5. A Day Of Unspoken Things 6. Fixing What Breaks

5. A Day of Unspoken Things

Valentine Passiflora had moved into her back room. This was her private place, and no one could gain entry but her. The wards she had set up were so complicated she had to reset them each day; otherwise, she could lock herself out.

She walked over to the small altar she had set up on the back wall of the room and removed the cards detailing her most recent clients. There were six in all, including Severus and Hermione. Valentine knew not to question the reasons people came to her. It was Fate. Fate was powerful and beyond even her own comprehension, and Valentine was grateful for the business it brought her.

She shrugged off her black dress to reveal a tight-fitting, pale blue robe with long sleeves. Lifting her pendant from the altar, she placed it over her head, letting the dark sapphire stone nestle between her small, round breasts. She lifted her wand and touched the stone. It came alive, and its brilliance shone around the room, casting a sparkling blue glow on the altar. Lighting the candles, she began her incantation and stared into the mirror, watching the faces of her clients swim before her.

She smiled knowingly. It hadn't told her anything she hadn't already seen.

*****

Hermione pushed the door of the shop with her foot, her arms laden with books and sheaves of parchment.

Severus was behind the counter, and without looking at her he muttered, 'You're late.'

'I know. Sorry.' Hermione walked and put down her cargo with a thump in front of him. 'I've had a brilliant idea...'

She was a little breathless and pulled her cloak off roughly, loosing her hair in the process so it tumbled in a curly cloud around her shoulders. She walked quickly to hang it up, focussing her mind to forget their last encounter and concentrate on work related communication. She walked back to the counter and looked at Severus.

She couldn't contain the sharp intake of breath as she took in his shocking appearance, and he stared back at her through the dark curtains of his hair, his eyes black and flashing dangerously.

'You look awful, sir,' Hermione whispered, her resolve already faltering. 'Are you ill?'

Severus leaned forward, not breaking eye contact. 'No, Miss Granger, I am not ill,' he hissed at her. 'Don't you have work to do?'

Suddenly, Hermione Granger was back at school, and her Potions master was staring disdainfully at her for speaking out of turn. Hermione caught the distinct whiff of Firewhisky on his breath and stepped back, her lips twisted in a grimace. Combined with the stubble and the crumpled appearance of his robes, she realised he must have had a rough night. She had expected him to be a little spiky today, but she suddenly felt sympathy for him. Their impromptu meeting last night had obviously affected him more than she had thought. She pulled herself as tall as she could.

'I think, sir, it might be better if I man the shop today. Without meaning to be too personal... you might put the customers off.' She glared at him firmly as if daring him to argue.

Severus knew she was right. As it was, he was finding being in her presence uncomfortable. He couldn't bear the memory of last night, and he needed coffee. He shrugged without looking at her and walked into the lab, slamming the door behind him and leaving an icy silence in his wake.

Hermione sighed and walked behind the counter. Pulling forward her books and taking a sheet of parchment, she opened the first tome to the marked page and began to take notes.

****

Severus was leaning against his workbench, his eyes closed. Gods, he was tired. His throat was aching a little from the copious amount of Firewhisky he had consumed, and he turned to his shelf, unstoppered a pain potion, and swallowed it in one. Grabbing his mug, he made himself a strong, black coffee and, out of habit, made a peppermint tea for his assistant. He stared at it for a moment. He would have to take it to her now, and he felt ashamed at being so harsh with her. He didn't want her to look at him with those amber eyes full of pity, knowing he was lonely, knowing he was searching for someone. Severus was feeling so sorry for himself that it didn't occur to him that Hermione was also lonely and looking.

With a huff, he grabbed the mug and took it to her in the front of the shop. His hand was trembling slightly from the alcohol still coursing through his veins, and as he turned to place the mug on the counter, Hermione tried to take it from him and proceeded instead to knock it from his hand. As if in slow motion, they both watched as the murky, hot liquid flew from the mug and onto the front of his robes.

'Fuck!' Severus cried out as the mug smashed on the stone-tiled floor.

'Oh, bloody hell! I'm so sorry... I was trying to help!' Hermione wailed as she grabbed her wand. 'Aguamenti!'

A cold jet of water flew from Hermione's wand, soaking through Severus' robes and cooling his scalded skin beneath. He gasped and stared at her in disbelief.

'What the fuck are you doing?' he hissed incredulously at her.

'Cooling your skin down. We should look at it, sir, make sure there is no permanent scarring...' Hermione walked towards him and put her hands on the top of his robes, starting to unbutton them.

Severus grabbed Hermione's hands, and she stopped suddenly as she realised what she was about to do. Her face went pale, her mouth fell open in shock, and she looked up into his eyes in horror.

'Are you a witch, Miss Granger?' Severus asked her smoothly.

Hermione nodded, not trusting herself to speak coherently.

'And have you not worked in the finest, most highly regarded Potioneer's shop for the past three years?' He still held her hands in his tightly, emitting breaths in short bursts as he tried to control his anger.

'Yes...' Hermione closed her eyes. Gods, she was stupid. 'I'm sorry, sir...' she trailed off, her shoulders slumping. 'I just reacted. I didn't think.'

Severus watched her as the penny dropped. He let go of her hands as water dripped slowly onto the floor where he stood.

'If this unfortunate incident should happen again, what course of action will you take, Miss Granger?' Severus's voice was a whisper as he calmed down and looked at her.

'I would cast a Cooling spell, then a Drying spell, and finally obtain some healing ointment from the stores, sir.' Hermione was looking at the remnants of her mug, too broken to fix, and felt tears pricking at her eyes.

As Severus turned and walked back into the lab, Hermione knew without a doubt that bumping into him at Lonely Hearts Inc. had changed their relationship forever.

She just didn't know how right she was.

6. Fixing What Breaks

When Severus walked into the shop the next day, he had a slight spring in his step. He had slept really well, had a nice, hot shower and a shave, and was dressed in clean robes. He was ready for the day ahead and had all but forgotten the previous days' debacle.

But Hermione hadn't. She hadn't slept a wink, her mind going over the events again and again. Severus had upset her deeply. It wasn't her fault she had been at Lonely Hearts Inc. She hadn't known he was going to be there. It wasn't her fault he had come to work stinking of alcohol and looking like a vagrant, and it wasn't her fault he was in a bad mood that had just worsened over the course of the day. Naturally, he had taken it out on her.

After the mug incident, she had walked into the lab to make another cup of tea and had opened the door quickly, not realising that Severus was leaning against the wall behind it. He had heard her open the door a second too late, and she had hit him squarely in the face. His nose had bled, and she had searched in vain for dittany, only to realise they had run out. He had roared at her then, blaming her for not keeping the stock up to date. Hermione had pointedly checked their schedule for the week and had smiled a little when she saw his name in his own spidery writing next to 'Stock Check' on the list. She had shoved the schedule under his nose, and his eyes had narrowed. Hermione realised she had made a mistake when he lifted his wand and incinerated the list before her eyes. She hadn't needed to be told twice to get out of the lab.

They had spent the rest of the day in frosty silence, avoiding each other, and Hermione had left the shop before him, tears in her eyes and a hurt, dragging feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was still there the next morning as she walked dejectedly into the lab, her hair pulled into a tight bun and dark shadows under her eyes.

Severus looked at her as she walked in and would have smiled had she caught his eye, but she didn't. Puzzled, he watched her, expecting her to make his coffee as normal. She didn't do that either. Instead, she walked over to the stock cupboard and walked inside, and in a few minutes, her heard the familiar clink of bottles being shifted around. Severus sighed. He had been a real bastard to her, and it really hadn't been her fault. He should apologise, but he wasn't sure how. A knot was forming in his stomach, and he decided to make a coffee while he thought about how to resolve the situation.

He pulled his mug from the shelf and smiled slightly. She had made this for him, and he loved it. He went to get her mug and then remembered with horror that it had been smashed to smithereens. He took a plain, white mug from the shelf and took his wand from his pocket. Concentrating, he pointed the wand at the mug and turned it Gryffindor red, edging the lip with gold and making the handle into the tail of a lion. The body and head appeared roaring on the side of the mug, and as an extra flourish, he put her initials on the base of the mug, knowing she wouldn't see them until she had finished her tea.

'Miss Granger,' he called to her. He noticed with a pinch of guilt that she stiffened at the sound of his voice.

'Yes, sir?' She turned to him, avoiding his eye and looking instead at his boots, which, she noted, were particularly shiny today.

'You forgot to make your tea. Here...' He placed the tea on the workbench and sat down in his usual space, watching her as she walked out of the cupboard.

'I'm sorry. I forgot about your coffee...' Hermione drifted off as her eyes fell on the new mug in front of her. She raised her eyes to his. She saw a glint there and a small smile playing around his lips.

'A peace offering. My behaviour yesterday was...'

'Unforgivable,' Hermione whispered, and her eyes filled with tears.

'Yes. Exactly that,' he murmured. He had never seen her this upset in all of the years they had worked together.

Hermione lifted her mug and drank her tea, not looking at him and not speaking. As she drained her mug, her initials appeared, and she smirked a little. He always had to go one better.

'Does that mean I am forgiven?' Severus watched her as she relaxed and shrugged her shoulders.

'Do I have a choice? I don't enjoy feeling like this, you know.' Hermione looked at him, her eyes wide.

'I am truly sorry. It really wasn't your fault,' he replied.

'I know that!' Hermione snapped, and before she knew it, all of her thoughts from the last two days came spilling from her mouth.

'It wasn't my fault you were at Valentine's office on the same day as me! I know you were embarrassed. Don't you think I was too? I mean, you're older than me, and your reputation, well... Not many women would be happy to date an ex-Death Eater, regardless of your being cleared of all charges and being a hero and a genuinely good person after all. At least you have a good reason to join a dating agency. Of course you should if you're lonely and you need someone in your life. Why not? But me? I'm only 29; I'm not too ugly, I am a nice person; I can have intelligent conversations... but the only men I have ever met just want me for sex or to have their babies. Not one of them has wanted me for me, and I get lonely too, sir... Very lonely, actually....'

Hermione stopped talking, her bottom lip trembling slightly as the reality of her little speech hit her. She really was lonely, and no amount of study or throwing herself into work could take away the fact that she went home to an empty flat and slept in a bed only warmed by her own body.

Severus stared at her, his mouth open. He had no idea what to say to her.

'I'm going out front,' Hermione mumbled, walking past him quickly. Without knowing why, Severus grabbed her arm as she passed, and she stopped and stared at him.

'I am sorry, Hermione,' he whispered as he stared into her sad eyes.

'I know you are, sir.' She shrugged her arm away and walked out of the lab.

***

At lunchtime, Hermione closed the shop and went to grab her cloak. Severus, waiting for her, had the door of the lab open, and as she stood, fastening her cloak, he approached her with caution.

'Where are you having lunch today?' he asked her conversationally. It was normal for him to ask her, and she smiled him.

'I don't know yet. I thought I would just go where my feet take me.'

Severus coughed. 'I thought, perhaps... you may like some company?'

Hermione looked at him. They had never had lunch together, although in the beginning, Hermione had offered. She had assumed he preferred to eat alone and stopped asking him after the first week. His eyes looked wary and a little desperate, and she knew he was still feeling guilty. She smiled at him warmly.

'Fine, lets go and eat. But do me a favour, sir...' She grinned at him.

'Anything.' Relief washed over him as he grabbed his own cloak.

'Stop giving me that guilty look. It's worse than your detention stare!' Hermione giggled, and Severus raised his eyebrow at her.

'Did I have a detention stare?' he asked her as they walked out of the shop.

'Yes you did... You had other stares as well; we got to know them all so well...'

Severus smirked at her. This was better, he thought. This was normal.