Shadows

It was 9:38 on a Friday night in the middle of October.

Hermione Granger took a deep breath of the warmly scented autumn air and felt a tear slip down her cheek as she recalled her last visit to Hogsmeade. Hermione wiped away her tears as she entered the Three Broomsticks. She looked around as she entered and was surprised when she saw Ginny Weasley waving to her from a small table at the back of the room.

Hermione gave a small wave and ordered a Firewhisky and a Butterbeer from the bar. She slowly made her way over to Ginny's table, unsure of her feelings on seeing the energetic red head.

"Hermione! I'm so glad to see you!" Ginny's soprano voice was soft and sincere.

"Of course you are, Ginny," Hermione said, attempting to smile at her. "I brought drinks with me."

She set the mugs down and Ginny stuck her tongue out. Hermione smirked back at her and took a sip of the Firewhisky, letting it burn all the way down.

"Are you waiting for someone?" Hermione asked, hoping the answer would be yes. She didn't feel like having company right now.

"Yes, actually. Lee and I were about to..." Ginny was interrupted by a sharp cough.

Hermione stared at Ginny for a moment, before asking in a startled whisper,

"Lee Jordan? The twins' friend, Lee Jordan?" Ginny colored and nodded her head.

Hermione's face was unreadable, but her mind was spinning. There had been so many deaths resulting from the Final Battle, Fred and George Weasley included. It had been almost four years since Voldemort fell, along with so many others. But unlike the others who had survived, Hermione hadn't gotten over the losses.

"Hermione..." Ginny started, but the young woman in question shook her head.

"I need time to think Ginny."

Ginny patted her friend's hand and jumped up in surprise as she felt a hand on her shoulder, knocking her Butterbeer all over Hermione's robes.

"Ginny! You covered me in Butterbeer!" Hermione squealed. She pulled her wand out of her pocket and pointed it at the wet marks on her robes. "Evanesco" she muttered and the blotches disappeared.

Ginny's face turned beet red as many of the room's occupants turned to stare.

"I'm so sorry, 'Mione!" Hermione looked at Ginny and the boy standing next to her.

She gave a small smile, "Hello, Lee. You both should get home before Gin's mum starts to worry."

Ginny smiled back, "All right, I'll see you tomorrow at the Burrow then?" Hermione nodded and watched the redhead walk out of the room, hand in hand with Lee Jordan.

She looked around the small room and was surprised to find that she hadn't noticed the silent aura of the place. There were small groups sitting sparsely, whispering behind palmed hands. And then there were those who sat alone, like she did.

As her eyes scanned around the room, she had a queer sensation that someone was watching her; looking behind her and seeing no one, she scanned the room, and her eyes met with those of a stranger.

She stared at him, and expected him to break contact once he noticed her looking, but he didn't. His eyes never left hers. She felt so much looking into those eyes, falling into their blackness. She felt fear, sorrow, happiness, and... want. She quickly looked away, her heart pounding. But when she glanced back up again, he had ceased looking at her, which gave her a good chance to look at him; she had decided it was definitely a man. He wore a black cloak, pulled tightly around his shoulders, with the hood pulled over his head. Hermione stared as he stood up and moved away from the table; his movements were fluid, cat like. She watched him vanish into a crowd and felt a sort of sorrow in her beating heart.

She realized she was rigid and she quickly relaxed her posture, taking a large sip of Firewhisky. 'What was that?' she thought to herself. 'I don't even know who he is!' She sighed and was about to take another sip of the warm liquid when she felt a hand rest softly on her shoulder. She jumped six inches off her chair and for the second time in the course of a minute her heart was beating at an irregular pace. She slowly turned around and saw only the black folds of a cloak. She looked up into a man's face, which was covered with shadows except for his eyes.

She got lost in those raven eyes again, she felt as if she were drowning in darkness. Suddenly she was snapped out of her trance when his lips softly brushed against hers, she gasped and saw his mouth curve into a smirk before he turned around and left. She smelled Firewhisky as he pulled away and realized that he was probably drunk. She laughed, the sound hollow.

She followed his movements with her eyes, and when he paused she felt her heart quicken without her consent, and hoped that he would look at her again. But he never turned around, never acknowledged that she was there, that they had... kissed. When he left the room, Hermione slumped back into her chair, placing two fingers on her lips where his had been only minutes ago.

'I don't even know who he is,' she raved at herself and took another swig of the burning Firewhisky. 'We never even spoke!'

'But you kissed,' another voice answered,

'No we didn't, our lips touched. It doesn't mean anything!'

'You felt something,' the voice calmly announced,

"But what?" she muttered aloud,

'Yearning'

Hermione almost fell off the chair at her last thought, yearning? She did not yearn, not for a stranger. She sighed again at the inward battle she could never win and finished her cold Firewhisky before ordering another.

By the time she entered into the night, she had downed three more mugs of Firewhisky and was decidedly unsteady. She took a cooling breath of the scented air and looking around quickly she pulled her robes closer and Disapparated with a loud 'pop'.

* * * * *

Severus Snape spent most of his weekend nights sitting in the Three Broomsticks and drinking Firewhisky. This Friday night was no exception. His day had been tedious, the Hogwarts Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, always felt obliged to place Slytherins and Gryffindors together in Potions, and today he had had them for three hours. It was an understatement to say that the Potions master was in a foul mood.

Severus scowled at two students, who were snuggling in the hallway and took fifty points from each. He smirked as they scurried away from him and continued on his way to Hogsmeade. As he left the school grounds, he pulled up his cloak over his shoulder length black hair and hid his face in the shadows.

Upon entering the Three Broomsticks, he was bombarded by the smells of drinking. Glancing around the dark room, he ordered a glass of Firewhisky and swept off to his table. As he approached, the occupants looked at him and bustled away, leaving the table free. He looked around the bar and was surprised to see one of his old students present.

He recognized her instantly and scowled. Tonight was not a night when he wanted confrontation with anyone. Sitting on the other side of the bar was none other than the Weasley girl, Ginerva. He looked around the inn, expecting to see Potter, Weasley, and Granger making their way towards her, but they appeared to be absent.

Sighing, he consumed two more glasses before glancing up again. He sighed deeper this time. The damned Gryffindor know-it-all had joined her friend at the table. He really didn't want to meet with The Golden Trio, and where one was the others were never far behind. But Potter and Weasley weren't anywhere in his sight.

Turning back to the two girls he noticed another student, Lee Jordan, approaching them. Ordering another Firewhisky, he fought to keep from laughing as a mug was knocked over atop Miss Granger. Her annoyance didn't show through on her face as she bid her friends goodbye.

Severus took his time, looking at the girl, no, woman, seated on the other side of the bar. She looked tired with dark circles around her eyes, and her skin seemed shallow. Her normally bushy hair was pulled back lazily and her robes were disheveled. As if feeling his eyes on her, she turned to look at him. As his eyes met hers, he was surprised to find that the sparkle that had always been there was gone. She looked away first, and Severus, not wanting to look into those dead eyes again, looked away. He could feel her eyes on him and silently got up, moving towards the door. Placing his mug on the counter, he glanced back at his once-student. Sighing to himself he made his way over to her. Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, he saw her jump and spin around. His eyes locked with her and he saw into her, hate and despair almost overwhelmed him, yet he found need and hope.

Unaware of what he was doing, he leaned down and brushed his lips across hers. The contact sent a spark through him, and he longed to deepen the kiss, but pulled away before he lost control. Miss Granger stood in front of him, her eyes wide with shock, and filled with the slightest sparkle. Smirking to himself he turned around and made his way out of the pub, feeling her eyes on him the whole time.