Chapter 8: In Which the Couple Get Dressed
Severus watched his last class file out of the room with a sigh of relief. He was done his teaching duties for the week; there would be no need to interact with the little brats for the entire weekend. He had always wondered why Albus Dumbledore had placed him in the position of Head of Slytherin. It was a widely known fact that he did not enjoy his students. There were always a few who were less abhorrent to him, but he could only recall actually liking two. Draco Malfoy, Millicent Bulstrode and Hermione Granger were probably the only students in the past fifteen years that he had anticipated teaching without even a small measure of trepidation. Those three students all possessed keen minds, a talent for potions and a nearly unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Hermione had been the only one of the three who had shown her knowledge openly in the classroom setting and therefore he had never liked her, but he had never been able to deny the fact that she was the best student he had ever had the pleasure of teaching. Draco and Millicent had been brilliant individuals, but their other activities tended to come before study and it showed in their work.
Glancing at the clock that he hung on the wall of his classroom for student use during brewing he noticed it was three thirty. He rose swiftly and headed for his chambers, he had arranged for Professor Sinistra to take over his Head of House duties that evening, and in just two hours he would leave for dinner. In his rooms he scrounged for the Muggle clothing Draco had given him last Christmas. At the time he had considered the gift ludicrous, he never went into the Muggle world if he could avoid it, but now he was grateful. He had told Hermione to pick the place to dine so he assumed he should be prepared to make an appearance in Muggle London. The clothing is easy enough to figure out he thought, pulling on the rich black cords and tight black tee-shirt and reached for the deep blue collared shirt. He shrugged it on and reached to do up the buttons, half way up the shirt he paused. He had never actually seen a Muggle in semi-formal clothing. Did you fasten all of the buttons? Some? None? He sighed, Draco would know. He gathered together the rest of the items he would need that evening and, wrapping his cloak tightly around his shoulders, left for Hogsmeade.
~
Il Bel Giardino offers a wide variety of foods from all over Italy.
"Perfect." Hermione said with a smile, the Restaurant was in Muggle London, but it was an easy walk from an apparation point. Having finally decided on a restaurant she closed the book Draco had given her and moved to her closet to pick an outfit. The restaurant was probably the most casual in the book, Draco's families Anti-Muggle snobbery hadn't stretched far enough to make them avoid the delicious cuisine that the non-magic folks had to offer, but it was still a relatively fancy establishment, which meant that she needed a dress.
After trying on every dress she owned (a grand total of three), Hermione decided she needed something new. A glance at her watch told her it was almost four and she had two hours to complete her entire ensemble. With not a second to lose she grabbed her purse and practically ran to the nearest Apparation point, just across the street from her flat. She would need some help if she were going to get everything done in time.
She arrived at Draco's flat with the intent to grill him for fashion tips, and possibly even drag him shopping. He had always possessed a flair for elegant clothing that she envied and tonight she needed that talent more than ever.
In her school days Parvati and Lavender had been on hand to give her tips and to offer to lend her clothes so constantly that it was irritating, but now that she was living on her own and all her female friends were married, she missed their advice, even if it had been pushy.
She knocked at the light blue door to Draco's flat and waited patiently for someone to open it. In a few moments it flew open to reveal Harry. Hermione smiled and greeted him with a hug before asking to speak to Draco.
Harry ushered her into an empty room and asked her to wait while he fetched his boyfriend. She settled back in an armchair and prepared herself for a wait, Draco had a penchant for the dramatic and she was certain he would preen to perfection before making his entrance just because he could. Out in the hall a floorboard squeaked and Hermione had a rather childish urge to ruin his entrance. She rose slowly to her feet and moved stealthily to the door, straining her ears for the sound of him approaching. When she was sure he was close she opened the door and ran straight into someone tall, half naked and wet.
~
Draco slid the door open and smiled at his former professor. "Hallo Severus. Had a little trouble dressing did we?" he smirked and draped his lean body against the door frame, striking a pose that Severus assumed was supposed to turn him on. Which, of course it didn't. He merely scowled and walked into the building, leaving Draco to pout as he was apt to do.
"Potter!" he called. Smirking at the mental image of Draco's current expression, he knew the boy well enough to know he would still be leaning against the door in what he thought was an irresistible pose, but his expression would be one of shock.
Harry emerged from a room to his right, wrapped in a robe and carrying a towel. "Severus?" he asked, flushing. "This was unexpected."
Severus grunted. Leave it to Potter to state the glaringly obvious. "You were raised by Muggles." It was more a statement than a question.
"Yes sir." Harry said, looking more than a little baffled.
"Good." He shoved the blue shirt at Harry, "How many buttons should I do up? And how is the collar supposed to be worn?" he snapped.
The corners of Harry's mouth twitched as he fought valiantly to contain his laughter. "Draco?" he called in a strangled voice.
The blonde had removed himself from the doorframe and was hovering behind the Potions Master a smirk on his face. "What?" he asked, examining his fingernails and pretending not to have a clue what was going on.
"Severus needs your help." Harry said, his voice still sounding suspiciously ..
"Indeed." Draco walked in a full circle around the older man, examining him closely. "Sev mate, when was the last time you bathed?" with that comment he grabbed Harry's towel, thrust it into Severus's hands and shoved him off down the hall.
Grumbling slightly under his breath Severus walked the distance to the bathroom for his shower, the second that day. The doorbell rang, but he ignored it. The bathroom was enormous and decorated lavishly with the distinctly Slytherin colors of dark emerald with silver fixtures. He shed the offending Muggle clothes, folded them and stacked them in a neat pile by the door and stepped under the tap.
The warm water pounded against his slender frame, removing all tension from his muscles. He relaxed, closing his eyes and focusing on the welcome sensation. His shower at Hogwarts was adequate but it did not have nearly the water power of Draco's and so this was a welcome treat.
When he was washed and certain he would pass inspection Severus stepped from the shower and wrapped a towel around his lower half, using another to dry his face, hair and chest. He reached for his clothing and came up empty. He groaned, obviously Draco had sent one of his house elves to collect the clothes. He would have to go get them back before they became mysteriously flower scented.
He stalked down the halls, trying not to drip on the highly polished hardwood floor. He had just spotted Draco walked towards him with a ridiculously huge grin on his face when someone slammed into him.
"Hermione?" he asked, placing the young woman with busy hair and an incredibly red face at arms distance from him.
~
Hermione glanced at the delicate silver dress-watch Ginny had lent her for the night, five-thirty.
"You look stunning," Ginny said from behind her. "Come see."
Ginny grinned at her creation. Hermione had shown up on her and Neville's doorstep that evening her hair a mass of frizz, her clothes grungy and her expression panicked. She had crashed on their couch and told Ginny what had happened in one long sentence. After recovering from both the shock and amusement the tale left her with Ginny had dragged her friend to a nearby dress shop to find the perfect outfit.
Hermione tried on dress after dress while Ginny sat and tried to come up with the perfect hairdo and make-up charms. She had never been as into those types of things as the Patil twins and Lavender Brown, but she knew a fair number of different charms. She had just settled on one she thought would be just right when Hermione emerged in "The Dress".
Made of crimson satin with a silk over layer the dress complemented everything about Hermione's figure and coloring. Thin spaghetti straps supported the cocktail dress that came down a little below her knees. There was a slit on the left front of the skirt that sliced up to mid-thigh, and the fabric along this slit had been cut so that the translucent silk material fanned from the silver clip that was at the top of the slit. The neckline dipped in a slight V that made Hermione flat chest look shapely, and the fabric clung from chest to hips, a feature which, in Ginny's opinion, was the dress's best feature.
With very little coaxing from Ginny, Hermione had purchased the dress and the pair had aparated to Hermione's apartment to prepare the remainder of her look. While Hermione showered Ginny flipped through a book of hairstyles she had received from Lavender the previous Christmas, after some consideration and another look at the dress Ginny picked an up-do. It was an elaborate French twist wound around an orchid, stunning with Hermione's thick brown mane.
_____________________________________________
A/N: I'm SORRY!! I didn't mean for this part to last as long as it did, but since neither Hermione or Severus were able to dress themselves I had to add on. But the next chapter WILL include dinner! I've already started it and I won't let the voices tell me otherwise! :D I would have combined it all but then the chapter would have been almost three times as long as my others.
Anyway: THANK YOU everyone who has read and reviewed this! You guys are wonderful!!
nesscafe - There is a point to the Lupin thing, I just haven't made it effectively yet. And yes it is for more than appeasing my Slash loving readers *grins*. But for now all you need to know is that Severus and Remus have been friends for a few years and Lupin fancies himself in love with Snape, and thinks that Hermione will hurt him (Sev.) if they have a relationship. Also he's jealous. Later this will have an effect with my plot. maybe not until the sequel (if I do one). but I plan to make it relevant. :D thanks for your review!
QueenBonnie - Yes. I wanted to make Neville confident now that he has Ginny and Voldemort is gone. I think he might have been a little too confident and all-knowing. but for this story's purposes I figure the trio became a pentagon type thing with Nev and Gin. It's not all that Cannon, but then if you wanted cannon you wouldn't be reading fan fiction right? *grins* thanks for your reviews! They're awesome!
Jenbachand - about the dress in this story: the dress is red, and she's wearing a dress-watch that is silver, I just forgot the little dash thing between the words. :D
Severus watched his last class file out of the room with a sigh of relief. He was done his teaching duties for the week; there would be no need to interact with the little brats for the entire weekend. He had always wondered why Albus Dumbledore had placed him in the position of Head of Slytherin. It was a widely known fact that he did not enjoy his students. There were always a few who were less abhorrent to him, but he could only recall actually liking two. Draco Malfoy, Millicent Bulstrode and Hermione Granger were probably the only students in the past fifteen years that he had anticipated teaching without even a small measure of trepidation. Those three students all possessed keen minds, a talent for potions and a nearly unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Hermione had been the only one of the three who had shown her knowledge openly in the classroom setting and therefore he had never liked her, but he had never been able to deny the fact that she was the best student he had ever had the pleasure of teaching. Draco and Millicent had been brilliant individuals, but their other activities tended to come before study and it showed in their work.
Glancing at the clock that he hung on the wall of his classroom for student use during brewing he noticed it was three thirty. He rose swiftly and headed for his chambers, he had arranged for Professor Sinistra to take over his Head of House duties that evening, and in just two hours he would leave for dinner. In his rooms he scrounged for the Muggle clothing Draco had given him last Christmas. At the time he had considered the gift ludicrous, he never went into the Muggle world if he could avoid it, but now he was grateful. He had told Hermione to pick the place to dine so he assumed he should be prepared to make an appearance in Muggle London. The clothing is easy enough to figure out he thought, pulling on the rich black cords and tight black tee-shirt and reached for the deep blue collared shirt. He shrugged it on and reached to do up the buttons, half way up the shirt he paused. He had never actually seen a Muggle in semi-formal clothing. Did you fasten all of the buttons? Some? None? He sighed, Draco would know. He gathered together the rest of the items he would need that evening and, wrapping his cloak tightly around his shoulders, left for Hogsmeade.
~
Il Bel Giardino offers a wide variety of foods from all over Italy.
"Perfect." Hermione said with a smile, the Restaurant was in Muggle London, but it was an easy walk from an apparation point. Having finally decided on a restaurant she closed the book Draco had given her and moved to her closet to pick an outfit. The restaurant was probably the most casual in the book, Draco's families Anti-Muggle snobbery hadn't stretched far enough to make them avoid the delicious cuisine that the non-magic folks had to offer, but it was still a relatively fancy establishment, which meant that she needed a dress.
After trying on every dress she owned (a grand total of three), Hermione decided she needed something new. A glance at her watch told her it was almost four and she had two hours to complete her entire ensemble. With not a second to lose she grabbed her purse and practically ran to the nearest Apparation point, just across the street from her flat. She would need some help if she were going to get everything done in time.
She arrived at Draco's flat with the intent to grill him for fashion tips, and possibly even drag him shopping. He had always possessed a flair for elegant clothing that she envied and tonight she needed that talent more than ever.
In her school days Parvati and Lavender had been on hand to give her tips and to offer to lend her clothes so constantly that it was irritating, but now that she was living on her own and all her female friends were married, she missed their advice, even if it had been pushy.
She knocked at the light blue door to Draco's flat and waited patiently for someone to open it. In a few moments it flew open to reveal Harry. Hermione smiled and greeted him with a hug before asking to speak to Draco.
Harry ushered her into an empty room and asked her to wait while he fetched his boyfriend. She settled back in an armchair and prepared herself for a wait, Draco had a penchant for the dramatic and she was certain he would preen to perfection before making his entrance just because he could. Out in the hall a floorboard squeaked and Hermione had a rather childish urge to ruin his entrance. She rose slowly to her feet and moved stealthily to the door, straining her ears for the sound of him approaching. When she was sure he was close she opened the door and ran straight into someone tall, half naked and wet.
~
Draco slid the door open and smiled at his former professor. "Hallo Severus. Had a little trouble dressing did we?" he smirked and draped his lean body against the door frame, striking a pose that Severus assumed was supposed to turn him on. Which, of course it didn't. He merely scowled and walked into the building, leaving Draco to pout as he was apt to do.
"Potter!" he called. Smirking at the mental image of Draco's current expression, he knew the boy well enough to know he would still be leaning against the door in what he thought was an irresistible pose, but his expression would be one of shock.
Harry emerged from a room to his right, wrapped in a robe and carrying a towel. "Severus?" he asked, flushing. "This was unexpected."
Severus grunted. Leave it to Potter to state the glaringly obvious. "You were raised by Muggles." It was more a statement than a question.
"Yes sir." Harry said, looking more than a little baffled.
"Good." He shoved the blue shirt at Harry, "How many buttons should I do up? And how is the collar supposed to be worn?" he snapped.
The corners of Harry's mouth twitched as he fought valiantly to contain his laughter. "Draco?" he called in a strangled voice.
The blonde had removed himself from the doorframe and was hovering behind the Potions Master a smirk on his face. "What?" he asked, examining his fingernails and pretending not to have a clue what was going on.
"Severus needs your help." Harry said, his voice still sounding suspiciously ..
"Indeed." Draco walked in a full circle around the older man, examining him closely. "Sev mate, when was the last time you bathed?" with that comment he grabbed Harry's towel, thrust it into Severus's hands and shoved him off down the hall.
Grumbling slightly under his breath Severus walked the distance to the bathroom for his shower, the second that day. The doorbell rang, but he ignored it. The bathroom was enormous and decorated lavishly with the distinctly Slytherin colors of dark emerald with silver fixtures. He shed the offending Muggle clothes, folded them and stacked them in a neat pile by the door and stepped under the tap.
The warm water pounded against his slender frame, removing all tension from his muscles. He relaxed, closing his eyes and focusing on the welcome sensation. His shower at Hogwarts was adequate but it did not have nearly the water power of Draco's and so this was a welcome treat.
When he was washed and certain he would pass inspection Severus stepped from the shower and wrapped a towel around his lower half, using another to dry his face, hair and chest. He reached for his clothing and came up empty. He groaned, obviously Draco had sent one of his house elves to collect the clothes. He would have to go get them back before they became mysteriously flower scented.
He stalked down the halls, trying not to drip on the highly polished hardwood floor. He had just spotted Draco walked towards him with a ridiculously huge grin on his face when someone slammed into him.
"Hermione?" he asked, placing the young woman with busy hair and an incredibly red face at arms distance from him.
~
Hermione glanced at the delicate silver dress-watch Ginny had lent her for the night, five-thirty.
"You look stunning," Ginny said from behind her. "Come see."
Ginny grinned at her creation. Hermione had shown up on her and Neville's doorstep that evening her hair a mass of frizz, her clothes grungy and her expression panicked. She had crashed on their couch and told Ginny what had happened in one long sentence. After recovering from both the shock and amusement the tale left her with Ginny had dragged her friend to a nearby dress shop to find the perfect outfit.
Hermione tried on dress after dress while Ginny sat and tried to come up with the perfect hairdo and make-up charms. She had never been as into those types of things as the Patil twins and Lavender Brown, but she knew a fair number of different charms. She had just settled on one she thought would be just right when Hermione emerged in "The Dress".
Made of crimson satin with a silk over layer the dress complemented everything about Hermione's figure and coloring. Thin spaghetti straps supported the cocktail dress that came down a little below her knees. There was a slit on the left front of the skirt that sliced up to mid-thigh, and the fabric along this slit had been cut so that the translucent silk material fanned from the silver clip that was at the top of the slit. The neckline dipped in a slight V that made Hermione flat chest look shapely, and the fabric clung from chest to hips, a feature which, in Ginny's opinion, was the dress's best feature.
With very little coaxing from Ginny, Hermione had purchased the dress and the pair had aparated to Hermione's apartment to prepare the remainder of her look. While Hermione showered Ginny flipped through a book of hairstyles she had received from Lavender the previous Christmas, after some consideration and another look at the dress Ginny picked an up-do. It was an elaborate French twist wound around an orchid, stunning with Hermione's thick brown mane.
_____________________________________________
A/N: I'm SORRY!! I didn't mean for this part to last as long as it did, but since neither Hermione or Severus were able to dress themselves I had to add on. But the next chapter WILL include dinner! I've already started it and I won't let the voices tell me otherwise! :D I would have combined it all but then the chapter would have been almost three times as long as my others.
Anyway: THANK YOU everyone who has read and reviewed this! You guys are wonderful!!
nesscafe - There is a point to the Lupin thing, I just haven't made it effectively yet. And yes it is for more than appeasing my Slash loving readers *grins*. But for now all you need to know is that Severus and Remus have been friends for a few years and Lupin fancies himself in love with Snape, and thinks that Hermione will hurt him (Sev.) if they have a relationship. Also he's jealous. Later this will have an effect with my plot. maybe not until the sequel (if I do one). but I plan to make it relevant. :D thanks for your review!
QueenBonnie - Yes. I wanted to make Neville confident now that he has Ginny and Voldemort is gone. I think he might have been a little too confident and all-knowing. but for this story's purposes I figure the trio became a pentagon type thing with Nev and Gin. It's not all that Cannon, but then if you wanted cannon you wouldn't be reading fan fiction right? *grins* thanks for your reviews! They're awesome!
Jenbachand - about the dress in this story: the dress is red, and she's wearing a dress-watch that is silver, I just forgot the little dash thing between the words. :D