A Tale of Two Grangers

Hermione met Severus just inside the entrance hall of the castle. His posture as he leaned against the wall was nonchalant, but his expression was grim. He joined her in silence, ignoring her greeting, and refused to speak the entire way down the path to the gates. He only replied with a grunt when she informed him that she needed to do some shopping in Diagon Alley before returning to Spinner's End. They apparated separately, he with a fierce turn that she thought might send him stumbling into his house. She was slightly disappointed to miss it.

Diagon Alley was little changed from her time, the most noticeable difference being the absence of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. A shopping trip was a welcome diversion from her current problem, as well as Severus's latest bout of moodiness. Maybe I'll get him a gift while I'm out, since he is being awfully nice to let me stay with him, in his own way, she thought. She didn't have any idea what he might like, so she made a mental note to keep an eye out while she shopped for her own items.

Ever the champion of lists, Hermione'd made one as soon as she arrived, writing it in a small parchment book while she walked. She'd need some books on arthimancy, of course, to refresh herself before term started. Dumbledore had given her the book list from her predecessor, so she knew exactly where to begin. She would wait to purchase the rest of her school supplies until her quarters and office at Hogwarts were prepared. She also needed to purchase some clothes from Madam Malkin's. She had brought most of her wardrobe in case her time travel didn't go as planned, but she didn't own very much that was appropriate for a professor's daily wear. She also needed to consider her new identity as Septima Vector, who, in her memory, had always dressed quite professionally.

The cauldron shop caught her eye after she emerged from Flourish & Blotts. Hermione supposed that Severus had all the cauldrons he would ever need, but maybe there was another potions tool that he would appreciate. She knew he had a taste for the finer things in life, at least when it came to his personal items, and he was incredibly picky about potions supplies. She went straight from the door of the shop to the back shelves, where all of the non-cauldron items were on display. She considered a beautiful set of golden scales, but she knew he'd always had a very well-made set in the classroom. There was a large selection of knives, some as large as machetes down to a blade nearly the size of a strand of her hair. There were tongs, scrapers, pestles, and sifters galore, but none seemed quite right for a gift.

Finally, when she was just about to give up and consider going back to Flourish & Blotts for a book he probably wouldn't like, she found the perfect gift: an everglass. She was surprised to see one in such a common store, as they were usually quite difficult to find. True to that fact, the tiny bottle sported an enormous price of 17 galleons. Her eyes widened a bit at this, but it was worth it.

An everglass was made to hold any potion or similar liquid indefinitely. The glass of the bottle was thought to be unbreakable. The cork in its top would never come loose accidentally nor taint the contents. The glass was clear, but didn't allow any light inside to disturb the liquid. The temperature of the potion would never change from when it was deposited, and it was charmed to otherwise stay fresh forever. The most useful magical aspect, however, was its inability to get lost or separated from its owner. Much like a mokeskin pouch, the bottle recognized its owner. It stayed where it was put until moved by him or her. If the owner changed clothes, for example, the bottle would magically appear in the pocket of the new clothes if it was in that of the removed set. Better yet, if he or she wished, the bottle could only be detected and used by its owner. It was an incredibly complex magical object, its only drawbacks being rarity, price, and size. No everglass could hold more than a few drops of any potion, or its ability to keep its contents fresh would fail.

Most witches and wizards had no use for such a small amount of any liquid, so most never bothered to purchase an everglass. Thus, the supply remained small and the price large. Luckily for Hermione, however, she'd brought nearly her entire bank account with her (again, in case she had just this sort of time travel error). She was pleasantly surprised to find upon her first purchase that day that her galleons were worth more as well. The first time I've ever been happy about the outrageous rate of inflation, she thought with a chuckle as she took her purchase to the shop counter. Despite all she was buying that day and all she would need before her first Hogwarts paycheck, she still had plenty of money left over for Severus's gift.

Hermione finished her shopping in a few hours and made one more stop before returning to Spinner's End. The street was dark by the time she arrived, and she hoped Severus hadn't made dinner yet. She purchased groceries in Diagon Alley and planned to make a nice dinner for them. The house was dark and seemed empty, but the front door was unlocked when she tried it. She removed the bag of food from her purse and took it to the kitchen. It didn't look or smell like Severus had made anything to eat, so she decided to begin cooking. If he had, she could simply store the extra for lunch the next day.

She was halfway through making two steaks, a pan of broccoli, and baked potatoes when she heard a door open and shut in the house. Footsteps sounded across the living room and stopped in front of the kitchen door. Hermione heard him pause there for a moment before slamming open the door.

"This isn't a soup kitchen either!" he shouted, as though finishing their argument from earlier that day in the headmaster's office.

She grinned and ignored his tone. "I know, that's why I bought groceries while I was out. We're having steak for dinner, unless of course you don't want any. I can always eat your portion for lunch tomorrow."

He stood in the doorway, glaring at her, then stormed to the table and threw himself into a chair. "I suppose I can choke a bit more of your dismal cooking down," he mumbled.

His acquiescence pleased her, and she puzzled over it while she happily finished and served dinner. What is it about him that makes me furious one second and delighted the next? Well, let's not say delighted. He's the most insufferable, rude, eruptive man I've ever met, and I know for a fact that he only gets worse, but here I am, cooking him dinner and buying him presents. Maybe that turner really was cursed, I've lost my mind, and this is all a dream. No, a nightmare. A disturbingly pleasant nightmare.

They ate in silence, and she wondered how much of his life occurred in that state. He no longer seemed upset though, so she thought she must have done something right. When they finished, she set the dishes to wash and asked whether he minded if they had a glass of wine. He made a gruff comment about his home not having an open bar, but he produced a bottle and two glasses and followed her into the living room.

She was suddenly nervous, though she didn't know why. Severus had set the wine and glasses down and was busying himself with the fireplace, which was difficult to work properly even with magic. Hermione opened her beaded bag and removed his gift. The clerk had provided a small, black box for it after Hermione rejected his offer of a more elaborate wrapping. Not only would Severus probably refuse to touch anything that looked remotely nice or fancy, but she'd also had to open it once again anyway.

When he turned from the fireplace, which had finally stuttered to life, she stood and awkwardly thrust her hand holding the box out toward him. She realized suddenly that she had no idea what to say, and words began to tumble out while he looked at her as though she were insane. "I got this for you, for being such a... host. Please take it." Lovely, Granger, she thought with a wince.

He stared at her for a moment before carefully accepting the box. He examined it warily, and even tapped it with his wand before opening it. When he saw what was inside, he looked both puzzled and annoyed, an expression Hermione thought he could patent. "A bottle of white goo? You shouldn't have."

She blushed a little and looked at her feet. "It's an everglass, and I stopped back at Hogwarts to ask Fawkes for some tears to fill it. I'm not going to say anything, I promise, but you'll be glad you have it one day."

He didn't say anything at first, but when she looked at him she could tell he was angry. He stared at the bottle, no longer than the first two knuckles of her pinky finger, and frowned. "Take it back," he said quietly.

"What? I thought you would—"

"I said take it back!" he shouted, suddenly more furious than he had been since she arrived the night before, and threw the box at the table in front of the couch. The bottle flew from the box and landed upright on the surface of the table, while the box slid under the sofa.

"What's your problem?" she shouted back, tears starting to form in her eyes at his rejection of her gift. "I know you hate me, but I was trying to do something nice for you!" She felt so childish, which made her feel even more embarrassed and angry.

He took one step toward her, grabbed her by her upper arms, and shook her, his teeth bared. "Damn you, witch, stop trying to save me!" he hissed.

In one part of her mind, Hermione wondered what the hell he was talking about. In another part, she was still incredibly hurt and a little afraid of what he was doing to her. His face went through a short range of expressions as he glared into her eyes—fury, fear, confusion, and something she couldn't put her finger on—before he was suddenly and fiercely kissing her.

One of his hands wound from her arm into her hair, and he jerked her closer with the other. Her immediate shock disappeared with her breath, and her confused jumble of thoughts melted into dizziness. She sagged against him, but he stopped when her hands rose to rest against his chest. He pulled away and looked down at her strangely, his cheeks flushed.

They stared at each other for a moment, both equally surprised at their actions. Without a word, Severus suddenly turned and almost ran into his study, slamming the door behind him.

Hermione didn't know what to think, and found herself without the energy to do so anyway. She slept on the couch again that night, and in the morning, wasn't surprised to find Severus gone. She was, however, surprised to find that he had apparently taken the everglass with him.

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Not sure how happy I am with this chapter, but the story will start moving along now. I hate making up such an elaborate magical item for my story (I like to stick to canon as much as possible when it comes to magical devices/potions/spells), but I needed something that Severus would like and not already have. Ah well. Hopefully the everglass's shortcomings make up for its magic.