Stay With Me

Pre-story: Voldemort is gone and the world is celebrating often. Dumbledore throws a lot of parties in the holidays and such, and at one of those parties Severus and Hermione end up together, in bed. Hermione has to be of age and not attending Hogwarts as a student, however she can be a teacher if you want her to. They do not have a relationship, but they’ve ended up in the same bed more than four times before, though the second character (the one that is not the narrator obviously) always leaves in the morning before the narrator has awoken, though this time the narrator is ready to prevent it from happening again.

Requirements
- Hermione and Severus
- Hermione is not attending Hogwarts as a student
- Narrator asking second person to stay, hinting that it should be forever
- Each entry should be abou 100-200 words.


* * * * *

It's been two years since the downfall of Lord Voldermort. It gets quite tiresome having strangers fawn over you because of something you did, so for the past year, instead of attending the parties Professor Dumbledore throws, my celebrations have taken place in private with the Potions Master... But I always wake up alone the morning after.

He's sleeping right now, but soon he'll stir. Hopefully this time he will stay. I welcome his company. He's honest - unlike many of the people around me.

Oh, his breathing has changed! Time for a preemptive strike. If I catch him off-guard, I might distract him. I lean over and kiss him upon his nose. His eyes flutter.

"Stay with me? Surely this is more comfortable than being alone," I say as he blinks clearing the sleep from his eyes. He stiffens slightly in surprise.

He smirks as he says, "Perhaps I'll stay...for a few more hours...." He relaxes again.

I smile. It's a start. With a private man like Severus, a step in the right direction is all I can hope for... At least I can guarantee that I'll have plenty of opportunities to convince him.

* * * * *

It's been several months now, and every time we celebrate, my Potions Master has stayed longer and longer. It has become part of our morning ritual for me to sidetrack him and ask him to stay. However, today I am going to try to make sure he stays forever. I chuckle quietly to myself, imagining the looks of my friends. They are quite clueless to what has been going on. Then again, ours has been a strange courtship.

He's still asleep. Good. I slip out of the bed as quietly as I can; he's a light sleeper, after all. Trying to be as quiet as possible, I change into the outfit I brought specifically for this purpose.

When I am dressed in the black leather outfit and fishnet tights I point my wand and mutter an incantation, tying Severus to the bed. The pull of the bindings startle him from his sleep. He blinks as he looks at me, confused at first; but soon that look fades into appreciation.

"Stay with me," I tell him, because he's not going away again.

* * * * *

The light filtered through the sole window, dappling the slumbering man in light and shadows. The young lady was already dressed; she paused at the door and looked back at him. She smiled slightly at that picture, so like his personality. "Good bye, until New Year's," she whispered as she slipped out.

Half an hour later the dark man woke up. He sat up and buried his face in his hands. "Why won't she stay with me?" he asked himself.

After a few moments of self-pity, he got up and dressed, already thinking about the next party and what he must do. "Next time she will stay with me," he told himself.

* * * * *

Hearing the sounds of his lover stirring, Severus, pretending to sleep, cuddled closer. Hermione went still. She didn't want to wake the Potions Master, fearing his reaction. After several minutes she figured it would be safe to move, and tried to extract herself from his grip. Severus, however, pulled her closer. "You're not going anywhere today... stay with me," he whispered as she turned to look at him, glaring at her, daring her to contradict him.

Hermione shrugged. "Are you sure you want me to stay?" she asked, in a pointed reminder of the last time she had stayed, and the resulting fight between her friends and her lover when Ron and Harry found out.

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I wouldn't ask if I wasn't sure, silly girl!" he said sharply, although the look in his eyes softened his words.

She nodded and pulled him closer. "Then I guess I have no choice but to stay," she said with a small smile.

"Indeed not."