A/N: Hi. Since a got some very nice reviews from my last one-shot, I had then decided to write another one. I have been working on it since midnight, and it is now 6:30am, and I'm happy to say that it is finished. I really hope you enjoy reading it, as much as I did writing it. Thank you and please review.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. JK Rowling does.

The Height Of Passion

The war that had raged for several years, had finally come to a close, with the light side winning. Nobody doubted that Harry Potter would be the one to finally end Voldemort and his rein of terror. Well, maybe except Severus Snape. Even after all this time, he still loathed the boy, but was still glad to no longer be under the watchful eyes of his Master.

He still couldn't understand why Hermione Granger would want to save his life, as he believed that his life was meaningless and worthless. But out of every person that he had ever taught at Hogwarts, since the beginning of his career, in all four houses, Hermione Granger was the only person that he could tolerate.

For the past three weeks, he had stayed in his rooms, in the dungeons, and permitted no one to enter his rooms, except Hermione, as she was the only one, that didn't constantly nag at him, to eat in the Great Hall. But it had seemed that Minerva was at her wits end, and had sent him a rather nasty, in his opinion, howler. He rubbed his ears, as if he could still hear her voice, ringing in them.

"SEVERUS SNAPE! I WANT TO SEE YOU IN THE GREAT HALL FOR DINNER TONIGHT, WITH EVERYONE ELSE! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME YOUNG MAN? DON'T MAKE ME COME DOWN THERE AFTER YOU, BECAUSE IF I HAVE TO, THEN YOU'LL WISH THAT VOLDEMORT WAS STILL ALIVE TO PROTECT YOU!"

He believed that there was nothing more scary and fearsome, than an angry Minerva. So, it was with a tired and audible sigh, that he put down his glass of fire whiskey, went into his bedroom and began to change into something a little cleaner, for what he thought would be a long and drawn out dinner affair in the Great Hall.

Having finally reached the Great Hall, only because he had decided to walk extremely slow, much to the disapproval of Minerva, who at the precise moment was giving him a fierce glare from the head table, he quickly seated himself amongst the rest of the staff. "Took you long enough Severus," Minerva said, with as much venom as she could. It made him feel like a student again, and feeling properly chastised, he looked down and mumbled an apology.

Severus was feeling quite a bit of euphoria this morning though, as he had in fact been keeping quite a secret from everyone. And it seemed that it would finally be coming out, when the one person, on one ever expected to see again, just strolled on through the double doors of the Great Hall, as if this was just another ordinary day.

Smirking, Severus quickly looked at Potter and nearly laughed out loud when Potter fell out of his chair. Getting slowly to his feet, Potter looked the man straight in the eyes, and said, "is it really you Professor?" The man chuckled softly. "It is I, my boy," replied Albus Dumbledore. He opened his arms wide, and Potter ran into them, hugging the Headmaster tightly. It looked as though Potter was planning on letting him go, any time soon.

Once again smirking, Severus watched the next figure that had just walked into the Great Hall behind Albus. Everyone in the hall let out gasps of shock and surprise. Potter let go of Albus, but only to look at the person standing in the entrance to the Great Hall. This time Potter fainted, and Severus out right laughed. He couldn't help himself.

No one paid Severus any attention, as everyone was checking to see if Potter was okay. But it wasn't long before he felt a pair of eyes staring at him. He stopped laughing at looking across the hall, right into the eyes of Hermione Granger. He raised his glass to her, took a swig and smirked at her, earning a smile from her in return.

It didn't take long for Potter to come around, only for him to look directly into the eyes of Sirius Black, his godfather. Potter quickly got to his feet, and hugged Black. Severus really didn't want to see this sorbid, lovey-dovey affair that seemed to be going on, in the centre of the Great Hall. It seemed that Albus knew what he was thinking, and with that infernal twinkling in his eyes, he asked that the staff, Black and Potter, accompany him to his office, for further explanations.

Severus was once more, sitting in his arm chair, with his glass of fire whiskey. He hadn't felt the need to go with the rest of them to Albus' office. He already knew everything that had happened, and didn't need a refresher course. Just as he was about to take a sip from his glass, he heard knocking on the door to his rooms. Sighing to himself, he unlocked the door with wandless magic and permitted entry, as he had a feeling of who it was.

Still taking a sip of the amber fluid from his glass, with his eyes closed, he hadn't realised that she was standing right in front of him, until he inhaled through his nose. The smell of roses was strong, which made him open his eyes, only to once again, look into the eyes, of Hermione Granger.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, Miss Granger?" he said with his trademark sneer. "Cut the crap Severus. No one else is here," she replied snidely, which in turn made him smirk. Bowing his head slightly, he took another sip of his drink, put the glass down, and waved his hand to the chair opposite his own, giving her permission to seat herself.

She sat down, still looking him in the eyes, with him staring back. They just continued to stare at each other silently, trying to sort through their own thoughts.

Severus had known for some time that he had fallen in love with the Gryffindor know-it-all. He had even told Albus, whose twinkle had shown so bright, that it had nearly blinded him. But as he stared at her, he couldn't help but feel his heart melt. He had never before felt true love, and had wondered if this was what it felt like. He never wanted this feeling to end. Severus was afraid of Hermione finding out his true feelings for her. All of his thoughts started to merge together and become one, showing him things that possibly one day, that he and Hermione could do. He continued to look into her warm, soft, chocolate brown eyes, as one after another, the thoughts whirled in a tornado like fashion.

Hermione's thoughts weren't fairing any better than his. It had taken some time to figure out why she couldn't always help the small smiles that she sent towards him. What had worried her more at the time, was the fact that he either smiled or smirked back. She thought that he was only being nice to her, because she had cared enough about him, to save his life. But she now knew that she had fallen in love with the man, that had once been very mean, and had often insulted her as a student. She brought herself back to the present, as she had come to see him for a reason.

"Severus," Hermione began, catching his attention instantly. "How is it, that Albus and Sirius, are still alive?" Severus contemplated her question carefully, before answering her. "When I shot the killing curse at Albus," he began slowly, choosing his words wisely, "it had been an illusion. A mere mirror of the real spell. It had to look like I had killed the greatest wizard to have ever lived, so that The Dark Lord would then fully trust that I was on his side. Albus however, was only in a coma, for several months. When he awoke from his comatose state, he snuck into the Ministry of Magic, down into the Department of Mysteries. He spent quite a few months, by the Hall of Prophecies, with the Veil of Death, trying to figure out, how to bring Black back to the land of the living. He of cause succeeded."

He smirked at the astonished look on Hermione's face. Standing up, she walked towards him in a daze, took his hand, pulled him up and hugged him. He froze. No one has ever hugged me before, he thought, as he slowly moved his arms, and wrapped them around her gently. She leaned back slightly, looked into his eyes, and realised for the first time that his eyes weren't as guarded as usual. Leaning up on her toes, she gently pressed her lips to his. Again he froze.

Just as she was moving her lips from his, he unfroze. Moving one of his hands quickly, he placed it at the back of her head, and started to kiss her back, with as much love and passion as he could. Their bodies moulded together as one. He needed and wanted her to know how much he truly loved her. He needed this kiss to prove it. Their tongues wrapped together lovingly, and moving as one. Hermione moved her lips from his, tilting her head to the side, to give him access to her throat. He began to lay gentle, sweet kisses along her jugular, while she closed her eyes in ecstasy. She let out small sighs, while her body shivered at the gentle touches he was giving her, down her spine.

The inhabitants of Hogwarts were going about there day, when they felt the castle shake on its foundation. At that precise moment, the coupling of Hermione Granger and Severus Snape, had left his living room, into the comfort of his bedroom. Their passion was flowing throughout Hogwarts. Rattling each and every window. Shaking the walls, ceilings and floors. The trees of the Forbidden Forest were swaying, with the fast paced beating of their entwined hearts. The passion filled cries they both made, echoing in the castle halls, and into the silent night, causing the birds to take flight at the sound. Their hearts beating as one, as such love and passion flowed from them, bonding them together, as their cries continued to flow forth from them. The castle would continue to shake, until the couple stopped quivering in pleasure, and their hearts would finally slow, to an even rhythm.

The End