AN: Thanks for all the reviews, for favoriting this, for putting me on alert, and for reading! It means a lot to me!

Still own nothing you'd recognize.

Hermione followed as Severus led the way to his home. "Just a few more doors down," he began, his voice betraying the excitement he felt. Damn, it would be good to sleep in his own bed tonight.

"Okay," she replied, basking in the glow of a wonderful evening. After they had finished packing, she'd shrunk her bags and put them in her pocket. Then Snape helped her check out and took her to a nearby Italian restaurant. They had spent the evening discussing everything from his adventures in Omaha to some odd cases she'd worked before his. He'd gotten a kick out of the robbery case where the culprit was an angry ex-girlfriend who wanted her poodle back.

Now they were standing before a three story red brick building with a sign on the front reading: Almost Atlanta Apothecary. She couldn't make out many of the details of the structure, but from what she could tell it was a very beautiful home. "Is this your house?" she asked.

"Yes," Snape answered. "The basement and the first floor are devoted to my business, but the second and third floors are my home."

"Oh," she answered as they walked to the door. "Was, was this always a house?"

"No," he replied. "This used to be office space, but when I moved here the company that built it was going out of business. I put together some of my funds and bought the structure. I redid the second and third floor to make it more like a home, and made the basement more suitable for a lab. It's served me well."

"It's very nice," Hermione answered as he began undoing the wards.

Snape nodded as he opened the door. Then, they heard a pop. They looked down and saw a wide eyed elf gasping. "M-master Snape?"

"Yes Filbert?" Snape asked.

He gasped again. "It is you! You've returned! You're back! Oh Filbert is so happy!"

"Indeed," Snape replied. "Please ask Amy and Sparky to fix up a room for my guest here."

The elf cocked his head a little and smiled when he saw Hermione. "The master's mate!" Filbert exclaimed.

Shit, Snape thought. I knew I shouldn't have let Lucius watch over this place. "No Filbert, she is my attorney and close friend."

"But Master Lucius…"

"Is very unreliable. Now go get the others and fix her up a room. Hermione, please hand him your bags," Snape replied.

"I really don't think that will be necessary," she began. "I can carry my own bags."

"No!" Filbert answered. "Filbert needs to help the Mistress! Filbert must carry bags!"

Merlin would he stop calling her mistress!

"I'm fine," Hermione began.

"Hermione, he'll beat himself if you don't let him take your bags. He's a little, well, overeager to help," Snape answered.

Sighing, Hermione complied with his request. Filbert smiled widely as he received the bags and yelled, "Amy! Sparky! The Master is home!"

Hermione giggled a little as she watched Filbert disappear. "He's adorable," she remarked as she entered the house and shut the door.

"Yes," Snape answered. "Would you like me to show you around?"

"Sure," she replied.

"Well," Snape began. "This is obviously the store. The shelves beside you hold the depression potion I developed, these hold the sleeping draughts, and these hold…"

Hermione listened as he pointed out the various features of the apothecary. Then he led her to the basement to tour his lab. Snape cringed when he saw the potions that had soured in his absence. Next came a tour of the second floor, which consisted of the kitchen, an extensive library and the living areas. They then reached the third floor.

"There are four spare bedrooms," Snape continued. "Two of them are set aside for Scorpius and Margarita since Draco will often let them spend the night here as a reward for good behavior. Apparently, they dislike the British winter as much I do."

Hermione chuckled. "I can't blame them."

He smiled. Before he could continue, Filbert yelled, "Master! We're done moving in the mistress' things."

Merlin would he stop calling her that! "Where?" he asked.

"In the bedroom across from yours!" he answered as he poked his head into the hallway."

Snape's heart stopped. Of all the rooms to put her in, it had to be the one where he could hear her wake in the morning and move about as she dressed… the one he could imagine opening at night to invite her into his arms.

Hermione gamely smiled through her growing anxiety. Sleeping across the hall from Snape would be hell. The one person she wanted and needed more than she'd imagined possible would be across the hall with his door closed not even giving her a second thought. She would remain his attorney, his friend while he remained her greatest temptation and perhaps her chance of salvation. It was enough to make her cry.

Filbert smiled as he watched their faces. Master Lucius had been correct; Master did like Hermione very much. Since it was Filbert's mission to make Master happy, he'd need to help Master see how much she wanted him, too. "Does Mistress need anything?" Filbert asked as innocently as he could.

"I could really just use a shower," she replied.

"Your room has its own shower and bathroom, but there's also a beautiful whirlpool tub adjacent to Master Snape's room!" Filbert began before Snape could stop him.

Snape suppressed a groan. "I don't want to intrude," Hermione began.

"You aren't!" Snape replied, too quickly for his own liking. "I mean, everyone loves that tub. Scorpius and Margarita fight over it all the time. I have no problem with your using it."

She smiled and nodded. "Thank you Severus."

Hermione slipped into her room and pulled out her fuzzy blue bathrobe as well as some hair care products. Snape patiently waited in the hall, then ushered her to the whirlpool room. "Just turn the knob to the left to turn it on. The further left it goes, the warmer the water is."

"Thank you," she replied, closing the door behind her.

When Snape heard Hermione turn on the water, he closed his bedroom door to the hall and dressed for bed in long black pajama pants and a gray nightshirt. When the water stopped, he heard Hermione begin to sing something. He smiled as he listened. She was nowhere near being on key, but something about her voice made it endearing nonetheless.

When the singing stopped, he listened to make sure she was okay. Then, he heard the water drain from the tub. Realizing she'd be out soon, he cracked open his bedroom door and fumbled around until he found an old Potions magazine. Though he'd read it a thousand times before, he held it up to him and tried to appear fascinated by the article. This worked until he realized he was reading his own article. Embarrassed, he flipped the pages until he heard the whirlpool door open. He looked up.

Hermione stepped out with her bathrobe wrapped around her and one of Snape's black towels turbaning her hair. He smiled in spite of himself. She looked in on him and blushed. "I'm sorry if I bothered you. I like to sing in the bathtub."

"It was quite an interesting performance. I wouldn't mind an encore," he answered.

She laughed as his smile widened. "You're the only one who's ever professed to enjoy my singing."

"It's very… interesting," he replied.

She laughed a little louder. "Thank you for not telling me to shut up."

"You were enchanting," he responded, wondering if a fuzzy blue robe had ever before looked that good.

"Is it okay if I borrow this towel?" Hermione asked, jolting him out of his thoughts. "I know it's a little late to ask…"

"No," Snape replied. "You may use whatever you need with the exception of the potion ingredients. I'd appreciate a warning if you decide to start brewing," he chuckled.

"Thank you," she answered in a soft voice. She gazed at Severus and admired how soft his features were when he wore gray. He seemed more inviting, yet in the shadows he still appeared mysterious. It was a dichotomy which simultaneously fascinated and frightened her.

"Can I do anything else for you to make you comfortable?" Snape asked.

Her thoughts returned to the present. "No. I think I'm going to bed for the night. Goodnight Severus."

"Goodnight Hermione," he answered.

He watched as she opened her door and entered her room. As expected, he heard the door click shut. Snape sighed as he glanced down at the journal. Though he tried to reread the article, it couldn't hold his interest. Frustrated, he threw the magazine onto the ground and grunted. Then, he heard a click and the creak of her door opening… to let in a little air? A little light? A little space?

He smiled. Then his thoughts drifted to a fantasy where he would enter her room and tell her exactly how much he'd come to care for her. He would tell her that he wanted to love her with no limits, no barriers, and no conditions.

Love? The word shook Severus to the core, yet that's exactly how he felt about her. He had loved her for almost a month, and was just now admitting it to himself. In spite of his best efforts, he had fallen in love with the woman across the hall.

He threw the covers over his head and groaned. Tonight was going to be a very long night.


Hermione sat in bed, staring at Severus' closed case file. Her mind wandered to the man across the hall. She wanted nothing more than to run and tell Severus that she loved him… to crawl onto his bed, kiss him as she had when he was in prison, and tell him exactly how she felt. Yes, Hermione Granger had finally found love, and she wanted nothing more than to share it with him.

Then she envisioned him kicking her out of his bed and out of his life. She'd be alone again, only this time with a heart shattered beyond repair. Severus would once again be imprisoned, this time with no hope of escape. No, she had to stay professional and platonic, no matter what her heart and body wanted.

She sighed and threw the covers over her body. Then, she stared at the open path to Severus' room.

Tonight was going to be a very long night.