Courage Under Fire

A/N: Thanks to the kindness of NSS, I have something a little personal to share with you.

So, I've been working on losing weight and being more healthy since mid-January, and I've lost 40 lbs so far! Go me! Then, I hear on the radio that there is a 5k walk to benefit the Kentucky Humane society. Walking to aid furry homeless babies, what could be more up my alley? Walking, good for me and my weight loss; money, good for the furries.

I've got a deal to make you all. I've been concentrating on my health, and found it very hard to get writing again. I need something to kick me in the butt and give me a deadline! So here's the deal. I'm asking my readers to make a donation for my 5k, if you are able. In return, I'm promising you not one, but two more chapters by the end of May. And I'm not asking anyone to break the bank, even just a couple bucks would help. Those small donations add up quickly, and they really help animals in need.

The Humane Society website is easy and user friendly. You can make a donation right online, all you have to do is go to the page and plug in your information. Help me lose a couple more pounds, write a couple more chapters, and help the homeless critters!

You can find my donation page here:

Link to Donate to the Humane Society

That link goes straight to my donation page on the Humane Society website. I will never see or touch the money, so you can be assured that nothing nefarious is going on. Please donate if you can! The cause means a lot to me, and I need a good guilt-ridden jumpstart to get me writing again!

As always, big huge thanks to my betas, Vaughn and WolfMoonshadow. The delay in getting this chapter posted was all my own fault. They had it beta'd and ready ages ago, but I've been so distracted by getting healthy that I just haven't been able to work on it.

Disclaimer: They are not mine; I only take them out to play.

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Madness need not be all breakdown. It may also be break-through.

~R.D. Laing, The Politics of Experience

It was clear that Hermione had only one course of action available to her. Despite her fears of rejection, she screwed up her Gryffindor courage and marched back into the infirmary. She wasn't about to let Severus get away with such ridiculous nonsense!

When she opened Severus' door, he visibly flinched. Clearly he'd not expected her to return. Quickly donning an expression of annoyance, he pretended to read the paper.

"I had hoped," he growled, "that you would leave me to my rest. I trust that it was a matter of earth-shattering proportions that convinced you to disturb me again."

"Not at all," Hermione said simply. "I only forgot something."

"Forgot something? Miss Granger, you didn't have anything with you in the first place! Now please go about your business and leave me to my paper."

"I forgot to do something, actually." Stepping closer to the bed, Hermione first took Severus' paper out of his hands and set it loose to drift lazily to the floor. Even as Severus opened his mouth to protest, Hermione leaned forward until her face was mere inches from his own. "You see, Severus," she murmured, "I was so flustered when I left, that I forgot to kiss you goodbye." That said, Hermione leaned forward that last few inches and kissed Severus right on his gaping mouth.

At first he froze. The next thing Hermione knew, she had been pulled roughly into the bed and had somehow ended up flat on her back with Severus leaning over her. He had also managed to pull both of her hands over her head and now held them there firmly. Hermione couldn't have escaped if she had wanted to. Luckily for Hermione, escape was the furthest thing from her mind.

"What was the meaning of that "sir" nonsense then?" he growled at her.

"What did you expect?" she growled back. "You apologized for kissing me, for Merlin's sake! A man who snogs a woman and then apologizes for it should expect to be on the receiving end of a few sirs!"

"Damn it, woman! I wasn't apologizing for kissing you!"

"Weren't you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in unconscious imitation of his own inquiring expression.

That very expression caught Severus off guard, and he gave her a small, crooked smile. "Hermione," he said softly, "you were the one spark of light in a long and dark night. You were unspeakably kind to me, and I repaid that kindness by taking advantage of you at every conceivable opportunity."

"In case you didn't notice it at the time, I was hardly complaining. Besides, if any apologies are necessary, it is I who owe them to you. You were not in your right mind and I was not strong enough to do what I knew was right."

"Pardon me, love, but that is complete and utter crap," he responded, his eyes flashing. "I've told you before. I knew what I wanted then, and I know it now."

"And what is that?" Hermione managed to ask, though the look in his eyes had left her rather breathless.

Leaning down, Severus breathed the words against her trembling lips. "You, Hermione. I want you."

Then his lips crossed the scant distance that separated them. The kisses they had shared before had been delightful, but none of them had prepared Hermione for this. While Severus had been mad, he had kissed her with the same wild enthusiasm with which he did everything. Now the lips pressing against hers were gentle as he kissed her with undeniable affection. Until now, Severus had easily made her feel passionate, but never before had she felt so loved, so cherished, as she did in this moment.

With a soft hum of appreciation, Severus deepened the kiss. When Hermione eagerly opened her mouth to him, his tongue slid inside to do gentle battle with her own. Slowly, so slowly, the kiss gained momentum until Hermione found herself arching up against him. That motion pressed her breasts against his chest and he moaned into her mouth. Now, Hermione desperately wanted her hands free, but it took some firm tugging on her part to get Severus to take the hint. At last he released her hands and buried his own into her hair. He then used that grip to tilt her chin back so that he could plunge his tongue even more deeply into her mouth. With a low moan of her own, Hermione clutched fiercely at his shoulders, pulling him against her as if he wasn't already as close as he could get. As if of their own accord, her legs spread farther open and suddenly his hips were cradled between her thighs.

She could feel his hard length pressing deliciously against her, and she felt all tingly, as if a soft current were running through her. Lifting her hips, she rubbed against him. With a heartfelt groan, Severus broke the kiss. His head hung down next to hers and she could hear him breathing heavily in her ear. Too heavily. Much too heavily.

"Oh, bloody hell! I am such an idiot!" Without further ado, Hermione rolled Severus off of her and onto his back. It was a testament to his weakened state that she could accomplish that so easily. While Severus caught his breath, Hermione fussed over him. She removed the extra pillows he had been sitting against so that he could lay down comfortably. After straightening his dressing gown, which had become a bit mussed during the festivities, she fondly brushed his hair out of his face. Severus' dressing gown did little to hide his obvious desire, but Hermione decided that the best thing to do at the moment was pretend that his penis didn't exist. Not that ignoring it was the easiest task, what with it sticking up at such a jaunty angle.

"Severus, I'm sorry," she said contritely. "You're supposed to be resting and first I upset you and then I practically attack you! What was I thinking?"

This statement caused Severus' rather crooked smirk to reappear. Though it wasn't as boyishly endearing as the toothy grin she had gotten used to while Severus was mad, she decided that his crooked smile suited him, and it was rather sexy as well.

"Hermione, you can hardly be held responsible for attacking me when it was I who dragged you into the bed. But you're right about one thing. I am upset. I'm most dreadfully upset, and I think that you should make some sort of...restitution." His hand lifted to twine lazily around Hermione's neck as he tried to drag her back down to him.

"Oh, no you don't!" Hermione said firmly. Taking his wayward hand, she brought it down to her lap where she held it firmly in both of hers. "There won't be any more of that until Poppy says you're all right. So you put it right out of your mind, Severus, and you put that away!" Removing one of her hands from his, she pointed firmly at his gown-covered erection.

"Now, that, as you so delicately put it, is indeed your fault, woman, and I'm afraid there is nothing that I can do about it," Severus replied with a small chuckle.

"Then we'll just have to ignore it."

"Easier for you than me, I think," Severus returned, looking sulky.

"Believe me," Hermione said, leaning down to give him a heated look, "there is nothing easy about ignoring that."

He smiled at her again and rather smugly too. Shaking his hand loose from her grip, he raised it up to her face and laid it against her cheek.

"I've never seen you smile so much," Hermione said softly.

"I never had much reason to."

Flustered, Hermione looked down at her hands for a moment until she spoke again. "You really should be resting. It's not even breakfast time yet. Perhaps I should leave..."

"Don't you dare," he growled.

Hermione smiled at him then, a big, toothy smile full of happiness. At first, he seemed taken aback by her expression, and he stared at her in obvious astonishment and something a little like wonder. Then he returned her toothy smile with his crooked one.

"If I stay, will you take a nap?"

"Gods, women, you talk to me as if I were a schoolboy," Severus groused, rolling his eyes at her.

"Will you?" Hermione asked more firmly.

"Oh, I suppose," he reluctantly agreed. "If you will join me?"

When Severus stretched out one arm and indicated the space beside him, Hermione immediately laid her head on his shoulder and snuggled up close to him. After awhile, Severus made a little humming noise that Hermione couldn't quite decipher.

"What is it?" she asked sleepily.

"I used to think that I wouldn't care for this sort of thing," he said, his own voice heavy with sleepiness.

"What sort of thing?" Hermione asked, a bit worried.

"Oh, you know, having someone fuss over you. I hate when Poppy does it, but it's rather pleasant when you do."

"It's different when people care for one another," Hermione said softly. When he didn't reply, she lifted her head to look at him. Severus Snape was fast asleep. Since Hermione hadn't managed to get much sleep the night before, what with worry and disquieting dreams, she soon found herself yawning. With a soft sigh, she threw an arm over Severus' waist and slipped away into sleep.

It seemed only a moment later that Hermione was awakened by a small hand gently shaking her shoulder. Careful not to wake the man sleeping at her side, she rolled slowly over to see who the hand belonged to.

"Miss Hermione," Dobby whispered, "Harry Potter is wondering where you is. Harry Potter is at breakfast, and he is telling me that you need to be having breakfast too. Harry Potter is telling Dobby that there is a big meeting after breakfast. If Miss Granger isn't coming now, then she won't be getting any breakfast at all!"

Dobby looked so heart wrenchingly alarmed by this prospect that Hermione had to put a hand over her mouth to hide a smile. "It's all right, Dobby," she whispered. "I'll come right away."

Slowly and quietly, Hermione slid from the bed and onto her feet. Though Severus stirred slightly and murmured to himself, he didn't wake up. Dobby held the door to the small room open for her, and after she had passed, he shut it silently.

"Dobby," Hermione said softly once the door was safely shut, "I want to go to breakfast, but I don't want Severus to worry about where I've gone to. Is there some way to leave him a message?"

"Nothing easier, Miss Hermione," Dobby said cheerfully. "Hally is working in the infirmary today. Hally will be giving a message for you."

It didn't take long for Dobby to call another house-elf into the room, and after Hermione had given him her instructions, she left for the Great Hall.

The Great Hall looked decidedly odd with so few people in it. The high table held the small group that was at Hogwarts over the summer. Harry and Ron sat chatting with Bill, and Hermione hurried past the deserted student tables to join them. So much had happened in the past few weeks that it shocked Hermione to realize how little time had passed. It was only the first week of August, and it would be nearly four weeks until these student tables held hordes of students for the Start of Term Feast.

Breakfast was a quiet affair, and the three friends chatted about inconsequential things as they ate. Minerva was conspicuously absent from the table, and Harry told her that she was taking breakfast in her rooms. That didn't surprise Hermione. It had been clear from their actions the night before that Albus and Minerva had a closer relationship than any of them had ever suspected. She couldn't blame Minerva from wanting to be with Albus for breakfast, and he had to remain hidden in her rooms.

After they finished eating, Harry suggested a short walk on the grounds and Ron and Hermione followed him outside. Once they were a safe distance from the castle, they spoke more freely.

"I assumed that when I couldn't find you, you went to check on Severus?" Harry asked Hermione.

"Of course she did. Look at her blush!" Ron teased. "How exactly were you checking on him, Hermione?"

"It wasn't like that!" she snapped, blushing all the more.

"Wasn't it?" Harry said, waggling his eyebrows. "When Dobby came to tell me that you were on your way, he mentioned that he found you asleep in a certain patient's hospital bed."

"Look, I went to visit him early this morning, and we were both still very tired. I fell asleep...it's as simple as that."

"Simple!" groused Ron. "Now see here, Hermione, we've been especially well behaved about you fancying the git..."

"We have, we certainly have," interrupted Harry, nodding his head in emphatic agreement.

"So, I think it only reasonable that you tell your two best mates what's going on!" continued Ron. "Is he still mad? Does he still fancy you? Did you at least get a snog out of the great bastard, or has he gone all Snape on you?"

It would be a gross understatement to say that Hermione was taken aback by this line of questioning. Hermione knew very well that Harry and Ron--despite their efforts to the contrary--still had trouble accepting that she had honest feelings for Severus. Yet here they were, asking her about it as if it were any other boy she had been interested in while they were at school. As she looked at their expectant faces, she realized how precious their friendship was to her. They were her best friends and they stuck to her through thick and thin...and Severus. They deserved to know what was going on in her life, even if it did embarrass her. Replaying Ron's last statement in her mind, she answered his questions as best she could.

"No, he's not mad any longer, though he doesn't seem quite himself. I think Albus was right; it was the extra soul that made him mad. Yes, he still fancies me and yes...I did get a bit of a snog."

Here, Hermione's composure crumbled a bit, and she hid her face in her hands. Her blush was so strong that she could feel the heat of it against her skin. She could hear the boys giggling at her.

"Was it really as easy as all that?" Harry asked, incredulously. "I mean, I know he's probably not the wanker he was in class, but still...I would have expected you to have a little trouble with him."

"Well," Hermione muttered into her hands, "we did have a bit of a misunderstanding at first, but we got it sorted."

"What kind of a misunderstanding?" Ron asked, prying her hands gently away from her face.

"I called him sir! There we were, trying to talk to each other and it was awkward and strange...and I slipped and called him sir!"

"I imagine that he didn't like that much," Harry offered.

"It's funny," Ron began, "we used to joke about how he'd make his girlfriend call him "Professor," but I'd wager he didn't like you calling him "sir" at all."

"He didn't. In fact, he went all Professor Snape on me. It was like I was back in his classroom."

"How did you fix it?" Harry asked.

"I kissed him," she said simply.

Harry laughed at that. "You're learning, Hermione. The fastest way to shut a bloke up and make him pay attention is to give his mouth something else to do. Ginny uses that on me all of the time!"

"Oy!" Ron interrupted. "That's enough of that! I know you snog my sister, but that doesn't mean I want to hear all about it. I'd almost rather hear about Hermione snogging the git...almost."

That made the three of them laugh all the more, and they continued to laugh and joke until it was time to head to Minerva's office.