Farewells & Forgiveness

Chapter 15 -- Farewells & Forgiveness

Snape watched as Hermione hugged Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley goodbye on the platform in Hogsmeade. The end of the school year had come so soon, and he found that he liked the idea less and less. He was now going to be stuck with Hermione as his house guest once more while her two best friends travelled with Lupin and Charlie Weasley on the Hogwarts Express to a safer location.

He watched as she ran up to Anthony Goldstein, the now former head boy, and pulled him into a ferocious hug also. He felt a stab of jealousy as she kissed him on the cheek while the tears leaked down her face as she wept. These would be the hardest farewells Hermione would have to make for a while now, and luckily for her she was taking it well.

Ten minutes after her goodbyes to her friends, he found a weeping Hermione walking in his direction. Her face was streaked with tears, eyes puffy and a little red, cheeks flushed. To anyone else, this may have looked like a typical hormonal teenage girl. But to Snape, she was a beautiful, intelligent woman.

'I'm sorry it took so long, Professor,' she murmured softly, sniffing back tears.

'Time is not an issue, Miss Granger. You most likely will not be seeing any of your friends for quite a while now,' he replied evenly, leading her to an Apparation point nearby.

Hermione pulled her bag onto her shoulder properly, allowing Snape to find a proper grip on her to Apparate. They reappeared in a familiar setting to Hermione, the walls of the study still lined with books.

'I've missed this house,' she commented quietly to herself, hoping that Snape did not hear her. But no such luck.

'Surprisingly, Miss Granger, I am afraid that I will have to agree with you on that point. It is good to return to a quiet environment,' he said from beside her and then added, 'I believe you are already familiar with the location of your room?'

Hermione nodded mutely and turned to leave the room when he spoke once more. 'Miss Granger, I hope you will not mind having to put up with living under the same roof as me once more. The headmaster seemed to think that this is a good idea.'

'Merlin only knows why,' Hermione replied softly with a smile.

And Snape chuckled. It was the first time she had heard him laugh in what felt like years, but was only months. Hermione liked this Snape. She remembered everything then, of what their time had been like on the Christmas break.

'Thank you, Professor,' she mumbled quickly before leaving the room.

'No, thank you, Hermione,' he whispered softly to himself when she was out of earshot, allowing some of the adoration he had for her to show on his face.

Snape left the study and sometime later found he was wandering aimlessly around his own home and, besides being completely uncharacteristic of him, left him wondering what Hermione was getting up to.

Meanwhile, in her bedroom on the third floor, Hermione was staring at the ceiling of her bedroom, watching the way the light played off of the antique glass of the chandelier and thinking about Snape. Finally, after three hours of solitude she worked up the courage to venture around the house in search of intelligent conversation.

She needed to find Snape. And fast. She needed to touch him, hold him, inhale his sharp, delicious scent, and feel his skin beneath her fingers. She needed him. She didn't care how long it would take her, but she was going to have him. He was the only thing that had been plaguing her mind, and she had to act on her feelings.

Her feet carried her first to the study, where they had spent so much time poring over books during the Christmas break. He wasn't there. The dining room was empty, save for the remnants of her lunch. The parlor held not a single hint of his prior presence.

Hermione was going insane. Where was Snape?

'Are you looking for something, Miss Granger? Perhaps you've misplaced a book?' Snape whispered into her ear, warm breath washing over the sensitive skin of her neck.

Hermione jumped. She had not even left the parlor, and her bounty had come straight to her. And scared the wits out of her, on top of that. She spun around to face him only to come into contact with his chest, as he was standing so close to her.

She took an involuntary step backwards. 'I-I, ummm... was looking for you, Professor...' she stammered nervously.

'Oh?' he asked, eyebrow rising in question. 'And how can I be of assistance?'

Snape took a menacing step forwards but was surprised when Hermione didn't step back again. She steered her eyes to look directly into his and sighed in resignation. It would have to be today. She had been pining for him for far too long.

She stood up on her toes a little and leaned up to brush her lips softly across his. She saw the shock in his eyes and felt a sudden embarrassment, blushing several shades of red and getting ready for rejection.

It didn't come. Snape's hands immediately flew to her waist and held it tightly as his lips crashed back to hers even more insistently. Her arms, meanwhile, had a mind of their own as they went around his neck and pulled him down harder, urging him onwards.

His tongue darted out and ran along her bottom lip before he withdrew it and gently bit down on the same tender flesh, drawing a sharp gasp from Hermione as he plunged his tongue forward into her now open mouth.

And then she moaned, drawing Snape back to his senses. He pulled away from her, keeping his grasp on her waist. 'Miss Granger, I apologise, it was very presumptuous of me...' he started, but was silenced by a soft kiss from Hermione.

'Don't say sorry. I liked what you did,' Hermione whispered against his lips.

That was all Snape needed before he leaned forwards and stole another long, sensual kiss from her sweet, innocent lips, relishing the feel of her beneath his hands. 'Hermione,' he groaned as her hips began to grind against his own.

Hermione stopped kissing him then. 'Say it again,' she said softly.

Snape looked confused. 'Say what again?'

'My name,' she replied, sliding her hands up to grasp the silky, not-oily, lengths of his raven hair.

Snape smiled. 'Hermione.'

'Very good, Severus,' she replied before pulling his head down for another kiss. She felt like she was in heaven. He kissed better than anyone had a right to and out of all the other boys she had dated.

And then it hit her. Severus Snape was not any mere boy. He was a man, and a talented one at that, because just being in his presence made her ache with desire.

Snape looked down at his lovely prize, which now seemed to be contemplating something, and gave her a squeeze. 'What are you thinking about?'

'How much I love you,' Hermione replied weakly, feeling breathless from their recent activity.

'Never in a million years did I ever believe that you would say that to me,' he whispered, pulling her flush against him and inhaling her glorious scent.

Hermione smiled. She understood that she would not be getting a response at that moment, but things were looking up already...