Angelica's Sorrow

A/N

Deb - what will I do without you when this story ends? I don\'t think there are too many more left, as long as Severus and Draco behave themselves that is!


Lindsay - you\'re gonna love this chapter. (I hope!)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE


During Minerva\'s visit for a cup of tea, she noticed the thicker carpet in front of the hearth by almost tripping. Strange, why would Hermione want one that thick, it\'s almost a hazard. The only other time she\'d seen one that thick was - Oh!. It had been a number of years since that memory surfaced.

\"Are you all right, Minerva?\"

\"Yes, dear I\'m fine.\"

\"You suddenly looked a little flushed.\"

\"Am I? Probably the exertion of all those stairs.\"

\"But - to get here you were going down, not up.\"

\"When you get to be my age, you\'ll understand.\" Minerva hid a slight snicker by drinking a sip of her tea.

\"Tell me, how do you like your quarters by now?\"

\"I love them, especially the bookcases on either side of the window in the bedroom. I was worried I wouldn\'t have enough room, but now my parents can ship me the rest of my books.\"

\"Bookcases, in the bedroom? Window? Would you mind if I looked at them? I don\'t quite remember how it was set up.\"

Strange, the only ones she\'d placed anywhere were over by the desk and what was this about a window? Hermione obviously thought she had put them in, so she wasn\'t responsible.

\"Are you sure you\'re all right?\"

\"Of course, I only want to refresh my memory. I was thinking of putting some in my quarters, and want to make sure I remember how to do it again,\" Minerva ad-libbed frantically.

She\'d begun to suspect whose wand was involved here, but needed to see if anything else had been changed.

Hermione was quite puzzled as she led the way to the bedroom. Maybe she\'d talk with Poppy a little later. Minerva wasn\'t one to forget things that easily.

\"Don\'t mind the mess on the bed, I haven\'t put all of my things away yet.\"

\"Perfectly understandable, you\'ve only just arrived this mor- Oh, my.\"

The window and the bookcases were indeed very impressive, but the bed!

\'It\'s a wonder he didn\'t put mirrors on the underside of the canopy. He didn\'t, did he?\'

\"What is it? What\'s wrong?\"

\"Nothing dear, nothing at all. I want to back up over here by the bed to get the full effect, haven\'t seen it during the day, only at night. What is that, over there in the corner?\"

Minerva took a quick look while Hermione was otherwise occupied.

\'Thank goodness, wouldn\'t have been able to sleep.\'

\"I don\'t find anything in the corner.\"

\"Must have been a shadow or perhaps it\'s time to have these old glasses changed. Since we\'re here, I\'d like to check on the plants in your bathroom.\"

Hermione was looking at her in a decidedly odd fashion as she opened the door and walked through.

\"I developed a special charm so they won\'t suffer from the lack of sunlight and - Merlin\'s robe!\"

She walked back out and hastily shut the door.

\'Gods, the man is totally obsessed, has to be from all the years of torture! The thicker carpet, that wasn\'t Hermione\'s doing either. He\'s turned her quarters into a - I needed to talk to Albus.\'

\"Sorry about that! I must have been thinking of the wrong bathroom. I\'ve redone so many during the repairs you know, must of been thinking of the Head Girl\'s new bathroom, or perhaps the Prefects\'.\"

Hermione\'s face cleared, she bought it. Now she had to figure out a way to cut the visit short and find Albus.

\"If you don\'t mind, I think I\'ll leave you now. There are so many things I need to get straightened out,\" Minerva said.

\' Especially a sneaky, snarly, dirty minded Potions Master.\'

\"But you\'ve only arrived and I had a few questions to ask before Prof - I mean Severus returns. Please, at least finish your cup of tea.\"

\'Yes, Minerva thought, \'I have a few questions also, but not for Hermione. Tea sounds like an excellent idea at the moment.\' She nodded her head and they moved out of the bedroom back to the main room.

\"What questions did you have?\" Minerva inquired, as she sat down and took a sip of lukewarm tea.

\"Well, I was wondering how his marriage to Narcissa will affect my apprenticeship.\"

A spray of tea from Minerva\'s mouth was not the answer she was looking for, nor was the total shock on her old head of house\'s face.

\"What do you mean, his marriage to Narcissa?\"

\"Well, Draco is under the assumption that they\'re going to get married and I wondered if my weekends would be totally free or if I would need to supervise students. I thought he would probably go to Malfoy Manor on the weekends. I suppose she could move in here, but it doesn\'t seem likely.\"

Hermione was actually hoping quite fiercely that Narcissa wouldn\'t. Knowing he was married to someone else was different than having your face rubbed in it every day for two solid years.

\"I see, and where did Mr. Malfoy obtain this assumption?\"

\"He overheard a bit of a conversation while they were having dinner. Severus hasn\'t mentioned it to anyone here?\"

\"This is the first I\'ve heard of it. Hermione, please excuse me. I really have to take care of some things right away. It can\'t wait any longer. Thank you for the tea, next time you must come to my quarters,\" she said perfunctorily as she rose and headed for the door.

\'If this is true, he\'s not going to get away with it. Not as long as I\'m Deputy Headmistress!\'

Albus hadn\'t had a headache this bad since before Severus Snape had been born.

\'The question is, should I take the headache potion brewed by the person who\'s the cause of the pain, or use the pain to gleefully kill him where he stands? Should probably wait and get his side of the story, that was usually best. Then kill him. Could put the body in the lake, it is one of Severus\' favorite spots. No, the giant squid would probably throw it back on shore. They never have gotten along.\'

Fawkes returned at that point, he was on his way. He took the potion.

\'Have to give him a chance. Set the wand on the desk, just in case.\'

\"Severus, please have a seat.\" Headache was gone and he could really appreciate the skills needed to make such an effective potion.

\"Headmaster, I have a lot of supplies to organize and put away. Couldn\'t this wait for a better time?\"

\"Hermione arrived today.\"

\"A day early, she always was excessively worried about being late for classes. You could have flooed me with that information.\"

\"Minerva escorted her to the apprentice quarters and returned later to share tea.\"

\"What is the point of all this? I don\'t think it warrants a blow by blow description.\"

\'Albus is acting decidedly strange, has his poker face on. Why is his wand on the desk?\'

\"To say Minerva was - impressed with the changes you made would be a great understatement.\"

\"I modified a few things, added some bookcases and another window. Is there a problem?\"

\'Wonderful, she\'s seen the bathroom,\' Severus groaned to himself.

\"Have you discussed marriage with Narcissa?\"

\"Wha - I don\'t think that\'s any of your affair, Albus,\" Severus stated, eyebrow rising to new heights.

He definitely didn\'t like the steely blue of his eyes right now.

\"It is if you intend on setting Hermione up as your mistress, to be here for you during the week, then go home to your wife on the weekends!\" Albus growled.

\"That\'s absurd!\" Severus rose to his feet in outrage. \"Who\'s spreading those lies?\"

\"So you and Narcissa haven\'t spoken of marriage?\"

\"Spoken of it, yes! We both came to the realization that it would never work. We - I thought it might be the only type of relationship left for me, but Angelica helped me realize I was trying to hide in the past. Narcissa and I are still good friends, but nothing more.\"

\"I am sincerely glad I took a headache potion before you came in. Please sit down.\"

\"I want to know who\'s spreading these lies!\"

\"Sit down and we will try to discover the cause.\"

Severus reluctantly sat. Who in the world would try to cause trouble?

\"During their tea, Hermione apparently asked Minerva what her duties would be, since she assumed after your marriage you would be going to Malfoy Manor on the weekends.\"

\"What, where would she get an idea like that?\"

\'This will put a major crimp in my plans. No wonder Albus wanted to see me. Good Gods! What does Minerva think of me right now? I\'ll have to watch my back until she\'s told the truth. Not to mention another part of my anatomy I\'m very fond of. He grimaced and crossed his legs. She could be quite vindictive, he\'d seen her in action.

\"Albus, I would like you to inform Minerva as soon as possible. In fact I don\'t think I\'ll be leaving your office until you do.\"

\"I quite understand. Where were you when you discussed marriage?\"

\"Once, in my quarters, after Draco was revived. The only other time was at Malfoy Manor, which was when we decided to remain friends.\"

\"Was Draco around during this conversation?\"

\"I don\'t believe so, Narcissa and I had dinner alone. He had taken Miss Weasley out.\"

\"He must have been there at some point and overheard part of your conversation, enough to conclude you were getting married. From there I assume it went through Miss Weasley to Hermione.\"

\"Damn Draco, I can\'t believe his faulty reasoning has gotten me into another mess. Please, inform Minerva, now. I wish to talk with Hermione and I don\'t want to run the risk of being hexed on the way.\"

\"Severus, Minerva would never - perhaps you\'re right. I\'ll floo you here when it\'s been taken care of.\" Albus suddenly recalling the conversation that gave him the headache.

\"I would greatly appreciate it, thank you.\"



A knock on her door interrupted Hermione as she was putting the last of her desk supplies away. She shied around the carpet, as she went to answer the summons. That thing was a hazard, she\'d tripped over it twice already. Gods, it was him.

\"Hermione? May I come in?\"

\"I\'m sorry. Yes, please come in and have a seat. Would you like a cup of tea? I\'ve made a fresh pot.\"

\"No, no tea. I\'ve come to clear up some misconceptions. Please, sit down and forget about the tea.\"

Severus held out a hand, she took it and allowed him to lead her to a small sofa near the door. This was really strange, he looked deadly serious, but not angry.

\"I am tired of subterfuge and spying. It may have cost me what I hold most dear. I have four questions for you, Hermione. Your answer to the first will determine if I ask the other three. Before we get to the first question, I should tell you that Draco was mistaken, Narcissa and I are not getting married. What he overheard was our decision not to get married, we decided we hadn\'t loved each other that way for years and to remain friends.\"

Her eyes were shining into his and he had to know, now.

\"I know you love Mr. Potter, but how do you love him?\"

\"Harry? He and Ron were the brothers I never had.\"

He closed his eyes. \'Was it the wrong answer?\' It was the truth and she couldn\'t change that. He was opening them again, they looked over bright almost like he was - no, not him.

\"The second question.\" He stopped to clear his throat. \"This is very difficult for me but I will say it, I promise. I love you and have loved you for a long time. Do you think you could come to care for me in the same way?\"

He loved her. She was stunned and couldn\'t speak, but she had to answer. A small squeak and a vigorous nod of her head was all she could manage.

That seemed to break apart the paralysis.

\"I love you, too. While I was under the curse I looked for you constantly, but couldn\'t find you.\"

She loved him. The chains holding him to the past finally broke and he was free. Free to love this marvelous little know it all. He gathered her close and bent to place a kiss on her forehead. That was enough for now, just to hold her and know he could. The carpet could wait for tomorrow.

What was this? She wiggled around to look in his face, questioning something from the look. It had become very familiar to him over the years, used to annoy him to no end, probably would again but not today.

\"What is it?\"

\"How did you know I was going to ask something?\"

\"Was that what you were going to ask?\"

\"No, but how did you know?\"

\"What is your question?\"

\"What are the other two questions you were going to ask? You never got around to them.\"

His full, rich laughter finally found an audience other than an empty hallway in the dungeons.