Stolen Kiss and Lost Goodbye

There were many places in England where a wizard, with appropriate skills and knowledge, could set up a store. Muggles were usually oblivious to the fact the dusty storefront next to the local fish and chip shop actually held Britain's largest collection of nose-biting tea cups or a number of jumping artifacts from Ghana. The only indication most Muggles would have picked up was a slight feeling that something was wrong, or that there was an emergency they had to attend on the other side of town.

Most wizard store keepers enjoyed keeping a secret shop in the middle of Muggles. They liked the secretive nature of it all, as well as the astonished look on old Mrs Higgen's face when Ducetta Miles wandered out of the seemingly empty shop, which an orange snake wrapped around her shoulders.

The Asphodel Book Store was not an average wizarding store.

~*~

The advertisement was in the bottom left hand corner of the ninth page of the local newspaper, under an ad for penile enhancements and next to a half column story on the Loch Ness Monster. There was no coloured images or fancy text to catch the eye, just a thick black border and a few carefully constructed words. "Asphodel Book Store. A large collection of rare and unusual books. Open Monday to Thursday."

Hermione wasn't sure why the advertisement caught her eye. She wasn't looking for it, she had plenty of old and rare books, there was no room on her bookshelves for any more. But, for reasons unknown, she clipped the advertisement from the paper and folded it in half, tucking it into her purse.

~*~

The windows of the Asphodel Book Store were covered in a faded blue material. The store's name was painted in gold paint, the letters upright and evenly spaced. A tiny bell rang as Hermione pushed the door opened and stepped inside.

The store was full of tall, dark stained bookshelves, crammed full of books. At first there seemed to be no discernible order to the shop, but as Hermione's eyes adjusted to the dim light, she began to recognise sections. Historical books were in the shelves near the window, political books were on the tall, slightly swayed bookshelf in the middle of the room, a little book shelf, with nothing around it was half filled with dusty children's books with torn binding.

"This is amazing," she muttered under her breath, reaching out for a red bound book on the nearest shelf.

"I'm glad you approve," came a voice from the back of the shop.

Hermione looked up startled, "oh! I'm sorry." The speaker (the store keeper, she presumed) was standing in the shadows behind the register and she squinted a little, trying to see him better. "I didn't see you there."

"Of course not." The man stepped forward. "I wasn't expecting you."

Hermione blinked and looked at the shopkeeper, leaning her head to the side. "Professor Snape?" she asked. "Is that you?"

"It's Mr Snape now." Snape snorted. "Just like my father."

"I'm . . . sorry?" Hermione looked away. "You're not teaching at Hogwarts anymore?"

"Don't you read the papers, Miss Granger? It was big news. Controversial."

"I've been overseas," Hermione murmured.

"The Governors fired me. They've been wanting to for a long time. They just needed a reason not to take Albus Dumbledore's vouching for me. His words aren't worth as much as they used to be." Snape crossed the room to one of the bookshelves, removing a book and glancing at its cover.

"So you opened a book store?" Hermione wiped some dust from the shelf.

"It was this or leaving the country." He looked straight into her eyes. "I didn't feel like running away."

'I'm sorry," Hermione looked at him curiously. "I don't quite understand."

"Maybe I could get you a book. I have quite the range to choose from." Snape's voice was full of scorn. "How about 'Former Potion Masters for Dummies'?"

Hermione felt her ears warm. "Why didn't you open a wizarding book store?"

"I'm had enough of witches and wizards, thank you." Snape moved toward the windows, pulling the material back a little and peering out at the street. "The Muggles here tend to leave me alone. No one stares at me. It's tolerable."

"Do you miss it?" she asked quietly.

"No."

"I suppose not."

"Are you finished Miss Granger? I want to get some lunch and I need to close the store up first."

Hermione nodded and turned towards the door. "It's Ms, by the way."

"I beg your pardon?"

"It's Ms Granger, not Miss Granger."

"As you wish."

She left without saying good bye.

~*~

She never intended to return to the Asphodel Book Store. One visit had been enough to unnerve her. She returned to her home and invested herself in some research; she rang around and collected information. No one, it seemed, really knew why Severus Snape had been removed from Hogwarts. There were just little tidbits of gossip, rumours that Snape had hit a student, that he had killed one of the unicorns in the forbidden forest, had a blazing row with the headmaster. He was a death eater, you know.

Hermione tucked the information away in the back of her mind and concentrated on her latest research. She let the newspaper clipping slip down to the debris at the bottom of her bag.

~*~

The blue material had been replaced with a dark, slinky green, which shivered and shimmered as she pushed open the door. The shelves looked more crowded than ever, still covered in a thick layer of dust.

"You returned."

Hermione shrugged. "I need some books."

Snape was sitting in a prim armchair behind the cash register, his arms crossed. "You can get books at other stores."

"Rare and unusual books?"

"Certainly."

Hermione smiled. "Do you actually have any customers?"

"Not usually."

"Then why don't you want my business?"

"I don't have any books you want."

Hermione bit on her lower lip. "How do you know? I haven't asked you yet."

"I hear things." Snape stood up. He wasn't wearing robes, she noticed with some amusement. The jumper and slacks he wore humanised him, made him look less threatening that the Snape of her school days.

She pushed her hair away from her eyes. "What do you hear?"

"Stories. Gossip. Nightmares. Little girls playing with powerful charms and potions." He stood up and stepped closer to her. "Travel to mysterious places for suspicious purposes. You're in over your head, Ms Granger." He loomed over her, as scary as he had ever been.

She leaned her head backwards and grazed his lips with her own. A soft growl rumbled in his throat as his hand tightened around the back of her neck, pulling her closer to him. Her arms wrapped around his back, her fingers running along his spine as his tongue slipped through her lips and glanced off the edge of her teeth.

He pulled away, wiping his mouth and ignoring her heavy breathing.

"I've been wanting to do that forever," she gasped.

"I don't have what you're looking for." He turned away from her and stomped into a room at the back of the store, slamming the door behind him.

~*~

She returned to the book store three weeks later. The windows were dustier than usual. A sign, hung off a hook on the door, read: "Closed for holidays. Back in two weeks."

~*~

She didn't expect to find him in the park across from her house. He was still dressed in Muggle clothing, with a jacket over the top of his jumper. She realised, with surprise, that she hadn't seen him use magic once in the book store.

"How did you find me?" She walked close, halting about a metre away from him.

"I talk to people." He slipped his hands into his pockets. "You're well known."

"I thought you'd given up on people," she teased slightly.

"I wanted to talk to you about your research."

She tilted her head to the side. "Is that really the only reason you came?"

"Ms Granger . . ."

"Call me Hermione."

"Hermione." He drew her name out, filling the sounds with poison. "You don't want to get involved with me."

She felt a warm flush rising up the back of her neck to the tips of her ears. "I can handle myself." Her voice was harder than she intended.

"Why did you kiss me?"

The heat in her neck increased. "I'm intrigued by you."

He laughed. "You sound like a school girl."

"Is that why they made you leave Hogwarts, Mr Snape?"

He snorted and moved closer to her. "I thought you were good at research." His arm wrapped around her and he bit down on her lower lip. He kissed hard, like he had a mission to complete, but not without passion. She shivered in his arms, and his grip tightened.

And then he was done, and he was holding a book out for her. She took it from him and he smiled at her.

"Will you come back?" she asked.

"Will you come back to the shop?"

She shrugged and he walked away without saying good bye.