Chapter 11: Scientifically Improbable

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 go out to VIVAvivacious for all of her help with this chapter.

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I was taught that the way of progress was neither swift nor easy.

– Marie Curie.

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Greenwich, Ipswich: 23rd September, 2009

The room was cold from a draught that was entering via a small gap between the window frame and the sill, despite the warm glow of the fireplace. Groaning in frustration, Snape rolled over, grabbed his wand from the nightstand, and aimed it at the window. He cast a temporary sealing charm, which fell into place with a strange squelching sound, before he returned his wand to its home for the night and rolled onto his back.

He had been in bed for no less than two hours, tossing and turning, finding fault with everything in the room, trying to blame it on the cold and the weather, rather than face the fact that his mind was in turmoil.

There had not been a time in his life that Severus Snape had found himself kept awake at night because of a woman. Hermione Granger had managed to worm her way into his subconscious and penetrate every thought he had on a daily basis. It was irritating the hell out of him, and he had no idea what to do in order to fix it. He could talk to someone and ask them what to do, but everyone he used to trust and talk to about serious things had died and left him behind.

The main question lingering at the forefront of Snape's mind was, why the hell had Hermione kissed him?

He realised it had been all but a peck on the cheek, but she had smiled at him and leaned up and kissed him without any provocation. And then she had fled from him with a look of horror on her face that mimicked the confusion and elation that he had immediately felt. He wasn't sure what she had been feeling, and he desperately wanted to. He wanted to know what was going on in that woman's head; she remained a mystery to him in many ways.

He sighed. He felt like he was going insane. He had worked so hard to build up a wall around him, to think logically and use his common sense, and above all to keep other people out. The more he let in, the more likely it was that he would end up hurt by those things, and he hated it. He hated feeling like he was being used and then discarded when he was no longer of worth. He knew Hermione was not the sort of woman who would take advantage of him.

Snape groaned in frustration and pulled his pillow over his head. He was going to have to sleep on it before he did something rash and made a mess of things with Hermione even further.

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St. Mungo's, London: 25th September, 2009

The hallways were alive with people that day. It seemed to Snape as though everyone in the Wizarding world had something ailing them, and it took him almost 10 minutes to get upstairs to the Longbottoms' room. He made his way down the hallway and opened the door, walking in to see Neville sitting in Snape's now-customary seat between his two old friends. He nodded at the younger man, now nervous about why he had come for a visit.

'Hello, Professor,' Neville said, standing and walking over with his hand extended before him.

'Good afternoon, Neville,' he replied, accepting the handshake. 'And if you recall, I asked you to call me Severus. Frank, Alice, how are you today?'

'Even better now that you are here,' Alice replied with a smile. 'You look like you haven't slept in days again. Come and tell us about it.'

Neville shifted out of his way and smiled. 'I have to head off to work now, but it was great to see you again, Severus. Hopefully next time I might be able to stay and chat for longer,' he said, waving to his parents and ducking out the door and out of sight.

Snape walked over and sat between his friends, looking down at his hands in his lap. He had come for a reason, convinced that the only way he could make a decision on what to do was to seek another opinion. He could think of no one, other than Minerva, who he would be willing to talk to. But the Headmistress was too far away, and he doubted she'd be any help where his feelings for Hermione Granger were concerned. Frank and Alice were the only two people who could possibly understand his dilemma.

'I need some advice,' he said finally, breaking the silence in the room.

'About Hermione, am I correct?' Alice said, smiling at him knowingly. 'What would you like us to tell you?'

Snape sighed. How did they know? Was he so predictable?

'I have been unable to get Hermione out of my mind. She... she means a lot to me, but I have been so convinced there was not a hope in hell she would return my feelings,' Snape explained, unable to look at either of them. 'But now I am conflicted. That day last week, when we visited, and I stood to see her out when she had to leave... she kissed me on the cheek. I'm sure you both saw it. I do not know whether to confront her and ask what she meant by it, or to just let it go and assume she just wants to continue as friends... friends do kiss each other, do they not? I'm not certain of anything. I am too socially inept for situations such as these.'

'Severus Snape, you daft fool,' Frank said with a chuckle. 'You may be the most socially awkward man I know, but even you should be able to tell when a woman has feelings for you.'

'She is far too good for me. I will only cause her trouble, and she has more sense than to get involved like that with someone like me,' he argued.

'Hermione is intelligent, mature, and exceedingly competent,' Alice said, her voice soothing. 'She can make up her own mind as to who and what she wants. Don't you go making that decision for her, Severus.'

'I would hate to ruin our friendship and working relationship,' Snape said seriously. 'If I say something to her, and it turns out she does not return my feelings, things would be awkward between us. I would sooner have her around as a friend than lose her completely.'

'Now you listen to me,' Alice said, wagging a finger at him warningly. 'You do not want to be alone forever. We humans are not made for loneliness, and you have had your share of that in this life as it is. Do not waste the opportunity to share your life with someone. If you leave it for too long, you might miss your chance, and you'll regret it forever if you do. Frank and I have so many regrets from decisions we made, and we would hate to see you die alone and regret everything.'

Snape stared at her for a moment, then looked to Frank as well. Hell, if he went and talked to her about it, the worst that could happen was that she rejected his feelings. He would put it out of his mind and move on, and he would hope against hope she would allow them to continue being friends. He had a small circle of friends who would comfort him and support him, and that would just have to be enough.

Snape knew he wasn't much of a risk-taker, but for once he planned to make a gamble. With that thought fresh in his mind, he got up from the chair and went over to shake Frank's hand, then turned around to kiss Alice on the cheek.

'I am going home,' he said, heading to the door. 'I have to sleep.'

Alice smiled. 'Get some rest and clean yourself up,' she said, care etched into the wrinkles around her eyes and mouth.

'I will,' Snape replied before turning and walking out of the room.

He would go home, shower and shave, get a good night's rest, and when he was presentable, he would go and speak to Hermione.

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Wythenshawe, Manchester: 26th September, 2009

Hermione sighed and gave her potion three clockwise stirs, one stir counter-clockwise, and lowered the heat down to the very lowest temperature she could. Withdrawing the stirring rod from the brew, she went over to the sink and gave it a thorough cleaning. Her potion would need several hours simmering before it was complete. Her period was only three days away, and she had decided to brew her monthly contraception potion a little early so that she could take it once her monthly visitor had departed.

She wiped away a bead of sweat that was travelling down her forehead and began to make her way upstairs so that she could shower before she made her dinner. Once in her bathroom, she stripped out of her soiled clothing. She was rather filthy, as she had spent all day cleaning the house, so she had sweat and dust all through her thick, curly hair. She turned on the shower so it was nice and hot and stepped in, letting the heat and water wash over her, soothing her sore muscles and washing away the evidence of her hard day at work.

Once she was thoroughly cleaned, she dried herself off and pulled on an oversized navy sweater and a pair of black tights. She left the room after slipping her feet into her warm slippers and headed back downstairs to the kitchen to prepare her dinner. She pulled two chicken breasts out of the refrigerator and wrapped them in cling-wrap before beating them with a meat mallet.

Before she could do much more, she heard her doorbell. She sighed and went to the sink, washing her hands quickly and picking up a tea towel to dry her hands. She opened the door unthinkingly and was once again faced with the sight of Severus Snape with a nervous look in his dark eyes, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his long, black winter coat.

'Come in, you must be freezing,' she said, slinging the tea towel over her shoulder and pulling him inside. 'Have you eaten?'

'Dinner?' he asked, confused.

'Yes, dinner,' she answered with a small, nervous smile. She had not seen Snape since the day she had kissed him on the cheek, and she had been worried that she had crossed the line and he would not want to speak to her again.

'I have not,' he replied, taking off his cloak and hanging it up in the cupboard beside him. 'You look tired.'

'I've been cleaning the house all day,' she said, leading the way into the kitchen. 'I'm making chicken picatta. You might like it, if you want to stay for dinner.'

'I would like to stay for dinner,' he said, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows and joining her at the kitchen bench. 'Can I help you with anything?'

She felt her cheeks heat up when his arm brushed against hers. She pushed a plate towards him and instructed him on how to coat the chicken with the flour, spice, and Parmesan mixture. After they had finished with that, Hermione heated a skillet with oil, and as Snape took care of the chicken breasts, she made the butter sauce with capers, white wine, lemon juice, and butter.

'When the chicken is ready, put it in the sauce for a couple of minutes on both sides,' she said, walking over to the bench and pulling apart a head of lettuce to make a salad.

'It is ready,' Snape said a few minutes later.

He levitated two plates over to him and plated up the chicken, drizzling the remaining sauce over each breast. Hermione finished the plates off with the salad, and they each carried their plates and cutlery over to the table. They ate mostly in silence, but every now and then, Hermione paused for a moment to glace over at him from beneath her lashes. He was clean-shaven, and his hair was falling in silky black strands around his face, rather than being lanky and oily as it was wont to be when he was making potions.

'This is good,' he said, taking another bite of his chicken. 'What was your inspiration for it?'

'I felt like having something sharp tasting. The capers are nice when they've been slightly crushed into the sauce,' she said with a small, shy smile. 'I'm glad you like it.'

Snape nodded, and the two of them finished their dinner and together made easy work of cleaning up the kitchen and washing all the dishes. Hermione led the way to her study, and with a wave of her wand, she lit the fire and walked over to stoke it with the poker. She sat down in one of the armchairs and curled up, tucking her legs beneath her and staring at the flames as they grew. Snape took the other chair and leaned back in it, closing his eyes. Hermione wondered why he had come over to her house the entire time, but just now, she thought it might be the right time to ask.

'Why did you come here tonight, Severus?' she asked quietly. 'I haven't seen or heard from you in almost a week, and you chose to show up now for a reason. Why?'

His lips thinned, and he averted his gaze, staring instead into the fire. 'I wanted to talk to you about what happened at St. Mungo's the last time we saw one another,' he said softly.

'About that, Severus... I want to apologise for kissing you. I never should have done that – invaded your personal space that way,' she stammered. She didn't want him to tell her he was unhappy with her. She didn't want him to say they couldn't be friends anymore.

He held up a hand to silence her, and she exhaled shakily.

'Hermione, please... let me speak before I lose my nerve,' he said firmly. 'I have spent many days trying to get to this point, and it took me all that time to figure out what I want to say to you.'

'Okay,' she whispered, her stomach sneaking up her throat. She felt sick.

'I don't want you to apologise for kissing me on the cheek last week,' he said seriously. 'In fact, I was thrilled. I didn't say anything when you kissed me because I was shocked that you would even bring yourself so close to me. You are an intelligent, beautiful, interesting, and inspiring woman, Hermione. How could I not be elated to have you willingly touch me in that way?'

Hermione was stunned. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? 'Are you saying that you... like me?' she asked, her heart pounding away in her chest rapidly.

Snape nodded. 'Of course I like you,' he said, leaning forward in his chair and looking at her with his intense black eyes. 'I haven't been able to think of anything but you for... well, I don't even know how long now. I am attracted to you in more ways than I can even name. I... I was worried that everything that was written in the Daily Prophet would cause problems between us.'

Her heart fluttered, and she moved forward in her own chair, her knees meeting his in the centre. 'I don't know what to say...' she said softly.

'Please,' Snape said quickly, cutting her off. 'Do me one dignity and tell me the truth, Hermione. One word from you, and I will disappear and never bother you again.'

'Don't disappear,' she said, her eyes wide. 'I... I haven't been able to stop thinking about you for quite some time myself. Severus Snape, you are a hard man to understand sometimes.'

Hesitantly, she reached out and placed her hand on his knee, and he looked up at her face. To her surprise, Snape slid his hand over hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. She smiled, a blush settling over her cheeks and creeping down her neck. She watched his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed. He was obviously as nervous as she was about this whole relationship and the change in their dynamics. Her eyes followed his tongue as it darted out to lick his lips, and she wondered if his lips were soft, even though they were thin.

She saw his eyes do the same when she licked her lips nervously. Emboldened by this, she moved forward even further, sliding herself out of her armchair and easily wedging herself between Snape's legs. His eyes widened in surprise, but she pressed on, running her hands up his arms and letting them rest on his broad shoulders. Sucking in a shaky breath, she leaned up, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck and gently pulling him towards her. When their lips were only an inch apart, she stopped and gave him a chance to pull away.

'Do you want me to stop?' she whispered, her warm breath washing over his lips.

He closed his eyes and sucked in a sharp breath himself. 'Don't stop,' he answered, leaning in that little bit further and meeting her lips in a kiss.

His arms came around her, and Hermione found herself being pulled up onto his lap, her legs straddling him and his arms tight around her waist as he kissed her fiercely. She couldn't contain the small mew of pleasure when his tongue snaked teasingly into her mouth and one of his hands found its way into her hair. After a few minutes, they parted, both breathing heavily from their exertion.

Hermione looked into his eyes and saw that they were crinkled around the edges as a smile travelled down his face and ended with the corners of his mouth lifting. She smiled back, gently stroking his cheek.

As she leaned her forehead against his, she closed her eyes and thought things just might be looking up.

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To be continued.