He Couldn't Believe… At First
She threw her robes off her shoulders quickly and rushed into the bathroom. Her hair matted across her forehead, beads of sweat dripping from her nose as she leaned against the porcelain sink. Her face was flushed and she was on the verge of tears. She could hear her heart racing rapidly in her chest. Why did I bother?
For the longest time, she had cared so much for him. She thought that as soon as she was no longer his student, that she would be able to finally have him caring for her back. He would talk to her like a human now. She actually felt that maybe that meant that he respected her. But the way he treated her tonight definitely meant that he didn't.
Flashback
She wore her favorite robes. They were of a beautiful black satin and it actually showed the curves that the more modest professors strayed away from showing. Her hair, which was once frizzy and wild, was smoothly curled and draping half-way down her back. She knew that he wasn't the type to worry about looks alone, but she wanted to make sure that she appeared to be the full package.
She walked down the corridor, heading towards the dark dungeons where she knew he would be. She reached his warded personal rooms and knocked lightly.
"Professor Granger, what are you doing here?" He asked apathetically. His hair was still as long and greasy as she remembered it being when she was younger, but she knew that she didn't care.
"I was wondering if you would mind talking with me." She shuffled her feet nervously and smiled.
"If you insist." He looked at her strangely and stepped aside to allow her into his sitting room. "Have a seat." He said calmly and sat down on the sofa. She sat across from him.
"Well, I don't really know how to start." She began and his eyebrows furrowed.
"Then why did you come, Professor Granger?" He was beginning to get impatient already.
She could feel herself already become saddened. She had hoped this would be so much easier. She took a large gulp and smiled uneasily.
"Would you please call me Hermione?" She asked quietly as he continued to judge her.
"Only if you honestly wish me to. Now, why are you here?" She could tell that he was already annoyed with him. If she wanted to say anything to him, she would have to do it quickly.
"Okay. Honestly, I am here because I wish to tell you how I feel. I love you. I have for such a long time. I don't know when I started to love you, but it had to have been when I was helping you create the protection potion to the Avada Kedavra. And it's not really easy to tell you this." She said this all in one breath. She knew she was now flushed. He just stared at her. She couldn't tell his emotions either.
"Miss Grang-" He began as soon as she stopped.
"Hermione."
"I do not return your feelings. I will see you tomorrow at Breakfast." He said it without any emotion what-so-ever and stood abruptly. He led her to the door and as soon as it was closed, she ran to her room as fast as she could.
End Flashback
Hermione could not help but think that she was never going to be anything to Severus Snape. When she could finally feel all the heat in her face dissipate, she left the bathroom, changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed. She didn't think at all before sleep, she just lay down and shut off.
The next morning, she found herself feeling very depressed, but she forced herself to smile at her colleagues and her students. It didn't show that she was upset when she taught her classes. But she knew how she felt. When she arrived at dinner that night and found that the only seat available was next to Severus, she nearly started to cry.
Instead, she slowly walked up, sat down quietly and began to poke at her food, not feeling very hungry anymore.
"Hermione, dear, are you feeling okay?" Fillius Flitwick asked from the other side of her. She looked at, placed a smile on her face, and nodded friendly. He smiled back, wished her a good night, and left.
She just kept the same demeanor. Smiling and laughing like normal, all while feeling like absolute crap. She didn't imagine it would be this bad. She didn't even think he would have hated her, but now she felt like a fool.
Being the fool she was, she wallowed her way up to her rooms, opened up a new bottle of firewhiskey an took a few sips before deciding that he wasn't worth it. He wasn't worth making her feel like an absolute moron, a drunken idiot, a pitied woman? She knew better than to let him get the better of her like he had done so many times when she was a kid.
She put the firewhiskey away and went to sit down by the fire. She opened up her favorite book, Hogwarts: A History, and began to read it again. She was on the three hundredth and fortieth page when she heard a mysterious tap at her door. She put the book aside, feeling much better, and walked to the door.
She opened it and standing before her was none other than Severus Snape.
"Hermione." He said, rushed and out of breath.
"Good Evening, Severus." She was confused. "Why-"
"I need to talk with you." She looked at him strangely and let him through to her sitting room. She knew she had done this before.
"Whatever about, Severus? Have I not done a good enough job at going on with my life?" She could already feel herself getting upset.
"No, it's not that. Can we sit?" He looked at her pleadingly.
"Yes, please. Have a seat." He sat down in the wingback chair and smiled the best he could. He was feeling a little nervous. Hermione sat down across from him.
"I want to tell you something, but I don't know how." She stared at him in disbelief.
"I don't understand." She was really quiet. "Severus, you always know what to say." He looked at her and was forced to laugh. She could not help but display an utterly shocked look.
She stared in disbelief as her former 'Snarky, Slytherin, Dungeon Bat' of a Professor continued to laugh. Was he nervous, was he hexed, or did he genuinely think it was funny.
"Severus, what do you need to tell me?" She still hurt from the other night. It was quite possibly the worst night of her life and she didn't completely forget it. He finally stopped laughing and started looking at her seriously.
"I am sorry about the other night." She saw a brief redness creep up his cheeks. She knew she too must have looked ridiculous.
"I understand, Severus. You don't feel the same as I do." She smiled, but didn't mean it.
"Hermione, but I do." For the first time in her life, she saw the ashamed Severus Snape. She was so confused. Not even a week ago, he had flat out refused to like her. Was she hearing what she thought she was?
"What?" Her mouth was hanging down.
"I was so afraid that night that you were just messing around with me. It was not until I watched how you reacted that I even considered you were being honest." He was so quiet that all she could hear was the low rumble of his voice.
"You didn't believe me?" She wanted to cry out of sadness, but her happiness was overwhelming her.
"No." He stood from his chair and walked over to where she was sitting and lowered himself before her. "I didn't think that I would ever be lucky enough to be loved. I didn't think that the only person," he cleared his throat as tears slowly fell from his face, "that I have ever truly cared about," Hermione shuddered involuntarily when he rested his hands on her own, "would care about me." He gripped her hands and kissed them.
Hermione's eyes were clouded with tears. She smiled as big as she could and looked Severus in the eyes. His head was cocked to the side as though waiting for her to tell him that she had moved on. She sat there shocked and finally leaned forward. He flinched slightly when her hand reached up to caress his cheek.
"Severus." She smiled as happy tears continued to fall down her cheeks. She kissed his forehead. "I would never lie to you." She kissed him lightly on his right cheek. "I would never mess around with you." She kissed his left cheek. "I love you." She placed a tender and passionate kiss on his lips.
"I love you, Hermione." She laughed, having nearly waited years for him to say it. "I love you so much."
She leaned in for yet another kiss and rested her forehead against his. Any sadness she felt over the last days was gone in no more than five minutes.