Here we are with another update...Keep reviewing. It makes me feel popular.

-Heart- Casey

Chapter Six

Well, I suppose detention was detention no matter what.

We brewed potions every night for the remainder of my detentions, but also took breaks that I treasured. We made tea over burners and sat on the floor beside his desk, talking. Just talking.

The more we socialized, the deeper I delved into the mind of Severus Snape and I realized he was just an average man. An average man with an over abundance of pride, but also a still uncertain amount of vulnerability. I adored his vulnerability. I adored every aspect of him.

We did kiss very often, but never made love. I suppose he was treating the relationship as we never had done it in the first place. I imagined when he finally did cave, He'd consider it our first time. It obviously wasn't for my lack of trying, because I did, after nearly every make out session.

I was getting better at kissing, which I was very smug about. Severus, one evening before he walked me back to the Gryffindor common long after curfew, and we were having our goodnight kiss, I asked him to teach me how to kiss as good as he did. He gave me a crash course in kissing, which proved very amusing. Everything he did amused me in one way or another. His sarcasm, his snarky nature, his horrid moods. I'd learned to tolerate it.

The last day of detention came, meaning it was the day before the end of term. The day before the end of my 6th year.

My detention of last night was also a detention for Severus. Maybe more so.

There was an end of term formal ball and Severus was forced to chaperon. To my glee, that meant he had to dress up. He'd been very secretive about what he'd be wearing and only insisted that 'I better like it'. I was curious, for I'd never seen him in anything but his usual school garb or...well..naked.

I was loitering around the girls dormitory the night of the ball, making sure my hair was right, my make up soft and subtle, and my dress remained free of lint.

It was a goregeous dress to be honest. Sleek and black and off the shoulders, fitting my every curve in a very...inviting fashion.

A half an hour before the ball, I began down to the Great Hall, where it would be held. Upon pushing open the doors, I was taken aback by how much they'd cleaned the place up in such a short amount of time.

It was very spacious, fully lit at the moment, but by glancing at the celing, I saw spotlights mounted about it in various places.

There were only two tables in the room. The high table, that the staff would reside in to oversee the nights events though there was no one in the Hall at the moment besides the band, and a long table to the left of the room which held snacks and punch.

The wall opposite from the table with all the munchies, was a wall, lined with chairs. For all the students going stag, I reckoned. I sighed and looked about the near empty room, crossing my arms across my chest. I had a feeling the night would be a special one. It was the last night of the year...My last night with Severus..

I felt a smart tug of my hair and whipped around only to lose the ability to breathe.

I think that moment was nothing more than taking eachother in when dressed in such unconventional attire.

It was so simple. A white dress shirt under a black suit jacket and a pair of obviously ironed black slacks. A shiny pair of black shoes rounded off the outfit. The ends of his hair were still a bit wet from what I could tell, obviously from showering.

"Professor..." I said, short-winded. "You look...amazing.." I reached up and straightened his shirt collar. "So very handsome.." I smiled a remotley mischevious smile.

"You don't clean up too bad yourself, Miss Granger." He stated with a smirk.

"Oh, Professor...Do you mind picking your jaw up off my foot please? Its rather uncomfortable..." I asked playfully.

"You know I was only teasing..." He said a bit more quietly. "You're simply breathtaking...Goregeous in every aspect...A perfect t-"

I didn't care who saw, I cut him off by pressing my lips to his own. Why did he have to be so irresistable sometimes?

Oddly enough, he didn't stop me. We nearly toppled into one of the stag chairs to the right of the room, for some reason, unable to get enough of one another.

Finally, after a few more moments, we caught on to the fact we couldn't keep on kissing in such a very public place and parted from eachother, biting back our smiles.

We spoke comfortably and unnoticed by the snack table until the students began flooding in at Eight o' clock sharp. We said our farewells and went our separate ways.

The music began almost instantaneously and I began searching for Harry or Ron.

I noted how stand-off-ish everyone was about dancing. Few people were out on the floor, actually dancing. The crowd seemed to be around the snack table at that moment.

I took a seat in one of the unoccupied stag chairs and sighed, crossing my legs. My gaze met Severus's across the room. He was standing by the staff table, speaking with Headmaster Dumbledore, looking completley inattentive. He gave me a small nod, and a ghost of smile.

I offered him a wave and sighed a dreamy kind of sigh, resting my eyes. It was meaningless to search for Harry and Ron...Maybe when things calmed down a bit..

"Hermione...Hermione.." I awoke after a bit of light shaking and looked to see Severus seated beside me. "Well hello there. Dozed off?"

I sat up and looked around, yawning. The room was empty. Tremendously untidy, but empty nonetheless. For one reason or another, the band was still playing, winding down, though still playing soft, sway-worthy music. "Yes..I believe I did..I'm sorry.."

"Well.." He said, clearing his throat. "I was wondering..Well, maybe you'd like to share the last dance of the night with me."

"Asking me to dance, are you?"

He nodded , rather quickly. Much like a small child being forced to ask whether he'd really taken the cookies or not.

I laughed. "Of course I would...If you can dance that is." I remarked, slyly.

He offered me his hand. "Chances are, Miss Granger..That if I had to teach you how to kiss properly, then I'll have to teach you how to slow dance properly as well."

I snorted, as he slipped his arms around my waist, lacing his hands behind me. "You're such a arrogant git..." I told him as I locked my arms around his neck and leaned my head onto his chest. I'd longed to be close to him since the last time we kissed.

As we swayed to the music, he spoke up. "I'm..going to miss you."

I lifted my head to look at him and smile. "I'm going to miss you too." I put my head back to its rightful place, over his heart, entraced by how fast it was beating. "You're going to write me though?"

"Of course I will.." He sighed. "I will be very sorry to see you leave tommorow."

"I'll be even sorrier to leave you because...these past two and a half months.." I looked up at him again. "They've been the best of my life..."

We were unaware the music had stopped a few minutes back, for we were still swaying to music that wasn't there.

"Severus..." I began, my voice nearly trembling. "Will you do me a favor tonight?"

"Anything.." He replied, with a nod.

"Will...you make love to me?" I asked slowly, tilting my head to the side.

He paused, looking at me in examination. Then nodded again, smiling ever so slightly. "Yeah.."

And so, he did, and in the aftermath, as we lay entwined, my back to his front, he put his lips softly to my ear. "Hermione...I love you.."

Feeling my eyes tear up, I reached back to stroke his hair. "And I love you.."

So we lay in silence after that, but for the first time in my life, enduring a silence that long wasn't awkward in the least.

It was perfect.

He was perfect.

This was perfect.

As I fell asleep, lulled by his soft breathing in my ear, I couldn't help but dread the summer.

Yes, I did believe the approaching summer would be nothing short of complete and utter torture.