Evil Personified

Five

Severus made himself scarce for the weekend. Avoiding the inevitable would do him no good but every delay in confronting the girl had its advantage.

His head was aching in advance for he knew that she would not stop chattering at him once she started. It was with this thought in mind that he entered the potions lab bright and early on Monday morning. He skipped breakfast, preferring to enjoy a cup of hot tea on his own and avoid seeing Hermione before he had to.

He was already immersed in the task of mixing a batch of skelegro potion when Albus appeared in the doorway to the lab, Hermione Granger in tow.

"Already hard at work I see, Severus," Albus said, coming to stand next to the potions master who only looked over at him with glittering black eyes that spoke volumes of resentment. "I have accompanied Hermione in order to see her settled in satisfactorily with you this morning."

More likely the old buzzard was afraid that he would make short work of his apprentice, sending her packing before the day was out, Severus thought, grimly stirring the potion three times counterclockwise and leaving it to simmer.

"Well?" Severus hissed to Hermione. "If you are here to help then I suggest that you find yourself something to do that will keep you out of my way."

"I am not here to be a hindrance to you, Professor-Severus," she corrected herself. "Not only am I here to learn but I am also here to help in any way that I can. However, I do not intend to put myself in your way." The young woman drew herself up to her full stature.

Severus lifted a lazy brow. The girl had gumption; he would give her that much.

Albus cleared his throat.

"As this is Monday, I must attend to business," he said to both Severus and Hermione. "I have to leave for London in the morning. I have decided that Minerva will accompany me as well. In my absence, I am leaving you in charge of the castle, Severus."

So Albus was leaving? Excellent. If Severus had his way he would be rid of the know-it-all by the time that Albus returned.

"And Severus," Albus added, "You will remember that in being in charge, you are representing myself. That means that I expect you to be respectful of everyone here until I return."

The hidden meaning of his words was clear. Albus knew Severus well enough to know that he would try to harass Hermione away from Hogwarts altogether.

"Don't worry," Severus said the calmness of his words more of a threat than if he'd hexed the girl outright. "I will be certain to make sure that Miss Granger will be made right at home."

Hermione didn't like the way his eyes glittered at her, but she was determined to succeed. She was actually happy to be assigned to Snape, even if he wasn't.
Her analytic mind hadn't stopped thinking about all of the threats he would try to make to her, and since she'd tolerated him for so long she wasn't terribly nervous about anything that he could do to her. He couldn't deduct points any longer, nor could he give her any detentions.

"Good," Albus patted Hermione on the shoulder. "I wish you the best of luck, and I will speak with you again upon my return."

"Thank you Sir," she replied graciously. "I am happy that you gave me this opportunity and I will do my best not to let you down."

"You have never done so," Albus smiled, and turned to Severus. "And Severus will be glad to help you."

Severus ignored the old wizard and went over to his storeroom to retrieve some dried roots.

Hermione put down her small book bag that contained a blank book for inscribing her notes, her quill and her ink. She followed the Professor into the storeroom as Albus went back upstairs, smirking to himself at the thought of Severus locking horns with the determined Hermione.

"Let me help you with those." Hermione took the pile of yellow roots from Severus.

"Let me make myself clear to you, Miss Granger."

"Hermione," she reminded him.

"I have no desire for your continued presence in my lab. I have no wish for help in any form or fashion. However, since the Headmaster is insisting, I would suggest that you find yourself space for a cauldron and busy yourself brewing some pepper-up potion for our medical stores," he said gruffly, wondering to himself for the first time why she was looking at him with such soft eyes.

"As you wish." She walked off, depositing the roots on his worktable and going to the empty space adjacent to his to set up her cauldron.

~*~

The morning wore on with Severus continuing to ignore his young apprentice, who not only brewed an excellent batch of pepper up potion, but also had immediately set about brewing another batch of dreamless sleep draught.

Hermione's stomach was rumbling by the time the sleep draught was simmering. Snape had managed to keep his back to her most of the morning, bottling and chopping and stirring.

"Sir?"

No response.

"Severus? It's nearly lunchtime. Shouldn't we stop long enough to go and eat?"

"Miss Granger," his voice was exasperated. "I have work to do. If you wish to eat, then by all means do so. I would be most pleased to have some silence. Your constant chatter has given me a headache."

"Hermione," she reminded him again. "And I can help you. There's still some headache remedy in the storeroom. I'll go and get you some."

"That will not be necessary." Severus glared at the girl's back. She ignored him and went into the storage closet anyway, emerging with a small bottle that held an individual draught of headache potion.

"Here," she held it out to him, staring him in the eye.

"May I ask what it is that you find fascinating enough to keep staring at me?" he growled, uncorking the bottle and swallowing the contents.

His eyes were bottomless, Hermione decided. So dark and erotic, and alluring. She would love to just get lost in them. And that mouth of his was damp from the potion he'd just drank, pink and glistening. She wondered if he could kiss.

"Miss Granger!" he barked. "I asked you a question. I expect an answer."

"What?" She tore her eyes away from his and looked perplexed.

"Just get out of my sight for a while," he hissed impatiently, pointing to the door. "Go!"

"I'll be back shortly," she promised.

"As if I care," he muttered, turning back to his cauldron and wishing that Albus weren't keeping such a close eye on things. This year was going to be hell.

~*~

It was long after the tea hour that Severus finished for the day. He'd thrown Miss Granger out of the lab, insisting that she needed to rest. He'd just wanted to rid himself of her. She'd spent the afternoon telling him her theories about improving upon the skelegro to heal and replace bones faster. She'd also told him about her cat, her studies, and asked him endless questions about his non-existent family that he had refused to answer.

He rubbed his temple. He needed to get away from here, maybe for just a little while. A wave of his wand took care of the dirty cauldrons, and neatly put all the supplies away. He would go to Diagon Alley, to the Leaky Cauldron and have a drink, maybe two, whatever it would take to get the echoing sound of Miss Granger's voice out of his head.

Hermione had reluctantly gone back to her rooms to bathe and settle in for the night with her books. The first day had gone well, in her opinion. If she could just get Severus to talk to her instead of ignoring her she would be happier. Maybe that would come in time, she promised herself. She wondered what he was doing right now. Since there were no students he wouldn't be patrolling the halls.

More likely he was still working in the lab. She was strongly tempted to don her jeans and shirt and go back in there, but he'd seemed relieved when she'd left.
At least she could dream and he wouldn't ignore her in those. A pleased smile spread over her features as she settled down in bed, with Hogwarts: A History to reread yet again and Crookshanks curled up at her feet purring. Tomorrow would be soon enough to see him again.

Severus sipped on his second drink of the evening and brooded. The Leaky Cauldron was packed. At least his headache had receded after Miss Granger left.
That girl..Severus shook his head. It was bad enough having to tolerate her but here he was still thinking about her, blast it.

Females simply did not stare at him in the way she had today. Her eyes had been searching his, looking for something. He had not missed the way that they had lingered on his mouth, and her pink tongue had darted out to moisten her lower lip, as if she'd been preparing to be kissed by him.

Nonsense! There was absolutely no way he would ever kiss her. He frowned, and downed the rest of the drink, feeling the firewhiskey burn all the way down to his stomach.

"Drinking alone, love?"

Severus looked over with disinterest at the witch who had sauntered up to stand next to him at the bar. Tall and lithe, she was watching him with liquid blue eyes. A harlot, no doubt, if she were wasting time with him.

"I am not interested in socialization," he said coldly.

The eyes narrowed speculatively, as the witch put her drink down and ran a hand up his arm.

"My but you are a hostile sort," she cooed. "Its not often that I lower myself to speak to someone who hasn't enlisted my - services - however I feel friendly tonight."

Severus' eyes raked over her figure, which was voluptuous. The robes she wore clung to her curves and her ample breasts. Her nipples were hard and Severus felt his body respond accordingly, even if his mind didn't. It had been several years since he'd had sexual relations, and he'd paid for those.

"And do you often become friendly to dangerous wizards?" Tom sat another drink on the counter in front of Severus.

"How dangerous are you?"

"You would not wish to find out the answer to that."

"I won't charge you, you know," the witch pouted at him, her lips deep red. "I know who you are."

"Many may know my name, Madame, but few know me."

"I'd like to find out."

Her eyes shown with challenge and her lips twisted with a smile that was so evil that Severus was tempted to ask her if she'd been a Death Eater at one time.

"Very well," he said much to her surprise. "Where shall we adjourn to?"

"I have a flat in knockturn alley."

What the hell, it was summer, there was no more war, and if the woman were willing, Severus would take. At least she wasn't a bundle of words like the girl he'd been saddled with.