Chapter 10- What Will Happen If...

Hermione was sitting in Potions class, the silence of the room music to her ears. No one had managed to mess up their potion yet and Hermione had a few extra minutes before class was over to daydream. She stared off into the wall of the dungeon, thinking about what lay behind that wall. Snape's big four-post bed, a warm fire, a wall filled with books that I've only dreamed of, and the man that I love. Hermione smiled. I wonder how all this happened. I mean, Severus and I are so much different. He's quiet and mean, I'm loud and annoying. Normally, people like us wouldn't work together. But, I think I've always loved Snape. From the moment that he barged into the classroom on the first day of school and said that amazing speech, I loved him. He's brilliant, he's kind when he wants to be, and he's handsome as hell, especially when he looks down on me with his lustful eyes.

"MISS GRANGER!" The voice of Snape rang in her ears.

"Shit!" Hermione yelled loudly in the classroom. Harry and Ron shot her looks of fear as they looked over at Snape.

He smiled a wicked grin. "Five points from Gryffindor for the profanity and another five for interrupting class." Snape said, before getting back to grading his papers. The class calmed down and began to get back to work. "You told me anytime Miss Granger; I didn't think you would be so... jumpy."

"Fuck you." She said. "I didn't mean to yell at me while I was daydreaming and scare the shit out of me."

"Miss Granger, I do believe that I warned you about daydreaming in my class." Snape said.

Hermione looked up and caught the smug look on Snape's face. "You suck!" She said, in such a childish voice that it made her giggle.

"No Miss Granger, I believe that is your job." Snape grinned.

"You might find out." Hermione turned her gaze to the professor, whose eyes had grown wide. The bell rang. "See you tonight Professor. Midnight okay?"

Snape said nothing but managed to nod his head. Hermione let out a small laugh and left the classroom with Harry and Ron.

-x-

Hermione smiled at the evil task she had managed to pull on her professor. She was in an absolutely happy mood all day, waiting for night to come. When midnight came, Hermione snuck quietly out of her room. Looking around to make sure that there was no one around; she snuck out of the hole. "Did you see that?" Harry said, moving from his hiding place behind the desk.

Ginny, her hair tossed and her cheeks flushed, smiled. "So, looks our little Hermione isn't so innocent after all." She said, careful to make sure that she didn't let it show how much she knew.

"Who would she be seeing this late at night?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. For all I know it could be Ron. Hell it could even be Malfoy." Ginny said with a giggle.

"Don't even kid about that Ginny." Harry said as the red head lay back down on the couch. Harry eyed the entrance to the common room.

"Who cares who she is seeing?" Ginny said with a sigh. "Hermione's a big girl, she can handle herself." Then she looked at Harry with a wicked grin as he turned to face her. "I, however, can not. Think you can?" She said with an innocent smile.

Harry's eyes lit up with fire and he walked over to the ground. Laying his body on top of hers, he whispered in her ear. "You are going to get me in trouble." He said. But before she had the chance to reply, he captured her lips with his.

-x-

Hermione was incredibly slow getting to the dungeons. She smiled when she entered the classroom and made her way to Snape's private quarters. She hoped that he would be furious that she was late; maybe even frustrated that she had kept him waiting. Instead, Snape was sitting on his bed, reading a book. Hermione stopped before entering the door, taking a good long look at her professor. He was wearing a pair of black silk boxers with no shirt, his hair down in his face as he stared intently at the book. She smiled, remembering how his bare chest felt under her fingertips, or how his hair felt when she ran her hands through it. She walked in slowly and stalked over the bed so that he couldn't hear her. She managed to crawl onto the bed softly and pull the book down. She looked right in Snape's eyes, giving him a minute to recognize who she was, before kissing him softly on the lips. "Good evening Professor." She said in a sweet voice.

"Good evening Miss Granger." He said, stealing another kiss. He placed his book on the table beside his bed and wrapped his arms around Hermione, pulling her down next to him. "Did you have any trouble getting down here?" He asked, eyeing the clock on the wall. It was one thirty.

"No, I just took the long way. I wanted to think about some things before coming here." She said.

"And what would that be?" Snape asked curious.

"Nothing to important. NEWTS are coming up soon, then graduation, and then college if I decided to go." Hermione said, staring up into the dark black pools that were Snape's eyes.

"Yes, I imagine that great things will happen to you when you leave here." Snape said. But, there was pain in his voice. But, you don't live. Unless I change it, you will not live to be whatever you want to be. And worse, you won't live to be a wife or a mother to someone. "I've been thinking about something to, Hermione." He said, easing into the fact that he could say her name.

"What's that?" She asked, tracing circles on his chest.

"What would happen if I died in the final battle?" He said. He felt her stiffen and then she broke away and sat up.

"Why do you ask?" She said, almost frantically. "Do you know...?"

"No!" He interrupted, before she began to think that he knew when the final battle would be. "I don't know when that battle may be, or who will die in it." He said, knowing that the last part was somewhat of a lie.

"So what do you want to know? What would happen to me if you died in battle?" She asked. He merely nodded, although he had broke his eye contact with her. He cares about the future, about what will happen if I am left without him. I never really thought about it, it's all just become so real that I could be with him for the rest of my life. "I don't know. I mean, I just know started thinking about a future, or if there was one for us."

"You don't think there will be?" Snape asked, turning his head to look at her.

There was sadness in his eyes, and she was almost certain that she see tears forming in the back of his eyes, although he pushed them away. "No, Severus I didn't mean it like that." She said, taking his hand in hers. "I graduate in a year, and I want to stay with you. I love you Severus, very much. I just didn't think..."

"That I would want you to be with me once you left Hogwarts as a student?" Snape finished for her. Hermione nodded. "You are still my student Hermione, but in a few months, you will not be. I don't want, nor did I expect, for this to end when you graduated. I love you too." He said his voice kind and gentle.

"Why ask that question Severus?" Hermione said quietly, her eyes looking down at the bed instead of at him.

"Hermione," he placed his finger under her chin and lifted her head up to meet his eyes; "this battle will be the end of a war. I could die there. You could die there. Harry could die there. Anyone, good or bad, could die there. And I know it's coming, just like you do. But, I want to know what will happen if I die. Will you hate me for it? Will you regret that you couldn't save me? Will you forget about me?"

"Never!" Hermione said, gripping tighter on his hand. "Severus, I could never hate you for dying in battle and I could never forget you. I don't know if I would regret not being able to save you." She stopped and looked down, then regaining her composure; she looked back up at him. "Can we not talk about you dying or leaving me?" Hermione said with tears in her eyes.

Snape found the girl's tears heartbreaking. He pulled her close to her and stroked her hair as she fell silently asleep in his arms. He watched her sleep with loving eyes. She is so beautiful, what the hell does she see in me? I just... I can't imagine her leaving me. I'd rather die in her place, but I can't leave her without showing her how much I care. Snape wrestled with his thoughts all night, until he finally fell asleep with Hermione in his arms.

-x-