Title: Something There (1/1)

Author: granger2malfoy

Pairing: Severus/Hermione

Rating: All Ages

Disclaimer: Sadly HP characters and Disney related lines are not mine.

A/N: This is one of the seven fics for my friends and people on my list at lj, which my lj user name is granger2malfoy (go figure.) Thanks to my beta, Jade.

Something There

The smell of gingerbread wafted through the air of the headquarters and the sound of Molly singing came from the kitchen as Hermione set down the box of Christmas tree decorations that had been retrieved from the attic. The large library started having the holiday spirit as Charlie magically hung garland around the room near the tops of the walls. Bill's little girl, Angelica, danced into the room with her ever-present purple feather boa, which had been her favorite birthday present she received about a week earlier. Her red pigtails bounced up and down as she directed her uncle on the exact locations for the garland to be hung at.

In the corner, Hermione noticed Severus Snape sitting attempting to read a book but looking quite unable to concentrate with all the noise. But she knew that his hostility for the youngest Weasley addition was only skin deep. It was now a well-known fact, much to Severus' chagrin, within the Order that the little girl had the harsh Potions master wrapped around her little pinkie. All she needed to give a slight smile and flutter those eyelashes at Snape and he gave into whatever her wish for. He blamed her vela traits but all knew that wasn't quite it.

Hermione opened the dusty, old box of ornaments when she saw Snape trying to leave without the child noticing his departure. But as soon as he hit the door frame, a small voice cried, "Oh, Uncle Sevvie, please stay and help Auntie Mione with the tree. You're much taller than her and are able to help with the top of the tree."

Inside she chuckled but did her best not to show her amusement at the situation. No one dared spoke a word at the name he allowed only her to call him in addition to claiming him as a relative, which he most certainly was not nor was Hermione. With a stiffening of the back and a heavy sigh, Snape turned around, entered back into the room and laid his book on the nearest table as he asked, "Alright, Miss Weasley, as you wish."

Hermione could not stop from smiling as the defeated, yet strong man approached the box and pulled the bag of tiny lights off the top of it. The bag of silver garland for the tree fell out of the box and onto his foot. With a slight cursing under his breath and a flick of his wrist, the bag rose into the air and landed promptly back into her hands. She smiled and said, "Thank you, Sev-"

He lowered his head to her ear and whispered, "If you finish that statement with an 'ie', this blasted tree will not be the only thing tied up with garland and lights, Miss Granger."

Hermione turned her head slightly as she quietly replied, "Promises, promises, Severus."

With a slight sway of her hips, she began to lay all the things from the cardboard box on the couch as he muttered something under his breath and the lights started to attach themselves to the tree as Snape circled the evergreen.

It had been four years since the end of the war and many old grudges faded away to civil truces. Snape and Draco Malfoy were responsible for delivering very vital information to the Order by the ways of using a middle man, well middle woman, herself. When first asked by the portrait of the dead Headmaster, Hermione held many reservations about the task of trusting the man, who was responsible for his death, but in the end Hermione gave her word and kept it.

Over the first few months of secret meetings and coded messages, Hermione began to get used to dealing with Slytherins and how to handle them to get what she needed from them. Snape slowly began to trust her after proving her abilities and courage again and again to him. But she came to realize that he very rarely gave anyone any form of trust. Actually, after a discussion with Albus, the fact that everyone Snape had trusted had ended up dead because of that trust, which was the reason he was… well, Snape.

A tug a the side of her long plaid skirt brought her out of her reverie and she glanced down to see Angelica tapping her foot as she stated, "You're not working very fast, Mione. Get going. Mum said, 'As soon as the tree was done, then we could have cookies.'"

"Well, that certainly is an incentive, if I have ever heard one," Hermione replied as she took the first section of the tinsel and began to weave it in the opposite direction of Snape's twinkling white lights. As she made her way around the tree, Hermione crossed Snape's path he took a small step back to allow her to maneuver past him. The warmth of his body and the scent of potions ingredients made her body very aware of his presence and by the smirk on his knew it too. Damn, him!

At some point of during the years of secrecy of his position and then fighting next to him at the end of the war, Hermione became slowly attracted to the dark brooding man whose voice made her knickers wet and her dreams filled of dark robes and rows of endless buttons. Sometimes she felt that gave him a similar reaction to her body, like when slightly touching his hand to take something from him or the times they worked in the same lab for potions for the Order.

They continued to work on the tree under the careful direction of the six-year little Molly. Ornaments were placed by hand all around the large tree and glances were taken at each other as they worked. Angelica held up her arms and turned to Snape as she asked, "Lift me up, Sevvie. I want to put the angel on top."

"Of course, sweet angel," Severus nodded as he lifted her up and placed her on his shoulder. The little girl carefully leaned forward as Snape's long fingers held her tightly to ensure her safety till the gold angel rested perfectly on the tree's top tip.

Everyone at the house began to enter the finished library as Snape lowered the cheerful six-year old back to the ground. Her eyes lit up at the sight of her daddy entering from the outside with snow flakes still on his cloak. Hermione stood by the large bay window and felt warmth begin to fill her as Angelica started to sing, "We wish you a merry Christmas."

Draco, Harry, Ron, Tonks, Remus, and the twins followed in behind Bill and began to sing with Angelica. The room started to fill with the friends, family, and cheer as they all sang together. Severus stepped behind the tree to stand on Hermione's other side as he actually sung low too. She raised her eyes to him and he winked as he jerked his head up. Her glaze rose to above their heads where a bit of mistletoe dangled and felt him pull her into a kiss as the room full of people continued to sing.

The decorated tree blocked them from most people's view but as the song ended word quietly, yet quickly passed along the room. Remus chuckled, "Well, who'd have thought?"

"Well, bless my soul," Molly quietly gasped but smiled at the sight of the new couple kissing.

"Well, who'd have known?" Harry asked as he held Ginny's hand as she joined them from upstairs.

His wife replied, "Well, who indeed?"

But Draco gave a smug grin as he grabbed a couple of eggnog. "And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own?"

Charlie said, "It's so peculiar."

"Wait and see," Angelic replied happily in the position in her father's arms that gave her a perfect view of the couple. "There may be something there that wasn't there before."

The End