A/N: Coming to you with something a little different. My first Snamione, Snanger, SSHG, whatever you want to call it fic. Keep an open mind and take a read! I hope you'll enjoy it! Song used: Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift.

Chapter 1: This is Gonna Take Me Down

He said let's get out of this town

Drive out of the city

Away from the crowds

I thought heaven can't help me now

Nothing lasts forever

But this is gonna take me down

He's so tall, and handsome as hell

He's so bad but he does it so well

I can see the end as it begins, my one condition is…

The Burrow was abuzz with noise, company roaming about the lower levels and the grounds outside, the cool sun beginning to make its way towards the horizon. The vast amount of people cramming into the Weasley home was not an uncommon occurrence; rather, it happened more often than not, particularly now that the war was ended and people were free to relax without impending doom hanging over everything. Three years later, and still the company and festivities were a welcomed thing.

Everyone in the house seemed to be paired off into little groups, chatting idly and mingling, apart from one. Slinking beneath a tree, dark and observant as ever, stood Severus Snape, his eyes leering out at the throng of individuals. Years of playing the role of double agent left him exhausted and weary, and though he could probably drop the hard-ass facade at this point, it would forever be easier to keep it up and continue being the Bat of the Dungeons at Hogwarts, rather than to try and change now and scare the students. The corner of his mouth twitched up, just slightly, at the thought of acting kind to students and the fear and confusion it would instill upon them. Perhaps one day…

Taking a deep breath in through his nose, Severus' eyes gazed out absent-mindedly. Admittedly, with the death of the Dark Lord, thinking - or the lack thereof - had become quite the luxury. It was no longer about lies and schemes, but rather, he was free to worry about other things, theorize about new potions, contemplate chemical reactions, he could do and think whatever he pleased without fear of slipping up later in his occlumency. He could even give his undivided attention to whatever he pleased, or rather whoever…

Their relationship hadn't ever been meant to go anywhere beyond deep camaraderie. An intellectual being such as himself needed another intellectual being to bounce ideas off of. A lively debate was needed every so often, and though her presence also annoyed the hell out of him, he couldn't do without it. The end of each meeting left him longing for more, a fact that startled him. He was not an emotional or sentimental man by any means, except for when it came to her. All she had to do was look at him with those big brown eyes, and his facade that he put on all day was shattered. She'd broken through, and though he was aware that she was aware of his feelings for her, he often wondered at her feelings. True, the temptation to use Legilimency on the girl was strong - she had a weakly guarded mind, after all - but Severus refrained, wanting to earn her trust the proper way. Still, he wondered…

A movement out of the corner of his eye drew his attention, and Severus' eyes snapped over, an eyebrow quirking up in very mild curiosity as he saw the Weasley boy pacing wildly in front of Hermione Granger, a panicked look on his face. The ginger repeatedly wiped his palms against his jeans, only to look at them, and then do the same once more. Granger stood there, looking just as confused and mildly curious as Severus, her expression somewhat knowing, but also…could it be…a flicker of dread passing over her features?

With what appeared to be some sort of spasm or muscular collapse, Ron Weasley was suddenly knelt before Hermione Granger on one bended knee, his own expression one of surprise, as if he couldn't quite figure out how he'd come to be there. It was here that Snape smirked, holding back a snort as he strained his ear towards what he was sure would result in Weasley blundering like the idiot that he was, much to Severus' annoyance and amusement.

"'Mione," Ron started out, clearing his throat a good few times too many before taking another breath and repeating, "'Mio— er, Hermione."

"Yes, Ronald?" Hermione asked, her arms crossed over her chest as she gazed down at the redheaded man before here on bended knee.

"You and I…we've been friends for a good while, yeah?"

"Yes, I'd say we have been."

"And we've been through a lot together. A fat lot of bad, and a bit of good, too, yeah?"

Hermione just nodded, looking down at him.

"We've been on a ton of adventures and the like, too…" Hermione's silence as she stared down at the man encouraged him to go on as he cleared his throat again. "You want to go on another adventure with me and get married?"

Hermione stared down at Ron, eyebrows raised at his question. She should be saying yes - that was to be expected of her, was it not? They'd been together for three years now, though the Weasleys often claimed that Ron and Hermione essentially became an item when they first met s far as they were all concerned. Still, she couldn't force the word 'yes' out. She wanted to marry him, she supposed, but…

Her eyes flickered over towards the great tree settled in the yard of the Burrow, her eyes landing on a tall, dark figure standing stoic as always beneath the shade of the leaves. What was he to her? She supposed at first they were to begin as friends; that was all it was supposed to be - an intellectual appreciation with talks and debates. Someone that she could depend on, rant to, theorize to, explore and discover with, but somewhere along the way, she explored and discovered her feelings for the man ran deep. Very deep. Could she say yes to Ron knowing full well that she longed for the man standing beneath the shade of the trees?

And what if he didn't want her in that way? Of course, she'd picked up signals from him. He changed his behavior with her as well. Sure, he was still hard and abrasive at times, but he was softer with her; kinder. She could see in his eyes that he was warmer towards her and yet…if she gave up everything over what could still be considered a schoolgirl fantasy, Hermione didn't know if she could forgive herself. Could she forgive herself for not pursuing Severus?

"Yes," she said, finally, the word coming out almost like a question, as if her answer surprised herself.

Ron stood, beaming, and swooped her up into a hug, kissing her cheek and spinning her around before setting her down and taking her hand, running into the house with her and screaming, "SHE SAID YES! MUM, DAD! EVERYONE! 'MIONE SAID YES!" all the while Hermione's smile was falsely plastered into perfection on her face.

-x-x-x-

She stood at the top of the hill, watching as the last bit of the sun slowly started sinking beneath the ground to allow his sister to take watch over the night sky. Her honey hair rustled gently in the cool breeze as her arms wrapped around herself. The ankle-length summer dress she was wearing swayed in the wind and she heaved a few sighs, losing herself in thought. It wasn't until a dark figure stood beside her and cleared his throat that she pulled herself back to the present, glancing over just slightly before looking back out at the sunset.

"Ron's proposed," Hermione said, eyes transfixed on a cloud. "I said yes."

"Yes, Miss Granger. I do believe congratulations are in order."

Hermione just nodded once, looking down at her feet.

"I knew it," she muttered, shaking her head just slightly.

Severus rolled his eyes, "And what do you purport to know now, you insufferable know-it-all?" He inquired, hoping that he would at least get a smile out of her, but instead, he got a deepened frown.

"That this is just this," Hermione said, her cheeks tinting a deep red as she blurted out her thought process from earlier, and how wrong she'd been. "I just…I misread everything," she concluded finally, quietly. She chanced a look over at him, and quickly averted her eyes.

She found him staring at her intently, his eyes boring into her existence as he listened to her little spiel and thought process. She felt ashamed and embarrassed beneath his scrutiny, and she hated it. He was supposed to be the man she could trust and talk to, and now she'd just ruined everything.

Hermione turned to walk away wordlessly, too afraid to hear whatever remark he had to say to her.

"Miss Granger," the Professor called, sighing when she ignored him. Must she be so damn dramatic? "Hermione."

She stopped, but refused to turn toward him and he fought the urge to roll his eyes. Instead, he opted to close the space between them in three large strides, his large, slender hand sliding into her petite one.

Hermione looked up at him, her eyes questioning what this meant and what he was doing.

"Come. Let us get out of this place, away from this crowd." He nodded once. "We need privacy, and I daresay we won't be getting it here, surrounded by eavesdroppers and gossips."

"Why do we need privacy?"

"To talk."

"About what?"

"Matters that cannot be discussed here."

Her eyes darted down to their entwined hands and she took a deep breath, looking up at him, their eyes finally meeting. Severus, in her eyes, was extremely attractive. What others found jarring in him, she found wildly handsome. He carried himself in such a way that Hermione found irresistible; she loved being in his presence, and she wanted to go with him, but…

"Ron."

"What about Mr. Weasley?" Severus sneered. Here he was, trying to make a gesture, and she was worried about the Weasley boy. Typical.

"But I've just - I've just agreed to marry him."

Severus' eyes flickered with something Hermione couldn't quite identify before he nodded, released her hand, and turned to walk away from her. This wouldn't be the first time he'd been let down emotionally; unfortunately this was nothing new.

Hermione watched his retreating back, biting the inside of her lip gently.

Heaven can't help me now, she thought to herself, shaking her head and running after him, grabbing him by the sleeve and turning him to face her. This wasn't going to become anything, she was sure of it. She shouldn't even be leaving now, not with her new fiancé sitting in the house awaiting her company, but still, she heard herself speaking.

"Fine, I will come with you," Hermione stated, nodding once, "but my one condition is…"

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANY ASSOCIATED CHARACTERS. I AM SIMPLY WRITING A STORY USING THIS FOR INSPIRATION. SAME GOES WITH WILDEST DREAMS LYRICS. THAT IS ALL TAYLOR SWIFT.