Though he did not return the kiss, Snape was not unaffected. She heard his strangled inhale, felt a shock run through his body as her lips made contact with his. When she stepped away, she noted that his arms were frozen at right angles to his body, as if he were trying with his every fiber not to wrap them around her.

For her part, Hermione was stunned. Even though he had not responded, she had felt the kiss through her entire body. The warmth of his lips seemed to have flooded her, leaving her flushed from her mouth to her extremities.

They stood there, two feet apart, staring at each other in shock. She was breathing quickly, her cheeks pink, her lips swollen. He was hidden behind a mask of inscrutability, his clenched fists the only sign of inner struggle.

He spoke slowly and distinctly. "No. You don't know what you are doing. And that is the only reason that we are not on the floor together right now. Do you think that my coming here was an accident? That I am some silly muggle boy to be trifled with, then discarded? I assure you, Miss Granger, that if you persist on this course, I will simply take you, and you will lose any choice in the matter."

Hermione felt herself flush even more at his words. "I thought I made it very clear that I have made my choice. And I'm choosing you."

"For a night's amusement, perhaps, but I assure you, Miss Granger, that what I am referring to is a far different endeavor. You wanted to know why I searched for you? Why I ceased to sleep and eat when you disappeared? Why my life has been spent developing the skills to track down a trail as faint as a scent in the air? Do you want to know why I hunted you like a starving man hunts a doe?"

Hermione nodded her head, breathless.

"It is because I had to. Because my future is tied to yours, because you are the hope that has kept me alive through torture and despair."

Hermione inhaled sharply. "I didn't, I mean how,…"l

"You are my Amari, Miss Granger."

Hermione blinked. The incidence of magical mates was so rare as to be considered legend. "Your magical compliment? But that hasn't happened in centuries. I never believed it was real."

"Nor did I, Miss Granger, until the day I first encountered your magic, floating a silly feather in the air. Can you imagine my shock to experience such resonance with an 11 year old child? To stare at your childish form, and feel your magic invade my core? Can you imagine the conflict I felt? I doubted my very sanity. I would have left Hogwarts had Albus allowed it. Instead, I read and researched and studied the phenomenon, and stayed as far away from you as the castle would allow. But every day you would be there, in my classroom, your prissy voice questioning, your magic flooding me worse than l'attraction. The more I was exposed to you, the more I knew, the deeper the certainty.

"So you see, I had to find you. Yesterday, when I entered your mind, it was the most… the most perfect moment of happiness I have ever felt in my life. I have no doubts left. You are my Amari."

Hermione realized that her mouth was gaping open, but she couldn't find the energy to close it. "But, the Amante is supposed to be two sided. I never…"

"Of course you didn't. You were just a child. That the Amante would rise in me before it could in you is just another of life's torments for me. But you are not a child now. And the amante is rising in you. The longer we are together, the tighter the connection will become. That is the reason that even now you are moving towards me."

Hermione looked down and realized it was true, her feet had begun to close the distance between them.

"Hermione. I know you are my amari. But you must be certain as well. I waited for you for seven years, searched for you for another nine. If I take you into my arms now, become your lover, I am not going to let go again. And I am tempted, so tempted to do so.

"But it seems that my heart disagrees. You see, I want it to be your choice, Hermione. I want you to come to me, knowingly. I want you to chose me, not simply because our magic is pushing us together, but because you want to be my mate. If you take that last step forward, you will become my mate just as surely, but then neither of us will ever know if the choice was truly yours."

Hermione exhaled. Breathing had not seemed necessary while he was speaking. Her body was screaming at her to close that last step, sink into his mouth, find oblivion in his arms. But the look of anguish on his face stopped her. The faintest inkling of what he had suffered began to sink into her mind. He had given up so much for her…could she not do this for him? Was she so weak that she couldn't give him the simple thing for which he begged? No. She was Hermione Granger. She had resisted the call of magic for almost a decade. She could do this for the man that she now knew she loved.

And so, though it cost her, she nodded. She took one painful step backwards. And another. Snape slowly blinked his eyes, relief flooding his face.

"Thank you, Miss Granger. You will know where to find me."

Then he was gone.

Author's Note: There's more to come. Thank you to all of you who have reviewed the story. The disadvantage to posting in serial format is that I don't have as much time to edit each chapter, and I suspect some of this is rushed. Please let me know if there are places that need expansion, or awkward phrases you'd like to see refined.

Thank you for reading!Theolyn