Dearest Hermione

angel: He's a spy - that's all I'm saying

zairaphel: Thank you, I must admit the SB/HG ship is one of my least favourites but its better than Remus/Hermione... I think so anyway. As for the story unfolding, I'm afraid if I did that it would turn out to be a SS/HG one, and therefore placed in the wrong section.

Dee Dee: No, you are not mad, I deleted the original as soon as I saw the SB/HG section, and placed it in its proper section, and yes it will continue to have two chapters.

karine snake: This is it. I might write a SB/HG one with lemons, but at the the moment I have other priorities, the Slytherin men are somewhat demanding, Sirius managed a peek in this one though.

The Revelation

Severus sipped his beverage with ease and poise, taking only a minute sip before he set it back down on the table to look at the beautiful young woman before him, being ably protected by the Potter brat. She had her elbows on the table and her chin resting on the back of her laced up fingers. Severus sat back and stretched his feet out, deliberately forcing Harry to move out of his seat to sit in between the two of them instead of just next to Hermione.

“May I call you Hermione?” Severus asked. “I should think that as I am no longer your teacher, Miss Granger is too formal.”

“Yes, you may,” Hermione said gently. Her soft breath reached Severus fingertips.

“And you may call me Severus,” he said, grinning madly. Neither of them had ever seen him look this happy before. They swapped looks to each other; both held identical looks of confusion.

“Or Slimeball!” Harry said in clear, audible tones. Severus decided to ignore that comment.

Severus decided to ignore anything Potter said from now on. His attention was more agreeably used. Hermione sat back and then folded her arms across her chest. Severus looked at the chest for a minute before he regained his composure. This meeting was to prove him BETTER than Black, and to do that; he had to stop thinking like that.

“I was cleaning things up in Grimmauld Place when I stumbled across something addressed to you, Hermione. I thought as it was addressed to you, you would want to read it.”

Hermione furrowed her brow and chewed the corner of her lip. Severus wished Potter wasn’t here. NO! Must prove to be a man… the resolve to be better than Black was beginning to crumble when she leant forward, giving him an ample view of her cleavage. BETTER than Black, had to become a mantra otherwise this whole meeting would be for naught.

“I suppose,” Hermione said. Severus reached inside his robes and brought the letter out. He had resealed it after he had read it. She opened the letter and gasped as her eyes scanned the parchment to find out it was from Sirius.

“What’s wrong?” Harry asked.

“It’s – it’s from Sirius,” she stammered. She sat back and read the letter thoroughly. Severus watched her every facial movement.

He was absolutely pleased to find a look of pleasure turn to shock, amazement, and a hint of horror in her eyes. She began to blush and towards the end of the letter her hands shook visibly.

“I do have a calming potion all ready,” Severus offered.

“How did you know she would need that, Slimeball?” Harry asked.

“It is always good in time of war to carry a calming draught or two in case someone needs an emergency supply. I always have some on my person, Potter!” Severus explained calmly and smoothly. Too smooth for Harry’s taste!

Hermione looked up from the letter and Severus could tell she was fuming with rage!

“What did Sirius say to you, Hermione?” Harry asked.

Wordlessly, she shoved the letter in Harry’s direction. Harry picked it up and started reading it himself. Severus decided to watch his reaction to the letter and almost exploded at what that Potter brat said.

“Poor Sirius!”

“POOR SIRIUS!” Hermione yelled. “I defended him because he was lonely, been in prison for something he didn’t do for twelve unforgivable years! But THIS was a crime. He spied on me, Harry. Watched me get naked! He was in love with me when I was FOURTEEN! How do you think I feel now I know THAT? But, oh no, with you it’s Sirius this, Sirius that! You ALWAYS take his bloody side of the story!”

Severus couldn’t believe it, this was working out better than he expected. He knew she’d feel disgusted at the thought of a man old enough to be her father gloating over her naked body. Harry looked up at Hermione.

“But he knew it was wrong,” he stated.

“That doesn’t make ME feel any better, Harry,” Hermione said. Severus looked at Hermione; he contemplated her expression, and listened to the tone of her voice. What was she hiding? He was a secretive enough man to understand that someone ELSE was keeping a secret, too.

Severus handed Hermione the calming draught and she swigged it down in one gulp, he was about to say that it was powerful and to sip it… but he was too late. As soon as she drank it down, she collapsed on the table. Severus shook his head, silly girl.

He got up, shoved the boy out of the way and sat next to her, and produced smelling salts to wake her up with. She woke up calm, and with a dreamy expression on her face.

“Are you going to be all right, Hermione?” Severus asked.

“I fink so,” she slurred. He shook his head.

“No you’re not,” he turned to Potter, “take her home, and for Merlins sake, please whatever you do, don’t defend Black as is your wont. Not all women actually feel flattered at being spied on when they’re having a bath. Some might even call it perverted. Others might even attach the term, letch, to the person. What am I saying? Black was a dog, and he certainly acted like one at times.”

“Why did you do this?” Potter said through gritted teeth.

“Why do you think? You’re precious Black was no better than me in some respects, and yet you worship the ground HE walked on, and I can’t even earn your respect by doing all what I had done… I’d have thought saving your life in your first year might have told you something! Not you, no, you’re so dense you have to have it spelled out in baby language.”

Severus didn’t know it at the time but his arm had gone around her shoulders in an unconscious gesture to help the floppy girl sitting next to him.

“Murdering Dumbledore doesn’t make you a good guy,” Harry said.

“It does if Dumbledore had been dying all year anyway. Despite what you may think you are not that important in the general scheme of things, you might not even have become famous if Wormtail had kept his mouth shut… oh that’s another thing, you kept him alive, when it was HIS information that killed your parents. NOT mine!”

Harry frowned; he couldn’t deny that what Slimeball said was true. It was Wormtails information that had killed his parents. He had to re-think a lot of things.

“How can I trust a single thing you say?” Harry asked.

“You can start by believing me when I say that I didn’t WANT to hurt Dumbledore; but Narcissa, Draco, the Dark Lord, and even Dumbledore left me no choice, and you can also try to see this letter from HER point of view rather than your own rose tinted spectacle point of view!”

“How did you know the content?” Harry asked.

“I’m a spy, Potter, I read the letter. I thought Black might have had something useful to the war effort stashed away in there… huh! Some hope, reckless and rebellious! No thought for this war and the outcome. His death proved that. Off he sauntered to get himself killed when everyone else told him to stay put, even me.”

Harry saw how bad Hermione was. “All right,” he sighed, “but this doesn’t change my feelings for you, Snape!”

“Likewise, Potter!”

Severus propped Hermione up with a cushion; he turned to the boy, nodded curtly at him and then walked out of the Leaky Cauldron. Job well done! He thought, and he even managed to keep his voice quiet, for the young woman’s sake….

Finis

A/N What did you four think? He was a bit nasty in this one wasn't he... but you see what I mean about it turning into a SS.HG one though if it continued?