Hermione stared up at her ceiling. What had happened last night had her baffled.

Severus had put his arm around her, they had cuddled on the couch, and he'd kissed the top of her head and then he'd run away. How was she meant to take that?

Did she pretend like it hadn't happened, did she try to reinitiate that kind of behavior?

She didn't know. Hermione thought back to all the experience she'd had in the romance department; she'd been with Viktor but their's wasn't a relationship she wanted again, Ron hadn't worked out so she didn't really want to look to that for experience so she was at a loss.

Hermione could see the sun rising through her bedroom window, she should get up, the five hours of sleep she'd managed to get were weighing on her.

"Might as well go and see what happens," Hermione whispered to herself.

She opened the door to see Severus asleep on the couch. She remembered him going to his room, had he come out after, regretting his decision to flea?

She walked over to him and saw that he'd changed into a pair of pajama bottoms and an old T-shirt, his feet were bare. Hermione moved to see his face and noticed him shiver ever so slightly.

Hermione summoned the blanket from her bed and gently put it over him tucking it around his feet.

She looked back at his relaxed face and couldn't help the pang that she felt in her chest.

Her feelings for him were so very far away from simple, she couldn't figure out exactly when it had started, but the grumpy and sullen man before her had become important to her in a way that she really hadn't had in a long time.

Hermione decided she'd sit on the floor and lean against the couch and wait for Severus to wake up, then she'd confront him and hell or high water at least get an answer about his feelings.

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Severus woke up snuggled into a blanket that wasn't his.

"Wha..." He started sitting up in confusion.

He flopped back down as the sunlight hit his corneas.

"Glad to see you're still alive," He heard Hermione say from somewhere to his left.

Severus turned his head and opened his eyes looking directly into deep brown ones.

"Morning," She whispered.

"Good morning," Severus whispered back. He looked at her and noticed that she looked rather rested, but her clothes were slightly rumpled. "How long have I been sleeping?"

"Not too long, I woke up extra early and saw you were cold and just decided to wait till you woke up out here." Hermione said.

Well, that explained the blanket and her clothes. Another thought hit him, what if she's waiting to discuss last night, I don't know what I say to her after what happened, not that anything even really happened. He hadn't even properly kissed her, but oh how he'd wanted to. How he wanted to now.

"So, shall we discuss last night?" She asked quietly, biting her lip and looking at anything but him.

"What about last night?" He asked abruptly.

Hermione's eyes instantly snapped to his, "It was nothing?" She asked hurt predominant in her tone and eyes, but anger also waged.

"I don't know what your talking about Miss Granger I think you might be touched in the head." Severus said sitting up and breaking eye contact, unable to see that look for much longer.

"I think your a right git," Hermione said angrily. "You can't pretend something didn't happen. You can damn well tell me it meant nothing, but don't just forget it and force me to as well," Hermione finished softly quiet sobs following her triad.

Severus turned to face her resolved to do this, if she wanted to have him carted back to Azkaban for being attracted to her, then at least he wasn't a coward.

"Hermione," he said softly. She didn't hear him and continued to quietly sob into her hands. "Hermione," he said a little louder this time.

Hermione heard him this time, but instead of looking up she bolted, or at least tried to. She made it halfway to her room when she felt Severus grab her around the waist and stop her progress.

"Let me go," She pleaded pitifully.

"Not until you hear me out," He said shaking her a little to get her to look at him.

She finally lifted her head and had but a second before she felt lips crash onto hers.

He didn't know what he was doing, that became instantly clear to both parties. Hermione had kissed boys before and knew what it should be like, and Severus, well Severus seemed to be simultaneously trying to suck her lips into his and crash his teeth into hers.

Despite the minor issue of his kissing skill Hermione still felt like she'd been given the most beautiful gift.

After a particularly nasty attempt at changing his technique, which resulted in Hermione getting a bloody lip, they pulled away from one another and opened their eyes.

Hermione cleared her throat delicately. "Severus," She said looking at him earnestly.

"Yes?" He asked a note of fear crawled over his normally confident tone.

"You've never kissed someone before have you?" Hermione asked, she sounded sincere and not at all malicious.

Severus's instant reaction was still to get defensive.

"I don't know what you mean," He huffed.

"Severus, that kiss was your first kiss wasn't it?" She rephrased and asked again, her tone still gentle.

Severus wasn't looking at her and was dead silent.

Hermione stepped closer to him. "It's ok, I just wasn't prepared is all. Would you mind if I kissed you?" Hermione asked quietly moving ever closer.

Severus stiffened, "Why would you want to, I bloodied your lip," He growled.

Hermione touched her swollen lip, she'd forgotten about it, "Honestly, I've had worse injuries." She brought her hand up to his cheek. He flinched away, as she'd expected him to.

"I enjoyed sitting on the couch with you last night," She said trying to catch his eyes. "I enjoyed our first kiss and I don't want it to be the last,"

She was so close to him now, she saw his eyes were glistening.

"I don't know how to do this," He said lifting his hands in a helpless gesture.

"Well, fortunately I am a know-it-all," She said smiling as tears of her own surfaced.

She leaned in gently then and touched her lips to his. His tried again to suck her mouth into his, but she stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder and a small squeeze.

They stood like that lips locked and gently exploring each other. She had her hands in his hair, and on his neck, she even moved them down to his skinny hips. He stayed still at first and then his hands came up to gingerly cup her face as he continued to kiss her.

She smiled against his lips as she felt him relax.

Eventually Hermione broke the kiss, to Severus's disappointed stare.

"Don't look at me like that, one of us has a job to go to," She said looking down at her watch and trying not to panic, she was never late, but this was a morning of firsts.