A/N

Written for QLFC season 5 Round 1

Team: Kenmare Kestrels

Position: Chaser 2

Position Prompt: Chaser 1 NOTP Prompts used 5 ,8 ,10

Title: The Lost Chance

Word Count:1,910

Hermione dug her toes deep inside the soft sand letting the waves hit her cold feet numbing her senses. She had come to Nice with her parents in an attempt to have some happy memories to get through the war. As much as she loved her parents she had to get away from them in order to gather her thoughts. So here she was in a private beach just off the road from the hotel that they are staying clutching the letter that had arrived from Ron in the morning in her hand trying to grasp the reality. Ever since she had got to know about Voldemort being back she had wondered just how many lives will be lost in it and just which loved ones she will lose to it. What she didn't realized was that she would lose the one person with whom she wanted to spend her rest of the life even before the war began in the full swing. She still sometime can't believe that she had fallen hard for the most hated professor in Hogwarts and how. Even today all of it just felt like a bittersweet dream. Now that she was pondering on her rather their journey of falling in love, all the time spent with Severus appeared like a mirage that she could feel with a passion but just never really touch to last long enough. The time spent with him was too short for her liking now. As the memories started flooding Hermione wrapped her arms around herself tightly in order to stop the sob that threatens to escape from her lips.

It had all started on the dreadful night of the Yule ball in her 4thyear when her best friend Ronald Weasley had left her heartbroken after a fabulous night with Viktor Krum. After the fight couldn't really fall asleep her whole night was spent in a restless shifting of sides trying to catch some sleep. Eventually she gave up and decided to sneak out for a walk may be that would help her clear her mind. In the end she found herself in the same spot where she and Ron had their fight. It would be wrong to say that she wasn't forlorn with the argument she had after all Ron was her first crush. It had hurt her when he had waited until the last moment to ask her to the ball and then had the guts to accuse of fraternizing with the enemy. She snorted to herself recalling just how childish and immature her friend can be. She then decided she was done waiting for him to grow up it was time to move on. She turned to go back to her dormitory when she bumped to her horror with Professor Snape. "Miss Granger just what are you doing out here at this hour of the night?" he had asked her with a sneer on his usual stone face. "Professor I couldn't sleep so I decided to take a walk" she told him keeping her eyes glued to her feet."In that case Miss Granger 50 points from Gryffindor for being out of common room after the curfew at this hour and 3 weeks of detention starting tomorrow after dinner. Is that clear to you?"He announced her punishment. All she could do was stare at him."Does Miss know it all thinks just because she as a prefect she is above the rules?" he barked at her which made her snapped out of her trance."I am sorry Sir I will be there for detention right on time" she apologized to him."You better get back to your common room now before you get into any more trouble than you already are" he advised her and glided across her towards the dungeons while she kept looking at his retreating back.

Hermione smiled those 3 weeks of detention were the best days of her life. She had learnt so much about potions from him in those 3 weeks but it wasn't until the very last detention that things got interesting.

"It's good that you are on time those cauldrons over there needs to be clean" he instructed her as soon as she step inside the classroom. She put her bag down and got on to work. She was almost done with her when she heard him ask her "what were you crying about that night in the corridor?" .She looked at him was surprised to see the look on his face it was so unlike him. "I had a fight with Ron, Professor." She replied to him. "May I know what the fight was all about?" he enquired. Hermione didn't know what to make out of it "it was about my date with Viktor Krum to the Yule ball Sir. Ron said some awful stuff to me." She responded to him." Miss Granger no boy should have that kind of control over you" he let her know." But professor I love him whatever he said to me that has hurt me bad" she told him blinking her eyes. "No you thought you love him what you had was just a mere childhood crush. If you really loved him you won't had forgotten about the incident so soon" he harshly told her the truth. Hermione was about to retort that it wasn't true but then stopped to think about it , it was indeed true after that night she hadn't thought about it even for a minute. Instead she was thinking about the time she had spent with the potions master. She looked at him with almost tears in her eyes. "I had made the same mistake when I was your age I had thought I was in love with Lily Evans" he informed her. "Harry's mom?" she asked hesitantly. "Yes it was Mrs. Potter she used to be my best friend just like what is to you. The feeling I had from the time I spent with her I mistook it for love. You are doing it too" He enlightens her. He was now standing way too close to her " I have seen the way you look at me if not yet but you are slowly started to have feelings for me." He said to her. She stood there numb trying to decipher what the teacher was trying to say to her. He slowly started to decrease the distance between their lips when Hermione suddenly pushed him away

"What are you trying to do she demanded

"Nothing that you don't want to" he let know

"If I'd wanted you to then I would have asked!" she shouted at him

He again closed the distance between them " believe me Miss Granger I can see it in your eyes you want the same thing as I do . You see me as someone who can challenge your personality, someone who is par with you. Isn't that what you wanted in your man" he enquired her

"How do you know about it?" She asked

"Word travels faster in this school" he informed her "give us a chance miss granger" he pleaded

Hermione didn't know what to do on one hand her heart was telling her to go ahead take the leap of faith while her mind was reasoning with her that it was a mad idea.

"It isn't right Professor I am your student and you are my teacher plus I am underage, what you are trying to have here with me is illegal" she reasoned with him

"we can always wait until you are of age before going ahead with this relationship" he suggested while tracing his hands along her jaw line pulling her face upwards to kiss her quivering lips. "I know you want it too don't stop yourself both of deserves to be happy and I am the happiest when I am with you." He confessed and reduced the distance between their lips taking her into a deep kiss. Hermione tried her best to resist but in the end her heart gained over her mind as she deepened the kiss more clinging on to him roughly. After they had broke the kiss she was standing there with her eyes closed not quite out of the trance of what just happened between. "Right now in this moment I'm happier than I've ever been before." he told her when she finally looked at her. "I hope someday I will be able to make a place in your heart" he continued before leaving her standing just like on that miserable night.

She knew something between them had changed when she constantly sort his company even after detention asking him various questions about potions he was right about it she was slowly falling in love with him. On the last night of the term she was looking for him to confess her feelings but she couldn't find him anywhere. She had even borrowed the Marauder's Map from Harry to look for him but sadly he wasn't in the castle. She was disappointed that she would have to wait until next term to tell him about her feelings but somehow she had this little feeling that something was wrong little did she knew then how right was she.

She closed her eyes for a second and smoothen the letter that was now just a crumbled ball in her hand to read it again. The letter with which had completely destroyed her world.

Dear Hermione

How are you? Have you started on your homework yet? What am I asking you would have probably finished with it by now? This summer we are not staying at the Burrow, we are at the headquarters of a secret organisation to fight you-know-who lead by Dumbledore. Headmaster came by and told us how we would be in danger here so we moved the very next day. The order will retrieve you as soon as you come back from France. I hope you come soon here the twins are driving me nuts here. Oh we aren't supposed to tell anything important to Harry in the letters Professor thinks the owl could be intercepted. I hope the muggles are treating him well he needs with what happened to Cedric and You-Know-Who.

Btw news came in this morning that Professor Snape is DEAD. He was killed personally by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Apparently he had discovered that Snape was spying on him for Dumbledore. Good Riddance I say that git deserved what he got he was a bully after all.

I guess I will see you soon take care of yourself Mione.

Ron

She still couldn't believe that her man was dead. His last words to her came back to her "I do hope we have that time you need because I love you and want to spend the rest of my live with you". As she recall it her knees gave away as she kneed down crying uncontrollably how she wished she could tell Severus that she loved him and that she would always belong to him but alas he was brutally snatched away from her by his dark lord. She looked up towards the sky and muttered "I Love You Severus" hoping that he would hear from wherever he was now probably in a better place than earth. Little did she know he in fact had heard her confession and was waiting for the day on when she would join him in heaven.