A Hogsmeade Afternoon
Severus was surprised at his nervousness as he raised his hand to knock on the door of Hermione's quarters—damned interfering portraits. Immediately after his knock echoed along the corridor, he heard a shriek, “Let’s go, Auntie Mia, let’s GO!” Hermione was laughing as she walked up behind Albus, who had flung the door open wide. She flicked a quick wandless spell at the heavy wooden door to keep it from slamming into the wall and shook her head. Then she eyed Severus up and down as she reached for her bag and jacket. Severus looked down at himself and back up to her grinning face.
“You look good, Severus. We don’t often get to see you dressed so casually,” she murmured, “You look…different.” And he did—dark jeans and boots, a heathered grey tee under a black v-necked jumper and an old leather bomber jacket that had seen better days…well, better years.
He smiled in return. “Well, I didn’t think robes or frock coats were conducive to being outdoors with a small, active person. Especially one who will soon be hyped up on sugar,” he replied with a smirk.
As they followed the bouncing boy down the Entrance Hall steps, Severus had a light hand at the small of her back as he leaned down to whisper into her ear. "Such a little snake, that one,” he murmured, nodding at Albus. “I only wish I could see the look on the grumpy tattle-tale’s face—as well as Potter’s—when that boy is sorted into Slytherin.” Hermione rolled her eyes but laughed along with Severus as they chased after a now happily running Albus.
Their afternoon together turned out to be an excellent adventure. Several liquorice wands were purchased as payment for the ‘bery bad word’, including a few extras for after dinner. When Hermione wanted to stay “just a few more minutes” at Tomes & Scrolls, Severus took Albus on a leisurely walk down to the Hogsmeade Post Office. They took a long time choosing the perfect owl to send a drawing to his parents.
“I’m not quite sure what that drawing was supposed to represent, though. It looked rather like a clutter of puffskeins with stick legs of assorted lengths.”
Hermione chuckled. “How many puffskeins were there?” she whispered, watching Albus cavorting ahead of them.
“Three, maybe four,” he replied, trying to remember. “One had very short legs, and the second had middling legs but appeared to have another small puffskein on its head. The last one had extremely long legs and….” He paused his step, a small smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. “Now what, may I ask, are you laughing at? Do you recognise these creatures?”
Hermione nodded her head vigorously while she tried to curb her laughter. She placed a hand on his chest and leaned close, “It’s us, Severus,” she murmured with a grin. “The tall one is you,” she smiled, tapping his chest, "The small one is Albus, and the middle one is me and my--”
“Hair,” he said softly, pulling a lovely honey-coloured curl through his thumb and forefinger, releasing it to bounce away. Hermione held her breath and smiled up at him until Albus’ shriek shattered the moment.
They stepped apart quickly, looking towards the boy jumping up and down and pointing. “Goats! Uncle Seberus, real goats!”
They had reached the Hog's Head Inn, and Aberforth was standing in the doorway with a bottle of milk in one hand, the other raised in greeting. Hermione acknowledged the older man happily and kissed him on the cheek. "Silly girl," Ab muttered, patting her shoulder, and reached out to shake the Headmaster's hand. "And who might this big fellow be?" Ab asked, looking down at Albus over his glasses.
"Tell him your name, boy," Severus prompted.
"My name is Albus Seberus Potter, and I wantsa see goats!" Albus replied, jumping up and down.
Aberforth's eyebrows rose, and when he glanced at Hermione, she nodded, laughing.
"Well, Albus, I have a little orphan goat that needs her milk right now," Aberforth said, holding up the bottle he was carrying, "How would you like to help me feed her?" Albus nodded his head vigorously. "You'll need to be very quiet, though, no yelling or jumping. Can you do that?" More nodding, and when Aberforth turned towards the small barn behind the Inn, he looked down in surprise when a little hand slipped into his. "Well. Alright, then... Let's get a move on, boy," Aberforth said gruffly, walking off with Albus.
"Shall we?" Severus said with a grin, holding his elbow out to her.
"Indubitably," Hermione replied, slipping her arm through his. They stood arm-in-arm in the doorway of the old goat barn and watched as Aberforth patiently showed Albus how to hold the bottle for the tiny goat while the boy grinned, seeming to whisper-talk non-stop. When the little goat had drunk his fill, Aberforth offered to pack them a picnic lunch, which they accepted. After everything was sorted and packed, he pointed them towards some tables on the Common under an old oak tree and bid them a good day.
On the way back to the castle, tired Albus had a mini-meltdown until Severus picked him up to tell him a story. Not ten feet later, Hermione clasped his free hand with a slight squeeze and pointed at the sleeping boy with a smile. "Asleep," she mouthed. Severus smiled and failed to relinquish her hand until they’d crested the stairs inside the Entrance Hall.
When they arrived back in Hermione’s quarters, Severus tucked Albus in for a nap and promised to have some dinner sent up in a few hours so that she could finish working on her lesson plans before he joined them. He turned before opening her door and handed her the extra bag of liquorice wands he bought her at Honeyduke’s.
"What are these for?" she murmured, blushing as his fingers purposely seemed to graze her own.
"Just in case..." Her eyebrows rose in question. "Just in case your mouth gets the better of you," he murmured, unable to keep from glancing at her lips. Hermione’s heart began pounding as she tossed the bag of liquorice to the small table by the door. Stepping close to him, she grasped him lightly by the front of his jumper, stalling him. He froze. She placed a soft hand on his cheek and turned his face back towards her.
"I...," she began, then shaking her head, she rose to place a gentle, lingering kiss on his lips. "Thank you for today, Severus..." She took a small step back, wary as he stared at her. The tick in his jaw led her to believe he was clenching because he was unhappy with her forwardness. She loosed the hand on his jumper and blushed. "I'm sorry..., was that not--?"
A finger moved swiftly to her lips, cutting her off.
"It was okay, Hermione... In fact, it's very okay," he said in a husky voice. The finger moved to tuck an errant curl behind her ear. He stepped away from her then and nodded. "And you are very welcome; thank you for today,” he murmured. “Go, get your paperwork done; supper will be here at six, and I will see you then, yes?" She nodded, and he smiled. He turned then, walking in the direction of his office, hands shoved deep into his worn jacket pockets.
She huffed out the breath she'd been holding as she shut the door, collapsing against it on shaky legs. How in heavens would she ever be able to concentrate on lesson plans now?
Severus realised quickly that she was aware of the tenseness in his jaw as he stared at her in wonder. She'd kissed him! She had no way of knowing that the tick in his jaw was from the effort it took not to yank her into his arms and kiss her as if he'd never have another chance. Maybe he would be able to rectify that later tonight.
An hour later, he groaned in disbelief; an urgent summons to the Ministry arrived that would take the rest of the evening. "Damned bloody politicians and their constant need for mollycoddling...," he muttered as he sat down to pen Hermione a note.
Hermione sighed as Winky popped away with her reply and decided to send a patronus to Hagrid. Thankfully, he was agreeable to a visit and dinner, and Albus quickly got over his sulk about ‘No Uncle Seberus’ joining them for their evening meal.