Author's Note: Let's take September for a spin and see if you like it. Enjoy!
September 1999
Severus entered Grimmauld Place to see that Hermione's birthday party was in full swing. He knew everyone there and to his surprise, was greeted warmly by everyone who crossed his path.
Hermione caught his eye and smiled. She came to him. "Thank you for coming!"
"Happy Birthday, Hermione." He looked at her. She was so unlike the girl he taught. She was wearing a blue dress that clung to every curve. "You look beautiful."
Hermione blushed. "Thank you."
"Where's Hermione?" It was George, standing on a chair. He found Hermione and waved her over. "I have something for the birthday girl!" he called out loudly.
The whole party groaned and laughed at the thought of what George might think was an appropriate gift.
She looked back at Severus and smiled. "I'll be back."
Severus climbed the stairs while everyone was focused on George. He sat in the Library of Grimmauld Place trying to gain control over his thoughts. Hermione was too lovely, too close, too everything. Seeing her here tonight and seeing the chasm that still stood between them - the chasm that she seemed unable or unwilling to close - was too much. He stood and walked to the fireplace. He stood lost in his thoughts, but the second he heard the sound of the door opening, he knew it was her. He closed his eyes and willed her to leave before he said something or did something rash. He felt her grow closer until she was standing to his left, looking at the dwindling fire.
"I was looking for you," she said softly.
Severus nodded silently, still looking at the fire.
"I'm so glad you're here."
It was like physical pain not to look at her or talk to her, but if he looked at her…
"Severus?" She grabbed his left hand in hers, causing him to look at her.
She looked nervous. They stood there looking at each other when he realized that he was leaning in to kiss her. She looked at his lips and starting leaning in towards him. He could feel her breath and his hand was reaching for her cheek when he heard the click of the door.
Severus' reflexes were just a hair faster than Hermione's when the door opened. Her wand was out before the door was all the way ajar, but he grabbed her wrist, pointing her wand towards the ground making her non-verbal Stunner hit the carpet, upon which it burned a hole.
Severus stood staring into the middle space over Hermione's shoulder and steadied his breathing.
"Mr. Weasley!" Hermione exclaimed, breathless. "I'm so sorry."
Severus rubbed a small comforting circle on Hermione's wrist to remind her that her wand was still in a combative stance. She looked down at her wrist and glanced at Severus and then sheathed her wand. Severus did a wandless, non-verbal Reparo on the carpet and then turned to look at Arthur.
"My apologies, Hermione, Severus. I should know better than to enter a room without knocking when the house is full of war veterans." He spoke to both of them but was looking at Severus. "Hermione, may I have a word with Severus?"
"Um, yes, yes of course." Severus could feel Hermione look at him but could not look at her in that moment. He felt her leave his side and watched as she exited the room and closed the door.
Arthur sat in one of the wingback chairs and gestured for Severus to sit in the other one. It was a kind gesture and not an order, so Severus sat.
Arthur did not beat around the bush. Severus found Arthur to be a decisive man of action unless his wife was around. "She's too young, Severus."
"No, she's not," he replied evenly.
"She's still at Hogwarts."
"As my peer, not my student." Hours of having this very conversation in his head had prepared him for just such a time.
"I won't allow this," Arthur said with a hint of firmness in his voice that was rare.
"You're not her father, Arthur."
"She is my daughter in all but name. Her parents aren't here. I am." And then after a moment, with an eye of insight borne of hours teaching chess to Ron, he added, "What are you not telling me?"
Did Severus dare tell another person? Could he trust Arthur with this knowledge? He decided he could. "Sequitur Simul."
Arthur took in a long breath, eyes wide. After a long moment he asked, "Does Hermione know?"
"No."
"Does anyone else know?"
"Dumbledore knew." He paused. "And Luna Lovegood knows." Before Arthur could ask the obvious question, he answered it: "She saw Hermione try to hex me. Saw the spell fail. She has kept my secret for years."
Arthur was aghast. "Years?"
"It's been over three years since I found out. But Hermione and I have only become friends since she started her apprenticeship."
"Merlin's beard." He paused. "Severus, you need to tell Hermione."
"You're not my father either, Arthur," Severus replied wearily.
Arthur chuckled. "No, I'm not. Sorry, occupational hazard when you have seven children. Let me try again. Why aren't you telling Hermione?"
"Sequitur Simul is not a spell; no one is compelled to do anything. But the knowledge is a burden. It feels like choice has been taken away from you. I don't want Hermione to wrestle with that burden like I did. It took me months, years really, to reconcile it in my mind. I want Hermione to want me, just me - because of me, not because our magics call to each other. I didn't understand it at first, and what I don't understand, I tend to reject."
"You and your magic are the same thing. It's as if you looked into the Mirror of Erised. Wow, what a gift."
Severus had no answer to that.
"But, Severus, you must see that you must proceed cautiously. You could ruin Hermione's prospects. Apprentices should not be involved with their mentors, ever."
"I'm not her mentor. Flitwick is her mentor."
"But Minerva said you were both listed."
"What?"
"Let me bring Minerva in to this conversation. I think you are going to need her help."
Severus didn't argue so Arthur conjured his patronus, which disappeared through the door of the library.
A minute later, the door opened and Minerva entered. She narrowed her eyes and conjured a chair to sit with Severus and Arthur. "I'm too old for guessing games. What could be so important to have you both look worried during a party?"
Arthur looked at Severus.
"Hermione and I are," he began, but didn't have a way to finish that sentence.
"Hermione and you are what, exactly?" she asked, a stern look on her face.
Arthur interjected. "Nothing, yet, Minerva. Right, Severus? Just good friends right now."
Severus nodded, looking at nothing in particular.
"Yet? Absolutely not. She's your apprentice."
Severus looked up at her. "She is not my apprentice."
"You will be signing her apprentice papers right alongside Filius! Her published papers will give both you and Filius credit because of your help with the Defense Against the Dark Arts portions. There is no 'you and Hermione.'"
"Tell her, Severus," Arthur encouraged.
"What do you know of Sequitur Simul, Minerva?" Severus asked quietly.
"Severus!" she exclaimed, brows furrowed.
"Do not look at me like that Minerva. It is a two-way road. Her magic calls out to my magic, my magic calls out to her. And I will not apologize for something I have no control over. I will not apologize, period."
Minerva sat back, letting her head hit the back of the chair. "How long have you known?"
"Years."
"Years," she repeated. "Does Hermione know?"
"No," Severus and Arthur answered at the same time.
"But she feels it, too." whispered Severus.
Minerva looked at Severus with a mixture of fondness and annoyance. "I am your friend, Severus. And I love Hermione like a daughter. I am not rejecting you. Or the both of you, together. But you will not jeopardize her Charms Mastery. And you will not bring Hogwarts into any bad light or create a scandal where there is not one. Hermione and Neville finishing their apprenticeships shows the wizarding world that Hogwarts is back to normal and our world is healing and has a future."
"Understood," Severus replied.
Minerva stood and placed a hand on Severus' shoulder and squeezed. She walked out but not before they heard her say, "Merlin," to no one in particular.
"Why did you come into the library tonight, Arthur?"
Severus' lips curled into a smile despite himself when Arthur's face lit up. "Hermione got me a solar calculator." He brought the small 4-function calculator out of his pocket. "Have you ever seen anything so amazing? It's so small. And it harvests the power of sunlight. I can't wait to take it apart." He paused. "I apologize for walking in on you. That, too, is an occupational hazard of having seven kids. I'm always asking someone, 'How hard is it to lock a damn door?'"
Severus nodded ruefully; the same thought had occurred to him about a thousand times since Arthur opened that door.
"What are you going to do?"
"I've waited this long; I can wait longer. I have the patience of Job," he added sardonically. "Will you please tell Hermione that I've left for the night, make my excuses to anyone that asks?"
Arthur nodded and stood along with Severus. "I will be happy for the both of you when the day comes." He genially slapped Severus' shoulder as he left the library.
Severus used his considerable talents as a spy to blend into shadowy corners as he made his way down the stairs and out the front door, unnoticed.
The walk down to his dungeons was miserable. Damn Arthur and his solar calculator. His night had been at once more amazing than he could have imagined and more painful than he could have imagined in the span of 30 seconds. He was thankful to have the knowledge. His desire to protect Hermione from any harm was paramount to him. He was steeling himself up for distancing himself from her for the next six months when his office wards were breached, but the doorway to his quarters remained sealed.
He knew it was her before he opened the doorway.
"Why didn't you just come in?" He took his fill of looking at her in her dress.
She smiled softly at him. "I think too much."
Even as he smiled back at her, his mind informed him that he was an idiot for letting her in as she crossed the threshold. She had been there countless times, he reminded himself; this would be no different. He could go back to status quo. He watched from the doorway as she moved closer to his bookcases.
"Why did you leave Grimmauld?" he asked casually. "The party can't be over."
"You're not the only one that can sneak out of a party, Severus."
Severus studied her as she stood by his bookcases. "Arthur was very pleased with his solar calculator."
Hermione chuckled. "Yes, well, at this point I'd like to crush it into a million pieces."
Severus sobered. "Hermione, I didn't behave," but Hermione forestalled him.
"Yes, yes," she said, annoyed. "Minerva caught me as I was leaving. 'Happy Birthday, Hermione. Oh, and don't do anything stupid to jeopardize your apprenticeship.'"
Severus smirked. Hermione was a blushing virgin in the library earlier. She was back to the fierce lioness he knew here in his dungeon. He didn't know which version he was more attracted to at that moment.
Hermione continued. "But I'll be damned if I don't get what's owed to me."
Severus' eyebrow raised as he walked slowly to her. "And, what, exactly, is owed to you, Hermione?"
"My birthday gift. I'll play the role of the dutiful apprentice tomorrow. But right now, it's still my birthday."
He stood in front of her and slowly leaned into her ear, listening to her breath quicken. "There's my bossy little witch," he said in his silkiest voice. "How can I deny you your present?"
"Severus," she breathed, "I'm falling… do… do you…."
He cut her off with a whispered, "Yes," before he kissed her softly on the lips. He could feel her: he could feel her lips, her breath, her cheek and neck as he held her. But he could also feel her magic. Her magic was overwhelming. They were both breathing hard and he knew she could feel it too. Before he knew what was happening, they were kissing again, deepening their kisses. She was holding him around the waist. His hands were on her neck and the small of her back. Minutes later, he found himself pulling her tightly to him so that she could feel him, feel what she did to him. She moaned. Her moan brought him back to his senses and he let her go somewhat, touching his forehead to hers, but refusing to completely let go of her.
"How did you like your present?" he asked, trying to get his breathing back to normal.
Hermione chuckled nervously. "Good. Just what I wanted. Perfect fit, too."
"Won't be returning it for store credit?"
"Um, no. I'm good, thanks."
"Hermione," he began, but she forestalled him again.
"Gods, no," she said, annoyed once more, pulling away slightly so that she could look at him. "Not the Hermione speech. I know, Severus. 'Smartest witch of her age' and all that. I get it. Tomorrow we have to pretend like this never happened."
"Just for a while," he said, steeling himself to let her go. He kissed her once more, one last deep kiss that would have to hold them for months. He let her go and took her hand in his.
"Just for a while?"
Severus nodded. "The minute you complete your apprenticeship, there will be no more Hermione or Severus speeches. Everyone else can go hang after that."
Hermione smiled at him. "Well, then, goodnight Severus. I just put myself on an accelerated program and I've got some work to do."
Severus smiled at her. "Get to work, woman." He walked her to the doorway to his office and gave her one last lingering kiss before opening it. "Happy Birthday, Hermione. Now sneak back to your party."
"Thank you for the gift, Severus."
Later that night, he pulled out his notebook, hoping she was back at Hogwarts.
.
-I didn't think that you could be lovelier than you are every day. And then you put on that damn dress. You are my fantasy. -S
You are making me blush. -H
-One day I will make that blush travel down your body. -S
.
She didn't write a reply and he knew she was overthinking, again.
.
-You are everything I want, Hermione. And I am a patient man. -S
I'll keep the dress safe. -H
-Thank Merlin. Happy Birthday, witch. -S