Severus drummed his fingers on the table, trying not to look at the girl sitting across him. She was smiling, ignoring his appalling rudeness by pretending that she didn't notice it. He knew this, because he could still see her reflection on the table.

And he couldn't take his eyes off her.

"So, you're getting married?" he asked, breaking the silence. He sounded raspy, but damned if he'd clear his throat in front of her.

"I am already married," Hermione answered. She crossed her legs and he tried not to imagine the way they would look beneath the table. Her skirt was short, too short. "I invited you but you didn't show up."

Oh, so the shredded shiny cardboard lying in his wastebasket was a wedding invitation? "I always knew you and Potter would get married someday." Be polite, Severus.

She laughed, her voice high and clear. "Not Harry." She shook her head, amused. "Harry and I broke up just a few months ago." She moved closer, laying her elbows on the table and grinning at him as if she meant to share some dirty secret, just between the two of them. "I married Draco," she whispered.

"Draco Malfoy?" he echoed. Malfoy?

"Yes." She uncrossed her legs. "It was rather sudden. He wanted you to be there."

"I see." He could still see those legs: younger, slender legs splayed across his desk--the school robe held above her waist.

Her expression turned serious. "I want you to be happy for me, Sev."

She would always moan. He loved that, making the upright girl moan like a libertine on top of his parchments. He always marveled at her daring, her complete loss of any shame whenever they were together. And they were together often.

"This after a year of pretending I never existed." He sounded cold. Hurt manifested itself through distance.

She looked wounded. She withdrew slightly, pouting as she did so. "I was busy studying in France."

"And cavorting with Potter, apparently."

"You're jealous." She suddenly smiled.

He felt her fingers on his knees, soft female fingers, stroking him... traveling further up his thigh. The wooden back of the desk was gone. Smart witch.

"You said you were married." He kept his voice tightly controlled with difficulty. The memories were too sharp, and she was too insistent. Her hands...

"Yes I am. Do you want to see what I've learned since last year?"

"Professor Snape!"

The door opened and Draco's distinctive blond head peeked in. He strode towards his former teacher, grinning broadly as he pumped Severus' hand firmly. "I've been wanting to see you since I got back from Germany. Has Hermione told you the good news?"

Severus nodded, smiling slightly for Draco's benefit. "Yes she did. Congratulations, Draco." The hand was gone. He stretched his foot... and the oak backing was back. Smart slut. He didn't even see her wand.

He smiled woodenly through the next few minutes as Draco excitedly arranged to have him for a visit in their new palatial home. Hermione was glowing. Probably because of the antique king size bed Draco had bought from some royal family.

And as the happy couple left his office, Severus knew that it wasn't the end of it. No doubt, he'd get to test the softness of that bed. Strangely, he was looking forward to it.

END

(November 2003)