Disclaimer: All characters belong to the wonderful JKR. I am writing this for fun, not profit. The lyrics and music of Closer belong to the Corrs.
Ever since Hogwarts had employed Hermione Granger as Severus's Snape's apprentice, she had been amazed in how changed her master seemed now. He was an expert in his field, a wizard capable of the most difficult potions. He still was as mean to his students as he had been before Harry Potter had defeated Lord Voldemort, but the notorious man was now somehow more relaxed, no longer serving two masters.
As Hermione had just had her twenty-second birthday (she had studied for three years at a university in Spain before returning to Hogwarts) Severus had even started to treat Hermione like an adult. Sure, he still went into relapses when he would make sarcastic remarks about her; putting Hermione in her place and making her feel as if she was sixteen again. However, while they were working on bubbling brews and concoctions together well into the night, they would have long, complicated discussions about articles in intellectual journals and debates about the best uses in potions for powdered bicorn horn that Hermione could never enjoy with Harry or Ron. She discovered that they shared the same opinions and tastes in food, literature, music…lots of things.
Secretly, Hermione watched him closely, taking an interest in Severus's mysterious life hidden away from the outside world. Soon, she felt like she wanted much more between them than their uneasy friendship. Hermione knew that she'd never really act on her feelings. However much of an enigma Severus was to her, she knew that there was no possibility that he wanted to engage in a romantic relationship with her.
Every night, within her dreams, Hermione pretended otherwise. These realistic fantasies became idolised flights of fancy of pure intimacy. Hermione would look deep in to his inky-black eyes, his so-called 'windows to the soul' showing her that there was so much more to him than most people got to see. Then he'd run his hands through her curly brown hair and kiss her. These kisses would feel like he was touching her very soul, their tongues would dance around each other and Hermione would break away for a second, just to give time for him to throw her down on to a romantic four-poster bed…
Then reality returned.
When they passed in the hallways of Hogwarts, Severus nodded to Hermione as a method of recognition. In the split second when they passed each other, she met his eyes. But unlike in her dreams, they gave no emotion away. Hermione tried to search for a tiny detail that gave away what he was thinking, but he always broke eye contact and carried on, his black robes billowing behind him. His face was a mask; his monotonous clothes armour. Hermione knew him well enough by now to see that.
Her dreams continued. After their sensual kisses, Hermione would tenderly undress Severus's top half, running her hands down his muscular chest and up his toned arms. She would pause as Severus would give a twinge when her touch found his Dark Mark, faded but not completely gone. She would gasp, another secret about his past revealed by him to her. He would remove her clothes completely with a silent wave of his wand. Their bodies would shiver with anticipation…
Then reality returned.
Hermione was determined to warm the man's pessimistic features, to wipe away his resolute frown. She wanted to show her master that she was more than a friend to him, that she would not run off and leave him for a 'better' man. Her dreams crossed over to reality, wondering that if a hesitation he made was his body stopping him making the first move. Her nightly encounters that made her sleeping self feel so alive haunted her days too. She continued to place him under close scrutiny, obsessively looking for a slip-up that might imply that he was interested in her. It never came.
The apprentice's dreams still continued. She would finally peel of his lower layer of black clothing, smiling at the sight that met her eyes. She crawled up his waiting body, and they would finally engage in the passion she'd been waiting for. Their heartbeats would become one, his rhythmic thrusts bringing her quickly to her first climax. They would dissolve into one another, joy shining through Severus's normally emotionless eyes…
Then reality returned.
I see you, walking every day
With a smile beneath frown
But I won't look away, yeah
What does it mean?
What's there to see?
If I look
Closer, closer, closer, closer
Closer, closer, closer, closer
Where are you looking?
And what are you thinking at all
Your eyes show nothing more
Than a dazed oblivion
What does it mean?
What will I see?
When I look
Closer, closer, closer, closer
Closer, closer, closer, closer, ah, yeah
You don't see me
Watching every day
My smile could warm your frown
And I'd never look away (Never look away)
There's more to me
That what you see
When you look
Closer, closer, closer, closer
Closer, closer, closer, closer
Closer, (closer), closer, closer, closer, ah, yeah
Closer, (ah), closer, (ah ha), closer, no, no, no (ah ha)
(Ah ha, ah ha, ah ha, ah ha, ah ha) ah, no, no
A/N: Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Please review! (I live for reviews!)
Best, glamur xxx