A/N: For those curious, my ultrasound was fantastic and we're having a little boy. Ryan Alexander. He was very shy, only sharing this fact for 30sec of the hour, but we're very happy he did. May the shopping commence!

Chapter Twenty Eight

"Are you ready then?"

The spring morning was chilly but clear with dew on the grass as she met her professor in the main hallway of Hogwarts. The students were mostly still sleeping this early on a Saturday, and the couple were hoping to escape the castle unnoticed.

"Yes, I'm ready," Hermione told him. She had dressed for the occasion in Muggle denims and an old sweater from Molly that was starting to run a little small so that if something happened to it, it would be no great loss. She had her old trainers on, and she had jars and bags in her pack with gloves, a trowel, and all manner of things they might need.

"Have you spoken with Harry?"

Suddenly, his shoe became very important. He paused for a moment before answering. "No."

Hermione sighed, exasperated. "Severus, if you don't talk to him before we leave, then there will be no way it will be willingly given. Come on, I'll go rouse him out of the dormitory."

He sheepishly followed her down the hall until they came upon a few third year girls in the hallway. Then, he straightened his posture, glaring down at the girls until they passed, as though Miss Granger were the one in trouble. After the girls were out of sight, she glared at him and his ego, and he resumed his previous slouch.

Waiting outside the portrait, he and the Fat Lady sized each other up as Hermione spoke the password and disappeared inside. She returned shortly with a sleepy Gryffindor still adjusting his glasses.

"What is this about, Herm-oh. Hello, Professor."

"Potter."

She gave them both a weary look as they just awkwardly stared at each other. With a roll of her eyes, it was obvious she was going to have to get them started. "Harry, Professor Snape has something he needs to talk with you about, okay? It's about the potion we discussed. Severus, I'll be down the hallway when you've finished."

She grabbed something out of the side of her bag and, quick as a flash, stabbed Harry's arm just below his elbow, before discreetly dropping her sample and the tool in a jar.

"OW! Hermione! That hurt!"

"Sorry, Harry."

"What are you doing? You took skin! Look at this!" he demanded, turning his arm over. "There's a chunk missing!"

"Don't worry about it. Severus, take your time."

And with that, she turned on her heel and left them. They would have to learn to speak to one another at some point, and that might as well be now.

As she strolled down the hall toward the main entrance, she noticed a familiar figure following her.

"What can I do for you, sir?"

"Ah, Miss Granger. Oh, nothing. I just thought I heard you and Severus pass this way, and I figured I'd seen how you were this morning."

Hermione smiled. "There is a much more interesting conversation happening in front of the Fat Lady."

"Oh?"

"Severus is talking to Harry."

"Is he now? That's wonderful!" the painted headmaster interrupted.

"Not exactly. He has to ask Harry if we can get a bone from his mother's grave."

"Oh, dear. Possibly not a conversation I want to listen in on. And why must you do this?"

Hermione continued her path down the hallway as she heard an indignant voice behind her yell, "What?" She cringed and told Dumbledore, "It's for a potion that will possibly weaken Voldemort. We're undoing what has been done, and I figured, under the circumstances, they had best talk to each other rather than through me."

She paused to listen, but no more hollering could be heard down the hallway. She figured Harry had calmed down now and was actually listening to what Severus was telling him.

"I believe you're right."

They both watched apprehensively as Snape came down the staircase, alone but unharmed. He held no expression on his face as he came up to Hermione.

"Shall we?"

"We shall. Good day, Headmaster," said Hermione.

"And to you both," the portrait replied and watched the young man and woman as they continued down the hall and out of the castle.

She waited until they had exited the front door and were heading across the large expanse of green- and brown-mottled lawn before inquiring. "Well?"

"We have his permission."

"And? You can't just leave it there. Did he seem okay with it? Was he angry? Was he upset with you?"

Snape sighed as he looked to her, a little out of place in the spring sunshine in his long black jacket and teaching robe. Hermione hoped he planned on stowing it away once they were out of view of the castle.

"He was…as to be expected. No. I suppose that isn't correct. He was as you expected. Better than I expected him to be."

"Straight answers, please."

He gave her a glare and strode along the grass towards the white tomb. "He was…obviously concerned when you first left. I explained to him the issue and informed him that he shouldn't be so surprised that this has come to pass. It seems all of this is formed around his mother," he said in a wry voice, causing Hermione to look at him questioningly, but she decided not to inquire. Perhaps he had thought about what she told him before. Maybe now he was finding a new definition for love, friendship, and acceptance.

"Potter," he continued, "conceded this fact. He informed me that whatever we needed to vanquish Voldemort was fine by him, and he thanked me for speaking with him."

As she often had to with Severus, she read between the lines. Harry had probably become emotional when speaking of his mother and her death. Hermione could also picture Harry honestly thanking Severus, showing him a side of the Potters he had not seen before. Harry was quite humble, all things considered, and perhaps Severus would now see that he had his mother's compassion. He just didn't take well to being bullied, as was what normally occurred between the two of them.

"Good. I'm glad you spoke with him. I'm sure it meant a lot."

He just grunted.

They approached the tomb with a sense of awe. Even though almost a year had passed, it was still surreal and in a way, magnificent. The solitary white tomb was adorned with no great statue or mausoleum. No wall or carpet of flowers could be seen. Merely a plaque with the name of its occupant and a short message, but still, Hermione could feel the tingle of magic as she approached, both from the protections cast and the inherent magic.

"Stay here," he told her. "I'll make it so you may enter."

Hermione stood where she was and watched as he demonstrated a rather elegant bit of foolish wand waving. He waved her over, and she noticed the tingle on her skin had diminished.

Severus moved aside and watched as she stepped onto the first step. He turned away, not wanting to witness the desecration of his mentor's body. He had done enough. Even if he was sure Albus wouldn't mind, he still felt wrong.

In fact, he had never been down here to the tomb. He had never paid his respects, and he had obviously not been present at the funeral.

Then he became aware of the noises behind him.

Amongst her groans, Hermione managed to spit out, "Severus…I need your help…it's…too heavy."

He looked over his shoulder to see her pressing with all her might against the large stone lid.

It hadn't given an inch.

He had forgotten that he had not removed the theft charm from the lid, which only allowed certain wizards entrance. With a sigh, he backed up, leaned against the corner with his rear, and pushed, moving aside the lid without having to look inside.

"It's okay," she said softly. "He's wrapped. Can you move it just a little more please?"

The top slid a few more inches.

"Thank you."

He heard her reach in and rustle around the fabric. After a deep sigh, she rooted around in her pack until she brought out the garden shears. Gently as she could, she stepped up to the edge.

She kept his face covered – some memories she didn't need – and brought out a white hand, very nearly perfectly preserved.

For some reason, that made her stomach churn more.

With a sickening slice, she chopped off a filet of flesh from Dumbledore's forearm. Lamenting that she had forgotten to put on gloves, she held it by two fingers while her other hand went back in her pack, digging for a jar or vial. Finding a large vial, she quickly stuffed the severed slice into it, capped it, tossed it into the bag, and ran toward the lake.

At the sound of her retreating footsteps, Severus turned to watch as Hermione fertilized the grass with her breakfast. She was holding her stomach and crying as he approached her with soft footsteps, letting her have her peace if she wanted, but supporting her with his presence.

After she was only dry heaving, she cast a discreet and nonverbal mouth cleansing charm and wiped her eyes on her robe sleeve, before turning to hug him. Severus gathered her close until her chest was no longer heaving and her tears had dried.

He had not realized how difficult this would be for her.

"Well," she said slightly shakily, "one down, one to go. I assume you know where we are going?"

He admired his brave little witch as she straightened her robes and grasped him around the waist. Silently, he Apparated them to the outskirts of a little cemetery in what Hermione assumed was Godric's Hollow. It appeared to be a small village. She could see a few two-story houses down the dirt lane, but she could only hear the birds and the rustle of the large trees shading the stones of the deceased.

"Just wait here," Hermione told him softly. She left him at the edge of the rows of tombs and wove her way to the headstones of her best friend's parents.

As she found the twin stones, so silent and proud, she knelt beside them with a few tears in her eyes.

"Hello," she whispered. "I'm Harry's friend, Hermione. I wish we could have met you both." She hesitated before continuing. "I'm sorry come here under such circumstances, but I'm afraid we need something from you, Mrs. Potter. We need to undo the potion that Voldemort created. He's back, you see, and Harry has to defeat him, and Professor Snape and I, well, Severus and I, we're trying to help him. Severus has helped him Harry's whole life," Hermione said as a tear streaked its way down her cheek. "I just wanted you to know that. He hasn't always been kind, but when Voldemort returned, Severus kept Harry safe.

"He turned, you know, to the side of the Light. To the Order. He's been spying for twenty years now. Only, he can't anymore, but that's okay, because we're getting close to defeating Voldemort. For good this time. Anyway," she continued in a shaky voice, "Harry has lots of friends, and he's ready for this. We…we need a bone from you, Mrs. Potter. We've talked to Harry about it and got his consent first. But…but I just wanted you to know. Why, I mean."

Hermione used a spell she had found in her research that slowly shifted the dirt off the coffin and into a pile as though tossed by a snow blower. In a few minutes' time, she could see the brown coffin lid. Soon she had enough room for her to slide down the dirt wall and stand next to the coffin.

Sardonically pleased that she had no stomach contents left, she tried to push from her mind what she was about to do.

This was going to be really unpleasant.

Holding her breath, she quickly lifted the lid. Inside, nestled in the white fabric, dressed in a yellow sundress, was a girl only a few years older than herself.

Lily Potter was also almost perfectly preserved.

Thankfully, in Hermione's twisted brain, she still at least looked deceased. She didn't think she could do it if some part of her was waiting for Harry's mum to open her eyes.

"Again, I'm really sorry for this."

Prepared this time, Hermione slid gloves on her hands and held a jar between her knees as she bent down. Grasping one of Lily's slender wrists, there was a soft crunch as she removed a pinky finger straight into the jar.

Hermione gently put the hand back in its place and took a morbid moment to study the woman's face.

"He loved you, you know, in his own way. I think the best he could then. He's moved on now, but it took a while. He and Harry are making amends now as well. We'll do our best to keep him safe, Mrs. Potter."

Hermione climbed out of the grave, feeling less ill this time but infinitely filthier. Making quick work of restoring the grave to order, she put the jar in her bag – not looking at it too closely – and slung the pack over a shoulder.

As she walked back toward the man wringing his hands as he paced impatiently, she looked over her shoulder to the headstones once more. "I'll do my best to keep him as well."

Walking a little straighter, she greeted her man by taking his hand. "Take me home?"

"Gladly." And he Apparated them both back to the castle.

~~HGSS~~

It was still early in the morning when they returned to the castle. Seeing no one, Snape quickly ushered them both down into the dungeon.

Back in his rooms, Hermione cast a Stasis spell on each container and placed the four specimens in a cupboard out of sight. Just putting them there had her shaking again.

The blood of Nagini. The flesh of Harry. The flesh of Dumbledore. The bone of Lily Potter.

They had enough for a trial run, and if needed, she would find Merope's grave as well.

Hermione thought about how long she had been dead.

She really didn't want to go to another grave.

Professor Snape came around the corner to see Hermione's last shudder as she shut the cupboard door.

Wobbling a little as she stood, she apologized. "It's just been a really rough morning. I'll go now, I suppose. I need to take a bath before I meet Filch for the day." She looked down at herself, for the first time really taking in her muddy denims and elbows. She imagined she had dirt on her face as well. Resigning herself, she said, "I just hope no one sees me."

Snape took in her truly haggard appearance and offered, "You may bathe here if you like…"

She jerked her eyes to his, and he worried the edges of his robe.

"Um, okay. That'd be great. If you don't mind."

"I don't mind."

"Do you have anything for, you know…" Hermione made a motion around her bushy curls.

He smirked at her in the way she loved. "I believe I can find something. If not, I'll brew it up while you bathe, and it will be completed before you finish."

"Thank you. My parents were always pretty strict on hygiene of teeth and hair. Speaking of…"

She walked to him, placing one hand on each side of his head. She stroked his cheek tentatively before loudly proclaiming, "Rectus!"

Suddenly, Snape's head burst into stars and felt as though she had cast Cruciatus on his face.

"What…the fuck…did you do?"

"Sorry," she said. "It doesn't usually hurt that much. You must've really had a lot to fix. Open up and let me see."

He didn't really open his mouth so much as he just stood gaping at her. "You fixed my teeth?" He tentatively bit down on the only slightly tender jaw. "My teeth?" he repeated. "For Circe's sake, Hermione, if you had a problem with my appearance, you could have just said something! I know I am not an attractive man. I never have been. I never will be. But I'm willing to try something if you just fucking ask! That's the only reason I tied back my hair! And it's not as if I say anything…now…about your imperfections! I've said nothing about your buck teeth or your vexing, vociferous, vast vibrissa or your…your…anything!"

"Are you quite finished?" she snapped.

He growled at her, trying to reign in his fury at her impertinence, clutching his fists hard.

"You are a stupid man sometimes. If I had a problem with your teeth, I would have done more than just straighten them! You look fine to me. I think you are very handsome. In fact, there are days in class I have to sit on my hands to stop myself from just reaching out and touching you, Severus." She stepped closer to him, bravely, and laid her hands against his chest. "Your left first molars and right lateral incisors didn't align. I simply fixed your malocclusion. Now, they will be easier to clean so you can keep them healthy. Also, I noticed you grind your teeth. Did your jaw hurt? I was wondering if you had a temporomandibular joint disorder. This should help that. Sorry I didn't do it sooner, but I just forgot. It's less likely you'll break a tooth now too. I hope you can forgive me."

Again she looked at him with her big brown eyes, and he released his tension. He worked his jaw a few times, feeling the strangeness that was his teeth. "Just say something next time."

"There had better not be a next time. I'm going to go run a bath, okay? You can get your revenge by brewing something for my, what did you call it? Vibrissa? I will have you know I was only a cat briefly, and my hair is in no way straight like whiskers!"

"Kia," he grumbled at her.

"Git!" she hollered back over her shoulder as she quickly jumped with a giggle to avoid the sparks he shot at her from the tip of his wand.

She poked her head into his bathroom with apprehension, an irrational part of waiting for the stroke of lightening. Hermione had never been in there outside of the once, when she had found out she was Ron's cousin. Well, second cousin. Still too close. And when she had been in there, she had obviously been too distracted to snoop.

Gaining confidence, she stepped inside. The interior looked like the other bathrooms in the school. Creamy marble tile greeted her, with a shower and commode to one side, a large garden-style tub to the other, and a single basin set into a large counter.

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

Hermione looked up to see the mirror speaking to her.

"My, you are a teeny thing aren't you? And filthy too. Well, get scrubbed up then. I'll be waiting here when you finish."

"Um, thank you," Hermione said.

After a moment, the mirror piped up again. "Well, get on with it then. I don't know about him, but I'm not going to bite you. I don't know how you found yourself in here, Missy, but you had better just get washed up then."

Chastised, Hermione began running the hot water.

As the tub filled, she took the opportunity to pick up the items on his counter. Everything was pretty typical and as she expected, right down to the handful of potions in unlabeled jars. She sniffed each in succession, identifying a few, such as his aftershave, but she was completely clueless as to the purpose of the others.

When the tub was filled, she gingerly stepped into the hot water and relaxed against the marble side. The tub was big enough that she could stretch out her legs completely. It didn't compare to the expanse of the prefect's bathroom, or the Head Girl's, but it was far more superior to what she had expected.

She grabbed his soap and began to wash away the dirt and the stress. As she bathed her arms, Hermione got a strong whiff of the scent.

She was going to be walking around the castle smelling of Severus. She almost mewled at the thought. Just washing herself with his soap between her legs, knowing where it had been, was an extreme turn on.

Soon, she found herself with shampoo in her hair, gently playing with her folds in Severus' giant bathtub. She flung a leg over the side and decided to indulge in the moment. She had had a horrific morning, and the afternoon was going to be spent with Filch. Sometimes, you just need to take a moment for yourself.

And what better place than in his tub?

Laying her head against the side, she slipped a finger into her warm wetness, different from the water around her. She breathed deeply, letting the scent of him surround her as she gently played with her opening. Another finger found the little bundle of nerves that always quickly made her come undone.

Biting her lip to keep quiet, only the slight slosh of water could be heard in the quiet space.

She imagined him coming into the bathroom, hair tied back, in his white shirt and trousers. He rolled up a sleeve and, without a word, slipped his hand in the water to replace her own. In her mind, thick fingers replaced slender ones, and she pictured herself being stretched. Hermione's stomach clenched, thinking of the look of concentration on his face.

Before long, she was grasping the outside of the tub with her free hand, her orgasm imminent.

She groaned and gasped, riding the wave of pleasure, trying in vain to keep quiet, feeling her body release her tension.

"Hermione?"

Hearing his voice in the middle of orgasm shot it up another notch, and she barely squeaked out, "Just a second!"

In a moment she lay in the water, knowing she looked like she had just run a race with her chest heaving and her cheeks flushed.

"What is it?" she asked with only a little tremor in her voice.

"I have the potion finished for your hair."

Well, wasn't he speedy? "Just come in, door is open."

Hermione watched, amused, as a little vial came floating through the crack in the door and into the room. "A little to the left," she told him, and the vial moved over in that direction. "Okay, now down. I'd rather not have to stand to reach it."

The vial wobbled a little as he must have had a mental image of a sudsy Hermione standing naked in his bathtub. She reached up and snatched it out of the air. "Thank you!" she said to the silent door. "I'll tell you how it goes."

The door slowly creaked shut.

She smiled and uncorked the vial. It smelled the same as her Muggle shampoo, that was thoughtful, and it was still warm. Washing herself as the potion worked in her hair, she was soon ready to drain the bath.

Reluctantly, she pulled the plug and dried off.

Standing in front of the mirror, she took his brush to comb her hair with a grimace. It was always difficult to comb her hair when it was wet, but surprisingly, the brush slid right through.

Well, she had fixed his teeth, and he had tamed her hair. It looked like they both had talents that would complement each other.

"Very nice, dear," said the mirror. "But what are you going to put on?"

Hermione looked around the room in a panic. She hadn't grabbed any other clothes! Putting on her old ones would defeat the purpose of the bath. There was only one thing left to do.

~~HGSS~~

Professor Snape sat with his feet reclined as he waited for Hermione to finish. She had taken an awfully long time after pulling the plug. He wondered if something was amiss. He heard the door creak open slowly and softly shut behind her. Turning his head, his heart stopped.

Hermione was nervously standing just in front of the door in nothing but one of his white shirts, which mercifully hung to her mid-thigh.

The sight of her rendered him speechless, breathless, and brainless.

She must have taken his reaction for anger as she quickly apologized. "I'm sorry. I-I just didn't have anything clean, and I needed something. I figured it was better than a towel for now, and I would transfigure it long enough to get back up to my dorm if that's okay, or you could ask Dobby to get my clothes."

"No, no, Hermione. That's fine. You look…fine. I don't mind." Hoping he wasn't as painfully obvious to her as he was to himself, he walked to her and gave her a reassuring kiss. "You look very nice in my shirt," he told her with his voice husky.

"Maybe I'll have to wear it more often. You certainly seem to…like it," she told him, pressing herself closer to him, feeling his erection against her stomach. "But for now, I really have to go. I don't want to keep Mr. Filch waiting. Could you call an elf?"

Hermione wasn't sure of all the wizarding etiquette, but she knew it was bad manners to call a house elf into someone else's home without permission.

The house elf was called and accepted her request for clean clothes, while the couple chatted and waited. Soon he was back, and Hermione stepped into the bathroom to quickly change, neatly hanging his shirt back up.

Hermione bade Severus goodbye and ran up to her quarters.

She ran back down the stairs after leaving her bag in her room and waving to her friends. Spotting Filch in the main corridor, she greeted him. "Good afternoon, Mr. Filch. I've brought you something." She handed him the jar she was carrying.

Filch took it from her warily, clearly not trusting the contents. "And what am I supposed to do with this, Missy?"

"Well," Hermione said, more than a bit uncertain she had made the right decision, "I know you're a Squib." She saw him flinch and quickly amended, "but my dad was a Squib too. So, since you can't use magic to stop students who are running away from you in the hallway, I got these from the Weasleys' joke shop. It works like human fly paper. Just toss one in front of the students, and it will make a puddle of goo across the hallway, trapping them. I just thought it might be useful."

Filch held the jar now like it was gold, clutching it fiercely to his chest. He regarded Hermione with a more appraising and respectful look. "You and I may get along just fine."

She gave him a wicked grin. "That's what I was hoping." Normally she didn't approve of bribing superiors, but it was going to be beneficial to be on the caretaker's good side.

And this was a humane way for him to stop students, unlike some of the other suggestions he had made through her career here.

"I hear you are friends with Professor Snape?"

He nodded at her. "There's a man who knows how to punish!" he said vehemently.

She smiled. "I'm a friend of his too."

Now Filch really regarded the young Gryffindor with narrow eyes. "Perhaps I'll show you more than the usual secret passages."

"I'd like that," she told him honestly. As a teacher, she needed to know more than the students, and as a friend to both Ron and Harry, she knew exactly what kind of trouble they could get into.

She spent a few hours following Filch around the castle. The inside of his office was startling with all the records he kept, and she had to resist offering to organize it for him. She would be in there for years.

The levels of the castle were daunting. She realized there were entire towers she had never even been in before. Several of the passages led to nowhere significant, but a few led to places like the kitchens, the Quidditch pitch, or were just shortcuts between corridors.

Hermione remembered Ron and Harry complaining about how Professor Snape seemed to be everywhere, looking down his impressive nose at them from the middle of any given hallway. She wondered what they would do to have her new knowledge.

They had called her Kia before; just wait until they learned all she knew now.

If she even told them.

Which she probably wouldn't.

She was a little disturbed by Filch's comments about the different places to hide bodies in the abandoned hallways, but she tried to keep her eyes open for new knowledge should the castle be under siege in the future.

By the time she made it back up to her dorm that evening, dusk was settling, and she felt exhausted.

Her group of friends was with Neville and Luna around the fire discussing plans for after graduation.

After graduation. That was looming near, wasn't it? It was odd for her, not having the anxiety that many students did. She already knew where she was working, where she was living…and maybe who she was going to spend her life with.

Maybe. It was still much too early for that conversation.

Neville was telling them that he and Luna were planning on going on a safari. "She thinks she knows where to find Barnacle Trees, and I can help her search for Blibbering Humdingers and nargles."

"That sounds wonderful, Neville. I'm sure you both will have a great time."

Before long, Hermione was nodding against the chair, lulled to sleep by the buzz of conversation and the warmth of the flames. Ginny gently nudged her, and Hermione said her goodnights and went up the staircase to bed.

Sometimes, on nights like this, she missed her chess set, but she had a feeling Severus was enjoying it. She had forgotten to ask how he liked her musical selection the other night, but now it would have to wait. Reminding herself to owl Filch and set up a time to learn about the portraits in the castle as well, Hermione was almost asleep by the time she laid down.

Teaser: He didn't answer but watched in shock as she began to unbutton his fly.