I'm afraid that if there isn't more response to this story, I'm going to have to stop writing. Sorry.

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 bunsen 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 really a man. Not this tyrant who lived to make my life miserable. Though above average in ever aspect, he was a 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 done so 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. I liked to tease him, now that I knew how. One evening before he walked me back to the Gryffindor common long after curfew, and we were having our goodnight kiss, I had asked him to teach me how to kiss as well as he knew how. 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. He had first assigned me to a month of detention, but once he allowed me into his heart, he made sure to extend them through the end of the year. It was the day before the end of my 6th year. My last night of detention was also a detention for Severus, knowing it would be the last night we'd spend with one another for a while. Either way, it was punishment for both of us.

There was an end of term formal ball and Severus was forced to chaperon. To my glee, that meant he had to dress up. I'd never seen him dress in anything besides school required attire, and I was excited. He'd been very secretive about what he'd be wearing and only insisted that 'I better like it'.

I was loitering around the girls dormitory the night of the ball, making sure my hair was right in a perfect bun atop my head, my make up soft and subtle, and my dress remained free of lint. It was a gorgeous 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 seemed very spacious, fully lit by thousands of candles levitating in the air. I smiled as I looked up and around. Various Professors were still setting things up. 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.. My heart sunk at the idea I wouldn't be able to rest in his arms once this summer. I had grown so accustomed to spending all of my free time, I was sure it would be a shock, being bored and not knowing what to do in my spare time.

I felt a smart tug of a piece of my hair and whipped around only to lose the ability to breathe. I think that moment was nothing more than taking each other 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. So simple, yet so elegant.

"Professor..." I said, short-winded. "I must say, You look extremely handsome on this evening.." I reached up and straightened his shirt collar. "So very handsome.." I smiled a remotely mischievous smile.

"You don't clean up too bad yourself, Miss Granger." He stated with a smirk. Always the one to make such a comment. I had learned how to retaliate in the appropriate fashion.

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

"You know I was only teasing..." He said a bit more quietly. His smirk turned into more of a smile. . "You're simply breathtaking...Gorgeous in every aspect...A perfect te-"

At that moment, I didn't care who saw, I cut him off by pressing my lips to his own. Why did he have to be so irresistible 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. As I browsed the room for them, I noted how stand-off-ish everyone was about dancing. Few people were out on the floor, actually dancing. The crowd seemed to be concentrated 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 and thinking of Severus. 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. I saw him smiling when my eyes came into focus. "Well hello there. Dozed off?"

I nodded. 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..Since its just you, I and the band..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 or be punished for it.

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

He said nothing, but 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 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. "I was dreaming about you." I heard him chuckle, and he held me tighter as a reply.

As we swayed to the music, he spoke up. "I will be very sorry to leave you tomorrow."

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, entranced by how fast it was beating. "You're going to write me though?"

"Of course I will.." He sighed. "I'm not sure how I'll feel when my day goes so miserably and I don't have you there at the end of the night to make me..feel."

"These past two and a half months.." I looked up at him again. "They've been the best of my life." We were still swaying, unaware the music had stopped a few moments before.

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

"I would do anything for you.." 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, when we retired to his chambers, he did, and in the aftermath, as we lay entwined, my back to his front, his arms tightly around me. 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.