Chapter 3
Severus had dreaded staying in Hermione’s quarters until he actually saw them. After that, he began trying to devise ways to sabotage the reversal potion so that he could keep them for himself.
The small, comfortable living area felt more like home to Severus than most places he had ever been in his life. The numerous bookcases were complemented by a pair of mismatched, cozy-looking armchairs, with several fluffy cushions in a variety of neutral colours. One of the armchairs was partly covered by a throw rug which looked to have been crocheted by hand. Next to the window was a timber writing desk, with a neat pile of essays to be marked.
His eyes drifted to the small table set between two of the armchairs, and the unfinished knitted scarf resting upon it.
“So, kept up with the knitting after SPEW, did we?” He was pleased to notice the slight blush reddening her cheeks.
“It seemed like a good hobby to maintain. Of course, Neville is used to seeing me knit of an evening when he visits, so maybe I’ll need to teach you.” Her eyes sparkled with amusement, and with a slight pang of regret Severus realised that this was perhaps the first time such a light-hearted expression had ever appeared on his face. Despite the changes to his life over the past five years, so much had stayed the same.
He covered his moment of wistfulness with a grimace. “Is there anything I need to know about Professor Longbottom’s night-time visits?”
Hermione laughed. “Hardly. We’re just friends, he and Hannah are fairly inseparable.”
“A great relief, I can assure you.” The comment that would have sounded snarky in Severus’ voice came out tart and funny in Hermione’s, and he was shocked to hear her earlier laugh give way to a giggle, which was an extremely disconcerting sound. Severus Snape most definitely did not giggle.
“I’m sure Neville would agree with you entirely.” Hermione gestured to the armchairs. “Take a seat, Professor, I’ll just go and get my toothbrush and a few other things.”
As she left for the bedroom and, presumably, the ensuite, Severus took a seat and began to look more closely at the knitting. Picking it up gingerly, he began to see how the scarf was woven, knots formed by the needles coming together…
He was so engrossed that he missed Hermione’s entrance from the bedroom, and the wry smile she gave him. “Here,” she said, startling him slightly, “have a try if you like.”
“No, I can’t, I’ll ruin it…”
Before he could finish his protest, she had crossed to his side with long strides and crouched down by his side. “Here, hold the needles like this, then this needle through the loop, then twist this around…”
Within moments, he’d completed another three stitches, and Hermione was beaming at him. “Well, there you go, you’ll be able to keep up appearances even better now.”
Severus, on the other hand, frowned as he tentatively continued knitting. “Granger, I’ve never done this before. This should be harder than this! I feel like I’ve been knitting for years.”
“That’s Professor Snape to you – our covers, remember?” she chided gently. “Perhaps you were taught as a child, or watched someone do it. Or maybe it’s just latent talent – “
“Or maybe,” Severus interrupted, with a strange expression, “I’m finding it easy because your body knows what it’s doing.”
Hermione nodded. “You could be right. Muggles observe a similar phenomenon, called body memory.”
Severus carefully finished the row and put the knitting back down on the table, then stood up. “We should keep moving. Was there anything else I needed to know about your quarters?”
“I suppose I should show you the rest of my – your – rooms.” Hermione stood up, grimacing at the slight pop in Severus’ joints. “Oh, your knees are dreadful…”
She showed him into the bedroom, and Severus was struck again by how comfortable her quarters were. The large four-poster bed looked soft and inviting, draped with forest green bedclothes, and accompanied by a tasteful dark timber dresser and wardrobe. From where he stood Severus could see the bathroom, which looked bright and well appointed.
Severus nodded slowly. “Are there any passwords I should know?”
“The password to the main door is Athena, the Floo password is Kannon.” She turned back towards the sitting room.
He snorted. “Really, Granger. Goddesses of wisdom and mercy?”
She spun around. “Athena was a goddess of war as well as wisdom, and strictly speaking Kannon was not a goddess. And stop calling me Granger. For a former spy, you’re awfully keen on blowing our cover. Minerva wants us to take this seriously and I intend to.”
Her outburst took him by surprise, and for a moment he stood there, stunned. Then he drew himself up to his full height and strode towards the fireplace in a huff, prompting another muffled laugh from Hermione.
“Professor, I think you need to be taller to pull that trick off. Which reminds me, you must teach me how you do that billowing thing with your robes.”
Severus raised an eyebrow at her. “I’ll consider it,” he replied coolly. “Shall we inspect your quarters now, Professor Snape?”
She nodded in approval. “Lead on, Professor Granger.”
**********
Where Hermione’s quarters were comfortable in a shabby, homely way, Severus’ quarters were ordered and logical in a way that Hermione wished she could mimic. His books and journals were organized by topic and author on dark timber bookcases, and the room had little decoration other than a couple of old photographs of a woman that Hermione assumed was his mother. The only disorder in the room was on the coffee table, which looked as though it doubled as a writing desk most of the time.
Severus looked intensely uncomfortable. “It’s not much, I know…”
“Professor, don’t be ridiculous! I wish I could keep my quarters this organised. This is brilliant.”
Severus blushed slightly. “Yes, well, this is the sitting room. I maintain a small kitchen just through that door, and the bedroom is this way.” He led her through to his bedroom, which like hers was decorated in dark tones.
“So, was there anything else I needed to know about these quarters?”
“There aren’t any passwords on the entrances – I use a wand lock on the door, and the Floo is warded against everyone that is not staff.”
Severus watched her emotions flitter openly across his face – sorrow that there was no-one else outside the castle that he would expect to visit him, and then shock as the earlier part of his statement registered – before she finally settled on a carefully neutral expression.
“It hadn’t occurred to me that we would need to exchange wands for the duration of this … experience.”
“Have you used your wand since the accident?”
She shook her head.
“Try it now, just with something simple, then try it again with my wand.”
She wordlessly cast accio with her wand and frowned as the spell failed, sending the quill she had summoned drifting to the ground.
“It’s as though my magic is horribly weak all of a sudden.”
Severus nodded. “Now try mine.”
Taking his wand from him gingerly, she cast the same spell and gasped as the quill rocketed towards her face.
“And now I have the opposite problem – all strength and no control.”
He nodded once again. “When I used my wand, I experienced something similar. I would suggest that we swap wands for the moment and try to develop some control as we go.”
“I agree. I’d rather not be left without any power at all.”
After swapping wands, Severus went to collect his personal items from the bathroom. Hermione wandered back into the sitting room, perching herself on the edge of a chair. Spying a blank scrap of parchment on the coffee table, she pulled it towards her and began taking notes.
* Questions re syllabus?
* Ongoing friendships/relationships/commitments
“Started marking already?”
Hermione snorted, not looking up from the parchment. “Hardly.”
Severus leaned over her shoulder to look at the list. “To answer your second question, I play chess on Tuesday nights with Filius, and once a week Minerva and I meet for dinner to discuss the operation of the school, although the day and time varies.”
Hermione pulled a face. “Ugh. Chess was never my strong suit. At least tell me you lose to him, so it won’t look suspicious when I do?”
He chuckled. “No such luck, witch. I usually beat him four games out of five.”
“Oh, drat it.” She frowned at the list. “That brings us around to point number one I think – we need some way to communicate with each other. I was originally thinking I would need to be able to ask you questions on the fly if the NEWT classes are too difficult for me to teach on my own, but I think in general it would also be a good way for us both to stay in character.”
“I agree. I wonder if Mr Weasley could suggest something?”
Hermione smirked and stood up, folding the list and tucking it into her pocket. “Would serve him right for getting us into this mess.”