A/N: The last chapter was meant to have some humor, Severus knows it's him and Trelawney thinks someone's figured out what she did to Draco. I'm assuming you are all big girls and boys and was able to figure it out…Anyway, thanks for all your reviews! What will happen to Severus and Hermione now???? (Gasp)

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Chapter 16: Sooner or Later

"Severus?" McGonagall gasped, backing away disbelieving. "You?" Severus needn't worry of the Veritaserum; it had worn off.

"I cannot lie under the truth serum, Minerva, so yes, it's true." It was over, but he was not going to make it any worse by saying any more.

"Who is it?!" Minerva shouted. All the other teachers were equally curious: who in the hell could possibly be with Severus Snape, who was the most hated and feared teacher of the entire school, an unemotional man who rarely smiled or was friendly at all until recently.

"Really Minerva, I think that's enough," Dumbledore said, putting himself between Minerva and Severus, who sat down in the nearest chair and stared at the floor. McGonagall was furious.

"He cannot go unpunished!" she said vehemently.

"Actually, he can, and he will," Dumbledore said quietly. Hearing this, McGonagall slumped her shoulders, as if defeated by those words.

"Severus, I suggest you take the rest of the day off," Dumbledore said, placing a hand on Severus's shoulder, Snape shrugged it off and only nodded solemnly. He rose and began to exit quickly, knowing that even though Dumbledore said he was not going to be punished, there was most likely a rule or law that he had broken that he'd have to answer to. He walked quickly to his private chambers and shut himself inside for the rest of the day, glad he would not have to face any stupid first and third years that afternoon. All the other teachers began to leave for their next classes that would start shortly. Soon Dumbledore's office was empty except for Albus and Minerva.

"Albus, there must be a rule or law of some kind that he broke!" McGonagall stated exasperatedly, regaining her calm, somewhat.

"I cannot tell you, Minerva. I will have to contact the Ministry, I was not sure if I should at first."

"You mean to tell me you knew all along?! Before that student tipped us off?"

"Minerva, I knew before the school year even started."

"Well then why did you not do a thing about it?"

"I did not know the seriousness of it for a long time. I knew there were feelings between the student and Severus, but they were not together, I should say, until later in the year. Minerva, that man has been alone almost all his life. I could not take something so special away from him."

"Well, what are you going to do if the Ministry decides to get involved?" Dumbledore's reply was immediate.

"I will help Severus fight them, help him in any way I can to get him and the student out of this unscathed."

"Albus, why won't you tell me who the student is?"

"I'm sorry, Minerva, but I have to protect the girl, so I cannot tell you?"

"Is she young?"

"She is in her sixth year, so she is sixteen, a responsible age."

"Surely the Ministry will find nothing wrong with that?"

"Not if Cornelius Fudge has anything to say about it." Minerva watched Dumbledore's face, as his eyes grew hard and flinty.

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Severus slept badly that night, thinking he should have contacted Hermione to tell her that they were discovered, but if they found out he had let her into his chambers, he could get in even more trouble. His mind was in a whirl of desperate and defeated thoughts. What if Hermione never forgives me? What if she calls the whole thing off? What if… The 'ifs' kept running around through his head until he fell into a troubled and nightmarish sleep.

When he awoke the next morning, he rolled over. Thank god, it's Saturday, no teaching, no annoying kids, no- his eyes fell upon a cake sitting on his coffee table. It looked homemade, two-layered with only a small amount of frosting on top, and some kind of nut sprinkled on it as well. What's this cake doing here? He wondered as he sat up in bed, resting his hands on his knees.

"Really, Severus, don't you know when your own goddamn birthday is?" Severus leaped off the bed like he had just been pinched and turned around to find Hermione looking intently at him as she leaned on his bedpost.

"Hermione!" he said, clearly surprised, and then confused. "Today is my birthday?"

"Of course it is! February, the twenty-sixth?" Hermione took his hand and led him over to the coffee table and shoved him playfully onto the couch, of which he noticed sat several packages wrapped up in silver, green, or black. He stared from the packages to the cake to Hermione and back again to the cake.

"It's a rum and almond cake. I made it myself. I thought that you probably wouldn't like the overly sweet frosting cakes." She smiled. Severus always loved it when she smiled. She won't be smiling once she knows what I did. "Let's have some cake." Hermione then took out two plates and distributed a slice to Severus and then one to herself. Severus brought a forkful of cake to his mouth and sighed.

"This is delicious." Hermione beamed, her cheeks flushing. Severus and Hermione then ate their cake in an intimate silence, enjoying one another's company.

"Now open your presents!" Hermione took one and put it in Severus's lap.

"Who are all these from?"

"Well, there's a few from people at the Order and then two from me."

"I suppose you had to blackmail them to get them to get me something?"

"They were surprised when I asked. Didn't know you celebrated your birthday."

"I don't." Hermione laughed, and Severus could not help but give her one of his genuine smiles. He began to open the first package, as he glanced at the little card that said: To Severus, from Remus Lupin. It was a new quill that wrote grades and point deductions automatically. There was a note tied to it from Lupin: Thought you would enjoy another new toy to use to torment your students. Severus snorted. Ha ha.

The next ones were from the Weasleys, Mad-Eye Moody, even Tonks. The Weasleys was, surprisingly, a leather-bound book protector tooled with silver. Mad-Eye Moody's was a brand new and improved Sneakoscope, so typical. Tonks's present was an assortment of candy and a bag of stress-relief bath salts. Then he got to Hermione's present. The box was long and slender. Once he opened it, he examined it closely.

She had outdone herself, as she had with the mirrors at Christmas. It looked like a staff of some sort, about two and a half feet long, made of richly polished mahogany wood. On top was a serpent's head, made of silver, and its silver body wrapped around the staff. In its mouth between its fangs rested a crystal orb about the size of a small strawberry. He fingered it lovingly in his hands and looked up at Hermione's face, which now glistened with tears.

"Where did you get it, Hermione? It's wonderful, what does it do?"

"Severus, the crystal orb is able to store spells, so in case you lose your wand when, um, if you lose your wand you can use it as a last resort. It also can provide a shield of magic to, well, shield you from certain hexes, and…curses, as long as you are holding it." Her voice had dropped to a whisper by the time she finished. Severus looked at her, searching her face. He saw fear, devotion, concern, and love.

"Do you expect something to happen to me?"

"Let's just admit that you have somewhat of an occupational hazard." He now understood. His dangerous spying for the Order. She was worried about him. No one had ever worried about him before. He put the staff to the side and stood up, looking at Hermione in the eyes.

"Hermione, I can't thank you enough-"

"Don't speak." He stopped, and then took a deep breath and looked sadly into her eyes.

"They know, Hermione." Her eyes fluttered and she raised her eyebrows. She looked at him with a shadowy expression on her face.

"Who?"

"The teachers." She stepped away from him and sat down hard on the couch. He sat down next to her.

"Someone tipped off McGonagall that a teacher and student were, well, together. Eventually all of us had to admit under Veritaserum if we were the teacher. I could not lie Hermione," he said fleetingly as she looked away to concentrate hard on the wall. "They do not know it's you."

"But the student who betrayed us does," she said, her lips barely moving. "Who told?"

"I don't know. McGonagall wouldn't say." Hermione sat there, saying nothing, wondering who could have figured it out. Severus uncertainly put an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. She laid her cheek against his shoulder.

"I know who it is," she said after awhile.

"What? The student that told?"

"Malfoy." Severus stiffened.

"How?" Conniving little twit. Just like his father, lying bastard.

"He said something to me yesterday. Said he knew something was going on between us. Of course I blew him off, trying to look convincing. Guess we didn't hide it very well, Severus."

"They would probably have found out sooner or later." Hermione sighed.

"I suppose you're right." There was a silence for a while as they thought about what the last three months had brought. I love him, but I don't want him to get punished because of me, Hermione thought sadly. This is so dangerous for her. How could this have happened? How did they fall in love? Then he remembered something she had said to him after their first kiss. 'Love doesn't come from a potion.' She was right, now that he thought about it. He had thought it was some trick someone had played on them, but it wasn't. It was real, as real as the changing seasons, the smell of her hair, the warmth of her body next to him, the brown intelligent and beautiful eyes he so adored. Real.

"Hermione, we might get in serious trouble because of this with the school, or the Ministry might do something about it, about us."

"I don't care." Her cinnamon eyes stared deeply into his, determination etched permanently into her features. "I love you, and no one can or ever will take that away from me." He felt so bad now for ratting on them. Why did the world have to turn against him, against them?

"Hermione, I am sorry."

"For what? You have nothing to be sorry about. I will stay with you no matter what. Come on, let's have some more cake." Severus was relieved; she didn't hate him for getting them discovered. It only made her more determined to stay with him. He smiled to himself as he accepted another piece of her yummy cake from Hermione, the love of his life.

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A/N: Hope you all are satisfied after that cliffhanger. Heehee, I am evil, but I certainly keep you hooked on my fic, don't I? REVIEW! (The Grim, the furry black doggie spins around in a circle and lays down to take a well-deserved nap after writing another good chapter.)