A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters
This is for the QLFC
Team: Ballycastle Bats
Lyrrie filling in for Chaser 3 Asmodeus Lestrange
Word Count: 1042
Prompts used Severus Snape, Dusk and clock
Beta: secretfanficlover
Severus glanced at the clock. He knew it would chime on the hour, but he could not help glancing at it. It was something to do other than stare out the window at the setting sun, at the dusk sky. The sky had been blue not too long ago, a bright summer blue that most people would have been thrilled about.
Severus, on the other hand, preferred his weather to be gloomy, dark, grey. It suited his mood. Today was no different. He'd arrived at the hotel early. Now, he was just waiting. He wasn't sure why he'd agreed to meet her here, of all places, but she'd been the one to suggest it. He knew what she wanted, what he couldn't give her.
She wanted him to love her. Severus didn't think he was capable of loving anyone. They were nothing more than colleagues, working together for the common good. He glanced at the clock again wondering how only two minutes had passed. It felt like an eternity. He still had about fifteen minutes before she was supposed to arrive. Why had he even agreed to this? Why had he agreed to meet her at a hotel?
He knew she'd suggested it because it was a neutral place, somewhere neither of them could be connected to. That part he agreed with, the fact they'd been sneaking out together, the fact they'd been working together while the rest of the Order seemed to be biting its tongue on getting anything done. They were making real progress!
The clock finally chimed the hour and Severus rose to his feet. There was a faint knock on the door. One long, one short, one long. He sighed in relief. Part of him had been terrified she wouldn't come, that she'd have been captured or worse. No, he couldn't allow himself to think about that. She was here, she was safe. He opened the door slowly, studying her face.
"What's the code word?" he asked, keeping his voice quiet.
"Ragamuffins all," she stated, her brown eyes meeting his nearly black ones. He nodded slowly, waiting for her to ask the same.
"To hell to pay," he responded. A small smile crossed her face. He stepped aside to let her into the room. He'd smirked slightly when he'd gotten the room number, 394, if that wasn't some sort of coincidence. He wondered if she'd done that on purpose. She could have, just to tease him, to remind him of what things had been before.
"Severus, I've got it," she whispered, pulling out her beaded bag once she was certain they were alone. It never hurt to be paranoid, especially in times like these. She reached her hand and withdrew a vial of shimmering aqua liquid. It sloshed on its own accord. Severus stared at it. He wanted to ask her how she'd managed it, how she'd gotten her hands on it, but he bit his tongue. She had her methods and he had his. He took the vial from her and tucked it safely into his own pockets.
"Thank you, Hermione," he whispered. She nodded, looking at him, her eyes sparkling in the sun's last gasp of dying light.
"There's only one bed," she muttered, looking past him. "I thought... never mind, it doesn't really matter."
"I can't be who you want me to be, Hermione. We're partners in this and that's all we ever can be."
"You say that every time we meet, Severus. You've stated your case time and time again. Do you honestly think if you keep saying it, it will be true?" she asked, putting a hand on his chest. He could smell the vanilla of her hair, the sweat on her body from where she'd been hiding. There was a faint scent of smoke, but that could be from his own cloak as well.
"I'm the headmaster of a school. You're my former student."
"Do either of those things matter in these times, Severus? We could both die tomorrow, denying what we feel. Is that how you want to live? Pretending you don't feel anything?"
"I can't love you. Love only leads to pain."
Hermione nodded, slightly, but leaned up and kissed Severus' lips. He slowly returned the kiss, tracing her lips with his tongue. He could feel her heart beating in time with his. They broke apart, the taste of her lingering on his lips.
"You should leave."
"I should, but I can't. I did order two beds," she added, looking at the one they had.
"I'll take the floor," Severus said, wondering if it was more or less uncomfortable than wherever Hermione had been hiding out. He knew she was on the run with Potter and Weasley. She didn't tell him much about what they were doing, only the important parts.
"Nonsense, it's big enough for the both of us, and I'll behave if you do," she stated, sitting down on the edge. Severus sank onto the bed next to her.
"Very well," he sighed, laying down. Hermione put her head on his chest, using it as a pillow. He could hear her breathing, her little sounds as she curled against him, her body warm.
"Do you think we'll survive this?' she asked, wrapping an arm around him.
"Tonight?"
"No, the war. Things are getting bad out there, of course, you know that. There's people going missing," she added.
"I know about it. I know what his plans are, what he's doing. There's a lot of people dead already, Hermione. The sooner this ends..."
"We're doing what we can," she whispered. "The vial, it'll bring things closer to the end?"
"It will," he answered, knowing the ingredient she'd brought him would help with his latest attempt at an antivenom, something he'd decided needed to be perfected. The fact Arthur Weasley was still alive was a miracle.
"Good," she purred, closing her eyes and yawning. Severus put an arm around her, knowing she felt safer when he was holding her. He could hear her breathing level, the sound of her falling asleep. He knew he couldn't love her, that he couldn't love anyone, but there was something between them, something he could feel, even if he refused to call it love.