Chapter 16

Chapter 16

When Severus rematerialized, his head snapped up to see Hermione in front of him. She grabbed him and pushed him into a chair, which was strategically placed behind him. Straddling him, she looked down her nose at him.

"What is the meaning of this?" Severus snapped. His grief from before was forgotten in the shock of being transported to Hogwarts and manhandled by the woman he loved.

"I've placed a binding spell on the body of the chair so you can't escape me. You will listen to me, Severus Snape, you incorrigible man, and don't make me cast Langlock to keep you quiet either."

Severus stared at her with his mouth slightly agape. She'd never spoken to or threatened him in such a way. He was sure the worst was yet to come... but didn't he deserve that?

His face softened as he looked at her. He would surely miss this beautiful witch who was straddling him. "Hermione..." he said finally.

"No! You will listen to me Severus Snape!"

With that she leaned in and hugged him furiously. "I'm sorry!" she exclaimed.

Severus eyes widened at her apology. "Sorry for what?" he asked incredulously.

"I have neglected you horribly, and I'm sorry." She pulled back, and he saw tears forming in her eyes. "When you yelled at me before, I was furious, but when I thought about why you yelled, it all became clear. I've been so busy that you must have felt neglected, then when you saw me being so friendly to Ron... Oh, Severus, don't you know how I feel about you? Ron and I are close friends; I've told you that. That was all it was outside the shop, a friendly peck on the cheek."

Severus opened his mouth to say something, but found her lips on his, kissing him. Hope and elation filled him at the possibility that their relationship wasn't over.

Hermione pulled back. "I'm sorry. Everything has been so crazy here with the end of the year approaching that I haven't had a moment to visit for any decent length of time. That's why I was stopping by, to tell you that my entire night was free. I wanted us to have some quality time."

"What was that with Weasley?" he asked, unwilling to let the scene go without a decent explanation.

"You know how Ron has been about us. Well, he stopped by today to chat and when he found I was coming to see you, he asked to walk me to Hogsmeade. I was a bit wary, wondering if he was going to berate me about you again, but he didn't. He said he could see that I was happy, and that's all he'd ever wanted for me. He's finally come around about us, Severus. Can you believe it?"

Severus' hands found themselves entwined in her hair as he gently pulled her toward him. He rested her forehead upon his and looked into her eyes.

"I'm sorry I yelled like I did. I... you know I..."

"Shh... I know. I'm sorry, too."

He closed the distance to her mouth and kissed her. Her hands wrapped around him as she pulled him tightly to her. He delighted in her closeness and the feel of her lips upon his. No matter how many times they expressed their love in this way, he still was enchanted by her touch and her kiss. He was lost in her from the moment she'd pulled him close.

She pulled back for an instant and looked deeply into his eyes. "I love you, you know. I always have."

He groaned within himself and pulled her to him once again. His lips worshiped hers, showing her just how much he loved her as well. He put all his emotions into the kiss, yet it wasn't enough.

"I love you, too," he whispered in her ear. "I have since the paintings. My love for you is only stronger now that we have been together."

"Oh, Severus!" she cried before hugging him furiously.

"Weasley is all right with us then?" he said quietly after a moment of enjoying her arms around him.

She pulled back again. "He was, once I told him..."

"Told him what?"

"I told him what we mean to each other."

His arched eyebrow made her suddenly redden and look away.

"I mean... I told him what you mean to me, and what I hope I mean to you."

"What do I mean to you, Hermione?"

Her eyes met his once again. "You're everything to me. I couldn't live without you. It... it was actually hard to describe to him exactly how I feel. Words really can't describe how much I love you."

His eyes glinted with adoration for her as he sat speechless at the depth of her devotion to him.

"What about you?" she asked nervously.

He stroked her cheek softly and reverently. "I came back to life for you," he whispered. "You are my reason for living. I..." His gaze was filled with love as he continued. "After I threw you out, I knew I had blown it. Then when I saw that locket... I thought we were over, and my heart was torn in two."

"The locket can be fixed," she interjected. Severus gave her a quick nod.

"I know that your job is hard, having done it myself, but I am a jealous man. I want you all to myself." He struggled to move within the chair. "Hermione, please release this binding spell."

She quickly did so, allowing him his freedom.

Severus lifted Hermione reverently off his lap and stood her in front of him. He moved off the chair and got onto one knee. Grasping her hand in his, he kissed her palm, then the back of her hand before looking up into her eyes.

"I want you to come home to me every night, my love. I want you to be with me whenever you don't have to be at the school. I want to show you exactly how much I love you each and every minute of the day while we are together. You once spoke of never finding the right man to spend your life with. I hope I can be that right man for you. Will you marry me?"

The tears in Hermione's eyes brimmed over and ran down her cheeks. She smiled at him and nodded before kneeling alongside him and throwing her arms around him again.

"You are definitely the right man, Severus, and I would have no other," she cried before kissing him fervently.

His mind filled with wonder as he grasped the witch in his arms. He tried to speak, but was too choked up to say anything. She knew what he was like, yet wanted him nonetheless. Lifting himself up, he guided them both to a standing position.

"You really want to marry me?" Severus asked in astonishment.

Hermione nodded vigorously.

"Even though...as you like to remind me so often...I am incorrigible?"

Hermione smiled, and Severus' heart exploded with joy. "Especially because you're incorrigible. I would have you no other way."

Hermione awoke to bright sunlight. She blinked a few times, then turned away from the window. The view on this side of the bed was much better anyway. Her husband of two months lay peacefully sleeping beside her. She had an urge to reach out to him and stroke his face, but she didn't want to wake him.

She had to admit that she'd never been happier. It seemed that Severus had never been happier either. She had marveled at just how much the man could smile; all his smiles being for her benefit alone. Of course they'd had their disagreements, the neighbors could attest to that, but all in all, they were happy.

Unable to contain herself any longer, she reached out and caressed his cheek, pushing away a lock of hair that had fallen across his face. His eyes opened slowly as she did so.

"Ah, I see you're finally up," he remarked.

She shook her head. "Here I thought I had awakened before you."

"I was just awaiting you. I thought we could go for a walk before I have to open the shop."

"A walk, huh? Well, that does sound nice, but I was thinking we could do something a bit more... involved." Her eyes sparkled mischievously.

Severus pushed up on his elbow and arched an eyebrow at her. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

"Well..." she murmured as she drew a finger across his bare chest. "You did remark yesterday about wishing you could just forget about everything and spend the day in bed with me."

Severus shuddered slightly, but looked at her gravely. "It's Saturday. We'll lose quite a bit of business if we don't open today."

She smiled coyly at him as her hand moved farther down his body. "That's true, but think of the business we could take care of in here if we just forgot about the world for... just... one... day." Her last three words were emphasized with kisses to Severus' torso.

Severus' eyes filled with passion. "Just what did you have in mind, witch?" he asked.

Her hand moved even lower, causing Severus to let out a groan. He pulled her face up and kissed her passionately. "Now, that's an offer I simply can't refuse."

He pushed her back down into her pillow and continued the kiss while caressing her body. Hermione fell into his deep kisses, once again unable to think now that he'd taken possession of her mouth. Pulling away for a split second, she whispered into Severus' ear. "I knew you'd see things my way."

A feral growl was her only answer, that and his wanton ravishing of her body for the rest of that day.

A/N: Many thanks to slytherinlaurel for her beta work. Only an epilogue left! Thanks, everyone, for your kind reviews along the way.