Severus was speechless. Hermione Granger had just told him she loved him. For the first time in his life, a woman had told him she loved him, just like that. Since Lily he had had several brief flings, but nothing serious. This was all new to him, and he felt very vulnerable. He quickly schooled his face into an expressionless mask.

"You do not know me, Ms. Granger. I am not a nice man. "

"I know more than you think," Hermione said softly, moving closer to him. He could smell the fragrance of her hair, and was intensely aware of how near she was to him. She slowly placed a hand on his chest, still clad in his muggle sweater and black coat. He was so tall she had to tip her head back to look at him.

"I am your teacher."

"I know, you said that several times. It seems to be the only argument you have." Hermione said with a smile, but his face remained serious. His warm hands came up to cup her elbows.

"I'm not like the other boys you've dated. I'm jaded and stubborn, and have a role to play in the war that may cost me my life." He wanted to be honest with her, he owed her that much.

"I know. But the war has cost us all a large part of our lives already. And matters of life and death can never be predicted. I find it important to make the most of moments that matter. Like this one."

Her hands rose to brush the dust and grit out of his dark hair, and he stilled, as if any movement on his part would cause her to recoil.

He slipped his hands around her waist despite himself. He was tired of always having to deny himself what he wanted. I serve Dumbledore, I serve Voldemort. I deserve to have a little freedom in these matters at least. And just like that, he had made his decision. He wanted, no he needed this woman. Life is short. Shorter with this war. "I'm not good at saying how I feel," he said softly. Hermione smiled and nodded. "I gathered as much."

Hermione pressed herself against him, and he moved to kiss her, her mouth soft under his.

Later, they sat in front of the fire. Two empty glasses of wine adorned the small coffee table and Severus had his head in Hermione's lap. They were content in each others presence, and Severus could feel himself drifting off. "How do we keep this a secret?" Hermione asked quietly. "We will have to be discreet until you graduate." He answered sleepily, not wanting to think about it.

"Well then. Sir, you will need to act like you did before we started getting along." Hermione cooed, emphasizing the sir in a truly dirty way. He sat up aprubtly, wide awake.

"Do not ever call me sir when we are alone."

"Awww, why not SIR? I think you like it."

"I most certainly do not."

Hermione laughed and hugged him from behind. Suddenly a thought occurred to him.

"MS GRANGER HOW DID YOU GET BY MY WARDS?" He turned swiftly and made a grab for her, but she sqeaked and jumped nimbly away. He chased her, death written on his face. She ran and laughed simultaneously.

"It was just…ah..ha…..a bit of light magic….ah..ha…" she panted after he had caught her and was pinning her to the floor.

" A bit of LIGHT MAGIC?" His wards were the equivalent of the metal layers covering a tank.

She looked at him, panting.

"SIR, I really do think you need my advice on setting proper wards."*

And, for the first time in quite some time, Severus Snape could not stop laughing.

After that, they went back into their normal lives. She attended his classes, he sneered and called her a know it all. But to Hermione's friends something seemed odd. She never got angry when he berated her, or gave her lesser grades for going over the allotted amount of parchment. She just smiled secretly and then shrugged it off.

One day Harry could not stand it any longer, and he mentioned it to Ron. "I reckon somethings not right with Hermione, mate. She doesn't care about her grades anymore! Do you think she's sick?" His eyes were genuinely worried behind his glasses. Ron nodded, his mouth full of turkey as they were just having dinner. " I think we should follow her for a day and see if she has a secret. I'm worried as well." Then he blushed. "I even tried to – well you know- I asked her out and she completely rejected me." Ron sounded sad. "I mean before she went on that mission, I felt like she and I had something. And all of a sudden she's just…..not interested." Harry clapped his best friend on the shoulder. "We'll figure it out."

The next day was a Saturday. Hermione excused herself from breakfast with her usual excuse, that she would study in the library. Harry and Ron disillusioned themselves and followed her quietly. They were delighted when she headed back to Gryffindor tower instead and emerged with makeup and a muggle outfit. She slipped into a soft blue muggle jacket and headed out of the castle. They followed her until the woords, completely mystified.

In a clearing they saw her stop. She waited patiently for a while, until someone appeared with a pop. She squealed happily and ran towards the figure, who was obscured by the trees. She flew into the taller person's arms, and he kissed her. The boys felt suspicious. That tall figure. The flapping cloak. The long black hair. There was no way.

They're worst fears were confirmed. Their bookworm best friend was walking hand in hand with their potions professor, heading away through the trees towards the Hogsmeade. Harry and Ron sat down on a rock. They no longer wanted to follow. Ron was very pale.

"Er…"

"Should we….?"

"No, its better if we…"

"Yeah….I mean….."

"If she's happy…."

"Er…..I agree"

They stammered around until they had established that they would tell no one and stay out of Hermione's business again, so had the event traumatized them. While they struggled, Hermione and Severus had apparated to a muggle restaurant, where they sat and talked from 8 until 12 at night. Afterwards, they went back to his quarters, and ended up in front of the fireplace, kissing.

Hermione broke away breathlessly. "Did you see that Harry and Ron followed me?" He raised an eyebrow. "With that kind of spellwork I'd be surprised if anyone didn't." Hermione laughed. "They aren't going to tell anyone. I think I saw them turn green before we walked away." And as Severus Snape smiled at the woman in his arms, he was already making plans on how to mentally destroy both Weasely and Potter in Monday's Defense lesson. I will make them cry.

The End

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