Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I'm still not making money for my writing and usage of Rowling's characters. Ah, well... just borrowing them anyway.

Thanks go to my lovely and patient beta, Charmed_Nay!

Three days.

It had been three days since she'd left Hogwarts, since she'd sent an owl to Severus, since she'd returned to her parents' home. Hearing nothing from Severus was the only mar on her peaceful retreat. She anxiously awaited some word from him, and with each passing day, her hope dwindled. Maybe he'd told Harry the truth when she'd said he didn't care for her.

Frowning, she slipped beneath the duvet and closed her eyes. Sleep wouldn't come to her, however, as she kept thinking of too many things...her brain replaying recent events over and again. The worst memory was the flash of her mother's horrified expression and tears as she listened to Hermione's tale. Part of her wished she'd never confided the entire truth to her parents, as she hated hurting them and giving them cause to worry. However, another part of her knew that she had to tell them...had to relieve herself of the burden, needed them to understand.

Ron had sent Pig over each day with letters, though short ones, asking her to let him visit soon. She supposed she'd have to take him up on it sooner or later, but the truth was that she was quite enjoying her peace and time away from everything.

"Odd," she muttered, "I spent months away from everything in a bloody tent. Here I am again, spending time away from it all."

With a sigh, Hermione turned off the lamp at her bedside, turned over, and thought on an idea that had struck her earlier. Rita Skeeter would no doubt try to profit off the war as she'd tried to profit off of Dumbledore's death, but her accounts would be biased and largely untruthful. Hermione knew she could do better. In fact, she would send letters to publishers to see if any were interested in a truthful version of what had really happened. The world deserved to know the truth about everyone involved in the war and all the losses and hardships that were endured.

Being a published writer wouldn't be a bad thing. After that, there was always the possibility of being allowed to add on to Hogwarts: A History or the history texts at Hogwarts. It was high time that Binns began to lecture on something recent, wasn't it? There was so much she could do with the power of the written word. Her only hope was that Severus wanted to be a part of her future.

At that moment, a small silvery shape made its way through her window and seemed to swim toward her in the air lazily. Stunned, she realized that it was an otter...larger than the one she was able to conjure. Who could have sent this?

Her heart began thumping wildly when it gazed at her and delivered the message from its owner...a rich, silky voice whispered, "Sleep well, Hermione."

"Severus!" she exclaimed, bolting up from the bed and making her way to the window. She saw nothing in the dark shadows surrounding her home. Surely he was nearby!

Without tossing a robe on over her nightgown, she quickly left her room, ran down the stairs, and sprinted for the back door of her family's home. Throwing the door open, she sped out into the darkness, calling his name.

And then he was there, a shadow detaching itself from the darkness and making his way towards her. He stopped a couple of feet away from her and simply stared into her eyes, the sliver of moonlight shining through the overhead tree branches their only light. There was so much she wanted to say, so much emotion welled up inside of her, but words were lost to her. She needed to feel him and took a step closer. He responded by doing the same, and then they were suddenly wrapped in each other's embrace, squeezing tightly as if afraid to let go.

"You're so cold," she mumbled minutes later. "How long have you been out here?"

"Just after dark."

"So long? By why did you only send a message now?"

"I hadn't intended on sending it. I just wanted to see that you were all right, and when your light when out, I made a hasty decision." He stepped back, though he still held onto her. "You need to get back inside...bare feet, no robes? Where's your head?"

"I had to find you," she whispered, pulling him to her again. This time, she didn't bury her head against his chest; she boldly brought her lips up to meet his in a soft, chaste kiss. "Kiss me," she commanded softly.

His lips were soft and firm against hers, his tongue first tentative and then at once demanding. This was what she'd wanted, needed. She moaned and pressed herself against him, trying to become part of him.

"Severus," she whispered when they broke for air. "Please come in with me."

"Your parents..."

"Are asleep. We need to talk, and it's a bit cool out here tonight." She stepped back and took a hand into hers to guide him inside. "Come with me."

He followed her silently into her home, up the stairs, and into her bedroom and said nothing as she locked her door and warded the room so that her family wouldn't hear them. "I shouldn't be here," he said once she gazed at him.

Hermione sat down on the bed and patted the spot beside her. "Please..." Slowly, he moved to sit stiffly next to her, not removing his cloak. "Severus, get comfortable. I don't want you to leave yet. There is so much to say."

Severus stood and took off his cloak, kicking his boots off as an afterthought before again sitting next to her. "I have things I would like to say as well."

She immediately didn't like his tone and knew his words would be what she didn't want to hear. "You told Harry that you don't love me," she blurted.

After blinking in surprise, he quietly said, "Yes, I told Potter that."

"But I thought that you felt something for me. You do, don't you? Even Rabastan said that it wasn't only a pretense." When he said nothing, she added, "Please be honest with me...either way. You owe me that much."

"I do have feelings for you," he said after a moment. "However, I won't act on them. I can't do that."

"Why not? You're what I want!"

"Weasley told me that you uttered those same words to him."

"No... I mean, yes, but I..."

"So you do want him then?"

"I was just trying to get him to... leave Rabastan alone. I mean, my feelings were jumbled up. I didn't know what I wanted."

His lips curved down into a slight sneer. "And you suddenly do? I can't...won't...be made a fool of, Hermione."

"What do you mean by that? I'm not playing any games here, Severus. Do you know how hard it's been for me to be without you this past week?"

"That's just it, Hermione. Don't you see? You've been living with me for many months. It's something you've come accustomed to. What if your feelings aren't truly genuine? What if you simply became attached to me because I was there with you, protecting you, getting closer to you?"

"Oh my God! You think I'm suffering from some version of Stockholm Syndrome! That's the absurd!"

"How do you know?"

"Because," she placed his hand over her heart, "I know in here that I... I love you and want to be with you."

At this, he closed his eyes and didn't remove his hand from her chest. His fingers twitched and then softly caressed her breast. "I want you so badly it hurts."

"I'm yours. Don't you know that?"

His eyes opened, and he quickly retracted his hand from her body. "No." He stood and shook his head. "Before I took you, Hermione, you had a life planned with Weasley. He's your age and has been in your life for a long time. Things can go back to what they were in time." He smiled sadly. "I fear I cannot give you what you deserve."

"No self-deprecation please! It doesn't suit you, Severus," she said hotly. "There is nothing that Ron could give me that you couldn't unless..." Her voice faltered. "Unless it's your heart."

"You have it," he whispered. "My Patronus should have told you that much."

"Oh!" The Patronus! Yes. I was too happy that it was his, and I never stopped to think of what that meant...that his Patronus had changed to resemble mine.

"But I refuse to let you walk into this with your eyes wide shut. No matter what you may think you feel, I would rather you be certain."

"How can I prove to you that I am?"

"At least give Weasley a try."

"No," she said firmly. "Why do that? It would only hurt him in the long run. I won't do it."

"Then take some time to yourself, let your mind clear, and then decide what you truly want. There's no rush. I will not be going anyplace, Hermione. Take this time for you. Otherwise, I will always be wondering if you made the right decision.

She could understand his point, and as much as she wanted to argue with him, she knew that he would never truly be confident that she wanted to be with him because she did love him and not out of some misguided sense of loyalty.

"All right," she agreed. "I'll take some time to myself."

He gave her a nod and a small smile. "For what it's worth, I have missed you."

Hermione went to him and put her arms around him. "I don't know how to not be with you, Severus. I hate this. It takes too long to fall asleep without you at my side."

Severus led her to the bed, lay down, pulled her next to him, and then covered them with her duvet. "Sleep. I'm here."

Thinking she could continue the conversation when they woke, she allowed his even breathing to lull her into a deep sleep. He was gone when she woke the next morning, only a note and missing bottle of her perfume...the scent he loved...were evidence that someone had been there.

Hermione,

Severus

She kissed the paper softly and slid it beneath her pillow, treasuring it. Inside, Hermione felt like a new woman. He'd come to her. He loved her. She would take some time to make certain she wanted a life with him, just as he'd asked of her, and when the time was right, she'd go to him, as she had no doubt what she wanted.

The problem she needed to deal with now was Ron. She would have to make certain that he understood things were over between them. Besides, he'd gone to Lavender while supposedly still loving her. What sort of person did that? She'd only been with Severus in the beginning because she had no choice to play Voldemort's game, but eventually, she wanted to be with him. That could only mean her heart wasn't with Ron any longer. And whether he'd admit it or not, his going to Lavender proved the same thing.

Hermione dressed, brushed her teeth, and made her way down to the kitchen to see what her mum had made for breakfast. When she found her father reading at the table and her mother drinking some juice, she smiled happily. Her parents had been in love for many years and were perfectly suited for each other. She hoped that she and Severus would have the same companionship. Actually, from experience, she already knew that they did.

"You look radiant this morning, my love. What brought this about?" her mum asked, indicating for her to take a seat. "Toast?"

"Looks good."

"Well?" her mother prompted.

"Good morning, poppet," her father said, peeking from behind his paper long enough to smile at her.

"It is indeed," she said with a contented sigh. "I've talked to Severus." At this, her father lowered his paper and her mother stilled. "Something wrong?" Hermione asked.

"He was here?"

"Last night, yes."

"What did you talk about?" Jane Granger asked.

Hermione munched on a bite of toast before launching into their talk, ending it by saying, "So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to take a little time to make certain it's what I want."

"You sound as though your mind is made up already," John Granger said.

"Honestly? It is," Hermione admitted. "I'm only doing this for his peace of mind, Dad."

"I should like to meet this fellow," he said.

"I think you would like him."

Her mother asked, "What will you tell Ronald?"

"I will tell him the truth...too much time has passed, we've grown apart, I don't know that I could trust him to not run off to his ex-girlfriend each time he feels insecure, and my feelings have changed. I'd rather have him as a friend, nothing more."

"I still can't believe he went to that girl!" her mother said hotly.

"Well, it's done," Hermione said, not wanting them to be angry with Ron. "And to be honest, I'm not all that miffed about it. If he can find happiness, then that's great."

A little later, Hedwig pecked at the window, demanding to be let in. "Hello, girl," Hermione greeted, taking the letter from her. "I have some toast crumbs if you'd like?" She indicated to the saucer in front of her before opening the letter.

Hermione,

Harry

She hated that Ron seemed to be suffering and knew that she'd have to speak to him right away. After putting away the breakfast dishes and tidying up, she went outside and Disapparated.

The Burrow was very quiet, so she expected that most of the household still slumbered, but as she made her way towards the door, she noticed Ron walking towards a copse of trees near the end of their property. Deciding to speak to him while he was alone, she quickly followed him.

"Hello, Ron," she said when she got in range.

He spun around, smiled, and approached her, arms open. She allowed him to embrace her for a moment and then pulled away.

"We should talk," she said quietly.

His blue eyes darkened slightly, and he said, "I won't like this, will I?"

"I don't know."

Ron took her hand and led her to the thick trunk of a fallen tree. "This looks all right."

Once seated, she said, "So much time has passed since we were together."

"That doesn't matter to me."

"Yes, it does, Ron, and you know it." She looked away from his confused expression. "I think we're better off as friends."

"It's Snape, isn't it?"

"It's me. I just don't think that I could honestly go back to being the same girl that I was all those months ago. I've changed. You've changed." She shrugged and looked back at him with tears in her eyes. "I don't want to hurt you, I swear it."

"Then don't do this. We can make this work. Everyone is expecting us to be together. It's what I always knew...hoped...would happen."

"Do you want me simply because your family and others assume we'll be together? We should decide our future because of what's in our hearts, not what they want."

"Hermione, I love you. I would have died for you. Don't sit there and tell me you think I only want this because of some force of habit!"

"You would have died for Harry, too, Ron, and I think you are confusing loyalty, friendship, and a whole other kind of love with the real thing." She reached out to touch his face. "I'll always want to be a part of your life...as we were before, friends."

He said nothing for a long while, simply stared straight ahead as if lost in thought. When he finally spoke, his voice was calm. "I should never have gone to Lavender."

"You weren't thinking. You..."

"I fucked up."

"It's not that, Ron. I swear it."

"I used her. I don't care for her that way."

"Then, yes, it is wrong."

"Hermione, are you planning on going to Snape?" When she blushed and said nothing, he added, "Be honest with me. I deserve it."

And she remembered telling Severus nearly those same words. Ron did deserve to know. "He's told me to move on with my life, but eventually, I do think I'd like to maybe see where he and I could take a relationship."

"I just don't understand how you could feel that way about that git."

"If someone had told me this last year, I'd have thought they were mental, but now that I know him, I can't help but to feel this way. I'm sorry, Ron."

"I'm sorry, too, and this hurts, Hermione. I don't like it. Some of what you're saying makes sense, but I do love you. I won't pressure you into anything. Take your time to do what you need to do, all right?"

"I think you should talk to Lavender."

"What for?"

"Well, you need to apologize for using her for one, and if you don't want anything with her, you need to make that plain."

"I told her that last night." His cheeks reddened. "She came round wanting to talk. I told her that I wanted you."

"But now that you know you and I will likely never be a possibility, does it not change how you see Lavender? Maybe there would be a chance."

He shook his head. "I don't know, but I can at least explain to her that it's not just you that I don't go back to her, eh? That might make her feel better. I can just let her know it's me, and I need some time."

Hermione nodded her agreement and leaned in to hug him. "I'll always treasure what we had. I promise."

"Me too."

"Well, shall we go up and tell the family the news together then?"

He stood and pulled her up with him. "Yeah. I'd like that." His stomach growled. "Wonder if mum is done with the bangers. I'm hungry."

"As you always are!" Hermione said, laughing at his expression. She knew then that things would work out for them all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mum! Look!" Hermione exclaimed, waving a parchment in the air. "I got it! The contract with the publishing company!"

"Oh, how exciting! I knew they would accept after reading a sample of your work."

"Well, it took them long enough to decide. They told me they'd respond within four weeks, not six!"

"Congratulations, love. I look forward to helping with your editing if you need it."

"Thanks, Mum. I may indeed."

"I expect there's someone else you'd like to share this news with?"

Hermione smiled and nodded. "Do you think I should go to him?"

"You've not seen him in so long."

"We exchange owls every few days, Mum."

"Do you feel it's time to go to him?"

Hermione thought this over for a moment, glad she'd confided everything to her parents. "Yes."

"Then go to him."

"What about tonight? Dad wanted us to all go out to eat."

"Perhaps your friend would join us in celebrating? It would be a way of meeting him finally."

"And what a clever reason for me to pop over. Thanks, Mum." She hugged her mother and Disapparated away with a small pop.

Hermione had already been to Spinner's End, just to see where it was that Severus lived, though she hadn't let him know she'd been there. So Apparating to the cobblestone street wasn't a problem for her, even if the distance was a bit longer. On her last visit, a neat pointing spell had located his home for her, and she took the path that it had showed her last time, passing by many neglected and seemingly abandoned homes before getting to the very last home on the street.

Purposefully, if a bit nervously, she made her way to his front door and knocked lightly. What would she find in his expression when he opened the door? Would he be glad to see her? Would he realize exactly what it meant...her visit?

The door opened slightly, only a small crack allowed her to see a sliver of his face, dark hair covering the eye that stared out at her. It immediately widened. "Hermione," he said in greeting.

"Hi."

"Come in."

She walked in and waited while he closed and locked the door behind him. "This way," he said, pointing to a small sitting room on their right.

"Oh, look at all the books!" she murmured.

"That would be the first thing you'd notice," he said dryly.

"How can I not? The walls are lined with them!"

He gave her a small smile and nodded towards the couch. "Would you like something to drink?"

"In a moment," she said, waving his question away, "something wonderful has happened."

"Oh?" He sat across from her in a rickety chair. "Do tell."

Instead of saying anything, she gave him the crumpled parchment she still held in her hand and watched as his expression brightened.

"Congratulations, Hermione, they've answered finally!"

"Yes, finally!" She grinned. "My parents and I planned on dining out tonight. Now we'll have something to celebrate."

"You could have just... owled this to me," he said softly.

"I could have, but I wanted to personally invite you to dine with us. I wouldn't want to celebrate without you."

"I..."

"My parents would love to meet you finally," she urged when his voice trailed away.

"Indeed? What do they know about me?"

"Everything."

"Everything?"

"Yes, I left nothing out." She blushed suddenly. "Well, some things... you know."

This made him chuckle deeply for a moment before his gaze turned serious. "Why are you really here?"

"I've just told you."

"No other reason?"

She didn't know how to word what she wanted to say, so she simply said, "For you, of course."

"After all this time, you still choose me? Am I truly what you want?"

There was a hint of surprise in his voice, and it made her heart respond to him so much more. "Yes, still. I thought you knew."

He went to her then and leaned down to capture her lips with his. He felt so good to her...warm and soft. How she'd longed to have his kiss again! Bringing her arms up around his neck, she tried to pull him down onto the couch with her, but he resisted.

"Would you like to stay a while before going back to get ready for dinner?"

She nodded. "I want you to hold me... want to make love with you."

He pulled her up and held her as he Apparated them to his bedroom. She looked around for a moment and noticed that it was sparsely furnished and definitely had not seen a woman's touch in a long time. However, she appreciated that the bed looked comfortable and inviting.

"Are you certain?" he asked.

In answer, she shakily pulled her blouse up over her head, revealing her silk-clad breasts to him. He stepped forward and placed kisses along her throat while he unfastened her jeans. She made quick work of the buttons on his grey shirt. When his lips again met hers, she wriggled out of her jeans as he peeled his shirt away, leaving him in only his trousers, on which her fingers began to fumble with his fly.

"Damn it," she muttered in frustration when she couldn't unfasten them.

He smirked and said, "Allow me." In an instant, they were pushed down and kicked away with her clothes, leaving them both in only their underclothing.

Hermione sat on the bed and scooted towards the middle, crooking her finger at him. He followed eagerly and kissed his way up her body until his eyes met hers. "I do love you," he said.

"I know," she replied happily, "and I love you."

Hands roamed, tongues tangled, and bodies moved together. Hermione's bra and knickers were tossed to the floor, and Severus slid out of his underpants. Feeling his skin against hers once again made her feel like she was home. There would be no pretense this time, no faking.

As one of his fingers slid into her wet heat and his mouth nibbled the underside of her breast, she moaned and reached down to stroke his hardness. "I want you," she murmured.

And then he was pushing into her slowly, filling her with the sensation of pleasurable friction. "My God, you're so hot... wet... tight."

Instead of keeping her hands on his shoulders, she slid them down his back and gripped his arse while wrapping her legs around his thighs. Accidentally, she forced him to slide all the way in, deeply and quickly.

"Anh!"

"All right?" he asked worriedly.

"It... feels good. Do it again." Together they began to move, each relishing the feel of the other, taking the time to explore the other's body, mouths nipping, kissing, and laving anything within its reach.

Hermione had never felt anything so pleasant in all her explorations of her body or past experiences combined. The pressure his steady strokes filled her with made her feel like soaring. A feeling that made her giddy and tingly all over began to come to her, making her move quickly along with him, wanting to feel his pelvis grind against hers, wanting to take him inside her so deeply that two became one.

"Severus!" she said, suddenly exploding with feeling. "OH GOD!" Behind her closed eyelids, she thought she could see flashes of white stars as the feeling intensified and then slowly ebbed away, leaving her feeling limp and pliant.

A whisper: "Hermione," and he followed her into bliss, reaching his own culmination. Panting, they both lay there, simply enjoying the feeling of being joined and being together.

"I'd like just a small nap, I think," Hermione finally said when he moved to lie on his back next to her.

"All right, but I do want to meet your parents, so we'll have to try not to get tangled up in anything else," he admitted. "I hope that we can all get on well."

"I've no doubt that you will." She grinned and looked over at him. "There's no more running, my Prince. Your flight is over."

He simply smiled, turned to face her, and placed his head on her chest and held her while she toyed with his hair. Before long, he drifted into a soft slumber, followed by his lover.

Finis

Southern's Notes: I hadn't planned on ending it just yet, but once I started writing this chapter, I decided to do so. I'd had a little bit of angst planned...her spending time away, etc., but I feel that's unnecessary. This is how I like it, and I hope you do as well. Thank you so much for following this story and for all of the feedback given. I truly appreciate it.

I may add an epilogue at some point, but I sort of like it like this, so I'm not certain.