Hilltop Cottage

Hermione handed Alicia a large glass of white wine and motioned for her to sit on the sofa. Donovan was asleep, and they had just finished two plates of fish and chips from the takeaway. The conversation up to that point had been superficial and all but meaningless, chat about Donovan, the house – anything that would keep them away from the subject that had caused such tension between them. Hermione wasn’t one for avoiding things, however.



‘You don’t like him, do you?’ she stated.



‘Donovan? I think he’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,’ Alicia said, taking a sip of wine.



‘I meant Severus, Alicia, as you well know.’ Hermione stared at her with hard eyes, and eventually the blonde witch had the good sense to lower her gaze and shrug slightly.



‘I hardly know him, so I can’t judge,’ she said eventually.



‘What happened, at the hospital?’ Hermione leant forward, making it very clear she would brook no avoidance.



‘Nothing, really. Severus was upset about Minerva, I told him I would do all I could to help. That’s all,’ she said calmly.



Hermione narrowed her eyes. ‘Why do I want to believe you and yet find it so hard to do so?’ she murmured.



Alicia shrugged again. ‘It’s the truth. Ask Severus,’ she said.



Hermione stared into her glass. The sound of Alicia saying Severus’s name, the syllables sliding through her teeth like silk, made her feel uncomfortable for some strange reason.



‘He really is a good person, Alicia. And you can’t deny, he is bloody clever,’ she said, smiling proudly.



‘He is exceptionally talented, you’re right. As for being good, well… that’s what girl talk is meant to be about, right? Finding out if they’re ‘good’, or hopeless?’ Alicia grinned and then guffawed loudly at her own joke, and Hermione couldn’t help but giggle.



‘No way. That is one bit of information that stays private.’ Hermione laughed.



‘Spoil sort!’ Alicia laughed again. ‘Go on… Just tell me. He’s a stallion, right?’



Hermione grinned and blushed madly. ‘Stop it, Alicia,’ she said, her voice soft. ‘I love him. He’s asked me to marry him, actually.’ She smiled shyly.



‘Oh, wow.’ Alicia let out a long sigh. ‘That’s fantastic news.’



She clinked her glass against Hermione’s and raised it in a silent toast. Hermione knew it wasn’t sincere, because she noticed the dark look that crossed Alicia’s face, albeit briefly.



‘So, he finally told you he loved you, huh?’ Alicia said, raising her eyebrows.



‘Well, no. But he didn’t have to. I know he loves me, Alicia. He doesn’t need to say it,’ Hermione said, defending him.



‘Well, I think it’s very good of him to stand by you and Donovan. He seems like the kind of guy who would do the right thing,’ Alicia responded, her tone innocent.



‘He didn’t ask me to marry him just because of Donovan,’ Hermione snapped out.



‘I’m glad, truly. You’re happy, that’s what counts, right?’ Alicia took a deep drink of her wine and reached for the bottle. ‘Top up?’



Hermione nodded and changed the subject, and they talked about work and advances in Charms until the bottle of wine was empty and they decided to retire. Alicia stayed in the living room, after transfiguring the couch into a divan bed, and Hermione climbed the stairs heavily, wishing that Severus were there to curl up next to.



She lay awake for an hour, running over the events of the day in her head, and Alicia’s comments about Severus. He hadn’t actually told her he loved her, and he had changed towards her after he found out about Donovan. As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered if Alicia was right, and he was just standing by them because he felt a sense of responsibility. Perhaps he didn’t love her at all, and it was just a way to ensure he had a role in Donovan’s life.



She tried to stop herself weeping into her pillow and failed miserably.





***



Severus was waiting impatiently in his quarters. He felt exhausted after a sleepless night. He had missed Hermione and Donovan so much; he had been tempted just to Floo to Hilltop Cottage anyway. It was the presence of Alicia Maines that had made him keep his distance. He had seen enough man-hungry witches to recognise the type, and despite her friendship with Hermione, he didn’t trust her. Her actions yesterday had shocked him to no end and he couldn’t wait for the witch to go back from whence she came.



Breakfast in the Great Hall had irritated him. The noise level seemed greater than was usual, the scraping of chairs and the chatter of dunderheads had made his brain hurt, and even the wonderfully delicious breakfast hadn’t cheered him. He just wanted to get Minerva back to Hogwarts, so that he could get back to New Mills and start his family life proper.



He started to muse about Donovan, what he was having for breakfast and what outfit Lexie would force him to wear today, when the Floo activated, and Alicia Maines stepped into the room. Her long, blonde hair was groomed to perfection, and she was wearing red stilettos and a tight, grey pencil skirt and matching jacket. Although the jacket was buttoned, the top was gaping open to reveal the top of a lacy, red bra. Severus thought she looked like a prostitute, but said nothing as she met his gaze with a challenging look.



‘Good morning, Professor,’ she said slowly, holding her hand out.



Severus ignored her hand and the greeting. ‘Where’s Hermione?’ he asked crisply.



‘Lexie is running late. Hermione told me to come ahead so we can get started as soon as Barnabus arrives. He should be here shortly,’ she said.



‘Very well,’ he said. He stood to his full height and glared at her sharply. ‘How is my son?’



Alicia gave him a genuine smile. ‘Gorgeous, of course. He’s just like his father,’ she said bluntly.



Severus felt his face flushing, and turned away from her abruptly. ‘I will leave you to meet your friend. Come into the lab when he arrives.’



‘Professor,’ Alicia said quietly.



Severus stiffened, but turned to look at her. ‘Yes?’



‘I think that it’s just great, what you’re doing for Hermione and Donovan,’ she said.



‘I have no idea what you’re talking about,’ Severus replied.



‘Well, she let slip that you want to marry her and all. That’s such a good thing to do. It’s very hard raising a child alone these days,’ she said with sincerity.



‘Get to the point, Miss Maines,’ Severus said coolly. He didn’t like where this was going.



‘Hermione talked about you so much when she was in the States,’ Alicia said, ‘and about your break up. It’s always hard when one person loves the other person more, I think.’



Severus’s eyes hardened and narrowed and he frowned. ‘She said that she didn’t love me as much as I love her?’



‘Well, not in so many words, of course. Everything changes when a child comes along, don’t you think?’ Alicia smiled at him sweetly.



Severus felt his mouth go dry and his throat constrict suddenly. His vision was so clearly clouded by his feelings for Hermione that he hadn’t seen what was really going on. Of course the witch wouldn’t want to raise the child alone, and what better way to secure her own future than to entice him back with the lure of fatherhood?



‘I will see you in the lab, Miss Maines,’ he whispered, walking into his sanctuary quickly so that she wouldn’t hear the rasping sob that left him or see the tears as they dripped down his cheeks.



Alicia Maines watched him walk away with her head held high and a smirk on her face.