The End of the Date

They finished their meal with a comfortable silence. No fillers or small talk were needed; they both understood that. Severus picked up the bill, and they left to find that the night had blanketed the sky and the snow was covering darkness. The sight was eerie but beautiful. The moonlight reflected off the snow that had already fallen. They began the slow walk back to the castle, taking each step carefully, mindful of the ice that had already begun to form.

Severus grew comfortable on the frozen snow and began to pick up the pace. He took the next step with his right foot, and when he put his boot down, he hit a patch of ice and his foot flew out from under him, landing him squarely on his back, air fleeing his lungs, and a loud "uumph" emanating from his mouth.

Hermione let out a giggle before stopping herself and jogging to catch up to him. She looked down at him, a black figure on the white snow.

"Are you alright?" she questioned, holding out her hand to help him up.

He gave a nod and gripped her hand tightly, simultaneously pulling her down next to him. "That was for laughing at me," he stated simply.

She gave him her best glare, but quickly lost it at the picture of him lying on the ground, covered in snow. She lay back on the ground, staring up at the dark sky. The falling snow fell right at her, flakes landing on her face and caressing her skin before melting with the warmth that her body released. She moved her arms and legs, making a snow angel. She laughed at herself and glanced over at Severus. He was staring at her, just watching her having fun.

"Try it, Severus. Have fun. Lie back and sprawl your legs and arms out. Then move them back and forth."

He did what she'd said, but he looked grossly uncomfortable. "Why am I doing this?" he questioned.

"Because it's fun, and you need to have fun every once in a while. Plus, it makes a cool design in the snow." She gave him a bright smile as he continued to make his snow angel.

When they were both finished, they simply lay there in the snow, the cold seeping through their clothes, but neither wanting to move.

"Well, now that we are both embedded in the ground, how are we supposed to get up?" Severus questioned.

"I don't know," she said with a shrug.

"I have an idea, but you will probably be averse to it."

"Why would you say that?" she asked as she sat up, snow falling off her back.

Severus sat up as well and brushed the snow off her back and then his. "Do you trust me?"

She nodded and he moved towards her, a pile of snow building between them as his body moved it like a shovel. He wrapped her in his arms and murmured a spell under his breath. They began to gravitate into the air, their bodies becoming light and lifting up until they were above the village, staring down at the snow covered roofs and streets.

She clung to him desperately, terrified of falling. He adjusted his hold on her, making sure that she was going nowhere, before he began moving forward, flying towards the school. The dark image of them flying through the light snow was shocking but beautiful. What had been pretty snowflakes when she lay on the ground were quickly becoming painful pieces of ice the higher they climbed into the sky. The ice balls were pelting them, so she pulled out her wand and cast a protective shield around them, rescuing them from the painful pelting balls of ice. They made their way over the winding countryside, watching the snow-covered trees fly by beneath them. She soon found herself being slowly taken down as he flew gently towards the ground in front of the castle.

He set them down gently in front of the doors. His arms remained holding her, and he whispered in her ear. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, thank you. I had a wonderful time." She turned around to face him, their faces close, breath mingling, steam rising.

"As did I," he murmured before leaning the last stretch of distance and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. He pulled away and opened the large door, holding it open for her to walk through. She remained where she stood, stunned, before she shook herself out of it and made her way into the castle, heading towards her rooms. She left a confused Severus behind her, staring at her retreating form as he let the door shut behind him. The loud snap of the doors meeting echoed down the hall and followed her retreating form.

*

"I just don't understand. I thought it had gone so well, why did he kiss me on the forehead?" Hermione complained, dropping her head to the kitchen table at Ginny's apartment.

"He's obviously interested in you; otherwise, he wouldn't have asked you out. Maybe he wasn't sure you wanted to be kissed."

"No, I was pretty obvious, we were really close, practically touching, and I was just staring at him, waiting patiently. And then nothing."

"Well, he is from an older generation; maybe he didn't think it was appropriate." She shrugged.

"Maybe, but it's still bothering me. I was so sure that he would kiss me," she heaved a heavy sigh laden with self-pity. She lifted her head from the table and froze. "Gin, is there something you need to tell me?" she asked with a shocked expression.

"No, why?" Ginny questioned, turning around when Hermione pointed her finger to something behind Ginny. She was met with the delicious sight of Draco Malfoy in a towel, droplets of water cascading down his body. He was running a comb through his blond locks and smiling unabashedly at the women sitting in the kitchen.

"Oh, yeah, about that. Ummm... we are sort of seeing each other." Ginny's pale skin flamed with a bright blush.

"How do you sort of see someone?" Hermione asked, sarcasm filling her voice.

"How do you get kissed on the forehead?" she threw back.

"Fair enough. But you are avoiding the ummm... delicious... I mean the topic at hand. How did this come about? What about Harry? I know you split up, but I guess we all just assumed you would be getting back together. Apparently we were wrong."

"Our teams were playing each other in a practice match. One thing lead to another, and here we are." She waved her arms about, pointing to Draco.

"How long?" Hermione questioned.

"A few months," she mumbled.

"How many is a few?"

"Eight," Draco stated as he turned around and left the room, heading towards the bedroom.

"You so owe me eight months' worth of details. I can't believe you let me complain about being kissed on the forehead by Severus when you had news like this. I can't believe you kept this secret. Okay, well, I can because your family would flip a shit, but you could have told me, I would have totally been supportive, especially having seen him in a towel. Damn." She fanned herself.

"Hermione Jean Granger! I am surprised at you!"

Hermione gave a cheeky grin and shrugged.

"Well, since apparently the only action I will be getting will be kisses on the forehead, I need to live vicariously through you."

"He meant it out of a sign of respect," that familiar drawl said.

"How do you know?" she asked, turning her head to see him dressed to perfection.

"He's my godfather. I grew up watching him. He may be viewed as the greasy git and the bat of the dungeons, but he has manners and respect. My advice would be that if you want him to kiss you, you are going to have to make the move because he is too emotionally shy and considerate to make a move like that. Why do you think he never did anything about Potter's mum? He was too scared and too shy. And believe me I know the idea of Snape as shy or scared is laughable, but when it comes to his emotions and his internal personality, well, he is. I am going home, Gin. I will see you for dinner tonight." He kissed her on the lips gently and gave a nod to Hermione before Disapparating away.

"Well, that was interesting," Hermione said, a contemplative look on her face. Ginny smiled and sighed.

"Yeah, isn't he great?"

"Okay, I will admit he's good looking, but, Ginny, this is Malfoy. Has he really changed that much?" she questioned.

Ginny sat up at the question that was the reason she had never told anyone about her relationship. "Believe it or not, but he really has. I think that fire knocked some sense into him. He is much less arrogant, and he cares about others, well, at least about me. Some things won't ever change," she said with a smirk.

"I can tell you are happy just by that great big grin on your face. Either he's changed or he's really good in the sack."

"Or both," Ginny stated, picking up her cup of tea and taking a sip.

Hermione heaved a sigh and looked at her longtime friend. She was truly happy, even if it was with the ferret, and for Hermione that was all that mattered.

"So this begs just one last question, when are you going to tell your family?"

"A week after never."

Hermione's laugh filled the room at the quick response.