Disclaimer: The characters, settings, etc. of the Harry Potter series are not mine. I just play with them.
Part Ten
"Well, my boy!" Dumbledore exclaimed, throwing himself into the seat Hermione had vacated earlier. "What will you do now?"
Severus narrowed his eyes at the old man and stood from his chair. "What did you tell her?" he hissed. "I made a point not to look at you, Albus, so how the hell did you manage to discover my feelings for her?"
Dumbledore chuckled in response. "You're terribly obvious, Severus. Hermione told me about the looks you've given her and some of the things you've said. She highly suspected you were in love with her, and all that I did was confirm it."
Severus sighed and began pacing before the fire. He ran a hand across his forehead and sighed once more before speaking. "What should I do?"
"What did she say to do?" the headmaster asked, grinning up at his employee.
"She said I had to take the next step and to find her when I was ready to do so," Severus replied.
"Well, are you ready yet?" Dumbledore asked.
"Of course not!" Severus snapped at him. "Do I look ready? I haven't showered yet, I am still wearing pajamas, and I have no idea what to say to her. I mean," he stopped pacing to look at the headmaster, "what do you say to a woman like that? What can you possibly say to a woman who is so intelligent and beautiful and wonderful? She'd see straight through any lies or lines or whatever else I could come up with."
"Why don't you tell her the truth then?" Dumbledore replied.
"Oh? Yes, that does sound lovely. 'Listen Hermione, I know I am a cruel bastard with a shady past, but I do love you. I know it sounds completely implausible that such a cold and evil man could be capable of love, but it's true!'" Severus sneered at the old man. "She'll just laugh."
The headmaster shook his head. "I am afraid you are mistaken, Severus. When it comes to your feelings about her, Miss Granger is quite serious. In all the times we have discussed the matter, she has never once laughed."
Severus narrowed his eyes. "In all the times?"
Dumbledore smiled. "I would simply tell her the truth, Severus." He paused as he stood from his chair and made his way to the door. "I do believe muggles have a lovely saying regarding truth. They seem to believe it capable of setting one free."
Frowning, Severus fell into the seat he had previously vacated. "Muggles are fools."
Laughing, the headmaster left the room. Severus sat in silence for a few moments, contemplating his next actions. He would, of course, have to take a shower and shave. He would have to dress himself. And then, he would have to find the right words. He sighed as he got up and walked towards his bathroom. This would be one of the most difficult tasks he'd ever undertaken.
One shower, three outfits, and an hour and a half later, Severus stood outside Hermione's door. Armed with flowers from Sprout's green house and a mental list of points to discuss, he knocked on the door.
When she opened the door, though, the list fled his mind taking with it all of his courage. "Severus," she said smiling at him and eyeing the flowers. "What a pleasant surprise."
"These are for you," he said, shoving the daisies at her.
She took them from him and smiled. "Won't you come in?" she asked as she turned and walked into her rooms. Severus followed her in and was surprised to see that there had been a few changes made since he was last there. Where the table had been, there was now a small couch. And the two chairs that had sat at the table had been turned into comfortable easy chairs that resembled his own.
She settled herself into one of these chairs, resting the flowers in her lap. She looked up at him expectantly. "Are you going to sit down?"
"No," Severus replied hastily, shaking his head. "I'd prefer to stand."
"Certainly," she said, smiling at him. It was rather a rather encouraging look, Severus thought, and imagined it was much like the one she must give her students. "So do you have anything to tell me? Or are you just here because you find the situation on the fifth floor better for stalking around, and you thought you should drop in while you were in the neighborhood?"
Severus sneered. "I have a rather important matter to discuss with you."
"Then get on with it," Hermione said. She had continued to smile, but the grin had changed a bit. It now looked eager and excited.
Severus took a deep breath and dove in. "I feel the need to confess that my feelings for you are a bit beyond those of the professional realm. When you first asked me to go with you to the wedding, I believe I regarded you in the way I should. I respected you as a talented witch who, though quite pretty, would never be more than a colleague to me." He paused and cleared his throat, hoping it would have some effect on the sudden dryness plaguing his mouth. "When we attended the wedding, after shopping at Gladrags and spending a bit of time together, I found that I could easily admit to myself that you were quite amiable. And after the discussion I had with Elizabeth, I decided upon your being quite beautiful, as well."
He stopped for a moment to refocus his attention on her expression. She was still smiling at him, and he could see that her eyes were shining. As she had made no movement to throw the flowers in his face or demand he leave at once, he supposed he was doing all right with this little confessional. Clearing his throat again, he decided to push on.
"The feelings I have for you, Hermione, are much more serious than friendship. It frightens me that I am capable of such feelings because it does make me incredibly vulnerable. I don't think I realized that I love you until you pointed it out yourself. But it's true. And Albus said that I could do no wrong if I simply told you the truth." Severus took a deep breath before continuing, realizing that he was beginning to ramble. "Therefore, Hermione, I must tell you that I love you dearly, and that these weeks of avoiding you have been hell for me. So, to make up for this separation, I must ask you to spend as much time as humanly possible with me for the next couple of days." He paused. "Please."
Hermione laughed as he finished and standing from her chair, closed the short distance between them. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him close to her. "I think I could manage," she said and he heard her sniffling against his chest.
"What's wrong?" he asked, bringing a hand to rest on top of her head and tangle in her hair.
"Nothing," she replied. She pulled away slightly, leaving her arms around his waist and looking up at him. "I'm really happy. That's all."
"Me too," he replied, smiling down at her. She smiled back, and suddenly, Severus realized he was leaning towards her slowly. Her hands moved quickly to reach behind his head and speed up the process. Severus laughed as she pulled his face down to hers and began kissing him.
He reveled in the feel of her lips pressing against his. He had never felt anything more wonderful than her mouth on his and her tongue slipping between his lips. He thought he might die soon; he thought too much good was coming to him, for he felt luckier in this moment than he had in all of his life. Severus continued to kiss her for awhile before gently pulling away. "You must allow me to breathe occasionally, Miss Granger," he whispered softly, planting a light kiss on her nose.
"Sorry," Hermione replied a bit breathlessly.
"I forgive you this time, but I have no interest in having it happen again." He brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead, kissing the spot where it had rested.
"Never again, Professor. I promise." she replied, again capturing his lips with her own. She released them a few seconds later and pulled out of his grasp. "But where does this put us exactly Severus?" Hermione asked as she took a couple steps away from him.
"What do you mean?" Severus asked, trying not to focus on her slightly swollen bottom lip.
"I mean, are we a couple now? Or have we just become engaged? Where do we stand?"
Severus, who had stopped breathing when she'd mentioned engagement, coughed and sputtered a few moments before finally answering. "We are not engaged!"
Hermione smiled. "Then we are a couple?"
"Yes," Severus nodded, smiling back at her. "We are a couple. A couple of what, exactly, I do not know."
Hermione laughed and stepped forward to take his hand in hers. "We are a couple of people who are madly in love, and that's all that matters really."
Severus grinned down at the beautiful woman before him. "I quite agree."
Note: Thanks for all of the reviews. I hope you've enjoyed the story. Thanks very much for reading.