Disclaimer: You know the drill, I am just a puppeteer in the world of J.K. Rowling's puppets.
"Truth or dare?"
" Dare." smirked Lavender.
" Oh, fun! I dare you to-"
" You suck at dares." muttered Neville and everyone laughed.
" You are just mad because you had to-"
" Please, let us not relive the moment!" said Parvati, everyone laughing in agreement.
" Ok," continued Ginny, " I dare you to give Ronald a good ol' snog."
" Yum!" she laughed, glancing sideways at him. He gave her a smirk worthy of the hotness he withheld. Ron had formed into a sort of Bill. Tall, muscular, long red hair, and a lovely goatee.
" Well?" he asked and she giggled, practically pouncing on him. The snogged for a good few minutes before she pulled away and went back to her spot on the floor. She tucked her hair back behind her ears and smiled.
" My turn," she began as she cleared her throat, causing laughter from everyone, " Hermione…truth or dare?"
" I already told you guys, I don't want to play!"
" Be a good sport 'Mione." whined Harry and she rolled her eyes.
" Fine." she grunted.
" Truth or dare?" asked Lavender. Hermione hesitated-
" Truth." she said. Truth was always the lame one, with lame questions. She could easily pass this one by.
" Are you a virgin?" she asked and Hermione tried not to smile- the attempt failing miserably.
" Merlin! You aren't?" shrieked Parvati as Hermione tried hiding her face behind her book.
" No." she said, causing shrieks of laughter from the group of Gryffindors.
" When?"
" Where?"
" Who?" gasped various peoples.
" It's not my turn anymore." she smirked, causing a groan of disapproval.
" Come on!"
" Alright; a guy by the name of Kenny Herland. In his shower. And the summer before our sixth year." she said and they were all gapping at her.
" That Kenny guy? The one from the university?" asked Harry, smiling.
" Yeah, him."
" University? How old was he?" asked Parvati.
" Nineteen."
" Wow." chorused the group. Hermione rolled her eyes.
" Now that I've told you one of my secrets. . .truth or dare Ginny?"
" Truth."
" Have you ever fancied a Professor?" asked Hermione, even though she already knew the answer.
" Not the same as you of course-"
" Ginny. It's not time to tell anymore of my lovely secrets."
" Fine. Lupin." she growled and Harry and Ron both gaped at her.
" Ughhh. . .he's like twice as old as you!" said Harry with a snort.
" Harry, when will you understand that twenty years age difference in the Wizarding world, isn't a big deal?"
" Never."
" Would you rather me have said Flitwick. . .or better yet, Dumbledore?" she asked and he shook his head.
" Dumbledore? Snape would be loads worse!" said Ron with a snort. Ginny threw a glance at Hermione, who was a bit more red than she had been before.
" I don't know," said Parvati, " he doesn't seem quite so bad after. . .you know."
" I agree, he even let me turn a couple of essays late, but then again, he always has been nicer to me than you three." said Ginny towards Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
" He's been kind to me lately too." said Hermione from over her book.
" Lucky to be you." said Harry crumpling up his hair.
" What time is it anyways?" asked Lavender.
" 7:55" answered Neville, pointed proudly to his expensive watch.
" What?" yelped Hermione jumping up.
" 7:55."
" What's wrong, Hermione?" asked Harry.
" I forgot about Professor McGonagall's essay!" she gasped, throwing Ginny a glance for sympathy.
" I guess studying is a worthy reason for leaving." sighed Ginny and everyone grunted in response.
She ran as quickly as she possibly could, not minding that she was wearing a pair of grey and black plaid pajama bottoms and a black tank-top. He would just have to deal with it. It was Friday night, after all. He wouldn't expect her to show up in her uniform, would he?
" Ah, Miss Granger. . .you barely made it."
" But I am on time." she panted, slumping into a chair. Her robes hung over her, unfastened. She placed her forehead into her palms and took a second to catch her breath.
" Miss Granger?"
" Yes Professor?" she asked, looking up into the same scornful and frightening face she saw everyday.
" Oh, it's nothing. Just that, after that time of the. . ."
" Please continue with an explanation." he ordered and she felt a blush come upon her face.
" After my period, I'm a bit tired and anemic for a couple days. Some sort of disorder or something, but nothing worth worry." she said and he silently questioned her.
" You're sure."
" Yes, it always passes after a few days."
" I see."
" Alright," she said, quickly changing the subject, "what am I to brew today Severus?"
" I was thinking either a pepper-up or a contraceptive. Your decision." he said, ignoring that she had called him Severus. It always worked this way. And they both knew that she did it solely for the purpose of annoying him.
" Contraceptive." she said quickly, causing him to raise an eyebrow.
" Almost all of the ingredients are in the student cupboards, the last three are in my personal cupboard."
" You would think that after two months of extra potions you would realize that I know what is where!" she huffed and he turned away to hide the smile.
" Very well, I'll be in my study if you need me."
" Very well." she mocked and he grunted before leaving. The momentary look of surprise on his face when she had wanted to brew the contraceptive potion was priceless, even if she was sure she would never see it again. The potion was easy enough, since she had brewed that damned Polyjuice potion in her second year, potions didn't quite challenge her.
She threw her robe over an empty chair, her empty chair. The chair that she sat it every day since her fifth year. She pulled her hair up, becoming serious about her work, and began the potion.
She felt silk under her cheek, and blinking furiously, bolted up from where she lay. She looked around a rather dark common room. She furrowed her eyebrows. She had been lying on a couch, a silk pillow under her head and a thick blanket thrown over her. The only light source being the fire that burned not far from her. She wiped her eyes and jumped as she heard the flush of a commode. A very sleepy looking Snape came scuffing out of the bathroom clad in a black shirt and pajama bottoms. Hermione starred at him for a second and he looked up at her.
" You're awake."
" Nah, I'm dreaming." she corrected. She couldn't be in Severus's commons- her Professor's commons. Not that anyone would even notice she hadn't been in her own room.
" I'm afraid to say that you aren't. You fell asleep and it seemed like a much simpler thing to let you sleep on my couch than me waking you up."
" Yes, simpler," she mumbled, " damn I'm thirsty."
" Watch your language, Miss Granger."
" Severus, I'm in your private commons. Miss Granger seems hardly appropriate."
" I disagree."
" Do you have anything to drink?"
" There is water in the cabinet."
" In the cabinet, that's odd."
" I've placed a chilling charm on it, and it's easier than having to go all the way to the kitchens for a glass of bloody water." he complained and she smiled as she poured herself a glass. She looked over at him, standing there awkwardly with his arms crossed over his chest and his hair- pulled back?
" Your hair looks nice like that," she commented and he grunted in response, coming over to get his own glass of water, " and it's not greasy?"
" As much as you lovely students like to think that I don't bath, it's only a solution I put in my hair so it doesn't burn."
" You purposefully make your hair look like that?"
" Yes, Miss Granger."
" I bet it smells good too."
" Don't you da-" too late, he thought. Her nose was already close to his neck, in his hair. She let out a soft little 'mhm' that made him tingle.
" I was right." she commented to herself with a smile.
" If you don't mind," he yawned, " I'm going to go back to my bed."
" Can I. . ."
" What?"
" Can I sleep in the bed?" she asked, feeling a blush creep upon her cheeks.
" You aren't going back to your rooms?" he asked and she blushed even deeper.
" Oh. . .I didn't realize that I ha-"
" I'll sleep on the couch then?"
" No, I meant. . .with you." she corrected.
" Miss Granger! I am in a position of auth-"
" We won't do anything. I just. . . I don't sleep well. And maybe if there's someone there, I will." she said.
" I knew you were lying to me."
" About the-"
" I'm weak around my period," he mocked, " if you are having sleeping problems, why don't you just go to Poppy for some Dreamless Sleep Potion?"
" It's not the dreams that bother me, well sometimes, but it's the getting to sleep part of it."
" I guess I'll give in, but only this once. Understood?"
" Deal."
" Let's go." he said as she walked in front of him. The room was incredibly dark and surprisingly cold.
" Blasted dungeons." she murmured.
" Just wait a second."
" Left or right?"
" Right." he answered and she switched sides of the bed. As she climbed under the sheets they were wonderfully warm, surprisingly contrasting to the chill of the dungeons.
" Warm." she mumbled and she could hear him pull the covers up. She felt herself yawn and within minutes she had fallen into the deepest and most relaxing sleep she had had since her parents had died.
They had fallen asleep on either sides of the bed, making sure that there was as much bed as possible between them, but when they awoke his arm was slung over her stomach, their legs entwined together and her back firmly against his chest.
" Wow." she mumbled, the feeling of comfort surprising her. She could feel Severus tense behind her.
" Are you awake?" she whispered and she felt him loosen his grip on her.
" Sorry." he mumbled.
" No, don't move."
"But-"
" It's Saturday. You never show up to breakfast and everyone usually thinks I've already been there so they don't bother with me." she said, pulling his arm around her again.
" Did you sleep well?"
" I slept great actually."
"Your lack of sleep was beginning to show."
" What time is it?"
" Ten."
" I've got to go to the bathroom." she whined and he suppressed a laugh.
" Maybe we should retire from this and meet the day."
" You're probably right, a few more minutes was nice though." she said getting up and prancing to the bathroom. He stood, deciding to change into his clothes and had just buttoned his trousers when she came back into the room. He was tucking his shirt tail in. Hermione was surprised for a second to think that he looked a tad bit handsome.
" You should probably go back to your room and get dressed to."
" Yes, I should. I'll see you at breakfast then." she said, waiting for some sort of response, but a nod was all she received and she left reluctantly.
" Hermione? Where the bloody hell have you been?"
" I've been busy Ron. Why?"
" Harry got his first shag last night. By Parvati." he laughed and she gaped.
" What? Wow. . .that's really unexpected."
" You look good this morning, 'Mione." said Ron, squinting at her as if it would show some sort of secret.
" Thank-you." she said.
" Double potions first thing this morning, how come Dumbledore has to go and ruin a perfectly fine morning!"
" If only you had a better mindset towards it, you might just not think of it so badly." she scolded and he raised a red eyebrow at her.
" You puzzle me woman."
" Whatever Ron, I'm going to try and stop by the library before Potions, so tell Harry I said hello when you see him."
" Ok." he said, shoveling a fork full of eggs. Hermione rolled her eyes and swung her bag over her shoulder.
Truthfully, she just needed a quiet moment to think. First of all, extra potions with Severus was one thing, but sleeping in his bed with him and actually enjoying it was a complete other. And, they, hadn't even discussed it. Not that there was anything to discuss, it's just that. . . .damn she was confused. She took a deep breath and slumped down against one of the bookshelves in the library. Her head resting back, if there was one thing she didn't need right now, this was that thing. What ever 'this' was. . .
" What, may I presume, are you doing on the floor?" came his voice at it's silkiest.
" Thinking. Relaxing." she mumbled, not even opening her eyes to look at him. She could feel him standing over her. When she looked up he was almost standing over her, his arms crossed across his chest.
" Thinking on the floor?" he asked, a smirk upon his face.
" Professor, I'm tired ri-"
" I thought you slept well." he interrupted.
" I didn't mean tired, I just figured you'd not ask anymore questions. I'm just. . .just thinking." she sighed, standing up and expecting him to move. When he didn't their faces were mere inches apart. She blinked and slumped back down as if she was suddenly nauseous. He stepped away, understanding. Understanding what this was about.
" Hermione, come with me." he said sternly, accidentally using her name. But she didn't notice, and neither did he. She stood up, groaning and followed him.
" Miss Granger," he snarled, "please explain to me what that was about."
" What what was about?"
" Do you seriously think that I am so inexperienced to not have realized what that was about, Miss Granger?"
" Professor, it was nothing. I'm just under a lot of stress right now."
" Then maybe you shouldn't be taking your extra classes."
" No!" she gasped and he kept his face blank.
" No more extra classes for a while, Hermione. More contact is all we need."
" You are such a bastard." she snarled, stalking ahead of him. He knew how important those classes were to her. He knew that potions was an outlet to her stress. Why did he have to be such an ass about something that she wasn't even sure about? By the time they arrived in the dungeons, there were mere seconds before class started. Ron was sitting with Lavender and Harry with Parvati, so Hermione threw her bag onto the ground and sat next to Neville. If looks could kill, Snape would have dropped to the ground. And for someone who had a heart of rusted steel, Snape sort of felt bad. Maybe Dumbledore was crazy, putting double potions first thing in the morning, ruining what could have been a perfectly wonderful day.
tbc. . .