XX

Thanks go to Keladry and Southern for all their help. You gals rock!

---

The next morning, Hermione approached Severus' door with a mixture of dread and anticipation. She was fairly certain that his postscript had been an invitation, but there was always the chance that she was misreading him. They seemed to be very good at misreading each other. In fact, they rather excelled at that.

Still, she was already down there, and she decided that she might as well knock. However, she also decided to knock quietly in case he was asleep, and this time she would also wait for him to answer the door. She had no desire to be treated like an unwelcome guest again.

She waited a full ten seconds before she started fidgeting and tried to decide whether to knock again. Right as she raised her fist, though, the door opened.

"Good morning," Severus said grumpily. He looked like he had just got up when she'd knocked; his hair was sticking out at odd angles, and he was wearing nothing but an old-fashioned nightshirt and his black fuzzy slippers. Trying not to stare, Hermione returned his greeting and entered his chambers when he waved her in.

Once inside, however, they were both at a loss of what to do or say. Hermione looked around his room to avoid staring at him. After a drawn out silence, Hermione finally peeked over at him. He looked like he felt just as awkward as she did.

"Er," Hermione said, feeling the embarrassment rise, "was I correct in assuming that was an invitation in your note?"

To her relief, Severus nodded. "Yes, it was. However, I'll admit that when you didn't question me about it last night, I thought you had either misinterpreted it or weren't interested."

"Ah," Hermione said, still feeling more than a little awkward. "I, er, thought it might be a nice surprise..."

She was feeling very foolish at not having discussed this the night before. She should have realized that he would want advance notice.

"It is."

She looked up at him to find him smiling at her softly, although there was also a bit of mockery in there as well. She smiled back.

"Yes, well, now that we've established that I'm not barging in uninvited, how about some tea?" she said, taking charge of the situation before it became any more awkward.

He nodded. "That would be acceptable, although if you would excuse me, I would like to clean up a bit more."

Her eyes automatically went to his hair.

"Believe it or not, I do wash my hair on a regular basis," he said with a sour look. She blushed at her gaff, but kept her chin up.

"I assume that your hair is persistently oily, like mine is bushy, and Harry's is messy. Perhaps it's just another expression of our magic," Hermione said, thinking aloud.

He raised an eyebrow at that. "There may be something to that, although if that's the case, I hate to think what the magic is trying to express."

Hermione struggled not to smile or otherwise give away her thoughts, but something of them must have escaped, as Severus scowled. "Yes, well, please excuse me for a few minutes."

Hermione waited until the bedroom door closed before giving in to her smile, and then she set about making the tea. Remembering her experience with Severus' horrible shower, she didn't expect him to be long. Sure enough, just when the little egg timer she'd conjured rang, Severus stepped out of his room fully clothed, although his hair was still obviously damp. She also thought he looked a bit chilly, but that could have been her imagination.

"I meant to ask you that first morning why you don't get the shower fixed?" Hermione said as she poured their tea into their cups. When she looked up, it was to find him looking at her with something akin to guilt for a moment. Or so she thought until his lips twitched, and he started chuckling.

At her raised eyebrows, he said, "It isn't broken. I fixed it that way as a timer."

Her eyebrows did not descend. "A timer? And here I was thinking that your persistent bad mood was due to getting a cold shower every morning."

He chuckled a little more. "I rarely stay in long enough to let it get cold anymore."

She harrumphed but didn't say any more as he sat down beside her and handed him his cup. "Well, it certainly would have been nice if you had warned me."

"It had been on my to do list, but as I recall, other matters pushed it out of my mind," he said as he ran his finger along her thigh. She shivered and then took a sip of tea to try and cover her reaction.

"Yes, getting sick does make one spacey, doesn't it?" she said as innocently as possible.

He withdrew his finger abruptly and only grunted in reply. Peeking over, she saw him glaring at his tea, even as he sipped it gracefully.

Regretting her teasing, she shifted her hand to his leg and gave it a friendly squeeze before resuming the sipping of her tea. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed his scowl virtually disappeared, although she wasn't sure that smug look was better. It made her suspicious.

They sat in an expectant silence for a few minutes, neither sure what might be a safe, argument-free topic. That was Hermione's concern, anyway, and she assumed it was Severus' as well until he said, "Despite the rather horrid reminder sitting in my bedroom, I do forget that you spent a night down here."

Hermione nearly choked on her sip of tea and spilled the rest of it down her front. "Yes, well, it was terribly forgettable," she replied sarcastically, mopping her front.

"Please leave the sarcasm to me, dear," Severus said, conjuring another napkin to help her clean up. "As I said before, it doesn't suit you."

She looked up at him, eyebrow raised in wry amusement. "Severus, I do hope you're not trying to create certain roles for us because I'll have you know that I've been sarcastic for quite a few years now, and I'm unlikely to give it up anytime soon."

He rolled his eyes while continuing to wipe the front of her shirt, something she was very aware of and not at all displeased by.

"If sarcasm were truly in your nature, you would have agreed with me in as convincing a tone as you possess and told me how perfectly spiffing I was to take the burden off of you. I say again, it doesn't suit you."

Annoyed, she shooed his hand away from where it was 'mopping' her dry breast. "Well, it isn't like I've had masters of the art to practice on. Give me a few years and I expect even you'll be impressed with the levels of vitriol I can come up with."

He gave her a look of blatant disbelief, which didn't do anything for her deteriorating mood. She was just on the verge of protesting when he got up, muttering, "'Years,' she says. Months, more like, and then she'll be showing me up for the rest of our lives."

"Did I just hear you compliment me?" she asked as he disappeared into his bedroom.

"Of course not. Don't be silly!" he called out gruffly.

She was still wearing a bit of a silly grin when he came back, towel in hand. He knelt down in front of her and resumed rubbing her front, trying to soak up the last drop of moisture from her chest area. She just passively watched him with amusement.

After a minute or so of his overly careful ministrations, she finally said, "I think my robe is as dry as it's going to get without a drying charm, Severus."

He frowned slightly. "I suppose so, although the tea is still in there. If you took off your robes, we could clean them more effectively and treat any burns you may have sustained."

Suddenly uncomfortable with his scrutiny and overcome with a case of modesty, she decided a diversion was in order. She smiled and reached out to stroke his cheek, surprised when he closed his eyes and nuzzled her hand.

"Black hides stains well," she said softly, causing Severus' eyes to pop open and then narrow in her direction. "And the tannin will see to any burns I might have received."

Now frowning, Severus got up and began to move away, but she caught his hand and kept him from retreating.

"I'm sorry, Severus, but... Weren't you the one who chastised me about the incivility of letting the tea go cold?" she said, directing his attention to his half empty cup.

He looked from the cup to her, raising an eyebrow. "Are we on the verge of another fight?"

Something in her stomach knotted. "I don't know. Are we?"

He pulled his hand away but didn't retreat. Instead, he sat down beside her and reached for his tea. After taking a sip (and grimacing at the temperature), he said to the fireplace, "I will never force you to do anything you are uncomfortable with."

Hermione snorted, which at least made Severus look at her instead of the fireplace. "That's absolute bullocks, and you know it." His hurt look made her sigh. "You made me marry you, which was uncomfortable; you asked to court me, which is frighteningly uncomfortable; you make me reevaluate my assumptions and values, which is more than just uncomfortable, and you react unpredictably, which, believe me, makes me very uncomfortable."

His face had, not surprisingly, grown rather thunderous, and he made to get up. She took his hand in hers, digging in with her short nails when he tried to pull away. "But... just because I'm uncomfortable doesn't mean I'm objecting to any of that."

His face had lost most of its thunder and retreated into a low level sulk. "I did not make you marry me. You could have refused."

Hermione compressed her lips and looked at him. "I'm trying to explain that I like you, either despite of, or perhaps even because of, the discomfort, you grumpy grouch. So, do you really want to argue right now?"

He took another sip of tea. "Perhaps not. It would be uncivilized, after all."

She refilled her cup and took a sip before adding, "That said, I do appreciate you being sensitive of my feelings."

He glared at her. "Do you want to argue?" At her confused headshake, he growled, "Because I thought I told you never to use that word in relation to me."

She tried to suppress her grin, but failed. "I'm sorry," she said rather cheerfully. "I'll try to remember that you're an insensitive git from now on."

He glared at her out of the corners of his eyes, but his mouth quirked up. All he said was, "Better."

---

Severus seemed unwilling to make Hermione any more uncomfortable, so by the time she left, the only contact they had was a furtive kiss he placed on her cheek just as she was heading out the door. Although she would have been happy with another snogging session, she was equally pleased by his reticence and also by the unexpected innocence of stealing such a kiss. In truth, she smiled more from that small gesture than she had from his previous kisses.

All in all, it was shaping up to be a rather nice day. She and Severus had understood one another, Ancient Runes had been both interesting and challenging, and now she was happily on the way to sate her growing hunger in the Great Hall.

"Hi," a familiar voice said next to her. She looked over and smiled at Teddy.

"Hi, yourself."

"So what are your plans for lunch?" he asked, grinning.

"Oh, the usual. Why? Do you have something else in mind?"

His grin broadened, crinkling his eyes jovially. "Well..." he started drawling, but before he could say any more, Hermione felt someone nudge her. She turned to find Harry and Ginny grinning at them.

"So, what's the plan?" Harry asked brightly.

Hermione turned back expecting to see Teddy grimacing but was pleasantly surprised to find him beaming.

"I was about to propose..."

"Too late for that, I'm afraid," Ginny said cheekily. "She's already married."

Teddy turned a bit pink but continued, "...that we snag some food from the hall and head out to the lake. It's a gorgeous day."

"Excellent idea, Nott!" Harry said, clapping Teddy on the back. "How about we go scavenge while the girls find a good spot?"

Teddy agreed, and they rushed off without even consulting the girls about it, so intent were they on getting to the hall before the masses.

"Ginny," Hermione scolded, turning on her friend after the boys were out of hearing range, "that was terrible of you!"

Ginny didn't bother looking contrite. "Oh, it was all in good fun, and he knows it."

"You embarrassed him."

"So?"

Hermione looked at her friend a little more carefully. "So, that's a mean thing to do."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "And we must always be perfectly polite to our friends, right?"

Hermione opened her mouth and closed it again angrily.

Ginny eased up a bit and smiled. "I was just teasing him, that's all. If he was mortally offended, I'll apologize, and make up and all that. Okay?"

Hermione twisted her mouth down, still displeased by Ginny's tone, but she knew her friend was being sincere. "Fine. But it still seems mean to rub his face in it."

"Rub his face in it?" Ginny asked, dropping her playful act. "In what?"

Hermione realized her mistake, but there wasn't really a way out if it now. "Oh, erm, he sort of tried to propose."

"What? When?" Ginny demanded, a little more loudly than Hermione liked.

"It's more that he would have proposed, had no one else done so. Or, that's what he told Severus."

"Wait a moment," Ginny said, grabbing Hermione's arm and stopping them both. "Nott told Snape that he would propose to save you from the law?"

"Yes."

"But..." Ginny looked a little upset. "He said you were just friends."

"We are. He's seemed pleased enough that Severus stepped in." Ginny looked at her suspiciously, irritating Hermione. "It's not like he's made any moves on me!"

Ginny didn't really lose her suspicious look, but she let go of Hermione. "Of course he hasn't. But--"

"But nothing! He's been there for me these last couple of weeks in the same way you and Harry have been, and I really like and appreciate his friendship, so don't even think about chasing him off!"

Ginny scowled, but nodded her head in agreement. "If he tries anything..."

"I will be the first to tell him that I am a married woman. But I really don't think he feels that way about me. He's a friend, full stop."

"Okay."

Hermione and Ginny started walking again, although in a somewhat stilted silence, and made it to the Entrance Hall just as the boys came out of the Great Hall, spoils in hand. They didn't seem to see the girls, so Hermione waved her hand and called out to them.

"Ms. Granger!" a sharp voice exclaimed from behind, startling her. She turned around to find Professor Vector glaring at her. "Your behavior is unseemly, especially for that of a Head Girl. Ten points from Gryffindor."

Hermione and Ginny could do no more than gape as the Arithmancy teacher brushed by them on her way to the Great Hall. Harry and Teddy caught up to them, and Harry looked over his shoulder at the door the professor had gone through while Teddy gave Hermione a sympathetic look and a shoulder squeeze.

"What's eating her?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know," Hermione said mournfully. "She's been like that to me ever since I married Severus."

"Why would that bug her?" Harry asked, perplexed.

"I wish I knew." Hermione shrugged as Teddy pulled her and her friends out into the sunshine and out of the eyes of any curious onlookers. Hermione bit her lip and tried to forestall tears by blinking rapidly and covering it by shielding her eyes from the sun.

She knew she hadn't fooled anyone though, especially when Teddy drew her into a hug while she pulled herself together. Fortunately, the warmth, friends and food went a long way to soothing Hermione's hurt feelings, so the lunch hour wasn't a complete loss.

---

The afternoon passed by uneventfully, though it was on the relentless side, so as she finished dinner, she couldn't help but smile when Severus came by to pick her up.

"What are you getting out of the library tonight, my dear?" Severus asked as they exited the Great Hall.

"Actually, I was wondering if you might be interested in just walking tonight?" Hermione asked pensively. She didn't have any homework whose research couldn't wait until tomorrow. His eyebrows rose in surprise, but he nodded and changed their course.

They went up several flights of stairs and ended up in a long, wide corridor. Hermione vaguely remembered it from her explorations in her fourth year, but back then she had been scared away by the very empty and silent feeling the corridor possessed. She shivered slightly, feeling the silence, although it didn't seem so overpoweringly empty with Severus by her side.

"Have you been here before?" Severus asked, and she was surprised his voice penetrated the eerie silence. She nodded and explained her experience. Smiling slightly, he agreed. "Yes, although, I must say that's what attracts me to this corridor. The rest of the castle is so lively you can almost hear it moving about, but here... I find it peaceful."

Hermione nodded. "I can see that." They wandered down the corridor, their footsteps oddly muffled. It was then that she realized what was so different about the corridor. "There's no echo!"

She looked up at Severus and found him smirking at her. "Well spotted."

She shrugged off his sarcasm. "Last time I was here I was alone."

"And you weren't keen on calling attention to yourself?"

She glared at him. "Actually, as I recall, at that point I was trying to avoid unwanted attention. A lot of girls were jealous about Viktor."

Severus scowled briefly, but nodded. "Ah."

They walked in silence a little longer. Hermione finally broke it by asking, "May I ask you a personal question?"

He chuckled. "If I said 'no,' would that stop you?"

Hermione frowned. "Yes, as a matter of fact, it would." She paused. "Was that a 'no' then?"

"No," he sighed. "Of course you may ask me a personal question, although I cannot promise to answer it."

She nibbled on her lower lip for a few moments, trying to think of how best to frame her question. Finally, when she could feel Severus getting restless, she blurted, "Were you and Professor Vector ever lovers?"

Severus stopped, stunned. She stopped as well and looked up at him anxiously, hoping she hadn't offended him. It took a few moments for the shock to wear off, but when it did, he laughed. Loudly. For quite some time.

"No," he finally said, once his laughter had waned sufficiently. "No, Septima and I have never even really flirted. Why do you ask?"

Hermione frowned. "Because ever since I married you, she's been horrid to me. I wouldn't take it so personally, except that beforehand we were getting along quite well. Well enough that I was figuring on pursuing a friendship after leaving the school." She looked down, not wanting to show Severus just how distressed she was. "The only reason I could come up with for her change was that she was jealous of me."

Severus put his finger under Hermione's chin and raised her face. He looked appalled. "Hermione, you of all people should know that when a person's behavior changes suddenly there might be more sinister reasons than simple jealousy! What if she's an impostor or under the Imperius? For God's sake, Hermione! You should have mentioned this sooner!"

Hermione backed up a little, both chastised and annoyed. "And what if it is just jealousy as I thought it was? How would you explain to her the tests being done to prove she's who she is? I'm not going to throw accusations around, even if I thought they had merit!"

"If it is just jealousy, she would be perfectly reasonable about getting tested because she knows the dangers! She's a logician, for Circe's sake. She'd understand!"

"And then she would review the possible suspects for who suspected her, and it would boil down to me, and she'd behave even more horribly towards me."

"What has she done?" Severus asked, concern now in his voice.

Hermione shook her head with a bitter laugh. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing except cold glares and generally frosty behavior. I'm almost positive she's not an impostor because she hasn't behaved out of character, she's just been cold."

"But that isout of character for her behavior toward you," Severus pointed out.

"But she's been her same old self to everyone else. Her classes have been the same. Everything is the same except her treating me like a blister, and that started immediately after you and I got married. Logically, it makes more sense for her to be jealous rather than to be an impostor."

"What about the Imperius?"

Hermione hesitated. "Who would do so just to harass me?"

"I can think of several people who would be willing to do anything to get to you."

"But she hasn't done anything. She hasn't even been threatening. Believe me, I would have reported that if she had. I assume that anyone who wants to get to me would do so for more substantial purposes than to wreak havoc on my standing as the universal teacher's pet."

"Unless, of course, they knew your boggart?" Severus said flippantly.

Hermione snorted. "Yes, well, my boggart has changed substantially since third year."

Severus chuckled. "I'm glad to hear that."

Hermione grumbled something about boggarts wearing vulture hats, but then sighed, shoulders slumped. "You won't mention this to anyone, will you?"

"She hasn't threatened you?"

"Not even an intimidation."

"And you would let me know if she does?"

"Yes, you and the Headmaster, of course. I'm not stupid, you know." Severus had nothing to say to that, so she took that as her point won. But, sensing that he was still worried, she added, "Besides which, even if she did attack me, which I really, really, really doubt will happen, I think that I can control my power enough to ward off all but a Killing Curse."

That didn't seem to ease Severus' mind. "Don't underestimate the effectiveness of a surprise attack!"

Hermione laughed mirthlessly. "I won't, but at the same time, her behavior toward me has eliminated the possibility of a complete surprise attack."

Severus still wasn't convinced. "Promise me that you'll be careful around her."

Sighing, Hermione agreed. "I will be. Don't worry."

She was surprised when he said very softly, "I can't promise not to."

She took his hand in hers and gave it a snug squeeze before they continued their long, slow walk around Hogwarts.

---

The next morning, Hermione was roused by a knock on her door. Dragging herself out of bed, she pulled on her dressing robe and opened the door to find Severus standing on the other side. He looked cheerful.

Not even bothering to greet him, she left the door open and retreated to the sofa, collapsing onto it haphazardly.

"I am starting to gather that you aren't a morning person," Severus said after closing the door and sitting down beside her gracefully. She grunted in reply.

Having closed her eyes as soon as she was seated, she was vaguely surprised when Severus took her hand and placed a hot cup in it. Bringing it to her nose, she was pleased to smell tea. Cracking her eyes open a notch, she carefully sipped the tea, feeling a bit rejuvenated almost immediately.

After half the cup was consumed, she finally managed to open her eyes all the way, only to find Severus watching her with obvious amusement.

"Good morning," he said, still too cheerful.

She set her cup down and stretched, yawning, before picking her cup up again and nodding at him. "Morning."

Severus took his own tea and relaxed back into the sofa, still watching her. "I thought I would repay the favor of your visit," he offered.

"What time is it?" Hermione croaked out.

"A little after six."

It took a moment to register, but when it did, Hermione looked at Severus askance. "Six? Six in the morning?"

"Judging by the angle of the sun, I would say so, yes."

Hermione closed her eyes, bringing up her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. "And when did we get back last night?"

"About midnight, as I recall." He was enjoying her discomfort far too much.

She pinched her nose a bit harder. "And it would be terribly rude of me to go back to bed, wouldn't it?"

"You don't need to stand by social conventions for my sake," he drawled. "Although, if you wished to be a polite hostess, you could always invite me to join you."

Finally, Hermione cracked a grin. "Was that the purpose of visiting this early?"

"Of course not! I came merely for the pleasure of your company."

She hummed in disbelief and took another sip of her tea. After another rather large yawn, she finally woke up enough to look at Severus properly. He raised his eyebrow, at which she smiled.

"I never would have guessed you were a morning person," she said mildly.

"I'm not," he said. "I'm afraid that I'm normally about as fond of mornings as you seem to be."

"And today is different because...?"

"Because I got the pleasure of waking you up."

Hermione gave him a brief glare. "That's not very nice."

He smiled. "Probably not, but at least this way I get to see you without your clothes on."

Hermione took a small pillow and threw it at Severus, who surprisingly laughed as he caught it. "Now, now, my dear. Surely you've learned better than to resort to violence."

"Not at six in the bloody morning, I haven't!" Hermione said, tugging her dressing robe together more effectively while a smile was also tugging at her lips.

"Ah. I'll have to remember that."

---

Severus stayed till it was time to go down to breakfast and was annoyingly cheerful the entire time. She loved seeing him so playful, but all the same, she really wished he could have chosen a better time of day to display it.

The rest of the day whirled by quickly. By the end of it, she and Dumbledore had been so caught up in discussing the theory behind magical manifestations that they were surprised by the dinner bell. Although she was a bit annoyed to have to cut such a fascinating conversation short, she reluctantly made her way to the Great Hall with Dumbledore when he told her that if he were the cause of her not eating another meal, he would be subject to Poppy's wrath. Truth be told, she found herself to be on the ravenous side, so she didn't protest too strenuously.

They arrived a bit on the early side, so Hermione was relegated to the empty Gryffindor table while the headmaster made his way to the half-full staff table. Severus was seated already, looking thoughtful. He looked up at something the headmaster said, and his eyes jumped over to her. He offered her a quick quirk of the lips in greeting, which she returned.

She was tempted to go over and say hello, but just then Harry and Ginny came into the hall, so she stayed where she was. Neither of them looked particularly cheerful, and Harry was hovering over Ginny in a protective manner. When they sat down next to her, she noticed Ginny looked rather ill.

"Are you all right?" she asked tentatively, not knowing what mood Ginny might be in.

Ginny shrugged as she helped herself to a bun.

Hoping Harry might be a little more helpful, Hermione looked to him. He shrugged as well, but looked a lot more concerned than Ginny did. "She had an attack of vertigo."

Hermione looked back at Ginny, alarmed. "Weren't you flying today?"

Both Harry and Ginny nodded, Ginny looking annoyed. When she looked up and saw Hermione's expression, though, she smiled reassuringly. "I only got about two feet off the ground before I got dizzy, so it wasn't too terrible." She played with the bun a bit distractedly. "But it's so strange. I've never been affected like that before."

"Maybe you're coming down with something," Hermione soothed.

Ginny shrugged again and nodded. Harry, however, looked more cheerful. He gave Ginny a quick squeeze and concurred, saying she would probably be better by the next game.

Ginny was the first to leave after eating only the mutilated bun and a handful of grapes. She pleaded homework, and although neither Harry nor Hermione believed her, neither was willing to push Ginny too far. Instead, they exchanged worried looks and tried to pass the rest of the meal talking about their days, though conversation petered out as their minds drifted to different subjects: Harry on his wife's health and Hermione on her conversation with Dumbledore.

After Harry left, Hermione was so distracted by thoughts on magical theory that she was unaware of how much time had passed until a voice over her shoulder said, "Are you finished, my dear?"

Hermione looked up at Severus with a smile and a nod. Her tablemates still looked at Severus with wonder; she supposed she couldn't blame them. If she hadn't been the object of his affection, so to speak, she would have been fairly boggled at the sight of Severus smiling at someone almost fondly. In public.

She thought it was rather mean of Severus to prove the rumors true, knowing how much it disturbed the students, but she could see the appeal, and she certainly wasn't going to criticize him over it. As she got up and bid her friends goodnight, she noticed they were already resuming their previous conversations.

She smiled inwardly at the adaptability of the human spirit.

Severus grabbed her attention once more by taking possession of her hand and placing it in the crook of his arm, just as he did every night. She smiled up at him as they made their way out.

"Is there a detour on tonight's schedule?" he asked her mockingly. She smiled despite the tone, knowing he seemed to enjoy their detours as much as she did.

"Yes, there is. Professor Dumbledore mentioned a book he thought I might enjoy."

Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Might enjoy?"

"I think his exact words were, 'I hesitate to recommend this book to you for fear that you will forget to breathe whilst reading it.'"

Severus' other eyebrow met the first near his hairline. "The Headmaster said this?"

Hermione nodded. "I meant to run to the library before dinner, but we lost track of time during our discussion, so this is literally the first opportunity I've had."

Severus chuckled quietly, startling a first year who was heading for his common room. "Or perhaps he made certain to keep you busy until you were out of time. You know how he loves his little manipulations."

Hermione harrumphed, but without much bite. Severus was still, rightfully, insecure about how the Headmaster's machinations were the only reason for their relationship, and she didn't want to put him on the defensive.

A sudden thought occurred to her. "Or, it could be that he wanted to make sure you were with me when I went to get it. Maricum Monsura isn't a dangerous book, is it?"

Severus looked at her in surprise.

"That's the book he recommended?" She nodded. He seemed to hold his breath for a moment, but then shook his head as he exhaled. "No. Powerful, but not dangerous."

She looked up at the wonder in his tone and saw him gazing at her as if seeing her for the first time.

"What?" she asked, suddenly nervous.

"Perhaps he did want me to be with you, though. He knows I would love to see that book."

She arched her brows in surprise. "You haven't seen it? But it's here in the library!"

He gave her a crooked smile. "Some books choose their readers rather than the other way around."

Her brow wrinkled in confusion, but before she could ask him to explain, he tugged her forward and into the library.

They both nodded to Madam Pince as they made their way into the Restricted Section; Hermione still held her breath every time she crossed the threshold, irrationally expecting some barrier to keep her from all those lovely books.

She heard Severus chuckling and glanced over to see him looking at her with unconcealed amusement.

"What?"

He straightened his face and raised an eyebrow in question. She huffed.

"What was that look for?"

His lips twitched. "Your expression was... telling."

"Oh?" she asked, prodding him gently. "And what did it say?"

"It said that you are very much in danger of forgetting to breathe if an interesting enough book is placed before you."

She snorted. "Yes, well, Ron and Harry could have told you that years go."

She tensed as soon as the words were out of her mouth, regretting them instantly. She felt it was in bad taste to keep bringing Ron into the conversation with Severus, but it had just slipped out.

"I figured that out all on my very own," Severus murmured into her ear and then moved past her and into the darker part of the stacks. He looked back with a beckoning finger and added, "But then again, it is also common knowledge."

Hermione relaxed slightly and followed Severus, taking his hand that was still extended toward her.

He led her down the stacks to a very dark corner, and for a moment she was tempted to ask him if he had brought her here for something different altogether, but then she caught sight of the book. It was hard to miss, really, as it was glowing.

As she stepped closer to the shelves, she examined the spine with awe. "It's so beautiful!" she whispered, reaching out to touch it.

"No!" Severus barked, grabbing her hand and wrenching it away from the book. "That's not the book you want."

Hermione couldn't look away from the book though and didn't understand what Severus was talking about. It had to be the book. It was calling to her.

"Hermione," she heard it say. "Hermione! Look at me!"

Suddenly, she felt hands on her head turning her away from the book. Her eyes strained to keep it in sight, but then there was a mouth on hers, and teeth nipping at her lips, a tongue sneaking its way into her mouth, and oh! That felt good.

She closed her eyes and hummed, opening her mouth to welcome the invader. Her hand was released, and she immediately sought out the neck attached to the face attached to the lips that were making her melt.

She felt hands holding her, sliding down her torso until they held her hips and pulled possessively until her hips were flush with another pair of hips, and oh, God, it felt so good when he stroked her bum like that.

She ground against him as she kissed him back, and she felt him groan, a deep guttural sound that was more vibration than noise. Suddenly, those hands clenching her hips lifted her up, and she was swung around. Her back was now against the bookshelves, and her bum was resting on the barest hint of a shelf as Severus' hands urged her legs apart and around his hips. She eagerly complied.

With him situated between her hips, they were able to get closer; he was pressing her against the books almost painfully, but all she wanted was for him to be closer still.

Their kiss had evolved into something frantic and needy. She clung to him desperately while he held onto her just as desperately.

Unfortunately, they both needed to breathe, and so they unwillingly ripped themselves away from each other, and stared at the other, panting heavily.

Hermione was the first to recover, and as she released a very shaky breath, she asked, "What was that book?"

Severus was still panting heavily, and it looked like he was only barely on the cusp of controlling himself, but the question cleared his eyes a little.

"Nimue's diary," he panted, still holding her to him possessively.

"Oh."

And just like that, the spell was broken. His eyes cleared completely, and a slight blush overtook his cheeks. He helped her to the floor and stepped back, aborting a move to help her smooth out her robes. "My apologies, Hermione,"

She looked at him sharply. "Whatever for?"

"I told you I wouldn't... I know you don't like it when I lose control like that."

She shook her head with an exasperated smile. "Severus, I..." She didn't know exactly what she could say, so she decided to just kiss him instead.

After a nice, leisurely, clarifying kiss, she withdrew and ran her finger along his jaw. "It's all about the circumstances, Severus," she explained. "And I must say, that circumstance was damn hot!"

He growled and pulled her to him, though instead of kissing her senseless once again (as she was hoping he would), he thrust his nose in her hair and nibbled on her earlobe.

She shivered when he lightly blew on her ear, and then asked in a husky voice, "And how am I to tell the difference between these circumstances?"

He withdrew and she shrugged in answer before pulling his face down to kiss her once more.

After they parted yet again, she leaned her head on his chest, listening to his heart pounding. After a few heartbeats, she finally said, "That's something you'll just have to learn along the way, as unfair as that sounds."

He huffed, though she couldn't tell whether it was in laughter or annoyance, but she hoped it was laughter as his arms tightened around her in a satisfying hug. When he finally let go and drew back, she could see his eyes sparkling with good humor along with a fair amount of lust.

"Far be it from me to require fairness in another."

She laughed loud enough to merit a distant "Shh" from Madam Pince's desk. Both of them were a bit chagrined at that, and so, with a smothered giggle on Hermione's part, they decided it was best if they just retrieved the Maricum Monsura and left.

They spent the rest of the evening in Hermione's room, poring over the tome and discussing arcane magical theory, although both of them were guilty of letting their thoughts stray on occasion.

---

Severus opened his door the next morning to an irate Hermione.

"Where were you?"

"Excuse me?" Severus said, looking amused.

"I thought you said you would come by this morning!"

"I was just about to leave to meet you." His words were belied by his dressing robe and mussed hair.

Hermione put her hands on her hips, clearly not impressed. "I'm sure." She gave him a rather frosty look and then made herself at home on the sofa, summoning the tea service and conjuring boiling water.

She did this all in a flurry of righteous anger, and when she noticed Severus was not on the sofa with her, she looked up to find him watching her with bemusement.

"Well?" she asked imperiously, indicating he should sit himself down beside her post haste. He raised his eyebrow and chuckled, meandering over to the sofa at his own pace.

"You really aren't a morning person," he said, taking the proffered cup.

"We've already covered that," she snapped.

"Indeed." His lips were twitching rather violently, making Hermione glare at him.

"Are you laughing at my expense?"

"Since I am the one suffering your bad mood, I should say I am laughing at my expense, not yours."

Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but then shut it again in a sour line. "I hate it when you're right."

"Oh, dear. I'm afraid this relationship will be a rocky one, then."

Despite herself, she snorted. She then summoned a pillow and whapped him. He was only barely able to set down his tea before the pillow came in contact with him. She managed to hit him two more times before he caught the pillow and wrenched it from her grip.

"There is no excuse for such behavior at this late hour!" he roared, though his eyes were twinkling. She shrank back in surprise, but then leaned toward him, poking him with her finger.

"And there is no excuse to take that tone with me!" she said back almost as fiercely.

He grabbed her finger before she could poke him again and pulled on it. Not expecting such a move, she overbalanced and squawked as she fell into his lap.

He placed a firm hand on her back, preventing her from getting up, but she managed to flip herself over so that she was at least facing up. She was only mildly surprised to see him smiling down at her.

"It's not polite to poke people," he said, gently poking her in the chest.

She laughed. "No, it's not. It's almost as uncivilized as letting our tea go cold... yet again."

"Mm. Perhaps we are not good examples of civilized society?"

She laughed again. "Perhaps not."

She hummed when he brought his hand up to stroke her hair, squirming a little in his lap to make herself more comfortable. He withstood her adjustments with only a mild grimace of discomfort and then breathed a sigh of relief when she settled down. He resumed stroking her hair, running his fingers through it in a light, teasing way. Her eyes drifted shut as she gave herself up to relaxation.

After a few contented minutes, he said, "Perhaps being civilized is overrated?"

She shook her head minutely. "No, I don't think so. It just depends on what you qualify as civilized."

"And how would you define it?"

"Caring more for others than for yourself."

He chuckled, and she had to open her eyes to see whether it was mockingly or not. It was.

"Living by the golden rule?"

"No, it's more than just that. It's about unconditional love. It's the ability to think about how your actions will affect everyone else and choose others above yourself."

"And, by that definition, would you say you're civilized?"

Hermione frowned. "I try to be, but..."

He chuckled again, and this time there was an unmistakable note of mockery in it. He softened it, however, by saying, "It is an impossibly difficult standard you've set for yourself, my dear."

She opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by the sound of his alarm. It rang twice, meaning breakfast was over already.

She sighed and lifted herself up to a sitting position. She smiled wryly at Severus, who smiled back just as wryly.

"Even if we have been so uncivilized as to let the tea go cold again, I think I preferred it this way," he said, stroking a stray lock of hair out of her face.

She smiled in agreement. "And see, that fits perfectly with my idea of civilized behavior."

He raised his eyebrow mockingly. "You mean to say that all that contented humming was just a decision made for my benefit?"

She smiled saucily and then kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Ah, what's good for others is often what's good for oneself."

She left for class with his accusatory "Hedonist" weighing nothing on her heart.

---

Hermione was making her way to the library when she saw students gathered in what was clearly a confrontation in the making. Figuring it was a couple of hotheads intent on doing each other harm, she shouldered her way through the crowd, telling everyone in her Head Girl voice to disperse and be on their way.

When she reached the center of the gathering, she was surprised to find Teddy and a sixth-year Slytherin aiming their wands at each other, looks of loathing on both their faces.

She was so surprised, she didn't know what to say until the sixth-year sneered and said, "Oh, look, Teddy, here's your girlfriend to save you." He then lowered his wand and made a show of turning his back, making his way out through the crowd.

Hermione quickly looked over to Teddy, who had lowered his wand, but was still staring at the spot the other boy had disappeared through with distaste.

"Teddy?" she asked as she took a step forward.

His face was still tight with anger when he looked her way, and she was surprised when he didn't relax. Instead, his expression grew pinched, and he shook his head shortly. "Hermione," he threw at her and then stormed off.

Hermione stood there for a moment feeling a bit bewildered, but then noticed that people were still lingering and staring at her. She scowled at them and was somewhat grateful when they immediately scattered. Sometimes it was good to be scary.

She continued on her way to the library, wondering what the confrontation was about. It was so rare for Slytherins to fight with each other in public that she was more than a little concerned, especially as she had the feeling that the fight had something to do with her and Teddy's friendship.

Despite her curiosity, she had studying to do, and managed to push the confrontation from the front of her mind. It was about half an hour till dinner when she got the feeling she was being watched. Looking up, she saw Teddy leaning against the bookshelf in front of her table, watching her.

He didn't seem to have cheered up much.

"Care to sit down?" she asked, trying for a casual tone.

He considered it with a furrowed brow for a moment, then pushed himself off the shelf and sat down opposite her.

Although she was terribly curious, she thought it would probably be better if he were the one to initiate the conversation. So, she smiled at him warmly before turning back to her book, letting him ruminate in peace.

It wasn't long before he said something, however. "It seems people have the wrong impression about us."

She looked up at him curiously. "What, do they think we're lovers or something?" she asked mockingly. He went rather pink and nodded. She scoffed. "Well, they're idiots. What do you expect?"

He laughed insecurely, but didn't look at her. Something about that made her uncomfortable, like he was hiding something from her.

"I suppose most of them don't know me well enough to know that I would never cheat on my husband, no matter who he is. And I suppose that they've noticed that Severus' attitude has shifted slightly where you're concerned, and they interpret that as jealousy or some such rot." She sighed, leaned back in her chair and ran her hand through her hair, cursing softly when it got caught halfway down. She brought the knot forward and was looking at that when she added, "It is rather insulting though, isn't it?"

Glancing up, she saw Teddy's face darken. Rolling her eyes, she continued, "I mean, everyone knows me as 'The Smart One,' and I'm sure most people recognize that you're intelligent. You'd think they would realize that if we were having it off, we would be a little more discreet about it. We wouldn't be seen hanging out with each other or enjoying each other's company."

He laughed again, this time with more feeling. She watched him, waiting until he was looking at her before smiling ruefully. "If you want to stop spending time with me, I'll understand, but I think there are better ways to remedy this situation."

He was still quite pink and subdued. "I don't want to put a strain on your relationship with Professor Snape."

She snorted. "You haven't so far. He said he was glad I've finally found myself an intelligent friend."

Teddy raised his eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yes."

He hesitated for a moment. "So... you've told him about us?"

Hermione snorted disdainfully. "Of course I have!"

His lips quirked and he nodded his head, although he didn't look particularly happy. "Oh."

"Did you want me to keep our friendship a big secret?" she asked a trifle impatiently. "Because I assure you that if Severus had found out about it in some other way, there would have been slightly more to his behavior than favoring you less obviously."

Teddy snorted and shook his head. "No. No, I'm glad you want to tell people about us." He flushed a slightly darker pink. "That didn't come out the way I meant."

She laughed. "I understand what you're saying." She reached out and patted his hand. "I'm glad to have you as a friend, too."

He looked down at their hands and smiled, although he held it in place just a bit too long. She again got the feeling that there was something more to this than what he'd told her, but decided to trust that he'd tell her when he was ready.

She started putting away her notes and books. "Well, I don't know about you, but creating scandals makes me hungry. Want to help stimulate my appetite further by walking me to dinner?"

He chuckled softly, stood up and held out his arm. "Nothing would make me happier than to stimulate your appetite, my lady."

She took his arm, and they made their way to the Great Hall ignoring the furtive stares and whispers of the weak-minded gossips.

Hermione had to admit that she was somewhat uncomfortable flouting their friendship quite so openly, as she wasn't sure what Severus would think of this behavior. He tolerated it with Harry because Harry was safely married, besides knowing that he was more a brother to her than anything. Teddy was neither.

However, her worries were for naught when they came upon Severus as he was entering the Entrance Hall. Teddy changed their course to intersect with his and then gallantly handed her off to her husband. Severus raised an eyebrow, but happily took possession of her arm, even going so far as to bestow a tiny smile on Teddy.

Teddy bowed goodbye to the two of them and then sped off to the Great Hall.

Severus looked down at Hermione questioningly. "What was that all about?" he asked as they slowly followed in Teddy's wake.

"It seems there's a new rumor going around that Teddy and I are having a passionate affair or something."

"And he thought I was going to hex him?" Severus said, amused.

Hermione smiled. "No. I think he's one of the few who isn't worried about that, knowing that you know me better than to mistrust me so."

Severus smiled at her in a pleased sort of way. "It would be foolish indeed."

She wasn't quite sure whether he was commenting on his faith in her, or the thought of her being unfaithful, but she found it didn't matter much.

She sighed. "I hate to ask this, but you know how the gossip mongers are, so perhaps you'd be willing to put on a show of trust?"

He raised his eyebrow again. "In you or Mr. Nott?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Both of us, preferably." She sighed. "Although, thinking about it, that would just encourage rumors of a more lascivious nature, would it?"

Severus hummed in agreement. "It does tend to work that way. I suggest we all just act as we have been. It will blow over eventually."

She gave his arm a bit of a squeeze and decided to change the topic. "You have rounds tonight, don't you?"

He patted her hand. "Not until late, although I'm afraid that if there's a detour tonight, we will need to keep it short. I have marking to catch up on."

"Of course," Hermione replied cheerfully, though she was a bit disappointed. "I should probably catch up on my work as well."

He smiled at her and raised her hand to his lips for a gentle kiss before sweeping off to the head table. She smiled with satisfaction as she sat down to eat, with a brief glance at Teddy, who had been watching the scene with a bemused expression. She smiled at him warmly and was pleased when his face softened a little before he looked down and busied himself with food.