Summary: The big reveal

A/N: Finally, Severus approaches Hermione about their feelings! Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 12

Hermione glanced over at Severus.

"Can you pass the roast beef?" she asked him.

He handed it to her and turned back to his meal. She was a bit puzzled. He'd been quite distant with her for the last couple of days. She glanced at him with worry. Had she done something wrong? Maybe she should ask.

Clearing her throat, she forged ahead.

"Severus?"

He gazed over at her.

"Is everything all right? You've been really quiet lately. Not that you are usually verbose, but you normally talk more than you have. I mean… Oh, forget it; I'm babbling. Are you all right?"

"I am fine. Just contemplative these last couple of days."

"What are you contemplating?"

Severus was quiet as his eyes roved over her. He sighed, and Hermione felt a pit in her stomach. What was going on?

"I need to talk to you about something, but not here." His eyes met hers. "Can I stop by your quarters later?"

"Of course! Come by anytime."

He nodded at her. "Thank you. I'll stop by around seven."

"Okay."

He turned back to his dinner, but she couldn't stop staring at him. After a few moments, he turned back to her.

"Why are you staring at me? Do I have something on my face?"

Hermione looked surprised. "No, of course not. I just… never mind."

She turned back to her meal, her cheeks tinged pink. She missed Severus' arched brow and smirk. Taking a bite of her roast beef, she wondered about what was going to be discussed. She hoped he wasn't going to quell their relationship.

Acting nonchalant around him had been taxing, but she thought she'd been convincing. What if she hadn't been, and he suspected her attraction? What if he was going to tell her he didn't want any such relationship with her and to leave him alone? Pushing her food away, she got up and said her goodbyes, heading back to her quarters. She had no appetite and just wanted to be alone before Severus came to speak with her.

Meandering to her room, she fretted some more until she sighed and shook her head. Whatever it was that Severus wanted to talk about, she was sure that their friendship wouldn't be affected. At least, she hoped that was the case.

Entering her room, she flicked her wand at the fireplace, starting a fire and adjusting the heat so it wouldn't become unbearably hot in the room. Grabbing a book off her side table, she tried to read while she awaited Severus. For the most part, though, she just stared into the captivating flames, trying not to worry. At long last, there was a knock at her door. Placing her book back on the side table, she rose and went over to answer it.

"Hi, Severus," she said as she stepped back to let him in.

"Hello."

He brushed past her. She motioned for him to sit on one of her sofas and took a seat on the one across from him. Hermione looked at him expectantly. Severus cleared his throat and looked down at the floor.

"I received a letter from your father a little over a week ago."

Hermione's eyes grew wide. What on earth could her father have said to Severus?

"Oh," she said quietly. "What did he write?"

"He wanted to say how sorry your mother and he were about our breaking up. He also reiterated the fact that they liked me very much and felt close enough to me to keep considering me part of the family."

Hermione relaxed slightly. "Oh, well, that's nice of him to convey. I knew they'd want to keep in contact with you."

Severus nodded. "That wasn't all he wrote."

Hermione bit her lower lip. "What else did he say?"

Still not making eye contact, Severus continued. "He urged me to reconsider breaking off our relationship."

"Oh, Severus, I'm sorry! I dragged you into this, and now you have to deal with my parents trying to matchmake. I should have never asked you to do this."

His eyes met hers. "Don't say that. I enjoyed helping you. If I have to have your father write me a letter asking me to reconsider, I am more than happy to receive that in order to have helped them to realize nagging you is not the way to go. Besides, he gave me some very interesting points as to why we should reunite."

Hermione gave him a curious look. "Merlin, what did he say?" she asked with trepidation.

"He said that both Jean and he saw how much in love we both were. He said they knew you, and saw how much you loved me, and that they could tell that I loved you."

She put her head in her hands. "No, he couldn't have said that!"

Severus moved forward on the sofa, clasping his hands together. "He did."

Dropping her hands in frustration, she lifted her head slightly and looked over at him. "I'm so sorry, Severus."

Hermione watched Severus rise from his place and move over to sit next to her. She was so embarrassed, she couldn't even make eye contact with him. She turned her head away and just stared at the fire.

"Is there any truth in your father's statement?" he asked.

She spluttered, then was silent, still staring straight ahead. Her insides were roiling. Damn her parents for being so perceptive about her. Now she would have to confess to Severus that she was attracted to him. Maybe she could spin it so it didn't sound so damning. Maybe she could deny the whole thing. No… he'd know she was lying if she flat-out dismissed his question because she knew she couldn't convincingly say she didn't care for him that way.

"Hermione?"

She glanced at him, then immediately looked back at the fire. "Yes, there's some truth to what he said. I mean we were acting, right? Of course, I looked at you like I loved you. I wanted to be convincing to my parents."

Severus' lips thinned. "But are you attracted to me?"

Her head was buried in her hands again.

"Severus, can we just drop this? I love you as a friend, and I don't ever want to ruin that. Let's not go down this road."

Severus turned his head and stared at the fire. After a while, he cleared his throat.

"I miss being with you like that," he admitted. "I miss waking up with you in my arms. I miss kissing you and feeling like we were a couple, even if it was all an act."

Hermione's head snapped up, and she stared at Severus.

"What did you just say?" she demanded in a hushed voice.

He turned to her then.

"Your parents were right about me. I am attracted to you, and I enjoyed playing at a relationship because it was something I truly wanted. They recognized that in me even though I thought I was just acting. Are they right about you too?"

She searched his eyes, looking for the truth of his statement. She hoped this wasn't some sort of deception. She was fearful that he would throw his head back, laugh, and call her a silly girl if she confessed her love for him. However, she only saw concern and a desire for knowledge in his face.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded.

"It grew slowly as we play-dated, practicing for meeting my parents. I kept telling myself that we weren't truly dating, but kept feeling more and more attracted to you. When we were in Australia and you were so affectionate with me, even while we slept, I wished… oh, how I wished… that it could be real between us."

Severus reached out and grasped her hand in his.

"It is real between us, Hermione. Neither of us realized it, but it is."

"How can that be? How could you…?"

"The same way you could. It's beyond my understanding how you could be attracted to me, but you are."

"And you're attracted to me, too?"

He nodded. "Very much so."

"If my father hadn't written you, we'd be dancing around each other forever, wouldn't we?"

"I was not ready to say anything to you about this. I didn't want to destroy our friendship, and I feared that if you knew my feelings, you'd stop being close to me so as not to lead me on. I know you would do that. That's just how you are."

She nodded. "You're right. I would have definitely done that to save you from pining after me."

"And I would have done the same to you if I thought you were attracted to me, and I didn't want that."

"Severus…"

He moved in and kissed her then. It was so very lovely as his lips worshipped hers. She opened her mouth, and he entered, causing her to moan. His arms came around her, and he pulled her even closer. Her hands threaded themselves in his hair as they showed their affection for one another. At long last, they broke apart.

"God, I missed this," Severus murmured before moving back to her lips.

A thrill shot through her as she enjoyed his affections.

"Oh, Severus…" she whispered between his kisses.

They separated, and Severus put his forehead on hers.

"I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you," Hermione revealed.

Severus pulled away and looked into her eyes, searching for the truth.

"Really?" he asked.

She nodded.

He gave her a shy smile. "I love you too."

She pulled him close, and they just hugged one another for a while. They separated, and she quickly moved in and kissed him lightly.

"I guess we need to start over, right?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not sure. I mean, we did date before. I think we can pick up from where we left off."

Hermione smiled. "Okay."

"Tomorrow, let's go out to dinner. I'll make the arrangements."

"Our first real date."

He nodded. "Yes, our first."

oooOOOooo

She was nervous. She had no reason as to why-they had done this before–but this being a real date made it all new… and wonderful… and terrifying. Their first fake date had been a disaster, but after that, everything had gone smoothly. There was no reason why it shouldn't go smoothly tonight. But this being a real date reset everything. She hoped that the evening would be a good one.

There was a knock at her door, and she rushed to open it up. Severus was there with a single rose, which he extended toward her.

"Thank you!" Hermione said as she took the red rose and moved to let Severus enter.

She smelled it before putting the rose into a vase on her table and turning back to him. Rushing up to him, she gave him a sweet kiss.

"That was a lovely thing to do," she told him.

He smirked at her. "You deserve to be showered with gifts." His smirk turned into a genuine smile. "Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yes."

Taking her arm, he spun them around, and they Disapparated away. They reappeared in a pretty meadow next to a waterfall. Hermione gaped.

"Severus, where are we?"

"Scotland."

She batted at him. "I figured that, but where is this?"

"It's Steall Falls. Not really very far from Hogwarts. I'm surprised you haven't seen it before."

"I haven't done much exploring in the area," Hermione mused. "I guess I'm too busy getting out of town when I have the time."

Severus took her hand and led her to a small table he'd set up before collecting her. It was set at the base of the waterfall. He settled Hermione into her seat and sat across from her. With a wave of his wand, the picnic basket underneath the table unpacked itself. Plates of fish and chips organized themselves before the two of them. Two bottles of Butterbeer floated up and settled in front of them before a bottle of malt vinegar flew to the center of the table.

"You've thought of everything," Hermione said with a smile.

"I try."

"This is really beautiful, Severus. It's a perfect first date," Hermione said as she gazed at the waterfall.

"I wanted something special."

"Well, you found it!" she said as she turned back to him, grinning widely.

They began to eat, not conversing for a bit while they did so.

"Hermione, what really makes this special is being here with you."

Hermione turned several shades of pink which extended down her neck.

"Thank you, Severus. I am loving being here with you, too."

He gave her a shy half-smile. Hermione gave him an adoring look. The look he gave her in response made her heart drop into her stomach, it was so intense and passionate. She blushed furiously, popping a chip into her mouth to divert Severus' gaze at her pink cheeks.

They continued with dinner and soon were finished. Severus stood and extended his hand to Hermione.

"Before we settle on dessert, I thought we could walk around by the waterfall."

"Sounds lovely," Hermione said as she placed her hand in his and rose from her seat.

They held hands as they walked up to the pool where the waterfall emptied.

"Oh, it's so peaceful here, Severus."

"Even with the waterfall crashing into the rocks?" Severus asked.

"Yes, it's a peaceful, calming noise, you know?"

"I can see what you mean."

They walked along the river for a bit, continuing to hold hands as they went. Severus stopped and pulled Hermione to him. He leaned down and kissed her soundly. Pulling away after a while, he smirked at her.

"You are truly exquisite," he murmured.

"Why thank you. You're quite amazing yourself."

She pulled him to her and showered him with more kisses, making him groan within himself. She was thrilled to realize she could bring out this passion in him. She thread her fingers through his hair and thoroughly enjoyed him.

"So delicious," she said as she pulled away.

He smirked at her. "I could spend the whole day here snogging you."

His smirk turned into a smile, and Hermione mused that he looked so very lovely when he truly smiled.

"You need to genuinely smile more often," she advised.

"I will if you're with me."

Hermione gave him a sideways glance and shook her head.

"What?"

"It's you. I would have never imagined you'd be so sweet and complimentary."

"I am not sweet, but I have a confession to make."

Hermione's eyebrows rose in curiosity.

"All my life I have wanted someone to cherish. I never thought it would be possible to ever find anything like this… like you. I always want you to know how special you are to me."

Hermione smiled lovingly at him and moved up to kiss him. "I don't care if you say you're not sweet, that was the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me." Her eyes met his. "I want to cherish you too, Severus. I want you to know that you are mine, and I want to be with you always."

"I'm glad we are in agreement," he said before he was unable to say anything more as Hermione was showering him with kisses.