The Serpent and the Lioness

Chapter 17

She had given him an offer he couldn't refuse. She promised him, that if he would let her stay in his den for three days and still not wish her to stay then she would go and never bother the serpent ever again. The serpent believed himself to be more clever than the lioness and agreed to her terms.

ooOOoo

oO Day One Oo

Hermione groaned softly and rolled away from the light that shined through the window. She didn't want to wake; she had been having a very wonderful dream. Her body was flushed from ear to toe and the morning air was cool against her flushed skin. Sometime during her night she must have kicked the blankets away as they were now tangled around her legs that had taken up all the space on the small bed.

She tried to force her mind back into the dream but knew it was a fruitless endeavor. With a low whine, she slowly opened her eyes, dragging a hand that was over her head down her face before letting out a mewling yawn stretching out.

When the room came back into focus and the dull ache she had grown accustomed to returned, her brain kicked back on. She turned to find the second bed beside her empty and crisply made.

They had ventured upstairs after dinner to find only one bedroom and a master bath. When they'd examined the bedroom they found a new set of clothes for each of them hanging on opposite sides of the closet. Mildly surprised Hermione had examined the dresser and found it too was filled and separated, left and right, with undergarments and pajamas.

The colors for both were not as dissimilar as one would have assumed. Hermione's wardrobe selection had featured muted reds, blues, and blacks. While Severus' choices were more stark, black and white button-ups and all black trousers. She had one skirt, deep burgundy, three pairs of muggle jeans and a pair of deep grey dress pants. She did take note of a deep red frock style coat designed more for a female shape at the far end and smirked just a little. He had a new coat as well, she could tell it was thicker and more designed for outside wear than indoor wear and it had nice gold buttons. She had to give it to her former head of house. She had a nice taste in clothing and a bit of a mean streak too.

They had turned their attention to the large king sized bed, or what had originally appeared to be a king size bed. Hermione, before the arguments even started, had been the one to point out the seam in the footboard. She had then lifted the bottom of the comforter, a deep grey with red stripes, and noted that it was actually two beds pushed together. Severus, of course, had decided then that they would split the beds, much to her dismay.

He had dressed for bed in the bathroom and she in the bedroom. She had chosen and nice blue long sleeve fleece pajamas set while he had chosen black cotton pants and a tank top. She had tried not to stare—she really had but it was just still so new to see him in something other than layers and layers of clothes. She had told herself it hadn't been the first time she'd seen him so underdressed. She'd actually very much touched what laid underneath, her mind reminded her gleefully. He had shot her a nasty look before crawling into his bed, he had pulled the blanket below his chin and given her his back.

That had been last night; this was day one; day one in her quest to reveal the real him. With a renewed purpose Hermione dragged herself out of bed and set it to rights. She peeked around the bathroom door just to be sure he hadn't been in there before taking her clothes in with her. A long shower would hopefully loosen the ache in her back and definitely clear away the dream that was still lingering against her conscious.