Say You Love Me

{8}

With little thought about it, Hermione decided that she would accept Severus's offer of allowing her to swim on his beach. The idea of a dip in the water was something that was decidedly needed to keep away the stress of her untimely end and the fact that Luna had come up with nothing further in her research. Hermione was becoming less frantic about it, but she still wasn't entirely thrilled with the idea, as she reckoned anyone in her situation might also feel. It was just... dying shouldn't settle with anyone, especially this way.

Luna was trying to encourage her to find out who had done it, but even that wasn't on Hermione's top priority list any longer.

It was another Saturday, and she was excited to indulge herself in something that was completely over the top. Not that she hadn't been considering she was living life on a stopwatch, but she had also tried to keep everything as normal as possible so those around her did not grow suspicious. That didn't meant that the book she'd been eyeing for several weeks at Borgain and Burkes (the truth was that it was just a few too many galleons to be reasonable until recently) had found its way to her home just a few days prior.

The house on the sea, however, welcomed her through the wards, and Hermione got all the way up to the door before she needed to beg entrance. It was surprising, but also not considering he was expecting her. She would like to know if this was a common theme, or if he was merely anticipatory.

"Severus?" She called with a knock, holding her things in a small bag on her shoulder, the heat hotter than the entire week before it.

The door swung open to a familiar face, but certainly not in familiar attire. He was in... shorts, Hermione seeing his legs for the first time in her entire life since he'd slashed the one briefly after his run-in with Fluffy. This was a full view from lower thigh down, however, but his shirt was still long-sleeve and black, only rolled up to his elbows, the mucked-up scarring from his dark mark etched into his left arm. The top two buttons were undone as well, showing just the start of a patch of dark hair. Hermione could have salivated if this were any other man before her.

Attempting to focus, she noted that Severus was whiter than a ghost under all those clothes, which made perfect sense, but the kicker was his hair! He had it pulled back in a fashion that made her fear him more, and everything about him was driving her thoughts wild with the things Harry had said but days before.

"Hermione?"

It was the first time she'd heard him say her name, but certainly not the first in which he said it.

"Sorry," she muttered, attempting to compose herself with some form of dignity. "You look... different." Her voice went down, and she felt her cheeks heat, even beyond the sun's already bad influence.

He only smirked.

"Come in, then. You can change in my bedroom."

Hermione nodded, unable to trust anything that might come out of her mouth besides a simple, "Thank you."

Knowing the way, she let herself down the hall, ignoring the spread of fruit he deemed was appropriate for the day cut and fresh on the table.

She made quick work of the process and shoved everything back in her bag, an undetectable extension charm once again her friend.

"All done," she said lightly, feeling a bit better now that she took her time to process the way he looked.

Now he seemed to process her. If only for a moment, he looked over her with one of his old Professor looks, as though analyzing the quality of a potion by eye alone. Not quickly enough, the look was gone, and he leaned over his table to pick up a slice of strawberry which he ate promptly.

"The water isn't going anywhere, would you care for anything?"

Hermione looked at the spread.

"Do you have any honey?"

Scoffing, he turned around and went behind the counter to the small kitchen area, going to one of the cupboards Hermione couldn't see that hung from the ceiling. He returned promptly with a full jar.

"I figured one day I might have a guest in need of it. Usually I only keep it downstairs, but since it never expires, it never hurts."

Hermione eagerly took the jar and a few different fruits met their match, slathered in her favorite topping.

She tried to ignore the return of eyes on her.

The thing Harry said the day before popped into her mind with a flashing neon sign. Hermione couldn't tell how she felt about such admiration, but there could be other explanations to his watchful eye as well. Did he appreciate her body specifically, or was it just the only female body he'd seen in... well, she wasn't sure of his sex life. The thought turned her stomach, and she swallowed a strawberry with great effort.

It wasn't like she was wearing anything too revealing, her white swim top had a cute, thick, under-piece to it, and her bottoms were basically black knickers.

She looked up. Direct eye-contact. Was it hot in the house?

"Swim?" He offered.

If he cared about her discomfort, he certainly was doing a wonderful job at hiding it.

"Please."

Maybe the cool water would clear her head.

They traveled down towards the welcoming splashes, the short walk entrancing Hermione. The sounds, the smells, the people! Hermione's earlier thought that Severus hadn't seen a female body in a while disintegrated with the sight of so many pretty women on the beach with them.

She suddenly felt insecure.

Of course, the view would be there when she turned back around, of the un-moving ocean and endlessly sunny sky, so Hermione turned back to Severus, attempting not to think about why she cared about her body versus the other women's.

Her mind was blank at the sight she discovered.

An impossibly large towel was laid out on the sand which was warm under Hermione's bare feet, and Severus was sat atop it, shirtless and suddenly in his swim trunks. Well, he must have been in them the whole time and she had just... malfunctioned.

Yes, that was definitely what she was doing as she stared at her old professor shirtless and sprawled like a-

"I wasn't aware you were joining me today, you know?" She told him in hopes to clear her mind of the damnable thoughts that kept racing past her.

Hermione couldn't get attached to anything, even an admittedly attractive man who was practically feasting on her with his eyes. She was dying, she recalled momentarily, and that cooled her down considerably, but the heat of the sun seemed to want to keep things in balance. It had been forever since Ron had looked at her like that, and the fact must have been so noticeable considering she was becoming flushed.

Severus shrugged, and she put her towel down on the blanket that was teeming with magic by the feel of it. Her mind tugged at the thought of a magic carpet, but the ban on those wasn't lifting anytime soon.

"I charmed it so that the sand won't come through. Nothing noticeable to a muggle."

Hermione couldn't help herself, and she laid down, hair sprawling under her and the sun teaming on her skin.

"Is there a spell for sunscreen?"

He chuckled.

"Will you ever reach the water?"

Hermione didn't know if she was supposed to be disappointed when she opened her eyes to look to her left and didn't see him watching her. If any view was to his advantage, it would have been her sprawled on the ground like she was.

Maybe Harry was wrong.

He added scarcely, "I would hate to see such a flattering ensemble go to waste."

Or maybe he was right after all.