Chapter 14

A/N: I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter – RL decided to kick my butt for a couple of weeks. But thanks for all the reviews! They feed my soul … and my muse! LOL

Still not mine, to my everlasting regret …

Chapter 14

Severus was kissing her! After a moment of pure shock, in which she tried to process the fact that he was actually kissing her – and very passionately – she lost all ability to think coherently. She felt herself melt into him, kissing him back with everything she had tried to suppress for so long.

He seemed to sense her acquiescence, and he gentled slightly, although his passion didn’t abate even a little bit. He gave her long, slow, mind-numbing kisses. Her lips parted of their own volition, inviting his tongue in to explore her mouth more fully, and he wasted no time accepting her invitation.

She had no idea how long they stood there, snogging. She found she couldn’t get close enough to him to suit her, and she kept trying to press her body tighter against his. Not that he seemed to mind – whenever she pulled herself closer, he responded by tightening his arms around her even more.

She could now feel his erection against her belly. She thought vaguely that she ought to be frightened, considering her lack of experience, but she wasn’t. Instead, she was increasingly aroused. Eventually, he tore his lips from hers and stared down at her. She held his gaze for a long moment, then whispered, “Wh-what … where did that come from?”

He didn’t answer, just kept staring into her eyes, sliding his hands repeatedly over her arms and back. Her own arms had found their way up around his neck, and her fingers played with his hair. She couldn’t really believe this was happening.

If things had progressed further, she would have thought this was one of her ‘disturbing’ dreams. Although, she realized, in her dreams, she had never blurted out her love for him in the middle of an argument. But something new seemed to happen in nearly every dream she had, so she wasn’t sure.

He still hadn’t said anything, so she asked shakily, “Is this really happening? Or is this another dream?”

He finally spoke, eyes flaring. “You mean – your disturbing dreams?”

“Y-yes,” she whispered. “Do you mind very much?”

“No,” he said, his voice low and gravelly. “I don’t mind at all.” He smiled ever so slightly. “I minded when it occurred to me that you might be having ‘disturbing’ dreams featuring another man.”

“Really?” she asked. “You were jealous?”

“Jealous?” he frowned, as though considering the possibility for the first time. “Perhaps I was, at that,” he murmured. “I have wanted you for months,” he added.

“Months?” she echoed, delighted. “Really? You never let on. Since when, exactly?”

“Exactly?” he echoed, and she thought he would say that he couldn’t pinpoint it, that he just knew it had been months. But he surprised her. “I can tell you precisely the moment, actually.”

“You can?” she asked, thrilled beyond measure.

He kissed her briefly, said, “If you stop interrupting, I can.” She grinned at him, raised her eyebrows, and said nothing. He kissed her again. “It was that day in the Great Hall, last spring, when the Weasley girl made you laugh.”

“Really?” she squealed, knowing immediately the moment he meant. “I thought something changed after that, but I didn’t know what it was.” He sighed suddenly and extracted himself from her embrace. “What?” she asked, alarmed by his withdrawal. “Did I say something wrong?”

“Not wrong, Hermione,” he reassured her. “It’s just – you’re so very young. And I’m – not. I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

“You’re not,” she said emphatically. “You wouldn’t be. I love you.”

“How do you know that? How could you possibly? You’ve hardly lived. Maybe it’s just a passing fancy.”

“But, Severus, it’s not. I’ve been attracted to you for months, but I didn’t know it was love until these past weeks, when we’ve spent so much time together.”

“Be that as it may,” he decreed, “I think we should take things slowly, so that you can be sure this is what you want.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Well, I don’t think we should take things slowly. I think we should dive right in immediately, because I’m already sure this is what I want.”

“Hermione, I’m saying this for your own good,” he insisted. “You think you want me, but you’re still young. You may well change your mind.”

“I haven’t changed my mind and I’m not going to,” she said stubbornly. “I’m in love with you, and no matter how long you make me wait, that won’t change. What you really should be asking yourself, Severus, is what you want. I’m perfectly clear on what I want. Now, if you’re going to stand way over there, instead of coming over here and kissing me some more, then I’m leaving.” She stalked over to the door and tried to open it, first manually and then using the Alohomora Charm. When that didn’t work, she swung around to glare at him. “I want to leave, so please unlock the door.”

“No,” he said, contrarily. “I don’t want you to leave angry with me. I want you to understand, this is not about what I want, it’s about what you want.”

“Great,” she shot back. “Then get back over here and kiss me some more.”

“Hermione –”

“Well, is it about what I want or not? And come to think of it, why the hell isn’t it about what you want, too? What you want matters, you know. So, if you don’t want me, just say so. I can take it.”

He growled in frustration. “You already know I want you,” he said. “As naïve as you are, you can’t have missed the evidence of that. But the point is, I want you to be sure.”

“But I am sure,” she said again. “What do I have to do to prove it to you? You already said I’m honest – well, this is me, being honest. I’m in love with you, and I’m not going to change my mind, whether you make me wait a week or a month or a year – although if you make me wait a year, I may have to kill you for torturing me.”

“A month,” he announced.

“A month what?” she asked, nonplussed.

“If you still want me in a month, we’ll talk.”

“We’re talking now, Severus. I don’t want to talk in a month. I want to convince you now.”

“Well, you can’t,” he said. “If you still want me in a month, then I might believe you.”

“Might?” she asked incredulously. “You might believe me in a month? What if you don’t? What then? Will you make me wait another month? How long is this going to go on?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I just don’t understand why you would love me, I guess. It’s going to take a while before I believe it.”

“You should have unlocked the door when I asked, Severus, because I’m madder now than I was five minutes ago. And I’ll give you a month, if you insist, but only on condition that you don’t disappear on me. And that I get to kiss you at least twice a day. In public, if necessary.”

“Why would I disappear on you?” he asked, apparently ignoring her other condition for the moment.

“I don’t know,” Hermione replied, letting her displeasure show. “I still don’t understand why we’re arguing when we should be, at the very least, kissing.”

“And what do you mean, ‘in public, if necessary’?”

“I mean exactly what it sounds like I mean. If you don’t arrange it so I get to kiss you in private twice a day for the next month, then I’m going to kiss you in public.”

“You wouldn’t,” he said in a deadly tone.

“Try me,” she said. “Now, either kiss me or unlock the damn door.”

Sighing, he unlocked the door. She glared at him when she heard it click. “Wrong choice, Severus.” She stalked over, planted a firm kiss on his mouth; then, as soon as she felt his response, she pulled away, turned, and left without another word.