Chapter 3 - Blame the Mistletoe

The sun shone through the window and splayed across the room in a spiral of yellow and white light. As Hermione opened her eyes, she realized that the light was reflecting off the snow on the window ledge outside. It was then that she realized that she didn't even have a window ledge, let alone a window, and tried to sit up. She couldn't though, because an arm was wound tightly around her body, pinning her to the mattress.

She managed to wriggle around and face the owner of the pale, sinewy-muscled arm, and squeaked in shock. Then the memories from the night before flooded into her mind and she relaxed lightly. Her waking had caused her companion to wake, and he was staring at her with wide black eyes.

'Did we… umm,' Severus asked in a stammer.

Hermione nodded, blushing when she realized that it implied that her naked body was obviously pressed against his equally nude, long and hard form. After getting over the initial shock, she decided that it felt sort of nice being pinned to his body that way. Decidedly, she stretched languidly, her breasts pressing against his chest and causing him to groan.

'Hermione, please don't do that,' he whined sleepily.

She smiled and cupped his face in her hands aggressively. 'Don't do what, Severus?' she asked innocently, pressing her body against his firmly. 'We did worse last night, if you remember?'

He chuckled and used his long arms to pull her flush against his, before dipping his head to kiss her soundly. He parted her lips with a lick and plundered her mouth without preamble, coaxing her into a response, and when she finally joined in, he pulled away to nibble and kiss her elegant neck.

'Did I ever tell you how beautiful I think you are?' he murmured against her neck as he bit and sucked. 'Gods I've wanted this for so long.'

Hermione pulled back then and stared at him with shock. 'You wanted this before last night?' she asked incredulously.

He smirked and kissed the end of her nose. 'Do you doubt it?' he asked coolly. 'You are a beautiful,' he kissed her cheek, '-talented,' he kissed the other cheek, '-intelligent,' he kissed the end of her nose once more, '- incredibly powerful and sexy witch,' he kissed her neck. '- and I've wanted you for years,' he finished, claiming her lips in a searing kiss, rolling on top of her and bracing himself above.

Hermione breathlessly allowed him to kiss her, kissing him back hard and matching him kiss for kiss, moan for moan, and each caress. Damn, that man had more passion in him than was possible. His voice was so intoxicating, his presence menacing and powerful, body firm and lithe, and Merlin, what a nice body it was.

Two hours later they lay sated and exhausted once more amongst the tangle of black silk sheets. Hermione rested her head against his chest as his long arms wound around her and held her to him possessively.

'Let's live in these chambers. I hate the ones in the dungeons,' Hermione commented out of nowhere. 'It's so draughty and dull, and there isn't even a window.'

Snape propped himself up on one arm and looked into her eyes with a confused look crossing his not so displeasing features. 'What on earth are you talking about, Hermione?' he demanded.

'I think I just suggested that we live together,' she answered, surprising herself even.

Severus lay back down and shifted so that Hermione was resting mostly on top of him again. 'Although I wouldn't be object to the idea, why in hell would you want to live with me?' he asked seriously.

'Because I like you, silly,' she said with a yawn.

'I'm just going to pretend that I didn't just hear you say that, and I'll ask you once more. Why do you want to live with a grumpy old man with one foot practically in the grave,' he asked with an annoyed voice.

Hermione sat up a little and rested her hand on his chest as she stared down into his eyes. 'Look, I know you might find this hard to believe, but I think I've liked you a lot more than I let myself think for quite a while now,' she answered in a no-nonsense tone. 'I think we should make a go of this,' she indicated between them, '- thing that we have going on right now.'

'You'll be making a huge mistake, Hermione,' he warned.

'I made a worse mistake by dating Ron, and not ever telling him the truth about how I felt. It would be cruel of me to deny that I have inexplicable feelings for you,' she replied, matching him wit for wit.

'And you are sure that you want me?' he pressed, needing total confirmation.

'I want you, body, mind, soul and anything else that you have to offer me,' she replied, leaning forward to kiss his lips chastely.

'Then I suppose I could not object to the needs and wants of a lady,' he mumbled, pulling her back onto his chest, holding her to him tightly. 'Perhaps Minerva and Albus knew what they were doing after all.'

Hermione giggled a little at this. 'And to think we were complaining about her just the other day,' she stated honestly. 'Do you think that they planned this – us?'

'I have no doubts. Why else would she stick me with you at every opportunity and pair us for hall patrol and the chaperoning?' he answered immediately. 'Who do you think pinned up all of the mistletoe?'

'You don't think she put it there on purpose, do you?' Hermione asked, shocked.

'I don't have to think it; I know she did the meddlesome old cat. I've known Minerva McGonagall for over thirty years, and I know how she gets when Albus puts her up to something,' he replied.

Hermione smiled. 'Well I'm glad she did.'

'Hmmm… As am I, for once,' he muttered, releasing her and stretching a little before sitting up and pulling on a silk bathrobe.

Hermione rolled over to look up at him. 'Where are you going?' she asked with one eyebrow raised.

'Shower,' he said simply. 'We are expected to make an appearance for lunch seeing as we missed breakfast. The other nosy busybodies we work with will begin to get suspicious.'

'They'll know when we walk in together,' Hermione stated obviously.

'Don't you think I know that?' he snapped back, looking at her sternly. 'Hermione what do you honestly see in an old, cantankerous wizard like me? I'm old enough to be your father, I have a bad temper, I am not good company, and I'm as arrogant as hell. The only thing I do have is financial security and wealth, and even that wouldn't be enough for someone to have to put up with me.'

Hermione sat up, drawing the sheets around her still-naked form. 'I don't want you for your money, which by the way, I was not even aware of until now. I like you Severus. Shouldn't that be enough?'

Sighing, he sat back on the bed next to her. Cupping her cheek in one of his long hands he kissed her gently. 'You deserve better.'

'I deserve to be with the man I want, and I choose you,' she said defiantly, looking him hard in the eye. 'I want to be with you.'

Severus smiled faintly and got up from the bed, holding out a hand for her, and pulling her into his front, wrapping arms around her waist. 'Then let's go and shower. We have to make an appearance at lunch after all, he said, giving her a squeeze.

They made it to the shower eventually, and after a slight amorous struggle, they both exited the bathroom clean and dressed in their normal teaching robes. Hermione was pinning her damp curls back as they walked together to the hall, and arrived on time, to the surprise of Minerva, who had a pretty good idea what happened between Hermione and Severus the night before.

'Hermione, you weren't at Breakfast,' commented Pomona Sprout, as Hermione sat in her chair next to Severus as usual.

Flushing slightly, Hermione smiled at the cheery woman. 'Umm… yes I slept in a bit this morning,' she answered, hoping that nobody would notice that both she and Severus had damp hair, or that if they did, they'd keep it to themselves or be subtle.

'And Severus, you weren't here either,' Poppy Pomfrey noted also.

'Apparently I slept in also,' he drawled silkily, the corner of his mouth quirking into a smile at Hermione.

Some of the other staff members seemed to get the picture about as well as Minerva did, but Flitwick didn't hope to catch on so fast. 'Why are you all smiling and laughing? Since when has sleeping-in been funny?' Filius asked, clueless.

Hermione blushed profusely and busied herself with pouring tea into both her and Severus' cup, spooning sugar into his, as the foreboding man himself sat back with an alarmingly neutral expression. Pomona leaned over to the clueless, smaller wizard and whispered something to him that made him blush and turn back to his meal as Hermione and Severus went on as usual.

'Wait to remain cool, Severus,' Hermione hissed quietly as she gave him his tea.

'I always do,' he said arrogantly.

Hermione smiled in spite of herself at this. 'Well you did warn me that you were arrogant,' she muttered under her breath.

Lunch went on as ever, until Hermione stood, and was escorted from the hall through the staff door, where they received as many looks from the staff that had been avoided throughout the meal. When they finally got out, Severus led her quickly to a deserted hall and pressed her against the wall of an alcove before covering her lips with his.

When he finally pulled away, she looked up at him with glazed eyes. 'What was that for?' she asked breathlessly.

'For enduring that torture in there,' he replied, cradling her face in his hands and kissing the corer of her mouth. 'And for choosing me.'

She smiled and pushed him off her before grabbing his hand and leading him on the way back to his office. When they were inside she dropped into a chair and closed her eyes for a bit. 'You know, I have had a few of the worst years of my life, especially at Christmas, and I did not think it was possible for me to be happy again,' she said softly as he moved to sit opposite her. 'But you have made me extremely happy, Severus, in only the last few days.'

He smiled. 'You say that now, but you just wait,' he warned with a chuckle, taking her hands in his.

She opened her eyes and smiled warmly. 'Do you think that perhaps I was right about time healing past wounds?' she asked.

'I think that you were more correct than you will ever have the misfortune of knowing,' he replied, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing it softly. 'And, I believe that this may be a very good Christmas, indeed.'

oO0Oo

When Hermione roused from her sleep, she had expected to be wrapped in Severus' arms as she had every morning since that Christmas Ball just over a year before. After she realized that she was alone in the bed, she pulled on her bathrobe and sleepily stumbled out of the bed and into the bathroom.

Once she had taken a shower, she felt more awake, and got dressed in one of his shirts that happened to be hanging up in the bathroom. When she went back to the bedroom, however, she did not expect Severus to be there, sitting on the bed, almost completely dressed in the dress robes he had worn that fateful night.

'Severus, are you going out somewhere?' she asked.

He turned and smiled at something above her, and she looked up to find a spring of Mistletoe floating there. She grinned back at him, and pulled him up before kissing him softly on the lips.

'Marry me?' he asked, holding up a beautiful platinum ring.

'And a Happy Christmas to you too,' she replied, slipping the ring onto his finger as she kissed his soundly.

He took that as a "yes", and picked her up spinning her around in a circle. It was indeed, a very Happy Christmas…