Severus Part II

Chapter 8: Severus Part II

The letter lay on his desk covered in sticky fingerprints; Hermione's cramped writing barely visible through strawberry and blackberry jam. It arrived that morning by Floo, sending Andromeda into shouts of glee as Severus pulled her into his lap and read it to her. He smiled indulgently as she grabbed at the parchment and licked jam off her fingers.

"Hermione has invited us to go to London with her this weekend," he said, wiping a dab of strawberry jam on his trousers. "Would you like to go, Andromeda?"

He'd known the answer to the question before the words escaped him. His daughter looked up at him with a childish glare of incredulity on her face before patting his nose playfully and replying, "Absowootwey, Daddy."

Severus couldn't contain the laugh that escaped him as Andromeda pulled the letter from his hand and slid to the floor. She pulled down the back of her dress and tottered off to her bedroom humming the school song. It took several moments after his child's departure for Severus to regain his composure. He hiccoughed once or twice and cleared his throat before summoning a glass of water with a snap of his fingers.

He debated for a moment whether he should send a note to Hermione by a house-elf or Floo her. In the end, he stood from his chair and crossed the sitting room to the fireplace. The pot of Floo powder sat on the middle of the mantle, surrounded by Wizarding photographs of Andromeda. Severus grasped a handful of the sparkling powder and climbed slowly to his knees on the hearthrug. Throwing the powder into the grate, he leaned forward into the erupting emerald flames and shouted, "Hermione Granger's room!"

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Hermione was stretched out on the sofa in her sitting room reading Intermediate Transfiguration and absentmindedly turning her tea cup into an alarm clock and back again when the fire in the grate blazed emerald. Jumping slightly, she placed her book face down on the cushion next to her and looked over to find Snape's head in the fire, smiling at her.

She sank down on the floor and crawled over to the hearth to sit cross-legged in front of it. "Morning, Severus," she quipped, brushing her hair over her shoulder. "I didn't expect to see you until lunch."

"Yes, I know. But, you see, I have a small child here who would like for me to inform you that she would... let's see how did she put it..." he said, tapping his finger against his lips. His smile broadened as he fought back a laugh. "That she would 'absowootwey' like to go to London tomorrow."

Hermione giggled. "Well, I would be 'absowootwey' delighted to take her. I assume that means you are coming as well?"

"You know what they say--"

"Yes, yes, arse out of you and me. I've heard that one quite enough from Ron, thank you very much. Oh yeah," she said, jumping up and disappearing into her study for a moment. When she returned, Hermione was brandishing a lengthy bit of parchment covered in what appeared to Severus to be chicken scratch. "Ron sent me a letter yesterday to tell me that he had been accepted into St. Andrews, a Muggle university not far from here. And you'll never guess what he intends to study."

Not quite sure what the point of telling him about Ron's letter was, he shrugged his shoulders. "If I will never guess, then why do you ask me to?" He grinned at her look of exasperation.

Folding the parchment carefully and stowing it beneath her knee, she sighed. "Chemistry. Which is utterly surprising, seeing as he was abysmal at Potions. Understood the theory and all, but he just couldn't do it in class. I suppose you made him nervous, Severus."

"Me? Make Mr. Weasley nervous? How could you say such a thing, Hermione?" he replied, feigning surprise. His eyes softened as he looked at her for a long moment, making a bright blush suffuse her cheeks. "Now, when and where should we meet you for our little excursion tomorrow?"

Hermione thought for a moment, absently blowing a stray curl away from her face. "Well, they don't open until 11:30 and there's an Apparation point not far from there... oh, we can't take Andromeda by Side-Along, can we?" She shook her head before continuing. "Alright then, that changes our plans slightly. Oh! Has she ever been on the Knight Bus?"

Severus grimaced, remembering all too clearly the nauseous feeling he had every time he traveled by the damnable bus. "No. She should find it rather exciting, although I should probably take some Anti-Nausea potion before we leave."

"It might be a good idea to bring some of that along," she said, wrinkling her nose. "Well then, I expect we could leave around nine. That way we can do a little window shopping before then. There's a lovely little toy shop just down the street that--"

Grinning, Severus listened to her talk about toy stores and clothing shops. It was uncanny how much she reminded him of Samantha at that moment. Samantha had always loved taking Andromeda into London and going to Muggle shops. It appeared Hermione was no different.

"...the best chocolate bars in the district. It's just like Willy Wonka's really, lollipops and candy canes and chocolate drops everywhere. Mum and Dad took me once a year to get one special treat...they were both dentists, you see, and they didn't like me having a great number of sweets. I always got the chocolate drops with cherries in the middle and Mum..." She trailed off as she looked down at him for the first time in several minutes. He was looking up at her, a half-smile on his face and the same glazed look in his eyes that Ron sported during History of Magic. "Severus, are you even listening to me? Severus!"

He jumped theatrically, making his head momentarily disappear from the flames, and winced at the pain in his knees. He had been kneeling there for nearly twenty minutes. "Yes, Hermione, I was listening to you. Toy shops, jumpers with little kittens on them, some bloke name Wonka, and a shop full of candy. Did I miss anything?" He smiled fully as he took in the look of exhaustion on her face.

"I shall bring some Anti-Nausea potion for you in the morning, as well as a few other supplies we may need in the way of headaches and stomach aches and so forth," he said softly, trying to calm her away from the righteous tantrum he saw brewing in her eyes. "Andromeda and I shall meet you at nine o'clock tomorrow morning in the entrance hall by the points glasses. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get up off this floor or I won't be able to walk at all!"

Hermione giggled and nodded. "Alright then, and give Andromeda a hug and kiss from me. I'll see you both in the morning."

She began to struggle up from the floor before his head had disappeared from the flames, rustling the letter from Ron as she stood. For a moment she thought she heard Severus say something else, but when she looked back to see, he was gone.

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Severus awoke the next morning with both a feeling of joy and trepidation. He was glad that he would enjoy the entire day in Hermione's company, but he was rather upset that it would be their last chance for a day together for several months. The students arrived on the train the next evening.

The door to his bedroom squeaked open and Andromeda shuffled in, rubbing her eyes and clutching a bedraggled rabbit. Her nightgown tickled her shins as she stood at the side of her father's plush four-poster, the mermaid on the front languidly flicking her tail as she twirled her magenta hair around her finger. Severus smiled and pulled her into the bed with him, tucking her into the crisp navy blue sheets and putting his arm around her. She snuggled next to him and stuck her thumb in her mouth, all the while still clutching the poor rabbit that had once been her mother's.

Severus gently pulled her thumb from her mouth and kissed the back of her tiny hand. "You're much too old to still be sucking your thumb, Andromeda," he said as she tried to return her thumb to her mouth. "We can't lie in much longer, or else we'll be late to meet Hermione."

Andromeda mumbled sleepily at the sound of Hermione's name, but continued to feign sleep at her father's side. He pulled her into the crook of his arm, her warm cheek sticking to his bicep slightly as she readjusted her positioning. It was true that they would miss their date with Hermione if they stayed in bed much longer, but Severus couldn't help but enjoy the brief moment of peace and joy he had at that moment.

Once the term started tomorrow, both he and Hermione would be busy teaching classes. They had spent much of their time together talking about how best to pursue their relationship during the school year. Neither of them wanted any sign of impropriety or focus to be taken away from the education of the students they had been entrusted with. Severus was to continue on with being Head of Slytherin House as well as Potions master, all the while trying to stay with Andromeda. (He had wondered about sending her down to the kinder-school in Hogsmeade, but he didn't think he could bear to part with her right now. She was, after all, only six... much too young to be sent off to school.) Hermione was still doing her internship research with Professors Vector and Sinistra. For the most part, Hermione would be nearby. She spent much of her time in the library pouring over giant tomes of rune translations and Arithmancy calculations. Other days, she would be aiding Vector in classes.

Severus shook his head, trying to clear it of all the worries the next morning would bring. His only worry now was to drag his slumbering child out of the bed and into her clothes for their outing with Hermione. "Come on, Andromeda," he whispered, gently shaking her to rouse her from sleep. "If you don't get up now, we won't go to London today."

Andromeda fluttered her eyes and sat up, dragging her rabbit with her. Grudgingly, she scooted out of the bed and stood silently, shifting from one foot to the other while she waited for her father to follow. Severus scooped her into his arms and carried her back down the hall to her bedroom to dress her for their trip.

Notes from The Mistress: Hi all! So sorry this post took so long. RL has intruded a bit on my writing, what with university, a husband, and a little one on the way. I hope to finish this story soon, but I can't guarantee when the updates will come. Updates to The Chagny Letters coming soon. I also have a few ideas for a songfic or two. Hope you enjoyed, and please, don't forget to review!