The next day
Hermione woke up with a start as she heard knocking on her door and looked at the time – 12:30. Wow, I haven't slept till that late in forever!
"Hold on, I'm coming!" she exclaimed as she brushed her teeth, got dressed and ran to the door. She opened it to find Severus holding lunch in his hand.
"Miss Granger, you didn't forget about our Saturday lunches did you?" he asked. "From the looks of it, you clearly did…just woke up?" he grinned.
"Shut up Sev, I did just wake up – there's nothing wrong with that!" she replied. "Make yourself comfortable while I go take a quick shower," she motioned for him to come in and retreated to her bathroom. Severus nodded, put the sandwiches down on the center table and sat down on the couch. He heard the water in the shower go on and smiled – it was so out of character for Hermione to be, well, unprepared/late for anything, and he quite liked it. He suddenly felt a little shabby and ran to the full length mirror in the next room and stared at himself. Huh, not too bad Sev, he thought to himself. He was dressed in muggle clothing – a fitted black t-shirt and jeans. Well, the shirt was hidden underneath his mass of a jumper. Well, at least there isn't a mass of hair too! He had cut it a few years ago, and it vaguely resembled a shorter version of Potter's hairstyle, though much more groomed and looked a lot nicer. He ran his fingers through it, styling it slightly. What are you doing? Are you fixing your hair? He stopped and walked back to his seat on the couch. He wondered what was taking Hermione so long as he glanced down at his watch. It read 12:36. He laughed to himself – despite their "bro"-like relationship, Hermione was a girl, and he knew that it was impossible for a girl to be done with a shower in 4 minutes. He put his feet up on the table and stretched back a bit, reaching for the remote. Turning the TV on, he saw 'Doctor Who' was on, and wondered if he'd seen the episode before. The haunting music that was playing made him realize that he had seen this episode many times – it was 'Doomsday'. While he refused to admit this to anyone, this was one of his favorite episodes of the show – the acting, music, story, everything. The first time he had seen this episode, he teared up a little, only a little. Well, at least you cry less every time you see it, he thought to himself, as he became thoroughly absorbed in the episode. There was something about being separated from true love that really hit home with him.
Hermione got out of the shower, got dressed again, and walked out into the living room – only to find Severus watching Doctor Who. She smiled to herself - she had almost forgotten that he, like her, came from a very muggle background. She flopped herself down on the couch next to him and said.
"Doctor Who, Sev? Which episode is it?" When Severus didn't respond, she looked at his face and started giggling at the watery tears that had begun to form on his face. "Are you crying?" she shrieked with laughter. Severus jumped back into reality and wiped his tears off with a flash.
"No… why would I cry over a silly TV show?" he asked, praying that Hermione wouldn't do what she usually did – gnaw on a joke till there was no meat left on it.
"Right… awww Sev I didn't know you loved the Doctor and Rose! I personally prefer the Doctor and Donna – it's a refreshing taste to see someone who isn't totally in love with him!" she stated.
"Don't you start, the Doctor and Rose were in love – are in love and they're meant to be together forever!" he exclaimed. Hermione started laughing louder – she had not expected Snape to be such a Doctor Who fan, especially of the Doctor-Rose pairing.
"Aww you're so adorable!" she said as she pinched his cheek, "I didn't know you were such a DW fan! I'm pleasantly surprised. Though I can't believe I just caught you crying over the Doctor and Rose. This is bloody precious! Wait till I tell everyone about it!"
"Hermione," he said with a deadly serious look on his face, "Please don't. It will totally ruin my manly reputation – you know, crying over a tv show…"
"Manly? You?" she laughed harder as she punched him in the arm, "I'm probably more of a dude than you. And stronger too, I see," as she saw Snape recoil in pain from the punch.
"Right, is this going to be a 'let's make fun of Severus Snape' lunch? Because if so, I don't think I want to partake, so if you'll excuse me, I'll be off – with my food," started Severus.
"Don't be silly, I was just joking," she smiled as she tore open the white bag with her name on it. "What sandwich am I going to have today?" Her face fell with disappointment as she saw a salad. "The hell is this?"
"Well, you have a date today – aren't girls supposed to weight conscious or something? So I thought I'd get you a salad," he smirked.
"Are you telling me I need to be weight conscious?" she asked. If she was a cartoon, steam would be coming out her ears.
"Not really, I just wanted to see your reaction! Now that I'm satisfied, here's your real lunch!" he replied as he tossed her a cheese and cucumber sandwich. "So, how are you feeling about tonight?"
"Well, I haven't really thought about it – I mean, it should be fine. But what if Ron's there? I mean, we haven't seen each other in two years. And of course Ron will be there. He's Harry Potter's bloody best friend and Harry would die rather than miss such a public event. I don't know, I've forgotten how to dress up and look pretty. Not that I can look that pretty in the first place. Oh gosh, I'm rambling. But I can't stop rambling! I guess it didn't really hit me until now. Oh bloody hell, why did I agree to this stupid ball?" she said without taking a breath in.
"Hermione, breathe," he said gently, "naturally you're nervous. It's fine! Perfectly natural – in fact, I'd be concerned if you weren't nervous. Though you should have taken the easy way out by going on your own, like me. Don't have to deal with people talking about your date, and the likes of that."
"Yeah, but this is the first time I'm showing my face in public. Hermione Granger – the cheating scumbag of a war hero. I'll have to face Harry, Ginny, Lavender, Fred, the rest of them and …him…" she said softly.
"Hey, don't talk about yourself like that," his voice rising slightly, "what happened between you and Weasel-fart," Hermione giggled, "is between the two of you. When you go there tonight, everyone will look at you for who you are – an unbelievably intelligent, beautiful, kind, passionate lady. Thoughts of that incident will be long forgotten. I mean, if you're super scared, I guess you could chicken out. But then that's not at all like the Hermione Granger I know. Not trying something because she was too afraid of the consequences? What about that time when you nearly cursed your left hand off while experimenting?"
Hermione smiled. Though their conversations occasionally got really deep, the strength of their bond shone through Snape's little speech. Gone was the angry potions master – and here, in his stead, was a dear friend.
"Thanks Sev, you always know what to say. Anyway," she aptly changed the subject while munching into her sandwich, "Don't you ever feel like going with someone? Hah, Severus Snape with a date – that almost defies belief. Pretend I didn't even ask you that question." Severus nodded, he was perfectly happy being alone. His love still belonged to Lily Evans, and it always would. He always felt Lily there with him, in his heart – regardless of whether she was a figment of his imagination, she provided a great deal of comfort to him. He didn't need anyone else. Though, for a fraction of a second, he felt her presence decrease slightly. He panicked, and instantly, she returned. He sank back down into the couch and carried on talking to Hermione.
They talked until 4, when Hermione suddenly realized the time. She pushed him out the door and proceeded to get ready. Well, tried to. She stood herself in front of the mirror (the very same that Severus had used) and gave herself a long, piercing stare. Her body was still shapely – though she had thinned a bit (work even took precedence over eating). Her hair was a mess, however. It was back to, what everyone referred to as, "2nd year Herm-hair." Unruly, curly and growing everywhere. Something has to be done about this, she thought. She pulled out her wand from her back-trouser pocket – the endless lectures Moody had given her and Harry hadn't really worked on her – and started straightening her hair. With a quick charm, her hair was as straight as a pin. Huh, not that nice. She ran her hands through her hair, making the straightness look more natural and decided that she'd go for something casual yet sophisticated. She worked and worked with her wand till she achieved the look she was going for – loose curls, with her hair parted more to the side than usual. Perfect. Though I hope the parting doesn't change – it feels weird having so much of my hair flipped to the right. As the thought entered her mind, she cast a long-lasting charm on her hair (it was the wizarding equivalent of applying hair spray – though it lasted infinitely longer -8 hours and only then did the effects start wearing off). Casual but not too casual. Love it! She smiled, impressed with her handiwork. She looked at the clock and realized that it was 5:30 and she still had nothing to wear!
Hermione ransacked her closet and realized that she truly had nothing to wear. Luck was on her side, as the wizarding society had adopted the muggle tradition of tuxedos and formal dresses for events such as the Majestic Ball – muggle dresses were so much easier to conjure! *Poof* She tried on a dress that was the same purple color of her 4th year Yule Ball dress. Too yesteryear. *Poof* A stunning yellow dress – very similar to the one Kate Hudson wore in How to lose a guy in 10 days. Oh Kate, you looked so stunning in this, I can't hold a candle to you. *Poof*^~28. At the 31'st *Poof*, Hermione found the dress she was going to wear. It was a simple strapless bright turquoise dress – with a sweetheart neckline. (Think Laundry collection style – for those muggle dress lovers!) She smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror. This is it. Damn, I look good! She took the dress off, laid it on her bed and went back to the mirror to apply her makeup. She applied the smallest amount of eyeliner – barely visible, and dabbed on some silver eye shadow – just to add a hint of sparkle to her eyes. With a final touch of mascara, she was done. Hermione wasn't big on makeup and knew she could afford to be so. Putting the dress back on, Hermione put on her favorite 4 inch grey heels. And now onto my last, and favorite step! She thought excitedly. Jewelry had always been Hermione's weakness! To go with today's theme of turquoise and silver, she picked out a silver chain with a diamond pendant. Well, it wasn't actually diamond, but when one had a wand at their disposal, any stone could be transformed to like it was something much more desirable. She chose suitable earrings and a silver bangle and put everything she needed in a little silver clutch, and stood back and looked at herself.
You're actually doing this Hermione! Don't think about Ronald, or anything else. You're going there with your friends – and with Draco 'Gorgeous' Malfoy as your date. Worst comes to worst, you can always just hang out with Sev in the shadows, making fun of everyone there! And you know Ron's mouth is going to drop when he sees you looking like this. You're Hermione Granger and a little fun isn't going to kill you.