Chapter One

I awoke in a dark, dingy space; I could feel the wet dirt under my fingers. My head throbbed painfully. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could faintly see the outline of stairs and a door not far from where I lay.

I automatically reached for my wand but it had been taken.

I forced myself to stand, my senses swimming as tried to make my way up the steps to the door. It wouldn't budge. I kicked at it, tried to shove at it with my shoulder, all to no avail. I was well and truly stuck.

Hours, or was it days, later I could hear someone fumbling with the latch. I rushed up the narrow stairway to the door, hoping that I'd be able to find some way to scramble out. I let out strangled gasp when I saw Severus in the doorway. I felt flooded with dread as I saw that he was nearly unconscious.

Severus was pushed forward, the force of the blow pitching him into me. The door slammed closed behind him as we toppled down the stairs into the blackness below. I landed painfully on my knees and tried to brace myself with my hands, only to feel another streak of pain shoot through my shoulder and back as Severus fell on top of me and stayed there, his full weight crushing me into the floor.

"Severus," I groaned out, trying to push against his unmoving form. I tried to wiggle out from underneath him, crying out: "Severus!" in the hopes that I would get some response from him.

He mumbled something incoherently and then slowly rolled off me, landing on the cellar floor. I scooted closer to him, tentatively reaching out with my hand to touch his forehead.

"Severus," I said softly, brushing his hair away from his forehead with the back of my hand. "Are you hurt?"

"My head," he mumbled. He groaned again and tried to sit up. "How about you?" he asked, trying to catch his breath.

"I was fine until you landed on me," I retorted, trying (badly I admit) to inject some levity into our dire situation.

Severus let out a snort and tried to rise up on his elbows. "To the point, as always."

"This wasn't what I wanted," I said, pulling away from him. "I thought..." I paused, listening to the sounds of his ragged breathing in the darkness for a moment before continuing. "Well, it doesn't really matter what I thought."

I stood up and tried to move away, but I ended up bumping into him. He grabbed onto me, his arms wrapping around my waist to keep me from falling as I stumbled. I stilled – unsure of what to do. I wanted to hug him tight to me, but I didn't think I had the right to – not after I had chased him away.

I rested my head on his chest and sighed. "I'm sorry," I said softly. I could feel his body tense up and I braced myself for the rejection I knew was coming.

"You should've trusted me," he said gruffly.

"I know," I said miserably. "But..." I shook my head. There really was no justification for what I had done. I couldn't help it, I buried my face even further into his chest; tears weren't far behind.

I let out a started gasp when Severus leaned down and kissed the top of my forehead tenderly. His lips brushed over my eyebrows as he lightly whispered, "Next time, you'll know better."

I had to choke back the tears as he tilted my head up; instead of kissing me on the mouth as I had imagined, his lips caught the tip of my nose.

I hugged him tight and lifted my face again, my lips meeting his; an intense surge of happiness suffused me as he returned my kiss. He cradled the back of my head as his tongue slid along the seam of my lips. My knees fairly buckled as he swirled his tongue around and against mine. I moaned against his mouth as his kiss became demanding.

My fingers felt clumsy as I started to pull at his clothing; the buttons seemed to take forever. Impatient, I pulled his shirt tail out of his trousers and slipped my hands inside. Severus moaned against my mouth as my cold fingers teased his nipples.

He quickly unbuttoned his shirt for me and then slowly unbuttoned my own. His fingers traced the top lace of my bra, causing me to shiver in anticipation as he pulled the shirt down my arms.

Severus bent his head down, capturing one of my puckered nipples with his mouth. His hands slipped behind me, as his fingers worked the claps of my bra. One hand stayed on my back as the other pulled the bra away from my body. I cried out in pleasure, grasping his hair and pulling him tightly to me as his teeth lightly grazed my nipple.

The hand on my back slowly moved down, sliding under the material of my jeans, until I could feel him stroking the curve of my bottom. Somehow I managed to pry off my shoes as his other hand freed the button of my pants.

I slid my hands down the hard contours of his back, letting out a whine of frustration when I couldn't (again) seem to manage the clasp of his trousers.

"Hurry," I demanded, pulling back. I balanced myself on one foot, then the other as I struggled to pull off the remainder of my clothes. He was elegant in his own movements, quickly shedding his own clothes in a graceful motion that left me fairly envious.

His mouth caught mine as soon as his clothes were gone. My knees buckled and we sunk to the ground – neither of us caring that it was only dirt. I pushed at him, urging him to roll onto his back, probably surprising him when I straddled him.

I leaned forward and kissed him. I could feel the length of him sliding against me. I arched my hips, completely in control. His hands gripped my hips as I slowly gyrated above him, reveling in the feel of him hard and hot against me. He let out a harsh breath as I shifted my body, slowly impaling myself on his cock.

Severus relaxed his grip on my hips, sliding his hands up to cup my breasts. I arched, taking him fully into me as he pinched each nipple. I moved upwards, my thighs tensing as I slowly proceeded to ride him. His hips bucked upwards each time I moved down.

His fingers pulled on my nipples as I moved, the spiking pleasure causing me to arch against him faster. I ground my hips against his each downward stroke, feeling him thrust up into me.

One of his hands slipped down between us; I felt his finger press against my clit. I screamed as the orgasm hit, feeling Severus thrust deeply into me one more time as his own overtook him.

I collapsed into a sated heap on his chest. His arms wrapped around me. Even though we were locked in an impossible situation, I felt safe.

Severus nudged me. I heard the latch on the cellar door squeak as someone tried to open it. I quickly sorted myself out and tried to put myself in a better position. We had decided to try and overtake the next person who checked on us.

"Hermione?"

"Mum?" I quickly climbed the steps towards the door. "Severus... wait."

"Oh, thank God," she said, stepping into the cellar. "I've been looking all over for you." I grabbed her around the waist and hugged her tightly.

Severus stepped onto the first step, saying: "We really need to get out of here before –"

He was cut off by someone exclaiming, "Mrs. Granger!"

"I've found her, Harry," Mum said over her shoulder.

"Harry?" I squealed, peering around Mum's figure. "What...?"

"Could we please leave this wretched place before you have to know each detail, Hermione?" Severus asked.

I reached back and grabbed his hand. "You're not going anywhere, right?"

He gave me a measured look, as if weighing his words before he answered me.

"I'm not letting you go that easily," I told him. I clung to him as we staggered out of the darkness. I buried my head against his shoulder in an effort to shield my eyes from the sunlight that was streaming in from the holes in the roof.

When my eyes had adjusted, I took a look around. I could see the worried expressions of my Mum, Harry, Ron and some others – they weren't really paying attention to us. I also saw the crumpled figure of my former solicitor. I couldn't find it in me to be worried over his health.

"We're in the stables," Severus muttered against my ear.

"I didn't know there were any stables," I said softly.

"Hermione," Mum said, pinning me with a look. "I think you both need some food – you've been missing for about two days."

My stomach grumbled at the mention of food. I wanted to ask how they had found us – but thought better of it. "It looks as if they have everything covered," I said, nodding over to where my Mum stood, giving Harry and the others instructions. "Do you think they'd notice if we disappeared?" I asked Severus. "I'd kill for a bath... and to brush my teeth. I feel so grubby."

"And you need me to do that?"

"Need? No. Want? Yes."

I was just stepping out of the bathtub when I heard footsteps in the room next to me. I figured Severus had changed his mind about waiting until I was done. I briskly toweled my hair, calling out: "Severus?" as I entered the room.

"You," Gertrude snarled maliciously.

"Gertrude?" I asked bewildered.

"You officious busybody," she spat out, leaning heavily on her walker. "Meddling in things that aren't any of your business. I should've done away with the both of you sooner."

"Why...? What did Severus do?"

"He was trying to get your aunt to sell him this house!" she snapped. "This is my house! My family paid dearly for it!"

"Your family...?" I began, and then it made sense. "This room – you know about this room!"

Gertrude nodded. "Of course I do! If that stupid little Mudblood had known her true place, it would've never happened. But no – she had to incite trouble, and of course, my uncle had no choice but to remedy the situation as he did." Gertrude's face twisted with rage. "The house was a part of the dowry! It was ours! But the Muggle government said otherwise."

"But – I've never seen you do any magic..." I said. My brain quickly reeling – I wonder if she might be a Squib, it would explain so much.

"I debased myself for years allowing that... that Muggle to think I was her friend. And for what? For her to leave this house to another grasping Mudblood?!" She continued on as if I hadn't said a thing.

"But... Mr. Markham..." I ventured, edging my way to the door.

"My son was supposed to fix those stupid documents to reflect the home's true ownership."

"He's your son?" I squeaked. I narrowed my eyes. "Did you kill my aunt?"

"Ha, nothing so common as that." She had inched closer to me as we spoke, almost – but not quite – without my noticing. But I wasn't too worried; she was an old woman, constrained by a walker, so I figured I could get all the information I needed from her and still escape relatively unscathed. So when she launched herself at me, teeth bared in a snarling grimace, it took me by surprise.

We toppled over, with her landing on top of me, her clawed hands around my neck before I even realized it. She was stronger than I had expected. I couldn't catch my breath as she squeezed, and everything started to spin. I kicked out, trying to dislodge her as little white specks of light burst in front of my eyes.

Suddenly, I heard hissing. Crookshanks launched himself at Gertrude, catching her unawares. I lashed out with my hands and feet as Crookshanks scratched and clawed at her. I scrambled away, rushing to the edge of the stairs.

Gertrude had subdued Crookshanks, tossing him against the wall as if he were nothing more than a scrap of trash. She lunged towards me just as I twisted away. She lingered there, unbalanced on the edge. Crookshanks rushed over, winding himself between her legs. I could see her eyes widen in fear as she realized what was happening.

She tripped over backwards, tumbling down the stairs until she landed on the hardwood floor below. I could hear her neck snap as she landed. Crookshanks, with his natural agility, had moved himself out of harm's way before Gertrude made her descent, and now sat down on the top step – I swear he had a pleased expression on his little cat face.

I crumpled, clutching the terrycloth towel around me, staring down at Gertrude's form in horror. I don't know how long I sat there.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do, Hermione?" Harry asked me a few days later. I looked over to where Severus stood, talking with my Mum.

"Yeah... I think so."

"But, it's daft! He's... well... so old."

I shrugged. "So?"

Harry scratched the back of his neck. "And, it's... it just is weird."

"It's what I want to do."

"What about him?"

Severus glanced over at me and caught my eye. We stared at one another for a moment before he turned back to speak to my Mum.

"Dunno – but... be happy for me, can you do that?"

Author's Notes:

I first have to thank dickgloucester for her prompts – I can honestly say I had the hardest time trying to choose what I was going to do. Every time I tried to start something though, I kept coming back to this prompt. I only hope I did it justice with my meager offering.

Original Prompt:

How about a spine-chilling ghost story? A really scary one, with Severus and Hermione joining forces to solve the mystery/get rid of the ghosts? Will is be at Hogwarts or elsewhere? I'm afraid this is a very unspecific prompt, but I leave it to the author to scare me. You may amuse me at the same time, but make me tremble, make me bite my fingernails, make me fear for their safety. But I insist upon a happy ending. I'm just pathetic like that.

Second, I have to thank my beta(s), Sarah (who graciously allowed me to use her name) and Mollyssister for the last minute look over. Your help, as always, was invaluable. Whatever I have would not be even half as good as it currently is without their input.

Finally, thanks to the sshg_exchange mods; as always this is a pleasure to take part in!

Wythnos - the Welsh term for a week (or rather eight nights).

Llansteffan, Carmarthenshire, Wales is a real place. Though with the exception of the ruins I mentioned, the descriptions of the place are purely fictional.

Inspiration for "Sarah's" house came from this lovely website:

http://www.welshruins.co.uk/

It is full of some wonderful abandoned homes in Wales. One day, I'll have enough money to go there and poke around in those places.