26: Facing Off and Finding Space

Thanks to counrymouse for her beta work and Southern_Witch_69 for catching my many punctuation errors.

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Chapter 26: Facing Off and Finding Space

"What are you going to do, Remus, kill him?" Hermione asked the werewolf as she stood intertwined with her husband in the back corner of the book store. She refused to let go, though Severus was trying to nudge her arms away.

"It's crossed my mind. He killed Dumbledore, or are you too in his thrall to remember that?"

"I remember perfectly. It tore me apart to hear what happened, not knowing what to think, what to believe. It tore him apart too." Hermione turned to face Remus, keeping Severus in the niche behind her. "He didn't have a choice."

"He didn't have a choice? What is that supposed to mean? Either you choose to kill someone or you don't. There's always a choice." Remus's eyes were feral, his gaze hard and angry, his teeth all but bared as his animal instincts pushed him on.

Severus didn't like Hermione standing in front of him and pushed her out of the way, his charcoal gray eyes piercing her. "You will not stand between me and danger. Never."

The man is such an idiot sometimes. "What good is it going to do me if you're dead? How long do you suppose I'll live to help Harry? Just how long will I be able to think straight enough to be useful against the Dark Lord before I'm too mad with grief to do anything at all?" Though the look she was giving him would have had Ron begging for leniency, Severus didn't respond. If it weren't for the slight fluctuation in his emotions, she wouldn't know her words had made any impact at all. Unfortunately the fluctuation was so fleeting she hadn't been able to identify it.

"What are you talking about?" Remus asked. He still held his wand firmly on Severus, though his eyes shifted between the two of them.

Huffing in irritation, Hermione cast a silencing bubble around them so they wouldn't attract attention.

"First, how did you know?" Severus asked.

"I was there when she came back from your arms. I could smell your stink on her. I am a werewolf, remember." Remus glared and kept his wand trained on Severus.

"How could I possibly forget?" Severus asked with a sneer, though his sneers weren't nearly as effective in his current body. "Why didn't you say something at the time?"

Remus's cheek twitched, his jaw was clenched so tight. "I couldn't say anything in front of everyone else. I was the only one who knew she had been passing information on Death Eater activity to the Order. If I had considered things a little more I would have realized it was you. I planned to pull her aside to talk first. Then I was going to squish the miserable life from your body for even thinking of touching her. You are her teacher. How despicable can you get?"

"I assure you, it would never have crossed my mind without the little potion the Weasley twins exposed us to. If you have to blame anyone, blame them, but leave me out of it. Having her in my life has seriously complicated things."

"You're intertwined in it though, Severus. I can't leave you out."

Disgusted by the way they were speaking over and around her as if she weren't there, Hermione nudged her husband none-too-gently with her elbow. How nervy of him to tell someone else she had complicated his life...even if it was the truth. "Remus, if you knew about all those Muggle lives, and the Creeveys, Longbottoms and whomever else were saved only because Severus is in his position to spy, how could you not wonder if maybe, just maybe, there was ample explanation for what happened? Did it never occur to you that perhaps the Headmaster may have been human, but he wasn't a fool? That maybe he required more proof of Severus's loyalty than a few tears? And that maybe he didn't feel it necessary to share his reasons with Harry? Or you? Or Mad-Eye, or even Professor McGonagall?"

Severus opened his mouth to say something, but feeling the venom that threatened to shoot from him, Hermione nudged him even harder with her elbow. His mouth snapped shut and he glared at her instead. Remus blinked in surprise at seeing their interaction. The tip of his wand lowered a fraction of an inch.

"I want a full and detailed explanation," Remus said after a long moment.

"You will get as full and detailed an explanation as I deem necessary." She elbowed her husband again when he started to protest. "Hush. But in exchange I require your solemn promise that you will wait until I've had a chance to speak with you in private before you mention what you've figured out to another soul, dead or alive."

Severus rubbed his side. "Quit elbowing me, woman."

"Then keep your mouth shut and I won't have to." She didn't take her eyes off Remus for more than the briefest second.

"I have a responsibility to protect you," Severus protested

"The responsibility is mutual. Now hush."

Remus's eye narrowed as he looked between them for a long moment, then his wand lowered even further. "I can't believe he just stood there and took orders from you."

"He's my...soul mate." She had almost said husband, but thankfully caught herself in time. "I'm currently the only person who trusts him. Well, the only sane person who trusts him," she added when she thought of Voldemort.

"That's debatable. Your choices lately don't appear too sane to me."

Hermione glared at Remus. "Do you want to hear the truth or don't you?"

"Yes, but there's no way anyone is going to let him back into Headquarters again."

"I don't want back into Headquarters. It's best if I know as little of Order business as possible, as then the information can't be taken from me by force." Severus straightened his shirt in a distinctly Snape-ish move, and Hermione really wished Remus would leave them alone so she could return to snogging her husband.

"So you say. Fine. Finish your chat and we'll talk about this more, young lady."

That was all the encouragement Hermione needed. She turned to her husband, threading one arm over his shoulder and pulling him close, planting her lips on his. His hands rose to her hips, then slid slowly up the length of her back, molding her to him on the way up. Several lingering kisses passed before Hermione heard Remus clearing his throat behind her. "What are you still doing here, Remus? Go away, would you?" Hermione held in a whimper when her husband took the opportunity to run soft kisses along her jaw line and down her neck.

"No."

After placing one more pant-inducing kiss on her neck, Severus tipped his forehead to hers and they stopped to breath. "No privacy in a public place, I suppose. Meet me tonight?" he asked.

She grinned and her answer was barely more than a breath. "Yes."

"Goodbye, then." He kissed her once more, then stepped back and Disapparated.

Hermione stood for a moment, licking her bottom lip, tasting him there still, then turned to face Remus, whose face was hard and angry. "I do have a book or two to pick up. I'll make it quick though, since we spent so much time arguing with you."

"Where are you meeting him tonight?"

She lifted an eyebrow at him. "I wouldn't tell you even if I could. And I can't...it's Secret Kept." She knew there was a bit of triumph in her face, but she didn't really care. Running her hands through her hair to calm it in case their little snog mussed her up any, Hermione walked past him and down a few aisles to the one she needed, then took a few minutes to browse through the stacks.

After a moment, she saw Remus walk back down the center of the store toward the area where Hermione had seen the boys standing, clearly bored already. Again she licked her lips, though her husband's unique flavor was gone, her mouth still tingled from his kisses. Grinning, Hermione sighed and pulled a book she needed from the shelf, then moved on to the Arithmancy section.

*****

When they arrived back at the tent again, Ron and Harry hurried inside to stash their purchases, but Remus grabbed Hermione's arm much harder than necessary and kept her from stepping in the tent. "Hold on just a minute." He turned toward Kingsley. "I just need to speak with Hermione for a few minutes."

Hermione tried to shake his grip off, but Remus only tightened his fingers around her arm. She sucked in a breath of pained surprise, but refused to complain aloud.

The large black man nodded, tapped his head with his wand and melted into thin air. "I'll head back to my post."

Remus waited for several seconds while Kingsley moved away before turning back to Hermione. He let go of her arm and nodded with his head toward the far side of the yard, then turned and walked in that direction without glancing back to see if she was following.

Hermione gritted her teeth and ignored the pain still throbbing in her upper arm. When she met him on the other side of the lawn, she carefully kept her hands down by her side, wanting desperately to tell him where he could put his hands.

"Before you go to see your lover, I need to speak with you about your activities with," he darted a glance at the tent as if to be certain the boys hadn't come looking for them, "him."

Putting her hands on her hips, Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Funny how you couldn't be bothered to take us to Godric's Hollow for the better part of a week, but you could spend half the day with us in Diagon Alley and take the time to interrogate me about my relationship."

"Priorities, Hermione."

"Right, you would far prefer to stick your nose in my personal business instead. What Harry needs or wants is unimportant, but knowing every detail of my love life is absolutely necessary, huh?"

"You're playing with fire and your safety is a serious matter. Harry's sudden interest in seeing the place he was born is not." Remus's face was hard and angry, but his voice was low, if edged with ice. His eyes strayed to her shoulder, then back to her face.

Not willing to argue with him, Hermione shook her head. "That just goes to show how little you understand what's going on. I'll meet with you tomorrow. We have things that need to be done tonight, and we both need to calm down. Remember that open mind that caused me to come to you with the tips he fed me in the first place? See if you can figure out where you put it by morning, will you? I'll swing by around eleven if that works for you."

"Is that so you can spend the morning in bed with him?"

"If I so choose. Goodbye, Mr. Lupin." Hermione turned on her heel and stalked back toward the tent. She hadn't used his last name and title since the Order had reconvened, and he had been more of a friend than anything over the past couple years. At the moment, however, she wasn't feeling very friendly toward him. Before she headed into the tent, she heard the crack of Disapparition. She took a few long, deep breaths to calm herself, then entered the tent with a smile on her lips.

After all, they'd had a productive morning between their shopping and enlisting the twins' help and best of all, she was going to spend the night with Severus. How could she let anything else get in the way of that spot of happiness?

She should have known better. Mere seconds after she entered the tent, Ron glowered at her. "Where was he? Did you meet him in the stacks at the book store? I don't appreciate waiting for you to 'pick out books' while you were snogging someone."

Hermione blinked. How did he know?

On one of his rare shows of perception, he answered her unspoken question. "Go take a look at your neck. Next time you want to get together with the git, don't waste my time." He turned on his heel and stalked out of the tent.

Hermione watched him go, then turned back toward the living area where she had missed Harry sitting in a corner while she dealt with Ron's ire.

"He has a point, you know. You won't tell us who the bloke is, then you meet him while we wait nearby, thinking you were doing something important...like searching for a book to help us. I understand your drive to spend time with him, whoever he is, but your timing could be better. And it would help if he didn't leave love bites on you in plain sight." Harry stood and walked over to the ice box, pulling out a can of Muggle soda.

Hermione clamped a hand over her neck, realizing that must have been what Remus was staring at as well, but Harry shook his head. "Other side. Better check it out in a mirror." He waved toward the restroom and she hurried over to take a look.

It wasn't a particularly dark spot, or terribly large, but it was unmistakable. Severus, you prat. There was no doubt in her mind that he left the mark for Lupin's benefit, but that didn't change the fact that he had caused rifts with Ron and Harry over it. His timing could have been better.

When she turned back around, Harry was picking up the Charms book they had all been using. A second can of soda was in his other hand. "Ron and I'll go do some work inside. It's too hot out here."

A cooling charm would have solved that problem almost instantly, but Hermione didn't bother to argue. Apparently they all needed some time to cool off.

*****

By the time she arrived at the tiny cottage that night, Hermione was thoroughly ready to sink into bed and pull the blankets over her head.

Animagus training hadn't gone as well as the boys had hoped, and they were all frustrated and discouraged when it was time to cook dinner. Her reminders to Harry that the Marauders had taken several years to become Animagi didn't seem to lull him at all, even when she pointed out that they were making great headway.

The tent was hot and even cooling charms seemed inadequate to keep it livable for more than a few minutes at a time. To top it off, she burned dinner when she got distracted by one of her new books.

When she told the boys she was going out for the evening and may not be home in time for breakfast, Ron shot from his chair and rushed out of the tent.

It was enough to make any girl want to sink into oblivion. And she wasn't completely sure she wanted to forgive her husband for his part in the day's stress.

The cottage door opened before she reached it, and Severus stood in the doorway, a glass of what looked like red wine in his hand. "It felt like you could use a few minutes to unwind," he told her as he pressed the long stem into her hand, then used a finger under her chin to bring her face close for a gentle kiss.

When he pulled away, she took a sip of the smooth, fabulous drink, then pressed her face into his chest. "A few minutes, a few hours, a few months. This afternoon has been a nightmare."

"Lupin give you more trouble?" He pulled her into the cottage with her free hand and with a flick of his wand, widened the sofa. He settled himself into it, then pulled her down between his spread legs.

"Some, but that was only the tip of the iceberg." She took another sip of the drink, the set it aside for a moment, turning in his arms so she could see his face. "Was that really necessary?"

"What?"

She studied him, then decided he really didn't know what she was talking about. She pointed at the love bite on her neck. "That."

He grinned evilly. "Oh, yes, it was absolutely necessary. Drive Lupin out of his gourd did it?"

"There's no arguing with you. Yes, I'm sure it angered him, but it also angered Ron...you know the person I would have been dating if it weren't for you, my best friend whom I have to deal with every day? It also irritated Harry that I was kissing you while they waited at the front of the store."

"Ron needs to accept that you and he aren't ever going to get together. He can't have you because you're mine." He slid his hands up the length of her arms in a move that was all male. He didn't bother to respond to the part about Harry. She wasn't really surprised.

She flinched when he reached her upper arm where Remus had grabbed her outside the tent and realized she must have bruises. It had been more than simply uncomfortable when it happened, but she didn't expect this.

"What is it? You're in pain." He lifted the sleeve on her shirt and checked out the bruise blooming across her skin. The heat of his anger flooded through her so fast Hermione could hardly breathe. "Who did this? I'll kill him."

"No, you won't, I'll kill him, if anyone is going to." She tried to brush his hand away from the bruise and roll down her shirt sleeve again, but he wouldn't be dissuaded.

"I'll say it again, Hermione. You are my wife, your safety is my responsibility. Who was it?"

"That doesn't matter."

"To hell it doesn't." His eyes bored into hers and she could feel him trying to read the truth in her mind, but she kept him firmly shut out. The battle of wills continued for a couple minutes while they both seethed.

"I'm not going to tell you. We don't need any more bad feelings around here." She tried to pull out of his arms, but though he didn't hold tight enough to hurt her, he didn't let her up.

"If you refuse to tell me who did this to you, to let me set them straight, then I'll have to take matters into my own hands."

Hermione expected him to cast Legilimens and push even harder, and was therefore surprised when he whispered some other words in a language she had never heard. The tingle of magic slithered across her skin, but when it dissipated, she felt no different than before. "What was that? What language was it in?"

"Greek. Any man who touches you in any but the most brotherly way will find himself with a bit of a shock from now on. The spell will be activated by romantic interest in you, not intent, but simply interest. It will also be activated by anyone touching you while angry or with intent to do you harm. Except myself. I could beat you bloody and it wouldn't affect the spell at all." His finger trailed down her arm, bringing shivers to her skin.

Fear raced through her, but he calmed it after the first burst. "Luckily for you, I prefer your skin perfect, unmarred as it usually is." He dipped his head down and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to her shoulder. This time the goosebumps on her skin were from straight pleasure. The fear she had felt melted away under the insistent pressure of his mouth on her skin, and the reassuring emotions she felt through the bond. His mouth moved gently over the bruise and she heard him mutter a healing spell while his lips caressed the spot. When his teeth slid across her skin in that place a few seconds later there was no discomfort at all.

"So it's a protective spell?" she managed to ask a long moment later.

"That's one of its functions. I've been looking at protective spells for some time, this is the one that seems most appropriate at this time. There are also other advantages to it. But we'll have to discuss them later." He turned her head with the tip of his finger and covered her mouth with his. Then they sank onto the sofa.

*****

They rose sometime after midnight and walked through the kitchen and into the bedroom. Severus grabbed some round crackers, a block of cheese, an apple and a knife as he passed through. Then he joined her on the bed. "Hungry, my dear?"

"Starving. Things were a little melodramatic at dinner, took my appetite away." She tipped her head back against the pillow, but didn't take her eyes off him. He sliced the cheese with exactness, his movements fluid and full of grace. "It didn't help that I got distracted and burnt the food, so I only picked at it."

"Can't have that, can we? Too many other things to work on. You'll need your strength." He shot her a lascivious smile as he handed over a few slices of cheese and a stack of crackers.

Her face heated, making her berate herself for her foolishness. They had been married nearly four months. It was ridiculous for the subject to still bring heat to her face. But then she figured the heat was probably only part embarrassment. To change the subject, she began asking round-about Potions questions, things she needed to clarify before starting the Felix Felicis. He answered with great patience as they munched their way through the impromptu meal, a calm sense of camaraderie overcame them. Hermione began to relax even more, leaning back against the headboard of the bed while he occasionally fed her bits of cracker or apple, kissing her softly in warm, lingering tastes in between.

If she ever told anyone from school that he could be like this, sweet, attentive, relaxed, they would laugh her out of the room. This was a side of Severus she figured no one else knew. Oh, he was still a snarky git most of the time; possessive, demanding, arrogant, but he didn't have to be that way all the time. It was almost drugging knowing that no one else on the planet could make him open up and be vulnerable the way she could. His trust in her was unbelievable.

When Hermione had all of her answers, she smiled up at him, her stomach comfortably full, her body warm and lax, nearly ready for sleep. That was when he chose his moment.

"So how long have you been planning to make the Felix Felicis, my dear?"

Hermione looked him in the eyes, her surprise at the undercurrents of anger inside him preventing her from brushing the question aside. Not that it would have done any good; he could tell if she lied. "I've been considering it for over a month. I've done a lot of reading and picked up some ingredients today. I thought it would be a useful study for me to know if I could do it."

He leaned close, his face only an inch from her own, and venom in his eyes as he slowly enunciated each word. "Do not lie to me."

"Every word I spoke is the truth." That was true, of course, but she felt her insides quiver slightly at his anger. She had left a fair bit out.

"What are you keeping back? What did you think you could withhold from me?"

Debating on what to tell, what more to keep to herself, Hermione took a sip of the wine Severus had accioed to them after they had settled onto the bed.

"What kind of rules are you planning to break...damn, I'm not a teacher anymore. I still want to know what you plan to do with the golden liquid, should you be able to create it. It is a rather sophisticated and dangerous potion."

"If I could make Polyjuice Potion by myself properly in second year, surely with your tutoring tonight and what I've studied, I can make this correctly. If I can ever find somewhere safe and appropriate to put the lab."

Severus studied her for a minute and she could feel his inner debate, though she didn't know what the debate might be about. "I know you too well to think you will cease your plans simply because I ask you to. If I told you I had a secure lab where no one would interfere with the brewing, and where most of the appropriate equipment was already in place, would you tell me why you wish to make it?"

Hermione was stunned. Did he just offer her a lab? And was that a...no, it couldn't be...but it sounded almost like a polite request, even a compromise. Not a demand, not an acerbic dressing down, not even an irritated query. That was the reason she decided to answer his question in full. "Did it never occur to you to wonder why it is Ron, Ginny, Neville, Luna and I didn't sustain so much as a singed hair that night on school grounds? It was because Harry told us to share the Felix Felicis Slughorn gave him on our first day of class."

He seemed to consider her revelation for a moment. "I did wonder how you seemed so incredibly lucky that night. I was concerned when I realized you were in the thick of things, but I couldn't get distracted; my role was too important. So you think the same thing might work again?"

"If we could tweak the timing, have some notice of the confrontation, even a minute's notice if we kept the stuff on us at all times, it could make a decisive difference."

He stared at her for a long moment, then moved in and kissed her breathless. "You are amazing. If our side had thought of that all those years ago, the Dark Lord might be nothing more than a memory now."

Hermione knew that was an exaggeration since there were too many pieces that hadn't been in place during Voldemort's first rein. Still, she appreciated his admiration and respect, held him close, stretched out the kisses for a long time until she finally pushed him back. "About that lab."

He groaned, then allowed a half-smile to slide onto his face. "Yes, well, it's currently in use, but we can squeeze out a bit more space." He stood, took her hand and helped her from the bed. Seeing her shiver, he slid her robes over her shoulders, but didn't fasten them. He pulled the robe sides closed by hand, then used them to pull her close for another lingering kiss. He released her and led her back into the kitchen to a spot of wall sporting a painting of two trolls in combat. Severus placed his hand on the wall beside the painting and clearly enunciated, "Manticore venom."

When he removed his hand, the wall seemed to melt away, exposing a set of stairs descending into a cellar of some kind. Hermione studied the walls and stairs with fascination. She heard him speak a lighting charm, which brought torches on the wall flaring to life. He went down before her, opening a heavy wooden door at the bottom, then ushering her through.

The walls and floor were solid rock, the room was cool, but not overly chilly, far drier than she expected. The thing that drew her gaze was the full array of potion-making equipment. A cauldron bubbled on the far end of one table, a large selection of ingredients spread across a narrow table along the wall, along with stirring rods, knives, more cauldrons and some advanced equipment she had never seen before.

The air was redolent with potion ingredients, and Hermione could have sworn she was in heaven, even if the set up wasn't what Muggles would consider state of the art. "This is perfect. And I can make it down here?"

"Under my guiding eye for the first few batches, it is dangerous if you make any mistakes."

"And you take my safety very seriously." Her answer held only the slightest touch of irony in it, as she was too focused on the equipment to pay much attention to the conversation. Besides, it suited her well enough to have help with the potion. She didn't fancy poisoning anyone or killing herself in the brewing process.

"Do you not remember?" he asked her, gaining her attention by running his finger along the long line of her neck and shoulder. "One of the items I swore to in our binding was to protect you...a rather ingenious addition of the Headmaster's in my opinion, since it means I can't place myself intentionally in harm's way."

Hermione shivered at his touch, turned and focused on him. "Are you saying you'd rather be dead?"

"Than live with the fact that I killed Albus Dumbledore?" He looked uncomfortable with the conversation, uncomfortable with the truth. "There are days when I would gladly take my own life if it would bring his back. But then, I have a responsibility to you and it wouldn't help anyway, so that's not an option." Pain flashed in his eyes, then disappeared.

Sympathy swarmed her. She had no idea how it must have felt to be responsible for the death of one of the few people who had given him a chance. And knowing that his only real ticket to freedom had died by his hand. Who had the clout to protect him now? Who beside herself would want to? Remus knew something of his current role, and he certainly seemed disinclined at the moment. She lifted a hand and ran her fingers over his cheek.

"I don't need your pity," he said roughly, turning away from her.

Grasping his shoulder, she turned him back to face her. She was surprised when he didn't put up any resistance. She lifted his hand in hers and brought it to her chest, between the swells of her breasts, and pressed it to her skin. "It isn't pity. Focus in, feel what I feel for you and you'll know." Then she focused on her love, admiration, understanding. Every warm feeling she could conjure for him entered her heart and mind. When he lifted his eyes from their joined hands to look into her face, tears clouded his eyes.

He lowered his head into the crook of her neck, and his free hand wrapped around her inside the cloak, running along her warm skin and pulling her close to him. He said nothing, just held her. Hermione focused in on his emotions, sensing warmth, gratitude, disbelief, and a bit of something that appeared to be love-like despite his protestations.

Soaking up the feeling, she held him until he managed to collect himself. When his lips began to move over the sensitive skin of her neck and shoulders, she knew the moment had passed.

"Bring the ingredients here and we'll begin your project as soon as we can manage some time together," he said as he led her back up the stairs. When they reached the top, he said the password again and the wall returned to its place. Then he lifted her into his arms and carried her back to the bedroom.

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I admit, the scene in Flourish and Blotts was one of my all-time favorites to write. I have a few scenes in this story that I feel that way about. Now you all will have to wait with bated breath for several chapters to learn anything more about the spell Severus used. And it does have properties he didn't bring up with her.