I Never Thought It Would Be You

Chapter 6: Silent Night - 25 December 2004

By Pigwidgeon37

 Laden with ingredients for their Christmas dinner, Severus arrived at Hermione's flat in the late morning of Christmas day.

“Oh, that looks delicious,” she said, after he had un-shrunk it all. “I’m already getting hungry.”

He clucked his tongue. “That is a big problem. It takes another three or four hours for the goose to be ready.”

“I know, I know. I’ll get drunk in the meantime, so I won’t feel the hunger.”

“You’re not getting drunk, you’re going to help me. There,” he said, shoving a paper bag filled with vegetables towards her, “You can start peeling the potatoes and carrots, while I prepare the stuffing.”

For an hour or so, they worked in companionable silence, merely exchanging a few phrases like “Could you hand me the salt, please?” or “Is this enough or do you need more mushrooms?” Finally, the goose was in the oven, the bouillon was simmering on the stove, and the Mousse au Chocolat hade made its way into the fridge. With a satisfied nod, Snape whipped out his wand and pronounced a few cleaning spells. Then, there was a moment of awkward silence. Looking at her friend, Hermione felt a very strange tingle coursing through her body.

“We… uh, could go for a walk?” she said, suddenly unsure what to do with her hands. “It’s snowing, and Diagon Alley must look like a picture out of a fairy… Severus?”

He was looking at her-somehow, his eyes seemed blacker than usual, and his skin softer… Oh, no, she thought, dear god, don't let that happen, don't let me fall in love with my best friend, it’s going to ruin-

The question who exactly had been the one who initiated the kiss remained a subject of many discussions for many happy years to come.

“Severus,” she said, slightly breathless, “I never told you, but Sybil Trelawney predicted this!”

“She wasn't the only one. And I’ll be damned if I renounce this just to prove that Sybil is a fraud.”

In terms of food, Crookshanks certainly had the best Christmas of them all. Underneath the goose’s carbonised outer shell, there was left enough to make a cat happy. His two humans had a rather Spartan dinner of cold ham and not-quite-fresh bread, followed by Mousse au Chocolat, but didn't seem to mind in the least.