Disclaimer: Again, I own nothing. Nada. Zip. ZelchNone.
Ah! There were those eyes. Glinting, just as she had imagined not six hours before. They shone, really, almost sparkled, in the candle light. They were on the other side of the room, but she could see them clearly, as though he were sitting right next to her. His head was bent slightly, looking at the parchment he had in his hands, but it wasn't bent enough for his eyes to not catch the light and shine out. They were so black she swore that if he ever came close enough to her she would be able to see herself in them. If he ever came near her, that is.
Their wedding had taken place in the early afternoon, one o'clock to be precise, and it was now early night. The sun had set, the students were all in their common rooms, the teachers and prefects were on patrol, and Severus and Hermione had been in his quarters the entire time after their short reception. And he had barely spoken ten words to her.
"These," he had said, when they first arrived in his private areas, as he pointed to the lower half of a dresser, "are your drawers. Kindly refrain from invading mine. This," he pointed again, this time to an armoire, "is yours. The other is mine." He didn't have to repeat the warning that she should stay out.
'At least I'll have my own hanging area.' Hermione had mused to herself as she glanced around the room. It was surprisingly bright for such a dark man. The bedding was the expected deep Slytherin green, while the bench at the foot of the bed had a crisp silver covering. While the actual furnishings were dark colors and dark woods, the room itself appeared to have magical access to limitless sun. It wasn't dark and impossible to see in the room, as Hermione had suspected it would be. Quite the opposite, in fact. As she took in her new surroundings, she began to wonder if it would ever be dark enough to sleep. 'Or other things.' She added, a small smirk emerging on her face. Really! What had gotten into her? These thoughts were not thoughts she had been having a week ago about anyone and here she was, having them about Severus Snape. Maybe the fact that he now held the title of 'husband' did it to her.
Unbeknownst to Hermione, Severus had been trying to get her attention for a few of minutes. She was lost in her own thoughts and mental scolding's and didn't hear him the first few times he had called her name. Had she been listening, she would have heard him use her given name for the first time.
'Hermione' he had called, trying to gain her attention, but she was still caught up in herself. He had to resort to what he knew would get her attention. "Ms. Granger!" came the near shout, in his most horrible professor voice.
"I really think you can call me 'Hermione', seeing as we are married," she snapped, nearly jumping when she heard his voice again.
"I did!" He insisted, crossing his arms and moving toward the door that connected the bedroom to the living area.
"Of course you did. That's why you said, 'Ms. Granger" just seconds ago." She retorted, not believing him for an instance.
"I'm grading papers," he said in a huff, marching past her in a billow of black cloak, "you can do whatever you like."
And that was how they had come to be sitting in the living area of Severus Snape's private quarters, Severus with his head bent in concentration and Hermione stealing furtive glances at her hour's old husband over the top of her book. Frustration began to fill her. It was her wedding night, for Merlin's sake, and not only did she not get a honeymoon, she didn't get the slightest attention from her husband. And to make matters worse, after every thought, every mental urging for him to look up and see her looking, she would scold herself, tell herself that it was Severus Snape she was trying to lure with her eyes. Professor Snape!
The use of the word 'professor' in her mind would lead to further reprimands. She was married to him now. If she insisted on being called Hermione, she couldn't have double standards and use that title anymore outside of the classroom. 'Severus! It's Severus, now, Hermione. Get your act together!' She would mutter in her head, trying to become used to using the name without ever actually speaking it.
Another half hour passed in this way and though Hermione made sure to keep her pages turning, she hadn't actually read more than five lines of her novel. It was impossible to concentrate on a story when you were having mental battles with yourself all the while trying to coax your husband out of his concentrated state. With a 'humph', Hermione closed her book and stood, giving once last glance to Severus.
"I'm going to bed," she announced more to the fireplace than to the man sitting next to it, "Is there a particular side of the bed you sleep on?" Her voice was laced with more than a bit of the frustration she felt.
"What? Side of the bed? No, no, sleep wherever you like," he replied, still distracted, though after a second's thought, he did look up, "Why?"
"Oh, I don't know. You have your side and my side, your area and my area for everything else. I assumed you'd have a particular side of the bed you favored. I wouldn't want to intrude."
"It doesn't matter. I'll be in in a bit." Was his only response, the bitterness in her voice lost on him.
Wordlessly, Hermione made her way around the furniture and into the bedroom, opening her armoire once she had entered. Here she glanced at the nightgown that McGonagall had bought when the wedding dress had been purchased. "My wedding gift to you, Hermione. Every woman should have a nice nightgown for her wedding night." The older witch had said when she presented the article to Hermione. It was beautiful, made of the same crisp, white satin that her dress had been made of, but at the moment, Hermione couldn't bring herself to put it on. 'Why waste something so nice on a man who wouldn't notice it?' She asked herself, shutting the doors to the armoire, and walking to her bottom three drawers in the dresser. Opening the lowest one, she pulled out old faithful: a pair of linen pajama pants and a simple, beige t-shirt. She might as well be comfortable.
Taking care of all her hygienic needs in the bathroom, Hermione returned to the bedroom and crawled under the covers on the side farthest from the door. She curled up on her side, facing the center of the bed, and shut her eyes, hoping that sleep would come quickly and that she wouldn't be awake when he came to bed. She didn't know if she could be awake, that close to him, and not tell him a piece of her mind.
Sleep didn't come easy that night, however, and Hermione was still awake an hour later when Severus finally decided that he was ready for bed. Forgetting, momentarily, that there was someone else in the room, he entered and immediately charmed a few candles into being lit.
"There's someone sleeping here." Hermione called from the bed, her position now switched from on her side to her back, one arm thrown over her eyes in an attempt to block the candles' light.
"You appear to be awake to me," Severus replied, his voice seeming to deepen with want for sleep.
"Only because your light work me. Would you put them out now?"
"Once I'm ready for bed, I will." He was unbending, refusing to even compromise. Severus Snape was a stubborn one, and a bit thick, too, when it came to dealing with his new wife. It seemed that no matter how much anger Hermione put into her tone of voice, it completely went over his head.
"Now." Was all she said, before reaching over to the bedside table and picking up her wand. She muttered a spell quickly, and all the lights went out except one, on the side of the room farthest from her.
This was something Severus didn't find funny in the least. Grabbing his own wand, he lit the candles again, turning to glare at the young woman in his bed. Why was she testing him? "Leave them on." He ordered, turning back to the business of gathering his sleeping garments.
"Crab." She muttered, more to herself than anyone else, turning to flop over, back on her side, not bothering with the lights again.
Severus had heard her comment. Of course he heard it. She hadn't been nearly as quiet as she thought she had been and his hearing was sharp, courtesy of years in the classroom, listening for any none solicited talking. He, too, used the bathroom to ready himself for bed, and a smirk appeared on his face after he heard her flop back down on the bed. He hadn't meant to ignore his new bride quite as much as he had. He had only intended to take a bit of time to get his nerves in check. Yes, Severus Snape had been nervous for his wedding night. He was human, after all. Now it seemed that he had entirely riled her up. He'd be lucky if he got a good-night when he got into bed, much less anything else he had fully planned on doing that night. 'Perhaps it's for the best,' he thought to himself, 'After all, she's much more entertaining when she's mad.' He chuckled to himself before heading into the bedroom and turning out the lights.
A/N: I hope you all like this chapter. It was, at times, one of the hardest to write, and at other times, it flowed quite easily. Thanks to my awesome reviewers from the last chapter!