Here's the last chapter! I hope you enjoy it, and please tell me what you think :) Thank you so much to everyone who has been supporting the story so far.

Hermione clung to Severus so tightly that she could feel every contour of his body against hers. So strong. His arms had closed around her, holding her as tightly as she did him. All the anxiety and confusion Hermione had been feeling left her and she felt protected, secure.

"Severus" she sighed, and he responded by tightening his grip even further. Hermione smiled.

They stood there for ages, Hermione couldn't tell how long, just holding each other. Hermione's head was pressed into Severus' chest, and he had rested his head on top of hers. Perfect.

"You were wonderful." He said eventually, quietly murmuring into her hair. "You said what we were all thinking, what needed to be said. And yet, you were the only one with the bravery to say it." He turned his face slightly to kiss her hair.

They stayed silent for a moment longer. They could hear the music and the voices coming from inside, but it seemed muted somehow, as if there was some kind of invisible sound barrier surrounding the hall. There probably was.

"Severus..." Hermione finally asked what had been on her mind. "Severus, why did you say that? "What happens in Italy, stays in Italy"? Didn't you want to see me again?" She burrowed herself closer into his chest, waiting for his reply. He took his time.

"I... I had already assumed that we would see each other again. I had thought that that was a given... ever since that first night, together in the tent," he paused, breathing in deeply, "I had thought that we were together. A couple." Again he paused, as if expecting Hermione to say something. But she didn't, she just held him, trying to understand. He continued. "You must know, Hermione, that I have not had much experience with relationships. But I thought that that was what we had together, those weeks in Italy. A relationship. And then when you asked me if we were going to stick to our original agreement, I realised that you had not made that same assumption. I thought that perhaps it had all just been a fling for you, a holiday romance. And I didn't want to bind you to more than you wanted."

Hermione couldn't help smiling at his answer. They had both been so stupid. She stepped back slightly, breaking his grasp and looked up at him. His face was suddenly closed off again, wary. "No, Severus" she said, taking a hold of his hands. "I didn't just want a fling. I wanted more. I still want more. I just didn't know what you wanted, so I asked." And then she was back in his arms, and he was holding her as tightly as he had before.

But then all her weeks of yearning flooded back to Hermione and then simply holding each other wasn't enough. She needed more. Again, she stepped back, but this time it was only just enough for her to reach up onto her toes, grasp his head in her hands and press her lips against his. She started gently, caressing his lips lightly with hers. And then her tongue came out, tracing the line of his lips.

And then he responded, opening his mouth to meet her tongue with his. One of his hands came up to hold the side of her head, the other gripped her waist, pulling her against him again as he kissed her, almost frantically. Their tongues slid along each other and Hermione suddenly felt much too warm in her dress, small jolts of need running down to her groin. "Gods, I've wanted you so much" she gasped when they pulled away for breath, only to dive back to his mouth, nibbling on his lower lip, making him growl into her mouth before he plunged his tongue into it, dominating her completely. She could only gasp against him, letting him take her mouth, take her.

Suddenly she was being pushed back and together they stumbled until Hermione's back hit the wall. Her head would have slammed back against the brick, if Severus hadn't been holding it. But then Severus pushed himself into her and refastened his lips to hers, and all conscious thought fled Hermione's mind. She could feel his need, hard and hot against her abdomen, and the sensation went straight to her own groin, releasing a sudden gush of wetness in her knickers. Hermione moaned and one of her hands tangled itself in his hair, pulling his mouth harder against hers, and the other travelled down his long, firm back until it reached his arse, and she pulled him into her, trying to grind herself against him. Severus groaned and pushed one of his knees between her legs, making contact with her core as he pushed himself into her, desperate for contact. The hand at her waist started travelling upwards, caressing her stomach, feeling it squirm beneath his palm, and moving it until it was cupping her breast and then Hermione mewled and the sound made Severus pulse against her and he gripped her breast more firmly, kneading it before running his thumb hard over her nipple, making her cry out in pleasure, causing her to tear her mouth from his.

There was a pause. Both Hermione and Severus were panting in deep, gasping breaths. Their eyes had locked and Hermione noticed how his were blacker than she had ever seen them, his pupils were so dilated with desire. They stared at each other for a moment and then, moving simultaneously, they were grappling with each other's clothes, their mouths once again attached to each other, their tongues twisting together, almost violently. Severus found the hem of Hermione's skirt and pulled it to her waist, his hands finding her knickers as Hermione was opening his belt and undoing his trousers, slightly hindered by the desperate need tenting them. By the time she had released him, her own knickers had slid to the floor and his talented fingers had found her clit and then she finally grasped him and he shuddered against her as she cried out in pleasure, and she needed him inside her, so badly, she didn't want to come without being full of him, so she pulled him against her, until he was resting against her core, and she pulled on his arse, trying to get him to sheathe himself inside her. But he was resisting, and he tore his mouth from hers and growled out "you've wanted this, haven't you, witch, Hermione! Tell me, tell me you've been craving this as much as I have!"

"Oh Gods, Severus, yes! Now, please! I've been dreaming about this every night, every night since our first- I tried to forget, but I couldn't- I need you, now, please!"

And then he had pushed into her, entering her fully with one thrust, and he growled again as she cried out in pleasure. He held himself there for a few moments, trying to give her time to adjust, trying to compose himself somewhat, but then she mewled again and he pulled out, almost completely, and then he thrust again, pushing her hard into the wall with his cock, and it should have hurt, but all Hermione could feel was pleasure so extreme, she thought the world was ending. And then he was pounding relentlessly, and she kept begging for more, harder and faster and with each thrust she was pushed slightly higher up the wall, her dress tearing somewhat in the process, until she was so high up on her toes that she just gave up trying to support herself and wrapped her legs around his waist as he lifted her and then – oh – the new position was so much better. His cock suddenly brushed something deep inside her, something she had never felt before, even when they were in Italy, and every time he thrust in, he sank so deeply that his pelvis pushed into her clitoris, and it was so amazing, so glorious, and Hermione lifted her hips to meet his every thrust, each time faster and harder than the last time, and she had no control over her hands, which were gripping onto Severus' strong forearms, her nails sinking deep into his skin through his shirt, and she had no control over the sounds she was making- she was moaning and mewling and crying out and every sound she made seemed to make Severus even harder and even more frantic in his lust.

The coil that had been tightening in Hermione's stomach was now strung so tightly, she knew she was about to explode, she could feel it building and her toes were curling and she was crying out Severus' name and then... he stopped. He held himself inside her, panting out harsh gasps of air, gripping Hermione's hips so tightly, his fingers had gone white. "Severus, Severus, please!" Hermione whined, her hips trying to buck against his, but he was holding her too tightly, she couldn't move.

"Say you're mine, witch" he growled and still wouldn't move, but his head surged forwards and he fastened his lips to the side of her neck, sucking and nibbling, marking her as his. She cried out, incoherently, trying to form words but the pleasure and the desperate need to come were too strong...

"Severus, please, I need... I need..." and she was still futilely trying to buck her hips, but he stayed unmoving.

He released her neck and he ground out the words again: "Say. You're. Mine."

And Hermione understood this time and started chanting out a litany of "I'm yours, I'm yours" and then he was thrusting again, harder and faster than ever before, and she continued chanting the same words over and over again while he kept groaning her name. Hermione felt her release building again and every thrust took her higher and higher, her sweet spot and her clit stimulated at the same time, and this time he didn't stop, but he covered her mouth with his and then she exploded, screaming out his name as she shuddered in his arms, and her walls were clenching around him and Severus thrust into her again, once, twice and then with one last, hard push he was coming inside her, shuddering with bliss and groaning out her name, over and over again, as if it were a prayer, and then his knees gave out and they both fell to the floor, slowly, and she landed in his arms and he pulled her close and held her tight once more.

"I meant that, you know" Hermione said, once they had caught their breaths and refastened some of their clothing. "I am yours. I have been since we met in Palermo." Severus smiled and kissed her again, slowly and languidly, making love to her mouth and reigniting a small fire in the pit of Hermione's belly. She moaned softly.

"What do you say, we get out of here?" Severus said. "Come back to mine?"

After they had repaired her dress from the damage, they walked around the castle to the nearest apparition point. Hermione hoped that no one had heard them and seen them outside the hall, but in the end, she didn't really care. She was too blissfully happy, walking with him, one of his arms around her, keeping her tight to his side.

One year and eight months later, Hermione sat on the wall of the Piazzale Michelangelo, looking out at the sun setting over Florence. She was leaning back into Severus who was standing behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist as she leant against him, her head resting on his shoulder. She was blissfully happy.

They were on their honeymoon. There had never been any debate about where they would go, their destination was clear. At Hermione's insistence, they were staying in the same little green tent again, as they had two years ago, and Severus had readily acquiesced. It wasn't as if a big bed would have made any difference, he always held her close to him as they slept, so they hardly took up any space at all.

A few months after the ball, Hermione had moved in with him and had helped him start up his potions business. They had decided to "date" before making any serious decisions, but in the end it had been pointless. They could hardly stay away from each other and always ended up sleeping in the same bed every night, be it at his place or hers, or rather her friend's. And so moving in together had hardly been a big step. They didn't like being away from each other, and so it was perfect. As for starting a business together, Hermione had finally realised that that was what she wanted. She didn't want to struggle along trying to make a name for herself at the ministry, having to fight tooth and nail to make a difference. But her speech at the ball hadn't gone to waste. Harry had decided to go into politics instead of becoming an auror, and he regularly asked for her advice and her ideas. She was confident that he was exactly what the ministry, and the wizarding world, needed. And Severus was all that she needed.

Their business had become successful rather quickly- Severus had been inventing, new, useful potions for years, but had never made them available to the public before. They were hugely popular, and many soon became household items. Hermione helped with the brewing and the research, but it turned out that she had a talent for business. Under her care, they had expanded quickly and now had so many employees, there wasn't much left for them to do, apart from create new potions for other people to brew, which was what Severus enjoyed the most anyway. Hermione kept an eye over everything and kept the business growing. But they had a lot of time to spend together, reading, talking – they had both discovered a mutual love for cooking. And, of course, there was plenty of time left over for them to shag against every possible surface in the house. Which had very many surfaces.

Severus nuzzled her neck, bringing Hermione back to the present. She took one of his hands in hers and examined the way their gold bands gleamed in the sunset. She turned her head to look up at him and smiled, taking in his handsome features, which were gentled by the warm light of the setting sun. He looked down at her and returned her smile, his own lips curving upwards as if it was the most natural movement in the world for them to make. After all, now there were plenty of reasons for them to smile.