321Hello my lovely readers! Thank you for still sticking with me...so sorry the progress of this story is slow, but I promise I will see it through to the end even if it takes a few more years lol...So, a lot has happened over the past couple years. When I posted chapter 23, my oldest niece was getting ready to turn one! She just turned 4 back in February! And I now have another niece who is now a year and a half old :) I got engaged last summer, a couple days before my 30th bday and we are getting married a couple days after my bday this year! So life has been very busy for me...hence the reason for lack of updates.
I can't promise quick updates, but I am going to try my best to write often. I even have some fresh ideas for this story! So I hope you enjoy this little snippet...until the next time!
Sitting on a bench not too far from the stairs leading to the Potions classroom, sat Hermione, who stared in utter disbelief as Neville came barreling around the corner and literally mowing down their Potions professor. She all but lost it as one of the books Neville had incased in his arms came loose, flipping into the air and crash-landing into Snape's forehead with a loud thwap that echoed in the hall. Quickly getting to her feet, Hermione raced towards Severus, who was sprawled out on the floor, gasping for air. No sooner had she reached the spot just behind Neville, Severus sat up and bellowed out her name.
"HERMIONE!" Not wanting to confront him while he is accusing her of being the one to knock him on his rear, she turned and marched back over to the bench where her bag lay, snatched it up and took off down the hall as she heard Neville tell their professor that it wasn't she who did it. When she had reached a safe distance, she paused trying to stifle her laughter at her professors' bad luck.
'Well, it's not like he doesn't deserve it really. I feel sorrier for the book that hit him!' Unable to hold it in any longer, her laughter rang out throughout the hall. After a moment or two, she had just managed to pull herself together when Neville came running down the hall. She stepped out in front of him, palms up and out in front of her. He came to a sudden halt as his chest slammed into her hands. Taking a step back from her hands, Neville leaned forward bracing his own hands on top of his thighs as he tried to control his breathing.
"Her…" He sucks in a breath. "Hermi…" Another breath in, then blows it out. "Hermione…" His eyes meet her gaze. She smiles at him and reaches out, taking his elbow and tugging him over to a bench not far from where they stood. She turned him to face her, backing him up until the back of his knees hit the bench, causing him to suddenly sit down on the hard, cold stone surface.
"Breath Neville, breath."
"He is going to…to…to…kill me Hermione!" Hermione shook her head at the boy as he started to work himself into a panic. Sitting beside him, she draped her arm around his shoulders.
"You will be just fine Neville. He isn't going to harm you." She giggled. "Besides, I want to thank you for your effort to knock some sense into him!" He jerked his head up and gave her a startled look.
"Th…thank me? But Hermione, I…I…knocked him into the floor!"
"Yes, you did and managed to hit him in the head with a book!" She squeezed his shoulders and stood up. "Can you just imagine how he is going to look tomorrow?" Reaching down to grab her bag off the bench, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Thank you again Neville! See you later!" And she was gone just like that, leaving a bewildered Neville in her wake.
"B…but…" He mumbled. Not wanting to be late to his next class, he slowly stood. His shoulders slumped and he took a deep breath before he started walking down the hall.
The afternoon passed on quickly. The halls were filling up with laughter and chatter as the last class of the day ended. In the middle of the hustle and bustle, was the bushy-haired know-it-all, eyes drawn to the book in hand as she moved through the hall towards the stairs. Un beknown to her, black eyes followed her movement. 'Ah, my little know-it-…don't finish that sentence Severus! And why are you standing here staring at her like some love-sick fool?' With a shake of his head, which didn't help the current headache he was sporting, he turned and started walking down the hall. Stares followed him as he made his way to the Great Hall. Not one to be made a fool of, house points were deducted at a startling rate.
Meanwhile in the Great Hall, the Headmaster watched in fascination as the colors became less and less in the four hourglasses on the wall. "Do you believe he is upset about something my dear?" Albus asked, turning to look at Minerva.
"No, nothing at all Albus. Nothing at all." They shared a smile before looking out over the students who were already seated at their tables for dinner.
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