To Tell the Truth

Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. JK Rowling owns it all, but I promise to return her characters in 'like-new' condition when I am done with them.

As soon as she and Snape appeared in front of the gates of Hogwarts, he immediately let go of her.

Hermione, in turn, promptly dropped to the ground, her legs feeling exactly like two globs of jelly. She decided that Apparating while intoxicated was similar to being squeezed really quickly through a tube of toothpaste ... Hermione only hoped that her body had a bit more substance to it than the pile of goop she presently felt like.

Reaching down to grab her arm, Professor Snape sneered, "Playing the hurt damsel in distress doesn't suit you, Miss Granger."

Hermione immediately jerked free from his grasp. "I am not some flighty little maiden who requires a dark knight to come in and rescue me. I can stand up on my own," she snarled back at him.

Snape looked down his long nose at her and cocked an eyebrow before turning and lowering the wards to open the gate.

Hermione took a deep breath and heaved herself off of the ground, grateful that she now had feeling back in her legs, but aware she was still drunk on house-elf wine. Brushing the dirt and grass from her robes, she staggered the first few steps through the gate and up the path to the school.

"You still appear to be having some difficulty walking," the professor observed dryly, less than a step behind her.

"Thank you for the update," Hermione retorted, obviously trying to straighten out her stride. "Remind me to watch you try to walk the next time someone drugs you."

"That is the difference between you and me, Miss Granger. No one would be able to poison me unsuspectingly."

"What am I supposed to do? Become suspicious and cantankerous in my old age?" she shot back. The moment the words left her mouth, she lost her footing, and yet again, her legs buckled out from under her.

"Ah, so clearly you are not as enamored of me as you previously stated," he said, catching her around the waist just before she hit the ground. Once she was again standing on her own two feet, he moved his hands from her waist, brushing one hand along the small of her back before stepping away from her and starting up the steps. "Pity."

Hermione stood there, momentarily stunned by what seemed like his second sexual innuendo in the span of ten minutes. She refused to give him the pleasure of knowing that he was affecting her, however. Catching up to him in the entryway of the school, she carefully formed the words in her head before she spoke.

"Fancying you does not leave me unaware of your many faults, Professor. I am just as aware of your good qualities and they just happen to outweigh the bad ... in my eyes at least. Damn!" she cursed. Hermione had not intended to tell him that last bit; the Veritaserum was still working.

"Tsk, tsk, Miss Granger. Please remember that you are in a school," Snape reprimanded, leading her down into the dungeons.

"A school that is currently not in session, sir."

"True. However, that should not change either your manners or your respect for authority."

"Bloody hell! You talk like I am some errant first year!" Hermione fumed.

Snape looked at her, with what she could only describe as an evil smirk, and opened a door, ushering her inside.

Walking into the room, Hermione found herself not in the Potions classroom where she thought they were going, but in a sitting room. The room was rather small, with a sparse amount of furniture. Only a worn settee sat facing the fireplace with a small end table next to it. The walls, however, were lined with bookshelves and enough tomes to keep Hermione occupied contently for quite some time.

"Where are we, Severus?" she asked stressing his given name.

"My quarters, obviously. Do try to use that brain of yours, Hermione. Playing the dimwitted dunderhead doesn't suit you." Moving past her, Severus went towards one of two doors off to the left. "Come."

Suddenly panic-stricken in regards to what she'd gotten herself into ... and with whom ... Hermione stood her ground. "If you think for a moment that I'm going to go to bed with you, Severus Snape, then you have another thing coming!" she asserted. "I may be pissed, but I am not that far gone to not be able to make a rational decision."

Severus crossed the room in three long strides to where she was standing and stopped only inches in front of her.

Knowing that he expected her to cower from him, Hermione remained still. Despite her courageous stand, though, Hermione's heart was beating wildly in her chest. She could feel her hands beginning to sweat; and her stomach, which had previously felt like it was full of tap-dancing butterflies, was now a giant knot.

Severus placed the fingers of one hand under her chin and forced her to look into his eyes.

Hermione had to make a conscious effort to contain an excited shudder at his touch.

"Don't flatter yourself, my dear," he sneered. "I have no desire to sully myself with a simple child only to become the brunt of your jokes the moment you change that flighty little mind of yours."

"I am not a child," she hissed. "You have no idea exactly how I feel. I never said that I thought I was in love with you, and obviously you shouldn't have any reason to doubt my words. If you must know, I haven't acknowledged to myself that I harbor anything for you aside from respect and admiration."

Severus held her gaze a moment longer; Hermione could tell that he was searching her for the validity of her words. She wondered how he could doubt her with the Veritaserum and elf-made wine still coursing through her veins. Hermione supposed that he suspected that the potion was wearing off, and it left her curious how lonely it would be to always doubt the words of others.

Dropping his fingers from her chin, Severus stepped back and whipped around towards the door he'd motioned to before. When he spoke, Hermione could only describe his voice as holding less venom than it did before. "Now, come, Hermione. This is the way to my private lab."

God, help me to survive the rest of this night, she silently prayed, following him through the door.

Severus Snape's private Potions lab was unsurprisingly much smaller than the classroom. There was one worktable and three stools in the center of the room, and a counter along one side that housed several cauldrons, vials of potions, and numerous jars of ingredients. On the other side of the room was a large cabinet where Hermione assumed the remaining ingredients were housed. The aisles down either side of the table were hardly wide enough for one person to walk, let alone two.

Severus pointed to a stool at the far end of the table and indicated that Hermione should sit there.

Walking past him and around to the other side of the table, she perched herself on the stool. Hermione rested her elbows on the table and her head in her hands as she took a deep breath, exhaling slowly in an attempt to relax. She hated feeling this way. The tension had been building up all evening – even before she'd been slipped the potion. It hadn't helped to have the added stress of having to keep her wits about her while around her old Potions professor. She was grateful that her mind was clear enough to be able to think. If she'd had even one more sip of that wine, she was sure that she'd not be able to have any control over the words that were coming out of her mouth.

Ignoring the clatter of cauldrons and the slamming of cupboard doors, she began to massage her temples in her continued attempts to relax. Her head was beginning to throb. She'd already been having a tough enough time trying to keep her senses while speaking, the last thing that she needed was a headache.

The sarcastic tones of the good professor made her drop her hands and look up at him.

"Are you going to sit there feeling sorry for yourself all evening, or are you going to help?" he demanded.

"I am not feeling sorry for myself. I simply have a horrible headache, I'm tired, and I didn't think that you would actually want me to help you with anything. The Potions master I know prefers to work alone. Besides, I really don't think that I can take much more of your polite conversation," she replied with forced honesty, unable to fight the Veritaserum.

Severus did not respond to her remarks; he simply began slamming everything around even louder than he had been before, causing Hermione to cringe from the noise. He continued working, and never once even glanced up to look at Hermione.

Watching him for over a quarter of an hour, Hermione began to feel somewhat guilty. After all, he had made a comment implying that he wanted her help. Not that she thought he needed it, mind. Which left her with the question of why would he want her assistance. As he worked, however, it seemed that he was making a conscious effort to avoid looking at her.

Hermione used the silence to her advantage. She'd not had a chance to even think about the conversations that she'd had thus far that evening. Ron had humiliated her, then Molly went a step further and had not only embarrassed her, but she'd betrayed a trust. Not that Hermione had held a wide amount of affection for the woman, but the Weasley matriarch had abused her motherly role, making Hermione feel secure when she'd been interested in no one's feelings but her own ... and her son's.

A small part of her almost felt a sense of loss, knowing that she'd finally made a decision about her relationship with Ron. However, mostly she felt relief. Acknowledging that Ron was not the right person for her, and not only that, but admitting that to an audience (however small it was) meant that she could move past this chapter of her life.

Now, the other realization about "fancying" her old professor was something else to ponder. This was something that she'd not admitted to herself until the words had slipped out of her mouth. Obviously it was true, since the words had been spoken under Veritaserum. But, what does that mean? she wondered. Pushing past the fog that seemed to be floating around her brain, she could rationalize that she liked the man. That did not mean that she was foolish enough to proclaim an undying love for him.

What she'd said to Snape earlier about respecting and admiring him was correct, and would likely form the building blocks to these newly-realized feelings. Hermione had been the one to discover Dumbledore's last will and testament which declared Severus Snape was innocent and had only done the things he'd done because of an Unbreakable Vow. Once Dumbledore had died, the Vow had been fulfilled, so Severus' ultimate decision to still serve the Order and help Harry defeat Voldemort was solely his decision – not forced, like others had tried to insist.

After the war, Severus had come back to work at Hogwarts. Rumor had it that he'd outright refused the Defense Against the Dark Arts post when the headmistress had offered it to him; he'd reportedly insisted that he would rather not test to see if Voldemort's curse was still in effect. Hermione smirked; now watching him, she thought that it was obvious that he truly loved Potions and that was the real reason he'd turned down the DADA job. Severus had three cauldrons out on the table, and was working on finely chopping and adding ingredients. He still held a rather nasty scowl on his face, though she figured that had more to do with the company than with the project.

Despite the way he was ignoring her now and the remarks that he'd made earlier, Hermione had the feeling that some part of him had enjoyed the banter. His remarks and sexual innuendo certainly were not something that she'd ever heard from him before. Could there be a part of him that found her to be attractive on some level? She wasn't foolish enough to think that he'd find her physically attractive... he wasn't much of a prize either, although his voice had definitely been doing things to her this evening. (Not to mention the fact that she had a very strong desire to see what it would be like to kiss his thin, pale lips.) It was his intelligence, his wit, and the way that he carried himself that she found herself drawn to. And though she'd not admit it aloud (unless forced to, of course), there were things about their short conversations over the evening that she'd enjoyed.

Yes, but how much of these thoughts are alcohol-induced? she wondered. She knew that alcohol would lower her inhibitions, but would that truly cause her to have these feelings for him? Almost reluctantly, she had to admit that with the Veritaserum, her responses that evening had all been truthful... whether it was a truth she'd already admitted to or not. Besides, though she felt tipsy, she really didn't feel horribly inebriated. She was quite certain that the difficulty she'd had walking earlier had more to do with Apparating than the alcohol. More than anything, the wine was preventing her from using Occlumency and just going home to deal with the side-effects of the Veritaserum on her own.

Hermione desperately wanted the potion out of her system, and the alcohol cleared from her head, so that she could spend some more time analyzing her feelings. Perhaps, when this was all over, she could...

"If you are done staring, would it be too much to ask for you to stir that cauldron nearest to you?" he snarled, drawing her away from her thoughts. "All of this is, after all, for you."

"Yes, of course," she answered, slipping off of the stool and walking over to the cauldron nearest to her.

Pointing to a stirring rod, he instructed, "Stir ten times anti-clockwise followed by twice clockwise. Repeat that pattern once and add the belladonna, stir clockwise six times and remove it from the flame."

Recognizing his instructions and what she was now brewing, she gave him a questioning look and asked, "You brewed me a headache potion?"

"It was purely a selfish decision, I assure you. I will need someone competent to help with the other two potions and since your mind is already clouded with the alcohol, it makes little sense to make it worse with something as simple to cure as a headache."

Hermione fought the urge to smile as she followed his instructions and finished the brew. Once completed, she decanted it into the empty phials that he'd set on the worktable and set about cleaning the mess while the potion cooled. As soon as she was done, the potion was cool enough. Grabbing a vial, she downed the headache potion.

~*~

Severus had ignored her presence for as long as he possibly could. It was easier when she'd been sitting at the far end of the table. Although he'd known that her eyes had been upon him, he could almost pretend that she wasn't there. Now that she was standing next to him as she worked on the Headache Relief Potion, it was harder to do so. Frequently glancing at her surreptitiously, he tried to wrap his mind around her startling confession.

When he'd first heard it, of course, he treated it with as much disdain as anything else. The last thing that he wanted was a child fawning over him ... especially because when he first heard her words, he highly doubted the validity. That was before he'd seen how badly the Veritaserum and wine had affected her. Once he realized this, he wanted nothing more than to figure out why she'd say such a thing. Initially, he had wanted to discourage her. The fact that this involved toying with her wrought and strained emotions had made the situation somewhat tolerable.

Severus watched as she drank the headache potion, closed her eyes, and gave an audible sigh indicating that the potion had begun to take effect. He had to admit, he was curious about her. The way that she stood up to him, even in her present tipsy state, spoke volumes to him about the type of person that she was. For having drank the potent wine, she was very in-control. It made Severus wonder what it would take for her to lose control for a change.

For the first time, he took in her appearance. The pale-yellow color of the robes that she was wearing was definitely not flattering on her; he wondered if she'd chosen them intentionally because of her floundering feelings for the Weasley prat. Next, his eyes took in her figure. Definitely no longer a schoolgirl, he thought with a sly smirk, noting her cleavage.

It was her face and her eyes that truly gave away her age. She wasn't old, by any means; however, her face, and especially her eyes, showed the world that she was not naïve. They were the eyes of one who had stood before Lord Voldemort and survived.

Determination, willingness to work hard, intelligence, and loyalty were what he saw when looking at her. He saw bravery etched there as well. However, of all of the attributes a person could have, bravery ranked fairly low in Severus' book – a least that is what he led people to believe. Before he could stop himself he found himself thinking that getting to know her better wouldn't be wholly...

"Are you just going to stare at me all evening?" Hermione snapped, pulling him out of his reverie.

Deciding that it was easier, and far more fun, to throw her off balance, Severus stepped closer to her and brought his hand to brush across her cheek. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?" he asked with a sly smirk.

Her eyes went wide as she searched his face. "No, I don't enjoy being watched," she answered carefully.

Severus narrowed his eyes and studied her reaction. He had to give her credit; she was certainly learning how to evasively answer questions under Veritaserum. "Then what would you like?" he dared to ask.

Hermione swallowed hard and Severus could almost swear that he saw her brain processing the best possible answer to his question. Her face paled, and he could feel her already rapid pulse quicken underneath his fingers. Severus ran his thumb across her lips and gave her another devilish grin.

"I-I would like to be out from under the influence of this ruddy potion," she answered softly.

Severus had to admit that he was impressed by her answer. "What I believe to be the proper antidote for the wine is nearly finished brewing. Once the alcohol is contradicted and the alcohol is cleared from your system, I believe that the slightly more potent Veritaserum Antidote that I brewed will work effectively. That potion is finished brewing. Just a little while longer," he told her, his voice did not hold the normal sarcasm that he usually tried to instill. "So, tell me, Hermione. What else would you like?"

"What I would like is for you to stop taking advantage of my situation and trying to humiliate me," she replied.

Stifling a chuckle, he replied, "I always take advantage of any situation given to me, Hermione. You should know about that by now." Then, leaning in towards her ear, he whispered, "However, you should know that my intent is not to humiliate you." Dropping his hands from her face, he moved away from her and spun around to attend to one of his cauldrons.

Once she found her voice, Hermione stepped towards him.

Severus maintained his indifferent mask and went about pouring the finished Veritaserum Antidote into a goblet for her. (He had decided that not only a more potent version was needed, but a larger dose would be in order as well.)

"I don't know what game that you're playing, Severus. But, I can assure you that I have no intention of participating in it."

Completing his task, he ignored her words, knowing that would upset her even more. Placing the cauldron back down, he moved the goblet out of the way and pointed to the mess on the worktable. "Make yourself useful."

He was surprised when she let out an exasperated sigh and went to work at cleaning the area. Well, she is certainly not what I expected, he mused. Severus had even surprised himself at the some of the remarks he was making. What was it that he wanted? Although the simple answer was that he wanted the upper hand, he had to admit that there was something more about the girl that he was finding himself attracted to. Don't be foolish, he reprimanded himself. Only an hour ago she was nothing more than an annoying, former student!

Hermione was meticulous in her cleaning. Severus, however, had the distinct impression that she was taking her time, and mostly doing everything by hand, solely in an attempt to ignore him. Not that he minded. He had expected her to talk non-stop this evening, and so far he'd had to coax most of her speech. Of course, she was afraid of humiliating herself even further. For that, he couldn't blame her.

Completing the brewing of the Alcohol Inhibitor, he decanted it into another goblet. With wand in hand, Severus quickly cleaned up the final area while the potion cooled. He finished his task at the same time that Hermione finished hers.

"Are they ready?" Hermione asked hopefully.

"They are," Severus replied simply. As Hermione reached for the goblet of Alcohol Inhibitor, he placed his hand over hers to halt it. She gave him a questioning look, to which he responded, "Is there anything else that you wish to say before releasing yourself of the potion's effects?"

Hermione appeared pensive for a moment before and then answering, "I would like to say 'no.' However, I know that I would not be able to get away with that answer, and the Veritaserum would likely make something much worse than what I'm thinking now be said." She fidgeted with her hands in front of her. "I feel that you should know that the words that you overheard earlier were not planned. I had simply answered Molly's question without thinking, I didn't even know what the answers were going to be. I-I... erm... meant the words and I am sorry for any embarrassment that this ordeal has caused you. The only thing that I can do to make it up to you is assure you that Harry and Ron will not harass you. This –the way I feel about you – has to do with me and is my problem. I am sorry that you ever had to be involved. I know that you'll likely have nothing to do with me after this, but I want you to know that I meant everything that I said." Hermione heaved another sigh and spoke softer, "Thank you."

Severus absorbed her words, but maintained his stony mask to her and simply gave her a small nod in reply. Releasing her hand, he allowed her to grab the first goblet and drink the contents. Once she'd finished that potion, he handed her the second and watched as closed her eyes and allowed the potions to take effect.

"Well?" he inquired.

"Severus Snape, you are a slimy git and I hope that I never see you again."

A/N: See? A longer chapter! :)

Thanks go out to my wonderful betas SnarkyRoxy and JuneW, they're priceless. :)