The Favor

Ready

Hermione arrived the following evening at six o'clock sharp. Severus opened the door and set his eyes on the little witch. He instantly hoped upon seeing her that she'd not changed her mind.

Hermione looked stunning. She dressed herself in a silky red wrap dress that was well above the knee. It tied on the side with a fluttery ruffle at the hemline. It accentuated her tiny waistline and exposed the soft curves of her décolletage. She had pinned her hair up on top of her head elongating her neck. Hermione didn't decorate herself with much jewelry. Just her gold ring and a petite pair of diamond stud earrings that had belonged to her grandmother.

"You look beautiful."

"Thank you Severus." Hermione swallowed. "I'm very nervous." She confessed.

The professor reached out and took her hand.
She was trembling. Severus drew her to him and shut the door behind them. He wrapped one arm around her back and drew her chin up to look at him.

"There's no pressure Hermione. As I said, we will only do what you're comfortable with and if that's nothing we'll have a nice meal and enjoy one another's company. We can talk about your Potions studies or how Flitwick's mustache has gotten completely out of control." He pecked her cheek. "Come, lets relax, are you hungry?" She nodded her head yes and laughed at his joke. "Good. I had some salmon and a little salad sent down. There's some fruit as well."

"That sounds lovely." She smiled at the tall wizard that made her heart swell. He held her hand tight giving it a squeeze and walked her to the small table in the corner of the room. Severus pulled her chair out and poured them both a glass of white wine. 

"I'm sorry Severus, I don't think I can eat. I'm a bundle of nerves."

As Severus sat down he could see the little witch really was much more nervous than he'd originally thought. He opened his palm on top of the table for her to take. She slipped her hand in his.

He watched her as she spun her ring around her finger. "That's ok love, what can I do?"

Hermione didn't know why he made her so nervous all of a sudden. Ever since she woke up in his bed she couldn't stop thinking about him. Severus was in her thoughts during her waking hours and even invaded her sleep. She desperately wanted to just be in his presence but that obviously made her even more nervous. At least alone with her thoughts she didn't feel so self conscious. She almost thought maybe this was what they called being love sick. Her heart would skip a beat when she saw him at meal times or passed him in the halls.

"Hermione, tell me. Can I make it better?"

Hermione told herself to breath. She felt silly for asking but when he put his hand on her back that morning, when she was so upset, it did calm her. Hermione knew he would protect her. He made her feel she was safe with him. She longed to feel safe. She never felt safe even though she rationally knew everything was fine. It was just something she couldn't never shake after the war. But Severus felt safe.

"Would you mind just holding me." Her voice was small.

Without hesitation he motioned her to him.

"Come here."

Hermione sat in his lap and rested her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her waist and stroked her back with his other hand. He kissed her forehead and held her in his arms for quite awhile. Severus though she may have changed her mind or maybe she just wasn't ready to do this and needed more time.

"Have you changed your mind?" He asked softly.

She lifted her head off of his shoulder to look into his dark eyes. "No. It's quite the opposite." She looked down. "It's all I've been able to think about."  Severus dipped his head down to look at her face as the corner of his mouth turned up in a sympathetic smile. When Hermione said it was all she could think about, what she actually meant was he was all she could think about.