The Coldest Summer, XI
Title: The Coldest Summer
Team: Spy for the Order
Word Count: 5x100
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.
Hermione was feeling nearly giddy with excitement. She had no idea what Snape might have had in mind, but just the thought of getting away from her current rather dull job - even if it did include the occasional trip to Antarctica - was enough to make her overjoyed.
And then there was the fact that she’d be working with Snape. With Severus, she thought, feeling her cheeks flush slightly, although surely there was no way he’d ever let her call him that - or was there?
Considering the way he’d been acting towards her, she decided it might be worth a try.
* * *
‘Severus?’
She couldn’t help but blush even more, although she was secretly proud of the way she had managed to say his name without stammering.
He quirked an eyebrow. ‘Yes, Hermione?’
‘I think I’d like that. Working with you, that is. Or working for you - whatever you had in mind.’
‘I’m sure we can work out a suitable arrangement.’
‘There is one thing though,’ she said. ‘I don’t think quitting my job at the Ministry would be a problem, and I suppose I could even move abroad for a while, but I’d rather not lie to my friends and family.’
* * *
He sat up in the bed, looking at her.
‘To lie about my identity, you mean.’
‘Yes. I can’t tell them I’m quitting everything to move away and work with - for - someone called John Smith, someone I only met for the first time here in Antarctica. They’d get suspicious - well, Ron would probably just get angry, but I wouldn’t put it past Harry to use his Auror training and Ministry resources to find out more, if only to ensure my safety. And I wouldn’t blame him; there are still people out there who’d like to hurt Harry - or his friends.’
* * *
He considered her words.
‘You’re right, of course. As much as it pains me to say anything nice about Mr Potter, I’ve never doubted his dedication to his friends. And I could hardly expect you to base your life on lies.’
Hermione sighed, her little bubble of happiness burst. She wished, not for the first time in her life, that she could be a little more reckless and carefree sometimes - not think so much about the consequences.
‘Perhaps it would be time for me to rejoin the British Wizarding society,’ he said, slowly and carefully. ‘Openly - under my own name.’
* * *
‘You would do this - for me?’
He almost smiled.
‘Not just for you. Although I admit, your involvement is making this decision easier. I know all this may seem a little sudden - we only met yesterday - but the truth is that it’s something I’ve been considering for a while. This, whatever this is that has happened since yesterday, is just making it easier to find the motivation.’
At this, Hermione gathered her courage to ask him the question she was most curious about.
‘Just what is this, anyway? I mean … just what are you expecting to happen? Between us?’
--
On to part XII.
Team: Spy for the Order
Word Count: 5x100
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.
Hermione was feeling nearly giddy with excitement. She had no idea what Snape might have had in mind, but just the thought of getting away from her current rather dull job - even if it did include the occasional trip to Antarctica - was enough to make her overjoyed.
And then there was the fact that she’d be working with Snape. With Severus, she thought, feeling her cheeks flush slightly, although surely there was no way he’d ever let her call him that - or was there?
Considering the way he’d been acting towards her, she decided it might be worth a try.
* * *
‘Severus?’
She couldn’t help but blush even more, although she was secretly proud of the way she had managed to say his name without stammering.
He quirked an eyebrow. ‘Yes, Hermione?’
‘I think I’d like that. Working with you, that is. Or working for you - whatever you had in mind.’
‘I’m sure we can work out a suitable arrangement.’
‘There is one thing though,’ she said. ‘I don’t think quitting my job at the Ministry would be a problem, and I suppose I could even move abroad for a while, but I’d rather not lie to my friends and family.’
* * *
He sat up in the bed, looking at her.
‘To lie about my identity, you mean.’
‘Yes. I can’t tell them I’m quitting everything to move away and work with - for - someone called John Smith, someone I only met for the first time here in Antarctica. They’d get suspicious - well, Ron would probably just get angry, but I wouldn’t put it past Harry to use his Auror training and Ministry resources to find out more, if only to ensure my safety. And I wouldn’t blame him; there are still people out there who’d like to hurt Harry - or his friends.’
* * *
He considered her words.
‘You’re right, of course. As much as it pains me to say anything nice about Mr Potter, I’ve never doubted his dedication to his friends. And I could hardly expect you to base your life on lies.’
Hermione sighed, her little bubble of happiness burst. She wished, not for the first time in her life, that she could be a little more reckless and carefree sometimes - not think so much about the consequences.
‘Perhaps it would be time for me to rejoin the British Wizarding society,’ he said, slowly and carefully. ‘Openly - under my own name.’
* * *
‘You would do this - for me?’
He almost smiled.
‘Not just for you. Although I admit, your involvement is making this decision easier. I know all this may seem a little sudden - we only met yesterday - but the truth is that it’s something I’ve been considering for a while. This, whatever this is that has happened since yesterday, is just making it easier to find the motivation.’
At this, Hermione gathered her courage to ask him the question she was most curious about.
‘Just what is this, anyway? I mean … just what are you expecting to happen? Between us?’
--
On to part XII.