Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Severus frowned at his door. Someone was outside knocking. He was in no mood for company. The only thing he was in the mood for was utter darkness. He'd risen early, unable to sleep. He worried that Hermione would think he'd gone over the edge forever. In his heart, he knew she would never come to the conclusion that fairies might exist. She would think him a desperate fool.

He hadn't bothered to open his curtains, nor had he bothered to light any candles. His enchanted windows stayed covered, and he sat silently in the darkness. This was where he belonged, after all. There would be no happy ending for him.

The knock at the door came a little stronger now. He glared at it. Grunting, he rose finally, knowing he needed to answer it. For all he knew, some dunderheaded student had hexed his fingers off and was in dire need of medical attention.

"What is it?" he growled as he threw open the door.

He saw Hermione standing there, looking him up and down with a surprised look on her face. He glanced down at his attire. He wore a black T-shirt and black boxers. His face reddened as he realized he hadn't bothered to get dressed yet. He looked to Hermione sheepishly.

"May I come in?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"Please do," he said as he stepped aside to let her pass. "Let me just put on something more appropriate."

Severus disappeared into his bedroom, leaving Hermione to herself. When he came back a few minutes later, dressed in a dark-green shirt and black trousers, he found Hermione examining his bookcase. She turned when she saw him enter.

"I didn't think you owned anything but black and white, Severus!" she teased.

Severus smirked. "I prefer to be a bit less austere in the privacy of my own home," he explained.

Hermione nodded. She eyed him again. "Well, that color suits you," she mused. "I had an interesting encounter early this morning."

Severus arched an eyebrow at her. "Indeed?"

Hermione chuckled. "It seems that your fairy godmother was eager to pay me a visit."

Severus' eyes grew wide. "You saw her?"

Hermione nodded.

"Then you don't think I've lost it?"

Hermione laughed and looked to the floor, shaking her head. "No, Severus. I don't think I ever really thought you'd truly lost it. I just assumed you'd been staying up too late or something." She looked back up at him shyly. "Do you think this can work?"

"Arista seemed to think that it will."

"Now that they're gone, I wonder if it was all a dream."

"They?" Severus asked.

Hermione smiled. "My fairy godmother appeared too. She seemed quite excited about the prospect of us being together."

"What did she say?"

"They both said basically the same thing. We're evidently meant for each other. Your wish just brought that to the forefront of our minds and will make it more obvious."

Severus frowned. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Hermione asked with concern.

"You should not be saddled with the likes of me for a companion."

"I could think of worse fates, Severus."

"Name one."

Hermione laughed. "Being saddled with Ron Weasley for the rest of my life."

"At least he's your age."

"Yes, but he acts like he's twelve."

Severus smirked. "Thank you for considering this, Hermione. What do we do now?"

"I suspect we should get to know one another better, Severus. How can we fall in love when we know so little of each other?"

"Would you like to stay for breakfast?" Severus asked tentatively.

Hermione smiled at him. "That would be nice."

Severus had summoned a house-elf, and now the couple was seated across from each other at his table, sharing breakfast. Severus marveled at the strange turn of events. Here he was with a lovely woman who wanted to get to know him better. Even this simple scenario had not been something he would have ever thought possible.

"Severus, why did you decide to return to teaching?" Hermione asked before she bit into her toast with jam.

Severus leaned back in his chair and thought about it. "I debated disappearing off the face of the earth for a while, but I've spent most of my life hiding in one way or another. I was tired of constantly being secretive, so that wasn't an option for me.

"If I were to be totally honest, I would prefer simply freelancing potions. I mulled over doing that, but realistically, it is a hard field to become established in. My past would make my name difficult to sell. The reality was that it would take a long time for me to be able to make a living by simply freelancing. I spoke with Albus, and he agreed to give me the time I'd need to brew what I wanted. Although teaching is not my favorite thing to do, it pays the bills."

"Are you happy?"

"For the most part, yes. The dunderheads we teach annoy me to no end, but I do enjoy sharing my knowledge of potions. Occasionally a student comes along who grasps the finer points of the subject." Severus nodded to Hermione in acknowledgement.

"I thought you hated me as a student," Hermione mused.

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Do you know why I disliked you? You were just like me, but you had acceptance. I too was a know-it-all, but where did it get me? I was ostracized for my knowledge. I learned to keep my mouth shut and do my work silently. You, on the other hand, had friends and respect."

Hermione giggled. "You really think I had respect, Severus?" She then grimaced. "In my first year, I truly struggled until Ron and Harry became my friends. No one wanted to talk to the girl who knew everything. Later on, those in my house were friendly toward me, and I got a couple more close friends like Ginny, Luna, and Neville, but for the most part, I was too smart to be a friend to many. People somehow find intelligence a barrier they don't want to cross when acquiring friends."

Hermione gazed thoughtfully at Severus. "No, Severus, I don't even think I had much respect except from my friends. Even if I did, I was probably a bit too insecure to recognize it."

Severus huffed. "Insecurity was never something you needed to worry about, Granger."

Hermione laughed wryly. "On the contrary, for the first five years at Hogwarts, I was paranoid of failure. I felt I needed to prove myself worthy at every turn, or I would never be accepted in the Wizarding world. As I gained more confidence in my abilities, that slowly went away. Still, I sometimes feel inadequate, but I try to remember my accomplishments when that feeling overcomes me."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "You sometimes feel inadequate?"

Hermione nodded.

"I assure you, Hermione," Severus said in a softer tone. "There is never a need for you to feel inadequate at anything. You excel at everything you set your mind to."

Hermione regarded Severus thoughtfully. "Thank you," she responded. "You don't know what it means to hear someone like you say that to me."

"Someone like me?" he queried.

Hermione nodded. "Severus, I've always had the highest respect for you. You're brilliant, and you have exacting standards. For the longest time I felt it was impossible to please you in anything."

"I find that people in general are too easily pleased by mediocrity. They gush over the most mundane of achievements. To me, one must truly strive for greatness in their field. There are too few people who want to put that much effort into anything, even when they enjoy a subject."

Hermione nodded and moved her eggs around on her plate. "You're right, Severus. I've encountered that while teaching here. Students are only willing to give the bare minimum to get by. There are exceptions, of course, but I think that in general, they just want to get through their assignments. Learning everything they can about the subject is not on their agenda."

Severus nodded, and they were silent for a while. He eyed the woman before him. She certainly could hold her own in a conversation. That was a plus. She was also quite pretty. Her hair had calmed down considerably since her childhood. This, of course, was something he'd noticed right away when she'd returned to Hogwarts, but he hadn't thought much about it. Now, he gazed at her. She really was lovely. Could she ever come to the conclusion that he was worthy of her time? She was trying now, but how long would that last? Even if she did, would it be enough? Could they find happiness and love with one another? He was surprised to feel a deep desire for that to happen between them.

The meal continued on and the two professors found quite a bit to say to one another. At long last, Hermione pushed back from the table and stood.

"I must be going, Severus. I need to get to the Weasleys' and help Ginny prepare for her wedding."

"Ah, yes, the nuptials of Harry Potter," Severus said tartly. "Do have a good time."

Hermione smiled, ignoring Severus' sarcasm. "I'm sure I will. Would you like me to send my... condolences... to the bride?"

Severus smirked. "I believe that would be appropriate."

Hermione grinned at him. After a minute, she began to make her way around the table.

Now what? Severus thought in a panic. What do I do? We had a nice morning, but how do we progress? Severus stared at Hermione with a look of fear in his eyes. Hermione looked at him curiously. He cleared his throat.

"Maybe... maybe we should... I don't know..." He gazed down into his lap. "Maybe we should go on an official date... soon."

He peeked up through his hair, which had conveniently fallen into his face, shielding it from any reproving glare Hermione might choose to throw at him. Instead of a glare, he saw her smile broadly.

"That would be wonderful, Severus. Let me know where and when."

With that, she moved away from the table and out the door. He stared after her for a few minutes, amazed at how well things had gone. She had agreed to go on a date with him.

Oh, Merlin... a date? How do I go about having a date with her?

Fear filled him again.

"Arista! I need you!"

He was relieved to see the ball of light forming within a few seconds of his terse request. He was even more relieved when he heard her laughing voice.

"What is it you need?" Arista asked with a grin.

"I am at a loss as to what to do now," Severus admitted.

"Silly, just be yourself!"

"I am not silly!"

"Oh, yes you are. Can't you see she wants this as much as you do?"

Severus' eyebrows knit together. "How can you tell?"

"Didn't you see the smile she gave you when you asked her about a date?"

Severus nodded.

"That... silly... is how I could tell."

"Arista, I have no idea how to proceed in this."

Arista's wand came up to her chin and she tapped it while thinking.

"Well, what does Hermione like?"

It was Severus' turn to tap his chin. "I heard her talking to Potter about catching up on the opera now that her schedule has calmed down a bit."

"There you go, Severus."

"Hmm, I was talking to Lucius last week and he said that the Vienna Staatsoper was performing..." His eyes grew wide as he looked up to Arista. "Tomorrow night!"

Arista clapped happily and laughed. "Oh! That would be a wonderful first date, Severus!"

He looked at her hopefully. "Do you really think so?"

She nodded her head. "Oh, yes! What are they playing?"

"La Boheme."

Arista sighed. "Perfect!"

"What do I do with her there?"

Laughing, Arista shook her head at him. "Go watch the opera, silly. Talk about it during the intermission and afterward. You've got immediate conversation built right into the date!"

Severus regarded her skeptically. "You're sure a night at the opera would be a good date?"

Arista nodded her head. "It's simply perfect."

"Good. And don't call me silly."

Arista began to disappear. She smiled broadly at him. "I'll stop calling you silly when you stop acting that way," she said in a giggle as she disappeared.

Severus scowled. The fairy had better be right about this date or he'd show her just how "silly" he could be.