Compatibility

Compatibility
Chapter 5: Complicated Words





That night Severus retired to his favorite chair by the fireplace with a rather generously poured glass of firewhiskey. The school year had just started, but already he was desperately longing for the Christmas holidays. They tended to be miserably lonely holidays, but that was certainly preferable to how the past weeks had been for him. By then this marriage nonsense would be over, and he would be enduring whatever his fate happened to be.



The flames on his hearth strengthened as the dignified head of Lucius Malfoy appeared. “Severus, my friend,” said Lucius, “mind if I come through?”




Severus nodded his consent and moments later Lucius stepped through the floo. His friend had always made a habit of visiting him at Hogwarts, but rarely so early in the year. “To what do I owe this unsuspected pleasure?”




“Oh, you know,” Lucius drawled, “only looking out for your best interests as regards the marriage law.”




Severus raised an eyebrow slightly. “Narrowly escaped Azkaban and already you are pressing your influence with the Ministry?”




“Of course. I work altogether too hard obtaining contacts and favors to not use them,” said Lucius, as if it would be the greatest horror in the world to waste his influence. But then, for a Malfoy that would rank right up there with losing their wealth or giving birth to half bloods. Severus didn’t say a word, merely waiting for Lucius to say whatever it was that he’d felt the need to pass along. “Really, Severus, are you making no effort to find a match?”




“Why should I?” asked Severus. “I’ll be miserable regardless, so I might as well not expend the effort to aid the Ministry in causing my misery.”




Lucius grimaced and poured himself a drink, sitting down in another chair nearby. “Yes, but misery is like a great many other things in that it can be only a minor inconvenience or it can be like bringing the horrors of Azkaban in your home. Besides, with all the fidelity spells required the chosen witch will be your only source of sexual gratification. What if she’s a hag?”




“What sort of woman do you really expect I could get if I tried?” asked Severus bitterly.




“Merlin,” complained Lucius. “Is two decades not long enough for you to get over that Evans bint refusing you? I would think that with your ‘war hero’ status you could find a great many willing females. And trust me when I say it would be well worth the effort. I got a peak at the list of women who have yet to bring any possible matches in for the test and I’m now even more grateful than ever to be a married man already.”




Severus got up and poured himself another glass of firewhiskey, finding the first insufficient to deal with the subject of marriage. If Lucius’ goal had been to ruin Severus’ remnants of a decent mood, he was doing a damned good job of it. “Just so long as I don’t have someone else pushing for me to pursue that insufferable know-it-all.”




“I wasn’t pushing for you to pursue anyone in particular,” said Lucius, “just pointing out that it might be a good idea to explore your options. Though, if the insufferable know-it-all you are referring to happens to be the still un-matched Hermione Granger, I really must stress my full support of the idea. She may be plain and a mudblood, but she’s a respected war hero just as you are and you could do a great deal worse. Not to mention the way I’ve heard how constantly her nose is in a book, she’d likely leave you alone for the most part.”




“You have a rather strange way of giving compliments, Lucius. You suggest her to me and yet your words sound as though you despise her. Hardly comforting for me, you know.” Severus took a rather large sip of the firewhiskey, savoring the way it burned as it travelled down his throat.




Lucius looked at him in slight indignation. “Now don’t get me wrong, I respect the girl. I’ve never seen anyone hold their own against Bella’s Cruciatus quite like Miss Granger did. I just don’t pretend she is perfect or particularly attractive. Still, I feel a duty as your friend to point out that she might just be the lesser of the possible evils you have to choose from.”




“She’s a child,” said Severus harshly.




“Really?” asked Lucius. “Have you ever seen her behave as a child? Ever? And do not speak of her Gryffindor foolishness, as you and I know that to be a different thing altogether. Who else do you think will be able to understand, even to the slightest degree, the horrors you endured because of the Dark Lord?”




Severus glared at him and swallowed the remainder of the firewhiskey in his glass. “How has your son’s search gone? Matched already?”




“Draco has been matched with Astoria Greengrass,” Lucius said with a sigh. “Simpering, foolish girl, but apparently that’s exactly what he wants. Not at all like what you need, Severus. You need someone with spirit. At least talk to Miss Granger about the possibility.”

-x-x-x-x-x-

Hermione got up bright and early on Thursday morning and spent an hour getting extra homework done before she even had to go down for breakfast. She was resolved to go to the Great Hall for her morning meal and brave whatever questions people might have for her. It was something she’d need to be getting used to, after all.




She walked fairly cheerfully down to the Great Hall, not smiling but still quite satisfied with what she’d accomplished so far that morning. It was still early when she arrived, and she deliberately chose a seat off to the side so that she could more easily observe those around her. As the room began to fill she did exactly that, watching all the couples and individuals make their way in and choose seats. The staff were the last ones to enter, and in spite of herself Hermione found herself staring at Professor Snape.




He seemed particularly unhappy this morning, and as he took a sip of his drink he seemed disgusted with it and everything around him. Momentary distraction came in the form of owls descending, raining letters and packages on the students around her. Hermione didn’t expect anything, as her parents had yet to fully forgive her for the events of the past year. Between the removal of their memories and now the forced marriage of their only daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Granger were far from pleased with anything relating to her and the wizarding world. A couple letters did arrive for her, though, and she stuck them in her pocket to read later.




Her mind was brought back to Snape. Was his hair really greasy? She couldn’t help but wonder about that, and she noticed then how perfectly beautiful his eyes were. At least from a distance. His figure was nice, still quite in shape due to all his years of spying no doubt. She shook her head and forced herself to pay attention to the meal before her. If she wasn’t careful, she was well on her way towards having a full fledged crush on the man.




After she was done, Hermione made her way out of the Great Hall only to nearly collide with Snape in the corridor. Funny thing was that she could have sworn he’s still been at the teacher’s table when had gotten up. “I’m sorry, I must not have been paying attention,” she said politely, then attempted to walk around him and continue on her way.




“Miss Granger,” said Snape, moving to block her path once more. “It has come to my attention that there is a rather complicated matter that seems to involve us both. If you are free at all this afternoon, I would like you to stop by my office to discuss it.”




Hermione stared at him for a moment before finding her tongue. He was actually being somewhat polite. It was... strange. “Um... yes... I think I could manage it.”

-x-x-x-x-x-

Hermione’s heart had raced throughout her rather brief encounter with Professor Snape from that morning. It was a mixture of a great many things that were all running through her mind at once. Throughout this entire situation she had been forced to face the fact that while she may well be the cleverest witch of her age, that didn’t make her above normal female emotions. She wished she was, but would admit to herself, whatever she might claim to others, that that wasn’t the case.




She wanted to be wanted. She wanted to be seen as a woman, preferably a pretty one, and not just someone who was book smart and could get their friends out of scrapes. Years ago she’d told her friends that books and cleverness weren’t everything, and she’d meant it. Yet here she was, a woman grown and still trying to prove to everyone that there was more to her than just that.




When Snape had spoken to her, his seductive voice had muddled her thinking and made her ache with the desire to be seen as a woman once more. The more she thought about him, the more Hermione decided, however unlikely the pair might be, that he was exactly what she wanted. His dark eyes captivated her, and the coldness they always held didn’t prevent her from wishing she knew the thoughts running through his mind. Was there any part of him that saw her as a woman? Or did he still see only a young, bushy-haired nuisiance?




Her classes that day had all been a blur, though she thought she’d gotten half decent notes out of them anyway. It was just that when she tried to remember what topics had been covered, all she could think about was Severus Snape. This sort of obsession, quite normal for a woman who has just begun to fancy a man, was a strange thing in her mind. Not because it wasn’t perfectly natural, but because it was all due to a situation where she was being forced into marriage. Logically, very little about the situation was making sense to her. Emotionally, she was a wreck.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Hermione hesitated outside Snape’s office door before finally raising her fist and knocking. She didn’t have to wait long before she heard his voice bidding her to enter. She did so nervously, finding him at his desk with a large stack of parchments, a quill, and red ink before him. As she moved closer, she saw a mass of red comments scrawled throughout the parchment he was working on and felt sorry for whatever student it belonged to.




“I, um…” she began nervously, her hands tugging and twisting the fabric of her robes. “I suppose you’ve been told about the spell?”




“Quite,” he replied in his usual drawl. His voice was calm, his face collected and expressionless. “I think perhaps the Headmistress and yourself should go to Madam Pomphrey to be tested for magical illnesses that affect the brain. There is quite obviously something wrong with any who believe that a marriage to one another would be the correct course for either of us to pursue. You are twenty years my junior, an insufferable know-it-all as I’ve informed you before, Gryffindor, and most importantly my student.”




“Nineteen.”




One of his eyebrows rose slightly. “What?”




“I’m nineteen years your junior,” she corrected with a sigh, “not twenty. My intelligence would really only work to your advantage since, as an intelligent man yourself, I highly doubt a stupid wife would suit you. I think it best I overlook your Gryffindor point for now, as you know full well that it’s ludicrous. And I was your student. I’m not now.”




“Nevertheless, my reasons stand. I can’t imagine what has gotten this notion into your head, Miss Granger, but I highly suggest you forget it. I will not agree to this.”

---

A/N: Well, I know at this point some of you know about my laptop. It crashed recently and, though I bought a new one, it was a bit of a pain to try to recover everything from my old hard drive. That set me back somewhat with my writing, so I apologize for the delay on updates. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!



lilashannah -- I can't make it *too* easy for them to get together. ;)



Sampdoria -- Yep, I love that quote so much and its perfect for explaining why Hermione needs a man like Severus.



Thank you to everyone for all the lovely reviews! If you enjoyed this chapter (or even if you didn't), please review and let me know what stood out for you! :)