She leaned on the table and asked coquettishly, “Do you think I’m pretty?”

Severus Snape didn’t bother looking up. “No.”

“Oh.” A bite of her lower lip, and she asked, “…Do you want to be with me forever?”

He tipped the powdered bone into the cauldron. “No.”

“…If I left you…would you cry?” she quietly asked.

“No.”

Silence, save for the bubbling brew.

“…I’ll not bother you again.”

He caught her arm before she could leave. “You’re not pretty; you’re beautiful. I don’t want to be with you forever; I need to. And if you leave me…I will die, Hermione.”

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...Inspired by one of those send-it-to-your-friends email thingies that I normally find annoying. ~Lotm