Get Back!

Chapter 18: Get Back!

Midway through Monday morning, Hermione was wishing she’d broken her perfect attendance record and skived off work. Having stayed up so late after the ball on Saturday, she’d slept straight through to Sunday afternoon and still felt a bit disorientated. And sore. She thumbed through her house-elf liberation plan, intending to give it one final review before sending it to Lucius. It failed to hold her attention. She’d been staring at the same page, unseeingly, for the past hour. Her mind kept drifting back to Saturday night. The vision of passion-filled, black eyes interrupted her constantly, chasing away all other thoughts. She sighed wearily, knowing it was pointless to allow such distractions.

It had been an incredible night, but that’s all it would ever be—one amazing night. Severus had made no attempt to contact her, and she hadn’t expected him to. She couldn’t fault him—after all, she had been the one to suggest they spend the night together, without obligation for anything further. She had no reason to believe he would change his mind. Of course, that hadn’t stopped her from listening for a knock on her door or straining her ears for the faint tapping of an owl at the window. But it was utter folly, and it had to stop.

No more! she told herself.

Her self steadfastly ignored her when the door to the DRCMC offices opened. She looked up hopefully, longing to see a dark frame filling the door. Instead, an enormous vase of flowers entered, followed closely by a tiny wizard who navigated the rows of half-cubicles, looking a bit like a giant rat in a maze. She returned her attention to her desk, knowing the flowers weren’t for her.

“Hermione Granger?”

She turned to find the small wizard in her cubicle. “I’m Hermione Granger.”

“Delivery for you,” he said in a bored voice. His wand sent the flowers to her desk, along with a small box wrapped in silver paper. He pushed a clipboard at her, and she dutifully signed her name where he’d indicated.

After he’d left, she plucked an ornate card from the flowers—a magnificent assortment of red and gold roses—and opened it with curiosity. The enchanted paper played Pachelbel’s Canon while she read the elegant handwriting.

Dear Miss Granger,

Lucius Malfoy

She smiled at the flowers and pushed away the disappointment of them having come from the wrong man.

“Who sent you flowers?” asked a voice behind her.

She swivelled her chair and gazed at Lavender Brown.

“They’re from a business associate,” she explained. There had been times in the past when she’d almost felt sorry for Lavender and her questionable taste in men. Lavender had certainly attended the Ministry ball, and she had to have seen Ron and his new … friend. With a sense of goodwill—and a sudden sympathy for unrequited feelings—she chose to ignore the way Lavender snorted at her reply.

“Please, Hermione,” she said. “What sort of business associates would you have?”

“That’s confidential.” She felt the attempt at reconciliation sliding from her grasp.

“They’re from Professor Snape, aren’t they? Come on, you can tell me,” she wheedled. “You know I’ll find out eventually, anyway.”

“No, Lavender, the flowers are not from Severus.” Regret over the admission coloured her words with more anger than she’d intended.

“Oh, it’s Severus now, is it? I didn’t realise you knew him so … intimately.”

Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t stop the heat from creeping into her cheeks at the memory of just how intimately she now knew their former Potions master.

Lavender continued to smirk, then noticed the small package beside the flowers. “What’s in the box?” she asked.

Hermione shrugged, half dreading the discovery of its contents. She had no idea what Lucius might have sent her, but she knew Lavender would find a way to mock it. She snatched the box from her desk, before Lavender tried to open it for her. It was surprisingly light—almost as if it were empty—and thin, about the size of a Muggle music disc. An emerald-green bow adorned the top, and a tiny envelope peeked out from beneath. She opened the card and read:

H—

—S

“It’s from Severus,” she whispered, too stunned to realise she shouldn’t have spoken aloud.

“It’s jewellery!” Lavender said and clapped her hands together. “That box is the perfect size for a necklace. Open it!” Her eyes shone with anticipation.

Hermione would later blame her decision on a lack of sleep and the extremely contagious nature of Lavender’s excitement. If she’d stopped to consider the wisdom of opening a gift from Severus in front of the Ministry’s biggest gossip, she would have certainly thought twice.

But she, too, was bursting to see what he had sent, so she ripped apart the pretty silver paper and opened the lid. Inside the box, tucked beneath a delicate sheet of tissue, sat four exquisite pairs of lacy silk knickers—two in sapphire blue, two in black.

Time seemed to move in slow-motion as she lunged forward with the lid, frantic to cover the gift before Lavender could see. But it was too late. The wretched girl snaked her hand into the folds of paper and withdrew a blue pair, waving it over her head and quickly dancing out of Hermione’s reach.

“Look, everyone!” She laughed as she skipped through the office. “Look at Hermione’s special delivery!”

Hermione raced after her. She fought the urge to rip the material from Lavender’s hand. The thin fabric would be torn to shreds if she wasn’t careful—a lesson she had learnt twice, thanks to Severus. She didn’t care to risk the destruction of something so lovely simply to spare her own embarrassment. It was probably too late for that, anyway. She reached out her hand and gently pulled at the knickers.

“Let go, Lavender,” she ordered.

“Make me,” she taunted, tugging until the poor garment was stretched taut.

Opting to save the fabric, Hermione released her end. But Lavender seemed to have the same thought, albeit a fraction of a second later. The knickers went sailing through the air at a remarkable velocity—and smacked soundly onto the face of a wizard who had just entered the office. It was eerily similar to the day she’d sent the giant puffball mushroom at Severus, several weeks ago. Except this time, it was her knickers rather than fungus. And instead of landing on Severus, who might have found it humorous, the lingerie was slowly pulled from the face of Kingsley Shacklebolt, who clearly wasn’t amused.

“My office, Hermione. Now,” he barked before turning his back and marching away.

Bugger. She definitely should have stayed home today.

A/N: Hugs to Karelia for her beta work on this story! I loved reading the reviews for the last chapter and the guesses on what sort of shop Severus was looking for, and what sort of purchase he intended to make. It’s nice to see so many romantic hearts out there!!