Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks to my wonderful betas, Ayerf and JunoMagic.

---

Chapter 2

Severus was feeling wonderfully dreamy and relaxed. Had someone told him a year ago that he'd feel this good in the care of the two students he had most disliked in the past, he'd have laughed. And possibly hexed the person for impudence.

But this – arrangement – was indeed turning out better than he could ever have wished. Learning about the fate of his Spinner's End home had been ... hard. Not that he'd ever been particularly happy there; in fact, the house held so many memories of the worst kind that he could not truly miss it.

Although there had been some good times, too, when he was still a very young boy and didn't know to expect better yet. And the house had always meant a connection to Lily, even after their row – even after the Evanses had moved away after his fifth year, thus taking away his last chance to see her alone in the summer, without her Gryffindor friends around to poison her mind against him.

And then there was his library. His painstakingly built collection of books and manuscripts, many of them rare and valuable. He had never needed to spend much on himself, and after his parents' deaths, he stopped burying money in the house to make the place more habitable. He didn't spend that much time there, anyway. But the library ... Severus cursed himself over and over again for moving anything of value away from his Hogwarts quarters and to Spinner's End. But he had known that his term as Headmaster might one day come to a swift and sudden end, and it had felt prudent at the time. Even so, he wished he'd had the forethought to take precautions – to charm the house, or at least his books, against fire. If he only hadn't had so much else on his mind at the time!

However, the months of coma seemed to have changed him. As hard as learning of the fire had been – and the fact that Harry had been the one to tell him about it hadn't helped. He had certainly not been prepared to express his sorrow in front of that boy. Still, it had not cut him as deeply as he might have expected under normal circumstances.

And now he was here, at Grimmauld Place, the childhood home of one of his worst school time tormentors, being tended to by two young people whom he would have expected to dislike him, if not hate him. And ... enjoying it.

Which was really becoming a problem.

When he'd lain unconscious – perhaps already in the Shrieking Shack, perhaps later at St Mungo's – he had seen Lily. At least he thought he had. And she had talked to him, telling him to let go of the past, now that everything was over; to start anew, perhaps even find love, or at least companionship.

He had sneered. He definitely remembered that part.

But then he had returned to the world of the living (and of pain, and of boredom, and of having to deal with idiotic Healers and mediwitches and junior Healers and hangers-on, who all seemed to either hate him with a passion, or try and treat him with exaggerated sweetness), and Harry had arrived. Or Potter, as he had still thought of the boy then. With his messy hair and a thousand apologies and, which surprised him the most, sheer adoration in those painfully familiar eyes.

Severus had always had eyes for only one woman. No other ever came close. But he was still a man with certain natural urges. He'd been more than glad to have the occasional roll in the hay (or in the boys' dormitory four-poster beds or on the luxuriously soft carpets in some pureblood fellow Death Eater's manor) with those of his mates with similar inclinations.

So when Harry kissed him, it came as a surprise ... well, not completely. At first he had wondered if the boy was looking for a new father figure, now that he had none. But then he realised Harry was well on his way to turning his hero worship into something more physical. He had just never expected the boy to act on those feelings.

A surprise, but certainly not a negative one. Especially as he had managed to ignore how the boy still looked so much like Potter, and focused on his eyes and his strong arms and pleasantly squared shoulders instead.

But ... there was Granger to consider. Hermione. He really couldn't understand how any heterosexually inclined male, which Harry certainly had seemed to be, would want him if they could have Hermione, who was well on her way to growing into a very delectable woman indeed. And a pleasant companion at that. He'd enjoyed spending time with her – so much so that he'd tried to limit it, not wanting to risk forming an ... attachment.

Hermione Granger was a puzzle to him. Especially as he had spotted her outside the door that day, so he knew that she knew of her – boyfriend's? lover's? – digression. If there was one thing Severus knew about Hermione Granger, it was that if she felt wronged, she made very certain that everyone knew about it. And yet he hadn't seen any signs of fireworks.

Yes, she was a puzzle. He liked puzzles.

Severus sighed, put the last piece of bread in his mouth, and got up to take the empty dishes back to the kitchen.

~*~*~

Harry's increasing moodiness over the next days was impossible to miss. Hermione preferred the bursts of energy over the sullen silences, but both extremes were getting a little tedious.

On the other hand, as Harry was busy ignoring Severus as much as possible without coming off as rude, it left Hermione to spend more time with their guest – something of a mixed blessing, she thought, as the man in question had been steadily on her mind ever since she had witnessed the kiss.

She was confused. And that annoyed her. She was never confused, not when it was about feelings. She was a practical girl, after all, not given to illusions about great passions. She had known from early on that Ron was cute and that they were destined for a life together, she'd had no confusion about her feelings for Viktor (he'd been a very, very nice choice for gathering, cautiously, some basic experience), and she had always known her feelings for Harry – first as a friend, then as the only person she knew for certain she could rely on, then as someone she could share everything with.

With Severus ... she would never, ever, have expected to feel anything (but respect) for him. He was so unapproachable, or so she had thought. But now ... now she knew he was a man of flesh and blood and, as she had seen, quite approachable indeed. And he had the most intriguing eyes and a wonderful voice and lovely hands with long, well-proportioned fingers ... and he also seemed to like men.

Hermione sighed.

Never one to give in easily, her mind started considering the options.

Yes. This needed further research.

If Severus had really loved Lily as much as Harry seemed to believe (Harry had never shown Snape's memories to anyone else, not even to Ron and Hermione, so she had to take his word for it), things might not be the way they looked.

She wondered if she should be feeling guiltier over entertaining such thoughts about their guest. But if Harry hadn't led the way ...

~*~*~

Once again, Hermione was sitting in the drawing room, with Crookshanks curled up on the floor in front of the fireplace. The day had been more exhausting than usual, and she accepted the mug of tea and tray of sandwiches from Kreacher with immense relief.

"I thought you were still fighting for the freedom of house-elves?" Severus remarked.

"I am. It's the main project of our department."

"Yet you seem happy to accept Kreacher's services."

"Kreacher gets paid for his work."

Hermione neglected mentioning the part where Harry had practically had to chain Kreacher to the wall to get the old elf to accept payment. Freeing him had been quite out of the question – had they tried, Hermione suspected he might have committed suicide. Even she wasn't principled enough to offer him clothes. And if he preferred to stash his Sickles away in his nest instead of spending them ... Well, that was his money and his choice.

"Ahh."

They sat in silence for a while, Hermione sneaking covert glances at her companion now and then. When their eyes finally met, she offered him a small smile.

"Is there anything I could help you with?"

Severus looked at the book in her lap.

"I was hoping to take a look at that book you've been reading, but there's no rush."

"Oh – go ahead, I can always read it later."

She handed him the book, letting her fingertips brush against his.

"Thank you," he said, looking at the book, then at her, then at their hands, and then at her again. He didn't seem any more eager to draw his hand back than she was.

Hermione's breath hitched. Was it ... No. She was just reading too much into things.

When he put the book down with his other hand and hesitantly covered her fingers with his, she wasn't so sure any more.

"You have lovely hands, Hermione," he murmured after a short pause. "I wish ... I wish things were different."

~*~*~

The incident in the drawing room left Hermione even more confused. And she didn't care for that feeling at all.

Severus had been flirting with her, she was certain of that. At least she thought so.

She swallowed dryly, noting how her heartbeat quickened at the thought.

She was certainly less confused about her feelings for the man than before. He was oddly attractive. She realised, of course, that she knew nothing about him, really – as a man, and not as a teacher or a spy. But that didn't change the fact that she would have been more than willing to learn to know him better in some very personal ways.

She decided that it was time to have a chat with Harry.

~*~*~

Harry had apparently come to the same conclusion.

"Look ... there's something we need to talk about," he said without any preamble. "The thing is – well, the thing is that..."

"...that you're attracted to Severus," Hermione finished the sentence for him.

Harry blinked.

"How did you know?"

Hermione looked down, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"I, um, nearly walked in on you the other day. When you were talking to Severus and then ... I saw you kiss him."

Harry's eyes went wide with shock.

"And you're ... you didn't say anything! Aren't you mad or something?"

Hermione considered her next words carefully. She still wasn't sure how much to reveal but maybe, just maybe, her insane plan would work.

"No. And it surprised me, too – I'd have expected to feel cheated, or betrayed, but ... Our relationship's different, isn't it?"

Harry nodded, apparently not quite sure what she was aiming at.

"We share things. We can always be honest with each other, can't we?"

Harry nodded again.

Hermione took a deep breath.

"You like Severus. That much is obvious. And he seemed to like you, too."

Harry couldn't do anything but nod, blushing a little.

"The thing is ... I've realised that I rather like him as well. And I think he ... that he might be interested in me, too."

Harry blinked.

"So we both fancy him and you think he fancies both of us?"

"Yes."

"But ... what do we do now?"

Hermione stared at her hands. This was the part she'd feared. She had to force herself to sound calm.

"When I saw the two of you kiss ... it turned me on. Very much so."

Harry's cheeks reddened even further.

"And I've been thinking ... If we both fancy him, and if I'm right and he fancies both of us, perhaps we could ... you know ... both go for it? Together?"

"Together?"

Hermione hadn't heard Harry's voice go that high since his fifth year. That didn't bode well for her plan.

She closed her eyes, hoping her disappointment wasn't too obvious.

"Never mind. It was just an idea."

"Wait!" Harry grabbed her hand. "Just give me a moment or two to digest this. You're saying that we should go to Severus and – uh – propose to him that we'd both want to, erm, shag him?"

"Pretty much, yes. Well, something like that, anyway."

Harry considered this for a few moments.

"The thing is ... I thought for a while there that I was starting to fall for him, properly. I mean, I still think I might be. But I don't know. I've been thinking so much about it ... and ... I didn't even know I liked blokes this way! I never have. But Severus ... There's just something about him. It's not just about sex for me, Hermione. I don't even know it is about sex."

"I know," she soothed. "I never thought it was. It's not for me, either. At least I don't think it is," she added, not really wanting to lie to him.

Harry shook his head. "I just don't know. I didn't think about this at all. I don't even know what I was thinking about, apart from wanting to be honest with you. I don't want to give us up! And me and Severus, it might not even work. Probably wouldn't work, really, if I'm honest with myself. And if you say you think he might fancy you as well ..."

Hermione took his hand in hers.

"I care for you, you know that, yes?"

Harry nodded.

"If I didn't think Severus might be interested in me as well, I would never suggest this, especially if you think you're having feelings for him that go beyond physical attraction, no matter how desirable I might find him."

"I know," Harry said, fidgeting. "It's just all – sort of sudden. Let me think about it, all right?"

"Sure."

Harry stared at her with amazement. "You really are something, you know? I was dreading this conversation, having nightmares about what sort of hexes you might unleash on me if I admitted to having feelings for someone else ... Even if our relationship's always been a bit different compared to yours and Ron's or mine and Ginny's, I didn't think you'd take this so well."

"I don't know how I'd have reacted under different circumstances," Hermione admitted. "Had I come home and found you in our bed with another woman ... I don't think I'd have been quite as understanding."

~*~*~

"I've been thinking about what you said, about, you know," Harry said the next day, when they were getting ready for bed. "And the more I've thought about it, the more I like the idea." He blushed. "I meant what I said earlier, that I wouldn't want to give you up either ... I need you. It just feels right, you and me, together, even if I'm having all these confusing feelings for Severus, too."

"I know," Hermione said. Taking a deep breath, she admitted, "I feel rather the same way."

Harry gave her a quick kiss and pulled the blanket over them. "And then there's this other thing," he muttered. "Nox! I, uh, well, as I said, I've never felt this way about a bloke before. And now that I do ... Well, it's a bit scary. When I see him, I get all ... turned on, but ... the idea of going further than a kiss is terrifying."

Hermione grinned in the darkness, remembering that she'd felt vaguely similar before her first time with Ron.

"Anyway," Harry continued, "I was thinking that perhaps if we did go to him with this idea, and if he agreed, and I'm just really not sure he would because this is a completely insane idea and most people we know would be horrified by it, but if he agreed, having you there too might actually be good for me ... at least there'd be something familiar and, uh, maybe I wouldn't be expected to start, uh, doing stuff with him right away." He chuckled a bit nervously. "Not that I don't want to, because I think I do, I just don't have a clue how it works. I mean I know in theory but ... I remember some of us once tried to get Seamus to explain what it's all like but he just went red in the face and told us to sod off."

Hermione's eyebrows shot up. "So you think I'd make a good buffer zone between you and Severus?"

"Well, not quite like this, but ... I suppose."

"As long as you don't mean wanting me literally between the two of you!" Hermione gulped, feeling more than a little worried all of a sudden. Having a threesome with two very appealing men, who also fancied each other, had been a great fantasy so far, but she wasn't quite prepared to consider the finer points in practice yet.

"No! Um, no, I wasn't thinking about that at all."

They stayed silent for a while, until Harry groused, "Although I can't see why you shouldn't agree to being buggered if it's what you want to see me do with Severus or the other way around."

Hermione pulled Harry's pillow out from under his head and hit him with it.

"Now you're just being silly!"

She could tell he was grinning, even if she couldn't see it in the dark.

"So we'll go to him tomorrow then, yes?"

"Tomorrow it is."