A/N: Last one. Thanks, as always, to those who've encouraged me and followed these along. Hopefully they've brought a smile to people's faces...
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is copyrighted to and belongs to JK Rowling. I'm just playing in her sandbox and own none of her associated characters. New characters belong to me.
"Wanna go out for Halloween?"
(Prompt chosen by lovinpugs-blog)
Hermione blinked hard, as if that would somehow improve her hearing. Everything felt fuzzy and…off. Had her ears deceived her of what the sour, grump of a man towering in front of her had just asked; or had it all rung true?
"Granger?" he pressed, snapping the witch's mental derailment back to the matter at hand.
"Oh! Well... I..."
It didn't make any ruddy sense to Hermione's befuddled thinking. They had been colleagues for years–Four wretched years!–and, in that time, Severus Snape had never expressed an interest in Hermione beyond an occasional spat of verbal torment or obnoxious debating. There had been no romantic gestures, no indications of flirtatious scheming, only incessant teasing and regular put-downs.
Eventually, Hermione had come to realise that it was all in good jest (and purely to get a rise out of her) but still... A date? A real one? For. Real?
'Wanna go out for Halloween?' he had casually proposed as they gathered up their belongings to leave work, which they regularly did together.
Hermione's puzzled frown had deepened, her reflexes unable to prevent the wave of shock that washed over her face. She had long suspected that this date was one of the hardest of the year for Severus, what with the unfortunate death of Lily Potter that had spurred the extraordinary measure of guilt that made him switch allegiances and protect Hermione's best friend from infancy.
She had made a point of never asking after him, however. She knew the wizard wouldn't appreciate her probing, not to mention the nagging reminder of all he had once lost.
The question remained, however: why now?
How long have I been waiting for him to ask me out, her mind was practically screaming in frustration (and relief), and he randomly asks me now of all days?!
Perhaps it was Hermione's lot in life to never figure out the impossible, irritable man she had come to pine for (and figured that he would never see her as anyone other than a coworker): Severus bloody Snape.
"Never mind," he growled softly, regrettably, as if it was suddenly too painful to talk. When Hermione peered up into his face, she was shocked that he was openly sulking. Without so much as answering him, she had managed to unintentionally wound him with her silence. "Forget what I said. I'll see you tomorrow."
In a rush, Severus snatched up his cloak, satchel, and the emerald scarf she had knitted for his birthday from the back of his chair and strode towards the exit, leaving her stranded in the centre of their office.
DAMN IT, HERMIONE! ANSWER HIM! NOW'S THE TIME TO MAKE YOUR MOVE!
Hermione scrambled to stop him from leaving, throwing herself in front of the door just as Severus reached for the handle. He barked at her to get out of his way, but Hermione pleaded over his snipping and snarling, "Wait, Severus, please! You misunderstand! I - I'm sorry. Your question just caught me off guard is all."
"There's no need to–"
"Oh, do shut it, Severus!" she huffed and was pleased at the quirked, stunned eyebrow he raised. "Let me answer you before you go charging off in an unnecessary strop with me!"
"I'm not in a strop!" he countered, scowling, to which Hermione stepped forward and jabbed him firmly in the chest.
That bold gesture seemed to knock the wizard's misconceived resentment down a few pegs. He stepped back, bereft and surprised.
"Then wait for my answer before you storm out!" she insisted.
Showcasing severe restraint, Severus clamped his mouth shut and waited, allowing Hermione to take another breath and step closer. She was forced to crane her neck in order to stare him down directly.
"As a matter of fact, Severus," she, at last, replied steadily, confidently, "I would love to go out with you this evening."
It took the normally cool and aloof wizard a considerable moment to find his footing. "Really?" he eventually blurted out and blushed to the tips of his ears.
With a smile, Hermione took another step towards him, her chest brushing against his. "Yes, of course. My only question is: what took you so long?"
A short pause ensued before he managed to say–croak, rather, "What?"
"I said, what took you so long to ask me out?" she repeated, with an added chuckle.
Severus stiffened, visibly struggling to maintain eye contact. "Erm, well, I... I didn't think...you'd be interested."
Amused, and with a shake of her head, Hermione reached out and seized the front of his robes. She tugged at them to bring his face down to meet hers. "Well, you were dead wrong, Severus Snape," she murmured. Then, much to his staggering delight, she secured her affections by placing her lips gently to his, parting them only to reiterate, before continuing to snog him with heated passion, "Dead. Wrong."
A/N #2: Until next time.
