First Kiss | Harry Potter One Shots And Short Stories

Forest I

Shafts of light broke through the dark canopy as she walked through the forest. She breathed in the clean air that smelled of green, wet, and peace. This is what she came here for. An escape from the hubbub, the smells and sounds of the cities and towns. Peace. Just the sounds of Earth.

Kneeling down, Hermione uprooted a few stems of an herby bush before moving on. Occasionally she took plants home to grow. She liked to think of it as bringing the forest closer to her.

As she moved through the forest stopping here and there to collect plants, liquids, and various other items she might use, Hermione couldn't help but think how much she loved this place. She knew if she looked, she could find herself a home nearby, perhaps even in the forest...but she couldn't. Not yet anyway. Hermione wanted to complete her apprenticeships before moving away from London. Arithmancy and transfiguration had to come first, she had promised herself.

Not to mention she was scared to move, to leave London, because she was not sure who she would become. Just visiting the forest, she felt herself shifting into a new being. Maybe not an entirely new person, but a different Hermione.

Realizing she had stopped walking, she looked around and appreciated the beauty of the forest. Out of the corner of her eye, a shadow moved. She'd been here many times so Hermione wasn't scared. Definitely curious, but not afraid. She head in the direction of the movement, slow and quiet. She loved when she came across animals in the forest. Sometimes she would sit for hours watching deers eat, and birds flit from tree to tree. These moments were why she became so interested - no, persistent - in becoming an animagus. It would be a dream to truly blend with the forest.

Halfway to the tree, Hermione stopped and waited for movement again. Nothing. She moved forward. As she stepped around a tree, she gasped stopping abruptly.

She'd been here countless times for hours on end and she'd never seen anyone else in the forest. Yet here stood a pale, dark haired man. He was leaning against a tree, his face turned to the sun. A smile graced his face as Hermione gasped, surprised to come across another person.

This was her place. Her retreat. Her haven.

"H-hello." She spoke softly, her voice betraying surprise and the teensiest bit of irritation.

"Hello," he responded as light as breath "I don't come across humans out here. I'm guessing you don't either."

Standing straighter, Hermione spoke with authority, "No, and I quite like it that way." She wasn't entirely sure why she was so disturbed, so upset with someone else coming to the forest. It's not like she owned the place. That's what she loved about it. This beauty, this space belonged to no one. It just was.

Taking a closer look at the man, his skin reflected the soft light of the sun. Dark eyes inlaid below dark brows. He looked familiar, but she was quite certain she'd never met him. His nose a soft line. Her eyes lingered on his curved lips. They looked familiar. They looked like they felt familiar... But Hermione hadn't kissed many people in her time. Not surprisingly, she preferred her time spent learning and expanding her understanding of the world. She didn't date much so she hardly kissed anyone, just Ron. Ron and a dying Professor.

Her brows furrowed as she remembered that whirlwind day. The kiss she had shared with Ron was panicked. But the soft kiss, pressed against Professor Snape's lips moved her. Her world shifted the moment their lips met. She imagined that's what a soulmates kiss feels like. Finding that person that understands you so well, without even knowing you, changes you, it changes the whole world.

She held his hand, his head pressed against her chest as he took his final breaths. Feeling his life leave him changed Hermione. She didn't think she loved Severus, but she surely didn't want him to die.

"Are you alright?"

Pulling herself from her memories, Hermione focused on the world around her. The dark form of the man stood in front of her, the rays of light behind him cast shadows across his features.

"I'm... I'm alright." She whispered as she stepped away from the familiar stranger. Hermione mumbled as she turned and walked away. She was ready to go, her mood had been spoiled. As she stepped back on her path through the forest, she turned to say farewell.

He had gone. She looked for moving shadows and figures, Hermione couldn't see the man anymore. It's like he disappeared. Maybe he was never there...

A deep V formed between her brows as she left the forest deep in thought.

~

Expecting the strange man to appear in the forest again, Hermione frequently returned. She left the first few visits with a mixture of disappointment and doubt. Disappointed he wasn't there and doubtful that he ever was. She thought she should be happy that the forest was hers again. Not that she owned it, of course, but it had become her safe spot. She didn't know the man, but his absence weirdly affected her. Every visit, every departure, felt like something was missing.

Hermione returned to her flat from a short trip to the woods. While unloading her bag, sorting the plants and vials, her mind wandered. Images of her dark professor flashed in her mind's eye. The twinkle in his eyes as he lectured about the intricacies of ingredients. The smirk on his lips when he punished particularly annoying students.

Shaking her head, she focused on the task at hand. Pulling thread from the drawer, she hung a few herbs in the window then labeled and organized the vials in a cabinet. An image of Severus storming through the halls, his great cloak billowing, stopped her in her tracks.

She had rarely thought about the brooding man prior to her run-in in the forest with a dark, but different man. Her concentration, her prideful focus was being compromised by some stranger. She didn't even know his name!

With building frustration Hermione settled into her desk to write about what and where she saw plants and animals in the forest. She recorded how much of each item she collected and how she stored it. As she wrote of new things, and things she wanted to focus on the next time, her thoughts were penetrated by the feel of Severus on her lap. She could feel his hand in hers, his head against her chest as if he really was there. It was different from that terrible night he died in her arms. Darkness and death did not fill the air. She was not full of sorrow nor her heart breaking. Suddenly, she felt his lips against hers. A ghost of the kiss they shared. Standing quickly, the chair toppled behind her. Hermione paced the room, frustration building again. Her flat was quaint, the perfect size - with a few extending charms here and there.

"Why, why are you filling my mind? I watched you die, Severus. I was there at your funeral. You can't...you can't be alive." Sighing, she sank into her sofa. "You're not alive." A tear slid down her cheek and hung from the edge of her jaw.

Hermione rubbed the palm of her hands into her eyes, as if she could rub away the images of the beautiful man.