A magical love affair - Severus Snape x Petunia Evans

Chapter 20 - Tight hugs awake one's hopes!

Severus' Home, Spinner's End, Cokeworth, July 1978

Petunia breathed in Severus' herbal mixed with whiskey scent deeply and hugged him tightly. She stroked his back gently and tried to calm her escalating heartbeat. She couldn't believe that she had thrown herself into his arms like this. God, he must really think that she was a very desperate, lonely and confused young woman to throw herself at him like some classless easy girl. Sure, she only needed to hug him tightly and wanted to express her happiness and pride in his magical powers. But it might have come on a little bit too strong.

Well, she couldn't change her impulsive reaction and gut feeling. And if she was completely honest with herself, she regretted nothing and didn't feel ashamed of her reaction because she liked Severus a lot and basked in his body warmth. Hell, she felt all warm, giddy and fuzzy because he returned her close hug, stroked her back gently and even clutched on to her shoulders lovingly. If she would have seen this scene on TV, she probably would have gushed about the closeness, trust and natural aura of the pair. Most likely, she would have commented to her mum or Lily what a refreshing, in-love teenaged couple the pair seemed to be. But she tried to chase this fuzzy, romanticized thoughts away because Severus and she weren't some loved-up couple.

They were close friends who seemed to care deeply for each other, wanted to live out some magical adventures together and wanted to see each other happy. Sure, she felt also attracted to Severus and wanted to kiss him on the lips at this moment, but she didn't want to overanalyze everything. She knew that she would have to face her feelings for Severus head-on someday in the near future. Hell, she needed to sort them out first because feeling attracted to someone who she had loathed in her childhood and youth was a new experience for her. Well, if she was completely honest with herself, she felt butterflies inside her stomach for the first time in her life.

She knew that this sounded horrible and sad because only some months ago, she had expected to marry her abusive boyfriend Vernon although she didn't love him or had been attracted to him. But in her state of mind at that time, a loveless marriage with an abusive husband was better than living a life in loneliness. She had really thought that Vernon could change during their marriage and that the feeling of being close to someone could satisfy her broken heart.

God, how naïve and pathetic she had been? She was so glad that Severus had opened her eyes. She would dump Vernon tomorrow and only be together with someone out of love. She really dreamed of finding her one true love and experiencing a romance of equality, happiness, love, trust, and truthfulness. Perhaps, she thought blushing, she could live out this romance with Severus because she was truly attracted to him. And judging by his tight hugs, long look, and affectionate nature, he might feel the same. But as she stated earlier, she didn't want to overthink her feelings and his reactions and only live in the moment. With luck and courage, she would kiss him full on the lips this night and get her answer.

If he returned her kiss, he must truly feel something for her. For Severus wasn't the type to kiss around out of boredom, lust or curiosity. Actually, she wouldn't be surprised, if he had never kissed someone or his only experiences with kissing stemmed from a "Truth or Dare" game in Hogwarts, an intoxicated make-out session or some youthful teenage experimentation with Lily. Albeit she doubted it because Lily would have surely confessed to exploring kisses with her best male friend to her. So, she hoped that a passionate kiss on the lips would be a huge deal for Severus.

If he rejected her and threw her out of his house, she would know that he wasn't interested in a romance with her. But she would also endanger her adventures in the Magical world. Because she couldn't imagine that Severus would be comfortable to live out magical adventures with a love-crazy female companion. Surely, a rejection would establish an awkward tension between them and embarrass her deeply so that she could say bye to her magical education. God, she would probably flee his house in a rush with a crimson head, mutter a hushed apology and cry a river of devastated tears. Therefore, she would not want to face him again, act like just friends and learn/experience amazing things about magic on the next day. God, please, let him return her crush. She really deserved some adventures, love, and happiness in her life. And Severus could offer her everything. If she could muster up her courage and pump herself up to be bold, straightforward and reckless tonight, she would kiss him.