Home | Members | Help | Submission Rules | Log In |
Recently Added | Categories | Titles | Completed Fics | Random Fic | Search | Top Fictions
Fluff

Silver and Gold by dragoon811 [Reviews - 11]

<<

Would you like to submit a review?




Chapter Four

“Good morning,” Hermione said, opening her door. She felt horrible.

“If you say so,” Severus grumbled. He moved to give her room to exit her chambers, and she closed the door firmly behind her. “My neck is stiff and I slept through my first alarm.”

“Me, too.” She yawned, covering her mouth with one hand. “I barely remember Winky moving me to my rooms. She wasn't very pleased to find us both passed out in your sitting room.”

His shoulders relaxed fractionally. He must have been really out of it, she thought, to not to have noticed that.

“She wouldn't be. House Elves have a very strong opinion on propriety, I've noticed.”

“Me, too. It took a long time for me to realise that most of them aren't ready for freedom, yet.” Hermione tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Even if they should be.”

She hated it. It was so unfair! They worked so hard, for so little—

“Yes,” he agreed, distracting her from her thoughts. “At least at Hogwarts they are well-treated. Did you know that ever since your fiasco with the hats that the Headmaster or Headmistress has left the offer of freedom or paid work open to any elf who wishes it?”

“Really?” Hermione looked up at his strong profile, feeling her cheeks pinken. “That's wonderful! I had no idea! Has anyone taken it yet?”

“Not yet. Some consider it more and more with each passing year, however.”

“Good.” She smiled, elated.

“Indeed. So you won't have to knit any hats as you shadow Poppy.”

“So I can stay in my quarters a while longer?” Hermione looked up at him hopefully as they reached the staff door to the Great Hall.

Severus opened the door for her to proceed him. His next words thrilled her. “They are yours for as long as you'd like.”

On cloud nine, she hurried to her seat.




Having dismissed his last class before lunch, Severus moved into his office to mark essays. As he read over the parchments, his fingers kept straying to the silver and gold binding cord on his desk. The silk was cool and slippery, the colours mocking him.

Achievement and triumph, the benefactor and teacher, the colour linked to the alchemically masculine sun. It wasn't a bright shade, but a muted, almost traditional tone. Almost intense, in its own way. And was it daft to think it a royal colour, and he the once self-styled Half-Blood Prince?

On the other hand... The oft-considered feminine moon was linked to silver, a mature sort of reflection. It meshed well with the gold, but where gold was an excellent conduit for magic, silver was a cleansing, pure metal. Perfect for Hermione, who wished to become a Healer.

He'd found the colours disturbing, at first. He would have thought one of the colours would have been black: his own Apprenticeship cord had been black and yellow. Certainly fitting for him and his impatient, critical Master.

But gold? For him?

And silver for her?

It was as if that fickle bitch Fate had finally remembered he existed and decided to meddle in his life again. Then again, maybe it was Karma. Merlin knew he wanted something good in his life... and Hermione was definitely good.

Well, good for him, anyway. She certainly had a vindictive streak in her, but she had much better control than he had, although he was fairly sure that Draco and—drat what had that girl's name been the year the toad was in the school? Cliffbrush? No. Something to do with blemishes—would disagree heartily. But Hermione made him want to be... better. He did not have to try to gain her attention, he had it. He did not have to hide his interests, for she was curious about everything. She was... everything, in a way. She was possibility, the moon he would reach for.

Snatching his fingers away from the cord, Severus frowned and tried to get back to marking. He would ask her to dinner. Soon. As soon as the contract was finished. He bloody well would.




Severus sat staring into his fire, cauldron mug held loosely in his grip, the tea it had held long gone. His day had been quiet, and it seemed that every time Hermione wished to speak to him, they had been interrupted. He'd heard the washroom door lock automatically a few hours ago, then unlock a few minutes after. And now... he waited. The fire crackled every so often, sparks drifting upwards.

Five minutes.

Four minutes.

Three minutes.

A log snapped, shifting in the blaze.

Two minutes.

Ash drifted from the fire.

One minute.

Severus put down his mug and picked up his quill.

Forty seconds.

Thirty.

Twenty.

Ten.

The clock chimed midnight and he signed his name on the line, heart aching as he felt the tenuous threads of magic binding him to his apprentice dissolve. The contract disappeared with a quiet pop, likely to Minerva's desk.

She was no longer his Hermione Granger.




Saturdays in Hogwarts were quiet, and the only meal he was expected to attend was dinner. Amazingly, he hadn't even assigned anyone detention, so his entire day was ahead of him to...

Severus frowned, lowering his morning teacup. To do what, exactly? There was nothing that needed brewing, and the weekend was too short for something experimental. He'd finished his marking, his lessons were planned, and the classroom spotless.

He could read, perhaps finish one of the three books on his bedside table...

Or he could see if Hermione was available to take a walk in the Forbidden Forest...

Steeling himself for rejection, Severus headed down the corridor. The portraits snoozed peaceably as he passed them, and he fiddled with his wrist. What impulse had possessed him to tie the binding cord on as a bracelet? What if his sleeve rose, revealing his folly? Cursing himself as a sentimental fool, he knocked on her door.

“Coming!” Hermione's voice called. “No, Crooks, don't... fine, put your tail under my foot! Here, sit on this...” Severus smiled at her annoyance with her familiar. He was well-acquainted with the feline's need to put himself underfoot. The door opened and he wiped the smile from his face quickly. “Hello—Oh! Severus!”

She seemed genuinely pleased to see him as she gathered the folds of her dressing gown closer.

“My apologies, I did not mean to disturb your morning. I had wondered if you wished to take a walk in the Forbidden Forest today?”

Teeth sank into her bottom lip. “I would love to,” she said. “But I have to spend this afternoon at St Mungo's to finalise my Healer status, since you signed the contract last night. I got their owl about a half-hour ago.”

“I see.” Still, he was a determined man. “Perhaps tomorrow morning?”

Hermione shook her head. “Paperwork with Minerva.”

They stood awkwardly at her door. “Perhaps,” Severus began slowly, his heart pounding, “I could convince you take dinner with me in Hogsmeade?”

Hermione studied him carefully. “You could, I haven't plans for the evening,” she said. “Severus, to be clear...are you asking me on a date?”

“I am.” Merlin, was that his voice? It was barely audible in the corridor.

Hermione smiled. “Well, that saves me the trouble. I would love to have dinner with you.”

“Truly?” He asked before he could stop himself. Severus shook his head to clear it. His mind was too busy gibbering 'she said yes' at him. “I wanted to ask before you left Hogwarts.”

She frowned. “Why would I leave Hogwarts?”

Now it was his turn to frown. “You're going to shadow Poppy, yes, but then I assume that St Mungo's will hire you on. They'd be foolish not to.”

Hermione laughed. “Didn't Minerva tell you that Poppy's retiring after this term?”

“She did.”

“Well, did she neglect to add that I'll be the new Healer?” Her eyes were dancing. “I'll be taking over. Minerva thought that it would be helpful to have a full Healer on staff, rather than just a matron or Mediwitch, especially after my school years.”

He opened and closed his mouth several times before hunching his shoulders. His hair swung forward, curtaining his face. “Minerva may have intended to, but our discussion was interrupted.” He paused. “You're skilled enough that any institution would be blessed to have you.”

“But Hogwarts is home for me,” she said gently, reaching out to brush his hair back behind his ear. “Besides, I'm rather attached to a particular Potions Master, if he's amenable to trying out a different sort of relationship.”

Severus smiled. “I do believe I am.”

“Good.” Hermione rose on tiptoe and brushed her lips against the corner of his mouth. Severus caught her as she retreated and gave her a proper kiss. It was brief, but warmed him straight to his toes. Call it masculine pride, but he was fairly certain she looked a little dazed.

“Would you like to come in and have breakfast with me?” Hermione asked, smiling at him.

“I would indeed.”

She led the way into her quarters, and he closed the door firmly behind him.

-The End-


Silver and Gold by dragoon811 [Reviews - 11]

<<

Disclaimers
Terms of Use
Credits

Ashwinder
A Severus Snape/Hermione Granger archive in the Harry Potter universe

Copyright © 2003-2019 Sycophant Hex
All rights reserved