A Room With a View

Knock About

"Severus?"

He looked up from the list of names he'd been staring at for the past twenty minutes to find Hermione staring at him with concern.

"Are you alright? You've been rather quiet this evening."

"Because I'm known as such a chatterbox normally," he replied acerbically.

She smiled gently. "Not so much, lately. What's wrong, love?"

"I've been staring at this list for three days now and I can't decide who on it is least likely to have attacked me." He tossed the paper down on the table in frustration.

"Let me see it again." Hermione picked up the paper and frowned at it, squinting her eyes to peer through the red slashes and question marks and scratched-out comments. "And there's no one on here who harbors ill will toward you?"

Severus sighed and tugged at his lip. "Nothing more than for the usual things. Being a spy. Lying to their faces. Making them look like fools. Nothing worth the risk of a public attack."

"Minerva is on this list, you realize. And half the Weasleys. And Mohinder! This is ridiculous. As though your friends and co-workers would attack you! It's as though Harry went and wrote down anyone who wasn't visible and decided that their lack of visibility made them suspect!"

"I know. I'm not even sure Mohinder should be on that list. Was he even in England seven years ago?"

"He was cultural attaché at Ministry," she mumbled. She glanced up and caught sight of his raised eyebrow. "What? I was on his search committee and it was on his resumé."

"Know-it-all," he said fondly.

She snorted as she tossed the list down on the table in a mirror of his gesture from moments before. "I don't see how we're going to make head or tails of this list without employing Harry's suggestion that we use ourselves as bait at the Yule Ball."

"Unfortunately, I think you're right," he replied, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes in an attempt to relieve the headache that was growing there. He hated the idea of offering himself up for attack once again, but the idea of Hermione being placed in harm's way burned him to the core. It wasn't that she couldn't take care of herself - heaven knew she could hex a man six ways from Sunday. But the idea of putting her in danger to solve what was, essentially, his problem grated. They sat in a frustrated silence for a few more moments before Hermione touched his arm.

"Severus, we haven't really talked about it since your memories started coming back, but... we can still try Legilimency. I mean, I'm willing to share some of my memories with you if you think it will help. Perhaps my memories of the first anniversary ball will help?"

He looked at her thoughtfully. "You know, if I didn't already know you loved me, I'd take that as tacit admission of the fact. No one offers to let me invade their mind, you know."

She smiled.

"I'd like to see your memories, yes. It will be faster than the pensieve, but mostly it would be... unspeakably intimate to experience our former relationship through your eyes." He watched as her cheeks colored, savoring the light pink blush and flash of desire that flickered through her eyes. He reached out and drew her closer to his side, pressing a kiss to her hair as she snuggled against him. "We'll make time this weekend. I'd like for us both to feel rested and remain undisturbed before you allow me into your mind again."

Hermione nodded her acceptance. "That's fine. It'll give me a little time to sort the things I'd rather you not explore too deeply and place them behind my shields. But don't forget, we have animagus training this Saturday. And Filius is still pestering me about a rematch for the dueling club."