"So," Skeeter sneered, steepling her fingers in front of her and grinning
smugly. "How did you two get together? Who initiated it? And don't lie, or
I'll know." Hermione sighed and looked at Snape, who just looked back
blankly.
[I think we're stuck. She registered herself as the insect she is with the ministry already, so we can't get her for that. You start talking and I'll say as little as possible. She'll like you better, you're the girl and the friendly one.] Hermione shrugged and looked to Skeeter. [Fine,] she thought.
"Well, we hated each other at first," Snape snorted at that, grumbling "That's an understatement." Hermione glared at him and continued, "But then there was a death raid at my house last summer...." Hermione proceeded to describe being forced to go to Professors' houses, being split up and having Harry and Draco go elsewhere, and her fears for her own and her friends' safety.
"For a long time our relationship was strictly professional. He let me to extra studying and taught me some new skills." Rita chose that moment to butt in.
"So how did you two end up together?" Hermione shrugged. Then she launched into a heavily edited story about Voldemort coming for her, trying to kill Snape, her tapping into her magic and saving him, the process of teaching him to tap his magic directly... She wisely chose to leave out the part about the coffee.
"And, I guess we just fell for each other along the way. I know I didn't expect it, and I'm sure he didn't either." Rita grinned evilly again. "Thank you for complying with me, you two. Your cooperation is...appreciated." She gave another smug smile and left. Hermione felt Snape relax substantially once the obnoxious reporter was gone.
A few days later, their story appeared in the Daily Prophet. It was a gushy piece about how Hermione and Snape were the couple of the year and had lived out one of the most amazing love stories of all time. Suddenly Hermione heard her own name, and Snape's, everywhere. There was no escape from the publie eye. Severus had never been so humiliated in his life, but at least Skeeter hadn't expressed disapproval of their relationship or slandered them in any way. There were shockingly few remarks about their age difference or the fact that Hermione was still his student for a while yet. Everyone seemed to think that their relationship was-horrifying to both of them as it was-cute. For the first time in his life Severus was termed somebody's 'boyfriend.' He hated it. But at least the gossip wasn't hostile or too detrimental to anyone's reputations. That, at least, was a relief.
~~
School, for them, was also uncomfortable. Hermione had been approached by dozens of girls telling her how lucky she was. "He's so mysterious!" sighed one misty-eyed Ravenclaw. "I've been trying to figure him out for years! He's damned sexy, too, if you ask me. That voice..."
"And the way he held you!" whispered Ginny excitedly. "If only Harry would do that...." Hermione just smiled, not sure if she felt embarrassed or proud.
Severus was taking considerable heat from the other professors. "Well, I suppose I was wrong about Hermione on Christmas," Trelawney admitted. McGonagall seemed both amused and annoyed. "If you ever hurt her," she growled, "I swear I will rip your balls off and feed them to one of Hagrid's pets."
"I knew you'd come around, Severus! And now we know where you were last Halloween..." Lupin said proudly. "Poor Sirius isn't sure what to think, though. I do believe you finally rendered him speechless." Dumbledore never said anything, but always gave Severus that knowing smile when the topic of Hermione came up.
In class, Severus simply behaved as he normally did, ridiculing everyone. Hermione also behaved as though nothing had happened, which was a great disappointment to all of the gossip-loving students who wanted to see some action.
~~
The biggest shock of all came when Lavender and Parvati came running to Hermione with their latest issue of Witch Weekly.
"Oh my God! Hermione, you are so lucky! You've made it into Witch Weekly!" They opened the magazine to display an article gushing about how romantic Hermione and Snape were together. There were multiple pictures of Snape, including a very large poster of him that would probably go on the walls in the rooms of young female witches everywhere. Hermione tried not to laugh as she thought about Severus's reaction if he ever found out.
Severus was humiliated by all of the publicity-he had never been one to enjoy attention from other people, and had spent most of his life trying to avoid it. He prayed that all of this excitement would die down soon so that he could enjoy his time with Hermione without gossip-seekers bothering him about it. Their relationship had only improved since the night Voldemort was defeated, and he wanted to savor every moment they had together in peace. He treasured Hermione even more now that he had nearly lost her again, and he wasn't about to take her for granted. Unfortunately, public interest has a tendency to remain focused on certain unlucky individuals for unusually long periods of time, and Severus often found himself mobbed by strangers in the street. He hated it.
A few days after the Witch Weekly special, someone sent Hermione a letter begging for permission to publish a novella about her love life. Soon afterward, someone asked for the movie rights. Both requests were promptly denied.
~~
Despite the wizarding world's shockingly positive attitude towards Hermione and Snape's relationship, both of them were a little worried about what would happen next. Hermione would have to get a job after graduation, and she had no idea where opportunities would present themselves. Besides, she knew that Severus loved her, but would he want to spend the rest of his life with her?
Severus happened to want nothing more than to do just that, but of course, he was having his own doubts about Hermione's intentions. She loved him, yes, but that didn't mean that he should stand in the way of her future. Perhaps she wouldn't want to settle down with him, anyway. She was almost too young to tie herself down at all, much less to an older man such as himself.
Hermione was mildly surprised to recieve a note from Dumbledore shortly before graduation telling her to meet him in his office. Frowning, she whispered the password and sighed as the gargoyle leapt aside.
**A/N** Don't worry! More fluff on the way! Hehe hope you liked this chapter. if Hermione and Snape really did get together, they probably would be one of the most miraculous couples in history. Maybe that's why they're so much fun to write about! Keep reviewing-I never tire of hearing from you! I love you all very, very much!
[I think we're stuck. She registered herself as the insect she is with the ministry already, so we can't get her for that. You start talking and I'll say as little as possible. She'll like you better, you're the girl and the friendly one.] Hermione shrugged and looked to Skeeter. [Fine,] she thought.
"Well, we hated each other at first," Snape snorted at that, grumbling "That's an understatement." Hermione glared at him and continued, "But then there was a death raid at my house last summer...." Hermione proceeded to describe being forced to go to Professors' houses, being split up and having Harry and Draco go elsewhere, and her fears for her own and her friends' safety.
"For a long time our relationship was strictly professional. He let me to extra studying and taught me some new skills." Rita chose that moment to butt in.
"So how did you two end up together?" Hermione shrugged. Then she launched into a heavily edited story about Voldemort coming for her, trying to kill Snape, her tapping into her magic and saving him, the process of teaching him to tap his magic directly... She wisely chose to leave out the part about the coffee.
"And, I guess we just fell for each other along the way. I know I didn't expect it, and I'm sure he didn't either." Rita grinned evilly again. "Thank you for complying with me, you two. Your cooperation is...appreciated." She gave another smug smile and left. Hermione felt Snape relax substantially once the obnoxious reporter was gone.
A few days later, their story appeared in the Daily Prophet. It was a gushy piece about how Hermione and Snape were the couple of the year and had lived out one of the most amazing love stories of all time. Suddenly Hermione heard her own name, and Snape's, everywhere. There was no escape from the publie eye. Severus had never been so humiliated in his life, but at least Skeeter hadn't expressed disapproval of their relationship or slandered them in any way. There were shockingly few remarks about their age difference or the fact that Hermione was still his student for a while yet. Everyone seemed to think that their relationship was-horrifying to both of them as it was-cute. For the first time in his life Severus was termed somebody's 'boyfriend.' He hated it. But at least the gossip wasn't hostile or too detrimental to anyone's reputations. That, at least, was a relief.
~~
School, for them, was also uncomfortable. Hermione had been approached by dozens of girls telling her how lucky she was. "He's so mysterious!" sighed one misty-eyed Ravenclaw. "I've been trying to figure him out for years! He's damned sexy, too, if you ask me. That voice..."
"And the way he held you!" whispered Ginny excitedly. "If only Harry would do that...." Hermione just smiled, not sure if she felt embarrassed or proud.
Severus was taking considerable heat from the other professors. "Well, I suppose I was wrong about Hermione on Christmas," Trelawney admitted. McGonagall seemed both amused and annoyed. "If you ever hurt her," she growled, "I swear I will rip your balls off and feed them to one of Hagrid's pets."
"I knew you'd come around, Severus! And now we know where you were last Halloween..." Lupin said proudly. "Poor Sirius isn't sure what to think, though. I do believe you finally rendered him speechless." Dumbledore never said anything, but always gave Severus that knowing smile when the topic of Hermione came up.
In class, Severus simply behaved as he normally did, ridiculing everyone. Hermione also behaved as though nothing had happened, which was a great disappointment to all of the gossip-loving students who wanted to see some action.
~~
The biggest shock of all came when Lavender and Parvati came running to Hermione with their latest issue of Witch Weekly.
"Oh my God! Hermione, you are so lucky! You've made it into Witch Weekly!" They opened the magazine to display an article gushing about how romantic Hermione and Snape were together. There were multiple pictures of Snape, including a very large poster of him that would probably go on the walls in the rooms of young female witches everywhere. Hermione tried not to laugh as she thought about Severus's reaction if he ever found out.
Severus was humiliated by all of the publicity-he had never been one to enjoy attention from other people, and had spent most of his life trying to avoid it. He prayed that all of this excitement would die down soon so that he could enjoy his time with Hermione without gossip-seekers bothering him about it. Their relationship had only improved since the night Voldemort was defeated, and he wanted to savor every moment they had together in peace. He treasured Hermione even more now that he had nearly lost her again, and he wasn't about to take her for granted. Unfortunately, public interest has a tendency to remain focused on certain unlucky individuals for unusually long periods of time, and Severus often found himself mobbed by strangers in the street. He hated it.
A few days after the Witch Weekly special, someone sent Hermione a letter begging for permission to publish a novella about her love life. Soon afterward, someone asked for the movie rights. Both requests were promptly denied.
~~
Despite the wizarding world's shockingly positive attitude towards Hermione and Snape's relationship, both of them were a little worried about what would happen next. Hermione would have to get a job after graduation, and she had no idea where opportunities would present themselves. Besides, she knew that Severus loved her, but would he want to spend the rest of his life with her?
Severus happened to want nothing more than to do just that, but of course, he was having his own doubts about Hermione's intentions. She loved him, yes, but that didn't mean that he should stand in the way of her future. Perhaps she wouldn't want to settle down with him, anyway. She was almost too young to tie herself down at all, much less to an older man such as himself.
Hermione was mildly surprised to recieve a note from Dumbledore shortly before graduation telling her to meet him in his office. Frowning, she whispered the password and sighed as the gargoyle leapt aside.
**A/N** Don't worry! More fluff on the way! Hehe hope you liked this chapter. if Hermione and Snape really did get together, they probably would be one of the most miraculous couples in history. Maybe that's why they're so much fun to write about! Keep reviewing-I never tire of hearing from you! I love you all very, very much!