"You look satisfactory," Draco purred in her ear as he snuck up behind her and grabbed her around the waist. She squealed in surprise, spinning around fast to catch his gaze, cheeks blazing red with the kind of compliment he had given her.
"Thanks, I think. I will take that as a compliment." She took a step back to look at him. His hair was no longer slicked to the side in its trademark appearance, instead, he had left it natural and she had to admit it made him look marginally better and no longer the rich, spoilt child she had come to know and loathe from many years previous. He almost looked handsome. Almost.
Black suit pressed to perfection and she could only assume that he had screamed or threated a house elf to do such a task for him. A white shirt lay under the suit, equally pressed to perfection. There wasn't even the slightest wrinkle in his attire and there wasn't a wayward hair on his head, every hair looked as if it were meant to be where it sat. If she didn't dislike him so much for his whole blood prejudice shit and he didn't have a terrible sub-human being as a father she may have just considered taking him up on his offer if she weren't with Severus. Ok, so she lied, she would be the first to secretly admit to herself that Draco had come to grow somewhat handsome. His facial features starting to become as prominent and chiseled as his fathers who despite being a total prick, she could appreciate his good looks and strong jawline and the long platinum flowing locks that looked as if he paid thousands on galleons to have tended to so they appeared so very perfect.
"Are you ready to do this Granger?" he cocked his head to the side and gauging by the reaction of her face turning whiter than nearly headless Nick who had just floated past he would have guessed she wasn't.
"Are you really going to let the opinion of two stupid people bring you down, Granger? I thought you were better than that. What happened to the embodiment of Gryffindor courage? You are sleeping with Snape, you must have balls of steel to do that because most people shit their pants just being in the same room with him and here you are voluntarily spending time with him, hell not only spending time with him, you are allowing him to grind his greasy body all over yours." He stuck his tongue out in disgust, which Hermione tried in vain to ignore.
She smiled meekly, he had a point but they had hurt her by ignoring her and make her feel as if she were but an insignificant speck of dust in their lives. She knew people grew up and moved on but to cut her off in such a cruel way was incomprehensible to her.
"Chin up, Granger. You look amazing, although part of that may have to do with the fact I will be hanging off your arm when you make an entrance."
She could only roll her eyes and chuckle, she was sure he would never stop being conceited and she wondered if that stemmed from Lucius or Narcissa's influence, at a guess from knowing what little she knew about Lucius, he was the influence here.
"Are we ready to do this?" He questioned, looping his arm through hers.
She could only nod meekly as he led her to the Great Hall, it seemed to take a lifetime to get there, each step she neared her mouth got drier and her hands got sweatier. The clacking of her heels on the cobblestone floor reverberating off the walls but soon made way to the sound of chattering with every step closer to the hall she got the chattering got louder and the dread in her body intensified.
"You can do this Granger," He encouraged when he felt her stall for a nanosecond as he pulled her along, step by agonizing step she felt as if she were being led to her death.
This was it, three more steps and around the corner, she would have to face the world with Draco Malfoy on her arm and dread in her heart.
She made it. She visibly relaxed a touch on his arm once she had rounded the corner and she was thankful when Ron and Harry were nowhere to be seen, that was until they came sweeping in, Ginny on Harry's arm and Lavender on Ron's. She vocally groaned as they spotted her and began to walk towards her, she went to move away but Draco held her steady in the spot, never unwavering as the group of four moved towards them much akin like tigers to an injured gazelle.
"What the actual fuck?" Were the first few words she heard spill from Harry and Ron's lips in unison. Draco held her arm tighter, willing her to stand by him. He wasn't going to back down from dumb and dumber. They didn't scare him.
"Problem?" Draco asked, smiling slyly.
"Well actually, there is." Harry stared in disbelief that of all the people she could have come with, she chose one of the people he loathed the most in the world. The spoiled, pretentious cunt of a Malfoy, the only person worse than him she could have been with would have been Snape.
"Just leave it, Harry," she whispered, barely audible.
"Granger is entitled to come to the ball with whomever she feels like, Potter. I didn't see you or Weasel bashing down the front door to ask her." Draco puffed out his chest somewhat and Harry couldn't help but notice how much taller Draco now was than himself and how much fitter he looked and for one moment he couldn't help but feel a little more insignificant and a little worried that the boy could hold his own against Harry in a fight without wands.
"I can't believe this, Hermione, it's like we barely know you anymore," Harry spoke angrily and the three others in his small party nodded their heads in agreement at what was going on. Hermione hated Slytherin's and she hated Draco, had they brainwashed her so much that she thought they were actually good people now?
"Perhaps you don't know her anymore, Mister Potter. After all, I haven't seen you traipsing around the castle seeking her out." Severus entered stage left, clad in the suit Hermione had encouraged (forced) him to wear, arms folded tightly across his chest, looking down his nose at the lot of them. He really, really fucking hated Potter and fifty scenarios ran through his head of how he could kill him and make it look like an accident.
"No, Perhaps you are right, Snape. Maybe I don't know her anymore." He eyed Severus sideways as if daring him to say or do something threatening.
"Mister Weasley, my condolences on your recent nuptials, you could have done much, much better." He turned to Ron and Lavender, his top lip curling into a vicious sneer and Draco had to force a cough to hide the snort of laughter that had forced its way out.
"I think you mean Congratulations, Professor," Harry retorted back, holding Snape's gaze hard as if challenging him on superiority and Severus could only internally chuckle. Little Harry Potter really did think he was above everyone else now.
"I meant what I said," Severus said coldly before turning and leaving before Ron could even retort back, leaving Draco smirking in his wake and Lavender looking as if someone had just murdered her whole family and called her fat. Hermione opened and closed her mouth a few times as if to say something, she willed the words to form but they wouldn't. She had to admire his snark.
Minerva came rushing in, eyeing Hermione and Draco for a moment. "Behave yourself this evening, Miss Granger." Her tone was almost threatening and Hermione knew exactly what she was getting at, and by the look on Draco's face, he got the hint too.
"You will all walk in together, Harry, then Ron and then Hermione, with your partners." She looked at Hermione who almost channeled her inner Severus and sneered a sneer that would have rivaled his own. Of course, she was last, as usual. "Once you walk in, the six of you will dance with your respective partner and then you are free to do whatever you wish for the rest of the night…within reason." She pursed her thin lips together and glared once again at Hermione who shifted under her gaze. What did she think? That she was going to pin Severus in a dark corner and do dark deeds? Actually… That sounded wonderful.
Hermione could hear Harry and Ron mumbling amongst themselves about her audacity to take Malfoy with her to the ball and how she had gone off the rails.
She sucked in a deep breath, pulled herself up to full height, held onto Draco's arm tighter, who right now she liked better than Harry and Ron and was glad she was hanging off his arm. Slytherin's weren't as bad as people made them out to be, or at least that is what she had found out since she had been literally thrust head first without thinking into the arms of Severus Snape, who picked her up, turned her life around and helped her along her merry way.
The doors opened, Harry and Ron began to move ahead of her and she stalled, almost like her feet were glued to the floor and she forgot how to move with forward impulsion. Draco hastily pulled her along as she stumbled a few steps and he set her straight, helping her along.
She could feel many pairs of eyes boring into her as she walked in and hushed; awkward whispers hit her ears when they saw Draco hanging off her arm. Draco only smirked like the cat that got the cream; he loved stirring the pot of drama, the bigger the pot, the better was his motto.
Once they were inside, Draco halted and spun to face her, resting a hand on her hip and tangling his fingers with hers with his other hand. He was no stranger to dancing and he was quite good if he did say so himself. It was almost a prerequisite that to be a pureblood, you had to master the art of ballroom dancing.
The music started playing and Draco led Hermione to dance to the three timed beats. She knew how to dance but right now he was leading her along because her brain had practically stood up, jumped out of her skull and took a wander and short of breathing, she couldn't think of what else to do.
Draco's lips twitched into a smirk, "relax Granger, it's only a dance." He cooed into her ear as he spun her around. She noticed they were getting incredibly close to Harry who was dancing with Ginny and Hermione's face although stoic, deep inside she was terrified. She knew exactly what Draco was playing at and before she could form the words in her head and spit them out, he had done it, he had spun himself right into Harry, knocking him over.
Harry hit the floor hard was a groan and a glare at Draco, pulling Ginny with him and as quickly as it happened, Draco waltzed right out like he had done nary a fucking thing. He was smooth, Hermione thought to herself, smoother than silk.
"Honestly needs to watch where he is going," Draco said and chortled with laughter just as the music stopped.
"You can't just do that, Draco," Hermione warned sternly.
"I can, and I did. I just wanted one chance to humiliate him and I took it."
"You are evil, Draco Malfoy."
"I know." He smiled wickedly, as he led her away from the dance floor, he sat her down at a vacant table and went off to fetch her a drink, Salazar knew she needed one.
Severus stood at the alcoholic beverage table, in charge of ensuring no one under age tried to fool the age line and sneak past. He didn't want to be here, he hated being here, he hated everyone except Hermione and he hated being in this castle. The only good thing about keep watch over the inebriation station as he had dubbed it, was that he could indeed imbibe the selection before him. He was already onto his second tumbler of smooth, smooth judgment clouding whiskey. While he found himself drinking less and less now that Hermione was in his life and he was in love, right now he needed this just to get through the night without strangling the next person who waltzed by.
He watched as Hermione danced with Draco and anger bubbled deep within his soul, down in the deepest, darkest depths of his being. He should have been the one to dance with her, he should have been the one to lead her in and he should have been the one to leap to her defense around Potter. He loved her, should he not protect and defend her for the rest of her life? He slammed the tumbler down on the wooden table, scaring a woman walking past who jumped and shrieked a little.
He couldn't sit here idly by watching Draco cozy up to the love of his life; his pride and his jealousy wouldn't possibly allow that. He had stupid thoughts running through his head that were only fueled by the alcohol he was consuming. Well, fuck. He didn't need this job anyway… Now was a good time as ever to do what he had been planning on doing for a little while now. He loved Hermione; he hated his job…It made perfect sense to do what he was thinking of doing. Should he? Probably not… Would he? Of course.
He stood by his post for another half an hour, watching Draco and Hermione chat animatedly before Draco led her back onto the dance floor. His eyes flashed with anger, not for Draco, but for the whole stupid fact, he couldn't be out there dancing with her because it might upset someone. Fuck this.
Grabbing two tumblers of alcohol off the table he downed the whiskey followed by a straight vodka shooter. The alcohol burned his throat and warmed the cockles of his heart. Right now it was either go big or go home and given his current inebriated state and the fact the fields in which his fucks lay was a total barren wasteland, he figured he may as well make this a wonderful spectacle.
With finesse he pushed through the moving crowd of dancers where he found Hermione and Draco, tapping the younger boy on the shoulder Draco stepped back and allowed him to cut in.
Hermione eyed him apprehensively, "What are you doing?" She asked in a low, hushed whisper through gritted teeth.
"Bungee Jumping," He replied as sarcasm oozed off every single word he spoke.
"You can't be seen dancing with me."
"Can't I?" He asked with a mock, surprised upward inflection, "it would seem I already am."
The puzzled look on her face amused him; she really had no idea what he had just done.
"You look amazing tonight," He leaned down and whispered softly in her ear, Goosebumps formed on her white skin in response as hot breath ghosted lightly over her earlobe and neck. "That dress is amazing, but it would look even better on the floor next to my bed." He raised an eyebrow in amusement as her cheeks flushed crimson.
"We can't dance, you have to go." Concern edged into her features as she tried to push him away. He only smirked in response and grabbed her lightning fast around her waist, drew her in and kissed her like he meant it, kissed it as if he would die if he didn't, he kissed her with such ferocity and such passion he thought perhaps he was possessed for a moment.
The music stopped abruptly, the dancing stop and you could have heard a pin drop. Time went by glacially slow, almost as if it had stopped. Her heart hammering out of her chest at the assault on her lips and what this would mean for him. She reciprocated the embrace, wrapping her own arms loosely around his hips.
The gasps of horror from just about everyone in the room could be heard simultaneously. He broke the kiss, only because they both needed air. Glancing around the room at the look of horror, disgust and confusion on everyone's faces only added fuel to the fire in which he had started.
Right now he was at the intersection of fucked and no going back now. He could turn left and walk out of here doing no more damage to his reputation (Or what little he had of one anyway) or he could go the whole hog, turn right and fuck that up completely and considering there was little to even salvage, he decided to go right.
Just as he was about to do probably the only decent thing he had done in his life, and the only right choice he might have ever made, Potter and Weasley pounced on him like a cat on a mouse. Their wands were drawn, aiming right for him as they strode across the room like the two heroes they thought they were but clearly were not. He only rolled his eyes and let go of the girl. He didn't even bother to draw his wand because he knew they were all bark and generally no bite.
"Can I help you?" He drawled, eyeing off Potter and the wand pointed right at his face.
"Just what the fuck do you think you are doing to Hermione, to our friend?" Harry hissed with ferocity, wand shaking with anger.
Severus chuckled, " Define friend for me, Potter."
Harry looked perplexed, wand still trained on Severus.
"Oh, you have no answer. Let's see." He tapped his bottom lip as if in deep thought. "Friends don't abandon friends, Potter. Friends don't ignore their friends when they are so desperately screaming out for help. But not to worry, Potter, I stood in where you and Weasley failed and I thank you for that because right now that girl there," he pointed at Hermione, "She is the light of my life and the reason I get out of bed every morning. She is like the oxygen I need so desperately to stay alive. I wake up every morning thanking Merlin for aligning our lives and putting her in my life."
Hermione had let out a strangled sob, trying to hold herself together. Harry shakily lowered his wand; his face contorted into confusion, Ron still held his steadfast.
He continued, "That girl there doesn't realize that she finally gave me a purpose in life and pulled me from the deep downward spiral I was heading in. From the moment I opened my eyes, till the moment I closed them I drank myself into oblivion, but having her has made me realize there is more to life than that. I couldn't imagine waking up and not having her in my life. I'm terrified of what I am going to do, but I am even more terrified of losing her."
It was Ron's turn to lower his wand in utter confusion, was Snape confessing his love for Hermione?
"You and Hermione are…" Harry choked out in a squeak, his throat drying up by the second.
"Together, yes," He answered simply.
"Hermione? Harry asked in desperation as if hoping she would deny it, hoping this was all a terrible dream, his face falling when she nodded, confirming.
"But… What about us, I thought, I thought," Harry ran a shaky pale hand through his raven hair exasperated by what was unfolding in front of him. In all honesty, he thought he would bide his time, wait for her to finish her school, then when she had no one else he would pounce of her and she would fall in love with him again and they would have babies and live happily ever after.
"What exactly did you think, Harry?" Hands on her hips, voice rising a few octaves, oblivious to the fact every pair of eyes were trained on the spectacle going on before them.
"Did you think that I would leave here so despondent and in need of attention and affection of you starved me of the contact with the people I loved so dearly that I would fall into your arms and madly in love with you? You left me, Harry. Everyone I ever cared about left ME. I cried out for help, I wrote, I sent owls and you all ignored me. The whole lot of you, Harry, Ronald and the family I thought I had in the Weasleys, you all abandoned me and left me. Severus, he cared, he helped me." Tears began to fall hotly down her cheeks at the revelations she was having and she realized now more than ever that she loved the man who was there for her, who had pulled her out of her deep depression and started to not only fix her life but her heart.
He didn't know if now was the right time, he had never done this in his life so his cue to do so may be slightly skewed but he would take the run while he could and as she was just about to confess her undying love for him (he assumed) in front of a room full of mostly strangers, what more of a romantic time than the present, he thought.
With the little Dutch courage he had drunk before, and the shock value he wanted to instill in Potter, he was ready to go ahead with his plan.
He turned to Hermione who looked up at him with tear filled eyes and she feint a wet smile, and then her eyes widened in shock and her expression was stoic when he ever so nimbly dropped to one knee and pulled out a velvet covered box with a ring inside.
Her hands covered her mouth in shock as the tears of sadness made way for tears of happiness.
"Hermione Granger, Will you marry me?" He asked coolly, although deep down his stomach was backflipping like a gymnast going for gold at the Olympics.
She could only nod yes as her body began to convulse with heavy body shaking sobs.
He ever so gently took the shaking hand she was extending out to him and slid the band made of goblin gold adorned with a modestly sized diamond on her finger before standing again.
"That's fucking horse shit," Ron yelled in anger.
Severus grabbed Hermione and pressed his lips hard against hers, proudly extending a middle finger at full attention and directing it towards Ron and Harry. Checkmate, he won.
Draco slowly began to slow clap not only for Severus and Hermione but the amazing drama-filled spectacle he was able to witness and liven the night up and soon, before he knew it the whole room, besides Minerva, Ron and Harry were applauding.
Once the applause had died down, Severus turned squarely to Minerva and told her to, "Go forth and stick his job where the sun doesn't shine."
She looked deeply offended and turned bright red. He bowed low at the spectacle he had just created. Hermione looked like she wanted to either burst out crying again or strangle him, he wasn't sure which one. Draco's loud, ear piecing chuckle could be heard through the silence of the hall, a few glasses fell to the floor, dropped by their shocked holders.
There wasn't anything left for him here now, there was no reason for him to stay. Hermione imagined if she were a princess, her white knight upon his fiery steed would sweep her off her feet and gallop off into the sunset.
She squealed when he did indeed sweep her into his arms and began to carry her from the hall. She didn't need a white knight and a fiery steed; she had her dark prince and all the love in the world.
"You realize we are going to have to leave the castle after that spectacle, right?" she whispered into his ear, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders.
"Then leave we shall." He planted a kiss on her lips
A/N: I hope this chapter made up for the short abruptness of the last one… I hope you all liked this. I mean canonically Severus probably wouldn't have done this… But then again, there is nothing canon about my story so…
I thought Severus deserved a break in his life and deserved to fall in love.
Thanks for reading!
-Aliasmel1