ravenswing – Moon Chaser

Team Notes: This chapter was written by ravenswing and betaed by Soul Bound. We hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling; no copyright infringement is intended.

Hermione morosely pushed the rubber, yellow thing that may once have been an egg around her plate. She longed for a shot of espresso and a Danish from the little coffee shop down the street from Windsor Castle, between the shop that sold Cornish pasties and the tchotchke shop. Her mouth watered at the idea of real food, and she remembered she had promised her godchildren little knickknacks from her trip. They enjoyed her trips just for the odd little things she brought back for them.

With her plans firmly in place, she was surprised to see Snape pass her by and sit at a table three down from her own. Her surprise quickly morphed into anger but settled into a pensive hurt. It wasn't as if they had an understanding that at all meals they would sit together, the last three notwithstanding. But... he had placed that kiss on her hand last night, her romantic side argued, which apparently meant nothing, her practical side sniped back. Simply a polite gesture, she assured herself. Nothing more. And that thought, to her surprise, depressed her even more.

She found that she could no longer stomach the meager nutrition trying to pass itself off as food and began to make her way out of the room, taking great care to neither pass his table nor look in his general direction. "I am an adult. I am an adult," she muttered as she wove in and out of the tight quarters, nearing the prize of the open doors.

The clammy hand on her wrist stopped her short and nearly caused her to lose what little breakfast she had digested. She turned to find none other than Dwight Umber.

"Miss Granger. Trouble in paradise?" he asked lasciviously.

"Pardon? I'm afraid I'm not following."

"Why, the loss of your black shadow of course. Lover's tiff, perhaps?"

Hermione studied the little man in front of her and wondered honestly how he made any potions. The oiliness and sweat alone would taint his entire brew...she would swear it.

"Mr. Snape and I are not in a relationship, Mr. Umber. Although, I cannot see how that is any of your business."

"No need to get snippy, Miss Granger. I've never seen Snape interact with anyone at these conventions, especially a former student. I assumed you must have some sort of relationship with him," he replied with a slight leer. "Not that I can blame the old man."

Hermione felt breakfast fight harder to be released and promised herself another shower immediately. "Mr. Umber. I assure you that you are gravely mistaken. Furthermore, I do not appreciate the implication that..."

"Miss Granger, no need to be touchy. Where there's smoke, there must be fire."

Hermione narrowed her eyes and wondered if she could get a shot in before security noticed.

"I'm simply saying I have a way for you to get back at your one-time lover. I need volunteers for my new potion. I think you would be perfect."

"Mr. Umber, again, I have no relationship with Snape other than that of mutual colleagues. I doubt I can be of any help." Hermione resisted the urge to shudder when she realized that here was her opportunity to get her hands on that potion. "What exactly is your goal with this?"

"As a former student, wouldn't it be nice to let the world know what a bastard he is? I could get the truth out of you about his poor teaching methods and what students thought of him, and maybe..." After a quick look at Hermione's face, he quickly changed his tactics. "Out of all his former students, you are the only one he has even bothered to greet, much less sit with."

Hermione was taken aback by that simple statement. Of course, he would have former students. He had already been a professor for nearly ten years when she'd begun at Hogwarts. But she was the only one he spoke to? A feeling of delicious warmth stole through her, battling with the utter disgust she had for the man in front of her. "I'll consider it, Mr. Umber. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with the bathroom."

"Room 208, Miss Granger! Say three o'clock?" Dwight Umber called out after her.

Hermione nodded weakly as she ran towards the doors, her stomach resoundingly losing the battle against the garbage masquerading as breakfast.

Upon her exit from the restroom, she was heartened to find Snape waiting for her.

"Never eat the eggs, Ms. Granger," he intoned while handing her a bubblegum-pink potion. "The only thing that powdered concoction has in common with real eggs is that they both are yellow."

She greedily grabbed the offered antidote and drank deeply, feeling her stomach settle immediately.

"Did he fall for our ruse?" he asked in an undertone.

"Our ruse?" she asked indignantly. "I would think if it was our ruse, I would know something about it!"

"I do apologize for that. I'm afraid I recall your years as a sedulous student. You were not known for your Slytherin tendencies. I felt it was easier for you to honestly be vexed with me, rather than trying to pretend that was the case." At her nod, he found himself adding, "You did play vexed quite convincingly."

"Quite simply, you are the only one here with anything remotely considering a brain, and if you had joined me for breakfast, I would have learned the invaluable lesson regarding the eggs," she retorted. "As regarding your ruse, I think him yelling out his room number and a meeting time to the entire convention would be answer enough."

"Well then, Ms. Granger. May I suggest we adjourn for a true breakfast? I know a neighborhood coffee shop down the road that sells a decent pastry. The less we are seen together in this setting, the better for our deception."

Hermione dazedly took his offered elbow and allowed him to lead her out into the weak sunshine. Her view of the exterior of the shop across the street was temporarily cut off as Snape returned with their drinks.

"I took the liberty of assuming you would prefer a weak tea after the incident this morning," he said, placing a steaming mug in front of her. The little cup that he put down beside it surprised her even more. "I figured after the tea, you would appreciate the caffeine shot even more. We still have several speakers to sit through before they release us again."

She nodded gratefully. "I have been to symposiums before, but I swear this is the worst one in terms of food. You would think that potioneers would appreciate good food," she reflected.

"That would mean they would have to be capable of good taste, which we know is few and far between in this group."

She laughed in agreeance. "Did you see what Collins was wearing today? I would think that someone whose line of potions depend on the ability to differentiate between peach skin and coral shavings would know the difference between bright red and deep maroon. That truly was a horrible combination."

"Enough to lose your breakfast over?" he slyly inquired.

His wry grin surprised her, and she dropped her sharp retort and returned his smile. "It was a close race, mind you."

His bark of laughter warmed her more than the tea and coffee. A comfortable silence settled around them, one she rarely managed with Harry and Ron. She finished her tea and picked up the dark brew. "To caffeine," she intoned.

He nodded sagely in return and responded, "To potioneers with good taste."

Her attempt at sagely nodding was destroyed by the shaking of her shoulders. Their eyes met in a moment of shared mirth, and her infectious grin was soon matched by a smirk of his own.

End Notes: Once again, thanks for reading...we hope you are having as much fun as we are!

The prompt words used this week were: Windsor Castle, Cornish Pasties, Tchotchke, Antidote, Sedulous, and Exterior.

Stay tuned: Lyn_f is up next!