I would like to thank everyone for their kind reviews, and a special thanks to my lovely beta reader @Glass-NotCannon for making this chapter so much better with their ideas and currections. The second paragraph came from them and it made all the difference.Albus watched in awe as the professor before him stared longingly at the beautiful lass draped across the couch. Her mane sprawled out in every direction on his lap with a stray strand laying across her tightly closed eyes. Severus looked out of place gently stroking her curls with the faintest of smiles donning his stark features. This was a man who, before now, no one knew if he felt any emotion at all. This man had always kept his face straight, save for his signature menacing smirk. His sole emotion was disdain… until now.

It was fortunate that they agreed to meet in Severus's room instead of Albus's office. Had the couple tried to make their way to the other end of the castle, their situation could have been revealed much sooner than either could be prepared for. They never talked about how they would handle their secret being found out, but they both knew it would not be good, and the reasons behind their newfound closeness would be ignored in favor of a more interesting story involving a perverted old man and a coerced student. They couldn't have that.

Severus's love for the girl was blatantly obvious. His face, his voice, his body, everything about him screamed 'I love this girl'. Had they been allowed to return to class, anyone could notice the way they acted towards each other. Since she woke up, it was like the two were engrossed in a dance that only they knew, spinning… turning… gliding together as if their every movement was choreographed. When she moved, so did he. When she spoke, his head turned. He noticeably relaxed with her every breath. Surely anyone around would notice the high the professor was on. They would notice that even as he spoke to someone else, his eyes never left her, and he didn't even notice how obvious he was.

"Have you told her, Severus?"

Severus's eyes lifted to his for only a split second before diverting back to the girl in his lap.

"Told her what?" He questioned the old man before him.

"That you love her of course," he answered in a matter-of-fact tone. It should have been obvious what he was implying.

"I haven't… It's not that I don't want to… I Just… I-I… I don't want to just randomly tell her I love her. I ignored her for weeks then jumped her in my bathroom. She deserves more than that." He was so angry at himself.

How could he do that to her! How could he ever think ignoring her would be in her best interest! And then he had the nerve to kiss her? It wasn't romantic. It wasn't filled with love. No! It was in the middle of his fucking bathroom and he was consumed with lust. He would have taken her right then had he not been distracted by the scars and cuts adorning her body. He would have made her his without a second thought to her age or her innocence. In the middle of his fucking bathroom. That was their first kiss.

"You want it to be special," Albus sang in an accusing tone. Severus's jaw dropped in realization.

"I-I… I guess I do." His features softened and he smiled down at Hermione.

"The ball," Albus said after a few moments of silence.

"What are you going on about, old man?" Severus's voice held none of its usual malice.

"The order is holding a ball this coming Saturday. Of course, Mister Potter and Mister Weasley will be there, but it's a masquerade. I have no doubt the two of you will be able to disguise yourselves. You can dance with her, tell her how you feel, take her home, and have your way with her." He grinned ear to ear, happy with his idea. Severus scoffed.

"You do know she's a student, right? And she's underaged. I love her Albus, but I am not going to be a pervert." He cringed as he remembered the way he acted in the bathroom.

"What if the curse calls for it? You're the one who said her thoughts were 'less than innocent', Severus. That doesn't sound much like Hermione Granger now does it?" Severus couldn't tell if the man was asking him or trying to convince him.

"If the curse calls for it, we will figure something out. I will not take her until she is of age. Imagine if the ministry finds out. I'll be sent to Azkaban, curse or not."

He had no doubt that the ministry would leave his beloved to die if they found out about any intimate relationship between the two. They would hear nothing of her needing him to survive. They would whisk him away and she would die before his public trial where they would label him a child predator. Of course, she wasn't really a child. She had gained at least two years with the use of a time turner, but they couldn't know that. No, to the world, she was just less than a year short of seventeen, just less than a year short of being of age.

Nevertheless, Albus's plan was good, aside from the last bit. This coming Saturday, Severus would present Hermione with a dress and whisk her away to the ball like a princess. He would ask her to dance and she would gladly take his hand. He would spin her around the dance floor and time would stop for them. It would be like they were the only people in the room when he whispered to her how he felt. Yes, that's how it would go...

Or something like that...