Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

We'll Always Have Paris

Part II

Chapter 4

"Are you alright?"

Edward's soft voice made Hermione smile while she was walking toward her room.

"Yes, perfectly fine. You?"

"Fine as well. But I thought that you were upset to be close to Severus Snape in the dinning room. I guess that I was wrong," the young man added with a side glance, peering at any sign of disturbance coming from Hermione.

"I was not upset," she corrected. "I was just not so pleased to be next to him, that's a difference."

"May I ask you why?"

"He used to be my Potions teacher," Hermione explained, doing her best to smile to release her tension.

"He taught you well since you are now an amazing Potion Mistress."

"I am not complaining about his teaching skills. I am just not fond of him."

"I can see why," Edward added in a chuckle.

"Can you?"

"Yes. He seems to be terrible when it comes to manners and to be friendly. But he was very talkative with you though."

"It wasn't a pleasant conversation," Hermione almost cut him off while searching for her key in her bag. "Well, Edward, thank you for accompany me up to here."

"My pleasure," he retorted before taking her right hand into his own and putting a gentle kiss upon it. "I would love to spend more time with you in the upcoming days, Hermione."

"It would not be an easy task given the fact that I need to supervise the conference and..."

"I know, and I can wait... If you are ready to give me the opportunity to know you better in the future, I'll wait."

Hermione held her breath, knowing that Edward wanted to know if there was any chance for them to be involved in more than a friendship in the future by asking her that. But while she was wondering what she should tell him, she couldn't help but think about Severus Snape, the man who was so close and yet so far at this exact moment. She had shared just two nights with him a year ago, but it had been enough for her to be disturbed by his presence, to be disturbed by her feelings for him.

Feelings?, her inner self interrupted her. No, there were no feelings of any kind involved here. She was just annoyed by what he had done to her, annoyed by his coldness toward her when she had been about to ask him if he wanted to see her again, one day... Hermione was not the kind of woman who would stay here, waiting for a man to come – or not. She was definitely more than that, and remembering how disdainful Severus Snape was, how misogynist his attitude had been one year ago was enough to make her think about a lot of questions – but not the question that Edward just asked her, unfortunately for him.

"Hermione?"

The latter blinked several times, her hand still captured by Edward's firm grip.

"Yes... Well, I don't know, Edward. I don't want to give you false hope, but in the same time, I've got the feeling that we can get along well, so..."

"So give me a chance," Edward insisted. "I'm not asking you to go out with me, or to be my girlfriend right away – even if I'm not going to deny that this idea can be highly attractive to me –, but... just give me a chance. If we are made to remain friends, then be it."

His sincere smile made Hermione's heart melt, and she eventually gave up.

"Alright," she muttered. "It would be a pleasure to know you better, Edward."

The former Gryffindor wasn't sure whether it was a good idea or not to say yes to Edward McKingley. Just a day prior, she was still annoyed by his attempts to be close to her, and yet... yet she had accepted to give him the chance to spend some quality time with her in the future. She gave a hint of a smile and freed her hand from Edward's one.

"I guess that it's time for me to say you good night," he muttered, his right hand now buried into his untamed mane of black hair.

"I could not agree more," a low voice answered him, making Hermione jump.

Edward turned around, surprised to notice that they weren't alone anymore. While doing so, he gave Hermione the opportunity to be face to face with the person who just interrupted them.

"What are you doing here?," her voice almost erupted from her chest, tinged with contempt at the sight of Severus Snape.

"I was on my way to my room," he drawled, his right eyebrow raised as if she had just asked the most stupid question ever. "I did not know that I was forbidden to do such a thing."

"You are not," Hermione quickly retorted, almost forgetting Edward's presence by her side. "Good night."

With a last smile for Edward, she quickly disappeared behind the heavy door of her room, her hand on her chest to calm her down.

Breathe, she urged herself, her head resting on the cold wall near the door. Breathe.

"He is just here for two days, just for two days," she mumbled, hoping that it would be enough for her to rationalize the situation.

During two days, she needed to be respectful to him, to smile to the other Potions Masters and Mistresses, to be focused on her work in order to make a good impression. Everyone should see how good at her work she is, especially him.

Furious to herself, Hermione headed to the bathroom, taking a few moments to remover her high heels shoes on her way.

"I don't have to show him such a thing, I have nothing to prove to Severus Snape about my skills when it comes to my work," she muttered to her reflection in the mirror, before strongly taking her wand to remove her make-up.

She just needed to show him how strong she was; how confident she was without him, despite the fact that she had suffered an indignity because of him.

Five minutes passed, then ten, and after thirty minutes passed in the bathroom – fifteen of them spent under the warm water of the shower –, Hermione eventually went back to her bedroom, her mind finally cleared of negative thoughts. Yesterday was another day, and she was determined to prove him that Hermione Granger was not the kind of women he thought the was.

But right when she was about to get under the covers, someone knocked at the door. Once. Twice. Frowning, Hermione hesitated almost a minute, but at the third knock, she put on her dark red negligee and moved toward the door to open it.

She remained still for a second, but the person in front of her broke the silence right away.

"We need to talk," Severus Snape said, his voice showing that he wasn't ready to take "no" as an answer.

And indeed, they needed to talk about many things.

Do I really need to say how sorry I am to post this chapter in 2015? Well, life is what it is and I have to admit that I neglected my stories lately. School, the end of my relationship of three years, unusual - and beautiful - encounters... Well, the end of 2014 was quite unique, and it's great this way.

Happy New Year to everyone. I hope that this new year will give you everything that you wish for, and more. I plan to write more in the upcoming days, so don't give up on me, pretty please.

See you soon. :)