Hello my dear readers!

It's been a long time, hasn't it? Sorry about that. Life got in the way big time. More below, as always. ;)

I was a bit reluctant to post it because this was my last completed buffer chapter, but I had an anonymous reviewer beg me and I felt bad. So here you all go!

This chapter is a bit steamy... Just a fair warning. Public reading is ill advised.

Chapter 54

"You know, we need to start planning my attempted demise with Draco soon," Hermione said casually, turning a page in her book. Behind her, Severus had just entered his rooms.

He paused, taking in the sight of her in her usual armchair, waiting for him. There was a fire crackling in the fireplace, filling the room with warmth. The light from the fire outlined her pert nose and dark hair with gold. There was a quiet beauty about the woman with the book in front of the fire, a beauty that was slightly spoiled by her words.

"Good evening, Hermione. How nice to see you here, Hermione. How was your day, Hermione?" he said sarcastically. "Can't we get the pleasantries out of the way before talking about plotting and attempted demises?" He shrugged off his robes, hanging them on a hook by the door. Impatiently, Severus, unbuttoned the cuffs of his white shirt and rolled them up on his arms.

Hermione rolled her eyes good heartedly. "Good evening, Severus. I let myself in, Severus. My day was long, Severus. Was that enough pleasantries for you?"

Severus came over, ducking down and brushing a kiss across her lips. "There we go," he said, taking his place in his armchair. "Fine. What about your attempted demise would you like to plan?"

Setting aside her book, Hermione stretched and yawned. "Not all of it, and not all right now. Just that I figured that the sooner we meet with Draco to plan the better. Also, I wouldn't mind some time off of classes to do work. I'm being swamped with reports now that everything is coming to me and not Dumbledore."

Severus frowned. "Is he putting too much on your shoulders?"

Hermione bit her lip. "Yes, but for good reason. He is slowly coming to realize that he will have to give up the running of the Order and so someone has to have all the information."

"And that someone needs to be you?" The harsh set of his mouth deepened. "I don't think –"

"He's right, I think," Hermione said quietly, looking at Severus with serious, dark eyes. "He's not going to give the running of the Order over to us. That would be foolish. And anyway, running organizations and managing politics isn't our favorite thing to do, nor is it one of your or my best talents. Leaving that to Kingsley or McGonagall or anyone else would be best. But what we can do is the information, Severus. That's the role we play in all of this. We are the counsel, the information, the people who aren't in the dark."

Severus ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. "I don't like it. I don't like you being perpetually exhausted."

He's worried about me, Hermione thought, smiling despite herself. "I'm taking care of myself, I promise, I'm just using the Time Turner more than I should, perhaps. It is tiring - no, that isn't the right word... it's draining in a different kind of way. Magically, I think, rather than physically. Or physically too. I don't know for sure - I just know that my body is telling me that perhaps I shouldn't use it as often as I do."

"Didn't you mention something about people the Ministry wanting that back?" asked Severus. "Didn't you crush all of them in your rampage through the Department of Mysteries last year?"

Hermione flapped a hand at him. "As far as they know, I returned it several days before the incident in the Department of Mysteries and it was crushed by complete accident. The only way they would catch me would be if they were monitoring temporal activity, and the wards on Hogwarts make that kind of difficult. There are so many magical artifacts here that mess with temporal and special magicks that they wouldn't notice little old me going back and forth for a few hours at a time."

"I remember one memorable incident with a Vanishing Cabinet last year," Severus remarked. "There was a member of the Slytherin Quidditch team who was trapped in one, and was spatially and perhaps temporally displaced for a while. When they got him out he was raving about deserts and dark magicks and goings on in Hogwarts."

Hermione shivered. "I don't like the thought of that kind of cabinet," she said. "I've done more than my fair share I feel of messing with time itself."

Severus met her eyes. "Yes, you have, haven't you?" he murmured. "At this rate I'm surprised you haven't gone half mad with it."

There was something about this creature before him who looked like a mere girl but held time in her hands and bent it to her will. There had always been something a little fey about Hermione to Severus, but it was especially evident now. He wondered if time and space bent around her like heat waves around metal on a July day.

"We could use the Time Turner for the attempted demise," suggested Hermione. "What were you thinking? A poisoning?"

Severus shook his head. "No, for two reasons. The first would be that no self respecting male pureblood would kill someone with a poison, and the second would be that I would be called upon to brew an antidote, and so it would be blamed on me if you survived."

"So an accident then?" asked Hermione. "Something very dramatic-"

"No, it needs to be subtle," Severus said, a tone of reprimand in his voice. "Think like a Slytherin."

Hermione frowned at him. "Ok. What are your ideas?"

There was a long moment of quiet as Severus drummed his fingers against the arm of his chair. "A dramatic poisoning," he announced.

Hermione glared at him good-naturedly, throwing up her hands. "What on earth are you talking about?"

A smile that was as crafty as it was wise slid onto Severus' face. "Say you are Draco. You want to avoid suspicion, so you automatically go for the opposite of what you would be expected to do. So you do a poisoning, to try to implicate a female, and then you make it dramatic so that people won't think it would be a Slytherin."

"So exactly what I said, then," Hermione said, a bit put out.

Severus shook his head. "No," he said. "It's completely different because it is for different meanings. Actions are colored by their intent, as you very well know. It is a different thing to poison just to kill and to poison to kill just to draw suspicion away from one's self."

Hermione sighed. "Fine. So how do I miraculously survive?"

Severus stroked his chin and thought about it for a long moment, before heaving a sigh. "We either need a dashing hero or for someone else to take the poison and for them to be saved."

"Well, let's figure out what this poison is going to be before we decided who it's going to be inflicted on," Hermione conceded, absentmindedly twirling a curl around her finger. "Any ideas there?"

"A few," admitted Severus. "But I would like to talk to Draco first. He might want some input into this decision making process. Give it his own personal touch, for authenticity. And if it is just him and I he can use the memories as fodder for fake memories for the Dark Lord to look through when he will undoubtedly do when punishing Draco for failing."

Hermione winced. "I had forgotten that Draco would be punished for failing." Her wince wasn't for Draco, but for the man in front of her who cared about him.

"He will not die because if it, which is less than could be said for you if you let him kill you, Hermione." There was no room for argument in Severus' tone. "Don't be ridiculous."

With a long groan, Hermione stood and promptly plopped down in Severus' lap. "Fine. Is there any other business talk we need to take care of tonight, or can I kiss you properly now?"

Severus made a show of thinking for a long minute, then leaned forward and caught her lips with his own.

The morning of her birthday, Hermione woke up to a rose in a glass vase on her bedside table. There was a note beside the rose that said simply, 8 o'clock. It was not signed, and it was not even the handwriting of her lover. He had taken appropriate precautions – had Lavender seen the rose or not for some reason, she would not have hesitated to read it in delight, and may have recognized the handwriting of her previous Potions professor and current Defense Professor. A fission of delight ran though Hermione's body. Oh, if only eight o'clock wasn't so far away.

She stretched and yawned, relishing the warmth of her bed for a moment longer before dragging herself out of bed. It was time to start her day.

It was a day just like any other apart from the small gifts from Ron and Harry, a handful of owls landing in her breakfast bearing gifts and cards, and a halfhearted round of the birthday song around a piece of pudding at the dinner table. It was a Thursday, after all, and there was still homework to do and Quidditch practice to go to.

Still, every spare moment she had, Hermione thought about the agreement she had made with Severus. It was her birthday – and they had decided to do something more on her birthday. The thought of more made her heart beat fast in her chest. She could hear his dastardly chuckle and his voice, smooth and silky and utterly damning saying "There are many things I'm planning on doing to you, Hermione. You'll just have to wait and see."

At five minutes to eight, Hermione slipped inside of the Defense Against the Dark Arts office and shut the door behind her. Her hair held a few slightly damp curls that had fallen from when she piled her hair on top her head for her bath, and her cheeks were flushed, from anticipation or from the heat of the bath she didn't know. Severus was grading papers at his desk, but he looked up when the door opened and shut without any visible movement.

Hermione took a breath, composed herself, and then lowered the spell that kept her hidden. "Hullo," she said in a soft voice.

Severus looked her up and down, running his eyes along her body. She had decided to dress simply, as she always had when going to see him. Black skirt that fell around her knees and a dark green button down blouse tucked in around her waist, showing how tiny it was. The color looked good on her, making her pale skin seem rich against the pink in her cheeks and her curls seem darker. He gave her the crooked smile that she had only seen him use between the two of them. "Hello, Hermione. Happy birthday."

She smiled back at him, taking a seat in front of his desk. "Thanks. Anything to re-"

"No," Severus said firmly. "No reports. It's a night just for us. Everything else can wait until tomorrow." In the vein of his words he laid down his quill and screwed the top on his bottle of bright red ink. He stood, stretched, and walked around the desk, holding out a hand to her. "Come with me."

Hermione took the hand, accepting the unnecessary help up. She was glad of it when he pulled her close to him, dipping his head to kiss her mouth gently. His lips merely brushed against hers, then he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth and suckled it for a moment before brushing the tip of his tongue against her sensitive flesh. It was, unfortunately, a short kiss, as he pulled away only a moment later.

"My rooms, shall we?" he whispered.

"We shall," Hermione replied, turning her head and rising on tiptoes to kiss the side of his neck.

When they were in his living room, Severus turned to Hermione. "Tea?" he asked. "You look… nervous."

Hermione flushed, and nodded. "Tea would be lovely."

Severus pulled her to him again, holding her tightly. "Nervous is not a problem, Hermione," he said quietly. "Only if it becomes fear."

Hermione nestled her head into his chest. "I'm not scared of you, Severus Snape," she said, an air of the playful in her voice. "Go make me tea!"

"You're bossy," he drawled. "You're lucky I like bossy."

"You hate bossy," Hermione reminded him. "It's not the bossy you like, it's me." She sat in her armchair, folding her legs neatly, and looked up at him with a trace of the smug in the tilt of her head.

Severus wrinkled his nose at her, in an unconscious approximation of the way she frequently did the same to him. "Hrumph. I concede you may actually be right."

Hermione smiled sweetly at him. "You know I am."

"I know nothing at all," Severus said blithely, turning his back and going into the kitchen. "In fact, I've forgotten what I'm even doing here."

Hermione laughed. "Making tea. Bloody hell, I forgot you actually had a sense of humor," she said, raising her voice so he could hear her from the kitchen.

"I have no such thing," Severus replied over the sound of running water. "I'm the black hearted bat of the dungeons, remember?"

Again, he drew a laugh from her. "You don't live in the dungeons anymore, Severus," Hermione called back. "You're a proper tower dweller now."

"Even more appropriate for a bat. Caffeine or no?" His voice was full of dry humor.

"Yes, caffeine, or else I'll fall asleep while I'm trying to snog you. Just a bit will keep me from falling on my face. It is a Thursday, you know." Hermione leaned back in her chair, turning her face into the worn leather and inhaling the smell of his quarters. She loved this chair and she loved that man and she loved that once again she was sitting in front of his fire waiting for him to come and talk with her.

Shortly he came with the tea tray, and it was no time at all before she had a steaming mug of tea in her hands. "How was your day?" he asked. "I trust your friends remembered this time?"

Hermione smiled at him. "They did indeed. I got some nice books. And Luna gave me a pair of radish earrings. I considered wearing them tonight just to show you."

Severus raised a thin brow. "Oh? And why didn't you?"

The answer was pure and simple vanity. Hermione touched the pearl at her throat. "They didn't go with the necklace," she declared. "And I like the necklace better."

Severus reached out and caressed her collarbone, gently brushing against the pearl. "It looks perfect on you," he said quietly. "But radish earring would look equally perfect." There was a rakish glint in his eyes, one that reminded her of Sirius Black in a sad way that twinged in a small spot in her chest.

"They would look equally odd," Hermione said tartly, taking his hand and pressing a kiss to the back of it.

Severus drew his hand away with an exaggerated sigh. "Watch me try to compliment you again."

"By saying something odd as Luna Lovegood could cook up would look lovely on me? You need to practice before trying to compliment me again," Hermione said with mock seriousness. "Honestly, Severus."

He chuckled. "Let's see," he said, drawing out the words. "Oh, Hermione, moon of my life, diamond of my eyes, fire of my heart-"

The string of ridiculous odes made Hermione double up with laughter. "Stop there," she ordered. "It all sounds so odd in your voice."

They were quiet for a few moments longer. "Did you like the rose?" Severus asked.

Hermione gave him a brilliant smile. "I loved it," she said. "Beautiful."

"I would say 'just like you, my dear,' but I fear you would only critique my complimenting skills," Severus said loftily.

Hermione reached out and took his hand. "It was sweet. Thank you."

As she had done, he raised her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. "You're welcome. Are you done with your tea?" He didn't relinquish her hand.

Hermione tipped the mug back, finishing the last few drops. "Yes," she said, setting the mug down on the side table. "Now. What did you have planned?"

The look her gave her made Hermione purse her lips. "I told you it was a surprise," said Severus teasingly.

"But it's time for the surprise, so it can't be a surprise anymore," Hermione protested.

Severus thought about it for a moment. "Very well." He stood, drawing her up with him. He kissed her sweetly for a long moment, then drew away to speak, his lips brushing against hers with every word. "If you are uncomfortable at any time, Hermione, tell me to stop and I will."

Hermione reached up and kissed him deeply. "I know you would," she said. "Thank you."

He returned the kiss lazily for a stretch of time, then drew away again. "Come with me," he said, walking toward the almost hidden door in the back wall. "Let's go somewhere… more comfortable."

Hermione's heart jumped to her throat. Yes, they had been intimate in his rooms before, but always in his living room, never in his bedroom. They had kissed on his bed in Headquarters, but that wasn't the same. She had only seen his bedroom a few times, always out of necessity.

This bedroom was decorated in muted colors, grey and dark blue and black. The bed was quite large, with sheets such a pale grey they were almost white and a fluffy comforter of dark blue and dark grey. There were more windows than his last set of rooms, more lamps, but Hermione hardly noticed. She was focused on the bed.

That was, she was focused on the bed until Severus drew her to the tall floor length mirror in one corner. He met her eyes in the mirror. "I think less clothes might be in order."

"I agree," Hermione said, struggling to keep her voice level.

His hand went to her hips, grasping them tightly over the soft fabric of her skirt. Achingly slowly, his hands rose to her waist, to the bottom of her rib cage, then slipped around to her front to gently palm her breasts. Even with the layers of her bra and her shirt between them, she swallowed hard and restrained a gasp. Severus ducked down, pressing a kiss to the side of her neck as he unbuttoned her shirt. Hermione hardly noticed it, her head falling back his continued his work. She noticed when the warmth of his front against her back moved away, as he stepped back to pull away her shirt. Briskly he folded it and set it on a chair, his eyes never leaving her reflection in the mirror.

He stepped closer again, his hands going to her skirt. He played with the skin just above the band of the skirt, kissing her neck and her shoulder. Hermione turned, capturing his lips with hers as he loosened the fastening and let her skirt pool at her feet. His hands roamed her bare skin, feeling the soft rise of her belly and the dip in of her waist and the flare of her hips. Fingers toyed with the top of her panties – lace, she remembered, bringing sudden heat to her face. White lace that very clearly showed the dark thatch of hair between her legs. Sensation was heightened terribly – she could hear his breathing and feel the press of the buttons of his shirt against her back and smell the aftershave he had used a few hours ago, given away by the smallest of rasps against her chin.

Severus' hands rose to her breasts again, squeezing them lightly through her bra. "Your breasts are magnificent," he said with a voice so rough it was almost a growl.

Hermione gasped slightly as he sucked the skin of her neck. "Now there's a good compliment," she said, arching her back. "You can take the bra off, if you like."

Severus looked up, his dark, hungry eyes meeting hers in the mirror. "I was planning to," he said in that same rough voice. He scooped her up suddenly, depositing her on the bed.

"You are wearing a lot of clothes," Hermione said, narrowing her eyes dangerously. "Off with them."

With a bow of a nod, Severus started to swiftly undo the buttons of his shirt, pulling it off with an easy grace that made Hermione jealous. Then came his trousers, and just like her, he was left in just his underwear. Black boxers, in this case, black boxers with the slightest of tents in them. Hermione felt the muscles of her abdomen tighten as she stared at the rise in his boxers. She hadn't felt it yet when he was pressed up against her, or if she had she hadn't noticed. She swallowed hard.

Severus followed her onto the bed, urging her back to lie on the pillows. He settled himself over her, kissing her fiercely. Oh, it was amazing to feel his back under her hands, to feel the weight of him on top of her, to feel that mysterious hardness pressing against her center so sweetly. Hermione didn't even notice when she moaned into his mouth, she only knew that this tongue was twining with hers and that while one hand was holding himself up so he didn't crush her, Severus' other hand was roaming from her hip to her waist and back again while his hips thrust into hers ever so slightly, a rocking motion so natural she suspected he didn't even notice he was doing it.

Somehow she lost her bra, and suddenly his mouth was suckling at one nipple and his wonderful, wonderful, devious fingers were twisting the other one. She was arching up into his mouth, making a keening sound that she didn't even hear. She felt so warm! Kissing him was wonderful and this felt charged, more electric than anything she had felt before. She was arching back up into him, angling her hips so that when he made those little rocking motions he was pressed up against her in the most amazing way –

And he pulled back, his eyes glittering dangerously.

"What?" she protested. "Come back here!"

Severus turned, sliding off the bed. "No," he called over his shoulder. "You haven't had your surprise yet." He padded into the adjoining bathroom, his erection pointing the way in front of him.

Hermione made a noise of protest, leaning against the pillows with a frown. "It's my birthday. I say more kissing."

Severus returned, holding an opaque flask. "And I said I had a surprise. While you're adorable when you pout, I doubt you'll be pouting after a nice long massage." He drew the words out, holding her eyes with his own.

At the word "massage," Hermione perked up considerably. "Well. That sounds… nice. Not as nice as snogging – "

"There can be more snogging," promised Severus. "After I give you a massage."

Hermione thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Alright. How do you want me?"

Severus eyes flickered over her body as he climbed back into the bed. "Six ways from Sunday. But on your front would work too."

Hermione flushed and complied, laying down with her breasts pressed against the coverlet. He straddled her, rubbing his erection into the swell of her bottom. "That's… lovely," he said, his voice low and throaty. "Just relax."

He poured the oil onto his hands, then slowly rubbed it into her flesh. It had only taken him an afternoon to brew, but it had come out perfectly. Her skin shone softly in the candlelight, her shoulder blades gilded gold and the shadows gentle. Severus loved the feeling of her skin under his hands, slick and smooth, and the sounds of her little moans as he rubbed a knot out of her shoulders. She was ticklish though – when he ran his thumbs up along either side of her spine from the small of her back, she squealed and bucked. His erection agreed with it much more than Severus had anticipated.

"You can't do that," he told her sternly. "Stay still."

"Mmmmm," she said in lazy agreement. "Whatever you say."

He moved from her back to her arms, rubbing the oil in with firm strokes until it was absorbed into her skin. Then her legs, starting at her feet and working his way up to her arse. He looked at that delicious swell of flesh for a long moment. Hermione had parted her legs for him to massage, and he could just see where her moisture had left a dark spot on her panties. He swallowed hard.

"Turn over," he said gruffly. "Now for your front."

This time he started with her abdomen, then up to her ribs, then up again to her wonderful breasts. He couldn't resist ducking his head down and taking one hard nipple into his mouth, sucking it hard for a moment before biting down gently. Hermione arched up, making a sound pleasure that went straight to his groin. Severus released the nipple, coating his hands again and rubbing her chest with the oil. Then up to her shoulders, then her neck, then a caress across her cheek.

"That was lovely, Severus," she said, her eyes opening slowly. They were lipid and dark, with her long lashes to frame them. Her mouth parted in a yawn. "Absolutely wonderful."

Severus smiled at her. "It isn't done yet," he told her. "There is still one part of you that I haven't touched." He met her eyes, then let his eyes trail down her chest and her belly until his gaze rested on her underwear. They were fancier than he had expected - lacy in the front, the white contrasting with her dark curls. They were more of a cream color along the crotch, which matched the bra that he had tossed onto the floor. Cream, except right at her center, where they had darkened from moisture.

When he looked at her face again, he knew that she had at least partially realized his intention. Her eyes were wide open now, the languid relaxation replaced with electricity. "Severus…" she said slowly.

He leaned over and kissed her, long and slow. Her chest pressed against his, her arms wound around her neck. Their tongues stroked each other, darting between lips and mouths. He pulled away, going to sit with his back to the headboard of his bed. "Do you trust me, Hermione?"

Hermione nodded. There a pit of excitement in her belly, a yearning for the carnal knowledge that his hands offered. There was little she wanted to think about besides his long fingers and his mouth and the clenching in her belly. "What – what do I do?"

Severus beckoned her closer. "Come here. Lean against me."

It was the work of a moment for her to do as he had asked. It was odd to sit against him in this way, as devoid of clothes as both of them were. She could feel the unnatural heat of the rod of his erection against her back. It felt thick and long and hard – Hermione clenched her muscles. There didn't seem to be enough room there for that –

"Relax," he murmured, his hair swinging forward and lightly brushing the side of her face. His hands ran up and down her sides. "Relax, my love."

Hermione leaned her head back, looking up at him. "Sorry. I got… nervous."

He leaned down and kissed her. "If you want to stop just say so," he said seriously. "This is for your pleasure, Hermione, and if it's not doing what it is supposed to do, then I can stop."

Hermione stretched up her neck, kissing him for a long moment. "I trust you," she said. "I'm just- new to this is all."

A smug smile slid across his face. "But I'm not. Let me show you, Hermione…"

His hands had come up to play with her breasts, cupping both of them at once and tugging at her nipples. One moved now, sliding across her belly, one finger dipping into her belly button. "Close your eyes," he instructed. "Just feel."

She could feel the steady warmth of his palms. Dear god his hands were so large. Her breasts fit so well into his hands, it was like they were made for each other. Each time he tugged at her nipple or gently squeezed it in between his thumb or forefinger, he drew a small sound from her and a twinge from that place deep inside of her that he seemed to know how to speak to so well.

Hermione could feel the hand that was on the tiny swell of her lower belly suddenly go lower, cup her mound over her panties. Oh, oh his hands were so large – oh, he was pressing down in a way that felt so, so good. Rubbing up and down, and each time he came up he brushed against that spot that felt so electric, the spot that sent a pulse of sensation to her core.

"Does this feel good?" he asked, his voice low and husky. "Talk to me, Hermione. Does this feel good? What about this?"

"Oh- yes – yes –it feels good," Hermione said, her voice breathy. "Oh – that feels good!"

She could hear the smile in his voice. His hand moved up, but before she could protest it was down again, but this time his hand was cupping her with no fabric in the way. "What about this, Hermione?"

Two fingers found the source of her wetness and trailed it up, brushing against her clitoris. "Yes," she said, her hands clenching at the sheets at her side.

"You're so wet for me, Hermione," he said, his voice low and coaxing. "You enjoyed your massage."

She didn't know which sensation to concentrate on, the way he was playing with her breasts or the way that he was stroking her folds. "Severus – oh, Severus, it's – oh!"

"I love your little sounds," he told her, pressing his thumb against the center of her pleasure. He slowly slid one finger inside of her as she keened. "So hot, so wet, so tight… you don't know how beautiful you look right now, my dear." Slowly he pumped one finger in and out.

"Do you think you could handle two fingers right now?" he asked. "How does this feel?"

Hermione gasped as he pinched her nipple. "I feel so full," she said. "But – I need more- " She could feel it rising like waves, rising high and flowing over her and receding again before crashing on the shore. She could feel her orgasm building, higher and higher, his fingers coaxing her to her peak.

Severus kissed the side of her neck, sucking hard. "Let's see," he said.

She was so tight around his one finger, but his fingers were slim other than at the knuckles. Carefully, bringing his other hand down to stroke her clit and distract her, Severus fit another finger inside, thrusting into her gently. "Look at that, darling," he told her. "You're so wet for me…"

He curled his fingers up, drawing a long moan from her. "Almost there?" he asked.

"Yes – oh – yes, please, Severus, please, just – there!" Her face and chest were flushed, her nipples hard. She arched against the hand in her panties, breathing hard, moving her hips in time with his hand. His cock was rock hard, aching, wishing it was inside of her warm tightness and not his fingers.

When Hermione came, clenching down on his fingers and shuddering in his arms, he did too, unable or unwilling to keep control at the sight of the woman he loved coming apart in his arms. She had thrown her head back, turning so that she could kiss his neck, sucking hard as her body reached it's peak and slowly came down. Still, Severus kept the presence of mind to keep moving his hand, elongating the aftershocks even as he rocked against her body.

She shuddered again, then brought a hand to his wrist. "I – that's good- "

He withdrew his fingers, then his hand from her underwear. His hand was slick with his juices – he could smell the scent of her, and it smelled so good. He hesitated, wanting to bring his hand to his mouth and taste her. But he could feel his own semen wet against his front and her back, so he grabbed his wand and cleaned both of them off with a quick spell.

Hermione had collapsed against him, her legs still spread open in front of her. The flush was receding from her chest, but there was still a dew of sweat on her forehead.

"You're beautiful," he told her. "You look beautiful when you come."

Hermione twisted in his arms to look up at him. "Thank you, Severus," she said, pulling him down for a deep kiss. The kiss was slow, sleepy, and sweet. "Thank you," she whispered again as she pulled away.

Severus moved down on the bed, laying down against the pillows and drawing her with him. "Happy Birthday," he wished her. "How do you feel?"

Her eyes shone with happiness. "Like I didn't know I could feel that good," she admitted. "For some reason it just isn't quite the same as doing it yourself. It's never – it's never been that big."

Severus chuckled, very visibly pleased with himself. "Wait until you experience multiple organisms. There are some blessings given exclusively to womankind after all."

The expression on her face made him laugh outright. "I think I might die if I put my body through more than one of those at a time… but it would be a good death." She shivered, and he ran his hands up and down her arms.

"You're cold," he remarked. "Get under the covers with me. Can you stay?"

Hermione crawled under the covers, curling up next to him. "It's a Thursday… but yes. With a Time Turner, so much is possible."

Severus sighed. "I get worried about you using that so much."

"I won't be using it forever," Hermione promised, kissing his chest. "But if I didn't use it now I'd get too tired to everything I need to do otherwise."

Something in his heart ached when she said that. Oh, how he just wanted her to be safe and happy and free from worry. Free from stress. "One day," he whispered, kissing the top of her forehead. "One day you won't have to use it and you won't be so tired."

She reached up and kissed him long and slow. "One day you won't be either," she whispered back. "I love you, Severus Snape."

Severus cupped her face. "You are my purpose now."

Hermione frowned at him. "You're supposed to say 'I love you too, Hermione.'"

He tiled his head to look at her. "I did."

They stayed like that for a moment, looking into the other's eyes. The room was darkened now, with the fire burned down the embers. They had a safety of a kind, there in the bed, under the covers, their naked legs intertwined. It seemed to strange to him that Hermione was now in the life he had led for the last twenty years, that life where everything seemed normal and safe until the moments when it wasn't. Here, in his bed, with Hermione, Severus could almost forget the Dark Mark on his arm, that he was beholden to two masters, that there was a war on the horizon.

But at the same time, when he looked at the slope of her nose and the shape of her mouth and into her large, intelligent eyes, he remembered it all. He remembered it because this woman in his arms was the reason he was confronting all of the awfulness with the cunning of a Slytherin instead of running headfirst into a suicide mission like a Gryffindor.

Hermione finally broke the silence. "I know. You don't have to say it every time, but sometimes, please?"

Severus pulled her back down to his chest. "I adore you."

He felt the warm breath of her sigh across his chest. "Try again, Severus."

"You are everything to me."

"I can tell you're smiling," Hermione warned him. "But I'm liking all the compliments."

Severus let out a low, sleepy chuckle. "Go to sleep, Hermione." With a wave of his hand, he extinguished all the lights in the room, sending them into darkness.

And so ends Chapter 54.

Hope that this was enough to tide you over until the next time! Severus and Hermione will be progressing quite slowly with sex, so don't worry too much.

So, for those who are interested in my life:

Things with my girlfriend are fantastic. We just passed month 5 and are ridiculously happy. I could gush, but it would just be embarrassing when I look back at this in the future. The only sad thing is that I am in Louisville for the summer and she is in Atlanta. We are both doing internships... she's working with refugees and I'm working with women and children. I'm not thrilled with my internship, but there are only 4 weeks left. And then I get to see her.

Where I am is super homophobic, though. After the Orlando shooting, things were rough. And the other day at work I was helping a woman for a few hours and then she decides to rant at me about how much she hates gay people. I almost burst into tears at my desk. I've dealt with casual racism before (I'm white passing but black and Asian) from people who didn't know I wasn't white, but this is the first time I've really dealt with vitriol so clearly directed at a part of my identity I'm still coming to terms with.

In all, life is okay but busy. This is my first time doing commuting and cooking and shopping and work and jesus I do not want to be an adult. This is why I am going to be in school for the next almost decade of my life.

Here is your excerpt:

Hermione sank back in her chair, mind racing. "Oh, that's brilliant," she said. "Severus, when will you teach me all of your tricks? Or are you planning on just surprising me when you feel like it for the rest of your life?"

Her lover just scowled in her direction. "I have my secrets and you can pry them from my cold dead hands."

The next update will be in a while, but please leave a review! I recognize a quite a few of you regulars by now and I just love hearing from everyone. Until next time!