"Erm, yeah. I don't believe you but for the time being, I'll have to let it lie," he stepped into the room and of course Ted was on his arm. "Actually, I only came to bring you Teddy. Ron's already left and I'll be going in a minute."

"Going in a minute? What? Why?"

"It's Friday, Hermione," he said, frowning. "You said on Monday and on Tuesday and on Wednesday, when I asked you repeatedly if you could watch Teddy for me on Friday that it was alright. Today is Friday, I'm going out and you volunteered to watch Teddy."

"But...but...but...Snape..." she stuttered.

"What?"

"I didn't tell you because...I don't know, but he's coming to pick me up in half an hour. We're having dinner somewhere," she said, blushing slightly.

"Oh," Harry's face fell ever so slightly. "I'll stay here then," he told Ted and kissed the baby's cheek.

"No, no, I didn't mean that, you should go out. You're always with Ted and you need some...I'll just tell Snape that...well, I can't make it," she shrugged and there was blooming pain in her chest. Blooming horribly.

"Erm, no," he shook his head. "You have to go with him. I mean I've got nothing special planned but meeting...someone who isn't someone special," he explained. "Teddy will always come first."

"Exactly," she said and got up from her bed and plucked the baby from his arms. "And this is why you should go. Ted always comes first for you and you need at least a night alone. I'll just call Snape and tell him..."

"Have Kreacher cook something for you," Harry said suddenly. "Teddy will be in bed in an hour at the latest," he sent her a glare which clearly said 'or else', "and Ron will stay at The Burrow overnight and I'll be home late, if I come back today at all, if that's okay and you and Snape can...that skirt looks really lovely on you."

"What?"

"That skirt. Take off your shoes."

"What?"

"Take your shoes off," he instructed once more and because Ted was grinning at her and grabbing her face and kissed her sloppily, she did and stood in stockinged feet on the floor.

"Much better. Trust me. This is the way men would want you to see."

"In stockings?" she asked. "Barefoot?"

"Yes," he nodded viciously. "Take the stockings off. The house is warm enough, greet him like that and he'll do whatever you want to do."

"I won't meet him. Ted..."

"Teddy loves Snape. And Snape played really sweetly with him when he was last here. But as I said, I can always just stay here, I don't mind."

"No, you go. You go now and Ted and I will decide what we do for the rest of the night, right Ted?"

He laughed. "Alright, alright, I'll go then," he kissed his godchild, then Hermione before he walked out of the room and just as he stood outside of it, turned around and smirked at her. "And do take the stockings off. Trust me."

Hermione frowned at Ted. "Taking the stockings off? Or jeans? If I have to stay at home and I don't really think he'd want to stay here with me. And you. I mean I was really looking forward to going out with me. But here? It's too familiar, isn't it?"

"Take off!" Ted shouted in her ear. What that boy repeated and what he didn't was truly odd. She doubted he knew what that implied and what it meant but she shrugged quickly. She could always apply warming charms to her legs. Besides, she honestly doubted that Severus was staying in any case. This house wasn't holding many good memories for him — or couldn't — even though it barely looked like it had been back then.

She sat Ted on the floor and pulled the stockings from her legs.

"Are you going somewhere?" Draco asked, looking up from Severus's laptop, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes," he muttered and glared at his godson.

"Anywhere special?"

"No," he replied. "And you'll leave before I go."

"Can I take the laptop with me? Aideen is out with two girlfriend's who are horrible gigglers," he groaned. "Dunno why she's friends with them really but I'm glad she can go out with someone again. Means she's getting better, right? Anyway, can I take it with me? And where are you going?"

"Nowhere," Severus said snarkily.

"Are you meeting Granger?" he smirked evilly and almost looked like his father.

"And what if I am?"

"Well, Mrs Callaghan's car is still in London," his godson shrugged. "And if you are meeting Granger, I wouldn't wear that jumper. I mean honestly. I know I'm not working in retail anymore but this doesn't suit you at all. Don't you have that black v-neck anymore? Take the dark blue jeans and the jumper. That's much better than this abomination."

"What?"

"This is much too loose. You might be old..."

"You better watch what you're saying," threatened Severus but of course he knew Draco was right. Draco had the eye for clothing. Draco knew what suited him and Draco had been the one to bring him the black v-neck jumper which honestly suited him well.

"I just want...look, you can wear that but if you want anyone to see you, you better not wear this jumper. The jeans are alright but...no. Hoodies are nice but not that one."

Severus grumbled and with a last, parting glare, he took two steps at a time up to his bedroom and pulled the black v-neck from his cupboard and quickly changed out of the rather worn hooded jumper. He didn't want to look in the mirror. He knew what he'd see there. An old-ish man, trying to impress a woman who could easily be his daughter. It was pathetic. But Granger — Hermione — was the only one he could even imagine spending the rest of his sorry life with and so he looked.

Better. Yes. He didn't quite look the part of the old lecher now, but did cut rather an elegant, if understated figure. Nobody could change his face and the hooked nose and the crooked teeth but he was slender and fit and it showed in the black v-neck. It did show.

Now, he only had to throw out his godson and he could be good to go. Early enough to go in little apparition-jumps from Manchester to London.

Hermione tapped her bare foot nervously on the tiled kitchen floor. She had applied heating charms everywhere — even additional ones to the already cast ones where Ted usually crawled on the floor — and so it was warm enough for her bare legs. Still, she couldn't deny that she was slightly nervous and wondered what Snape would do. Would he bang the door shut in her face immediately if she told him that she had promised to stay home and babysit or would he laugh at her and tell her that it had all been a joke anyway or would he come in and kiss her again? She would have, naturally, preferred the last option but she doubted it would go this way.

"What do you think, Ted?" she asked the baby who was happily chewing on a wooden toy that Kreacher had made for him.

"Take off!" he shouted very spittingly and then stayed silent, smiling at her.

"I took them off," she rolled her eyes. "I still don't see why Harry said so though. I always thought men liked seeing women wear heels. Not that mine were the highest imaginable. Or even close to that but they were alright. And my legs look worse like this. Seriously. Do you know why your goddaddy said that?"

The boy looked at her and then carefully pulled himself up on a chair and stood on very wobbly legs. "Her-My-Oh-Neeeee, Teddy food," he said solemnly, chewing on his toy. It was a little wooden unicorn, even though Harry had said that it rather resembled a rhino and the Kreacher had very honestly explained that the horn would not hurt the boy or anyone else. She still watched him.

"Would you like something to eat then? A bit of banana? But I thought Harry gave you your supper?"

"No, foooooood!" he explained and with the horn of the unicorn/rhino, pointed at his feet.

"Ah, feet, you mean. Not food. Yes, you're standing on your feet and mine are naked."

"Teddy neckid food too," he said and let himself fall on his bottom and began to pull his socks off.

"No, Ted, no. Don't take them off. You've tiny feet and they need to stay warm. I have big feet...well, normal sized feet really, and they don't get cold so quickly."

"But take off!" he screamed.

"No, you don't," she was looming over him immediately and in the moment when he let out a heart-stopping wail, she pulled him up into her arms and spelled the socks on tightly. The boy, naturally, cried his heart out and she had no idea how to stop it. He was angry, not sad and not hurt but mad at her. And at his socks for being unable to be pulled off.

"Ted, stop, please. Please? You're too loud. Stop it. We can take your socks off later. Not now. Please, not now..."

"Mistress Of-Not-Pure-Blood-At-All, the doorbell rang," Kreacher said from his little corner in the kitchen where he had just popped into.

"Shite. That too," she muttered and wedged Ted under her arm (well, on her arm) and went to the front door with him. His hair was bright, angry pink and his face utterly scrunched up. "Stop it, Ted," she said one last time but the boy was worse than Mrs Black had ever been with her constant insults and shouts. He just wouldn't shut up.

She tried to take a deep breath and tried to ignore Ted, and when both things didn't work, she just opened the door.

"That is a nice greeting," Snape said sarcastically, standing there looking absolutely wonderful in dark blue jeans and a black jumper, the leather jacket thrown over his arm and a lock of hair almost falling in front of his eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said loudly over Ted's screams. "But I had completely forgot that it was my night to babysit Ted. I promised Harry on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and then I thought Ron could do it but he's gone as well and — Ted, shut up now! — "

"Ted Lupin," Snape said suddenly in his classroom voice. A dangerous one and a silky one. Silkily dangerous.

"Sev'wus Snap," the boy had stopped screaming almost immediately and almost immediately, he also looked like Snape again.

"Severus Snape, Mister Lupin. I hope you will remember this," Snape said. "And if you could stop trying to look like me, I'd be very much obliged." He suddenly arched an eyebrow and as she looked down at Ted, he was trying to do the same.

"How do you do this?" she asked slowly, revelling in the silence. Snape shrugged, then stepped into the house, past her. His hand was brushing hers briefly and he looked at her that way again.

"You were saying?"

"Ah, Harry doesn't want Ted to be alone with Kreacher. Well, not that often anyway and I have promised, so if you want to cancel or postpone our, erm, evening, I shall understand," she explained disappointedly. He really looked forbiddenly good. Handsome. Lovely. That jumper suited him and those jeans suited him.

"Don't be ridiculous," Snape said suddenly and stormed right into the kitchen, her behind him and Ted laughing on her arm.

He had to stay. He had to make sure that he had the perfect view on her legs. Bare. Bare legs. Bare feet. A natural, easy sway to her hips, accentuated by the skirt that feel just to her knees, hid half of her kneecaps and revealed the other half. Tight skirt. Lovely skirt. Letting him guess the outline of her thighs but only that.

The house elf sat in a corner in the kitchen, muttering to himself and playing with a fork in his fingers. It had always been an old elf from what he remembered from back...then." target="_blank">back...then. He just nodded at the elf and the odd one, Kreacher, nodded even a little respectfully back and it was all the permission he needed to try out his new wand. To do what he had always done back...then. He levitated the kettle onto the stove and lit the flame.

"Erm, would you like food? Ted has eaten and I hope he'll be tired in a few minutes or so but..." she had followed him into the kitchen, the pup sitting on her arm, looking like him. He knew the boy (alright, alright) was a Metamorphmagus like his mother had been but did he have to imitate him? Him of all people? Couldn't he make himself look like Potter? To have two James Potter look-alikes?

"Yes," he replied and Hermione stood there with the boy sitting on her arm and suddenly, the idiotic boy raised his little arms towards him and Granger only laughed and somehow pushed that monster towards him.

"He likes you," she shrugged. "And you made him shut up immediately. Would you?"

He grumbled, grumbled a lot and a second later, he had a boy on his arm. In his arms. And the pup — immediately — snuggled (snuggled!) his head against the crook of his neck.

"Teddy tired, Sevwus Snap," the boy mumbled against him.

He was horrified. Why was the boy doing this? And why was Granger grinning like this? It wasn't supposed to go that way. He was supposed to pick her up, she was supposed to wear some shoes (even though he had to admit he preferred it that way — barefoot) and then take her out for a meal, talk to her a bit and maybe, possibly, probably, most likely, kiss her good bye, take the car (or kiss her once more before taking the car) and either shrinking it and taking it with him apparating, or driving home with it. That had been the plan. Not an elf playing with a fork in the corner of the kitchen and definitely not a child on his arm.

"I could take him up," she said softly, smiling at the boy and then at him. That smile, as cliché as it sounded, unarmed him. A smile like this, directed at him...it was almost as if that could do more magic than anything that was left inside of him. He couldn't find the words to properly describe it. Warm, tender, kind, the sort of smile that had never been given to him by any woman before. Not by Lily, not by Eleanor, not by his mother. Never. It was smile for him and her eyes locked on his.

He couldn't take his away even though he could definitely feel some sort of wetness on his neck. Possibly drool. But as long as she looked at him like this, he didn't care at all. He would of course begin to care soon again. But not now. Not now.

"Where's his bedroom?" he heard himself ask and Hermione began to laugh. Not at him, he knew this, she just laughed. Beautifully.

"Upstairs next to Harry's. It's, erm, I'll bring you up."

Her heart. Her poor heart. Either he was a complete, absolutely, cunning, astonishing, taking-it-to-new-extremes Slytherin and he was doing this to actually make her like him even more, or — and she hoped it was the case — he didn't mind bringing Ted to bed so he could have some time alone with her.

Not that he cuddled Ted. Quite the opposite in fact. He talked sternly to him, told him sternly that he had to sleep now and Ted listened to him intently, hugged him (and he let himself be hugged by the boy!) and closed his eyes. Just like that. Ted just lay down and snuggled his cuddly Griffin and didn't complain. Nothing.