Disclaimer:

Harry Potter is JK Rowling's, not mine. ::curtseys::

Author's note:

It may be more than three days before my next update...I'm taking my time for the next chapter. If Sev goes a little OOC in this chapter, it's because the love of his life is in trouble! Remember, the Sev we see is Harry's POV...by the way...Harry and Ron will be coming in soon...don't worry! :-D

Chapter Seven

CRASH!

Severus Snape threw a wooden chair into the wall in great frustration.

"THE BASTARD!" he kicked some books that were laying on the floor into the raging fire in the fireplace and cursed as he heard them burst into flame.

"HE WON'T REST UNTIL HE'S TAKEN EVERYTHING OF WORTH AWAY FROM ME!" he threw a pitcher full of water as he vented, "HE TRIED TO TAKE THE ONE THING I LOVE!" he was about to throw some unknown object when he realized what he had just said.

Severus Snape's jaw dropped.

Love?

Love?

LOVE?!

"I have to see her," he muttered to himself as he felt for the staff Albus had given him and entered the cool corridor. Tripping only a couple of times, he finally reached the infirmary and, taking a deep breath, entered nervously.

"Severus?" came the surprised voice of Madam Pomfrey.

"Where is she?"

"She's over here," he stiffened as she firmly took hold of Severus's arm and ushered him over to a drearily silent bed.

"Leave me be," he sneered.

She gave an exasperated sigh and exited the room. Severus, hearing her footsteps fading, reached out to touch the silent being in front of him. She was warm and her skin was like the finest silk. He ran his hand up her body and quickly pulled away as his hand ran over her breast.

'No one's watching,' a sneaky voice told him. He then gently placed his hand on her abdomen('Good, she's gained a little weight...she was grotesquely thin'), gently dragging his hand upward until he felt the soft curve of her breast and gently dragged his fingers over it. His breath caught in his throat as he ran his palms over the tops of her breasts, noticing that they were much larger than they had been. Realizing his body was reacting to this touch, he moved his hands to her face. He slowly traced her closed eyes he then ran his fingers over her nose. It wasn't the typical "dainty" nose; it sloped out somewhat, gracefully curving under, making it sophisticated. He then moved his fingers to her lips. They were full and soft; slightly open. Next, he began to trace her cheek bones, which he had always thought were lovely deep, deep, DEEP, down; gently curving out from her jaw. She had always had a beautiful bone structure, that had, seemingly, increased in loveliness since the last time he had seen her. Finally, he moved his hand to touch her hair. He had remembered her frizzy, tangled hair from her school days, but noticed that had been replaced with soft, silky curls.

"Oh, Hermione," he whimpered and lay his head down in her curly locks and, for the first time in nineteen years, cried.

"I'm so sorry. If I hadn't been so stupid-"he was cut off by his own sobs, his shoulders shaking in sorrow.

Hermione's eyelids felt as though they weighed one thousand pounds, as did her tongue, so she listened to him crying sorrowfully without being able to do anything.

"Damnit!" he shouted at himself, "Severus, you fool...how could you let your self fall in love with her? You haven't a chance in hell with her! You always set yourself up for these things," he talked to himself bitterly, tears still falling down his face.

"I love you so much, Hermione," he sighed sadly, "Goodnight, Hermione. I'll leave you be now," he gently placed his lips on hers. Suddenly, he thought he felt her lips moving against his and abruptly pulled back.

"Hermione?" hearing no reply, he wiped his eyes, sighed and carefully stood, making his way back to his quarters.

Once he reached his quarters, he felt his way to his large emerald green chair and sat down, his head in his hands. Then, he heard the door open. Footsteps started coming his way.

"Who's there?" he asked sharply.

"Severus?" came the voice of Hermione Granger. It was meek and cracking, but it was her voice. He quickly stood and turned to face the direction she had spoken from, "Oh, Severus," she sobbed, throwing her arms around him and hiding her face in the crook of his neck.

Severus awkwardly placed one of his arms around her small waist, and one began stroking her hair.

"S-Severus," she was still sobbing, "I-I-I'm f-falling in love with y-you and I kn-know that y-you d-d-don't feel the same," she hiccupped after she spoke and cried more, "And I'm s-s-s-so s-s-s-sorry that I g-g-got mad at y-you I had no-"

"Hermione, you had every right to say what you did to me," he interrupted, cupping her face in his massive hands, "And as for the first thing," he took a deep breath in and let it out, "I've never been in love-"he felt her begin to pull away, "-until now."

Hermione's jaw dropped and she audibly gasped and threw her hand over her mouth.

"Do you mean it? You don't have to say that if you don't mean it. I mean, I know that I probably made you feel pressured and all-"she was interrupted by his soft lips being placed on hers. She gasped into his mouth and began to kiss him back. It was a kiss so full of love and passion, and yet purity and shyness. Both people had had difficult pasts, but in one kiss, seemed to be molded to each other, bonded to each other. He gently, slowly deepened the kiss, his tongue carefully stroking her tongue and lips and she copied his movements. Her hands bravely moved from around his neck to his waist and his went from her waist to her hair, neck, back, and just above her buttocks.

Slowly and reluctantly, Hermione pulled away from the kiss, leaning her forehead against his. They were both panting quite a bit, his hands exploring and remembering her face and the dip of her waist.

She smiled at him and stroked his face.

"I suppose this will complicate things a bit," she laughed, "But I don't care," she stroked his face lovingly, placing chaste kisses on his cheeks and eyes and the corners of his mouth, "Severus?"

"I just don't believe it," his brow furrowed in confusion, "Why me? Don't you date that Krum person?"

"Oh, Viktor," she spoke glumly, "All he wants from me is sex. He has been hassling me for months about it. I'm not in love with him. I refuse to lose my virginity to someone I am not in love with."

Severus could feel the heat rising to her cheeks as he tenderly stroked them and couldn't help but smile a bit. She was a virgin!

A virgin!

'Not for much longer' he thought to himself excitedly.

Author's note:

It was rushed, so don't be too hard on me. I wrote it in a little less than two hours while doing other things, so I'm pretty proud of it...haha...review kindly! :-D Much love to my beta Mouse! ::KISS::