Twelve

Hermione could feel her eyes growing wide as she took in the sight of Lucius Malfoy, his son Draco standing coolly behind him.

"How pleasant, really," Snape said, his voice belying the tight hold he suddenly had on her hand. "I was just thinking about you. Naturally, my mother sent you and Narcissa an invitation to our wedding. Apparently, you have yet to RSVP."

He stood, and Hermione stood with him, still unable to speak.

"You still think that I will allow you to marry her, Severus?" Lucius asked angrily, yet his voice was quiet. To anyone observing, they would look as though they were having a friendly conversation.

"Hermione has made her decision," Snape said in a tired voice. His hand was still holding tightly to Hermione's.

"I have a right to contest-I petitioned her for Draco at the same time that your father did for you!"

"As flattered as I'm sure Hermione is at hearing how desired she is, I feel that I must point out that any dispute regarding her hand should be directed at my father, not me. He should be at his home now. If you'll excuse us, Lucius, we were just leaving."

Snape pulled Hermoine's hand until she was walking in front of him, and his hand on her shoulder guided her out of The Dragon's Claw Pub. She was sure that there was something she should do, something mean and nasty she could say, but no words came. She could only wordlessly put one foot in front of the other until they were in an alleyway where they could Apparate back to Grimmauld Place, where they would be safe.

"This isn't finished, Severus!" Lucius called, jogging to catch up with them. "I will have my say with you!"

Snape turned to his old friend, and Hermione saw a look of pure hatred on his face. "Hermione, go. Apparate back to Grimmauld Place now."

She finally found her will again. "No! I won't leave you! I can't."

"You can and you will," he snarled.

"They'll kill you." Hermione wondered why they didn't both simply Apparate back to Grimmauld Place together. "I won't go without you."

"If I don't finish this now, it'll never be done."

Lucius was almost upon them.

"You don't have a Second!" Hermione continued to protest.

Snape grabbed her shoulders, his eyes intense. "Mad-Eye Moody. Go get him! Hurry!" Without another word, he held up his wand and Disapparated her from the alley back to Grimmauld Place.

"No!" Hermoine yelled as he faded from her sight, and she found herself standing on the Victorian hardwood floors of the Black House. Taking a deep breath, she screamed out, "Alastor Moody!" at the top of her lungs, hoping that he'd be there.

"Hermione!"

She turned around to see Remus Lupin, looking concerned and yet somehow relaxed as he chewed on an apple.

"Remus-where's Alastor? Severus is in trouble!"

Lupin threw the apple core over his shoulder and swallowed hard. "Good lord...use the floo, he should be at his house."

Remus wasn't even half finished with his sentence when Hermione made a beeline for the kitchen fireplace where a large pot of floo powder stood on the mantle. "Alastor Moody's house," she said clearly before dropping a handful of powder into the fire. Taking another deep breath, she plunged her head into the green embers and prayed that she had found the right house. "Alastor!" she called out as loudly as she could. "Alastor!"

"Calm down, there. Can't a man catch a few winks?" the familiar voice said, annoyed. "Who's there?"

"Alastor, it's me, Hermione Granger. You must come quick, Severus Snape is in trouble!"

The imposing man finally came to stand in front of the fireplace, his odd-looking blue eye scrunched in concern. "Severus Snape? Merlin! Well, get yourself out of there, child, so's I can come over!"

Hermione gladly pulled her head out of the floo and got out of the way quickly. It was a good thing, too, for Moody came barreling through in a wind of dying embers and soot.

"Where is he?" Moody asked, his magical eye looking this way and that for Snape.

"He's outside of The Dragon's Claw. Lucius Malfoy challenged him to a duel, and Severus sent me here to get you."

Moody brandished his wand quickly. "Give me your hand, Granger," he said.

"I'm coming, too," Remus said, pulling out his own wand.

"Quickly!" Hermione cried.

Without another word, the trio Apparated back to The Dragon's Claw. Hermione reasoned later that they must have made a rather odd sight to any Muggles who happened to be on that particular street that day, but at the time, none of that mattered to her as she led the two men around the corner to the alley where Severus had last been.

To her relief, he was still there, and he was still standing, though "standing" might not have been quite the right word as he seemed to be leaning heavily on a large trashcan, holding his arm to his side. He had multiple scrapes and cuts on his face that caused blood to trickle down his forehead to his cheeks. Hermione gasped, but Alastor held her back.

"Listen to what he says," the old man whispered quietly.

"You have defiled the Dark Lord's name, you have betrayed your kind! You are a disgrace to everything the Dark Lord worked so hard for, and then you helped Potter kill him!" Lucius shouted, dealing out a few harsh blows with his wand.

Snape managed to deflect one blow, but the other one hit him, and he fell forward in pain.

"No!" Hermione screamed, running towards him.

Later, she reflected that she wished she had seen Lucius's face when he realized that a Senior Auror was standing behind him with a werewolf, listening to everything he was saying; but at the time, all she could think about was getting to Snape and making sure he was all right.

"You filthy little Mudblood!" Draco hissed, slinking towards Hermione. "How dare you betray us!"

She looked up at him, disgusted, as she pulled Snape's head into her lap. "You won't weasel your way out of this one, Malfoy," she snarled. "Now you have witnesses."

"What? A daft old man, a werewolf, and a Mudblood? Like anyone would believe any of you!" He raised his wand, as if to hex her, but Lupin cut him off before he could, by putting him in a full-body bind.

That was when Hermione finally looked past her injured fiancée, and saw the other things that were going on around her. Moody had Lucius bound as well, and was contacting a few other Aurors to come and meet him behind The Dragon's Claw.

"Take Snape back to the Black House, Hermione," Lupin said quietly, so that Draco couldn't hear. "Take care of him."

"I don't need to be taken care of," Snape growled, wiping blood out of one of his eyes. "I was doing just fine on my own."

Lupin laughed good-naturedly at Snape. "Very well, I'll let Hermione take me back and give me a little TLC. With Tonks away on recon, I get little comfort at night."

Snape grunted and Hermione laughed. "He's right, let's get you back to the Black House."

He grunted again, but he didn't protest when she Disapparated them from the alley and levitated him back into the sitting room they had spent the night in and once again transfigured the couch so that it was wider and longer than usual.

"I see. You're simply intent on having your wicked way with me," he mumbled as Hermione hoisted him onto the sofa.

"I don't remember you complaining this morning," Hermione answered coyly, unbuttoning the sleeves of her robe and rolling them up to her elbows. "Besides, I'd like to see you try and walk out of here. What did he do to you?"

Snape grunted. Hermione sighed.

"Very well, don't tell me. Accio Quidditch First Aid kit!"

"Hey, watch it!" Remus said from the doorway, ducking the flying metal box.

"Sorry, Remus," Hermione mumbled as the box hit her squarely in the chest, nearly knocking her over.

"Do you have a reason for being in here at the moment?" Snape asked Remus.

Remus shrugged. "Just thought I'd see how you're feeling."

"Like hell. Get out."

Hermione gave Remus an apologetic look, but he only shrugged and winked at her.

"All right. I can take a hint."

Hermione tried desperately to keep Snape lying down, but to no avail. He sat up and fixed Remus with a murderous look. "Hint? Bloody hell...Lupin! Out!"

Remus left, and Hermione pushed Snape back onto the sofa. "Lie still," she commanded. "He was just goading you...stop playing into him."

She looked him over before poising her wand over his head and giving him one more exasperated look.

"Well?" he mumbled.

"I'm trying to decide if I should give you a Simple Sleeping Draught. At least it will make you more willing to cooperate."

She watched as a small smirk chased itself across his face. "I promise, my dearest Hermione, that I will cooperate with whatever you wish me to do."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at this. Especially since he used the term "my dearest" in a sarcastic tone of voice. She also knew that his promise was the closest he had ever come, and perhaps would ever come, to an apology. Smiling to herself, Hermione charmed his boots off his feet, and then began to unbutton the neck of his robe.

"I promise I won't hurt you more than necessary."

He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. "So comforting to know." His voice sounded very parched.

"Oh...here, drink this..." Hermione pulled a vial out of the kit and handed it to Snape. It was supposed to help replenish his bodily fluids. To her surprise, he did as he was told, and she mused briefly that he had meant what he said. "Now, I'm just going to use a simple deduction charm to see what's wrong with you..." she decided that he should be told exactly what she was doing to him so that he wouldn't panic.

"Already a fine Healer," he mumbled sarcastically. The potion he just drank was obviously making him tired, Hermione decided.

She poised her wand over his head and began to feel for breaks and bruises, making a quick note of everything she found as she moved her wand down to his chest. His ribs had been badly bruised, she discovered, but was pleased that they weren't broken.

"Lucius must not have used any forbidden curses on you," she mumbled.

"No, he was saving those for last."

"You shouldn't have sent me away." She reached into the kit and began to pull out a few liniments and cleansing potions, then transfigured a cloth from a vial stopper. "I could have helped you."

"You found Moody. He's the only one of us in a position to do something useful right now, with Shackelbolt and Tonks out in training classes. You know that."

She kept her eyes on the cloth in her hands, wringing it between her knuckles, fighting back her feelings. "I didn't like just leaving you like that. What if we had been too late?"

"You weren't."

She finally met his eyes, and saw that he was regarding her with an expression she had not yet seen. He looked...tender? Was that the right word? Slowly, she poured one of the cleansing potions over the cloth and brought it to his face. To her surprise, he did not flinch away from her or tell her that he could do it himself. He simply allowed her to heal him. Tentatively, she leaned forward and placed a kiss on his forehead, where a large gash had been. When he did not move or tell her to stop, she swiped the potion over his lips to heal the cut in the corner of his mouth before pressing her own to him. She was happy when he answered her kiss, but when he began to walk his fingers up her arms, she felt him wince, and then he fell back against the pillows with a moan.

Hermione felt utterly chastened. She had almost forgotten his bruised ribs! "Severus, I'm so sorry, here, lie still..." she busied herself with unbuttoning the rest of his robe and pulling it apart to reveal his long white linen shirt. It had buttons only on the first half, and the rest was solid. She knew that pulling it over his head was not an option, so she spelled it away, leaving him clad in only his boxer shorts. She was surprised at how incredibly thin he was. She had been somewhat expecting it, as every time she put her arms around him, she could distinctly feel his bones jutting against her, but this thin took her by surprise.

"Do you have an aversion to eating?" she asked, a little more shocked than she intended.

"I have a mother, thank you," he answered acerbically.

She looked his chest over again, and saw the dark purple bruise that was already forming under his right breast.

"Stop ogling me," he said with a growl. "I agreed to cooperate, but I didn't agree to have you scrutinize me."

Hermione blushed and looked at his face. "I'm more concerned about that horrible bruise than your current state of emaciation right now," she said with more snark than she had intended. The end result was priceless, however, when his eyes grew wide and he settled back into the cushions of the sofa, as if waiting to see what she would do next.

In the kit, she found a potion for bruised bones and poured a goodly amount on her hands, warming it before spreading it over his chest. She wondered how long it would take to be effective when Snape suddenly let out a groan and shifted his hips upward briefly, but long enough for her to take notice. Looking down at his boxers, Hermione noticed something that she had only felt thus far.

"Looks like you're feeling better," she quipped.

He gave her a sheepish grin. "I want to know why I'm the only one who has to get his kit off," he answered, his eyes looking pointedly at Hermione's breasts.

"Because you're the one who decided to take on two Death Eaters in an alleyway all on your lonesome. Now turn on your stomach."

He complied, and Hermione found that his back was just as bony as his chest, but she decided to make no further comment. She was sure that she would be able to help him gain a stone or two after they were married.

She put more of the potion on her hands and ran them over his back, massaging away his aches and pains. When she was finished, she cleaned off her hands and put away the kit. Then she warded the door and picked his long white shirt up off the floor and changed into it with her back to Snape. After that was all sorted out, she moved onto the sofa and transfigured a few of the cushions into blankets and charmed two throw pillows so that they grew larger and softer.

"Isn't this better?" she asked Snape as she pulled the blankets over them. He was still lying on his stomach, watching her with interest.

"Much better," he said softly. Then, to her surprise, he turned on his side and pulled her close to him and cradled her head against his chest. "I...that was...what you did..." he faltered and sighed.

"You're welcome," Hermione answered, smiling.

~*~*~*~

Snape decided that it was miserably unfair to wake feeling as though he had a hangover when he hadn't even touched a drop of liquor in the past seventy-two hours. He was thankful that the room he was in seemed to still be dark, except for a low fire burning somewhere behind him, and that Hermione was apparently still snuggled against him. He smiled to himself and pulled her closer, his healing body protesting only a little at his exertion. To his surprise, Hermione stirred and wrapped her body around his.

"Morning," she mumbled.

"I'd hardly call this darkness morning."

"We went to bed awfully early last night."

He was surprised when she pulled away from him, and a round blue glow suddenly gave off from her wrist.

"Muggle watch," she said apologetically. Then she started laughing. "Severus, it's only nine in the evening!"

Snape grabbed her wrist in disbelief and looked for himself. He thought over the events of the morning, settled on an approximate time line, and decided that they must have fallen asleep somewhere around one in the afternoon.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"I'm starving," she answered, fumbling for her wand in the dark.

"That's not your wand," Snape said dryly when her hand flitted across his bare thigh.

"Oh, hush." With a swish and flick, she lit all the candles and lamps in the room.

As his eyes adjusted to the light, Snape decided that he would not point out to Hermione how his shirt, that she was currently wearing, was not buttoned up at all, and even if it was, he would still be able to see her breasts through the thin linen. Feral instincts taking over, Snape found himself pushing Hermione back against their makeshift bed and kissing a trail from her neck to her bellybutton. Her gasp on his way back, when he pushed the material aside and latched onto one of her nipples, was what brought him back to himself. With a ragged sigh, he pulled away from her and turned to the floor, grabbing his robe.

He offered to find them some food, but Hermione insisted on accompanying him. Snape didn't know if this was because she was worried about him going off on his own, or because she simply wouldn't wait to eat. Regardless of which, he was forced to watch her dine from across the kitchen table, his shirt poking through the collar of her robe, still unbuttoned. When they made their way back into the study an hour later, he found himself being accosted by her, and as she began undressing him, he reflected that his resolve was definitely shaking.

"I loved what you did to me earlier," she whispered into his ear, her warm breath against his skin causing his arousal to grow. "You have the most wonderful hands."

Snape smirked. Hers had been quite adept as well. "Very well, I will repeat your pleasure," he said huskily, guiding her hand to his growing erection. "But you must see to mine as well."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," she murmured, kissing a hot trail down his chest.

Snape gulped. He was in trouble.

The next morning, they woke up before anyone else in the house, and as a result, helped Dobby prepare breakfast. Thanks to his trouble with the Malfoys the day before, several Aurors who had been in the Order had come to stay at the Black House as a precaution, unnecessary though it was. Snape mused that some of them were simply looking for some good food and better company, and he was more than likely right in that assessment.

"What're your plans for today, Snape?" Moody asked as he spooned marmalade onto his toast.

"Hermione and I have got to finish our flat. We're getting married tomorrow..."

"Oh dear!" Hermione cried. "I almost forgot!"

"Madam Malkin!" Ginny said, a hand over her mouth. "We need to get our final fittings today."

"That shouldn't take long," Molly Weasley said with a smile. "Madam Malkin is the best in the business for a reason. Here, Severus, have some more oatmeal."

Snape hated oatmeal. "Thank you, Molly. I don't see why I can't accompany the both of you to Madam Malkins, and then Ginny can find her way back here while Hermione and I buy some furniture."

"As long as you don't look at the gown," Molly clucked, grabbing the marmalade before Snape could.

"That is a silly superstition-hand me that when you're finished-and you know it, Molly."

"I'll go with you to Diagon Alley," Harry volunteered. "Ginny wanted me to help her look at some Quidditch supplies, anyway."

Snape raised an eyebrow in Potter's direction, but said nothing. "That would be fine. What time do you need to be at the robemakers?"

Hermione checked her watch. "In about an hour-it's only seven in the morning right now."

"That gives me time to shower before Fred and George wake up," Ginny said happily, standing up with a piece of toast hanging out of her mouth. "Cheers!"

"I wanted to jump in the shower," Hermione said with a frown. "I wonder how long Ginny will be..." Grabbing a piece of bacon, she walked out of the kitchen with a distracted look on her face.

"I should go with you," Moody said sinisterly. "The Malfoy's aren't the only ones looking to make trouble for you, Severus."

Snape sighed and rubbed his eyes. Spending the day shopping for a few pieces of furniture was suddenly becoming a trek to Indonesia. "Very well, Alastor. I appreciate your caution. Also, I must go into Knockturn Alley to make sure that a shipment has arrived, so I would appreciate you keeping an eye on Hermione while I go and do that-not that she needs any help."

Moody laughed. "'Course she doesn't. I'll just be there to give her someone to talk to."

Snape was relieved that someone else understood Hermione and refused to coddle her, no matter how tempting it would be to do so.

"Well, if Hermione and Ginny are showering, then I'll be on my way home to do the same thing," Snape decided, looking at his own timepiece. "I should be back in a half-hour."

Moody nodded, and Snape Apparated away. He wasted little time in his ablutions, though he did pull his hair back and secure it at the nape of his neck as Hermione had done when he had gone to see her parents. He would never admit it to her, but it was nice to get his hair away from his face every now and again. Deciding he looked presentable, and feeling fresher in a clean set of robes, Snape Apparated back to the Black House.

"They're still getting dressed," Moody muttered when Snape stepped back into the small study he and Hermione had claimed as "theirs".

Snape sat down across from Moody and regarded the older man. "You didn't have to come to my rescue yesterday."

"And yet you sent for me."

Snape nodded. For saying so little, he felt that a large conversation took place. The older man continued to regard him wordlessly until Snape noticed his magical eye swivel towards the door.

"That'd be your Hermione," Moody said amicably. "And Potter and Weasley."

Snape gave Moody another questioning look before greeting Hermione. The lot of them Apparated to Diagon Alley together. The first stop, as promised, was Madam Malkin's. There, Hermione and Ginny both tried on their robes while Madam Malkin made a large fuss over Snape being present. He was sure that if he heard one more superstition, he would lose his temper. Thankfully, that did not happen. Hermione and Ginny soon held a package each in their hands, which they walked across to the Owl Post to have delivered at the Black House. At that point, Harry and Ginny said their goodbyes, and Snape took control of the situation, directing them to Grazelbar Alley, also referred to as "Furniture Row."

"They look like doll furniture!" Hermione exclaimed as she looked in the window of a shop.

Snape smirked. He was sure that after she saw a Wizard's Agreement for the first time, that she was not aware of what the furniture looked like.

"Shrinking spell?" she asked.

Snape shrugged. "Of course. How else would we get it home?"

"But how do you try it out first? I want a sofa that's comfortable."

Snape put his hand on her arm and guided her down the row. "That's what Charms are for, Hermione," Snape said mildly. As much as Hermione had learned at Hogwarts, he was still amazed at how different her Muggle life seemed from his upbringing. He wondered if she would ever truly get used to life as a witch. He wondered how it would affect their children-if they had any.

Snape was glad that his new flat was small. The amount of time Hermione took in buying the furniture for it was exhaustive-he would have thought that it was the most important decision of her life!

"Dearest, if you don't like the material on the sofa, you simply transfigure it."

"But I need something to work with in order to transfigure. Look at this! Have you ever seen such ugly, large flowers before in your life? Roses-ugh! I don't want my grandmother's sofa!"

Snape didn't want her grandmother's sofa, either. He wanted something in leather. Finding the item in question, he held it out in the palm of his hand.

"Green, of course," Hermione mumbled.

"Color is unimportant."

Hermione shrugged. "If that's what you want..."

"It is," Snape said. He had always used second-hand furniture in his dungeon at Hogwarts, and he wanted something nice that he picked out for once. Of course, when he examined the price tag, he realized why he relied on the kindness of his parents' outcast furniture.

"Forty Galleons!" Moody exclaimed. "You must be insane, Severus."

Snape shrugged. He was determined that this sofa would be his. He was happy when Hermione shrugged as well and placed the item gently into her shopping basket.

After what seemed like hours, Snape managed to maneuver both Hermione and Moody to a restaurant that was close to Knockturn Alley. Making a few excuses, he ran off to his father's Apothecary to check and make sure that his ingredients had arrived, as well as his reference books. He was not prepared to see that the front window was broken, and the word "Traitor" was spelled out in potion ingredients on the floor of the laboratory. Everything that could have been broken had been, and anything that would not break was burnt or otherwise rendered useless. Snape bowed his head in shame and anger. Why did his sins have to be visited on his father and the rest of his family?

In a fit of uncontrolled rage, Snape kicked at the offensive words, smearing several volatile ingredients together as he did so, causing a few mild explosions that tore and singed the hem of his robe and slightly burned his leg.

"Scourgify!" Snape growled, his wand pointed at the mess on the floor. "Reparo," he muttered to the front window. "Munimentum Apothecary," he said finally, leaving the shop. There was little else he could do at this point, but anyone else attempting to do harm to the shop would find it a difficult task.

Exiting back into Knockturn Alley, Snape noticed many hostile faces staring him down. He knew that any of these dark wizards and witches would be more than capable of revealing who the vandal had been, but they would never betray that person or persons to Snape the way that Snape had betrayed his "kind".

"Next thing you know, he'll be in love with the Mudblood," someone behind him whispered loudly.

Snape stopped short and turned around. "Call me whatever you like, but leave my fiancée out of it. And my family!"

Angrily, he turned on his heel, his robes swirling around him dramatically. He was so out of sorts that he didn't notice the odd looks that both Hermione and Moody gave him as he slumped into his chair. A witch came to take his order, and he simply growled at her.

"He'll have a sandwich," Hermione said. "And a glass of pumpkin juice."

"With a chaser of firewhisky," Moody added.

Snape gave a grunt of appreciation for the old wizard's intuition, but still said nothing.

Everything was ruined! Everything! What would he tell his father? What would he do for his livelihood? Would his sisters and their husbands be adversely affected by this? What was Lucius Malfoy up to right now? And why did Hermione keep looking at him as though he were a manticore?

When the waiting witch came back with his firewhisky and pumpkin juice, Snape pushed the juice out of the way and downed the whisky in one gulp. It burned on the way down and he was happy for the temporary respite of pain.

"What are you just standing there staring at?" Snape asked gruffly. "Go and get me another!"

The young witch ran off as though he had set her arse on fire, and he chuckled to himself at the thought.

He felt Hermione's hand on his thigh, and he turned only to find himself staring at a pair of extremely worried-looking eyes that were currently asking him a million questions. Unable to answer her, he turned away and pinched the bridge of his nose while closing his eyes. Hermione's hand moved from his thigh to his shoulder, and he felt her give a slight squeeze.

"It can't be that bad," she finally whispered.

"Can't be that bad?" Snape repeated, his voice low and silky and full of malice. "It's all ruined-practically gutted-traitor indeed!"

Her hand remained on his shoulder, and Snape began to feel very odd inside. It was a feeling that he did not like at all, though he was ignorant as to what it could possibly be. He felt suffocated and angry and he knew that if Hermione continued to be nice to him, he was sure to take out all of his frustrations on her. Rudely, he shrugged her hand off of him.

"Eat quickly, I want out of here."

The waiting witch came by with another firewhisky, and Snape stared at it, unable to meet the eyes of his companions.

"I'm ready now," Hermione said, her voice sounding hollow and scratchy. "We can leave whenever you like."

"Very well, let's leave."

He heard the sound of several coins hitting the table, and then the swish of robes opening and wands being drawn. He drew his own, his head still bowed low. When Hermione and Moody Apparated back to the Black House, Snape Apparated to his new flat, where he could be alone. In the kitchen, he hunched himself into a corner and buried his head in his knees, wrapping his long arms around himself.

After all he had done, the supporters of Voldemort called him a traitor, and the fighters of Voldemort called him untrustworthy. Aside from Hermione and his sisters, Snape could think of few people who truly trusted him and knew who he was on the inside. Even he didn't know who he was at times.

Snape could think of few times that he ever felt sorry for himself. When he was a teenager, he was in a perpetual state of self-pity, he supposed, but he knew few teenagers who were not angst mongers. But as an adult, he had always accepted anything that came towards him, no matter what. Now he found that his past had finally caught up to him, just as he was attempting to start a new future on a path that no one could have envisioned for him.

If he ran fast enough, he could perhaps keep his past just at his heels, unable to catch him, but he was tired of running. The only option left was to rebuild what he had, and he didn't know if he was capable of that.

The sound of someone Apparating into his flat caused him to look up swiftly, and he found himself looking at Hermione, concern etched into her face.

"I thought you'd come here," she whispered, walking to him quickly and kneeling down next to him. "I'm so frightened for you, Severus. Won't you tell me what it is?"

Her hands were once again on him, and he felt her pull him against her, his head resting against her breasts as she embraced him, whispering soft words of encouragement. With sudden realization, Snape grabbed her around her waist with both arms, as if hanging on for dear life.

"It's all right," she whispered. "Whatever it is, it'll all be all right."

Snape closed his eyes. He didn't believe it, but it sure felt good to hear it.

TBC

AN: Firstly, Munimentum is a Latin word for "Protection" that I felt was better for a protection spell than a simple "Protego". Munimentum is more like a deep protective shell, so...that's what I chose.

Also, sorry about the time between when I update. I actually was hoping to update last Thursday, but I left the chapter on a different computer and didn't save it or e-mail it to my home computer, and then I ended up deleting about four pages and re-writing them about three times-the last four pages-and I'm finally happy with them. I think I've taken a few too many liberties with Snape's character here, and I've set myself up for some deep repairing of the damage my little writing fingers did, but I think I'm up to the challenge right now. Anyway. That's all. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.