EWE, Snape lives.

The Case of the Winter Vampire

Prompt: into the fire

Severus sat stiffly in the open carriage, glaring at the sky and daring the falling snowflakes to land on the pristine black of his cloak. He did not turn and look when Pomona Sprout and Filius Flitwick clambered in, rocking the carriage about while they settled into their seats. He did not respond when Minerva climbed aboard, asking, "Is this everyone?" He did not even bother to sneer when he noticed that all three of them had crammed onto the bench opposite him rather than sit beside him. In fact, as the carriage rolled off towards Hogsmeade, he would not have even relented enough to look away from the snow had it not been for the shouting.

"Wait! Wait for me!"

Hogwarts' most legendary professor (aside from him, of course) was scrambling down the hill towards them, curly hair a-bouncing and loosened scarf a-flapping. Smirking as the carriage continued to pick up speed rather than stop—Severus decided to buy the thestral a treat in Hogsmeade—he watched as Hermione Granger nearly lost her footing in the deep snow as she tried to catch up.

"Oooh, please, wait!" She waved uselessly at the thestral pulling the carriage. Minerva, Filius and Pomona were all shouting at the great black beast to halt as well, but Severus knew the thestral would do what it had been ordered to do and would not cease its plodding. Settling more comfortably into his seat, Severus crossed his arms and enjoyed the spectacle.

Hermione's face was flushed and her cloak was askew as a result of her race to the carriage. He quite enjoyed seeing her so distraught. If she failed to catch up, it would mean at least a thirty minute walk in the frigid cold and ever-increasing precipitation. It served her right for not being at the appointed departure area on time. Chaperoning Hogsmeade weekends was hardly his favorite duty, yet he had still managed to be seated in the carriage well in advance. He suppressed a chuckle as she came close enough to lob her bag into the carriage, then he quickly shoved it far, far under the bench with one booted foot.

Severus watched as Hermione began to sprint, trying to draw even with the carriage. Pomona was leaning over the rail, helping hand outstretched. Students were leaning out of the carriages in front of them, eager to see how things would play out. Minerva and Filius were calling their encouragement. Then, Hermione neared the opening where the steps folded down, reached for Pomona, and half-leapt, half-fell clumsily into the rolling carriage. The momentum carried her past the empty space on the bench next to him, and he found himself with a lapful of Gryffindor.

"Whew! For a second there I didn't think I was going to make it!" Hermione thrust a number of curls out of her eyes and grinned broadly at the occupants of the carriage. "Thanks, Pomona!"

The portly head of Hufflepuff replied that it was no trouble at all, but Severus was not paying attention. Hermione still had yet to shift away from him, and he found her warm weight far too disconcerting for his peace of mind.

"Remove yourself from my person at once," he stated coldly.

The other professors all ceased their excited chattering and stared at him. Scowling, Severus reflected that it was hardly as though being unpleasant was out of character for him—didn't they all deal with him on a daily basis? Why were they all glaring at him?

"I'm sorry, Prof—Severus." Hermione's cheeks, already flushed from the cold and her exertions, now grew an even deeper shade of red as she started to slide off of his lap. Then she stopped and looked down. "Um, it might be easier for me to move to my own seat if you'd remove your hands from my person," she informed him, sounding both surprised and amused.

Severus followed her gaze and saw to his horror that his hands were wrapped securely about her waist. When had that happened? Releasing her at once, he returned his glare to the clouds above, but not before he caught the self-satisfied smile she aimed at him. Humph. Ever since she'd joined the staff at the school, she hadn't been the slightest bit intimidated by him. It was bloody annoying.

He still remembered her first day at the castle. She'd had her nose in a book, as usual, and nearly run him over as she walked through the corridors without looking where she was going. He'd dropped his papers to steady her, only to realize that she didn't require his assistance. He had reacted angrily, hastily Summoning his papers while he snarled, "I see that you are no more graceful now than you were when you were a student."

To his amazement, she'd lowered her book and looked, really looked, at him before bursting into laughter. He'd stood awkwardly while she composed herself, and then she'd apologized—sincerely. She'd even offered to come scrub cauldrons one evening to make it up to him, but he'd been so surprised by her reaction that he'd merely stormed off.

Since that day, she hadn't been at all fearful of him, and he could not figure it out. At one point in time he'd thought she might be stalking him, because she always sat next to him at meals and faculty meetings, and they usually ended up on patrol duty together. He'd quickly disabused the notion that she was seeking him out, however, because it only made sense as the newest addition to the staff that she would be forced to take the least pleasant seats and patrol schedules. And he'd further ignored that notion because he found that he rather liked the idea of Hermione Granger deliberately spending time with him far too much.

Severus spent the rest of the ride into Hogsmeade pondering Hermione's motivations. She was relaxing on the bench next to him, chatting animatedly with the other professors. Despite his less-than-encouraging attitude at her placement in his lap, he noticed that she hadn't scooted to the far end of the bench to avoid him. One of her cloaked hips was pressed lightly against his, and Severus became more and more aware of that fact with every bump in the road. She'd certainly never shied away from him, even during her school days; he eventually decided it was just in her nature to treat all people with respect and warmth. He barely resisted a snort as he thought, Typical Gryffindor.

Once in Hogsmeade, the professors parted ways. Severus visited the apothecary and the small bookshop in between chastising students and looking for couples snogging in the alleyways. The Christmas Hogsmeade weekend was the worst one to chaperone—something about the festive greenery and cheery melodies and chilly temperatures always put students in the mood for romance. However, Severus usually consoled himself with the massive removal of house points.

He was just entering the Hog's Head Inn when a flash of flying red caught his eye. Stepping closer to the window near the fireplace to get a better look, Severus was just in time to watch Hermione launch herself into the waiting arms of a person with a very familiar head of messy black hair.

Potter. Scowling, he watched as Hermione hugged the famous Auror—rather too enthusiastically for Severus' taste—before turning her attentions to the other person in the roadway: Weasley. That explained the red, then. Continuing to glare, Severus watched the happy reunion with envy that he forgot to disguise. The three were excitedly chattering away, even as students began to approach the famous group. Hermione's celebrity status had worn off from all but the veriest first-years; seeing her daily in the classroom and having her destroy your homework attempts on a weekly basis worked to quickly disabuse you of any fanciful notions. However, it seemed that many of the students were eager to shake hands with The Boy Who Lived and his Trusty Sidekick.

Eventually the crowd thinned and the famous trio began to make their way to the Three Broomsticks. Severus craned his neck to follow their progress, but he was startled when Aberforth began yelling.

"FIRE! YER ON FIRE!"

Looking around curiously, Severus wondered who the grouchy old man was shouting at. Judging by the number of people staring in his direction, though, he got an uneasy feeling...

The heat on his leg registered about the same time as did Aberforth racing towards him with a bucket full of dirty water. Not wishing to be doused with the foul stuff, Severus hurried out onto the street and attempted to stamp out the flames on his cloak without much luck. The fire was determinedly spreading, as he hadn't thought he'd need his flame-resistant laboratory cloak on a blasted field trip.

Hoping that Hermione and her sycophants weren't witness to this humiliation, Severus turned his head in the direction they'd gone—and saw Hermione racing back towards him. Bloody hell. Potter and Weasley were following, wands out, no doubt eager to hose the bane of their childhood existence down with frigid water.

Unexpectedly, however, Hermione did not cast an Aguamenti charm. Instead, she leapt on him, knocking him to the ground and falling down with him. For a moment there was a fierce struggle as Severus attempted to dislodge her and Hermione attempted to roll him about in the snow. Finally, his panic faded and he ceased fighting her. Hermione was still pressing him into the snow, looking towards his legs and feet as she kicked more snow over top of him. Severus watched the concentration on her face with reluctant amusement until her wiggling began to create another problem entirely.

"Professor Granger." No response. "Miss Granger. Hermione! Stop!"

She seemed to freeze in place, as though her brain was finally registering what she'd done and where she was currently located. Slowly turning to face him, Hermione grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Severus. My parents always taught us to stop, drop, and roll in case of fire, and I thought the snow might help—"

Cutting her off, mindful of their audience, he said, "For the second time today, Professor, please remove yourself from my person."

Hermione's lips formed a pout for the merest of seconds before she sat up and lifted herself off him, brushing the snow from her jacket while refusing to look at him. Severus stood as well and glared at the gawping children around them. "Well? Nothing to see here, get back to your business!" he snapped out.

If he wasn't mistaken, Potter and Weasley were very much caught between amusement and leftover childhood terror. Severus straightened his shoulders as tightly as they would go and glided away without another word. He'd no doubt have to thank Hermione later, but damned if he was going to stoop to that level in front of her cohorts.

Unfortunately, Severus was unable to corner Hermione alone for the remainder of their Hogsmeade visit. Potter and Weasley stayed on well into the afternoon, and then she managed to disappear while he was dealing with some errant Hufflepuffs. His mood even blacker than before, Severus wasn't surprised when none of the other teachers opted to join him in the carriage to return to school. He watched as Minerva, Filius, and Pomona began the long walk back to Hogwarts, wondering where Hermione could have gone.

The carriage started forward with a jolt, and Severus quickly hopped down, watching as it returned to the school devoid of passengers. Was it possible Hermione had returned earlier in the day? Had he offended her so greatly that she couldn't even bear to ride back to school with him? Casting one last glance around the departure point, Severus caught a glimpse of her unruly hair as she bounded down the lane.

"Oh, dragon balls, I missed it again!" Hermione wailed, coming to a stop where the carriage had recently stood.

"Such language, Professor," he admonished, stepping towards her. She jumped nearly a foot in the air before turning to face him.

"You startled me," she stated breathlessly.

"An unnecessary statement on your part," he returned. For a long while they stared at each other, before both speaking at once.

"I owe you a debt of gratitude—"

"Here, I bought you this—"

Both stopped. Hermione was holding out a brightly wrapped Blood Pop, her brown eyes imploring him to take the gift.

"What is this for?" he inquired, genuinely curious.

"I'm sorry for knocking you over in front of everyone. It wasn't—I don't always think like a witch. I should have just cast a Dampening Spell."

"You have nothing to apologize for. I am sorry I reacted unfavorably when you quite nobly attempted to save my life." He allowed one corner of his mouth to twitch up in a smile. "Although I suppose it has merely canceled out the time during your first year when you deliberately set me on fire."

She had the grace to blush, but she thrust the lolly towards him again. "Please take it, anyway. I thought you might particularly like these."

Now one eyebrow rose on his forehead. "And why is that, pray tell?"

"I... That is to say, you—everyone always—well, they say you're a vampire!" At his expression, her face set in indignant defiance. "I thought it was quite funny. And I had the devil of a time picking out something I thought you'd like. It's why I missed the carriage."

For once amused at the rumors about him, Severus gingerly accepted the Blood Pop from Hermione. Their fingers brushed and he thought that her cheeks grew even more flushed—but then again, it might have just been from the cold.

"In that case, I am honored. I do happen to enjoy these, although I am sure you realize by now I am not a vampire."

Hermione began to walk up the path to the castle. "Well, that's one mystery solved then, isn't it?" She rolled her eyes at him as he caught up to her. "Honestly, I had that figured out by the end of the first week of classes. If you had been a vampire, you could hardly have taught Potions, could you? All the various blood ingredients would have rendered you completely inattentive to anything else, and you were never inattentive."

A full smile graced his mouth now at her childhood reasoning. He briefly wondered whether any other students had bothered to put any thought into that rumor, and then realized that no, they probably hadn't. Only Hermione Granger.

"Let me guess. You went to the library and Madam Pince found you some books on vampires?"

"Of course! It's not funny, you know," Hermione chastised him playfully. "Someone had to be the level-headed one."

"Yes. I can tell that you are very level-headed. Just today, you saw a few flames and decided to throw me to the ground and roll about on top of me. If I didn't know better, I would say you just wished to ravish me."

Severus watched the very interesting play of emotions cross Hermione's face, attempting to judge her response. He was teasing her, of course, and yet he couldn't deny that he hoped she'd confess that he was right.

She halted on the path and turned to face him. "Are you—teasing me?" She was incredulous.

"I have been known to—"

Hermione swatted him on the arm, grinning, but in the next second she was wheeling her arms around madly, trying not to fall. Severus grabbed for her but it was too late; she fell hard on the icy path, the wind knocked out of her.

Concerned, he sank to his knees. "Are you hurt?" he asked seriously.

Hermione merely blushed before scrambling back to her feet and marching forward. Uncertain, Severus stood and followed after her, but it wasn't long before she lost her footing again. This time, however, he was prepared, and he managed to grab hold of one arm and keep her upright. He decided to simply retain his grasp of her, and slid his hand down to curl around hers. After a brief pause, Hermione returned his grip, but didn't say anything.

They continued in this fashion for another few meters, with Hermione or Severus slipping every few paces. Neither spoke, and Severus wasn't sure how to break the tension that seemed to have sprung up. Perhaps he had overstepped his bounds when he'd suggested that she wanted to ravish him. Or worse...maybe he'd disgusted her.

They'd just entered the castle grounds when Hermione slipped spectacularly, sliding backwards a bit down the path and colliding with Severus. Grappling at his shoulders for purchase, she ended up pulling them both down onto the snowy ground. Hermione moaned a little at the impact, but then, inexplicably, she started laughing.

"Bloody carriages pulled by bloody thestrals!" she said between chuckles, and Severus couldn't help but join in, laughing at the absurdity himself. After a few moments, their laughter had slowed, and Hermione seemed content to lie where she was. Severus examined the smattering of freckles across her cheeks and the way her body felt warm and vibrant beneath his. She took a sharp intake of breath and he lifted his eyes to meet hers.

"Are you trying to ravish me?" she asked softly, dare he even say...hopefully?

"That depends on whether or not it would be welcomed," he replied slowly.

Immediately, Hermione's arms were flung around his neck, and before he could even take a breath she was pressing her lips to his. He leaned forward to return her kiss, shifting his weight atop her so that he wouldn't crush her. He didn't want to give her any reason to cease what she was doing. He didn't know how long they remained that way, only that Hermione's lips and hands and tongue were keeping him quite warm despite the snow that still fell all around them.

"What in the name of Godric Gryffindor is going on here?" Minerva McGonagall's startled exclamation broke their concentration. Severus glared up at the Headmistress while Hermione tilted her head backwards to look at her former Head of House.

"We were, um, trying to stay warm in the cold?" Hermione volunteered, giggling like a schoolgirl. Severus smiled wickedly, finally feeling the smallest bit of sympathy for the students he always caught snogging in the corridors.

"Did you need something, Minerva?" he asked, his clipped tone indicating that he'd rather get back to what he'd been doing before he was so rudely interrupted.

Minerva's eyes goggled at them. "I—You—Yes, the whole castle is looking for you two!" she finally choked out.

"Well, now you've found us. Pray scurry back and call off the hounds." Severus turned his face away from Minerva and felt a kick of desire when Hermione smiled encouragingly at him.

"I cannot just leave you out here!" the Headmistress insisted. "You may not be chilled now, but night is falling and soon it will be unbearably cold."

"It's alright, Prof—Minerva," Hermione piped up. "Severus is a vampire, didn't you know? He already has ice in his veins."

He leaned down to kiss her again, neither of them overly concerned with the spluttering of their employer as she made her way back to the castle. Eventually, though, they did grow too cold to remain outside, and Severus pulled Hermione up from the ground, wrapping part of his cloak around her as they rushed back towards his quarters.

"Perhaps I ought to catch fire more often," he teased her as they stumbled into his room, ripping at each others' clothes.

"As someone who cares about your welfare, I wouldn't recommend it," Hermione gasped as he tore off her jumper. "You won't need flames to convince me to ravish you, anyway," she added, shoving him backwards onto his bed.

"I'm finding it harder to recall why I loathe Gryffindor bluntness so much," he panted.

"Shut up and kiss me, Severus," were the last words spoken between them for a very long time.

A/N: I don't know why, but recently I've been in a very wintry/Christmassy mood! So I wrote you a wintry fic. For 'into the fire', I liked the idea of Severus being so caught up in watching Hermione that he quite literally stepped into a fire. And I always set out to write these short little scenes, but before I know it they're blossoming into thousands of words. Oooops.

As ever, I'm not JK Rowling, obvi.