take you there for dinner one night. In answer to your other questions, trade journals and of course, black."

"Black, of course. Can we shag now?"

One eyebrow went up. "Are we through talking for today?"

Her hand drifted across the table and caressed his arm. "We could lay in bed and talk after."

His member was growing impossibly hard. He took hold of her hand and pulled Hermione into his lap. "You won't jump up and leave?"

Hermione shook her head. "Not this time."

She straddled his legs, feeling his erection throbbing below her. His hands tangled in her hair. His kiss was forceful, demanding. Their tongues dueled for control. He thought he could taste mint. His mouth moved to the side of her neck and kissed a path to the hollow between her breasts. He murmured a quiet spell and their clothes seemed to dissolve from their bodies, only to reappear on top of the dresser across the room.

His engorged shaft, no longer trapped below layers of clothing, sprang free, only to be trapped a minute later between his belly the heat from Hermione's sex as she moved forward on his lap. His mouth was hot as he sucked one hardened nipple.

Hermione groaned, electric shocks tingling through her blood. She clutched his shoulders, her nails digging into the soft skin as she impaled herself on his length. Severus fell back, the sensation of being fully sheathed overwhelming his senses. His name was a whisper from her lips fueling the lust that threatened to overtake him.

Hermione started to move, fanning the fire growing between them. It was all the coaxing he needed. Severus's hands went to her arse, and between them they reached a frantic rhythm. Hermione felt the familiar tightening in her groin, signaling her approaching orgasm. Her muscles clamped down on his hardened member sending her over the edge as she shattered around him. His hips pumped a few more times before he joined her in his release. They sat still for a minute, arms loosely draped around each other, both breathing hard.

Severus tightened his arms around her as he started to stand. She locked her feet behind his back, a small smile on her lips. "I can walk myself, you know."

"No, no. I can do this." With an effort, he stood up and made it to the side of the bed. They fell in a heap, Severus's arms still around her. "Next time we start on the bed, okay? If I let go of you, you're not going to jump up and leave, are you?"

"No, I'm not leaving," she said with a chuckle.

Severus nodded. "So, now what?"

"Now I tell Ron I'm leaving and then I look for a place to live." Hermione had moved to lie on her stomach, tracing patterns on the bedspread as she spoke.

"You could live with me."

Hermione turned to look at him. "At Hogwarts? Severus, I will be a pariah in the Wizarding world. A married witch who willingly separated from her husband, who happens to be Harry Potter's best friend. Oh, yeah, I am sure Albus will be willing to overlook that if you and I live together."

"He overlooked my time as a Death Eater, how can he condemn you for being unhappy? What if I rent a house for us in Hogsmeade?" Severus was gently rubbing Hermione's back, not even sure why he was trying to be so accommodating.

"Thank you. That really means a lot to me that you would even offer. I think it's time I try living on my own for a while. I lived with my parents, then at Hogwarts, then the Burrow, and then with Ron. I have never lived alone. I think I need to try being on my own for a while. Besides, you and I don't know each other. I don't even know if we can get along."

"What will you tell Weasley?"

"I haven't told him about us, if that is what you're asking. He's had a few trysts of his own. I suppose I will tell him I've had enough. It's time to look after me." Hermione shrugged, not really sure how she was going to tell Ron.

"The boy doesn't deserve you. And Sir Potter?" Her friends has always influenced her life before. He wondered how the boy who lived to take out the Dark Lord would take to the thought his best friend was shagging the dreaded Potions Master.

"Yeah, well that's rather interesting. Harry plans on donating a large sum of money, in the form of a grant, to St. Mungo's, with the stipulation I am to be in charge of the funds and the research it is used for. He figured that way they wouldn't let me go or try to discredit my internship. If I use it carefully, I should get three or four years out of the money. I agreed to split fifty-fifty any money I make from any discoveries I come up with." Hermione smiled evilly as she thought of what her boss's reaction would be.

"Potter knows?"

Hermione nodded. "Albus sent him to a store across from the hotel to pick up a package. He saw me; he saw you. The barkeep was happy to fill in the details of our comings and goings. Two heroes of the war and all, he said."

"I assume this was sometime in the last few days. Potter hasn't decided to avenge your honor and hex me?" Severus was skeptical that Potter would condone infidelity, and with him no less.

"I'm a big girl. I seem to have made enough mistakes on my own. Harry was surprisingly understanding, especially after he heard about Ron. The grant was his idea."

"Very Slytherin of him. Would you like me to go with you when you tell Weasley?" It was not something he wanted to do, but he thought he should make the offer anyway.

"No, I need to talk to Ron myself. He is still my husband after all. This isn't about you and me. There are more problems than just my shagging you. Believe it or not, Ron still thinks things are going to work out between us. He still believes my getting pregnant would solve the whole problem."

"And that is not an option?"

Hermione snorted. "No, that is not an option. I need to look for a house or flat to rent, tomorrow, in London. Ron will be back on Sunday. I intend to talk to him when he gets back. I can't see any reason to wait."

"And?"

"And?" Hermione looked questioningly at him.

"And will I see you again, or is this goodbye to me, too?"

"I just thought we should take a step back and get to know each other better. We sort of did this backwards. Usually you talk and get to know one another before you start shagging like bunnies. I'm hoping it will all even out in the end. It's not goodbye unless you want it to be."

"No, I would rather it wasn't. I am just not sure what you want. I would like to continue seeing you. Maybe even with clothes on, sometime." Severus grinned.

"Enough talk?"

"Enough talk." He leaned in to kiss her. No other words were necessary as they made love again. Taking their time to explore each other's bodies. To actually listen to each other's responses, to learn what made her moan, what made him gasp. They took their time, and in the end, when they reached their climax, they came together.

Hermione promised to owl him the next week after she found a place to live. A quick kiss and she was gone. Severus stood at the window watching the street, a glass of firewhisky in his hand. He watched as Hermione reached the Apparition point and left. She was going to leave Weasley and move into her own flat.

Now what?

TBC?

A/N: I suppose next would be Ron's point of view and the argument, I'm sure it will escalate past a simple discussion, between the two. Will Harry confront Ron or Severus or both? Will Ron and Severus have a go at each other? Where will Hermione live? Tune in next time for more answers and more questions.

I am more than happy to say my beta, Nakhash, is back from vacation and on the prowl for my mistakes. A grateful thank you to Nakhash, for her corrections and suggestions. Another set of eyes is always helpful, the mistakes, however, are still my fault.

Let me know what you think.

Please review, I love hearing from you! As always, thoughts, comments, reviews, whatever are always welcome.

Regards, Pearle