Disclaimer: The characters, settings, etc. of the Harry Potter series are not mine. I just play with them.
"Please stop fidgeting," Hermione said softly as she rang the doorbell to her friends' home.
"Sorry," Severus whispered back and attempted to stop pulling at the cuffs of his sleeves every few seconds. He did not know why he was so nervous about this dinner, but he felt it was going to be a trial of sorts. That or he was feeling particularly guilty about the lies and deception surrounding his and Hermione's alleged relationship.
Not that he had ever minded lies and deception before, but he supposed that one could obtain morals at any point in his or her life.
Elizabeth opened the door a few seconds later. "Hello, hello, hello!" she said loudly, stepping forward and enveloping Hermione into a hug and then doing the same to Severus.
"It is so lovely to see you both," Elizabeth continued as she grabbed Severus by the wrist, and after doing the same to Hermione, dragged them into her home. "Michael!" she called as she walked through the house, continuing to pull the pair behind her.
Severus supposed her husband was called Michael, though he had never met the man. At the wedding he had not been given the opportunity to make the acquaintance, and as Hermione did not know Michael very well herself, there had been no real reason to seek him out.
Severus noted as he was brought through the home of Michael and Elizabeth that it was very nice. He found the décor to be very much to his taste. It had the warm and comforting quality his childhood home had lacked and which he had tried to emphasize in every home he had occupied since.
"Yes?" a voice called back from the room Severus found himself quickly being pulled towards.
"Severus and Hermione are here," Elizabeth said as she walked into the room with her two friends, finally releasing their wrists. She left the room as quickly as she had entered it to attend, Severus imagined, to some other pressing matter.
"Well, hello!" Michael said, taking a step forward from the table he had been standing beside to shake hands with both of them.
"How do you do?" Severus asked as he shook the man's hand, and Hermione made a similar enquiry as Michael shook hers.
"I'm so glad you two could make it," Michael said, beaming at them. Severus was astounded to meet such a bright and upbeat man. He could not remembering ever meeting anyone so amiable. Dumbledore was, to be certain, very pleasant, but Severus often attributed much of his happiness to senility. He imagined that one could not live to be so very old without coming to appreciate absolutely everything.
"We are too," Hermione replied, smiling at the man before them. "Severus was very eager to meet you. He was very sad that he didn't get a chance to do so at the wedding."
"Oh?" Michael asked, looking to Severus and clapping a hand on his shoulder.
"I certainly did not want you to be offended by my lack of effort in making your acquaintance," Severus supplied quickly, finishing his sentence with a smile. He thought his behavior to be very odd. Severus was, as a general rule, never friendly and especially was not with strangers. But here he was, grinning at this friendly sandy-haired man as if he had known him all of his life.
Michael chuckled in response. "Of course I wasn't offended, Severus. I could have made an effort myself! It is very difficult in that situation to get around and say hello to everyone. And I admit, I hardly remember who I spoke to at all that evening," he paused to grin mischievously at the couple before him, "I had been a bit liberal with the consumption of sedatives prior to the service." He winked at them before laughing once again. "Speaking of which, can I get either of you a drink? If I remember correctly, Hermione, you like a glass of red wine?"
"Please," Hermione replied, smiling at him.
"And what about you, Sev?" he asked.
"A glass of wine would be fine," Severus replied and found himself amazed that he did not hex the man at the use of the despised abbreviation of his name.
"Well," Elizabeth said as she re-entered the dining room as Michael left it to retrieve the drinks. "Dinner is served, my dears. So please have a seat."
Severus watched as Elizabeth set the large platter she was carrying on to the table and then turned expectantly towards them. Hermione moved forward first, choosing a seat and leaving Severus no option but to settle himself in the chair beside her.
Elizabeth sat in the seat across from him, leaving the one beside her for her husband. The three of them began passing the plates of food around, each serving themselves, and Elizabeth dishing out food for both herself and her husband. Michael reappeared a few moments later with drinks for everyone.
"So, how have the pair of you been?" Elizabeth asked after everyone had settled down to their meals.
Severus glanced quickly at Hermione who was smiling cheerfully at her friend. "We've been quite well, thank you. And you two?"
Michael grinned at Hermione. "As well as can be expected, of course. Newlyweds are supposed to have it a bit rough, but we're adjusting as best we can."
"It must be stressful," Severus heard Hermione say from beside him.
"Did you two live together before you were married?" Severus asked, taking a sip of his drink.
"No," Elizabeth replied. "Not officially, anyway."
Both Hermione and Michael laughed at this and Severus felt himself smiling at her words. He was astounded that he could enjoy the company of these strangers so easily. It was odd that he was able to listen to the conversation and even join in without the usual consternation he suffered from such activities. He did not feel the need to plan his responses and wait for the perfect opportunity to speak as he usually did. He found, instead, he could speak to them with great ease, as if he were in the company of very old friends.
"Any plans to send out wedding invitations soon, Hermione?" Michael asked in a tone Severus thought to be impressively nonchalant.
"No," Hermione replied and Severus saw the blush beginning to color her cheeks. "Not at the moment."
"Good for you, Severus!" Michael exclaimed, grinning at him. "Good for you for standing your ground. I must say that I am impressed. By all accounts you seem to be wrapped around Hermione's finger. I thought for sure you'd have given in by now."
"No," Severus shook his head and looked at Hermione was now beet red. He saw her peer up at him and he smiled at her. "She hasn't wheedled me quite enough. Give her a few more weeks, though, and I may be lost."
"Lost?" Elizabeth said from across the table.
"Yes," Severus replied, keeping his eyes on Hermione who, he saw, was keeping her eyes on him. "Completely lost to her."
"Well," said Hermione, looking away from him after a few more moments of quiet contemplation. "Perhaps we can start a countdown then?"
The married couple laughed at her words, and Severus found himself smiling too. She didn't think he was serious, but despite the fact that it frightened him
to death, he was fairly sure that he was.
The rest of the evening passed quickly and Severus soon found that he and Hermione
had said good bye, and were walking down the street away from the couple's home.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Hermione asked once they were a few blocks away.
"Not at all," Severus replied, honestly. "In fact, it was quite fun."
Hermione did not respond immediately, and Severus looked down at her. She was staring at the ground as she walked, and seemed to be thinking. "You did very well," she said after a moment. "I'll admit that I was surprised, but you really did very well."
"Thank you." he said softly. "I was very much at ease with them. And even though it's impossible, I don't think I would mind spending time with them in the future."
Hermione stopped where she was upon hearing this, and Severus, not noticing until he was a few paces ahead, stopped too.
"Is it?" Hermione asked, looking up at him earnestly.
"Is what?" Severus asked.
"Is it impossible?" she replied, taking a few steps toward him so that she stood directly before him.
"Well," Severus began, "I did not really think we could keep up this lie for much longer, Hermione. I am bound to make a mistake somewhere along the line."
"You were a spy long enough, Severus. You know better than to make a mistake."
He sighed as he stared down at her. "It makes no sense, Miss Granger. Why keep up a lie for so long? I understand one date. I understand this dinner even. But I don't claim to understand why you had to make up the lie in the first place, nor do I understand or even see logic in keeping this lie going for much longer."
She frowned and looked away from him. Severus felt a bit guilty, but knew that he was speaking rationally. "I know," she said after a moment. "But I had to lie, Severus. I did. There was so much pressure on me to be in a relationship and to get married like all of my others friends. Everyone knew that I had plenty of male acquaintances; they knew I had plenty of opportunities to obtain a boyfriend, but when I didn't, they made no effort to hide their disappointment. I felt awful, Severus. I felt really terrible about the entire situation. And then I went to work at Hogwarts and the next time I spoke to Elizabeth I started talking about you for some reason. I told her all about your skills as a teacher and before I knew it, I was making up some lie about you cooking me dinner," she paused and ventured to look up at him again, "and it sort of blossomed from there."
"I see," Severus replied simply, for he was quite unsure as to what he should say. He cleared his throat before asking a question that had been bothering him for the last few minutes. "Why me, Miss Granger?"
She laughed, and unlike her normal laughter, it was not a sound of joy. He could hear the pain in it, and the frustration as well. "Isn't it quite obvious, Severus?"
He frowned. "I wouldn't have asked if it were."
She laughed again and it had the same hollow sound. "I like you, Severus. Very much."
He continued to frown. He liked her too, but that wouldn't induce him to make up lies about a relationship between them. "I don't understand."
"No," she said, her tone rather cold. "I suppose you wouldn't. You don't seem to have much practice in the way of relationships."
Severus took a step backwards as if her verbal strike had actually been a tangible force. He noticed that her expression changed immediately as she saw his movement and suddenly she was again stepping towards him. "I'm so sorry, Severus," she said quickly, reaching her hand out to him.
"I think you have said quite enough, Miss Granger," he replied, addressing her with the tone he would have used on a student. It was cold and detached and everything he now needed to be in this situation.
"But I haven't!" she argued. Severus was surprised to hear her speak back to him. "I haven't," she said again. "Severus, I care for you. I deeply care for you. The time we have spent together this summer has been so enjoyable. I love being in your company. I love…"
"Good night, Miss Granger," he said quickly, interrupting her as he did not want to hear anything else she had to say. And bending his mind towards Hogsmeade, Severus disapparated from the sidewalk.