I am awoken by the feeling of weightless. Startled, I latch onto the closest thing I can find, which happens to be the front of Snape's robes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," he says smoothly. "You fell asleep and I was moving you to a more comfortable position."

I blush and release my grip on his robes. He lowers me onto a soft service, and judging by the emerald green canopy above us, it's his bed. I try not to focus on that as I curl up onto my side and look up at him. Snape sits on the edge of the bed, his hands folded nicely in his lap.

"Sorry for sleeping on you; I think the stress about Harry and my nerves over my exams has finally gotten to me."

He nods, his face expressionless. "I understand. Perhaps it would be best if you went back to sleep? It is our bodies' natural defense against stress." He stands and begins making his way to the door.

"Wait," I call out, sitting up. "Could you… could you stay with me?"

He turns to look back at me and I notice the guarded and confused look in his black eyes. I hold out my hand for him. "I know it's not decent, but please? I don't want to be alone right now. Because… I'm not just scared of Harry getting hurt or me failing my exams."

"And what else is troubling you?" he asks. He doesn't move any closer to me, but he doesn't back away either. I take it as a good sign.

"You."

"Me? You are afraid of me?"

I sigh and again hold out my hand for him. Slowly, he comes to me and sits down beside me, but he doesn't take my hand. Instead, I take his left hand in both of mine. I run my fingers over his skin, attempting to buy myself time before I say what has been clawing at my heart for the last few months. Snape's other hand covers mine to settle them and I look up to meet his black eyes.

"Why are you scared of me?"

"I am not scared of you," I whisper. "I'm scared of how you make me feel."

"Explain."

I take a shaky breath. "I know something is going to happen. Something big. And, I'm afraid of losing you. I'm afraid of losing this," I say motioning between us with our hands. "I'm afraid of you getting hurt because… because I think I love you."

Snape's face softens immensely, but he doesn't move to speak, for which I am grateful.

"I know we've never really talked about our feelings or anything," I say quickly, "and I by no means am expecting or asking you to tell me yours. I just wanted you to know. I said it, not so you would say it back, but because I needed to tell you. I love you."

"And that frightens you?"

I laugh weakly and look down at our hands. "I dated Ron over the summer. We seemed to fit so well together. And… I was certain that I loved him. When he broke it off with me and then started dating Lavender, it hurt so much." I pause to meet his eyes. "I don't think I loved Ron. At least, not half as much as I know I love you. And if he was able to hurt me as badly as he did without me loving him with my whole heart… I'm terrified of how badly you could hurt me."

Gently, Snape pulls his hands out of my grip. He cups my face as if I am fragile glass. His lips meet mine tentatively. Softly. Sweetly. He kisses me slowly and easily. My hands creep up to his chest and then his neck, our kiss still slow like a ball room dance. When he lowers me back onto the pillows, his lips do not leave mine. His body lies on top of mine, but I feel no pressure or weight.

His hands pull mine away from his neck. Our fingers lace together as he holds them down above my head, our kiss still calm. Snape pulls away to kiss my cheeks, my forehead, my nose. I slip my hands out of his grip when his lips return to mine. I find the top button of his robes and undo it. And then the next. And then the next. He doesn't stop me as I work my way down to the last button and then slide the fabric off of his shoulders. He removes it and tosses it to the floor before he kisses down my neck, leaving little love bites as he goes.

I find the buttons of the white undershirt he wears and begin undoing them in the same slow pace. Once they are done, I slip my hands inside to feel his skin. His skin is smooth beneath my fingers, except for the long scar that reaches from his hip to his shoulder. He doesn't protest when I pull the shirt completely off of him and throw it aside. My hands travel up his back to his hair, tangling in the black strands. As his lips kiss back up to my mouth, his right hand slides up my blouse before resting on the top button. When I don't push his hand away, he undoes the button and continues until they are all done.

I help him pull the shirt off me and shiver when his hands come in contact with my bare skin. He ghosts over every inch of me, but it isn't until I place his hands there does he finally touch my breasts. He pinches my nipples through the material of my bra and I moan into his mouth. When he does it a second time, my back arches toward him, giving him just enough access to unclasp my bra and toss it aside. For a moment, I blush, embarrassed by how intimate we have gotten.

"You are beautiful," he whispers in my ear, stopping me from covering myself. "We can stop if you want to." He doesn't kiss me or touch me in anyway when he gives me the offer to say 'no'. He in no way seduces or influences me, and I love him all the more for it.

"Please be gentle with me," I whisper back.

"Always," he promises.

His hands return to my breasts, pinching and pulling, making me wither beneath him. His mouth covers mine to muffle my moans, his tongue finally slipping inside to meet my own. As we kiss, his hands roam down to my skirt, slowly unzipping it and throwing it to the floor. Snape pulls his lips away from mine to kiss down my body. When he reaches my stomach he whispers something against my skin, causing my stomach to glow for a moment before returning to normal.

"What was that?" I ask, barely able to form words as he kisses down my legs to remove my shoes.

"Contraceptive spell," he says between kisses as he makes his way back up to my lips.

My hands find the buckle of his trousers and slowly I undo it and use my legs to push his pants down to his ankles. He kicks off the material, as well as his shoes and socks, leaving him in only his black boxers and me in my panties.

"Are you sure?" he asks again. "I will stop."

"Please don't."

"As you wish."

One of his hands hold both of mine down as he slips one hand into my underwear. I moan when he finds and strokes my clit in soft, smooth circles. One finger finds my entrance and slowly edges its way in. I groan at the feeling as he slowly stretches me, adding a second and eventually a third finger. My moans fill his room as his mouth latches onto to one of my nipples as he continues to pump his fingers in and out of me.

My hips buckle of their own accord and my back arches as a fire seems to be ignited in my very core. I can't think. Can't see. I can't do anything but feel. Suddenly the pressure reaches a breaking point and I let out a scream as I orgasm on Snape's fingers. His lips cover mine once more as he pulls his hand out of my panties and gently removes the soaking material from my body. A whispered spell against my lips cleans both me and his hand.

He kisses me softly, his tongue stroking mine slowly. He kisses me as if we have all the time in the world. I am vaguely aware of him removing his boxers and nudging my legs open with his knee so he is nestled between my legs. His hands pin mine to the bed and our fingers lace together as he breaks our kiss to rest his forehead against mine.

"This will hurt," he warns.

"I know."

He enters me slowly and I stare up at the emerald green canopy, begging my tears not to fall. Just when I think he can't possibly go any further, he snaps his hips against mine and is completely nestled inside of me. A sharp pain radiates through my body, and Snape just kisses away the tears that fall from my eyes, whispering sweet nothings in my ear as my body adjusts. He is patient and he is kind.

"Okay," I say after a moment. "I think I'm ready."

Snape's lips cover my own as he pulls out slowly and then returns just as slowly. With each measured thrust he makes, I feel the pain be replaced with a mounting pleasure, one unequalled to anything I've ever felt before. He continues with his frustratingly slow pace until I pull my lips from his and moan, "Faster."

He smiles as he complies with my command. My legs wrap around his hips as he begins to pump in and out of me, going faster with each thrust. My hips move to meet him with every plunge, my moans and cries of ecstasy echoing against the walls of his bedroom.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Don't stop, please, do not stop!" I cry as his thrusts become faster and harder, hitting a place so deep inside me, I didn't know it was there.

I can feel myself on the brink of something huge and wonderful and real. Snape moves until his mouth his near my ear before whispering the greatest words I have ever heard. "I love you, Hermione Granger."

My name said in the smooth, rich tones of his voice coupled with his whispered proclamation of his feelings sends me over the edge. My back arches and I scream out his name. He groans into my neck and I know he is coming to.

For a moment we lay in each other's arms, not moving, not speaking, just breathing and being. When he finally pulls out of me, I whimper at the loss. He smiles and kisses me. Slowly. Softly. Sweetly. His lips travel down to the spot where my neck and collarbone meet- the spot he knows I love. As he kisses me, he whispers an incantation that cleans us and the bed. He rolls onto his back and wraps me in his arms so my head rests on his chest before pulling the bed sheet up around us. I sigh contently and hug him tightly to me.

"That was amazing," I whisper against his chest and he laughs. I lose myself in the sound and vow to make him do it as much as possible, for I love the sound. "Is it always like that?"

"I suppose. It would depend on who you are being intimate with."

I tilt my head to look up at him. "Has it always been for you?"

Snape shifts uncomfortably beneath me and I sense I've asked a very personal question. "My first time… neither of us knew what we were doing," he says finally. "It was more to get it over with that to actually enjoy it."

"Why on earth would you do that?"

Snape sighs and readjusts our positions so we lay side by side. "We were being teased," he says finally. "My friends made fun of me; her friends bothered her. We agreed that we wanted to get it over with, so it might as well be with each other."

"When was this?"

"My seventh year. She was another Slytherin."

"What was her name?"

"No one you'd know; she died in the first Wizarding War. And no, she was not a Death Eater, since I know that was going to be your next question."

"Actually I was going to ask if you liked her," I say shyly.

"As a friend I had no problem with her, but if you are asking if we started seeing each other, the answer is no. She married a Ravenclaw a year after we graduated. I attended her wedding but did not see her again before her funeral, as unfortunate as that is."

I frown and move closer to him so I am once again locked in his embrace with his arms tight around me. I don't want him to remember anything sad. I want him to be happy. Desperately. He inhales deeply and exhales slowly before tilting my face up so he can kiss me.

I laugh into his kiss as he rolls on top of me, his hands pinning me down. He hums against my lips, seemly content just with kissing me. His tongue slips into my mouth when he lets my hands go free. I drag my nails down his back and he groans deep in his throat as he presses me further into the sheets.

My legs wrap tightly around him and I don't feel any pain when he enters me. He isn't gentle this time, but he isn't rough. He is somewhere in between. One of his hands come between us and he starts rubbing my clit and I scream. When his lips go to my neck and he bites down, I come. He powers through my orgasm, before he goes to build me up again. I feel the fire setting every nerve in my body ablaze. I begin to see stars and cry out.

"Severus!"

My voice calling his name is our undoing and we come together before he falls down on top of me, completely spent. I have to focus on my breathing before I am able to say, "Even better the second time."

He chuckles and gives me a wide smile- one I know the rest of the world will never have the privilege of seeing. It makes my heart melt and I pull his face toward mine so I can kiss him. Severus mumbles the spell to clean us once more and pulls me into his arms so he can kiss me better. Just when his tongue starts to dance with mine, someone begins to bang on his chamber door.

We share a look. Severus releases me from his embrace and grabs his wand from the bedside table. With a single wave, we are both dressed. He motions for me to stay in the room as he slips into the living room to open the door.

"Oh thank Merlin, Severus! Death Eaters have broken into the castle!" McGonagall cries. "We must protect the school! Come quickly!"

"Where is Albus?"

"He and Potter should be back in the Astronomy Tower but we can't get through the barrier to get to them! Not that I'm worried about Albus-"

"Go get the other professors and protect the students. I will try to get to Albus and Potter. The Death Eaters probably made it impossible to get pass the barrier without a Dark Mark. Go, quickly!"

When I hear McGonagall's retreating footsteps, I run from the room and into Severus's waiting arms. His lips crash down onto mine, his arms holding me tightly as he kisses me with everything he has.

"I love you," I say when we break away.

"Keep yourself safe," he growls before claiming my lips again.

And then suddenly he is gone, running through the corridors, his wand drawn. I take a deep breath and chase after him, but lose him in the fray. I send a prayer to every god I can think of for his safety, Harry's, Ron's, and Ginny's, just before a Death Eater spots me and I begin to duel.