A Light in the Dark (Severus Snape x OC)

Chapter 6: The First Date

Wednesday came surprisingly fast for Severus and he was more nervous than ever. He wondered if Laura was nervous, too. He passed her in the hallway as she was talking to students. He noticed her eyes jumped to him for a second and she smiled, which made Severus's heart skip, before her eyes turned quickly back to the students. She didn't look nervous at all; although, he probably didn't, either. To most everyone at Hogwarts, he was only seen as one thing: intimidating.

That night, Severus put on a simple black suit with a nice tie and jacket. The suit wasn't over the top but still looked nice.

Severus got to the front gate a few minutes before seven and was so nervous that he decided to burn off a little energy by pacing.

"Hey." Severus turned and saw Laura.

Severus looked her up and down, amazed that she could look as gorgeous as she did. "You look...beautiful."

She was wearing a simple black dress with a mini jacket, heels, and stockings. Her purple pendant dangled from her chest. She even put a little makeup on.

Laura smiled nervously. "Thanks. You look really nice."

"I thought we could apparate." Severus held his hand out.

"Where are we going?" Laura took his hand.

"You'll see." Severus held her hand tightly as they apparated.

They arrived on a street lit up with string lights that shone brightly in the darkening night sky. The street was littered with boutiques, restaurants, and cafes.

"Wait...are we in London?" Laura asked, bright eyed.

Severus nodded. "We're in Notting Hill. I wasn't sure if you had been to London much. I thought you'd like to have dinner here."

"I'd like that." Laura smiled as she and Severus headed for a small cafe.

They entered the quaint cafe and were led to a small table. Laura looked around the cafe. The lighting was soft, with candles accenting the tables.

Severus ordered a bottle of wine and poured a glass for Laura. "What do you think?"

"This is perfect." Laura smiled.

"It's not...too simple?" Severus asked.

Laura shook her head. "I just wanted to spend time with you. This cafe is really nice, but it didn't matter where we went."

Severus's biggest worry about the night was that he and Laura wouldn't have anything to talk about. He knew they had an age difference between them. He didn't know how old Laura was, but she couldn't have been more than twenty-five or twenty-six. But he found that once they ordered and began to eat, it was hard to make the conversation stop.

He asked Laura about her life in America and her family. He learned that she spent a lot of time with her aunt, uncle, and cousins, living with them for some time. He learned that she loved muggle bands like Fleetwood Mac. They talked about books and art and potions. Severus wasn't much of a talker, but he loved talking with Laura.

Severus was enjoying himself, but he still had doubts about Laura. He wondered if she really liked him or went on a date with him out of pity. Or worse, maybe it was a prank. He had been bullied so much when he was younger, he wasn't sure if anything kind anyone said or did was real, but Laura seemed genuine.

He liked being with her and that scared him. He hadn't felt anything for someone else in a long time, not since Lily. But he knew he had to move on. Lily was gone. And even when she alive, she didn't want him. He had to let go. And Laura was making him see that he was moving on.