Chapter 16

A/N: Again thanks you to all my hard working betas. Also, thanks to all who are keeping with this fic and sending reviews. Keep it up! I love them!

***

Hermione walked into the Gryffindor common room. She met with the "Marauders" as she normally did after her weekly talks with Avery, including the rest of the upper class Gryffindors. This time Lily was there with James. It was eerily similar, seeing how Severus had joined her and Avery in Slytherin's common room.

"Well?" Sirius asked gruffly.

Hermione sat down and address them all, "In the past, I have made certain conditions on the behaviors of some members of Slytherin, and now the time has come to collect."

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "What have you done?" he said in a threatening tone.

Hermione was on her feet in an instant. "I did what I had to do to protect my own from being set upon. Let's not hide from that reality, shall we? The truth is that I threatened the lot of them that if they ever ganged up upon Mary MacDonald again, I would repay them in spades. Well, now Avery is asking for all of us to live by the same standard. You do know what that means, don't you?"

Sirius looked at her confused.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "How can you be so thick?" she sneered.

"It's Snape, isn't it?" asked a concerned voice.

Hermione's head snapped over to the direction of the sound. James stood there calmly and repeated, "It's about Snape, right?"

"Yes," she said angrily. "Avery let me know that this has gone on long enough. Obviously, Severus has gained some clout amongst his housemates, and they are not going to stand aside and let him be ambushed day after day."

"You always felt so sorry for that sniveling git!" Sirius bellowed. "Why don't you just go back to him? You and he are just alike!"

Hermione's eyes flashed furiously and she reminded herself to remain calm.

Lupin stood up and went to Hermione's side.

"You all know that she is just the messenger!" he snapped at them. "Let's not turn this into a character assassination!"

Sirius refused to back down. "I don't care! I'll do whatever I damn well like. If Avery or any of those blighters have a problem with it, then they can come and do their worst!" he said smugly.

"That's exactly what they are hoping for," Hermione said, her voice dripping with venom. Her voice became louder and louder as she spoke. "Avery said retaliation would be forthcoming; however, it would not be against you or Potter. It may be Mary next time, or Lily. Or any Gryffindor! The point is that they do not care to keep or respect the standards we hold dear if we do not adhere to them ourselves! So, you will desist with these ambushes immediately or face retribution!" she warned.

"Retribution?" Sirius said as he lazily plopped down into a chair. "From whom?" he said as he spread his hands in a cavalier fashion.

Hermione whipped out her wand and growled, "From me!"

Sirius jumped up with lightening speed, but Hermione was ready for him. "You?" he spat in derision. "What could you possibly do to me?"

Hermione didn't think. She didn't want to care anymore. She lashed out and hissed, "Sectumsempra!"

She nicked him on the shoulder. She didn't want to do anything really life threatening, but he had to be shown that he was not in charge here. A few girls screamed, and cloths were brought to stop the bleeding.

The room was silent as Hermione walked closer to Sirius and ordered him to sit down. She began to sing the incantation and healed him, good as new. All the while, Sirius stared long and hard at her.

"That was Dark magic!" someone hollered accusingly.

Hermione faced the crowd who was looking at her in fear and awe. "They can break you and heal you only to break you again. This is the enemy you face. I didn't make the fucking rules, but this is what it is! Accept it."

Hermione was tired. She went up to her dorm room, not caring how any of them felt about Avery's warning. In her estimation, it had been actually damn nice for him to give fair warning. She'd felt for years James and Sirius were just a big bunch of arseholes that needed to be taken down a peg or two!

She was slipping into bed when Lily came into the room.

"Well, they are talking with Mary," she said curtly. "I hope you are satisfied!"

Hermione snapped back her covers and stood to face her old friend. "What?" she said sadly. "What have I done that has been so horrible that you have seen fit to ignore me these past three months? We were best friends, Lily. I haven't changed. You have."

Lily was brimming with rage. "I can't believe you, Hermione Granger! I just can't. You know what these people are, you know what they do, and yet you continue to meet with them and play your little political games with them! I don't know if I can even trust you!" she yelled.

Hermione went and put her hands on Lily's shoulders. "Lily, things are not always cut and dry. I've tried to explain that to you time and again! You know that I care deeply for you. I want you to be as safe as you can while we are in this school because when we leave, there will be nothing to hide behind. It will all be unleashed, as it already is now in some areas! People are disappearing; Muggles are murdered outright! It's good you are with James. Stay with him, and let him train you to protect yourself. You will need it."

Her green eyes were full of tears. "I know you see him and talk with him. You don't see me anymore, Hermione, and neither does he. It's like neither of you never cared about me at all," she whispered. "I lost my best friend, and now I'm losing you and I don't deserve it!" she cried out.

Hermione embraced her, knowing she was talking about Severus. "You've not lost me, Lily. You haven't, really, you haven't!" she whispered in her ear. "Listen, I am still your friend...but no more."

Lily pulled from her. "Hermione," she breathed, "I-I thought we had something special."

"I'm not gay," replied Hermione calmly.

"Neither am I," said Lily softly.

Hermione didn't believe her for one minute. Lily held her tightly, and they hung on to each other for a while. Lily finally released Hermione, and they silently went to bed separately.

***

The rest of the term went on without incident. James and Sirius were making the most out of taking turns hexing Snape. James was quite moody. Ever since the night Hermione and Lily made up their friendship, she had been acting cooler towards him and he couldn't understand it. Hermione knew perfectly well what was occurring, and it was only a matter of time before things came to a head.

Hermione and Lily had come to a critical point in their relationship. It was more of a truce than an understanding. Lily began to spend more time with Mary MacDonald and some of the other girls in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Hermione was officially out of the perimeter as well as James and Sirius. She was kindly towards Lupin; however, the rest she blatantly ignored.

James took his frustrations out on everyone. He grew an even bigger head than the one he possessed fifth year! He spared no one the wrath of his wand. He and Snape were constantly fighting. It was getting rather old, and Hermione finally confronted him just before Christmas hols.

"Look, James, it's not Severus' fault Lily's turned cold on you. She seems to have turned cold to most boys these days. I think she needs to figure out what she wants. You could really take this time to think about how you want Lily to see you and what kind of wizard you want to be. If you continue to show yourself as a levelheaded and likable bloke, she may come around during your seventh year. But, for the love of Merlin, stop acting like a ruddy jack-ass all the time!" she snarled at him.

"I thought it was all settled, you know?" he said as they walked in the snow outside. "I really thought after Snape called Lily that name, she'd be excited to take me on. It was going okay, but now she's pushing me away again!" He kicked at the snow in frustration. God, he looks like Harry when he does that! she thought wistfully.

"I'll change, Hermione. I'll do it. I may never stop hexing Snape. He likes to give as much as he gets! But, I'll stop jinxing people in the halls," he promised.

"That's a lad!" Hermione said as she patted him on the back.

***

The Christmas hols were to be as gloomy as every one before. At least she always had a Christmas package from Severus' mum, but not this year. Snape was at Spinner's End, cleaning out some of the rubbish of his mum and dad's. He was the master now, a mere two weeks before he became of age at seventeen. If he had only been born a couple of weeks earlier, he and Hermione could have stayed at Spinner's End together. Hermione shuddered with pleasure at how wonderful it could have been.

Hermione was falling hard for the dark wizard. He was no longer a boy, but an intelligent and graceful youth coming into his body, lithe, taunt, and magnificent. Her thoughts turned more intimate as time passed. She began to think about how it would feel to have him naked on top of her. Many a morning in her shower, she would touch herself fantasizing about him panting and sweating over her, pushing himself inside her. She wanted it more than her next meal or her next breath. She wondered how he would see her upon his return after the holidays. Would he see the desire in her eyes?

***

When Severus returned, he was very different. Gone were the last remnants of the boy that she had once known, the boy that she could still reach with a touch of a hand. He was hardened and self-controlled. Hermione knew he had spent a great deal of time with the Dark Lord over the holidays; she wasn't prepared to see how much he had morphed into the Professor Snape she once had known. She wanted to kick herself for thinking she could change him, that she could love him out of his destiny.

She didn't get to speak to him until his birthday. It was a very special day: the ninth of January 1977. He was now of Legal Wizarding Age. They met by the edge of the Forbidden Forest. She gave him a special gift she had worked out with Professor McGonagall doing extra work to earn money. It was a beautiful black silk cloak. She knew it would look magnificent on him. She had pocket money that Dumbledore gave her every month for incidentals. She had squirreled her money over the past semester and finally over the Christmas hols, had it ready for him.

Severus was touched and deeply moved that she had spent so much of her own hard earned money on something so beautiful for his own vanity.

"Hermione, it is far too extravagant. It's not right. You wear second hand robes and have used textbooks...it is not correct...I should be spoiling you!" He bowed his head in shame. "I never even recognized your birthday," he said sadly.

"Don't worry," she said knowingly. "It was so close to the beginning of term. It would have been far too risky!"

He tried it on, and Hermione felt her breath catch. It was Professor Snape. A young Professor Snape, but it was him. Although the Professor Snape she had known never had looked so passionately at her. He reached for her and kissed her desperately. She eagerly let him take over and gave in to his ardor.

"Hermione, I love you. There will be times you will doubt my love, but I will not ever stop. I made a vow. One day, I shall cover you with diamonds and brocade. You shall put all those pure-blood ladies to shame with your loveliness. Even this moment, the way you look at me...my God, Hermione, you are the loveliest witch I have ever seen."

He continued to hold her and kissed her wantonly. He whispered into her ear, "I want to make love to you, my love. My sweet Hermione, you are the only perfect thing in my life, and I don't deserve you. Promise me, Hermione. Promise you will save your love, save yourself for me. One day, I shall take you into my arms, and I will never release you until you are ready to pass out from the pleasure I will give you. I swear...I shall never touch another woman. Until you and I can be together, I will save myself for you."

"Oh, Severus," Hermione whispered. She could say no more. She was overcome with her feelings for him.

Hermione smiled brightly. She knew that he would love her until the day she died. And she knew he would be hurting and pained that they could not yet fully express their love in the way they wanted to do so desperately. It just could not be right now. However, these stolen moments would have to sustain them until their time came.

As the day turned into evening, they held on more desperately to the other. "I love you, Hermione," he whispered. "I want you to know you hold everything in you that is good in me. I entrust all my goodness and all the things I hold precious for you to keep and protect. I can't wait until I can make you mine in every sense of the word. Hermione, I couldn't stop loving you even if I tried."

"Are you mine, Hermione? Are you still mine?" he whispered.

"I am yours, Severus," she answered. "I will never let another man into my heart or my body. I would rather die than have another man touch me. It's for you. All I have is yours."

He grasped her face and pulled her to his own. "Hermione, I want you so badly. I want nothing more in this world to make love to you and lose myself in you. Can you understand how intoxicating you are? I don't want to live without you," he said lowly and passionately.

"I must go, Severus. They will be waiting to celebrate your coming of age," she reminded him.

"Hermione," he said as he pressed her against him. He whispered so quietly, and as he spoke, Hermione felt the words he said were too intimate, far too personal between them to vocalized in the air. When he released her, Severus was emotional, and his voice shook as he spoke. "A woman may offer herself to me to secure a place for herself. I will refuse of course, unless the Dark Lord insists upon it. I want you to know that if that happens, I shall think of you, and the night you let me into your bed at Spinner's End and let me kiss you on the cheek. I won't have intercourse...I won't even touch her...only allow oral service. Forgive me, for the crassness of my words. I know this must be a traitorous act, and I hate myself already. I feel I shall be violating our bond. Please know I shall not enjoy any minute of it. If I find release tonight, it shall only be because I will have thought of your lips and hands on me. My body may betray me, but my mind will be pure. I hope you can forgive me one day...for I shall never be able," he said sadly.

Hermione felt her heart was breaking at his confession. "This is not easy for us, Severus. I know because of the oath you gave me; you will love me forever and always. I trust you. I just hope you can accept that until this is over, I cannot be with you intimately, knowing what the Dark Lord might make you do. I-I am sorry. I just can't feel comfortable knowing...just hours from being in another woman's...I just can't," she choked out as the tears began to swell in her eyes.

He took her into his arms and kissed her tears. "No, Hermione. You are right. What we have is too precious to be mixed in with all of this. I shall refrain from trying to progress our relationship to that level. But I wanted to be honest. I want you knowing what I have to do, and I want you to know how I will be used. Can you bear hearing that I might be fucking other women?"

"Oh, Severus!" Hermione said in disgust. "That is just...how can you even say that word to me?"

He kept his hold on her. "Because you and I will make love. What I will do with these soulless women who only want to make a name for themselves will be animalistic with no tenderness or feeling. I might as well be urinating on them. I know that that is shocking, but I've seen it. They watch each other copulate, and it is grotesque! I do not want what I have planned for us to be anything like that," he said in revulsion.

"Severus," Hermione asked as she toyed with his shirt. "Does this mean that when we finally, you know, that you will only want things to be gentle and tender?"

He smiled at her. "You're afraid I will only want you certain ways and other acts will be ruined?" he asked.

Hermione nodded. She couldn't speak, she felt shy and embarrassed.

Severus took her face and lifted it to his. "You fantasize about us?" he whispered to her.

She nodded her head, and he chuckled. "That's a relief," he said happily. He became more aggressive with her and started to roughly kiss her neck and twist her nipples that had begun to harden against her shirt. She moaned in excitement, and Severus whispered to her, "Don't worry. I fantasize about you, your lips around my cock, taking you from behind, making you scream as I taste the sweetness from between your legs. No Hermione, I want you to fulfill all my needs."

He continued to hold her. "What I had felt for Lily was just lust compared to what you and I will one day experience. Please, don't give up on me, my love. I shall never give up on you," he said softly with his intense black eyes boring into hers.

"I shall save it all for you, Severus. No man shall know me but you. I swear!" she said passionately.

The familiar magic swirled around them, bonding their vows to the other, only the colors were not so varied, it was all silver and gold. It was ancient magic, Severus whispered. And he explained that they were magically betrothed. Only death would release them from the other.

He kissed her passionately and nibbled on her neck and ear. "I want to bare your breasts and ravage them. Your lips are so full and tender. Every time I look at them, I can't help myself. I can't stop thinking about how soft the skin between your thighs must be. I want to kiss you there," he said huskily.

Hermione felt his erection pressed against her in desperation. "Tell me, Hermione, tell me what you think of when you touch yourself." His eyes were mad with desire.

"I-I think of you pushing yourself inside me to make me mould you. I think of you panting and groaning as you thrust inside me," she blurted out wantonly.

He grabbed her and pushed them against a nearby tree. He ground his erection into her pelvis through his clothes until he was moaning and panting with desire. Finally, he shuddered, and Hermione knew he had found release.

"Forgive me," he panted.

"Nothing to forgive, Severus. I wanted it as well."

"I want to pleasure you," he whispered.

"Just watch," she whispered.

He stared wide-eyed as she dipped her hand into her waistband and knickers with one hand and slipped her other hand up her shirt to find a hardened nipple. Severus stood frozen in shock as she pinched and rolled the peak through her small fingers.

"Stand closer, Severus!' she breathed.

He hovered over her as she forcefully frigged herself into a frenzy of desire. Severus looked at her in amazement. She climaxed and shivered, "Oh, Severus, Severus, SEVERUS!" she screamed as she flew over the edge.

She adjusted her robes, and Severus grabbed the hand that had dipped itself into her knickers.

"Dip your fingers into you, Hermione," he ordered.

She obeyed, and he grabbed her wrist, eyeing the come glistening on her hand. He sucked it off.

"Your sweetness," he said with a sigh. "Nothing more luscious," he said deeply.

As they walked away, for a moment, Hermione wished he had dipped his own fingers to take as much of her excitement from her as he wanted.