II

II

Hermione could feel the tremors returning the longer she was away from Snape. She began to curl in upon herself again, listening to the beating of Cedric Diggory's heart on the floor above her. Images of Cedric's handsome face blurred through her mind, warring with dark pictures of Snape's onyx eyes. There were no more tears for her to cry, only the pain that coursed like fire through her. She wanted to wail, to scream, to tear herself apart to stop the way she felt. She opened her mouth in a wordless cry as the color drained from her face and the warmth faded at last from her body.

"Severus!" she wailed, balling her fists in the coverlet. She began to jerk and roll from side to side as fire burned from her head to her feet. "Severus, my maker! Please!"

She began to scream for him. She grasped at great handfuls of her hair and pulled. Her eyes rolled back into her head. Her screams filled the lower dungeons, echoing off the stone walls and rolling back to her ears more magnified than she could bear. Her hands covered her ears as she continued to scream and thrash against the pain.

"Hermione, my love," came his voice softly inside her head. Her entire thought was filled with images of Snape's eyes and pale skin. "Be calm, my love, be calm. I am coming back to you. You see, here I am."

He was by her side in an instant, pulling her to him in a cold embrace. He stroked her tumbled curls, muttering words softly under his breath that soothed her sore scalp. She pressed her cheek against his chest, surprised to feel the icy flesh give slightly, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Pulling her fully into his lap with ease, Snape cradled her like a child and planted small kisses along her forehead.

The calm pervaded her the instant his skin touched her own. She snuggled against him, listening to the sound of his soft murmuring as it overcame the yearning for Cedric's blood. "Severus," she cooed, the serenity flowing in her voice. He liked the way his name sounded when she said it, liked the way he would be able to hear it everyday for the rest of eternity.

"Yes, Hermione?" he replied, lying back on the bed and taking her with him. She clutched at him, desperate to keep him by her.

"Will this ever stop?" She enjoyed the smell of him, the sweet herbal scent infused with the fragrance of mulled wine. Her fingertips touched the cold skin of his throat, mildly surprised to feel no pulse beating. Snape let his fingers trail over her arms and back as he reveled in the feeling of peace and comfort that rolled off her as she lay in his arms.

"Yes, my girl, it will stop. It won't take much longer now. I will not leave you again until it is over," he whispered softly, holding her more tightly against his hard form. With that, he began to hum a melody softly in her ears, a melody that was altogether unfamiliar and familiar at once. It was deep and somber at one moment and then high and lilting the next. Hermione began to wish that there were words to this beautiful tune, words that spoke of love and loss and a place of eternal night and beauty.

She tilted her head upward toward his. Their eyes met as he continued to hum. It was a small movement, a simple adjustment of the distance between them. The sound of his song drifted away as her lips met his own. She was sweetly hesitant at first, testing the feeling of their cold lips together before she pulled herself as close to him as she possibly could. He seemed to snarl in the back of this throat as she parted her lips slightly and leaned into him with a sigh.

He kissed her lightly, slowly, savoring the taste of her that still lingered. His fingers twined in her curls and caressed her cheek and throat. "Hermione," he murmured against her lips, pressing fleeting kisses against her. "Say you will stay with me. Say that you will never leave me, that we will be together for all of eternity."

She opened her eyes, their smoky depths searching the pale face that was only inches from her own. "I don't think I would have the strength to leave you."

"What do you mean, nobody's seen Hermione?" Cedric exclaimed, staring at Harry with wide eyes. "Like she's locked herself in her room or something?"

Harry looked momentarily puzzled at the older boy's interest but quickly ignored it, his concern over his missing friend taking over his mind. "That's just it, Cedric. No one saw her even come back to the common room last night. Ron and I were up until almost two and we didn't see her. I've just been down to see Snape since he was the last one to see her, but he said she left his office at half past nine."

Cedric felt a slight twinge of jealousy at the thought of Hermione being alone with Snape that late at night. He hated the Potions master just as much as the next Gryffindor, but something primal in him seemed to awake whenever he saw her anywhere near him. His hands clenched into fists at his sides and a muscle in his jaw thrummed. "Did you believe him?"

There was no answer. Harry was staring over Cedric's shoulder at some point far away in the Great Hall. The great, throne-like chair of the headmaster loomed in his eyesight, making him feel incredibly stupid. It didn't matter whether or not he believed what Professor Snape said about Hermione. The headmaster would get to the bottom of it. He seemed to know everything that went on at Hogwarts anyway.

"What's the matter, Harry?" the older boy asked. He followed Harry's line of sight, turning to see the empty chair of Headmaster Dumbledore. "You're going to Dumbledore, aren't you?"

"There's no other option right now, Cedric. Hermione's never been gone this long without telling someone where she is. If anyone can find her, Dumbledore can." Without another word, Harry pushed past Cedric and ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He faintly registered the fact that Cedric was following him.

If that bastard has done anything to her, Cedric thought, grinding his teeth, I'll rip him to shreds.

The candlelight of the room began to flicker low and dark. The sun shone bright and clear beyond the walls of the castle, but a smoke-filled night descended upon the lower dungeons. Air that had once felt cold and biting now felt warm and repressive on her skin. She could feel puffs of air tickle over her skin in the vicinity of her navel, but they were neither warm nor cold. His hair spilled inky black over her marble skin as he laved gentle kisses over the icy, supple flesh of her stomach. Hands traced lazy patterns on the skin of her naked hips as her own caressed her aching breasts.

Hermione bit her lip, feeling her newly sprouted fangs sink into the fullness of her lips. She felt strange sensations washing over her, spreading from the tiny points of feeling ignited where his lips touched her frozen skin, coiling, building, rolling themselves together and growing into a torrent of signals that would fry every synapse of a mortal brain. But for her, in her newly awakened state, they multiplied and fed upon one another as they infiltrated her senses, drowning out all other notions and desires. It was as if every cell in her body was specifically attuned to him, and she knew that no other could fill her brain and body with such wonderful electricity.

He looked up at her, his onyx eyes flashing ruby and gold as he took in the wanton look upon her face. Her eyes were closed as her hands began to migrate toward where his own now lay still against her hips. She took his hands in her own and pulled them upwards to her breasts, molding his long fingers and palms around the swollen flesh. A shudder ran through her as his palms made contact with her tender skin, the sensation magnified a thousand times more pleasurable than it should have been. He crawled up her body, letting his hips settle between her welcoming thighs. Every muscle in his body contracted as his own pale, naked skin made contact with hers. The juncture of her thighs was slightly warmer than the rest of her body, and, although it was a sad reminder of mortality lost long ago, it was exponentially more arousing to him than anything he had known in his two hundred years walking the earth.

"Will you stay and be mine?" he grunted, the exaggerated sensations racing through every synapse and nerve until he was unsure if he could control himself any longer. He had taken no other mate nor taken any mortal woman for his pleasure since the night of his transformation. Two hundred years of patience and waiting simmered behind a dam that was little more than filter paper. It would burst at her command and consume them both in the torrential fire.

She shifted her body, opening her thighs further than she imagined possible and pulled him to her. He sank into her with a single thrust, a movement that sent shivers and tremors spreading through her. Each thrust; each minute shift in his position was enough to send her over the edge in a constant state of bliss. There was something to be said for eternal youth as he pounded into her in a state of abandon as the minutes turned to hours and the continuous orgasm spiraled out of control.

The bed was a jumble of arms, legs, and twisted sheets as they made love for the first time. She keened and sighed, screaming his name as the waves of bliss increased and flowed harder and faster until she didn't think she could take any more. Their breath came in gasps that turned to fog in front of their faces. There was a beautiful sheen of pale color in their skin as Severus gave one final thrust and collapsed beside her, spent and sated.

"Always," she panted, running her hands over her still tingling body. Tremors still spread through her but with less intensity than before. The sheets beneath her were stained with the glistening remnants of the past several hours.

He watched the foggy breath rising from her mouth for a moment and saw her smile with a feral air. "We shall enjoy this forever, my love," he murmured, pressing light kisses to her shoulder. "Hours upon end of mindless pleasure such as you have never experienced before. A multitude of years to traverse the world and see the great sights. A million books to read and all the time in the world to devour them as only the two of us can."

She moaned as his hand began to caress the swell of her stomach, sending a new wave of tingles through her. "A thousand ways and places to feel you beside me, within me, driving me to such heights of feeling as they should be a sin."

He grinned back at her. "They are a sin, my darling. But one we may never have to answer for."

"Fizzing Whizzbee," said Harry as he came to a stop in front of the gargoyle that guarded the headmaster's office. The stone monster sprang to the side as the staircase behind it began to move upward. He stepped onto the rising stairs, followed immediately by Cedric.

"What do you think Dumbledore will do?" he asked, trying to keep the concern from cracking his voice.

"Search the school, probably. At least, that's what I hope he'll do."

They had reached the door that led to the headmaster's study, it's giant brass griffin doorknocker shining in the torchlight. Harry lifted his hand and knocked three times, hard enough to make his knuckles hurt. There was a flurry of movement behind the door as the headmaster came to answer the door.

"Harry! And Mr. Diggory, too," exclaimed Professor Dumbledore as he opened the door. His robes were a deep violet with great silver moons and stars embroidered on them. His pale eyes twinkled as he swept aside to let the boys enter. "What can I do for you gentlemen on this fine morning?"

Before Harry could open his mouth to speak, Cedric blurted, "Hermione Granger is missing."

The headmaster's jovial smile faded quickly at the sound of the older boy's voice. "Missing, you say, Mr. Diggory? When was she last seen?"

"Last night, professor. Madam Pince saw her leave the library to go speak to Professor Snape. No one has seen her since," replied Harry tersely.

A small crease began to form between the wizened wizard's eyebrows. "Professor Snape was the last one to see her?" The crease began to grow as this brow knitted together at Harry's nod. He glanced back and forth between the two boys before staring into Diggory's pale blue eyes. "Go back to the common room, Harry. I believe I shall need an extra sheet of parchment for this."

Cedric was confused. What was the headmaster doing, sending Harry on an errand for parchment while Hermione was who knows where in who knows what kind of trouble? But the tone of Dumbledore's voice seemed to stir some recognition in Harry, causing him to turn and bolt through the door and down the twisting staircase.

"Have a seat, Mr. Diggory," the headmaster whispered. He guided Cedric to a warm armchair near the fireplace and held out a bowl of sugarcoated treats. "Gum drop?"

Only Dumbledore could think of candy at a time like this, Cedric thought darkly, staring into the fire.