The Longest Time

Severus thumped down the hall. He couldn't decide if he was more annoyed that he limped like Moody, or that the cane made little ticking noises against the stone as he walked and it reminded him of Lucius.

If he was honest with himself, the thumping wasn't what annoyed him, though. It was the damned Granger witch. It was Hermione.

She'd submitted her resignation, her intent to leave at the end of the term. But even if she were to leave the castle that very night, her presence would… linger. She'd permeated Hogwarts. In the Great Hall, she had her chair at the high table. In the library, she had her reading nook in the southernmost corner. In the staff lounge, the writing desk in the far corner where she marked essays. And then there were the alcoves, the tower staircases, his own private sitting room.

It had been the longest time since this had happened. Since a woman had so thoroughly overtaken his better judgement.

He'd thought he'd been done with this sort of thing. He'd thought he knew better.

And then she'd returned to Hogwarts. She'd waltzed into his castle, into his life, and into his thoughts. Into his damned heart.

It had been nice at first. Nice to have someone who wanted to be close to him, who wasn't afraid to throw her arms around him on a whim. Even when it had been simple friendliness, he hadn't had somebody like that in the longest time.

She'd overtaken things, though. She had become the voice in the back of his mind.

They had needed each other. They'd been a comfort to each other. It had been a long time since somebody had needed him like that, had found him comforting.

The fear, of course, was that it wouldn't last. He wasn't much, really—he had a bad leg, needed the cane to stay upright; he had a foul temper; he'd inherited his father's unfortunate nose. He'd never expected it to happen, let alone to last.

But it had happened. And it felt right. And he'd hoped it would last.

He'd probably been hoping for too much. But things had gone farther than he'd hoped for.

This was the tipping point, though. It was either going to go that much further, or he'd be sorry that she was gone. He had to take his chance; it had been a very long time since he'd had romance in his life, and he'd forgotten how… nice it was.

"Professor Granger," he said, stepping through her open office door.

She looked up from her packing and smiled at him.

Gods, he'd told himself to hold onto his heart. She'd very thoroughly overtaken his better judgement.

"Hello, Headmaster," she said, her face bright. Even as she left him, she was glad to see him.

"Packing?" he asked, then cursed himself. Obviously she was packing. She her trunk open, and flicks of her wand Shrunk her things and sent them flying into it.

"Yes," she said, some of the brightness leeching out of her face. He took that as a sign in his favor.

He wished he hadn't gotten to know her. She was wonderful. She was more than he could've hoped for.

After a moment's hesitation, he stepped fully into the office and closed the door behind him. She stopped packing and looked up, guilt flashing across her face before she could hide the expression.

"I have been a fool for many lesser things than you," he said awkwardly. It hadn't been what he'd intended to say. The fact was, however, that he hadn't thumped all the way across he castle with an actual plan.

"Severus?"

Her letter of resignation had been horribly brief. Just enough to cover the formality of the thing. Three years, and she hadn't even seen fit to tell him why she was leaving or where she was going.

"I said," he said slowly, wishing he could stop himself from making things worse (as he always did), "I suppose I've made a fool of myself over many lesser things than you."

She drew herself up, offended. He held out a hand. He wanted to touch her, to calm her nerves, but she was leaving him and he half doubted that she would welcome his touch.

"Do I owe you an apology?" he asked. She had rocked back on her heels at his gesture, lips pinched together.

"What?"

"Do I owe you an apology?" he bit out.

"You do if you just called me a lesser thing," she said, face still pinched.

"You are not a lesser thing," he said. "I said I have been a fool for lesser things than you. And most things are lesser than you."

"Thank you?"

"Why are you leaving?" The one plan he had had was not to ask that. She hadn't seen fit to tell him, so he wasn't going to stoop to the level of asking.

"Severus…"

"Please."

"I have read Hogwarts: A History. And I read my contract," she said after a pregnant pause. "And I know that there are serious consequences for… fraternization."

"I don't care about the consequences."

"Well, that is easy enough for you to say, Headmaster." She threw a ream of parchment into her trunk, then cast her Shrinking spell too forcefully; the parchment shredded rather than shrunk. "You already have a respectable reputation within a Guild. Even if the Board of Governors were fool enough to remove you, you have something to fall back on."

"You have a respectable reputation, yourself," he said, surprised it was a concern. "If not within a Guild—"

"You've seen my résumé," she said. "I don't have much in the way of certification, Guild or otherwise."

"Then where are you going?" he asked. "Back to the Ministry? You hated the Ministry."

"What else would you like me to do? Hm?" She threw a few books into the trunk, not Shrinking them.

"Stay." He hated to beg, but he couldn't let her go without trying. "I don't care about the consequences."

I want you so badly to stay.

"Severus." Her voice was shaky and she wouldn't look him in the eye. "I have to care about the consequences."

"Would you stay… with me?" He stepped closer, reaching out and taking her hand in his. He set his cane against her desk and used that hand to tilt her chin up so that she'd look him in the eye. "I am not asking as the headmaster to his Defense professor. I'm asking as just myself. I just want you to stay with me."

"I don't—" Her eyes searched his face. He could see her pulse at her neck; her heart was racing. "What are you asking, Severus?"

"I'm asking you to marry me, Hermione," he said. He wasn't sure if she was the one holding his hand so tightly, or if he was holding hers. "Stay with me. Please."

"Severus…"

"It isn't hard to Floo to the Ministry, or wherever it is you decide to work. Or, if you wanted, Hogwarts has the facilities to support private research projects." His words came out in a rush. Thoughts and plans that had been swimming around in his mind for the better part of a year. "I don't want to trap you here, Hermione."

She was looking up at him, eyes shining. He couldn't tell if she was about to cry because she'd been hoping for a reason to stay, or if she was dreading the part where she tried to let him down easy.

"Or, if you're leaving to make a neat break from me… If I owe you an apology for pressing the issue when I shouldn't—"

"Yes."

"Oh," he said, deflating. I see."

"No, Severus." She smiled at him. "I'm saying yes; I'll stay with you."

"You will?"

She nodded, brushing at her eyes.

"I was going to leave because I couldn't stand the sneaking around anymore, Severus," she said, smiling at him. "I didn't want to feel guilty every time you held me."

"I intend to hold you for the longest time," he said, pulling her close so that he could kiss her.

A/N: Hello. It's been awhile, huh?

The idea here is to do a bunch of short, unconnected-type things. Oneshots. Plot bunnies. Feel free to send prompts (song or otherwise) so I can keep adding to this thing. I've had a bit of a writing block issue (both in fic and the original stuff I've been trying to write, which is frustrating), and I'm hoping these odds and ends will help.

The prompt for this one was hearing Billy Joel's "The Longest Time" on the radio this afternoon. It kinda worked?