Chapter 3

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Chapter Three

Snape entered the Great Hall, his robes billowing behind him. Oh, he loved to make an entrance! Glancing at the Head table, he noted Hermione's absence. His heart sank a bit within him. No matter, she would arrive shortly. He billowed up to his seat and settled himself in. The only hint that he had of Severus' whereabouts was a soft breeze that passed him as he sat. He assumed Severus was standing at his side, between his chair and Professor Sprout's.

He began to fill his plate, glancing nervously at the entryway he knew Hermione would eventually come through. At long last, he saw her enter. She wandered to her seat and gave Severus a warm smile.

"Good evening, Severus. How was your day off?"

"Mrmph," Snape muttered.

Severus rolled his Disillusioned eyes. The way his counterpart was progressing, the next ice age would be upon them before he got up the nerve to make a move.

"Well, I had a wonderful day. I slept in, took a relaxing bath, and read a good book. The only thing that was missing was someone to give me a backrub."

Snape furrowed his brow and made a grunting noise.

Come on, man, she's practically throwing herself at you! Severus thought. I'd forgotten how stiff I was.

Hermione gave up and changed the subject. Soon she had lured Snape into a conversation about the proper preparation of porcupine quills. They ate and debated until both of their plates were empty. The two sat back and continued to expound on the finer points of the quills until Hermione noticed the ceiling was quite dark.

"I'd best get back to my room and my book," she mused.

"Umm..." Snape mumbled.

Hermione turned her attention back to him.

Staring at her, he struggled to speak. "Have a nice evening, Hermione," Snape said at last.

Hermione seemed slightly disappointed but plastered a fake smile upon her lips.

"You too," she said as she rose and left the table.

Snape followed suit and quickly descended into the dungeons. He entered his rooms and left the door open so his double would be able to enter at will. The door slammed suddenly before Severus appeared out of thin air.

"What in Merlin's name was that? You were supposed to entice her, not shy away from her as if she had the plague! How on earth do you expect to win her affections if you don't even speak to her outside of mundane work topics?"

Snape glowered at Severus. "It's not as easy as it looks, you know!"

"I understand that. That's why I'm here, you idiot. You need to do something though, or my trip will have been in vain!"

"Oh, shut up!"

"Shut up?"

"Yes... shut up. Who do you think you are coming into my home and telling me what to do?"

Severus narrowed his eyes at Snape. "I think I'm you. You see, I'm an even more miserable version of you." He pointed to Snape with his finger. "I'm the one who is lonely and hopelessly in love with someone who now doesn't return those feelings. I explained all of this to you. Do you really want to wind up being me?"

Snape shrugged and looked to the floor.

Severus stepped closer to himself. "Look... I'm you. I know what you feel. I know what you desire."

"I've given up on having desires. I've been driven by others for too long to get to think about myself."

Severus grabbed Snape's arm. "Yet you still dream, Severus. Even I still dream. You want what everyone wants... a companion. We all want to have someone to share our life with, someone to love, and someone who'll see us as we really are. Right now, you're hoping that's Hermione. Well, if you don't act, it won't be, and I fear she's your last chance."

Snape looked into his own eyes, which were staring back at him. "It's just that... even you're not sure that things will work out." He began to pace and put his hands in his hair, running his fingers through it until he grasped a large fistful on each side. "Why would she ever choose me over Weasley?"

He turned and gave Severus a pleading look. "What can I offer that Weasley can't?"

Severus folded his arms in front of him and began to pace too. The two men walked past each other, turned, and passed each other again. Severus stopped and grabbed at Snape. Both of his hands grasped Snape's arms as he stilled the other man.

"You can offer her a worthy companion, someone who is an equal," Severus offered.

"Someone who could be her father," Snape countered.

"Someone who can stimulate her mind," Severus suggested.

"Someone who is a grumpy old man," Snape said in exasperation.

"Someone who she obviously is attracted to now. She's not interested in Weasley now. She won't be either, if you show her some interest." Severus gritted his teeth. "You saw her at dinner. She practically invited you to give her a back rub, and all you could do was grunt at her. All you had to do was coyly tell her you were available if she'd like that back rub after dinner."

Snape's eyes widened. "I... I couldn't say something so forward!"

Severus released him and turned away in disgust. "Then we've lost already," he stated in defeat.

Snape closed the distance between them. "How is it that you are me, yet you can think to do such things?"

Severus glared at him. "I have had time to see what life is like without her. I have had time to go over every little encounter and see where I could have done or said something to encourage her. I'm desperate. I recognize the need to step out of my box."

"Maybe you should do the courting, then."

Severus' eyes lit up. "That's not a bad idea! I could pose as you and woo her. You could be the Disillusioned one, and when you feel brave enough, you could take over."

"You could show me how to do what I need to so that she'll be mine." Snape's eyes were glimmering with hope now.

"We have one week, then I will go back to my own time."

"Will that be enough time?"

"It will have to be."

"Where do we start?" Snape asked anxiously.

"We need to go to the greenhouse," Severus said as he tapped his chin.

"What's there?"

"Flowers, of course."

"Ah."

Severus and a Disillusioned Snape had made their way to the greenhouses and had picked an elegant bouquet of white roses for Hermione. Now they stood in front of her door. Snape stood behind Severus and prodded him to knock on the door.

"Patience, Severus!" Severus told himself as he lifted his hand and rapped on the door.

A moment later, the door opened to reveal Hermione in a thick robe, seemingly ready for bed.

"Oh, Severus! I'm glad you stopped by. You... Those are beautiful flowers."

"I was in the greenhouse, collecting some belladonna when I saw these roses and thought of you."

Hermione's mouth dropped open. She stared down at the bouquet in disbelief. She then looked up at Severus as her eyes went wide.

"Oh, where are my manners? Please... come in," she stammered.

She opened the door wide. Severus paused in the doorway to give her the bouquet, thus giving Snape time to sneak into her room as well. Hermione smelled the roses.

"They're beautiful, Severus. Thank you very much." She beamed at him as she conjured up a vase and arranged the roses into it. She carried it over to the table that sat in front of her couch.

"Come in and sit down. I won't bite."

Severus moved to the couch and settled down into it. Hermione sat next to him. She eyed the flowers before turning to him.

"That was so thoughtful of you, Severus, thank you again."

"As I said, their purity and beauty made me think of you the instant I saw them."

Hermione swallowed hard and looked down into her lap.

"Have I been misreading you, Hermione?" Severus asked bluntly.

Hermione's head snapped up, and she looked into Severus' eyes. "What do you mean?"

"The little hints, the coy flirting. Would you like to deepen our relationship?" Severus held his breath. Normally, he would never be so forward, but he needed to get this relationship going.

Hermione gave a giggle that sounded more like a gasp. "I didn't think you were interested, actually."

Severus slid closer to Hermione. "I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. I'm incredibly interested. It's just that I didn't think it was possible that you would be interested in me."

Hermione gave Severus a puzzled look. "Why would you say that?"

"If you were interested in me, that would make me the luckiest man alive, and I know I'm not the luckiest man alive."

Hermione looked at Severus tentatively. Suddenly, she grinned widely. "I beg to differ, Severus. You are the luckiest man alive, and I must be the luckiest woman if you share my feelings."

Severus placed a hand on her neck and rubbed his thumb under her ear. "I can't convey to you how much I do share them. Maybe this will give you some idea..."

His lips closed in on hers as he softly and reverently kissed her. His heart leapt within him. If nothing came of their endeavor to win Hermione Granger, at least he would know that he shared this one, blissfully perfect kiss with her.

Severus felt her sigh and lean into him. He'd been right all along. She'd had feelings for him, and from the passion behind her kiss, those feelings had been quite strong. His heart filled with hope for the future. His mind filled with happiness as she affected him in ways that no other woman ever had. His hand came up, and his fingers ran through her hair. He could stay like this forever.

She was the first to pull away. Hermione gazed at Severus, her eyes filled with desire. "Yes, I am the luckiest woman alive."

Severus pulled her into an embrace. Hermione settled into him, resting her head on his chest. Severus closed his eyes as he rested his chin on her head. Breathing in the scent of her, he reveled in her closeness. He hoped that things would work out for them.

"You don't know how long I have wanted you to do this," Hermione admitted to him.

"You've no idea how long I've wanted more between us," Severus told her.

They sat together quietly for a while, just enjoying their closeness. Finally, Severus sighed.

"I should go," he said.

Hermione placed her hand on his chest. "Do you have to? I could make us some hot chocolate."

Severus smiled. "No, Hermione, it's getting late. To be completely honest with you, I want to take this slowly. I don't want anything to mess up what we've found in one another. Does that make any sense?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, it does. I don't want to rush things either, Severus. I think if we take our time, we might create something long lasting."

Severus took his hand and ran his fingers along her jaw line. "I hope so," he said. He smiled and rose from the sofa. Hermione followed suit and saw him to the door. Severus turned and kissed her again.

"How about dinner in Hogsmeade tomorrow?" he asked.

Hermione put her arms around Severus' neck. "I'd love to," she told him before kissing him again.

He finally pulled away, giving her a look of longing. "Until tomorrow, then," he said with a bow of his head.

Severus waited for Snape to open his door. He swept in once the door swung open. Snape appeared in front of him, glowering.

"You weren't supposed to fall all over her like a lovesick puppy!" he snarled.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "I hardly acted like a lovesick puppy," he retorted.

"I thought you were just going to flirt with her! I wanted to be the first one to kiss her."

"As I am you, and you are me, you technically did kiss her."

"And I'll have to wait two years to bloody remember it!"

Severus smiled. "I'll keep the memory warm for you."

Snape sneered at Severus, causing Severus to laugh. "I'm sorry, then," he offered finally. "Things were progressing nicely. I thought I'd get them to a more significant state. Now that I've done all the groundwork, you can have the date tomorrow night."

An intense look of fear crossed over Snape's face. "What will I say to her?"

"Good heavens, man, I've set the groundwork for you. Just talk to her! Talk about work. That will lead to other things." He glanced at Snape, who looked to be hyperventilating. "Calm down! It's just a date!"

"Just a date? You come bursting into my home, bemoaning the fact that your life is over because you don't have Hermione in it, then you make it sound as if this date is just a simple lark. I could muck everything up!"

Severus laughed. "She likes you already, what are you afraid of?"

"We're talking about me, here. When it comes to women, if it's possible to muck it up, I'll do it."

"I just had a very pleasant encounter with her without incident. We are one in the same! For Merlin's sake, have confidence in yourself."

Snape glared at Severus for a minute. At long last, his face softened. "You're right. She and I have already expressed our feelings for one another, that was the hard part, right? The rest should be easy."

"Precisely."

Snape looked doubtful. "Precisely," he said wanly.