Melancholy Affection

With a swirl of a scarlet cloak she swept down Diagon Alley, her hood pulled close around her face. Her plan was progressing well. Each night she would invade Severus Snape’s sleep and give him dreams that ten years would have made her blush. Dreams that made Severus writhe with frustration that they were indeed just that, mere dreams. She hid her face with her cloak so that the object of her affection wouldn’t notice her in the crowd. She had changed much since he had last seen her, but she was sure that he would still recognise her. She had put on some weight, her once skinny frame had turned into a plump, voluptuous form of pleasure. Her face was prettier now it was not so thin, and her hair now fell in soft chestnut waves. Hermione Granger had changed almost beyond recognition.

It was not simply her outward appearance that had changed. She was no longer the know it all bookworm that Severus Snape had known. She was an accomplished young lady, a healer at St Mungo’s, trying to keep far out of the limelight that her friends attracted these days. Harry and Ron now faced a gleaming future in the Ministry of Magic. She was quite content to heal the sick.

Hermione took down her hood as she stepped into Mr Prowse’s shop. This place was a hidden gem, right at the far end of Diagon Alley. It sold potions ingredients, but the shop’s owner, Demitrius Prowse, was a man who took immense pride in the seeking out of rare ingredients, and the different effects that they had. It was through him, in the summer after she had left Hogwarts, that she had discovered for example, the subtle, yet important alterations that wormwood from the north of England made to a potion, as opposed to wormwood from the South. It was this that made her healing potions stand apart from others, be more effective.

“Miss Granger!!” came the voice of the proprietor from behind a stack of barrels, all containing different potions ingredients. “How delightful to see you again!”
The old man appeared, wringing his leathery hands and smiling at her over the top of his spectacles. He was tiny and hunched, dressed in dusty browns and greys. His white hair was whispy and gave the impression of him having a second set of ears, all covered in fur. He gave the impression of some sort of small animal.
“Mr Prowse,” Hermione beamed, “ It’s lovely to see you too! I have a list of things I require.” She handed the piece of parchment over to the old man, who licked his thin lips and adjusted his spectacles as he looked carefully at the list she had provided.
“The top ten items I have in stock for you to take away today, Miss Granger, as for the other items I shall require a week or so to acquire them. Indeed, the acquisition of Hungarian Horntail scales and horn is, as you can imagine, Miss Granger, a rather tricky business.”
Hermione smiled at the old proprietor.
“That will be perfect, Mr Prowse. If you would put the items in a bag for me. Could you owl me once the other items are in stock?”

Hermione left the shop just as it was getting dark. Suddenly a smirk stole over her face. She had one more thing to do before she went home this evening.

----

Severus Snape was exhausted. Night after night of wildly erotic dreams that woke him sweating, frustrated and aroused was by no means one of the ingredients for a good night’s sleep. He suspected a Leglimens, and a powerful one at that. Under normal circumstances he would have taken measures to protect himself, but he was finding himself drawn to the woman in his dreams, and every cell of his being yearned to know her better. He had started having early nights just so that he could spend more time with this creature of the night with her chestnut curls and voluptuous softness that he wanted to press his body to. He only saddened at the thought that this was not real.

But tonight, there was a knock on his door. Severus was sitting in his armchair with a book and a glass of wine and the knock startled him. He stood and answered the door. There was no one there, but a piece of parchment hovered at eye level, wrapped in a scarlet velvet ribbon. Severus reached out and plucked the parchment from the air. He took a final look around to make sure that the letter’s deliverer was not hiding in the passageway or in one of the other apartment’s doorways, before closing the door and settling back into his armchair. He untied the red ribbon and caught the scent of jasmine as he did so. He unrolled the parchment and read. It said simply,

“Until tonight”