36: Jealous Rages and Bequests

Chapter 36: Jealous Rages and Bequests

Hermione expected Viktor to meet her at the Leaky Cauldron any minute now. He offered to pick her up at her home, wanting to meet her parents, but she put him off. His last letter detailing his trip plans had made it fairly plain that he was hoping for something more than friendship with her, now that she was all grown up. She wondered if the hints she'd given in her previous letter that she was involved with someone had perhaps been too subtle for the Bulgarian's incomplete grasp of English. Maybe she should have learned from what it took to dissuade Ron and been straight-out blunt instead.

Both Ron and Harry would be joining them for dessert after lunch ended, but Ron was working at the twins' shop that morning, and Harry had arranged to meet Ginny for some 'flying practice' at the Burrow...she wasn't going to speculate about what else they might get up to. Hermione felt a pang of guilt for not telling Severus about her meeting with Viktor, but she intended the meeting to put their relationship on the appropriate footing...distant friendship...and she didn't want to complicate things any more than necessary. Telling Severus would definitely have complicated things for her.

When Viktor came in, Hermione thought he had never looked so handsome before. As a rule, people wouldn't consider Viktor handsome with his heavy brow and jutting nose, but he grew on her the more she got to know him. Still, her husband was far more appealing to her in every possible way.

Viktor smiled when he found her sitting at the table in the center of the room. She had been offered a more remote corner table, but hadn't wanted to encourage him with too much privacy. "Hello Hermione. You look beautivul today, as alvays."

She blushed at his words. No one but Viktor had ever told her she was beautiful. Her husband enjoyed her looks, to some extent, she knew, but he wasn't one to express those types of feelings. "Thank you, Viktor. You're right on time, as usual. Please sit."

He did and they ordered their meals. While they waited for lunch to be prepared, Hermione quizzed him about his trip, about his career, and everything else she could come up with that would keep the conversation on an even keel. When he looked like he planned to pick up her hand from the table, she pulled it back and fussed with her hair for a moment, as though she hadn't noticed his intent, then kept her hands to herself.

By the time Viktor got through answering all of her questions, the food had arrived and they were halfway through the meal. Hermione was watching the door, looking for Ron and Harry, praying one or both of them would show soon before the conversation got sticky. It was time she mentioned Severus somehow, though she hadn't been able to decide the best way. She took a sip of her water, then feeling a presence, glanced back at the door again. She winced when she saw her husband standing in the entrance in his glamoured form. She felt his intense anger rolling through her.

"Hermione, it's so good to speak vith you like this. I have missed our talks," Viktor was saying as Severus made his way across the room. If her husband had been wearing his usual bat getup, his robes would definitely have been flaring out behind him.

Before she had a chance to respond to Viktor, Severus was at their table. The depth of his rage astounded her; it was far greater than when she had admitted to him about telling the boys of their marriage, yet his face looked serene. "Well, hello dear, I had forgotten you said Viktor Krum would be in town." He turned to Viktor and held out a hand. "It's so good to finally meet you. She's mentioned her dear, old friend Viktor several times over the months we've been dating."

Viktor took Severus' hand in a daze and shook it. When they let go, Severus slid into the booth beside Hermione and picked up a chip from her plate, popping it into his mouth. If it weren't for the feedback she was getting from him through the bond, Hermione would have been certain someone had put a fake in his place. This glamoured version of himself wasn't acting at all like Severus.

"Really? She hasn't mentioned you at all." Viktor looked between them, and Severus slid an arm over Hermione's shoulder, pulling her closer.

Hermione wanted to protest that she had mentioned something about it in her letter early in July, but Severus didn't give her the chance. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Sebastian Prince."

"Prince. You look much older than Hermione. Too old to have attended school vith her. How did you meet?" Viktor seemed to be pulling himself back together, accepting the new boundaries of their relationship, though he looked more than a little upset to learn Hermione was dating someone else.

"Oh," Severus picked up Hermione's hand and pressed his lips to the backs of her fingers. "We've known each other for years. She was a child when our paths first crossed, but it wasn't until this spring that I began to see her for the woman she has become." He looked adoringly into her eyes.

Hermione smiled and felt her face flush some more, though it wasn't out of pleasure from his flattering words, but humiliation at the way the situation had played out. She wished she had handled things differently all the way around, and she wondered how Severus learned about her lunch with Viktor.

"Vell, I vish you the best, of course." Viktor didn't look like he wished Severus anything but the shortest path to hell.

"Hermione, Viktor, good to see you." Harry's sense of timing was impeccable, and his hair was even more disheveled than usual, but his eyes were bright from his time with Ginny. He slid into the seat beside Viktor and shot a questioning glance at Severus.

Desperate not to have Harry ruin the affect of Severus's appearance, Hermione smiled brightly, concealing the way her stomach was starting to turn over. "I didn't know Sebastian would be able to join us, so I didn't mention it to you, Harry, but here he is. And I was sure he wouldn't be able to meet with me until tonight." She turned to Severus and popped a kiss on his cheek, hoping Harry remembered that Hermione had mentioned her scheduled date that evening.

Understanding dawned on Harry's face, and he looked more closely at her companion. "Of course, I've been wanting to have a chance for a long talk with Sebastian for some time now. Glad you could join us. In fact, I'd love to get together with you some time; you, me and Ron could have a few drinks. Tonight might be ideal. If Hermione could spare you. Viktor could join us."

Sadistic jerk. "I'm afraid we have plans this evening. Projects we've been working on. But perhaps you can work something out another time." Hermione smiled brightly at all three of the men. Harry only partly concealed a smirk, Viktor glowered, and Severus held a serene, but rather blank expression on his face.

Then Ron joined them and opened his mouth to ask who Severus was.

"Ron, isn't it nice Sebastian has joined us for dessert?" Harry asked before his red-haired friend could do more than greet the group. "After all, we've been trying to pin down the man Hermione's been seeing for all these months. He's been rather illusive."

The red head's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. "Yeah. Great. I've heard plenty about you, in the most general of terms, of course. It's time we got to know you better. Hermione's practically one of the family, which means she has seven brothers, and two dads...that's if you count Harry into the mix, of course. I'm sure they'd all like a chance to interrogate you...in the nicest possible way. My twin brothers will probably want to become your best friends." He smiled brightly; clearly he and Harry were of one mind in this situation...make the married couple as uncomfortable as possible.

Hermione was grinding her teeth together as she smiled pleasantly back at Ron. "Sometime you'll have to do that. Too bad now is such a bad time...the twins will have to wait until another day to force feed Sebastian Canary Cremes. Stay and have dessert, would you? I'm far too full. It was great seeing you again, Viktor. Coming, Sebastian?"

"Yes, I don't have too long before I have to get back to my station. Nice to see you boys again and to meet you, Viktor." He bowed his head toward them, then whisked Hermione out onto the street of Diagon Alley. Once out the door, he Apparated them to their cottage.

"What were you doing with that man?" Severus asked after tapping himself with his wand and vanishing the glamour he had been wearing. "What are you trying to do, get me killed? And I swear I'm going to hex those two twits you call friends the next time I see them."

"Viktor's my friend, Severus. I told you he was coming into town."

"Your friend wants you to be more than a correspondent to him." He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the cottage.

"You're hurting me." He loosened his hold slightly, turning to face her again. "And so what if he wants more? Notice Harry and Ron coming in? That wasn't exactly by happy accident. I didn't wish to be alone with him for long. I intended to let him know clearly that I was involved with someone, then leave him with Harry and Ron for dessert and mind-numbing Quidditch talk while I came back here to work on the potion. I would never be unfaithful to you. You know that."

"The Dark Lord's minions don't understand that. How do you suppose I heard about your little tete-a-tete? The damn woman who put me under the Imperius came gloating back to me at the Dark Lord's side and announced to the world that you seemed to be spreading yourself around. How do you think that made me look?"

"What do you care what she thinks?" Her stomach tightened in a knot, her nausea growing.

He threaded his hands in her hair, his palm against her skull, bringing her face close to his own. "I care because it makes my hold on you look loose. It makes it appear that you aren't fully under my power; that you can be swayed another direction. If that is the case, your usefulness, and therefore mine, to the Dark Lord lessens significantly. And that puts us at risk. Both of us. And the very idea of another man touching you..." he didn't finish his thought, crashing his mouth down onto hers instead. "You're mine. Mine."

A couple minutes passed before she was able to push him away. The bond may have approved of their physical contact, but she did not. "I belong to myself."

"No. This ring," he fingered her wedding band, but was reasonably under control now, "makes you little more than the property of Severus Sebastian Snape. It says you will encourage no man, whether you intend to be unfaithful with him or not. It says you will do everything in your power to keep both me and yourself safe so that your actions will not be called into question. My ring says the same for you." He pulled back his left shirt sleeve. "And this mark says that every public action either of us makes can affect whether we live a long, happy life together, or die horribly. Your every word affects my life span. You can insist on continuing on the way you have been living, or you can consider your life and mine."

Hermione stood, considering his words. She tried to refute them, but saw no way to do so.

"Your behavior today has put us both at risk. You must not be so foolish again. First you tell those twits about our marriage, then you force me to extract you from a potentially dangerous situation. You should never be out in public for such a long period of time. The Dark Lord has eyes everywhere." He pushed her away, then straightened his shirt sleeve and headed into the kitchen, slamming the basement door shut behind him as he pounded down the stairs.

Hermione pushed her hair back from her face with both hands and sighed. She sat in a nearby chair. Had her actions left them open to trouble? Was she at greater risk now than she had been before? And what was the hurt she had felt radiating from him along with the anger when she pushed him away? Would she ever understand the man she married?

*****

Headquarters was quiet when Hermione entered that evening. Severus had stayed at the cottage long enough to prepare for the next step in the potion, making sure she understood the procedure. Then he Apparated away. She had to figure he returned to the Dark Lord's side, as that was where he had been before he joined her at the Leaky Cauldron. He had Occluded her so completely that she felt nothing but the buzz of his shield in the back of her mind for the rest of the day.

After spending the afternoon puttering around the yard, Hermione had completed the next step in the potion, thrown together something to eat, then returned to Headquarters.

Now it appeared she would have the place to herself that evening.

When she went into the kitchen to get a drink of water, she found Remus sitting at the table, a finger's depth of firewhiskey in his glass. He looked up and gave her a wan smile of greeting. "I heard from the boys; they indicated they were spending the evening with Viktor. Wondered what happened to you. I guess you disappeared with Sebastian...is that who I think it is?"

At his questioning glance, she nodded. "Sebastian is his middle name. He showed up at the lunch in disguise, angry." She sat across from Remus and told him everything that had happened. "I don't know if he was being melodramatic or if I really screwed things up that badly. I thought I was being careful: Public appearance, nothing private, bringing in the boys before dinner was over to diffuse the situation. I thought I had left adequate indications that I was involved with someone else, but apparently I hadn't. I just feel as though I've screwed things up and don't know how to make them better. Viktor probably hates me now, but I only feel moderately bad about that. How do I fix things with Severus?"

"It's rough sometimes, being an adult, having someone else who depends on you. It's even worse when that person's life might be in jeopardy if we make the wrong decisions. I feel it every day. I could hurt Tonks sometime. I could turn her into what I am or worse...kill her if I'm incautious. But she loves me, and I love her. What's more, I need her. I think you're in a unique position: Understanding the situation I'm in, the danger me and my actions could pose for the woman I love, the way her actions could affect me. You have to learn a new kind of discretion. And your circumstances are far more volatile than most."

Hermione nodded and sipped on her water. They sat there side by side for several minutes, drinking their drinks until the front door opened and closed. "That must be Ron and Harry," Remus said.

"This could be awkward. I still want to shoot them for the way they acted, but I feel bad for dumping Viktor on them, and I'm not sure how to explain . . . everything."

He smiled. "I'll leave you to figure out an explanation, shall I?" He stood and exited the room.

The boys came in a moment after he left. Both were rosy-cheeked and bright-eyed. Hermione pushed back the groan that threatened to escape as she realized they'd been drinking a great deal of something far stronger than butterbeer. "Hello." She took another sip of water and wished she had taken a stomach soother before leaving the cottage.

"Hello 'Mione. Where ya been? Viktor was really disappointed you left so early." Ron sat down across from her, sloppy happy.

"Great. I've been working on that potion."

"With 'Bastian?" Ron asked.

"When'd you meet him, anyway? Thought your husband was at Hogwarts with us. Never seen him before." Harry sat across from her, and Hermione decided he was the less inebriated of the two. "No one his age at the school."

She wished the idiots had stayed away from the drink all the way around. How did they expect to defend themselves if they were only half sober? That made her wish they lived in a world where the two young idiots could go out for an evening with friends without having to worry about being caught out, unable to defend themselves. "Yeah, that was him. He was wearing a glamour. Sebastian was obviously not the name you know him by, and the glamour altered his apparent age."

"I don't think he was too happy about you having lunch with Viktor," Harry said.

"What was your first clue?"

"He looked bloody angry to me...behind his eyes," Ron said, leaning his head back against the wall as he sat in his chair. He looked half asleep already. "Cool civility on top, spitting angry underneath. Want to meet him again sometime when he's not so mad. Something about the way he moved, 's familiar."

"Someday, Ron. Someday." Remembering Ron's suggestion of a full Weasley inquisition for Severus made her eyes ache and her stomach roll.

"Viktor was pretty upset about Sebastian," Harry said, slurring his words a bit. "But he'll get over you, eventually. Figured he might meet someone else he likes as well as you before he turns fifty. Jus' as well I couldn't mention the marriage. Pro'ly wouldn't have made him feel better."

Probably not. Hermione patted Harry on the shoulder, feeling even more guilty about Viktor than she had before. "Let's get some sleep tonight."

Surprisingly, both boys readily acquiesced.

However, sleep didn't come easily to Hermione as her concern for her husband and her relationship to him grew more confusing by the hour.

*****

"Mr. Potter." Minerva McGonagall stopped Harry after the Order meeting ended the following night. "It seems Albus left you some items in his will. I have brought the box with me tonight."

Hermione watched the Headmistress swallow hard as though it was painful to consider being the bearer of inheritances...at least in this circumstance. The meeting had been rather dull, and Hermione noticed the frazzled way the Transfiguration professor looked.

"OK, where is it?" Harry looked bemused. None of them had considered that Dumbledore wouldn't have several hundred other people he would rather give things to.

There was a large packing box sitting on a side table in the library. Minerva gestured to it. "I don't know what all is in here, but the solicitor asked me to bring this by. Apparently, his portrait directed the placement of every item in that box for you, and he asked that you look at it as soon as you can. I admit, I find myself curious, especially since the box is rather heavy."

Harry ran a hand over the box, his hesitation to pull back a flap obvious. Losing Albus Dumbledore had been very difficult for everyone, but Harry had been so certain the old man would be there to help him through this. It should have been Harry assisting Dumbledore. Now Harry was left to head the project alone.

Ginny arrived at the door, watched for a short moment, then crossed the room to Harry, sliding her arms around him. Hermione knew the younger girl must have sensed his need from wherever she had been in the house. Harry buried his face in Ginny's hair and held her back just as hard. There had been so little time to mourn this summer, what with plans being implemented.

That made Hermione wonder about Severus's time to mourn. She still felt an occasional pang of despair and regret from him, but she doubted he had allowed himself to feel the true depths of his emotions. Whether that was because she would experience it as well, and he wished to keep something private, or because he couldn't face his guilt, she didn't know. Surely a man as passionate as he was, one who felt his own guilt as strongly as she knew he did, needed to mourn Dumbledore's passing more than he'd allowed himself to do.

She had caused him a great lot of trouble, she thought. She hoped he felt she had contributed to his comfort as well, but didn't know if that would make up for the danger he was now in. All she knew, was even if the enchantment no longer lay between them, drawing them together, she now loved him independently of it, needed him, and couldn't imagine her life without him.

And with that realization, she knew she had to track him down and apologize in her next free moment, to consider him more carefully with her outward actions. When her actions could mean life and death to both of them, she had no right to selfishness.

Hermione looked up to see McGonagall slowly back out of the room as Harry's pain and need for privacy became evident. She shut the three teens inside. Hermione sighed gratefully.

Several minutes passed as Harry and Ginny stood entwined before he released one arm and half turned toward the box. "What do you think it is?" he asked.

"No idea. Best open it, don't you think?" Ginny nudged him toward it.

Slowly Harry opened the flaps and took out the smaller boxes within. As he unloaded them, he found several smaller boxes and one large box. All the smaller boxes were labeled with covert titles. The first Harry read said, 'your quest.'

He turned toward the large box and opened it up, revealing the Pensieve, and the first smaller box held vials of memory...several of them, each with their own labels.

"Harry, you don't think..." Hermione asked.

"Yeah I do." He grinned at her. "We'll have to take these upstairs and review them. Maybe there's a clue I missed. I wonder what else is in here."

"I want to see them with you," Ginny said.

"Ginny, we've been over this." Harry set a hand on her shoulder.

She shook it off. "Yes, you want me to stay safe, not to get involved in your project or quest or whatever because it could be dangerous. Do you really think seeing these memories and helping you piece together information, to plan movements, is going to be dangerous? I'm not talking about me going out to search with you...though you know I want to. I'm talking about brainstorming."

Harry considered her for a moment, then shrugged. "You're right. See if you can spend the night with Hermione, and we'll go over these tonight."

Ginny grinned, grabbed his face, and laid a big kiss on his mouth before moving away. "I'll tell Mum."

"Get Ron too and meet us in the attic." He smiled as he watched her go, then turned to Hermione. "I'm crazy about that girl."

"Yeah, I know. Let me give you a hand."

He carried the Pensieve, and she brought along the carton with the smaller boxes, wondering what was in them. Maybe only the one he opened had memories and the others held trinkets of another sort? She supposed she would find out eventually.

More than ten minutes passed before Ginny and Ron joined them. "Sorry, Mum took some convincing. She made me promise to spend the night with Hermione and not in my own room," Ginny said, rolling her eyes.

"In other words, not with me," Harry interpreted.

"Exactly."

Hermione warded the door and conjured shelves for the box and its contents. They gathered around the Pensieve as Harry poured the first couple of memories into it. "This could take most of the night," he warned.

Everyone nodded, unfazed by that. They dipped their faces forward and entered the memory.

_________

Thanks to my beta, countrymouse, and to the admins who take so much of their personal time to correct these stories. Special thanks to sempra, who validated this chapter.