The Sky's the Limit

A/N: I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this fic up after a 4 year hiatus. Though it was well read back in the day, I rather thought no one would bother reading it after so long. I didn't even post an update on WIKTT or Potter Place at first. I was, and still am, mortified that I never managed to finish it. I might have posted a notice on my LJ, but LJ was under attack at the time, and I couldn't even get to it. So I just sort of slipped it in, wondering if anyone would notice, not sure if anyone would care after all this time.

Imagine my shock when the first reviews appeared even before I fixed a mistake in posting I had made due to not being used to posting anything anymore. And what kind comments! No "where have you been, you lazy old whore?!" I saw some names I recognized from long ago, and lots of new folks as well, and not one of you calling me the names I so deserve.

I thank you. I thank you for your patience and for your kindness. I thank you for your kind words and some comments so amusing I did indeed laugh out loud. And mostly I thank you for reading.

The fic is finished, and I'll post the last few chapters over the next couple weeks. This chapter has not yet been blessed by my lovely beta, Southern Witch, but after so long a hiatus, I find I am so impatient to post that I cannot wait another moment. Any mistakes are my own fault. Please feel free to email me at Plaidpooka@yahoo.com with any errors you find, and I'll get them sorted. Special thanks to alert reader, Bettina, who caught a dastardly typo clear back in chapter 24.

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"Isn't sanity just a one-trick pony anyway? I mean, all you get is that one trick, rational thinking, but when you're good and crazy, well, the sky's the limit!" – Ben Edlund, The Tick

Waking the next morning, Hermione was at once buffeted with feelings both strange and marvelous. Severus lay on his side facing away from her and she was spooned tightly against him with one arm thrown over his waist. He must have removed his soft cotton vest in the night, because she could feel the tickle of his chest hair against her palm. She could also feel her bare breasts pressed snugly against the warm skin of his back, which reminded her of her own half naked state. Rubbing gently against him, she felt her nipples tighten with arousal.

Hermione had never before awakened with a half dressed man in her bed, and she was quickly discovering that she adored it. She loved the weight of him next to her, and the heat that radiated off of him. The crinkle of his chest hair against her fingers was as astonishing as it was wonderful, and Hermione was impatient to explore his body further. Slowly sliding her hand downward, she found that Severus had left his pajama bottoms on, just as he had left her Muggle jeans and knickers in place before they had drifted to sleep. It was his gentle response to her missish nerves of the night before, and Hermione was completely taken aback by both his patience and his kindness. The stern professor of her schooldays had been completely absent, and Severus' responses to her fear had been far closer to those of the mad friend she had found at Grimmauld Place.

In the light of morning, her nerves of the previous evening seemed patently ridiculous to her. Honestly! She had almost fled the room at the thought of having sex with the man that she loved! What had she been thinking? Yes, it had all seemed strange and awkward, but this was her Severus. She desired him with a passion that she had not believed herself capable of. Where once she had been nervous, she now was impatient. Just the soft rubbing of her breasts against his back as she breathed was sending warm shivers of pleasure down her body.

She may have acted the frightened maiden last night, but this morning her Gryffindor side was putting in a strong appearance. Gently, she removed her arm from around Severus' waist, and slipped her hand over her hip until she felt the wand still in her back pocket. She was definitely going to have to be more careful of her wand, but at the moment, she was simply relieved that she'd been far too distracted the night before to move it to a safer location. Slowly sliding her wand out of her pocket, she silently worded the spell that would divest her of her remaining clothes and leave them folded at the side of the bed. Having Severus undress her with his gentle fingers and strong hands was a pleasure she would have to save for another time. Right now, Hermione knew exactly what she wanted, but she wasn't at all sure how to ask for it. Hoping that Severus would take her nudity as the invitation it was, Hermione silently cast the spell that would remove the last of Severus' clothing. Suddenly, she could feel the naked warmth of his backside nestled against her thighs. With a pleased sigh, she negligently tossed her wand in the vague direction of the bedside table. Wrapping her arm back around Severus' waist, she curled her fingers in the patch of hair on his chest. She couldn't help pressing her whole nude length tighter against him, and the feeling of so much skin against skin had her sighing again.

The man beside her stirred at last. Twining his hand over hers, he raised her hand to his lips and gave a warm kiss to her palm.

"Hermione," he murmured.

Hermione's only response was a hum of contentment. Now that he was awake, she saw no reason not to rub her bare breasts against the warm skin of his back, so she did so. This earned her a rumble of wakening arousal from Severus that she felt more than heard as it vibrated against her whole chest. Releasing her hand, Severus reached behind him, perhaps to press her more firmly against him, but when his wandering hand encountered the bare flesh of her arse, his entire body tensed up as he froze in place.

"Hermione?" he whispered uncertainly.

Sweeping his hair out of the way, Hermione placed an open mouthed kiss at the back of his neck, right where neck met shoulder.

"Severus," she said against his skin, rather shocked at how low and husky her voice had dropped.

The tension in his body fled as abruptly as it had appeared. His hand began to explore the curves of her bare backside as he turned in her arms to face her.

Hermione saw passion as well as the question in his eyes, and she felt very brave indeed. "I think we should finish what we started last night," she said softly, her voice a low rumble.

There was no more hesitation on his part, no questioning of her certainty. Severus simply used the hand on her arse to pull her hips firmly against his own as he took her lips in a searing kiss. She could feel his hard length pressing fiercely against her thigh as he rocked against her, and it made her whimper with need. Suddenly, she found herself flat on her back as Severus leaned over her.

"Hermione," he said a third time, his voice gruff with desire. Leaning down, he took a nipple into his mouth. His change of position set his skin sliding over her entire body. Hermione wasn't sure which was more enticing, the hot mouth over her nipple or the excitement of so much bare skin rubbing against bare skin. She felt wanton in her nakedness, hungry and painfully impatient. Spreading her legs so that Severus' hips nestled in the cradle of her thighs, Hermione arched her hips up, grinding against the hardness she found. Nothing had ever felt as exhilarating as rubbing her aching center against that delicious hardness.

"Hermione," he said breathlessly against her nipple. Sliding his body against hers once again, he returned to her mouth and kissed her with sudden aggression. His hips pressed into hers with more speed and force, and for a moment they simply writhed against each other, with panting breath and small, guttural moans peppered in between kisses.

When Severus' hips slowed, and he raised himself slightly away from her, Hermione cried out in disappointment.

"Shhh...Hermione," Severus murmured, kissing her softly for a moment.

As his kiss grew more hungry, Hermione felt him part her folds with his hand. As he began to rub her wet flesh with swirling strokes of his fingers, Hermione broke the kiss, clutching him tightly to her as she panted in his ear.

"Yes, Severus, oh yes!" she cried out as she felt the feelings he was awakening with his hand build stronger and stronger.

As her cries grew more abandoned, Severus pressed his hips closer, and she could feel his cock slip barely into her opening. It felt so good to have his shaft teasing her entrance that she tried to arch her hips off the bed to get him farther inside her. Relentlessly, Severus held her hips firmly down with the palm of his hand as his fingers sped their swirling motions.

"Yes, Hermione, yes," Severus said into her ear, his voice low and rough.

Hearing her name, spoken in such tones, sent Hermione over the edge. As her orgasm began to pulse through her, Severus drove home, entering her fully in one firm thrust. The slight pain of that entry was swept away as her orgasm intensified, rolling through her in fierce waves. Severus didn't hesitate once he had entered her, but thrust his hips forward, pounding into her as she cried out in her passion. As her orgasm began to fade, she felt Severus' body stiffen. His hips began to loose their steady rhythm as he bucked erratically against her. As she felt the cock within her begin to twitch and jump, Hermione held him tightly, murmuring his name over and over as he shivered and moaned in her arms.

"Hermione," he whispered breathlessly, resting his face in her hair. "Oh, my Hermione."

When Severus suddenly went limp and rested his full weight atop her, Hermione realized he'd been keeping most of his weight off of her with his knees and elbows while they had made love. The weight of him was strangely comforting at first, but soon it became difficult for her to breathe. When she squirmed slightly, Severus rolled heavily off of her onto his back. Snaking one arm around her, he pulled Hermione tight to his side, and she snuggled in, resting her head on his shoulder and draping an arm over his waist. Severus' movements had been sluggish. For a moment, Hermione worried that the morning's exercise had been too much for him. Then, when Hermione reached a hand up to brush the hair from his face, she realized how sluggish she felt herself. Her limbs felt heavy as lead and she was entirely disinclined to move. She felt rather boneless. Remembering that a similar, heavy feeling had occurred after each of her orgasms the night before, Hermione decided that she was worrying too much. Based on their recent activity, Severus was obviously fine. This intense listlessness must be a normal product of having sex. The feeling had passed quickly the night before, so there was no need to worry about it.

Just as Hermione snuggled a little more closely, closed her eyes, and decided that a short kip might be in order, she felt Severus flinch so hard that it sent a tremor through the bed. As Severus suddenly sprang from the bed, Hermione's head and arm were abruptly dislodged. As she struggled briefly to right herself and get her face out of the bedclothes, Severus spoke.

"Hermione!"

This time, her name on his lips had none of the previous passionate tones. The word was curtly spoken through clenched teeth. For a moment, Hermione worried that the morning's exercise had been too much for him after all. However, when Hermione sat up and looked at him, she realized they had far more serious issues to deal with.

Severus stood calmly by the bed, but a closer look belied his apparent calm. His eyes were narrowed, his jaw was clenched, and his right hand was firmly clasped over the Dark Mark on his left forearm. A vein throbbed dully at his temple. As Hermione watched, he uttered a quiet hiss and clasped the hand over the Dark mark more firmly.

Hermione was standing at his side so fast that she wasn't aware of even getting out of the bed. Putting a tentative hand over the one clutching the Mark, she gazed into his narrowed eyes.

"Severus, what is it? What's wrong? Are you in pain?"

At the last question, Severus emitted a short bark of laughter which ended in another hiss.

"I'm fine," he assured her, his jaw still clenched so that his words seemed strained and strange. "I'm being called. It is... unpleasant."

"Voldemort?" Hermione gasped. "Now? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Severus repeated, rolling his eyes at her. "For Merlin's sake, woman, it's not the first time I've been called. It happens every few weeks. Whenever the Dark lord has some sort of nastiness planned he calls his minions to him."

"Every few weeks!" Hermione snapped incredulously. "You suffer this every few weeks! Why have I not noticed? We've lived together for months..."

"Because I did not wish to burden you with it," Severus snapped, cutting her off. Closing his eyes briefly, Severus took a deep breath he continued in softer tones. "There is nothing to be done about it, love, it simply must be suffered. When one goes to the Dark lord the pain stops, but when one is in hiding..."

"One suffers," Hermione interjected. "Oh, Severus, I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"You were not meant to," Severus said, a small smile twitching up the corners of his mouth before he again hissed in pain. "No matter. We have much to do. We must alert Albus immediately and get the order organized to fight."

"What? N-now?" Hermione sputtered, her eyes going wide in shock. "No, Severus. Absofuckinglutely not. You've been ill. Whatever that spell was that you used to restore Dumbledore, it took everything you had. You looked near death. You'd be mad to face Voldemort until you've regained your full strength!"

"Hermione," Severus growled, "there's no time for this. We must act now!"

"No!" Hermione shouted. "Fuck that! We don't have to act now! If he calls you every few weeks, then wait for the next one!"

Grasping both of his arms in an unconscious parody of how Severus once held her, Hermione gave him a fierce shake. Severus' eyebrows flew up in surprise, and he seemed completely gobsmacked by her fierceness.

"You're precious!" Hermione shouted, giving him another shake. "Don't you understand that? I've finally got you all in one piece, mind and body, and you want to throw it all away!"

Suddenly letting loose of his throbbing Dark Mark, Severus wound both hands into Hermione's hair and crushed his mouth against her own. The kiss was as brief as it was violent. Leaving his hands twined in Hermione's hair, Severus leaned his forehead against hers, and stared into her eyes.

"Sweet Merlin, but I love you, Trollop," Severus murmured. "You have no idea. But think, Hermione! The Dark Lord doesn't use this manner of calling for trifles. If he is gathering all of the Death Eaters, he has more than mischief planned. People will die. I'm fine, Trollop! I needed a little rest and I've had it. Can you truly ask me to allow people to needlessly die just because something might happen to me? Can you ask me to wait when we have a chance to stop this madness forever, right now?"

For a moment, Hermione gazed at Severus sadly as her eyes welled with tears. As one teardrop slipped from the corner of her eye to roll slowly down her cheek, Hermione spoke softly.

"I could not love thee half so well, if I loved not honor more," Hermione said. "Forgive me, Severus. Last night, and this morning... Such personal joy had made me forget that we are still at war. Of course you are right. We can't let others suffer and die simply because I can't bear the thought of losing you."

Here, more tears spilled from Hermione's eyes. Severus brushed them softly from her cheeks with his thumbs before lowering his lips to hers once more. Hermione had never been kissed with such reverence, with such adoration, and for a moment, it made her cry all the harder.

"I swear to you that I will do everything in my power to survive the coming battle, if you will give me the same oath," Severus whispered.

"I will," Hermione said, a tremor in her voice. Raising a hand to brush the tears from her eyes, Hermione lifted her chin and said it with far more conviction. "I will!"

Severus leaned in to murmur in her ear. "Never have I had so much to live for. I'd like to see that madman try to keep me from returning to you."

Another brief kiss, then Severus stepped away from Hermione and reached for where his clothes hung on a nearby hook. "Get dressed, Hermione, and go tell Albus that I've been called. I'll head to the front gate and prepare to apparate. If I don't hear from you in ten minutes, I'll assume all is well with the plan and leave."

"Yes, Severus," Hermione said simply.

Hermione dressed quickly in her jeans and top, found her wand where it had rolled onto the floor, and stuffed it into her pocket. When she turned to Severus she gaped in shock. His hair looked dirty and matted. There were smudges of dirt on his face and hands. As she watched, he drew a graceful curve in the air with his wand and his new black robe and trousers became dirty and torn.

"Severus," Hermione began, hesitantly. "What ever are you doing?"

Severus' posture slumped somewhat, and his next words were directed to the bedpost Hermione stood near.

"Why, I have no idea what you mean, little whore," Severus said cheerfully. "But I'm mad as a mooncalf, so what would I know about it?"

A surprised giggle helped Hermione to shake off her tearful mood. This was not the helpless madman that she had been taking care of for months. Severus was a seasoned fighter and duelist, as fierce as he was intelligent. His impersonation of his mad self was so spot on that it was hard to remember that he was now sane. She doubted he had anyone to fear in the field of battle save the Dark Lord himself.

"Try not to fret," Severus said, as if reading her mind. "I'll be safe as houses for the first part of the fight. The Death Eaters think that I'm on their side, and the Order knows that I am not."

One last kiss, far briefer than either of them wished for.

"I love you, Trollop," Severus said softly.

"And I you, Severus."

Opening the door of Severus' room, they walked through the Infirmary hand in hand, and then went their separate ways. Severus walked briskly, head held high, towards the main entrance of the castle. Hermione shook her head again, straightened her shoulders, and rushed towards the Headmistress' office. On her way there, she wondered if she should have floo'd the office from the infirmary. She'd been in such a hurry, she'd just set out, jogging along the corridor in a rush. The Headmistress' office was terribly difficult to get into if one wasn't expected. At any rate, it was too late for second guessing. She was fast approaching the Headmistress' office and there weren't any floos in the nearby classrooms. If she couldn't get in, she'd send in her Patronus.

Rushing up to the door, Hermione quickly realized that she had been worried for nothing. The gargoyle guarding the door animated briefly and regarded her with dull stone eyes.

"Wait," it said shortly, its voice grating like slabs of granite rubbing together.

The gargoyle returned to its normal immobility just long enough for Hermione to begin to worry again. It animated again abruptly which made the anxiously awaiting Hermione give a violent start.

"Enter," the gargoyle said in its granite voice, as the door to the office swung open of its own accord.

Hermione fairly flew through the door and took the moving steps two at a time.