A Note: Hermione/Severus won the poll, so this fic was born. Enjoy, and happy holidays.
The moment Severus walked in to the Great Hall on Christmas Day, he knew something was amiss.
The teachers were in groups whispering to each other, and the students were all giving the Christmas tree a wide berth.
Intrigued, Snape decided to investigate further. He found a strange girl sitting on a chair by the tree, talking amenably to Dumbledore. When she spotted him, her brown eyes widened with joy.
"Excuse me," she said, standing up. "Are you Severus Snape?"
He looked down at her outstretched hand disdainfully.
"Who's asking?"
The young women smiled.
"My name is Hermione Granger," she said, grinning. "Nice to see you. I've come to spend Christmas with you, Severus."
Snape blinked and looked to his headmaster for guidance. The wizened old man smiled down at him, and Snape felt thoroughly confused.
He tried to escape her, he really did. Hiding in the library didn't deter her; in fact, she seemed to enjoy the books.
The cold dungeons didn't unnerve her; she only ignored the other Slytherins and followed him closely.
After an hour of playing cat and mouse, Severus finally gave up and invited her to have breakfast with him.
"So why do you care about me?" He asked, fork poised to enter his mouth. "I mean, I'm not the only one who stays at Hogwarts for Christmas."
Hermione smiled secretively at her plate of pancakes, the chain around her neck glinting in the candlelight when she shifted to glance at him.
"Well, you're special." She gave him such an affectionate look, Snape actually blushed. "Besides, you deserve to enjoy yourself. You don't have too many friends, do you?"
Severus didn't even get a chance to answer before she said, "What do you say to a trip to Diagon Alley?"
When Severus grudgingly admitted to a lack of money, Hermione withdrew a hand from her pocket, revealing a large stack of Galleons. His eyes went wide when she put them in his palm.
"I can't accept this," he said, trying to keep his pride. "I mean, this is so much-"
Hermione giggled and pushed a lock of hair from her face.
"Severus, it's okay!" She said, patting him on the shoulder. "I've got loads of money, trust me!"
She then twirled, her arms outstretched as the snow fell down gently. Severus smirked, until he met eyes with a member of the familiar quartet.
Cursing wickedly, he grabbed Hermione's arm and pulled her out of the middle of the rode with the hope that she would escape their wrath. He was doomed, but at least he could protect her.
"Snivellus, what are you doing out of the dungeons?" Sirius asked, elbowing his friends. "I thought vampires couldn't go out in the sun."
James, who had been laughing, leaned forward and prodded Snape in the chest with his wand.
"Yeah, who said you could come outside? I ought to teach you a lesson."
Hermione, who was still crushed behind him, whispered, "I think Anteoculatia would be a fitting Hex for dear old James. Perhaps you ought to try it out?"
Snape smiled at her words, well aware of what that particular spell did. He cast it at the boy with glasses, and two antlers sprouted from his head.
While everyone tried to figure out what had happened, Hermione and Severus escaped.
Most of the money was spent on books, and the rest on a new cloak. Hermione heartily approved of both purchases and bought some butter beer for the both of them.
Hermione now sat gazing at the golden liquid, until she suddenly looked up.
"Severus, I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave soon."
The boy actually felt his heart drop to his stomach at the thought, and looked away before she could see his exspression. A hand settled on his, and he looked back over to her.
"I have one more present for you."
She had a book in her other hand, and he smirked at the sight of a green and silver bow stuck to it.
"Careful with this," she said fondly, handing it to him. "It doesn't look it, but it's been through a lot."
He took it gingerly (it looked fine to him, but appearances tended to be misleading in the wizarding world) and looked at the cover. It read, Advanced Potion Making by Libatius Borage, and he looked up with confusion in his eyes.
"You'll need it for next year," Hermione said, winking at him. "I trust you'll do very well in potions. Perhaps you could even improve Libatius' work?"
She stood then, gathering her coat and scarf.
"This has been fun," she whispered. "Thank you for spending the day with me."
He stood as well, and she kissed him softly on the cheek. Politely ignoring his blush, she smiled sweetly at him.
"Merry Christmas, Severus Snape. Take care, won't you?"
She then turned and left, her cloak billowing behind her in a way Snape couldn't help but admire.
Coming to his senses suddenly, the boy raced out into the cold and looked around, but Hermione Granger had disappeared.
Later (much, much later) Severus woke up and got dressed. Carefully, he clasped his favorite cloak around his neck. It was getting raggedy, but he refused to replace it.
Severus then pulled on his boots, flicked his hair over his shoulders, and walked out of his rooms. He ran a hand along the old books on his bookshelf as they took on new meaning, the cracked spines showing that it had been money well spent.
Hermione was stirring a potion in the classroom when he entered, smiling down at the contents. Snape approached her, and she looked up.
"Merry Christmas, Professor!" She said eagerly, her hair bouncing as if it too was happy to see him. "I thought I'd get an early start on this Wiggenweld Potion before your first class started."
Snape nodded and withdrew some Dittany from the cabinet. He placed it on the stone counter, and then looked at Hermione.
"Miss Granger?"
She turned to him, the chain around her neck shining as it reflected the faint light illuminating the room. He picked up the hourglass hanging from it and kissed it once, gazing up at her from under his eyelashes as he did so.
"Merry Christmas."
She smiled at him as she continued her stirring, and Severus politely ignored the dusting of pink on her cheeks.