Paradise called Ojén

Chapter 9: It’s hard being nice all the time.


“No!” was all Hermione said and lead them to the same spot they had come from. She suddenly stopped and turned, seeing the grimace on Snape’s face. Her smile widened and she set her bags on the floor.


“You’re finding this all very funny, aren’t you Miss Granger?” Snape sneered and dropped his own bags. “This means a detention, Miss Granger… And do not look like that! It’s your own fault.” He snapped as he saw her eyes grow wide and was about to object. “Yes Miss Granger, detention!”


“You can’t give me…”


“The hell I can’t! Just because we aren’t at Hogwarts doesn’t mean that you can have a certain lack of rules, Miss Granger.” He spat and picked up the bags. He started walking up the narrow path and disappeared from her view. Hermione rushed after him when she picked up her own bags. She had to stop him before he was half way up the bloody mountain.


“Professor wait!” she yelled and ran after him. “I-I know a shorter way… Just stand still for a… moment to let…me explain…” she gasped for air. It had only been a short run but the mountain was very steep at the foot of it. “Plea-se, professor.” She came to a halt and almost dropped to the ground. Snape was there just in time to catch her. She held him round the waist and panted for air.


“You were saying?” was the only reply Snape gave, holding her upright to give her as much air as possible.


“Only if you drop the detention.” She said.


“I would rather drop you, but if I did that I would be in a lot of trouble. What was it you wanted to say, Miss Granger?” Snape was lightly irritated by now. Why couldn’t the girl just say where the short cut was?


“Promise Professor.” She said and gave a last deep sigh. She raised her brows and looked up at him. “You really don’t want to go up that huge mountain all alone, do you?” An evil smirk spread across her face and she tightened her grip round his waist.


“Alright, alright. But do remember that I’m still your senior and your professor. A little more respect will do, Miss Granger.” He said and let go of her body. Little sweat drops were falling off his chin. It was so hot in the full sun. Hermione noticed and dragged him to the shadows.


“Are you feeling alright, Professor?” She asked a little concerned and opened the first two buttons of his shirt. As she reached for a third button Snape’s hand shot up and stopped her.


“Two is enough, Miss Granger.” He said hastily as he remembered that he’d already walked through the house in only his boxers. He placed a gentle hand on hers, though. Not a firm grab that would have bruised her hand. Hermione let go of his shirt, lightly flushed as she herself saw the whole nightly bedroom scene in her mind.


“Sorry, I…I just wanted to prefend you fainting here. How would I get you up?” she quickly said and looked away. She was a bit embarrassed by touching him there. It wasn’t as if she’d touched him elsewhere—private—but she did touch him with brushing fingertips. Snape sighed and shook his head, more concerned about his own feelings at this very moment than he was about her apology.


“That’s quite alright, Miss Granger. Thank you for your concern.” He said and raised his left brow. “Now…you were about to tell me the shortcut.” A slight smile appeared around his lips. The heat didn’t make it any easier for him to get the thought of dragging her to the cottage and let her touch him everywhere out of his mind. ‘I have to get that out of my system! She’s twice as young as me.’


“Follow me, Professor.” Hermione said and started walking again. They had to walk back only a couple of feet before Hermione stopped and pointed at the wall of the mountain. “It’s through there.”


“Where, all I see is stone!” he pointed out sarcasticly and gave a slight sneer. “Do you actually want to climb the mountain, Miss Granger? Are you sure the heat isn’t boiling your smart brain as we speak?” Snape looked irritated n. Hn. He thought she was kidding and he wasn’t the person to be fooled. Not in a million years anyway.


“In the mountain, sir. Come on, I’ll show you.” She said matter of factly but Snape didn’t have a clue what the girl was talking about. To fend off another argument, he followed her. They walked to the high stone wall and disappeared between two slits. Snape’s mouth fell open as he saw what was hidden in the mountain.


“What…Merlin. What is that?” he said as he saw the iron cubicle with buttons. “Is that some kind of elevator?”


“So you do know Muggle objects?” Snape was astonished and could only nod. ‘An elevator in a mountain, but this…this isn’t possible, not without no one knowing.’ He thought. Soon he was his own self again, showing no emotions or impressions whatsoever. Hermione on the other hand, smirked at the sight of her Potions Master being ‘human’ after all. “It wasn’t made by Muggle borns.” She only said and walked to the iron coloured cubicle. “Aren’t you coming, Professor Snape?” At the sound of hearing his full ‘Hogwarts name’ he narrowed his eyes for a moment before getting himself in action.


“Are you sure this thing is safe, Miss Granger? I do not want to die, yet.” He sneered at the thought of her always seeming to know what he thought. She only sighed and refused to answer him. She pushed the door closed, pressing the key with the word ‘casa’on it. The elevator started moving and they were gone.


“It will be dark for a moment, the light isn’t working you see.” She said as everything went dark. She could feel Snape’s heat near her and shivered.


“Are you cold?” he asked as he felt her shivering. Hermione swallowed and blushed. ‘Thank the gods it’s dark in here.’


“No, it’s just… I don’t like the dark.” She hesitated and continued, “It frightens me not to see everything.” She swallowed again. Snape took a step forward and placed his hand on her shoulder. That caused Hermione to feel shivers along her spine. She closed her eyes and was lost in a wonderful thought for a moment. Suddenly, the lift stopped and the door opened on its own. She her eyes shot open and she turned around. Her eyes had to adjust to the light that invaded the small cubicle. When she was finally able to see she looked up and met Snape’s black eyes. There was something in his eyes, she didn’t know what it was, but it looked like… happiness? Was he truly happy? Was he happy to be with her?


“ ‘Casa’ means house, doesn’t it?” he said, dropping his hand from her shoulder, the happiness that was there a second ago, gone. Still, she saw a faint glow in his eyes but that could have been from the dark.


“Yes.” She stammered. “Mi casa es su casa.” It was out before she even noticed.


“My Spanish isn’t that good, Miss Granger. Enlighten me, please.” He said as he walked passed her and out of the cubicle.


“It means ‘my home is your home’. As a matter of speaking that is, of course.”


“Of course.” He said and looked around. “I guess we are in the cellar?”


“Yes.” She said and stepped out herself. She walked over to a big wooden cupboard and opened it. “Care for a glass of fresh home-made wine after dinner?” she said and smiled.

“Yes, that would be fine by me, Miss Granger.” He said after a slight hesitation. He still was against alcohol for underaged wizards and witches. Then again, in Spain she wouldn’t be a minor. She was 18 years old and not really a student anyway. Not now.

XXXXXXXXXX


Snape collected some ingredients from the garden and just behind the house to make Hermione her potion. She really didn’t need this sort of dreams. Still, Snape thought that it was strange that she hadn’t talked about her parents’ deaths the whole day. If he asked how she was doing, she politely answered him by saying she was doing alright, but was she? Did he need to talk about it with her? Did she even want to talk about her loss with him? He saw there were things changing between them, but still… He decided to not think about it for a while and let her get used to the idea herself. If she wanted to talk it through with him, she knew where he was.


He brewed the potion in the kitchen and bottled it for her. It was such an easy potion to make and yet, no one ever thought about brewing this one. It was one of the forgotten.


After dinner they sat quietly on the terrass and sipped their wine. Only a few words were said and they both enjoyed the sunset. It gave the evening something romantic, although there was nothing romantic about this whole situation.


“I’m off to bed.” Hermione said as she stood and yawned. “I’m so tired from all of the shopping and the heat…”


“Tired of shopping, Miss Granger? Aren’t you a real woman? Women shop, don’t they?” Snape said teasingly. He stood too and smiled a small smile. “Don’t forget your potion, it’s on the sink in the kitchen.” It came out as a slightly sarcastic statement but he didn’t mean it that way. She knew that—he could be so harsh and cold without really meaning it. “One spoon will be enough to sleep the whole night without nightmares. It’s quite strong, you see.”


“Thank you, Professor. Thank you for taking care of me, for being here, and for everything else you’ve done.” Hermione blushed a little as she stepped forward. She stretched to give him an unexpected kiss on his cheek. Snape stood startled and brushed his hand alongside her back as she did so.


“Thank you for being.... my friend.” He said and gave her a kiss on her cheek in return.


Hermione almost ran inside. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. She gave Professor Snape, the mean Potions Master, now not mean anymore, a peck on the cheek and she received one back from him! Did he…no he couldn’t, it couldn’t be true. Did he really see her as a friend? Did he have any friends?

Snape still stood there. He’d said to her that she was his friend. Would she believe it? Would she believe it was just the start of a friendship and nothing more? At least in his point of view he wanted more and his now throbbing erection proved that. He brushed the kissed spot on his cheek with the tips of his slender fingers.

She had kissed him and she was glad he was there with her!


After a good half hour later he went inside, carrying the almost empty bottle with him. He was determined to empty it before going to bed. He needed every bit of alcohol in that bottle. He loosened the other buttons of his shirt as he walked up the stairs. Because of the heat and the wine he was a bit unsteady on his feet and had to drag himself up the stairs. Upstairs, he almost bumped into a side table. The wine was stronger than he’d thought it to be. Maybe a Hangover Potion in the morning was welcome.


“Shit!” he just reminded himself that he wasn’t at Hogwarts and that there probably weren’t any hangover potions here. He sighed as he entered his room at the end of the hall and closed the door behind him. At least sleeping wouldn’t be too difficult.