Two
Hermione Granger and the Taciturn Shopkeeper
Chapter 2 of 25
PlaidPookaA hurried journey through the rain, a hastily turned corner, and Hermione runs right into a man she never thought to see again. No. That man is dead, so who is this doppelganger?
ReviewedUnlike London, the skies above Scotland were clear, though the early spring evening remained a bit chilly. The sun was setting, making Hermione realize she'd stayed at the bookshop talking to Steven far longer than she had been aware. He'd been so easy to chat with and when he had kissed her hand, she'd had the strangest feeling in her chest. As if her heart had been replaced with a live frog which had slowly turned over.
It was a much stronger reaction than she had ever had with Ron, and she couldn't help speculating what it would be like to go to bed with the shopkeeper who looked so like her former professor. If he'd garnered such a reaction from only kissing her hand, what would it feel like to have him truly kiss her, to have his weight pressing her down into the bed as he...
Shaking her head to clear it, she put the fantasy on hold, enticing though it was. To be honest, it was more than a little disconcerting to be sexually interested in a Muggle who looked so much like someone she knew. She wasn't even certain she would be willing to date a Muggle. Not that it mattered whether someone was magical or not, that wasn't the issue. If Hermione only liked people who were like herself, she'd hang out with no one but rabid bibliophiles.
Steven was that, at least. Their literature discussion had been passionate and interesting. Hermione hadn't enjoyed a conversation that much for a very long time. That was part of the allure, she supposed. Having someone like-minded to talk to. Merlin knows she never had that with Ron.
But dating a Muggle? She was a fairly straight-forward and honest woman, direct in her dealings with others, often to the point of bluntness. If she were to date a Muggle, she'd have to tell them about being a witch before the relationship got serious. She wasn't about to go hiding any part of herself. Never again.
Not like with Ron. Letting him prattle on and on about Quidditch and Aurors, doing her best to take an interest, only to have him go cross-eyed with boredom anytime she spoke about her own interests.
Honestly, between dating Ron again and dating a magicless Muggle, she'd take the Muggle. The problem would be if he would take her. Steven seemed a rational, down to earth fellow. He mightn't be able to handle having his entire worldview turned on its ear.
Shaking her head again, more forcefully than she had before, Hermione strode through the gates of Hogwarts and walked towards the castle.
The evening meal was over and the castle quiet. Drawing her wand, she sent a silvery otter in search of Minerva. For cheerful inspiration, she needed to look no further in the past than a pair of warm lips on the back of her hand, and dark eyes that gazed straight into hers with more than a spark of interest.
The otter returned to invite her to the Headmistresses' office and the gargoyle readily slipped aside as she stepped to the moving staircase.
"Hermione!" the older witch greeted with enthusiasm. "Such a pleasant surprise."
Minerva clasped both her hand and kissed her on the cheek in welcome.
"It's good to see you, Minerva. It's been too long."
Waving Hermione through the office and into a comfy sitting room, Minerva ordered a tea tray, which appeared in a flurry of house elves. After Hermione attacked her third biscuit with a little too much enthusiasm, the kind witch ordered sandwiches as well when Hermione admitted she had skipped dinner.
"I heard about you and young Weasely. Is that the reason for your visit? Are you quite all right?"
"I'm fine, Minerva, fine," Hermione hastily reassured her, then balked a bit at the real reason for her unannounced arrival. "Can't a girl just pop by to see her friend?"
"Certainly, certainly. But generally, a friend doesn't rush so much that they forget their own dinner."
She never could hide anything from the wily woman. "Well, it's not Ron. Honestly, that was over long before we ended it. It was hard at first, and I still find myself a little at odds now and then, but I don't really even miss him. Is that horrible of me?"
"Not at all, my dear." Minerva reached over and patted Hermione fondly on the hand. "Sometimes it happens that way, especially if the people in question have grown apart. What is bothering you, then? And no trying to duck the question, young lady, or I'll find some way to dock points from a former student."
Hermione chuckled at that before her face grew more serious. "Minerva, did Professor Snape have any brothers?"
"No, thank Merlin for that. Don't mistake me, Hermione, I quite liked Severus...at least until he...and then I liked him again when it was too late to do the lad any good. Poor, Severus. I expect he had few friends after Albus was killed."
Hermione noted that her friend worded it in a way where she didn't have to speak of Snape being the one who killed Albus. It had been a hard thing for any of the teachers to believe at the time, and after Harry cleared his name, most of the staff had returned to their attitude of gruff affection for the difficult man.
"Then for the poor lad to die alone in that dirty shack. He deserved better."
"He did. I wish I could have stayed with him, but..."
"There was a battle on. Severus understood that more than anyone. At any rate, what I meant is I'm glad only one child had to grow up in that horrible house. Not to mention I can't imagine Hogwarts would have survived two young Snapes in school at the same time."
"Trouble, was he?" Hermione asked, and then smiled.
"Constantly. And the rows between him and Potter's gang, good Merlin. Even with only one Snape, I'm shocked the walls still stand."
"It was four against one," Hermione muttered. Ever since Harry had finally confessed what he'd seen in Snape's Pensieve, Hermione's kind heart had been rather incensed on the young Severus' behalf.
"It took four of them to bring him down, the very few times they managed it. Oh, it was still terribly unfair, and I was so angry at Albus for not punishing those boys more severely, but Severus was fierce and powerful, even back then. And sneaky, good heaven's but he was cunning."
"It sounds as if you liked him, even when he was a student."
"I did," Minerva admitted, and then chuckled. "Oh, he was just as unmannered and vindictive as he was when you knew him. Hardly surprising, what with how he was raised. He was also intelligent, hilarious in a nasty sort of way, and fiercely loyal to the few friends he had. That is until Riddle got his hands on him. I was never so disappointed as when Albus told me that, and never so relieved as when Severus came back to us."
Hermione pondered this for a moment as she refilled her teacup. She had never realized any of the professors had actually cared for Snape when he'd been a student. She'd always assumed that everyone had loved Harry's father and his friends and hated their Slytherin enemy.
"If he had no siblings, did he have any cousins, maybe? On his father's side? Muggle relatives."
"No, at least, I don't think so. His father was an only child, that I am certain of. If he had any cousins, they would be quite distant relatives. Severus certainly admitted to no family besides his parents, and he wouldn't speak of them often."
"It simply doesn't make any sense," Hermione said abruptly, giving her head another shake for good measure.
"Hermione, lass, what is all this about? Why this sudden interest in poor Severus?"
As succinctly as possible, Hermione explained her literal run-in with Snape's doppelganger.
"Ah, I see now. It has to be a coincidence, lass. We were all upset when Severus died, and so close to the end of the war when he would have finally been free. Sometimes when we miss people, we see what we want to see."
"It wasn't like that, Minerva. He's the spitting image. At first, I thought it really was Severus. When I ran into him, he was standing there scowling at me, with one eyebrow raised, like he was about to deduct points for manhandling a professor. It wasn't until after he smiled at me and flirted a little that I wondered if Severus had a Muggle brother. Even then, I kept waiting for him to recognize me or something."
Minerva sputtered around a mouthful of tea. "The Muggle man flirted with you?"
"Yes...a bit. He was actually rather dashing for a slightly older man."
"Slightly older my knickers," huffed the older witch. "If you mistook him for Severus, he must be a couple of decades your senior."
Hermione shrugged her shoulders in reply. Age had never been a priority for her when it came to dating. While she remained embarrassed about her schoolgirl crush on Gilderoy Lockhart, it had nothing to do with the difference between their ages.
"Well," Minerva continued with a sigh, "that puts paid to any hope that your Muggle man is somehow Severus."
"What do you mean?"
"Severus couldn't have flirted to save his soul."
"Was he not interested in romance then?"
"Oh, he had the interest, but not the ability. He was an unmannered heathen when he arrived at Hogwarts. Lucious Malfoy took him under his wing and taught him enough to keep the child from being hexed every other day, but that association led him to the Death Eaters. But flirting? Absolutely not. I'd bet my Gringotts account that the poor lad was unicorn bait when he died. I doubt very much that he'd ever so much as kissed anyone."
"Really? But...I've heard so many stories...about..."
"Dark revels?" Minerva added when Hermione's voice trailed off. "Naughty stories written by and for imbeciles. There was nothing sexy about the Death Eaters. Pain, torture, and murder were all they were about."
"Then Steven really can't be Severus, can he?"
Hermione didn't realize how sad her voice had sounded or how wet her eyes had become until Minerva scooted closer to her on the small divan and enfolded her into a warm hug.
"I'm afraid not." Minerva withdrew from the embrace and conjured a dainty handkerchief to wipe at her own eyes. "I wish he was, I really do, but I think it has to be an uncanny coincidence."
"They never found his body."
"True, but I think that's more a cause for sorrow than hope. We searched everywhere. I'm convinced someone did something despicable to Severus' body. Either left it on a moor somewhere to be eaten by crows or transfigured it into a stick or a stone and left it lying somewhere in the mud."
The kind woman dissolved into real tears then, and Hermione pulled her tightly into her arms. Tears ran silently down her face as she thought about having a friend's body treated with such disrespect.
They calmed themselves and refilled their teacups. When Hermione prepared to leave, Minerva returned to the subject.
"You'll be careful, won't you my dear?"
"Careful? About what?"
"I'm not certain getting into a relationship with a Muggle who looks like a former professor is the healthiest idea in the world."
"And dating Ron Weasley was?"
As Hermione flew through the floo on the way to her cozy flat, the echo of Minerva's laughter followed her.
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Latest 25 Reviews for Hermione Granger and the Taciturn Shopkeeper
79 Reviews | 4.3/10 Average
A great ending to a fun tale!
I’m out of time to read for today, so will stop in to say that I’m still loving this story. The reveal went much better than expected, and I glad he has Severus back, but has still retained Stephen as well. Looking very forward to the conclusion tomorrow.
So glad to see another story from you. I should review every chapter, but I’m short on time, and quite frankly, once I finish a chaper, I just want to plow right on to the next. I stopped here last night after being up way too late. So, just stopping in real quick to say how much I’m enjoying this. Off to read more !
I'm one of the old guard here and an author as well. I no longer write fanfic, but I can't tell you how happy I was to see an instantly recognizable author's name. No shade to anyone else; there are many talented folks here. But hey, I've had your stories on my favorites list for what, a decade or more now? Thanks for posting. It's a rainy May evening in Indiana, and I am happily settling in to read.
Wonderful story ! Thank you for the great reading piece
Too much fun! Thank you. (And a little inspirational. My Beloved thanks you, too.)
I’m starting to like frogs...
Steven Sondheim? Are we headed Into the Woods? About to discover someone to remind us about Being Alive? OK, I’ll stop now. This is going to be fun!
Thanks for your return to the HP universe! I enjoyed your story and will have to check out your other works as well!
Author's Response: Glad you enjoted it!
Well, he did wipe the floor with Ron. Lol.
Author's Response: Yes, he did rather. That was way too much fun to write. ;)
Oh boy, the red-headed twat is at it again, isn't he? 😒 Snape's going to wipe the floor with him.
Author's Response: *snicker*
I love that he's just overwhelmed by his need for her. ❤
Author's Response: Honestly, that's one of my fav scenes from the entire fic.
So glad he's no longer unicorn bait! And glad he wasn't a git and turned her away (at least for very long). So glad he's found real love, too. I'm such a sucker for this man, and feel his life could have been so different if anyone had bothered to show him some real kindness and affection.
Author's Response: Honestly, I never could resist being nice to the poor sod.
TheCopperDragon2004's response: ❤ ❤ ❤
Ok, Ron can die a slow, torturous death long before Snape gets his wand back. 😡😡😡
Author's Response: :D
I have to admit, I'd love to see Ronald show up just as Snape gets his memories (and his wand) back. *evil laugh*
Author's Response: ;)
Glad Severus is finally getting some lemons in his life! Lol.
Oh lord, what if he only remembers some of the horrible things he's done in his past, but not why? 😞
Author's Response: I couldn't be that cruel to him.
TheCopperDragon2004's response: That's good!! I hated how JK treated him, them doubly so when she only brought him back in CC to kill him off again. 😡😡😡
Ha, I was right! Snape's wand. I wonder if he senses the magic in other people too? Maybe why he was initially drawn to Hermione?
Author's Response: Perhaps. It would explain why he was so suddenly taken with her.
Hmm. I wonder if Harry had his wand or something in his bookbag? Snape's, I mean? (Did they ever recover it?) It could be Harry's own wand Snape is reacting to as well, though you'd think Hermione would have hers on her somewhere as well.
Hmm.
Author's Response: Clever little monkey. ;)
Bwahaha, I almost shot chai tea out my nose at the "unicorn bait" part lol. I did laugh out loud though. 😂
I'm curious to see which two tropes you're going with here; Snape survived and is in hiding, I'm assuming is the first one. I can't decide if Snape's lost his memory/had it removed is the second one or not.
Either way, I happily await lemons! ;)
Author's Response: So glad you enjoyed that bit. And thank you for all the lovely reviews. I think I hit a fair number of tropes with this one.
Thank you for all the work and time you have put into this story! It was nice to see Ron not getting too much bashing, instead a little redemption at the end. Thank you again!
Author's Response: So glad you enjoyed it. I had such fun writing it! :)
Thank you so much for a wonderful story, I know I am going to read this one several times more:-)Awesome work.
Author's Response: Thank you so much for reading it. :)
Thanks for dipping your toe back in. May your coming years be filled with unexpected opportunities and much success.
Author's Response: You are the sweetest! Thank you for reading. :)
Greetings from Sweden. No rest for the wicked... Thank you for the hot and lovely chapter!
Author's Response: You are very welcome, my Swedish friend! :)
Than two of them are absolutely totally perfect:-))
Author's Response: You are the sweetest! :)
What can I say? This smutty chapters makes me start the day with a wide grin on my face. I am totally in love with this story.
Author's Response: So glad I could get your day started on a high note! :)