A New Beginning (DH -COMPLIANT)

Chapter 40 ~ The Date is Set

The next morning, Hugo was waiting anxiously at the head of the dungeon corridor for Rod to appear. The Slytherin had a rough evening with the Slytherin witches, who although they didn’t hex him, all clucked and chattered at him as the wizards just shook their heads. At this rate, Rod was never going to get shagged. Didn’t he realize all he had to be was nice to them?

Rod was on the radar because every witch in Slytherin house knew he had never gone out with a witch. They were very manipulative and vying to see who could get the wizard to jump through hoops for them. He was powerful, and one thing the witches appreciated was power and he had scored points for outhexing Freud and his cronies. Getting the wizard under one of their manicured little thumbs was the challenge.

Too bad they didn’t stand a chance of doing it. There wasn’t much truth in the saying “you can catch more flies with sugar than with shit,” since flies prefer feces, but in Rod’s case, the erroneous statement was true. The witches had messed up so bad, they could be as nice to Rod as possible and he still wouldn’t like them. He stopped taking candy from them as well, thinking they might try to poison him or something. He might have been right. They were vindictive little bitches.

Hugo watched as the Slytherins passed him by and finally Rod showed up. The startled wizard was grabbed by the arm and he pulled out his wand swiftly, pointing it between Hugo’s eyes before he realized who it was. He put his wand away and shook his head at the bug-eyed Gryffindor.

”Wow, you’re fast with a wand, Rod,” Hugo said when he found his voice.

”You shouldn’t grab me like that, Hugo,” Rod replied.

But Hugo was safe. Rod wasn’t the kind of wizard who hexed first. He preferred to block spells rather than attack. Good thing for Hugo. The fourth year motioned to Rod to follow him. When they were in a secluded area of the hall, he looked at Rod excitedly.

“Rose said she’d go to the dance with you,” Hugo said with a big smile as Rod went three shades whiter.

”She what?” the Slytherin said in disbelief.

”She said she’d go with you, but you have to learn how to dance first. Don’t worry though, we’re both going to teach you how,” Hugo informed him happily.

Rod groaned.

“Don’t worry. I know how to dance good. First you’ll watch me with Rose, then you can try it,” Hugo said, “We’ll use the Room of Requirement. It’ll be great. You’ll see. You’ll be dancing in no time.”

Rod simply stared at Hugo, trying to process the fact that he was going to go to the Christmas dance with Rose Weasley.

”She said yes?” he said rather blankly.

”I told you that,” Hugo said, frowning at him a bit, “She said yes and is going to help teach you to dance when she gets out of the infirmary. Probably tomorrow or Saturday.”

“Um, all right,” Rod said, still dazed.

”Well, I’m going to go eat. I’ll see you when Rose gets out,” Hugo said with a smile, then headed for the Great Hall. Rod just stood there for about five minutes, then turned and walked into the Great Hall as if in a living dream. There was a sense of unreality as he mechanically ate his breakfast. He couldn’t even taste it. He just . . . swallowed.

He was going to the dance.

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Eli popped into Snape’s study. The wizard was making a wish list of ingredients he wanted to try and cultivate next spring when the elf walked up to him with a parchment.

”From Mr. Bartleby, sir,” Eli squeaked.

Snape took it from him and the elf winked out. He opened it and read it quickly, nodding.

Professor,

I have secured reservations for you and Mrs. Weasley at seven-thirty at Julwyn’s Restaurant. It is an establishment where a number of well-known people dine without incident, the staff priding itself on its patrons enjoying a meal without being accosted by the public. However, it is a bit pricey, which probably accounts for why the public doesn’t accost the patrons. They can’t afford to eat there.

Your meal will consist of the following:


Smoked Trout Salad
Roast breast of Barbary duck on a ruby wine and black currant sauce
Fresh seasonal vegetables,
New and roasted potatoes
Baked Chocolate Cheesecake with clotted cream
Coffee with Mints

They have an extensive wine and spirits list as well as the usual libations. I trust your meal will be enjoyable.

J. Bartleby


Snape folded up the parchment. It was all arranged. Now, should he inform Hermione beforehand or surprise her? At first he thought he would surprise the witch, but thought about it. She might not appreciate that. He decided it would be best to go the direct route and tell her up front. If she didn’t want to go, he could have Bartleby cancel the reservation. Hopefully there wouldn’t be a charge for it.

He’d stop by the site during her lunch hour.

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At noon, Hermione put away her work and headed for her apartment for lunch. It was too cold to eat outside. As she walked down the hall, the foyer door opened and the female voice announced: “Professor Severus Snape has entered the building. Authorized.”

Hermione stopped and watched as the wizard strode up the hall, a very sober expression on his face as he approached, his black eyes resting on her. He was so . . . imposing.

”Hello Hermione,” the wizard said by way of greeting, “I wanted to talk to you about our dinner this Friday.”

Hermione smiled and opened the door to her apartment, entering, Snape following behind her.

”Don’t tell me duck is out of season,” she quipped as she headed for the kitchen, Snape billowing behind.

“Not that I know of,” the Professor replied, taking a seat at the kitchen table as Hermione opened the cooler and took out bread and sliced chicken. She sat the food on the table and looked at him.

”Join me for lunch?” she asked the wizard.

Snape wasn’t very hungry right now.

”No thank you,” he replied.

Hermione shrugged and retrieved a few extras and a plate, then set about constructing her sandwich.

”So what about dinner?” she asked the wizard as she worked, slicing a tomato.

Snape eyed the knife a moment, then decided if she did get angry she probably wouldn’t cut him too deeply. He took a quiet, steadying breath.

”I’ve made reservations for dinner,” he said, watching her closely.

Hermione looked up at him, startled.

”Reservations? Where?” the witch asked.

”Julwyn’s Restaurant. The food is supposed to be quite good,” he offered the scowling witch, “I just thought it would be nice to eat someplace other than my dining room. I haven’t had the pleasure of eating at a restaurant in years.”

Hermione’s scowl disappeared when the Professor said this. It was true. He had been trapped on these premises for more than two decades. Of course he’d like to go out to eat.

“What about the public? You are still news, Professor,” Hermione said, putting her sandwich together.

”This establishment while not exclusive, prides itself on its patrons enjoying a trouble-free meal. We should be fine. I also have a very interesting article to discuss over our meal,” he said, his lip twisting slightly.

Hermione recognized that look. He had something he knew would get her going.

“About?” she asked him, already knowing the answer.

”The usual,” he replied obliquely, “I will show it to you Friday night during the appetizer. It isn’t very long, but impressive in its scope.”

Hermione snorted as she sat down.

”You always say that and usually the article is only good for wiping my bum with,” she said, taking a bite of her sandwich.

”Your eloquence never ceases to amaze me, Hermione,” the wizard said with a smirk.

”Nor do your dismal choices of articles to debate,” Hermione responded, “You never win.”

”I never lose either,” the wizard countered, “To date all of our debates have ended in draws.”

”That’s because you continuously find ways to bring up the same argument time and time again,” Hermione said, taking a sip of pumpkin juice. “You just approach it from different angles.”

”I do not,” the wizard began to argue.

Hermione was just about to engage him in a heated little argument when Eli suddenly winked in with a parchment.

”For you, Miss. From Hogwarts,” the elf said, handing her the letter then winking out.

Hermione’s brow furrowed worriedly as she opened the parchment and read it, Snape watching as she slowly smiled.

”It’s from Rose,” Hermione said, “She needs a dress for the Christmas ball. She has a date . . . and you’d never guess who with . . .”

”Some insanely popular young wizard no doubt,” Snape replied rather snarkily. That’s the way it always was after all.

”Actually, she’s going with Rod Dormers, if she can teach him how to dance first,” Hermione replied, “She says he’s never been to a dance before. That’s sad isn’t it? He’s been at Hogwarts almost seven years and never went to a single ball. I’m glad she’s going with him. He seems like a nice boy.”

Hermione read a bit further, then shook her head and laughed.

”It says here that Hugo asked her for him. He did seem rather shy when I met him,” the witch said, “Seems as if there’s some meddling going on.”

“Undoubtedly,” Snape replied, looking rather thoughtful.

It seemed Rose had a kind heart like her mother. It was nice of the witch to agree to attend the ball with the young wizard.

“Well, I’ll go down to Hogsmeade on Saturday and purchase a nice dress for her,” she said.

Snape didn’t say anything for a minute. He was thinking.

”Maybe I will accompany you,” he said quietly.

”Why?” Hermione asked the wizard. Most men hated going shopping with women.

”I suspect Mr. Dormers is in need of a suitable set of dress robes. It is his first dance after all and although I am sure he can transfigure a passable set, I think he would appreciate something new and all his own,” Snape said.

Hermione looked at him, her heart warmed.

”You’re going to buy him a set of dress robes?” she asked the wizard.

”Yes. A very nice set,” Snape replied.

Hermione gave him a soft smile.

”I told you that you have a heart,” she said softly, “That’s wonderful, Professor.”

”He’s going to be representing Slytherin house. I can’t have a Gryffindor witch outdressing him,” the wizard snarked in a vain attempt to show it was a matter of House pride rather than a soft heart.

“Whatever,” Hermione said, looking at him fondly.

He really was a wonderful wizard.

They soon returned to their initial argument about Snape’s manipulation of subject matter and spent a very enjoyable hour together before Hermione returned to work all red-faced and flustered, and Snape returned to his home, a thin smile on his face.

He had enjoyed Hermione’s company so much he was tempted to tell her to take the rest of the day off just so they could continue sharing the day. But that would have been overstepping the boundaries between work and personal time.

He had to maintain those boundaries of employer/employee, especially on company time. It was tempting to manipulate the witch into spending a bit more time with him, but he resisted the urge. At least Hermione agreed to go to dinner with him, and he had made a few brownie points by deciding to purchase dress robes for Rod. Not to mention they would be out together in each other’s company.

Yes, things were moving along quite nicely. Quite nicely indeed.

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A/N: Thanks for reading.