Chapter 14: Learning Curve

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

Thanks to VIVAvivacious for the beta of this chapter.

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Grenoble, France

The snow lay thick, blanketing the ground around the cottage-style house. In the spring, it would have been even lovelier, with the gardens and vines that would creep up the outer walls, while the roses were in bloom. The spring was still around two months away. The cobbled stone path that led to the front door through the wrought-iron fence and gate was invisible beneath all the frosty white. Snape stalked through the vicious winter chill, heading just up the road from the small Wizarding village nearby. He could see the house and a plume of light grey smoke spiralling up from the chimney, indicating the occupant was clearly home.

Severus couldn't help but feel anticipation, guilt, and curiosity knotting his stomach as he approached the house. Just inside was the woman he had come to care for a great deal, and he was almost certain he might even be falling in love with her. Granted, it was still a little too soon to know for sure, but he had never experienced such intense, positive emotion before. The little bit of care and friendship she had shown him was slowly guiding him along the way.

He reached the gate and opened it. There were no footprints in the snow, so he assumed she hadn't left the house since her return. When he reached the front door, he was about to knock when he saw her silhouette through the gauzy part of the curtain in her living room windows. From what he could tell, she appeared to be curled up snugly in an armchair before the fireplace. Silently pleased, he allowed himself to knock.

He heard shuffling and footsteps from within. Mere seconds later, Hermione opened the door, revealing herself to him wearing a ruby sweater and a pair of long, comfy jeans. Her sunken eyes exaggerated the shock on her face. He paused for a moment, allowing himself to take in her scant appearance. Her skin was stretched quite painfully taut over her bones, and the dark circles under her eyes had not been an illusion. She had been using a very good, very intricate glamour charm during her visit at the Burrow.

'Miss... Hermione,' he began, stepping up to her. 'What happened to you? You're all skin and bones.'

She opened the door a little wider to allow him entry and closed it wordlessly behind him when he accepted her invitation to go inside. He took off his long winter coat and draped it over one of the couches in her immaculate sitting room before following her deeper into the large house to her kitchen.

'Tea, Severus?' she asked softly.

He walked up to her and wrapped his hand over hers, causing her to pause in her actions and look down at the bench. He drew her hand away from the kettle she had pulled out and gently tugged her towards the table only a few feet away.

'You sit, I'll make the tea,' he said in a firm tone.

Snape wanted to kiss her eyes to heal the tiredness they bore, but he feared they would need to talk beforehand.

'I have two sugars and milk,' she reminded him.

His melodious chuckle sounded briefly with her quiet one, and they settled into a comfortable silence as he joined her at the table and they each took a sip of their tea. He looked across to her small, frail hands gripping the china teacup, her knuckles a little white from how hard she held it. He allowed his eyes to continue their journey up her thin arms, bony wrists and elbows, all the way to her frail shoulders. He could see her collarbones sticking out more than they should have. She had lost a lot of weight.

'How did you manage to find me?' she asked quietly.

Snape held out a hand in the direction of the sitting room, summoning something to him. He enlarged her copy of Pride and Prejudice and pushed it across the table towards her. 'I tracked you using this. Apparently you had forgotten to include this novel in your wards.'

Her eyes widened in realisation before she frowned. It appeared as though she was berating herself internally for her oversight. 'I hadn't thought of that.'

Snape shook his head and took another sip of his tea before he looked at her again, barely containing his cringe at her physical state. It was clear to him she was severely ill, and he longed to be able to ease her pain.

'This isn't just a recent thing, you know,' she said out of nowhere, causing him jump slightly and look up at her gaunt, little face. 'It has been seven years in the making, but entirely my fault. I just started neglecting myself. What you see here today is an improvement from two weeks ago.'

His lips parted slightly in shock, and he took a slow, shallow breath. 'I had no idea,' he said softly. 'I should have known.'

She shook her head and reached across to grasp one of his large hands with hers. 'I hid it very well. I couldn't let them see this – or rather, myself like this,' she said faintly, her expression pained as she spoke of her friends.

'Why?' he began, choking on his words. 'Why did you choose me? Not even your closest friends have been entrusted with this.'

'I love my friends, but I know they wouldn't understand me. Not like you do, at any rate,' she answered quietly. 'I knew you would always be able to understand everything – and even when you said those things, I knew it was only out of old habit. You didn't really mean any of it, did you?'

He turned his hand so his palm was up and took hold of her hand carefully, rubbing circles over the back of it with his thumb. 'No, I did not mean any of those terrible things. How could I?' he asked ruefully, feeling a wave of guilt wash over him. He would never understand how she could still talk to him after his nastiness.

They sat together in blissful silence as they sipped their tea. As soon as Hermione had finished her cup, she stood and eased her hand out of his loose hold, wondering what she should say or do. He had come for her. That had to mean something, didn't it? She gave herself a mental shake and sighed as she deposited her cup and saucer in the sink. He didn't have romantic feelings for her. He was only there as a concerned friend.

She turned on the tap and watched as the warm water flowed into the sink, making bubbles as the detergent swirled around. Placing the dishes from her lunch and the teapot and cup she had used then into the water, she turned off the faucet and looked back to see if Snape had finished, only to find that he was no longer at the table. Perhaps she had been imagining this whole thing? Her heart pounded hard in her chest, hurting her in a way that made her vision foggy, until she managed to calm herself and think coherently enough to call his name out.

'Severus?' she asked hesitantly, moving across the kitchen to the doorway to search in her sitting room next door.

She didn't even make it past the doorframe before colliding into his firm chest, almost toppling backwards. She would have if he had not been there to catch her. His arms slid around her scrawny waist, and he held her suspended above the ground, practically bent over his arm. He righted them both quickly and brushed a lock of hair that had fallen loose from her messy braid out of her tired, cinnamon eyes.

'You called, my lady?' he asked chivalrously.

Not being able to concentrate on anything other than the feeling of his hands on her, she nodded numbly. 'I did,' she answered softly. 'Actually, I was wondering if you were finished with your tea?'

He nodded. 'The cup was empty, Hermione. Would you like some help with the dishes? I could dry up?' he offered.

As much as she dearly wanted to spend time with Snape, she knew that if he were there, she would be distracted beyond reason and would end up washing something stupid to embarrass herself. So to spare them both the mental picture of her ungainliness, she shook her head to decline.

'No, I will manage just fine. Besides, you are the guest here,' she answered politely. 'Go back to the sitting room if you like and make yourself at home.'

As soon as those words left her mouth, images flooded his mind at the mere thought of making himself at home with Hermione. He could see them making a home together in his Manor back in England, where she would no longer seclude herself from everyone she knew and loved, and he would be able to cater to her every whim. He knew it was fanciful thinking and that it was too early to even consider living together – especially as there had been no mention of relationships or agreements.

Just as he had managed to put a lid on those thoughts, he looked up to see Hermione in the doorway, leaning against the frame lazily with her head cocked to one side, simply staring at him with something unfamiliar in her eyes.

'You look like you're contemplating or plotting something,' she said with a wry smile.

'What if I am?' he asked back devilishly.

'Then I hope it doesn't involve me, unless it is something nice,' she teased, walking over to him to perch herself on the arm of the chair he was seated in.

He wisely chose not to comment, as he had no idea what her regard for him was or if her feelings could become more. All he knew was he was nervous as all hell with this brilliant, beautiful, and mysterious little witch sitting beside him in her house. He cared for her more than he had loved his own parents when they had still been alive – and although that could be counted as something totally different, his feelings for her were more intense than anything they had ever taught or showered him with.

He took her hand gently in his, and they entwined fingers, resting their hands on her lap. He waited with her like this in silence for a while, until the awkwardness in the air became stifling. Snape knew he would have to put an end to it while he still had some nerve and have that talk with her. Sighing, he turned and looked up at her, regarding her silently before he couldn't take it any longer.

Using her hand, he tugged her sideways onto his lap and gazed into her eyes to gauge her reaction to this move. She was rigid with surprise at first before relaxing into him, her head resting against the back of the chair beside his. He opened the book he had been perusing earlier to read it.

'Are you comfortable?' he asked.

'Never more,' she replied with a smile before leaning in and kissing his cheek chastely, settling against his chest and into the circle of his arms.

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A/N – Well, we are getting towards the end now. Bet that must be a relief.