Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Severus frowned as he entered the Arithmancy classroom looking for Hermione. She was at her desk, reading a text on Charms. He stood in front of the desk and cleared his throat. Hermione glanced up from her book and gave him a big smile.

"What brings you to my classroom at this time of the day, Mr. Snape?" she asked.

He scowled. "McGonagall gave me a detention tonight. I won't be able to see you."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "What did you do?"

"I turned Potter's nose into a beak," he said sharply.

Hermione tried to look stern. She tried not to laugh. She failed miserably. A stifled laugh finally escaped her closed lips. She looked at him with exasperation.

"Whatever did you do that for?" she asked finally.

"He called me a..." Severus looked crossly at the floor.

"What did he call you, Severus?" Hermione asked with concern.

"He called me a murdering Death Eater that had to Imperio you to get you to like me."

Hermione sat back in her chair with her arms folded in front of her.

"Is what he said true?"

Severus gave her a toxic look. "Of course not!"

She shrugged then. "So, why didn't you just let it go?"

"Hermione! He... he..." Severus looked down at the ground again. "I couldn't. He just made me so furious!"

Hermione smiled benevolently at him. "My love," she responded softly, "you need to learn to pick your battles. Don't take Potter so seriously. He's just a prat, and we all know it. Now you have to serve detention because you lost your temper. I suppose Professor McGonagall didn't catch his nasty comments to you?"

"Of course not! She's blind to the Gryffindors in the room. They can do no wrong!"

"Severus, calm down. She probably just didn't hear him. She is very fair minded, even when it comes to her Gryffindors. I'm sorry we won't be able to spend the evening together." She looked at him slyly. "And I'm sorry I didn't see your trick myself."

He smiled at her and told her he had to get to class. He quickly turned and left the room. Hermione put her chin in her hands. His detention certainly spoiled the evening she had planned. Today was Severus' birthday. He didn't know that she knew. She had planned to take him to Hogsmeade to celebrate. She frowned. They would have to celebrate another night, she supposed. Suddenly she got an idea. She hurriedly got up and left the room in search of Minerva.

She knocked on her door a few minutes later.

"Come in!" she heard from back in the classroom.

Hermione was glad that Minerva had an off hour now too, so she could speak with her right away.

"Hi, Minerva, how are you?" Hermione asked.

"I am well, and yourself, Hermione?"

Hermione smiled at her. "I'm fine." She hesitated for a minute. "Can I ask you a favor, Minerva?"

"Well, I suppose you could."

Hermione pursed her lips. "Severus told me he received a detention from you for tonight?"

"That's right." Minerva said.

"Today is his birthday. I was wondering if he could do the official detention tomorrow, and I could take over the monitoring of his detention today."

"Hermione, did he tell you what he did?"

"He said he gave James Potter a beak," she said blandly.

Minerva looked at her crossly. "And why should I be lenient on such behavior?"

Hermione sighed. "You shouldn't, Minerva. I fully understand his having to do a detention. But he told me that Potter had insulted him, and that's why he reacted. I know that's not an excuse for bad behavior, but he did have a reason."

Minerva regarded Hermione curiously. "What exactly did Potter say to him?"

"He called him a murderous Death Eater and accused him of using an Imperius curse on me to get me to like him."

Minerva raised an eyebrow at that. "I suppose I can't blame the lad for reacting as he did."

"Minerva, I'm only asking for a day's postponement. I understand that he can't go popping off on people like that, but it's his birthday. Please?"

"I never would have believed I would hear you beg, Professor Granger!"

"Is that a yes?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.

Minerva gave her a sympathetic look. "Alright, but this gets out to nobody, is that understood? I don't want my reputation as a hard nose to be destroyed!"

Hermione giggled at her. "Of course, Minerva! Thank you!"

"What are you planning, anyway?" Minerva asked curiously.

"Just a little surprise party," Hermione said cryptically.

"Have fun then," Minerva said to her as Hermione turned and left the room.

oooOOOooo

Everything was set. Hermione looked over what she had set up, happy with the way everything looked. She smiled to herself. All she would have to do now was to wait for Severus to arrive.

oooOOOooo

Severus scowled as he came up to the Transfiguration classroom. He was annoyed that he had to spend his birthday in detention. He had been looking forward to spending it with Hermione. She, of course, didn't know it was his birthday, as he hadn't told her, but he had hoped to spend a quiet evening with her in his arms. He could think of no better birthday present than that. Bother.

He approached the door and knocked loudly. The door swung open of its own accord. He peeked in and saw that the classroom was empty. He went into the room tentatively, calling Professor McGonagall's name, but received no welcome. He walked further into the room and approached her desk. Perhaps she had left him a note.

What he saw there surprised him. There was a small wrapped package with his name on it sitting on McGonagall's desk. He eyed it curiously and then picked it up. The tag said Happy Birthday. Why would Professor McGonagall give me a birthday present? he wondered.

He put the box back down and pulled out his wand. After performing every spell he knew to detect traps, he deemed that the package was not harmful. He picked it up again and unwrapped the dark blue paper. He opened the box and peered into it curiously. He realized this present wasn't from McGonagall at all, but had no clue as to whom it was from. The gift was a pocket watch with the face smashed in. Was it a warning of some kind?

He lifted the pocket watch out of the box, and before he knew it, he felt a pull at his stomach. Severus disappeared from the room. The Portkey rematerialized him in a dark room which was ringed with thick candles. They lit the room dimly, just giving him a hint of what was there. He could see a comfortable looking couch in the middle of the room and a table and chairs off in the corner under a window. A couple of arm chairs and a bureau were scattered around the room. Severus looked around suspiciously and withdrew his wand.

He felt two arms surround him from behind, and he stiffened.

"You won't be needing your wand tonight," he heard Hermione's voice from behind him. "Happy Birthday, love," Hermione whispered in his ear, standing on tiptoe.

Severus whipped around in shock.

"Hermione? What is all this?"

"It's your birthday party, Severus. I didn't think you would appreciate balloons, but I thought perhaps candles would be a nice touch."

"How did you know it was my birthday?" he asked curiously.

"I knew in the future. Why didn't you tell me?"

Severus shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't want to make a big deal of it."

Hermione frowned at him. "I'm quite hurt."

"Hermione, I didn't mean..."

His excuse was cut off by her lips closing in on his. She kissed him with fervor, and he quickly responded, pulling her to him and kissing her until he felt her shudder.

She pulled back finally, catching her breath. "Okay, I'm not that hurt," she confessed. "Happy Birthday!"

"Did you plan all of this with McGonagall from the beginning?" he asked with suspicion.

"No, but I did beg her to postpone your detention until tomorrow. She reluctantly agreed. I suppose I'll owe her something in the future."

Severus smiled at her. Hermione thought she would melt into him with that smile. He wrapped his arms around her and embraced her tightly.

"Thank you, Hermione," Severus told her.

He pulled back and took a good look at her. She was wearing a midnight blue satin dress that had black netting over the skirt. The top was squared and had short sleeves. Her hair was pulled up and flowed around her head in a cascade of curls. She was a vision.

"You look beautiful," Severus said appreciatively as he looked her up and down.

"Thank you," Hermione beamed.

"I don't seem to be dressed appropriately," Severus murmured.

"That can be easily taken care of," Hermione returned, and with a flick of her wand his clothes had transformed themselves into a black suit.

Severus frowned down at himself and took his wand out, changing the suit to a charcoal gray. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" Severus demanded.

"I never thought I'd see you in any color other than black, Severus."

"Black gets a bit drab after a while," Severus admitted.

Hermione gaped at him. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"I said that black gets drab after a while," Severus repeated.

Hermione reached up and felt his forehead. "Well, you don't seem to have a fever... Has someone hexed you?"

Severus looked at Hermione crossly. "What are you going on about, woman?"

Despite his annoyance, Hermione's laughter was music to his ears. "Severus, you always wear black!"

Severus rolled his eyes. "I'm sure it's just a uniform, Hermione."

"Yes, a uniform that you choose the color of. Now, don't get me wrong, Severus, I think you look incredibly sexy in black."

Severus tilted his head and regarded her thoughtfully. "Should I change this back then?" he asked curiously.

Hermione looked him over. "I wouldn't have you change a thing. You look incredibly sexy in gray too." She fiddled with the collar of his suit coat. "In fact, you're incredibly sexy in anything you put on."

"You flatter me, witch!" Severus whispered into her ear as he pulled her close.

Hermione pulled away and looked him over once again. "You know, you couldn't have picked a color closer to black if you had tried." She laughed after she had said that.

"It's my birthday, do not tease me!"

Hermione gaped at him. "Me! Tease you on your birthday? I would shudder to think I would do such a horrible thing to you."

Severus narrowed his eyes at her as she smiled innocently at him.

"Come on, I have a cake for you," Hermione gushed as she grabbed his hand and led him to the table in the corner of the room.

"Where are we anyway?"

"This is one of the rooms above the Leaky Cauldron," Hermione explained. "I've had this planned for weeks, and I was quite put out that Minerva had given you a detention tonight."

"It seemed that you took care of that in any case, Hermione."

Hermione smiled at him as they drew up to the table. Severus saw a dark chocolate cake with a single candle on it in the center of the table. Hermione flicked her wand at the cake, and the candle lit.

"Now make a wish, and blow out the candle," she instructed.

Severus glared at her.

"Surely you've had a birthday cake before, Severus. It's tradition to make a wish."

"My wish already came true," he said huskily.

Hermione looked at him coyly. "And just what was your wish?"

"That you would be mine."

Hermione felt her heart flutter at his words. He was completely amazing. She gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"It's okay to have more than one wish in a lifetime, my love," she told him.

Severus rolled his eyes and thought of a wish. Wishing that she would decide to stay with him in this time forever, he stooped over the cake and blew the candle out. Hermione clapped and gave him a hug.

"I'm sure you'll kill me if I break into the Happy Birthday song," she advised him, "so I'll just skip it."

"Wise choice," he muttered as he hugged her tightly.

She pulled herself away from him and took a knife and cut two pieces of cake. She placed them on plates and handed one to Severus who seated himself at the table. He looked at the cake. It looked like it was made of solid chocolate.

"What kind of cake is this?" Severus asked Hermione as she took the seat across the table from him.

"It's called a Chocolate Decadence Cake. It's flourless and absolutely sinful."

Severus took a small bite of it and savored it. He closed his eyes for a moment as the rich, smooth chocolate coated his mouth. He had to agree with Hermione on the sinfulness of this cake.

"It's delicious," he said finally. "How did you know I had a penchant for chocolate? Is that another thing I told you about in the future?"

Hermione laughed. "Hardly! As a matter of fact, if you had any idea that I knew about that, you'd probably have been angry that I knew so much about you. This discovery came from years of covert observation. I have found that you gravitate to the chocolate desserts whenever they are offered." She flashed a smile at him as he regarded her slyly.

"How very Slytherin of you, my dear," Severus said smoothly.

Hermione grinned broadly at him. They soon finished their cake, and Hermione stood and put her hand out to him. He took it, and she guided him over to the sofa. They settled into it, and she produced a package from behind it.

"Here's your real present," she said as she handed the box to him. It was very long and thin and wrapped in blue paper that had Happy Birthday scrawled all over it. As Severus tore into the paper, it burst out into song. A chorus of elves sang Happy Birthday from the paper as he tore it off. He glared at Hermione, who looked a bit sheepish.

"I said I wouldn't sing, not that nobody would sing for you," Hermione exclaimed.

Severus narrowed his eyes at her playfully and then turned to his present. He crumpled up the paper so it would shut up and then turned his attention to the box itself. He lifted the lid off of it and pulled the paper aside to reveal a crystal potions stirring rod. His eyes widened in appreciation as he lifted it gingerly out of the box. The end of the stirrer had a cobra's head carved into it. It seemed to stare at Severus, its head tilted down, and its neck flared out as if it were ready to strike.

"You have one of these in the future exactly like this one. I thought it would be kind of fun for you to have it now instead of whenever you're supposed to get it. That way you can think of me when you're creating your potions." She smiled at him happily.

He smiled back at her as he moved the rod around and looked at it closely. It was almost a yard long. It shimmered in the dim candlelight and sparkled like a diamond. He knew that the crystal had been enchanted to be as hard as diamond. These types of stirring rods were only used by Potions masters. They were shatter proof and resisted the absorption of the ingredients that would be used in the potions that were created. He placed it back into its box and set it down. He moved closer to Hermione.

"It's perfect, Hermione. Thank you. I will always think of you whenever I use it."

He closed in on her and began to kiss her lightly.

"I will think of your smile."

He kissed her on the cheek.

"I will think of your beautiful eyes."

He kissed her on both of her closed eyes.

"I will think of your hugs."

He kissed her other cheek.

"I will think of your kisses."

He finally came to her mouth and kissed her fully. She parted her lips, and his tongue slipped into her mouth and explored her. She groaned in pleasure at his passion. Hermione pulled him closer and wrapped her arms around him, basking in his love. She felt complete when he kissed her like this. All she wanted to do was stay wrapped in his arms, surrounded by his love and kisses. Her heart belonged to him.

"You're amazing," she said after they had separated.

"So are you," Severus confessed to her.

Hermione took her hand and caressed his face with it. "Happy Birthday, my love. I hope this has been a nice birthday for you."

Severus smiled at her. "It has been the nicest birthday I have ever had," he told her before he kissed her again.

A/N: Next up: Voldemort's request.

Thank you, thank you, for reading this and for all of your support. I truly love hearing from all of you and enjoy what you have to say, whether it be praise or criticism. I hope you enjoyed our little fluff fest. We will be back to story line with the next chapter, as you may guess, given the hint. Now what could that pesky Voldemort want now?