AUTHOR'S NOTE: Say it with me now: "J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, not meeeee."
*EDITED & RE-POSTED on 10-28-18*
"It's going to be your birthday soon," Severus commented as they read their respective books under the waning summer sun. "The big one-five."
Hermione looked down to the glossy-black haired boy who was laying quite comfortably on her lap, "Yes, that tends to happen. What does it matter?"
He pushed himself up and reached into the small blue backpack he had brought with him, revealing a brand new bottle of Ogden's Finest Firewhiskey, "I thought we should celebrate."
She blanched, "Severus, we are not nearly old enough for that."
He gave a loud, barking laugh, "Are you always such a stickler for the rules? Where's your sense of fun and adventure?"
She snapped her book shut, "Severus Snape, you have known me since I was eleven years old. I am certain you can answer those questions for yourself, thank you very much."
"Oh, come on," he waved the bottle at her and waggling his severe eyebrows. "I bought it just for you."
Just for you. Hermione unconsciously touched her fingers to her arm, to the word that still had not changed since they were young. She knew it wasn't a good idea and that there was a distinct possibility that she would say too much, reveal too much, but he was looking at her with eyes so full of excitement and hope and happiness that she knew she couldn't deny him anything he wanted. Not when he looked at her like that.
Well, shit.
She snatched the heavy glass bottle from him, ripped it open, and took a deep gulp… which she promptly spluttered all over herself, "Merlin's testicles, that is atrocious!"
He was snickering silently as he took the bottle from her and brought it to his lips. She watched in awed fascination as his prominent Adam's apple bobbed with the action of swallowing the alcohol. Her stomach coiled, her heart fluttered.
He was so beautiful.
"You'll get used to it. I didn't used to care for it either but the other Slytherins can be relentless."
She didn't respond as he handed the whiskey back and she took a deep drink, forcing herself not to cough and choke as it burned down her esophagus and into her stomach. Despite the awful taste, Hermione was already beginning to feel a lovely little tingling in her limbs and her head started to swim deliciously. She took another long swig before giving it back to him.
x-x-x
They were absolutely pissed.
Completely, unabashedly drunk off their arses.
Hermione giggled uncontrollably as she fell back against him and he held the glass bottle above her mouth. Even for being totally drunk he had perfect aim.
"I feel like a goddess," she proclaimed as she licked the drops of whiskey from her lips. "Or perhaps a queen, with a servant dutifully pouring wine down my throat."
He tumbled backwards against the grass as he downed another gulp of the amber liquid, "Queen Hermione… yeah, I can see it."
She tried to smack his shoulder but she missed and flopped uselessly beside him, "What's that s'posed to mean?"
He tried to hand her the bottle again but she missed rather spectacularly as the sky spun above her so he just drank again, "You're pretty enough to be a queen."
Her head was spinning but she turned it to look at him anyway, "You think I'm pretty?"
His words were slightly garbled but he managed, "I'm not blind."
Hermione sighed, fingering her arm gently, "I like that you think I'm pretty."
"Why?" He asked, confused.
"'Cuz I love you," she slurred, tilting her head towards his.
Severus smiled drunkenly, "Love you too, 'Mione. Best friends, right?"
"Right!" She shouted, much too loud, and they burst into laughter again.
They lay there under the moonbeams, three sheets to the wind, in drunken silence for a while before Hermione saw Severus move to come rest on his arms above her.
"'Mione? Can I kiss you?"
She hummed, "Yep," with her lips smacking obnoxiously on the 'p'.
He leaned down and though at first it was drunk and clumsy and slightly awkward, Severus pressed his lips to hers. At first it was soft and tentative and gentle, but whether it was because of the alcohol or something else altogether, something crackled between them and their breathing grew heavy. His crooked teeth clacked against hers as he tried to slip his tongue into her mouth and she groaned as she allowed him inside. He swept across her mouth and he tasted like whiskey and her mum's chocolate cake and… something completely him. Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down on top of her but huffed sharply when his full weight came slamming down on her. He was certainly much heavier than he looked.
That seemed to bring him back to reality and spots of crimson bloomed high on his cheeks, "S… sorry," he mumbled, grabbing the bottle and kicking back another large swig.
Hermione smiled up at the twinkling stars, her heart hammering almost painfully in her chest, "S'okay."
x-x-x
For the entirety of their fourth year, neither of them seemed inclined to talk about the drunken kiss.
In fact, they both seemed perfectly content to pretend it never happened at all.
But Hermione knew… oh yes, she knew it had happened.
She still felt the ghost of his lips on hers every single day.
x-x-x
"Do you have anything to wear for the Yule Ball yet?"
Hermione rolled her eyes, "And why on earth would I? I'm not going."
Severus rolled over on the floor of the library so he could see her face. He was frowning, though that was hardly unusual for him, "Why not?"
She internally congratulated herself for not letting her hands shake or the tears show in her eyes, "Because no one's asked me."
He said nothing for a moment, "What about… you know, your words? Has that person not…?"
Her answer was quick and concise, "No."
"I really wish you would tell me who—"
When she answered, her voice was sharp like broken glass, "Let it go, Severus."
He didn't bring it up again. Instead, he plucked the book from her hands, "Go with me."
Her eyes were wide and her heart seemed to forget what it was supposed to be doing, "What?"
"Well, you know Lily's going with James so I thought…"
And just like that, she felt nauseous again.
Always the second choice, the back-up.
But as always, he was her best friend and she would do her duty to him faithfully, without complaint.
She shoved the hurt and the little slivers of her breaking heart down and smiled at him, "We should probably head to Hogsmeade then."
And they did.
x-x-x
Hermione stared at herself in the mirror, hardly able to recognize the girl—woman—staring back at her. She was… resplendent, there really was no other way to describe it. Never, not once in her life, had she felt pretty with her bushy hair and big teeth and boyish figure. But here, draped in the opulent, form fitting golden dress she had chosen only a few days before, she felt beautiful. Oh, sure her hair was no longer bushy, and she had some curves now thanks to puberty, and she had her large beaver-like teeth fixed after a Potions accident during her third year, but with her curls pinned to the top of her head with pastel pink orchids wound around and within them like a crown, she felt… confident.
Like he would have to look at her tonight. Like he would have to really see her.
Perhaps for the first time ever.
Lily came out of their shared bathroom and audibly gasped, "Holy crap, Hermione. You look amazing!"
Hermione turned to her friend and felt her confidence falter a little. Of course, she had to be ten times more magnificent in a rich mahogany gown that plunged almost indecently at the neckline. Her friend's fiery red hair was in large, loose curls around her face and she had enchanted her eyes with a makeup glamour.
She was stunning.
Lily came over to her and grabbed her hands, "Twirl for me."
She didn't want to, but she knew Lily would complain otherwise so she did.
"Hermione… I just can't believe how fantastic you look! Severus will definitely…"
Hermione looked up to see her friend staring down at the inner flesh of her left arm with wide, horror-struck eyes. Her stomach dropped; she hadn't had a chance to glamour the words yet.
Lily looked up at her slowly, her radiant emerald eyes shimmering with unshed tears, "Shit… Hermione, I am so, so sorry."
She had to clench her teeth to prevent her own tears from falling. No, she wouldn't let all of her hard charm work be ruined by some silly crying. Hermione pulled her friend into a quick hug, "It's not your fault, Lily. Let's just go and have fun, yeah?"
It took her friend a few moments to compose herself but eventually they descended the stairs to the Common Room and then down to the Entrance Hall.
x-x-x
As she anticipated, Severus gawked at Lily when he saw her.
What she hadn't expected, however, was the similarly stunned look he had when he realized that she was there too.
It took her a moment to realize that he hadn't recognized her.
Hermione quickly checked to make sure the glamour was in place over her words and then made her way to Severus' side, slipping her arm into his, "Hello, good sir."
"Merlin's fucking balls, Hermione," he breathed, his eyes raking over her. "You look beautiful."
She blushed a little and she cleared her throat when she saw Lily's sly smirk a few feet ahead of them, "Thank you, Severus."
"I had no idea you could look so…" He stammered and his cheeks went pink. "No, wait… I don't mean that you're not pretty, but I just…"
Hermione smiled sweetly up at him, "Severus?"
"Yeah?"
"Shut up before I punch you."
He laughed, loud and hard, breaking the tension and just like that things were back to normal.
x-x-x
Severus looked at her differently after the Yule Ball.
They were still best friends, still joined at the hip going everywhere together that they could get away with, but something had changed. It was a small, slight change, but it was there.
Sometimes she would catch him staring at her and he'd flush with embarrassment, pretending that he was looking somewhere else.
Sometimes his voice would crack when he was talking to her, but he would just blush again, clear his throat, and then continue whatever he was saying.
They still walked around, arm in arm, but sometimes… it felt different than before.
Hermione tried very, very hard not to get her hopes up.
The word on her arm was still the same… but it was not as crisp and clear as it had been. It almost looked cloudy, like she had to squint to read it.
He didn't talk about Lily as much as he had before.
She continually told herself not to think too much of it.
x-x-x
The summer before their fifth year, Hermione's parents took them on vacation to Cancun for two weeks. Her mum had been pestering her dad for years that she wanted to go, but they were just now in a secure enough place with their dental practice that they could afford to take the time off.
Severus never even hesitated when they offered.
They were older now, Severus was sixteen and she would be as well in a few short weeks, so her parents made them stay in separate rooms on opposite sides of their bungalow.
That didn't stop them from sneaking into each other's rooms in the middle of the night.
Severus still looked at her in that new way but their relationship hadn't really changed all that much. They were still the best of friends and still had more interest in books than anything else, so most nights they would just read together.
Though he usually laid his head in her lap to do so.
She never complained.
There was one night, however, when he surprised her.
"We should go for a swim," he said a little breathlessly, tossing his book aside.
Hermione eyed him over the spine of her muggle romance novel, "Severus, it's like three in the morning. We should be going to sleep."
She expected him to argue or to push her around playfully like he usually did. But he didn't. Instead, he just took her hand and looked at her with gentle eyes, "Please?"
Her heart, the traitorous bastard, tumbled around in her chest and her resistance crumbled, "Okay."
Next thing she knew, they were both on the beach at the edge of the water in their respective swimsuits. Hermione tried not to think of how long it took her to muster the courage to wear the bikini in front of him.
He took her hand, like he had almost every day since she was eleven, and pulled her into the cool water that lapped lazily at their ankles.
Once they were out far enough for the water to reach his waist—her chest, damn his height—Severus looked up at the large, iridescent moon that hung in the sky above them.
"Whose words do you wear?" He asked quietly, not shifting his gaze from the moon. "We tell each other everything yet you won't tell me that."
Hermione felt like her heart had rocketed into her throat, "Please just leave it alone, Severus. Please."
He looked down at her and she was struck, once again, by how beautiful he was like this. His eyes searched hers and she was certain that if he'd even had the slightest skill at Legilimency, he would be able to pluck the answer straight from her mind like an offering. She was fairly sure her thoughts were screaming it right about now.
"What if…" He touched her face tentatively. "What if I don't want you to wear someone's words?"
"It doesn't work that way," she whispered, afraid to break the moment. "You know that."
Severus bent down and brushed his lips across her mouth. He pulled back minutely, watching her, "Is this okay?"
She nodded helplessly and he kissed her again.
Her arm tingled.
