A/N: It is with the great enthusiasm that I would like to thank Sharkeygirlfor creating such a wonderful story entitled Kiss From A Rose. She is an amazing author and I highly recommend that anyone who has not read her work, DO SO NOW!
She was my inspiration.
Disclaimer: J.K Rowling, and whoever else receives a pay check from the sales of her books, are the only ones who make any money off the characters that came from her imagination. I do not claim to own anything within my story, other than my plot. My writing is a meld of both my imagination and Rowling's, and is only meant as entertainment, with the hope that my plots are unique enough to merit a review or two.
Extended Summary: It had been five years since the war had ended. She hadn't been back to Hogwarts since, but she had heard plenty about a certain dark haired Professor. Severus Snape's role in the war had been romanticized by the mass population, and his role as a hero had escalated into that of the most sought after man in the Wizarding World. It had to be a change for him, seeing as the only people who wished him dead anymore were the disgruntled husbands of woman who fantasized about having him in their bed.
A/N: Previously, I had a story posted under the same title with a different plot. I'm sorry to say that I ran into a wall and could find no way around it. I had to give up on it, because the plot wasn't flowing the way I'd wished it to. I know this seems to be a completely different story, and in many ways it is but it will have several of the same elements in it and though it has a higher rating it will mostly appeal to the same people. I couldn't find it in me to start a romance between Severus and Hermione while she was still at school, and I wanted to get JK. Rowling's characters out into the real world.
Noir Héros
I
"The noir hero is a knight in blood caked armor. He's dirty and he does his best to deny the fact that he's a hero the whole time."
-Frank Miller
What bothers me most is the notion that Severus Snape needs saving. Why does everyone need to be perfect? Why do men always need to be gentle?
People, women in general, hold with a notion that one day he will fall in love. That he will meet the woman who will change him into the romantic soul they all know is hidden beneath those long lashes framing his coal black eyes.
When they see him, they see a struggle to overcome a haunting past. They see turmoil within the fierce storm hidden in his gaze. They hope that they get chosen as the woman he turns to for comfort, and envision a moment where one look sets them apart from all the other women pining for his attention.
They fantasize that they get to see him cry in the throes of passionate love making, because they have reminded him how to feel.
They think that though he has rough edges and a snarky disposition in public, that behind closed doors he's an entirely different man. That behind closed doors and with a perfect woman he becomes a man that every woman would swoon for.
They look at him, and see a shattered man who longs for company. A man who needs to be helped.
And worst of all, they believe him to be secretly nice.
Those who see him as a person who would fare better in a softer light are all idiots.
Severus Snape will never be a nice man.
…
Sitting her quill down, she closed her journal and spelled it shut. There were things hidden on the pages of this book that if it were to ever fall into another person's hands, she would gladly turn her own wand upon herself. Lucky for her, she was good with a wand and was quite capable of safeguarding her secrets. If anyone tried to open it, they would encounter something far worse than a few blemishes on their face spelling them out as a traitor.
Life had turned out the way she had hoped. She got her degrees with perfect marks, along with a highly sought after Potions apprenticeship. Had a successful career as a potions supplier for several major Apothecaries and had more than enough spare time and money to lock herself away in her lab and research whatever fit her fancy. Life was exactly how she envisioned it.
Problem was she hadn't remembered to include one of the most important aspects of life when she wished upon all of those falling stars. She had forgotten to ask for a family.
Harry had married Ginny, and they were happily working on their third child. Whenever they got together for tea Ginny would never fail to happily mention that Harry was attempting to keep her constantly pregnant until they had a house full of children. She seemed happy enough to follow in her mother's footsteps. Harry's career as the head of the Auror department made life a lot simpler for them then it had been for the youngest former Weasley's family. Harry's salary, along with the decent sum of money he had inherited, meant that they never had to cut corners. A few years into the marriage, Ginny found that she really enjoyed those corners.
Ron had been a happy bachelor for the past five years that the trio had been out of Hogwarts, he'd spent the majority of his time traveling the world on the back of his broom stick. He'd joined the Chudley Cannons as a Keeper. He was happy with his life, but all the drinking and late night parties were wearing him out. He was ready to settle down and had been trying to convince Luna Lovegood to marry him. She'd been turning him down for almost a year now, but he seemed determined to get her to say yes. He wouldn't quit trying, and no one could honestly tell whether or not she wanted him to.
That only left her. She hadn't been popular in school, and in the rush to advance her career she had isolated herself from all potential suitors. The social part of life had passed her by as she ran around chasing success. Well, she had gotten success and now it was time to play catch up.
Tonight was dinner with the Potters. She loved them all dearly, even though none of them seemed to care about books. She had high hopes for the one cooking in Ginny's belly though. She knew that this one had to be the intellectual one.
The only thing she hated about her visits to her friend's home was that Ginny seemed to find it necessary to remind her that she was alone. She knew bloody well that she wasn't getting any younger, why Ginny found it necessary to constantly remind her of the fact she would never know.
After bathing and covering herself in anti-aging potion, she pulled on a cream dress that fell just above the tops of her knee high leather shoes. Ginny said that to catch a man one must first don a pair of stilettoes; which was funny, seeing as she herself had caught Harry before she'd ever even been able to walk in a pair.
They were a gift, the dragon hide leather boots. Dark green, almost black; they shone in the light as if made of silver. She loved them.
Dinner was to be at an upscale Wizarding restaurant that required reservations made a month ahead of time. Lucky for them that Harry was the Savior of the Wizarding World, or else Ginny's last minute plea for a table would have fallen on deaf ears.
Once she'd tamed her mass of curls into a manageable twist on the top of her head and put a dab of color to her lips; she pulled on a pair of dark brown robes that complemented both her shoes and her dress and she headed out the door.
..
Apparating was easy, a quick thought and she could be anywhere in the world she wished to go, within some limitations of course. Long distance Apparation made even the most skilled of persons fatigued. Closing her eyes to the sight of her freshly warded house, she opened them to a warm and cheerful home. The Potters two children were safely tucked away at their Granny and Gramp Weasley's while Mr. and Mrs. Potter stood waiting at the entrance to their home for Miss Hermione Granger to appear.
"Ready to go 'mione?" Harry greeted her with a smile and a hug, while Ginny patiently waited her turn to welcome her friend.
"You look lovely 'mione. Dressing up for anyone in particular?" Before Hermione had left her house, she had prayed that Ginny would put off with her match making services. Obviously that was not going to be the case tonight.
"Ginny please, not tonight. Can we not have one pleasant evening? Why does it have to always be about the men in my life?" Maybe if she begged she could get Ginny to change topics for at least one evening. To earn Ginny's silence on the subject, she would happily kiss the floor before her feet.
"We always have pleasant evenings, and I never talk about the men in your life. Seems to me that there hasn't been one for quite some time now." The smirk planted firmly on her face told the world that she was proud to one-up Hermione in a battle of syntax. "Let's go to dinner."
Ginny grabbed a laughing Harry's arm and the two disappeared. Leaving an irritated Hermione to follow after them.
Hermione couldn't help but think that maybe instead of a new man in her life; she could do with some new friends.
…
Minerva McGonagall was a pain in his ass. She even had the audacity to laugh at him when he'd complained about the flock of teenage girls who seemed to follow him everywhere he went. She said it built character and that he should be flattered by their attention. It was inappropriate and unwanted attention. Seemed to him that every time a girl came into heat they began to follow him around like a lost dog. It was disgusting.
He was no saint, and the difference in age between him and his suitors was less of a burden to him then it would have been to a better man, but that lack of figure left much to be desired. They had no curvature, nothing for a man to grab ahold of as he fucked the breath out of them. How was a man to be completely sated with a woman that was nothing but a pile of bones covered in tightly stretched skin?
Minerva had become the permanent Head Mistress of Hogwarts after He-Who-Continues-To-Be-A-Pain-In-His-Ass and had been advised by Dumbledore's portrait to enact a series of inter-professor relations. She wanted the staff to be friends. Severus found that idea to be disgusting as well.
Tonight, they were all headed to some run of the mill restaurant that was touted in Witch Weekly as being 'This Year's Top Place To Dine'. Minerva had meant for them to go seven weeks prior, but had been told there was a seven week wait on reservations. The closer it got, the more she talked about it. He'd be happy to go just as long as she'd shut up.
He didn't bother dressing for the evening. He was clean, and if that wasn't enough then she was welcome to have him stay behind.
His customary robes billowed behind him as he walked purposefully to the entrance hall where he was instructed to meet Minerva; he spotted Sprout standing at the door to the castle. He was instantly suspicious and the hair on the back of his neck stood up and he knew he'd been had.
"I thought you might ignore my request." Before he had time to respond he was ambushed from behind just as he rounded the corner to head for the door. He felt his robes shift as the spell from Minerva's wand took effect. "The spell only lasts till midnight, Severus. So be a good Cinderella and be home before the clock strikes twelve."
His teaching robes had been transformed into a pair of silk dress robes. They were simple, but much finer than the ones he'd been wearing previously. The only thing that calmed his temper at having his attire altered was the fact that he was still cloaked in all black. "You've raised your wand unwanted towards me, Minerva."
"Come now, no harms been done." She responded with a stern look on her face that let him know she wouldn't be cowed for her attempt at making him presentable. Sprout stood looking nervously between the pair. Minerva must have asked her to stand witness, just in case his temper would flair. It would be much more difficult to kill her if someone was watching; at least that's what she thought.
"I would keep a wary eye on my drinks tonight if I was you Head Mistress. Someone might find it funny to slip something in your cocktail that would cause you embarrassment." Severus didn't wait for a reply, but headed towards the gate to dissaperate.
I spent so much time… Writing this, for you.
So how about you spend some time… Please, just review.
