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Christmas Eve, 2004
Christmas Eve would fall on a Saturday this year… Severus thought to himself as he made his way through Hogsmeade, holding a small purple bag close to his chest with one hand as he tugged his cloak tighter around his neck with the other to fight against the cold winds that seemed to be chasing him down.
He’d always had tremendously mixed feelings about the holiday; as a child, he’d enjoyed it because it was a time when his father would get a bonus from the factory and they’d have some additional money to put up a tree and have something special for supper, usually a roasted turkey that his mother would spend hours getting just right.
It was also the one time of the year when she was allowed to openly use magic around the house - real candles on a tree often ended in disaster, after all, and a bit of magic to keep them from causing the tree (and house) from going up in smoke was tremendously appreciated by all.
But, as he’d grown older, Severus began to grow bitter around the holidays, especially as those around him began pairing off and starting families, and he ended up teaching their bratty offspring.
And then, surprise surprise, he’d lived through the War and people wanted to be friends with him.
As in, they invited him to join them for drinks and dinner. And to group outings.
Sometimes, they’d even ask him first before asking anyone else.
Well… One particular person always asked him first.
He tugged the purple bag closer at the thought of the woman who was rapidly becoming his most-treasured friend and their most recent conversation.
“I was thinking…” Hermione mused aloud as she carefully washed the beaker in her hand.
“When are you not thinking?” Severus teased as he set to work on drying those she’d already washed.
She shot him a grin but didn’t stop what she was doing. “Well… I know the Weasleys are planning their big Christmas Day celebration as they do every year, but I was thinking about maybe getting a smaller gathering together at my place on Christmas Eve. What do you think?”
He arched an eyebrow at her. “...how small is small?”
“Six or seven of us, perhaps? My thought was just to invite some of the other staff members over, have a light supper and some wine and give us all a chance to relax.”
Severus pondered the suggestion for a long moment, leaning against the counter as he slung the drying towel over his shoulder. “Six or seven… that would be, who? Exactly?”
“Well, the two of us, obviously,” Hermione teased before her features turned thoughtful. “And then I was thinking of asking Filius and Minerva, perhaps Pomona and Poppy - that’s five - and then maybe Sinistra and Anderson?”
“That’s eight, by my count.”
Hermione paused at that before quickly counting off the names again on her fingers, pulling a face when she came to the same number he did.
“That might be too many. I’m not sure that many people can fit in my flat.”
“Well, you did say ‘maybe’ to Sinistra and Anderson, and ‘perhaps’ to Sprout and Pomfrey. Why not just keep it to Filius, Minerva, and the two of us?”
She chuckled at that. “Minerva likely won’t come if Poppy doesn’t, and Filius won’t show if Minerva doesn’t, which would just leave the two of us an-”
Hermione stopped short suddenly, a faint blush staining her cheeks as she turned back to washing the beakers.
Severus wasn’t sure what to make of the sudden turn, and decided to press it. “...would that be so terrible? Just the two of us?”
That certainly got her attention, and she whipped her head around to face him again, a stray curl bouncing against her cheek after having escaped her braid.
Her blush deepened. “...no, I don’t suppose that would be so terrible at all.”
And here he was, nearly two weeks later, hiking his way back up to the castle so he could get changed to then make the trek back to Hogsmeade so he could safely Apparate. So he could have dinner with Hermione Granger.
Alone.
In her flat.
On Christmas Eve.
He really did need to discuss getting his fireplace hooked up to the Floo network with Minerva. Though, knowing Minerva, she’d ask questions about why and honestly, he didn’t much relish the thought of being gossip fodder.
Thankfully, getting changed and taking the hike back to Hogsmeade didn’t take him too terribly long, and he Apparated with a soft crack, landing in the safety zone about a block from Hemione’s flat.
Snow had started to fall in London, and now that dusk had fallen, all the lamplights were on and a soft glow had settled in the evening air.
It was beautiful enough to make even a Muggle believe in magic.
He’d given himself enough time that he didn’t have to rush the walk, but he still made it to her door with five minutes to spare, giving himself enough time to debate on if he should quickly circle the block or just knock early, deciding quickly on the latter when he realized he didn’t want to appear harried when she opened the door.
And then she did open the door, and Severus was fairly certain that in that moment he completely forgot how to breathe.
Maybe it was the soft glow of the fairy lights she had all around the room that gave her silhouette a gentle glow, or perhaps the way she’d arranged her curls so they framed her face…
…or perhaps it was the rather fetching dress she was wearing that was perfectly hugging the curves she typically hid underneath her teaching robes.
Whatever it was, Severus could feel his face warm and his fingers tighten their grip on the purple bag he was holding.
“Severus,” Hermione breathed with a grin. “You made it!”
She stepped aside and gestured him in, still grinning as he made his way inside and helped him remove his coat, hanging it next to her own on the peg by the door.
“I’ve got dinner finishing off in the oven - it should hopefully be done in about fifteen minutes - and then it’ll need a few minutes to rest. Can I get you something to drink while we wait?”
“I’ll have a glass of whatever you’re having,” he replied, following her into the kitchen where the smell of a roasting chicken and vegetables filled the air.
“You look lovely this evening, by the way,” he murmured, nodding his head in thanks as she handed him a glass of wine.
She blushed and smoothed a hand over her lavender-hued dress. “You look rather dashing yourself, I must say. I like that shade of green on you.”
Severus glanced down at the sweater he was wearing, hoping his hair would help hide some of the blush that had reemerged on his face. “I thought it might be appreciated to wear something other than my usual black.”
“Very much so,” she replied though she immediately turned away again to check on dinner.
They made some small talk then while dinner was finishing, though, as they settled into their meal the conversation turned more towards… other things.
“-but that’s just my point!” Hermione interjected, gesturing with her fork and somehow managing to keep a bit of pie balanced on it. “The Farrar-Curran method is inherently flawed! I understand the theory behind their methodology, but in practice-”
“-are you suggesting the Aronofsky method is more precise?”
“Of course not,” she laughed. “But you have to admit that at least Aronofsky’s method can be tested and verified in a laboratory setting.”
“The problem with Aronofsky is that he’s a wanker and I don’t like him, and therefore I’ll never follow his methods.” Severus held up his hand to give Hermione pause so he could finish. “I’ll concede that the Farrar-Curan method isn’t perfect, but at least the duo is tolerable and with a few adjustments, their methods can be utilized for certain brews.”
“You’ve actually met Aronofsky?”
Severus nodded, taking a moment to eat the last bite of his pie before he responded. “I met him once at a conference. He’d consumed one two many drinks and made a comment about the only time a witch should be in a potions lab was if she were cleaning the cauldrons or there to polish wands.”
“Oh. Ew. That’s… That’s absolutely horrible.”
Severus nodded. “Hence why I’ll never follow his methodology. He refuses to trust that someone else might know more than him, especially if that someone is a woman.”
Hermione’s look turned thoughtful for a moment before she shook her head and stabbed her pie again with her fork. “I’ve decided that Aronofsky can go fuck himself, then.”
Severus snorted at that, leaning back in his chair as he watched her eat the remainder of her pie, not caring in the slightest that he was not-so-subtly watching her lick her lips after nearly every bite.
When she finished, she pushed her plate aside and leaned back in her chair. “...I don’t care what Ron says, I do know how to cook, and that was a good meal.”
Severus felt his eyes narrow a hint at that, and he leaned forward in his seat to rest his elbows on the table. “Weasley is an idiot, and that was a damn fine meal.”
Hermione blushed at that. “Ron… is just very used to his mother’s cooking. Which is fine! Molly is a wonderful cook, but-” she shrugged “-I’m not Molly.”
“Thank Merlin for that.”
“...why do you say that?”
Because, despite the fact that Molly is a lovely woman and her cooking might be tolerable, I have very little desire to kiss Molly Weasley. Severus thought to himself.
…
He had thought that to himself, hadn’t he?
Judging by the sudden look on Hermione’s face, though, he suddenly wasn’t sure.
There was a long, awkward pause while Severus tried to process what had just happened.
“Severus, I-”
“I should go.” He uttered, pushing himself to his feet as he kept his head down, hesitant to make eye contact with her . “Thank you, Hermione. This has been a lovely evening, and I’m sorry to have made you uncomfortable.”
He’d made it three steps from the table when he felt Hermione’s hand wrap around his arm to stop him, tugging him back around to face her.
“...please don’t go. It has been a lovely evening, Severus, and I… I don’t think you’ve made it awkward at all.”
“Hermione, I-”
“Let’s go for a walk, shall we?”
That gave him pause. “...why a walk?”
“Because I think better when I’m moving, and I think we both need to process this and have a conversation about it. Plus, it’s snowing and it’s Christmas Eve, and I want to enjoy both of those things with you.”
He wasn’t entirely sure if she’d taken a breath during that entire mini speech, but he couldn’t fault the idea. So, he gave a small nod of agreement before turning to grab her coat, helping her into it before shrugging on his own.
He offered her his arm, feeling her warmth seep through the many layers of cloth that separated them, and he offered her a hint of a smile before they stepped out into the cold air.
They were quiet as they made their way down to the street, quiet still as they made their way out onto the sidewalk and strolled towards the nearby park, the lamplights still casting a soft, warm glow on everything around them.
The snowflakes were starting to catch in Hermione’s curls, and Severus wasn’t sure he’d ever seen a more beautiful sight.
As they crossed into the park, Severus heard Hermione cast some sort of privacy spell, though she didn’t start talking to him until they were a bit further inside, the tree branches overhead keeping some of the larger flakes from making their way down to the path before them.
“About what you said…”
“Hermione, I-”
“No, Severus, I-I need to get this out. Because it’s Christmas, and at Christmas you tell people the truth…”
They walked a few feet further before she stopped, holding tight to his arm as he turned to face her fully.
“...when I started my teaching career at Hogwarts, I-I honestly only expected to be there for a year. Maybe two before I moved on to work in the Ministry. And yet, here I am, in my seventh year of teaching. And more than that, I-I’ve made friends there. Good friends.”
Friends like me… Severus thought to himself.
“A-and then there’s… well, there’s you.”
He felt an eyebrow arch at that. “...what about me?”
She lifted her gaze to his at the question, giving him a gentle smile. “We weren’t friendly at first, were we? Hell, we were barely even cordial to one another. I dreaded sitting next to you for every meal, was terrified of needing to ask you a question in the library…Did everything I could to avoid you a-and now?”
She shook her head, moving slightly closer to him as her grip on his arm tightened. “...now I can’t imagine going a single day without seeing you. I-I wish I could truly be by your side, not just for meals, but in the evenings, reading by the fire…”
She took a deep, steadying breath before continuing. “...in the mornings, waking up in your arms. At night, falling asleep in them after we’ve exhausted ourselves in bed. I-I want it all, Severus. I want you, and I-”
Severus didn’t give her a chance to finish that sentence, instead tugging her as close as he could as he wrapped an arm around her and buried his free hand in her hair, lips closing over hers in a slow, fiery kiss that lingered far longer than was probably publicly appropriate.
When the kiss finally broke several long moments later, he pressed his forehead against hers, his nose brushing against hers despite his best efforts, but she didn’t seem to mind it in the least.
She even returned the gesture before moving to steal another kiss, even if this one didn’t last quite as long as the first.
“Was this how you foresaw this… conversation going?” He quietly asked.
“Sort of.” She gave him another small kiss. “I didn’t think it would be out in the snow, but I had hoped it would be tonight. It’s Christmas Eve, after all.”
“I did have a proper gift for you, you know…” He quietly teased, lifting his chin so he could press a kiss to her forehead.
She giggled. “I have one for you as well. Maybe… Maybe we could head back to my flat? Open them together with a glass of wine?”
As it turned out, the wine was had, but the presents, well… They were unwrapped on Christmas morning.
And they were absolutely late to the Weasley's Christmas Day festivities at the Burrow.