Chapter Thirteen

Disclaimer: They belong to JKR; I just take them out and play around for fun. I promise to return them soon. : )

A/N: Many thanks to my lovely beta Rhiannon. She is just an angel! And many, many thanks to all of my reviewers – your continued support is so appreciated and your compliments never cease to make my day! Also thanks to everyone who voted in the Multifaceted Awards – Dark Roast was voted the Runner Up, Best Het Fic. I never would have thought that would happen, but to all of you who made it happen: thank you! : )

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Severus stormed into Minerva's office, throwing the key on the desk.

"Take the damn key," he said through gritted teeth.

"Severus?" Minerva looked up in alarm.

Severus strode towards her fireplace, walking so quickly he seemed to be gliding. His face was contorted in anger, eyes blazing. His hands were clenched at his sides, and he seemed ready to catch fire at any minute.

"Severus, what happened?" She swiftly rose from her desk and walked over to where he stood by the fireplace.

"You knew what would happen," he said, eyes piercing. "You knew she was with someone else."

"Severus, do calm yourself, my dear."

"I will not calm myself!" he exclaimed, pacing in a rage.

"I haven't seen you like this in years, Severus, years! Why are you so upset? What did Hermione say?" Minerva asked calmly, crossing her arms.

"Hermione didn't say anything, Minerva! Why didn't you tell me she was with someone else?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.

"What?"

"She obviously feels nothing for me anymore..."

"Of course she does," Minerva insisted. "Both of you are so stubborn, neither of you would budge in the other's direction, regardless of who put what bug in your ear..."

He halted in the middle of pacing. "You knew," he said flatly.

"Yes." Minerva sighed. "How could I not notice the two of you at Grimmauld? How could Molly, Remus..."

"Oh, do spare me the list of sympathizers."

"They aren't sympathizers, Severus, and there are only three of us anyway! We want to see you and Hermione happy. Now would you kindly get a grip on yourself and tell me what she said that has you in such a rage?" She stared at him, eyes penetrating.

Her words were cold water on him. He shook slightly and leaned against the fireplace.

"You knew." He stared at her, his expression a mixture of disbelief and mistrust.

"Yes," Minerva said, by now impatient. She took a seat in a leather chair opposite the fireplace. "Brandy?" she asked, summoning a decanter.

"What's the strongest thing you have?" he asked darkly.

She looked at him pointedly. "Brandy."

"Brandy it is, then."

Minerva poured a glass for him. "Now, what happened?"

"I gave her the herbs."

"And?"

"And... she tried to tell me she still loved me," he muttered.

Minerva's features softened. "Oh, Severus," she said softly.

"There was a bustier, Minerva. She'd just returned from shopping, and the bags on the floor spilled over. A bustier. Now, I ask you, what woman buys a bustier if there is no man to see it?" He looked at her skeptically. "She tried to tell me she still loves me, and she's obviously... involved... with someone else."

"What if she were to... break it off?" Minerva asked, raising an eyebrow.

Severus fought to keep his composure. "Do you know anything about this?"

"No. Hermione does not confide that kind of thing in me. Besides, I assumed that you and she still..."

He gave a humorless laugh. "I obviously don't matter to her."

"Yes, you do. I've watched that girl suffer..."

"She's obviously not suffering anymore."

"Did the thought occur to you, my dear boy, that maybe she sought out a partner as a way of easing the pain?"

"I didn't!" he shot back. "I have secluded myself and fought with myself for the past year, Minerva, the past year over her."

Minerva thought she saw a tear swimming in his eye, but his eyes – so practiced – quickly hardened.

"I could not look at another woman without feeling in the deepest part of me that I had betrayed something sacred. And she... she can obviously do more than look at another man."

There was a moment of silence.

"I do not know what to tell you. Aside from that I am sure she has a logical explanation."

"I don't want an explanation."

"Severus, sit down."

"Minerva..."

"Sit down," she commanded in a tone that sparked distant memories. The voice he had so often obeyed as a student took over, and he did as she asked.

There was a burst of flame from the fireplace.

"Minerva?" a voice called.

Minerva's head shot to the fireplace. "Remus!" she exclaimed. Severus grunted. She glared at him.

"Coming through, my dear?"

"Of course. I just need a few files to go over."

Remus suddenly came in through the fireplace, his black robes dusty with the neon green powder. He smiled at Minerva and was on the verge of speaking when he saw Severus.

"Why..." he sputtered, walking over to the Potions master. "Severus." He grasped Severus' hand. "It's so good to see you!"

"I wish I could reciprocate," he remarked, his lip curling in amusement.

"Sense of humor still intact, I see," Remus said cheerfully. "What brings you to Hogwarts?"

"Oh, a little of this, a little of that," Minerva said, eyes twinkling.

"This is not an interview, Minerva." Severus glared. "And if I ever chose to teach again, I would hope that I would not need one."

"Well, you never know, Severus, she's got to keep up appearances. What really brings you back to this dank old island, then?"

"Dank old island?" Minerva interrupted indignantly. "I'll have you know that this 'island' is anything but dank."

"Well, it's certainly not cheerful," Remus replied.

"Cheerful would be an overstatement in every sense of the word," Severus added darkly.

Remus laughed. "If you'll excuse me, I just need those there." He pulled his wand from his new robes and flicked it in the direction of an overloaded bookshelf. Several files darted towards his extended hand.

"Ahh." He waved the files. "Just what I need."

Minerva sighed. "Well, I think I'll be turning in for the night. You boys are just too much for an old woman like me."

"Old woman?" Remus snorted. "You're nothing of the kind."

Severus remained silent. He gazed at Minerva, any thought of Hermione briefly forgotten. Minerva did look older. Much older. The wrinkles were further indented into her skin, and her hair color was most certainly no longer natural.

"Allow me my trivialities, Remus," she said. "Now, Severus. I hope you'll be staying on the 'dank island' as Remus so kindly put it for a short while. Home is where the heart is, after all."

"Perhaps," Severus muttered.

"Did you have any plans for accommodations, Severus, or did you just come here on a whim?" Minerva asked impatiently.

"Severus do something on a whim?" Remus guffawed. "The very thought implies the worst state of drunkenness."

"I'm not there yet," Severus acknowledged, gesturing to a glass of brandy. "But I hope to be very soon."

Remus' eyes darkened for a bit before returning to their natural tawny color. "Do you have accommodations, old chap?"

"No," Severus said. "I thought I'd be here for a short visit." I thought I'd be with Hermione.

"You're welcome to come back to the Manor with me."

"Manor?" Severus asked, his interest raised. "Since when does the Ministry allow werewolves to own manors?"

"Since Andromeda's line is the only line of Blacks left," Remus said flatly. "The Lestranges are dead, thank God. Sirius and Regulus are dead. Draco's gone, Lucius is in Azkaban..."

"I heard about Narcissa," Severus said softly, stroking his chin. "She was a good woman."

"Her husband is vermin..." Remus spat.

"Say what you will about Lucius." Severus raised a finger. "But Narcissa was a good woman. She only did what she thought was best for her family. Whether or not she was correct in her actions is not for anyone to say, but they were done in the interest of her love for her husband and her son."

"You have a soft spot for her, do you?" Remus asked, tilting his head in newfound knowledge.

"As much as I can have for anyone," Severus answered tersely, picking up his glass.

"What I was saying, though," Remus continued, choosing to discard the subject of Narcissa Malfoy, "Grimmauld was obviously willed to Harry, but there were several family estates that were in Narcissa's legal possession. When she died with no heir, the Ministry contacted Andromeda."

"Andromeda Tonks?" Severus snorted, a derisive smile spreading across his face. "The woman would have burned it all down if she could."

"Yes, well, she did consider it." Remus smiled. "Tonks and I didn't want to rent a flat, so Andromeda offered us one of the estates. It's on the Welsh border. Fairly modest for the Blacks, which means, of course, that it's entirely too large for the two of us. If you'd like to come down, you're welcome to. Minerva is, of course, only a fireplace away." Severus could have sworn he winked.

Severus paused. He couldn't believe he was considering this.

"How's your stock of whiskey?"

"Best in the south of England."

With the promise of getting piss drunk, Severus stood, and he and Remus bid the Headmistress a good night.

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Hermione clenched her fists and walked over to the kitchen. She'd been on the floor crying for God knew how long.

She needed to be proactive.

I'm sick of being in love with that man. It brings me nothing but pain. She opened and slammed cupboard doors, looking for Minerva's infamous stash of firewhisky.

"God." She slammed the last door, half tempted to Floo Minerva to ask where the liquor was.

"Hermione?" a cheerful voice called from the fireplace.

"Tonks?" she asked incredulously, turning to her sitting room.

"Darn it, Hermione, let me through! Do you always block your Floo?"

Hermione waved her hand in the direction of the fireplace.

Tonks stepped through, dusting green powder off her body, a Weird Sisters tee and tight jeans adorning her small frame.

"Wotcher, darling. Remus went to Minerva's for a spell so I thought I'd stop in and see how long you're doing. I haven't seen you in ages." Tonks embraced her.

"I'm... I'm good, Tonks," Hermione said softly.

Tonks stepped back. "What is it? Research not going well?"

"No." She shook her head. "Ah, bloody hell, Tonks. I may as well tell you; he'll never change the way he is. I've all but given up, and I may as well." She slumped her shoulders in resignation, leaning against the counter.

"Hermione!" Tonks exclaimed, alarmed. "What is it?"

Hermione looked at her old friend. "You want to know what is going on?" She shook her head. "I'm in love with Severus fucking sod-his-arse Snape! And he just came here to give me herbs for my research, and I'm sure we would have reconciled, but then he saw that." She pointed at the exposed bustier still gleaming on the floor. "And he bloody well assumed I didn't love him anymore and that I was shagging someone else, and he never even said he loved me and... sod it all, I just need to get fucking pissed, and I can't find Minerva's damned firewhisky!"

Tonks, who had never heard Hermione swear so much in her life, blinked a few times in rapid succession. "Are you sure?" she asked.

Hermione glared at her.

"All right, all right. Come with me. I have plenty of wine and brandy and any kind of hard stuff you could like. The Blacks could certainly hold their liquor," Tonks said, dragging Hermione towards the fireplace. "We're going to get pissed, and you're going to tell me the whole story. Snape, honestly! I never knew!"

By now they both stood in front of the fireplace. Grabbing a fist full of powder, Tonks strode into the fireplace, shouting "THE MANOR!"

Hermione followed.

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Tonks and Hermione came through the fireplace into an elaborately decorated Elizabethan-era room. Its radiant pink shade reminded Hermione of Pepto Bismol.

"A bit cheeky, isn't it?" Tonks asked playfully. "Apparently it was Narcissa's, when they'd stay here, which they didn't often. Mum hated this place... but so did her family, so I suppose she wasn't really staking a claim in that."

Tonks walked out of the room and down the candlelit, tapestry-laden hallway.

"Where exactly are we? I've never been in this particular..." Hermione started, constantly turning to see the various tapestries and paintings that lined the walls.

"The East Wing. This place is huge," Tonks said. "And it was one of the smallest of the Black family homes, apparently. Well, Grimmauld obviously was, but that was modern. This is ancestral," Tonks exaggerated, gesturing grandly. "Far too ancestral for Remus and I, but it's large and private and..."

"Lots of great places to shag," Hermione finished.

"Exactly!" Tonks grinned wickedly. Hermione smiled.

"I remember a game of strip poker a while back where you got a bit smashed."

"Entirely wasted is more like it."

"Wasted, pissed, whatever floats your boat," Hermione murmured.

"Wait." Tonks stopped in the hallway, the wheels of her brain rapidly working. "You." She pointed a finger. "You... you and Ginny had a bet that night. That bustier. Oh, my God... you bought the bustier because of your bet from that night, and then..." Tonks put her hand over her mouth.

"Right in one," Hermione said, hands in her hips. "We'll talk about it when we get wherever we're supposed to be going. Honestly, Tonks, how long does this hallway go for?"

"Right here," Tonks said, turning into a room.

Hermione walked in. It was the second floor of a library. She could see the balcony that overlooked the first floor...

"It's a useful room. Tons of reading material, though Remus is the one who really gets kicks off it. He misses it when he's at Hogwarts," Tonks said softly.

"And you miss him," Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"Well." Tonks shrugged. "I love the summer; we're together constantly. But during the school year... I'm with him on weekends, and every other week... I just have duty, you know? I mean, I'm trying to get posted permanently out of Hogsmeade, but I'm not quite high-up enough to demand that kind of thing. Kingsley's been trying to get me assigned there, though. Good bloke. He really cares about Remus and me."

"Mmm," Hermione murmured in agreement. "There have to be thousands of books in here..."

"Nine thousand at last count, I think. The house-elves said so, anyhow. Hey, hey, no looking at me like that," Tonks said as Hermione raised her eyebrows. "They absolutely refuse payment. Remus has tried. Ah, well. I'm used to them. They're just..."

"Spare me the arguments," Hermione said.

"Ahh, yes, never come between Hermione Granger and her politics," Tonks said playfully, opening a desk drawer. She pulled out two bottles of wine. She grinned mischievously, grabbing two wine glasses. "Also, never come between Hermione Granger and her liquor when she wants to get pissed. Although I don't think you've ever purposely gotten pissed, so this will be an experience." She sat down next to Hermione on the Turkish rug in the middle of second story room. Hermione opened a bottle and started pouring.

"Well," Tonks said, looking at her pointedly. "I think you were going to tell me about how you fell in love with Severus Snape."

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