He stands directly in front of the exit, his arms crossed, his eyes glaring. I hardened my heart. I refuse to let him hurt me anymore. I search for my wand, only to find my pockets empty. Snape clears his throat and I look up to find him twirling my wand between his fingers. The bastard must have taken it when he kidnapped me. When I lunge toward him to grab it, he easily moves out of the way and tucks my wand into his robes.

"Give me my wand."

"Why? So you can just hurt yourself when you fail to attack me? No, I shall hold on to it until you can learn to control yourself."

"What do you want?" I hiss.

"Your end of our bargain. I held up my terms, now it's your turn."

It takes me a moment to remember what I promised him. One hour of my time. A lot can happen in one hour. Ron and Harry could die if I don't get out there to help them. They may not find the Horcux before Voldemort. Someone I love and care about could die. I don't have time to deal with Snape.

"No," I snap.

Snape arches an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

I storm toward the door and shove him out of my way. He moves easily aside, letting me go to the door. When I attempt to grab the handle, an invisible wall stops me. The door is sealed and protected from me. I am trapped. With Snape. I turn toward him and glare at him.

"Let me go," I spit.

"Not a chance. You made a deal with me, Miss Granger. And I intend to collect what is mine. I will not lift my spell on the door until this hour is up."

"I hate you," I whisper, hoping that saying the words will make them true.

"I don't care."

Snape crosses the room to the work station that was once mine and pulls a vial of silvery liquid from his robes. He pours it into a silver plate and then glares at me until I walk to the other side of him. Curiosity wins and I look down. The image of a younger Snape swirls in the plate. I look up at him, determined to keep my eyes hard.

"Why the fuck should I watch your memories?"

"Because this is my hour, Miss Granger." His voice is low, dangerous and furious. His black eyes are narrowed to match my own, his nostrils flared and his hands tightly griping the desk. "You will do whatever I tell you to do until our time is up. This is what I want you to do. Now go."

I glance toward the door. I don't want to be here, alone with Snape. I want my wand, I want to leave and I want to fight.

"Do it, Miss Granger."

I meet his eyes again. I hate you, I think. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you. He arches an eyebrow, but says nothing. I look back at the Pensive between and see a flash of a young girl with red hair and green eyes. Lily? Harry's mom? I don't want to be curious, but I am. I don't look at Snape as I inhale deeply and plunge into his memories.

My heart lurches as I watch Snape and Lily become friends. He comforts her after her sister's taunts. He tells her about Hogwarts and magic and tells her she will be in Slytherin, just like him. I watch them ride the train together and find a new compartment after James and Sirius make fun of him. I climb the steps to the Sorting Hat with Severus and catch him watching Lily longingly as she talks with her new classmates in Gryffindor.

I watch them grow. I watch Snape cope with constantly being bullied by James and Sirius. I watch his love for Lily grow. I watch him grow interested in the Dark Arts. And I watch him lose Lily.

I watch him beg Dumbledore for Lily's life. Beg for her safety, even James's and Harry's safety. My heart shatters as I watch him a crumpled mess after Lily's death. I watch him make Dumbledore swear to never reveal his feelings for her as he promises to protect Harry.

I watch Harry grow through Snape's eyes and I understand why Snape hated him so much, even if I don't agree with it. I watch Snape protect us without us knowing. I watch him contain the curse to Dumbledore's hand. My hand flies to my mouth as Dumbledore orders him to be the one to kill him so Draco won't have to. I listen to Dumbledore as he explains Harry's connection to Voldemort. My stomach drops when Dumbledore says Harry must die and Voldemort must be the one to kill him. And I watch Snape kill the greatest wizard to ever live.

I watch him speak to Dumbledore's portrait, hatching plans to keep Harry safe. I see him give Mundungus Fletcher the Polyjuice potion idea so we could safely move Harry. I fly alongside him as he aims a curse to stop a Death Eater from killing Lupin and hits George instead.

And I see Snape cast a doe patronus to lead Harry to the Sword of Gryffindor.

When I emerge from his memories, I can't look at him. I keep my eyes focused on the work station. Snape doesn't speak. He waits until I finally have the courage to meet his eyes. He pulls another vial out of his robes, uncorks it and pours its contents down his throat. His posture becomes relax and his eyes go unfocused.

"What did you drink?" I ask softly.

"Veritaserum." His voice is low and completely monotone.

"Were the memories you showed me true and real?"

"Yes."

"Are you a Death Eater?"

"Only in name."

"Who are you loyal to?"

"Albus Dumbledore. I have been helping him destroy the Dark Lord since he threated Lily Potter and her family."

"Who else knows that you are a true member of the Order of Phoenix?"

"No one. Dumbledore and I agreed it was better no one else knew my true intentions. The less who knew the less likely the Dark Lord would question my loyalty." Snape isn't really looking at me. His black eyes are unfocused and hazy. He sways a little as he stands waiting for my next question.

"Have you ever or will you ever harm Harry intentionally or otherwise?"

"No, I never tried nor wanted to harm him in any way that could benefit the Dark Lord."

"How long until the potions wears off?"

"Now."

His voice returns to normal and his eyes snap to mine. He doesn't look so angry now, only tired. My arms are crossed against my chest as if a barrier between us. My heart is beating so quickly it might as well be on vibrate. I'm certain he can hear it.

We don't speak for a moment. How can we? For nearly a year I thought he was a Death Eater. I thought he was fighting against everything I stood for. I cursed him and tried to hate him, but now… now I discover he is perhaps the greatest fighter for the light we have.

"Do you still love her?" I ask. "Lily?"

Snape's black eyes appear to soften. "I will always love Lily Evans." He pauses and watches as my face falls. "But that does not mean I love you any less." He looks told the door and pulls out our wands. He places mine on the table between us and with a single wave of his, the barrier in front of the door burns brightly and then shatters. "Time is up, Miss Granger. Good bye."

He turns to leave and takes two steps.

"Wait!"

I quickly round the work station that separates us. I grab a hold of the front of his robes and pull him down to my height so I can kiss him. He doesn't move for a moment and then his arms wrap around my waist, crushing me to his chest. I wrap my arms around his neck and hook my legs around his hips. Snape moves until my back is pressed up against the stone wall to help hold me up. He pulls his lips from mine and starts to kiss down my neck before biting down at the junction between my neck and collarbone.

"I love you." I whisper the words, half hoping he doesn't hear.

His lips stop moving against my neck and he pulls away to look at me. The only sound in the room is our heavy breathing. My heart is pounding and if he can't hear it, he can definitely feel it. Then he is kissing me again. Fiercely. Hungrily. He devours my lips as he tells me he loves me. My hands rank through his hair, my legs tighten around his body. And then I'm tearing at his clothes.

I don't care about the war. I don't care about the fighting. All I know is I need him.

I am too aggressive in my clothes pulling and we end up crashing to the floor in a mess of fabric and limbs. Snape lets out a growl and pounces on top of me, successfully pinning me to the ground. He pulls my shirt over my head as I tear off his cloak. But removing our clothes this way proves to take too much time. Snape mumbles a spell against my mouth as he kisses me, and suddenly I find myself devoid of all clothes, pressed between the cold stone floor and the warmth of his body.

"Are you sure about this?" he asks as he kisses down my throat. "We haven't had a decent conversation in almost a year-"

His sentence ends in a hiss as I roll my hips against his. He retaliates by plunging into me. My back arches and I let out a loud moan. My legs wrap around his hips as his mouth once again claims mine to swallow my screams of pleasure.

We are not gentle. We are not sweet. This is fiery and dangerous and desperate. We have been without each other for far too long.

Snape draws my lower lip into his mouth and bites down as he thrusts as deeply as he can into me. My body explodes as the purest and most wonderful sensation over comes me. I cry out his name and roll my hips against his involuntarily. He buries his face into my neck and lets out a low moan as he freezes and comes.

We are a panting mess on the floor. Our limbs twisted together, our clothes nowhere in sight. After a moment of silence, I laugh. Severus pulls away to give me a strange look, but I don't care. I roll us over so I am laying on top of him and kiss him with everything I have.

"I love you," I say when I pull away. "I love you, Severus Snape."

"And I love you, Hermione Granger."

He sit ups so I fall into his lap and wraps his arms securely around my waist. I bury my head into his chest and breathe in his scent. If I were to have my way, I would never leave this position again. Hogwarts may be my home, but being in Severus's arms is my heaven.

"We can't afford to waste away in here," he murmurs into my hair.

"But it would be such a pleasant way to die."

Severus only snorts in response.

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I shut the door to Severus's labs behind me and hurry off down the corridor. I check the map between firing spells and when I don't see Ron or Harry's names, I assume they are still in the Room of Requirement. I don't waste any time as I bolt to the entrance.

The instant the door forms before me, I hurl it open. The room is a mess. Piles upon piles of useless and broken crap line the walls and are scattered throughout the room.

"Harry? Ron?"

"Hermione? Is that you? We're over here!"

I follow the sound of Harry's voice and find him and Ron deep within the room. "Have you found it yet?"

Harry shakes his head. "No, this place is a disaster! I came here last year to hide my potions book from Snape and it was just as bad then…" His voice trails off and suddenly he's running through the room. Ron and I chase after him and come to a halt when we find Harry next to a bust of a wizard wearing a wig and a tiara.

"I hid my book by this so I would be able to find it later," he says excitedly. "This is it!"

"Not so fast, Potter!"

We turn to find Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle glancing as us with their wands at the ready. Malfoy casts a disarming charm and Ravenclaw's diadem goes flying. I watch it fly through the air and land at the top of a pile of crap. Ron reacts first and fires a curse at Malfoy. I can see how baldy Malfoy wants to be anywhere but here, and am not surprised when he turns and runs once Harry and I join in. Ron chases after them as Harry starts to franticly climb the junk tower to retrieve the tiara.

The moment his hand grabs hold of it, Ron comes running back screaming about Crabbe and a fire. He grabs my hand and pulls me along with him. I turn and gasp when I see the Fiendfyre charging toward us. It curls around the junk as it transforms into a giant snake. I let out a screech when I turn back around to find it has already cut us off.

"Here!" Harry yells, throwing Ron and me brooms that Umbridge no doubt hid away in here two years ago. "Hermione, are you all right flying?"

"As opposed to burning alive?! Hell yes, I am okay with flying!"

We take to the air as the fire closes in around us. Ron points out the exit and we start to make our way there. Then we spot Malfoy and Goyle atop a massive tower of broken chairs.

"We can't just leave them!" Harry yells, circling back around for them.

"If we die for them, Harry, I'm going to kill you!" Ron screams.

Harry reaches out his arm Malfoy and pulls him onto his broom as Ron does the same for Goyle. I pivot my broom and race back toward the exit as the fire engulfs the chairs and the smoke begins to rise. I flick my wand to open the door and we tumble out into the hallway. I tuck and roll off my broom and pull the Basilisk fang from my bag. Harry tosses me the tiara and I stab it without a second thought. Ron grabs it and throws it back into the Room of Requirement just as the doors shut and before Voldemort's soul can retaliate.

"That was insane," I pant. "That was ridiculous. Oh, dear Merlin."

"Are you okay?"

Ron tries to comfort me, but I hastily brush his hand away. I'm going to have to deal with him sooner or later, but for now, I choose later.

Harry cries out in pain and clutches his scar. "He's pissed," he hisses out. "He is really fucking pissed."

"Where is he, Harry?" I ask. "We have to find the snake. Where is he?"

Harry closes his eyes and winces in pain. Ron and I are slient until Harry finally says, "The Shrieking Shack."