"Oh, and I don't know, I don't know what he's after,
but he's so beautiful, he's such a beautiful disaster
and if I could hold on through the tears and the laughter
would it be beautiful or just a beautiful disaster?"

The memories stopped and they pulled themselves out of the basin.

"You know everything else," He said quietly, avoiding her eyes.

She was crying still, "Severus…"

He briefly made eye contact with her, "Don't cry over me. I don't want pity."

"I do not pity you, Severus!" She scolded him, "I love you. Seeing all of those memories in which you were hurting, hurt me! I love you; I never want to see you hurt!"

The words hit Severus awkwardly, his eyes lighting up once again as she told him she loved him, "Hermione…"

His cold, slender fingers brushed her cheek, "What happened in there? What was going through your mind…You had this look on your face when you saw me at Lily's grave. Every time you saw it, the look on your face nearly tore my heart out," He whispered.

"I…I don't know," Hermione looked away from him, hanging her head.

"Talk to me," He whispered, his eyes searching hers.

She looked deeply back into his gaze. She saw love, adoration, and a hint of fear.

"I'm afraid that I will never measure up to Lily. I'm afraid I'll always be second to her. It sounds horrible and I feel horrible for feeling that way, but…" She started to cry.

"I can't do this anymore," He shook his head and backed away from her, throwing his hands up.

"I know, it's okay, Severus. I can't expect you to love me like you love her…" She was crying now.

"No! Stop comparing yourself to her! I can't do this, Hermione. I can't pretend like this is okay. I can't pretend anymore," He choked up.

"Severus, I'll just go," She said, moving towards the door.

"No! Don't you understand, Hermione? I can't pretend that I'm okay with us being just friends, because I'm not. I can't pretend that I don't love you, because I do. I love you. I love you. I feel you," He put his fist over his heart, "I feel you in here. I feel you in my heart, in my soul, I feel you to the very core of my bones, Hermione. You burn inside of me. Lily is dead. Do not think for a second that I don't know that. You can't un-love someone though, Hermione. I will always love her. But she wasn't my soul mate, apparently. She didn't light this fire in my soul. I didn't even think I had a soul. You…are my fire," The tears began to flow out of his eyes and he turned his back to her.

"Severus," She choked on her sobs and slid her arms around him from behind.

"No, I love you. I have never felt this way before. I do not even think it's fair to say that I love Lily. I don't know what that is compared to this, it seems so petty. It seems so…small. I want you. I need you. I love you. I …Hermione," He was crying now, freely.

She spun him around and crushed herself into his chest. He held her like it was the last thing he was ever going to do.

He jerked away from her suddenly, "Hermione, you know me now. You have seen my scars, physical and emotional. This is your last chance. You can leave now and I will do my best to pretend. But, if you stay, I will not be able to let you go. You would be my life."

"I'm not going anywhere," She shook her head.

"I love you," He said, a guttural sound.

"I love you, too," She whispered.

He kissed her with such bruising force he almost knocked her over. It was a passion, an explosion that was beyond comparison. It was something so deep, so powerful. It was the explosion of a soul recognizing its counterpart.

"He's beautiful, Lord, he's so beautiful.
He's beautiful."