A/N: Hey guys! Would you look at that I'm back again and it's only been a week :P really glad that you all enjoyed the last chapter! There were also some question/concerns about the status of the story so here some clarification: I know I've been writing this story for a long time and I've taken pretty big breaks from updating, but I have every intention of finishing this story no matter how long it will take me. There are still a few chapters to go, I want to wrap up the Ministry plot line for one before I give our heroes their well deserved HEA. I'm also indulging myself a little in just letting SSHG spend some time together before we move on with the plot, so at a guess we're going to hit at least 40 chapters. I hope this answers your questions!
It's also great to see that there is still more people starting to follow/favourite this story! Also to anyone who has been reading for any extended period of time - thank you so much for your patience.
Anyway I'm done now and will let you get on with it. Hope you enjoy this one and let me know what you think! xxx Note
They sat in silence and savoured their tea. "Now that we're actually sitting down to talk, I'm not actually sure where to start.", Hermione admitted after a moment, smiling ruefully.
Severus considered her for a long moment, hands wrapped around his tea cup. His legs were stretched out in front of him and he leaned back into the sofa appearing unusually relaxed.
Hermione sat in the corner with her legs curled underneath her, facing him.
"I would say that given the situation, it would be prudent to start with what is most important.", he said finally.
Hermione smirked at him. "Most importantly I would like to kiss you right now, but I'm going to assume you actually meant the bond."
He raised an eyebrow, his gaze heated. "My, my, Hermione, feeling flirtatious I see."
Fighting a loosing battle with the blush creeping up her cheeks, she held his gaze. "It has been a rather long time since we have been alone together."
"Indeed.", he replied, voice pitched to a low rumble and there was a pulse of something echoing in their bond, causing the air around them to thicken. "Unfortunately, that shall have to wait until later." He took a final sip of his tea and the moment was broken.
Hermione sighed, feeling a little bit warmer than she ought to. Anticipation about later quickly vanished when she considered the conversation at hand.
"We agreed this yesterday, I think, but just to be sure we're on the same page. We're really doing this?", she gestured vaguely between them. "This relationship, soul bond and all?"
Severus took a deep breath and met her gaze steadily. "I'm all in, Hermione. I told you before that I am serious about us. The bond does not change that, although it certainly confirms that this is not casual. In fact I don't think it would have formed in the first place if either of us had not wanted this relationship. Magic is all about intent after all."
Hermione swallowed, in an effort to counteract the rush of emotion she was experiencing. "I'm all in as well, in case you had any doubt. But if you say that you believe we were meant to be I'm going to have to check and make sure you're not an imposter.", she said, trying to keep her voice light.
Severus looked stunned for a moment, then let out a chuckle. "Don't worry, I wasn't. That being said, I think that our magic has bestowed us with an incredibly rare gift."
She nodded slowly and reached out to take his hand. "I was so scared that you wouldn't want this.", she admitted, staring intently at their intertwined fingers. "Despite what you said in your letter, with all the pain the bond was causing us, there were days when I was sure you would decide that I just wasn't worth all of that."
Severus leaned forward and gently grasped her chin with his free hand. "Did it ever occur to you that I might have thought something similar? That I was convinced that you would resent me for putting you through this and for abandoning you to Cruz?"
The same raw emotion she had seen in his eyes the night before was back again and she suddenly felt incredibly lucky that he trusted her enough to let his guard down so much. She smiled and tilted her head to press a kiss to his wrist. "It didn't, so point taken. I just… I never thought this year would be so rough, you know?"
She felt tears prickling in the corner of her eyes and bit her lip to stop them. No more crying.
"I missed you so much.", she added, staring into his dark eyes. Before she knew it, they were clinging to each other, arms wrapped tight and faces burrowed in shoulders. Severus shuddered, breathing deeply and even though she swore she wouldn't, Hermione felt a couple of tears soaking into his robes, overwhelmed by the sheer rush of relief that he was here and that they were together.
oxoxoxoxo
They detangled a little while later and rearranged on the couch so that Hermione was leaning comfortably against Severus. He wrapped his arms around her and burrowed his nose into her curls, inhaling her familiar scent and letting it soothe the ache of the past months.
"I guess given that we are in agreement about continuing our relationship, there isn't much else to do about the bond other than wait and see what happens.", Hermione said, pushing up the sleeve of her t-shirt and looking thoughtfully at her scar. It was no longer inflamed and looked more healed than it ever had. The cut bisecting it glinted silver in the dim light of the room. "I do hope it won't start hurting every time we can't be in the same place for a couple of days though."
"If you recall, it took several weeks before it began to hurt. And even if we are separated for a time for any reason, I imagine the fact that it will have been our choice and not something done by force will make a difference. And maybe once the bond strengthens this won't be an issue at all. There is very little research on these types of bonds given their rarity, but considering the type of magic involved I doubt it was meant to cause pain. More than likely it recognised you were in danger or it was a feedback loop of emotions that just amplified to the point of pain when we could not see each other."
Hermione hummed thoughtfully and cuddled back into him. "I guess we shall just have to do some of our own research whenever we get the chance."
Severus chuckled. "What was it you said before? You, me and the library?"
Hermione laughed. "Yes. Nothing can stop us if we work together."
His arm tightened around her.
"We'll just have to remember that when everyone else finds out about us.", she added with a sigh.
"Until the Ministry Ball, everything in the Prophet is just going to be pure speculation. And by the time they will see us there as a couple you will have finished your NEWT exams, so it won't matter so much. Anyway, people will always find something to be outraged about and I could not care less what any of them think. I'm more surprised that your friends never made a fuss."
Hermione shifted uncomfortably in his arms. "I think it's because there was so much going on with Cruz that they just wanted to support me. Ginny asked eventually, but I think Luna had a chat with her and made sure she wouldn't say anything hurtful. And Harry hasn't really had a chance."
Severus readjusted his seating position slightly. "I am glad they did not give you a hard time in the end."
Hermione leaned her head back against his shoulder and looked up at the ceiling. "I don't know if I could have taken their anger on top of everything else to be honest."
"And now? If anyone lashes out at the Ministry Ball?", Severus enquired softly.
"I don't care, I'm going with you. It's like you said, the most important people already know. And I feel much less fragile now, so there is a good chance I'll just give them a piece of my mind." Something occurred to her then and she froze. "Oh no. I'm technically still considered to be in need of a guardian. Uuuuggghhh I'm so sick of the Ministry!", she growled raking her hands through her hair violently. Magic sparked and Severus held her tighter.
"Hermione, it's all right. After the Cruz debacle they are not going to give you another guardian."
She shook her head desperately, feeling an overwhelming helplessness. Maybe if they could prove that Cruz had biased the CWWWV committee somehow, that they had made the wrong decision… but they hadn't listened before so why should they now?
Panicking, she struggled against Severus' embrace until he let her up and paced over to the window. Unseeing she stared out into the night, arms wrapped around herself, breathing much too fast. She couldn't do this again. If they tried to take everything away from her again, to tell her that even though Cruz was wrong they had clearly made the right decision…
Dimly she was aware of Severus standing behind her, even though he did not touch her.
"Breathe, carissimi.", he instructed gently. "In. Out. Empty your mind."
The familiar words helped her focus easily and her breathing evened out. Calmer now, she turned around to look at Severus. "It will just be the hearing all over again.", she whispered, but he was shaking his head.
"No, Hermione. They made a decision that day mostly based on accusations by someone who abducted and hurt you. They will have to reverse their decision, especially because you are their key witness against Cruz and your statement will have very little weight if they consider you still in need of a guardian. And just to be on the safe side you could always owl Potter and tell him to tell Kingsley that you will only give a statement and appear before the Wizengamot once they declare you to be of sound mind."
Hermione stared at him in disbelieve. It sounded so simple, but she supposed she finally had some leverage. "And I suppose if they refuse I could always ask Luna to print an interview with me in the Quibbler. That worked so well for Harry in our fifth year."
There was a glint in the Potions Masters eyes as he placed his hands on her waist and pulled her close. "Now you're thinking like a Slytherin."
She grinned up at him. "Better keep that a secret or the scandal will overshadow even our relationship."
He smirked and bent down to kiss her. Just before their lips met he murmured. "Good back up plan in case it all gets too much."
She grinned against his mouth and wrapped her arms around his neck. Even though they had exchanged kisses while she was in the Hospital Wing, this felt different. It had been several months since they had been alone and able to kiss like this and she greedily pressed herself against him. His arms tightened around her and she felt his tongue slide against her lips. She shivered and deepened the kiss. Her heart was pounding and she felt the echo of it through their bond.
Severus pushed her up against the wall next to the window and she let her hands gently explore downward along his chest. She could feel him melt against her in response and wrapped her arms around to allow her hands to roam over his back. When he moved to press open mouthed kisses along her neck, she thought she might disintegrate and so she held on to his hip with one hand and tangled the other one in his hair, losing herself in the sensations. Taking a deep breath Severus moved upwards again and pressed his forehead to hers. Hermione was delighted to find his face about as flushed as she felt and continued to graze her hands along his sides.
"Do you feel that?", he asked after a moment.
"Hm?"
"I…the bond. Can you feel it?"
Struggling to concentrate for a moment she found that the fuzzy feeling in her chest and the heat pooling in her stomach were accompanied by similar sensations in her arm.
"Yes. Is it…I guess it's sharing our emotions?", she managed.
He pulled away from her and took her wrist, pulling her arm towards him. Pushing up her t-shirt gently he considered her scar for a moment then ran his finger gently along the silvery line.
Her nerves exploded with pleasure and warmth and she let out an embarrassing noise somewhere between a moan and a whimper.
Opening her eyes, she found herself staring into Severus dark eyes. "That was…uhm…" He chuckled, a sound that was much more dark and sinful than usual and made her knees feel even more like jelly.
"I think if we touch there it might amplify or transmit what we are feeling.", he said. "Much more intensely than the kind of background noise I can sense normally anyway. I imagine you feel the same?"
She nodded. "That was a lot… though if that's what you were…", She swallowed, struggling to form coherent words, sensations still washing through her, even though he was no longer touching her scar.
"Here let me.", she managed eventually and began unbuttoning his cuff. She pushed up his sleeve to reveal the fading Dark Mark and with deliberate slowness she looked back up at him and dragged her finger gently along the cut bisecting the old branding. Severus moaned and his knees buckled, but he managed to put a hand out against the wall and hold himself upright.
Hermione was looking up at him with a combination of satisfaction and surprise and he couldn't help but smirk. "I suppose we shall have to be very careful with that.", he suggested and she grinned.
"I'm certainly curious what else we'll find out about this bond.", she admitted and raised herself on tiptoes to kiss him gently.
oxoxoxoxo
They found their way back to the couch eventually, skin tingling and lips slightly swollen. Hermione curled up against Severus contentedly and he gently buried his fingers in her hair to massage her scalp. It felt incredibly soothing.
"Do you think we could do some brewing tomorrow?", she asked and her fingers tingled at the thought of finally standing over a cauldron again.
"If you think you can restrain yourself to some simple healing potions?"
She sighed, knowing full well that doing anything more would do her more harm than good before her magic had recovered. "Cruz banned me from the Potions lab, so at this point I'd agree to make a cure for boils if it got me in front of a cauldron.", she admitted.
Severus felt a now familiar pang of anger at her words. "Is there anything that she didn't try to take from you?", he asked.
Hermione laughed bitterly. "Probably not. I'm so scared things will go wrong, but at the same time I can't wait to stand in front of the Wizengamot and tell them all of the reasons why she belongs in Azkaban."
Looking out the window, she noticed it had gotten dark. "Are you going back to teaching?"
Severus shrugged. "I spoke to Minerva, she thinks it would be best if I take leave until January. That way I'm well out of the way when you do your NEWT's so no-one can question your results and in the meantime I can catch up on all the necessary brewing."
Before she could say anything he caught her eye and smirked. "You may help when you are taking breaks, should you wish to."
"Of course I wish to!" Severus chuckled and pulled his disgruntled witch closer.
She huffed, but pressed a kiss to his cheek regardless. They sat for another while, watching as the sky grew ever darker outside, relishing in the sheer comfort of being in each others arms.
"I should go.", he said eventually and Hermione sighed, having begun to doze off.
"Stay." She looked up at him, eyes pleading and he could clearly read the fear of being alone again in her eyes. And at this point there was no real reason to refuse.
"Alright."
oxoxoxoxo
She woke in the morning to soft breathing and the feeling of a warm body pressed against her back. There was a gentle echo of contentment bleeding through their bond and she couldn't help but smile. For the first night in many months she could not remember having a single nightmare and she felt almost shockingly rested. The gentle morning light illuminated her face and she felt Severus tightening his arms around her.
"Morning.", he mumbled, pressing gentle kisses to her neck. Hermione hummed happily snuggling back into him. "Sleep well?", he inquired, voice husky from sleep.
"Very."
oxoxoxoxo
Sitting down to breakfast in her rooms with Severus, both of them still in their nightclothes, felt deliciously intimate. Hermione was wrapped in a fuzzy bathrobe, her hair messily piled on top of her head. Severus had wrapped himself in his cloak to ward off the usual Winter chill of the castle, but had not bothered to transfigure his pyjamas back to their normal dress shirt and pants state. He sat next to her in seemingly deep contemplation of his cup of coffee. Despite the fact that this had been definitely one of the most pleasant mornings of his life, he was not a morning person. (Most students would insist that Professor Snape was actually not an any time of day person.)
This suited Hermione just fine. While she had been an early riser for most of her life, she was very much against mindless prattle in general, but especially before she had eaten breakfast and planned out her day. Not that Severus engaged in mindless prattle, but nevertheless, a few moments of silence while she was drinking her tea and sorted her thoughts were appreciated.
This morning however, there was no day to plan and no thoughts to calm after a night of nightmares. Instead, she surreptitiously watched her partner and considered that Madam Pomfrey had done them a great service by allowing them to sequester away for the weekend.
"I know it won't make it any easier, but I'm glad that I get to wait another couple of days before facing the real world.", she said eventually, once she had finished her toast and Severus had emptied his coffee and refilled it while slowly eating a bowl of porridge with raspberries. He hummed in response and took a sip of coffee, before tilting his head in her direction.
"And how would you like to spent this borrowed time, carissimi?"
She smiled at him and reached out to tuck his hair behind his ear. "With you, ideally.", she admitted. Merlin, she was turning into such a sap.
He raised an eyebrow and caught her hand in his. "I would certainly hope so.", he drawled, then turned her hand and nudged her sleeve aside with his nose to press a kiss to her wrist.
She laughed at that and Severus felt his heart swell at the sound of it. It was a relief to see her so relaxed. "Well under normal circumstances I would need to study, but seeing as I've been expressly forbidden from doing so, I have an unprecedented amount of leisure time." She leaned forward to kiss him and he wrapped an arm around her waist. "I believe you promised me some brewing? Unless you don't feel like doing anything work related."
Severus buried a hand in her hair and reciprocated her kiss before responding. "Hmmm, no I have had much too much free time recently, it doesn't suit me." He trailed his lips along her jaw and nipped her earlobe gently, then whispered in her ear. "Although I can think of one or two things to do with my morning other than brew."
He pulled back a little and enjoyed the view, his witch breathless and with lips swollen from his kisses was a truly magnificent sight. A wicked expression crossed his face. "There is a muggle thriller I've been dying to read."
It took Hermione a full five seconds to process what he had just said, taking in the teasing glint in his eyes. Two could play this game. She pushed him back on the couch and slowly let her hand slide under his cloak and up the inside of his arm.
"Is that so? Are you sure there isn't anything more thrilling you might be interested in?", she questioned before ghosting her fingers ever so slightly over his bond scar. He hissed and pulled her down into a bruising kiss.
"Careful, witch.", he growled and Hermione grinned against his mouth.
"You're welcome to tease me, but know that I fight back."
He laughed at that and smiled up at her, his dark eyes glowing with joy. Hermione felt a rush of happiness echoing through the bond, her heart leaping in response. It was jarring to go from the abject misery of the last couple of weeks to this unadulterated joy between them, but she was going to hold on to it for as long as she could. This was what she had been craving all along. This was what was going to finally help her heal.
oxoxoxoxo
They made it down to the lab after lunch, having spent the morning enjoying each others company and talking about nothing and everything. Both of them were finding it difficult to keep their hands to themselves, desperately craving the others touch after their time apart.
Hermione was dimly aware that this was likely less to do with the bond and more with trauma response, but either way it was a good thing that they had the time to get it out of their system.
As they entered the potions lab, the familiar smell of herbs and ingredients enveloped them and Hermione took a deep breath. Severus could sense Hermione's relief clearly through their bond and felt a smile tug at his lips. He was glad to be giving her access to something she had so obviously missed.
With a flick of his wrist a long parchment appeared from thin air showing the list of potions needing to be restocked. Another twist and a number of potions were highlighted in green ink.
"As you might imagine there is a lot to restock after my absence, even though I was able to prepare the basics while I was away and owl them to Poppy. Feel free to brew any of the potions in green, they require a minimal amount of magic so you should be safe with those."
Hermione shot him a look that clearly said that she didn't need to be told which potions were safe but he ignored it.
"I need you to promise that you will stop immediately if you feel unwell. I do not want to explain to Poppy why you are back in the Hospital Wing already."
Hermione frowned at him and raised an eyebrow, mimicking his signature expression. "Only if you promise that you will trust that I know my limits and stop babysitting me."
Severus stared at her for a long moment then sighed and nodded. Sensing his concern she reached out and ran a hand down his arm. "I haven't felt this… calm and happy in a long time, Severus. Plus, I had an excellent night's sleep. And I tend to only be reckless with my health when I'm upset about something."
Remembering the night she had collapsed crying in his office, she swallowed and focused on the list of potions in front of her. There would be no thinking about sad things today.
Sensing her need to distract herself, Severus nodded and pressed a kiss to the top of her head before moving around to his brewing station. He had noticed throughout the morning that he was becoming quite adept at reading Hermione's emotions. She had always been a relatively open book to him, Gryffindor that she was, but now he had an actual sixth sense clueing him in to how she was feeling.
It felt almost like intuition most of the time, accompanied by the gentle hum of her presence. Only some few months ago knowing that she could sense the same things in return would have made him feel invaded and scared. Now it brought him a sense of peace and security that he had never expected. With the bond finally having a chance to grow, he knew that neither of them would ever have to worry about the others whereabouts again, never mind any other side effects that came with the slow joining of their souls.
Although he had to admit, that the actual joining of their souls was something that he had not quite come to terms with. Not that he didn't want it, but it was such a monumental piece of magic between two people who had only recently come to be in a relationship, that thinking about it too much intimidated him a little.
Glancing across at Hermione who was preparing her cauldron he couldn't help the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth once more. No matter how apprehensive he felt about the speed at which their relationship was moving, he couldn't have asked for a better partner to share this journey with.
Hermione for her part was barely aware of Severus's thoughtful mood. Instead she threw herself at the preparations for the simple healing potion she was starting off with. A sense of calm washed over her as soon as she began assembling and preparing the ingredients from memory. She had always enjoyed brewing, but before this year it had not brought her the same sense of focus and peace. Here, surrounded by thick walls of stone in a room filled with the steam given off by their respective cauldrons it felt as though everything was right in the world. She could leave all of her worries and her fears outside the door of the laboratory and focus solely on creating something beautiful.
A/N2: Holy crap, I just noticed that there are around 380 reviews now, thank you guys so much! 3 Since it's been quite a while, I'll do another one-shot as a price for the 400th review whenever that happens :)