Dancing Around Each Other

by debjunk

Severus and Hermione have been secretly seeing each other for over a year. How will their friends take it when they finally open up about their relationship? Written for the #scratchthatniche2021 festival.

Summary: Severus and Hermione have been secretly seeing each other for over a year. How will their friends take it when they finally open up about their relationship?

A/N: This was written for the Scratch-that-Niche event. Prompts used: #8 Gaze and #16 Get a Grip.

Many thanks to brenamarie and dragoon811 for looking this over. (and for doing it lickity split!) Your suggestions helped this out immensely.

oooo

Hermione meandered up behind Severus as he waited for the Gargoyle to move aside so he could ascend to his office. Her arms wrapped around him from behind, and she hugged him tightly. She felt him stiffen within her arms.

"Hermione!" he bit out, wrenching himself from her. "What if someone sees us?"

"I made sure the hallway was empty," she defended.

Severus motioned for her to quickly move into the stairway while he followed her. They ascended to his office in silence. He closed the door behind them as they entered and cast a Muffliato for privacy. Turning back to Hermione, his lips thinned as he frowned.

"I thought we agreed that we didn't want our relationship to be public." he finally replied haughtily.

"We did, but we've been sneaking around for a year. Maybe it's time we let everyone know that we're a couple," Hermione offered.

Severus huffed and moved to gaze at the books on the nearest bookshelf.

"We're not doing anything wrong," Hermione offered. "There's no rule that says teachers can't date one another."

"I am the Headmaster…"

"There's no rule against that either," she continued.

He huffed. "I know that. It's just…"

Hermione waited for him to form his thoughts.

"You know that people will not approve," he ground out.

She came up behind him and placed her hand on his arm, squeezing it slightly.

"I don't really care anymore. We can't hide away forever, you know."

Severus turned and smirked at her. "I think we can," he said sultrily.

She gave him a worried look, ignoring his flirting. "Are you ashamed to be with me?"

Severus scowled. "Of course not. I am happy to be with you."

She regarded him in exasperation. "Then we should be able to be open with everyone around us. I just want us to be able to do things together out in the open. I'm tired of sneaking around or going to Muggle places so we're not seen… it's getting tiresome."

"You know what your friends will say. I just want to avoid a fight."

"So, we hide away for the rest of our lives? My friends will get used to it. And if they don't… that's their problem."

"You make it sound so easy. You know they will not be accepting of this, and it will be a long time before they do accept it."

"Maybe you're right, but Severus… I hate that I'm afraid to make eye contact with you for fear someone may suspect us."

Severus regarded her for a long moment. His eyes roved over her before he shook his head ever so slightly.

"Well, we'll have to just deal with it," he insisted. "I have a lot of paperwork to review, Hermione. I'll see you later."

She gave him an exasperated look but turned and left. She didn't see his concerned gaze as she went.

ooooooooooo

Severus' eyebrows knit together as he watched Hermione go. He sighed and turned, sitting down at his desk with a huff. Hermione was right. They'd been seeing one another for a while, and he wanted to continue seeing her. He'd found someone special in Hermione. He didn't ever want to lose her. Although he'd never spoken it aloud, she was his everything.

Looking down at his desk, he began to drum his fingers on it. He knew what would happen if they were to announce their being together. All hell would break loose. Ultimately, Hermione would be hurt, and he couldn't allow that. He'd do anything to keep her from suffering in any way.

But perhaps she's suffering in a different way now? he thought.

His fingers stopped drumming as he contemplated that. Did she think he didn't care about her enough to go public with their relationship? She'd said as much. That certainly wasn't the case at all. If it was up to him, he'd be yelling about it off every rooftop in London.

Perhaps Hermione was right. Maybe it was time to come clean about being together. He hoped that if they did, it wouldn't be the disaster he was expecting it to be.

ooooooooo

Sybill Trelawney made her way to the Hogwarts gates. The fringe of her orange and black flowered shawl waved in the wind. She wrapped her arms tighter within it to keep from becoming cold. She'd gone all out for this evening, bedecking herself in purple robes and wedge shoes. Golden hoops adorned her ears and a long, golden rope necklace wrapped around her neck.

A thrill passed through her as she got nearer to the gates. She was meeting someone—her someone—there. She tittered to herself. Just when she thought finding companionship was impossible, she'd met him. And oh, he was so delicious.

She'd literally stumbled into him in Diagon Alley as she headed for Flourish and Blotts to get the latest Divination Quarterly journal.

"Oh! Forgive me, dear madam, I'm so sorry!" he said as he steadied her. "Are you all right?"

She looked up into his eyes and was lost. A vision came to her of the two of them wrapped in each others' arms. She began to stammer as she replied.

"It… it's… fine… sir."

"You're not hurt?" the handsome man with the blonde tresses asked her as he checked her over for injuries.

"No. No. I'm… not hurt," she replied breathily.

"May I introduce myself," the man intoned. "My name is Xenophilius Lovegood."

"Oh! Are you Luna Lovegood's father?" she cried.

The man nodded vigorously.

"She was one of my favorite students!" Sybill confessed.

And thus began a surprising and fulfilling relationship. It had been three months since they had bumped into one another, and they saw each other every weekend, and often during the week as well.

She tittered to herself while she ambled toward the gates. As she neared them, she heard a pop and beheld her sweetheart appearing out of thin air. My, he was a handsome man!

Coming up to the gates, she smiled.

"Ah, Xeno, you look rather handsome with your dark green robes," she offered as she unlocked the gates and slipped through them.

The man smoothed out the robes in question, revealing a bright orange button-down underneath. Noticing this, Sybill cried out gayly.

"Oh! We match!" she exclaimed as she moved her shawl to go against his shirt, highlighting the orange in it.

"You look lovely, my dear," Xeno said as he grasped her hand and kissed it.

Sybill smiled widely, showing off her teeth. "This is the first time I've attended the Ministry Ball."

Drawing nearer to her date, she whispered, "I've never had anyone to accompany me before."

"Well, those days are over now. I am here to escort you wherever you'd like."

Sybill tittered as he kissed her hand once again.

"Shall we?" he asked courteously.

"Let's," she replied.

Xeno gallantly took his date by the waist, pulling her close and spinning them away. They disappeared with a 'pop.'

Arriving at the Ministry, they made their way inside to the Grand Ballroom, where the event was taking place.

"Oh!" Xeno expressed as he gazed around the lavishly decorated hall.

"Wow," Sybill agreed.

Golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling of the marble-floored room. The center of the hall was set up as a dance floor, and tables were set all along the perimeter. A large table sat at the head of the hall where Kingsley Shacklebolt and various other members of the Ministry sat enjoying their meals.

"Oh, look, there's Luna!" Xeno proclaimed as he pointed to a table near the front of the Hall, close to Shacklebolt's.

He rose his hand in a short wave as Luna looked their way. Guiding Sybill there, they settled in next to Luna. Xeno kissed his daughter on the cheek.

"You'll promise me a dance later?" he asked lovingly.

She smiled airily at him. "Of course, father," she agreed.

Xeno looked around. "Who are you here with?" he asked.

Luna pointed to a tall man with dark hair. He was conversing with several Ministry officials.

"That's Rolf over there. We met on a hunt for sable tigers in the Serengeti. Their magic is only exhibited when they give birth. It's exceedingly rare to be able to experience it."

"So, are you two serious?" Xeno asked.

"I saw in the tea leaves this morning that something special was in your life, Luna," Sybill butt in.

Luna blushed and shrugged. "I think we are. The Freebles seem to think we're a good match."

"Delightful, my love. I hope he will be good to you," Xeno encouraged.

Luna hugged him and then Sybill. "I hope we can be as happy as you two are," Luna told them.

The couple smiled at her as she pulled away.

oooooooooooooooooo

Hermione sat at her vanity staring at herself in the mirror, making sure she looked impeccable. She had chosen a beautiful dusty blue tulle dress that had silver floral lace covering the bodice, cut-out back, and lacing up the bottom of the skirt. Its full skirt flowed around her, making her feel beautiful.

Taking a silver teardrop earring, she placed it in her ear as she thought about the night. The Ministry Ball was always boring. It was expected that she make an appearance as a war hero, but she really hated every minute of it. She danced with her friends and some people who just wanted to be seen with her. During the previous year's Ball, she had spent the night avoiding Severus. Their relationship had been very new, and they didn't want anyone to even have an inkling that they were together. She'd hated the whole evening because she didn't dare look at him for fear someone would ask a question about them.

Her mind went to their most recent… well… fight… as she fastened a silver necklace with a flowered pendant on it.

She sighed. Severus was so adamant about not going public. She thought she knew why, but really, maybe he just wasn't that serious about her. She frowned as she applied some mascara to her lashes.

She loved the man. Wanted to spend eternity with him. But how could they do that if they snuck around all the time, not letting anyone know they were together? How could that ever blossom into a long-term relationship? How could he truly love her if he didn't want to let anyone know they were together?

Waving her hand in front of her face rapidly, she tried to stem the tears that were welling up in her eyes. Thankfully, she succeeded. Grabbing a tissue, she blotted the small teardrop that had overflowed from her eye. Sighing, she took a minute to get control of herself and her emotions.

She looked at herself in the mirror. She liked how she looked tonight. Her hair was left to its own devices, flying around her like an entity unto itself. She'd noticed that Severus liked it that way. The look was actually carefully created and spelled to appear carefree despite being quite controlled. She hoped he'd like it, despite knowing they wouldn't say a word to one another tonight.

She stood and gave herself one more look, twirling in front of the mirror to let her dress flair out from her sides. Finally smiling, she picked up her bag and left her room. She would make her way to the ball alone, despite the fact that several of the faculty would be attending. She knew they all had dates of their own, and Severus wouldn't be seen with her, so she was on her own.

Making her way to the gates, she looked down at her heels. She was going to break an ankle with them, they were so spiked. Waving her wand over her feet, the silver heels reduced to a reasonable size, and a cushioning charm was set in place. She was ready to dance the night away. Chuckling to herself, she opened the Hogwarts' gate and refastened it behind her.

Extending her wand, she summoned the Knight Bus. It appeared instantaneously and she boarded and surrendered her Galleon.

"Where to, Miss? We don't get many calls from Hogwarts, we don't," Stan Shunpike noted amiably.

"The Ministry, please," Hermione advised. "I thought I'd do something a little different tonight instead of Apparating."

"Right away, Miss," Shunpike said.

In a few minutes, they were there. She thanked Stan and the shrunken head who had been babbling on about the state of Goblins and Wizards for the entire ride. Realizing why she didn't travel by Knight Bus more often, she vowed to Apparate home.

Taking a deep breath before entering the hall, she steeled herself for what was sure to be a long night. Entering through the gold-embossed doors, she spied Harry and Ginny right away. They were seated to the right of the centralized Ministry table. She noted Ron was sitting there as well with a blonde woman hanging all over him. She moved towards them, waving at Molly and Arthur who were standing nearby. She also nodded at Minerva and Horace, who seemed to be creating a Hogwarts table opposite the War Hero one. She waved to Luna, her eyebrows rising as she saw Sybill Trelawney and Xenophilius Lovegood—evidently as a couple. Finally reaching her friends, she smiled widely at them.

"Oy, Hermione, I told you I'd go with you to this thing," Ron complained. "I thought you said you had everything under control."

"I do," Hermione quipped. "I came alone, which is what I wanted to do."

He huffed but turned his attention to his date. "This is Daria. She's from Moldavia. We became friends after I attended a Canons game there."

Hermione smiled at Daria. "Nice to meet you," she offered.

"Same," the woman said.

Ron leaned in closer to Hermione.

"We're just friends. Honest, Hermione."

Hermione shrugged. "She seems nice, Ron. You should see if something more is there."

He sputtered. "But… but…"

She left him to his floundering and turned to Harry and Ginny.

"So, how are you two?" she asked.

"Good!" Harry replied.

Ginny leaned in. "Harry got promoted to Chief Auror."

"Oh, that's fantastic!" Hermione cried, leaning over and hugging him.

Settling back into her seat, she beamed at Harry.

Harry laughed. "Yeah, I'm Ron's boss now."

"Don't let it go to your head!" Ron complained.

There was a commotion near the entrance, and the group turned to see what everyone was so excited about.

Severus Snape had entered and was making his way to the Hogwarts table. Everyone in the room seemed to go silent at once as he stalked along, his cloak billowing behind him.

Hermione thought she'd never seen such a fine specimen of a man in her life. His robes were of the deepest black she'd ever seen, a hint of white poked out from his sleeves and underneath his vest. The man was delicious, and Hermione just wanted to have him all to herself. She averted her eyes from him. They couldn't show anything but mild acceptance of each other. And because of their hiding their relationship, she couldn't even ogle him anymore for the rest of the night. Her eyes fell to the table, and she sighed heavily.

"Hey, 'Mione. You wanna dance?" Ron asked her.

She looked up at him. "Umm…"

"Come on! Let's be the first of our group out there on the dance floor."

She gave a curt nod and they both stood. Ron led her out, and they began to sway together.

"I was serious about Daria only being a friend, you know," Ron said as they danced.

Hermione looked at him. "I believe you."

"You know I only want you, Hermione," Ron continued.

"Ron…"

"Hasn't it been long enough? You said you needed time when we broke up after the war. How much time do you need? It's been years."

"Ron, I've told you before, I'm not interested in getting back together with you."

"But why not? We were good together," he insisted.

"No, we weren't!" Her voice had risen, and she was becoming upset. "We fought all the time. Honestly, being away from you was a relief."

Ron stiffened. "I thought we were going to get back together sometime."

Hermione stopped dancing. "I'm sorry, Ron. I've told you again and again, it's just not going to work out."

Ron looked at her crossly and began to say something when a deep voice broke into their conversation.

"May I cut in?"

Hermione knew that voice. Her head whipped around, and her eyes fell upon Severus Snape. But… they weren't supposed to be associating with one another. What was he doing asking her to dance? And cutting in when she was with Ron… what was going on?

Ron grumbled and moved off as she stared at Severus, who took her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist. They commenced dancing, but Hermione couldn't say anything for several minutes. Severus looked down at her and arched a brow.

"I'm sorry, what are we doing?" she finally ground out.

"I believe this is called dancing," Severus quipped.

She batted his arm. "Stop that!" she chastised. "Weren't we just arguing about this very thing a couple of days ago?"

"Yes, we were. I considered what you had to say and decided you were right."

"I was?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes, you were. And what better time to have everyone become aware of our relationship than at this god-awful ball?"

Hermione chuckled, then outright laughed. "Severus Snape, you never cease to amaze me."

He smirked at her and twirled her some more. They didn't talk for the rest of the dance. When it was over, Severus pulled her flush against him, refusing to release her. They continued dancing to the next dance. Hermione smiled at him and raised her hand to twine in the hair at his neck.

"Don't look now, but Molly Weasley is staring daggers at us," Severus advised.

"Let her. I don't care. She gave me enough trouble when I broke up with Ron. I don't care if she's grumpy about what she sees. Speaking of Ron, thank you for rescuing me from him."

"Well, that's my job, right? To save you from cretins who are trying to hit upon you?"

"Only if you want to take them on," Hermione agreed.

"I do. I don't want anyone to steal you away from me."

Hermione grinned exuberantly. "I don't think there's any chance of that," Hermione countered.

"Good."

Hermione's eyes strayed to her friend's table. "Hmm, seems like my friends are looking pretty grumpy."

Severus looked over. "I don't think I've ever seen that color of red coming from Weasley."

"No, and Harry's frown looks like it is about to crack his face."

"It starts," Severus sighed.

Hermione squeezed his neck. "Don't worry about it. I don't care what they think. I only care about you."

Severus gave her a quick nod and they continued to dance.

Not far away, Sybill and Xeno were also dancing. Sybill was giggling like a schoolgirl as Xeno whispered in her ear. They twirled around and around. After a while, Sybill's gaze moved to Severus and Hermione.

"Hmm," she said.

"What is it, my dear?" Xeno asked.

She moved her chin slightly in the direction of the other couple. Xeno glanced that way. His eyebrow arched.

"Why, that sly dog. He's been a hermit for as long as I've known him."

"You know the Headmaster?" Sybill asked.

"Somewhat. When you own a paper, you get to know about people and their tendencies. I don't know of any time where Severus Snape has danced, and now I think he's danced two or three times with Miss Granger."

Sybill studied the nearby couple. "You know… I had a dream last night that some romance was coming into his life. I just ignored it, but it must have been a prophetic dream," she explained.

"It must have been! Sybill, you're magnificent!"

Sybill blushed and looked down. "Thank you, Xeno. No one ever compliments my art like that."

Xeno came in close to her again and whispered in her ear. "Well, I appreciate you, love."

Sybill giggled and pulled closer to Xeno as they swayed back and forth to the music.

ooooooooooooooo

The night went on, and Severus never released Hermione from his arms. They danced and danced. Meanwhile, more and more people were watching the couple and whispering behind their backs. They duly ignored them.

At almost every table people were whispering to each other. Several reporters were taking pictures of the two on the dance floor, and Rita Skeeter, among others, had their QuickQuotes quills writing furiously.

Ron threw himself into a chair next to his mum.

"Can you believe that?" he demanded as his chin pointed toward Hermione and Severus dancing.

"It's rather odd. Why haven't you cut in, dear?"

Ron shrugged. "She already said she wasn't interested."

"Yes, but how could she be interested in Snape?" Molly mused.

Ron blanched. "Yeah, that's just gross."

Ron and Molly stared at the couple for a few minutes, with Ron getting more and more upset.

"That's it. I need to save her from that git!"

Ron rose and was about to march out on the dance floor, but he didn't get the chance to do so.

Severus dipped Hermione and pulled her back up, looking sultrily at her.

"How about we get out of here? I think we've spent our required amount of time at this fiasco."

"Okay," she agreed. "Although I've fully enjoyed myself this year. This has been the best Ministry Ball I've ever attended."

Severus smirked at her. "Same for me."

They stopped dancing. Severus pulled her close and nestled her arm within his. He led her towards the exit.

"Hermione!" they heard from behind them. "Hermione, wait!"

Hermione chose to ignore Ron's calls. She looked up at Severus, and they continued out the door of the hall and through the Ministry Entrance. They stepped into the Floo together and wound up in Severus' office. He walked her to her room as they conversed about the night. They finally made it to her doorway.

"Severus…"

"Hmm?"

Hermione turned to him. "Thank you."

"For what?" Severus asked as he arched his brow.

"For being willing to go public with us. I think in the long run it will be freeing to be able to move about our world without looking behind our backs to make sure no one is watching us."

He shifted somewhat awkwardly.

"I want us to last, Hermione. If we can't be open with the world, we could never have a lasting relationship."

Hermione's hand came up and tangled in his hair. She pulled him down to her and murmured, "You're right."

Her lips touched his, and it was all he needed to wrap his arms around her and kiss her reverently. They were tangled with each other for a while. Hermione reveled in his kisses. He made her heart sing. His lips and tongue showed her that he cared for her, and she tried to show the same thing back to him.

At long last, they separated, and Hermione gave him a longing look.

"Good night," she finally said as he moved back from her.

"Good night, Hermione," he said with emotion before turning and walking down the hall away from her.

She watched him disappear from sight before entering her room. She sighed to herself. Tonight had been completely lovely. Severus had surprised her, and she had adored every minute of it.

Making her way to her bedroom, she threw herself back on her bed and laid there, gazing at the ceiling. She wondered how Severus really felt about her. He'd seemed more demonstrative than he had been in a long while. Maybe he cared for her in a serious way. She certainly hoped so.

ooooooooooooooooooooo

Xeno and Sybill lazily made their way up the road towards Hogwarts, hand in hand.

"Ahh, that was a lovely evening, Sybill," Xeno remarked.

"I agree, dear. It was truly lovely."

"So, what shall our next adventure be?" Xeno asked.

"Adventure? I am not one for adventure. I'm pretty much a homebody."

"My love, everything is an adventure with you. I just can't wait to see what happens next," Xeno confessed.

Sybill regarded him in amazement. She honestly couldn't get enough of this man, and she was surprised that he seemed to feel the same way. Her eyes rove over his green-clad body.

Adventure had never been her cup of tea. The only surprises she liked were what came from her art. But seeing Xenophilius standing there, she found herself wanting to be adventurous despite her normal reticence.

"Darling, your words inspire me. Why don't you join me inside?" She tittered and gave him a sultry look. "Maybe we can make our own adventure," she urged.

Xeno smiled enthusiastically at her and nodded his head.

"I was hoping you'd say something like that. Take me to your love nest, my fairy queen."

"Oh, Xeno!" Sybill cried as her arms wrapped around him and she kissed him wantonly.

Moving back after a few moments, she grasped Xeno's hand and pulled him through the gates. With a flick of her wand, they were once again sealed. Looking up at Xeno, she grinned hungrily and tugged at him to follow her. They hurried along the path up to the doors and disappeared from sight as they entered the castle and hurried to her room.

ooooooooooooo

The next morning, Hermione entered the Great Hall, unsurprised at the lack of faculty there. She knew that most of them had been out late partying at the Ministry Ball. She settled into her seat and looked at the professors who had shown up at breakfast. Well, there was just one… Aurora Sinistra. They made eye contact. Hermione smiled at the other woman, who smiled back and nodded, then they both went back to their breakfast.

Hermione had just spooned some sugar into her tea and taken a sip when the unthinkable happened. An owl flew into the Great Hall and dropped a red letter on her lap. Before she had a chance to touch it, it sprang up in front of her and formed a mouth. Molly Weasley's voice emanated from the yelling envelope.

"Hermione Granger, I am disgusted with you! You let my Ronniekins sit by himself all night while you danced with that… that… MURDERER! How could you? How could you be so heartless? You'd better think hard about what you want, Hermione, because my Ron won't wait forever!"

Hermione stared with huge eyes at the envelope as it shred itself up into tiny pieces and fell into her lap. She glanced in embarrassment at Aurora who was giving her an odd look.

No longer hungry, she vanished the bits of letter and rose, making her way quickly out of the Hall and back to her room.

ooooooooooooooooo

Hermione stared at her lesson plans. She'd been staring at them for half an hour now and had only gotten the first sentence of her plan down on paper. Her mind kept wandering back to that Howler from Molly. She frowned.

She loved Molly, she really did, but the woman could be an utter menace. Why she had to defend Ron, who Hermione wasn't even involved with, was beyond her. The man had even come with his own date, for Merlin's sake.

She knew Molly's dream was for Ron and her to find happiness and no doubt have lots of babies, but that just wasn't going to happen. They'd moved on long ago... at least she had. Ron seemed to hold out hope that they'd get back together, but that just wasn't going to happen. She had no doubt that Molly stirred up his feelings about them on a weekly basis, though.

Frowning, she looked down at her paper and picked up her quill. Writing "Quiz on Electronics," she stared at the paper again. Her mind just wasn't on these lesson plans. She gave up, placing her quill down and grabbing her mass of papers, straightened them, and tossed them into her desk drawer. They'd sit for now. After all, she was working on the last quarter lessons anyway.

As she rose, she heard a knock on her door. She meandered over and opened it to find Mr. Filch looking anxious.

"Oh, Good Morning, Mr. Filch. How can I help you?"

"I'm sorry, M'um. There's… well, I'm not quite sure how to say this…"

"What is it?" Hermione asked curiously.

"There are some people here to see you," Filch finally spit out.

"Oh?" Hermione replied in confusion.

"They're in the Great Hall waiting for you," he continued.

"Who's there, Argus?"

"Well, there's quite a few of them, M'um."

Hermione sighed heavily. "Okay," she replied. "I'm coming."

Mr. Filch accompanied her down to the Great Hall. Hermione stopped before moving to the doors. She was nervous as to what was going to happen, especially after the Howler she'd gotten earlier.

Taking a cleansing breath, she stood tall and entered through the open doors. She immediately saw what Mr. Filch had been getting at. Harry, Ginny, Ron, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Neville, George, Percy, Bill, Fleur, Lavender, Pansy Parkinson, even Lucius and Draco Malfoy were there. There must have been some heavy plotting going on at the ball yesterday for this group to show up en-masse at the school to confront her.

Hermione held her head high as she made her way into the group. They all gave her caustic looks. Surprisingly, Molly wasn't the first one to speak. It was Lucius Malfoy who began the onslaught.

"Miss Granger, it has come to our attention that Severus and you were spending a lot of time together last night," he accused caustically.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "And?"

"Well, it's obvious that someone of your status is not suitable for him."

Her eyes moved to Draco, who was diffidently glaring at her.

"Because I'm a Muggleborn?" she demanded.

"Of course."

"Now wait a minute!" Harry piped in. "This isn't about Hermione. It's about Snape!"

The group all nodded and muttered approval of Harry's statement.

"I knew you'd all be against my friend. I just wanted Miss Granger to know that she is unfit to be with a man of Severus' standing."

Hermione whipped her wand out and pointed it at Malfoy. "Get out! And take your little entourage with you!" she cried.

"Come Pansy… Draco. We've had our say." He nodded at the younger couple, and they moved off towards the exit.

Draco got close to Hermione and whispered in her ear.

"Stay away from my uncle, Mudblood."

Hermione saw red, and the spell had left her wand before she even had the time to think about it. Yellow light from her wand hit Draco, and he was changed into a donkey. The man hee-hawed his displeasure.

"Change him back!" Lucius ordered.

"The spell will wear off in an hour," she explained before turning her back on the three.

Lucius looked as if he was about to Avada her, but the Weasleys all trained their wands on him.

"Time to go, Lucius," Arthur directed.

Lucius sneered and dragged his donkey-son away with him while Pansy pushed Draco along to keep him moving.

oooooooooooooooooo

Severus descended the stairway just in time to see his friend, Lucius Malfoy, pulling a donkey along while Pansy Parkinson pushed it from behind, trying to get it to move.

"What on earth is going on here?" he demanded as he came up to them.

"It's that… that… Mudblood you were hanging all over last night!" Lucius cried. "She is unworthy of your company, Severus!"

Severus' eyebrows furrowed as he looked at his friend.

"Lucius, to be honest, this is none of your business."

"Of course, it's my business! You are my friend. I can't have my friends associating with such lower creatures. Look what she's done to Draco!" He waved his hand at the donkey as he spoke.

Severus extended his wand as he glowered at Lucius.

"Take your son and get out. I won't listen to your bigoted comments any longer. I am with Hermione and will be for as long as I wish. Now go!"

Lucius glared at him. "Don't come crying to me later, Severus, because all I'll say then is that I told you so."

He sneered at his friend before exiting the entrance hall in a snit.

Severus huffed as he turned and noticed that the doors to the Great Hall were open. There was some sort of conversation going on in there. Sneaking over behind one of the gaping doors, he peered around it to see who exactly was making the ruckus. His eyes grew wide as he saw Hermione surrounded by her so-called friends, only they weren't acting much like her friends at all.

"I don't have to explain myself to any of you!" Hermione exclaimed hotly.

"Hermione, we're worried about you," Harry explained. "Did he set a spell on you or something?"

Hermione threw her arms up and turned away from the crowd of people surrounding her. Severus pulled back so she wouldn't see him spying on her.

"I can't believe you would accuse him of such a thing!" she ground out.

"Well, you have to admit, it's possible," Ron interrupted. "We can run some tests on you to make sure he hasn't done anything."

Hermione's hands formed into fists, and she spun around and glared at both Harry and Ron.

"Keep your wands away from me unless you want to be missing your hands for a week!"

Molly approached her cautiously as if she was a wild animal.

"Now dear, we just want to know how someone like you could want to spend time with someone like him."

"What do you mean, someone like him? Do you mean a murderer, like you said in your Howler this morning? Thanks for your concern!"

Molly sputtered. "Well, he did kill Dumbledore."

"Because Dumbledore ordered him to!" Hermione finished the other woman's statement.

"Well, that's what he says…"

"Molly, stop right there! I won't have you badmouthing Severus like that. You know… you all know that he is a hero."

"Yeah, but he's awful," Neville interjected.

"And only out for himself," Ginny agreed with a nod.

"And he's ugly," Harry added.

"And you belong with me," Ron said finally.

Hermione's shoulders sagged.

"I don't love you like that, Ron."

"So, you're saying you love him?" Ron asked incredulously.

Hermione looked at her friends one at a time. Severus held his breath from behind the door. What would she say? Did she love him? Really love him? Would she admit that to her friends who had nothing good to say to her about him?

"Yes," she answered quietly but firmly.

The room was silent for a couple of seconds before it erupted in a cacophony of words. Everyone was yelling and telling her she was a fool to have fallen for Snape. Filch was moving around trying to quiet everyone to no avail.

"He's incapable of love!"

"He doesn't even know how to be a good man!"

"He'll hurt you, just you wait."

"How could you love such an ugly git?"

Hermione held up her hand. Surprisingly, the room obliged her and quieted.

"Look," she said in exasperation. "None of you have taken any time to get to know Severus more than what you knew about him during the war. He's a good man, who can be very caring. You all come in here and accuse him of awful things when you don't even know him. Well, I do know him, and I love him, and nothing any of you says is going to change my mind about that."

"Does he love you?" Harry asked caustically.

Hermione frowned. "I don't know," she said finally. "I know he cares about me, but…"

"See! He's going to hurt you!" Arthur argued.

"Bollucks! My time with him has been wonderful. Sure, we fight now and then, every couple does, but all in all he's been caring and devoted to me. We didn't announce our being together because we knew you'd all react like this, but I'm tired of hiding. I'm fed up with being afraid to make eye contact with him for fear one of you will throw a fit!"

Molly moved up next to her husband. "Just how long has this been going on? Don't you realize that when people find out you're with him, it will taint you, Hermione? You won't be able to find a good job."

Hermione huffed. "I already have a good job! Merlin, I don't care what people think of me or of my relationship with Severus. We've been secretly seeing one another for a year now. I'm not just going to leave him because all of you have a bug up your behinds about it!"

The whole room erupted in shock and complaints again. Everyone expressed their opinion on how foolish Hermione was being, and none of them did it quietly.

Severus' eyebrows furrowed as he got angrier and angrier at the fools who called themselves Hermione's friends. He needed to step in and take care of this immediately.

He remained where he was for a minute, hidden behind the Great Hall door.

"Get yourself under control, man," he muttered under his breath. "Blowing up at all of them will only prove them right."

He took some deep breaths as he stared at Hermione. She loved him. Loved Him! He had hoped that she had, but he hadn't been able to let himself believe it. His heart exploded within him despite his facial expression not changing one bit. She loved him!

He watched her friends demean everything about him and the relationship he had with her as he took some deep breaths. Steeling himself, he frowned and stalked into the Great Hall, glaring at anyone who dared to make eye contact with him.

ooooooooooooooooo

The loud hubbub abruptly dropped to scattered whispers as he strode into the room.

"It's him"

"It's the Headmaster"

Filch stepped out as Professor Snape approached.

"Headmaster, I want to apologize…"

"I'm sure you do. Unfortunately for you, I have no interest in hearing it."

The other man visibly recoiled as Severus moved past him and toward where Hermione stood.

It seemed both a lifetime and an instant before he was standing before her. Hermione's pulse quickened as he placed a finger gently beneath her chin and tilted her face up.

"You need never fear to look me in the eye," he said in hushed tones as she met his gaze.

That was when she realized he already knew what he would see in her heart and mind, because she saw it right now, reflected in his own eyes as he looked at her.

Slowly, he leaned down a placed a gentle kiss upon her lips. She surrendered to him willingly, opening up to him as he entered her mouth and lavished her with his affection. The crowd around them all gasped as if in unison, causing Severus to pull away from her and glare at the group.

Hermione kept her gaze on Severus. He turned back to her and in barely a whisper confessed his feelings for her.

"I love you, too," he confided.

Hermione broke out into a wide grin.

At that moment, Sybill entered with Xeno in tow, her hand grasped within his.

"Oh!" she stammered. "Sorry to interrupt. I saw in my crystal ball that there would be a private party here today, but I thought it was to be later this afternoon!"

Turning to Xenophilius, she directed, "Come, my darling. We'll have the House-elves bring us a late breakfast in our room."

Xeno gave her a smoldering look. "Our room?"

"Of course, love. I saw in the tea leaves we are to be together for a long while. We may as well make it official."

They turned and made their way from the Hall as everyone stared at them in befuddlement.

Hermione turned to the lot of them and glowered at them.

"Of course, no one says a word about that couple!" she decried with exasperation.

That caused another eruption among her beloved friends.

"Hermione, you can't be serious about him!"

"He'll ruin your reputation."

"How can you be in love with a murderer?"

"He's a right git, that one."

"Snape will only hurt you."

Hermione watched them bicker and yell at her with a sad look on her face.

Severus leaned low and whispered in her ear. "It doesn't matter, Hermione. Like you said to me the other day, let them think what they will."

Her eyes drew up to his. She searched his face for the acceptance she wanted. It shone in his eyes and every bit of him. She smiled at him then.

"You're right, of course. I just had hoped they'd all have grown up some, but evidently, that was too much to hope for."

He kissed her once more before pulling his head up and glaring at the crowd that surrounded them. They all fell silent as one by one, he glowered at them, daring them to say anything more. Finally, after his eyes rested upon Molly and Arthur, he spoke.

"Hermione and I have been together for a year now. We would have liked to have your approval, but I promise you, we do not, nor will we ever need it. You all need to take a deep look within yourselves and think about how horrid you have all been here this morning."

He straightened up and glared at them all again. "I swear to you, if you ever disparage Hermione like this again, you will be… sorry."

With that, he took a minute to meet everyone's gaze with a scowl before grasping Hermione by the arm and guiding her out of the Great Hall. He stopped to speak with Mr. Filch before they left the room. The man cowered as Severus regarded him with a sneer.

"See that these people are escorted to the gates, Argus," he ground out.

Not waiting for a reply, Hermione felt herself being guided out of the Hall and up to the Headmaster's Office. They ascended the stairs silently. Hermione fought off the tears that were building in her eyes.

As they entered the moving staircase, Severus looked over at her and got a concerned look on his face. They entered his office, and with a flick of his wand, the staircase was sealed so no one could interrupt them until he released the lock. His hands surrounded Hermione's face.

"Don't cry, Hermione. They're not worth it."

Hermione let out a sob and crashed into him, her arms going around his body. His arms surrounded her as well, pulling her even closer.

"I had hoped they'd understand once I explained," she confessed between sobs.

"You are too trusting, my dear."

Hermione gathered her wits about her and worked to stop crying.

"Why can't they see you as anything other than evil?" she muttered into his chest.

"That is all they want to see. I am not outgoing, you understand that. No one wants to make the effort to have a conversation with me or try to get to know me better. They've formed their opinions, and they're fine with them."

Hermione pulled back and looked into his eyes. "I hate that they do that. How can you stand it, Severus?"

He shrugged. "I'm used to it," he retorted.

Hermione stroked his cheek and smiled ruefully at him. "You deserve better. You know that, right?"

With a solemn and curt nod, Severus acknowledged her question. He looked away for a bit, but Hermione gently turned his face back to looking at her.

"I appreciate you, and I have enjoyed getting to know you… getting to… fall in love with you."

"Hermione," he whispered before capturing her lips with his.

She could feel the emotion in that kiss as he worshiped her lips. She worshiped his right back.

Finally, pulling back and breathless, she told him, "I will always be on your side. I will always fight for you."

Severus closed his eyes and rested his forehead on hers. She could feel him trying to keep himself together and tangled her hand into his hair for comfort as he gathered himself.

"You don't know what that means to me, Hermione. I can't explain how that makes me feel."

Hermione smiled and lifted her head just enough so she could peck him on the lips. His eyes opened as he pulled away from her.

"It seems I've waited all my life for someone to actually be in my corner. I love you beyond words," he murmured softly before pulling her back in to kiss her senseless.

ooooooooooooooo

Xenophilius moved quickly from place to place within his printing room. He fiddled with one press, then moved to another one as he waved his wand over it. Sybill sat at a table in the background, taking a large eyedropper full of ink and splattering it onto a piece of parchment. With one last flick of his wand, Xeno started up the machinery. He smiled as they whirred and began printing the month's offering. Wandering over to the last press, he awaited the first copy's emergence. Grasping it, he took it over to Sybill to show it off.

"Look, my darling," he urged.

She looked up from the blots she'd been studying and took the paper, reading the front-page story.

Headmaster of Hogwarts Finds Love

The annual Ministry Ball was held last week. Everyone attending was bedecked in lovely outfits and seemed to enjoy themselves immensely. One person, however, seemed to be the center of attention.

Severus Snape, Headmaster of Hogwarts, War Hero, and Order of Merlin Awardee was seen dancing. Now, reader, you may think this an odd statement, but anyone who knows the Headmaster would know that he has never been caught dancing at any of these functions, nor at Hogwarts galas.

And who was he seen dancing with? Why, no other than Hermione Granger, War Hero, Hogwarts Professor, and Order of Merlin Awardee.

Big deal, you say? I counter that yes, this is a huge deal because as noted above, the Headmaster never dances, and secondly, he danced the whole night only with Professor Granger.

Quibbler photographers stated that the couple chatted amiably, looked at each other lovingly, and in a shocking turn of events, were even seen laughing together. It seems there's another side to the Dark Headmaster that Hermione Granger is adept at bringing out.

We at the Quibbler offer congratulations to the happy couple and wish them all happiness in their future endeavors together!

The article was accompanied by a photo of Severus swirling around the dance floor with Hermione.

"What a lovely picture, Xeno. Oh, and look! We're off in the background!" Sybill exclaimed.

"Yes, love. When I saw that picture, I knew it was the one to have as the story lead."

"Lovely, truly. And your writeup is so much better than that awful story the Prophet put out last week. Someone should shut that rag down."

Xeno came in close to her. "I agree with you wholeheartedly," he whispered as he looked at her.

Sybill gasped as he kissed her lovingly. "I'm glad you're here," he told her after pulling back from her.

"How is your inkblot scrying going?" he asked as he gave her a curious look.

"Oh, Xeno, who would have thought that reading inkblots could be so good for telling the future! I've learned that you and I will be together for a very long time, and… well… there may be…"

"What is it, love?" Xeno asked curiously.

"Dearest… what do you think of children at this age?"

Xeno grinned in delight before pulling her to him and crushing her in a hug.

"Sounds perfect. Maybe we should start on that new adventure right away," he said before kissing her senseless.