Severus sat at his desk the next morning in a strange mood. He was feeling torn but between what two emotions he did not know. He was simply torn. He watched as the students filtered into the room slowly and he waited for her, waited to see her, and finally she entered in her typical dress; messy hair, school uniform, and black high heels. She took a seat two tables back from his desk and smiled discretely at him before pulling her text from her satchel.
Severus felt a strange chill run up his spine at that smile. His mind immediately went back to the night before when he discovered her on the floor and… No. He stopped himself. This was his student and he was not going to think that way. There was no way he could take advantage of that. She needed help and he was going to provide it. He was going to continue to be the cold and heartless professor that she knew. Maybe a little less heartless, and a tad less cold, he thought.
Classes ended that day later than usual and Severus made sure to catch Hermione before she went to the Great Hall for dinner to tell her his password so she'd be able to get in. He had a small library there so he had strongly suggested she complete her studies at his kitchenette table rather than in the library upstairs. Hermione had agreed and they'd parted and Severus hadn't stopped thinking about the girl since.
At about nine o'clock Severus had finally finished his last detention of the day and he headed back to his rooms. He muttered the password and slipped inside, hanging his outer robes. Hermione was curled up in his armchair reading some book. Severus watched as she looked up at him and gave a friendly, small smile. He returned it and walked past her into his bedroom, shutting his door. He sat on the end of his bed for a moment. He didn't know what he was going to do. This feeling in his chest was unbearable. He'd just have to ignore it.
Severus emerged about ten minutes later and to his amazement Hermione had moved from the armchair to the couch for Severus. He raised his eyebrows in wonder as he took a seat in his favorite chair and peered over at her book. She was reading a selection from his novels. He had figured as much. He had a small book collection of only Muggle novels. Somehow they were more interesting to him than wizarding novels.
Hermione was thoroughly engrossed and he wondered for a moment if she had even really noticed that he was there. After about five minutes Hermione looked up from her book and folded it in her lap, "How were classes today?"
Severus nodded his head, "Fine, and you?"
"Boring," Hermione sighed heavily, rolling her eyes. She set the book beside her on the couch. She was snuggled up under his blanket and wearing his t-shirt from the night before which told him either she liked wearing it or she hadn't gone to retrieve her clothing from her dormitory. Wait… She had. She was wearing her uniform this morning. Severus felt a swelling in his chest and a lump in his throat.
"Classes can, erm, be boring," Severus agreed a little shakily. He fiddled with the bottom of his shirt for a moment before smoothing out the legs of his trousers.
Hermione smirked. He was nervous around her. She had never seen the professor in this state and in a way it was rather amusing. She did feel sorry for him, but she was glad for once he was the one squirming in her presence instead of the other way around. Surprisingly she felt comfortable here; more so than she had in months anywhere else.
Severus stood, clearing his throat, and walking over to the bookcases against the far wall by the door, "I don't have rounds tonight so if you'd like I have a few videos. I tend to play one or two on the weekends when there isn't much else to do."
Hermione was in shock. She hadn't watched a movie while at school ever, so hearing that it was a possibility boggled her mind. She jumped up from the couch and walked quickly over to the bookcase in his pajamas, standing beside him as he pulled the plastic tote down from the top that housed his DVD collection. Most of them were movies Hermione had never heard of but she saw one that she'd been dying to see and hadn't gotten the chance to: The Grudge.
She plucked it from the box and nearly skipped back to the couch, turning it over in her hands to read the back of it as Severus pulled out his television and DVD player. He set everything up, somehow having rigged it to a car battery, and then coaxed the DVD from her hands with a smirk so he could insert it in the DVD player. He excused himself for a few minutes while it went through commercials and changed into pajamas, his mind racing as he did so.
For the first time in at least a decade there was a female sitting on his couch in his pajamas, curled up under his blanket and she was his student. In any other circumstance Severus would have jumped at the opportunity to bed a girl as beautiful as Hermione Granger, but he couldn't cross that line. There was no way.
He emerged from his bedroom with another pillow and sat beside Hermione on the couch so he could see the TV, grabbed the remote, and pressed play. He set his pillow in his lap and propped his feet up on the coffee table.
Hermione grinned like a little girl, so excited to finally see this movie. She handed him some blanket, watching as he threw it over his legs, and leaned back, curling her legs under her.
Severus awoke four hours later to the title screen of the DVD. He clicked the remote at the TV, successfully turning off the blaring light and started to stand up before he realized there was a weight in his lap. He looked down to see his pillow in his lap at Hermione's head atop his pillow. He went beet red and opened his mouth several times as if he was going to speak. He had nothing to say. He couldn't wake her.
He somehow slipped another pillow under his heels on the coffee table and leaned back, closing his eyes. His heart was pounding and thoughts racing through his head. He knew he'd have a hard time going back to sleep but in a way he didn't mind.