Disclaimer: It's not mine, sorry, I just like playing with their minds and destinies, Mwa ha ha ha ha ha!
A/N: Thanks bunches everyone, as always, for the wonderful reviews! This chapter dedicated to Lady Zymurgy and GilraenLissesul5 for leaving some hilarious reviews that made me smile! Now, as I've said once or twice before, I'm going to be a freshman in college this fall. I move in the 25, and classes start the 30, so for the first few weeks of school, till I really get settled in and see what my classes are like, up-dates will be slower. But once again, have no fear, I will up-date, cause this is my baby, and I'm in love with what I've created lol, so don't abandon me please!
A/N 2: Okay, this is completely random, and totally immature, but I am sooooo annoyed at at the moment! They did something, so now you can't use asterisks, and that what I used to separate sections of time in my story, so now I've just used "Ooo's" and it's not as pretty, but oh well. Now, what you really want, the Slytherin bashing, a surprise for y'all, and the next instalment of the story!
Take Time to Smell the Roses
Chapter Twenty
Severus woke up early the next morning, although if truth be told, he never really went to sleep. Too many thoughts were running through his head; worry about his wife, his feelings for her, what on earth to get her for Christmas, although to him, the last seemed rather pitiful when compared to the first. He was still holding her hand several hours later when he heard the infirmary door burst open.
"WHERE IS SHE?!" He heard a familiar voice shout.
"Mr. Weasley, calm yourself at once or I will ban you from here! There are sick students here," the angry voice of Madame Pomphrey drifted towards him.
"It's all right Poppy, let them in, they're just worried," Severus called softly from his seat, dropping Hermione's hand gently back onto the bed. "And I can guarantee that they'll behave."
"Thank you sir," Harry said as he and Ron came around the privacy screen and pulled up two chairs on the opposite side of the bed from where he was.
"Thanks," Ron mumbled, but his attention was focused on Hermione who still very pale looking.
"Here Professor, I didn't think you'd want to leave her," he felt a soft touch on his shoulder and looked up to see Ginny standing there with Blaise next to her, holding a tray with a cup of coffee and a few rolls. "And don't say you're not hungry, because you need to eat something to keep up your strength if you want to keep on sitting here with her."
"Thank you Miss Weasley, Mr. Zabini," he replied taking the tray and settling it on the table next to him.
Harry and Ron looked up when they heard Ginny's name linked with a Slytherin's. Severus smirked as he took a sip of coffee, watching their mouths drop open as they looked from Ginny, to Blaise, to their clasped hands.
"Something the matter Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter?" Severus raised his eyebrows.
"Uh, no sir, we were just surprised," Harry stammered slightly.
"Surprised! Ginny's with a, a, a," Ron was red in the face.
"A Slytherin, perhaps? I think that's the word you were looking for," Blaise supplied. Severus smirked again, knowing the word that Ron was dying to say was most likely 'death-eater' instead.
"And a very intelligent student with no interest in the dark arts," Severus decided to help out Miss Weasley, to thank her again in a way.
"But what about his parents? Weren't they death-eaters?" Ron demanded.
"My parents were not death-eaters, they were bankers, and they're dead now."
"Oh. Well, just don't hurt her," Ron mumbled after a long silence. "After all that with Mione, I shouldn't be surprised by anything."
"Thank you Ron!" Ginny squealed and threw her arms around Ron's neck in a breath-taking hug. "And just so you know now, he's coming for Christmas."
"And Severus too," a weak voice spoke.
"Mione, you're awake," said Harry who turned his attention to her. Everyone else did too, except for Ron, who sat in shock for a moment at the revelation that not one, but two Slytherins would be coming to his house for Christmas.
"Drink this," Severus said as he supported her head and placed a vial at her lips. "It's some mild pepper-up potion. How are you feeling?"
"My head's throbbing, and I still feel sleepy, but other than that I feel all right," she said weakly as she finally opened her eyes. "Could you turn down the lights please?"
"Sure Mione," Ron quickly did so, dimming the lights.
"Mrs. Snape, what happened?" Blaise asked.
"Call me Hermione, please," she smiled at his formality. "Well it started when I went to the kitchens to get some more drinks for the celebration party. On my way back I was headed up a staircase and met three students at the top. They wouldn't let me pass, and when I finally did shove past after deducting 85 points total and assigning them each a detention with Filch, one of them took a bottle and came at my head with it, and that's all I remember."
"Well, who were the students?" Severus asked, barely restraining his anger. When Hermione didn't answer, he took her hand. "Please, you can't let them get away with this."
"Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, and Draco Malfoy," Hermione whispered after a moment.
"Malfoy!" Ron yelled. "Why that bastard!"
"Ron please, my head," Hermione pleaded. "I hate to ask, but could you guys leave? I think I want to go back to sleep for a while."
"Of course Mione," Ginny gave her a quick hug, and Blaise gave her a smile before they left.
"Feel better soon Mione," Harry gave her a kiss on the cheek before standing up.
"We'll come back after lunch and check in with you," Ron also gave her a kiss on the cheek before he started to leave with Harry.
"One moment Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley," Severus called out before turning to Hermione. "I'll be back in a moment.
"Yes Professor?" Harry asked once they were outside of the infirmary.
"Detention for both of you tonight with Mr. Malfoy," he said. "At seven o'clock."
"What for!" Ron demanded to know.
"Professor Dumbledore will not do anything to the three students except suspend them for two weeks, due to the power their parents hold. You will serve your detention with Mr. Malfoy, supervised by me. I plan on going to see Professor Sprout to retrieve a few supplies, leaving you three to your own devices. I expect your Gryffindor loyalty will kick in," he explained slowly, just short of spelling out what he hoped they would do.
"Yes sir," Harry smiled, already planning on a trip to the library to research painful curses.
"Let's go Harry!" Ron jumped in, and they dashed off, leaving a smirking professor behind.
"Severus?" he heard a soft voice from behind him, and he turned around to see Hermione leaning against and holding onto the doorframe of the infirmary.
"You shouldn't be out of bed with that concussion," he reprimanded, and walked over to her and lifted her off her feet, soliciting a gasp of surprise from her.
"I wanted to say thank you," she leaned her head against his shoulder as he carried her back to bed. "Poppy told me you stayed with me all night."
"I was worried," he said simply as he gently set her down and pulled the covers up over her slender frame. "Sleep well."
"Severus?" she called, and he stopped a few feet from the bed and turned back. "Would you mind waiting till I fall back to sleep?"
"Of course not," he smiled, and taking her hand, sat back down beside her.
OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooO
"I need to see Professor Sprout for a few minutes. You three will continue working silently till I return, understood?" Professor Snape asked, and Harry, Ron, and Draco nodded as he swept out of the room. Severus had been correct in his prediction that the three Slytherins would only receive a two week suspension from school. Albus didn't want to incur the wrath of their parents too much, especially when they gave so much money to the school and held so much sway with the school board.
"You're dead Malfoy," Ron said the moment the door closed behind Professor Snape.
"We've got a little score to settle with you over Mione," Harry quickly locked the door and soundproofed the room.
"She deserved it, the little bitch," he sneered. "She marries into a pureblood family whose boots she shouldn't even lick-they're too good for her. Then she decides she wants more control over us and convinces the old fool who runs this school to let her be a teacher, and a bad one at that. She deserved what was coming to her, although to be honest, we never meant to knock her unconscious, we just wanted to scare her."
"Honest? Honest my ass, you probably meant to kill her!" Ron seethed.
"But don't worry," Harry started towards him, wand out. "Honestly, we won't knock you unconscious; we'll just give you a beating you won't forget."
OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooO
"Well Mrs. Snape, I think you can go back to your room tonight if you want, but I won't say no if you would like to stay another night," Madame Pomphrey told a grateful Hermione late that evening.
"Thanks Madame Pomphrey, but I miss my own bed," she smiled. "I'll head down when Severus comes back up. He said he'd stop by after his detention is over."
"Or maybe it's your bed-mate you miss more," Poppy shot a sly glance at a blushing Hermione, smiling when she didn't deny it.
"Poppy, I have some students who need your attention," Severus walked in, following behind a bruised, limping, and bleeding student, and two others who were rather…colourful looking, for lack of a better word.
"Mr. Malfoy! What happened?" Poppy asked, rushing over to tend him as he sat down on a bed. Severus moved over to stand next to his wife as she gathered her things together.
"I fell down some stairs when they shifted on me," he mumbled as she ran her wand over him.
"You received two black eyes, a broken wrist, several broken fingers, bruised ribs, a sprained ankle, a slight concussion, and bruises on 30 % of your body from a flight of stairs?" she asked doubtfully.
"Yes," he said stubbornly.
"And what happened to you two?" She turned to Millicent and Pansy.
"Makeovers gone wrong," Pansy glared at Hermione who was trying hard not to laugh. She had red and gold striped hair that was spiked out, making her look like a porcupine. Her face was a contrasting blue with orange spots, and had a few bat wings fluttering on her cheeks. Millicent looked no better with rainbow coloured dreadlocks and a purple and green plaid face with bright yellow lips. Her nails had also grown to be several feet long, and hung down to the floor, thick and dirty.
"Of course it was," Poppy said, once again doubtful, but she didn't push it.
The last thing Severus and Hermione saw as they left was Poppy ushering the three into bed and drawing privacy curtains around each of them. She held his hand as they walked back to their room, encountering a few students on the way, a couple of which stopped in shock as they saw the two. Even though everyone knew they were married, public displays of affection had not been seen except for the occasional light touches.
"I think I'm going to go to bed," Hermione said once they were inside. "I swear, all I've been doing is sleeping all day."
"Well you did get hit rather hard, so exhaustion is to be expected," Severus replied hanging her cloak up. "You go on to bed. I have some papers to grade, so I'll be in later."
"All right," Hermione smiled sleepily and with a yawn, disappeared into the bedroom.
Severus gathered some papers, ink, and a quill together and set them on a small table in front of one of the arm chairs in front of the fireplace before sitting down. He had just begun the tedious process of grading the papers when the bedroom door opening a few minutes later stopped him.
"Are you okay? Did you need something?" Severus asked, standing up and walking over to where Hermione was standing near the door way, clad in blue, phoenix covered pants and a matching tank-top.
"I just wanted to say good night," she said shyly holding her arms open, silently asking for a hug. He obliged, and she leaned into his accepting embrace.
They stood there quietly for a moment, just enjoying each other's warmth. Hermione with her head leaning on his chest, eyes closed, arms snugly wrapped around his waist. Severus with his chin resting on her head, arms holding her tightly, supporting her. He pulled back slightly and looked down upon her face which looked, to him, angelic and peaceful. With one hand, he gently traced a finger along her jawbone and under her chin. Raising her chin slightly, he looked into her eyes for a moment, and smiled. She smiled back at him and raised her face expectantly as he lowered his. He met her lips in a slow, soft, and tender kiss, his lips fitting perfectly against hers, his soul joining with hers for that brief, yet timeless moment before they pulled away.
"Good night," he said softly, and smiled as she leaned forward and kissed him once more before turning around and going back to bed. "A good night indeed."
A/N: Okay, they had their first kiss, yay!!!! You guys have no idea how long I've wanted to get to that. They wanted it too, so I was happy to oblige, lol. Anyways, I've never been kissed, so I did my best to describe how I thought it should be, and I hope its okay. Next chapter up in not too long hopefully; it's going to be some Christmas shopping and tea with Narcissa, so lots of stuff going on. It's gonna be fun (for me) to write Narcissa again. I just love her character for some reason. Anyways, as always, please review, it means a lot to hear what y'all think, but if you don't that's okay too!