A few hours later found Hermione cuddled up on her sofa in a fluffy robe with a glass of wine and Crookshanks on her lap. She was thinking about Monday and the prospect of seeing Severus once more before he exited her life. She might see him occasionally – the wizarding world was a small one – but she knew she would miss the regular contact she had with him. She would miss seeing him every day at work – nothing would be the same.
She reached over to refill her glass – contemplating how a nice buzz would feel – it might help her to not think for a while. The loud crack of apparition almost caused her to overturn the wine as she gasped in surprise, her cat hissed and ran to hide in her bedroom. Severus was standing in front of her.
Shock froze her in place for an instant, and Severus took full advantage of it to look down at her, taking in her small form huddled on the couch. Apparently, he'd given up on the party, too, because his jacket and robes were gone and his white shirt was open half the way down the front and all he had on with it were his slacks.
"Severus," Hermione managed in a high-pitched, breathless tone as she tried to decide what to do.
"Er, I just took a bath."
"Yes, I can see that," he said gently, glancing at her still damp hair. He smiled at her, the first genuine smile she could remember on his hard face in a long time.
"You aren't at the party, you're here." She said. Immediately feeling stupid. She was doing a great job of stating the obvious tonight.
He sat down next to her on the couch and took the glass out of her hand. He took a sip before setting it on the coffee table and turning to face her, close enough that their knees touched. Hermione resisted the urge to pull her robe more fully down over her legs or try to more fully close the open vee at her chest. Her eyes searched his face, lingering on the light scar left by the cut beside his jaw. She reached up and touched it gently where Poppy had healed it.
"I'd never been as afraid in my life as I was when Harry told me there had been an explosion," she said involuntarily. Tears sprang to her eyes with remembered terror.
"I could see that for myself, Hermione," he murmured. He leaned over and caressed her cheek.
"I can't tell you how I felt when you ran to me instead of Draco. My God, I almost cried_"
She leaned over and buried her face in his throat, feeling the warmth and strength of him like a brand against her.
"I love you," she breathed.
"I love you, and I don't care if the whole world knows it..."
"I imagine most of it does, if they saw the way you kissed me," he murmured sardonically.
Hermione felt her face grow pink with embarrassment. Severus was not one for allowing the public to see his feelings or emotions and she had laid it all out in a very public way when she had kissed him so enthusiastically. She pulled back and met his eyes with her own.
"Why are you here?"
"How could I not come? I thought about trying to talk to you at the party, but you left so soon and I couldn't get away until now. I wanted to talk to you… after what happened this evening."
Hermione opened her mouth to speak – not quite sure what to say.
"Be quiet, Hermione" he whispered tenderly, "Let me say what I need to…I fought you so hard. I struggled so much and pushed you away.' He was quiet for a moment and he looked down at his hands, away from her searching gaze.
"I was afraid."
Hermione sighed deeply. She knew what it had taken for him to admit that.
"I had held on to my devotion to Lily for so long. It's only recent that I have come to understand something. She was a part of my life that no longer exists. I loved her. But she's dead and I'm not, and life goes on."
He touched her face with a lightly caressing movement of his fingers, and his eyes glowed with some deep emotion.
"I'm sorry it took me so long to admit what I felt for you. I think I always knew though, what it could be like. I think that's why I was so scared of you and what you could mean to me. The fact that we could be very good together. I knew that the day I walked into the office for the first time and sparks flew between us. I fought you hard, right from the first. I did all I could to antagonize you and push you away from me. I admired you so much. Please know that."
His hand drifted to her hair and he leaned in closer to her.
"This doesn't matter. This change – your hair and clothes. It was never about that. You captivated me before. Your mind and your intellect. The way your face would light up when we were discussing some arcane piece of research. I couldn't believe you were the same person who used to irritate me as a student. I was even willing to throw you at Draco's innocent head to save myself. But it all misfired."
His face clouded. "When you came to me this morning and told me he'd declared his love, I think I went a little crazy. It was all I could do not to throw a punch at him when we left the manor. I gave him hell all day, and he just sat there and grinned at me. When you came flying into my arms at the airport, I knew what I had been fighting against – I began to understand the stakes, and what I would be risking if I let you go."
She nuzzled her face into his throat and let him feel the trembling of her body. "I didn't have any pride left by then," she whispered shakily.
"I was scared silly. I still am." Hermione said with a small sob, she was so overcome with what he had said.
Instead of trying to put her feelings into words she launched herself at him- she loped her arms around his neck and pulled herself up to sit on his lap – getting as close as she could as she started to kiss him. She kissed every inch of his face as she giggled happily, murmuring declarations of love.
"Hermione, don't - don't be so aggressive, you'll make me lose control."
"I want you to lose control," she whispered in his ear.
"I want you to make love to me. I want to belong to you." she added, clinging, as her voice broke.
"I love you...!"
His mouth slid across her cheek and onto her lips, stopping the words, taking possession with a slow, sweet intimacy that made her moan under its expertness. Without letting go over her, he stood up. He carried her into the bedroom, removed her robe, and laid her down on the bed. He watched her closely as he drew his shirt off and tossed it onto a nearby chair. His slacks followed, and she stared. He was beautiful to her. He was slim and pale and so elegant and graceful. Unconsciously, she licked her lips at the sight.
He laid down on the bed next to her and ran his hand down her body and watched her tremble with reaction. She arched close to him, gasping as she felt the impact of his skin against every inch of hers. He let his hands ran down her back to press her even closer. He folded her close and kissed her flushed face, light, tender kisses that belied the hunger she could feel growing in his taut body. She found it increasingly hard to think as his hands began to move in strange, sweet patterns on her body, exploring her with an expertise that was at once tender and wildly sensuous.
"I've wanted you for so long. I don't think I will ever want to be apart after this," He said with a groan.
"I know it's only been a few weeks, but I have a feeling you are going to have to marry me, Hermione."
Hermione jackknifed up to into a sitting position at that, she was so shocked.
"Marry you?"
"Will you lie down and stop interrupting me? I thought you wanted to make love." He said, tugging her back down to the bed.
"I do... but...?"
"It's going to be love, too, Hermione," he said, and all the humor was gone out of his face, leaving it quiet and tender.
He moved over her, resting his weight on his forearms to study her face while he shifted his warm chest across her softness and smiled shamelessly at her helpless response.
"It's going to be the sweetest, wildest expression of love you've ever imagined."
Her eyes were wide with love and passion and she was just barely hearing him. She felt an ache that welled up from deep inside her.
"I love you and now that I've come to terms with my feelings, I'm not letting you go." He said, as he smoothed a curl away from her face.
"Never more than when I thought I'd lost you to Draco, and I walked out the door today hurting in so many ways that I didn't know how I was going to live. The whole time Draco and I were chasing that bastard, you were in my thoughts. You will marry me, won't you?"
Tears sprang to her eyes.
"Yes. Oh yes! I'd follow you barefooted through the snow," she whispered brokenly,
"if you wanted me to."
"I know that," he said roughly.
"I'd do the same for you. Merlin, I love you so much!"
Her arms reached up to bring him down to her.
"Show me," she whispered tearfully.
"I'm going to love you. I'm going to please you," she whispered against the increasing intimacy of his lips.
"And I'll please you, if it takes all night."
His hands touched her gently, in wildly pleasing ways, until the flames burned high and bright and beautiful. And he watched her the whole time, his dark eyes tender and loving as he took her with him on a roller coaster. This was so different with him – Hermione wasn't prepared for the sensations, as he eased her again and again into a perfect frenzy of pleasure only to calm her and soothe her and start over again. Time dissolved into a kaleidoscope of movement and urgent whispers and a pleasure that bordered on agony, until his incredible control finally gave out. She loved feeling so possessed by him, she loved every wave and storm of hunger and pleasure. When she came it felt as if she would fly apart from so much emotion. She had to cry and laugh all at once from the pure ecstacy of it all.
Later, lying spent, her face wet with her own tears, she snuggled against his damp chest, and could barely believe how she felt. He was propped up on the pillows, looking down at her, and finally she was able to slide her head down his arm far enough to see his face.
"Will it always be like this… that was indescribable."
She said, causing him to smirk arrogantly.
"Well, you said yourself that God compensated me for being ugly, didn't you?"
She laughed wearily, delightedly, smoothing the dark hair away from his broad forehead.
"Oh, you'll never be ugly. Not to me. I love every break in your nose, and every hair on your head, and your ferocious scowl, and your temper_"
"You could have stopped at loving me, you know," he murmured lazily, "without enumerating my bad points."
"And I haven't even gotten to the best part," she grinned, blushing wildly as she realized how that sounded. He laughed delightedly, and folded her against his side.
"If I had only known back in our Hogwarts days – I would have been a much better student!"
He chuckled at that.
"I adore you." She sighed and stretched.
"I'm so sleepy... "
"You'd better sleep while you can. I have plans for you around dawn."
She giggled delightedly and snuggled close as he pulled the covers over them. She drank in the fragrance of his body and drowned in love and the glory of sharing it.
-fin-
AN: Sorry it took so long for this update - RL has been pretty busy lately. Well this is it- over in 10 easy chapters. As I've said before, I know Hermione is a bit OOC, but I hope that Snape felt like a faithful rendition. I wanted to write a simple romance that is light, fluffy and fun to read and I hope i achieved that. I think one of the most important pieces of dialogue in this chapter is when Severus tells Hermione that the makeover doesn't matter. I just want to make sure that message gets across. Love shouldnt be about looks and makeovers (ok, ill get off my soapbox now). Thank You all so much for all the wonderful reviews -they all served as great motivation to take this fic all the way to the end.