Step Five. Give him his dreams back and fulfil them with him

Step Five. Give him his dreams back and fulfil them with him

Disclaimer: All characters and concepts of Harry Potter's universe belong to J.K. Rowling; I just borrowed them for a little while.

Harry Potter was laughing so hard that every witch and wizard near their table, and those who weren't, were staring at them. They didn't need such an outburst to be noticed; the Golden Trio still dragged attention to themselves just for being there.

"You're kidding, right? Hermione, that was a nice try, even for you, but you have never been good with jokes. Who do you expect to believe that you're in a relationship with Snape?"

Ginny looked nervously between her fiancé and her best friend. Harry was still laughing like mad, and Hermione looked as if she would hex him until he learned to keep his mouth shut. If she didn't do something, things would end in a nasty way.

"Eh, Harry, darling, maybe you should stop laughing, and listen to Hermione."

"Come on, Ginny. You can't tell me you believe this nonsense, unless... Oh, I can see it now; you're also part of the joke. It's a really bad one, love. You two should have asked Fred and George for some ideas."

That was the final straw. The look in Hermione's eyes was murderous, but when she was about to speak, she was interrupted.

"She's not lying, Harry. On the contrary, she's quite serious about it; I can see it in her eyes," Ron said. They had almost forgotten about him until he spoke because when Hermione broke the news, they focused on Harry's reaction, ignoring the silent red-haired man. He watched Hermione intently, studying her and trying to understand what was happening. His eyes had that angry look that he always wore when he felt that someone had betrayed or lied to him. "So, Hermione, I guess we couldn't expect better from you. I mean, you have always shown a terrible taste in men...first Krum and now Snape. Tell us, why do you find dark men, who nobody else wants, so appealing?"

"How dare you, Ronald Weasley?" Hermione couldn't believe it. What was he up to? "You don't have the right to talk to me that way or speak about him in such a way."

"I will bloody well talk the way I want! What were you thinking? Well, if you were thinking, which it seems quiet obvious you weren't."

"Ron, calm down, mate. You're overreacting." Harry was now looking concerned. It was one thing to laugh at what he thought was a joke, but it was something different to treat Hermione like that.

"I'm not overreacting! Don't you see it? We're talking about Snape here, the greasy git that made our lives miserable for seven years, and now, he's taking advantage of her, taking the chance now that she's alone there."

"I will not listen to your nonsense remarks. I asked you to come here tonight to share one of the best things that has ever happened to me, not to hear your foolish chatter about a past that you seem unable to forget." Hermione was trembling as she spoke to one of her best friends. She knew that he wouldn't take the news in the best way, but she never expected such a reaction. The people at the neighbouring tables were already staring at them curiously. Of course they knew who they were, so having a piece of gossip, especially if it was something like a row about the legendary Golden Trio, was quite appealing.

"Fine, have it your way, Hermione. I refuse to be part of this insanity." Saying that, Ron stood, violently knocking the chair in which he was sitting over, and left the pub.

Harry rose from his seat quickly, standing beside Hermione and taking her hand in his.

"Don't worry. I'll talk to him, and everything will be fine. I... I'm so sorry for laughing at you, Hermione. You know I love you, and whatever or whoever makes you happy is fine with me." He squeezed her hand gently and moved to kiss Ginny before leaving.

"Argh... Ronald Bilius Weasley, just wait until I see him again. I'm going to hex him so badly he'll wish he had never opened his mouth! And when my mother finds out, I bet she's going to hex him all over again! Just wait and see. I assure you that...Hermione?" Ginny stopped her little speech when she saw a couple of tears running down her best fiend's cheeks.

"Why did he have to be so mean, Ginny? He's my friend; friends are supposed to be supportive and be happy about your happiness."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say. He has had those changes of mood for a while. I wonder..." The red-haired witch paused, her eyes widening when she realised it. "Hermione, he loves you, and he doesn't know how to deal with it, so he reacts that way."

"What are you talking about?"

"He was always in a bad mood after you two broke up. It was obvious he didn't know how to cope with it. He even went back with Lavender, remember? When you were with Viktor, he was always taciturn and cynical, I remember he was about to be kicked out of Auror training, but Harry vouched for him with Kingsley Shacklebolt. When you broke up with Viktor, then the spark was back in his eyes again. Why haven't I seen it before?"

"Ginny, you're definitely not making me feel better about Ron."

"Oh, I'm sorry, but the idea just hit me. You don't have to feel bad about it, Hermione. Enjoy your happiness with Snape. I mean S-Severus. I know he makes you happy, and that's enough for us."

"Gods, this has complicated things even more, and it hurts so much. I knew that the news wasn't going to be received easily, but I never expected this reaction from Ron and now your little speech about him harbouring feelings for me."

"Eventually he'll understand. He has grown up, and he has better sense. Ron will see he's wrong, and he'll come back with an apology. Our friendships have survived so many things, even a war. Trust him to value your friendship, and your happiness above all."

"I hope he does, Ginny. I really hope."

Ginny hugged her friend, comforting her, but inwardly she promised that her brother would pay for his outburst and for hiding things from her. She had a couple of hexes in store that she'd wanted to try for a while.

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Harry caught up with Ron a couple of blocks outside Diagon Alley's pub, giving thanks that the stubborn red-haired wizard hadn't Apparated to their flat yet.

"Hey, Ron, slow down, mate; we need to talk."

"What do you want, Harry?"

"Well, you can start telling me what that was. What's your problem with Hermione?"

"It's none of your business, Harry. Leave me alone!"

"I care about Hermione, and you hurt her with that rude little outburst. How would you feel if I treated Ginny like that? Hermione is like a sister to me, and you are my best friend, so I think that it's indeed my business."

Ron stopped abruptly and started pacing back and forth in front of the windows of Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. His face was flushed, his fists tightly closed. "I always thought that things would arrange themselves, that if I was patient enough I would have my second chance."

"What are you talking about, Ron? Second chance for what?"

"I was so young, Harry. I didn't know what I was doing. I was scared, and I had to run away from her. We were only kids, and she was too much. Then she started dating Krum again after graduation, and they seemed to be a serious couple. You don't know how many nights I cursed him for coming back and how many times I cursed myself for my cowardice. When they broke up, I thought it was my second chance, life was warranting the chance to date Hermione again. I gave her time. I waited for her to come back to me when she felt it was right. She spent so much time secluded in Hogwarts, devoting her life to that bloody apprenticeship, and I didn't want to push her. You know how Hermione is. She would have been angry with me if I had tried to get her out of her imprisonment in Hogwarts. I should have done it. Just look at what has happened! That greasy git is taking advantage of her. I..."

Ron turned around again, walking away quickly from his best friend. Harry ran after him, trying to keep his pace. "Ron, wait. We need to talk."

"What else do you want me to say, Harry? I have already told you everything. What else you want from me?"

"Why didn't you tell her, Ron?"

"I don't know, Harry. Look, stop asking useless questions. I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to talk at all."

Saying that, Ron Disapparated from Diagon Alley, leaving Harry standing there in the middle of the street. A couple of hours later, when the dark-haired wizard went back to their flat, he noticed that his best friend hadn't come back. And he didn't return for a long time...

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Hermione should have known better and should have refrained from telling Severus about what happened with Ron. Now, he was pacing furiously in front of her in his chambers. He had such a terrible temper, and she noticed that it was worse if he was angry about something that concerned her. He was kind of possessive with her and ferociously protective. At the beginning, she was surprised with the extent of his passion, never having experienced something like that from Viktor. Then, she felt a little flattered by it, knowing that she was the one causing such a powerful surge of emotion in the man who always appeared so in control and detached. But at the moment, she didn't appreciate his attitude about how she should handle the situation.

"Weasley told you what? Idiot boy, how dare he treat you like that? And to speak about me in that way! I will have his head for that. No one will treat you in such way. I am going to..."

"Severus, stop right now. You will not do any such thing. I'm not a damsel in distress who needs to be saved or protected from evil Ron. I told you about what happened because we are a couple now, and I want to share everything that happens with you. But this matter with Ron is only between us. I will not even let Harry interfere, no matter what he says about friendship and brotherhood."

"It is my duty to protect you."

"You can protect me. In fact, I expect you to, IF something threatens me, but I don't expect you to try to solve my problems as if I were a defenceless girl incapable of solving them."

"You are being stubborn again. If I am treating you like a girl it is because you are behaving like one. I have the right to expect him to answer to me for the way he treated you and for lusting after my witch."

"Your witch? Are you referring to me as if you own me? I am not a possession, Severus, and what was that remark about lust? I only said Ron seemed to still have a thing for me, not that he was actively putting the moves on me or making any propositions."

Voice dripping with sarcasm, he said, "Of course, he is your beloved friend...one of the 'Golden Trio.' Ronald Weasley would never have improper thoughts about his best friend. Do not be so naïve, Hermione. He thinks about you in that way, I assure you."

"Severus, I really didn't need to think about Ron in that context, thanks." She tried to calm herself down before speaking again. She was not that thick, and she knew he was simply being jealous and overprotective again, but he had to understand that she didn't need that from him. Hermione stretched her hand in an invitation for him to sit beside her on the couch. He sighed heavily but complied and sat beside her.

"You have to understand my feelings on this. I know how much you care about me and that you mean well when you try to protect me, but I don't need you to solve everything that concerns me or to interfere in everything that bothers me."

"I understand your need to solve things your way, but it infuriates me the way that friend of yours treats you. It seems like you let him get away with it! I refuse to allow anyone to mistreat you in any way, and I will always look for a way to prevent it. I apologise if I reacted in an unsuitable way, but it is how I feel."

Hermione smiled and turned to snuggle comfortably against his chest, his hands instantly started stroking her hair lazily. "It's fine, Severus. I guess it's just part of the adjustment process all couples go through."

"I honestly couldn't say, Hermione. This is the first time I have been in a relationship of this sort."

The brunette turned to face the man behind her eyeing him suspiciously. It was really rare when he gave details about his past. "Really? Are you telling me you have never been in a relationship at all?"

"The only affairs I've engaged myself in were casual encounters that only involved a few meetings, essentially to have sex, and I assure you it only happened a few times."

When she understood the implications of his confession, she felt her heart tighten, knowing it was quite possible that she was the first woman he had let into his life. She loved this man, and this new revelation made her feel special about what they had. "I love you, Severus. Forever."

He didn't reply. Instead, he leaned his head to kiss her, conveying the feelings he had for her. Their kiss deepened, and he picked her from the couch and carried her to their room to show her just how much he loved her back.

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Sleep quickly claimed Hermione, sated and happy. Tomorrow would be the first day of the school year, and she would be introduced as the new Potions mistress of Hogwarts and him as the new DADA professor. They needed their rest, but as on many nights before, Severus didn't succumb to sleep. Instead, he spent several minutes watching her.

It had become his ritual since their first time together when he'd seen how beautiful she looked sleeping, her cheeks still pink from her flush, her satisfied smile and her still swollen lips slightly open. Since that first night, he waited until she was asleep after their love-making to take his time to study her: the angles of her face, the gentle swell of her stomach, and the glow of her skin. She was perfection to him.

His study of her body began again. He always started running his fingers slowly through her hair, her unruly curls that she hated and that he had learned to appreciate when the locks twisted around his fingers. He thought that Hermione had a beautiful face; her brown eyes were the reflection of her clear soul and her brilliance. He could just make out the start of slight traces of wrinkles, the price she would have to pay for the way she laughed open-heartedly. Her nose and her cheeks had some freckles, which gave her face a still youthful look of a girl, and her lips were irresistible to him, full and soft, always saving a kiss for him.

He kissed her brow, tasting the salty flavour of sweat. He was sure all her body tasted like that after their coupling. Her skin always bore a golden colour that contrasted with his pale frame. Hermione had always loved to wear a tan that make her white skin turn golden in a way that made it look as if the sun had kissed it.

No matter how gentle or how rough their coupling had been, she always fell asleep with a quiet demeanour. Her arms were always open when she slept, just like her heart and her mind, waiting to embrace him when she felt him near her body. Severus lightly traced the curves of her breasts while her chest rose and fell with the slow rhythm of her breathing. He couldn't stop himself, and he moved his hand lower to place it on her belly. It was common knowledge that he didn't tolerate children despite being a professor, which forced him to spend hours amongst them. But sometimes when he looked at her like this, something primal lurked in his mind, the thought of seeing Hermione with a swelled abdomen, pregnant with his child. He rubbed her belly softly, the promise of life there waiting for its time. Her legs were already tangling in the covers while she moved in the bed, trying to get into a comfortable position. He always wondered how they managed to sleep, considering how much she moved about. She was always active...even in her sleep.

Severus smiled at her form; he liked being the guardian of her sleep, wondering what she was dreaming and if she shared his dreams. Did he say dreams? He hadn't acknowledged the meaning of the word for a long time. When he was a child, he used to have dreams, but they were trashed under the bitterness of his loveless home. His soul became even more bitter during his childhood and adolescence, causing him to forget about his dreams and acknowledge only a desire for things that brought power, money, or better standing. When he looked for redemption, putting his life in Dumbledore hands, the only thing left for him was a feeling slightly similar to hope. He had hoped to mend the error of his ways, and if it was possible, to survive a war, he'd wanted to see a world free of the darkness he'd once helped build. He had craved and wished many things in his life, but dreams? The word was foreign to him until he'd found Hermione, and she'd shared her dreams with him, encouraging him to be a part of them and to find his own.

His mind wandered again to the woman sleeping by his side. He was always entranced while watching her sleep, always wondering if he was simply dreaming or if she was real. Hermione was no fantasy. She was really there with him, sharing his nights, his life. His heart felt light and was so at peace now that he found that he was able to have dreams again, and he often dreamed about the future. He loved her; he was absolutely sure about that, but he had never spoken the words openly, although he was certain she understood the language of his body, the look in his eyes. His feelings overtook him, and he made up his mind. Tomorrow, he would tell her the words that he had been too cowardly to speak.

He kissed her cheek gently before lying beside her, feeling her arms going around him as he moved closer to her. He knew that he didn't need to have 'sweet dreams' in his sleep, because his most cherished dream had already occurred in his bed with his Hermione.

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"Are you nervous, Hermione?"

"A little."

Severus couldn't stop himself from smirking. Just a little indeed. "Why, pray tell, do you always say 'a little' when I ask you something that is plainly obvious? Is 'a little' a new way of denial?"

"Stop it, Severus. You know this is important, and I won't let you make fun of me."

He looked at her more seriously. "I know it is important to you, but calm down. You're prepared enough for the post, and you will do your job well."

"I know I'm well prepared to teach Potions; that doesn't bother me." She turned to face him, biting her lip in the same way she did it when she was a girl. "Severus, what if the students don't like me, or what if they just simply decide to ignore me due to my age?"

"Hermione, are you telling me you are nervous about the students?" He suppressed a chuckle and embraced her. "You, silly girl. Trust you to be brave enough to face Death Eaters in a war but to also still have the ability to feel nervous about facing a group of teenagers. You will be fine, and you will gain their respect easily...if not from authority, then maybe from that pure stubbornness you have when you feel the need to prove yourself. I can assure you that. Now, shall we go inside? I think they are expecting us."

Hermione nodded to him, unable to be mad at him about the stubbornness comment because somehow he made her feel better. He stepped aside to let her enter the Great Hall, but just before she preceded him, he grabbed her arm to stop her and said in a barely audible whisper in her ear, "I love you, Hermione."

She turned to look at him with a startled expression, which immediately changed to a smile that lightened her face. It was silly. Hearing the words shouldn't change anything, but she felt different. She had known that he loved her...at least she had assumed it...but now she was completely certain. Knowing they were about to face the whole school, she only squeezed his hand and whispered back her answer. "I love you, too."

He watched her enter the Great Hall for the welcoming feast. She was nervous. There was no doubt about it, but it seemed that his confession had given her some reassurance. He was sure that she would be fine. She was strong and determined, and her students would respect her, despite her young age. Severus sighed. Hermione was indeed young, also beautiful and intelligent, and she happened to love him. That fact was still beyond his comprehension, but as that always happened to him when thinking about her, he didn't care at all about logics. He smiled, looking at her and thinking about his life. He had the post he had craved for so many years, a peaceful life without the Dark Lord threatening the Wizarding world, and he had Hermione. He walked to the Head Table in order to start a new term, a new job, a new life. He had everything he wanted now. He had fulfilled his dreams, and it was because of her, his Hermione.

Lorraine's Notes: It has been a long time, but RL had been very demanding during the last months, and my muse was taking her time to get back. I hope you have enjoyed this chapter in which our couple is getting closer and Severus acknowledges his feelings openly for the first time.

Inspiration for the part in which Severus watches Hermione sleep came from a song called 'Duerme' (Sleep). I think only Latin readers are familiar with this song by Ricardo Arjona.

Thanks for your patience with this fic, I hope now that I'm not blocked I can write chapter six faster. Many thanks go to my dear beta, Southern Witch, who always deals with my lack of commas and never fails to make valuable comments that make this story better. Also, thanks go to CocoaChristy for giving it a read through!

Southern's Notes: What a romantic story. I am so happy that Severus is learning to cope. Now, let's hope that Ron can move on.

Christy's Notes: I enjoyed the read and the sweetest. I can't wait to see what's next.