Hermione's heart skipped a beat. Love. She'd never said those words to anybody in a romantic sense. She'd never felt like this, though, so it felt appropriate. She always thought that she would have planned to say it after a long period of being together, and after a lot of thought and debate went into the decision to say those words.
So when she heard herself say them to Severus Snape less than 2 months into their relationship, and was completely unable to stop herself, to say she was flabbergasted was an understatement. If Hermione was shocked by herself, however, that feeling doubled when Severus had echoed them back, his voice thick with emotion, but certain and clear.
Severus was holding Hermione close, the adrenaline and shock wearing off as they breathed in time. Hermione pulled back, just enough to see his face. "Do you know what's supposed to happen now?"
The tension absolutely shattered as they both broke into laughter. Severus released her and stepped back, running his hands through his hair. Rivulets of water raced down his abdomen until they were absorbed into the towel still wrapped around his hips. "Well, to be perfectly honest, you are the only person I've ever said that to. I never told Lily – and that felt different. This," he gestured between them, "feels different."
Hermione nodded as he turned to dress. His towel dropped to the floor, and Hermione bit her lip as she eyed his backside. As he pulled his boxers on, Hermione tsked. "That's a damned shame, covering up like that." Severus straightened and turned, coughing awkwardly and covering himself with the rest of his clothes. Hermione's eyes glinted mischievously.
"Alright, that's enough of that," he said as he ushered her through his door. She waited in the parlor as he finished dressing. When he stepped out he was dressed in his usual black, though rather than the tight-sleeved and reserved appearance they had grown accustomed to, he was in a plaid button-up, sleeves rolled to his elbows and top two buttons undone. A wool waistcoat and slacks completed the ensemble. Hermione smiled, her heart swelling. She'd never tell him, but she'd noticed. Where he had once been closed off and buttoned up, he was opening little by little, his outward appearance reflecting the changes on the inside.
Severus caught her eyes, a questioning look in his own. "Yes, Miss Granger?" Hermione shook herself from her reverie, smiling at him.
"Nothing. You look very handsome, that's all." He chuckled before leading her to the corridor that led back to his classroom.
They walked in companionable silence, Severus' hand pressed to the small of Hermione's back. Hermione stopped at the end of the hidden corridor, listening to see if anybody was there. It was completely silent. She turned to Severus, planting one more kiss on him. "I'll see you tomorrow," she whispered.
Severus pulled the small lever to slide the bookcase out of the entry, and Hermione backed through it, waving. She turned and crept to the Potions room door, opening it just enough to see that there didn't appear to be anybody in it. She squeezed through and closed the door as quietly as she could, suddenly very aware that her hair still wasn't dry and she definitely looked out of place. Hermione quickly found the entrance to the passage that would take her to the seventh-floor corridor and breathed a sign of relief when she was halfway up.
The real trick now was going to be getting into the common room unnoticed. I really wish I had the Invisibility Cloak, she thought as she neared the end of the passageway. Before exiting, she cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself, opening the entrance enough to slide through. There were students in this corridor, though none seemed to notice the wall sliding open briefly.
Hermione wove her way through the hallway, finally arriving at the portrait of the Fat Lady. Cripes, she thought, I'm going to have to wait for someone to leave or go in. She sat flat against the wall, renewing the Disillusionment Charm, and waited.
Around 20 minutes went by before the portrait swung open and a few younger Gryffindors climbed out. Hermione rushed to clamber through before the portrait swung shut again. Once she was in the common room, she dashed to Wing 98 and slipped inside.
Seeing only Seamus, who was studying on the couch, she undid the charm. She breathed a sigh of relief, causing Seamus to yelp and startle, knocking over his ink. "Shit, woman, ye tryin' to kill me?" he half-yelled at Hermione while he vanished the spilled ink from his parchment.
"I'm sorry, Seamus. I didn't mean to scare you; I was just-"
Seamus looked her over, interrupting. "Just doin' the walk o' shame, I see. I bet I know where you've been all night." Hermione shushed him, sitting on the couch cross-legged and facing him. Her smile betrayed her, however, and Seamus winked.
"I guess Snape was alright after you followed 'im to the 'ospital Wing. Did ye put 'im back there?" Seamus asked her, causing a flush to rise in Hermione's cheeks. "I know how crazy ye can get." He waggled his eyebrows at her, causing her to grab a decorative pillow and smack him with it. He laughed as he batted it away.
After Seamus stopped teasing, Hermione told him what had happened before she left Severus' quarters. A shocked look overtook his jovial features. "You're not serious?" Hermione nodded. Seamus drew her into a hug, saying, "Oh, love, I'm so happy for ya."
Hermione leaned back, smiling. "I've never felt like this before. I can't believe this – I'm in love with Severus Snape." Hermione heard a gasp behind her as Seamus' face dropped. She turned to see Ginny, who had just entered Wing 98.
Ginny had both hands covering her mouth. Her eyes were as big as saucers as Hermione stood. "Ginny, um…" Ginny closed the door to the wing, walking over to Hermione. She looked at the older girl, hurt and confusion in her eyes.
"Did I just hear what I think I heard? I couldn't have, because my best friend would have told me that. So I must have heard something else entirely." Hermione looked guilty as Ginny's eyes became accusatory. "Why didn't you tell me? I just learned yesterday that you and Seamus weren't banging each other's brains out this whole time, and now I'm finding out by accident that you're supposedly in love with a man who has acted like he hates us all for the past seven years?! Do I have that right?!" Ginny had increased gradually in volume until she was screaming at Hermione.
Hermione closed her eyes, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. "Gin, I couldn't. I didn't want to keep it from you, but I couldn't risk anyone else knowing. He could get into trouble, I could get into trouble, it could be terrible."
Seamus came up behind Hermione, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Ginny, she had no choice. I only know because o' what we were doin'." Ginny stared daggers at Seamus, but he didn't budge. "I know you're hurt, but what if it were you?"
Ginny looked again at Hermione. "Is that why you left last night?" Hermione nodded.
She directed Ginny to sit down and took a seat across from her. Seamus sat beside her, a supportive presence. "When I found Severus in the Shack, back in May…I thought he was dead. And when he wasn't, I didn't want to let him die. There'd been so much loss, and he was truly a hero. I tried healing his wounds and giving him the antivenin, but he was still dying.
"I did…something…in the Shack that night. Something that was incredibly dangerous, and reckless, but it worked. He came back. He was able to be healed. Only, what I did caused lasting damage. We didn't know until last night. He has scarring on his organs, and we don't know if it can be remedied. If not, then I've caused him lifelong pain."
Ginny wiped a tear from her face. Seamus rubbed Hermione's arm. "I understand now why you left so abruptly. And…I understand why you had to keep this from me." Ginny smiled up at Hermione. "I think what you did for him was very brave. Foolish, maybe. But you are a Gryffindor, after all."
She stood, holding a hand out to Hermione. "Now, you must tell me everything…well, you can keep the nasty details to yourself." She winked as she started towards Hermione's room. Hermione looked back at Seamus, silently thanking him. He waved it off, shaking his head and smiling.
Hermione had talked at length with Ginny while she dressed and dried her hair. She told her the not-too-intimate details, a few things about how caring Severus was, nothing too revealing. Hermione gingerly folded the sweatshirt and pants, placing them in her trunk.
"So you're only able to see each other a couple of nights a week? Why?" asked Ginny, sitting up.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well it's not like I can just walk down to the dungeons without an acceptable reason for being there." Ginny stood suddenly, grabbing Hermione by the shoulders and giving her a little shake.
"Hermione, the Room of Requirement! They brought in curse-breakers over the summer to deal with the Fiendfyre – it's gone! The items in that particular room are all gone, but the Room still works!" Her eyes sparkled mischievously.
Hermione looked askance at her friend. "How do you know that?"
Ginny's face went slack. "Are you really asking that question? Who here has a professional curse-breaker for a brother? Who possibly could have described the Room to said brother so he could test it?"
Hermione looked sheepish. "Oh, yeah. Forgot about that bit."
The girls left Gryffindor Tower a few minutes later, figuring lunch was in order. Hermione was faced with a quandary. "Should I tell Luna or Lavender?" She wrung her hands, stomach rolling with uncertainty.
Ginny considered this. "Not Lavender, at least not yet; gods love her, she's a blab. But I think Luna can be trusted with this. Oooh, wait, she'll probably tell Neville, though," she said, wincing at Hermione.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "And Neville will tell Dean, who will tell Seamus, who already knows. So then Dean will probably tell…" Hermione's eyes widened. "Harry and Ron. I can't have them find out before I'm ready to tell them. They'd feel like it was a betrayal if it doesn't come from me."
Ginny slowed, a sheepish look on her face. "Well, I may have already told Harry that you're seeing someone." Hermione looked askance at her. Ginny continued quickly, "Obviously he doesn't know who, but he's probably going to ask eventually. And you should tell them sooner than later, I think, if you want them to have any hope of accepting it. It'll be hard enough for Ronald as it is."
Hermione sighed, nodding, and the two girls continued their trek to find lunch.