Summary: Hermione discusses Horcruxes with Severus

A/N: Thanks for reading! We finally get some more Severus in this chapter. :)

Chapter 7

Hermione opened her eyes, and Severus was standing before her. She hesitated but Severus came up to her and embraced her, squeezing her to him. Her arms came up and embraced him as well. She pulled her head back, only to find Severus' lips upon hers. Why did he have to be so sexy all the time? She had to ask him a serious question, and she didn't want to be distracted.

Yet he kept on… caressing her mouth with his. She opened up to him, and his tongue tangled with hers. She felt a thrill go through her body as they continued to kiss one another passionately. Merlin, this man was amazing.

At long last, they pulled away from one another. Severus smirked at her as she smoothed herself out.

"I missed you," he said.

Hermione bit her bottom lip. "I need to ask you something. Severus."

She looked around and noted they were in Professor Sprout's greenhouse that harbored roses within it. There were roses of every color: hundreds of them. There was a bench in the center of it where people could sit and admire the beauty of the colorful flowers around them. Severus led her there and they sat down.

"What do you want to know?" Severus asked her before kissing her neck.

Hermione huffed. "Not right now, Severus! This is serious," she said tersely.

Severus pulled back and sobered. "Go ahead."

Hermione bit her lower lip again. She looked at Severus sternly and blurted out her question. "Did you ever create a Horcrux?" she asked while giving Severus an accusatory glare.

Severus' eyebrows knit together, and he gave Hermione a caustic look. "Who do you think I am, Hermione?"

"Please, just answer the question." She eyed him before looking away at some pink roses, trying to not cringe.

Severus got up from the bench and glared down at her. "You think I was killing people willy-nilly and could create such an evil item? Or do you think I did it to Dumbledore?"

He bent low and got into her face. "How dare you! Do you not know me at all?"

"I didn't think you had…"

"Yes, you did. I don't even know where this comes from, Hermione, but you definitely did, or you'd have never asked the question in the first place."

"I'm sorry, I just need to know because…"

"Go back to your bed, woman. I have nothing more to say to you!"

Severus backed off and stormed out of the greenhouse. Hermione burst from the bench and followed him.

"Wait, Severus… please!"

He wheeled around and looked at her with a sneer. "You think that's how I'm going to come back, right? That I killed someone and used their life force to make a Horcrux? How dare you accuse me of such evil. I would never… have never even thought of doing such a thing."

"I'm sorry. Please, Severus, let me explain!"

She reached out to grab his arm, but he pulled it from her grasp.

"Get out of my sight."

He Disapparated then, leaving her alone in front of the greenhouse. She sunk to the ground as she fought back tears. Why had she questioned him like that? What was wrong with her?

Her eyes opened and she found herself back in her bed where Severus had banished her. Hot tears fell down her cheeks. She didn't know how to fix this. She'd made a terrible error, and she didn't know what to do to make it better. She had to talk to him, but she didn't know how to get back into her dream. She knew she couldn't go back to sleep now; she was too distraught, but she had to try to get back to him.

Feeling the urge to close her eyes, she concentrated on Severus. She saw him in front of her, every little feature and nuance created in her mind. Instinctively, she imagined herself moving closer to him. She could see him more clearly with every step she took toward him. He stood there simply looking at her. She came up flush with him and looked into his eyes. It was just a projection of who he was, she could feel that, but something inside her told her this was the key to getting back to him. She concentrated with all she had and threw her arms around the figure of Severus Snape. Feeling something tingle within her, she pulled back and saw her soulmate frowning down at her.

"Where did you come from? I told you to go back to your bed," he growled.

"Severus, please… let me explain. If you banish me from your side again, I'll just keep coming back until you listen."

Severus drew her away from him. "I don't want to talk to you right now. Can't you respect that?"

"I get that. I accused you of something horrible, and you have every right to be furious with me, but I need to apologize and make this right."

"You don't need to do anything, woman. Just leave me be."

She drew him to her and kissed him furiously. Releasing his lips as he pushed her away, she gasped. "Please, Severus, listen to me. I want to fix this."

Severus softened minutely. He looked at Hermione and scowled. He stepped back from her and glared.

"Get it off your chest, and then I want you gone."

Hermione nodded and began. "I know we're soulmates and should trust one another, and I do. I came across the answer to bringing you back, and part of it involves using a piece of your soul. My mind jumped directly to Horcruxes when I saw that. I feel horrible accusing you of something so heinous, but I had to know."

She looked at Severus with her eyes pleading with him to forgive her.

He sneered at her. "You felt horrible, yet you did it anyway."

Hermione closed her eyes. Opening them after a moment, she looked directly into Severus' caustic gaze.

"I knew deep down that you wouldn't ever do something so horrible. I did. I argued with myself about it before coming here tonight. But I had to hear it from you."

Severus turned from her and stalked away. He folded his arms in front of him and stared off at the lake.

Finally, he spoke again. "You didn't ask me about it, you accused me of it," he said bitterly.

"That wasn't my intent," she countered.

Severus spun around. "Well, that's what it felt like!" He grimaced, lowering his voice as he continued to speak to her. "You looked at me as if I was guilty. You spoke to me like I was on the witness stand. You had convinced yourself that I had done it before you even asked me."

She looked at him as if he'd slapped her. Realization hit her and she knew he was right.

"I didn't mean to do that." She folded her arms in front of her but came closer to him. "I had been worried about it for a while before I went to bed. I was scared, Severus. I was afraid that you had created the Horcrux, and I didn't know how that would affect bringing you back. I didn't know if I wanted to bring you back if you had. I just…" She burst into tears. "I'm sorry. I'm a fool for ever doubting you. I just… This whole thing has been so stressful, and I…"

She felt his arms come around her. She crashed into his chest and cried bitterly. "I'm sorry. I am a fool. I'm a fool."

"Shh, Hermione. Stop. What you did was foolish, but you are no fool."

She rested her cheek on his chest and fought to get control of her crying. After a while, her tears stopped, but she just stayed where she was, not moving her head from him.

"I didn't know if I could be in love with someone who could make a Horcrux. I understood why you were forced to kill Dumbledore, but then if you had used him to make one of those things…"

"I am not that man, Hermione. I thought you knew that," Severus replied softly.

She could hear the hurt in his voice, which just made the tears come again. She pulled back and looked into his eyes.

"I do know that. I don't know why I forgot it. Severus, please forgive me. I swear I'll never doubt you again."

Severus waved his wand and a bench appeared in front of them. He settled her into it and looked into her eyes.

"We've not really ever spent any time with one another before this started manifesting between us. What do you really think of me?"

Hermione looked down to see Severus' hand in hers. She smiled slightly at it. Looking back up at him she saw a man she could see herself with forever.

"As a student, I felt you were harsh, and you picked on me, which was hurtful. But with the end of the war, I had a different understanding of you and your motives. I no longer felt hurt by your actions. I always admired you as a teacher, especially in sixth-year. You really helped us to think about our actions and the consequences of making rash decisions. When you died I felt horrible because I felt you hadn't gotten a chance to really live. Being a spy is no way to lead a life. I don't know if it was our soulmate bond or what, but I have always felt drawn to you. We discussed that before."

She looked down at their hands clasped together again. "What do I feel for you? I feel very attracted to you. I feel like we are friends and can be deeper friends."

She looked at him and thought more about what she felt for him. She felt love fill her. She wanted to tell him that, but they barely knew one another. How could she confess such a thing to him? He'd think she was being daft.

"I feel our bond, and I can see it leading me to fall in love with you," she said finally. "I trust you, and I think you were incredibly brave while you were alive. You're brilliant, witty, and sarcastic, and that really appeals to me. I find you attractive, and I've enjoyed spending time with you in my dreams. The thought that we may be separated by your death physically hurts for me to think about. I want us to be together to explore this more than anything."

Severus pulled her to him and embraced her, rubbing his hand on her back.

"When I first found out about our bond, I was upset. Well… I was furious. You were so young, and such an annoyance that I couldn't even picture us together. Merlin, with everything going on… being soulmates with a Muggleborn seemed like a death sentence if it was ever found out."

Hermione stiffened, so Severus squeezed her to lighten her obviously maudlin thoughts at that statement.

"After I had calmed down some, I realized the war wasn't going to go on forever, and if I survived, it would be possible for us to consider being together. It still seemed ludicrous to me, but I started paying more attention to you. You may have been young, but you were one of the most brilliant people I'd ever met. And you had matured! You started to explore your abilities and were just getting to the point where you weren't relying so much on book knowledge, and I liked that."

He kissed the top of her head.

"Suddenly, our pairing made sense. We make a good match."

He quieted for a moment before continuing. "Like you, I don't know that I'm in love yet, but our bond makes me want to be. I want to be alive and with you. But Hermione, if that had meant that I'd needed to create a Horcrux, I would have left well enough alone and gone to my grave knowing we would never be together."

"I'm such a fool," she murmured into his waistcoat.

"Nonsense. Stop saying that, it's ridiculously inaccurate."

"Please forgive me, Severus."

"I already have. Let's not talk about it anymore."

She pulled her head from his chest and looked into his eyes. They were no longer angry. She felt his acceptance of her apology. She leaned in and kissed the tip of his nose.

"Thank you," she said.

He was looking at her like she had three heads. She arched an eyebrow at him, questioning his expression.

"You kissed… my nose."

"Severus, I've been admiring that nose since I first saw it and have wanted to kiss it since my sixth year. It's divine."

"You are mental."

Hermione giggled and pecked his nose once again. He didn't let her pull back, moving up to capture her lips in his and lavishing them with his affection. They broke apart after a while and Hermione smiled at him.

"Severus, did you somehow separate a part of your soul? We'll need it to bring you back."

"I cannot say," Severus told her.

"Why not?" Hermione asked while looking at him curiously.

"I have made a vow."

Hermione arched her eyebrow. "So, I can glean from that that you did find a way to save a piece of your soul. How can I find it? Is there anything else you can tell me?"

"That is all I can say."

"So, what exactly happens to a dead man who breaks a vow?"

He arched an eyebrow at her. "I'm afraid to find out."

Hermione chuckled. "Okay, okay. I'll try and figure it out."

His hand came up and cupped her cheek. "I'm sure you will be successful."