A/N:I don't own Harry Potter

This is for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Writing Club April

Bingo: [2.B - Trope: Sharing a bed]

Elizabeth's Empire: 7. (genre) romance

Word Count: 782

The roll of thunder pulled Severus from his sleep. For a brief moment, he was confused about his location. He didn't see the usual light filtering in from the window to the left of the bed. Instead, It seemed the room had no windows. A flash of lightning lit up the hallway outside the room. He sat up looking around.

He had never woken up unaware of his surroundings before. He instantly tried to remember the previous night. He remembered leaving Hogwarts, going to Hogsmeade, drinking.

"It's just a thunderstorm, go back to sleep," a voice next to him mumbled. Severus' dark eyes widened. That explained somethings. He wasn't in his room. He apparently wasn't even at Hogwarts. He had gone home with this...witch? Her voice sounded familiar. In the darkness, he couldn't make out many details of his sleeping companion. Still reeling from discovering he'd gone home with someone, Severus pulled back the sheets. Well, that explained what he'd been doing last night, just not with whom. He slid from the bed, causing the witch to raise her head.

"Severus? Everything alright?" she asked.

"Fine. Washroom?"

"Third door to the right," she answered. "Watch out for Crooks, he likes to attack feet," she added. Severus nodded. Crooks? He stepped out into the lit hallway. The half kneazle already wrapping around his ankles. He took one look at the creature and froze.

"Crookshanks," he muttered. "That means the witch... Miss Granger?" he whispered, wondering how in the world he had ended up naked in Hermione Granger's bed. Almost as if she could hear his thoughts, she was beside him. He glanced at her, she wore a green nightdress and a slightly amused expression on her face.

"I couldn't sleep after you got up," she said.

"How...?"

"I found you at the Hog's Head. You were a bit drunk. I offered to help you back to the castle. You said 'no'."

"So you brought me here and took advantage of me?"

"Severus, do you have a hang over?"

"No," he paused. "I do not."

"You were sober when we... expressed our feelings for one another. You really have that low of an opinion of me?" she asked, looking hurt. He looked at her and shook his head.

"My apologies, Miss Granger."

"Hermione, you were able to call me 'Hermione' last night."

"And I was sober?"

"Yes, you drank something from your pocket, a sobering potion I believe. We had coffee, you took yours black. I told you about my new job, how we would be working in semi-close contact with one another."

"You got a teaching position?"

"Arithimancy, yes. We're both going to be teaching at Hogwarts. I said there was something I wanted to get out of my system before then. I confessed my feelings for you, I didn't want them to get in the way of me doing my job. I figured it would be easier if I knew you didn't feel the same. It would be easier if you hated me."

"I don't hate you."

"Obviously," Hermione said, doing a decent impression of the man standing before her. Severus bit back a laugh.

"Who invited whom to the bedroom?" he finally asked.

"I think it was mutual, after we started snogging and almost ended up doing things on my kitchen table," she answered.

"Oh. I would apologize, but I am not sorry."

"Neither am I. I would like to know where this leaves us, though. We're going to be working together and there is no rule against professors being romantically, or sexually, involved with one another."

"Must you check the rules before doing anything?"

"Only things that matter, sir," Hermione replied.

"Of course. Where do you want this to leave us?" Severus asked. The thought of spending more time with Hermione, now that she was a colleague, was appealing. The night they'd spent together was starting to return to his memory, and he had to admit, he wouldn't object to more like it.

"Together," Hermione answered. "We're obviously compatible, as last night proved. We're both intelligent, I doubt we'd bore each other too much. It might be fun sneaking around the castle."

"Those are all excellent points. However, I do have a reputation to uphold."

"I know, but would it be so bad if we were together?" she asked. Severus stared at her, the one witch who had managed to get past all his defenses.

"No, it wouldn't be... very well. Hermione, will you be my..."

"Lover, partner, girlfriend?"

"Yes."

"I would love to," Hermione answered, wrapping her arms around Severus. He kissed her, slowly leading her back to the bedroom, while Crookshanks tried unsuccessfully to nip at their ankles.