Hermione's eyes fluttered open as she stretched her arms out wide and rolled over. To her surprise, she nearly toppled off of her bed. However, that was the moment when she noticed that something was different. She opened her eyes, rubbed them groggily, and gazed around the room. That was when the memories from last night came flooding back to her. Hermione sat up and glanced down at the quilts that she had become tangled in while she was tossing and turning in her sleep; she had not put those blankets there. The last thing that she remembered was sipping wine with Severus. Then she had asked him about his other classic books. He departed at once to go and get them, during which time she had laid her head against the back of his sofa and rested her eyes. Had she really fallen asleep that quickly? That was also when she realized that she was still lying on Severus' couch in front of his fireplace, though the embers were only somewhat glowing now, in the dress that she had worn last night for the ball.
She stood and stretched once more, and then hunted around for his bathroom. She finally located it at the far end of his chambers, adjacent to what she assumed was his bedroom, and shut the door. Gazing at herself in the mirror, she decided that she would have to clean herself up a bit before she would look even halfway presentable. She took down her hair, combed through it using her fingers, and tied it back up again in a rather messy bun. Then she cleansed her face by means of soap and water and, using some of Severus' toothpaste that she found in a drawer, squirted some of the blue gel out of the slender tube and onto her index finger and then rubbed it over her teeth and tongue for fresh breath. She cupped her hand under the running sink and rinsed her mouth out with the cold water. Examining herself in the mirror again, she smoothed back several flyaway hairs that had sprouted up with the water still left on her damp hands. That would have to do for now.
She smoothed her dress to the best of her abilities and walked out of the bathroom. She did not catch sight of Severus anywhere, and had no idea what time it was. She knew that it was Sunday, so there were no classes to attend to, thank goodness, but she hoped that he was not in his classroom or in his office. At best, he would be with everyone else in the Great Hall having breakfast (or lunch. How late was it, anyway?). She tried to be as quiet as she could while she opened the door leading to his office and peered through it. Unfortunately, she spotted him through the small crack between the door and the wall.
He was sitting at his desk in his office grading papers (when is he ever doing anything else?), mumbling to himself every now and then. Hermione barely make out the word "dunderhead" at one point. She then opened the door just wide enough so that her slender body could fit, and she slipped through soundlessly. Quietly, she tiptoed to the door, hoping against all the odds that Severus would be too engrossed in the essay that he was correcting to notice her flitting through the his office door that sat ajar.
"Did you honestly think that would work, Hermione?" he asked her suddenly, making her jump with alarm, not looking up from the paper that he was grading.
Hermione sighed. "I suppose not." She walked over to him, thinking that that was the only polite thing to do: try and make conversation with the man whose sofa she had spent all night on.
"Besides," he said, leaning down to grab something from underneath his desk, "it seems that you are forgetting something." He handed her his copy of Jane Eyre. However, this was not the publication that Hermione had seen last night; this one was quite different. Unlike the previous copy, this one appeared brand new, and it was bound by a leather covering. Its pages were clean, crisp, and white, and on the inside cover there was writing of some kind. Hermione studied it for a moment, her brow furrowed, and then gasped as she suddenly realized what it was. It was the author's signature; Charlotte Bronte had autographed this book.
"Th- This is… This is…" Hermione could barely get the words out.
"I'm quite aware of what it is, Professor Granger," Severus said, now staring back at the papers.
"Where did you get this?" she asked him disbelievingly.
"That is of no importance, Miss Granger."
"But she published the book under a false name. How did you get her rightful signature?"
"Again, a matter of no importance."
"No, I cannot accept this, Severus. I won't accept this. You must keep it," she said, this time determined to have him keep this copy, at least. She studied the book carefully; it was exquisite. There were no folded page corners and the cover was free of any grunge or scuffing it might have acquired over the years. Not just anyone would have kept it in such seamless condition; Severus must have taken extra care with this book, stored it someplace secure. He must have genuinely loved it. She thrust the book back at him forcefully.
"I am not taking the book back, Hermione," he said, looking into her eyes.
"Well, I'm not taking it, either. This is too good a thing to merely give away, Severus," she replied, still holding the book out to him.
"It's yours, Hermione. I am giving it to you. You may consider it a gift."
Hermione shook her head. "No, Severus. Please take it back. I don't deserve this."
"Of course you do. More than I do, at least." Severus sighed. "Hermione, if you return this book to me, it will find its way back to you somehow, so I suggest that you simply take it now and make things easier on your future self."
Hermione gaped at him for a moment, and then retracted her arm. She held the book tightly in her hands and stared at it. "Thank you," she breathed, never in her life meaning anything so sincerely as those two words.
"You're welcome," he answered, still gazing at her. She really did look beautiful. Severus could tell that she was clearly not wearing any makeup, but her complexion had never been clearer, and her eyes had never been brighter. Even with her wrinkled dress and untidy hair, she was gorgeous. He could no longer deny that. However, it was not too late for him to reject his feelings for her. Not that he actually had any feelings, of course. But before he developed them, he could prevent doing just that. This is what he told himself.
"What is it?" Hermione asked him, noticing the way that he was gawking at her. She smoothed her dress again self-consciously.
This snapped him out of his daze and he thought of an excuse at once. "I believe you have something in your hair. On the, er, right side."
She reached up and brushed it back, and then looked at him expectantly. "It's gone," he said. She smiled at him widely and walked closer to him. Hermione leaned down and kissed him lightly on his cheek. Severus tensed just a bit and his jaw nearly hit the floor, but he did his best to conceal this. He gulped, and luckily, she didn't notice. Then she pulled away and smiled down at him. He looked up at her, his brow furrowed.
"Thank you, Severus, for the gift. I will treasure it dearly, I hope you know." He nodded, and she began to make her way toward the door, but stopped and turned around, remembering something. "Oh, and by the way, Severus, thank you for covering me with that quilt last night. I apologize for falling asleep, but I have been terribly exhausted for these past few days."
"That's all right. I didn't mind too much. And besides, I didn't want you to get cold," Severus muttered.
There was a roaring fire right in front of me, Hermione thought, but she did not voice this. She simply grinned at him and bid her goodbye, leaving for the Great Hall. Who cared what time it was? She was starving. (After she had shut his door behind her and was standing in his classroom alone, she magically replaced her dress with something a bit more casual. She would appear extremely noticeable, not to mention suspicious, if she walked out of Severus' room wearing the gown that she had been dressed in the previous night. After all, what would people think?)
Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! You guys make my day!
olivialynlee- Wow, thank you. I am glad that I was able to keep him in character. I always look forward to your reviews. I love that you tell me exactly what you liked about the chapter (in this case, that Severus gave the book to Hermione and that you liked how I described the dancing scene).
Maybe I am getting better at this prediction thing, seeing as how my last one was also correct! Yay, I am so proud. Let's try this one, shall we: Chapter 8 is very short, so it will be up tomorrow.
Remember: Review, Please! Even if you don't like my story, tell me what it is that you dislike, and I will try to work on it. Thanks!
Hermione's eyes fluttered open as she stretched her arms out wide and rolled over. To her surprise, she nearly toppled off of her bed. However, that was the moment when she noticed that something was different. She opened her eyes, rubbed them groggily, and gazed around the room. That was when the memories from last night came flooding back to her. Hermione sat up and glanced down at the quilts that she had become tangled in while she was tossing and turning in her sleep; she had not put those blankets there. The last thing that she remembered was sipping wine with Severus. Then she had asked him about his other classic books. He departed at once to go and get them, during which time she had laid her head against the back of his sofa and rested her eyes. Had she really fallen asleep that quickly? That was also when she realized that she was still lying on Severus' couch in front of his fireplace, though the embers were only somewhat glowing now, in the dress that she had worn last night for the ball.
She stood and stretched once more, and then hunted around for his bathroom. She finally located it at the far end of his chambers, adjacent to what she assumed was his bedroom, and shut the door. Gazing at herself in the mirror, she decided that she would have to clean herself up a bit before she would look even halfway presentable. She took down her hair, combed through it using her fingers, and tied it back up again in a rather messy bun. Then she cleansed her face by means of soap and water and, using some of Severus' toothpaste that she found in a drawer, squirted some of the blue gel out of the slender tube and onto her index finger and then rubbed it over her teeth and tongue for fresh breath. She cupped her hand under the running sink and rinsed her mouth out with the cold water. Examining herself in the mirror again, she smoothed back several flyaway hairs that had sprouted up with the water still left on her damp hands. That would have to do for now.
She smoothed her dress to the best of her abilities and walked out of the bathroom. She did not catch sight of Severus anywhere, and had no idea what time it was. She knew that it was Sunday, so there were no classes to attend to, thank goodness, but she hoped that he was not in his classroom or in his office. At best, he would be with everyone else in the Great Hall having breakfast (or lunch. How late was it, anyway?). She tried to be as quiet as she could while she opened the door leading to his office and peered through it. Unfortunately, she spotted him through the small crack between the door and the wall.
He was sitting at his desk in his office grading papers (when is he ever doing anything else?), mumbling to himself every now and then. Hermione barely make out the word "dunderhead" at one point. She then opened the door just wide enough so that her slender body could fit, and she slipped through soundlessly. Quietly, she tiptoed to the door, hoping against all the odds that Severus would be too engrossed in the essay that he was correcting to notice her flitting through the his office door that sat ajar.
"Did you honestly think that would work, Hermione?" he asked her suddenly, making her jump with alarm, not looking up from the paper that he was grading.
Hermione sighed. "I suppose not." She walked over to him, thinking that that was the only polite thing to do: try and make conversation with the man whose sofa she had spent all night on.
"Besides," he said, leaning down to grab something from underneath his desk, "it seems that you are forgetting something." He handed her his copy of Jane Eyre. However, this was not the publication that Hermione had seen last night; this one was quite different. Unlike the previous copy, this one appeared brand new, and it was bound by a leather covering. Its pages were clean, crisp, and white, and on the inside cover there was writing of some kind. Hermione studied it for a moment, her brow furrowed, and then gasped as she suddenly realized what it was. It was the author's signature; Charlotte Bronte had autographed this book.
"Th- This is… This is…" Hermione could barely get the words out.
"I'm quite aware of what it is, Professor Granger," Severus said, now staring back at the papers.
"Where did you get this?" she asked him disbelievingly.
"That is of no importance, Miss Granger."
"But she published the book under a false name. How did you get her rightful signature?"
"Again, a matter of no importance."
"No, I cannot accept this, Severus. I won't accept this. You must keep it," she said, this time determined to have him keep this copy, at least. She studied the book carefully; it was exquisite. There were no folded page corners and the cover was free of any grunge or scuffing it might have acquired over the years. Not just anyone would have kept it in such seamless condition; Severus must have taken extra care with this book, stored it someplace secure. He must have genuinely loved it. She thrust the book back at him forcefully.
"I am not taking the book back, Hermione," he said, looking into her eyes.
"Well, I'm not taking it, either. This is too good a thing to merely give away, Severus," she replied, still holding the book out to him.
"It's yours, Hermione. I am giving it to you. You may consider it a gift."
Hermione shook her head. "No, Severus. Please take it back. I don't deserve this."
"Of course you do. More than I do, at least." Severus sighed. "Hermione, if you return this book to me, it will find its way back to you somehow, so I suggest that you simply take it now and make things easier on your future self."
Hermione gaped at him for a moment, and then retracted her arm. She held the book tightly in her hands and stared at it. "Thank you," she breathed, never in her life meaning anything so sincerely as those two words.
"You're welcome," he answered, still gazing at her. She really did look beautiful. Severus could tell that she was clearly not wearing any makeup, but her complexion had never been clearer, and her eyes had never been brighter. Even with her wrinkled dress and untidy hair, she was gorgeous. He could no longer deny that. However, it was not too late for him to reject his feelings for her. Not that he actually had any feelings, of course. But before he developed them, he could prevent doing just that. This is what he told himself.
"What is it?" Hermione asked him, noticing the way that he was gawking at her. She smoothed her dress again self-consciously.
This snapped him out of his daze and he thought of an excuse at once. "I believe you have something in your hair. On the, er, right side."
She reached up and brushed it back, and then looked at him expectantly. "It's gone," he said. She smiled at him widely and walked closer to him. Hermione leaned down and kissed him lightly on his cheek. Severus tensed just a bit and his jaw nearly hit the floor, but he did his best to conceal this. He gulped, and luckily, she didn't notice. Then she pulled away and smiled down at him. He looked up at her, his brow furrowed.
"Thank you, Severus, for the gift. I will treasure it dearly, I hope you know." He nodded, and she began to make her way toward the door, but stopped and turned around, remembering something. "Oh, and by the way, Severus, thank you for covering me with that quilt last night. I apologize for falling asleep, but I have been terribly exhausted for these past few days."
"That's all right. I didn't mind too much. And besides, I didn't want you to get cold," Severus muttered.
There was a roaring fire right in front of me, Hermione thought, but she did not voice this. She simply grinned at him and bid her goodbye, leaving for the Great Hall. Who cared what time it was? She was starving. (After she had shut his door behind her and was standing in his classroom alone, she magically replaced her dress with something a bit more casual. She would appear extremely noticeable, not to mention suspicious, if she walked out of Severus' room wearing the gown that she had been dressed in the previous night. After all, what would people think?)
Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! You guys make my day!
olivialynlee- Wow, thank you. I am glad that I was able to keep him in character. I always look forward to your reviews. I love that you tell me exactly what you liked about the chapter.
Remember: Review, Please! Even if you don't like my story, tell me what it is that you dislike, and I will try to work on it. Thanks!