AN: is finally sending me notifications! Hopefully it's doing the same for you.
Thank you for all the support! It is very deeply appreciated!
"Ooh, piña coladas with Bacardi 151," Hermione eyes lit up as Severus poured the drink from the blender into a blue poco grande glass. "You are spoiling me tonight."
"We both deserve a bit of spoiling in light of recent events." He put a green straw into the drink along with a cherry. Then, he took a pineapple slice and wedged it into the rim of the glass. "Draco and Ginevra's baby deserves a toast."
"Agreed," Hermione took the glass and sat at the table.
"Besides," he began pouring himself a glass. "I want to celebrate taking you to the cleaners in poker tonight."
"I won't lose all my quarters tonight."
"How can you be so sure when you have yet to come out ahead?"
"Simple, I spent my lunch hour reading a book on poker strategies and how to control one's body language."
"You learned all that over your lunch break?"
"I did," she leaned forward. "I have learned all about the math behind each hand, how to count cards, and how to conceal my emotions."
"Is that so?" He put the garnishes onto his drink.
She nodded.
"I must say that I'm impressed." He sat across from her, holding his drink with a yellow straw in his hand. "Usually it takes people years to learn to count cards, and even longer to learn to conceal their emotions. To do it all in an hour is quite an accomplishment."
"What can I say? I'm a fast learner."
"I take it you learned occlumency in the midst of your studies?"
"I don't need occlumency, just self awareness. If I can be more aware of my body and my facial expressions, I can defeat you, or at least not give away whether or not I have a good hand."
"We shall soon see if your hopes are based in reality."
"We shall." She raised her glass. "To Baby Malfoy."
"To Baby Malfoy," he clinked his glass against hers. Then, they both took a sip of their drinks.
"I hope Draco shows me the memory of Lucius discovering Ginevra was pregnant," Severus savored the sweetness of his drink.
"I'd imagine he didn't take it well, though," the light in Hermione's eyes intensified, "I'd imagine he took it better than Molly and Arthur did."
"I would imagine they are still wearing black to mourn the loss of their Malfoy free bloodline. I'm sure they are still weeping and wailing, wondering where they went wrong."
"Yes, they always were overly dramatic about these kinds of things. They tend to yell at people who they dislike and never could let go of a grudge." The gleam in her eyes died. "They really don't like people they see as traitors to the Weasley way."
"Indeed," Severus frowned before taking another sip.
"I'd imagine Ginny's brothers aren't excited about Baby Malfoy, not that it would bother her in the slightest," Hermione gave him a half smile. "I think their disapproval would make her all the more pleased because she's proving them wrong about her marriage ending after one year. She's proving to everyone that a Weasley can be happy with a Malfoy."
"She always was a rebel," He took a sip of his drink.
"No, just confident in her ability to make good decisions," she took a sip of her Pina colada before staring into the glass, her expression distant.
"Yes, she's like her best friend in that regard," he put a hand on hers. "You are both capable of making excellent decisions."
"I wouldn't say that I'm capable of good decisions, much less excellent ones," she sighed. "I was engaged to a man who broke up with me two days after I lost the election for Minister of Magic. Then, I found out I was too stupid to realize he had been cheating on me with a Quidditch groupie throughout the entire campaign. All those nights he couldn't attend my events was because he was fucking her. It was quite the shock when Ron and Cindy announced their pregnancy twelve hours after he broke up with me. I would say trusting him was not a good decision."
"Ron is a dunderhead."
"And I was one for dating him."
"No, you loved him. Love often makes us trust the wrong people."
She hummed before taking a sip of her drink.
"Ron may have been the biggest dunderhead in Britain, but he wasn't the only one," Severus squeezed her hand. "The people of Britain were dunderheads for not electing you."
She shrugged. "I was young, too young to be in any kind of government position. I get that now."
"Perhaps you were young, but you had fought in a war. You knew what was at stake if Wizarding Britain returned to their old prejudices."
She glanced at her drink again. "Perhaps, but running on the platform of equal rights for magical beings wasn't the most intelligent of ideas."
"You stood up for what you believed in, even when others disagreed with you," he ran his thumb over the back of her hand. "That counts for something."
She met his eyes. "It seems to matter to you anyway."
"It matters a great deal to me, which is fortunate for you because," his lips twitched upwards, "In my house, my opinion is the only one which matters."
"It is?" She twisted her lips.
"Indeed it does," he released her hand. "You are in my house, so anything I believe is true, at least within the confines of these walls."
"So if you believe Bigfoot will visit us tonight, you must be correct."
"Of course I am," he smirked.
"Okay Mr. I Must Always Be Right, how will Big Foot visit us?"
"As he always does, on foot."
"What will he look like?"
"The way he always looks."
"Which is?"
"Like a drunk tourist."
"A drunk tourist?"
"Of course. Haven't you seen the size of some of the tourists' shoes? Bigfoot is everywhere on the strip."
"Some of the Americans are quite hairy," there was a spark in her eyes.
"Indeed, Bigfoot may be walking outside right now. If I don't see him in person, I'm sure I will see him in a dream, if only so I will not be proven wrong."
"Fine, Bigfoot will be here soon," she replied. "Still, you couldn't believe yourself into being a billionaire."
"Give me time to create a disguise and some strategies to take these casinos to the cleaners, and I could be quite wealthy within a week," he took a sip of his drink.
"Wouldn't that be in violation of the Statute of Secrecy?"
"Only if I'm caught."
"How would you avoid detection?"
"I am a spy. There are a thousand ways to disguise myself so I appear to be someone else."
"Fine you can outwit the government. Still you couldn't make my hair cooperate in the mornings, no matter what you think."
For a second, the image of Hermione waking up beside him with hair so wild he could feel magic crackle from it flashed in his mind. He couldn't say the image wasn't intriguing. Why, he didn't know. Hermione was beautiful though, more beautiful than ay other woman who had ever graced his life. From that perspective, it wasn't surprising that part of him was curious as to how she'd appear when her eyes were half open, cooing his name as the first rays of the sun snuck through his blinds...
"Severus?"
His mind returned to the present.
"Are you well?" She asked.
"Yes," he cleared his throat. "I was just thinking that your hair may not need to cooperate in the mornings. You could make quite the statement stepping out, embracing your natural appearance."
"Trust me, you don't want to see my natural appearance."
Oh but he did. Now, he couldn't expel the image of her wild hair from his mind. It was unclear why he was so eager to see her waking up beside him in the morning though. Perhaps he'd put too much rum in the drink. He did make it stronger than usual. Three slices of pizza may not have been enough to keep it from affecting him as it did. Still, a sleepover was enticing. Best friends were known to do that with each other, were they not?
"See, even you can't make everything possible," she teased.
"You wake up in your house, not mine, therefore, I have no control over how your hair appears." Good Merlin this rum was strong. He was disappointed that Hermione wouldn't be in his bed tomorrow morning. Next time, he needed to be careful how much he put in, lest he do something regrettable like take her in his arms and whisper his fantasies into her ear.
"True, I do wake up alone in my home." She took a sip of her drink.
"Indeed," there was a pang of regret in his chest. What the hell was wrong with him?
"Are you sure you're well?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine," he coughed. "Anyway, I am pleased for Draco and Ginevra. They will make amazing parents."
"They will," Hermione's smile returned, causing his heart to flutter. "We'll have to find some places for the baby to visit when they come over."
"You actually think Draco and Ginevra would bring a baby to Vegas?" Severus raised an eyebrow.
"Of course they will," Hermione leaned forward. "It isn't like they don't know the area. They were the ones who helped me move here."
"You were hardly an infant. The locations they brought you to were much more adult."
"Yes, but there are family things to do if one knows where to look."
"I hardly think the New York, New York roller coaster is the place for an infant."
"Perhaps they won't be able to ride it until they're older, but they could always go to the chocolate store. It may be difficult to move a stroller around, but the baby would find something to look at."
"True, and the idea of a Malfoy infant eating candy created by muggles would send Lucius into shock, which makes it all the more appealing to Ginevra."
"It would," Hermione chuckled before her eyes grew. "You don't think reporters would follow them here to get snapshots of the infant?"
"If they did, we would find a way to make ourselves scarce. It isn't hard to get lost in those casinos."
"I would hope so. The last thing either of us needs is a camera in our faces courtesy of The Daily Prophet," she groaned and put her head in her hands.
"The great thing about Vegas is that it is a reasonably large city with tourists one could easily hide amongst."
"You're dressed in black billowing robes, and you think you can hide amongst muggles?" She glanced up
"As we established earlier, many of the tourists are quite unique in appearance. Compared to many of them, my robes are downright respectable."
"In your eyes they are, but in the eyes of someone trying to find you, you stick out like a tumbleweed rolling across the interstate."
"Then perhaps I should encourage others to dress as I do," he smirked before taking a sip.
"How would you go about doing that?"
"I'm sure a public awareness campaign of the joys of black robes would be quite effective. If muggles can dye their hair purple, then surely black robes is not a stretch." He took a sip of his piña colada.
"I thought the goal was to get away from cameras, not have half the world taking your picture because you are a fashion model."
"True," he twisted his lips. "And my appearance leaves much to be desired."
"I don't know," she leaned closer to hm and rubbed her chin. "You aren't as unattractive as you make yourself out to be."
"Flattery will get you nowhere."
"No, I mean it. You aren't conventionally attractive, but you are attractive in your own right."
He scowled. "I was so attractive I was called Snivellus, and greasy git."
"As you stated earlier people in Britain are dunderheads," she gave him a soft smile. "You are very attractive."
"Only to a drunk who has just lost their glasses."
"I can see you just fine. You are attractive, especially when you realize you've just lost a hand of poker to me."
"You never defeat me."
"That all changes tonight," Hermione smirked before folding her hands. "My book will help me win."
"A book can only teach you so much," he warned
"I know, but it can help me along the way."
"Perhaps," he took the cards from the edge of the table. "But you need more than a little help to hide your emotions."
"Watch me. I'll do it," there was a gleam of determination in her eyes that made Severus' heart skip a beat.
"We shall see." He dealt each of them five cards.
Hermione looked at her cards. Her eyes grew before she began to squirm. Severus suppressed the grin threatening to overtake his face. She had a full house.
He had four aces.
She put two quarters into the center. Severus licked his lips before matching her bet. Then, he discarded one card and picked up another.
"Okay," she took a deep breath. Poor woman was trying, really trying to hide her emotions. He knew her too well though. "Are you ready?"
"After you."
She laid down her cards, exposing the full house. He smirked before exposing his four of a kind, aces.
"Y-you," she blinked.
"I what?" His lips curled upwards.
"You, you cheated!"
"No, I simply followed the old adage that he house always wins," he purred. "And by that, I mean the Slytherin house always wins."
"I knew we shouldn't have played this game," she crossed her arms over her chest.
"We can stop at any time."
"No, let's keep going," she exhaled. "I spent an entire afternoon reading that book and I won't let that time or knowledge go to waste."
"So you won't," Severus chuckled before taking a sip of his piña colada. As far as poker partners, he could do much worse than Hermione.
As far as friends went, he couldn't do any better than Hermione.