We Plumb the Depths

The next day, at nine o'clock sharp, Hermione was waiting for him with a mug of coffee.

Snape smiled broadly at her. Being Escott for a week was turning out to be much more enjoyable than being Severus Snape. 'I thought we workmen were supposed to drink builders' tea. "Four sugars, love, an' don't stir it!"'

Hermione laughed again, and Severus thought how her smile lit up even this gloomy, rainy office. Then her expression turned serious again. 'How did you get on at the Department of Mysteries? Did you meet that new one, the one I warned you about?'

Snape grimaced. 'Yeah, creepy, isn't 'e?'

'I don't like him, Brett; he freaks me out. I know he hates Muggle-borns, but he looks at me like he...' She broke off, clearly unsure whether to take him into her confidence.

'What? Like 'e wants to... you know?' Even though he knew it wasn't the case, and he was only acting a part, Snape felt his blood boil at the thought.

Hermione looked even more horrified. 'No! Just like he... knows something about me.' She swallowed and took a great gulp of air. 'I'm scared of him, Brett!' When she looked up at him, there were tears in her eyes. 'Can you keep a secret?'

''Course I can, lass.' He led her to the desk and sat her down on it. 'Come an' tell me what's bothering you. I could see something weren't right t'first time I came in 'ere.'

And she repeated – unwittingly – the story she had told him in his study two days ago.

'I can't pay him,' Hermione finished desperately. 'He wants half a million! I suppose he thinks I'll go to Viktor, but I can't! How can I ask for that much? His wife would find out and it would ruin his marriage!' The tears spilled from her eyes down her cheeks.

Snape felt sick and livid at the same time. He had had no idea of the scale of Malvetis's operation. No wonder Parvatil Patil hadn't been able to pay. And no wonder Hermione was near-hysterical with worry.

He moved up the desk, close enough to put an arm round her. He longed to reassure her, to tell her he would make it all right, but didn't want to put her in the awkward position of having to explain that she'd already asked someone for help – even though that person was himself. Merlin, he thought he'd given up these mental gymnastics when Voldemort died!

At a total loss for what to do, he took out his handkerchief and gently wiped her eyes. As Severus Snape he would never have the courage, but as Brett Escott he did. He leaned closer to blot the tears from her cheeks.

Hermione took the cloth out of his hand and leaned in too. 'Give me a kiss,' she whispered.

Snape's brain froze. 'I... I don't know 'ow,' he stammered. That fitted with gawky young Escott's character, but it was also the truth: Severus had never got anywhere near kissing Lily, and he'd never wanted to try it with anyone else. Until now.

Hermione gently touched his lip. 'Poor boy,' she whispered, leaning closer.

Severus jerked upright and forced a laugh. 'Steady, lass; your 'usband'll 'ave my guts for garters!'

'I don't care if I do make him jealous,' Hermione said defiantly, 'it might buck his ideas up.' And she burst into tears again.

'There now, don't go upsetting yourself. Do you want to talk about it?'

Hermione sniffed and blew her nose. 'It was Australia that did it. We were fine before then. Well not quite fine; I had problem, a secret I had to take care of.'

Snape's gaze drifted down to her belly. He knew what the "problem" had been, of course, but Escott didn't, and this was the most obvious thing for him to think.

Hermione gave a wry chuckle. 'No, not that. Anyway it necessitated going to Australia for a while – my parents live there – but Ron kept saying we couldn't afford it, couldn't afford to be away from work all that time. And now, whenever a bill comes in and we can't pay it, he makes it quite clear it's my fault. I'm sick of it all, but I don't know what to do!'

Severus pulled her down so her head was nestled on his shoulder, and slipped an arm about her.

And that was when all the protective spells on the ceiling gave way at once.

*

Thawing out in a hot bath half an hour later, Severus reviewed the information he had acquired over the past few days. Malvetis couldn't be a surviving Death Eater – Severus had been one of the "privileged" few who had known the names of all his fellows – but he clearly had the same unpleasant ideology. Severus groaned aloud. Would he never be free of You Know Who?

And Hermione. He felt light-headed when he thought of the little scene in her office today. She had asked him to kiss her, and he had wanted to – God knew he wanted to, but she was married. The marriage was obviously on the rocks, but still, she was married and therefore just as unattainable as Lily had been. Why did he always have to fall for other men's wives?

He was also uncomfortably aware that he was practising on her ignorance. She supposed him to be Escott, thought she was confiding in a young, good-looking colleague, not her irascible former teacher who was no oil painting and had nothing to offer her. And there was no denying he had placed Escott in a most difficult position when the boy returned next week.

'It was a most necessary step,' said a small, treacherous voice in Severus's brain. 'I wanted information.' Hermione had not even offered him Malvetis's name when she had come to beg his help, let alone told him told him how much money was involved. Nor about Malvetis's Death Eater propensities, although she had probably been insulted by him herself. And he needed to discover the passwords and counter-spells Malvetis had alluded to.

Still, he had the nagging feeling he had gone too far. He was living up to his motto, plumbing the depths indeed. Severus splashed his overheated face in frustration.

'Merlin's balls!' he roared.

*

The next day, Hermione made her way reluctantly back to her flooded office. They had put back the Room Sealing Spell yesterday, but both being soaked and freezing had left everything else as it was, and Hermione didn't relish the idea of going back this morning to a floor like a paddling pool and ruined paperwork.

She perked up on finding Escott waiting for her, though.

He was attempting to siphon the water from the floor, but it was slow going. Much as she knew she ought to help him, Hermione felt her priority was her waterlogged paperwork, and set about drying it all off and attempting to restore the smudged writing to legibility. After twenty minutes, feeling cold and distinctly damp around the edges, she decided they needed coffee.

Why she hadn't just levitated the cup over to Escott, Hermione would never know. Perhaps she just wanted an excuse to be near him again. She got her wish. Just as she was about to hand him the drink, she slipped on the wet floor. The mug shot out of her hand (fortunately flinging the hot liquid away from them both), she grabbed Escott around the waist to save herself, and they ended up on the floor, him on his back, her on top of him with his arms still protectively around her.

Once he had got over the shock, Severus began to laugh. He had fantasised about having Hermione in his arms many times over the last six months, but this was not exactly what he'd had in mind.

'I'm so sorry!' Hermione gasped, mortified. 'I'm so clumsy! Hang on; I'll get up.'

Severus tightened his grip. He wasn't letting her go that easily. Now that he had her here and vulnerable, he was going to take advantage. If he didn't have the courage to kiss her, he could still wheedle information out of her.

'What's the password to the Department of Mysteries?' he asked, so intent on getting an answer that he was unaware he had dropped his accent.

Hermione was smiling. 'Why? Have they got trouble with their windows again? Or is it raining in You Know Who's office too?'

'You Know Who?'

She lowered her voice to a whisper. 'Malvetis.'

Snape looked grim. 'Not yet. I could always arrange it for you.'

She giggled. Her face was very close to his. He damped down his feelings and concentrated on questioning her. 'What about the counter-charms, then?'

'I don't know,' she insisted. 'No-one outside the Department is allowed them.'

'Oh, come on, Hermione; you Magical Law Enforcers know everything about everyone!'

She raised herself up on her elbows, looking down at him suspiciously. 'What do you want to know for?' she demanded.

'I want to get into Malvetis's office and put a permanent thunderstorm outside his window!'

She was instantly mollified. 'My knight in dusty overalls,' she whispered, leaning close again.

And she kissed him. No, not him. Escott. Severus felt a crushing pain, deep in his chest, as he remembered his deception. It was Escott she had fallen for, Escott whom she believed she was kissing.

And yet, that very fact made this moment all the more precious. He knew he would never kiss her again, and so he seized the opportunity, even though it broke his heart to do it.

'Oh, Hermione,' he whispered, and there were tears in his eyes and in his voice. 'You've touched my heart.'

As she looked down at him, there were tears in her eyes too.

*