A Tale of Two Grangers

Severus cooked a surprisingly good pot of spaghetti for dinner, but Hermione wasn't able to do much more than push it around the plate with her fork. He watched her intently while he gobbled down his own healthy portion. Whenever she looked up and saw his gaze, she ate a few small bites in quick succession before her stomach wouldn't allow any more. He'd poured a glass of wine for her with her meal, and she swallowed it down almost immediately, much to his amusement.

Well I'm glad you think it's funny, Severus, she thought to herself when the combination of wine and an uncooperative stomach began to make her slightly dizzy. Great, maybe I can ice the cake tonight by throwing up all over his sofa. Impressive.

He seemed to have finally had enough of watching her play with her food when he stood and began clearing the table without asking her whether she was done. A blush crept over her cheekbones while he fussed with the dishes in the sink, and the effects of the wine made it linger. She could feel her face heating up, and became more nervous about it by the second. When he finally turned around, her cheeks were bright red, the rest of her face was white, and she was fidgeting uncontrollably.

With a smirk, he pulled her chair out for her and led her to the living room. "I didn't think the spaghetti was that bad, Hermione."

She sank into the sofa cushion with a shaky chuckle. "No, I think I just drank too fast. I've had a long day."

"Oh yes, reviewing third-year arthimancy must have been very trying for you," he teased as he sat in the armchair opposite the sofa.

Hermione noticed that he seemed to be in a much more cheerful mood than he had been the entire time since she'd arrived, not that that was saying much.

"So, Severus, you said there was something you wanted to talk about?"

He looked vaguely uncomfortable, but he nodded. "I was a bit short with you last night. I apologize."

Hermione was immediately suspicious and mentally noted which pocket her wand was in. She searched for his with narrowed eyes, and thought she could see it poking from his right pants pocket. "What are you talking about?"

He frowned, taking in her sudden change in demeanor. "Surely you know what I mean."

"In the seven years I knew you, I don't think you came close to apologizing to anyone even once. What are you on about?" Between how considerate he had been since he came home and now his apology for last night, Hermione wondered whether she should check him for polyjuice potion or an imperious curse. He had been gone all day, so someone could definitely have used either on him, although she couldn't think of any attacker sly enough to get the jump on Severus Snape.

He rolled his eyes and reassured her slightly by becoming visibly annoyed with her. "If you're referring to your time at Hogwarts, I doubt any of my dunderheaded students will ever deserve an apology from me. And, by the way, you'll need to be more careful if you're not going to slip and break your promise to Albus. Again."

Hermione was confused for a moment, then smacked her forehead in frustration. "Damn!" Severus already knew too much, and here she was giving him a time line for the war and his death. "Well, regardless, how am I supposed to know you're Severus Snape? You've been completely out of character since you walked in the door."

He considered her question for a moment before answering her. "If you were as intelligent as Albus seems to think, you might have made sure of that over an hour ago. In any case, you'll have to think of a question only I can answer."

She thought back over the time she'd been in his home, and could only think of one good question that only Severus would know. "All right then, you must've seen my birthmark in the bathroom yesterday. Where is it?"

She was immensely satisfied to see his face turn completely red before he quietly mumbled, "On your left thigh."

"Well, now that's taken care of, what were you saying?" Hermione felt much more comfortable now that Severus couldn't look her in the eye and his usual smirk was gone.

"I was apologizing for my lack of couth last night. Your gift was quite thoughtful, and I should have accepted it with more grace." He straightened himself and looked just above her head, apparently trying to regain his composure.

She watched him for a moment, purposely trying to make him squirm, and was pleased that he continued to avoid her eyes. I don't know where he went today, but he needs to go more often. A Severus Snape with some amount of humility is something I could get used to, she thought. "Well," she said finally, "I accept your apology, but I think I deserve to know the reason for your little outburst."

"I'm not used to accepting extravagant gifts," he said as his eyes climbed higher and higher up the wall. He seemed to become even more nervous, something Hermione thought was impossible for Severus in the first place.

"But you said something about saving you, as I recall. What were you talking about?"

He looked her straight in the eye then, his mouth suddenly twisted, and didn't say anything. She waited though, and finally he spoke. "There are a lot of things I deserve, Hermione, but salvation isn't one of them."

And suddenly she remembered that he had apologized to someone once, and she had seen it, at least his memory of it, during the hearing on his innocence. Lily, she thought, and she found herself sprung from the sofa, bending awkwardly over his knees, her hands on either side of his face, kissing him as desperately as he had kissed her the night before. At first his mouth was stiff and he tried to push her away. She almost moved back, but then his hands pulled her down, turning her so that she sat across his legs, and he returned the kiss, his slightly shaking arms pulling her closer.

She could almost feel electricity between their lips while they brushed and nipped at each other. Her heart pounded and her head felt as light as the wit sharpening potion he gave her the day before tasted. She felt like crying as he touched her, this man who carried so much pain and guilt for decades, this man who saved her life and the lives of everyone she knew over and over, this man who was destined to die for them once again. He kissed her and ran his hands over her body like he desperately needed something from her, and she felt the desire to give him whatever he needed surge over her like a current.

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After writing the next chapter, I lost all of my mojo for this story. Then, I had all kinds of interesting and dramatic things happen in my personal life, so fan fiction dropped to the bottom of my to-do list. I think I'm ready to start writing again, for various reasons. I have also realized that I was writing the lemons long before the story (or I) was ready for them. So, please forgive my long hiatus, and I hope you enjoy the new direction this story is going to take. Everlasting thanks to RhiannonoftheMoon for her story "For All Intents and Purposes." Our stories had a lot in common, and I enjoyed reading hers so much that I realized I didn't need some of the things I was writing in mine.