A/N: Hey guys. I wrote this while waiting for my mom to get her nails done. There was a screaming child in the background and gossiping women next to me, so I'm surprised I was able to focus. Anyway, aside from the obvious 'Harry Potter' parts of this fic, its actually based around something that happened with me. I thought it would make a cute story for them. Severus is OOC but let's face, anytime you pair him with Hermione, or anyone for that matter, he's OOC. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for a strong desire to be a novelist.
SSHGSSHG
She always used to blush for me. We had gotten close during the war. Dumbledore had assigned her the job of being my assistant in the lab, both at Hogwarts and at Grimmauld Place. The old man told me it was because she was the most qualified. She later told me that she was the only one who would take it.
Either way, we were thrust into one another's companionship rather quickly. A certain degree of trust is needed to work in the lab together, especially for us. At times Dumbledore had us working on extremely volatile potions, and when the slightest mistake can get you killed, trusting one another certainly comes in handy.
She had earned my trust rather quickly. Faster than anyone else on the incredibly short list of people who had managed to gain my trust during my lifetime. As the weeks passed, we became used to each other, you could even say we were comfortable in one another's presence.
It began after a long and stressful day of working in the lab. During dinner, she had seemed particularly stressed, and had left as soon as Molly had took her plate. She was clearly upset, the entire room knew it. Yet no one did anything. So, I followed her. The few weeks I had spent with her at that point weren't even necessary for me to know where she was. I headed straight for the library, and found her curled up on a chair. Tears were silently sliding down her cheeks, and she didn't notice me until I sat down on the couch next to her. She looked at me, and I could see in her eyes her heart was threatening to break, shatter even. That's one thing I had notice early on about her, her eyes. They always lit up when she smiled. She had a beautiful smile. I wanted to see it.
"Smile."
"What?" She wiped the tears from her eyes, a slight look of confusion now mixing with her other emotions.
"Smile for me."
She gave me an odd look, like she wasn't sure I was being serious or not. I gave her a slight nod of my head.
That's when I first saw it. First saw her blush. She ended up smiling, despite trying to hold it back. It prompted the most adorable shade of pink to creep into her cheeks. I loved it.
She sat there looking up at me from behind her long eyelashes. Trying to hide the smile, or even hide the blush.
"Much better." I gave her a small smile of my own, and conjured her a bright purple handkerchief. Another thing that I had noticed over the past few weeks, she absolutely adored purple. She noticed the rather flamboyant cloth hanging in the air and couldn't help but laugh. I had made her laugh. A sound I would quickly grow fond of. She plucked it from the air and used it to wipe away the remainder of her tears.
"Thank you." Another small smile, this time from her to me. I rose from my spot on the couch and stood before her, my hand outstretched.
"Come on." She gave me an odd look, but took my hand unquestioningly. That was the way our trust worked.
I walked her to her room, her hand never leaving mine. I opened the door and lead her to her bed. Motioning for her to sit, I noticed her pajamas thrown over a chair. If you could call them that. More like an overlarge shirt. But it got hot in the summer, who could blame her. She lent back on her pillows and I magicked her clothes to change. She looked a tad bit surprised, but grateful. I pulled the sheet up around her as she laid down completely. She looked up at me, a slight smile still on her face, the faintest of blushes still visible.
"Get some sleep."
She snuggled down into her pillow, turning on her side to face the door, to face me. Just as I was shutting the door behind me, a thin strip of light landed over her face, and I saw that her blush had deepened once more. I smiled and shut the door. Oh how I loved that blush.
SSHGSSHG
And so it went over the next few years. I would walk in, look at her, and she would blush. I'd ask her to smile, and her blush would deepen. But she never denied me. No matter what the situation was or what had happened between us, she would always smile for me. Of course she was completely professional once we started working, but I always started and ended my days with her blush. She had no idea how happy that touch of pink could make me feel. Especially after I had to kill Albus. I was sure that after that I'd never see her again, least of all see her smile, let alone blush. But I did. Once in the woods sometime in December, I saw her in the corner of my eye. She was beyond her protective wards, but didn't come any closer to me. The moon was bright enough for us to make out each others faces. She looked torn. I said it, so quietly I don't know if she actually heard me or just read my lips.
"Smile."
She did. A light in her eyes, blush on her cheeks smile. The soon turned to tears, and they spilled over before she could help herself. She gave him one last watery smile before turning and disappearing behind her wards. It was hard to see her go.
The second time during the war was just before I died, at least for a few minutes. I can't even describe how happy I was to see her. If Potter's ugly face was the last thing I saw on this earth, I would've come back a ghost just to curse him for it. The thought never crossed my mind that she'd try to save me. And it didn't really matter right then. She had knelt next to me, both of her hands clasped around one of mine, unsure of what to do. I could feel the blood rapidly leaving my body through my next, and knew that I only had one good breath of air left. I sure as hell wasn't going to waste it.
"Smile."
She promptly started crying, silently like always. But still she smiled. And still the blush followed. That pretty pink blush. Never in my life did I think I'd love the color pink. Only on her, though. The edges of my vision began to get dark and blurry. I took one last look at her before shutting my eyes. I didn't want that image to get distorted. I never wanted her to be distorted. Never. I felt her squeeze my hand. Then, nothing.
SSHGSSHG
I woke up three months later, very much alive and apparently doing well. From the moment I opened my eyes I knew it was her that saved me. No one else was smart enough, or cared enough, to do it. It would have been wonderful to say that her smile was the fist thing I saw when I woke up, but I didn't. In reality, I didn't see her for almost a week after I woke up. I wasn't able to speak yet. The stupid snake damaged my vocal cords. They were healed by now, of course, but they wanted me to wait a while before I tried speaking again. When she walked she looked both scared and relieved. Later she told me that she wasn't sure if she had done the right thing by saving me. I told her she did. She slowly walked over to the side of my bed and sat down on the edge, her movements similar to those one would use to approach a frightened animal. I reached over to the bedside table and grabbed my wand. A quick silent spell, and the request was floating in the air in sparkling font.
Smile.
She gave a laugh, immediately listening to the word. The laugh, the smile, and there it was the blush. The word in the air changed to something different.
Thank you.
She grasped my hand and squeezed, smiling and blushing all the while. This time, I was able to squeeze back.
SSHGSSHG
She had spent the rest of the fall helping me get back on my feet. Whether it was vocal training or physical therapy, her smile and her blush were always there, urging me on. All too soon, winter came, and she went off to school. She had asked Minerva to be enrolled in the second term, so she could get back in the swing of things to prepare for her exams. She didn't have to, the ministry was ready to just give her the grades, but she wanted to do things the right way. The fair way.
I haven't seen her since then. It is now the beginning of June. I'm perfectly healed and currently waiting in the backyard of Grimmauld Place. It's the day after her graduation, the day of her return. What's left of the Order is present, along with a few other ministry snobs looking to hire her. She should be here sometime soon.
I hear the crowd hush for a moment, before erupting into a sea of applause. I turn around, and there she is. She makes her way to Potter and Weasley, hugging them both briefly before beginning to work her way around the crowd. After what seems like a lifetime, I look up to see her walking over to me. She looks tired, but relieved to see me.
"Smile."
She laughs, by now used to our little ritual. She laughs, she smiles, but she doesn't blush. Why doesn't she blush? I move my arms forward slightly, motioning for her to step into them. I know for sure that this will make her blush. It always does. She laughs again, still such a sweet sound, and wraps her arms around my neck. I squeeze her tightly, making her laugh even more. By now she's near hysterical giggles. It has to be there. I pull back, and still, it's not there. It comes out before I can stop it.
"Why don't you blush?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know perfectly well what I mean. You always blush around me. And now you aren't. Why don't you blush for me anymore?"
"I don't know. I suppose I've just finally gotten used to you." Used to me? What in the name of Merlin does that mean. I assume that my thoughts were portrayed on my face because she let out a small giggle again.
"And what if I don't want you to 'get used to me'?"
She walked closer to me, looking up at me between those long eyelashes of hers, a coy little smile on her face.
"There's more than one way to make a girl blush Severus."
There it was, creeping up her neck and spreading out onto her cheeks. That brilliant color. I can't even name it but I know without a doubt in my soul that whatever it is is unconditionally my favorite color.
Looking into her eyes all I can think is 'dear god I hope she's right'.
SSHGSSHG
A/N: Any and all mistakes are mine, I hope they weren't too bad. Love, hate, or don't really care, let me know.