Acceptance

Acceptance, Chapter Two: I would have given the other bloke the boring biscuits.

*************************************

"Yes, Severus. Tea would be quite pleasant."

Snape spun on his heel and made a motion to Hermione to follow him. She did, in silence. After all, what could she say? What kind of tea are you going to serve, sir? How do you reckon the Harpies are doing this season, sir? He never had struck her as being a quidditch-watching sort of man. But then again, he had just shattered his reputation in her mind of being an all-around bastard with no manners whatsoever.

Her thoughts were broken with a comment from Snape.

"I take it you'd rather have something herbal at this late hour? Surely the caffeine in the regular tea would make it rather hard for you to sleep tonight?"

"Yes, sir, caffeine would keep me up all night, and that's exactly what I don't need right now."

"I see. Very well then, herbal tea it is."

Well, I guess that's the question of what kind of tea we're having answered, eh?

They walked on down the dark and increasingly damp corridor until Snape stopped in front of an inconspicuous, seemingly blank portion of the wall. Snape leaned in very close to the door, whispered the password, and suddenly, the stone blocks that compiled the wall sprang to life to form an archway, Diagon Alley style.

Hermione was impressed- most of the entrances to the private rooms in Hogwarts were concealed behind portraits and the likes. She didn't say anything- after all, she had never seen anyone compliment Severus to his face, except perhaps Dumbledore, and didn't want to find out firsthand how he would take a kind word from one of his former least favorite students.

Hermione stepped inside the room. It looked almost precisely as she would have imagined it to appear. All of the furniture was minimal- very practical, taking up as little space as possible. Arranged around the large fireplace was a set of dark, worn-looking brown leather chairs- not worn like you'd expect something in your grandmother's house to be, but the kind of worn that just suggested that the chairs had seen better days, and those were about 80 years ago. The fire in the grate was burning in a very subdued manner. Against the wall adjoining the fireplace was a series of bookshelves, with many old leather-bound books and a few potions journals, obviously from a while back and read over quite a few times.

The shelves on the wall facing the fireplace and the bookshelves were home to jars of specimens quite akin to those housed in Snape's office, but not quite as intimidating-looking. Towards the end of the room were two doors, and through one a small-ish kitchen was visible. Behind the other door, which was closed, Hermione assumed was the bedroom. She didn't ask Severus. He'd probably snap at her. She also noted that there were quite a few paintings on the walls- not wizard portraits- they didn't even move.

Hermione thought they were quite good, and again, she said nothing.

"What do you expect to gain, Miss Granger, by staring around my rooms?"

Hermione started.

Well! I didn't realize I was staring, but surely I am entitled to have a look around the place? Merlin's beard!

"I was under the impression, Miss Granger, that you are here for tea and not for an art show."

"I've told you before, Severus, please call me Hermione as I am no longer a student. Speaking of art, where did you get those paintings? I noticed they're not moving. I assume they're Muggle work?"

"You assume incorrectly," said Severus, looking every bit the intimidating, harsh Potions Master that the students thought he was. His eyes flashed in a way that Hermione interpreted as hurt.

"Do you mind me asking again, Severus, where did you get them? They're rather good," she added hastily.

He smiled slightly.

"I did them, Hermione."

"Oh."

"Do you want tea or not?"

"Yes, sir."

"Please, practice what you preach, Hermione, and drop the formalities."

"Yes, Severus."

She followed him silently into the kitchen, which was in a style exactly like that of the potions classroom. After a short while searching, she located the table and chairs and made use of them. From this vantage point she watched as her former professor retrieved a mortar and pestle, a tea kettle, a tea pot, and two mugs from one of the numerous cupboards covering the walls. He made to open another cupboard door, then stopped sharply and turned to face his former student.

"What do you care for?"

"Pardon?"

"What sort of tea do you require, Hermione?"

"Well, anything is fine except for vervain, mulberry, and St. John's Wort. I can't have any of those- they interact with my anti-stress potion."

"I see. How's lemongrass and rosemary?"

"Should be fine."

He retrieved the herbs from the cupboard, set the kettle to boil, and went about crushing the herbs in the mortar and pestle.

Too much work for a cup of tea, I think. Why can't he just use magic?

He saw the questioning look she was giving him.

"I prefer to make tea without the use of magic. I find it has a better flavour as opposed to tea made with water heated by heating charms."

"Well, that's good for you, but I find I have no time to do things the hard way with all the work I have to do grading papers, preparing lesson plans...."

She launched off into a long speech about her troubles and woes that she encountered in her (as of yet) very short teaching career. After about five minutes of ranting and rambling, she caught herself.

"Sorry, Severus, I got carried away. I won't bother you with any more of my troubles."

He grabbed her shoulder from behind. She jumped at his touch, but he didn't seem to care.

"Hermione, as Deputy Headmaster, it's part of my job to listen to you whine. As much as I detest it," he said with an oddly Dumbledore-like twinkle of understanding and benevolence in his eye.

A bold idea thought struck her, and, as she was quite tired and didn't care about what he would do if she was insolent, she voiced it.

"Carry on in this vein in class, Professor, and your students will think you're losing your touch." Belatedly, she noticed that she had called him by his title.

He looked as if he was about to say something equally as rude but the kitchen timer went off, signaling that the tea was ready. He brought the teapot and cups to the table, and she was surprised to see that they didn't all match. The teapot was white with green shamrocks looking rather old and abused with a cracked lid. One cup sported a delicate pink-and-blue floral pattern, and the other bore the legend: 'Potions Masters Do it in Cauldrons.'

She thought this was very odd, but declined to comment. She sipped the tea that Snape had set before her in the pink-and-blue floral teacup. Surprisingly, it didn't taste very bitter or overly medicinal, and decided to share this insight with her companion.

"I'm glad you like it. I find that grinding the herbs in the mortar and pestle releases the essential oils and gives the tea a more definite and complete flavour."

She raised an eyebrow.

"You sound like someone on a Muggle cooking show."

He looked like he was about to try to deduct points from Gryffindor, but then caught himself.

A few minutes passed in silence.

"You don't know how nice it is to have someone to have tea with. I've felt so alone these past few weeks, I've never been in a place with so many people who have known me for so many years who don't really talk to me...." She went off again about her problems, breaking down into tears at the end.

It must be because I'm tired, or PMS or something... I'm not usually this emotional. And in front of Professor Snape! I must be crazy, he'll probably take points off for this.

And then she realized that he was no longer her professor, and that he couldn't take points off for her emotional display.

She felt someone lightly patting her back. She looked up to see Snape, looking concerned. She smiled slightly at him, in a way that she thought said thanks, I appreciate it.

Suddenly, he stopped.

"I think it's time you went to bed, Hermione. It's late, and you don't want to be tired for your classes tomorrow," he said with a very neutral face.

But tomorrow's Saturday! There aren't any classes...

She opened her mouth to tell him as such but realized that, no, she'd spare him the embarrassment of pointing out his mistake.

"Right, then, Severus, I think I'll be going now. Good night." She stood up and walked out of the kitchen. He followed her. When she got to the door, he half-embraced her rather hesitantly, and patted her back in what he thought would be a reassuring manner, then suddenly let go. She smiled at him with tears forming in her eyes.

"Thank you, Professor."

"It's Severus, how many times must I remind you, foolish girl! Five points from.... Oh, blast! I forgot the biscuits!"

Righty then, I don't to know. Who is this strange person and what has he done with the Severus Snape I knew as a student? Actually, no, I don't want to know that either, it's probably too weird to believe.

"It's all right, Severus, I don't need biscuits, I think I'll just go off to my rooms and sleep. Thanks for the offer."

She turned around and went off down the dark corridor towards her rooms. Five minutes later, she heard footsteps behind her. Startled, she spun around.

There, to her surprise, was Severus Snape, holding a very Muggle-looking plastic baggie full of chocolate covered biscuits. He held it out to her.

"Here, take them. Don't make my efforts prove useless," he panted.

Curiouser and curiouser.

"Um, I don't quite know what to say. Thanks."

"I got the chocolate ones, just for you. Usually I would give tea-guests the plain kind, the round little vanilla flavored dry and rather nasty ones."

Umm... well then. Definitely must ask Minerva to test him for Polyjuice.

"Thanks, Severus, I really must be going, I'm so tired...."

**********

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed Chapter 1-

On ff. net: Cat-of-the-Western-Lands, Saerelle, KDarkMaiden, Da Bomb(FireBlade, Paprika, and Kemenran.

On Fictionalley: The pooh, Jenny7611, White Owl 2, Eponine Rose, queenalissa, and Euridice,

Thank you to all! Thanks for reading!