Senses

Chapter 34

Hermione raised her head from the page she'd been trying to read five times now. Though her eyes weren't bothering her, her focus was anywhere but on the book resting in her lap. Snape had given it to her as a means to pass the time as her shoulder was still too sore to get back on track with her more physical training. While it was a nice change of pace, she just couldn't let herself get lost in the knowledge within. Even if it was just a magical fairytale book.

The day was new, the day before gone before she'd even known. She'd slept well enough but she was taking notice that the man with whom she shared a bed was not fairing as well. Her natural wont to care for others was starting to return as the ever-present fear started to recede, leaving her at an odd impasse inside her mind.

She turned slowly, looking over the arm of the chair towards the table where she would recently find the man working on something. If he wasn't there, he could be found in his office; a room she was no longer allowed in without expressed permission. Luckily, he was in the prior and she took the moment to just take him in.

His eyes were narrowed as he wrote out something on one of the many parchments in front of him. His shoulders were slightly rounded with his free hand idly rubbing against the seam of his ever-present frock coat. Her eyes turned upward towards his face that was partially shielded by his hair. His jaw was smooth but she'd never seen him shave, something she was sure she would have seen by this point. Though she had to admit that he was always up before her, usually showered and dressed.

A slow grin ticked at the corner of her lip; she liked the way he smelled when he was fresh from the shower. That mixture of his natural smell with the soap he used combining with the crisp mint of his toothpaste. He never smelled strong and she had to assume he didn't wear cologne as his scent would slowly shift through the day into something more subtle, like a fresh notebook. A smell only those willing to press their nose to the pages would ever smell.

His nose was strong but to her, it perfectly accented his face. His hair was devilishly soft. It truly was a sin to have hair that soft. She'd never noticed how soft it had been until now. It had a shine to it that made its color so deep that she almost couldn't describe it. It seemed as though it had gotten longer but she truly couldn't trust her memories. Her own was now sitting comfortably behind her shoulders providing a comforting weight to her back.

Her eyes drifted down to his hands, the very first thing she'd noticed when he'd first saved her. His fingers were long and thin, strong and dexterous. Her eyes closed as she thought back to the way the rough pads at the tips of his fingers soothed away the pain she had endured. The gentle way they moved through her hair when she hadn't had the strength to wash it. How his grip was firm but not painful. Guiding but not commanding. She licked her bottom lip as she thought back to how they'd tasted.

"You're scratching again." Her words stilled his hand and raised his focused glare in her direction.

"You're supposed to be reading." Severus set his quill down, trying to suppress a wince. Unfortunately, she was much more observant these days.

"It's boring." Hermione slowly uncurled her feet and came around the chair, "Why don't you take off the coat? It's just you and I..."

Severus' jaw twitched as he forced his hand from his chest to the table. He'd been trying to find an alternative solution to removing the poison from her system though thus far nothing looked as promising as his original plan. A plan that he had no way of knowing if it would cause more harm than good.