"Minerva, your Gryffindor Princess has been eyeing me for the past hour," Severus informed the transfiguration professor with a scowl.
"How so, Severus?" she asked, curious but not nearly as concerned as he had intended.
"As though she intends to consume me." He added a glare for emphasis.
Before she could respond, Minerva had to purse her lips to hide her grin. The added twinkle in her eye, however, gave her away.
'It must be a Gryffindor trait. In fact, I'm sure Potter had that same look just before he did something stupid.'
"Perhaps she does, Severus. You are quite the eligible bachelor. In fact, I think-"
"It does not matter what you think, Minerva. It must stop." The Headmaster's scowl was steadily growing darker as the conversation continued.
"Why, Severus?" Minerva questioned, sounding genuinely interested in his thoughts on the matter. "As of one hour ago, she is no longer a student. She is simply a woman who appears to know what she wants." The Scot paused to stifle a giggle before adding, "I may just encourage her to be more aggressive since you are clearly not getting the message."
"You will do no such thing, you meddlesome witch. Should you continue in this vein, you will quickly become worse than Albus." Severus did not miss Minerva's elated grin at that comment. "The fact that she is no longer a student does not mean that such relations would be appropriate. She is still twenty years my junior."
"You know that such a difference would not draw concern in our world. You also know that she used a time turner in her third year, making the difference closer to eighteen years." Only Minerva knew that the glare she recieved was Severus's version of rolling his eyes.
"No matter how our world would view such a difference, they still consider me to be a Death Eater and her the brains of the Golden Trio. They would not accept such a union," Severus attempted to convince the older woman.
"When have you ever considered what others thought, Severus?" Minerva countered.
"I haven't considered what society thinks of me, but I doubt she would relish the thought of society's opinion of her should she be seen in connection with me?"
"I doubt that very much. In fact, we discussed just how much she abhors the press she recieves now over tea one afternoon." Severus gave her a skeptical glance so she changed her argument. "Even if she did change her opinion of the Prophet, the wizarding world is not the only one."
"Muggles would think me her father were we to be seen together," Severus explained.
"You look nothing alike, Severus," Minerva stated, failing in her attempt at humor.
"No matter what anyone else thinks, I think it is inappropriate and is, therefore, unappreciated. You must tell her to stop," Severus demanded.
"I can do nothing about it, Severus. She is no longer a student so I can't take points or give her a detention. And as her friend, I will not stop her when she wants something. And my feelings on the subject are only doubled by the fact that I believe it is something that you need," Minerva explained in her stern voice. "If you want her to stop, you must convince her yourself." With that, the tartan-clad woman left to pry the butterbeer from Hagrid's already-drunk hands.
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Hermione had been planning for this night since they had heard there would be a graduation dance. She didn't know what she would have done if she had been forced to plan it alone, but, thankfully, Ginny had discovered her secret.
It was the night after the final battle. Hermione hadn't been able to fall asleep so had begun thinking again about something that had become a constant concern. Around two o'clock in the morning, the door had opened without warning, not allowing her the chance to hide her lists. As it turned out, Ginny had had a nightmare and wanted to sneak into bed with her sister in all but blood.
"What are these?" Ginny asked, referencing the various pieces of parchment spread out on the bed. Hermione tried to pass them off as nothing while shoving them into a pile, but Ginny was able to snatch one up before Hermione got them all. "'Everything I Know About Severus Snape'. What is this?"
Hermione looked away and attempted to claim it was nothing again, but Ginny could see her blush in the candle light.
"You have lists of everything you know about a guy - not the typical guy, I'll give you that. And all you can do is blush and call them nothing." Ginny was grinning from ear to ear, her nightmare forgotten. "You have a crush on the Greasy Git."
"There is absolutely no logic supporting that conclusion," Hermione argued, still blushing fiercely.
"There is no logic in love," the red-head corrected.
"There is logic in everything," the older girl maintained, her blush slowly fading with the thought that she had won. She hid her confusion as Ginny's grin grew wider.
"But you didn't deny it was love." Hermione's blush came back full force. "So, what are you going to do about it?"
"What am I going to do about it? Absolutely nothing. There is no possible way he could have feelings for me."
"Not yet, he doesn't. Because he most likely still sees the eleven-year-old you that passed through the doors of the Great Hall to be sorted," Ginny agreed. "No. We have to show him that you are not still eleven, but nineteen. And after graduation, we will have to find a time to show him that you know exactly what you want."
"You assume that he will stay."
"Of course he will stay. He's Headmaster." At Hermione's confused look, Ginny continued, "Once you become Headmaster, you are Headmaster for life. The only exceptions to that are if you get sentenced to Azkaban or if Hogwarts herself evicts you."
"It doesn't say that in Hogwarts: A History." Hermione looked offended.
"Probably because the law has never been needed," Ginny explained. "You can write the authors a strongly worded letter tomorrow. Let's go to sleep."
It took a while but, by the end of the summer, Ginny had convinced Hermione to both do something about her feelings and allow the younger girl to help.
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"Cormac, could you go get me some punch, please? I'm parched," Hermione asked when she saw the Headmaster begin making his way toward the group.
"Harry, I love this song. Let's dance," Ginny demanded in order to draw him away as well.
"Hello, Headmaster," Hermione greeted once Harry was out of hearing range.
"Miss Granger, I know what you are doing and it must stop," he insisted.
Hermione was able to simultaneously give him 'the look' and exude innocence as she replied, "I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about."
"Don't be dense. It doesn't suit you. You will cease looking at me in such a fashion or else," he demanded with his strongest glare although he knew she had never truly been scared of him.
Hermione summoned enough of her Gryffindor bravery to ask, "Or else what, sir?"
It finally became obvious to Severus that scaring the girl was not going to work. He decided to change tactics. "Or else you might get exactly what you want, Miss Granger," He said as darkly and seductively as he could manage. "And I doubt you are fully aware of what that entails."
Hermione knew in the back of her mind that he was just trying to get her to stop but she still couldn't hide her grin. "But, sir, you yourself have said several times that I am a know-it-all. Are you admitting you may have been wrong?" Hermione freely admitted that she had no talent for flirting several times to Ginny. That is why she didn't realize until after she had spoken that it may have been the wrong thing to say.
"Oh, no, Miss Granger. I am never wrong. You know a great many things. But I do not know if you are prepared for what you are asking for," the Headmaster explained, paying the girl back for all of the looks she had given him that night with one smoldering glare.
"Hello, Professor," Cormac said as he came back from the refreshment table. He handed Hermione her drink, which she took and sipped, before wrapping his arm around her waist. "Did you need something?"
"We were just talking but now I am afraid I need to borrow Miss Granger for a dance," Severus requested.
"I'm not sure that would be appropriate, Professor. You are not known for interacting well with students. It would lead to uncomfortable questions, if you danced with her," Cormac commented, trying to slyly convince the older man to leave.
"I highly doubt that, Mr. McLaggen. It would be more than appropriate for a Headmaster to dance with the valedictorian of the class. It would also be appropriate for a Potions Master to dance with the person he will be apprenticing." He had considered her application for some time now but had yet to make a decision. He was willing to accept her in order to best the egotistical brat in front of him - at least, that was what he told himself.
"Really, Professor? You accepted my application," Hermione did not squeal.
"Indeed, Miss Granger. I had hoped to tell you tonight, during a dance." Severus laughed internally at the look of contempt on McLaggen's face.
"Of course, sir. I would love to dance," Hermione responded, forgetting about seducing Severus in her joy at being accepted as his apprentice. She also forgot that she just told Cormac that she didn't feel like dancing.
The music that was playing was a waltz. They danced quite gracefully for a few bars before Severus broke the silence. "Miss Granger, I will only ask one more time: Are you certain of what you have been asking for?"
"I'm positive. I have considered this for a year. No matter what may come, I would never regret this," Hermione answered sincerely.
Severus nodded but both remained silent for the rest of the song. "Do you need to tell Miss Weasley that you will be leaving?"
Hermione blushed but responded, "No, sir."
"Severus, Hermione. Call me Severus," he requested as he leaned in and kissed her chastely before taking her hand and leading her out of the hall.
break
"Severus! Severus, wake up!" Minerva's screech was heard from the floo early the next morning.
"Calm down, woman, before you have kittens," Severus responded from the bedroom. He had been awake for some time now but had not wanted to wake the woman who had wrapped herself around him in the night. She had woken soon after him, though, so they layed there talking for most of the morning. When Severus finally arrived in front of the fireplace, he was wearing only his trousers from the night before, zipped but not buttoned. "What?"
"No one has seen you or Hermione all morning. The train left an hour ago. We were beginning to get worried," she explained.
"We had a lie in and have been talking since she woke," Severus said bluntly.
"She is with you? Severus, why didn't you tell anyone?" Minerva demanded like any overbearing mother would.
"Yes and because it does not concern any of you. Goodbye -" Severus began before being interrupted.
"Hello, Minerva. I'm safe. We'll be down for lunch," Hermione offered. She cut off the floo before continuing to Severus, "But we may be a few minutes late."
A/N: For the Hunger Games Competition on HPFC. It's not my best work, but I left my draft at home. It may be rewritten very soon - as soon as I have my draft at hand again. Also, please review!