Aspersion

uh-SPUR-zhuhn | noun

1: a damaging or derogatory remark or criticism; slander

He truly hadn't meant to get involved with her. She'd seemed almost single-minded in her determination to get at him. In the beginning he had deflected her, put her off, sometimes physically removing her from his presence. He'd gone to Albus to report her preposterous behavior, hoping that the headmaster would be able to, at the least, offer some advice, at best, to forbid the girl from seeking him out. On the contrary, the old man had smiled jovially and informed him that there were no rules on the books preventing a relationship with a student of age, so long as no favoritism took place. If he felt that he was being harassed, the headmaster would be happy to step in on his behalf. It had not been what he'd been hoping to hear. He did not feel that he was being harassed. On the contrary, he felt that he was being seduced, and he was hard-pressed to find it in him to be unhappy about it, aside from losing his job and being thrown from the castle, which was apparently not an issue. He'd been off-kilter when he'd stalked back toward his classroom.

She'd joined him less than halfway, of course.

"Professor," she greeted brightly, smiling up at him.

He gave an exasperated growl, his stride purposely not changing as she fell into step beside him. "What is wrong with you, Granger?"

She shrugged. "I know what I want."

"Why would you want me of all people?" He wasn't fishing for compliments, he was genuinely bewildered. He was nineteen years older, unattractive, and universally hated. What could she possibly see in him? Her hand on his arm pulled him up short and his gaze jerked down to her face. While her eyes were deadly serious, he couldn't help but notice the warmth in them. He nodded toward an empty classroom ahead. Her hand dropped from his arm as he stepped away from her toward it. When the door was shut and warded, he looked back to her.

"I am not a member of the Order of the Phoenix." He blinked, his brow furrowing. It was an unexpected opening line. "But neither am I uninformed, sir. You are an incredibly brave man. You shoulder burdens that the rest of us cannot possibly imagine. You deserve to have someone believe in you, to help you carry those burdens. I would like to help you."

He was silent a moment, his eyes narrowing at the young woman in front of him. She stood still, her hands clasped in front of her as she awaited his response. "You wish to bolster me to improve the war effort." His voice was flat, dead.

She frowned. "I wish to support you as a person. If it happens to help with the war, bully." She let out a frustrated sigh, her composure fracturing. One hand went to her wild curls, twisting into them and shaking them out. He swallowed at the sight. "You are a highly intelligent individual. I find your honesty to be stimulating. Your humor, when you show it, is refreshing. I do realize that I don't know you all that well, but I want to. I would like to know you."

He sighed. "I have just been complaining to the headmaster about you."

She smirked. "And what did the dear professor have to say?"

Curse her, she knew fully well that what she was trying to do was allowed. No doubt she'd looked it up before attempting to pursue him. "I am to receive no help from him in dissuading you," he drawled.

Her smirk widened. "Does that mean you'll stop trying to?"

His eyes rolled up to the ceiling. "I will not encourage you."

She stepped toward him. "But you won't discourage me?"

He eyed her advancing on him and shook his head once. It was more of a jerk, really. He was busy watching to see what she would do. When she was within easy reach, she raised one arm and rested the flat of her palm against his chest, chuckling when he flinched. She stayed there for a moment, looking up into his blank face, before moving closer. Her forehead dropped beside her hand against him.

"Don't worry," she murmured against the layers of fabric there, "I won't push you. This is as far as I'll go unless you ask me for more."

He breathed a sigh of relief. He could handle this much. And he wouldn't ask for more.

She'd taken to showing up during his nightly patrols and, as she was Head Girl, he could hardly bark at her and order her back to bed. He'd sighed and accepted that this was the way of things now. She was to be his patrolling partner. As they stalked through the corridors, she talked to him. It was mostly one-sided for the first few nights. He'd been irritated that she had caused him to miss out on catching students out of bed with her chatter. They'd heard them coming. She wore him down. He began to talk back. He answered when she asked questions. They were hardly lengthy, but they were responses. Slowly, she'd moved to teasing and he had been surprised when he had teased back. He caught himself smiling at her once or twice, for which he had been rewarded with beaming smiles from her. They'd made his heart beat faster.

Fuck it all if he hadn't wanted her head on his chest again then.

He wasn't a blind man. He was well aware that she had a pretty face. She was petite, but he liked them so. He'd always had an image of a woman tucked beneath his chin. She would certainly fit there. So help him, his arms itched to wrap around her back while she was pressed against him. He couldn't ask her.

"What are your plans for Christmas?"

He grunted noncommittally. "I'll likely stay in my quarters alone with a glass of Ogden's finest."

She snorted. "That is a terrible way to spend Christmas. Any chance you'll let me spend it with you and my own glass?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Surely you have better things to do."

"My parents are still in Australia."

"Will Potter and Weasley not want you with them?" He would, frankly, very much enjoy the sight of her in his quarters. He was not unaware of the opportunity that she was presenting to him to change his mind gracefully.

She shrugged. "I'm sure, but I'd rather be with you."

He frowned. "You should not neglect your friendships on my behalf."

Eyes were rolled. "The boys will survive Christmas without me."

"As will I." He really didn't know why he was arguing. He did want her with him.

"Do you want me over for Christmas or not?" She put one hand on her hip and stopped walking, cocking her head at him.

He nodded mutely.

"Alright then."

He wouldn't have admitted to a soul the amount of cleaning he'd done the week before Christmas holidays. Knowing that she would be there in his quarters within a few days simultaneously made his heart race and his stomach drop out. He ensured that he had his best books arranged where she could see them, as he knew that was something that she would enjoy. He hadn't quite expected her to knock within hours of the Hogwarts Express departing.

"How did you even know where my quarters are?" he asked blankly, staring down at her in his doorway.

She blushed. "I've read Hogwarts: A History enough times to know where the Slytherin Head rooms are located."

He stepped aside, allowing her into his living room. "Is that in there?"

Nodding, she confirmed, "In the extended edition, yes."

"Well shit," he muttered. He supposed not many students would have read that, but still. How many of the little shits knew where he lived?

She looked around the room curiously. "Thank you for allowing me in."

"It would have been rude of me to bar your entrance after you stayed behind," he said dryly. His tone wasn't all that was dry. His mouth was parched at the sight of her here. She was in his living room.

"It's true," she answered. "I did stay behind just for you." She turned to him and smiled. He was surprised to see a trace of uncertainty in her eyes. "So, are you still not encouraging me?"

How exactly was he supposed to answer that? The truth, maybe. "Your… age makes me a bit apprehensive." He wasn't sure how exactly she managed both droop and perk up at the same time, but she did.

"I doubt it helps much, but I did add more than a year from my use of the time turner in third year. I repeated most days two or three times, some more often than that, sometimes just to catch up on sleep. I'm about twenty? Give or take." She didn't sound entirely certain.

"It helps a bit." It made him feel just a little less lecherous.

"Is… that something you could overlook?"

He gazed mutely at her for a moment, taking her in. She had a magnificent mind. Sharp, inquisitive. Her physical appearance was pleasing to him. She had managed to make him laugh a time or two, which was unheard of for Severus Snape. She wanted him. "Yes."

A relieved smile broke out across her face and she laughed softly at her feet. "I didn't think you'd actually say yes."

Against his will, his feet took a step toward her. "I… am asking for more." His voice was so low he didn't know if she had heard him. When she didn't answer for a moment, he swallowed, clearing his throat, and turned away to fetch some glasses. He had promised her a glass of whisky, after all. He didn't make it two steps before her hand on his back had him whirling around.

She was in front of him, right in front of him, close enough to pull against him, so he did. Tentatively, he wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her close to his body, feeling the warmth from her against him. Her head tucked perfectly beneath his chin and he let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. When her arms went around him too, a small smile crossed his face.

That first visit had been a bit awkward for him. The conversation seemed just a bit more significant, the banter just a bit more meaningful, now that she knew that he was interested in more than just her friendship. She hadn't pushed him, sitting nearby but not right against him, for which he was both saddened and grateful. She hadn't commented on his refusal to initiate anything beyond his embrace of her. If he was honest, he still wasn't completely all in on this yet and he didn't want to move too quickly. He had wanted her closer, and it unsettled him. When she had left him in the evening to return to her own Head rooms, he had missed her presence in his living room. He hadn't given her a tour, he realized. He'd just been surprised to see her so quickly. Predictably, she was back the next day after breakfast.

"What did you tell your little followers?"

"I told them I was staying behind for a boy," she said with a laugh.

He flinched slightly at the word 'boy.' He hardly counted as such, though it was probably what she should have. "Did they not ask?"

She pushed at him with one bare foot. They were sprawled across his couch, each turned sideways to better face each other. "Of course they did, but I didn't know if you were going to wise up. Anyway, I wouldn't dream of telling anyone about this without your permission. You have much stricter privacy standards than I do. I told them to stuff it."

He nodded gratefully. He still wasn't entirely sure that this was a good idea. The last thing he wanted was her friends screeching in protest before they themselves had made up their minds. No doubt they were at the Burrow pairing her up with every seventh year in the school, trying to decide who it could be. He doubted he'd even be mentioned as a possibility.

He was startled from his thoughts when he felt her move toward him. She tucked herself against his side, one of her legs slinging over both of his. He moved one arm to go around her. His breath caught as he looked down at her and realized just how close her face was. She smiled up at him, suddenly shy. He took a deep, determined breath and went for it. Her eyes closed as he moved in, he noticed. Then his lips met hers and his eyes closed, too. Her body melted against him. She was soft and warm. He kept the kiss short and chaste, though he what he wanted was to push her down onto the sofa and kiss every inch of her. She tasted divine. Her eyes took a moment to open after he pulled away and he worried that he'd gone too fast.

He needn't have worried. Her chocolate eyes glittered when she looked up at him, asking him for more. He offered her a small smile and she reciprocated. Then she took matters into her own hands, moving around him to sit on his lap, straddling him in a way that was entirely inappropriate. He swallowed hard but made no move to extricate her. Any thought of removing her from his person evaporated when her lips returned to his. This kiss was much more insistent, her lips urgent. He groaned when she discovered the erection he was sporting below her and did remove her then, putting her back onto the couch beside him.

"No," he insisted. "That is moving too fast." His body wanted to throttle him for the comment, but he was a grown man capable of self-restraint.

"Yes, it is," she agreed. "I just wanted to test the boundaries."

He rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. Merlin, help him.

Christmas holidays passed much too quickly for his liking. She'd spent more than an hour with him every day of the break, most days much more than that. He'd found his uncertainty quickly withering and dying under the weight of her smiles and her kisses. They hadn't gone any further than making out like fifth years on the couch, but he was certain that they would. They just needed a bit more time first.

It was the best Christmas he'd spent since his own time in Hogwarts.

"-bet he fucks Death Eaters in those dungeons." There was bawdy laughter, and Hermione felt her blood begin to boil. "Oh, yeah, do me harder, you great bat, you."

She rounded the corner and zeroed in on the group in question. "Fifty points from Ravenclaw," she hissed. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Malfoy watching her interestedly.

Most of the group had the grace to look embarrassed. One sixth year, whose name she honestly was not aware of, puffed himself up in indignation. "For what?"

"Disrespect." She forced herself to take a deep breath and release her death grip on her wand. Much as she wanted to wipe that look off the kid's face, she was the head girl. She had an example to set.

"Oh, come on, it was just Snape," the boy whined.

Her eyes narrowed. "Professor Snape, ten points more. And he deserves your respect, whether you think so or not. He is a teacher at this institution. Should I go and inform him of your opinion?"

The boy paled and shook his head.

"I thought not," she said shortly. "Get to class."

The group scattered, and she was left alone in the hall with Malfoy.

"That's quite the crush you've got there, Granger," he drawled. "Should I go and inform him of your opinion?"

She turned on him. "You go right ahead."

He looked taken aback but didn't say anything more, instead watching her as she stalked away from him.