Echoes of the Soul

Hermione tossed and turned in her bed. She couldn’t sleep, her mind kept drifting to her meeting with Professor Snape and she was still trying to rationalise her extreme reaction to him earlier. She wasn’t accustomed to feeling that way around anyone and she could still picture his pale, cool hand wrapped around hers. She shook her head. Lack of sex, even Ron-type sex, was making her lose the plot, she just knew it.



She took a deep breath and forced herself to think about something mundane until eventually, she drifted off to sleep. She began to dream again, but this was different. He was standing in front of her, holding her hands in his and smiling at her warmly.



‘Selene, my love…’ he murmured and bent his head to hers in a soft kiss.



‘Annalin…please…’ She started to caress his broad shoulders. His tongue probed her mouth and she felt herself melt under his lips before being pulled sharply away. She cried out ‘No!’ but was dragged away and she saw his face fade into the distance.



She was standing in nothingness and Iydella approached her, her golden aura drifting over her and enveloping her.



‘It doesn’t have to end this way, Selene. There is a way…’ She spoke, her voice musical as it seeped into her being.



She was crying, weeping, and her stomach sore with grief. ‘What way?’ she sobbed.



‘You will find him. This time you will not let him abandon you’. Iydella stroked her long dark hair lovingly. ‘My poor child… your time is now.’



Hermione awoke hours later with a sense of calm. She lay back on her pillows and pondered the dreams she was having. They came almost every night now and she knew it couldn’t just be coincidence, these dreams were significant. She just had to work out what they meant and why they were happening to her. Hermione knew that in different circumstances, Sybil Trelawney would have been an ideal person to approach to assist her with dream interpretation, but she didn’t trust her and knew she was a sham. She resolved to do what she always did when faced with something she didn’t know and access the Library at Hogwarts as soon as she had time.



****





Severus paced in his lab. Everything was organised. All of his lesson plans were neatly stacked on his work bench and he had cleared a work space for Hermione’s use.



He checked the time. She would be here in five minutes. Severus was annoyed with himself. The witch had been insufferable as a student, constantly answering or asking questions, being such a know-it-all. It peeved him at the time that she was not Slytherin. He would have been able to bask in her reflected glory. Instead he had admired her thirst for knowledge from afar and he had to admit that her ambition had served her well. Not many 23 year old witches were receiving their Potions Masters. Or wizards, for that matter. And yet he felt uncomfortable, anxious almost that they would be working in such close proximity. He had been unable to shake her face from his mind, her amber eyes distracting him and even causing him to drift off whilst teaching. One entire third year class had drifted past without him deducting any house points and he had never missed such an opportunity before.



He shook his head and reminded himself that Hermione was a friend of Potter and Weasley. At this thought, a steely glare appeared on his face and hard resolve settled in his gut. Much better. This he recognised. This he could cope with.



Hermione knocked on the door and Severus flicked his wand to unward it.



Severus glanced at the door before speaking and took a small intake of breath.



‘Enter, Miss Granger.’



She pushed the door open and walked in, closing it before turning to face him. His eyes scanned over her, his face impassive, but he registered her muggle jeans and the way they closely fitted her round bottom and slim thighs, widening a little around her ankles. She was wearing a tight-fitting sea green T-Shirt which nicely emphasised her soft, round breasts and her short black knitted jacket hung loose, skimming the tops of her hips and highlighting her slim waist. Her hair hung in loose waves around her shoulders and she wore no make up. She didn’t need it, she was beautiful without it. He took all of this in with a sweeping glance as she walked towards him with her hand stretched out.



‘Hello, Professor.’ Hermione smiled at him with a confidence she didn’t really feel.



He was still in his teaching robes, standing with his arms tucked into his sleeves as he watched her. Her breath hitched in her throat as her eyes met his. She could swear he was checking her out and blushed, averting her gaze to look at a point over his shoulder.



‘Miss Granger.’ Severus took her hand briefly and avoided her eyes studiously. He turned and gestured to the pile of parchments.



‘These are copies of my lesson plans for the next two weeks. I will give you time to read through them and you may ask me anything you are unsure of. This..’ he gestured to a clean area of the workbench ‘is your workspace and there is a desk over there for your use. You can have access to my personal ingredients store but I would ask that you request anything you need before you use it.’



Hermione looked around and nodded. ‘How will I be able to reach you, Sir? You will be away on holiday, won’t you? Hermione walked over to the lesson plans and lifted them over to her new desk.



‘I am taking leave from the classroom, Miss Granger, you are correct. However, I intend to remain here at Hogwarts. I have some personal work to complete. A break from teaching is all I require.’ Severus looked at Hermione as her face fell slightly at his words and he smirked. The witch wasn’t aware of this, it seemed. Unable to resist, he probed her mind a little and his eyes widened and hardened.



‘Never fear, Miss Granger. I have no intention of ‘poking my big nose’ into your work.’ He growled and Hermione gasped in shock. How did he know what she was thinking? Her eyes narrowed and she glared at him.



‘Professor. I would prefer it if you would not poke your big nose into my head without my permission in future. I am not your student any more, I am your colleague and I deserve the same respect you would give to anyone you work with!’ Hermione was stood with her hands on her hips, her eyes flashing angrily. How dare he?



Severus looked down at her and smirked. She was feisty. And she was right, but he wasn’t going to give in that easily.



‘I can assure you Miss Granger I have no wish to poke around in your head. Perhaps if you could control your face to not give away what you are feeling, I wouldn’t have been so….tempted.’ He his voice was low with a slight edge of menace. This was the Professor she remembered from her Potions class. He didn’t scare her then and he didn’t scare her now.



‘Perhaps I should learn to control my face the way you control yours, Professor? To show no emotion at all?’



Hermione answered him mildly but the dig was there and he felt it. They looked at each other for a moment and Hermione knew she had the upper hand, for now.



‘I think I will look through these lesson plans now.’



She sat behind the desk and began to read. Severus glared at the top of her head and clenched his fists together. Damn the witch. He turned abruptly and walked to his own work area and began to read through his notes.



Silence descended on the lab, with only the occasional sound of parchment being turned, the odd ‘Oh..’ from Hermione followed by her scratching her own notes with her quill and the occasional footfall from Severus as he walked to and from his personal stores and gathered items he needed.



After an hour, Hermione sat upright in the hard backed chair and glanced over at the Professor. He was peering into a cauldron. She didn’t want to have to interrupt him but she had some questions. She stood and walked over to him.



He watched her out of the corner of his eye. He had pondered what she had said to him earlier. Just because he didn’t show emotion didn’t mean he didn’t feel it but he couldn’t expect her to understand. Years of having to face Voldermort had taught him to remain passive. She was obviously the opposite, her face lit up with a smile when she was pleased or happy, her mouth would be down turned when she was anxious. He shouldn’t have probed her mind, it was unprofessional of him and for some reason he couldn’t fathom, her opinion of him mattered.



‘Miss Granger. I would like to apologise for using Legilimens on you earlier. It was unprofessional of me, you were quite right.’ He looked at her and she smiled a little.



‘Forget it, Professor. I shouldn’t have been thinking what I was thinking anyway, it was rude of me. I’m sorry, Sir.’ Hermione smiled at him properly and her eyes lit up in her face.



‘We are even, I believe. You were right, as it happens , I do have a big nose…’ His mouth twitched a little and Hermione giggled.



Severus felt a little warmth spread around his stomach area as she laughed and he was pleased they had resolved their earlier argument.



‘Did you wish to ask me something, Miss Granger?’ He looked at the sheet of parchment covered in her handwriting.



‘Please, call me Hermione, Sir. Miss Granger sounds so formal and you are on holiday now.’ She grinned at him. ‘I do have a few questions…’





***



Ok, now they\'re being civil...