Eleven

A/N: With thanks to my beta, JunoMagic.

Severus awoke early the next morning and decided that it might be nice if he cooked breakfast for once. As he got out some eggs, butter and bread in preparation, he wondered how the dynamic between himself and Hermione might have changed after the events of the previous night.

He hesitated to call it a 'relationship'. Of any sort. Sharing a bed and having sex once certainly did not constitute a concrete bond even in the eyes of the most romantic, and they could not with real honesty be called friends. They just weren't really at ease in one another's company.

When Hermione decided to show her freshly scrubbed face ten minutes later, Severus could immediately sense that something had indeed changed. She was less bubbly than previously. That was understandable; it was even desirable.

He didn't think that he had carelessly revealed any of his inappropriate longings to be closer to Hermione over the last few days, but he really should be more guarded. For both their sakes.

Feeling in a much better mood now that he had determined his own course for the foreseeable future, Severus resisted the urge to hum a tune as he cooked. Even with Hermione as his only witness, it wouldn't do to ruin his image completely.

On Hermione's part, she was strongly resolved not to trust herself with Severus again so easily. She had seriously misjudged her ability to deal with him. Having been burnt once, until such time as she developed a much thicker skin, she would not expose herself again.

He seemed to share her desire to bury the hatchet. As a result of this new reserve, their breakfast conversation was largely limited to the most common daily chores and topics. It was almost like starting anew.

'I asked for the butter, not the jam.'

'But you'll need the jam too, won't you?'

'No doubt.'

After they had finished eating, Severus decided that he felt well enough to get back to doing a little bit of work.

'Do you mind if I appropriate your table today for potion making?'

As much distance as she wished to put between them emotionally, Hermione couldn't resist asking, 'May I be of any assistance?' It would be pleasant to use her hands again. It had been weeks since she had brewed anything, and the chance to do so with Severus Snape was too rare to pass up.

She didn't really expect him to say 'yes', and she was quite sure that he would not when he didn't answer her immediately. However, just as she was about to mutter something about reading instead, he nodded.

'It may not be as glamorous as you expect,' he warned. 'Due to my illness, and the rush orders I've been doing for St Mungo's, I have built up what we might quite accurately call a mountain of less urgent orders. It might take both of us several days working together to get through even half of it.'

Hermione wasn't really sure what to make of this friendly, relaxed Severus, but nevertheless resolved to enjoy it while she could.

'I'll take my chances,' she replied. 'Can I have a cut of the profits?'

He smirked.

'Of course. We'll start with the potions for Hogwarts. I do them free of charge.'

After Severus asked Scampy to fetch his order forms and the necessary ingredients, they set to work, both working on large batches of rather ordinary potions for the Hogwarts Hospital Wing. It turned out that Poppy needed to restock before September, but the current Potions master was on holiday with his family until right before the term commenced.

The benefit of making easy potions was that Severus and Hermione had time to indulge in light banter while they worked. They spent the day in mutual satisfaction, getting through without any interruption in the form of Severus' pain, though Hermione was careful to keep an eye on him for any signs of distress. He insisted that it was manageable, and she decided to take him at his word.

However, their tenuous alliance shifted again during the night when Hermione awoke to the sound of Severus whimpering in pain. True to her resolution, she did not offer him anything, but after what must have been almost five minutes of listening to him, she hadn't been able to resist rolling over and taking his hand. Seeing the panic and vulnerability in his eyes, she was rather quick to respond to his touch when he reached for her.

She didn't regret it.

The next day saw Hermione and Severus return naturally to 'the lab'. Always quick to bounce back, and floating a little on the wings of a rather satisfying shag, Hermione had all but forgotten the previous hurt. She was pleased to discover that a human Severus Snape was one that she didn't mind pestering, even about his most basic life choices.

'Why do you wear black all the time? Are you in mourning?'

'It's a little known fact that I'm actually quite colour-blind. Wearing black saves me from opening my wardrobe and putting on something horrendous every morning.'

'But you're a Potions master!'

'Being deaf didn't stop Beethoven.'

'Ah, point taken.'

As the days wore on, they began to assume a sort of pattern. During the day, Severus would make potions, often assisted by Hermione. As they worked, they talked about everything from Hermione's envy of Severus' platinum-plated cauldrons to why exactly Severus refused to eat unmelted cheese. The evenings were a different story. As night fell, they would both grow more introverted, usually choosing to read in comfortable silence . Though they never went to bed at the same time, they were both invariably naked and curled up together by morning.

However, even an unspoken agreement not to mention the words 'treatment', 'patient', 'Healer' or even 'sex' could not stop Hermione from verbally enquiring after Severus' health several times a day. On the morning of the fourth or fifth day, she decided to be creative about it.

'You will NOT name it!'

'But it makes more sense than asking how you are fifty times a day when I really only want to know about one part of you.'

'Liken it to a code,' he muttered tightly. 'If you ask about me, I will know that you're talking about it.'

'You know, "it" isn't a bad name. It really is more like a thing than a person.'

In an attempt to distract her, and save himself and Little Severus from the dubious honour of being named by Hermione Granger, Severus quickly changed the subject.

'You said that you live in this tiny space because you couldn't afford better as a student, yet I was under the impression that you were given some sort of lump sum when the war ended for services to the community or some such.'

She beamed. 'Been keeping up with my press clippings over the years? I'm flattered.'

Severus only rolled his eyes in response. At some point during the last few days, he had decided that he actually enjoyed her conversation. Though he had often accused her of being unoriginal as a student, given time to simply talk to her now, he found that she did actually have that brain he had been so reluctant to credit her with. It just often worked in ways dissimilar from his own mind.

She keeps life interesting, at any rate.

'Well to answer your question, yes, I have an Order of Merlin. I believe you have one, too?'

That wasn't the point.

'So, where is that money? You have a tiny living space, almost no furniture, and, from what I can see, inexpensive taste. Surely you could have made it go further.'

She gave him a mysterious smile. The type that he had recently learnt meant bad things, like today's Hermione-proclaimed 'no-black Tuesday'. Severus was currently wearing her father's old t-shirt again, though she had allowed him continue wearing one of his own pairs of trousers. She didn't want to send him into withdrawal.

'I invested it. Every last Knut is tied up in various Muggle and Wizarding business ventures whilst I live off the dividends and the very small amount they pay me as a trainee.'

How very Hermione...

Impressed that her finances seemed to be much better organised than his own, Severus wondered what her plans were for life after this little period in limbo.

'So, given that your lease expires in a month or so, where are you going to live?'

'Somewhere with a library and space for a real sofa. I really need one of those.'

Severus looked incredulous. Not that he didn't agree with the sentiments she expressed, but that was hardly the answer he'd been expecting. It wasn't an address.

'You don't actually know.'

She glared at him, which amused him no end. 'Well, I've hardly been in a position to go house hunting, have I? Do you think I should have somehow fit it in before or after the Wizarding world was hit by an unprecedented epidemic, or perhaps in my quarantine lunch breaks?'

Well, that was unnecessarily sarcastic. I must be rubbing off on her...

She wasn't finished.

'Where do you live, anyway? I still can't understand why we were quarantined in my flat. It clearly wasn't made for two people. I'm surprised we haven't killed each other yet.'

Thinking on the 'comfort' of Spinner's End as a whole, Severus was actually quite grateful that they weren't at his house. He had always meant to do the place up properly, both in terms of enlarging it and making it generally more comfortable, but he found that he could live there without complaints so long as his bedroom, lab and library were in good condition.

'Surely you have better self-control than that, my dear. You simply cannot go around killing those that irritate you. To answer your question, my house is Unplottable.'

'But where is it?'

'It is also under a Fidelius Charm.'

'Well, at least tell me something about it, then. I can hardly come knocking at your door on the basis of a simple description.'

As Severus started to talk about his rather modest dwelling in Manchester, he was cut off mid-sentence due to the sudden arrival of something that he hadn't encountered since he had woken up in this flat close to a week ago.

A letter.

As the purple, Ministry-sealed envelope appeared on the table with a puff of rather acrid, black smoke, all thoughts of calm camaraderie were forgotten as both Severus and Hermione lunged for it like two dehydrated travellers fighting over the last water bottle. With longer arms and no qualms about playing dirty, Severus naturally got to it first, only belatedly realising that it probably hadn't been necessary to elbow her in the process.

As he opened it and read, absently putting his free arm around Hermione to rub the shoulder he had probably bruised, she peered over his shoulder as best she could.

Quarantine Area 3B

United Kingdom

As Severus struggled to absorb the information that he might be able to get back to his own lab very soon, he noticed that Hermione was uncharacteristically silent. He gave her a little shake.

'I'll be out of your hair soon enough, it seems.'

He supposed that he was a little bit glad that she didn't seem to want to celebrate this news, as such. She neither smiled, nor frowned, but looked at him with a serious expression and said, 'But you aren't quite better yet, are you? You had a smallish attack this morning.'

'I did.'

Examining his own feelings, now that he was faced with the actual prospect of leaving, Severus couldn't say that he was as happy as he had expected to be. Yes, he hated having to call Scampy every time he needed more potions ingredients, and it would be wonderful to use his own shower again, but over the past few days, he felt like he had tentatively started building something with Hermione, and he wasn't even nearly ready to let it go.

The feelings which had led him to give her his wand had increased tenfold. He was almost ready to admit to himself that he was fond of her, that he actually quite liked her fussing over him, and that he even enjoyed taking care of her. Given her unaccountable propensity to experiment when it came to food, Severus privately thought that even with the new wand, it would be a long time before she managed to feed herself satisfactorily. 'Edible' was usually the highest compliment he could give her creations.

Speaking of the wand, with their time now drawing to a close, Severus felt that there was something he should tell her. Spinning her so that she was facing him, he placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes as he explained, 'There's something I didn't tell you about that wand.'

'Why are you telling me now, Severus?' Her puzzled expression made him wince. Maybe she didn't really need to know.

'You see, I never told you the reason I grew out of it. The catalyst, as such.' Now that he had started, he wouldn't stop. 'You know that I became a Death Eater shortly after leaving school. You don't need to know the details, but after I used that wand at my initiation test as it were, it would no longer respond kindly to my hand. Do you understand?' Fixing his gaze at a point just to the left of her face on the wall, he couldn't, wouldn't let her read the truth in his eyes.

'You killed someone.' It wasn't a question.

'I didn't mean to,' he whispered. 'A Crucio for a few minutes would have been enough to prove my worth, but when Rowle saw her, I knew that she'd be better off dead.'

His gaze flicked to hers. Hard, empty eyes.

Courage...

'Though I would understand if you wished to purchase a new one, I would ask you to consider using the wand I gave you,' he stated formally, unsure how much more he could tell her without sounding like a complete fool.

She didn't say anything, but there was no disgust or judgment in her eyes, only concern and even understanding.

Those eyes...

'You're a Healer,' he stated simply. 'I didn't buy a new wand until I started teaching at Hogwarts.' He hoped that she would understand the significance of that. 'Birch for renewal. Give it the rebirth that I cannot.'

Can you see?

'Of course I will.' Her smile was genuine now, warming him even as a part of him longed to confine himself in solitude and brood about darker days. She must have sensed this, because she stepped in closer to him and put her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest.

'We really aren't so different, you know. I may not have used Unforgiveables, but why do you think my wand stopped working for me after the war?'

Severus had no answer to give as he struggled to fight the very rapid arousal that had absolutely nothing to do with sickness and everything to do with the beautiful body, mind and soul in his arms.

She understands.

It was really just as well that words weren't really necessary. Lowering his lips to hers, he was more than happy when she responded with equal fervour and enthusiasm.

In direct contrast to their previous liaison, Hermione found herself effortlessly being swept into both the moment and the man as he gently caressed her lips with his, pressing against him as he deepened the kiss, sending her heart soaring and her pulse racing.

He does care...

She could come to no other conclusion regarding Severus' current actions. Always lying just beneath their interactions the last few days had been this unspoken something more. Now that she had time to enjoy him, Hermione noticed that he tasted sweet, but with a bitter edge. Though obviously the tastes were not at all similar, she would liken the overall experience to dark chocolate.

As she ran her hands up his chest, then further upwards around his neck and into his hair, Hermione gasped as she felt his hands creep lower, one slipping underneath her shirt while the other began to explore her bottom.

When they finally came up for air, staring deep into each other's eyes as they both read their mutual desire and affection in shades of black and brown, Hermione melted just that little bit more when she saw the sort of lip quirk that passed for a smile on Severus' face.

'Shall we take this somewhere more comfortable?'

Glad that he was taking the initiative this time, and knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt that this was what she wanted, Hermione agreed, pulling him down into another kiss before allowing him to lead her into the bedroom.

This time, there was no rush at all. Once they were in the middle of the room, Severus stopped, drawing back to start working at her buttons. This time, it was Hermione wearing the loose shirt to work in, and he made sure to tease her as he progressed, but gently smacked her hands away when she reached for his belt and trousers.

'All in good time, kitten.'

Though she usually despised nicknames, Hermione had to grin at that one. With her body singing under the effect of his ministrations, she honestly didn't mind being his anything.

When he'd finished with the shirt, Severus didn't immediately push it off her shoulders, but allowed her to pull off his t-shirt and throw it into a corner of the room. His skin was far softer than she remembered when she traced the lines of his chest with her fingers, Hermione pressed a kiss to it as she felt his nimble fingers fiddle with her bra. After a short struggle, that came free, and he gently peeled first the shirt, then the bra off her, eyes hungry as they raked up and down her body.

He definitely approves...

As he picked her up and carefully deposited her on the bed, things rapidly became much more heated as Hermione gasped, eyes fluttering shut as his mouth and tongue found one of her hardening nipples. Unbuttoning her own shorts, she made her first demand of him.

'More.'

She felt him chuckle as he moved back up from her chest to give her a sweeter kiss on the lips.

'More of what?' he asked before moving downwards again, this time stopping at her neck.

'Everything!' she groaned, wishing that she could just Vanish their remaining clothing. However, no sooner had she wished it than it came true. Apparently Severus was getting a mite impatient too.

Not that Hermione was complaining. Feeling him rubbing against her leg, she took him into her hand, marvelling at how it could be hard and soft at the same time. Everywhere their skin touched, she felt shivers of excitement, of desire.

So... alive...

Spreading her legs wider in anticipation for what she was beginning to think she really needed, Hermione slowly guided Severus into her, tears almost coming to her eyes when he finally filled her completely.

Perfect...

Smiling up at him, Hermione thought that she might explode with happiness and fulfilment when he almost smiled back before he gathered her up in his arms and kissed her fiercely as his hips slowly worked in a strong, steady rhythm.

As she felt the waves of pleasure building, Hermione never once broke eye contact with the man who had been her everything for the past few days. Whatever happened to them once they were allowed back into the big wide world, she knew that she would always treasure this moment when it had just been the two of them.

Just as his own climax sent her falling over the edge as her body closed tight around him, Hermione could have sworn that she actually felt a sort of fusing and mingling of their magics. She saw it in her mind's eye as a brilliant explosion of light.

Allowing herself to be swept away by the wave, Hermione thanked every deity she knew as she clung to Severus, unwilling to let him go.

If, as the fairytales went, she only had until midnight, there was absolutely no way she was going to let him go for even a second before then.

Sensing that she didn't want to let him go, and not at all upset about that, Severus rolled to the side and settled Hermione more comfortably in his arms. Looking at her face, alight with joy, her contentment only added to his own satisfaction. Whatever it was that they had just done, it was right. Giving her a light kiss on the cheek, they lay there in peace until Severus broke the silence with a question that had been niggling in the back of his mind for some time.

'Why did you have sex with me the first time? No one could have forced you to,' he asked quietly.

'I wasn't forced,' she said slowly, frowning a little, 'but I suppose I just didn't think of the possible consequences. I would have done anything I possibly could to help you, and it really did seem like the best course of action.' She turned her face into the pillow so that he couldn't see it. 'I didn't want you to think I was a bad Healer, or that I wasn't brave enough to do what was necessary.'

Severus was taken aback by her frankness and vulnerability. Although he was familiar with the feeling of not measuring up in one way or another, he couldn't really understand how she could feel that way. Particularly, how she could feel that way in relation to him?

Stupid girl...

He wasn't worth it. However, though he might not completely understand her feelings, Severus knew how to honour and respect them. That too, he had learnt the hard way.

Gently cupping her cheek and turning her head so that they were looking into one another's eyes again, Severus moved slowly in until their lips were almost touching.

'Thank you.'

The kiss he gave her immediately afterwards was likewise fairly soft at first, but deepened as he tried to pour all his feelings into it.

His affection. His desire. His desperation.

Pulling her close with his other hand, Severus very forcefully blocked out the despair that threatened to creep into his headier feelings.

He knew that this would all come to an end tomorrow; if their lovemaking this night hadn't healed him, nothing would. Still, he'd be damned if he didn't make the most of this last night with her.

How I wish I could stay.

A/N: Thank you to all those who have read and reviewed. I really appreciate it. :)