XIV

Huge thanks go to the beautiful Keladry for her sage advice, and to my amazing beta SW69 for taking care of all those pesky commas that pop up unexpectedly, among other things. They are both wonderful editors, but any mistakes you see are my own dang fault.

Also, thank you for your extreme patience regarding the previous lack of updating. My life will be returning to a less hectic pace soon, and hopefully the muse will continue her stay when it does.

Hermione woke the next day feeling hopeful. It may have been dreary and gray outside, but she felt like everything was finally falling into place. She and Severus had mutually decided to take it slowly, Dumbledore was going to train her in controlling her emotions and magic, and a solution to eliminating her destructive outbursts was nearly at hand. Although it wasn't perfect yet, she knew that all would be right in the world in short order.

She also had the study session with Teddy to look forward to. She was becoming very fond of that boy. She hoped that these study sessions would give them a chance to become closer friends as well as help them through NEWT preparations.

At the thought of NEWTs, Hermione grinned and rolled out of bed, eager to start the day off right with a nice, warm shower.

"Hi, Teddy," Hermione said cheerfully as she sat down across from her friend. "How goes it this beautiful Saturday?"

He looked at her as if he wasn't quite sure what to make of the bubbly person before him. She just smiled even more effervescently at his bemused expression before going for her books.

"Erm... fine, I suppose. I'm glad to see you in a good mood."

"Hmm?" she hummed distractedly as she came up to the table with a giant tome on Arithmancy.

"What's put you into such a fine mood today?" he asked, rather than repeat himself.

"Oh," she said, then blushed. "Severus and I made up last night."

His expression of embarrassed horror was such that she quickly continued to explain. "No, no, nothing like that! We've just... we've reached an agreement, and it's a relief to know that we can act civilly towards each other every now and again. We are adults, after all."

He nodded, still looking embarrassed, although she guessed it was because of his first assumption, rather than what she'd just said.

"So," she continued in a more serious tone, "care to start with Arithmancy?"

He nodded again, bringing out his textbook and avoiding her eyes.

"Teddy?"

She saw his mouth twitch, but his expression was blank when he finally looked directly at her.

"Yes?"

"Is there something wrong?"

He tensed his jaw, but quickly relaxed as he shook his head. "No, of course not. I'm just... Why Arithmancy first? I don't have many problems in it, and I know you don't."

"Ah. Well, I..."

"Hermione," he said, reaching across the table to pat her hand, "you know..." He looked at her for a moment with his mouth prepared to say something, but he obviously thought better of it. He shut his mouth and smiled slightly, giving her hand another friendly pat. "I guess we'd better get to work then, shouldn't we?"

Hermione smiled back, pushing aside the implications of what he was going to say and deciding that getting to work was first on the agenda. She could think about what he was going to say after they'd finished their homework.

Later in the day, they were making good progress on their respective Potions assignments when Hermione felt something hit her head. Looking up, she saw no one around and was just about to go back to her essay when she caught Teddy's smirk.

"Did you toss something at me?" she whispered rather incredulously, seeing as she thought he was more mature than that.

He shook his head, but by then he was having a hard time holding back a smile. Scowling, Hermione leaned forward to give him a quiet piece of her mind when she felt something in her hair shift. Scowling at Nott, who was now trying not to laugh, she cautiously put her hand up to where she'd felt the impact and soon found herself holding a charmed parchment airplane, which was stuck in her hair.

Giving Nott one more dirty look, she opened up the missive and was surprised to find it from Severus.

Dear Hermione,

Having recently been chastised for not taking other people's feelings and opinions into consideration, I thought it prudent to consult you on how you wish to "make a day of it."

Severus X.O. Snape

Hermione couldn't decide whether she should laugh or huff at the letter's tone, but she decided that neither would be appropriate in the library. Carefully putting the letter aside, she found that she was leaning towards amusement, judging by the smirk that was blossoming.

"Who's it from?" Teddy asked, nodding toward the now folded parchment.

"Severus."

Teddy smiled knowingly and made an understanding sound.

"Oh, it's nothing like that."

"Like what?"

"Like what you're thinking."

"And what am I thinking?"

"That it's some torrid love letter or other such nonsense."

This got Teddy's attention. "Nonsense? You don't like romance?"

Hermione felt her cheeks go red at that. "No! I like romance, I just... I mean... With Severus, I..."

Nott smiled in good-humored amusement and stopped her stuttering protest with another pat on her hand. "You don't need to justify anything, Hermione. I was just teasing."

Hermione flushed even more deeply at that.

"I know that," she said almost petulantly, though she had the grace to grin sheepishly at him. "It's just... Severus doesn't exactly scream "romance," now does he? I don't want to give false impressions, but I also don't want anyone to think that he's unfeeling or... well..."

Teddy chuckled quietly at that. "I can honestly say that I've never thought of Professor Snape in conjunction with romance, but then again, he's not really my type. However, considering your wedding – especially his proposal – I'd wager that he does have a bit of romance in him wanting to get out."

"It's possible..." Hermione replied carefully.

"It's not like you're following a normal courtship ritual. He might be confused. It happens to the best of us."

She rolled her eyes, and his smile broadened his smile into a toothy grin. She noticed the corners of his eyes crinkled when he smiled so fully. It made him look rather adorable and terribly sweet.

Realizing she'd been staring at him for a bit too long, she hastily looked down as if she had forgotten something, then realized she had. She needed to respond to Severus immediately, seeing as their date was so soon. She also expected he was the type to appreciate prompt responses.

"Parchment... parchment..." she muttered, rooting around in her bag and happily finding a length just as Teddy handed her one of his. Holding hers up, she set down to writing a response. She grinned as she realized that she could also give him hints about future behavior, seeing as his response had been so sarcastic.

Dear Severus,

As for your plans, i.e. lunch at Les Cuisinart, I have no objections. I will let you know now that normally, where outings or, more specifically, dates, are concerned, the instigator of such an outing needn't always ask for the input or permission of their companion for all the details. Granted it is always polite to let one's date know what level of dress is required for such an outing to avoid awkward Transfiguration accidents, but sometimes it's best to surprise one's date. If done prudently, it will seem spontaneous and romantic, and it will make one appear in a good light.

Hermione

Hermione looked the letter over; she sounded exactly like the know-it-all he proclaimed her to be. It was almost as obnoxious as his letter. She smirked.

"Dare I ask?" Teddy whispered, interrupting her imagining Severus' face upon reading the letter.

Her smirk blossomed into a grin as she shook her head. "No, I think you dare not."

Raising his eyebrows, he smiled back curiously before retreating to his Potions text, although he kept shooting her inquisitive glances over the top of his book. She just smiled back blithely as she charmed the parchment into an airplane and sent it off.

Thirty minutes later, Hermione felt another object collide with her hair. Deftly disentangling the struggling object from her curls, she couldn't help but feel a tremor of anxiety. Every time she had teased Severus the results had been almost disastrous. Suddenly not sure that her response had been the right way to go about things, she carefully unfolded the parchment.

My Dearest Darling Hermione,

Severus

Before she could sigh in relief, Hermione nearly choked as she read the letter. She bravely converted a loud guffaw into a delicate snort. Ignoring Teddy's renewed curiosity, she dug out another piece of parchment and scribbled out a quick reply, unaware that she was giggling rather evilly.

My Dearest Severus,

P.S. Quidditch, both literal and metaphorical, is not an option. Nice try, though.

As she folded the parchment, she became aware of the wicked grin she was sporting when she glanced up at Teddy and found him watching her warily.

"I'm afraid that my curiosity is overwhelming my sense," Teddy said with a grin as he quickly snatched the inanimate airplane from Hermione's hands.

Squawking in protest, Hermione tried to grab the parchment back, but before she'd even gotten close, Teddy had cast an Impediment Jinx on her, and she fell gracelessly into her seat.

She watched in embarrassed horror as he opened the missive and felt her face flush as his eyebrows crept up his forehead.

"Erm, Hermione, I thought you said that these letters weren't that sort of letter. Had I known you were exchanging such... such intimate prose..."

He lifted the charm and handed the letter back to her with a mischievous grin. "I apologize for invading your privacy," he said with almost believable sincerity.

Hermione huffed and quickly sent the letter on its way before any further attempts on its secrecy were made. After it had safely left her sight, she turned and glared at Teddy. He was still grinning at her with obvious amusement. She ignored him, collecting her Potions texts and unrolling her parchment to measure her essay yet again.

After she had carefully ignored him for five minutes, she looked up to find him sitting back and observing her, still grinning inanely.

"Well?" she huffed with annoyance.

His eyes twinkled, and his grin widened. "Befrozen?"

Hermione laughed despite herself, then put her head into her hands with a groan.

"And you know that's what Severus is going to say as well. Serves me right for trying to be funny," she said through her fingers.

"Well, don't worry," Teddy said, assuming a comforting air. "I'm sure he'll only bring it to your attention once or twice. He isn't the type to pick on other people's weaknesses..." Teddy's voice faded out, and his grin got even wider. "Oh, I s'pose you are in for a hard time, aren't you?"

Hermione scowled at him, though it didn't seem to affect him at all. If anything, he looked even more upbeat.

She was just opening her mouth to tell him off when she caught sight of another airplane flying toward their table. Catching it, she quickly opened it, wondering what Severus' response would be.

My Darling Hermione,

Severus

"Git," she muttered under her breath, although an affectionate smile was tugging on her lips. It was nice to know he did have a sense of humor after all.

When she looked up at Teddy, he was pretending that he was hard at work, although his twitching lips betrayed him.

She wanted to tell him off for being so... irrepressibly cheerful at her expense, but just as she was opening her mouth, she was once again interrupted, this time by Madam Pince swooping down on them.

"Ms. Granger," she said in a harsh whisper, "I will have to ask you to leave if you continue to disrupt the peace of the library with any more of your missives. It's difficult enough to maintain a discipline in here without parchments flying overhead willy-nilly!"

"Of course, Madam Pince. I'm sorry, and I promise I won't send any more messages that way."

Pince narrowed her eyes at Hermione suspiciously, reluctantly turned away, and then looked back as if she expected Hermione to break more rules at the first opportunity. Hermione watched her go with a repentant expression, and only when the librarian was safely out of sight did she dare look at Teddy.

His head was bent over his book, but he seemed to sense she was looking at him, for he raised his head and caught her eye. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing raucously and decided that turning back to studying was by far the quietest option.

She and Teddy spent the rest of the day studying and managed to get through the majority of their assignments. She had been surprised at how quickly the time had flown by and that it was suddenly nearing curfew.

"I guess this means that dinner is over?" she asked while looking at her watch in amazement. She caught Teddy looking at his own and was pleased to see she wasn't the only one who had lost track of time.

"I guess so."

They looked at each other rather amazed, but soon found their smiles.

"Do you want to go to the kitchens and get something before bed?" Teddy asked hopefully, though he frowned when Hermione shuddered.

"Erm, no thanks. I'm actually not really hungry."

Teddy frowned, and she caught him looking her over quickly. "Are you sure?"

She smiled bemusedly at him. "Yes, I'm sure. I'm actually more tired than anything."

He didn't look particularly happy, but accepted defeat. "Well then, may I have the honor of escorting you back to your quarters, Ms. Granger?" he asked as he stood and offered his arm playfully.

She cursed the blush that stole across her features, but she responded as playfully, "I would like nothing better, Mr. Nott."

It was only when they reached the corridor outside the library and he headed for the staircase to the dungeons that she remembered that her quarters were out of his way.

He turned and looked at her quizzically when she stalled her movements.

"I promise to keep you safe from the mildew, milady," he said with a smile, "as I'm sure no other entity would dare accost you."

She smiled at him, but shook her head. "I... Erm, my quarters... I'm now living near Gryffindor Tower."

He cocked his head, but continued smiling. "Professor Snape must love you very much."

"Why do you say that?" she asked, confused.

He gave her an odd look before saying, "Well, he's made no secret about hating Gryffindor, so moving up there..."

Hermione's mouth formed a small "o" of comprehension, and she shook her head. "Er, no, Teddy, Prof... Severus is still living in the dungeon."

Teddy's smile slipped. "I thought you said the two of you had made up."

"We did, but we decided that it would be better..." She stopped, frowning as she realized she was getting defensive about something that wasn't really Teddy's business anyway.

Teddy must have sensed that as well, for he immediately apologized. "I didn't mean to pry. It's just... I was surprised."

Hermione's features softened once more, and she smiled at Teddy. "I know. It's new to me, too, but then, all of this is."

Teddy smiled cheerfully and replied while offering his arm once more, "But it's for the better, right?"

She smiled back and linked arms with him again.

"Of course it is," she said while she mentally added, I think.

Next up: Hermione gets her new wand and learns a few things about Severus that she'd never have guessed.