Naked

By Serene Riddle

A/N: A HG/SS pairing. Song belongs to Avril Lavinge, characters to JKR, plot to me. Please R & R

Hermione awoke everyday and put on her mask for the day. Applying little makeup, she dressed in the drab uniform and went to class like the good girl everyone assumed her to be. Everyday used to be the same: Fake smiles, false words. No one ever noticed. That was, until Severus Snape discovered her 'true' self- a lonely girl with plenty of problems. It had been by accident, the discovery. Hermione had been up in the Astronomy Tower, crying about how Harry and Ron always used her and Draco's endless teasing, when Severus walked in on patrol duty. He had reprimanded her for being out, the asked her what was wrong to cause the 'Gryffindor goody-goody' to be out past time. Hermione explained weakly, hoping she could trust him. Severus grudgingly admitted to having gone through the same thing when he was in school. The two formed a close bond because of their common problems.

'I wake up in the morning

Put on my face

The one that's gonna get me

Through another day

Doesn't really matter

How I feel inside

This life is like a game sometimes'

It was months later into her sixth year when Hermione realized she was falling for her Potions Professor. Logically, she tacked it on as another burden, but knew deep in her heart that it was different. Hermione and Severus had begun to have talks after classes, where Hermione would speak of her problems and Severus would offer advice. Hermione opened up to Severus and trusted him with her secrets.

However, on a regular day, they kept up their customary masks so no one would suspect anything. No one ever did, except Albus Dumbledore, who seems to notice everything.

'Then you came around me

The walls just disappeared

Nothing to surround me

Keep me from my fears

I'm unprotected

See how I've opened up

You've made me trust'

Eventually, Hermione accepted what she felt for Severus and dropped all her guards when they were alone. Severus came to respect the younger witch and even found himself having feelings for her as well. At one point during their nightly conversations, he admitted them to her. His feelings were returned by her with joy. A romance began to bloom between the two, in secret.

'I've never felt like this before

I'm naked, around you

Does it show?

You see right though me

And I can't hide

I'm naked around you

And it feels so right'

Hermione bared her soul to Severus. In return, he gave her his trust and affection. The two remained a secret until Graduation of Hermione in her seventh year, when Hermione decided to make it known to the school population and professors. After receiving her dipoilmia from Albus and shaking hands with the other professors, she paused in front of Severus and kissed him in front of everyone. Needless to say, they were shocked, except for four people: Draco, Harry, Ron, and Dumbledore, who all smiled at one another mischievously. Each had found out in their own way, and once everything was settled, the boys had made a truce. But that's besides the point.

After graduation, Severus finally proposed to Hermione in a small restaurant. Hermione accepted joyfully, hugging him.

'Trying to remember

Why I was so afraid

To be myself and let the covers fade away

Guess I never had

Someone like you

To help me fit

In my skin'

Hermione woke up and looked at the person next o her. She smiled at the sleeping figure and cuddled back under the blankets. Severus smiled, half-asleep, and pulled her closer to him. Hermione quietly hummed a song she had written for him, lulling them both back to sleep.

'I've never felt like this before

I'm naked, around you

Does it show?

You see right through me

And I can't hide

I'm naked around you

And it feels so right'.

END

A/N: Was that a bit better?