A/N: Written for the Quills and Parchment Under the Mistletoe challenge on facebook. Prompt was: "Exactly when did it become a requirement of Enchanted Mistletoe that it's victims remove articles of clothing?". Pairing was Severus/Hermione. Enjoy!

Christmas at Hogwarts was a magical time, Hagrid brought in huge fir trees to decorate the Great Hall, Peeves zoomed around the castle singing Christmas Carols and pelting students with snowballs. And since Albus Dumbledore had died, no more Enchanted Mistletoe. That was the best part, Severus Snape thought. As disgruntled as he was about Dumbledore's death, and his part in it, he was happier that he was no longer around to fuss up every holiday. There was no need for Enchanted Mistletoe in a school. It was absurd to think about. And the dwarves for Valentine's Day organized by Lockhart the year he taught were abominable. He shuddered when he remembered them.

Yes, holidays around Hogwarts were better without Dumbledore and Lockhart around. Severus stalked through the halls. Nobody who came upon him would be able to tell what a fine mood he was in. And that was the way he liked it. He didn't come back from death's door to have a drastically changed personality. He liked being the bat of the dungeons. He liked that the majority of his students were terrified him. All was right in the world. And truly, Christmas was Severus' second favorite time of the year. He got two whole weeks with a mostly empty school, only summer break was better than Christmas.

He arrived at the Great Hall just in time for the leaving feast before Christmas hols. The students would be leaving on the Hogwarts Express tomorrow. And nobody from Slytherin was staying over. Which meant, Severus had two whole weeks of being free from any and all students. There were only a couple of seventh year Ravenclaws staying behind this year, and he imagined they'd be locked away in their tower studying for their N.E.W.T.S. He couldn't wait. He had backlogs of potions journals to catch up on. And he was exploring some improvements to Dreamless Sleep, he was attempting to reduce the addictive side effects.

After dinner was over, Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress, (Severus was glad to give up the title of Headmaster after his disastrous year in that position) stood to make an announcement. Severus assumed it was to remind students of the train schedule for the following day and leaned back in his chair, savouring the wine served at the Head Table.

"Students, fellow staff members. I have an exciting announcement to make," McGonagall announced. Severus could see that she was practically clapping her hands in glee. He narrowed his eyes at her, this may not be what he expected.

"The Hogwarts Express will be returning early on New Year's Eve, Hogwarts is hosting a New Year's Eve Ball! All students and staff are expected to attend. There will also be alumni and Ministry of Magic employees in attendance. It's an excellent time to show off our beautifully restored school." McGonagall sat down to great applause by the students. Immediately the hall burst into chatter about the pronouncement.

Fuck, Severus thought. He did not want to attend some silly New Year's Eve Ball. What a waste of time. He knew McGonagall was hosting the blasted thing in order to garner more financial support from the Ministry and the wealthy alumni. It meant she would expect him to schmooze. He hated schmoozing. He wasn't any good at it. And he may have survived the war, but most of his friends that weren't his colleagues were in Azkaban.

As he was stalking out of the Great Hall, McGonagall called him back.

"Severus, I expect you to not only attend the New Year's Eve Ball, but I want you to be around for the entirety of the evening. No sneaking off after showing your face for an hour." She glared at him.

Severus nodded at her and glared back before sweeping out of the hall. Fucking ridiculous, he thought.

His blissful, student free two weeks were up and New Year's Eve was upon him. The ball began at 7, but dignitaries began arriving at 6. Many were staying in the castle's little used guest quarters for the evening. It seemed the whole of wizarding Britain would be in attendance tonight. Severus dressed in his usual black, but not his teaching robes. It was a ball and as a nod to the occasion, he wore expensive silk dress robes that he had bought on a whim the last time he was in Twilfitt and Tattings.

He arrived at the Entrance Hall promptly at six-thirty to help the rest of the professors greet guests. The Hogwarts house elves were in full force, accepting cloaks and passing out drinks as the guests arrived.

He spied the Weasley family, who had arrived en masse, and nodded to Arthur. He could see Potter tagging along and acting very solicitously to a pregnant Ginevra Potter. He avoided Potter's eyes as the boy looked up. Not someone he wanted to talk to tonight or ever. He had given Potter all of his most precious and embarrassing memories on the night he thought he had died. Potter had returned them, but Severus was not even a little comfortable being in the boy's presence.

At last it was seven and they were being ushered into the Great Hall for the ball itself. McGonagall led off the first song, dancing with Minister Shacklebolt. He held out a hand to Pomona Sprout and led her around the floor. McGonagall had been quite clear with him that he was not only expected to attend, but participate in dancing at least a few songs.

Soon, it was ten and the ball was half over, it was expected to go until at least one in the morning. Severus decided he needed a break from the crowds and the music. He had recognized many former students, but most had either just nodded from across the room, or ignored him entirely. Which was fine by him. He wanted nothing to do with most of those dunderheads.

Severus strolled out of the Great Hall and to a nearby courtyard for some air. It too was decorated for the season with fairy lights twinkling in the trees and garland strung along the balustrade. He breathed in the deep night air and closed his eyes enjoying the peace and quiet of the night. The moon wasn't quite full, but it was high in the sky and shining brightly over the castle and grounds. It was a clear and cold night and Severus' breath misted in front of him. When he opened his eyes he realized he wasn't alone. There was a woman with her back to him also enjoying the night air.

She was dressed in a black, backless dress. It was floor length and sparkled as she moved. Her hair was a honey brown and pulled into a sleek chignon at the back of her head. He was admiring her curves when she turned around and he realized he had been ogling a former student. Hermione Granger in fact. Shite, you are going to have to scrub your brain for that one old man. She saw him looking and raised the champagne glass she had been holding toward him in a silent toast. He raised his own glass and they drank, still not breaking eye contact. She has matured in all of the right places, he thought. Admiring the view from the front, before realizing he was still ogling a former student. He shook his head and closed his eyes, he must have had too much to drink.

When he opened his eyes, she was standing in front of him.

"Good evening, Professor Snape," she greeted him. Her tone was polite and she was smiling at him faintly. "Enjoying yourself?"

He raised his eyebrow. "It has been a passable evening, Miss Granger." He took another sip of his drink.

She smiled at him and turned to walk back inside.

Suddenly she was falling into him and he had to catch himself against a column in order to not stumble to the ground. He caught her elbow.

"Are you alright, Miss Granger?" He asked. He couldn't help the annoyance that crept into his voice. Either she wore shoes she wasn't used to wearing or she had drank far too much.

She shook her head and looked up. Whatever she saw was above his head and she groaned at the sight. He looked up to and found a sprig of Enchanted Mistletoe hanging above them.

"Of all the blasted things," he grumbled under his breath. Granger tried moving away again, only to be pulled back to his side.

"Shite," she muttered. She looked up at him. "I think we'll have to appease the mistletoe, Professor Snape."

"So it appears, Miss Granger," he drawled down at her. He had been admiring her curves earlier. He could give her a quick kiss and chalk the whole night up to too much drink and damned Enchanted Mistletoe.

He grasped her elbows once again and leaned down toward her. Her eyes were wide, like she hadn't expected him to move so suddenly, he smirked. Then he closed his eyes and brushed her lips with his own. Her lips were warm, and soft, and tasted like vanilla. She responded and flicked a tongue against his lips. That was a surprise. He opened his own mouth and stroked her tongue with his own. She responded with a groan and put her hands on his chest. One hand creeped up to around his neck and then she was playing with his hair, which felt quite divine. He deepened the kiss and moved his hands to her waist pulling her tight against him. They fought for dominance, and he ran a hand up her bare back and grasped the nape of her neck, moving her head to a more desirable position.

Suddenly, a loud burst of laughter from inside the castle wafted over them and they sprung apart. Her pupils were blown wide with lust and desire, she hummed her satisfaction as she licked her lips. He groaned at the sight, he could feel himself stirring from the heated kiss they had just shared.

"I think that should satisfy the mistletoe, Miss Granger," he told her. His voice husky with desire.

She nodded and moved away, only to be thrown back into his arms. He looked up and the mistletoe was still hovering over them.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" He growled out, catching Granger again before she or he could fall.

Granger started chuckling under her breath, she turned to look up at him and he raised an eyebrow, she started laughing harder.

"Do calm yourself, Miss Granger. You seem to know something about this wretched mistletoe, do share."

Granger chuckled for a few more minutes, before replying, "Oh, I do know what it is and I can't believe he brought it here of all places. It's from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. The enchantment doesn't end until whatever charm is on it has run it's course. They have all different kinds of charms, kissing, disrobing, orgasm" She broke down into giggles again. Clearly, she wasn't completely sober.

Wait, did she just say orgasm?

"What kind of fucking joke is this, Miss Granger?" He hissed at her. She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment and seemed to come to a conclusion. She lunged at him. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her lips were on his.

He grunted at the sudden weight, but returned her kiss. It had been far too long for him, and he wasn't going to be able to get out of this until the charm on the gods-be-damned mistletoe was satisfied. He pulled her closer to him and grasped her bum, pulling her hips to his so she could feel what she was doing to him. She groaned at the contact and lifted a leg and hooked it around her waist as their kiss continued. He made a decision and picked her up and pushed her into the column next to him. Her back against the cold stone, while he covered her throat. Her dress had ridden up and she hiked the other leg up, locking her ankles behind him, pulling him to her center.

Her fingers had been busy, he was kissing down the column of her throat and had just made it to the swell of one breast when she managed to remove his cravat and they both heard a ding. That broke the spell, they looked up and just caught the mistletoe shrink in on itself and disappear.

"Exactly when did it become a requirement of Enchanted Mistletoe that it's victims remove articles of clothing?" He asked her raising an eyebrow.

"Since George Weasley came up with the idea last year," she smirked up at him. She shivered and he realized that her back was bare and against a cold stone column in December in Scotland.

"Would you like to finish this elsewhere?" he asked, trying to not show how much he really wanted to drag her off to his rooms.

She ground her hips into his and he groaned and dropped his head back, he could feel her heat through their clothes and his cock twitched.

"Yes," she replied breathlessly, she kissed his jaw. He smirked down at her, dropped her to the ground, grasped her hand, and led her to his quarters.

When he woke up the next morning, Granger was naked in his bed. They had just finished their last round a few hours ago, but he could feel his cock stirring as he appreciated the curvature of her bum and legs. Christmas break had just moved up the list as his favorite holiday.

A/N: Hope you liked this bit of fluff! Please leave a review if you did!