Chapter 23: Waiting in the Wings

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

Many hugs go out to VIVAvivacious for the generous application of her beta skills to this chapter.

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The fire burning low in the sitting room was the only source of light in the house, warming the room.

For the better part of that day, Snape had paced back and forth in front of the fire, unable to help himself. It has been three days, and they had yet to hear any news from Draco, which concerned Hermione but was driving Snape out of his mind with worry. Hermione had attempted to calm him, making him tea and trying to ensure he ate, but in the end his stomach was just too knotted, and the food would not stay down for long. When he was sick, she put a cold flannel on the back of his neck and stroked his black hair soothingly.

Naturally, being the proud man he was, Snape had barely spoken for the remainder of the day after she had cared for him when he was ill. Hermione thought it was silly, but she supposed she could understand to an extent. She hated needing someone to care for her – it made her feel useless, as though her life should not have been entrusted to her in the first place. She imagined Snape saw illness and worry as weaknesses rather than for the strengths they could be.

Hermione didn't mind. She was not faultless. In fact, she had never been as hopelessly flawed in her entire life as she was at the moment.

With the time nearing nine at night, she decided she should try and make Snape eat a little something so he wouldn't end up getting even sicker. She stood and went to him where he was pacing furiously and pressed up against his back, wrapping her arms around him to embrace him from behind. He paused in his movements and placed one of his own large hands over hers that were linked over his front.

'All right, I'll try to refrain from pacing any further tonight,' Snape said with a sigh, detangling himself from her for just long enough to turn and face her. 'Are you hungry? I began feeling slightly peckish half an hour ago.'

Hermione nodded, taking one of his hands in hers. 'I'm not surprised,' she replied, leading the way into the kitchen.

Together they threw together some plain ham sandwiches on brown bread and washed them down with pumpkin juice. Afterwards, Snape cleaned up and sent Hermione ahead of him to the sitting room once more. Before he returned, Hermione added a few more logs to the fire, stoking it with the heavy iron poker and watching as the bright orange flames grew and lit the room up a little more. She wrapped her arms around herself and stood like that in front of the fire for a while as she waited, watching the way the flames would lick at the stone walls enclosing them, run over the slowly disintegrating wood, and cast flickering shadows all around.

She didn't hear Snape enter the room, but she saw his long shadow as it was cast along one of the walls of the room. Hermione thought about how strange things had been between the two of them since they had kissed just a few nights before. Not awkward, per se, but certainly not the same as it had been before. Hermione had never spent so many hours of her day with him; usually both would go on with whatever they had to do alone and only meet during mealtimes or if they had something important to discuss.

Now, Hermione felt obliged to keep an eye on Snape, afraid he would lose his mind and leave the house to go on a wild hunt for Draco.

She felt him move away from the doorway and sidle up to her quietly, his hands coming to rest on both of her shoulders. Without bothering to turn around, she simply leaned into him, taking comfort from the strength of his grip. She was just as tense as he. His nimble fingers worked their way around her neck and collarbone, gently massaging until he got to her back and shoulder blades. She melted beneath the touch. It had been so long since she had someone touch her that way.

'Mmm, feels good,' she mumbled as her head dropped forward to give him better access to the back of her neck.

Snape chuckled. 'Perhaps one day you might be so kind as to return the favour,' he murmured in response. 'Let's have a sit-down, shall we? I am feeling worn out from all the pacing.'

Hermione smiled. 'I said you would wear yourself out, Snape,' she mocked lightly. 'Perhaps next time that will teach you for not listening to me.'

He frowned a little at her use of his surname, and she shook her head at him with a sigh and a small smile. She could understand the look – after all, she had been constantly nervous around him, neither declaring anything nor even really talking about it. She turned around and grasped one of his hands and led him over to the lounge, transfiguring it slightly to accommodate them more comfortably when they sat together. She gestured for him to sit first and then sat beside him, scooting so she was pressed up against him.

'Don't be so apprehensive, Severus,' she whispered into his ear, gently urging him to turn his back to her so she could reciprocate the massage.

'Don't nag so much, Granger,' he muttered under his breath, earning him a poke in the back with her elbow. 'Merlin's beard! Please refrain from causing me permanent injury, if you please.'

Hermione ceased digging her pointy elbow into his back and resumed massaging his shoulders firmly until she felt the muscles loosen. When she felt he was sufficiently relaxed, she stopped and eased him around so his back was against the lounge, and then snuggled in close to his side. He Summoned the throw rug to them and draped it over Hermione and himself before picking up what she had come to think of as their copy of Little Women and began to read.

It wasn't until nearly midnight, when they were both drowsy and beginning to nod off for the night, when the flames in the fire turned a brilliant green, and Draco's head appeared in the flames. Hermione nearly jumped off the chair, shocked at the younger man's sudden appearance and gasped.

'Draco!' she exclaimed, dropping to the floor in front of the fire as close as she could without getting soot on her.

'Hey, Granger,' he said with a smile. 'You and Uncle Severus both look like shite, by the way.'

Hermione bit back the comment that was on the tip of her tongue as Severus dropped down to join her before the fire. 'I'm glad to see you're safe,' she told Draco.

'You're being very reckless, Flooing us like this, Draco,' Snape warned. 'If you get caught, I can't imagine what would happen to the plan and potion we had concocted. Bear in mind it took Hermione and me many months to brew it.'

Draco nodded, but Hermione still saw him roll his eyes sarcastically at them. 'I just wanted to let you know as soon as I could that we returned from the Revels unscathed and that Father and I have returned to Malfoy Manor. The Floo connection in my room is heavily warded against eavesdropping.'

'So, how did the plan go?' Hermione asked, curiosity getting the better of her now she knew Draco was alive and seemingly well.

'It went off as well as it could have,' he answered, pausing and frowning. 'My mother, well, she had managed to half-calm Father down before I even arrived home. I suppose it's a good thing. Father is now under the impression I am saving you both for later – when the Dark Lord supposedly wins and takes over the Wizarding world. We're to be able to keep slaves, and he thought it would be amusing to have you both.'

'That sounds exactly like something Lucius would do,' grumbled Snape.

Even though they could only see his face, Hermione could tell Draco had shrugged at the comment. She knew it had to be difficult for him to go against his father after so many years of unwavering loyalty, but she was proud of him. She knew it would make it easier for Draco to handle his father's potential demise come the final battle.

'Anyway, Father aside, I was taken to the revels, and they were having a bit of a celebration in honour of McNair's wife becoming pregnant. It seems the old fart managed to knock her up yet again, and the Dark Lord found this news to be stupendous,' Draco sneered. 'I was presented to him, and he forgave me for going against Father and praised me for my brilliant plans to turn you both into slaves when we "win." The Occlumency you taught me came in handy, also. Thanks, Uncle Sev.'

Hermione saw Snape's lip curl when Draco addressed him in that manner and couldn't help but to smirk. So, Snape had been teaching the younger man how to block his mind from Voldemort. She imagined learning such a skill might come in handy. Resolving she would ask Snape to teach her later, she turned her attention back to the conversation in front of the fire.

'... and the Dark Lord took the bait. Vain bastard he is, he loves gifts just as you said he would, and he sprayed it on him then and there,' Draco continued. 'I saw him put it on a few times over the two days we were there as well, so no doubt it will be having some sort of an effect of him in the next week or two.'

'This is good news indeed,' Snape said, tapping his fingers against his chin. 'I suppose I will have to report this to the Headmaster tonight, and we shall wait and see what he wishes to do with the information.'

Hermione turned to look at Snape, her expression wary. He looked back at her, opening his mouth most likely to ask her what was on her mind. She shook her head and looked back at Draco, who was staring at the pair in amusement, obviously picking up on the changed dynamics.

'Well, I had best be going,' Draco said. 'I can see you two want to discuss something, and there is no knowing when my father is going to come pounding on my door to talk to me about some evil plot or another.'

Without waiting for either of them to respond, Draco's face disappeared along with the green flames, leaving the room cast mostly in darkness save for the glowing embers. Wordlessly, they decided to leave the sitting room and walked wearily up the stairs to the door to Hermione's bedroom. She leaned her back against the closed door and looked up at Snape, who was standing before her.

'Are you really going to allow Albus Dumbledore to push you around and treat you like a second-class citizen for the rest of your life?' she asked. Her voice had a slightly hard edge to it.

'I don't expect you to understand,' he said, his expression as neutral as she had ever seen it. 'I owe Albus more than just my life. There are things I have done that are unforgiveable, and he saved me from having to live with those mistakes.'

Hermione sighed. She knew Snape would say that. He always thought he was the guilty one – that he was the one who owed Dumbledore. But she felt he had already paid his dues for those mistakes, just as she was still striving to make amends for being unable to resist Greyback and the darkness that continued to creep through and fill her. She reached a hand out between them and touched his shoulder, letting her hand run down the front of his open frock coat to grasp one of the lapels. She gave it a gentle tug, drawing him a little closer to her and tilting her face up a little more, entreating him to kiss her.

Obligingly, he closed the gap between them, pressing his lips against hers as his arms went around her and crushed her against his chest.

She sighed in relief as his tongue gently invaded her mouth, teasing hers into a dance between them. He drew her further into the kiss until they could no longer breathe, then ended the kiss gently and released her. He stroked a thumb along her cheekbone and down to her chin.

'Go to bed, Hermione,' he murmured. 'There is much to do come morning.'

She nodded and opened the door behind her, pausing to look over her shoulder at him as she went inside. 'Goodnight, Severus.'

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A/N – Draco is safe!