4

4.

"Well?" Severus turned from the window to face her. "Why in the nine circles of hell were you wandering around in the dark?"

He must not recognize her. The years had changed her. She wore her hair longer now, which pulled some of the curl out of it. She was also slightly plumper after having two children, though she had not reached a Molly Weasley level of plumpness by any means. The last time this man had seen her, she's been a gangly teen. It was little wonder that he didn't recognize her.

"Severus." She'd tried to say Mr. Snape, but it simply hadn't wanted to come out of her mouth. Hermione and her friends had taken to referring to their surly former potions master by his first name shortly after Harry's son, Albus, had been born.

His head snapped up and he regarded her more closely, his expression carefully blank as he studied her from head to toe. "Muggle clothes, but obviously a witch to know who I am. Most likely one of my students. Hermione Granger I believe, or more likely Hermione Weasley."

He said the last word with such distaste that it made Hermione smile. "It was Weasley, but it's Granger now."

"Is it? Can I dare hope that the youngest Weasley has perished in some dreadful accident?"

His gravelly voice held so much glee at the thought of Ron's untimely demise that it made Hermione laugh out loud, which seemed to disconcert him. She couldn't help it. Here was a man she had long thought dead, acting his normal snarky self, and she could not have been happier to see him. She managed to stop laughing and was surprised to feel tears in her eyes. She didn't know if she should laugh or weep, she was so glad to see Severus alive.

"Afraid not," she managed. "We're divorced."

That said, she rushed over to the tall man and hugged him with all her might. She felt him stiffen under the assault, and suspected he reached for his wand before remembering that it was useless. Perhaps she was lucky the dampening field still held. Severus was never one to enjoy being fussed over.

"Miss Granger, please unhand me."

"No." She squeezed a little tighter.

"What do you mean, no?"

"No, I won't unhand you." Loosening her grip slightly, she looked up at him. "I've very happy to see you, Sir, and I don't feel like letting go of you just yet."

The expression on his face was more astonished that angry, so Hermione decided she could get away with hugging him just a little longer. She put her cheek against his chest and tightened her grip again.

"Since you have already made rather free use of my given name, Hermione, I see no reason to return to formality."

"Thank you, Severus."

Hermione was the one who was astonished when she felt one arm creep loosely around her back. Though it wasn't quite a hug exactly, it was far more forward than she had ever expected the reserved man to act.

"Now then, do you think you could release me? I really would like to know why you were wandering around this wood, and why my carefully crafted anti-Nargle wards have dropped. Not to mention the fact that I can't get so much as a spark from my wand."

Reluctantly, Hermione ended the hug and stepped back from her formal professor. Though his tone of voice had been close to his old disdain, the expression on his face as he looked at her was something closer to fond.

"Are we safe here?" she asked.

"For the moment. The cabin is old, but intact. I was examining it for holes and cracks when I heard you scream."

"I'm glad you did. Thank you for helping me."

"I didn't much fancy watching a woman get eaten."

She laughed again at that remark. It was odd. The same droll tone and sarcasm that had so affronted her as a schoolgirl now seemed amusing. Had he been this funny when she'd been his student? Had she been so affronted by the way he spoke to people that she hadn't noticed his deadpan sense of humor? Or had he changed in the years since she'd last seen him, bleeding on the floor of the shrieking shack? Perhaps it was a little of both.

"I'll explain what's going on, but I really need to sit down, I think. It's been a trying evening."

"Suit yourself."

There was no furniture in the old cabin. Hermione walked to the nearest wall and sat cross-legged in front of it so she could lean against the smooth boards. To her surprise, Severus joined her and sat close enough that their knees were almost touching. She regarded him quietly for a moment. He was an interesting looking man. Not handsome by any means, but not ugly, as she had considered him when she was young. Chiseled features and black eyes that regarded her with patient curiosity. The silver streak in his dark hair looked almost dashing.

Perhaps she's been living alone too long. Severus was over twenty years her senior, but she found him strangely compelling. With a sigh, she tried to calm her thoughts so that she could explain the situation to him.

It took little time to tell him of the mission and the dampening field. The further she explained, the more angry he became.

"So, you mean to tell me that the plan I put into motion, the plan that took years to come to fruition, is now being ruined by the clumsy hands of the Ministry of Magic? How the hell did they even find out about this meeting?"

"Luck. An owl was intercepted. They read the message and sent it on its way."

"Chance? Pure thrice-damned luck brought the Aurors here to muck everything up?"

"What plan, Severus? Did you lure the last Death Eaters here?"

"Of course I did. You couldn't possibly think they just happened to pick a time and place to meet where they would be eaten by Nargles. It took ten years to find where each of them was hiding. I sent messages to all of them, pretending to be one of their number, warning them of some mysterious threat. Suggesting a supposedly safe place to meet that was far from prying eyes. Letting them feel safe enough to meet in person. It was going perfectly."

"Do you think they will escape?"

"They will not." Severus' tone of voice had become grim and determined. "I chose the clearing carefully. It is surrounded by the oldest oaks in this forest and they have a multitude of mistletoe hanging from their branches. The remaining death eaters are already dead. What concerns me is that if this ridiculous field lasts much longer, we may end up joining them."

That was a sobering thought. Hermione could only hope that Harry got her message before all of them were eaten by ravenous Nargles.

The two sat in silence for a long moment, each lost in their own worries. Hermione decided that it would be better to continue their conversation and try to take their minds off of the screeching creatures outside.

"Severus, how is it that you are alive?"

"I once told you, on your first day of potions class, a good potions maker can put a stopper in death. Not all death, of course...no wizard, regardless of talent, has that power. However, venom from a snake I had long studied and a little blood loss was certainly within my power."

"But we found your body."

"Don't be stupid. You found a body. Obviously it wasn't mine, as I'm still using it."

The gentle insult only made Hermione smile at him, which he seemed to find disconcerting.

"Why didn't you let us know you were alive? We missed you. We grieved for you."

"I very much doubt that."

"Doubt it all you want, it's still true."

Severus rolled his eyes at that statement, which made Hermione chuckle.

"I had work to do. The remaining Death Eaters had to be found and eliminated. I knew them, knew their habits, knew how they thought. I had the best chance of finding them, and I couldn't do that from a cell in Azkaban. Now that the last ones are dead, my work is finally finished. I can present myself to the Aurors with a clear conscience and let them do with me what they will."

His words shocked Hermione. Here was this man who had worked tirelessly for the good of the wizarding world for...well..his entire life practically, and he thought that his only reward would be a prison cell. Yet he'd continued, with no thought of reward, fighting for the side of the light. It occurred to her that she had never really understood this man at all.

"But Severus, your name was cleared ages ago. Kingsley is the present Minister and Harry is the head of the Aurors. They cleared your name and awarded you an Order of Merlin almost as soon as the war was over. Didn't you see the announcements in the paper?"

"I have not seen a wizarding paper since that night in the Shrieking Shack. I was in hiding. I kept away from wizarding cities and distrusted the post owls. But, Hermione, how can I be pardoned? Shacklebolt thought I was a traitor and Potter hates me."

"Harry did hate you, back when he was a kid. He didn't understand, Severus, none of us did. You gave him your memories and he learned the truth. He hasn't hated you since that moment. In fact, he named his youngest son Albus Severus."

"He did not!"

"He did."

"What a ridiculous name to saddle a child with."

He grew quiet after that. Sitting next to Hermione, staring at his hands where they lay clasped in his lap, he seemed to need time to mull over what Hermione had told him. She gave him as much time as she could stand, and then reached over to cover his hands with one of her own.

"Are you all right?" she asked gently. "I know it's a great deal for you to get used to."

"Me? You saw a man rise from the dead. I--"

Whatever he was going to say next was lost when he got a good look at her hand. Holding it in both of his own, he turned it palm up to examine it.

"You're hurt. You didn't tell me you were hurt."

"It's nothing. I fell down, oh, several dozen times it feels like."

The palms of her hands were raw and bleeding in a few places from catching herself when she fell. Severus bent his head closer and plucked a couple of splinters from her palm with his fingernails, making her wince. Reaching into his cloak, he retrieved a small vial with liquid of a greenish hue. With a gentleness that Hermione had never suspected the gruff man possessed, he rubbed a few drops of the healing potion onto her skin. The shallow wounds healed before her eyes, leaving the pink of new skin in their wake.

"Other hand, please."

The same process was repeated with her left hand, and Hermione stretched her fingers in relief. She hadn't been aware of how badly her hands were hurting until they weren't anymore.

"Are you injured anywhere else?"

Remembering the Nargle that landed on her shoulder, Hermione pulled the neck of her t-shirt down to reveal the bite mark. A few more drops of potion, and the intriguing feeling of his gentle fingers on the base of her neck, and that wound was also healed.

His hand remained on her neck as they stared into each other's eyes. Hermione wasn't certain what her own expression revealed, but Severus' was a mixture of puzzlement and astonishment.

The moment was broken when they heard a high pitched scream from outside the cabin.

************

A/N

One more chapter after this. I've had such a good time revisiting the Potterverse. I might do it again. Thank you so much for reading, and for the kind comments.

For those who have nominated my romance novel, Descending, I thank you. My campaign has really picked up, and it has to be because of you guys. My campaign ends 12/15/2016. If you enjoy my writing, and want a chance at a free e-book of Descending, stop by Kindle Scout check it out, and nominate it if you like what you see. You can find it in the romance section. If it's chosen for publication, everyone who nominates it gets a free advance copy. Free books! Nothing wrong with that.

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