Disclaimer: I can't afford any of this. I swear.

A/N: I have no excuse for why it has been a YEAR since this was last updated. Book 7 threw me for a loop, to be sure, then I've been fiddling with bits of the remaining chapters. School, work, buying a house...I could go on, but I'm sure you all would much rather read the story. Thank you to everyone who is still reading and reviewing; I promise it will not take another 12 months for me to update again.

Chapter 11

She was taller than he would have expected, and leaner; there were lines at the corners of her mouth that hadn't been there before. Her hair was streaked with silver, and she wore it longer than she had in school; he noted that she used it to shield her face, just as he often did. Her eyes beneath the Glamour were as guarded as his own, but he could sense the pain behind them.

And she was right…it wasn't pretty.

Because of the Time-Turner, the injuries she'd told him about were now more than twenty years healed. Despite that, some of the visible scars were still an angry red color, indicating that whatever made the cuts had been infused with Dark magic. One particularly painful-looking one started at her temple and traveled down the side of her face. It continued down her neck and disappeared under the high neckline of the blouse she wore under her robes. He was sure her clothes hid the more serious scars.

Part of the right side of her face had been burned; her right hand also bore burn scars, and he wondered how far they continued. Watching his eyes, she answered his unasked question.

"The burns cover most of the right half of my body. Once the fire hit the gas lines, the house exploded, and I wasn't far enough away. Ironically, that was probably what saved me…the fire cauterized some of the more serious cuts, so I didn't immediately bleed to death. As for the other scars, they cover most of my body, though I think my back is the worst."

Snape frowned. "I don't understand…most of these injuries could have been tended by any…"

"…Any competent and nosey Mediwitch? I'm well aware of that. Unfortunately, I didn't have the luxury at the time. If you recall, I was still in the early stages of my plotting, and I couldn't afford the loss of time or anyone finding out about my condition. I did the best I could. Maybe once the Dark Lord falls, I'll see if any of it can be…well, it's too late for 'fixed', but maybe the Healers can make it less noticeable."

She shot him a self-depreciating smile. "At least I won't have to beat off flocks of suitors once the War is over."

He made a decision then and there, dropping his own Glamour with a single word. To her credit, only a nearly imperceptible twitch at the corner of her mouth gave away her surprise.

His hair was less greasy, but there were streaks of gray through it, particularly around his temples, that matched her own. He looked even paler than before, and there were dark circles under his eyes. Hermione's eyes traced the now-visible scars on his chest and face. His shirt had been removed while she was healing him, but at the time the true condition of his body had still been magically shielded.

Turning slowly, he moved until his back was to her, knowing she would be able to see the map of scars that crisscrossed his back.

"Lucius has favored the scourge for many years," he said softly.

He heard nothing behind him, so was startled when he felt a cool hand brush his shoulder.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"For what?" he protested. "It is I who should be thanking you, not the other way around."

"For being willing to help me…for understanding. Just for being you." Hermione smiled wryly. "I should be loath to admit it because I'm sure you'll use it against me later, but you've been one of my biggest motivations through all this." He looked confused, so she tried to explain. "After I'd finished with Albus's memories, and gone over his instructions, I was resolved to do whatever it took to bring down the Dark Lord. It wasn't much of a change, really…just a reaffirmation of a vow I'd made when I was twelve, even though I was alone this time. What was different was you.

"When I realized that my current skill level couldn't contribute anything useful that would help you, keep you safe, I knew I needed to explore other avenues…my books could only take me so far before practical application became necessary. I knew you were stuck in your role as a Death Eater, and couldn't afford to trust anyone. And you'd always been…important to me."

She sat on the edge of the bed, but didn't look at him.

"Everything I've done…the training, the planning, all the work…Severus, I woke up every day for fifteen years, knowing I was just subjecting myself to another round of torturous exercises, and another five years that were not much better. But knowing that it was not only going to bring about the fall of the Dark Lord, but was also going to let me help you, even in some small way…it was enough to keep me going." She sighed. "I suppose in the end, I'm still just a silly little girl, trying to win your approval."

Recovering from his speechlessness, he cleared his throat. "Hermione, you are many things, but a 'silly little girl' is not one of them." He snorted, somewhat amused. "Particularly not since you are now close to my own age."

She chuckled. "Git."

"Have I ever claimed to be anything else?"

Snape moved slowly then, giving her plenty of time to withdraw if she chose. She flinched when his arm settled around her, though she didn't move away. He gently tugged until they were both laying down, her head resting against his shoulder. They stayed like that for a long time.

A/N#2: There it is. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it, even though it took me forever to get it posted. I will get the next chapter up as soon as humanly possible, but I've got a huge paper coming due in about 2 weeks. Most likely after that.