As soon as Hermione and Snape floo-ed out of the Ministry, they arrived at a seedy old pub. Hermione thought it was abandoned since the lights were off and the furniture looked hardly to be in use, all rickety and dust-covered but she realized that it had gotten quite late and the pub had been closed for the night.
Before she could even get a bearing of her surroundings, Snape had yanked her after him and they ran out of the place, stepping out on a cobbled road. She didn't even know which part of the city they were in but she guessed it was pretty deep inside Knockturn alley- places where she had never been in and never thought she'd ever be.
Wordlessly, she followed Snape as he guided her through the dense network of alleyways and hidden pathways, mostly keeping to the dark lanes and avoiding the big avenues and crowded thoroughfares. Because of the late hour, not many people were out in the streets, but they still kept a lookout as they traversed through the obscure avenues of London.
After going on like this for a while, Hermione had to ask. "Where are we going?"
"We need a place to stay...at least for the night," replied Snape.
Soon they appeared before a small and succinct building with insipid brick exterior walls. It seemed to be tucked away between two other broad and tall houses but a welcoming light spilled out of the open door and Hermione doubted whether the entrance could be seen if one didn't stand at a particular spot on the pavement. The abode appeared to be an inn.
"We'll be safe here from the Ministry police," was all Snape offered, "This will have to make do for now."
It was definitely invisible to muggle eyes and it was unlikely many wizarding folks knew about its existence either. "How do you know about this place?" she asked.
After a pause, he replied, "You know I've been doing this for a long time. I think I know every doorman and bellhop of every decent shithouse, borderline decent flophouse on both sides of the wizarding community. And if you can't tell whether it's light or dark outside anymore, it is better to stay inside a safe hole, even if it's in the ground."
They cautiously walked over to the stout old lady at the reception. The bespectacled stocky old woman was dozing in her seat, but she shook herself up as she heard them approach. Her clothes were moth-eaten and her unbrushed hair was done up in a messy bun but she was certainly used to late-night visitors, and she plucked up the spectacles hanging from her neck by a string. They had been resting on her bosom but now she placed them upon her nose, as she smiled up at her new guests.
"Good evening, dears! How can I help you?"
"Hello,...um, we are looking for accommodations for tonight. We might need to be here for a few days," Snape conversed, "And, uh, we'll be needing food. If you don't serve meals here then could you possibly suggest someplace-"
At that moment a door was opened loudly, followed by a raucous noise as four or five men left the tavern and headed out, jesting among themselves. Hermione and Snape had sharply turned towards the sound and now both visibly relaxed. And each of them realized that the other's hand had shot straight to the place where their wands were.
Looking at the two of them, the woman realized that they were quite on edge, but she was used to dealing with people who came seeking shelter, possibly on the run from threats or evading capture. However, she didn't poke her nose in any of their business and expected them not to poke their nose in hers. That's why Snape brought Hermione here; he knew this innkeeper to be inconspicuous.
"Will that be two rooms then?" she inquired, opening up the tattered logbook.
"Yes-"
"No!" Hermione quickly supplied and looked towards Snape who had sharply turned to her, incredulous. "I- I don't feel good about staying in a room all by myself. I get terrible anxiety...Please, if you don't mind-"
Snape cast a glance at the woman and then took Hermione by the elbow to draw her aside. "Are you sure...?"
"Yes. Please, if it's not too much trouble, I -I mean, if you agree..." she whispered back, "Actually, I would feel safer with you there."
He observed her face and saw her pleading with him with her eyes. But he was dubious; to be honest, he didn't want to leave her alone in a place like this- he knew the inn was beyond Ministry knowledge but then again it came with the disadvantage of being full of outlaws and crooks- but on the other hand, he was worried about the implications and impropriety of staying in the same room with her.
The woman passed her eyes from one to the other and saw the obvious conflict on their faces. "Tell you what, we've got a suite. It's our only one available," she offered, "I mean, it's nothing fancy but it's got a separate bedroom and a couch that folds out. It'll cost a little more but you can have the whole floor to yourselves."
Hermione was glad that she understood their predicament somewhat; she reminded her of Molly, with her caring attitude and motherly concern. Snape and Hermione looked at each other and seemed to be still debating. Judging by her face, he knew that she was fairly satisfied with the idea.
"So, what's it gonna be hon, ?"
He turned back to her and reached inside his pockets to get the money. "Just the one room, then." he sighed.
They followed the inn-keeper up the stairs to reach the top floor, where she opened up the room for them. As promised, the suite was divided into two sections, the living room with a sofa, coffee table, a small dining table with a pair of chairs, and a wooden partition, presumably opening to the bed and the bathroom. The furniture matched the rest of the household, old and timeworn but looked like they were attempted to be cleaned in case boarders came about.
"Mind you, it can be a little damp," the woman was saying, "But if you open up these windows, sunshine fills the room beautifully in the morning-"
"No, we prefer it if the windows are kept closed, thank you." Snape dismissed.
She took that as her cue to leave and passing one final glance of curiosity over the two of them, she hobbled away complaining about her aching joints.
Snape parted the blinds a bit to scan the street below, before shutting it again and turned back to see Hermione standing awkwardly by. With the door now closed, they found themselves all alone, and both of them caught each other's eye and quickly averted their gaze. Hermione cast a glance around the room, wondering how long this place was going to be their hideout while Snape seemed extremely interested in a blotch on the carpet.
"It's not much," he began after a while, to not let the awkward silence drag out any longer, "But I'm afraid you're gonna have to find a way to be comfortable here. I hope it won't be a problem?"
"Problem? You bet there's going to be a problem! Just these two rooms? I mean, where would I keep my gowns and diamonds?" Hermione joked, "And they don't even have a red carpet, God, where do I even step?"
Snape rolled his eyes when he realized that she was being sarcastic but it had effectively dispelled the awkwardness.
"I'm gonna see whether Madam Hestia can arrange for some food," he said, "You lock the door behind me and put up protective charms. I'll knock once, pause then twice more. Do not open the door for anyone else."
"I know how it works, Severus. Go."
She guessed he wanted to leave her alone to make herself comfortable and give her some privacy in order to change or just take a personal moment but he was also trying to avoid their disquieting situation and had been looking for an excuse to get out of there as soon as possible. She decided to let him take his own time.
As he left, Hermione saw a cloud of dust fall off the wooden ceiling, shaken by some motion from above. Presumably, people were going at it upstairs and from the variety of different types of sound coming from all around, folks were still up and engaged in carnal activities and she expected they needed to put up the muffliato charm if they wanted to catch any sleep.
But first, she decided to wave her wand and make the room dust free and after she was satisfied with her work, she sighed and took off her coat, thinking about heading to the bathroom to freshen up.
It hadn't been a minute since Snape was gone, when he stumbled back into the room, looking astonished. Hermione was halfway into pulling off her coat and her hand got stuck trying to reach for her wand, worried someone was breaking into her room. Thinking she was about to take off her clothes, Snape quickly looked away, but then when he was sure she was decent, he said in a stern voice.
"I thought I told you to lock the door!"
She huffed, "I am doing it." Emphasizing it, she came forward as she realized that he wasn't going to go away until he made sure she was actually doing it. His face conveyed that he took her safety very seriously and she quit joking about and shut the door, bolting it, then stroking the wood with the tip of her wand, muttering enchantments. She stood listening as she heard him wait and then his footsteps faded down the corridor as his long strides carried him away.
He returned about an hour later, whereafter she opened the door after hearing the secret knock they had agreed upon. He saw that during the time he had been away, she had taken a shower and changed into a different set of clothes.
"The cooks had gone to bed but Madam Hestia was nice enough to whip up a pot of stew, and she had some bread to spare," he said as he tried to ignore the beautiful aroma emanating from her and tried to concentrate on the one that was rising up from the steaming bowls, as he laid out the food on the table. Hermione didn't need to be told twice before digging in, realizing how famished she was.
Snape peeked through the window again, spotting only stray cats and a few loiterers, mostly drunkards and a parked motorcycle down the road, but nothing alarming, before he joined her as well. They ate in silence, with nothing but the sound of their chewing audible as they eagerly spooned the hearty meal, effectively warming up their bellies.
Hermione finished first and sat waiting, watching him eat. He had assumed his usual mannerisms and didn't rush with his dinner, but he inferred that she had something to say and dabbed at the corners of his mouth with a napkin.
"Are we going to talk about what happened today?" she asked the first chance she got.
"You've had a pretty long and tiring day today, Ms. Granger," he remarked, with a slight frown, "I suggest you go to bed now." He got up, clearing away the dishes and Hermione understood that he was unwilling to pursue that conversation tonight.
She knew it wouldn't be wise to displease him and decided to follow suit, but there was one other argument to be had, as to who would take the bed and who the couch. In that too, he shot her down, refusing to listen to any of her protests, and urged her to go ahead and set up camp on the bed.
She got under the covers and waited, anticipating the notion of being in the same room with him, but by the time Snape was done using the bathroom, her eyes had started to droop. She had no idea what time it was but she felt him pausing before carrying on to the living room, seemingly lost in thought as he looked at her.
She was glad there were no more inappropriate noises coming from anywhere- the residents of the inn seemed to have finally finished with their activities and gone to sleep- otherwise, the two of them wouldn't have been able to look each other in the eye without turning red. But now the silence was perceptive.
He realized he had been standing there too long and jumped into motion. "Good night, Ms. Granger," he muttered, as he proceeded to close the wooden partition between them.
"No, leave it open, please."
He stopped, making sure she really wanted that and as she nodded in reassurance and closed her eyes, she heard him let the door slide back to its position. That way, whenever she wanted to, she could just open her eyes and have a clear view of the sofa where he would be sleeping. He took another peek out the window to make sure everything was fine, rechecked the spells on the door, and eventually laid down on the couch.
From where she was in bed, she could make out his side profile in the darkness, but she was consoled by the fact that he was there. She looked at him with a little curiosity; he hadn't changed into his night-clothes- god forbid, she couldn't dare to hope she would see him in his pajamas, but he didn't seem to have changed into more comfortable clothes either. And he didn't bother pulling out the sofa to transform it into a bed, he left it as it was and simply laid down on top of it. She wondered whether anyone could be comfortable like that.
"You know, the bed is rather large," she called out, "I dunno, but it seems like a waste of space to not-"
"I'm trying to be nice to you Granger. Don't push it."
She squeezed her lips as a smile escaped her, finding it funny that he was shocked she would actually offer him to share her bed but he was quick in his dismissal and she was actually relieved that he didn't even consider it.
But oddly enough, she was comforted by his presence and soon she found herself succumbing to sleep.
*****************************
The next morning Hermione woke up in a panic, as she opened her eyes, rolled over, and saw the sofa was empty. She quickly grabbed her wand from under her pillow where she had stashed it and quickly shook herself fully awake. She wondered whether Snape had gotten any sleep last night and how early he had woken up but she feared something had happened since he left without informing her.
She ran to the window, trying to see whether anything was out of the ordinary, and wildly searched through the little gap she made in the blinds, already starting to sweat. She turned sharply towards the door as she heard it open and found the subject of her worry right in front of her.
"It's me," Snape said, raising his hands up in surrender, as he found Hermione to be in attack mode first thing in the morning.
"Where were you?!"
"I didn't wanna wake you," he said, "I just went for a walk."
"A walk?"
"Yes," he explained, "I walked around the block to see whether the coast was clear. And I managed to sneak in the morning papers."
Hermione slunk back into a chair, still breathing heavily. He placed the papers on the table in front of her and examined her face. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to scare you." he was genuinely apologetic, seeing how anxious she had been.
She sighed, picking up the Daily Prophet instead, half-expecting their faces would be displayed across it. "Any news about yesterday?" she asked, assuming he had already gone through it.
"Not a peep," he said, springing down on the couch, "The Ministry still seems to be protecting its royal behind, but I suppose it will come out in a day or two. From what I heard, they are actively hunting us, hoping to find us before word spreads about last night's break-in."
Obviously, the Ministry was trying to keep it quiet, because if people came to know that Hermione Granger had broken into the Ministry to investigate her husband's murder, then they will surely suspect something fishy was going on and they couldn't risk the possibility of having their shady business come to light. She was well aware of the Ministry's efforts to have events such as these swept beneath the carpet to avoid opening the still healing fractures in wizarding society.
But she knew that her employment at the Ministry was effectively terminated and she and Snape had now become fugitives. Great fucking start, Granger...
She was worried about Harry; she wondered what kind of trouble he was in, in case they found out that he had helped them escape. She leafed through the pages erratically but found no mention of him either. She got up to aimlessly pace around, thinking. She wondered whether he had told anyone else about her, people they could trust, and whether they were trying to find her too, or whether he was found out by the Ministry and made to not disclose this to anybody and worse still, whether he was being punished for it.
"If you're worried about Potter, I'd suggest you stop." To her astonishment and frustration, Snape had brought out a book and had casually started to read while stretching out on the sofa, "He's still warm and snug in his cozy little office room."
"You don't know that."
"I know that it wouldn't be of any help if you worry," he drawled, "You can't do anything all the way from here."
"I can't seem to do anything anyway it would seem." she said exasperatedly, "I mean, what did we even accomplish? We made such an elaborate plan, we barely escaped with our lives- what was it all for? We got nothing!"
"It's not nothing-"
"Fine, we got a single name- Abraham Townsend. Does that name mean anything to you, because for me, it certainly does not ring a bell."
"You are forgetting the most important part," he said, without getting affected by her hysterics, "We have a lead."
"A lead?" she was getting agitated, "That name was the only common thread that linked the cases. That is our only clue and we have nothing else to go on." She suddenly looked at him, "If you know something, tell me."
Without even removing the book from over his face, he remarked, "All in good time, Ms. Granger."
She gritted her teeth but then decided she didn't have the patience to humor his riddle-like manner of speaking at the moment. She shoved her wand in her back pocket and proceeded to go out. This sparked his interest and he looked up from his book, brows furrowed. "Where do you think you're going?"
"To get some breakfast. I know it's late but let's see whether Madam Hestia has managed to save me some. I'm starving," she imitated his nonchalant way of speaking, "Don't worry, I'll bring back some machine-oil for you."
He was swift to get out of his seat and was at her side in an instant, grabbing her by the elbow. "Are you insane? I'll bring you whatever you want, you don't have to-"
"Oh, so it's okay for you to take a stroll but it's not permitted for me to go downstairs?"
"It's not safe for you. Don't be foolish..."
"Don't patronize me!" She jerked off his hand and glared at him defiantly.
He puffed up to retort back but then exhaled deeply, calming himself down. "All right, but if you have to, then take the polyjuice potion first. We didn't make gallons of it for nothing."
She dropped her acrimony and followed him to where he had kept his satchel. He fished out a flask of the potion and poured her a vial.
"And where would I find the hair?" she inquired but before she could finish, he produced a long and orange strand of hair from his pocket. "I, ahem, acquired it on my way back here."
She took it without further question, making sure he had some too, with a different specimen of hair in his, and ten minutes later, a very transformed Snape and Hermione were sitting at one of the tables in the dining area downstairs.
There were only a few people still seated and the house-elves were cleaning up, but Hermione still kept her voice down, in case they were overheard. Snape was deliberately keeping his eyes fixed on his plate and she had to get his attention. "Look, I know this Townsend guy has something to do with the case-"
"Are you...?" he wildly looked about, suppressing his urge to shout, "Don't talk about the case in here. There could be Ministry narks everywhere. You don't know these people- I bet half of them will not think twice before selling you out for a mug of ale."
"Well, I assumed I could make you talk once we were in public," she smirked, "It would look like we were fighting like an old married couple."
"Well, if we were an old married couple," he couldn't believe he was saying this, "I would prefer to take the fight inside closed doors."
"Hunh, you would like that wouldn't you..." Sitting back, she was thinking out loud, "It is times like this I wish I had learned how to do Legilimency."
Snape arched an eyebrow up at her. "What makes you think I would let you in there?" His face suddenly turned dark. "And besides...you don't wanna do that. You don't want to have a glimpse of my mind..."
She looked at him curiously and he was staring into the depths of his coffee and his eyes were as dark as the warm liquid, only when he looked up at her, she could see they were pools of black water that she wanted to dive into, but they were impenetrable and she knew she would hurt herself trying to take the plunge.
The moment was cut through by a sharp whistle followed by heckles and hoots. "Ei yo, Bessy! If you're finished gazing into that old sod's eyes, come join us babe!"
They both turned to look at the place where a group of men were sitting, already getting sloshed and they seemed to have addressed Hermione, or the woman she now looked like.
"Hey, come over. I wasn't done with you the other night."
"Yeah, there are a few more things I'd like to try..."
"Come on, daddy wants a little sugar!"
She looked at her body; at the time she didn't think much of it but now she realized that this woman had an ample bosom and a sizeable ass, which were now covered by Hermione's rather modest clothes. She quickly understood what was going on and she turned to Snape, whispering through gritted teeth, "Really? This was the only female hair you could get a hold of?"
"I had no idea," he said, already sliding out of his seat, "Let's go."
As they were passing them by, a particularly rowdy one among the group slapped Hermione's arse. "Come on, don't be shy!"
Snape made an angry move towards him but Hermione pulled him back. "I'm sorry boys, but this gentleman has booked me for the night."
But they still persisted. "Oh come on, we both know you can handle more than one."
"What are you even wearing?"
"Yeah, you trainin' to be a nun?"
"Ah...always wanted to fuck a nun."
Disgusted, she quickened her pace to leave, with a disgruntled Snape behind her.
"What happened? Scared you'll break your virginity?"
"With a dick like yours, I wouldn't worry about it!" Hermione fired back.
They were still following them when Madam Hestia intervened, taking a firm hand in admonishing them about their dues and that they needed to clear their debts before enjoying any more service. Somehow Hermione knew that she had had a way of seeing people for who they really were and has come to their aid, suspecting who they actually were behind their disguise and she thanked the elderly innkeeper in her mind. Meanwhile, Snape was looking astonished at Hermione.
"What? I was just playing the character." she remarked.
She caught him sporting a sly smile as they returned to their room but his playfulness quickly turned into chagrin as no sooner than they had locked the doors again, Hermione launched into her insistence on planning their next course of action.
"So what are we gonna do? What's the next step?"
He rolled his eyes, "Look, I suppose saving the world is cool and all but my main objective is keeping you alive."
She would've been appreciative of the fact had not Snape said it so casually as he plopped back into the sofa again, burying his nose in that book. Furious, with a slap of her hand she forced the book out of his fingers before he could realize what was happening.
"Wha- what are you doing? Why are you behaving like a child?"
Hermione stood there crossing her arms, but she began in a much calmer tone, talking mostly to herself, "Sometimes, I wish we were still children...I wish I could've met you then. I wish I had known a Severus Snape before the world got to him. And taught him that the only way to survive was to build this wall around himself and never let anyone in."
He sat up then, giving her his undivided attention; she refused to back down and stared at him with purpose. He learned that she demanded to be treated as a peer and she would not tolerate any kind of condescension anymore. She didn't need to remind him that she had allowed him to accompany her and expected to get a collaborative experience from him. And as she had proved time and again, she was more than capable of holding her ground. Most importantly, she hated being left out of things and it would be stupid not to include her in the decision-making process since she could have some valuable insights. However, her current state of restlessness was something only he was capable of curbing, with his composed fortitude.
"We have the name, we know he is connected to the Ministry. We just have to wait for them to make the next move."
"We can't afford to wait," she said, "You say you've been doing this for a long time. Do you know only doormen and bellhops?"
He looked up at her and the corners of his mouth slowly turned up in an amused smirk, like he had been waiting for someone to say the correct answer to a problem, and she had finally done it. He looked like he hadn't been disappointed with her.
"Talk about hitting the nail on the head... but for that, Ms. Granger, we need to wait till nightfall."