A Night outside of the Castle
The atmosphere of every dinner at Hogwarts was always bright and cheery. The students deep in conversations with their friends, whilst the teachers spoke amongst themselves and kept their eye on any mischievous happenings from time to time.
You'd sat in your usual seat, sandwiched between Severus Snape and Quirinus Quirrell, towards the end of the table. It had been this way since the beginning of the year and was unlikely to change, but this dinner seemed to be going on forever. You loved food, but being able to leave the castle for a drink or two with the Potions Master beside you was making the food seem undesirable. It must be nerves, you thought to yourself as you forced yourself to eat. Plus, drinking on an empty stomach would be foolish - you didn't want to embarrass yourself in front of Severus. There would be no way you could be late tomorrow either, as a Saturday meant you had very little to do in the mornings.
Professor Quirrell tried to engage in small talk with you, but it was terribly awkward and short lived. You did your best acting to talk to him, unsure whether your interaction earlier had spooked him in some way. It had definitely confused the hell out of you. It seemed that whenever the two of you were alone, he acted more out of sorts than usual. You made a mental note to tell Snape about the strange happenings in the teachers lounge, but you were most excited to tell him that you'd passed your probation with flying colours. You hoped he would be pleased.
"Would the headmaster mind if we left early?" You whispered to Severus beside you, noticing he'd stopped eating too.
"Eager, aren't you?" Snape muttered back, making you cringe in embarrassment.
"For a drink, obviously." You replied quickly, hoping he didn't think of any other reason.
"If we leave at different times... It will look less suspicious?" He suggested, and without giving you the time to reply he stood up and stalked out of the room.
Severus had an unhappy look on his face as he left, as if you had said something horrible. You knew he wouldn't want people knowing you were going out together, but you still sat their dumbfounded. It did, however, give you a great excuse to dash out of the room after him looking quite apologetic. Nobody seemed to bat an eyelid at the exchange and you didn't see Albus Dumbledore's cheeky smile as you left.
Once you were out of sight of students and teachers, you caught up to Snape's long strides. He was always a fast walker, but you noticed he slowed down as you appeared next to him.
He looked at you, confused, "When I said different times, I didn't mean for you to leave after thirty seconds."
"You didn't exactly give me much information, plus you walked off so sourly I felt like it could pass as me running after you to apologise. You looked like I'd insulted you and ran off!" You practically whined, "I didn't think you'd get up and leave immediately!"
"Well you wanted to go now, didn't you?" He huffed, as the two of you left the castle to walk down the path to Hogsmeade.
"Well... yes," You pouted, "but you could have at least warned me!"
Severus took one look at your face and managed to chuckle quietly, "I did. I told you what we were going to do."
"You're impossible!" You lifted your arms up in front of you in frustration, "You're buying the first drink, Mr."
"Oh, is that how it is?" He smirked, "Fine. You can buy the next round."
The two of you walked the rest of the way in silence, but the humour in the air from your conversation had made it extremely comfortable. It was nightfall, and the lamps lit up as you walked past them to illuminate the path. Walking side by side, and a little closer to each other than normal, your stomach did little flips of nervousness. It felt as though your stomach was a potion being over-stirred - why did you feel so on edge all of a sudden? You'd definitely felt a little anxious when eating, but now it was taking over. Hopefully when you had a little alcohol in your system, it would go away.
Severus held the door of The Three Broomsticks open for you on arrival, and you thanked him as you walked in. You found a quiet booth in the corner of the room, conveniently behind the door so that you were mostly unnoticed. Without asking what you wanted, Snape went up to the bar for some drinks. A single half glass of whiskey had been poured in front of him, over ice, and you prayed in your thoughts that he didn't get the same for you. You hated whiskey. He had seemed to have read your mind or something, having brought you over a berry flavoured gin and tonic after he'd finished being served.
"Thank you, Severus," You smiled, "I'm not a big fan of whiskey."
"I did sense that you required a more... feminine drink," Severus smirked, "I don't know many witches who can handle their whiskey."
"It's not that I can't handle it - it's just vile, in taste AND smell," You looked at the brown liquid in his glass, "and only Merlin knows how you can drink it neat!"
"It's an acquired taste," He shook the glass in his hand, and the whiskey seemed to swirl around the ice before he took a sip.
You sampled your own drink, your taste buds in heaven as it was filled with the sweet taste of summer berries. It was a stark comparison to the autumn (almost winter) night outside, and you immediately felt calmer and warm. It was a nice feeling, and although you loved Hogwarts, you couldn't believe you hadn't left the castle in a whole two months since teaching there. The castle itself had almost everything you needed, but you had missed the simplicity of going out for a drink with a friend.
A friend. Severus was your friend now, surely? You didn't know why you were questioning it. You had an unspoken bond with the man, where neither of you seemed to want to admit to each other that you enjoyed the company of one another. Telling him something as silly as that would be met with a scoff, or an eyeroll. He was a private man, you didn't think he would ever expose any of his true feelings towards you. You may not know much about the man himself, but you were well accustomed to his behaviours and knew to expect what reactions he would have to certain things you said.
"I'm very happy to tell you that I spoke with the headmaster before dinner," You announced, sparking a conversation with a small smile, "and you'll be devastated to know that I have passed my probation with flying colours."
"I expected nothing less, congratulations," He nodded, then asked, "why would I be devastated?"
"Now you have to share your classroom with me for many years to come!" You grinned deviously.
"I'm not complaining," Severus shrugged, taking a swig from his glass, "your teaching is much better than I'd originally perceived."
"I'm taking that as a compliment from you," You mused, "you can't take those words back now."
"I wouldn't dream of it."
And you watched him chuckle faintly, as he looked down at the table, not meeting your eyes. You downed the rest of your glass, feeling refreshed at the taste and causing you to accidentally slam it back down on the table. Severus looked at you, slightly amused. You announced that you were going to get the next drinks, practically skipping away from your seat to get away so he couldn't see your red cheeks. Your strange happenings with Quirrell had slipped your mind, and you hadn't wanted it to ruin the night anyway.
The problem with wizard made liquor, was that they often made it unknowingly strong. Alcohol was much better made by muggles, but the Wizarding World refused to admit that fact and brewed their own with ridiculously high percentages. The only good thing about magical drinks, was the way they tasted. You could get flavours that the non-magical people could never create. If you were on land after being at sea, there was a drink that tasted exactly like the fresh salty air. Should you have a certain fond memory, there was a drink in which you could attach a single thought to the bottle and it would help you reminisce. So many enchantments, and so little time on earth to try them all (unless you were an alcoholic, maybe.)
The barman laugh at what he'd been asked for as you approached the bar, but was happy to place two butterbeers onto the counter with two shots of clear liquid being poured in each glass afterwards. You thanked him, handing him a few coins in exchange before bringing them over to your seat. You pushed one in front of Severus, with a smile. He eyeballed the glass.
"I didn't poison it since you didn't poison mine," You joked.
He rolled his eyes, but there was a small smile on his face. You watched him take a gulp and make a sour face.
You laughed, "My co-workers and I used to have one of these after work on the weekends, I suppose it's an acquired taste."
You did your best Snape impression when you re-used his exact words, and it made him shake his head in disbelief. Still, he found himself drinking the absurd beverage again. This time, it tasted better; it was nicer after the initial shock of such a strongly alcoholic version of a common drink. You drank some of your own in time with him.
"I'm think, two shots of liquor was a bit overboard," Severus commented.
"You'll get used to it!" You beamed at him.
The two of you soon eased into a strong conversation, and he seemed very interested at your working years at the Apothecary. He mentioned that he had visited a few times but had never seen you, and you put it down to him probably visiting at the strangest of times. Severus almost seemed sheepish when he noted that he usually went in the early hours of the morning, to which you exclaimed that you were still in bed at six in the morning.
"Would we have gotten along better in the beginning if we had met beforehand?" You thought aloud.
"I'm not one to make friends easily." He answered you honestly.
"It did take some time," You confessed softly, with a smile, "but I think it's safe to say that we've made it to the friend level."
"I suppose we have," Severus nodded in agreement.
You almost jumped for joy, but even in your merry state you dared not to make a fuss at his words. Instead opting for a slightly bigger smile, if that was even possible. Your cheeks already stung from the constant happiness you had been showing on your face.
If anything, tonight had only confirmed that both you and Snape felt something similar towards each other. Not only had he actually agreed to go to the pub with you, but he had just verbally established your friendship. It had been a complete success for the two of you.
Snape bought another round to end the night, and between conversations neither of you had realised you'd been sitting in each other's company for almost three hours. It was getting late and he was soon badgering you to drink up. Once there was barely a dribble left at the bottom of your glass, you let him whisk you out of the pub after you yelled a polite thank you to the barman. The man waved happily, asking you to come back whenever you wanted to.
The cold night air hit you as soon as you walked out of the door, and without thinking you hung onto Severus' arm in an effort to keep warm. He didn't object, but instead made it easier for you to hold onto him by linking arms with you properly. You practically clung to him for dear life as you began the walk back to the castle.
"I wish we could apparate into the castle," You complained, "the walk back seems longer than it took to get here!"
"Stop whining," Severus chuckled to show he wasn't being rude, "we'll be there soon. I wouldn't advise apparating when you're in this state anyway, we'd end up half way across the country if you tried."
"Yeah, yeah," You giggled, "you're not exactly sober yourself. I wouldn't put it past you to accidentally apparate us to Merlin knows where."
"I am much more composed than yourself, [first name]," He reminded you playfully, "I believe you're the one holding me for support, not the other way around."
You mock gasped, "I am holding you for warmth, not support!"
"Go on then, walk on your own."
He went to lift his arm out of your grip, but you held on tighter, "Fine. Both. You're helping me with both."
Severus laughed in his triumph, keeping you walking briskly across the bridge to the entrance of the castle. The school was deserted, not a single soul was wandering the castle so late at night. Thankfully. You must've looked in a right state. You held onto him the whole journey down to the dungeons, sad to let go when he came to a stop outside of your door. He watched you curiously when you didn't open your door, as you opted to lean your shoulder on it instead.
Looking down at the floor briefly, you lifted your head to meet his gaze. Through your eyelashes, and drunken eyes, you simply looked at him. Severus felt, in that moment, as though you were staring into his soul. His eyes were the door, and you'd let yourself in. It made him slightly uncomfortable.
"You should go to bed, you need to sleep." Snape said to you sternly but without breaking eye contact.
"I know," You replied softly, "but I don't think I'm ready for this night to end."
"There will be others, [first name]," He assured you, matching your soft tone, "so you can go to sleep without worrying."
"But I like this one," You furrowed your brows, then leaned forward.
Your arms snaked around his neck, pulling him towards you for a hug. You felt him tense up as the gap between your bodies closed. He was slow in his movements, but eventually his arms found their way around your waist to return the embrace. You stayed there for a while, your face pressed against his neck. You brushed his hair out of the way gently, and as best as you could, to feel his soft skin against your own.
Severus found it hard to pull away, but after a few minutes he knew he had to. You had felt so content being held by him, you were upset at his attempt to pull you off him. You obliged though, knowing in your head that you would both have to part ways soon. You stood in front of him now, and with a sigh you put your hand on the door knob to leave.
"Goodnight, [first name]," You heard him say, "sleep well."
"I will now," You gave him a dreamy smile, "goodnight Severus."
You let yourself in, and Snape waited until your door was fully closed before retreating to his own room. He felt like a dumbstruck teenager, he hadn't felt this way about a woman since his school years. He'd thought it impossible to be able to feel this way again, but it was happening and he couldn't put a stop to it if he tried. He imagined you crawling into bed, probably falling asleep as soon as your head hit the pillow. He, on the other hand, had much to think about.