Hey, readers!
This is my second ff, and for now, I think it will be a oneshot, but if you guys really like it, maybe I could make it work into a multi-chapter story(: maybe?
Well, tell me what you guys think; I absolutely hope you like it!
A/N: I own none of the characters; they're all J.K. Rowling's(:
She couldn't sleep.
Two days had already gone by since he and Moody had left for Order business.
He was not lying beside her to hold her in his arms like he did most nights, to tell her everything would be alright; she didn't feel very safe without those small things he did for her. She did not feel safe without listening to his heart; the steady rhythm of the beating organ calmed her to no end. It made her feel safe, and she knew he liked when she felt like that with him.
It was probably around three thirty in the morning now, and by the looks of outside through the window, it was raining hard.
Was he out in the rain? She did not even want to think that.
So, she did the most logical thing, she got out of bed and left her room; making her way down the screeching stairs quietly to not wake those who could actually sleep. Once on the lower floor, the curly headed girl walked over to the long couch and sat down, pulling her knees up to her chest, and hugging herself. She would wait for him, like yesterday.
She did not understand how everyone could be asleep when they knew he was out there.
Hermione could not understand how they could all sleep while she was up and worried, and he was out there cold and alone.
Why couldn't anyone else have gone, why had they let him go? Why was he not here yet? Had something happen, had something gone wrong? All those questions were mechanizing through Hermione's head and she couldn't help but wonder if any of those questions created the scenario Severus was in at this moment.
She hoped he was safe. She wanted him to be safe.
More than anything, the girl wanted him home now.
She wanted him in her arms; to be sleeping peacefully beside him in their room upstairs. She had not wanted him to go, but he had no choice, and she had tried to stop him. Hermione did not want all this weight on him; it wasn't his to bear.
The fine hairs in her arms were standing up from how cold the house felt at nights downstairs; that's how it always was at 12 Grimmauld Place, and she felt even colder when he was away.
Was he thinking of her right now; of when he would come back home to her?
She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, that she completed missed the raven, headed boy looking at her from the dark, unlit kitchen table area.
Harry had heard someone coming down, and had silently made his way to the kitchen doorway to see who it was, when he had seen Hermione, he returned to the table, but did not stay there for much long.
He couldn't.
His best friend was not happy; she was alone, and grieving.
Harry just stood in the doorway again, and tried to imagine how he would feel if it was Ginny out there and not Severus Snape. He wouldn't have allowed it; he wouldn't have left his girl go. Not in times like these. If it was him waiting, he would have been in tears by now, and completely terrified of her not coming back. Is that how Hermione was feeling? Was his best friend falling apart from the inside?
He shook his head and walked towards her, but she did not look up; she was just staring away to the wall; she did not even acknowledge his presence, and that really scared Harry.
He whispered her name softly, wanting her to look up.
"Hermione"
But she did not look up, she did not even answer; if was more as if she couldn't do any of that, as if she was lost. That made him worry more; it hurt him to see her like that.
Her face seemed as if it was rid of any emotions; although, her eyes seemed different, they seemed filled of darkness, one that was not there before. The man, her best friend, bent down in front of her, pulled her arms around his neck and slid his hands under her knees; after having her secure in his arms, head tucked in under his chin, he started walking up the stairs and into her room, closing the door with his foot.
Once inside, he approached her bed and laid her down in it. He sat on the edge of the bed, and reached to grab her hand, and she let him hold her hand in his; allowing him to squeeze it gently. Although she let him do this, she still did not look at him; she didn't speak.
"Hermione, I'm here."
Her best friend told her quietly, as he rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, and his other hand reached to tuck a brown curl behind her ear. She looked up at him, and her eyes grew tense. Harry knew she wanted to talk, but she just did not know how to speak out. This was Hermione; the strong girl who tried to never cry in public, who tried to remain calm and be logic, but right now she was being less than logic by shutting herself, and not allowing anyone in to help her; to be there for her.
She suddenly shut her eyes, and turned her head away from her best friend; turning to the window, where rain drops could be seen falling down to Earth while softly hitting the glass window.
Without letting go of her hand, Harry got inside the bed, and crawled around her small body to end up lying behind her; where he hugged her. She opened her eyes and turned to look at him.
"Do you think he is safe, Harry?"
Harry sighed softly, and bent his head down to lay a kiss on her temple. He wish he could tell her that the man she loved was coming back; that he could assure her that he was fine, and safe, and alive, but he couldn't. He could not lie to her.
"I hope he is, Hermione. I really hope he is."
Now was the time, that he noticed his beloved friend's tear stained face; the entire time she had been looking to the window she had been trying to conceal her tears, but she had broken. She was crying, silently. She looked Harry in the eyes, and turned her body around, sobbing into her best friend's chest; trying to let it all out. The boy just laid there, with his arms around her, making soft shushing sounds, and rubbing her back in circles; he was trying to be there for her God damn it!
Hermione just hanged on to his shirt and cried into his chest.
"I want him back, Harry. Make him…come back…to…me…"
She would plead, and Harry's heart could not stand it anymore; he could not take it anymore. He kept holding her, and whispering words of support to her, but he did not know what else to do; what else to attempt to make her stop crying, to at least make her crack a small smile.
"What can I do to stop the hurting, Hermione? Tell me."
He asked her; he was the one pleading now. He wanted to calm her, to stop her trembling, to silence her sobs.
As soon as the question left his lips, she looked up.
Her eyes were puffy and red; her nose was a bit pinkish, too. The girl sniffed, and decided to speak to her friend, but before she spoke out she laid her cheek against his chest; listening to the beat of his heart.
"I want to hear the rhythm of his heart. I want him here. Oh, God…Harry…I miss him."
She said as she started crying once again.
"He is the only one…that can make me stop..hur..ting."
She said in between sobs.
They suddenly heard the door down stairs open, and shut quickly.
Hermione's head shot up from Harry's chest, and she was off the bed instantly.
Her heart was beating fast, as if it was trying to escape the coldness of her body, trying to seek warmth. She slowly walked to the closed door and hesitated before reaching for the knob.
Could it be him? Was he back?
Was it someone else who had come to bring the news that he was not coming back…?
Her breath caught at that thought, and Harry was quickly up behind her, to hold her before she lost her footing. One of her hands had flown to cover her mouth as a sob escaped from her throat. The hand that still rested on the door knob twisted the cold metal handle and pulled the door opened. With Harry still behind her the hopeful girl walked towards the top of the flight of stairs, where she decided to stay.
Her eyes wandered down the stairs, in search of the man she was looking for, but it was too dark, except for a small amount of light that was coming from kitchen area.
They both walked down the stairs, and she basically ran into the kitchen, but it was not Severus she saw.
It was Moody; the man who had left with Severus two days ago.
"Where is Severus?"
She suddenly asked. Her hands started trembling again, and Harry reached for her hand, and she let him. Her nerves were going crazy. The Auror turned around, and looked at the Muggle-born witch straight in her brown eyes, but didn't say anything…
They were supposed to be back together!
Please God, for all you want, please do not let him be here because of Severus. Tell me, tell me, that Severus is just late, that he is alive...just had to go and fetch something…
Oh, God, Jesus Christ, please…
She let out a low whimper, and turned around, assaulting Harry's arms and nesting her head in the crook of his neck; sobbing. Harry embraced her; one arm around her shoulders, and the other surrounding her waist.
They had both taken the silence as their response; Severus would not be back.
Harry had not noticed his own tears; the small tear drops were accumulating at the edges of his eyes, and were trying to spill down his cheeks. The bravest man he would ever know, the strongest man he would ever meet, his best friend's boyfriend; gone, dead.
Neither of them had noticed the red headed pair at the end of the stairs behind them.
Molly was leaning against the railing, while Arthur had his arms around her waist. The couple was contemplating the scene quietly; slightly aware of what was happening. As soon as Molly had heard Hermione's sobs, she had wanted to come to the girl's aid, but Arthur had said that Harry would take care of it. That he would be the friend Hermione needed at the moment.
The main door suddenly opened, and shut loudly.
Hermione just kept hugging her friend, crying. She had lost hope; Severus was not coming. She just let herself be hugged and taken care by Harry.
The man that had just come in was soaking wet; the coat he was wearing felt heavy on his shoulders from how much rain drops it had absorbed. His onyx hair was dripping wet; plastered to his head, and neck. His face was even paler than normally because of how much cold and rain he had been exposed to, and there were some minor cuts to his brow and bottom lip, but besides that, he was unharmed. He was rid of his coat instantly and placed it on the coat hanger beside the door.
He took his shoes off, and pushed them with his feet to the corner of the door. From where he was standing he could hear soft sobs. He looked towards the kitchen and saw the Weasley couple at the end of the steps, staring at him, but they seemed like they weren't going to speak. They just stood quiet.
"Hermione, it's going to be okay, it will be alright, love."
He heard Potter's voice trying to console his Hermione. Now he knew what had happened.
"No…Harry, no…"
He walked towards the kitchen, with long, soft steps, and stood at the door frame; he was a bit shocked with the scene laid out in front of him. Potter was holding Hermione in his arms; he had his girl embraced in a tight hug.
The man felt a hand settle gently on his shoulder, and whipped his head around to see Mrs. Weasley smiling at him, and nodding towards Hermione; she was telling him to approach the woman who was waiting on him, a man that to her might never come back. He nodded at the women, and stepped forward. He leaned against the wall, facing the hugging friends. Severus had put his hands inside his pant's front pockets, and was just looking at them both; Harry's back to him, and Hermione's head hidden in the boy's neck. He could still hear her sobbing, but they dragged kind of distant, as if she was calming herself just a bit. The Potter boy was gently rocking the girl in his arms.
She was crying for him; Hermione Granger was crying for Severus Snape. She had missed him, like he had missed her.
He took a low and slow breath, and then spoke.
"Hermione Jean Granger, you better not be crying because of me…"
He told her softly; it almost seemed like a whisper.
Her head whipped up at the sound of his voice, and she looked over Harry's shoulder; who just stayed put, frozen in his place. There he stood, against the wall, a smirk well placed on his lips while he looked at her.
"Severus."
He nodded to her, and kept looking at her as she did the same. He looked almost the same as the last time she had seen him, except for the small cuts on his face, but she was happy that besides that he looked alright; he looked not so hurt.
Her face seemed tired. Had she slept at all? Had she been worrying for him this entire time? It seemed that way, and that made him think that she cared for him; like he cared so much about her.
He suddenly smiled at her, and stretched his arms out to her; he was beckoning her to come.
"What are you waiting for, sweet heart? I'm here. Come here, Hermione."
Forgetting all that were present, she ran to him and threw herself into his arms. The man holding her had not hesitated to hold her, he had just wrapped his arms around her, and was not intending on letting her go. Hermione's arms were tightly around his neck, while his arms were draped gently, but firmly around her waist.
The girls was laying kisses all over his face; on his nose, his cheeks, on top of his closed eye lids, everywhere, and Severus was loving every second of it.
He had missed her so much these past two days.
He noticed she was still crying, but now her tears seemed of happiness.
Is it because I'm here?
That's what he wanted to think; that she was happy to have him back.
"Oh, Severus; don't you ever leave me again."
He heard her ask as she reached on the tip of her toes and kissed his forehead; he smiled against her throat, where he placed a soft kiss. She came back down and searched his eyes.
"Do you hear me, Severus? Promise me?"
She demanded of him as she took his head in both of her hands. He just kept smiling, and covered her hands with his. He leaned down, and kissed her small, now puffy, red nose.
"I promise you, Hermione."
He told her before he dipped his head down even more, and claimed her lips in a soft, gentle kiss, while his fingers caressed the back of her hands that still rested on his face. She could taste the dried blood on his lip, but it did not matter; all that mattered was that he was there with her. Hermione sucked on his lower lip softly, wanting to rid him of the pain, if he had felt any at the time of the cut. Severus let her do it, it did not hurt him, and it made him feel better; like an overdue massage. He could feel her tears against his cheeks now; a hot and wet sensation that started to drip down their chins, and that's when he noticed that he was crying as well.
He smiled and pulled his lips away from hers.
"I'm glad you are safe, Severus."
Hermione whispered to him; she felt already calm now that she had him with her. The curly headed women knew everything would be alright once he was back in her arms.
"I'm glad you're with me, Hermione."
Severus told her, and kissed her once again.
Mrs. Weasley was just looking at them both happily, and was beckoning Harry to come to where they were and let the pair be; she did the same to Moody, who just grunted and walked to the main door, nodding to them, and taking his leave.
Harry was now beside Molly, and Arthur; the three just eyed the couple for a couple of more moments before Arthur escorted them both up stairs. If it was up to Molly, they would have stayed down stairs, staring in awe at Severus and Hermione, but Arthur had taken charge. Harry returned to his room, and took his place next to Ginny, wrapping his arms around the sleeping girl's form.
Molly and Arthur went to their room, and laid down; completely intending on sleeping.
Severus and Hermione…
After the group had taken their leave, Severus had dragged a willing Hermione to the couch, where he sat down, and brought her down in his lap sideways. He laid a soft kiss below her ear, and hugged her to him; his hands resting on her ribs, while hers were around his flat, hard belly. She put her head against his chest, under his chin, and just listened, smiling.
"Severus, I love you."
The dark headed man sighed happily, breathing in the scent of her hair.
"As do I, Hermione. "
Did you guys like it? I hope you did!(:
Would you review? Please doo! It would make me extremely happy!
I'll return the love(:
Oh, and yeah, tell me if you guys would like me to make into something bigger, lol, if you like it? hehe. Thanks for reading!