With my wand raised and the curse on the tip of my tongue, ready to obliviate the pesky reporter that had been hounding me for a full interview since my trial, I unceremoniously yanked open my weathered front door, making it groan loudly. I froze in delighted surprise.
"Miss Granger!" My heart jumped into my throat as I looked into her velvet-brown eyes.
"Hello, Severus," Her almost mischievous looking smile was enhanced by the rosy flush of her cheeks. "This is for you, but you may not really like it." Her face scrunched up awkwardly, "Mrs. Weasley is trying to teach Ginny and I to prepare food and, well..."
She shook her head and chastised herself quietly as I took the box of mystery food from her, "Please thank Molly for me. And you, for the thought."
Over the last few days, I kept replaying Hermione's performance as she fiercely fought for my freedom. She'd been brilliant, well spoken and I'd been captivated by her throughout the proceedings. Only just this morning I'd gotten to the point where I wasn't thinking about her and that whole ordeal every five minutes; and now here she was in my doorway, looking stunning, and I'd go back to consistently thinking about her.
Fantastic!
"I had a few things I'd like to discuss with you, may I come in?" She stated in a pleasant tone as her blush grew.
I nodded and stepped aside to allow her entrance. The light inviting scent of lilies filled my nose, and I could physically feel myself responding to her proximity. I took a deep breath and cleared my throat before dropping the gift of food into my refrigerator and leading her into my study.
"I was just getting ready to owl you."
"Well, I guess I saved you the trouble," she smiled again before stopping in her tracks. I saw her looking at the stacks of letters, scrolls, and surprisingly, gifts. "What's all this?"
I sighed heavily, "Thanks to several newspaper articles, my popularity skyrocketed as you'd predicted it would." I glanced at the ever-growing pile and wondered for the millionth time how I was going to make it through all this nonsense. "Would you care for some iced tea?"
I'd used a cooling charm on a dark green glass pitcher that I recently started keeping in the study.
After returning home, I'd caught several pesky reporters peering through the kitchen window that was facing the alleyway. I could have gotten rid of the window and eliminated the problem with a simple spell, but then I might look guilty of something.
It was exhausting having to walk on pins and needles all the time, carefully censoring everything I said and did, so as not to make anyone question my release in any way.
She nodded, "I warned you, and yes, tea would be appreciated."
I grabbed a spare glass from a nearby collection I had on hand for such occasions, filling it for her.
"Thank you." As the cup touched her lips, I became a little envious; that was until the moan of pleasure she elicited immediately after swallowing the cold refreshment.
I had to stop mid-step and take a few deep breaths to steady myself from the jolt of surprise and the pleasant sound of her moan vibrating its way down my spine. I carefully sat in my chair, opposite her, doing my best to look like my usual unimpressed-with-the-world self.
When I'd recomposed a little, I looked up, and she was gently sucking her lower lip into her mouth with a charming look in her dreamy eyes.
Electricity shot through my body, driving me insane with the desire to experience her.
"I was expecting sweet tea, this is peppermint and..." she played with her mouth more, and a small smile pulled at her lips.
At that moment, I wished I could perform legilimency without leaving an impression of having been there because I felt like I had to know what was going on in her head right then, I needed it more than I needed air.
"Clove," I offered and swallowed several times to remoisten my mouth.
"That's what it was," she mumbled.
"What?"
"Why that blend?" She was studying me intensely now.
"Teaching loud, whining children can mess with one's digestive system and peppermint," I waved my hand at her knowing she knew it helped soothe stomachs.
"And the clove?"
"I used to smoke clove cigarettes. However, I really enjoy using my lung's full capacity, so I added the herb to my tea and was able to quit."
"It has a very distinct taste - unforgettable, really." She took another pull from her glass and moaned again.
I cleared my throat, "I was writing to thank you again. I don't know what kind of payment you'd like?"
I wasn't sure what I'd said that was so amusing, but her musical laughter suddenly filled the air, and she looked genuinely happy.
"The thought of payment never crossed my mind when I decided to help you."
"I don't like feeling indebted to someone." I shuddered, "It's uncomfortable. You'll have to come up with something."
She suggestively ran her velvet gaze over me and several kundalini raising positions that I'd always been thanked for performing popped to mind. I'd be more than happy to pay her with those - no - yes - no, I really mean no! Oh Merlin, why do I do this to myself? I must be a masochist.
"Okay." My pulse jumped, and she was smiling slyly. "You can properly thank me by getting better, and once you're strong enough, hunt down as many Death Eaters as possible and bring them to justice."
I scowled, slightly disappointed she hadn't read my mind after all. "I was reading the Prophet this morning and saw there were another two deaths in Scotland. I knew them." I sighed heavily, thinking of Evan Fibh, a boy I'd attended Hogwarts with and his wife, Aila whom I'd met later in life. Good people.
"Once I was well enough, I'd planned on helping the Ministry. I didn't spend my whole time as a spy..." I made quotation marks with my fingers, "...so that people could persist in being idiotic followers of a dead leader."
"Perfect." She took a few more sips, and I watched her eyes, trying to decipher what she was thinking.
"Might I ask where your parents are?" I asked, wanting to change the subject and because I was curious.
She looked me over before clearing her throat, "I don't know."
I gave her a look that said I didn't believe that Hermione know-it-all Jean Granger didn't actually know something.
"I had to keep them safe, so I obliviated them and removed all evidence they'd ever had a child, before going off with Harry and Ronald in search of the Horcruxes. They moved away soon after."
I chuckled a bit, "The Dark Lord did indeed send Snatchers after your parents in hopes of using them as bait to get you, Potter and Weasley to come out of hiding." I chuckled a little more when she gave me a horrified look. "I realize that sounds bad but he didn't apprehend them, and you should've seen Voldemort. He was so mad that he actually had some color to his otherwise pale skin." I looked her over as she slowly calmed down and smiled a little, "Your mind is quite extraordinary, Hermione. Have you made any attempts to locate them?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"It's too dangerous for them."
"You must want to see them again - to know they're safe." I watched her as she struggled with her emotions.
"Yes... but I won't risk them being injured for my peace of mind."
"If I were lucky enough to have family that I loved and had even the most remote possibility of having them close to me, especially right now, I would in a heartbeat."
She studied me intensely, "I see. Maybe once things calm down enough, I'll think about locating them." Clearing her throat, she continued on, "As to why I came by, I wanted to know how you've been feeling?"
"I've had better days, but well overall," I lied.
She looked me over with a critical eye, "When I learned about Nagini, I had a feeling she'd be a threat and did extensive research on snake attacks, specifically the effects of magical venom."
"Of course you did." I gave her a small smile and admitted to myself that I loved her mind more than I should. Always working away at one puzzle or another and managing to arrive at the correct conclusion.
The sad, tear-streaked face of a young Hermione flashed in my mind, and I suddenly tasted strawberries. My hands shook slightly, and I clasped them tightly together in my lap, attempting to not draw attention to my sudden ailment.
Her eyes searched mine, "After you'd passed out from the pain at St. Mungo's, I'd wondered if you might have some extensive neural damage from that thing." She scrunched her face in disgust. "So I ask you again, how are you feeling?"
I sighed heavily, knowing she'd not let this go easily, "The pain from the flare-ups are excruciating and momentarily debilitating."
"How often?"
"It seems to happen a few times a day, like a ghost, reminding me of how lucky I was that I even survived such an ordeal." I huffed when noticing her wearing her smug know-it-all face. I did my best not to smile from its familiar appearance - I think I was successful.
"I believe it would be in your best interests to go to see Master Tamaki in the Himalayas. You could make a complete recovery," I quirked a doubtful eyebrow at her. "Or as full a recovery as you'll be able to make," she amended.
I nodded for her to continue.
Using a more hopeful and earnest tone, along with giving me big brown eyes that I was finding hard to resist staring at, she continued with her persuasive speech. "Severus, Master Tamaki is a world-renowned healer that has successfully treated many ailments. I'm sorry, but I took the liberty of owling him and giving him information about your case to see if he could help you at all."
"The verdict?" I asked, hoping for a good outcome but expecting less.
She smiled warmly and pulled a rolled up, parchment out of her bag, handing it to me.
In large gold writing across the top. Himalayas Healing Hands Est. 743 A.D. was followed by a long list of awards for excellent service. I skimmed through all the available care as well as the listings of the healers on staff and stopped reading near the bottom. There was an appointment set for a Mr. Severus Mulligan in a week's time.
"Mulligan?" I chuckled, a little surprised and humbled by her need to continue to nurse me back to health even though I was a grown man and more than capable of taking care of things for myself.
"I thought it would be best if you went under a different name. I didn't want you to have reporters following you there when you should be recovering."
I lifted the parchment with a smile. "Thank you, Hermione." I enjoyed her name on my tongue and felt myself staring into her warm eyes.
"You'll go?"
"I believe the Borg say it best." I smiled slightly, "Resistance is futile." She relaxed and chuckled a little bit.
"You watch Star Trek?"
"My father was a muggle, so I was exposed to television and couldn't shake the habit."
"I just hadn't realized..." her eyes darted around looking for the right words.
"I always prefer books, but my eyes get tired. It may come as a shock for you to learn, but I'm human and need to relax or be brain dead, for a short while."
She smiled at me. "Makes sense." She cleared her throat before continuing, "The other reason I stopped by was that I'd come across some fascinating research about the uses of cumin and its ability to lower inflammation in the body. I think if we were to add the additional amounts I've specified here," from nowhere, she pulled out a sheet of parchment and handed it to me. I glanced over the notes and grew excited. "...it could be that much more effective."
"As a matter of fact, I had come across this bit of information just recently," her shoulders sagged a little. "But I didn't think about using this exact dose. I'd thought of using 1000 mg three times daily."
"You could also add pepper - piperine rather, to help with the absorption. I'm positive that we could brew up something for your discomfort that will last until you see Master Tamaki. If you'd like my help, that is," she kindly offered.
I stared through her creamy forehead at the brilliant mind within and felt a little giddy at the idea of seeing her come up with her own spin on potions or better yet, altogether creating a new one. Even though I'd hated hearing Sirius Black say, 'run along and play with your chemistry set,' I loved the necessary intimacy needed to grasp the use of compounds and mixing them to create the perfect potion. To experiment on elixirs with Hermione would be quite an exhilarating adventure.
I stood abruptly and moved to the doorway that led upstairs to my perfectly stocked and labeled laboratory.
"Please," I looked her over trying to contain my excitement, "I'd like to show you what I've come up with, maybe your addition will be exactly what I need."
She tilted her head a little, giving it some thought before deciding to walk to me.
Pushing open the door that looked like my wall, I waved her through, "After you."
When she reached the landing, she rushed in screaming excitedly, "Fawkes!" She'd made her way over to the giant fiery-red Phoenix. "How come you're here?"
The attention-seeking bird was nudging her shoulder, appearing happy to see the brown-eyed girl.
"He started visiting me soon after the funeral," I shrugged a little while admiring the regal bird.
Fawkes was pleasant company but also a painful reminder of my fatherly-friend. I always thought about how even when we were in the midst of Voldemort's inflicted chaos, Albus and I still had to live for the good things, and together - we did.
"He knew you lived here?"
"Albus and I spent many hours up here, and Fawkes came along on occasion. I don't know why he's decided to come here since I don't feed him and he never seems to need anything from me but, he's welcome here - always."
"Fawkes is brilliant, he must have known how close you and Dumbledore were to have decided to come to you." She shrugged a little as she stroked his long red feathers. "Maybe you two needed each other to heal." She suddenly huffed loudly, "If I'd known you'd had him, I could have added that to your case. Who can argue with him?"
"Fawkes belongs to no one, and I'd never pretend to have any sway over him or be one to call him like some pet."
The winged creature flapped his wings proudly, knowing precisely what was being said about him and approving.
She rolled her eyes at me, "You know what I meant Severus."
She stepped away from the attention lover and spun slowly in a circle looking at the ceiling that was made of large glass window panes, allowing the sunlight to naturally warm my favorite space in the house.
She sucked in a startled breath and moved from Fawkes to the glass door leading into a separate greenhouse area for my sun drinking plants. It was charmed to stay at the various temperatures for each of the rare seedlings as needed.
She laughed, "I've never seen that kind of butterfly before. It's beautiful!"
"That one is Magice Polygonia interrogationis. It's of magical relation to the very rare question mark butterfly, native to North America."
She tilted her head, inspecting it more critically. "I guess since the silver mark on the hindwing is broken into two parts, with a curved line and a dot, it does look like a question mark."
"Yes. It's hard to see unless you're looking for it, but the black markings are really tri-colored with dark purple and deep blue. The burnt orange color changes hue depending on the temperature and in the cooler months the violet-tipped tail becomes more vibrant and obvious rather than silver-looking like it is now. Quite elegant and its magical properties are invaluable."
I'd crossed my arms over my chest and was rubbing my chin as I spoke, enjoying my deep love of sharing knowledge. It had been too long, and no matter how much I griped, seeing the light of understanding come into someone's eyes was an indescribable high for me.
She smiled at me before her eyes wandered to the right of us and across the full wall, shelved from floor to ceiling. It was filled with books, jars of various herbs, crystals, bones, and hundreds of other items I kept stocked.
Moving to the books on the shelves, she ran small inquisitive fingers over the worn bindings of several works.
"I've not read this one! As a matter of fact, I've read all Sir Richards works, and I've never even heard of 'Homeopathy versus Potions,'" She'd pulled the heavy book out and seemed to be reading as she prattled on about it not existing.
"You could borrow it if you'd like." I couldn't help but feel compelled to offer her anything that she might possibly desire.
She closed and hugged the book tightly against her nicely curved form, "Yes, please."
My body had loved the way her words caressed my ears, and I waved a hand at her, giving her permission to take it and anything else she wanted that she hadn't asked for yet.
"This..." I moved to the table in the center where I had a few different things brewing. "...is what I had used and my notes concerning the dosage."
She closed the book and slipped it into her bag before coming to my side and looking over the mentioned notes. "It looks like the use of the feverfew may be interacting poorly with...," she rattled on about the doses, and I was mesmerized by her.
We spent the next few hours brewing a completely new potion that looked promising. The beautiful Little Witch had an innate understanding of how I'd organized everything, and I hadn't even spoken a word about how it was laid out. We had worked in choreographed perfection moving around each other as if in a waltz. It was refreshing to have company, and yet we hardly spoke a word.
There was the occasional, "Stir that," or "Turn the flame down, it's too hot." She seemed to possess a profound understanding of temperature and its interaction with several of the potion ingredients, quickly bringing my attention to the fact that the heat I'd set it to could have activated certain compounds making them inert.
Her mind was arousing to all of my senses, making it hard to keep my mind from wandering too far from our task.
I'd been reaching over Hermione's small form to turn down the drip flow when a voice hollered out, "Severus, I told you I'd be here at five. And where do I find you? Up here playing with..." Narcissa Malfoy's eyes went wide, looking at the oddity of the situation while coming to stand nearby, to better assess the situation, "...Miss Granger."
"Narcissa," I exclaimed, standing awkwardly as I realized how things may look to an outsider. "Is it really, five?"
Hermione put the finishing purple-brown colored drops into the steaming pot we'd been nursing along this whole time before straightening up and smiling a little.
"Mrs. Malfoy," Hermione nodded as she began to fidget with her fingers.
Narcissa pulled Hermione into a hug, shocking me and by the look on the brown-eyed beauty's face, I'd say she wasn't sure how to react either. For the briefest of moments, she appeared to be frozen and then relaxed before smiling while giving Narcissa a hug back.
"Severus is a dear friend of mine. You kept him from being taken from me. Is there anything I can do to thank you? Do you need anything?" Narcissa pulled away and looked her over.
Hermione laughed lightly, "No, I'm fine. I've got a place to stay, warm meals and clean clothes. All one needs to live." Her eyes had traveled to me as she spoke.
Narcissa nodded and followed her gaze to me.
"Miss. Granger was here insisting I go to the Himalayas to recover at a private facility. She also offered her assistance with some potion enhancements... as you just witnessed."
Narcissa smiled, "Oh, well, it wouldn't happen to be Master Tamaki's clinic, would it?"
Hermione smiled warmly, "Yes, you've heard of him?"
Narcissa nodded before Hermione continued, "I believe Severus is suffering from some neural degradation from Nagini's venom."
We all seemed to shiver in unison at the mention of that vile creature.
"Let's sit in the study, where it's less..." Narcissa scrunched her nose, and Hermione chuckled lightly.
"Sure." I happily agreed because the lab is my private space and I don't like having people in here unless we're working on something.
The women wandered down the stairs, chattering the whole way, and I quickly checked the temperatures of the brewing potions before following after them.
"He's brilliant! I had to visit Master Tamaki back when Draco had..." as the two continued on with the conversation I became confused as to how they had suddenly become best of friends while deciding my health treatment plan without me. I figured it must be a woman thing.
My confused state at the turn of events had caused me to miss the majority of the chattering in the room until I noticed they were both staring at me. I assumed they were looking for me to agree to something, and not wanting to appear to have stopped listening to them, I opened my mouth, speaking confidently, "Sure, that sounds acceptable."
"I'm so glad you'll see the matchmaker. Severus, you really need to find the right person to look after you. Miss. Granger and I have lives we have to attend to, and it will make us feel so much better knowing you're not all alone." Narcissa smiled warmly.
A matchmaker? I was sure they were messing with me.
"I really think that Belinda Hooks will do an amazing job." Hermione was smiling with a strange look in her eye, "She's got a stellar reputation. I'd think that contacting her himself would be best but, forgive me, Severus," she stated as an aside, "I very much doubt that he'll do it. Maybe you should take him down there... just to be sure he goes."
"I believe it would be in everyone's best interests that I get better before trying to convince someone to become romantically involved with me," I said trying to sound like I was completely onboard with this ridiculous idea.
"Well, I'd be delighted to take you there after you're back from the Himalayas," Narcissa insisted.
I could feel myself nodding to keep them happy, but I was thinking of all the excuses I was going to use to completely avoid meeting this so-called matchmaker.
They were both staring at me, and I was doing my best not to run screaming from the room like a frightened child due to the way it was making my insides uncomfortably squirm.
"It's time I get going. I'm sure everyone is wondering what could have taken so long. Narcissa, it was good to see you, and I'm glad that you're doing well."
Narcissa smiled warmly, "You as well, Hermione. Oh, and one more thank you for representing Sev at the Wizengamot. You were brilliant, and your parents should be very proud of you." Granger blushed under the praise and nodded before leaving the room.
"I'll be right back," I followed Hermione to the door and went to put my hand on the knob at the same time as she did. I captured hers on the cool metal, our hands resting comfortably together.
She took a deep, shaky breath before looking at me, and I found that I couldn't breathe right either. I looked at her hand and then to her eyes, "Again, thank you for everything, Hermione. I enjoyed today, and getting to know you better."
She smiled almost sadly and opened her mouth to say something but instead stepped close and hugged me with her free arm.
The softness of her pressed against me with the smell of lily's flowing through me caused an instant physical reaction that I tried to block but didn't know if I wanted to. Holding her close like this felt perfect and I wished Narcissa hadn't shown up so I wouldn't have to pull away so soon.
I cleared my throat and stepped back slightly, "I will let you know how the Himalayas treat me, and the potion."
She smiled and twitched her fingers on the doorknob, and I lightly squeezed her hand before removing mine.
"Take care, Severus. I look forward to your owl."
With that, she slipped out the door. I took a few moments to calm my racing heart as I straightened my clothes before returning to Narcissa.
Before I'd finished making my way through the threshold of my study, Narcissa asked, "What in Merlin's beard is going on between you and her?"
"She was here helping with my pain potion and telling me about the appointment that she'd made for me at Master Tamaki's clinic."
"Severus," she sighed my name in exasperation. "You don't let anyone into your lab, and whether you realize it or not, you two had a feel about you." She glared at me, "You know, the one people get when they're doing something that's toeing the line of acceptable behavior."
"What exactly do you mean?"
She frowned slightly, "It would behoove you to forget any thoughts and feelings you may be having for her and get better." She looked me deeply in the eye with her mother-knows-best blue ones. "I'll take you to Belinda, and we'll find the right woman for you."
"I..." she cocked her eyebrow, and I looked away. "I don't have feelings other than gratitude for Hermione. She saved my life, kept me from Azkaban, and is an incredibly brilliant witch," I lifted my hand to the ceiling to point to the lab just as I realized what I was saying.
"Exactly. You forgot to say that she's beautiful, articulate and will break your heart into a million little pieces when she realizes she wants someone else. She's young, and they change their minds like changing their underclothes."
I fidgeted with my cloak, "I know."
She sighed heavily and pulled me to the kitchen where we made dinner and discussed anything and everything but Hermione Granger.