Hermione was thoroughly enjoying herself. It had been three days since her heated confrontation with Snape, three days since she had last spoken with him, and three days since she had shamelessly started flirting with Seamus Finnigan. She had decided it was time to change tactic. Clearly there was something between herself and the surly potions Professor, and clearly, she thought, remembering the dreams that plagued her nightly, she wanted him. She wanted to explore this connection that made her constantly aware of his presence and his eyes on her. And so, she had decided, jealousy was the answer. She would have felt guiltier about using Seamus so casually, had she not known how many hearts he had broken over the years. Two birds with one stone, she thought, slightly evilly.
And it was working, she realised gleefully. Snape had been watching her even more than he had been previously, he had been grouchier in his lessons, glaring at her constantly, and Seamus had even confessed to her, utterly confused, that he thought the war hero was out to kill him. She was affecting him. The thought made her feel euphoric, causing a grin to spread across her face, coincidentally at the exact same time Snape passed them in the corridor.
...
The insufferable know-it-all was driving him crazy. Severus knew exactly what it was she was doing, flirting with the dunderheaded half-wit to make him jealous. Unfortunately, knowing what she was doing did not hinder her success in rendering him absolutely green with envy. Every flirtatious glance, every swish of her incredible hair, every laugh that escaped those lips, all of which were directed at him, twisted the knife in his belly that bit further.
Seeing her in his class room every day was torture. Having her sitting across from him, merely two or three metres away from him for two hours at a time, with sweat from the heat and effort trickling down her neck, getting lost in her curls, and that damned, luscious lip of hers always captured between her perfect teeth, was slowly shredding the rest of his self control to pieces.
Once again his cock twitched at the mere memory of her state in his previous lesson. He was in a corridor full of students for Merlin's sake! At that precise moment, Hermione Granger rounded the corner sporting a gorgeous, sincere grin and accompanied by none other than Seamus Finnigan.
Severus snapped, turning around on his heel after she had passed him, and silently following her and Seamus down a less populated corridor. He had almost closed in on them when he shot a quick, silent spell at Seamus' feet, causing him to trip, and simultaneously pulled Hermione into an empty classroom, leaving Seamus alone in the corridor, utterly confused as to where his companion had suddenly disappeared to.
Severus didn't care about the fool outside in the corridor, he only cared about the woman he had pressed against the door, with a shocked expression on her face, breathing heavily and causing her breasts to press deliciously against his ribs. He pushed his erection against her abdomen and groaned, not once taking his eyes from hers. Had he not been so aroused, Severus could have laughed when Hermione's eyes closed in ecstasy and a small whimper escaped her. She pushed her body close against his and he slowly started lowering his head down to hers, stopping when their lips were only centimetres apart. "What do you think you're doing with that idiot, Granger?" he half whispered, half growled. His words didn't seem to register as she stared into his eyes through her eye lashes and she slowly began moving her lips towards his.
"Kiss me" she sighed, pressing against his erection, causing a deep moan to escape him. Unable to help himself, Severus smashed his mouth onto Hermione's, almost violently, forcing his tongue into her mouth, teeth nipping at her lips ...
... Well, that would have been one way to do it, Severus thought that evening at dinner, still watching the insufferable Granger girl while she continued flirting with Finnigan. Instead of kidnapping her and attacking her against a door, Severus had come up with a better plan. And with one final glare in Granger's direction, he turned around in his seat, and flashed Professor Littleton a smile, catching her so by surprise that she choked on what she was eating and burst into a large coughing fit, drawing the attention of most of the great hall, including the Gryffindor table, just as he had intended, Severus thought smugly. With an act of great concern, he put one hand on the Professor's arm, the other hitting her gently on the back, until she had recovered. Of course, she was consumed with gratitude, fluttering her eyelashes, thanking him profusely and sending him coy smiles. Severus reciprocated with as much warmth as he could muster, completely gratified when he noticed Hermione staring at the head table angrily. Two could play at the same game...
...
What did that bastard think he was doing? Hermione was fuming. Clearly he had decided to do to her what she had been doing to him. Knowing this did not make her feel any better about it. Just the fact that his gaze was fixed on that woman and not on her made her mad. The addition of his speaking to her, with that deep, velvety voice of his, and the smile he was sporting, one he had yet to direct at Hermione, made her absolutely fucking crazy. This had to stop. Surely they had both made their points; she had proved his letter wrong. The "incident" hadn't been irrational. Clearly they both had feelings for each other; in fact surely it was them staying apart from each other that was irrational?
Hermione knew she was right. She also knew that she wanted a relationship with him, a real one, not just a series of passionate encounters against various walls of the school. With that thought in mind, she turned around to Seamus and said flatly "Seamus, I'm not interested in you, I never will be. Sorry if you misunderstood", ignored his shocked expression, threw a last glance towards Severus, and left the Great Hall.
...
As soon as she had left, Severus stopped smiling at the pathetic creature next to him, and turned away from her. He was surprised at the confused and irritated expression on Seamus' face... surely Hermione hadn't said anything unwelcome to him? With this in mind, he left the Great Hall, not realising, or caring about, the state of extreme confusion he had left the new professor in. When he arrived at his chambers, he took off his heavy cloak and changed into a dark blue jumper, picked up a book he had been reading, and sat down in his comfortable armchair. His mind, however, would not remain focused on the book. While the look of anger on Hermione's face had initially been amusing, Severus found that he wasn't as satisfied about it as he should be. He didn't want to play games, he didn't want to make her feel angry, he just wanted to be with her. He had had enough of conflict in the past few years, enough to last him a lifetime. He wanted something steady, something he could feel safe with, something that didn't cause him endless turmoil.
...
Following her revelation, Hermione decided it was time to visit Severus, to actually speak to him, instead of simply making eyes at him between short encounters of actual interaction, fuelled by passion or anger. She decided to dress modestly, in jeans and a light brown jumper.
As she left the common room, she felt herself becoming more nervous. Sure, he had seemed angry when she had flirted with Seamus, and he had kissed her, but what if she had misinterpreted his feelings? What if it was only a casual fling he was looking for? But that didn't seem like him, especially as that directly contradicted the cold letter he had sent her. The only thing she could do was speak to him, honestly and openly.
By the time Hermione had reached the dungeons, she was shivering from the cold and her own nervousness. It was then that she realised that she didn't even know where his chambers were. She decided the best thing to do was to go to the potions classroom; surely he had set up wards there. As she stood there, outside the classroom, cold and anxious, she began to wonder if this had really been such a good idea. Hadn't he made it clear that the kiss had been a mistake? He hadn't even tried to talk to her since their argument...
She had just turned to go back to the Gryffindor tower, feeling confused and disappointed, when a door appeared in the wall opposite the potions classroom. Suddenly Severus Snape was standing there, with an unreadable expression on his face, his dark eyes simply staring at her. She realised he wasn't wearing his usual robes, instead he looked much less intimidating, in a comfortable looking dark blue jumper that seemed to complement his smooth pale skin.
They stood there, just staring at each other for several moments. Hermione finally made a move, and slowly began walking towards him. He just stood there, stock-still. She finally reached him, her heart beating loudly, and still he did not move. She slowly reached her hands up to his shoulders and raised on her tiptoes, taking a moment to look into his eyes for some sign of his feelings before giving it up as a hopeless cause, closing her own eyes and gently pressing her lips against his.