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Chapter Eight
Shopping with Severus made me recall just how difficult a man could be. Not to mention how horrible they were at picking food that was good for them.
When we walked in, he grabbed a cart, and began straight for the frozen food section. What a typical
"What exactly are we getting today, dear?" I asked as he leaned on the handlebar of the cart and browsed through the glass cases.
"Anything microwaveable." He responded gruffly, opening one of the doors and piling frozen pizzas into the cart.
"You're kidding right?" I raised my eyebrows. "You're going to get fat." I stated, beginning to put them back.
"Oh Hermione.." He moaned, exhasperated. "I've gone this far with eating frozen food with no woman telling me otherwise.." He took a pizza from my hands and put it back into the cart.
"Well now you have some woman telling you otherwise, Mister." I said, nudging him in the ribs with my elbow. "We can compromise."
"Will it be a compromise I can agree with?" He asked, looking sadly at the two pizzas in the bottom of his cart.
"Half of the shopping can be..your choice." I almost cringed upon saying that. "Your artery blocking choices which may cause me to be a widow when you die of a heart attack..."
"Alright, alright, I get the point.." He stuffed the pizzas back into the freezer. "Lead me to what will not block my arteries, oh all knowing one.." He grumbled, leaning onto the handlebars as he pushed away.
Feeling bad, I shoved two pizzas back into his cart, earning a smile. I guess every man needed thier frozen food. It probably made them feel able.
I helped him with the rest of his shopping, loading up on vegetables and fruits. I lost in the argument on junk food. I figured chips and popcorn would prove handy when I visited during nights anyway, maybe for stay at home movie dates.
We left with an over abundance of bags that the two of us could barely manage, and walked all the way back to his flat. It seemed like we were walking forever, more so carrying all that weight. When we arrived, He unlocked the door and I ran in through the front door, straight to the kitchen and dropped all of the bags I carried onto the island in the center of his kitchen. I slumped tiredly into one of the chairs at his table and whimpered pathetically. "Why didn't you drive?"
"Well..." He set the bags next to mine with ease and pulled a kitchen chair beside mine. "A little walking never killed anyone.." He twisted a bit of my hair around his index finger. "You're just out of shape."
"I am not." I said whining as I punched his shoulder. "I just haven't carried things long distances in a while."
"Long distances.." He snorted, tugging my hair and letting it go. He looked thoughtful for a moment, then got to his feet. "I want you to meet someone...Jake?" He called.
I saw a big yellow mass bound down the stairs and head in my immediate direction. I nearly screamed until I recognized the bounding yellow mass to be a big friendly dog. He sat before me, licking my hand and I could only giggle. "You seem like a cat person." I told Severus.
He made a noise and began to put the groceries away. "You seem like you have terrible judgement."
"Especially when it comes to men..." I teased, scratching Jake behind his ears. "Just look at me now."
We both met eachothers eyes and smiled, one of those secret smiles that couples shared from time to time. It was lovely to be able to share one with him at this time of year when we were set on the notion we wouldn't see one another until the next school year. It was horrible that we even settled for that notion.
"How would you like to spend the evening?" He asked, continuing to stuff things messily into the cabinets and refrigerator. So unorganized..
"My curfew isn't until midnight...I suppose we could spend it in several different ways." I offered walking over, with Jake trailing behind me, to help put away the remainder of the food. "We could go rent videos or something.."
"If that is what you would like to do." He replied, opening a half gallon of milk and looking into it thoughtfully. "I haven't sat to watch a film in a very long time."
"Maybe watch half of one, end up making out, going upstairs.." I trailed off, a suggestive tone in my voice.
He looked from over the top of the gallon as he took a drink. Then he recapped it and began nodding, putting it away. "That sounds..fine."
So we finished putting the groceries in thier proper place and then just made for the living room to sit on the sofa together just to speak in the otherwise silent room. Jake took refuge by the door, as we sat side by side, my head leaned onto his shoulder, and his head rested ontop of mine. He examined the palm of my hand as I spoke, tracing the lines and such. When he got bored with that, he aimlessly played with my hair. I loved how he just examined me. It made me feel like he appreciated every aspect of who I was, not just what typical males otherwise would.
"This seems so odd." I remarked, lacing my fingers into his. "We've lived a street away from one another our entire lives and never knew."
"Not really, but it is a strange coincidence.." He shrugged slightly. "In the past, I believe the only reason you would have needed my home address would have been to hunt me down and slit my throat while I was sleeping."
I laughed quietly, giving his hand a squeeze. "You were quite an ass to me, you must admit.."
"Well.." He began softly. "When you're not sure of how to deal with your emotions..You usually just lose grasp of the way you really feel. You react with anger, not knowing why you can not stop feeling the way you do..Its even worse when for the better part of 34 years you were nothing but an introvert."
"Why did you wait for so long?" I asked him, almost as if it were a burden to me. It was unintentional that I spoke that way.
"Selfish reasons, of course. I needed time to realize that you were more of a person than I gave you credit for. I wanted the timing to be more appropriate so there would be a chance of you responding more like an adult.." He put his lips to my ear. "I just couldn't have waited any longer."
I lifted my head and looked up at him, and like magnetic attraction, our faces drew nearer and nearer, until finally, our lips touched.The kiss we shared proved to be a lot neater and less rushed as the one we shared on the sidewalk earlier in the day. It held a bit more tenderness.
I put my hand a top his cheek as I traced his lower lip with my tongue, earning a nearly inaudible groan of approval. He shifted slowly ontop of me, continuing to hold the kiss.
I broke away for a moment to pull his sweater over his head, and continue the kiss I'd yearned to share since the ending of term which seemed like a million years in the past, though in reality, it was only a few weeks.
Then, as if from out of nowhere there was a cough. A cough that didn't belong to Severus, nor me, and definitley not Jake. I turned my head to examine the room as he nibbled playfully on my ear. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" He asked, slightly muffled, moving to my neck.
"Hear me?" Came a voice. A sickeningly familiar voice.
Headmaster Dumbledore appeared in the center of the living room, with a pop. My stomach churned like never before. This was all over. Everything that built up to today all came crashing down inside my head. Was this really it? Oh god, I felt like I was going to vomit.
Severus scrambled off of me, grabbing his sweater and slipping it on. "Headmaster.."
"Interesting choice of apprenticeship, Severus.." Dumbledore remarked sourly. He didn't move from his position, it looked as if not a muscle in his body was moving. His face broadcasted disappointment. I hated disappointing anyone..God, god, GOD.
"Albus, I can...explain.."He paused, breathless. "I can.."
"How long has this relationship been going on?" Dumbledore questioned, ignoring Severus's attempt at making the situation better. I wasn't sure in what way he could do that, but I really didn't care. We needed something to save us, anything.
"Since Mid-April.." I cut in, my voice quavering. I had to say something. I was just as responsible as he. I loved him, I would never let him take the fall alone.
"I knew there was something...odd.." Dumbledore sighed heavily. "I dislike being selfish, but do either of you know what kind of predicament you have placed me in?" His looked at from one of us to the other and neither of us spoke. He took a seat. "I don't know what to say, I don't know what to do, How to react.." He sighed again. "Are you well? Are you happy?"
"We are happy." I replied. Then without warning, my eyes filled with tears. "Please don't take this away from us Professor. Please.." Severus put a hand to my shoulder.
Professor Dumbledore looked at me curiously from under his half-moon spectacles and I swallowed hard, choking back the tears that threatened my eyes.
I couldn't lose Severus. I just couldn't.