The Half Blood Prince
Vs.
The Know-All Queen
The beauty is in the mind of the beholder
Oh my word I feel like I'm drowning in the best way possible. His mouth is on my neck; one hand is on my left breast and BLOODY HELL! Where does his other hand think it's going, well where ever it plans to end up it certainly isn't going to get there.
"Ah...erm…Severus?" I squirm, half-heartedly trying to move out of the way.
"Mmmm" is his reply.
"Can you…stop for a minute…please?" I seriously need him to get off me "ARGH! I cry, as his other hand reaches it destination. And I pull him off me as though he is attached with Velcro.
"All you needed to say was stop." He smooths his clothes as he takes his seat at the end of the bed. And I can tell he doesn't take rejection well. This is good, because I'm not rejecting him.
"I did." Is my reaction.
"I didn't think you meant it." He puts me under his glare, which makes me sure he's trying to psycho-analyse me.
"I just needed to talk to you for a second." I say swerving around his previous comment.
"I am intrigued to discover what could be so important as to distract us from our 'prior engagement'." Severus pursues.
"Well, I told you that I…think I'm attracted to you," suddenly the corner of my lilac duvet is captivating my attention.
"Yes you did, albeit quite forcibly." He muses.
"I know," I seethe "however, after this 'confession'" I use my fingers to add in the quotation marks "you didn't tell me how you felt. About me." I add, just so he doesn't reply with something sarcastic like 'I'm fine' or, 'quite well'.
"I thought that over the course of this evening I had made it quite apparent, especially to a woman of your intellect." Why can he never just say what he means? He has to take his time about it and really drag it out.
"I can guess, however there are times when a person needs to be told where they stand, now is one of those times." I tell him sounding much too formal.
"Your not." he states simply, and I must admit, I am slightly confused. "You are currently sitting, at one end of your bed." Why? Why does he always have to be so bloody complicated?
"Severus," I can't bare to look at him until he answers me "I need you to tell me why you forced me to tell you why I like you, why you then kissed me, and damned well almost took it too far!"
"This sounds like my cue to leave." he stands up and walks towards the door.
"Oh no you don't!" And I lock the door after pulling my wand from inside of my top, a little tacky maybe, but useful none the less "One more step towards the door and that lock will receive a permanent sticking charm." He glances sceptically at the door for a minute.
"You're lying." he states simply. I have been tricked, forced to admit something I wasn't ready to admit, insulted, kissed and fondled. I am not about to be underestimated.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" I shout. He begins to look up and down at me, making a mental list of my appearance. A small tattoo on my ankle of a butterfly (from when I went through my 'I'm rebelling and I don't care that you don't care, that I'm rebelling' stage), the mini red hot pants of my nightwear (which I'm trying to pull down), the white vest top which reads 'yes they're real!', my face which must now be as red as my hot pants, and my hair which I'm quite sure is now so wild, if I stood still long enough, birds would begin to nest there.
"No." he says plainly. And I wait. I don't have to wait long until the smirk I'm so used to seeing him with, begins to tug at the corners of his mouth.
"You think this is funny? For fuck's sake Severus, all you had to do was give me a straight answer, but you can't even manage that!" I gasp exasperated. Looking at him square in the eye, which is something I haven't done since I punched him, I apologize. "In which case Severus I ask that you forgive me." He looks slightly quizzical and even more wary. And rightly so, as I perform a full body bind on him, apparently just quick enough as his wand drops from his stiffly outstretched hand. "I know you don't believe me, but I am very sorry." standing over him I mutter "Levicorpus." and I float him on to the bed. His semi frozen face is now forming a half expression of humour, excitement and slight panic. I sigh heavily, put my hand on his cheek and point my wand at him once more. "Legilimens." Immediately I begin to wish that I hadn't. I see my self taking off my blouse in his dungeon, me smiling with leaves and twigs in my hair, a student trying to sneak a dung bomb under his chair, and him magically moving under theirs; him looking at his own reflection with slight revulsion, Winky telling the worse lies of her life and the feeling of warm laughter; then something I really didn't expect; me at 13 in the hospital ward shouting about Sirius, me in the Quidditch stands cheering on Harry, me in defence against the dark arts in my sixth year, but most shocking of all, me as a 12 year old student stealing from his store room. I exit his mind abruptly and stand in front of the door totally astounded. "You knew." I breathe "You knew, and you didn't say anything, and you were…you were watching me?" I struggle with the concept that the man I've been secretly lusting after, for the past week has been studying me since I started at Hogwarts. "Explain yourself!" I demand, lifting the jinx off him. To my utter amazement he gets off the bed and just stands there looking away from me. I'm speechless, my brain seems to be operating in tunnel vision. I mean what, in the name of Merlin's pants, was that all about? I'm still waiting for my explanation but he's just standing looking away. Then it suddenly dawns on me. He's embarrassed. For the first time in his life he actually doesn't know what to do. And he isn't insulting me or shouting at me, he's just staring at the wall. And whilst I stand there in my stunned silence, he simply gets his coat and leaves.
ooo000ooo
"Severus?" I breathe. I had no idea. I really can't believe it. And I'm acting like I don't know what to do! Come on Hermione, you've just found out that the man you like has liked you too, apparently for a long time and you're just standing there like a moron?! I pick up his wand, which was still on the floor, pull a robe over my pyjamas and begin my barefooted dash after him. Running down the hall I realise just how late into the night we must be, but to be honest that's not really high on my list of priorities right now I can just enervate myself later. "Ow!" Somehow I've managed to stub my big toe on a flag stone in the corridor and I fall. However to my dismay I find that I was not just in any bit of the corridor. Murphy's law (the same law that decides that toast lands butter side down, or that you'll only find what you're looking for when you don't need it), has now decided that I must fall, at the top of a staircase. Mercifully it's only one flight so I have a small cut over my right eye, and probably some bruising on my hands and knees but still, I need to talk to Severus. I whiz around the corner into the dungeons corridor and I find that I can't remember where his office is. 'O.k.' I walk slowly into the potions classroom that I'm used to and try and remember what I did last night. 'I was in here;' I think to myself, 'then I walked out of the door,' which I do 'I turned left, and followed the corridor to the end.' Sure enough I find my self in front of the door which only one night previous, I was threatening to cremate. "Open up." I say and stretch out my hand towards the door knock. Then to my shock the face on the door knock says
"What is the magic word?" This is obviously a new trick designed to keep me out, thanks Severus, it means a lot.
"Please." Is my instantaneous reply. Nothing. The door is being defiant again. Right I've cracked Snape's games before I can do it again.
"Open up." I repeat.
"What is the magic word?" is it's monotonous reply.
"Abracadabra." I answer derisively. The door swings open and I hastily walk inside.
ooo000ooo
I can't see anyone in the living room "Severus?" I call. Going into the bedroom I see him sitting on a chair looking out of the window.
"You…um…you dropped this." I say and hold out his wand.
"I'm sorry." he says simply, taking it from me.
"Don't be." I reply looking at his worried face "For anything." It's slightly weird that he has been watching me for so long, but I like him I really do. And I suppose I want to be wanted. I'm not sure if it will last, or if I want it to last; and although it my hurt to try, I think it might just be worth it. He looks at me like he's just woken up.
Your hurt, how did that happen?" He asks looking a bit puzzled.
"I was run-" I correct myself in a vain attempt to sound less concerned.. "walking after you because you left your wand, and I accidentally fell down the stairs." I'm out of breath from all the running, and my general appearance is of someone who has been dragged through the proverbial hedge backwards, and then assaulted by a bunch of Blast-ended Skrewts. The likelihood that he believes me is highly unlikely, however one must try. As I sit on the end of his bed I feel myself redden.
"Well then you should try and be more careful the next time you go run-walking, shouldn't you? Well Hermione it seems for all you reading, research and learning, apparently in the 22 years you've inconvenienced the world with your presence, the concept of footwear as a whole still eludes you" he smirks at my bare feet.
"That's the sarcastic bastard I know." I grin.
"You should go to Poppy and get yourself healed." He rises from his seat.
"It's alright, it's just a scratch." I dismiss him. But to no avail.
"Fine." He casts a healing charm on the cut above my eye. Seriously has he been taking some sort of emotion pill, this sort of openness is not normal. Oh gods he's standing over me, and the chill in my spine has returned. Deciding it is best that I move away, I take the chair that he was sitting on before me. "Why do you always move away?" he asks.
"Why don't you?" I counter.
"Because conversations are generally better with another person involved, because women who take an interest in me are a rarity, because women I take an interest in are rarer still." he says.
"I moved away," I answer his question and begin to walk towards him "because when we are close I worried that things may have gotten out of hand." I feel complimented by him, scared of myself and excited about what I can see is unfolding.
"You used past tense." he says as we're almost face to face.
"I know." I reply. Apparently that seems to have done it for him, because he's kissing me again. And I'm kissing him back.
"Hermione." he says breathing heavily. "Is this what you actually want?" I kiss him back as proof. "And you know where this is going to go tonight?" Another kiss, although I'm far redder in the face from that question.
"But first things first Severus." I laugh. And he looks slightly confused, best put him out of his misery. "Scourgify!" I shout pointing my wand at his hair, which instantly begins to lather.
"You'll pay for that." he smirks and pushes me onto the bed.