Professor

{11}

{11~Finally}

Hermione was baffled. Severus thought she was with Carthenius? Didn't anyone else know he was gay? The wizard didn't entirely keep it a secret, yet he tended not to share either. Well, she figured that would probably be a solid "no" on others knowing then. That hardly mattered in the moment, however, as she suddenly had the need to rush from her colleague. Placing a shaking hand on his wrist, she looked at him desperately. Hermione could feel her eyes watering as they widened to plead with him. His sweater was soft in her clamped hand as the man had the nerve to chuckle at her!

"Carthenius! You right imbecile! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Hermione demanded.

Pursing his lips with discontent, the man shook his head, "I tried. Now why are you standing around with all this complaining?"

Hermione bolted the moment the wizard asked her his question. Merlin forbid Severus saw her with him again and assumed something. As much as the brunette witch wanted to take the blame for what the headmaster was thinking, she just couldn't. She nearly wanted to laugh at the wizard assuming such a large... well, assumption.

Not caring for the advisory the gargoyle trusted upon her, Hermione awaited patiently as the stairs arose to her destination. It took moments, but the moments dragged on like watching paint dry. The time awaited felt like when her mother would paint her nails when she was little and Hermione would have to wait until they were dry so she could play once again. This, however, this felt like a life-time of waiting, though it quite nearly had been.

"Severus?" Hermione hoped as she knocked on the door to his office, his home.

She wasn't sure he had another, that was information that would one day need be acquired. Her wandering mind failed to hear him open the door, however, and his growled question was what awoke her from her thoughts.

"Hermione!" The wizard demanded of her, his dark robes shed and only an unbuttoned white shirt and black trousers rested on his alarmingly skinny frame.

"Severus, a word?"

She stepped past him, attempting to desperately keep her wandering eyes from falling onto his pale skin, the expansive plain of porcelain white and black hair making her thread her hands together to keep from reaching out to touch.

"I am afraid you've mad a horrible mistake," she started with, though the words sounded unsure and nearly fearful. He noticed, too, of course he did! Severus' eyes looked defeated, the black irises darting from her lips to her eyes.

"I'm afraid so, I clearly stated the hall was off-limits, I must make sure to specify students and staff." He was covering, the witch knew that, but his aloof and evasive tactics hurt nonetheless.

"No," Hermione pinched her lips and crossed her arms, how stubborn he was!

His stance was no less than his demeanor, it was on guard. The way he untrustingly stood before the student body her pseudo seventh year. Fake confidence.

"Then what is it, Miss Granger? Won't Carthenius be missing your presence?"

There it was! Snape quite nearly admitted to his fault. Hermione snapped on that puny chance like a Hippogriff to a ferret.