Thanks to all of you reading and reviewing. Sorry this is a shorter chapter than usual but it was taking me ages to write an update so I figured it best to just post what I had so far.

Disclaimer: Not mine

Chapter 26

As she made her way down to the bowels of the castle, Hermione couldn't help but think that the sky outside was getting darker and darker. At the last window she would pass on her journey she stopped to study the sky again. It really was getting blacker and blacker. It was only mid-day but yet looked more like late evening. She could only think this meant rain and a lot of it…at least she hoped it was only a lot of rain and nothing more sinister.

She pushed herself away from the window and carried on town towards Snape's quarters.

~0~0~0~0~

Snape didn't know whether he was incredibly furious or incredibly frustrated. He decided he could just be both. He had tried talking to him, but the elder Wizard was nothing more than a fool. He had begged him to reconsider, told him as usual he was expecting too much from him, but the headmasters mind was made up and Snape could do nothing to change it, all he could do was go along with what he had promised. Then to top matters off he had run into Potter, the reason he was in this whole mess in the first place.

He came out of his thoughts and looked up, feeling suddenly more annoyed than ever, when he heard a knock on his door. He stormed over to it, ready to yell at whoever was knocking. However when he opened the door and found Hermione standing there he decided against yelling at her.

"Come in." he said as he stormed back across the room.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked.

Part of him wanted to tell her, part of him wanted to spill all and get everything off his chest, but he knew he couldn't. Instead he walked over to her, reached up and softly ran his fingers through her hair before tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry, about the other day." he said to her.

"Forget about it." she told him deciding she didn't want to stay angry with him. A whole day had passed with them not talking after the row so it seemed best that they were now speaking again.

As if to prove she wasn't angry with him she reached up and held her hands over his which now cupped her face and then stepped up onto her tiptoes and kissed him. She found that straight away he kissed her back, quite hungrily so. She soon felt him move his hands away from her face only to wrap his arms around her waist. She allowed him to pull her body into his as he deepened the kiss.

Hermione had no problem with this. Her body was already aching from his touch and she wanted more. So when he took her hand and led her to his bedroom she went with him willingly, wanting what was about to happen as badly as he did.

The moment they were in his room Snape scooped her up into his arms and carried her over to his bed. Hermione noted how he wasted no time in undressing her, however, she only got round to pushing off his black robes and undoing his trousers before he climbed on top of her.

His mouth met hers in another hungry kiss. If she wasn't enjoying the moment so much she knew would ask him what was wrong. She unbuttoned his shirt and ran her hands over his chest. It didn't surprise her anymore how toned he was or how tempting his body was, it did still amaze her how easily he was able to make her body want him.

His kisses trailed across her jaw and down onto her throat making her moan as he hit a particular sensitive spot. She arched her back up pressing her bare breasts against his chest, this time making him moan. A moment later she felt him position himself between her legs, then as he kissed her he pushed into her.

Immediately Hermione felt herself falling over the edge and as Snape quickened his movements, pushing into her faster and deeper, she felt herself losing control. She reached her climax and cried out in pleasure. Just moments later Snape reached his climax, spilling his seed into her, moaning in pleasure.

He let his body rest on top of hers, ensuring all his weight wasn't crushing her. He rested his face against hers while they both fought to catch their breath.

~0~0~0~0~

"Where have you been?" Ron screeched at Hermione as she walked into the Gryffindor common room.

"In the library." she lied, knowing that even though that would be the first place he would expect her to be it was also the place where he would not go to find her. She couldn't exactly tell him she had just been with Snape having sex, he probably wouldn't believe her anyway.

"First Harry disappears and then you!" Ron said, still screeching.

"What do you mean, Harry's disappeared?" she asked, concerned.

"I mean he's gone, vanished, dis-a-peared! I've looked everywhere for him, all over the castle and the grounds! I've spoken to everyone, even the ruddy portraits, and no one's seen him!"

They were both distracted from their conversation as the portrait to the common room burst open. The corridor seemed to be filled with loud voices and Hermione was sure she heard crying too. It was Seamus who came running in. "Come quick!" he told them, his face much paler than it usually looked.

"What's going on?" Ron asked as he and Hermione walked over to him

"It's Dumbledore…" Seamus said, his voice quiet and sad, "He's been murdered!"

~0~0~0~0~

Hermione and Ron ran through the castle hand in hand, it was the only way they could stay together in the crowds. Ron was pushing his way through and dragging Hermione behind him through the hundreds of students and staff.

The crowds of people were making their way over to the astronomy tower. Hermione and Ron both had to comment on the sky above them as they followed the crowds, it was black, heavy clouds littered it as did the face of the Dark Lord himself.

"Ron, do you think Harry's okay?" Hermione cried above the noise of the crowds.

"We need to find him, surely he'll follow everyone else!" he said as they raced on.

"Ron, what if he's hurt?" Hermione asked.

Ron didn't get to answer her as they came to a stop at the front of the crowd. There, with Madame Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall standing beside him, lay the headmaster, dead. He lay perfectly still, only his hair and his beard blew in the soft breeze. The sounds of sobs seemed to be all around Hermione and Ron. Hermione turned into Ron and cried against his shoulder, all Ron cold do was wrap an arm around her in an attempt to comfort his friend.

A moment later the friends were both relieved to see Harry make his way over to Dumbledore, something was wrong with him, beside the fact that one of his favourite people in the world was now gone. They both promised to check on Harry after, but for now they joined in with everyone else around them in raising their wands up in the air.

~0~0~0~0~

Hermione was sat on the train heading home from Hogwarts. There was usually an excited buzz on the train journey home with students happy to be seeing their parents again and preparing for time off with no homework…but it was not like that today. Today the train was quiet. There were no students running up and down it taking the opportunity to cast a last few spells, there was no final Hogwarts chant's being sang, there wasn't even the same old lady with the sweet cart. Instead it was like a ghost train, taking everyone back home, to a uncertainty whether or not they would return to Hogwarts for the new school year.

Hermione was sat in a booth with Harry, Ron and Ginny. None of them had said more than three sentences on the journey so far. Mostly because for Ron, Harry and Hermione they knew next year they would not be returning to Hogwarts….they would be too busy finishing what Dumbledore had started.

As Hermione thought about the death of the headmaster she couldn't help but think about what Harry had told her, about who had been the one to kill the old Wizard. The thought brought fresh burning tears to her eyes. She had to quickly wipe them away but her tears didn't go unnoticed by the others. Ron who was sat beside her reached up and gave her shoulder a supportive squeeze. "Don't cry, Hermione, Dumbledore wouldn't want that."

"I know." Hermione said, suddenly feeling guilty that she wasn't crying over the death of the headmaster but rather her own foolishly broken heart. "I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse me." she said as she pushed herself up from her seat and stepped out into the corridor.

She wanted to go to the toilets and cry but upon realising the corridors of the train were completely deserted she broke down there and cried. She had truly fallen in love with Snape and he had turned out to be a cold blooded killer. She had never felt so foolish in her life and she vowed she would never again fall in love.

~0~0~0~0~

Two weeks later

Hermione woke up to the bright morning sunlight pouring in through the window and with the smell of Mrs Weasley's cooked breakfast wafting up through the house. There was no doubt the food smelt absolutely delicious but she was in no hurry to eat any of it. She had no appetite what-so-ever anymore, eating only ever made the empty sickening feeling in her stomach worse.

She didn't bother rolling over to face Ginny who lay in the bed next to hers. She knew her friend was awake but Hermione was in no mood for talking. She pretended to still be asleep as she listened to the youngest Weasley yawn and stretch.

"Hermione, I know you're awake. You've been awake all bloody night, tossing and turning and crying….again. Don't think I haven't heard you."

Hermione hesitated before she replied, "I was dreaming."

"Sure you were. You must have been having the same dream for the last two weeks." Ginny shot sarcastically at her. "Come on, let's go down for breakfast."

"I'm not hungry." Hermione told her as she pulled the blanket right up under her chin.

"Hermione, you have to eat. I know you're taking it hard about Dumbledore but he would want you to…."

"Ginny, just go downstairs and get your breakfast before it gets cold, will you!" Hermione snapped.

"You know mum will just send me back up to get you."

"Then tell her you tried now and that I'm not hungry."

"Fine. I'll bring you some toast up anyway." Ginny said before she disappeared out of the room.

Hermione could hear her speaking to Harry and Ron outside the bedroom, telling them that once more Hermione wasn't going to have breakfast, she heard their replies that were full of worry for her. She heard them wonder why she was taking Dumbledore's death so hard. If only they knew, she thought to herself as tears began to build in her eyes.

True, she was sad over Dumbledore. She had always liked and respected the man and she hated he had died but it wasn't the reason she didn't want to eat, it wasn't the reason she felt sick ninety eight per cent of the time, and it wasn't the reason she felt like someone had had ripped into her and pulled out part of her leaving a big gaping hole where feelings of love had once been.

Hermione hated that she was so broken down over Snape, so what she had fallen in love with him, but he was a cold blooded killer. He had been lying to her all along, using her all along. If she hadn't read about the curse and memorised its words and ways for herself she would have believed he had made it up just to use her for sex. It made her stomach turn to think she had even been used by him for sex just moments before he had gone off and killed Dumbledore.

The thought made her skin want to crawl right off of her body and the fact that she missed his touch and in some ways longed for him to hold her, longed to feel him tuck a stray strand of her hair behind her ear like he had done so often, made more tears spill down her cheeks and lying alone she lay there and cried.

TBC

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