I do not own HP. but I am borrowing Snape. I love him!
F.Y.I. At some point in the future I will have two - three chapters that will not be for Hermiones perspective. I will label them when they come. I will just have to have at least one from our fav. professors view and another character to be named at a later date. The other character will be pivotal!
I do not know when I will be able to update though I will do my best to make it soon. Sorry to say though that the next chapter is just beginning to be written. I am doing my best. What should make things easier now though is the fact that I am no longer typing two stories at the same time so this one will hopefully be speeding up in production. There are still many chapters left that I foresee. I have no intention of hurrying this story past the point of my comfort level.
"Severus, do you think instead of going to the dance we could hang out together away from everyone else?" I asked clinging to his arm and resting my cheek against it.
"That sounds great. We can hang out till midnight tonight and open our gifts. Does that sound okay to you?" he asked as we walked through the third floor corridor.
"That sounds perfect Severus," I said and I tugged his arm tighter to me. "Well I need to go for now and wrap your gift. Meet me at four thirty by the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy trying to teach trolls ballet. There is a room I can show you there."
"Okay," Severus replied. "I still have your present to wrap as well."
Severus leaned over and kissed my cheek. Ever the gentleman. Never one to push the bounds of propriety of a woman.
He turned to leave but I grabbed his arms and spun him to face me. I firmly pressed my lips to his and wrapped my arms around his neck. He took a second to relax but as soon as he did I felt his tongue poke at my lips. I opened my lips and let his tongue enjoy. I pulled him closer. I felt several tears well up for I knew that we would not be together this way much longer. I pulled him tighter to me and he let his hands slide around my waist snuggly. He pulled away from me reluctantly.
Severus swallowed, "Well I better get going," he said kissing me chastely on the lips.
I held him tightly. I slid my hand into his dark hair and petted it for a moment. He sighed and his head dipped back into my hand.
"I love you Severus Snape. I'll always love you," I said removing my hand from his hair.
"I love you more than I've ever loved anyone," Severus said as he pulled back from me and turned and walked coolly down the hall as if nothing whatsoever had happened between us.
I smiled shyly then left through a door to my right that led up a spiral staircase.
12:35 - In the Gryffindor Common Room.
I held a set of three potions books on my lap and a Defense Against the Dark Arts book that he had been talking about coming out for a while that he knew he wouldn't get as a present. A thick black velvet cloak that I knew was long enough to fit my Severus when he was an adult sat to my right.
Sirius came up behind me, "Do you know how to wrap those or would you like some help?"
"I'd rather do it myself but thank you very much for offering Sirius," I said before returning to my project.
I knew the necklace had a carving of a message I probably should not be telling him. But it was done and I was not going to undo it. I prayed that the message would give Severus hope if nothing else.
1:48 - Still in the Gryffindor Common Room.
All right! How the hell do you wrap a present? I kept ripping off long rectangle bits of shiny green paper but the paper got wrinkly before I managed to get Severus's presents wrapped to my satisfaction which was nothing less than perfection. The fact that he would just rip the paper from the presents was not the point. I am a perfectionist.
2:54 - Yes, I am still in the Gryffindor Common Room! Not upstairs getting ready where I should have been.
"Jane, you need help," Remus said plopping down next to me.
Remus took my green paper and the necklace. He tore off a bit of paper and waving his wand over transfigured it into a simple black box. He opened it and placed the necklace gently into it. He wrapped perfectly, each crease just so, with precise and careful motions. I took the present from Remus who had wrapped a gold ribbon around it. As I finished with the ribbon I turned back to my new present wrapper. He had already wrapped the remaining gifts and was seated in a chair reading a book.
By the time I got all the ribbons wrapped around the gifts beautifully it was time for me to get ready to leave to meet Severus.
I arrived at the painting promptly at 4:30.
"Jane there is no room here," Severus said motioning to the wall on both sides of the hall.
I just smiled and walked up and down before the tapestry three times. As always when I did this, a door appeared.
"Jane, how did you do that?" Severus asked pointing at the door.
I opened the door. Brilliant! The Room of Requirement had just what I had wanted. It was brightly lit. It was not big but neither was it small. A gorgeously decorated Christmas Tree stood in one corner near the fireplace. Silver and gold garland hung from the mantle. A wonderful mahogany bookshelf spanned the entire length of one wall except for a place in the middle where there was a door that led to a bathroom.
"Severus Snape welcome to the Room of Requirement," I said and stepped aside gesturing to the room.
He walked in with his mouth hanging open in astonishment. I followed after him. He stooped next to the tree and emptied his pockets. He enlarged several of the boxes before he arranged them neatly. I set mine down next to his after enlarging them as well.
Severus flopped down on the sofa and I sat down next to him after picking up Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. She was my favorite muggle author. I had read and reread her books a dozen times.
Severus smiled and we took turns reading till very late that night. I giggled in my head as Severus would read the parts of Colonel Brandon. In the future he seemed very like him to me in many ways though I would never tell him that. When we finished the book it was nearing 11:30 at night.
"Jane," Severus said softly. "I've never read anything like that before. I enjoyed it. Has the author written any other books?"
"Jane Austen is a muggle author so that is probably why you have not read anything by her. She has written slew of other wonderful books though I like this one best. I have them all at home. It is a long way off to my home though. It'd take like twenty years to find it without knowing where it is. I live in London, Muggle London, which is very crowded and sometimes hard to get around," I said. I knew I should not be giving him so many clues about things but I couldn't help myself. I felt a sad smile on my lips. "I promise I will get the books for you someday."
Severus grinned but I saw suspicion in his eyes. "I would like that very much. But you know you are strange. I could just cast a locating charm on you and it would take twenty minutes to find you."
"I am afraid very little is as simple as it seems. But forget my silly talk for now and let's open our gifts," I said as the last bell chimed for midnight. We both went over and sat at the base of the pretty pine tree. I sat with my knees tucked up under me.
Severus sat down just as slowly as I had and he reached out and took a present and passed it to me.
"Happy Christmas Jane," he whispered to me.
I carefully unwrapped the present without tearing the paper. A white box rested in my lap as I set the paper to one side. I lifted the lid and pulled back the tissue paper. I gasped as I touched my fingers to the delicate green silk of the most beautiful dress I had ever see. The back and front were made of satin and there was a tie across the stomach of it. The sides were made of silk with pure silver snaps to hold it together on each side. A beautiful swirling design extended all the way up the sides and over the sleeveless shoulders.
"Severus, it's beautiful," I whispered and I threw an arm around his neck holding him tightly.
"You like it?" he asked quietly.
"I love it," I cried jumping up. "I'll wear it tomorrow...well I suppose it is today now!" I dashed into the bathroom.
As soon as the door clicked shut I stripped and changed into my present. I took several moments to look myself over.
I would definitely wear this back to the future. I knew that I would be returning today though I had no idea how I knew. There was no way I could leave it.
"What do you think?" I asked as I stepped out of the bathroom and I spun around. I giggled as the dress flared out a bit but not too much. I have always been fond of things that flared out.
Severus's mouth hung open and his eyes were huge staring at me. "You're stunning Jane," he whispered as he clambered to his feet and walked over to embrace me. I wrapped my arms around his torso and pressed my face to his neck. "I love you Jane Grant."
"I love you too Severus Snape. Never let anyone cause you to doubt. I'll return to just as this someday. Watch for me," I whispered.
"Why do you keep saying that you will return? You are here and you do not have to leave," Severus asked as he helped me to sit down.
"Listen to my words love. Remember them. Pay no heed to their meaning at this moment. Someday you will understand. I swear it. I just can not explain more thoroughly at this...time...I will give you a sign that I have returned," I whispered to him. "Let's just open the last of our presents and enjoy our time together because it is fleeting."
Severus watched me with utter befuddlement. "Are you saying you are going to die?"
"Funny question, Yes and then at the same time a huge resounding No. It is best we leave the subject for now," I whispered. "No matter what anyone says I beg you to remember this I will be back. I may not be exactly the same but it does not change who I am or my love for you."
Severus kept trying to push the subject, which I was so clearly hinting at but I refused to tell him anything else in regard to it.
The presents were the best I had ever received in my whole life. A set of a dozen different books I had wanted. A perfect pair of silver earrings carved by hand into the shape of a kite at the top with slithering serpents curled around emeralds and a teardrop shaped emerald dangling from it. A beautiful charm bracelet with each link carved like a snake was hung with ten charms which were an onyx dragon, silver time-turner, topaz butterfly, pink heart, garnet lion, diamond hippogriff, gold book, amethyst orb, opal letters S.A.S., and sapphire shaped J.H.G. The last was the most wonderful present of them all. A hair-comb of exquisite colored glass. A hyacinth flower. The inside was pure gold. The petals were red glass with a single green stripe down the center of each petal.
"Severus thank you so much! Never has anyone given me such perfect presents," I said and I brushed my lips across his before lavishing his cheeks with kisses. Severus whimpered softly as I kissed his cheeks. I pulled back only after I had kissed every inch of skin on his face. "Now you open your gifts."
Severus nodded before ripping the paper from his gifts gleefully. Our necklaces were exactly the same except for the engraving that was on the back of mine. I pulled him close and fastened it around his neck.
"Your cloak will fit in time," I said as he stood up and it dragged the floor. It was about a foot too short still. I glanced up at the clock then. "Oh my! Severus, we'd better get back to our dorm rooms. It is really late."
Severus nodded in agreement. "Thank you so much for the wonderful presents. Just what I always wanted. You're the best. I still have one more gift for you. I thought it best to save it for last."
"Severus," I started but he held up a hand to silence me. Six and a half years of potions classes kicked in and I sat demurely. He took my hands and led me over to sit on the loveseat.
Severus remained standing in front of me. He reached into his pocket and I could tell there was something in his hand though I couldn't see what. He knelt in front of me.
Oh no. Oh YES! No I had to leave him for the next twenty years of his life. How could he forgive me for that? But we'd be together in the end the logical part of my mind reasoned. I began to think back to what Trelawney, that fraud, had told me. 'You will fall in love with your professor and bear his children.' Wow! For once she predicted something of value. Well except for the two real prophecies, which I had been told of.
"Jane Hermione Grant," he began revealing what he'd been holding, a ring box, and presented it to me. "Will you marry me?" he asked opening the box and offering the ring to me. It had a medium sized black pearl in the center with an emerald on each side and a ruby beside each emerald. They were all embedded in white gold that had been carved into the shape of two snakes. Their tails were twisted at the back and the rubies each rested in the mouth of a snake. I lightly touched the pearl.
OH MY! OH MY! Severus Augustus Snape, the man I'd been in love with since he came back from an order assigned mission badly hurt, was proposing to me. Now I knew why he'd called me Jane that night. But I'd never imagined it happening this way. And who would or could have ever guessed I'd end up travelling twenty years through the past and meeting the most dreaded teacher ever to prowl the halls of Hogwarts and we'd end up falling in love with each other? Certainly not I.
"Severus," I whispered taking the ring from the case and looking at it more closely. On the underside of the ring was carved Snape in beautiful calligraphic carving.
Severus was shaking in front of me as I held his ring.
"YES! Severus I will! I'll marry you," I cried pitching myself upon him.
Severus pulled back slowly, "Promise you won't ever take off the ring."
"I promise Severus," I whispered and leaned down to kiss him. "You'll never see it off my finger as long as I have it."
Severus took the ring and I felt him slide it on my finger. He walked me back to the seventh floor corridor hand wrapped around mine.
"Goodnight Severus," I said and wrapped my arm around his neck to pull him down to kiss him again.
His free hand wound around my waist tugging me to him. I removed my arm to stroke his cheek with my hand. Severus brushed his tongue across my lips gently asking for access. I parted my lips graciously allowing him to deepen our kiss. He plundered my mouth then, sliding it over my teeth and swirling it on my cheeks and tongue. I whimpered under his soft wonderful kiss. Severus moaned back and pressed down more tightly on them.
"Goodnight Jane," he whispered breathily against my lips.
"Severus, I may be late coming to breakfast in the morning. I am going to brew an experimental potion that I have been telling you about. The potions mistress offered me extra credit if it works but I have to do it all by myself," I stammered out.
Another lie. I was quite a liar by this time. I had to do it to protect him though. I felt sick at all the deception. He'd never be able to forgive me. I had to tell him the truth somehow. I had given many hints. That's true. But he deserved something more definite.
"Of course. Will you meet me in the library at ten?" he asked kissing the top of my hand.
"I make no promises but I wish to be there," I said sickened even more by the knowledge that somehow I just knew I wouldn't be able to make it.
"I love you," he whispered before turning to retreat to his dungeon home.
I gave the password to the fat lady.
When I walked into the common room the worst thing happened. An owl dropped a note on my head. I grabbed the note hastily and ripped it open. NO! The forward time-turner fell into my hand.
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If you want to see a real picture of the dress...though I made it green and in the picture it is white. Go to my author bio...I also post information like when I will update there if you are curious.