Evening Schnapps

J.K. Rowling is the owner of all except specific characters, situations, and plot bunnies that are unique to this story. I make no money, but lots of satisfaction from taking out her characters and playing with them for a while before putting them back.

Many thanks to my ubber-beta SignoraAligheri, and my sweetie Evan! They just prove that you really can’t do anything in this world without people looking out for you.

A/N: Wow, so when I published the first chapter of Evening Schnapps a few months ago, I received 200 hits. In the last week, I have received over 700 hits on chapter 16 alone. I am flattered, flattered and humbled that so many have found enjoyment in this work. Thank you all so much. Oh, and I do love reviews.


Chapter 17- Fractures

Hermione took the glass handed to her and held it in her lap, staring across at the portrait of Dumbledore. Severus had avoided her effectively over the weekend. She had not seen him since he disappeared with the crashing of thunder. She watched Dumbledore fondly as his chin rested on his chest, the soft hairs of his white beard rustled by his sleeping breath.

“Sickle for your thoughts, dear.”

Hermione looked up at the older witch and gave a small smile, taking a moment to sip her evening schnapps.

“I’m just thinking about the events of the past week, Minerva.” Hermione gave a soft sigh, and took another sip. “So much has happened, I just don’t know what to think.”

Minerva looked at her with eyes that appeared too wise for the world. Time had not been kind to her, since she sustained her injuries. She kept going, showing nothing but restrained energy in front of others, but on their Tuesday nights, she allowed Hermione to see how tired she was. She sighed and swirled the amber liquid around in her glass. Minerva eased back in her chair and watched her. Hermione had become attuned to this posture; it indicated that the Headmistress would say nothing else, until Hermione explained.

“Minerva,” she began, “I may have made a grave error with a fellow staff member. Honestly, I’m not sure how to proceed, but I fear what will happen if I don’t do something.”

She took another sip and waited. Minerva may have the stern Headmistress role down, but Hermione had learned the art of silence during those long days and nights in the wilderness. She was unwilling to give too much away, she wasn’t sure how her friend and mentor would accept the decisions that lead to her current dilemma. Minerva had always had a rather naive view of her.

Sitting in silence, she continued sipping her scotch and water, and waited. Eventually, her attention was taken by studying the other portraits in the office. Most were sleeping, like Dumbledore, but a few were off visiting some far distant frame. Eventually she stood and collected Minerva’s glass together with her own, and moved to the liquor cabinet to refill their glasses. After she returned to her seat, Minerva finally spoke.

“The boys have been causing quite the stir, since the night in the forest. They have undoubtedly become more popular than you, Harry and Ron after some of your more entertaining adventures. In fact, Hermione, I believe that Mssrs. Cianci and Flintmeyer may have gained enough notoriety to influence the other students. Your ‘social experiment’, as Severus called it, appears to be working.”

Hermione felt an ache in her throat at the mention of Severus. She could understand neither his abrupt behavior, nor her inability to let it go and accept it as simply another relationship that was doomed to be a one nighter. Aware of Minerva watching her, she took a breath and raised her glass for another sip. She was reveling in the earthy burn on her tongue, when a deep voice answered a question she had yet to raise, even to herself.

“He is capable of love, Miss Granger.”

She looked up with a start into the twinkling eyes of Albus Dumbledore.

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Severus stalked through the courtyard, pausing at the muffled sounds of kissing in the hedge. The violent spring storm had passed and mild weather had come in its place, inevitably drawing out amorous students. With a surge of anger, he sent a particularly nasty blistering hex at the two Slytherin seventh-years. When they burst out of the hedge, holding their cursed backsides, he gave them each a week of detentions with Filch and sent them back to the Common Room, without the benefit of a trip to see Poppy first.

He watched their surprised faces with a certain amount of satisfaction. Strictly speaking, instructors were not allowed to curse students, but members of his House knew that accepting an uncomfortable punishment that would heal in a few days was far preferable to crossing their Head of House and having to face him later. He sneered at the retreating children with a surprising amount of pleasure.

‘That felt good,’ he thought, as he turned to continue his hunting. He relished the feel of his heavy robes as they swirled around his heels and billowed out behind him as he moved. He knew it was menacing and had long since learned how to maximize the effect. Right now, he could use all the joy he could find.

He had spent the weekend locked in his private lab, trying to find a cure for his headaches. While he hadn’t suffered from one since Hermione had nearly crushed his skull under her small fingers, he knew they would eventually return. He scowled at the thought of the young witch. The relief that Granger had provided him unfortunately complicated the very nature of the problem. He couldn’t incorporate any of the strangely effective experience without necessarily thinking about her, and thinking about her was something he did not want to do. That ship had sailed, dwelling on it only served to provide lances of pain to his already battered soul.

Moving through the halls, he rounded a corner and found a fourth-year Gryffindor walking along; an eager young thing, she always had her hand up to answer questions in his class. It was well past curfew and she was moving with a confidence that irritated him. He allowed his chin to tilt down, and he glared up at her from under his hooded eyes as he allowed a sinister grin to cross his lips. He moved up behind her silently, sneering as he anticipated the confrontation.

“Going somewhere, Miss McAvoy?” he inquired, allowing some menace to creep into his question.

He snickered to himself as she jumped, with a frightened squeak. Fixing her with a withering glare, he stepped towards her.

“So late after curfew, as well. Perhaps you think you are… above the rules? Ten points from Gryffindor, for breaking curfew.” Severus allowed himself to drag out the final words of his question, enjoying the girl’s reaction as she backed away from him, and the subsequent shock on her face as he took the points.

“But, Professor Snape,” she began, “ I have permission from Madam Pomfrey.”

Severus allowed himself to move closer to the young witch, pushing her up against a wall with the sheer force of his presence.

“And do your really think that I would care what you have to say on the matter? Fifty points from Gryffindor, for making excuses.”

Apparently, that got to her damnable Gryffindor sense of fair play. He smirking inwardly as the little witch glared at him and stepped towards him.

“That… that’s not fair, Professor Snape!” she sputtered up at him. “I had to take Jess Bennett to the Hospital Wing, she was sick! Madam Pomfrey said I was old enough to go back by myself, and that I didn’t need… her to… take… me.”

Severus sneered at her as she trailed off, losing confidence as she looked up at him.

“Thank you, Miss McAvoy,” he said in triumph, giving her a nasty grin. “I always wondered how many points I could take from a single Gryffindor in one day. You may have helped me set a new record. One hundred points from Gryffindor, for arguing with a Professor.”

He watched as tears welled up in the young witch’s eyes, he stood over her and watched as she choked down a retort and finally pushed past him, running for the safety of her Common Room.

“Another ten points for roughness in the halls, Miss McAvoy,” he called after her, reveling in her sobs as her foot falls echoed through the dark halls.

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After recovering enough to take another sip of her drink, she looked to Minerva, who simply nodded. Hermione sat for a few moments, trying to compose herself before speaking.

“How much do you know?” she asked quietly, her question hardly more than a whisper on her lips.

Minerva spoke next. “Hermione, we know that your relationship stands on the cusp, balancing between success and failure.”

“We know that something has interrupted the path we had hoped Severus would follow,” Albus continued. “You are the only person who has found a weakness in the armor he has built around himself. For so long, he has had only his pain and misery to keep him company.”

“We had hoped that he would respond to you,” Minerva interjected, “and for a while he had. Only now…”

“Only now, I’ve ruined everything by attacking him.” Hermione knocked back her drink, and stood to help herself to more. She was aware of the silence in the room behind her as she took her time. She needed a moment to steady herself. She took several deep breaths before turning back around and returning to her seat.

“In the west room off the third floor corridor, I was on watch on Friday night. I entered when the room was dark and he must have thought there was a danger, because he tried to disarm me. I surprised him and petrified him before he realized it was me.”

She was aware of Professor Dumbledore quirking a brow at that news. Severus was the best dueling wizard he had ever seen.

“After I reversed the spell, he seemed all right,” she sighed at the memory, “but then he suddenly got angry again and left. I haven’t seen him since.”

“Hermione,” Minerva began, “you’ve always been the brightest witch of your age. Surely you can find a way to repair the rift between you and Severus?”

Hermione frowned, wondering why they were putting this on her shoulders. Severus may have had cause to be angry with her, but the ill-concealed fury she saw in his eyes just before he vanished just didn’t fit with her idea of Severus’ temper. For him to be angry, of course, that went without saying, but she saw hatred. She knew she had done absolutely nothing to earn such obvious hatred from the foreboding wizard, especially in light of the last time they had spent time together. It just didn’t seem fair; being ganged up on by these two, the two who were supposed to be supportive of her as well, not just Severus.

“Professor Dumbledore,” she said looking up at him in his frame. “Albus,” she amended, “I realize that you spent years protecting Severus, but he is not always the self-sacrificing martyr you have so often portrayed him as. When he hurts those around him, there are consequences, and you can not expect those he hurts to patiently pick up the pieces, yet again.”

At that, she stood up and walked out on the older couple. As she moved down the spiral stairs, she head Minerva comment softly behind her.

“But if you don’t, no one will.”

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Severus moved towards the dungeons with a deep sense of satisfaction. All told, it had been a productive night watch. A few blistered backsides, an astonishing 170 points from Gryffindor, and one petrified Peeves.

‘Too bad that couldn’t be permanent,’ he thought wickedly. Peeves had been a source of annoyance over the years, and had been waiting to drop Dung Bombs on him as he made his way to the North Tower. Severus was faster. Another nasty smirk crept across his lips, there were some nights when he didn’t mind patrol at all.

He paused for a moment, frowning as a glimmer of pain shimmered behind his eyes. Pausing to place his hand on a wall, he steadied himself. He had hoped to have more time before the headaches reared their ugly head again.

“Severus?”

He groaned inwardly at the sound of the witch’s voice. The last thing he wanted to face was the very thing that would ruin a perfectly good night.

-------

Hermione had wandered absently through the halls. She was still reeling at her conversation with Minerva and Albus. As she moved along the corridors that lead to her rooms, she spotted the billowing black robes of Severus whipping around a corner. She followed, hoping to speak with him, and discover what had happened between them. When she came around the corner, she nearly bumped into a black curtain. Severus had come to an abrupt halt and appeared to be supporting himself against the wall.

“Severus?” she said, hoping whatever the problem between them was, it would simply dissipate and she would at least have her friend back.

“Leave me alone, Professor Granger,” came the terse response. “I have no desire to speak with you.”

Hermione sighed. ‘No such luck,’ she thought.

“Severus, please. Are you all right?” Hermione tried to stay calm and ignore his nastiness and placed her hand upon his shoulder. “Please, have the headaches returned? Let me help you.”


Severus whirled around to face her, knocking her hand away with violence that astonished her. She looked up into his black eyes and could see the pain he was in. It wasn’t too bad yet, but she knew it would become bad quickly.

“I have no need of you, witch. Leave me be.”

Severus began to turn, but she quickly stepped around to block his path.

“Severus,” she pleaded, “I am sorry I petrified you. You just scared the wits out of me, and I reacted out of instinct. Can’t you understand that?”

He glared at her, holding himself aloof and rigid, towering over her.

“Well,” he bit out harshly. “It seems that your extraordinary intelligence failed you, and in its place, your instinct isn’t any better. Is it?”

Hermione felt Severus try to push past her, and stood her ground, holding onto the front of his robes.

“I don’t understand, Severus!” Taking a deep breath, she wondered for the thousandth time how they had come to this. “I don’t understand! If you didn’t want anything more than one time, I would have understood. But, why are you pushing me away like this? I can accept it if you don’t want to be with me, but at least remain my friend. At least let me help you with your headaches!”

She looked up into his face, and it was only the time that they had spent together that allowed her to see emotions warring beneath the surface of the liquid black pools, but flickering too fast for her to identify. Finally, it seemed as if Severus just resigned. She felt his hands come up and caress her arms. He leaned in, closing the distance between their faces. When she could feel his warm breath on her face, she felt his hands suddenly clamp down on her arms, fingers digging in deep.

“Get away from me. I could never be with a stupid, little girl like you.”

As Hermione felt the sting of his words, she felt him shove her away. Her shoulder and head connected with the cold stone corridor wall with a sickening thud, and once again, he was gone.

Hermione slowly regained her bearings. She looked down the corridor after Severus, and felt tears begin to sting her eyes. Rejection she could understand, but cruelty took her by surprise.

‘It shouldn’t,’ she thought bitterly, ‘you’ve been the victim of his cruelty before.’ Thinking back to the day he had demonstrated how cruel he could be to a young girl, still so unsure of her looks. It was largely his cold comments about her teeth that caused Hermione lingering doubts about her attractiveness, even into adulthood. Having Severus prove his attraction to her that morning, almost a week ago, had done more to repair her sense of self worth than had any previous lover’s proclamation of her beauty.

Now, walking back to her rooms in the dark, she felt like an awkward, buck-toothed, frizzy-haired, little girl again.

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A/N: You know, the reviews really keep me going. On nights when I just don’t have the energy to write, I read a review from someone who’s been with me since chapter one, or from a brand new fan, and I just can’t stay away from the computer. Even if it’s only a paragraph or two, the reviews keep me going.

Pickles- Oooohh! There’s a thought. Severus getting so angry that his very magic sparks a thunderstorm! I might just use that idea in my next story. Wow! I’ll be sure to credit you. In this case, though, it was just a good old-fashioned spring storm in the highlands. Glad all is well with Bill and the kids. I’d give anything to get that snow out here. The arctic high is sitting over us and has held an inversion over us for so long that the air has been causing health problems for even the strong. Ugg. But we’re finally supposed to get a storm later in the week and then we’ll have bright, clear skies again.

Sheedy- still think it’s funny that I beta for you now and you’ve been with me since the beginning! Hope you like this chapter.

Ruby Wolf- I spent at least 3 minutes laughing so hard at your DSB comment, that I couldn’t even explain to my sweetie what I was laughing about. It has now become a favorite joke in the house! Yes, you are correct, there is much more going on with Severus than Deadly Sperm Buildup! (of course, I’m sure it was a contributing factor) Glad you are enjoying the tale.

Amsev- Ah yes, well, we couldn’t have our intrepid couple find paradise too quickly, now could we? Oh, and dear, I have some truly diabolical cliffies in store for you in the future. >:D

Juls- Poor Hermione? I was rather thinking ‘poor Severus’, he really let himself slip not thinking about the possibility of a second wand! I wonder if he’s losing his touch? Naaaaah… he’ll always be the most tall, dark and scary thing on two legs (oh, and yummy, too).

Vampire_Exotica- *blushes like mad* Thank you for you compliments. As for your schedule, I was married to a grip, I understand the movie industry in its mad ‘feast or famine’ way. No need to apologize. Thank you so much for your kind and supportive words. It means so very much. I hope the rest of the tale pleases you as much. Oh, and thank you for writing an amazing challenge. I was telling someone earlier today, that the moment I read your challenge, I knew where it had to go, and in order to get there, this entire story came about for the sole purpose of being able to publish the epilogue.

Aletheia- Yippee! I love to hear from people just finding this story! I’m so glad you like it and I hope you continue to read.

Olwen- ah, I could never just leave it after a scene like that! I was just taking a holiday break. As for Severus and his emotional stupidity, can you picture him being a ‘forgive and forget’ kind of guy, without giving up some kind of wicked struggle? *evil grin* Still, it’ll be worth it in the end.