7. Making Up Is Hard To Do

Disclaimer: All these wonderful characters belong to JKR. I only wish they were mine!

A/N: I bow to the wonderful Southern_Witch_69! I am not worthy, but I accept her help anyway!

This is a response to SW69's Harry Potter Chapter Challenge. Details at the end of chapter one.

Making Up Is Hard To Do

Hermione knew she was being unreasonable. She had been jealous of Ron and Lavender in her sixth year, but it had never been to this extent. She couldn't even go in the Three Broomsticks and face Madam Rosmerta after finding out she had seen Severus starkers! There was nothing else for it. She was bothered by it, though she knew it was ridiculous.

She hated being torn by such jealousy. Having such feelings wasn't like her, and what frustrated her the most was that she didn't know how to deal with them. But she knew something would have to give soon, as Severus would not tolerate her avoidance long. Did she care? Did she want to see him after the way she'd acted and the things she'd said?

It had been one week since she had found out, and she had refused to see Severus. She sent all her assignments and finished potions to him by owl. When he came to her chambers, she would not answer the door...mostly because she was ashamed of her behavior and partly because she was somewhat upset with her wizard.

What bothered her was not the mere fact that he had actually slept with Madam Rosmerta, she'd known that he'd had lovers before her; it was the fact that when Rosmerta made those innuendos to Severus, he never said he wouldn't meet her. He didn't even bother to mention that he had been dating Hermione. It hurt terribly, and she was pouting, plain and simple.

She had a free period and decided to walk about the grounds. She found herself by Hagrid's hut and stopped to listen to him lecture one of his sixth year classes.

"The creation of Basilisks has been illegal since medieval times, although the practice is easily concealed by simply removing the chicken egg from beneath the toad when the Department for the Control of Magical Creatures comes to call."

She quickly scanned the class to make sure Ginny was not in attendance, knowing it would be a bothersome subject for her. Changing her mind, she left and decided she would talk to him another time. Sighing, she made her way back to her classroom to prepare for her next class.

She was happy she had not had any more incidents with Malfoy since that first class. Whatever Severus had said to him worked. Not that the little ferret was friendly! He just ignored her existence, which was fine with her. She entered her classroom and started writing the assignment on the board. It had been a long, lonely week.

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Severus was fuming. He could not believe how immature she was acting. He was a thirty-nine-year-old man! Of course he had been with other witches before. Surely she wasn't of the mind that he should have scolded Rosmerta for asking him a question? How ludicrous! He didn't meet with his former lover, did he? No! Nor did he plan to.

He was beginning to rethink his relationship with Hermione. Severus could not believe how juvenile she was behaving. She has the nerve to refuse to see me, does she? he fumed. Just as quickly, he tampered down on his contempt. Making rash decisions would not be prudent in this situation. He realized that she had acted immaturely due to inexperience. He decided he would speak with her the next day, which was their normal Saturday outing, however, before he made any solid decisions on moving on with his life without her and her schoolgirl tendencies.

He sighed as he put the boggart in the closet for his third year students. He really enjoyed spending time with Hermione. But for this one instance, she had really pleased him in all things. He just couldn't understand what her problem was. He had little choice but to wait until the next day to find out. She hadn't been answering her door when he'd tried to call on her. He pushed the thoughts away as his third years began entering the classroom.

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At around six on Saturday afternoon, Severus made his way to Hermione's chambers. He still had not heard from her at all, but going out when they both had a free Saturday had been their routine for a few months now. Therefore, he suspected she would be expecting him. He didn't know how wrong he was.

Just as he rounded the corner, he heard his little witch laughing at something some male had said to her. He knew it was not Potter or Weasley, as he had passed those two dunderheads on the way there. He decided to slink back into the shadows and see who it was. Viktor Krum. Just bloody perfect. What is he doing here anyway? Shouldn't he be off playing Quidditch somewhere?

The ex-Death Eater was livid at this point. Enough was enough. He was very disappointed in Hermione. He felt like she was playing childish games and decided he would not tolerate it. Taking down her wards, he decided to wait for her to return in her chambers. He was damn well going to be comfortable while he waited!

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Hermione arrived back at the castle shortly after ten to find a very irate Severus Snape sitting in her chambers. Thank Merlin I didn't ask Viktor in! "What are you doing here, Severus? As I recall, we had no plans tonight."

"I beg to differ. We have had plans every Saturday when we are both free for months now. And tonight, we are going to talk and resolve this one way or another. I am sick of your childish games."

"Excuse me?" Hermione could not believe the nerve of this wizard! Yet his words had not fallen on deaf ears. They worried her. She quickly began speaking. "I am not being childish, nor do I play games. You were the one who acted as if you would be meeting Madam Rosmerta at a later time! You never even told her we were together!" Even though she did feel she was acting immaturely at the moment, she was not going to openly admit it to him.

"I think you are highly exaggerating things a bit, don't you? I have explained to you why I did not tell Rosmerta we were dating, Hermione. We had not discussed things ourselves. But I will tell you this: Adults discuss things. They do not avoid each other and try to make each other jealous with former lovers. I won't have it."

"Oh, is that so? Well, let's get this straight. I was not trying to make you jealous, as I had no idea that you even knew I was going out to dinner with Viktor tonight. Viktor is very happily married. He happened to be in town, and we were catching up. That is all. Unlike you, I informed him of our dating from the beginning."

Severus sighed. This nonsense had gone on long enough. "If you can't handle a relationship with a real man and act like a woman, you need to tell me right now. I've had enough of this. It ends here." He waited for her to answer. She said nothing. "Well?" He eyed her shrewdly and saw that her eyes were welling with tears. Sighing, he said, "Hermione, I cannot change the past. Rosmerta has been my lover upon occasion, but it was nothing like us. We never seriously dated, nor did we wish to. I have rectified my mistake and let her know that I am in a relationship with you. What more do you want?"

Hermione looked away from his piercing black eyes. "You made me feel insecure, Severus. I could sense that something had been going on between the two of you, and it seemed you were in no hurry to inform her of your relationship with me. I didn't know how to deal with it, so I lashed out at you. Now, I wonder if my stupidity has cost me everything."

"I see."

She looked back at him then. "Do you, Severus? Do you understand that I am saying I was jealous? That I want no other hands on you again but mine? That I want us to be exclusive?"

"Are you saying you want to lay claim to me, Hermione? Claim me as yours?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I am saying, and to be honest, I don't think I could deal with any other type of relationship. So... if you feel differently or if you want to see other witches, please tell me now."

"Silly girl," Severus sighed, exasperated. "You are the only witch I want." He went to her then and took her in his arms. After kissing her gently, he told her, "Promise me that there will be no more public scenes or avoiding me when you are upset. If you want things to work, we have to discuss our problems like adults would." As she started to look down, he lifted her chin with his finger. "There is no reason for you to feel insecure with me, Hermione. Now, I want you to promise me."

"I promise, and I am sorry I acted childishly. I was hurt, and I dealt with it by avoiding you. I won't do that again." She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, "I have heard that make up sex is wonderful." Then, she licked his earlobe and trailed her way down the side of his neck.

He groaned and kissed her again, passionately this time. "I have missed you."

"Me, too," Hermione said, whimpering when his hands began caressing her body. Getting carried away in the moment, she started unfastening his robes. She wanted to touch him, to feel him. "I need you... please."

Not wanting to wait long enough to go to her bedchambers, he lowered her onto the rug in front of the fireplace after removing the rest of their clothes. He looked down at her, lying on the rug, glowing from the fire. "Beautiful," he murmured before kissing her again.

He started with her lips and didn't stop until he had kissed, licked, and nibbled every inch of her body. Just when she thought she was going to explode from wanting him to fill her, he slid in and started thrusting within her, gently at first, and later, after relishing the feel of her wet heat, he thrust with more urgency. It didn't take long for her to come undone, and he followed shortly after.

Hermione sighed, content to lie in his arms on the rug. They were face to face, and he pulled her to him for one last, long kiss. Just as she started drifting off, she mumbled, "Love you."

Hugging her tightly, his heart filled with joy. He replied, "And I, you." After casting a Cushioning Charm so they would be comfortable, Severus joined Hermione in sleep.

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During the Christmas holidays, Severus and Hermione stayed at the castle together. She was only mildly surprised to receive an engagement ring on Christmas morning. She happily accepted, and they decided to get married in June as soon as school was finished.

They went to the Burrow for Christmas dinner, and Hermione happily told everyone that she and Severus were engaged. Harry got up and left the table. Ginny started to follow, but Hermione stopped her and went upstairs to talk to him herself.

"Why, Hermione? I don't understand it! He killed him in cold blood!"

"He did no such thing, and you know it. You have seen all the evidence. I won't discuss his innocence again. We have been over it enough. I will say this. Professor Dumbledore loved him, Harry, just as he loved you. He wanted you both to be happy and live your lives to the fullest. You can't continue to hang onto this hatred; it will destroy you. I am not asking you to be his best mate. I am just asking you to accept the truth, and we both know what the truth is."

Harry just sat there, refusing to look at her. She sighed. "I love you. I will always love you. We are adults now, and we have to get on with our lives. I expect you will end with Ginny while Ron will end with Lavender. We couldn't stay 'the golden trio' forever, you know. More people have been added to the mix." She smiled softly and kissed his cheek.

As she turned to go, Harry told her, "I do love you, too. I couldn't stop if I tried. You're my family." He got up, walked over to her, and hugged her. "I hope you'll be happy." With that said, he went back downstairs and out the back door. Ginny followed Harry then, and they decided to go flying. Soon after, Ron and Lavender joined them.

Saying their goodbyes, Severus and Hermione headed back to Hogwarts. She had a wedding to plan!

Christy's Notes: What an emotional chapter! Whew! Only one more to go. LOL, I agree with Sun, but with limited words and only one chapter to go, he had to forgive quicker than I think Snape normally would.

Southern's Notes: I think Snape was too easy on her. A week of avoidance? Going eat out with another guy? Well, that's worse than what he did. He only told Rosmerta hello.

Quote from Fantastical Beasts: "The creation of Basilisks has been illegal since medieval times, although the practice is easily concealed by simply removing the chicken egg from beneath the toad when the Department for the Control of Magical Creatures comes to call."