Disclaimer:I do not own these characters. They're property of the great JK Rowling...I just have fun writing about them ;)
RED ROSES
Hermione crossed the street hastily. Looking at her golden watch she slowed down her pace a bit: there were still twenty minutes until seven. She would arrive on time. Not that it mattered whether she arrived later or not (after all, he wouldn't complain) but she knew that he loathed unpunctuality. He had made it redundantly clear the first time they met, when she had arrived five minutes later. Since then, and in order to avoid further delays (as he had so vehemently told her) they had always met at seven o'clock in the evening. Even now, so many years after that first date, she continued making sure it was so.
As she passed by a florist's she stopped and grabbed the darkest red rose she saw. Paying hurriedly, she continued walking.
He had never been a romantic partner. Sure, he would take her to dinner on a restaurant on their anniversary day and compliment her sometimes, but he never bought her jewellery or recited her sonnets. Not that she would have wanted, though. That would have been so…un-him. She had fallen in love with the acerbic and snarky Potions Master, not with a Prince Charming. She had known that being with him wouldn't be easy... quite the opposite, frankly... but now she knew she had made the right decision. They cared and respected each other, and for her, that was all that mattered. Still, it had been a nice surprise when he started buying her roses. At first, she didn't understand his change of attitude, but the fact was that, for whatever reason, for the last months he had bought her roses almost every day.
Hermione took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she inhaled the flower's rich perfume. Now it's my turn to give him a rose. A shy smile appeared in her face. It's incredible how many things we have lived together. We have gone from despising each other to buying flowers. Of course, when she first met him, she wouldn't have imagined how important he would be become to her. He was sour, sarcastic and even cruel. He insulted her and her friends whenever he had the opportunity and behaved nastily with almost every human being. However, she had always had a soft spot for the people in need and looking after him at St. Mungo's while he recovered from the snake's venom had brought them together. Days spent by his bed, talking and caring for him had allowed her to know the real professor, the man beneath his teaching robes and he, in turn, had learnt about his former, brilliant student. Without them even noticing, they had ended up falling for each other.
Not that everything had been a fairy tale. Gods, no. There had been very difficult moments. He was an extremely temperamental man, possessive and demanding, and she was no less bossy and controlling. But that what was she valued the most about their relationship: they had learnt to adapt, to respect and accept each other. He hardly told her that he loved her. Yet she knew that he had better ways of expressing his true feelings towards her.
Looking at her watch again, she realized it was almost time. Even so, she would arrive at the expected hour. She walked towards the place where he was and brushed her lips against the rose. She now knew why he had started giving her roses months before. He had seen this coming. It was his way of saying farewell. A solitary, salty tear rolled down her wrinkled face.
I love you Severus. And she kneeled, placing the rose on her lover's tomb. Always.
Author's note: I hope you've enjoyed this short bittersweet story! If you've liked it, feel free to review. If you haven't, then also feel free to submit constructive critics :)