Disclaimer: These characters belong to J.K. Rowling, not to me. I'm only having a bit of fun with them and make no money in doing so.



Severus is a gifted wizard, but Hermione thinks his greatest talent is his ability to hide.

Over time, he has hidden nearly everything of importance—his allegiance, his heroism and his heartbreaks. It's second nature to him now, intrinsic to his being: his vulnerability is masked by cutting cynicism, his expressions shadowed by the drape of his hair, his body obscured beneath woollen armour and robes that billow like smoke.

Even his endearments to her are hidden, secrets shrouded in coded words and meaningful glances and significant silences. The sentiments are real, but they're a truth that she must uncover herself.


Hermione's friends wonder what she sees in Severus—so completely has he hidden himself that all others notice is his disguise.

She can't explain to them the thrill of peeling Severus' layers of secrecy away like his robes, stripping away illusions and seeking the truth of the man beneath; her friends wouldn't understand. They don't know the wonder of glimpsing the emotion in his dark gaze, searing and intense and worshipful, or the sweet revelation of a kiss that says everything his words never do.

Severus excels at hiding, but there's nothing Hermione enjoys more than the challenge of finding him.