I\'ll Forget You

A/N: Now all the chapters have been beta\'d. Thank you for reading and reviewing. Thanks again, snapeaholic, for beta-ing them all.

Chapter Six: Not Close Enough

Severus sat at his desk, mulling over the numerous parchments and books he had collected for research on lycanthropy. He still was cursing for even agreeing to Hermione’s challenge. She knew exactly what to do to make him consent to this absolutely foolish idea. True, he knew that it could help Lupin, but it was also seeming to be more trouble than it was worth.

He was noticing a pattern through all the material. They knew what caused lycanthropy and what it was, yet they had no clue how to cure it. Three-fourths of these had not even mentioned the Wolfsbane potion. Those that did were even further behind in the advancements that he had made with the potion over the years.

A soft hoot sounded as two owls flew in, carrying a medium-sized package. It was about time it had arrived. He had been waiting a several days for it. He gave the owls a treat, taking the package and carefully opening it. This was perfect, and it would definitely help him with his research.

He went into his lab, setting up his new microscope. He had to admit that Muggles did have some fantastic technologies that the wizarding world just did not have. He decided to treat lycanthropy as a virus and to study werewolf blood by trying various experiments on it - a relatively new take on the study of lycanthropy.

Once he finished setting up the microscope, he studied some regular wizarding blood, making his notes on what he observed. He changed the slide and placed the werewolf’s blood. He noticed that there were no apparent differences. He pondered this for a little while as he sat back on his stool. There should be some differences. Werewolves were obviously not completely the same as humans. Then, it clicked. He could have smacked himself for not seeing it sooner.

Werewolves were the same except at one particular time of the month. Casting a spell, he created the luminosity of the moon, whose beams of pale light shined upon the blood sample. He watched as it changed from normal human blood to something completely different. He wrote furiously recorded his observations, barely managing to keep up with the change. Once the blood had completely changed, he released the spell, watching it change back.

“Interesting,” he commented.

He removed the werewolf’s blood slide and then looked at a regular wolf’s blood. There were no changes between the completely changed werewolf’s blood and the wolf’s blood. After writing down his observations, he placed the werewolf’s blood back on the microscope and, with great skill, placed a single drop of the Wolfsbane potion on it. He watched the two mingle and become one. Then, he cast the moon luminosity spell again. The change was slower than before and much easier, though it still resembled the wolf’s blood once it was finished. It was exactly as he suspected.

He had one more thing he wanted to test at the moment. He grabbed the piece of silver as silver bullets were deadly to werewolves. He dropped the shaving into the blood of the werewolf. It quickly changed back into normal human blood. It was completely expected, but he also noted something else. The blood seemed to almost shrink somewhat with the silver in it.

“Interesting,” he remarked again as he scribbled down his notes.

He cleaned up his supplies and put them away. He grabbed the several pieces of parchment and went back into his office, reading over his findings again and again. He had to admit that the blood samples responded in a similar way as to what they knew about lycanthropes. He was particularly interested in the fact that the Wolfsbane turned the blood slowly into a wolf’s, whereas the silver quickly turned it back into a human’s. If only there was a way to combine the two processes without killing the werewolf.

The more he thought about this discovery, the more he realized that he knew where he could base things off of. He took out a new piece of parchment and began to write out a test potion he was going to create. If he was right about this, it might be just the potion to cure lycanthropy. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn’t even hear the knock on the door.

* * * * *

Hermione had been working late in her office. She not only had Remus’ case, but she was currently working with a centaur and another house elf. She was having a hard time concentrating. Eleven years had passed, and she had been completely Snape-free. She had rarely thought of him, except those few brief moments here and there when dark hair and skillful hands came to her in her dreams. She thought she could do this, work with him without complications, but she soon realized that she was wrong. “Damn him,” she muttered in sheer frustration as she realized that she had written Snape instead of ‘snap.’

True, she knew it wasn’t necessarily his fault. It had been a mutual agreement for her to leave those years ago. He wasn’t going to stop her from living out her life, and she wasn’t going to stop him from hiding in the dungeons. It was what they had both wanted. Besides, she had Ron now. True, she rarely saw him, but didn’t she prefer it that way? She had her work, and her work was very important to her. She was helping those who couldn’t help themselves. It was so noble and Gryffindor and absolutely frustrating. There were times when she almost understood the Slytherin attitude toward Gryffindors and how bloody annoying Gryffindors could truly be.

She gave a sigh and rolled up the parchment. She couldn’t do anymore tonight, and she realized that she had already missed dinner, though she didn’t feel very hungry. Her gaze fell on the list of werewolves in Great Britain. Most had refused to sign the petition and join the case along with Remus, and there was a handful that she still needed to get in touch with. They needed the support.

She also realized that she had not been in touch with Severus’ progress on the lycanthropy cure. She had frankly been avoiding him, not wanting to cause more tension between the two. He was obviously not happy that she had shown up before, although she had hoped things would be different. She shouldn’t have expected anything but his harshness toward her. It was Severus Snape after all. He was rarely a kind person. Still, she needed to know, and she just wanted to see him again.

Grabbing her cloak, she apparated to the flat she shared with Ron. He was not home again, and she didn’t really expect much else. He probably had some Quidditch match away or something, not that she paid much attention to his schedule. She wrote a quick note just in case, telling him that she was going to be visiting Hogwarts briefly and would be home later. She changed her clothes to a simple sweater and jeans then brushed out her long, bushy hair and secured it in a loose bun. She deemed herself ready and apparated from her flat to Hogwarts’ anti-apparition boundary.

She confidently walked into Hogwarts and down to the dungeons, passing a few straggling students heading to their common rooms before curfew. The closer she got to his office, the slower and less certain she became. Maybe she should have just let him work and then come to her once he was ready to show her his results. Then again, she wasn’t sure that would happen. She knew that Severus was a very secretive man, and she would be surprised if he did allow her to know of his progress without giving her either a finished project or an ‘it’s impossible.’

She paused briefly at his door and decided that she might as well talk to him. She knocked briefly and waited. Nothing. She knocked again, knowing that he could always tell when someone was at his office door no matter where he was. She was a little worried and tried the handle, finding it locked. She pulled out her wand and cast a few spells, finally disabling his various wards and opening the door.

Her mouth formed in a soft ‘oh’ as she realized he was there. He was completely engrossed in his work, and he had not noticed her. She saw the slight furrow of his brow, the prominent nose. His hair hung limply, slightly brushing against the parchment he was studying. She remembered how his hair was soft and silky, not greasy as she and the boys had suspected when they were mere students. She felt a blush suddenly rise to her cheeks as she admonished herself for staring. She knocked on the door frame. “Professor?”

His whole body stiffened as his head shot up, glaring at her. “Ms. Granger, haven’t you learned to knock?”

She crossed her arms. “I knocked twice actually before I let myself in. You were too busy to hear me.” She looked at him. “If I didn’t know better, I would think that you were getting a little soft, Severus. Been out of the Death Eater and spying game a little too long?”

His jaw clinched when she brought up h is illustrious past. “Keep acting like that, Ms. Granger, and I won’t tell you what I have for your little werewolf friend.”

“So, you’ve found something?” She crossed over and sat down without being invited.

Severus ignored her rudeness and pushed his parchments over to her. “Take a look at my findings yourself.”

She grabbed the parchments and quickly began reading over them. Her face completely brightened. “This is wonderful! Where do you plan to go from here?”

“I’m currently working on a list of ingredients for a potential lycanthropy cure based on my findings. It will be a cross between the Wolfsbane Potion and silver. I am hoping to make sure it doesn’t end up killing Lupin.” He took his parchments back from her.

“Well, that’s the general hope,” she commented dryly. She wanted to help Remus. “Can I see some of your results?” she asked, wanting to actually see the effects of the blood samples he had.

He slowly nodded. “Yes, come with me.” He knew she was bright, so he figured that another pair of eyes might be able to catch anything he had missed, despite the fact that he was certain he hadn’t missed anything. He led her over to the microscope and set it up quickly. He showed her the regular slides of wolf’s blood and human blood. Then, he showed her the werewolf’s blood with the various experiments conducted on it.

She leaned in to look at the slide with the Wolfsbane Potion added when her hand lightly brushed up against his. She felt a shock of electricity run through her as she quickly removed her hand as if she had been burned.

“Sorry,” she muttered as she looked into the microscope. A stray tendril of hair had fallen out of her bun and brushed against the side of her face, and she was completely unaware at how Severus had almost reached out to tuck it behind her ear. “Did you notice that the blood with the Wolfsbane potion appears even closer to the wolf’s blood than the regular werewolf’s blood with the reaction of the moon?”

Severus arched his eyebrow. “Let me see,” he said as she slightly moved away to allow him to look. After studying it for a moment, he glanced over at her, realizing that her face was a sheer few inches away. “It is,” he commented, their eyes meeting.

She had leaned close to him when he was looking at the sample, sure that she was on to something with her observation. She wasn’t expecting him to look at her. She could feel his soft breath brush against the wisp of hair that had fallen against her cheek. Slowly, she moved it behind her ear, still looking into his eyes. This was the closest she had been to him in eleven years.

“Yes, it is,” she whispered softly. She leaned forward on her toes and allowed her lips to meet his. She felt a rush of warmth fall in the pit of her stomach and between her legs, remembering exactly how this felt like. She had almost forgotten that it was so very good. She felt his mouth on hers, opening slightly and inviting her in. Then, she had a flash of Ron and remembered the fact that she was a married woman. She quickly broke from him, almost falling over the nearby stool and knocking it down.

“Sorry!” she said nervously, blushing deeply as she quickly bent over and set the stool upright. She kept her head bowed. “I think you are making wonderful progress. I’ll keep in touch as to how everything is coming along. Good night.” She turned and ran out of his lab, through his office, and out of the school. She didn’t even notice his hurt expression or hear the shattering glass on her way out.

“You are a complete fool, Hermione Granger,” she told herself as soon as she apparated home. She couldn’t even believe she had kissed him. She knew better. She was married. It was wrong. She had taken vows, and she couldn’t treat Ron like that. He never even knew about her previous relationship with Severus as it was. She sank down on the couch, vowing to keep her distance from Severus from now on.


A/N: Please review!