Heart and Soul

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING; I JUST MESS AROUND IN J.K. ROWLING'S WORLD.

Summary: After a year of friendly brewing and complicated wizard's chess, Hermione and Severus find themselves losing their hold onto sanity, and solitude. Who wouldn't lose their heart and soul under such circumstances?

A/N: In my other story, I had three thank-yous. In this one I have two. The first is debjunk. One of debjunk's stories is Time's Treasure. That was the first SS/HG story I read, and I loved it!! It got me hooked on reading as well as writing about them. My second source of inspiration is the song Heart and Soul.

Let's see, Severus didn't die at the end of DH, and he continued to teach potions. He is currently the deputy headmaster, second in command to Minerva.

Hermione studied for a year under McGonagall, and she replaced her as Transfiguration Teacher. She has been teaching for a year, and she often helps Snape brew. In that time, both have come to consider each other friends, and perhaps a little bit more.

Chapter One

Hermione finished cleaning her room just as her watch began to beep. Hurriedly, she glanced down at her wrist and groaned. He wouldn't be very happy if she was late, again. She brushed off her hands and raced out the door into her sitting room. She was almost to the door when she realized she was wearing a fading t-shirt and torn jeans. Running back to her room, she grabbed a forest green robe and threw it over her dirty clothes on her way down the stairs.

Hermione burst around a corner only to stand nose to nose with Severus Snape, himself.

"OH! Severus!" She exclaimed in surprise.

"Running late are we?" He smirked.

"Um, slightly," Hermione said with a smile.

"Um is not a word, Hermione," Severus rebuked while forcing down his laughter.

"Oh really?" she answered with mock surprise, "Why then, do the majority of the teenage population use it so frequently in their daily conversations?"

"I don't know," He said sarcastically, "You tell me considering you're a teenager."

"Not for long," she scowled.

"When do you turn again? Next week sometime?" Snape asked.

"The 19th," Hermione nodded.

"That's right, your golden birthday was last year," his brow furrowed at some memory, "Not much of a golden day."

"I wouldn't say so," Hermione grinned at the memory, "Having to do that pre-newt test with students was not what I had in mind,"

"Especially the part where you almost got run through with a horn," this time, far away from any students, Severus did laugh.

"Definitely not," Hermione laughed with him just as the reached the doors to his quarters.

"Dumbledore," Snape said, and the doors swung open.

"Right then. What are we brewing today?" Hermione asked, making her way to the private lab to her right.

"Finishing up that wolfs bane potion," Severus answered briskly as he started the fire beneath the cauldron.

"Ouch," Hermione winced, "I don't think we'll have time to play today,"

"Of course we'll have time," he waved his hand idly, "Since when have we not had time to play?"

"Your choice," Hermione shrugged then added, "Don't forget we have that staff meeting at four."

"Right, so we have approximately two hours," Snape said decisively.

"Sounds good," she said.

Severus nodded, and began to work on the potion. Now, that she didn't have to worry about being seen without her robe by students or other teachers, Hermione quickly slipped out of the robe. Severus had already deposited his on a chair, and she added hers to the pile.

An hour later, they finally paused for a break. Both brushed their hair back from their face and got a drink from the kitchen.

Looking with longing at the complex game board and pieces on the living room floor, Severus said, "Please Granger?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, but she plopped down at her end of the board.

"YES!"

"Just remember, we have to go back to that potion in forty-five minutes," Hermione reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah," Severus snorted, "Last time we played, we left off in the middle of your turn."

"Alright," Hermione said with a wicked glint in her eyes, "Perhaps today you will finally be destroyed."

"Right," he scoffed, "You haven't been able to win in the past week,"

"Neither have you," Hermione teased, "And don't forget, I barely lost our last."

"What makes you think today will be any different?" Severus asked with a sneer plastered on his face.

"You're already in check," She smiled, and the game resumed.

Last year they had found that it was nearly impossible for either to win at wizard's chess, due to the intelligence of them both. It didn't take long for them to devise a much more complicated version. It was more of a role-playing game, and it required much more strategic ability. Instead of taking months to finish, this version only took a few weeks.

"You are such a cheater!" Hermione shouted through her tears of mirth.

"Whatever!" Severus yelled back despite the laughter that made it hard to speak.

"Yes you are!" She claimed.

"Well, I certainly don't think so," He informed her.

"Of course you don't."

Severus grinned evilly at her, "Of course."

"You are SO dead," Hermione warned.

Severus just laughed uproariously at that.

"Don't think I won't," Hermione cautioned.

"Try me," Severus said.

He pulled out his wand, and conjured two rapiers. One he handed to Hermione and the other he twirled expertly. Hermione raised her eyebrows, but didn't say anything. Severus stood stock still and waited for her to make the first move. After a moment, she lunged toward him, but her attack was parried. After several minutes of vigorous sword-play, Severus had gained the upper-hand and was about to overtake her, when a small beeping sound came from her watch.

"The potion!" They cried together.

They sprinted for the lab whipping their wands out as they went. Hermione reached the door first, and quickly doused the flames at precisely the right moment, saving them from a fatal explosion. Severus let out a relieved sigh, and glanced up to meet Hermione's eyes.

"Now that was a close one!" He stated as his thank you.

"A mite bit close," Hermione muttered.

"Come on let's finish this up," Severus suggested.

For the third time that afternoon Hermione's wristwatch buzzed. Hermione looked at the clock; it was five minutes to four.

"We're going to be late," Severus growled.

"McGonagall's going to kill us!" Hermione said somewhat anxious.

"Here," Severus stopped her at the door, "Don't forget your robe."

"Thanks," Hermione said.

She pulled her arms through while Severus did the same. They sped up the stairs in an effort to reach the headmistress's office on time. Students turned to stare. Snape running was a very rare sight.

"There goes my reputation thanks to you," Severus hissed at Hermione as they raced along.

"Your satisfaction guaranteed or your money back," she replied in a singsong voice.

"You won't be so cheeky once I'm through with you, Granger!" He warned.

"Is that a challenge I hear?" Hermione remarked.

"I was aiming towards a threat, actually" Severus corrected.

"You must be losing your touch, Professor," Hermione teased, "I was not intimidated in the least."

"You should have been," he said as he attempted to look down his nose at her.

Hermione bust out laughing, "Once again, I fail to see how you could possibly be frightening."

"Oh really?"

Severus then grabbed her wrist, and swung her almost into the wall. At the last minute though, he pulled her back, sending her colliding with his hand, that kept her head from slamming into the opposite wall. His wand was already pulled, and at her throat.

"Is that not terrifying?" Severus whispered in her ear.

Hermione looked up into his face. Her breathing hitched as their eyes locked. He had a sly smile on his face that sent chills up her spine. She didn't understand what was happening. Surely it must be the adrenalin from his attack.

"Yes," she breathed.

"Good," Snape said triumphantly as he straightened.

"But it was not as scary as you doing yoga," Hermione added quickly.

Severus glared at her just as they reached the door to Minerva's office.

"This is not over," Snape said in a low voice, "Not by far."

"We shall see," Hermione tittered, and pushed open the doors.

"Late, again I see," Minerva commented dryly, "Really, you too are perhaps the most time-senseless people I've yet to meet,"

"Sorry Profes… um, Minerva," Hermione apologized, "We were brewing again,"

"As if that were the problem," She retorted, "If you brewed half as much as you bickered, the entire world would never be short on supplies,"

"Excuse me Minerva," Severus interrupted, "But we prefer the word debate,"

McGonagall merely rolled her eyes, and went back to her earlier discussions. Hermione grinned at Snape. A small upward twitch of his lips showed her that had they been alone, a smile would have been given in return.

A/N If any of you who read this have not read my story The Beauty and the Beast Effect, I should probably let you know that this won't be continued for a while. I'm waiting until I finish BBE before I start on something else. I was just asking my reviewers to vote between this story and another of which one they would like me to do first.. If you'd like to vote as well, the other story is called A Second Chance, and is a SS/OC story.

Let me know what you think! I'm looking forward to the reviews! ;-) Ha-ha!