Accidental Encounters

Chapter Ten: The First Match of the Minds

Despite her late night, Monday morning saw Hermione awake and in the office at seven o’clock. She sat in the small patch of sunlight that was streaming in through the window, and worked furiously on her backlog of paperwork. She was determined to be able to match Professor Sna ded dedication of every spare moment to the pursuit of the Intimoritus Antidote. This was the kind of research – research with a purpose – that she had wanted to do rather than her Ministry job, and she was thrilled that he had finally given in and allowed her to work with him. Now, though, she was beginning to fret that she would have to constantly prove herself to him.

By the time nine o’clock had arrived, Hermione had finished most of her paperwork, and was busy congratulating herself when she heard a tutting behind her. She spun around and instantly broke into a smile. There was Penny, with a box on her hip and a knowing smile on her face. “Merlin, Hermione. You’ll work yourself into the groun thi this rate!”
Hermione simply grinned back. It was good to have Penny back in the office. Elizar had been quite supportive of her, especially as she struggled to deal with the aftermath of the attack, but Penny was something else. Half best-friend and half mother hen. Before they had had much of a chance to catch up, though, both of them found glowing red parchments in their respective in-trays, and they regretfully apparated.

The day was a busy one for Hermione. There were a large number of call-outs, and in between she was busy reading up on everything she knew about the Intimoritus Potion. She wanted to be up to speed when Snape included her in his research.

The problem, though, was that his promised owl didn’t arrive. Monday and Tuesday went by, and Hermione was beginning to wonder if he had just agreed with her outrageous demand to put stave her off. By Wednesday night, she had become largely convinced that she had been duped, although a small voice in the back of her mind argued that she had seen how Snape could be such a gentleman, and a gentleman wouldn’t have tricked her like that.

When an owl came arching through the back window of the Bacon house on Thursday morning, Hermione’s spirits soared. She couldn’t help feeling disappointed, though, when she recognized Ron’s messy handwriting on the letter. That startled her. What on earth was the world coming to, if she was now more hopeful of a letter from Professor Snape than from her own best friend?

All the same, she was interested in what Ron had to say, as she hadn’t heard from him since that awkward conversation on her birthday.



Dear Hermione,

I am sorry I didn’t write sooner – I needed some time to think. I just want to let you know that I have thought quite hard about it, and I have come to agree with you that we are better off as friends. I certainly don’t want to ruin our friendship. You are a true friend, and I hope that nothing has changed between us.

Whenever you are free, please come up to the castle and we’ll take tea together. No strings attached this time. Just two friends.

Love (and that is strictly platonic love)

Ron.

She couldn’t help laughing at Ron’s overly cautious letter, and her laughter, now so seldom heard in these parts, immediately attracted Penny’s attention. She allowed Penny to read the letter, and was surprised at the reaction.

“He seems a good sort, Hermione.”
“Oh, I know. He’s great.”
“Very mature for his age. I’m quite impressed with how he’s handled this.”
“What? Ron? Oh, I suppose he’s been quite good, but I’ve never really thought of him as being mature,” she couldn’t help pulling a face. “The same as I’ve never loved him as anything other than a good friend.”
This time Penny grimaced. “I think you might be wrong about him, Hermione. He seems a good guy.”

This comment suddenly caused a light to snap on in Hermione’s mind. She grinned up at Penny, and asked, “Hey, Penn? I know I invited you to dinner tomorrow night to celebrate your freedom, but do you mind if I invite Ron to join us? Such a stroking will do his ego the world of good.”
Penny shrugged. “Sure, why not? Its probably about time I met your friends.”
“Great… But you know, now I’ll have to meet your friends too.”
This time Penny rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “Hon, I’m a single mother to six. I hardly have a life, let alone friends!”

***

Friday night arrived, and Hermione tried to ignore the fact that she still hadn’t received an owl from Snape, and focused on preparing for her dinner party. She had been honing her culinary skills to perfection in recent weeks, and now felt ready to attempt something from the cookbook Harry had given her.

Right on six o’clock, Ron’s trademark red mop appeared in the doorway, and Hermione rushed to hug him. He regarded her a little uneasily, but Hermione smiled brightly and said, “Come on! You’ve got to see the book Harry sent me.” Apparently reassured that all was back to normal, he headed inside, and came face to face with Penny.

Penny had had her back turned, as she was dutifully inspecting the new cookbook. The usual noise that Ron made upon entering a room caused her to turn, and she gaped a minute before composing herself and giving him a small smile. “So, you’re Ron.”

Ron, for his part, visibly gulped before wiping his hands on his pants and offering his hand to her. “Yes … I’m Penn- I mea’m R’m Ron… You must be Penny.”
The witch in question dipped her head, and Hermione was certain she saw a faint blush creeping up her cheeks.
“Yes, that’s me.”

To the side, Hermione smiled more than she had since the start of this crazy month. It looked like Penny and Ron were going to get on just fine.

***

Main course had been disposed of, and dessert was about to be served, when a tapping at the kitchen window caused Hermione to startle. On the other side of the table, Ron and Penny barely noticed her reaction, engrossed as they were in stories of life in a large family. True, they had very different perspectives, but this simple commonality ensured that they were getting on spectacularly.

Hermione took advantage of this and slipped over to the window, where she found a handsome black raven bearing a large scroll. She slipped the scroll from the bird, and gave him some of the scraps still lying about her kitchen bench. Then, with a furtive glance at the couple behind her, she eagerly opened the letter.


Miss Granger,

Please forgive my silence of late. I was fully aware of my pledge to you, but I regret that I have been unavoidably engaged with other matters until this evening.

I have enclosed copies of my notes to this point. I would appreciate you reading them, and I look forward to the fresh angle you will undoubtedly bring to this project.

Should you still wish to work on the antidote with me, please be at the castle by ten o’clock tomorrow morning. I appreciate that this is short notice, but I feel this is a problem of considerable urgency and I would like us to dedicate as much time as possible to working together for a solution.

I will be waiting in the Potions workroom.

Until then,

Severus A. Snape

Hermione stood agog. Again, this letter betrayed the gentleman that lurked underneath the surface of what many considered to be an entirely inhospitable person. She had begun to understand that this was most certainly not the case, and she felt a sudden chill of … well, adultness… at how he had addressed her as an equal in his letter. It was pleasing to note that he apparently did not harbour any ill-will at being bullied into accepting her as an assistant. Just quietly, she was quite beginning to look forward to working with him.

***

Ten minutes before ten o’clock on Saturday morning, a lone figure was matching, straight-backed, up the stone steps and into the grand entrance of Hogwarts Castle. It had been several months since Hermione had last been here, and predictably, she was filled with nostalgia for years past.

Bypassing the staircase to Gryffindor Tower, she instead turned sharply and began to head down to the dungeons. The lower she got, the less light filtered through, until by the time she stood outside the Potions workroom, it was necessary to have a torch to see.

She stopped at the workroom door, and took a deep breath. She had high hopes for this project. Not only did she want desperately to find an antidote, she had surprised herself by admitting that she genuinely wanted to know more about the enigma that was Severus A. Snape.

She took another deep breath to steady herself, and looked down at her watch. Good. It was just before ten. She was knocked on the door, but pushed it open immediately anyway. He’d said he would be waiting for her.

As the door swung away, she saw him sitting over a cauldron on one of the desks. His tall, lean figure was arched over the experiment, and today that thick, black hair had been tied back off his face. This served to highlight his strong cheekbones and prominent nose even more, and in the soft glow of the firelight in this dark workroom, his skin looked pale and clear.

Hermione had never seen him like this before, and it almost took her breath away. One could almost be mistaken for calling him handsome. She tried to shake herself back into reality, but then he spoke.

His soft voice, smooth as soft, dark chocolate, held no hint of the malice so evident in her school days.

“Do come in, Miss Granger. I’ve been waiting for you.”