Lily Evans might have been the prettiest girl in the school, Severus thought, as he watched his two friends eating their dinner in the Great Hall. Even many of the Slytherins appreciated her looks, though every comment was quickly followed by the retort "Mudblood". If not for her blood status or her house affiliation, Severus thought that many of his fellow Slytherins might have developed a serious heart throb for her. Lily Evans was, after all, vivacious, bright, bubbly and very, very beautiful with her auburn hair and bright green eyes.
But really, as far as Severus was concerned, she had nothing over Hermione Granger. Lily might have been more beautiful as conventional standards went, but Hermione, despite her bushy hair and her bucked teeth, made his breath catch and his heart dance. And she was clever, by Merlin how clever she was! Although Severus was occasionally irritated by her habit of reciting answers directly from the books and the way she constantly tried to answer every question in classroom, waving her hand frantically, Severus couldn't help the pride he felt when their potions turned out perfect one after another as they chopped and ground and powdered and added the ingredients in perfect unison and harmony, or how her brown eyes sparkled as they talked about Charms and how they could perhaps one day develop some new charm that had never been invented before. How excited she got when they argued about some little detail before they checked it in a book or asked a teacher, and how warm her hand had felt as they had waded thigh-deep in the sea last summer as the sun shone down on them. Or how her cheeks were flushed pink when they walked in the grounds of Hogwarts during the winter of 1972, both in warm school cloaks, and his feet warm with the socks that were a gift from Hermione's parents and how warm the brand new wool jumper was, also a present from the Grangers. And how her eyes sparked and shined as she gazed over the ice-covered lake...
She might have been a huge swot, but so was he. And she might have had a silly bushy hair that went everywhere and bucked front teeth that made the Marauders call her 'Beaver', but Severus Snape had lank and stringy hair, he was skinny, his teeth crooked and a bit yellow, his lips thin, his skin pallid and most of his clothes were shabby and threadbare, and his nose was huge and hooked in the end. He'd heard McKinnon call him an ugly creep, although Hermione had hissed a biting retort back at her house-mate. The memory made the corner of his thin lips crook a bit upward.
He'd made her a Valentine's card this year. He sent it anonymously, of course, not daring to sign it lest she laugh at him. He was surreptitiously watching her as the owls flew down into the tables, carrying mail. The Great Hall was decorated in pink, red and white for the occasion.
Lily Evans was almost bombarded with Valentine's cards. Red and pink envelopes she opened happily, giggling, and tossing her auburn hair coyly over her shoulder as she glanced at the mail her house-mates got: Severus was quite certain she was comparing the amount of mail she got to the mail that others received. Lily was like that: she loved being popular.
Hermione got two envelopes: he recognized his own but not the other. So someone else had sent her one, too? Severus felt a sting of jealousy and concern stab his heart. Who sent Hermione a card? Would she like it more than his? He'd made it himself: a simple card really, red with hearts. A quick glance at Lily told him she'd received a few boxes of chocolates as well from her various admirers. He wished he'd been able to get Hermione chocolates too, but second-years were not permitted at Hogsmeade and he didn't have the money anyway.
And then he realised that Hermione had opened her envelope and was beaming at him across the Hall. Their eyes met, and she was holding his card and positively beaming at him. Of course she'd recognized his handwriting, Severus realised, he'd given her cards for her birthdays and for Christmas and he constantly scribbled into the margins of his books, so of course she'd recognized it; but she looked delighted. She'd opened the other card as well, but she'd put it down and beamed at him, Severus Snape, across the Great Hall.
Severus ate fast and a quick glance towards the Gryffindor table confirmed she was finishing up as well, keeping an eye on him.
They met halfway.
"Hi," she greeted him, with an adorable flush on her cheeks.
"Hi," was the best he could do at that point, and he just knew his blasted white cheeks were just as red as hers. And then, by Merlin, she took his hand shyly, casting a nervous glance at him, and they walked off together, toward the library. Neither of them could think of anything to say, so they said nothing at all and just held hands, and perhaps they walked a little bit closer.
And then, at the end of the day of holding hands, she shyly kissed his cheek and smiled, and he kissed her cheek in return. And they were both blushing as they departed for the curfew, but his steps felt so much lighter because there was nothing wrong in the world at that particular moment.
"Ugly Snivellus had a girlfriend!"
And though he heard it from several mouths, Severus couldn't make himself care for the insult, not when the lovely Hermione Granger with her wild hair was holding his hand and walking with him, so close their shoulders brushed against each other. He had a girlfriend on his second year. Not many third-years had one, and yet Severus Snape had one. He had a girlfriend.
Not that he actually dared to properly snog her. He barely dared to kiss her cheek now and then. Not that either of them wanted to be told off for snogging in the hallways.
And Lily Evans was jealous. She'd gotten eighteen cards for St. Valentine's Day, so she kept telling people repeatedly and very proudly. She'd gotten one from James Potter, she'd gotten cards from several boys in their third year, but she was envious because Severus Snape hadn't sent her one. No matter that she knew he had a crush on Hermione, not Lily.
She reacted badly, barely speaking to Hermione and casting nasty glances at her. Avery noted that the Mudblood Evans was like that: she wanted what she couldn't have, tended to be jealous, and demanding admiration and worshipping from everyone in her vicinity. Avery didn't use the word 'vicinity', of course, the word was probably too complicated for him. He used 'around', and Severus was more than amused to notice that Avery, whose family was one of the sacred twenty-eight, didn't know the meaning of words as complicated as 'vicinity'. Then again, there were very few pure-blood students who could be even close to the intellectual level of Hermione Granger, a Muggle-Born. Or himself, a poor half-blood.
Lily was usually very kind, of course, very few could deny it: it was probably her best feature, outside her looks. It didn't make her flawless: she loved being the most popular girl around, and when Severus preferred Hermione's company to hers, she didn't actually react well. Or that Hermione preferred to spend time with Severus instead of fluttering around her, Marlene or her other insipid Gryffindor friends. The jealousy in her echoed that of her sister Petunia's, Severus noticed.
It was a pity, really: Hermione felt really bad, but Severus and Hermione were the best of friends, had been since the day they met, when Lily had left with Petunia but Hermione had stuck around, insatiable in her curiosity and willing to offer her friendship freely. And now they were more. Severus hoped he'd be able to keep it that way: he had rarely had anything to call his own, with very few possessions and those at risk of getting pawned or sold away by his father if he needed money. He had two friends, one of them was now his girlfriend, and he would give up anything to keep her.
Even if it'd take him years to gather up enough courage to actually snog her properly.
It took until the next summer holiday, and then it was Hermione who started it. They had drifted off to their usual spot under the trees by the pond. It was a fine day, hot, and the air was humid and everything felt... green? The air smelled of grass and leaves then, some of the factories had closed and the ones functioning spewed their smog high into the wind that carried it away. They had eaten the strawberries Hermione's mother had given them, and they had drank lemonade, which was a luxury Severus wasn't used to: and they had gotten to take the strawberries and the lemonade here, as a picnic, so there was no brushing of teeth involved, though Severus was quite certain that'd be demanded when they got back to Granger home...
And then Hermione's lips touched his and his mind went numb.
They came down again, caressed his, and he responded, first uncertain, then wrapping his hand around Hermione's shoulders as they lay there, side by side by the pond, under the trees, and the leaves of the trees cast dancing shadows on her cheeks. Her mouth tasted of strawberries and lemonade, like his did, and it tasted of summer and of happiness and of... Hermione.
And Hermione's brown eyes sparkled with happiness, and he knew this summer might be even better than the last one. The summer that tasted of strawberries, lemonade and Hermione.
Hermione Granger didn't care that his teeth were crooked. She didn't care that his hair was lank and stringy and starting to get oily. She didn't care when his voice broke and his voice occasionally squeaked ridiculously and the next moment went to a low rumble: he'd have a pretty low voice, Mrs Granger predicted, when his puberty would be over. Hermione didn't care that his skin developed pimples — she got some too, and he noticed he didn't mind, either — and she liked his black eyes, though most others said they looked cold. She didn't care that his nose was huge and hooked, either: she nuzzled it with her own frequently and seemed to love it.
He felt heartbroken when she first told him her parents would be taking her to France for two weeks in August to visit some relatives there. And then the shock when he heard they'd invite him along as well. All expenses were paid by the Grangers: Hermione needed a companion, they said with their usual gentle smile, and he felt like he could choke with happiness: he'd get to go abroad with Hermione.
His mother gave her permission immediately: she seemed relieved, really. Severus would be out of the risk of getting whacked with the belt when Tobias got drunk and got enraged, and when Severus wasn't around his temper didn't flare quite as often. Summers were worse for Eileen Snape as well, because the sight of his lanky and swotty offspring irritated Tobias Snape. Tobias probably never even noticed he was gone.
Lily was jealous, but her own family was going on a holiday by the sea a week before their departure. They promised to bring her a souvenir from France: she was still quite cold to Hermione, especially after she caught them snogging one sunny afternoon. They tried to do the snogging out of everyone else's eyes, but she'd walked to the pond under the trees unannounced.
France was wonderful. They toured Paris for two days but then went to Arles. They visited Camargue and got to ride the white horses, they saw flamingoes and ate French food: Severus loved everything. He got to taste and loved Confit de Canard, though he refused to try the escargot or the frog's legs. They bought French baguette and croissants straight from the bakery in the mornings: they were still hot from the oven, and Hermione and Severus shared some fresh baguette without any butter as they walked alongside Hermione's grandmother in the streets of Arles.
They met Hermione's relatives who didn't speak English, but they petted his head and greeted him kindly, asking Hermione questions that made her blush furiously, and him by proxy, because he could bloody well guess what the questions were. Severus began learning French from Hermione and her parents. They visited the ruins of Roman viaducts and an ancient castle. They bought Lily some special soap in the shape of little animals and some post cards showing the places they visited.
They walked along French beaches, collected seashells, ate marvellous ice cream, Belgian chocolates and snogged when they were sure Hermione's parents weren't watching. They knew, of course, if their amused expressions were of any indication, and Hermione confessed that her mother had given her a talk about... the birds and the bees. They both blushed furiously and agreed that the... that that particular aspect wouldn't probably happen quite just yet anyway. They held hands all the time.
And it was without a doubt the best summer of his whole life so far.
Sirius Black hadn't learned his lesson. Lupin was smart enough to hold back, and Pettigrew too much of a coward, but Black detested Severus Snape and couldn't let things go.
"How can you think you can take anyone to Hogsmeade, Snivellus? You can't afford to buy her as much as a Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks!"
"Is she dating you out of pity or have you used a potion on her, Snivelly?"
"The git has become terribly greasy during the summer. Do you leave grease stains on your sheets, Snivvy?"
"Watch out, Granger, he's Dark. You're a Gryff, there's plenty of guys who'd take you."
Hermione finally turned to Black, who was currently walking next to her and Severus, and her eyes were cold. "Sev and I found some very interesting hexes in the library earlier. Do you still sleep as tightly as you used to, Black, you and your cronies?" she asked, with a small smirk appearing on her face.
Black's eyes grew wider and his cheeks flushed: he dared not respond. None of them did: Pettigrew backed away slowly from his three mates. The Marauders sped their walk towards Hogsmeade and left her and Severus behind, trying to look like they weren't fleeing.
"What are you going to do to them?" Severus asked in a low tone.
"Nothing, probably," Hermione replied, her brown eyes glinting with humour, "but it's even better this way. They won't sleep properly for a few nights at least, waiting for the monent when I'll hex them in their sleep. We might see some really tired Marauders in the next few days."
Severus had to fight back his laughter, and only chuckled a bit. Potter was just looking at them over his shoulder and the sight of Severus and Hermione grinning got him to speed up his steps.
"You shouldn't threaten them, Hermione," Lily told her as she joined them. Severus was taking Hermione to Hogsmeade on a date: it was their first ever Hogsmeade-weekend. Severus narrowed his eyes, but he caught Hermione's warning gaze: she shook her head almost imperceptibly. She didn't want to loose Lily as a friend and would have felt bad of sending her alone to Hogsmeade, when they were all friends. Severus nodded minutely: he knew they'd have plenty of time to spend together, just the two of them.
"They bully us, Lily. They bully Severus. You can't expect us to just listen to that."
"It's just words, 'Mione. Sure they're arrogant toerags, but threatening to Hex them?"
"They'd deserve it. When they attacked him on our first year, they ambushed him four to one. From hideouts and behind the corners."
"Mum says, 'Boys will be boys'," Lily said, defensively. "And besides, Sev is strong. He can defend himself," Lily smiled flirtatiously at Severus, tossing her long locks behind her shoulder.
"Not four against one, not yet anyway, and not when they attack without a warning from behind a corner," Hermione argued, slowly getting irritated. Severus squeezed her hand tighter and caressed her fingers with his thumb in a soothing way.
"So, where are we going first?" Lily asked, changing the subject. "I want to see everything. Honeydukes, Zonko's... have you heard of the old rotting house in Hogsmeade? They said that malicious spirits have moved in there, that sometimes in the dead of night people have heard terrible shrieking and wailing and moaning from it, though it's been abandoned for decades?" Lily didn't really listen to their responses: she chattered on like a happy magpie.
Severus didn't bother responding. He was on his way to Hogsmeade for the first time, with his girlfriend as his date. They both knew he really didn't have any money to spend, but they didn't need to talk about it: they would just look at some things and buy a few chocolates from Honeydukes and Butterbeers at the Three Broomsticks. Hermione had been her usual, kind and diplomatic self: she'd given him the Galleons she had and asked that he carry them for her, so he'd be able to be a gentleman and pay for their shopping instead of having her pay for everything. Hermione was like that: she might have been a bold Gryffindor, but they'd been best friends for ages and she was also very sweet and kind, knowing how proud he was and how his poverty hurt him.
And on the next Hogsmeade weekend he'd have his own money: Slughorn had asked him to assist in brewing potions for the Hogwarts Hospital Wing. Slughorn was a good teacher, but he was also quite lazy: Severus' aptitude with potions hadn't gone unnoticed, and Slughhorn had asked him to brew some simple and common potions for the infirmary for a small pay: he'd be able to earn money of his own by brewing Pepperup Potion, Hiccoughing Potion, Burn-Healing Paste and Draught of Peace. He'd be able to afford to buy Hermione chocolates and offer her tea at Madam Puddifoot's.
His clothes looked better: every Christmas and birthday the Grangers gave him a present or two, and he'd been able to dress much better. It didn't help with his skin, his hair or his crooked teeth, but it was something: although Hermione never had minded his shabby clothes either. She snogged him just as sweetly when he was dressed in his mother's old shirt and Tobias' used trousers.
Today they would look at books at Tomes & Scrolls and they would both dream of buying some. Hermione needed a new quill from Scrivenshaft's — she had a habit of chewing on her quills — something from Honeyduke's Sweetshop — Regulus Black, a second-year Slytherin and a more tolerable and sensible brother to the intolerable Sirius Black, had given him two Galleons and asked Severus to bring him some Cockroach Clusters — and they'd have their first Butterbeers. They had had dates in France during the summer, and they involved a lot of blushing and holding hands, but this was a traditional school date, and almost every student from the third-year up would be able to see them having a date. He just wished that Lily Evans would give them space: Prewett and Meadowes were trailing close to them, and Lily could have just as well have walked with them.
But he held Hermione's hand, walked so close that their shoulders brushed occasionally, and wished he'd be able to snog her properly soon. Though they had no strawberries or lemonade now, her kisses always tasted of Hermione, and every time he could almost taste the lemonade and strawberries and the summer by the pond as well.
And though it was a cloudy and cold day, he could almost see the leaves cast their dancing shadows on her cheeks as she turned to smile at him, and her brown eyes sparkled as if the sun was shining on them.
The Marauders had attacked him again. It was provoked by Potter this time: Potter was smitten with Lily, and Lily was apparently trying to get between Severus and Hermione, which made Potter ridiculously jealous. They had caught him at the staircases, though he never saw them coming until the hexes hit him. He'd been conveniently alone too, with Hermione at Arithmancy. He'd been on his way to see her when the first Stinging Hex hit him, followed by a few others, until he lost his footing and tumbled down the staircase that had just begun to move.
He saw the Marauders: Potter and Black laughing and leering, Pettigrew jumping excitedly up and down and whooping as Severus tumbled down, and Lupin standing back with his arms folded around his chest, looking slightly uneasy. He fell down, hit his head somewhere, felt a jarring pain on his foot and blacked out.
He woke up in the Hospital Wing with cuts and bruises, a concussion, a broken leg and a fracture on his arm. Slughorn was there, as was the Headmaster: Dumbledore looked disturbed but kept shaking his head, while Slughorn looked positively furious. Madam Pomfrey was bustling in with her hands full of potions.
Severus sighed, and the men noticed he was awake: he was questioned about the events as Madam Pomfrey gave him a potion for the pain and dabbed Murtlap Essence into his abrasions. He told Dumbledore who he'd seen attack him, but he knew it was useless: the Gryffindor Headmaster would never punish his four prized Golden Boys with more than a few nights of detention. They got away with attacking Slytherins all the time.
Slughorn shook his head uneasily at the retreating back of the Headmaster, but his gaze softened as quick steps approached: not running but close to it, and then Hermione was there, tears in her eyes.
His own sweet Hermione. The world looked a lot less bleak then.
Hermione was by his side in a heartbeat, and neither of the teenagers noticed when Slughorn smiled gently and departed, leaving them in the care of Madam Pomfrey. Hermione was petting his greasy hair like she often did, something that had always felt like heaven, looking into his black eyes with her brown ones, now brimming with tears, and kissed his large hooked nose tenderly.
"Are you all right?" she asked, as Madam Pomfrey offered him his dose of Skele-Gro. The taste was vile, and he grimaced in distaste.
"Just a couple of broken bones and a concussion. Nothing that Skele-Gro won't fix," he replied uneasily as he closed his eyes and leaned in on her touch. "I won't get out until tomorrow though."
"I'll bring you your assignments. And we can study spell development if you want."
Severus shook his head. "Skele-Gro hurts too much. I won't be able to concentrate. Can you just... stay?"
"Of course," she replied, smiling sadly, continuing to pet his oily hair, caressing his cheek. She pulled up a chair and sat closer to him as the ache on his bones started, and held his hand. "I'll stay as long as Madam Pomfrey lets me."
"You have..." he started as a flood of pain stopped his words, "Potions."
"Professor Slughorn will understand," she replied, and Severus nodded, unwilling to let his girlfriend go, knowing how much she loved her lessons and appreciating her willingness to skip a lesson just for him all the more.
"I have... a concussion. Madam Pomfrey won't... allow me to sleep. For long. Maybe... you could stay... in the next cot?", he panted through the pain, wanting to grimace at his own needy greed for her company, but right now his misery overrode any nobility or pride.
"I'll ask her. I'd gladly spend the night with you. Severus?"
"Yes?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, Hermione."
Before the term ended, Hermione had driven the Marauders almost spare. Her vengeance on them was ruthless: one night they'd woken up itching terribly, two nights later night they woke up with their pyjamas Vanished and dancing helplessly around their room under the Tarantallegra, completely starkers and trying to cover what was left of their modesty with the bed linen. A well-aimed Stinging Hex hit James Potter more than a few times when he had fallen asleep, and one memorable day Sirius Black spent the whole day holed up in the loo, refusing to speak to anyone about what had happened. Lupin got hit less viciously than the others, but he didn't avoid Hermione Granger's revenge either: one morning both he and Pettigrew woke up with no hair. The loss of their eyebrows was really unnerving to everyone, even if Madam Pomfrey did manage to grow them back.
And she was too clever to get caught. It was anyone's guess whether it was because Professor McGonagall had no desire to meddle with the inter-house squabbling, if it was the school policy not to care too much about breaking the rules about hexing your fellow students, or just the simple fact that the incredibly talented Hermione Granger was Professor McGonagall's favourite cub, despite her initially dismayed reaction for being placed in Gryffindor, which made sense to everyone who knew what good friends she'd always been with Severus Snape.
When their third year at Hogwarts ended, Severus spent the journey home with Hermione sweetly tucked under his arm in their compartment. Lily was glaring daggers at them, while McKinnon, Meadowes and Prewett were looking both nauseated and ill-at-ease with the attention Severus was getting: he was widely known as the ugliest creep in the school, but then again he'd gotten a girlfriend much younger than most of the popular boys and Evans, the prettiest girl in the school, was known to envy Hermione's place. It wasn't doing much good for her reputation, though, and it reminded Severus quite a lot of Petunia, who envied the attention and friendship the others got, too.
Severus had also earned a lot of respect in Slytherin: not only for his skills at Defence and Potions, but for the viciousness with which his girlfriend acted against her house-mates. Even some of the older Slytherins were chuckling when the stories of how the Marauders got hexed in their own beds by a girl got around. Regulus Black absolutely adored Hermione after the whole loo incident, and no Slytherin tried to harm Severus Snape's Gryffindor Muggle-born girlfriend, who stood alongside a Slytherin against her own House.
Severus was surprised to find his mother waiting at the King's Cross Station with the Grangers: Eileen Snape was talking with Mrs Granger and her posture was still stiff, but the subtle signs on her face and in her eyes told Severus she was surprisingly relaxed and calm. They helped the children and their luggage to the car and began their journey home. Severus looked at his mother curiously but refrained from asking questions.
Eileen herself explained soon enough. Mrs Granger had approached Eileen offering to help her the previous year. It had taken quite some time for the proud Mrs Snape to accept help, but in March Tobias Snape had had a particularly nasty bout of drunken rage, and Eileen had fled to the Grangers. Mr Granger was a man of good repute: he fixed the teeth of every policeman and politician in the little town, and his wife took care of their children's teeth and the teeth of many of the wives who wished to be tended by a modern female dentist. Mrs Granger's brother, a reputable doctor who worked at the local hospital, had arrived specially to document Mrs Snape's wounds for the police, and Tobias Snape was currently serving a year-long sentence for domestic violence.
It wasn't perfect: the sentence was miserably short for such a prolonged period of violence and abuse, witnessed by the scarring left on his wife's skin, but it was the best they could get. Eileen had resided with the Grangers for two weeks while she recuperated, and she and Mrs Granger had grown close.
It was the first summer that Severus didn't get hit once, and the feeling was blissful. It took a while to learn he didn't have to sneak across the rooms to get in or out, and he still locked the bedroom door every night, but as weeks passed, it became easier. He dined with his mother frequently, although they were often invited to the Grangers to dine with them, and he and Hermione spent time together, wandering around Cokeworth, walking hand in hand on the banks of the river or snogging by the pond or in Hermione's bedroom, where they lay side by side. Sometimes Severus lounged on the ground on his back, with his head in Hermione's lap while she stroked his hair, and they both read their books or talked: sometimes they reversed their positions and Severus could tangle his long fingers into Hermione's riotous cloud of curls and inhale their scent.
Mrs Granger's side of the family had a family gathering in Hampstead: Severus was invited as Hermione's boyfriend. He received a set of Muggle party clothes: a crisp white button-down shirt, a bow-tie, new shoes and black slacks. Mrs Granger's family was just as sweet as Mr Granger's family in France, although he found the attention quite unnerving. The house belonging to Mrs Granger's parents was fancy and large: he got a room of his own, but at night he felt ill at ease in a strange house and that resulted in him sneaking into Hermione's room for the night, where they both blushed quite violently but shared the bed comfortably for the two nights. The house had a swimming pool: they swam together, though Severus felt even more unnerved when Hermione's grandmother spotted the few scars marring his back, caused by Tobias Snape's belt buckle. After that the older woman positively showered her granddaughter's boyfriend with treats and delicacies, attention and love.
Though Mr Granger's family had invited them all back to France, the Grangers decided to leave it for the next year: Severus didn't mind as long as he got to spend time with Hermione. Hermione's parents took them to London, where they toured the Natural History Museum and visited some book shops, where both Hermione and Severus got to select two books each. Severus smirked at Mr Granger when they tried to extract Hermione from the store while she fretted over which books to select.
Lily moped when they returned from their journey: Petunia was growing increasingly bitter, and once the two sisters stood nose-to-nose in a field screeching bloody murder as they both accused each other for being favoured by their parents. At that particular moment, although externally the two sisters looked very dissimilar, their similarities were quite striking. Finally Petunia stormed down the hill and Lily smirked in victory before she plopped herself down by Severus and Hermione.
For the first time ever Severus dared to invite Hermione to his home at Spinner's End. His mother had had energy to clean the house quite a bit, and though it was ugly, run down and dreary with blistered and uneven paintwork and worn floors, Hermione made no nasty comments. He would never had dared to invite Lily to his home, even cleaned up as it was, but as Hermione cuddled against him in his small bed and snogged him soundly, he felt blissfully happy.
"Hey Snape!" he heard Black cry as he walked through the corridor alone. Hermione was sick today, she had a mild temperature, and Severus felt quite lonely on his own, without her by his side.
"Hey Snape!" Black repeated. "Did you know your girlfriend is snogging Remus?"
"Hermione?" he asked, dumbfounded. It was impossible, he knew it: Hermione would never cheat on him, never. She'd told him she wanted him to be her first when they were older, and she didn't get along with any of the Marauders, not even Lupin, though he wasn't worst of the lot.
"Yeah. I can tell you how to get there and see for yourself. They'll be at it tonight..."
"I will be WHAT?!" a familiar voice hissed from behind Black, and Black blanched, turning slowly around.
"Oh... hello Granger..." he stuttered at the sight of Hermione's enraged face.
"Do you wish to repeat your lies to my face, Black?" she hissed furiously, and other students began to gather to watch the show as Black began slowly backing away from the seething Gryffindor girl.
"I. Do. Not. Snog. Lupin. Do you want to tell me why you'd tell HIM that?!" she screeched as her voice rose to a higher pitch.
"Just a joke, Granger, just a laugh. I just meant to prank..."
"Well that was NOT funny, you... imbecile brat!"
Potter, Pettigrew and Lupin, the latter looking very pale and haggard, arrived, and several Slytherins began to inch closer as well. Potter and Black drew their wands as they spotted Slytherins all around them: the corridor was narrow and they were surrounded. Severus saw Rosier and Mulciber draw their wands as well, and Avery and Wilkes followed suite. Lupin and Pettigrew drew theirs, and Severus dropped his from his sleeve. Hermione was still unarmed, but she was seething with fury.
"Scared of a girl, Black?" Avery taunted.
"Fuck you, Avery," Black retorted.
"Right... coward."
Suddenly the embarrassed Black shot a Jelly-Leg Jinx toward Avery. Avery ducked and retaliated with a Stinging Hex, and suddenly Jinxes and Hexes filled the narrow corridor. Severus ducked and began dragging Hermione away, trying to cast a shield while simultaneously dragging his girlfriend out of the line of fire, but he tripped on Rosier and suddenly Hermione cried out.
"ENOUGH!" a familiar voice bellowed, and the spells died instantly. Professor Slughorn was absolutely livid. Hermione was crying and trying to hide her face in her hands: she'd been hit with a Densaugeo-Hex, and her already large front teeth were now growing past her chin. He heard Mulciber titter and glared at him furiously, silencing the idiot, while holding Hermione close.
"This is intolerable!" Slughorn shouted. "Miss Granger and Mr Rosier, to the infirmary. Mr Snape, you escort them. The rest of you... detention for a week with Mr Filch. And twenty points from your houses... EACH!" He began counting heads and point losses.
Severus held Hermione close as he helped his crying girlfriend toward the infirmary. Rosier stumbled behind them: his left foot had been hit by a spell that had transformed it into a duck's webbed foot. He waited with Hermione as Madam Pomfrey tended to Rosier's foot, rubbing his girlfriend's back soothingly.
"I really see no difference," he said. Hermione glared at him in indignation.
"I mean, Hermione... you're always beautiful to me. No matter how big or small your teeth are, you're always beautiful. And Madam Pomfrey will get them back to their proper size almost immediately."
Hermione's eyes brimmed with tears again and she lowered her head on Severus' shoulder, still whimpering.
"Now, Miss Granger, let's have a look at those teeth. There now, dear, I can fix them for you in no time," Madam Pomfrey said, "it's just a simple shrinking charm. Now, this may sting a bit..."
Hermione took hold of Severus' hand as the school matron cast the spell and the teeth began to shrink. More tears spilled out and she squeezed Severus' hand, but the teeth shrunk back quite fast.
"There now," Madam Pomfrey handed her a small mirror, "do they look better now?"
They did. Severus saw Hermione's eyes light up as she gazed at her teeth, which were now no longer bucked and large. They looked like normal front teeth.
"Yes! Yes, they look great! Thank you, Madam Pomfrey!" Hermione beamed at the matron, who smiled back. "Thank you! They're better than they were before!"
The nurse smiled and ushered them away, advising Hermione to eat soft foods for the day because the teeth might be a bit tender for a while.
"Are they better, Severus?" Hermione asked.
"You're always the best. Like I said: you're always the most beautiful witch to me, no matter your teeth" he replied, kissing her cheek.
"Maybe I'll get lucky and someone will Hex my hair until Madam Pomfrey fixes it, too."
"Don't. I love your mane," he said, truthfully. He adored her sweet-smelling unruly curls.
"You didn't believe Black, did you?" she asked, suddenly sounding concerned. "I don't know why he'd say that, but I'd never..."
"I know. If it were anyone else I might have, but you. I'm the ugliest git in the school and yet..."
"Severus Snape, you are NOT ugly," she replied, poking him on the tip of his hooked nose before kissing him on that very same spot. "You're lovely. And my boyfriend. I've no idea why he'd even say something like that. "
"He's jealous."
"Sirius doesn't like me like THAT. You know it."
"No, but he's jealous I've a girlfriend."
"You do. And I'd never snog anyone else."
Severus chuckled and pulled her under his arm, continuing their momentarily interrupted journey.
"At least we didn't get any detention," Hermione said with a small smile.
"Slughorn might be lazy but he's not an idiot," Severus replied quietly, making sure that no ghost of portrait overheard them. Hermione tutted.
"Don't disrespect our teachers, Severus. Especially your Head of House!"
Severus kissed the top of her curly head fondly. "Next weekend is Hogsmeade. Slughorn paid me for the brewing: I was thinking we could go to Tomes & Scrolls to pick up a new book?"
"Oh, great! I could use a new quill too."
"You wouldn't if you'd stop chewing on them."
"Oh hush, Severus."
"Hermione!" he heard Alice Prewett call, as he escorted his girlfriend to the Great Hall. "I heard your teeth got hexed... oh, they're smaller now! Oh, you look lovely! Smile, won't you? Oh, you have a lovely smile now," The Gryffindor girl said kindly. Lily, seated beside Alice, looked angry and jealous, but refrained from commenting, picking on her roast beef instead.
"Thank you, Alice," Hermione smiled as she took a seat. Severus saw Black and Potter cast some wary glances towards him from several seats away, but they refrained from commenting. Lupin, however, stood up and came by. He still looked very ill, very pale, and had dark circles around his tired eyes. He looked like he hadn't slept for days.
"Hermione, Snape, I heard what Sirius said. For my part, I'm sorry he made such claims for me. Snape, I have no such intentions toward Hermione, and I'm sorry he used my name to lie."
Severus nodded but refrained from responding. Hermione, however, furrowed her eyebrows. "Why did he say something like that? It was ridiculous."
Lupin looked very uncomfortable and very, very sick. "I... he said it was just a prank. I've told him to never, ever involve me in something like that again," he said, casting a glance at his erstwhile companions, who were staring at their plates and picking on their food.
"Again, I apologise for Sirius. He was an ass," Lupin said before going back to his friends. Potter whispered something to him, and he shook his head, looking very grave.
Severus kissed his girlfriend on her curly hair and made his way to the Slytherin table.