Hermione's Little Secret

She decided to use the damn Sleek-Ezee for the first time in fifteen years to tame her long unruly lockes. Her daughter used it more often than she, but then again, Hermione hadn't cared what men would think about her in the last eight years. Whether Ron had actually given her his permission to find another man, or whether it was her own subconscious, she was going to do it! She'd already had Minerva make some discreet inquiries in Aberdeen for suitable wizards to date. They had to be around her age, within five or six years at least, in either direction, and must like children. 'Draco's already here though.' The little voice reminded her. She ignored it. She'd had to rethink her actions so many years ago with him. He'd not forced or coerced her. They'd both participated, for whatever reason; she'd had sex with Draco Malfoy. And for the first time since then, she actually thought about theirtime together and wondered if he would be any different from when they were in school.

Of course, there was a new DADA teacher, a middle aged wizard named Packwood, who would be showing up on the Hogwarts Express with the children. Maybe he was passably handsome.

Hermione finished her hair and decided to relax in front of her fire, sipping her coffee. This was the first time in a long time she'd just been able to relax and de-stress herself. It was like paradise. She was curled up, wearing her favorite pink dressing robe, having shaowered and powdered herself, primping herself like she hadn't done since, well, since the morning of her husband's death. She'd decided to wear her teaching robes unbuttoned over her new gowns. She wondered with a laugh whether some of the seventh year boys would react like they did a decade before when she'd first started teaching. She actually missed the catcalls and whistles, now. Of course, most of those catcalls came from her own husband every morning while she readied herself for her job. Won't her daughter be surprised to see her mother looking not so dowdy and older than her years? Sighing she finished her coffee and stood. She did need to get her room finished. Filch, still the caretaker, hadn't replaced the chairs from the desks, being too old. But, Severus with his soft heart encased in stone, liked the old Squib and wouldn't fire him. Instead, he'd found another Squib, Bart Hemp, to become Filch's assistant. He was in his late thirties, handsome but for the ravages of chicken pox from his childhood. He was the polar opposite of Filch in temperment, but he didn't allow the students to walk all over him either. Bart had even made RJ clean the trophy room once when he'd let off some of his uncles' presents. If Bart weren't already married, she'd have considered asking him, just to wet her toes in the dating pool again. But he was happily married to a low level witch with barely more magic than him, living in a hut near Hagrid's; they had twin sons who had already manifested their magical powers. Severus had confirmed to the proud father that his sons were going to enter Hogwarts in seven years.

Dressing in a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt, she hurried through the castle for her classroom, arms loaded with books and file folders. She asked the staircases to not move as she rushed up them, then practically ran down the corridors. Her mind wasn't quite on her work, but on her future, wondering if a man would still consider her for dating, or more. It had been eight-plus years since Ron had last touched her. What if she froze up? What if she couldn't let another man make love to her? She worried her bottom lip with her teeth and didn't slow down as she turned the corner.


*****Crash!!!!*****


"What the fuck?" A deep male voice echoed off the stone walls. Hermione sat up from where she'd landed, watching all her papers flutter about her and her companion's head.

"Damn it! Those were all organized."


"Far be it from me to disorganize Madame Weasley's work."

It was Draco. She paled a moment, then waved her wand to order her work back together in a neat pile at her feet. she stood, as did Draco. He was rubbing his bum as he turned his head to look at her. His jaw dropped. Hermione hadn't looked like this the day he'd first arrived.

"Wow. Gran--Madame Weasley, you look very...nice."

"Thank you, Professor Malfoy. I'd been encouraged by my family to have a make-over recently." She bent to pick up her pile, but he beat her to it.

"I'll get these for you. Just point the way."

"Thanks, Professor."

"Do you think you could ever call me Draco? I'm not the same boy from school. And we're colleagues now, Hermione."

"Thank you, Draco. Happy now?" She gave him a small smile, reminding herself that she kept a secret from him, that they shared a daughter he knew nothing about.

"Yes, Hermione. So, your daughter is all ready to start her Gryffindor years here?"

"I'm sure she'll enjoy being in whatever House the hat sorts her into. The Hat probably has some ideas on where it's sending her anyway. She's been playing with the damn thing since she was old enough to talk."

Draco laughed and followed the witch. He hoped the Weasley girl and Lilah could become friends, make it easier on Lilah in this strange new world. Hermione opened up the old Transfigurations classroom and strode up to her desk. She had filled every available corner with flowerpots, making it look more like Sprouts domain than Old MacGonagall's.

"You like flowers, I take it."

"Very good, nice observations." She said drying, helping him place the papers and books on her desk in some sort of neat order.

"Ha. I was wondering if you might have some free time today, or this coming weekend. I really need to talk to you."

Hermione gulped and looked at him. He'd not only aged, as she and her friends had, but he seemed to have matured too. She reminded herself that Ron had given his 'permission' to find someone else to love her. She was alone; Draco was alone again.

"I have some free time around lunch today. Severus won't expect all the staff to appear for the meal since we're getting ready for the arrival tonight. I can meet you in the Potions room. It'll be cooler down in the dungeons anyway." She smiled shyly, resisting the urge to run her fingers through her hair. She'd gotten it to do what she wanted, she wasn't going to ruin it.

Draco smiled at her then, reminding her of the boy he'd been, before he'd turned into a complete git. A flash of him lying atop her, their bodies joined caused her to jump a little. 'Stop, Hermione! You're thirty, not a sixth year with overactive hormones!' She stepped back a little and nodded. "So, lunch in the dungeons. I'll be down there around 12:30. So, if you will, I'll get these desks ready for tomorrow's first class, Prof--Draco."

"Sure. Thanks, Hermione." He turned away from her and left the Transfiguration room. He whistled under his breath and had a lightness in his step that hadn't been there earlier. He grinned and considered taking another shower after organizing his storeroom.

Hermione watched him leave then dropped into her chair, shaking a little. She had taken another step towards being someone other than Ron Weasley's widow. 'But with the father of your child, dumbass! What is he going to do when he find out? Slap your wrist and tell you you were bad? No, he's going to torture you!' Her little voice was getting louder and she wondered if there was a potion that would make it disappear. The voice died down a bit. "I've got to talk to him some time. We can't work in the castle together without interacting even a little. Oh, man, do I tell him?"

"Tell who what, Hermione?" She jumped when she heard the smooth tones of her former Potions professor and current employer. Severus stood in the doorway, smirking at the woman talking to herself in an empty classroom. He'd decided to come looking for his Transfigurations instructor and tell her about the Halloween fete he'd planned. He had a feeling that if Draco let the cat out of the bag, he'd hear the witch screaming all the way up in his tower.

"Nothing, Severus. Enjoying your new view, sir?"

"Too high up. I miss my dungeons. But it looks bad for the headmaster to live in the lower levels. How was RJ today? He promised not to give you a hard time about going to school."

"He likes school. Why would he give me a rough time?"

"Because he wants to play with his friends more and not be thoguht of as a mama's boy. Lemon drop?" He smirked again as he tossed the younger woman a candy, some he'd found in Albus' desk drawer. She frowned at it and tossed it into the garbage. He'd been trying to pass them around to the entire staff the whole summer. RJ had eaten one, but he was his father's son after all; she'd had to stop the child from eating cat food on a dare once, from one of his many cousins."Soon, he wono't be calling you Mummy."

"I know. He did the Mummmmm cry this morning. I miss them when they couldn't talk back."

"Do you really? Hermione, you were alone, half the woman you were, living only for your children and your teaching. You're changing, growing even beyond what you were with Weasley. You're not even thirty yet, still a child compared to some of us old wizards. You still have decades to live, why live them alone?"

"Who'd have though Severus Snape would be a romantic?" Hermione teased him.

"Hardly. If you're getting laid regularly, you'll be even more productive." He sneered, trying to remind her of what he used to be: the snarky bat of the dungeons.

"Severus!"

"Yes, Madame Weasley?" He pretended innocence. It didn't wear well on the former spy.

"Oh, never mind, you interfering old bast---You know, I think Dumbledore might be possessing you. You're turning into him. Go back to your tower and leave us working stiffs alone."

"Fine, witch. I did come here to tell you something, but if you want to wait until the Feast, fine by me."

"What?"

"You're working with Professor Malfoy to arrange the halloween party. I'm hoping for a dance."

"Will you be blowing up the rose bushes again, sir?" She frowned at Severus, knowing he was thrusting her with Draco for some reason only known to him.

"Maybe. Get back to work, Weasley." He sneered and turned away, his robes billowing around him like they used to in her school days. She didn't see the large grin on his face as he went to greet other staff members.


a/n~~~hi everyone, here it is. the next chapter. sorry it's taking so long. was cleaning the kids' bedroom and pulled a muscle in my back....lol lucky me...but the computer chair actually feels less painful than the cushy chairs hehe. I'm writing, but slowly. Hope it was worth the wait! And keep the reviews coming, I love hearing from everyone


Skydancer~~ the lemon drops were for you ;-)

until the next chapter,
marti