Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Hermione shoved Ron out of the way. "Of course he's not dead. You can see through ghosts," she said matter-of-factly. Placing Severus's other arm over her shoulder, she helped Malfoy support him. "Come in, the two of you," she said as she shoved past Ron again. "Let's take him upstairs." She really wouldn't have needed to help support him. Malfoy was more than strong enough, but it gave her an excuse to get away from the argument with Ron.

Ron tried to follow, but found he could not pass through the door because he hadn't been invited in. "Hey, let me in!" he shouted at her.

"We'll talk later," she called over her shoulder.

"You should go to him. Lucius can get me settled upstairs," Severus said, some of the earlier vigor gone from his voice.

"He's not important." It was the truth. She and Ron might be able to salvage their friendship, but it would never be anything more than that. She had realized that she was looking at the man who could be much more than a friend.

Once they got Severus settled in his bed, Lucius asked, "Is there anything else I can do for you?" He looked between Hermione and Severus.

She started to wonder how much Severus had told Malfoy. "I think I can handle it from here. Thank you for all that you've done for him."

Malfoy smiled and nodded his head. "I owe much to Severus. It was the least I could do."

Once they were alone, Severus asked, "So, Weasley is not important?"

"Not as much as I had once thought. We just aren't... meant for each other." She almost couldn't breathe. She was in a room. Alone. With Severus. And he still hadn't brought up the kiss.

"And when did you come to this realization?"

She tried hard not to blush. "I've known it for quite a while. I just wouldn't admit it to myself. You've helped me to finally admit the truth."

"The truth?" he asked.

"The truth of who I am. The proof that I had the academic prowess I always thought I did. The ability to see the real me. And the real me does not belong with someone like Ronald Weasley." I belong with someone like you, she added silently. "Would you like some tea or something to eat?" she asked, eager to change the subject.

"Tea and perhaps sandwiches. Nothing heavy." She turned to leave and he added before she stepped through the door, "It is not necessary for you to care for me. Lucius can arrange for a caregiver."

"I won't hear of it." He opened his mouth to protest and she raised her hand to stop him before continuing. "Since I was the one who worked on the antivenin, it's best that I be your caregiver. Just in case there are any complications. Not that I expect any, but it's best to be prepared for the worst, don't you think?"

He gave her a small, knowing smile. "Yes, it is." In the silence they could hear knocking at the door. "Are you going to answer that?"

"It's just Ron," she said dismissively.

"You will have to deal with him sooner or later, and I prefer sooner. Both to stop the knocking at the door and to prevent him from revealing my existence to the wizarding world. I will survive without the tea."

She went downstairs and opened the door, only half-surprised to find both Ron and Harry.

"Ron told me Snape was alive and that he's here. Is that true?"

"Can we go someplace else to talk about this? Grimmauld Place perhaps? I don't want to get into it here."

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After nearly two hours Hermione had finally given up on convincing them of her point of view. They were both upset about her decision to keep Snape's survival secret. Unfortunately she hadn't been able to get a promise from either of them to keep that fact quiet.

She figured it would only be a matter of time before Harry reported Snape to the Ministry. While she trusted Severus's wards on his house, she still didn't want to leave him alone for the onslaught he was about to receive. She also had no idea what would happen when his will was invalidated. Would the house revert to his ownership or it would become property of the Ministry while there was an investigation?

After making a quick stop at the flat to pack her belongings – Ron has made it clear that she was no longer welcome there – she returned to Spinner's End. As she had come to expect, the street was deserted. A part of her wondered what the other residents would think about a swarm of wizards descending on this sleepy street.

Rather than going straight to Severus's room, she stopped in the kitchen to make the tea she had offered hours ago.

She found him sitting in bed reading a book. "Where did you get that?" she asked.

He closed the book and placed it on the nightstand. "I am not a complete invalid, and my strength is slowly returning."

With a wave of her wand, she moved one of the small tables closer to the bed so that she could set the tray down. "If you'd like a larger meal, it would be easy for me to make something."

They ate in uncomfortable silence for several minutes. She still could not understand why he hadn't brought up the kiss.

"Hermione..." he started.

She blurted out, "I don't know why I did it; it just seemed like the right thing to do."

He froze, obviously caught off guard. After an awkward moment that seemed to drag on and on, he said, "If you had let me finish, I was going to say that it is getting late and that you should be getting home."

Her face warmed as she blushed. "Oh. Well, er, I sort of..." She was having a hard time composing her thoughts, something unusual for her. "I thought I would stay here." She wondered if she should tell him that she and Ron were through.

"That will not be necessary. My strength is returning quite nicely."

"That's very good to know, but I just don't think you should be alone right now. While I don't anticipate anything going wrong, it would be good to have someone here just in case, don't you think?" She had been working on this reasoning for quite a while and found it very logically sound.

He arched an eyebrow, clearly not fully convinced. "Is there something you aren't telling me?"

She cursed herself for her carelessness. She was used to dealing with Ron who was incredibly obtuse about personal relationships. Obviously Severus wasn't. Looking down at her lap, she started examining her fingernails.

"Hermione?" he asked gently.

"It wasn't going to work out between Ron and me anyway. We've been growing apart since the war, and I just needed to realize that I need something else in my life. Working on this potion made me realize that." She finally looked up, meeting his dark eyes and almost falling into their depths. "I need someone better. Someone with an engaging intellect. Someone like you," she finished quietly.

When he didn't reply, she started to feel foolish. She felt she had come to know the real Severus Snape through the notes he had left her, but she began to think that she must have been wrong.

"You hardly know me. The real me."

She reached out and clasped his hand in hers. "But I do know you. From the notes you left for me. That is not Professor Snape who wrote that, but Severus Snape. The man who I have grown quite fond of. The man I want to get to know better. Surely the feeling must be mutual for you to have chosen me."

Now it was his turn to look away from her. "It is, though I hardly dared hope..." He looked into her eyes. "Are you serious? Me? Someone twice your age?"

"Age doesn't matter. That kiss was no accident." And to prove her point, she leaned forward to kiss him again, this time deeply and on the lips.

~The End~

... or is it? *eg*

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A/N: While I cannot yet reveal myself, I would like to thank all those who read and reviewed the story. I am slowly making my way through the reviews and will respond to them. The response to this story has been overwhelming – in a good way. *g*

I would also like to thank my wonderful beta, nota, for helping me get this finished, even if we did buzzer beat the deadline. You helped me sort through those little plot quandaries that pop up from time to time.

2 April - Once again, many thanks to my kind reviewers. Your encouragement has spurred the muses, and hopefully not too long after voting is closed, a sequel will be posted. I hope that it will answer many of the questions folks have been asking. :D