Chapter Three
A Night To Remember
***
"Oh, Severus, this has been so much fun," Hermione Granger gushed happily, as she leaned back farther into the arms of the man she had come to love very much. Since the war ended they had been always together, and Hermione was discovering more and more, how deeply wonderful Severus Snape truly was.
Severus wrapped her more tightly in his embrace, and kissed her cheek. They were snuggled together on a bench on top of the Slytherin Tower, gazing up at the stars.
This place was his favorite in all of Hogwarts. He had come up here often as a School boy to get away from everything. The students, the teachers, and everything else that threatened to rob him of his own thoughts.
And more than anything he longed to share this place, and all the peace and beauty it offered, with her and her alone. Severus had never dreamed of this of course. His relationship with Hermione had been growing more and more into something he couldn't quite manage to explain. It had started out as a deep and warm friendship. He had saved her life when Voldermort had attacked the School the year before, and everything had continued from that day on.
They were never one without the other. They had shared some wonderfully passionate kisses and words of affection during the course of their 'friendship'. But nothing, yet, had been declared in stone. No words of what this exactly was for each of them. No declaring of love at that.
But Severus knew he was in love with her. He just feared more than anything, even feared more than he did of the Dark Lord then, that she never seen things going in the direction that he did. He wasn't even certain that she loved him in return. Considering her youth, this just may be a flight of fancy for her. He knew for her last few years of Hogwarts that she had a crush on him. Severus feared more than anything that this was just a meeting of a goal for her. She had finally won the heart of the teacher she had fancied as a child.
He half expected her at any moment to dump him for that Weasley boy that had been eyeing her since his third year at the School. Ronald Weasley was an idiot at best, but he was an idiot that was much closer to her in age than he ever could hope to be. He was going to be forty-one this year, and she was just barely eighteen. It would make sense for Hermione to leave him for Ronald Weasley.
But what fascinated him was that she didn't leave.
She was happy and content at staying in his arms like this, and staring up at the stars in the sky.
That must mean what he dared hope.
That she loved him too.
"Are you happy, Hermione?" He asked softly in her ear.
"I could stay like this forever, Severus," She exclaimed joyfully, wrapping her arms tightly in his own, and leaning back farther against him. "I love you, Severus. I never want this to end."
It was then they shared their first real kiss. It was deep and more passionate than he had ever shared with her before. It was a kiss like no other in his life. He found himself pulling her more onto his lap, and crushing her against him as much as he could without hurting her.
"I want to make love to you," He whispered in her hair, before catching her lips in yet another madly driven kiss. "I want you right here, and now." He growled into yet another kiss.
In his passion her House robe ripped off in his hands, and his
was next as she clawed at his chest in her own fiery passion for him.
She was quickly in his lap facing him, kissing him as deeply
as she could.
Their clothes were all soon nearly off as he entered her. Each
gasping for air as they reviled in each other's pleasure and lust under
the moonlight sky.
Severus Snape opened his eyes to see Hermione, no, that was Mrs. Potter now. He corrected himself firmly. Leaning against his left arm in a fitful sleep. He was startled slightly as she moaned in her slumber, and rubbed her head more firmly against his left arm.
She looked so beautiful as she slept. Peaceful and inviting. He quickly thought of how easy it would be just now to give into those sweet lips, and kiss her as deeply as he could. He felt a stirring inside of him and forced himself to look away from her.
There was no use of thinking such things now. Hermione was a married woman, and in love with her childhood friend, Harry Potter. She was not the kind of woman to think back on what could have been.
Severus sighed deeply as he admitted to himself that his chance was now gone.
He let it walk out the doors of Hogwarts the morning after she had declared her love for him, and he couldn't tell her those same words back, no matter how much they had been roaring in his chest for her.
Severus Snape, ever the coward when it came to love, couldn't tell the
woman he loved how he felt about her.
In fact, he had stayed silent, as she had pleaded to know his feelings
for her. That he would not just leave her to think their first night of
lovemaking had meant nothing.
That it had been only sex for him, and it was best to leave things
as that, because she had still been a student, even though one week
from graduating.
The next morning she had left Hogwarts forever. Dumbledore had granted her the degree early, at an excuse she got a placement at the university, and she wanted to go over her classes before the other students had the chance too.
Hermione had told no one of their relationship out of fear it would
get him fired by the ministry for being involved with a student.
She had told no one even when he had hurt her so badly.
It was the day before the graduating ceremony that he heard Potter bragging
to some students that he got himself a girlfriend.
Severus had first summed it up to Potter trying to make himself look
good after losing his last girlfriend to Ronald Weasley. He didn't want
them to think he was leaving Hogwarts without someone new.
But then he had said her name, and he felt as if he had been stabbed threw his heart.
"Hermione and I have fallen in love," Potter bragged boldly. "In fact i'm going to ask her to marry me next month when she gets settled for University. I think she'll say yes."
Of course she'll say yes. Severus had longed to scream at him. She'll say yes because I was a fool and let her go.
Severus gazed down at her sleeping form as it cuddled into him again. He smiled down at her and lightly kissed her cheek.
"Wake up, Mrs. Potter," Severus then said in his usually cold tone. "We're all most there!"
