Chapter 51: Similar Brush Strokes

Hermione's Quarters, Hogwarts...

Daybreak had come taking with it all the peaceful atmosphere and promise of the night before. Hermione Granger shifted in her plush white four poster bed, snuggled warmly beneath the golden comforter and red sheets that lined it. She had tried with all her might to fight the unyielding urge to awaken. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she clung to the final images of the wizard that had been hunting her dreams since her 7th year. His familiar obsidian eyes had not been heeded by his lengthy raven hair as he took in the sight of her. She didn't know how to feel after she found out that Sebastian had been Severus Snape, it had been initially shocking to realize that she had given herself to her Potions Professor. Then she recalled the night she stood before The Mirror of Erised. Sebastian Prince had not been who she desired most, but Snape himself.

For the passed five years in the midst of her studies and tests, the greatest mystery that plagued Hermione had been why the mirror had shown her Severus Snape. What had been worse was that Dumbledore had seemed to know that it would show him, no one had really been alarmed when Lady Hamershal suggested she enter the room of requirement first. The only ones who seemed to be just as clueless as she was were Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley. She took into account that the others had known about her and Sebastian, at least to some extent.

The bushy haired witch groaned as the lights of dawn seemed to drag her further from her sleep. She could hear Snape's voice in the her ear as the images began to fade.

{ "You have to get up." } he said.

"I don't want to." she replied sadly.

"You'll see me when you get up." he said seemingly amused.

"And you'll go back to being a big stupid git too." she replied folding her arms across her chest.

He smirked.

"That's never bothered you before." he replied taunting her.

"It's not the same." she replied. "I-I like how nice you are here...why can't you be like that when I'm awake?"

"Who says I can't?" he asked with an arched brow.

"You." she replied. "You seem to enjoy being a contemptible git in my waking hours."

He laughed at this apparently greatly amused.

"Gryffindors." he said.

"Yes." she said pouting. "I am a Gryffindor and proud of it."

He laughed again.

"Hermione, you are a very beautiful and talented witch with a good deal of intellect, but that does not mean that you know all the answers to life's questions." he replied.

"I know that." said Hermione defensive.

Snape smirked.

"Don't pout...all I am simply saying is that being a Gryffindor you tend to accept a great deal of things at face value." he said.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"You'd better be making a very good point, Slytherin." she warned.

"Oh I am." replied Snape as if her threat had no effect. "As you pointed out so valiantly, I am a Slytherin...and as such I am not one to announce my feelings to the world, thus your confusion when it comes to how I view you."

Hermione continued to listen.

"So...you do like me?" she asked in a voice with a good deal of Innocence.

Snape looked at her serious.

"No." he replied honestly. "I don't like you..."

Hermione arched an eye brow in confusion.

"Then what...?" she started but was cut off when he concluded his statement.

Snape smirked once more clasping her face with his pale hand.

"I love you Gryffindor, nothing is going to change that." he said looking into her hopeful amber eyes. "I may not always show it but that does not mean that it is not how I truly feel."

"You mean that?" she asked with her eyes still hopeful.

The Potions Professor stroked her cheek.

"You have my heart." he told her. "Always."

Tears streamed down the cheeks of Hermione in her dream at his words.

Dream Snape leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. She returned his kiss but with a definite reflection of her ardor and they ended up laying back in her bed. Snape ran his long pale fingers down her body as she towered above him while they maneuvered in her bed.

His obsidian eyes took in the sight of her and gave off the flicker of longing that made her melt into his touch. Hermione's breathing became ragged as they continued to kiss, now both intense in their need for each other that it was hard not to lose themselves in the moment that they were creating.

"Severus." she said closing her eyes as he ventured his kissing to that familiar spot on her neck that drove her insane with need.

"Hermione." he replied allowing her to run her finger across his pale bare chest.

They continued to kiss as she suddenly found herself half naked straddling the raven haired wizard who smirked up at her while running his hands over her exposed belly. A flash of admiration behind his dark eyes.

Everything seemed to be going well before the sudden urge to answer the call of nature shattered everything around her and Hermione found herself unable to hold on to the dream and him any longer. }

Hermione's amber eyes sprang open as she sat up in bed.

Blasted it!

If she hadn't needed to use the loo she could have stayed in bed with HIM forever.

The witch sighed and climbed out of the warmth of her bed and was met with the chill of the morning air. She shivered some as she made her way to the loo, her cold bare feet touching the hardwood floor below.

And it was turning out to be such a beautiful morning.

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The Corridors, Hogwarts...

Hermione made her way down the corridors the brisk chill of the morning hitting against her cheeks as she walked. It had been a refreshing cold despite the shiver that went down her spine. It only took her a second before the scent of herbs and fresh earth over took her senses and she realized that her shiver had nothing to do with the cold. In a matter of seconds the cool baritone drawl of none other than Severus Snape reached her ears.

"Good Morning, Professor Granger." he said as if it was a chore to be polite.

"Good Morning, Professor Snape." she replied trying hard to keep a lid on her churning emotions.

The dream from the night before had still been fresh in her mind and she had not wanted him getting a hint of it. if he did she knew that he'd be probing her mind before they even reached the great hall. Snape kept in pace with her as the doors to The Great Hall became visible. She let out a sigh of relief that caught the ear of Snape but he made no indication to her that he heard it. He continued to walk as if nothing could penetrate that mask of indifference he hid behind.

They reached the door and Snape rolled his eyes when his chivalrous manner kicked in. Blasted McGonagall. He opened the door allowing her to enter before him and made his way to his seat, a scowl on his face the entire time. Hermione sat down with her eyes immediately falling down to her plate. The effects of the dream still lingering as she tried her hardest not to look at the dour Professor beside her.

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The Great Hall, Hogwarts...

Both the amber eyed witch and the dour wizard seemed to be doing their best not to look at each other as they ate their respective meals. The Headmaster had been amused as he watched them with his blue eyes twinkling. It appeared that neither of them seemed to have much of a appetite this morning as they picked at their food and looked up at the clock as if willing it to bring breakfast to an end. Snape seem to be much more agitated than usual. Lupin smirked as his keen ears pick-up the constant pounding of the Potions Master's heart with him being in such close proximity to the object of his affections.

The Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor had been equally amused that The Charms Mistress' own heart had been beating with just as much vigor.

So she does have feelings for him.

But they're both too stubborn to admit it even to themselves.

Snape finished off his meal and stormed out of the Great Hall before everyone else. Hermione left a little later but in less of a rude manner. She sighed as she made her way toward the Slytherin side of Hogwarts to Snape's office. She had not ventured to this part of Hogwarts since her 7th year after that night she confronted Severus about him being Sebastian. Hermione approached the large wooden door took a breath to steel herself and knocked on it. Despite being a professor in her own right, she couldn't help feeling like a student as she stood in the unbearable silence awaiting his reply.

"Enter." came the baritone drawl of Severus Snape.

Hermione pushed passed the door and stepped inside. Almost immediately, the familiar scent of herbs and fresh earth hit her as she ventured further inside. A sense of fear crept over her much as it use to when she visited this place as a student. The Potions Master's intimidating presence seemed to extend to his personal space as well.

"What can I do for you, Professor Granger?" asked Snape.

"I came to give you a copy of my syllabus as you instructed." replied Hermione trying hard not to meet his eyes.

Snape made a few marks on the parchment that he had been staring down at since she arrived. He pointed toward the end of his desk which had been eclipsed by piles of parchment, stacks of unopened envelopes, and revised copies of his own syllabus. The bushy haired witch ventured over to where he had pointed. Her amber eyes scanned the piles and fell on an old envelope with her handwriting. She recalled with utter clarity that it had been from a letter she had written to "Sebastian Prince" when Professor Snape had agreed to be her go between. She nearly rolled her eyes at the thought of it.

The young witch averted her eyes from the desk taking in a moment to scan the office as a whole. She spent so little time actually in this place as a student that she had not noticed the soft playing of piano music in the background, nor the obviously Muggle portrait hanging behind him on the wall that depicted the artist's interpretation of a star filled night sky. Hermione smiled when she looked upon the painting.

Perhaps there is more to Severus Snape than what meets the eye.

The words of Snape in her dreams came back to her in that moment.

{I am a Slytherin...and as such I am not one to announce my feelings to the world, thus your confusion when it comes to how I view you."}

"I never knew you liked Van Gough." said Hermione trying to make small talk.

Snape sighed and looked up from his parchment.

"Professor Granger, is there a reason that you are still here?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

"No, not really." replied Hermione honestly. "I simply observed the painting on the wall behind you and became a little curious as to why you chose it considering it's from a Muggle artist."

Snape looked at the young witch with an impassive expression.

"That painting has been in my office since I first started teaching here." he said. "You have come in and out of my office a great deal during your 7th year and you wait until now to ask me about it?"

Hermione nodded.

Snape rolled his eyes.

"To answer your question, since you will no doubt pester me until you receive an answer, I happen to be fond of that particular painting the connection to the artist is irrelevant." he said.

"It's quite a beautiful painting." said Hermione.

"Alas, it is only a replica." said Snape. "Well, now that your damnable curiosity has been sated, would you kindly take your leave...I have a good deal of work to get through on top of going over your syllabus."

Hermione threw her arms up in mock surrender.

"Alright...Alright." she said. "I'm going grouch."

She had been halfway down the corridor when she finally heard the large wooden door slam shut. She had been long gone when Snape leaned against it, nearly sinking to the floor before he caught himself. His heart was pounding in his chest, he was glad that for once Lupin had not been within ear shot or the blasted werewolf would not be able to stop his gloating for weeks.

The Potions Professor sighed as she made his way over to his desk. He wasn't kidding when he told Hermione that he had a lot of work to get to on top of looking over her syllabus. The first years were mostly dunderheads with little to no flair for potions or any other class for that matter. He sighed once more picking-up the parchment he had been marking.

A brief thought of Hermione came back to him. She had been the first to ever ask him about the painting on the wall. Perhaps, he should have told her that it was a gift from Minerva and Albus when he first began to teach. It had been Minerva McGonagall that had observed when he had been carrying a book of Muggle art and always seemed to be lost in the page with that very portrait. He would look at it for hours believing no one had noticed it.

The Head of Gryffindor House had been utterly stunned that unlike most shifty opportunistic, students of Slytherin house, Severus Snape appeared to have more depth to him than what he exhibited on the outside. The old witch had been a fan of Muggle art for a number of years and always believed she had been alone in her appreciation for such simple things in the wake of magic.

Starry Night, did not leap off the page per-say, nor did it twinkle or shine. There was nothing particularly magical about the painting but it seemed to speak to Severus on a level that magic could never really seem to reach. The brush strokes and swirls of paint had been all the wonder that was required to conjure the magic that captivated the Slytherin.

Leave it to Hermione Granger to hone in on the only personal artifact in Snape's possession that had nothing to do with Potions or academics.

"Insufferable-know-it-all." he said shaking her from his thoughts and returning back to his work.

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Hermione Granger's Office, Hogwarts...

Hermione walked into her own office with a smile on her face. She had figured out something personal about Severus Snape that no one else seemed to have been aware of. Her smile widened when she sat down in her chair and looked up at the portrait on her own wall. It was a large replica of Still Life with Sunflowers. She had always fancied the painting even knowing what became of the Muggle artist and his slow decent into madness this painting seemed to always make her smile and think of innocent things like blissful summers and her parents. She thought nothing of the hardships of war or chaos that gripped the wizarding and Muggle worlds whenever she looked upon this painting. She wondered briefly if Snape thought the same when he looked at his painting.

Apparently, she and Snape had a lot more in common than either one of them realized. The love of books had been one thing but now the seem to have similar tastes in art. For a moment Hermione tried to imagine Snape had an interest in poetry, and if he had if said poetry would have a dark theme. When the image became too much she simply smiled and focused her attention back on her work casting the idea away as ridiculous.

Then again stranger things have been known to have happened.