For Bianca. Happy Birthday xx

January 3, 1997

She doesn't say anything. Her hand covers her mouth, probably in an attempt to muff her sobs as she stares at me. Her eyes are red and rimmed with tears, her pain clear on her face.

Slowly, she moves off the desk and walks toward me, stopping a few feet away.

"I… I am so sorry, Severus," she finally chokes out. "I-I left you alone. For twenty years!"

"Yes, you did."

My words don't comfort her, but then again, they aren't supposed to.

She quickly looks away from me, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "How… how long was I gone?"

"Not very; a few hours at the most."

"How did you know where to find me?"

"This is where we said goodbye. I figured you'd turn up where you disappeared. I was right."

She meets my eyes and fresh tears trickle down her face. "I… I don't even know what to say."

"There isn't anything to say."

Granger hangs her head and bites her lip. "I know. I know."

I look away from her, my throat suddenly raw and dry. There are many things I want to say to her, but I find myself tongue tied. I finally settle for, "Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall want to discuss the issue at hand with you as soon as possible."

"What issue?" she asks meekly.

"Us."

"It's been twenty years," she sniffles. "There is no 'us'."

"You haven't even been back for ten minutes and yet you are already making assumptions."

Granger's head snaps up, her eyes hopeful when they meet mine. I allow her a half-smile. I blink and her arms are around my neck, her lips firm on mine. My arms wrap around her body, helping her hike her legs up around my hips. I turn slightly so her back is against the wall to help me hold her up, freeing my hands to roam over her body. Every curve, every dip is exactly as I remember; her body is a map I am slowly rememorizing.

"I don't understand," she says between kisses. "After all this time?"

I pull away slightly to rest my forehead against hers so our eyes meet. "Always."

Fresh tears spring from her eyes, but her smile tells me they are a result of anything but sadness. Her hands pull my face back to hers, her mouth opening the instant it touches mine. Our tongues begin the dance we started twenty years ago.

Granger giggles into my mouth when my hands ghost up her sides and grab hold of her blouse. In one swift pull, I rip it open, the buttons scattering around us. Her skin is soft and pale and she welcomes my touch, leaning into my palms and moaning as my fingers slide over her skin. Her own hands begin making short work of my own clothes, her methods being far less destructive than mine. I have no patience for waiting; I have waited for her long enough.

My hands grip her thighs as I back away from the wall, moving to the professor's desk at the far end of the classroom. I lower her onto her back, climbing onto the desk myself so as to keep her pinned down. Her back arches when my hands go to her bra and I quickly remove the garment and toss it aside. Granger tugs on the last few buttons of my cloak, ripping them from the seams and then pushing the fabric off my shoulders where I quickly shake it off, not caring where it falls.

"Why didn't you outgrow your love for buttons?" she growls against my lips as she grabs a fist full of my shirt and tearing it open, her patience as worn thin as mine.

I chuckle as my fingers find the zipper of her skirt and pull it down and off her legs. My lips kiss up her legs, one hand bracing her stomach to keep her still. I kiss up her thighs to her chest, before latching my mouth around her nipple and sucking. Her moans echo against the stone walls of the classroom, her hands clutching the edge of the desk.

My hands move to the buckle of my trousers and I quickly undo it, letting it fall to the ground and stepping out of them. Granger's legs come up and she uses her feet to push down my boxers as my fingers hook around her panties and pull them down her legs.

I stand at the edge of the desk and pull her body to me. I want her face as I enter her. Her back arches, her hands sprawled, nails scratching the wood. She is just as I remembered.

"Severus… move. Please," she begs.

I arch an eyebrow, but stay still. She squirms on the desk and my hands go out to her stomach to keep her steady. I want to tease her. I want her to want me as badly as I wanted her for twenty years.

"Look at me," I say when her eyes close in frustration.

Her caramel eyes snap open and meet mine. Slowly, I pull out of her. Her walls tighten around me as I go, but I ignore it. She isn't getting off that easily. Right when I am about to completely leave her, I stop and slowly push back in. Her mouth hangs open as I continue my slow pace. I can feel her being to spasm beneath me, my slow thrusts gently pulling her to the edge. Her walls tighten again and I stop, keeping her from release.

"No! Please, that is so unfair!" she pants as I hold her in place, denying her any frication or release.

I lean forward and whisper, "So was waiting twenty years to fuck you again," in her ear. My words make her shudder and she bites her lip to cover her smile. I kiss her then, my tongue slipping inside her mouth as I begin my slow thrusting once more. Again I lead her to the edge, but stop just before she can come.

It is painful for me to continue the process. My own release is beating down the door, begging to be set free after nearly two decades of not having her. She is withering under me, begging to come. Her back is arched toward me, her hair fanned out across the desk and her hands pinned down by my own. I cannot control myself any longer.

My thrusts increase both in speed and strength, causing her to cry out in pleasure. I let her hands go free and she grips my upper arms as she begins moving her body in time with mine to meet my thrusts. She throws her head backward and screams as I continue my assault on her body.

"Oh my god!" she screams as she comes.

Her legs wrap securely around my hips, keeping me in place as her walls tighten completely around me and I follow her over the edge. I fall forward onto my elbows so I am resting above her, panting. She catches her breath and begins to laugh, her arms wrapping around my body.

"Merlin, I've missed you," she sighs contently.

"What are you talking about? You didn't have to wait twenty years for me."

"I know, but I missed this. We didn't do it nearly enough for my liking."

I lean back and arch an eyebrow at her. "Well allow me to make up for lost time."

January 5, 1997

"What if they find out I've been back for two days?"

"Relax, they won't."

"But what if-"

"Then we will cross that bridge when we come to it," I say, turning to look at Hermione. "Dumbledore told me he had no idea how long you would be done from our present. You haven't left my chambers since returning- no one has seen you. No one but us knows you came back the same day you vanished."

She bites her lower lip in worry. "I know, but… lying to them scares me."

"We were going to have to eventually. They came to me before you left and implied we weren't to see each other until our meeting with them or perhaps even after. I had, and still don't, have any intention to ignore you or our past. Our lying is simply to protect us until you graduate."

"We could just run away."

At that I arch an eyebrow. "Miss Hermione Granger, are you actually suggesting that you would sacrifice your education to run away with me?"

She blushes and looks away from my eyes. "I don't know. Maybe."

I gently take her chin in my hand and tilt her face up so our eyes meet again. "As touching as that is, don't even think about it. We are both needed here and running is simply not an option. Now, come. We should get this over with."

"I'm nervous."

"Good; they're expecting you to be."

I lead Hermione through the hallways toward Dumbledore's office. We keep a respectable distance, despite both of us wanting to reach out and touch the other. Right before we reach the griffin guarding the entrance to the Headmaster's office, I stop.

"You remember what I told you, correct?"

She nods. "I've got this."

I search her face before nodding and rounding the corner. We approach the griffin and I speak the password, opening the staircase and motioning for Hermione to go first. We climb the stairs in silence, stopping only when we reach the door to Dumbledore's inner office. I step in front of her and knock once before entering.

"Ah, Severus, come in, come in," Dumbledore calls from behind his desk. His smile falls upon seeing Hermione behind me. "Ah, Miss Granger. I see you have returned safe and sound."

"She came and found me just a little while ago," I explain as I move to the far end of the room, creating a barrier between us. "I brought her here as quickly as I could."

"Yes, it would appear Minerva and I didn't account for her searching for you. Tell me, Miss Granger, are you all right? Traveling in time as far back as you did must have been very hard on you."

Hermione looks at me before turning back to Dumbledore. "I'm fine, sir."

Dumbledore judges the distance between us before nodding. "You have been gone for quite some time. Two days, in fact."

"Yes, that is what Severus… I mean, Professor Snape told me."

"You will need to watch yourself, Miss Granger. No one must know about your past relationship with Professor Snape. One slip up like that could be horrible. You must understand that twenty years as past for us, where as it has long been a few months for you." He glances toward me once before looking back at her. "Feelings change, people evolve."

"I… I am aware, Headmaster. Professor Snape made everything quite clear to me when I returned."

"Did he?"

"Yes." Hermione's voice breaks and she ducks her head so we cannot see her face. "Twenty years is an impossibly long time to continue loving or even liking someone. Not to mention that has his student any relationship between the two of us would be horrible inappropriate. Our relationship ended the moment I returned to the present time."

"I understand how difficult this must be for you, Miss Granger," Dumbledore says kindly. "Time heals all wounds." He turns to me and sighs. "While I think it would be best to limit all contact between the two of you, I cannot see how I can manage that without the rest of the school discovering it and doing their best to uncover the reason why. That being said, Miss Granger, you will continue regularly attending Professor Snape's class. But outside of that, you will need to keep your distance from him."

"Yes, sir."

"If you should need extra help with assignments, I will personally help you. I want to make sure you can cope with the stress of time travel and adjusting to… to being back here."

"Thank you, sir."

Dumbledore watches her for a moment before turning to me. "Severus, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to speak with Miss Granger, alone."

"Of course, Headmaster," I say before turning and walking toward the door. Although I want to turn to look at Hermione, I force myself not to. Dumbledore mustn't suspect us.