The Coldest Summer, XV
Title: The Coldest Summer
Team: Spy for the Order
Word Count: 8x100
Rating: PG-13
Challenge: Coldest Winter
Characters: Hermione, Severus
A/N: Previous sets: part I, part II , part III, part IV, part V, part VI, part VII, part VIII, part IX, part X, part XI, part XII, part XIII, part XIV.
By dinnertime, Hermione had decided that she was not going to let Severus get away with teasing her any more. She had a presentation to give the next day, and she needed to have a clear head for that, not one filled with idle wonderings.
When Severus arrived in the dining room, she greeted him with a smile. He made his way through the crowd and took the seat next to her without any hesitation.
‘How did your meeting go?’ he asked right after sitting down. ‘I assume it was dreadfully dull, but was there any progress made at least?’
* * *
Hermione wondered if he was genuinely curious or just making small talk. ‘Some progress, I think. To be honest, I wasn’t paying attention all the time.’
‘I didn’t think I’d ever see the day where Hermione Granger didn’t pay attention,’ he said with amusement. ‘What could possibly have been more important than the meeting?’
Hermione raised an eyebrow. ‘As if you couldn’t guess!’
He chuckled. ‘I would say I’m sorry, but it’s quite flattering. I do hope that no one noticed.’
‘I don’t think so,’ Hermione said. ‘Really, I think that most of them were too busy hexing each other.’
* * *
It wasn’t until a little later into the dinner that she decided to voice her worries.
‘You aren’t asking me about the meeting because of any - well, personal interest, are you?’ She looked at him beseechingly, lowering her voice before continuing. ‘I mean, you aren’t worried about what might happen if you, you know, revealed who you are?’
He shook his head.
‘No, don’t worry about that. I’ve kept up with the news. I’m not expecting any trouble - not if Potter stays true to his earlier statements in any case. There might be an inquiry, but I should be fine.’
* * *
When they’d finished eating, Hermione fidgeted a bit with her fork. She wasn’t quite sure what would happen next - she doubted he’d want to go for an evening walk with her again, although she rather liked the idea in theory. Unfortunately the blizzard which had started the night before was still going strong, so she didn’t think it sensible.
Severus cleared his throat.
‘I was wondering if you would like to spend the evening with me. I have something in my room that I’d like to show you. I know I said I never let anyone in there, but …’
* * *
Hermione smiled.
‘I’d love to. Unless you’ve kept everyone out because it’s where you’re hiding the bodies of your dead wives, or something.’
He snorted. ‘You’ve read too many Muggle fairy tales. I assure you, there should not be any dead creatures in there, apart from some potions ingredients. I simply tend to keep my private matters private - I don’t like the thought of nosy people gawping at my belongings.’
Opening the door for her, he waited until she had entered the corridor. ‘At least we won’t be disturbed there, which couldn’t be said about any other room around here.’
* * *
Severus’s quarters were considerably larger than the guest room Hermione had been given. Magically enlarged, she supposed, although it didn’t actually look like it.
The first thing she noticed was the large, comfortable looking bed which took up a good chunk of the main room. His lips twitched slightly when he noticed what she was looking at, but he didn’t comment, leading her into a smaller side room instead.
‘My private lab,’ he declared proudly. ‘This is where I conduct any personal experiments. The lab has been properly warded, of course, so the rest of the station is quite safe.’
* * *
She didn’t need to resort to fake enthusiasm - the lab looked magnificent. Clean and obviously well equipped, with shiny cauldrons organised by size and material hanging in neat rows on the wall. To her surprise, she also saw a Muggle microscope and chemistry equipment laid out on a desk.
‘It’s beautiful,’ she said sincerely. ‘What are you currently working on?’
‘This and that.’ He shrugged. ‘Mostly I’ve been experimenting further with the test samples we’ve got from ice cores. With some potions, using very ancient ice instead of water can make a huge difference, and every sample has different qualities.’
* * *
He looked a little embarrassed. ‘I don’t have any experiments running at the moment, I’m afraid, so I can’t show you exactly what I’ve been doing.’
Hermione smiled. ‘Just seeing this was quite eye-opening. I’ve never been to such a well set up lab before.’
‘I was hoping this would make it easier for you to decide,’ he admitted. ‘You’re wasted at the Ministry. I don’t actually mind working alone, but I’ve always been on my own, even here, and having an assistant - or a partner - would be quite pleasant for a change. Especially one not predisposed to dislike me.’
--
A/N: I very nearly thought today that this would turn all smutty (special note to Buzzy: not explicitly smutty!). Alas, when I sat down to write, the muse decided differently.
On to part XVI.
Team: Spy for the Order
Word Count: 8x100
Rating: PG-13
Challenge: Coldest Winter
Characters: Hermione, Severus
A/N: Previous sets: part I, part II , part III, part IV, part V, part VI, part VII, part VIII, part IX, part X, part XI, part XII, part XIII, part XIV.
By dinnertime, Hermione had decided that she was not going to let Severus get away with teasing her any more. She had a presentation to give the next day, and she needed to have a clear head for that, not one filled with idle wonderings.
When Severus arrived in the dining room, she greeted him with a smile. He made his way through the crowd and took the seat next to her without any hesitation.
‘How did your meeting go?’ he asked right after sitting down. ‘I assume it was dreadfully dull, but was there any progress made at least?’
* * *
Hermione wondered if he was genuinely curious or just making small talk. ‘Some progress, I think. To be honest, I wasn’t paying attention all the time.’
‘I didn’t think I’d ever see the day where Hermione Granger didn’t pay attention,’ he said with amusement. ‘What could possibly have been more important than the meeting?’
Hermione raised an eyebrow. ‘As if you couldn’t guess!’
He chuckled. ‘I would say I’m sorry, but it’s quite flattering. I do hope that no one noticed.’
‘I don’t think so,’ Hermione said. ‘Really, I think that most of them were too busy hexing each other.’
* * *
It wasn’t until a little later into the dinner that she decided to voice her worries.
‘You aren’t asking me about the meeting because of any - well, personal interest, are you?’ She looked at him beseechingly, lowering her voice before continuing. ‘I mean, you aren’t worried about what might happen if you, you know, revealed who you are?’
He shook his head.
‘No, don’t worry about that. I’ve kept up with the news. I’m not expecting any trouble - not if Potter stays true to his earlier statements in any case. There might be an inquiry, but I should be fine.’
* * *
When they’d finished eating, Hermione fidgeted a bit with her fork. She wasn’t quite sure what would happen next - she doubted he’d want to go for an evening walk with her again, although she rather liked the idea in theory. Unfortunately the blizzard which had started the night before was still going strong, so she didn’t think it sensible.
Severus cleared his throat.
‘I was wondering if you would like to spend the evening with me. I have something in my room that I’d like to show you. I know I said I never let anyone in there, but …’
* * *
Hermione smiled.
‘I’d love to. Unless you’ve kept everyone out because it’s where you’re hiding the bodies of your dead wives, or something.’
He snorted. ‘You’ve read too many Muggle fairy tales. I assure you, there should not be any dead creatures in there, apart from some potions ingredients. I simply tend to keep my private matters private - I don’t like the thought of nosy people gawping at my belongings.’
Opening the door for her, he waited until she had entered the corridor. ‘At least we won’t be disturbed there, which couldn’t be said about any other room around here.’
* * *
Severus’s quarters were considerably larger than the guest room Hermione had been given. Magically enlarged, she supposed, although it didn’t actually look like it.
The first thing she noticed was the large, comfortable looking bed which took up a good chunk of the main room. His lips twitched slightly when he noticed what she was looking at, but he didn’t comment, leading her into a smaller side room instead.
‘My private lab,’ he declared proudly. ‘This is where I conduct any personal experiments. The lab has been properly warded, of course, so the rest of the station is quite safe.’
* * *
She didn’t need to resort to fake enthusiasm - the lab looked magnificent. Clean and obviously well equipped, with shiny cauldrons organised by size and material hanging in neat rows on the wall. To her surprise, she also saw a Muggle microscope and chemistry equipment laid out on a desk.
‘It’s beautiful,’ she said sincerely. ‘What are you currently working on?’
‘This and that.’ He shrugged. ‘Mostly I’ve been experimenting further with the test samples we’ve got from ice cores. With some potions, using very ancient ice instead of water can make a huge difference, and every sample has different qualities.’
* * *
He looked a little embarrassed. ‘I don’t have any experiments running at the moment, I’m afraid, so I can’t show you exactly what I’ve been doing.’
Hermione smiled. ‘Just seeing this was quite eye-opening. I’ve never been to such a well set up lab before.’
‘I was hoping this would make it easier for you to decide,’ he admitted. ‘You’re wasted at the Ministry. I don’t actually mind working alone, but I’ve always been on my own, even here, and having an assistant - or a partner - would be quite pleasant for a change. Especially one not predisposed to dislike me.’
--
A/N: I very nearly thought today that this would turn all smutty (special note to Buzzy: not explicitly smutty!). Alas, when I sat down to write, the muse decided differently.
On to part XVI.