Apprentice

DISCAILMER: Nothing you know is mine but JKR


Chapter five


Christmas morning found them curled up on the couch in each other’s arms. “MMMMMMM, Merry Christmas, my love.” Snape said into her hair.

“Merry Christmas.” She said trying to wake up and looked up at him. “What did you call me?”

“I am sorry it slipped out, I won’t say it again.” He started to sit up.

“No! I...ehm...I kinda I like it.” she pushed on his chest keeping him where he was. “What time is it?”

“Still early. Would like your gift?”

She nodded and sat up. Snape went to his rooms and came back with a gift. “I am not sure that you have been good enough girl to get this. What do you think?” he teased her holding the gift just out of her reach.

“You know that I have.” she looked up at him with a pout and puppy dog eyes, “Please, pretty please?”

He looked down at her and handed her a small box wrapped in red and gold.

“Very nice wrapping” she couldn’t hide the laugh.

“I thought that you might like it.” He sat down in a chair across from her.

She opened the box to find a silver necklace that held a black onyx stone. “Oh my…Severus it is beautiful. I love it.” She looked up at him smiling.

“This was a necklace that my mother has left me and I couldn’t bear to have it lying in a box never worn. I have had it charmed to let me know if you are in danger.”

“Severus, I am honored that you want to give me this.” She got up and walked over to him. She leaned down and kissed him gently, “Thank you.” she turned her back to him and sunk to her knees and lifted her curls, “Would you mind?”

As he slipped the necklace around her neck he gently kissed the back of her neck.

“Hmm…what was that for?”

“I am sorry, I just couldn’t resist.”

Did Severus Snape just apologize to me? For kissing my neck? “It is okay, it felt nice.”

Severus smiled and kissed her neck again. “Severus, would you like your present?”

“You didn’t have to get me anything.”

“I know but I did.” She laughed as she pulled over a rather large box wrapped in green and silver and handed it to him.

“You do nice wrapping too.” He smiled as he opened it. It had been a long time since he received a gift that was given out of something as pure as the love, no matter what kind of love, that Hermione had for him. Once he opened the box he found a set of beautiful black robes that had touches of green and silver. He just stared down at the robes.

“I hope that you like them and that they fit.” She was looking nervous because he wasn’t saying anything.

“They are beautiful.” He looked up at her and smiled.

“Well I have one other present for you.” She handed him a box again wrapped in green and silver.

He opened the box to find a set of muggle blue jeans and a muggle button down green silk shirt. “What is this for?”

“Well I figured that you could use a new set of muggle clothes.” She smiled, leaving Severus Snape speechless and attacked all the other presents. When they were done they had quite the pile sitting in front of them. Hermione had received some books and some clothes and stuff of that nature. After they scourigified all the papers away they went to their rooms and to get dressed.

Hermione walked out into the sitting room in a pair of black pants and a tight red turtleneck sweater still wearing her necklace. She had also pulled her loose curls into a muggle barrette leaving some ringlets free. “Wow you look amazing…” he stared at her for a moment, “…for a Gryfiddenor.” he recovered himself.

“Well I think that it is time that we went to the Great Hall for breakfast don’t you?”

In response Severus offered her his arm once again. She truly loved the feeling of slipping her arm into his. It made her feel safe and loved. They walked up to the Great Hall in a comfortable silence as they never felt the need to talk all the time. Once they reached the staff entrance however they separated. They took their seats and then started to talk with the other professors around them. When the breakfast was over they decided that they would go down into Hogsmeade to see Remus.


KNOCK KNOCK

They stood with their gifts in hand waiting for Remus to come to the door. “Good afternoon.” he wrapped Hermione in his arms in a warm hug and shook Severus hand. “Please, please come in it is awfully cold out here.”

“We hadn’t noticed.” Severus said in teasing snarkiness.

Remus pushed a cup of tea into both of their hands. “Well the Weasleys have invited us over to the Burrow if you would like to go?” he looked at Severus, “They would be happy to see you both.”

“Well, Hermione, what do you think?”

She didn’t stop to think about it, “Let’s Go.”

They finished their tea and gathered their gifts and headed to the fire.

“I will go first.” Hermione said and threw the floo powder into the flames and stepped inside, “The Burrow.”

She stepped out brushing herself off. “Hermione dear is that you?” Mrs. Weasley came over to her and wrapped her arms around her. “It is so good to see you. Merry Christmas!” She took the gifts and placed them under the tree as Remus showed up.

“Remus, Merry Christmas.” he was wrapped too in the arms of the older woman.

Severus was the next one to floo into the Wealseys living room. “Severus, I am so glad that you are here.” With that she pulled him into a hug as well.

Severus was stunned for a few minutes that the older woman would hug him, but soon he was returning the hug. “I am happy to be here.”

As everyone came into the living room hugs and greetings were exchanged all around. Although Severus received no more hugs. Hermione looked around the living room and she found that it still looked the way that she remembered. She walked over into the kitchen and looked up at the clock and had to hold back the tears as she saw where Ron’s spoon was held.

“You know I can hardly look at that anymore.” Ginny came up beside her.

“I am sorry that I have not been here for you as much as I should have been. I have been a terrible friend.” Hermione wrapped her arm around the younger girl’s waist.

“Really Hermione it is okay.” Ginny slipped her arm around Hermione, “You dealt with it the way that you needed to, but you are here now.” The two friends hugged.

The rest of the day seemed to go by pretty easily. Severus was even enjoying himself. When the night was drawing to an end they all gathered outside in the garden for the lighting of the lights. Hermione had forgotten her winter cloak inside. Severus however noticed this and the way that she was hugging herself told him that she was cold. He stepped up beside her and wrapped his arms around her and pulling his cloak around the both of them.

“Better?”

“Yes.”

It really was the first time that they could show how they felt about each other in public. The Weasley boys said the words that lit up the garden in the most beautiful way. They were all speechless as they looked around and enjoyed the magic of the night. They all clapped for the boys and they in turn hammed it up for everyone. Still standing outside in the garden they even sang some Christmas carols. Hermione and Severus stayed in each others arms the whole time. As the lights dimmed they all started to head inside and he slipped Hermione’s hand into his own. Once inside they all went for some hot chocolate to help them warm up. They all found seats, but it seemed that there was one of the chairs that they had used during dinner was suddenly missing.

“Oh dear, well I am sure that we could find the one that went missing.” Mrs. Weasley was now glaring at her twin boys.

“Oh it is perfectly fine Molly.” Severus said as he pulled Hermione down on to his lap, “See my dear now everyone has a chair.”

Hermione could imagine that her cheeks matched her sweater. “Really Molly, it is fine.”

Presents went around and when everyone had opened their gifts and finished their drinks Remus, Severus and Hermione stood to leave.

“Thank you so much for inviting us Molly it was as always a pure joy.” Remus took the woman in his arms and hugged her dearly and then went on to say good-bye to all those other Weasleys.

“Molly, I promise that I will come around more.” Hermione said into the woman’s neck.

“You better, you are family and we are here for you when you need us.”

Hermione followed Remus and said good-bye to the other Weasleys.

“Severus, I am so glad that you came along, and please know that you are welcome here anytime that you want. And treat her right or you will have a clan of angry Weasleys to deal with.”

“Don’t worry, I have no intentions to hurt her and just the threat of angry Weasleys is enough to scare me out of it either way.” He smiled and winked at Molly.

Molly wrapped her arms around Severus, “She has been through a lot and she is still healing. Please take care of her.”

“I will.” he bent and kissed the woman’s cheek.

After all the good byes were said and each of the three were loaded down with leftovers and their gifts they all flooed back to their respective homes. Once safely out of the floo and all brushed off, Hermione went about straighten out the room.

“I am going to go take a long bath, it has been a long day.” She said as Severus emerged from his rooms.

“Sounds good.”

An hour later she came out of her rooms wrapped in a big fluffy red bathrobe along with a book that she received. She used her wand to stroke the fire so that the room was nice and warm. She curled up at the end of the couch and opened her book.

“You know I have never seen these rooms look so good.” Severus said as he came out in green pyjama pants and a white shirt along with his book.

“All I did was clean up a little.” She looked up at him smiling innocently.

They sat and read for a while when she moved over next to him and looked up at him, “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Everything, you have helped me in more ways then you know. You helped me learn and understand what happened that awful night. You made me go and see some dear friends that I have missed more then I knew. And you saved me from that boy and you stood by my side as I healed. You have been an amazing friend and for that I thank you.” She looked up and blushed. “You didn’t have to do any of this. I was not nice when I was a student here. I annoyed you…” he opened his mouth to say something, “…no please wait…you never deserved the way me and my friends treated you and now I am just…I’m just sorry that I treated you that way.” She looked down at her hands.

He slipped his finger under her chin and lifted her face to look at him, “Hermione, you and your friends did defiantly annoy me and I didn’t necessary like any of you. But as the time went by I came to understand that you were just being you and I was just being me. I want you to know that whatever was said behind my back or done to me is forgotten. And even all those years ago I saw that you were capable of doing so many great things, although I never thought that you would come back here and would want to work with me.”

“Do you know why I came to you to learn from?”

“Not the slightest idea.”

“Because you are the best and I knew you would challenge me. You wouldn’t see my transcripts from Hogwarts, from University or the potions that I am working on at face value. You would want me to understand them completely and you wouldn’t care what I did accomplish at University or here.”

“You’re right I don’t care about all that and I do want you to understand everything that goes into the potion making process. I also want you to know that every potion will react to each potion situation differently. And that teaching students is not as easy as one might think it is.”

“Well I am certainly learning that and then some.” She looked up at him, “Why did you allow me to call you Severus?”

“I still haven’t figured that one out completely. But I think that it has to do with the fact that the man that I apprenticed under had me call him by his first name.”

“You know that we both have changed so much since I got here?”

“Yeah I know and I am not looking forward to the time when you decide that I am not worth having as a friend anymore.”

She reached up and kissed his cheek, “I don’t think that that will ever happen. You have a way to make me feel safe and I am learning so much from you and I don’t think that you could stop teaching me things.”

“You are teaching me things as well. I have never been one to sit with someone and have conversations while sitting close. And I have never been so concerned about how someone feels and if they are safe of not.”

“Well I am honored.” She snuggled a little closer to him, “Is that why you wrapped your arms around me when I was cold?”

He pulled her closer to him, “That was part of it, yes. The other part was that I simply wanted to be close to you.”

“I like that answer.” She laid her head on his shoulder.

He absently stroked her hair. “Merry Christmas Hermione.”

“Merry Christmas Severus.” They once again fell asleep in each others arms

A/N Just rereading this chapter makes me cry. Again I would like to thanks Constance my wonderful beta for her amazing work. And say that I am sorry that I forgot to thank her in the last chapter. PLease let me know what you guys think. Peace and love