At the Shore of The Heart

Hermione grabbed her rucksack and hooked it over her arm. She lifted her books, put her hat and sunglasses on, and pushed open the door to her rented apartment. She stepped out into the Spanish sunshine and smiled as she glanced up at the azure-blue sky. She stepped lightly down the stone steps and onto the dusty brown road, tracing her usual route down to the beach. Her hair was flecked with gold and bronze streaks, and her skin had taken on the healthy glow of an English girl who had lived abroad for just over a month.



As she neared the sea, Hermione stepped into a corner shop, lifting her sunglasses and blinking, as her eyes grew more accustomed to the darker interior.



‘Hola, Marco,’ she smiled at the elderly man behind the counter.



‘Hola, Missy,’ Marco grinned his gap-toothed smile at her and handed her two cans of diet fizzy orange and a take-away cardboard cup of black coffee.



Hermione grinned at him. ‘You know me too well, Marco,’ she laughed.



‘Si, Missy,’ he nodded, and chuckled at her as she handed over her euro.



Hermione put the cans into her bag and lifted her coffee, said a quick goodbye to Marco and stepped back into the sun. She walked to her usual spot on the beach, sheltered between a couple of large rocks, and threw her towel down onto the soft sand before sitting and looking out to sea. She sipped at her coffee thoughtfully. She was going to miss this, but she was missing home more. Tomorrow would have been Lucy’s birthday, and Hermione wondered how Severus was coping.



Her initial disappointment and hurt that Severus hadn’t joined her had turned to anger after the first week, and she had wholeheartedly thrown herself into her new environment in spite of him. More recently, however, she found herself wondering how he was getting on, and she had been tempted to send him a postcard. She thought against it in the end. He knew where she was staying; they had chosen the place together after all. If he had wanted contact, he could have found her.



Hermione lifted her book and opened it with a contented sigh.



*******



She had left early the next day. It had taken her almost three hours to Apparate in stages, and she arrived home exhausted but grateful to be there. There was a small amount of Muggle post, mostly bills, but the letter that surprised her the most was the one from Edward. It had been left propped up against the mug tree on her kitchen counter, and inside the envelope, with the letter, was her spare front door key. She sighed deeply as she opened the parchment and started to read.



‘Dear Hermione,



I cannot begin to express my feelings. It had taken me more than one attempt at this letter, as you can imagine. What were you thinking? You, of all people, should know that getting close to your patients in not healthy. Now, it would seem, you intend to take the place of Lucy Snape. That is beyond the call of duty in my opinion, unless you harboured a secret crush on your potions master that you chose not to share with me? Are you taking the opportunity to make yourself indispensable to him? I am sure you are well able to fulfil his physical needs, as well as his emotional.



You could have spoken to me.



I am enclosing your spare key. I will not need it in the future.



Edward’



Hermione stared at the page in shock, her jaw dropping as she scanned his words again. ‘How dare he,’ she hissed quietly as she crumpled the parchment in her hand.



Hermione couldn’t believe it. Was that really what Edward thought? She mused a little and bit her lip. They had argued more than once about her continued contact with Severus, but there had never been an ulterior motive on Hermione’s part. She liked Severus and enjoyed his company and conversation, but the thought of replacing Lucy had never crossed her mind. She was with Edward, and being unfaithful was not part of her make-up. In addition, she had never considered Severus in a physical way, although she was thinking about it now. She wondered how he was coping with that side of losing Lucy. She knew they had a very physical relationship and had been trying for a family before Lucy’s diagnosis, and it was yet another loss for Severus to grieve over.



Hermione glanced at her watch. It was almost noon and she had considered getting lunch. Suddenly, she wasn’t hungry, and there was somewhere she needed to go.





*****



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