The Seaside Retreat

Chapter Two …………. The next two weeks


Hermione felt that the following two weeks were torture. Though there was plenty to occupy her time with, even in such a small muggle town, she was so anxious for a response from the Order that time crawled by. She craved contact with the Wizarding world, and though she made good on her promise to Professor Snape there were times when she found her resolve wavering. One day she actually had to lock herself in her room and sit on her hands to keep from wandering next door and knocking until the Professor opened the door, just so she could make sure the last six years were not a dream.

Hermione had relayed the facts of the war that she had obtained from Snape to her parents. They were reluctant to believe her, though they did grudgingly agree to wait and see what the news from home said. She told them of Snape staying next door and was quick to assure her parents that he wanted nothing to do with them while he was there and that she felt the same. For now she would content herself with sunning on the beach and wading out in the ocean on the surfboard someone had left at the cottage. She couldn’t really surf, never having tried before, and honestly couldn’t even imagine the waves there getting high enough for her to make a real go at it, but she could imagine herself back home with her friends as she bobbed amongst the waves with her back against the board and her face turned to the sunshine.

Though she knew Snape was right next door she had never suspected that the feeling of isolation that permeated her life recently was not a feeling solely found in her. The dark man in the next cottage was feeling just as lonely. After serving Dumbledore and Voldemort for so long Snape couldn’t help but feeling that he no longer had a purpose to keep him going. Sure, teaching potions was fine, in fact he secretly enjoyed knowing he played some part in shaping the minds of the generations of wizards that passed through Hogwarts, but a man is more then just a Professor, just like he is more then a Death eater, spy, and greasy bat.

It seemed to Snape that he could disappear all together and no one would really notice. He had fulfilled his role in the war and his welcome has been worn out. It was very hollow feeling knowing that the only person who ever truly gave a damn about you had died at your own wand. Albus was the closest thing to a father he had ever had and he had killed him. Snape loathed admitting that sometimes he thought that if he had a wife or girlfriend in his life to come home to he could pull out from under the blanket of despair that had washed over him. It was rather disconcerting to know that Granger had pegged him so completely when she said that he had no one in his life to turn to while serving his two masters, unless of course you count the whores in Knockturn Alley, which he didn’t.

It was epiphanies like these that kept Snape inside and well plied with liquor during the duration of this fortnight, though he occasionally wandered to the window to observe the Granger girl sunning or floating in the sea on some polished muggle board. It was in fact these journeys to the window that brought about his most severe bouts of loneliness. Though it was from an unexpected source, a man would have to be frozen not to notice the chit as she sashayed about in amazingly tiny bathing suits. Her parents will not let her endanger herself by hanging out with Potter and Weasley, but they allow her out of the house in less then what decent undergarments cover? he huffed. Though the irony of muggle reasoning wasn’t lost on him he must admit that he wasn’t really complaining. How could a man be sour when he watched her sit upon her board and stretch, running her hands through her wet curls while she arched her back. It was indecent, but Snape couldn’t help but envy the droplets of water that were granted the privilege of sliding from her hairline, down her cheek, across her supple cherry tinted lips, curving around her chin to drop down and land upon her breast. More then once he found himself imagining taking that same journey with his tongue.

Snape shook his head hoping to clear it of those thoughts; he had news for Miss Granger today.