Fly for Me

He couldn't believe that he had allowed her to convince him to do this. It was dangerous, it was foolish, it was irresponsible. Why hadn't he just said no?

"Come on, Severus, it's not all that bad."

He glared at the brunette standing a little way from him, a wide grin on her face. Gripping onto the broom tightly, he swung a trembling leg over it.

"Alright, I'm on it."

"I can see," Hermione said, a small chuckle escaping her rosy lips. When he narrowed his eyes at her, again, she quickly stopped. "If I remember from what Harry used to do, he would kick off from the ground and the broom would just… go."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "I thought you had said you knew how to fly?"

"I said I knew how to teach you to fly on a broom like a normal wizard. Well, I did, anyway. Didn't you once referee a game, anyway?"

Severus groaned, remembering the time he had once had to take care of a Quidditch game. He was sure he had been the target of several Bludgers—both by those Weasley twins and members of his own house—and if it weren't for the calming draught he had taken that very morning, he probably wouldn't have survived the match.

"Maybe we should hold off for another day? The rain looks like it's coming in," he said.

He looked up at the sky, knowing before he did that he wouldn't find a single cloud. He held a hand to his forehead, shielding from the harsh rays of the sun.

Turning back to his companion, he shrugged. "Better safe than sorry."

Hermione scoffed and shook her head. "If you don't learn now, you never will. Now, quit being a coward and—"

The brunette stopped, but it was too late. He balled his fists up by his sides, allowing the broom to drop to the ground.

Coward. She had called him a coward.

"Severus—"

Turning from her, he stormed across the grounds, cloak billowing behind him. He could hear Hermione calling from behind him, but he ignored her, heading not for the gates but the stands. He had thought he had already proven to her that he was no coward, but if she couldn't accept it, he'd show her again.

"Please, come back!"

He took the stairs up the Slytherin stands two at a time. His breath came out in short rasps when he got to the top of the stairs, but he crossed to the edge without a pause.

Peering down to the ground, he could see Hermione looking up at him. Her brown eyes grew wide as she spotted him, and he gave a small smirk.

"Severus, what are you doing? Get down here, please!" she called.

"You wanted me to fly," he called.

The brunette shook her head, a hand rising to her mouth. His smirk widened, and before she could protest further, he held his arms out. His cape spread across his arms, and without a second thought, he leapt off the stand's edge.

As he plunged towards the ground, he could hear Hermione stifle a scream. With a well-practised flap, however, he guided himself to a smooth glide and landed on the grass with a graceful bow.

The brunette ran up to him, and before he knew it, he was being punched in the forearms.

"You idiot! Don't ever do that again," she said, hitting him over and over.

Gently pushing her away, he said, "Well, you did say you wanted me to fly."

The girl stopped hitting him and took a step back. Her cheeks grew red and she looked down at her feet. "Yes, that and other things…"

Stepping forward, he placed a finger under her chin and tilted her head up. Her eyes were a little watery, but as he smiled at her, the tears ceased falling.

"It's okay. Come on, we can try flying on an actual broomstick later." Severus placed an arm on her shoulder and started leading her back towards the castle.

Hermione sniffled. After a moment, she said, "You know what we could try? Thestrals. They're not so bad, not really."

Closing his eyes, Severus sighed. "One day. Maybe."

A/N: This story was written for a very special person, LittleTee, in the hopes that she makes a full recovery soon. We miss you, Tee! Xx

I do apologise to any Severus/Hermione fans out there. I'm not a shipper personally, and I'm not 100% sure what this is, but I do hope it is somewhat enjoyable.

Written for The Golden Snitch forum's Stories for Tee challenge hosted by Oni (Story Please).

Word count: 702 words