Disclaimer: Do not own obviously, because if I did Snape wouldn't be as old, so my obsession wouldn't be as weird… still pretty weird even if the age gap was smaller…but hey, it's a step towards sanity.
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Hermione clutched the thin red plastic of her toothbrush in anger. Her fist curled up around the tiny item until her nails were digging in to the pale flesh of her palms. This was just too much. He couldn't really expect her to just accept this. The offending man stared back at her stubbornly from across the room, his cheeks flushed with anger and his long, limp black hair falling into his face. It was just a toothbrush for God's sake; it wasn't as if she was trying to move in with him!
"I refuse to have your worthless, tacky junk cluttering up my quarters…"
"Severus! It is a toothbrush! Hardly the end of the world." They continued to face off, at either ends of the long grey rug that covered the dusty floorboards of Severus' living room.
The world continued to move around them, the sun inching across the small, enchanted window, shadows following it obediently across the tiny dark room and Severus' grandfather clock ticking amicably next to him but neither could feel the movement of time. It was as though they were locked out of the world and were completely oblivious to the life outside of their argument. The sheriff and the bandit. Pistols at dawn.
Hermione itched to brush her hair out of her eyes, one irritating curl had drifted down from the mass pulled back out of the way by a red barrette and was trying to distract her. She clenched her fists tighter to resist – she had to remain emotionless, she had to win.
"What would people say?" Severus asked suddenly, a glint in his eye. It was obvious that he thought it was only a matter of time before he was victorious. Hermione's brown eyes narrowed and she flicked her head to the side, to push the curl away but trying to appear cavalier.
"No one would find it."
"Oh but what if they did." Severus took a step closer, a smirk growing. "I might be caught unaware and blurt everything out about this whole… sorry…affair." He continued to slowly approach her, his black robes dragging along the ground. Hermione's eyes remained trapped on his like a doe caught in the headlights of a sleek, poised Porsche, reading to strike her down with effortless grace. Spindly fingers reached up and pushed her dark curls behind her ear and he leant down to whisper with an air of conspiracy in her ear. "What would Potty and Weasel say?" Hermione frowned and took a large step back; she stared at him stubbornly in the eye, and the mist of seduction that had surrounded him so suddenly yet again, died.
"Would you stop calling them that? They are my friends and I have told you a million times not to." Severus rolled his eyes and pulled her toothbrush from her grip suddenly with a quick tug, Hermione tried to protest but within seconds he had vanished it back to her quarters.
"And I have told you a million times to stop trying to change me, you silly woman." Hermione felt a flash of anger crash up and down her spine, sending shocks of fury through her whole body.
"We have been dating for three years and expecting you to pretend not to hate my best friends is trying to change you." She said harshly, glaring up at his unimpressed black eyes. Severus raised his hands up to examine his fingers, his face unreadable.
"You knew what you were getting yourself into. We agreed. No pathetic little announcements to friends or family. No public displays of affection. No. Attemps. To. Change. Me." The couple silently fumed standing only inches apart on the grey, faded rug until Severus couldn't take the tension any longer. "If you wanted a boyfriend you knew you had Weasel." Hermione laughed sourly and raised one hand to her heart and smiled at Severus.
"Oh yes of course. I had Weasley! Why can't you just let it go? We were teenagers." Severus scowled at her and span around, walking away to watch his grandfather clock tick.
"Don't act innocent. I know you fucked him, don't deny it." Hermione pulled on her hair with renewed frustration – this argument seemed to be happening more and more often.
"Why won't you believe me when I say that Ron and I never slept together?" she asked incredulous. Hermione threw herself into a dusty armchair by the fireplace and picked at her dull blue robes. She had a history class to take soon – she really didn't have time for this.
"Because it is so pathetically obvious." Severus span around and stalked towards her again, coming to a sharp stop at her feet and resting his hands on her armrests. He leaned down until they were once again nose to nose. His voice rose to a ridiculous, high pitch as he imitated her. "Oh Ronald, of course you're handsome. Oh Ronald I'm sure there's a girl out there for you! Oh Ronald, have you been working out? Oh Ronald, just take me now." He pushed off viciously from the armrests and folded his arms. Hermione raised an eyebrow, in the perfect imitation of his look, a trait she had picked up from him and that she knew infuriated Severus more than anything else.
"And I'm the pathetic one?"
"Yes. Glad we're on the same level." Hermione's glare intensified and she stood up from the armchair, forcing him to retreat or risk getting a face full of angry Gryffindor.
"You have no right to be so jealous. Ron and I are just close and he doesn't even know we're seeing each other." Severus rolled his eyes.
"I am not jealous. I am ashamed of having such a pathetic girl in my bed though." Hermione nodded along with his words in fake sympathy.
"You say that as though you'd rather be alone, Severus. Yet we both know you'd do anything to make me stay. For example hexing Remus because you thought I was leaving you for him." Severus paled in the early morning sun remembering the embarrassing incident, which had been hard to explain away. Remus was still suspicious about the nature of their relationship no matter how many times Hermione lied about its platonic status.
"That was not jealousy. He was in my way."
"You need to stop being so possessive." Severus stormed towards her and wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck, pulling her in.
"I am not possessive. You are just mine and you flaunting yourself at other men just slightly puts me on edge."
"Yours?" Hermione mocked, untangling herself from his fingers. "Now when did you turn into Ron?" Suddenly arms were wrapped tight around her waist and Severus was everywhere.
"I will kill the Weasel." He said with an acid tone before he bit down viciously on her neck. Hermione shrieked and pushed him away.
"See! This is pathetic." Severus span away and stormed from the room. Hermione followed apprehensively until he disappeared down into his lab. Hermione paused at the top of the dark, gloomy staircase. This was the one part of Severus' quarters that was completely off-limits. Too dangerous. Too forbidden. Did she really dare break the biggest rule in their relationship? With a determined angry nod Hermione rushed down the stone steps, her sensible black shoes making a loud slapping noise with every step.
Severus was bent low over a black cauldron, poking at the mixture angrily with his wand, purple mist bubbled inside and as Hermione appeared at he bottom of the steps he straightened out, his face turning red with anger.
"How dare you come down here? It's too dangerous…" the cauldron began to quake, Severus' anger flooding the room with accidental magic.
The eruption was beautiful.
The purple, bubbling mist rose up into the air, forming a perfect arch and headed straight for the couple, quaking in fear. Suddenly the force of Severus throwing himself across her and the gravitational potential of six gallons of potion slammed Hermione on to her back. The air pushed out of her lungs in one sharp breath and her vision blurred. The potion overwhelmed her senses as it invaded her mouth, nose and ears. She spluttered desperately for air but none came and soon, the world began to dim. She struggled on, the dead weight of Severus pushing her further into the stone. His lack of movement was the last thought that crossed her mind before the darkness stole all conscious thought away.
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A.N Ok new fic. If you have me on your author alert and are thinking "Huh? Who the hell is ShyMonster" I used to go by 1Malone, HummingBird, ThatReallyQuietGirl, HighOnMyMuse and ThatNameIsTaken… so yeah…changed it again.
Hope you like.
This fic will be my longest ever (the pressure is already getting to me) and I'm trying to keep the fluff to a minimum. One chapter on average a week hopefully because you know, bucket loads of AS Level work.
Thanks for reviewing.
