I'm Not in Love

A/N: I first posted this some time ago but it hadn't been beta'd - now it has to I'm reposting it without all of it's horrendous grammatical errors!

Inspired by the Tom Waits song, 'I hope that I don't fall in love with you'

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It had been a scorching hot day, and Hermione walked gratefully into the cool basement bar, pushing her hair back and tying it securely against the nape of her neck. She looked around as her eyes became more accustomed to the light. She loved it. It was dark and a little grimy, rock music pumping loudly from the jukebox in the corner. She smiled to herself and made her way to the long bar on the far side of the room.

A few customers were sitting at small wooden tables dotted around the room and they turned to glance at her as she walked past. Most of the attention was male, but Hermione was oblivious to her effect on the opposite sex. The years had been more than kind to her since the war, and she had curves in all the right places. Her hair was long and lustrous, but she didn’t see herself as beautiful. She just liked to make the best of herself. The skirt of her dark blue chiffon dress swished softly around her knees as she walked, and her heady perfume lingered in her wake.

At one table, a man looked up to stare at her. She was a vision. He smiled. She seemed to be on her own, and as he looked her up and down, he felt his crotch tighten a little. He wouldn’t mind a piece of that. He stood and shrugged his black leather jacket around his shoulders, brushed his hair back from his face, and pulled his jeans up a little.

Hermione waited patiently as the barman served another customer, a ten-pound note clutched in her hand. What she needed was an ice-cold beer, and her mouth started to water at the thought of it.

‘Hi.’

She turned at the voice and smiled slightly. The man was tall with dark brown hair and chocolate eyes that crinkled at the corners. He wasn’t bad looking and seemed to have a ready smile.

‘Hello,’ she answered politely, looking away as the barman came over to her.

‘Can I buy you that?’ The man lent on his elbow as if he was part of the furniture, grinning at her.

Hermione was flattered and smiled warmly at him. She was on holiday. Why not?

‘That would be kind of you. Thank you. I’ll have a beer…A cold one…’

‘Make that two,’ he said to the barman. ‘I’m Rory.’ He held his hand out to Hermione, and she took it, shaking it firmly.

‘Hermione. Nice to meet you.’ Her eyes met his, and she felt a small knot in her stomach. He was actually very sexy. Hermione had little real experience with men, but she knew enough to know a man didn’t approach a strange woman at a bar if he wasn’t a little interested.

Rory lifted their beers and motioned Hermione towards a table in the centre of the room.

‘Not too close to the jukebox! Otherwise I won’t be able to hear you talking.’ He winked at her, and she laughed softly.

Hermione sat in the wooden chair and lifted her glass, drinking gratefully. She smacked her lips with a loud 'ahh!’ and Rory laughed.

‘You needed that, then? You’re not a local, judging by your accent, are you?’ He smiled warmly at her and started to explore her face more closely. Her mouth was wide, her lips soft and a little glossy. Her eyes were deep amber, wide and prettily edged with long eyelashes. She was more stunning than he had realised, and he thought perhaps he was out of his depth.

‘No, I’m not local. I’m on holiday. You’re local though.’ She smiled at him.

Rory grinned at her. ‘I am. I live just around the corner, actually.’ He paused, and she looked at him, licking her lips slightly. ‘What made you come here on holiday, Hermione?’

Hermione smiled and took another drink. ‘My parents used to bring me to Cornwall when I was a child. It’s a trip down memory lane.’

Rory nodded and drank his beer, looking at her thoughtfully. ‘On holiday,’ he repeated. ‘Alone.’

‘How did you know?’ Hermione giggled a little.

‘If you had a man, he wouldn’t let you out of his sight,’ he stated firmly, his chocolate eyes staring into hers meaningfully.

Hermione blushed and looked around the bar, tapping her foot in time with a particularly good tune. From where they were sitting, they could see people walking down the stairs from the street, and she watched as more customers started to file in. Lifting her glass to take another sip, she glanced as a tall man started to walk down the steps. His shoes and his suit were black. He had a white shirt, open at the collar, and his dark shiny hair was hanging in curtains around his face.

Hermione choked on her beer. ‘Fucking hell,’ she whispered, staring still.

She hadn’t seen him in years, but there was no mistaking him, even in his Muggle clothing. She sat there, a little shocked, and so she didn’t immediately realise that he had seen her too. He stared back at her, stopping mid-step, his mouth opening slightly. Their eyes met, and Hermione wasn’t sure whether to wave, nod, or ignore him. She smiled slightly, and he acknowledged her with a small incline of his head before walking on towards the bar.

‘Someone you know?’ Rory was looking at her amusedly, and Hermione realised she had spoken out loud.

‘I’m so sorry!’ She put her hand over her mouth. ‘Yes… he’s one of my old school teachers, actually. I haven’t seen him in almost ten years.’

‘Unlucky, then, bumping into him when you’re on holiday.’ Rory laughed a little.

‘He was one of my favourite teachers; I learned so much from him. Not that he liked me very much… .’ Hermione drifted off slightly.

‘You should go and say hello.’ Rory lifted his beer, draining his glass as he looked at her.

Hermione’s eyes kept drifting to where Severus Snape sat on a tall bar stool, his elbows on the bar as he drank what looked like a pint of Guinness.

Hermione looked at Rory for a moment. If she had been on her own, perhaps she would have gone over to say hello, but now... She wasn’t sure. Should she?

Severus was watching her in the mirror that ran along the back wall of the bar. She kept glancing in his direction, and he wondered if she would have the nerve to come and talk to him. He had certainly been surprised to see her. She had turned into a beautiful young woman, too. Why that had shocked him, he wasn’t sure. In his head, she had stayed the same know-it-all Gryffindor, all bushy hair and schoolbooks. Of course, that had been some years ago. Natural that she would grow up, fill out, and nab a handsome man for herself in the process. He wondered briefly if he should go and say a quick hello. Not that he was any more sociable these days, but they did share a history of sorts. He turned and looked at her a little, catching her eye. He looked at her steadily, unsure of what do. In need of some thinking time, he put his pint down, glancing around for the gents. He saw the door in the far corner and got up, heading towards it.

Hermione didn’t notice Severus move from his chair. She had turned to Rory, trying to divert her attention back to him a little. They chatted about his work. He ran a motorcycle repair shop. Hermione’s mind kept wandering, her eyes glazing over slightly. Rory noticed, and he knew he was onto a lost cause. Hermione smiled at him a little.

‘I need to pop to the ladies. I won’t be a moment.’ She stood, throwing her handbag over her shoulder, and walked in the direction of the toilets.

Rory watched her as she left and glanced back at the bar. Severus was back on his stool, and he was watching her as she walked. Rory grimaced a little. ‘Damn it,’ he thought. He stood and lifted his glass, walking towards the bar. He placed the empty glass beside Severus and looked at him. He was so much older than Hermione. And yet there was obviously something about him that had distracted her since he walked into the bar.

Severus stared at him. He wasn’t as handsome as he had originally thought when he first saw them together and he was surprised she hadn’t done better for herself.

‘She’s all yours, you lucky bastard,’ he whispered in Severus’s ear.

‘What?’ Severus muttered, his hand instinctively reaching into his pocket to grip his wand.

Rory shook his head and walked up the stairs and out of the bar.

Hermione walked back to the table she had been sharing with Rory and sat back down. She thought perhaps he had gone to the toilet too, and she waited patiently for a few minutes, finishing her beer. She stared at her empty glass, looked around the bar and realised that she had been waiting too long. He had probably left. Feeling a little awkward and embarrassed, she glanced over to where Severus was sitting and saw him looking at her.

Severus turned to the barman and ordered two whiskies. He paid for them and carried them over to the table.

He was too late. Hermione had gone.