Who Do You Want?

\"Who Do You Want?\"


Chapter Nine
\"No Fear of Flying\"


Disclaimer: With this disclaimer, I proclaim that I do not own any of the concepts, ideas or intellectual property related to Harry Potter or anything else created by J.K. Rowling. No money is being made from this endeavor.

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Monday was a quiet day, except for the three owls Hermione received that morning. The first was from Harry apologizing to Hermione for his behavior. He wished her happiness, and told her that he had no right to question who she could love, though by his tone, she could tell he still didn’t like the idea it was Severus.


The second owl was from her parents apologizing for their poor judgement. First in telling their dinner guests about her being a witch, and second for the behavior of her father\'s friend who grabbed her arse. From said letter, it seemed that the man was no longer considered a friend and his wife was considering a trial separation. Towards the end of the letter, they begged her to bring Severus back over for dinner sometime, just the four of them.


Severus gave her an absolute \"No!\" when she read the letter to him. She couldn’t blame him. He did agree that they could meet them for dinner in a restaurant, but swore never to set foot in that house again. Hermione was a little hurt, but knew that Severus\' resoluteness was part of the reason she loved him. She had a similar stubborn streak.


The third owl was from Minerva informing her to come to Hogwarts on Wednesday at ten o\'clock for an interview with Professor Flitwick regarding the Charms apprenticeship. In Minerva\'s letter, she told Hermione that there were three other candidates, but tipped her hand by saying that Flitwick was not nearly as impressed with the other three as he was with Hermione’s abilities.


Hermione did a little dance around the kitchen, her exuberance overflowing. It made Severus smile to see her in such an unrestrained state, though he never would have stood for it if she were a student in class. Behind closed doors, he was beginning to let his stern mask of solemnity slip around her.


The rest of the day was spent with Severus in his laboratory, Hermione in the study reading, or both of them in bed shagging and napping.


~_~_~_~_~_~


The next day over breakfast, Severus cleared his throat and asked her, as he had every morning, \"So, what would you like to do today?\"


Hermione stretched, as she thought of how to answer. She could tell he had something in mind. \"Oh, I don’t know. What would you like to do today?\"


He wondered if he was already losing his touch at the art of deception, or if she was just getting very good at reading him in a very short period of time.


\"I thought we might go out to dinner tonight. I did promise you dinner at a very nice restaurant,\" he suggested.


She grinned back at him. Hermione hadn’t been sure how long it would take before he would feel comfortable going out in public with her, and it seemed he was ready now.


\"I\'d love to,\" she replied.


\"I also thought we might go do a little flying today as well.\"


Hermione blanched. \"I, uh, don’t really do that well on a broom. I\'m a terrible flyer.\"


\"You mean to tell me that the indomitable Hermione Granger can’t fly on a broom?\" he teased her, a sly smile upon his lips. \"But I thought you could do anything?\"


She narrowed her eyes at him. \"I can do anything…\" She averted her eyes. \"Just not fly well. You could say, I choose not to fly.\" The defiant brunette witch gave him a smug smile in return.


\"You can fly with me. I\'m an excellent flyer.\"


He seemed insistent, and she didn’t want to disappoint him.


\"All right,\" she reluctantly agreed, \"but you\'ll have to give me a calming potion before we go. I\'m a bit afraid of heights.\"


Severus couldn’t help himself and laughed. He had never heard of a witch or wizard afraid of heights. He always thought the genes for magic always accompanied the genes for not fearing heights. Hermione crossed her arms and pouted. It was like Harry and Ron laughing at her all over again.


\"I\'m sorry,\" he apologized, \"it\'s just that I never thought that I\'d ever meet a witch afraid of heights.\"


She turned away from him in her seat and gave a great humph. \"Congratulations, now you have,\" she said icily.


Uh oh, he was losing ground. \"If you don’t want to go, we don’t have to.\" He gave his best sincere try.


\"No, I should really try and get over this silly fear,\" she conceded. \"I guess I never got over that time I jumped out of the second story window when I was five.\"


\"You did what?\" Severus\' eyes went wide.


Hermione wrapped her hands around her warm tea mug and gave a sheepish smile. \"When I was four, my parents bought me the video \'Mary Poppins\'. In the movie, she is a magical nanny who glides through the air holding an umbrella.\"


Severus cocked a quizzical brow at her.


\"Well, after seeing the movie, I grabbed my father\'s umbrella, went up to the second story bedroom, stepped out onto the roof, and jumped off. I glided down just like in the movie because my magic kicked in, but I didn’t know it was magic at the time, being Muggleborn. I told my parents, but they didn’t believe me. So when I was five, I was determined to show them. I got up on the roof with the umbrella when they were out in the front yard, and I shouted \'Look, Mum, Dad!\' and landed in the hedges with a bad sprain.\"


Severus nodded. He knew that magic in young children was sporadic; it would sometimes kick in, and other times it would not manifest itself.


\"So for years I thought I just imagined that I could fly that once. It wasn\'t until I got my Hogwarts letter that I realized I really did fly that one time. However, the damage was done, and I never got over my fear of heights.\"


He reached out his hand and patted hers. \"We\'ll go slow and low. Does that sound okay?\"


She nodded.


They agreed to go out for a short run on his broom before lunch, as it was best for her to fly on an empty stomach.


He had on his flying outfit and gloves, and she wore jeans, a T-shirt, and her robes. As they both straddled his sleek broom, he asked, \"How did you ever pass Madam Hooch\'s class?\"


\"Barely did,\" was all she said.


His body was close to hers. She could feel him pressed lightly against her back, his arms coming around her sides to grab the broom in front of her.


\"Ready?\" he asked.


She nodded, feeling quite calm from the potion he gave her moments before. Tucking her legs up, she let him kick off.


They rose into the air slowly for her benefit, and when they were just above the tree line he leaned forward. Hermione was flying wrapped in her lover\'s arms.


Hermione wasn\'t sure if it was Severus\' strong and reassuring arms about her, the calming potion, or both, but she no longer felt fearful being up in the air.


\"We can go a little higher and faster if you want,\" she said into his shoulder.


He smiled a bit and leaned forward a little more. Soon the trees below their feet were speeding past, with her urging him to go higher. They shot up into a cloud, and she felt the cool moisture whip through her hair. For the first time, she found flying to be thrilling, and she encouraged him to go faster.


They were a black bullet in the sky, and he could feel her laughing beneath him. Spying a clearing in the forest below them, the broom descended towards the meadow. When they alighted, Hermione craned her neck back and captured Severus\' mouth in a kiss.


It wasn\'t long before their cloaks were spread out on the damp summer grass, and they were making love out in the summer sun. Severus’ pale skin glowed bright in the sun against the light tan Hermione sported. They didn\'t dawdle, as they didn’t know if there would be any hikers about in this area, so afterwards they dressed quickly and mounted Severus\' broom.


Somewhere in mid-flight back to his house, Hermione could feel the effects of the calming potion wear off, and she discovered she was no longer afraid of heights or flying, at least not with Severus.


Later that afternoon, just before they stepped into the shower to get ready for their date out, Severus handed her a vial.


\"What\'s this for?\" she asked.


\"It\'s a special conditioner I created for you. You always seem to want to tame that hair of yours, so I brewed this up the other day. I think this might give you the effect you seek with all those hair gels and such you put on your head.\" He was trying to look a little detached when he said all that, but he appeared more bashful than aloof.


She gave him a warm smile and a kiss on the cheek. \"That was very thoughtful of you.\"


While Hermione was primping herself in the bathroom, fussing with make-up and her hair, Severus dressed quickly in his best dress robes. He wanted to look good for her, despite his aversion to vanity. Looking at his teeth in the mirror, he considered asking her about a tooth whitening charm, but stifled the thought for now.


Walking off to his study, he noted Hermione was still in the bathroom getting ready. To steady his nerves that were building inside of him, he went for the decanter of sherry and poured himself a glass. He downed it quickly, hoping the dragon in his gut would stop fluttering its wings and settle down.


\'Why are you so damn nervous?\' he chastised himself. \'You\'re acting like a schoolboy. You\'ve already slept with her, and she has already declared her love for you, so why are you acting this way?\' He was cross with himself for allowing such emotions to make him unsteady and unsure of himself.


\'Because, you are taking her out in public and declaring her yours, you blind fool. Everyone will see that she is with you and wonder what a glorious creature like her is doing with a hideous monster like you,\' the small voice in the back of his mind drawled. Insecurities were demons one could never fully exorcise.


\'What does it matter what they think. She had said I\'m beautiful, handsome even.\'


\'You know how love and lust clouds one\'s mind. She\'ll see the look on everyone else\'s face and see you for the \'ugly greasy git\' you are,\' his inner demon taunted him.


\'NO, SHE WON\'T! I deserve to be loved.\'


\'Nobody deserves anything and you know that. You have to earn it. Have you earned her?\'


\'She thinks I have,\' he thought, with faltering certainty.


\'Then why are you fighting with me? You already know all this; why are your doubting yourself. You are Severus Snape, Potions Master and Hermione Granger\'s lover and friend. Stop being a coward, shut up, and be ready to show her a wonderful evening.\'


Somehow, the dragon went back to sleep, and the demon went back behind the curtain to leave him in peace for a while.


Shortly after his internal battle, Hermione emerged from the bathroom and found Severus in his study.


\"Good evening,\" she said.


He looked up, and his breath caught in his throat. The conditioner he made for her gave her hair the gentle flowing waves and curls he hoped it would. He loved her wild hair, but like this, she was truly magnificent. Her hair reminded him of a Greek goddess from an ancient urn, pulled up with a cascade of curls tumbling down the back of her head. Her make-up was tastefully minimal, the way he preferred it. She wore a dark royal blue dress that complemented her coloring and her figure, and an elegant black cloak hung about her shoulders.


He rose to greet her. Walking up to her, he took her hand and gave it a kiss.


\"You are a vision of loveliness,\" he said in a low baritone voice. \"I am truly the luckiest man in the world.\"


If Hermione hadn’t already slept with him, she surely would have swooned, but she still blushed from his comments. \"And you are looking quite dashing yourself,\" she replied.


The bitter part of him wanted to snort in disbelief, but he knew she was sincere in her statement and knew she believed it.


He extended his arm. \"Shall we?\" She looped her hand through his arm, and they Apparated to Hogsmeade.


They appeared at one end of the village, and they strolled towards Le Petite Fleur. Severus knew the Maitre D\' at the restaurant, as he dined there on occasion and was a good tipper. The little restaurant did not take reservations, so customers had to wait for a table. Since Severus knew the staff, he was always able to get a table quickly, though this would be his first time bringing a companion to dine with him. It would be his first date in almost two decades. He hoped this one would end successfully, as opposed to his last one.


Hermione and Severus both had the hoods of their cloaks up, as they wanted to enter the restaurant discreetly. Everyone in the village knew who he was; and some were familiar with her face, as she was Harry Potter\'s best friend. It was still just days after the war’s end, so Harry-mania was yet in the news.


A wizard with a thick, dark head of hair greeted them in the foyer. \"Ah, Monsieur Snape. Comment allons-nous ce soir? Je vois que Monsieur est accompagné. Très bon. La table habituelle?\"


\"Naturellement, Michel. Veuillez apporter une bouteille du cru Krug à notre table.\"


Michel led them to an alcove with a table. Severus helped Hermione with her cloak, then removed his own, handing them over to the Maitre D\'. Once seated, Michel drew the curtain across, providing them with privacy.


She smiled at him across the table and commented, \"I never knew you could speak French?\"


\"Anyone who studies to be a Potions Master must, along with German, Italian, Greek, and Arabic,\" he answered, a flash of smugness crossed his face. \"All the greatest ancient Potions books are written in those languages, and many of the books have been charmed with anti-translation spells — a leftover from a time of wizard dynasty feuds. No one wanted to share their best Potions, and held onto them like state secrets.\"


Before he could continue, the wine steward returned with a chilled bottle of champagne. A tap of the steward\'s wand, and the cork flew out of a muffled pop. He poured two glasses and retreated back into the main dining room, drawing the curtain as he left.


Severus lifted his glass and said, \"A toast.\"


Hermione met his glass with hers. \"What shall we toast to?\"


The candlelight was flickering in her eyes, and casting a warm glow about her hair and skin. Severus was sure he was dreaming.


\"To the end of the Dark Lord and the beginning of love,\" he proposed.


\"To us,\" she said.


They clinked glasses and both sipped the delicate, pale golden liquid. Hermione noticed this was like no champagne she had ever drunk, as it had none of the harshness of the cheap champagnes her parents bought. This was smooth and complex, with tiny bubbles dancing in her mouth. The Krug slid down her throat with ease, like the handshake of an old friend.


\"This is divine,\" she remarked.


\"I hoped you\'d be able to appreciate good champagne. I\'m glad I was not disappointed.\"


Soon they had menus, and Hermione told Severus what she wanted. Severus ordered for her, and within minutes they were dining on squab and venison.


During the main course, Hermione began telling Severus about the time Fred and George sent Ron a box of chocolate frogs for his birthday earlier that year.


\"Ron — being the glutton that he can be at times — doesn’t want to share.\" Severus rolled his eyes at Weasley\'s behavior. \"He and Harry go up to his room and shut the door. Well, Ron\'s into collecting the cards, so I know he was going to rip into them to see he could find this rare one he\'s trying to find. I hear this shout from Ron\'s room. Then water starts leaking from under the door and comes down the staircase into the common room, like some babbling brook.\"


Severus was anxious with anticipation, knowing something bad was going to happen to the Gryffindor common room where the twins were concerned. It was a bit petty of him, but he didn’t care.


\"All of a sudden, Ron opens the door, and this huge wave of water comes flooding down the hallway, and down into the lower dormitories and the common room. We were all knee-deep in one of the twins\' Portable Swamps.\"


Severus started to laugh heartily, imagining a bunch of Gryffindors being swept away with the tide, the third years trying to swim upstream like floundering salmon during a run. Hermione was trying not to laugh too hard, so she could finish her tale.


\"There was water everywhere, and people being knocked down by this huge gush of water. It was all worth it to see Lavender Brown looking like a drowned rat.\"


~_~_~_~_~_~


Draco promised Ginny that as soon as the war was over they could be seen in public together, and he would take her out to dinner in a very nice restaurant. They had come to Le Petite Fleur, hoping Tuesday would be a slow night and they could get a good table.


They were being escorted to their table towards the back of the restaurant to a dark, private corner when Draco heard a familiar voice from behind the curtain. It sounded like Snape, but it couldn’t be. Snape never laughed.


Intrigued, his curiosity got the better of him, and Draco held Ginny back as they stood by the curtain. With one finger, he pulled the curtain back a crack, just enough to see his old Head of House laughing and smiling. Snape’s hair was no longer greasy and lank, and he was sitting with a woman having dinner. Draco didn’t recognize her, as he only saw the back of her head. Now he was really curious as to whom the Potions Master was having dinner with. Draco had no idea Snape had a girlfriend, much less ever had any contact with the opposite sex.


The Maitre D\' stopped and turned around, aware that he was no longer being followed by the new customers.


\"Monsieur, Mademoiselle, this way to your table,\" Michel coaxed them along.


Draco hung back, letting Ginny go in front of him. There was something familiar about the witch\'s voice, but he couldn’t quite place it. Whoever it was, she seemed to have a very nice figure and beautiful hair. He wondered if Snape snuck a potion into some poor unsuspecting woman\'s drink and convinced her to let him take her out. Draco did not mention seeing Snape to Ginny; the woman couldn’t possibly be anyone they knew.


~_~_~_~_~_~


\"Oh, that is delightful!\" Severus exclaimed. \"Why didn’t Minerva bring it up at the weekly staff meeting?\"


Hermione giggled, \"Because she made everyone in Gryffindor Tower swear to secrecy they wouldn’t tell anyone, but I guess I’m breaking that right now…aren’t I?\"


\"Yes you are, and bless your little heart for doing so. Don’t worry, I\'ll say I overheard some Gryffindors in Diagon Alley.\" He gave a low throaty chuckle that sounded a bit sinister. \"Oh, I\'m going to have fun with this little tidbit of information.\"


\"A Slytherin to the core.\"


\"But of course, my dear,\" he answered, grabbing her hand across the table and giving her a small kiss on the palm of her hand.


Since Hermione could not eat a whole dessert by herself, they shared one. He held the fork full of apple tart with brandy caramel sauce out for her, and her mouth slipped around the morsel, sliding it off the silverware. The way her mouth wrapped around his fork made him think of other things he\'d like her mouth wrapped around.


After he paid the bill, he helped her from her seat and pulled the curtain aside. They exited from the alcove and moved to the foyer, where they would get their cloaks before going for an evening stroll while their dinner settled.


~_~_~_~_~_~


Draco and Ginny were like two lovebirds in the corner, looking longingly into each other\'s eyes, kissing and holding hands. It was a wonder that they even ate at all.


Ginny sat facing towards the front of the restaurant. As Draco\'s gaze strayed from Ginny\'s face when he reached for his glass of wine, she looked over his shoulder and saw the curtain that Draco was hanging about earlier move aside.


\"Oh, look. I think that\'s Hermione,\" Ginny mentioned in passing.


Surprised that a witch of her pedigree could know about, much less afford, a restaurant like this, Draco turned around and looked over in the direction of Ginny\'s gaze.


\"That\'s not Granger. It couldn\'t be,\" he gasped, as his jaw hit the table.


\"It most certainly is,\" Ginny asserted. \"I wonder who she\'s here with?\"


\"Snape,\" Draco said hoarsely.


\"Stop kidding, Draco. Do you recognize him?\"


\"Trust me, it\'s Snape.\"


Before Ginny could argue with Draco, she caught a distinctive male profile in the dim lighting of the restaurant but still couldn\'t believe it was Snape. The man had the right height and build, but he was smiling and his hair didn’t look so greasy.


\"Can’t be,\" she whispered with awe.


As they watched the retreating forms of Snape and Hermione, Ginny\'s jaw dropped when she saw Snape place his hand on her back near her waist, to guide her out of the dining room area.


\"Merlin\'s teeth,\" whispered Draco. He turned back to Ginny, a look of shock on his face, matching Ginny\'s.


Her eyes wide, Ginny said, \"You know she left the night of the party and hasn’t been seen since.\" Draco\'s eyes went wide like hers. \"And the day after, I came into our room and found all her things were gone. Harry went off to look for her, but didn’t say anything when he returned. He looked really upset about something.\"


Draco\'s eyes went narrow and a smirk spread across his face. \"Oh, so she thinks she\'s going to get the Potions apprenticeship instead of me, does she?\"


\"You don’t think…\" Ginny trailed off.


\"Oh yes, I do.\" Draco nodded.


\"She\'d never sleep with someone just to get a position.\" Ginny clamped her hands over her mouth. \"Oh my God, I just accused Hermione of sleeping with Snape. No, this is wrong; this is very wrong. Hermione would never. Besides, she\'d get the apprenticeship of merit alone. She did get higher Potions N.E.W.T.s than you, but Snape would sooner slit his own throat than give that apprenticeship to a Gryffindor.\"


Draco looked her in the eye. \"I know. But what the hell is she doing with Snape?\"


\"I don’t know, but wait until I tell Ron. He\'ll think you gave me a memory charm to torture me or something.\"


\"I\'d be willing to take Veritaserum just to see the look on his face when I tell him that his best friend was out on a romantic date with Snape,\" Draco drawled.


\"You\'re evil, Draco. Pure evil, through and through,\" she glared at him with amusement.


\"And that\'s why you love me.\" He leaned forward and trapped her mouth with a kiss.


~_~_~_~_~_~


They strolled through Hogsmeade arm in arm, the cool summer night chilling Hermione\'s cheeks slightly. Just as they passed Honeydukes, Severus pulled her aside into a darkened alley and swept her up into a kiss.


She loved it when he would kiss her suddenly without warning. The spontaneity of it setting her stomach fluttering.


Severus couldn\'t get enough of her sweet mouth. During dinner, the table was too wide for them to easily lean across for them to kiss; and he was too worried that the waiter would return at the wrong moment, disturbing their private moment. She let a moan escape the back of her throat and he deepened the kiss, running his fingers up into her hair, trapping her in an endless kiss.


When he finally pulled his mouth away from hers, he knew he had never seen a lovelier woman in his life. His heart was hammering against his ribcage, and he felt like a young man again in her arms. For years he had felt older than his actual age, and now he felt like he was seventeen instead of thirty-seven. Two words wanted to escape his lips, but he didn’t have the courage to say them. His heart fought with his mind, and this time his head won. To still his protesting heart, he pulled her into another kiss.


Hermione barely caught her breath from Severus\' kiss when she looked into his eyes and felt herself drowning in them. In the darkened alley, his eyes were black, and she willingly let her soul be trapped in them. He looked as if he would give her the world and more if she just asked for it. Before she could speak to tell him she loved him, he kissed her again, and any thoughts about speaking evaporated; instead she told him with her kiss.


He slowly drew his mouth away from hers, and her eyes remained closed, her mouth parted like a blooming rose. Studying her face, his eyes traveled over her slender nose, her pearlescent eyelids, the delicate arch of her brow, and her slightly pointed chin. Her mouth fit so well with his, as if her mouth was made to be kissed by him alone.


Slowly she opened her eyes, and he saw their brown depths staring back at him. He tried to speak, but could find no voice. No words could describe what he was feeling in his soul. Overwhelmed, he continued to gaze longingly into her eyes. They only broke eye contact when they heard a group of people talking loudly pass by the alley.


They Apparated back to Severus\' home from their spot in the alley.


In his bedroom, they quickly disrobed and made love hungrily, as if they would never see each other again and this was their last night together. In some small way, it felt like that. Hermione was to leave in the morning for her interview at Hogwarts, and neither of them talked about whether she would be coming back afterwards, though it seemed an unspoken agreement that she would.


She had been at his house for nearly a week. A week of getting to know one another, enjoying the quiet of each other\'s company, making love until they were pleasantly exhausted, and engaging in playful banter. After having Potions with him for seven years, she had learned enough of his habits to know a few of his pet peeves; and he had learned to respect her enough not to sneer at her, but listen to what she had to say.


As she rode on top of him approaching climax, he began to say over and over in a chant, \"I love you, I love you, I love you…I…love…you…I…I…\" She choked out his name as she came, and he yelled as if under the Cruciatus Curse.


As their orgasms subsided, she rested on top of him, letting him stay inside of her. Laying her head down on his chest, she felt his heart pound against her ear. She loved the idea that she made his heart beat like that.


\"I love you, too,\" she whispered back.


His hand found her hair, and he lovingly stroked the soft, long tendrils. As soon as he shrunk back down and slipped out of her, she slid down alongside of him, keeping her head on his chest as they drifted off to sleep, neither sure which one dropped off first.


==============


A/N: Home stretch, only one more chapter to go.


Thanks to Laurence, a reviewer on AFF, who corrected my (Babel Fish) French. It seems if you want Dobby-like speech in French, just put a phrase into Babel Fish and you\'ll get the house-elf equivalent in another language.


\"Ah, Monsieur Snape. Comment allons-nous ce soir? Je vois que Monsieur est accompagné. Très bon. La table habituelle?\"
(Ah, Mr. Snape. How are we this evening? I see we are not dining alone [paraphrased]. Very good. Your usual table?)


\"Naturellement, Michel. Veuillez apporter une bouteille du cru Krug à notre table.\"
(Natually, Michel. We would like a bottle of Krug [champagne] at our table.)


For you champagne snobs out there, if you haven’t tried Krug, go buy a bottle. It\'s worth the small fortune it costs. Trust me.