A/n: I know there was a lot of confusion with the last chapter… but even though it may not seem like it, everything that has happened to Hermione thus far has been foreshadowed…just go back to previous chapters and you'll see… I want to thank all my reviewers u guys rock… and I hope you like this chapter.

The Holidays Part III

Draco Malfoy looked into the depths of the fire once more. He couldn't believe his eyes when he received the second letter that night. He had no chance to stop it from happening. He wanted to yes, but it was already too late. He knew that no one cared for him any longer. It was sad, he knew that he was merely a puppet.

His life could have been better, but he had to ruin it. He knew that this bout of self pity would have to end. What was done was done. There's no more time to stop the Dark Lord's plans. He raised the sleeve of his robes revealing the pale skin that would soon shine with the Dark Lord's Mark.

The air was pushing on him from all sides. He staggered along, he knew that she would have to be in the vicinity of where he was. He was pulled to this spot for a reason. He kept walking his cloak hovering above the frosted grown. He was afraid to call her name. He was afraid to see the state she was in.

The darkness surrounded him, he didn't know where to go. He didn't even know if he had overshot his destination. He moved along determined to find her. He saw a faint light ahead of him growing stronger as he drew near to it. He could feel his heart swell with joy that was too strong to be his own.

He came to a clearing, his eyes try to focus on the scene before him.

There she was, it has been so long since he had seen her. So many years wasted trying to find her and here she was right in front of him.

"Severus," She whispered. Her almond shaped eyes fixed on his. "You shouldn't have come here."

He stood there transfixed at what he saw.

"How…"

"That is not important; you need to leave this place."

"Not without Hermione," He said sternly. "Lily, you must understand."

"I do understand, you love her," She said smiling. "You love her because she reminds you so much of me. You instantly fell for her. I know how you are Severus no man of your caliber falls so hard and fast for a girl. You love her."

There was silence. She was right. Hermione did remind him of Lily, but Hermione wasn't Lily. Hermione did have some of her characteristics, but Hermione wasn't Lily. Was he really in love with Hermione, he didn't know.

"How did you come to her mind?" He asked curiously. His mind filled with her last statement.

"I'm just an imprint. She's been told so much about me from Harry that all my good deeds and actions left me here." She answered.

"So you don't remember anything about me and you?" He said inching closer to her. The silvery glow that she was giving off calmed him down.

"I only know what she knows about me." She said not moving from the spot.

"So how do you know that Hermione reminds me of you?" He said still inching forward.

"She has her suspicions." She replied smiling. "She is the brightest witch of her age, or so people say."

"Where is she?" Severus said looking around.

"I can't tell you. She must do this alone, if there is any interference it can do irreversible damage."

"Lily," He said raising his voice. "WHERE IS SHE?"

She wasn't moved by his change in demeanor. He had to get to her, he just had to. The cold wind slapped his face, his hands were freezing, and he wasn't leaving without her. That's when he heard it. He heard a cry out for help, it was soft and faint but he heard it.

"SEVERUS," Lily yelled but he didn't hear her. He walked right through her and she disappeared into a slivery mist. He ran to where he had heard the sounds. His footsteps slapped the ground as he ran, his robes billowed behind him.

"HERMIONE!" He yelled. He was vaguely aware of the glow of the silvery people as he ran.

That is when he had seen her. She was kneeling on the ground. Her clothes were badly torn, there were branches and leaves scattered throughout her wild and tangled hair.

"HERMIONE!" He bellowed once more. She turned to him a smile crossed her lips, her eyes rolled and she slowly fell forward on to the cold hard earth.

Ron banged on the Head Boy's door. He kept banging on it until his fist stung and blood trickled down from his knuckles.

"Ronald, don't do that." Luna cooed slightly. "At least it's with Harry and not somebody else."

"Luna, you don't understand, that's my little sister." Ron said staring at the door.

He gave it one more loud wack before he joined Luna on the couch. He surveyed the damage around the common room. There was garbage everywhere. Food littered the floor and the couches. Some of the chairs were overturned and ripped. Ron knew that the house elves would have a field day. Ron sighed and focused his attention to Luna.

"Ronald you bleeding," She said taking her hand in his.

Her soft delicate hands felt warm on his. She conjured up a damp cloth and blotted the cuts that bled slowly. He took in her delicate features from her long blonde hair which was now crimped in some ridiculous style for the occasion, to her fair skin that had a pink twinge from the alcohol.

"Luna," He said softly.

"It's ok Ronald," She said examining his hand. "It's ok, you're still in love with her. I understand."

"It's not that," He replied smiling moving his hand from hers. She looked up at him with her wide bright eyes. "Thank you."

He stroked her cheek with his uninjured hand. He cupped her chin and placed a kiss softly on her lips.

"HERMIONE?" He yelled looking at her fallen form. He ran over to her. It felt like it took him ages to get over there.

He rolled her body over and checked for a pulse, anything to show some sign of life. After he called her name what seemed like a million times she began to stir.

"Hermione?"

He looked down at her. Her clothes were damp with sweat. Her hands were scratched and scarred.

"Professor Snape?" She questioned softly. "Is it ok if I call you Severus?"

Snape smiled. "Of course," He replied in the same soft tone.

A maniacal laughter ranged in the air.

"I don't know how much longer I can hang on, Severus." A weak smile crossed her face.

"Don't say that," He whispered.

"She is coming for me now," Her body began to shake uncontrollably, her eyes rolled into her head.

Snape held on to her, he wanted to stop this. He wanted to stop her body from shaking, to save her from herself, to be the hero.

"Severus has decided to join the fun." The voice ranged out. "Oh Severus."

He cradled her in his arms even tighter.

"Leave him alone," She said softly.

Snape could feel his whole body go rigid. He could feel the warmth leaving his body. He still held her in his arms. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled. He looked down at Hermione and she looked past him, her eyes wide

"You came here for me, not him," She said in the same tone.

Snape looked behind him and was instantly thrown back away from Hermione. His back slid across the ground as he moaned out in pain. The figured appeared right next to him. It was a shadow of Hermione, there were no defining features but the bright flaming eyes.

"There's something different about you Severus," The figured whispered in his ear. "Something dark and evil that lies within you just ready to come out."

"Leave him alone!" Hermione screamed.

"Yes," the voice whispered. "Something different, something attractive, something… intoxicating"

Snape looked up at the star-less sky. He could feel his lungs struggle to take in air as his heart slowed. His hair was hard and plastered to his head. His breathing was irregular and shallow.

"Yessss," the voice hissed, "Something different."

The shadow and touched his face. His face began to burn under its pressure. The searing hot pain took his mind off of his limp rigid form. He tried not to wince in the pain.

"I SAID LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Hermione bellowed.

The shadow turned and looked away from Snape. There was Hermione standing looking at her shadowy counterpart.

"Seems like Hermione has grown a backbone," The voice said.

Hermione's eyes glowed bright silver. Her hair fanned out behind her. "GET HER!" She screamed in a voice not her own. Thousands of silvery figures charged the anti-Hermione. The anti-Hermione tried to disappear but it was overcome by these silvery figures. Snape watched in amazement as they followed Hermione's command and attacked. The imprints tour away at the soul of the anti-Hermione. He could hear her screams of anguish as they picked her apart.

While the shadowy figures attacked Hermione walked slowly over to him. He could feel his lungs fill with cold crisp air. His heart pounded fast in his chest as it pumped warm blood to every part of his body. His breath caught in his throat as he gasped for air.

Hermione finally reached him. Her eyes returned to her natural color and she laid down next to him. He could see Lily standing near by looking at the both of them.

"We did it," She whispered smiling.

"No, you did it." He replied.

He knew then that he loved her. He couldn't explain it with reasoning or elaboration. He knew that he just couldn't be apart from her. He grabbed her hand, it felt soft and warm in his.

"I love you," She said in the same tone. She moved closer to him

He just laid there. He didn't know if he could say it, not just yet. He knew if he threw the words in the air that he would regret it. He wanted to wait, he wanted to be sure of it. He could tell that she was waiting for him to say it back. He laid there in the uncomfortable silence. She broke the silence by placing her lips softly on his.

He soon felt the familiar darkness come over him.

Hermione could feel herself stirring. Her limbs were heavy with fatigue and her clothes were damp with sweat. Her heavy eyelids opened to the dim lighting of the fireplace. She was in a room she didn't recognize as her own. It took her a couple moments to realize where she was. She looked to Snape who was silently watching her.

She felt a sharp pain in her wrist and looked down to see what was causing the problem. She looked at her bound wrists. The ropes were pinching her skin.

"Hermione?" He said softly.

His hair was disheveled as though he ran his hand through it countless times.

"Severus?" She asked in a hoarse voice.

She was aware of everything hurting. He throat was raw and scratchy, her chest hurt with every intake of breath, and her limbs felt rubbery and numb.

With the flick of his wand the ropes disappeared into thin air. He flicked his wand once more and a tray of water and hot soup appeared on the nightstand next to her. She took the water and dranked it slowly.

He smiled. "I'm glad your back."

The remembrance of what she said popped into her head. The silence that filled the room was thick with tension.

"What hurts, are you bleeding?" He asked.

"Everything hurts," She replied. She took the hot soup from off the tray and began eating it slowly. Her eyes lingered on his but he shifted them away from her.

"I'm going to get something for that, just sit tight." He said backing out of the room.

Hermione lied there with her thoughts. Maybe it was too soon, maybe he didn't love her like she thought he did. She could feel her own heart breaking at these thoughts. What if he really didn't love her? Who was she to turn to now? Could he really ever love anyone? Her throat felt immensely better after eating the soup.

He came bustling back in with another tray filled with potions.

"You're going to have to take all of these." He said looking down at her. "Most of these will temporarily stop the pain. What you really need is rest."

"So that means I'm staying here?"

"Yes, for the time being." She moved over so that he could sit down next to her.

She began taking all of the potions.

"So why do you want me to stay here? Why not the hospital wing?" She said after a relatively thick and nasty potion.

"Well, I want to keep an eye on you." He replied handing over the next one.

There was silence as he handed over the next couple of potions.

"I can draw a bath for you if you want. I have a new potion that I want to try out."

"What kind of potion?" Hermione asked. She could feel herself getting better with each potion.

"It's something that I just put together," He replied his black eyes on hers. "It's a type of muscle relaxant. It should also help with the pain. I put it in ordinary bubble bath, so you don't have to drink it."

"That's great." Hermione took the next potion and sat up gingerly in bed. "But, I didn't bring any clothes."

"I got some for you, but I don't think I brought any night time things in my haste. I have some old things you could wear." He said handing over another potion.

"Alright," she replied.

Hermione could feel warmth spread through her like a warm breeze as she took the last potion. With another flick of his wand the potions disappeared, he also cleaned up her soup. Their conversation seemed a bit forced on Hermione's end. She didn't know what to say.

"What time is it?" She asked.

"Around three o'clock." He said.

He went to the door that led off to the side of his bedroom. Soon she could hear the water running.

Snape tested the running jets to make sure that they weren't too hot. He poured in the modified bubble bath and waited as his favorite scent filled the air of the bathroom. The large tub soon filled with bubbles and hot water.

He didn't know what to think. Those three little words rebounded back in forth in his mind. Did he love her? He knew that he wouldn't be able to avoid the question for long because she would soon say it again. He knew if he did love her, he wouldn't have to question whether or not he did.

He conjured up a towel and some of his old clothes. He turned to see Hermione standing in the doorway, her wand in hand looking around the large bathroom.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

"I feel a lot better thanks," She looked at the huge tub. "I'll only be a minute."

He walked to the door to leave but Hermione stopped him by grabbing his shirt. She placed her lips on top of his. Her lips felt warm on top of his. She pulled him closer into her running her hands in his hair. Their tongues danced as the steam from the bath warmed their faces. She pulled away from the kiss.

"Thank you," She whispered.

"For what?" He head himself say. He tried to catch his breath.

"For saving me." She smiled. She kissed him again and then kicked him out of the bathroom.

Draco Malfoy sweat covered face masked his own tears as he came to his climax. Her own screams echoed around his room. She clawed at his back and pulled his hair as he shuddered inside her. He didn't know what made the tears fall. Perhaps he knew that his life was over. The choices he would make now wouldn't matter any longer. He rolled off of her and turned away from her.

She tried to nibble on his ear but he pushed her away from him. He knew then that he had sanked to a new low.

Hermione's muscles relaxed instantly. The pain that once filled her body was now just a dull ache. She dipped her head back into the soothing warmth. She lathered up her body and washed the tiredness from her body. She was beginning to feel like the old Hermione. After another ten minutes she reluctantly got out of the large tub and dried her hair with her wand.

She looked through the clothes he had put out for her. She put on the pants and the button down shirt. The pants were a little too big and she knew the spell to shrink them to fit, but she decided against it. She just put on the white button down shirt. It fell below her waist. She soon made her way out of the bathroom, carrying the extra clothes with her.

She smelled the shirt and it smelled just like him which made her relax even more. He wasn't in the bedroom when she returned. She placed the clothes back into his wardrobe. She could hear him come up behind her. She turned around and there he was wearing pajama pants with no shirt. She looked in awe. She had never seen him with his shirt off. He didn't have a hard build like Draco Malfoy but he wasn't round either.

He drunk her in with his eyes looking from her bare legs to her breasts to her lips back to her eyes.

"The pants didn't fit?" He said smiling.

"No, they didn't" She replied.

He put a hand to her waist and kissed her neck.

"As much as I want you, I can't have you, not now." He said.

Hermione pouted her lower lip.

"Only because," He continued. "Your body is more tired than you think."

His hand roamed from her waist to the bottom of his shirt and underneath. His hand roamed over her bare bottom. He looked at her in surprise.

"I guess the underwear didn't fit either." He smiled.

She smiled and moved away from him towards the bed. He stood motionless on the spot.

"Aren't you going to join me?" She asked.

Hermione knew that he wasn't going to, but she could tease him. She knew that when he made up his mind, he made up his mind.

"I… can't," He said. She knew he was struggling with himself with that answer. "Just go to bed and relax. I'll be out in the study, call me if you need me."

"Alright," She replied getting underneath the covers.

Snape paced the floor of his study, his mind was on the delicate skin he had just touched. He wanted her and oh how she teased him. He couldn't take it any longer. The way his shirt fell onto her body, to her bushy but curly ringlets. He knew that he wouldn't be able to fight it any longer. He turned one of the couches into a bed.

"Merry Christmas," He said to no one in particular.

Hermione let the warmth of his covers surround her. She fell asleep almost instantly. But as quickly as that sleep had came she had woke up in pain. She cried out, it was worse than before. Her limbs felt like they were on fire. She called out for Snape. He appeared to her almost instantly with the various potions.

"Right on time," He said in a voice filled with sleep.

Hermione began taking all the potions again. Snape gave them to her in silence, fighting his own sleep deprivation.

"I think I would be better in the hospital wing, I mean, I don't want you to go through all of this trouble." Hermione said taking the next potion from him.

"It's no trouble at all." He replied.

They sat in silence. Hermione drunk one potion right after the other. The silence only filled her head with more un-answered questions. She had to say something.

"Did you love her?" She asked barely audible.

He paused while reaching for another potion.

"Excuse me?" He asked.

Hermione took a deep breath. "Did you love her?"

He was silent once more. He handed over the last potion. His eyes were glazed over and his eyes became darker than normal.

"You know what, just forget it." She said after drinking the last potion. She let her head fall softly back onto the pillow.

She didn't know what to think anymore. She was open with him, she really didn't know what he was afraid of, but she wasn't going to force it out of him either.

He took the last potion without looking at her and flicked his wand making the potions disappear. She closed her eyes expecting him to leave, but he walked around the bed. The mattress groaned under his weight as he put himself under the covers. Hermione turned to him, her eyes opened wide. His eyes caught her own.

"Yes, I was in love with Lily." He whispered. "We were actually both very in love."

"She loved you too?" Hermione asked. She could feel the closeness of his body even though they weren't touching. It was comforting all the same.

"Yes," He replied. "We got together sixth year, secretly of course. I didn't want anyone knowing that we were together only because of our respective houses. I respected her beauty and intellect and she respected my knowledge and self-consciousness.

"She of course was the only nice and kind person that I have ever met. Potter did the job of ruining my reputation and turning the whole school against me, he even turned some of my fellow Slytherins against me. In school I was a quiet boy, didn't like to talk to anyone, kept to myself mostly."

He took a deep steadying breath.

"It wasn't until we worked together in potions that she even took notice of me. She was curious as to how I knew certain tricks to different ingredients. I gave her a few tips. She didn't know that I had a huge liking for her, all the boys did, even Slytherins liked her. After working together we would acknowledge each other in the corridors, nothing big.

"It wasn't until one night right before Christmas holidays that we actually had the pleasure of exchanging conversation. I was in the library getting some books for reading over the holidays. I had planned to stay in my room and just read until the holidays were over. I guess she was doing the same because we held up Madame Pince after closing and she grew quiet angry with us."

Hermione had to laugh because she had done that on numerous occasions. He smiled back at her.

"I had decided then that since no one was around that I would try my luck. I helped carry some of her books and I walked her back to the Fat Lady. We talked mostly about school work. I nearly tripped over myself three times because I was paying more attention to her than walking. When we reached the Fat Lady, I asked her if she was staying over for the holidays and she said that she was, and I told her that I would see her around because I was staying, and that is how it started. Over the holidays we became more comfortable with one another. We used to just go outside in the bitter cold and read under the tree while watching the giant squid poke it's head up from time to time out of the black lake. If it was too cold we would find an empty classroom and talk for hours. As soon as the holidays were over we went our separate ways. We would send little notes to each other, but we wouldn't have chances to meet because of her prefect duties so we grew apart a little. It wasn't until spring holidays that we got a chance to see one another again. By then I already had the concept of the potion written down on paper."

"Wait," Hermione interrupted. "You worked with her on the potion."

"Yes," He continued, "The sole purpose of the potion is to go somewhere without really going anywhere. It was then that I could tell her that I really liked her. I really loved the time that we spent together. This night she kissed me and I knew that I needed to make this potion a reality. We really couldn't go on like this. Potter and Black would harass me to no end if they knew that Lily and I was an item, even more so since everyone knew that Potter had this thing for her.

"Those days we would meet in empty classrooms and just spend time together. It took a long time to collect the ingredients, since some weren't even common in this area. I didn't start brewing the potion until the end of summer holidays. Even over the holidays we would send letters to one another, counting down the days until we would see one another again.

"When we got back to school we started spending more and more time together. She soon decided not to care about what everyone else would say about us. You would find us talking in the corridors, sitting down next to each other in our advanced N.E.W.T. classes. The potion was almost completed when things began getting weird. I don't know what happened. Something must of happened because she wouldn't reply to the notes I would send her, she didn't meet me down at the library to study together, she wouldn't even sit next to me in class any longer. The potion was completed as is. The potion that you and I have taken in the past isn't the completed potion. I of course had to modify it to minimize the side-effects, but she was supposed to add a time-stopping mechanism to it, so it was as if no time would pass while we were under the potion's influence.

Hermione soon felt his hand grab for hers. He paused.

"On Christmas eve I found out that she had left me for Potter, and on this night I became a servant to the Dark Lord."

Hermione couldn't hide her reaction. She was shocked but that was followed by sadness and then guilt. She was saddened at the fact that Lily would just drop Severus like a bad habit. She felt guilty because she just had to know what happened between the two of them.

"I confronted her," Severus continued. "I just had to. I had told her that I loved her that she couldn't do this, but my words fell on deaf ears. I got a letter many weeks later with her saying that she loved me too at one point. That's all that it said. There was no explanation for her actions, and that was the end of it. A couple of years after we graduated, I saw in the prophet that she got married to Potter."

"I'm so sorry," Hermione said.

"Don't be," He replied kissing her nose. "That was then, this is now."

"Well what if I told you, that I wanted you," Hermione heard herself blurt out.

She didn't even know where that had come from. Maybe it was his story, maybe it was the fact that he could indeed love someone, but was just afraid of getting his heart broken again. He looked taken aback.

"Hermione, we can't, not now," He said his eyes wide with lust and shock.

Hermione moved in and kissed him softly on the lips.

"I want you right now." She said not removing her eyes from his. "Right now."

He moved into kiss her this time, taking her fully into his mouth. She took the hand that was in hers and put it between her legs. He moaned softly in her mouth as his fingers came into contact with her folds. He broke the kiss.

"Are you sure you want this?" He asked. His fingers were delicately massaging her.

"Yes," She moaned.

A/n: I had to end it here… I really did. I really wanted to have this finished by now but a huge case of writer's block prevented me from completing. It was sooo hard I would sit and look at my comp for hours on end. I know how it's going to end and I plan every chapter but I just couldn't write. You will see that this chapter is below my normal standard, but I really don't feel like doing a rewrite. The ending which I just finished isn't as bad as the middle. I just hope you guys like it. Have a happy new year everyone. My beta is over seas now and won't be back for a while so please excuse the horrendous mistakes. I can never check my own writing. Thanks for the awesome reviews!!! You guys ROCK

P.S. My break is going well just caught up on all my sleep, but I'm returning Tuesday to go back to my old job working at the bookstore. But I will def be writing until classes start which isn't until the second week of jan. expect a chapter up before then… byes…

As Always… Cherbi161