It would be wrong to say she moves with the music; it seems as though each note comes an instant after the graceful movement it matches. The music moves with her. And the dress that cascades to her knees, slightly asymmetrical, shows off her flawless continuity. Every part of her fits, just right.

She smiles at me.

"Hello, Professor."

"Please, call me Severus."

"How are you, Severus?" She says my name like she's known me forever, the warmth in her voice is like what I would expect to hear from an old friend after years spent apart. I have no friends. Albus was all I ever really had, and any tentative bonds that had been forming with Minerva were severed the moment I uttered that wretched curse.

"Severus?" She looks concerned, looks like an angel, and I wish I hadn't been drinking so much because I can feel my unfocused gaze burning desperately into her eyes. "Are you alright?"

I manage to conjure a wry smile. "I'm as well as one can expect at a function such as this."

She smiles understandingly, but I can't imagine that she understands. No one in this room seems to belong more than she does. I'm shocked by what she offers next.

"Want to get some air?" Hermione quirks up one eyebrow, imitating the questioning expression I used on her so many times during her years as my student. Dumbly, I nod, following her outside. The crisp late summer night feels incredible on my lips and in my lungs, and to stand with her in the dazzling starlight is almost more than I can bear. She leads me away from the building into a thick patch of trees that looks like it stretches back for miles into the darkness.

"I have to admit," she says, leaning against a tree and reaching into a pocket I wouldn't have expected her dress to have, "I'm surprised to see you here."

Now it's my turn to quirk an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"I know you detest these functions."

"Well," I'm not even sure myself why I've come tonight. Even if it is merely a manifestation of my strange fascination with her, I couldn't use that as an excuse. After a moment I continue, "actually, I'm a little surprised to find myself here. There are, I suppose, those worth talking to on occasion."

"I haven't seen you talk to anyone all night."

Damn, she's caught me. "Well, I tried to talk to Longbottom about his impressive Herbological advances- he has after all, made some very useful and rare potion ingredients considerably easier to come by with the crossbreeds he's create."

"Huh. I haven't had a chance to speak with Neville yet, actually. How are things going for him?"

I gave a sheepish grin. "I don't know. Apparently after everything he's faced, I still spook the man. He mostly blushed and stuttered before making a quick and not so subtle getaway."

Hermione laughs, and I finally notice the thin, stark white cigarette she has pulled out of her pocket. She holds it in her mouth and touches it with a tiny flame her hand shields from the wind. After taking a drag, she holds it out and offers it to me.

"You smoke?" I can't help but sound incredulous.

"Yes, Professor. Are you going to give me a detention?"

Oh dear god, am I blushing?

"It just seems a bit unlike you." I struggle to keep my tone casual, struggle hard not to betray my growing fascination.

She grins. "What do you think I'm smoking, Professor?"

"Call me Severus." I mumble.

"Answer my question," she teases.

I sniff the air, but it doesn't smell like tobacco. I recall having caught a few students smoking something with a similar scent during my time at Hogwarts, but I've always let Filch handle such violations.

The corners of her lips quirk up in the strangest smile. "Are you going to punish me?"

Now I know I'm blushing. I can't do more than shake my head slightly.

"You really don't know?" She sounds terribly amused.

"I'm not entirely sure." I venture.

She laughs. "It's amazing how ignorant most wizards are of the muggle world."

I look at her, puzzled.

"It's not like I simply ceased to exist during the time I was away from Hogwarts. I had a life outside of classes, and a group of friends that had nothing to do with school, though that was a side of myself people rarely saw. "

"You don't strike me as someone who would just gorge on muggle drugs as soon as you had a bit of free time."

"Severus, do you have any idea what it was like being me at fifteen? I had next year's texts memorized the first week of summer. My future always mattered to me. During the school year, I didn't let anything get in the way of my studies. But there were a couple of months every year that belonged to me. And yes, I did spend time on academic pursuits, but being the girl whose head was always stuck in a book would have driven me mad if I didn't take a break once in a while. I daresay you would not approve of the muggle teens I hung out with over the summers."

I just smirk at her, and she continues.

"Anyway, I've found that if I don't let myself be an idiot every once in a while, life gets dull. And that is why I think you should pull the stick out of your arse and take me up on my offer."

"What offer?"

She holds out the lit cigarette. It's a little smaller than others I've seen, and looks expertly hand rolled. I'm intrigued by the strong but not unpleasant scent it emits. Then I realize that I don't have it in me to reject anything she offers, even if I know it will be my death, and I somehow doubt that the consequences of this decision will be nearly so dire.

Whatever she is smoking, it's obvious this isn't her first time and she certainly seems to be doing well enough with her life. I take it, letting my long, calloused fingers brush the delicate silk of her hand, and inhale deeply. I'm actually enjoying the way it burns my lungs, sending an odd fiery sensation out in lapping tendrils until my entire body feels different. I inhale again, and hand it back. She grins at me, and butterflies swarm in my stomach. Gods, I haven't felt that sensation since… since Lily.

"You know, when I was in high school, I always wondered what it would be like to get you high, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd get the chance."

"Why do you smoke- whatever this is, anyway?"

"Well, tonight for instance- In polite society we sip champagne instead of smoking a joint. I've had a great deal of champagne already, enough to make my legs tingle and my head spin, but it has only made the people around me marginally more bearable." She takes another long drag and offers me the cigarette. It is, quite possibly, the most juvenile thought that has crossed my mind in years, but I'm not terribly concerned about the muggle drug Hermione wants me to take if it will allow me to steal a few more precious moments with her.

Suddenly, we hear footsteps. She shoves the lit cigarette into my grasp. I let out an odd little startled noise as she shoves me into a rather large shrub.