A/N: As promised. I feel like I'm a little shaky on action sequences so please feel free to leave constructive feedback. Let me know what you think of the pacing - too fast or too slow. As previously stated, I don't own any of these characters. Thanks!
Snape brought Hermione to a newly erected restaurant in Hogsmeade called Witch's Brew. He had seen an article in the Daily Prophet about their cocktail-potions and desserts.
They grabbed a table in the back corner. Snape, as usual, sat with his back to the wall and a clear view of the room.
Hermione read through the menu and laughed. "They mix their whiskey with a beard-enhancing potion? And their tequila with a small dose of lust potion? This is brilliant."
Snape rolled his eyes, "Welcome to the peak of potion brewing in the modern wizarding world."
Hermione laughed. When their waitress came around, Hermione ordered grilled salmon and the suggested wine pairing. Snape ordered steak and a glass of red. "Just plain wine." He intoned menacingly.
They sat quietly while waiting for their food, watching the patrons of Witch's Brew react to whatever was in their drinks. Hermione snorted when a rum based drink caused one man to start talking like a pirate.
When their food finally came, Hermione looked at Snape questioningly. "I would have never pictured you in this kind of bar, not in a thousand years."
Snape chewed his steak slowly. Without looking up from his plate, he simply stated, "I have dedicated myself to trying one new thing a week."
Hermione swirled her wine around before taking a sip. "And why is that?"
Snape dabbed his mouth with his napkin. "In facing death I realized there is a lot of life I never lived. I don't regret it, it was as it needed to be. However now that I find myself in this position," Snape paused to glare at a man who was on the ground giggling from the effects of his potion, "I figured it is my duty to explore life, in order to honor those who could not." Severus tipped the last of his glass into his mouth. "I think Nymphadora would have enjoyed this place." He finished quietly, looking around the room to avoid Hermione's gaze.
Hermione did her best to hide her shock, and simply nodded. "Yeah, she would have."
Severus grabbed the check before Hermione could extricate her money from her clutch. "Don't insult your elders, Miss Granger." He droned.
Hermione rolled her eyes but blushed at the gesture. "Thank you, Sir."
They walked out the door and Snape held out his arm. Hermione took it and after a brief moment found herself in the alley by his apartment.
Snape turned and began to walk towards the door. "Uhm, Professor. I can reach out to Luna for a place to crash tonight. I really don't want to put you out."
Snape hit her with the same look he gave her last night. "Would you like to stay with Ms. Lovegood?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Hermione tried to push thoughts of Luna's chronic sleepwalking and her impassioned sleep-talk rants out of her mind. "I really don't mind." She said, not answering his question.
He caught on evasion and shrugged. "You are free to do as you wish, Miss Granger." Snape growled. He took a deep breath, knowing his next words could be used against him. "However, I would enjoy the company."
He knew he shouldn't have said that. It was inappropriate considering their relationship. It sounded predatory. He should let the poor girl go. But he didn't want to. It had been so long since he had had an honest conversation with someone.
Hermione gave a little sigh of relief. If he wanted her company she very well couldn't refuse.
"Thank you, Severus. But please do not feel obligated in the future to host me."
She followed him up and settled in on the couch. Severus busied himself with opening a bottle of wine. "Hermione, what genre of film do you enjoy most?" He called from the kitchen.
Hermione looked back surprised. "Drama, I suppose. Why do you ask?"
Snape flicked on the television and brought Hermione a glass. "Let's see what's new."
Hermione graciously accepted her glass. "I am rather surprised at how well you adjust to Muggle living."
"Yes, well, Half-Blood Prince and all that." He stated, scrolling through movie titles. "Besides, Muggle Movies are far more entertaining that Quidditch replays."
Snape settled on a movie he thought they both may enjoy. Hermione curled up on her side of the couch and he tried his best not to look at her. She placed her half finished glass on the table and rested her head on the arm of the couch, and he knew it was only a matter of minutes before sleep would claim her.
Snape drained his glass and tried to focus on the movie. Some type of detective was solving some type of crime. He hadn't paid attention. When he looked over at Hermione again, her eyes were fully closed and her breathing even.
Snape couldn't explain the pride he felt welling in his chest knowing that he had provided Hermione with safe haven, and that she had chosen to stay. Snape took the blanket from the back of the couch and laid it over her before shutting off the lights and heading up to bed.
Snape stalked through the halls of Hogwarts looking for any students who dared to creep the halls past bedtime. He had agreed to cover the night shift for Lupin, who was off gallivanting beneath the full moon. As Snape turned the corner, the halls seemed to get longer, smaller, and darker. Something compelled Snape forward. He started to panic, breaking out into a run. He needed to find a safe place to hide and collect himself.
A door appeared to his right. The room of requirement. In a blinding glare of sunlight, Snape stepped through and closed the door behind him. His eyes adjusted and he saw Lily, folding clothes and placing them in a dark chestnut bureau. He felt a moment of peace when he looked at her, but she could not see him. Snape looked around the room and noticed it was a nursery. No. No. Not again. He watched as a blinding green light struck her. He collapsed to the ground. The whole room faded away until there was nothing but a crib. From the crib Snape could hear a child's cry. He propelled himself off the ground and clutched the corner of the crib, ready to grab the child.
But there was no baby in that crib. There was only a serpent, and it struck, latching onto Snape's neck.
Hermione woke to Snape's dark apartment under a blanket. She was still dressed in the clothes she had worn to Hogwarts earlier that day. Should took a moment to enjoy the warmth and comfort she felt on the couch.
Hermione then felt something tugging at her consciousness, urging her fully awake. Something had caused her to wake up in the first place. She bolted into a sitting position and grabbed her wand, listening. She heard from somewhere above her a muffled yelp. She realized it was coming from Snape's bedroom.
Hermione threw out a sensing charm, confirming that the wards Snape had on his apartment were still intact and un-breached. Once that was confirmed Hermione performed a gentle Lumos, softly padding across the floor and up the stairs to the loft.
Part of Hermione worried that Snape was in danger, but another piece of her said that this was normal, and that she had no right to barge into his sleeping quarters. Once she reached the top of the stairs, she looked around the small loft and confirmed there was no one present. She laid her eyes on Professor Snape, who lay in bed tangled in blankets, twitching from what Hermione assumed to be a bad dream.
Hermione sat on the edge of Snape's bed and took a slow, calming breath before reaching out and squeezing Snape's arm.
Snape started in an instant, bolting upright into a sitting position and swiftly grabbing his wand from beneath his pillow. He found himself pointing his wand at a wide-eyed Granger, who had placed her hands up in surrender.
Snape collected himself and realized he was covered in sweat. The dream, the damn dream. Snape lowered his wand and ran his hands through his hair. "I'm… I'm sorry." He choked, feeling incredibly vulnerable.
Hermione grabbed his hand and squeezed. "I get them too." She gave him a small smile. "Do you want to talk about it.
"No." Snape snapped, harsher than he had intended.
Hermione merely shrugged "Okay, your call."
Snape felt incredibly awkward having Hermione in this part of his loft, however she sprawled out near the foot of his bed, leaning against the railing.
They were both quiet for a moment, until Hermione traded her Lumos spell for a charm which placed the constellations on Snape's ceiling. He stared at it for some time, allowing his heart rate to come back down to normal. When he looked back at Hermione, he found her curled at the foot of his bed, asleep once more.