AN: Happy New Year! I hope it's filled with joy and success.
Thank you for all the support! It is very deeply appreciated!
"The most difficult aspect of any demonstration is distinguishing oneself from the other candidates," Severus sounded like a professor discussing strategies with a colleague, as well as a co-conspirator. "Too many candidates follow the same script, perform the same spells, and have the same sale's pitch as the ones before and after them. It becomes difficult to distinguish one candidate from another. At that point, the job could very well go to the person whose name the committee actually remembers."
"But nobody's found a way to make a walker fire hexes or make a cane emit a shield," Hermione argued. "That alone should distinguish me from everyone else."
"You are correct. Most importantly though," his lips curled up. "None of the other candidates have ever flown. You alone can do that, which already distinguishes you from all others, save me."
"Exactly," her lips curled up.
"That being said," he scratched the table. "We have not done much practice handling and taming dark creatures. If we do not find a way to incorporate at least one dark creature into the presentation, it could be perceived as you covering up a weakness."
"How many dark creatures should I incorporate into my presentation?"
"I would only handle one or two. My suggestion would be to dispel a boggart and do a short presentation on werewolves."
"Will that be sufficient?"
"In your case, yes. It is better to do a few things very well than to be mediocre in several things. Focus is important, more important than many people realize."
"True, and I like your ideas. Still, where am I going to get a boggart?"
"They will not provide one though," He tapped the table. "I can find one the next time I go out hunting for potions ingredients. Once captured, I can keep it until the day of the demonstration. Then, I will hand it to you so you can let it loose and tame it."
"Are you sure you don't want to borrow one?" She swallowed. "I don't want you to harm yourself trying to help me."
"I'll be more harmed if I don't do everything possible to ensure you get the job over a dunderhead trying to relive their glory days in the war."
"I wish people weren't such dunderheads about the war and their roles in it. I wish they could see you as I do."
He snorted. "I'm used to people making unwarranted assumptions about me. I made my decisions. Now, I must live with them."
"You shouldn't have to endure their sneering and jeering, even if it is all behind your back."
"At least according to you I don't."
"Well," she smirked. "I am the brightest witch of my age."
"A fact I am growing to appreciate about you."
"So I'm always right."
"I wouldn't say you're always right, but you are correct more often than most. For that reason among many others, I am in awe of your intellect."
Her cheeks turned red.
"Back to the boggart," he cleared his throat. "It is no trouble for me to capture one. If I catch one in the wild, then nobody can say it's been tamed into submission. That will bode well for you since I have every confidence you can tame it into submission."
"I'll try." She swallowed.
"There is no need to say, 'try.' You will do it," he answered. "If you can handle me at my surliest, you can handle any boggart."
"You aren't terrible most days."
"Only because I behave for you. For you, I am very well-behaved."
"So you are," she purred.
For a moment, there was a flicker in his eyes. She could not tell if it was playfulness, desire, or something she could not decipher.
"What about the dueling portion on the demonstration?" She asked. "Will you be able to fight me?"
"If they want you to exhibit your one on one dueling skills, then they will enlist one of the Board members to combat you. They would never ask an outsider to be present. They would view it as interfering with the process."
"So you can't help me at all during the presentation?"
"No, I'm an outsider who most see as too close to the situation. I could be seen as purposefully holding back in order to make you appear better."
"Fine." She exhaled before taking a sip of her brandy. "Do you think there's a chance Lucius could fight me?"
"That is a distinct possibility, though due to my role in your training, he may be seen as less than neutral. Another person on the committee may very well be the one to fight you."
"Okay."
"You may not want him as a dueling partner anyway. Despite everyone's suspicions, he will not take it easy on you. You may be his favorite candidate, but he values his reputation as a fighter more than he does in giving a worthy candidate a job. He will not allow himself to be defeated by someone younger than him, at least not without a fight."
"But if he uses Death Eater tactics, I'll be ready for them."
"Yes, and you are getting more skilled at detecting the lesser known ones, though you still struggle to keep your shields up after a long barrage on your left flank."
"I know, I must perfect that," she sighed.
"If it makes you feel any better," he reached across the table and took her hand. "If people had known how to maintain their shields during a Death Eater attack, then Voldemort would've been defeated much sooner. A weak left flank was a typical problem faced by many an auror trained to defeat a Death Eater."
"That is a fair point." She squeezed his hand.
"Alright you two," Rosmerta approached with a tray of food. "Save the public displays of affection for your quarters."
"Public display of affection?" Hermione released Severus' hand, leaving him wishing for her warmth.
Did it make him desperate that from the moment he'd sat down, he'd been waiting for a reason to touch her, to give her another opening to play with his hair, and kiss her again? No matter what he did, he couldn't get enough of this witch. If he wasn't careful, she would drive him to an early grave, and he would smile like a fool the entire journey there.
"Yes, you seem rather affectionate with each other, don't you agree?" Rosmerta turned to Severus and winked. A chill ran down his spine as his heart slowed. Could Hermione see the desire in his eyes? If so, how long until she wheeled into the streets as fast as she could, shouting about how revolting it was to have someone as unattractive as he was lusting after her?
After Rosmerta set the food on the table, she turned around. Hermione coughed and unwrapped out her silverware from her napkin. "Go ahead and eat whatever you'd like, and drink whatever you'd like. It's all on me: my birthday treat."
"I should not ask you to pay for my dinner," Severus took another look at his roast hog. His stomach let out a soft rumble, reminding him he'd eaten little up that point.
"It's your birthday," she began to cut her eel. "Nobody should have to pay for anything on their birthday."
"Wait," Rosmerta stopped. "Today's your birthday."
Severus scowled. "Indeed it is."
"Well Happy Birthday!" She beamed. "I'd ask how old you are, but I don't like to scare off my customers."
"Indeed," he ground out. "You are wise in that regard."
"Still, you need a nice birthday shot, and a little bit of a surprise dessert." She winked again before leaving.
"That sounds exciting," Hermione grinned before she began eating.
"Yes, sugar rushes and crashes are oh so enjoyable," he grumbled. "I enjoy rushing around my labs before crashing onto my bed at two in the morning."
"I highly doubt a piece of cake will keep you up until two in the morning."
"One never knows. With age comes less tolerance of certain foods."
"You have not had a problem with sugar before, have you?"
"No, but there is a first time for everything."
"If you've handled sugar well for this long, I doubt tonight will lead to too many problems."
"I cannot guarantee that," he straightened his back, only to hear a pop. He winced. "I am getting older, a fact I cannot hide on a day like today."
"Remember what I said about older men," she purred, sending a wave of desire through his body. "I like them very much. The excite me in ways I cannot describe."
"So they do," he relaxed, wondering if this witch had any idea what she could do to him. If they weren't in public, he'd be tempted to lead her to her bed and show her how much he was growing to care for her. If she wanted an older man to excite her, he was more than willing to be that for her. All she needed to do was ask, or move a little closer so he could capture her lips once more...
"Hermione?"
Severus groaned and shook his head. Leave it to members of Dumbledore's Army to ruin his evening and remind everyone he was unworthy of anyone's love.
"Hell Ernie, Terry," She sighed.
"Hermione," Ernie patted her on the back, causing her to cough. "It's been a few months. How have you been?"
"As well as ever," she sat up straight. "I have an evening free of grading, so I am celebrating Severus' birthday with him."
"Wait," Terry gave Severus a side eye. "You went here with him willingly?"
"Yes, and we were having a lovely time before you two appeared."
Terry hummed and leaned closer to her so he was almost touching his forehead against hers. Severus' muscles tightened at the sight of her squirming under his gaze. So help him if Terry touched her. There were some things worth risking a stint in Azkaban for.
"It doesn't look like he cast an Imperius on you," Terry noted.
"A what?" She shouted, attracting the attention of a few onlookers.
"Yeah, unless he's using a potion," Terry scratched his chin. "That may be enough to convince you to hang out with him in public."
"He isn't using a potion at all," she argued. "He's my friend. One tends to want to be around their friends, especially on their birthdays."
"Is he your friend because you like him, or because Minerva is forcing him to take care of you?" Ernie asked. "It would be just like her to force him to be a caregiver so he learned compassion."
"I don't need a caregiver," she snapped as the shaking in her leg increased. "I need to be left alone with my friend so we can eat."
"Really Hermione, you couldn't ask Neville to take care of you?" Ernie asked. "He would do a much better job than Severus."
"Severus is not my caretaker."
"Hermione doesn't need a caretaker," Severus argued.
"Of course," Ernie snapped. "You're too good to care for Hermione. You probably only hang around her because she's the only one who will tolerate your pissy attitude."
"Actually Severus doesn't have a pissy attitude. He is more pleasant than either of you," she argued.
"Only because he's worn you down into believing he's worth something."
"Severus is worth more than any other man! He's more special to me than anyone else. I enjoy every moment I spend with him, and hope to keep him in my life forever."
"Is that true, or are you only saying that because you need his help getting from place to place and don't want him to leave you here?"
"I am more than capable going wherever I want."
"I suppose you'd have to learn some independence if a greasy git was your only support."
"Yeah," Terry cut in. "He isn't capable of caring for others, at least not really."
"He cares for me!" Hermione argued.
"By caring, do you mean he doesn't snap at you as often as anyone else, or does he just bother to brush his hair around you?"
"Did you come here to have a conversation, or did you only come here to antagonize Severus?" She demanded.
Although Severus scowled, he wanted to floo home and drink the rest of the night away. What was he thinking caring for Hermione as he did? He could never ask her to live this way. At some point, standing up for him would become more grating than it was worth. So many people already insulted her because of her disability. The last thing she needed was a friend who would further destroy her reputation.
"Fine, we'll lay off Snape. Besides, we came to tell you some exciting news, not talk about him," Ernie began.
"You're leaving for Timbuktu and plan on never returning?" She muttered.
Ernie put an arm around Terry's shoulder. "We are in the final stages of our application for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position."
"You two made it through?" Hermione turned green.
"Yeah," Terry's eyes were agleam, unaware of Hermione's sour expression. "One of us will be your colleague in a couple of months."
Severus clenched his jaw and bit his tongue. There were several things he could say, none of which were appropriate for a restaurant with families present.
"There is also a chance that neither of you will be my colleague," Hermione noted.
"Yeah but c'mon, who is better qualified than either of us?"
"How about the person who co-founded Dumbledore's Army?" Severus cut in.
They returned their attention to him.
"Is Harry applying?" Ernie asked.
"No, but I am," Hermione answered.
They stared at her as if she'd just announced she was trying out for coach of the Slytherin Quidditch Team.
"I am applying for the Defense Against Dark Arts position, and fully intend to get the job," she continued with conviction. "Severus is helping me perfect my demonstration. It will be something nobody has ever seen."
"B-but how can a cripple become Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor?" Ernie asked. "You can't physically do it."
"She is more than capable of performing her job duties," Severus answered.
"How would you know how capable she is?"
"I've seen her skills firsthand. She has everything one needs to be a successful Defense Against Dark Arts professor."
"What on earth makes you think you're qualified to determine who would be a good Defense Against Dark Arts professor?"
"Admittedly, I do have difficulty deterring what a Defense Against Dark Arts professor does. I was a former practitioner of dark magic, I received an Outstanding in Defense Against the Dark Arts, it was one of my majors in the university, I published several papers in the field, I was a Defense Against Dark Arts professor for a year, and I was the Headmaster of Hogwarts during its darkest hour. Obviously none of those positions makes me qualified to discuss what constitutes a good Defense Against Dark Arts professor."
"He put you up to this, didn't he?" Terry asked. "He doesn't want someone in there who will call him out on his horrendous past, so he's asking you to do this."
"If I were you, I'd hope that is the case. After all, if I'm only doing this because he put me up to it, then my demonstration will show I am less than adequate. All I will have accomplished is embarrassing and possibly injuring myself," Hermione argued.
"You don't have to do this," Ernie replied. "No matter what he said, this demonstration isn't worth hurting yourself."
"Why do you sound so worried?" She asked in the sweetest voice possible. "Are you afraid of losing the position to a cripple who can't function without a caretaker?"
Before the men could answer, the door to the kitchen burst open. Rosmerta and two bartenders emerged, singing the Happy Birthday song in three different keys. In her hand was a piece of chocolate cake with a small black candle atop of it. The other patrons began to sing with them as Ernie and Terry backed away from the table, both staring at Hermione wide eyed.
Severus blushed. The last time he'd had this much attention on him was when he left the courthouse, just exonerated from Dumbledore's murder. At least this attention was more positive. Even though it was a stretch to say everyone at the table cared for him, Hermione did care. In fact, she was singing louder than any of them. From the light in his eyes, it was clear she saw him as a dear friend. He may be more trouble than he was with, but she did not view him as an obstacle to be overcome. Despite his past and his ill-temper, she cared for him.
Rosmerta set the piece of cake on the table as the bar erupted into applause.
Hermione leaned closer to him and said, "make a wish."
He looked at the candle. For the first time, his wish was not only for himself. He wished Hermione happiness, and that he would be the man to give it to her. If she could get the job, that would be wonderful. Still, his main wish was to be in her life. He hope he'd heard her correctly when she said she loved him, at least enough not to put him through torture. That was already more care than most people gave him. Perhaps with a little wish he'd have enough courage next time to ask if she loved him in any other way, or at least he would tell her he loved having her in his life.
With the silent wish that he would always be special to Hermione, he blew out the candle, knowing it would be a happy birthday indeed.