Chapter Two

Disclaimer: JKR owns it all. I'm just having fun.

Six Months Prior

Severus paced the length of the ostentatious room and raked a hand through his hair, concern deeply etched upon his face.

"How do you know this person is trustworthy, Kingsley? Very few people know I survived the war, and I'd like to keep it that way."

Behind the large, ornate desk sat the Minister for Magic, who was valiantly...if ineffectively...attempting to hide his amusement. "Calm down. I wouldn't bring in just anyone to partner with you." Kingsley's eyebrows rose as he looked at Severus expectantly.

A flash of abject horror crossed Severus' face, and he halted his pacing to glare at his so-called friend and employer. "No. Tell me you did not partner me with one of them."

The Minister smiled benignly, reminding Severus eerily of his former employer.

"Damn it, Kingsley! I refuse to be trapped for months on end with a reckless, foolhardy, dunderhead who..."

"I do hope you're referring to one of the boys, Mr Snape," interrupted a feminine voice.

Severus turned toward the doorway only to come face to face with the insufferable know-it-all, Hermione Granger ... and Merlin's beard, had she grown up during the last seven years.

She was taller than he remembered, although still a good five or six inches shorter than he...it was hard to tell as she was wearing heels...and her hair was not as long, falling just above her shoulders in a riotous mass of brown curls. She had never been a raving beauty...her nose was slightly upturned and her lower lip a bit too full...but she was certainly pretty. Her eyes, however, sparkled with an intelligence and warmth that captivated him, and he found himself wanting to know more. How had he never noticed that before?

Severus allowed his gaze to travel down her form, taking in the chocolate brown robes draped over a white silk blouse, his eyes lingering a moment on the curve of her breasts. The matching brown crepe skirt landed just above her knees, her long chocolate-coloured heeled boots giving him just a glimpse of stocking-clad knee. Idly, he wondered what sort of stockings they were ... tights or maybe hold-ups ....

"Ahem."

Startled, Severus raised his eyes to Miss Granger's pink-tinged face, and he was reminded that this was not just any witch he had been ogling but a former student, a former Gryffindor, Potter's best friend ... and his new partner. Damn and blast. Only through sheer force of will did he manage not to blush at his unusual lack of restraint. Instead, he glowered at the girl...woman...as though it were her fault that he had not been able to control his more base emotions.

She swept past him, having the gall to appear amused as well as flushed, and held out a hand to Kingsley. "Minister," she said warmly as she shook the smiling wizard's hand before taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. "I see you conveniently forgot to inform Mr Snape of the identity of his new partner. Tsk, tsk," she teased as she crossed one leg over the other and clasped her hands in her lap. Then she turned those intriguing eyes toward Severus.

He had never felt so unsettled by a woman before, not even...

Scowling, Severus wrenched his gaze from the vexing Miss Granger so that he could glare properly at Kingsley.

He opened his mouth to make a snide remark, but before he could even utter a word, there was a knock at the door and Gawain Robards, the Head of the Aurors, entered the room. "Good morning, everyone. I'm sorry I'm late."

Kingsley inclined his head in greeting as Robards took a seat in the corner of the room. "Now that we're all here, let's begin. As you know, this case is considered a top priority, which is one reason why you both," the Minister said, pausing to look pointedly at Severus, "are here this morning."

"One reason?" Miss Granger asked in a clear indication that her tendency to ask incessant questions might be one thing about her that had not changed.

Kingsley merely nodded, while it was all Severus could do to avoid snorting in exasperation. Suddenly, he realised that he was the only one still standing, and he folded his long frame into the chair next to Miss Granger's.

"Severus, Miss Granger," Kingsley said as he passed each of them a file folder containing the specifics of the case. After giving them a few moments to read over the parchments, he continued gravely, "As you can see, those who sympathised with Voldemort have not completely given up on their goals of domination over the wizarding world and eradication of Muggle-borns...they have merely changed tactics."

Robards explained, "Voldemort attempted to gain power using brute magical force. Obviously that didn't work, so a new group has decided a more political approach may be in order. To put it succinctly, they want to put up their own candidate for Minister for Magic ... after they have bribed and blackmailed their way into holding a majority on the Wizengamot. If they were to succeed in such an endeavour ... well, the consequences would be devastating.

"Thanks to our main operative in Bulgaria, we have learned that they intend to begin their fundraising efforts there, where there are still many sympathisers to Voldemort's cause. Essentially, they are still in the early developmental stages. We need to infiltrate this group and nip things in the bud, so to speak, before they can manage to gain any kind of foothold."

Severus nodded as he skimmed through the parchments. "That is the most prudent course of action."

Kingsley agreed. "I also have complete confidence that you two are the best Aurors for this job. Severus, you have personal experience dealing with these sorts of people, and your skills at Occlumency and Legilimency will most certainly be advantageous during the investigation." Severus attempted not to cringe at the painful reminder of his past. "And you, Miss Granger. Well, obviously there could only be three remaining candidates for this case given that besides Gawain and myself, only you, Potter and Weasley know that Severus is alive. Gawain and I selected you because you are not only intelligent enough to keep up with this one," he said, jabbing a thumb toward a scowling Severus, "but we believe your abilities will be a strategic complement to Severus'."

Severus watched as the emotions played across the Granger girl's expressive face during Kingsley's little speech. Her trepidation about the thought of partnering with him, a hint of fear about the unknown, her pleasure at Kingsley's unabashed praise...something the man was not known for doling out to just anyone...and her confusion at the Minister's enigmatic final statement ... all were on display for the whole world to see.

Good gods. If she didn't learn how to hide her thoughts, they'd be dead within a week.

"Your preparatory training period will begin tomorrow morning," the Minister continued. "In the meantime, familiarise yourselves with everything in those documents. Gawain and I are hoping you will be ready in no more than four weeks. In the meantime, you will live and work at a special training facility we have established specifically for the two of you here in London. Don't worry, Severus; it's under a Fidelius Charm, and I am the Secret Keeper. Only those of us in this room are aware of its existence. The location of the Auror Training Facility is number seven, Gilding Lane. You are to report there first thing in the morning.

"Are there any questions at this juncture?" Kingsley asked in conclusion, and Severus readied himself for the barrage of questions that would be bursting forth from the young witch at any moment.

He was shocked, then, when she said nothing but merely awaited further instructions. Interesting.

"Good," Kingsley remarked as he rose to his feet and extended a hand to each of them in turn. "I wish you good luck, my friends. Please feel free to use my Floo."

Severus stood, as did Miss Granger, each shaking hands with both the Minister and Robards, before turning toward the massive fireplace. Then, in front of him, the young witch suddenly stopped.

"Just one question, Minister," she said.

Severus sighed in annoyance; he should have known her lack of questions had been too good to be true.

"Who is our contact in Bulgaria? The parchments never specify."

"You'll see, Miss Granger," Kingsley answered cryptically. "You'll see."

~o0o~

The night before they were to leave for Bulgaria, Severus sat in his quarters at number seven, Gilding Lane sipping from a glass of Firewhisky as he once again went over the specifics of their cover story for the mission. When he was satisfied, he closed the folder and tossed the entire contents into the fireplace, the flames greedily devouring the dry parchments.

That afternoon, it had been decided that the two unlikely partners were more than prepared to begin their mission. Surprisingly, Severus agreed; any further training would be superfluous. They were ready.

The past three weeks had been a whirlwind of training and debriefing sessions. Severus and Hermione, as she insisted he call her, had been inundated with information, physical conditioning, mental exercises, as well as simply learning how to be partners. The latter had been unexpectedly effortless. Robards and Kingsley had been correct...he and Hermione worked together seamlessly. Much to Severus' annoyance, the bint was good at her job. He snorted as he raised his glass. All right, so she was bloody brilliant. Together, they would be a force to be reckoned with.

It had been disconcerting in the beginning; the young witch possessed an uncanny ability to know what he was thinking almost before he thought it, which Severus grudgingly admitted to Robards would be a tremendous asset during the investigation. Hermione claimed it was from watching him for six years during her time as his student, and that she was simply reading his face, but Severus remained unconvinced. Hundreds of students had gone through his classroom over his years at Hogwarts, and none of them, nor anyone else for that matter, had ever been able to read him like she could...certainly not Dumbledore or the Dark Lord, thank Merlin. Not even Lily, who had known him since childhood, had been able to...

No, he thought, taking a larger swig of his Firewhisky. He wouldn't think about her; he had wasted enough of his adult life thinking about that particular witch.

He turned his thoughts back to his new colleague. For some reason Severus could not even begin to fathom, Hermione trusted him implicitly, something that had proven invaluable during their training and would certainly be so while they were in Bulgaria. If he said to move, she moved. If he said to remain still, she remained still. Severus was certain if he told her to go jump off the nearest cliff, she would do it with no questions asked. She simply did as he said. It had unsettled him to the point that he had resorted to asking her about it outright. She had looked at him quizzically with those thrice-damned eyes of hers and said, "I've always trusted you. Why should now be any different?" before smiling softly and walking away toward her quarters.

For the first time in his adult life, Severus Snape had been positively gobsmacked, standing in the hallway for several minutes before turning on his heel and storming back to his quarters to analyse what the witch could possibly hope to gain from such an inane statement. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to think of a blasted thing.

Severus finished drinking his Firewhisky and then prepared for bed. Tomorrow, they would leave for Varna ... and the first real test of their fledgling partnership.

~o0o~

In the morning, Severus and Hermione Flooed to the Minister's office to receive their final instructions before taking an untraceable international Portkey to Bulgaria. Severus emerged from the fireplace first, his lips twisting into a sneer as he saw who was present in the room. He turned around and put his hand into the green flames.

Hermione emerged, her hand grasping Severus' as she exited the Floo. "Thank you," she said with a smile as she stepped into the room.

He inclined his head in acknowledgement and then jerked his head to one side, causing her gaze to be drawn to the two young wizards sitting with the Minister.

"Harry! Ron! What are you doing here?" Hermione cried as she moved to embrace the Dunderheaded Duo.

"We came to see you off," Harry explained. "We couldn't let you leave for months on end without saying good-bye, now could we?"

Severus grimaced at having to witness the reunion of the three friends and moved against the wall in a vain effort to say out of the Potter and Weasley's line of sight.

"What's he doing here?" Weasley suddenly demanded, pointing his index finger at Severus.

"If you would like to retain possession of your finger," Severus hissed coldly, his posture rigid with indignation at the young wizard's rude gesture, "then I suggest you refrain from pointing it anywhere in my general direction."

"Severus."

Black eyes met brown, and it seemed an entire conversation silently took place with one look. Severus nodded, and Hermione turned to face her red-headed friend.

"Honestly, Ronald," she scolded. "Isn't it obvious? Severus is my partner. We're going to be working together on this investigation."

Ron seemed flummoxed, while Harry appeared to be carefully considering the interaction between the young woman who had been his best friend since he was eleven and the man who had tried to make his life a living hell since he was eleven.

"But 'Mione..." Ron began, only to be interrupted by a visibly embarrassed Hermione.

"Don't call me that," she snapped before casting Severus an apologetic glance. "You know I hate that, Ronald. I've told you a thousand times ...."

Severus leaned back against the wall and watched the bickering pair, marvelling at how quickly she was able to transform from his quietly confident partner to a shrieking harpy. That was what her two friends expected of her...it was her role in their little trio...and so it was what she gave them. But he now knew better. Yes, she could be bossy and overbearing, but that wasn't the sum of her personality. She was strong and vibrant, and she had a sharp tongue and a dark sense of humour. She was cunning and sly, quick on her feet and even quicker with her wand. Yes, Hermione Granger was much more than these boys gave her credit for.

Still, as Severus watched her verbally eviscerate Weasley, he couldn't help but wonder if the two were romantically involved or merely friends. He was uncertain; but he did know that he did not like the feeling in his chest at even the possibility that they might be a couple. Kingsley and Potter, he noticed, were also watching, both with expressions of amused exasperation.

"Do they do this often?" Severus asked blandly.

Potter grinned. "All the time."

With an exaggerated sigh, Severus turned his attention to Kingsley. "Can we please get on with it? I believe we have a Portkey to catch."

~o0o~

Situated on the Black Sea Coast, Bulgaria's third largest city was a major tourist destination during the summer months, its sun-kissed beaches and calm waters drawing in thousands of visitors each year.

In Varna, blending in was an easy task.

They were spending the next few days in Muggle Varna at the Grand Hotel Musala Palace in the very heart of the city. Once they became familiar with the city and were accustomed to their cover story, they would move to a rented villa in the outskirts of Varna, and the investigation would truly begin. First, however, they needed to meet their Bulgarian contact.

Severus stood in the front of the bathroom in his suite, vainly attempting to properly knot his Muggle tie. "Sod it," he said, taking his wand from the counter and tucking it into his sleeve before exiting the bathroom.

He picked up the morning newspaper from the floor in front of his door, removed the wards he had placed the night before, and left the room. As he walked down the hall to Hermione's suite, he considered the scene in the Minister's office the previous day.

Just moments before they had left for Varna, Weasley had grabbed Hermione by the shoulders and pressed a quick kiss to her mouth, releasing her just as the Portkey activated. They had landed in the Bulgarian Minister for Magic's office, with Hermione's cheeks a flaming red and her lips thinned into an angry line. Severus had arched a questioning eyebrow to which she had tersely shaken her head, her only response being, "Ron is an idiot."

Severus summarily dismissed the sickly feeling in his stomach at the thought of the Weasley boy pressing his slobbering mouth to Hermione's; it was most certainly a case of dyspepsia caused by the rich sauce on the lamb cutlet he had eaten for the previous night's dinner.

He arrived at Hermione's hotel room and rapped sharply on the door. He waited a few moments, and when she didn't answer, he knocked again. Finally, he heard shuffling footsteps approach.

"Yes?" She must have just woken up as her voice was deep and husky. Good gods, the images that brought to mind ....

He cleared his throat. "It's Severus."

"How do I know it's really you?"

Of all the inane... "Let me in."

"Not until I'm sure it's you. Name the twelve uses of dragon's blood."

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, woman, open the damn door!"

Her muffled laughter drifted into the hall as the knob turned and the door swung open, Hermione stepping to the side to grant him entrance.

He stalked into the room and was about to take her to task for her cheek, when he turned to face her and noticed her attire ... or lack thereof. She was barefoot and still wearing what must be her night clothes. He resolutely refused to look down any further than her neck due to the scandalously tiny Holyhead Harpies tee-shirt and the shortest shorts he had ever seen. He might be a right bastard most of the time, but he was still a gentleman.

And so it was that he found himself staring at her hair...hair that, for the most part, had been contained during their training sessions, typically pulled tightly back in a pony tail. He supposed she used a charm or a potion to subdue it into its usual wild curls, because now her hair stood out around her head and shoulders in a giant pouf. It was Severus' turn to be amused, his eyes crinkling at the corners as his lips twitched into a smirk.

"You know, I don't believe I've ever seen hair with that texture before. It reminds me of something ..." he murmured, bringing his hand up to his chin and tapping his index finger against his mouth.

"Severus," Hermione warned as she eyed him warily, her gaze never leaving his as she shut the door and then eased past him to take a seat on the Victorian sofa.

Suddenly, he snapped his fingers, feeling quite smug when she startled in response. "Aha! I've got it. Fairy floss!"

She rolled her eyes so slowly it was almost painful to watch before she imperiously intoned, "Those with lank, greasy hair should not cast the first stone."

"Now, now, Hermione. No mixing metaphors." Severus settled himself into the chair next to the sofa.

"Shut up," she said, her tone dripping with saccharine sweetness. "It's too early for witty banter. Especially since I haven't had my morning cup of coffee yet. Now, what brings you to my room so early? Do we need to go over the details of today's outing again?"

"Not at all," he replied smoothly. "I require your assistance with my tie."

~o0o~

The trendy café was filled with tourists out for a bite to eat before heading to the beach or out for a day of sightseeing. Severus and Hermione had selected a table inside against the back wall where a discreetly cast Muffliato and Notice-Me-Not helped to render them all but invisible to the other patrons.

After helping him with his tie, Hermione had prodded Severus into leaving his jacket back at the hotel. He had balked initially, already feeling uncomfortable without his voluminous wizarding robes, but she had insisted that he looked "fabulous" in his black woollen trousers and crisp white shirt. Given the warmth of the midday sun and the crowded café, he was grateful he had taken heed of her suggestion.

They were waiting for the arrival of their contact; Kingsley had been annoyingly vague regarding how they were to recognise the person, insisting that they would "know him when they saw him." Severus had demanded more information, or at the very least a signal, so that they would not accidentally identify the wrong person as their contact. Eventually Kingsley had concurred, informing them to look for "the man with the small S.P.E.W. button on his jacket." Severus had smirked at his partner...who had looked as though she would like to crawl under the table and hide...and said, "Ah, yes. Spew."

Hermione had groaned, covered her face with her hands and mumbled, "Shut up."

As it happened, Kingsley had been correct: The button had been unnecessary, for as soon as Hermione saw the man, she let out a delighted squeal, jumped from her seat, and threw herself into his arms. The man's deep laughter filled the café as he swung Hermione around in a circle before setting her back on her feet.

"Viktor! I thought it might be you! I'm so glad to see you! It's been much too long!"

Severus scowled. So much for the Notice-Me-Not Charm.

~o0o~

They had been in Bulgaria for two weeks before they had rented a villa on the outskirts of wizarding Varna and begun introducing themselves as a wealthy pure-blood businessman and his poor niece who had been left an orphan during "the persecution of the faithful" in Britain.

The glamour charms they used changed their appearances just enough so that they would not be recognised. Hermione's telltale brown, busy locks appeared blonde and straight, her brown eyes transformed to a vivid violet. Severus' distinguishing features were also altered. His nose looked much smaller and less hooked, and his dark eyes turned a deep blue. Hermione had insisted his awful head of hair remain long, since that was the trend for pure-blood wizards, so Severus simply altered its colour to a very light brown. They certainly looked the part, their reflections in the mirror indicating they were both rather attractive when using the glamour charms.

Severus found it ironic, then, that whenever they returned from an outing, they both removed the charms as soon as they entered the villa, each preferring the other's true form.

~o0o~

Severus slipped into the darkened room while Hermione watched the hallway. He quickly determined that it was empty and signalled that it was safe to enter. Krum had been able to disarm all of the protective charms and spells during a visit to the home the previous day, making things much easier for Hermione and Severus.

It had taken them three months to make the right connections in the tightly-knit wizarding community in Varna. Finally they had been invited to an exclusive gathering at the home of one of the key members of the group they were investigating, a Mr. Hugh Apperson, of Britain. The Apperson villa sat high on a tree-covered cliff that overlooked the blue-green waters of Cape Galata and was covered with Muggle-Repelling Charms to keep the "undesirables" away.

Severus and Hermione moved further into the room, both grateful that the study was cool thanks to the enormous open window which overlooked the edge of the cliff and offered a breathtaking view of the bay. The room was Spartan; the only pieces of furniture were an enormous desk and chair in the centre of the cavernous space. The walls were bare, their white-washed plaster glowing in the moonlight from the open window.

Quickly, they each walked behind the parchment-covered desk...Severus on one side, Hermione on the other...and began searching for any evidence they could find that Apperson was involved in either financing or coordinating the New Pure-Blood Party.

After several fruitless minutes of searching, Severus was becoming frustrated. The longer they stayed in the room, the greater the chance that they would be discovered. There had to be something...

"I found it," Hermione whispered, handing him a piece of parchment. He carried it over to the window, Hermione following behind, and read by the light of the moon. Yes. This is it, Severus thought. In his hands, he held a complete listing of those persons who had been approached and how much, if any, they had donated to the fundraising effort. He nodded to Hermione, and she took the parchment back to the desk.

Hermione pulled out her wand, pointed it at the parchment, and quietly intoned, "Replicato." Nothing happened. She looked to Severus.

Damn and blast. Krum had somehow missed a magical field dampener...the room would allow no magic inside its walls.

Severus was about to tell Hermione that they would have to risk removing the parchment, when she reached inside her beaded bag, pulled out a sheet of Muggle notebook paper and a ball-point pen, and began to quickly copy the list. When she was finished, she returned the parchment to its original location and placed her pen in her bag before walking back to the window and handing Severus the duplicated list.

"Well done," he murmured as he folded the paper and placed it inside a hidden pocket in his robes.

Suddenly, they heard voices drifting toward them from the outer hallway, a man and a giggling woman, both of whom sounded quite obviously drunk. With a jolt, Severus recalled that the study was the only room in that section of the house...the couple was heading straight for them.

Unable to Disillusion themselves, and with nowhere to hide inside the sparse room, Severus thought quickly. His gaze was drawn to the open window and then to Hermione. He pulled his wand from his sleeve and looked very deliberately into his partner's eyes.

"We have to go. Now," he whispered.

Hermione's eyes widened and flitted to the window for the briefest of moments before she nodded and unsheathed her wand. She climbed onto the window sill, waited until Severus was immediately behind her ... and jumped.

Severus leapt from the window as well, pulling his shrunken broom from inside his robes, quickly returning it to its proper size, and then racing toward a falling but silent Hermione. His heart pounded in his chest, and Severus increased his speed until he was able to reach out and grab her, seating her on the broom in front of him, her back to his chest. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her trembling form to him and gently landed on a secluded stretch of beach near the tree line.

Hermione immediately unseated herself from the broom, stumbling to an area of dense foliage where she fell to her hands and knees and retched.

Severus dropped the broom into the sand and followed her, his own body shaking from the influx of adrenaline. As he reached her, she Scourgified the ground and then twisted until she was seated, her head in her hands.

He knew of her fear of falling...it was the reason she did not like flying...and yet she had thrown herself from the window with barely a look from him. Amazing. He sat down in the sand next to her, gathering her still shaking body close, and said, "You are too bloody trusting."

"No," she muttered shakily, her face pressed tightly into his neck. "Only with you and the boys."

Severus scowled. Had she just placed him in the same category as Potter and Weasley?

"You know," he said as he tightened his arms around her, "if I had known that you would jump out of a window merely at my command, I might have been sorely tempted to suggest it when you were thirteen and stealing ingredients from my potions stores."

She managed a small laugh. "Shut up."

A/N: Fairy floss is the Australian equivalent of cotton candy (US) and candy floss (UK). I thought "fairy floss" sounded quite appropriate for the wizarding world, so I chose to use that term.

My unending gratitude to my wonderful beta readers, Subversa and DeeMichelle, and my fabulous Brit picker, LettyBird. You ladies are the best!