The date

They walked over the last hill, and at the peak they looked down over the village of Hogsmeade. It was empty; everyone was most likely inside with a steamy cup of hot chocolate and a roaring fire. They made their way towards the newest addition to the small wizarding village, The Sparkling Wand. It was a nice restaurant, a step up from the Three Broomsticks and a few steps up from the Hog's Head Inn.

When they walked through the door, Severus stopped and helped Hermione remove her coat. He placed it over his arm and took a look at her.

“I was mistaken earlier, you are not lovely; you are breathtaking.”

“Thank you, Severus.”

“You are most welcome.” He walked towards the maitre-d’, handing him their coats and asking for their reservations. They were lead to their table by a simpering young girl, who was nearly brought to tears by the sight of Severus Snape holding out the chair for his date.

“Why was she acting so weird, Severus? Did you know her?” Hermione questioned when she had sat down and was comfortably adjusting to her seat.

“She was a student of mine. She failed my class and blew up more than her fair share of cauldrons. I believe I yelled at her about her stupidity at one point. I find that many students tend to be terrified of you once you yell at them.”

“Yes, that does tend to happen. I still remember third year DADA with Remus and the Boggart. Neville’s worst fear was you and he… he… oh God, I can’t even say it, it is just too hilarious.”

“What was it?”

“Remus told him to picture you in his Gran’s clothes. The Boggart came out of the closet, and it looked like you, stalking towards poor Neville. He was shaking in his shoes, and then all of a sudden the Boggart-you were wearing a dress and a large hat with a feather and a bird on it. I was never able to look at you without that image of you in a dress coming to my mind. I think it’s part of what made you not as cruel in my mind, at least until the teeth incident in fourth year.”

“I apologize for that. I…”

She held up her hand to stop him. “I know, Severus. I’m over it. It was a long time ago, and it allowed for me to finally have an excuse to get my teeth fixed. So there is nothing to apologize for.”

“I can’t believe Lupin told Longbottom to picture me in a woman’s clothes. If he were here, he would be paying for that, but since he isn’t, I will simply have to let it go. There is nothing to do about it now.”

“Indeed,” she said with a pursed mouth; the fight to not let herself be overwhelmed by sadness was evident on her face.

Severus realized his blunder and searched for a way to correct it.

“Would you like to order? Or at least get your drinks?” a quiet voice asked them. They turned their focus from each other towards the mousy young woman standing at their table.

“Yes, I would like a glass of Pinot Noir,” Hermione ordered.

“I will have the same.”

“Would you like another minute or two to figure out what you want?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“All right, I will be right back with your drinks.” She turned and walked away.

“She wasn’t as scared as the one who sat us down.”

“Yes, I don’t quite recall her, so she must have slid by without notice in my classes.”

“Did you ever have any good students? Any students that were your favorites or that stand out in your mind?”

“Well, you were and still are the most intelligent student I have ever taught. Granted that you were frustrating with your constant need to share your vast knowledge of everything, but you have grown out of that phase of your youth. But I would have to say that if I could teach a class full of students like you, I would be very happy. And although he was a troublemaker, Draco Malfoy was a good student as well. He was smarter than one would think. In fact, many of the Slytherins that I had in the years that you were at Hogwarts were intelligent. Granted they were sneaky little buggers, lying, cheating, promoting the evil bastard, but intelligent nonetheless. In fact most students are good; it is just the few dunderheads that ruin everything, such as Longbottom, Weasley, and even Potter. But students are students. They come in cycles of bad and good. And to get the good students like you, I had to deal with those three and several others from that year.”

“Wow, thank you… I think.” She cocked her head to the side, giving him a somewhat questioning glance.

“It was meant to be a compliment. I’m sorry if it came out as something different.”

“Are you ready to order?” their waitress asked as she stepped up to the table, quill and notepad in hand.

“Yes, I would like the lamb.”

“I will have the same.”

“All righty, I will put those in. Would you like more wine?”

“Yes, why don’t you just bring the rest of the bottle. Thank you.”

“You are a copycat.” She leaned forward on the table, her arms folded under her.

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“You keep ordering what I order. I’m beginning to notice a recurring theme here,” she said as she smiled at him.

“You have good taste,” he replied.

“As do you,” she threw back with a smirk on her face.

“Now that’s not what I meant and you know it. However, it is true.”

“Yes, very true,” she murmured. The waitress brought them the rest of the wine, and Severus reached for her glass, filling it to the appropriate level and then promptly filling his own. He handed her glass back to her, and they clinked the lips of the glasses, toasting to nothing and everything.

“May I ask a difficult question?” he prompted.

“Of course,” she replied.

“Why did you always have to spout off your knowledge?”

“I was a Muggle-born; I had had no experience in the Wizarding World. The only sure footing I had in this world was the fact that I had read all the books and knew everything there was to know, so to prove to my peers that I wasn’t a stupid Muggle, I spouted off my knowledge. I know it was annoying, but at the time it was all I had, especially at the beginning when I had no friends. I have fought to save this world, taking myself to the brink of consciousness to ensure that we could continue to live as we do. After going through that, I realized that I hadn’t been looking for validation from my peers but from myself. And I found it. When I stood with Ginny and Luna against Bellatrix, I realized that I was vital, that there was something inherent in my magic and in my power, and I didn’t need to prove it to anyone, I was perfectly happy with myself, and in the end that’s all that matters.”

“An astute observation to be sure, Hermione.”

“Thank you,” she said with a blush. Their waitress brought their food and placed it in front of them. They thanked her and began to eat their meals.

Hermione was eating hers as delicately as always, her manners impeccable. Severus stared at her, watching her every move. She cut the lamb into small pieces, speared a piece on her fork and gently placed the fork in her mouth, closing her perfect cupid’s bow lips over the metal object and pulling it through her lips. He groaned at the image she presented.

“What is it, Severus? Is something wrong with your food?” she asked, concern in her voice.

He gave a shake of his head and picked up his fork and knife to eat his food. She gave an odd smile and continued to eat her meal, perfectly cut piece of meat after perfectly cut piece of meat.