Chapter Twelve: Deeper Meanings

Hermione and Severus left Hogwarts early on New Year's Eve so they could stop by the Snape Townhouse before the concert. Hermione was impressed by the sheer size of the house – there were over twenty rooms and an army of house-elves at their disposal. Hermione, on principal, did not agree with this, but was secretly pleased she did not have to fight her luggage up the stairs.

She was also mildly shocked that Severus lived in a strictly Muggle area of town. She knew that most descendents of pureblood families eschewed the company of Muggles, even if they were only neighbors. This certainly did not fit with the Severus in the future. Hermione realized that it wasn't a fair statement… she didn't really know the Severus of the future very well at all, to be honest. She thought it was probably for the best, given the situation she found herself in now.

Yet another shock washed over Hermione when she found out that Severus was extremely adept at getting around London without the aid of magic. He was well versed in the London Underground, and got them to their destination quickly.

Hermione was so excited that she could hardly contain herself. The evening passed by in a blur of loud, fast music and enthusiastic dancing with Severus; he was a demon in the mosh pit, taking out men that were over twice his size in width.

By the time the two arrived back to the townhouse, Hermione realized it was nearly midnight. Severus asked a house-elf to bring them two flutes of champagne and lit the fire in the formal living room.

At midnight, the couple intertwined their glasses, and each silently wished that the New Year would bring more time with the other person. Hermione wished most fervently for this because she was less sure, now more than ever, what her future would hold. For the moment, she could not envision going back to the time from whence she came, but as the saying went, tomorrow was another day – and another day meant less certainty, especially with the situation they found themselves in. Almost too late, she realized Severus was going over some of the finer points of the evening.

"…maybe I should have Transfigured my hair into a Mohawk," he said. Severus turned to lie on his belly and face her. He began to fun his long fingers through her hair, and whispered softly, "You know, it would be really punk if you shaved half of your hair. It's not like it'd be permanent or anything, you could re-grow it back in the morning." Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but was quickly silenced when Severus leaned in to kiss her.

The two quickly became intertwined in front of the fireplace, their passion rising quickly as each moment passed. Severus pulled himself away from Hermione, stood up, and offered a hand in a silent proposition. Without hesitation, Hermione stood, took his hand, and allowed herself to be led to his bedroom. Both of them felt, instinctively, that tonight was the night. Tonight they would, they could, allow themselves to do what they had been fighting for months. Tonight, their bodies and souls would become a single entity. They might never again experience the magic that crackled between them at this very moment, but tonight everything was going to be nearly perfect.

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It was as though that night had opened up a floodgate between the two. Severus and Hermione spent the remainder of their time in London lodged strictly in Severus' room, surfacing only to eat and bathe. This was not a fairy book romance where the sex was perfect every time – Severus learned exactly how hard it was to get Hermione to climax and Hermione learned to be patient with Severus when he could not… contain himself for very long. They both realized that eventually, they could attune to the other's needs, but it would take some time and adjustment on both their parts.

They were scheduled to arrive at Hogwarts the day before the winter break ended. While they were both exceedingly sad to see their time at the Snape townhouse end, they knew that the N.E.W.T. exams were fast approaching, and they needed to begin studying for them. It was not in either of their nature to allow anything to stand between themselves and achieving what was necessary to advance their education. However, it was a benefit that they had nearly the same class schedule and could study together.

They were beginning to plan a schedule as they made their way back to their corridor. Neither of them saw Sirius before he called out for them to stop. Sirius stumbled over to where they were, and Hermione almost vomited when the stench of alcohol on his breath threatened to overwhelm her.

"Severus," Sirius began whilst putting an overly friendly arm on Severus' shoulders, "you know, Hermione here is keeping quite the little secret. You know, you royally fuck things up in the future… Snivellus and she's been sent here to stop you from getting anyone who matters killed. It's not like she really loves you or anything. You're just a mission that needs to be accomplished." Sirius looked pleased with himself after his little speech.

Severus looked at Hermione, who, at present time, resembled a carp with her mouth hanging open. She had paled quickly, and looked at him apologetically. He put his hand up in front of her face to stop her from speaking, and stalked off silently to his room without so much as a look back in her direction.

Hermione was torn between hexing the hell out of Sirius or running after Severus. She knew it would be best to allow Severus some time to calm down before she approached him, so she opted for her first choice of actions. She began by muttering a Sobering Charm, aiming for right between Sirius' eyes. He yelped as his senses began to rapidly clear. Moments later, he found himself (fully sober) staring down the length of Hermione's wand to her furious eyes.

"You, Sirius Black, are a waste of sperm. Has it ever occurred to you that I do indeed love Severus Snape? That the way I feel for him has absolutely nothing to do with my 'mission' as you put it?"

"Why, how… how could you feel that way about Snivellus? He's in Slytherin, there's no hope of redemption for any of them! He's probably already one of Voldemort's Death Eaters, and he'll get you killed. He's a pureblood – he hates people like you!"

"He's not a pureblood, surprising as that might seem Sirius, and he doesn't hate me. That much should be blatantly obvious, even to you! I love him, and I'll choose him over you every time. Please, Sirius, don't make me choose – I assure you that you won't like my choice." Hermione stood there coldly, still fighting the urge to use any number of creative curses that she knew to teach him his lesson.

"Fine, if you want to believe him, go ahead! See where it gets you Hermione – let me assure you that you won't like it. Just don't come crawling back to us when you find yourself knee-deep in the Dark Arts." With that, Sirius skulked way like a petulant child.

Hermione quickly grabbed her belongings and made her way back to her room. It was time for some serious damage control. She quickly put her clothing away and headed across the hall. She knocked hesitantly on the door, not expecting to be allowed inside. Much to her surprise, he opened the door and gestured for her to sit down on the couch.

"I need to know if what Black said was true," Severus began without preamble. His eyes bored into her head, as if he was daring her to lie to him.

"Severus, I won't bother lying to you – we both know it's a futile endeavor, but you will not interrupt me until I am done speaking. Yes, I was sent here to keep you from becoming a Death Eater. That was my original mission – to keep you, using any means necessary, away from those terrible people.

What I didn't plan on was falling in love with you. Severus, I can't imagine a future without you in it, without you by my side. If you want to join the Death Eaters, I'll follow you – I have the opportunity to go back to my original time if I so choose and I can't see myself doing anything other than choosing to stay with you, no matter what path you choose to take in life. It scares me to say that, but I will do anything to be with you. I hope you don't want to, I hope you don't feel that you need to join them to be accepted. I accept you, Severus Snape, for what you are, have been, and will be. Not only do I accept you, but I love you. Look at the ring on your finger Severus, it can't lie. 'You and me, if the world should break in two, until the very end of days,' I mean that Severus."

With that, she looked at him expectantly. Severus looked at her for a moment, trying to decide what to ask. He knew he shouldn't just accept her word, but he found himself doing it anyways. This woman loved him, and he wasn't about to push her away because of what she had been sent to do. He was a bigger man than that. What mattered to him was that she loved him, and would follow him to the ends of the earth to prove it, much like he would follow her to the ends of the earth just to wake up next to her every morning. He could tell she wasn't lying to him, but there was one thing that still frightened him.

"What happens when you're offered the opportunity to go back? How do I know that you'll stay?"

"Severus, you'll just have to take my word for it. You'll have to trust me."

Severus looked deep into her eyes, searching them, searching her very soul. What he saw was nothing short of absolute love for him, absolute trust in him, and absolute truth from her about the situation.

"I trust you, Hermione. Rest assured I do not intend to ever become a Death Eater. Lucius Malfoy has been trying to recruit me for years, and there are many times when I have come close to joining them, especially after being humiliated by Lupin in my fifth year and nearly killed by him a year later without repercussions for those responsible. However, the death of my parents made me realize that I would be killing the parents of others, and I can't do that. I also know that I could never allow myself to corrupt you in such a way, to drag your soul into the depths of darkness that anyone who takes Voldemort's mark is required to enter.

Let it also be known that I will follow wherever you may lead me. My life just isn't complete without you in it. I love you. If you were ever to leave me, or get hurt, it would be the end of anything good inside of me."

Hermione's eyebrows nearly shot to the ceiling. Professor Snape would never have allowed himself to express his emotions so openly – in fact, he had warned Harry about doing just that would cause his downfall.

Severus moved over to the couch and sealed his statement with a searing kiss. They held each other long into the night, and were oblivious to the small rat that escaped through a small hole in the wall.

A/N: Let me begin by apologizing: sorry about the lengthy interlude between this chapter and the last. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with this story after HBP came out (it was very nearly just killed off), but I was, and am, bound and determined to finish it. I will continue with this story (for the sake of finishing it) ignoring the end events of HBP.

However, major revisions are going to be made after the story ends, and as I prepare to post it on another site that will allow me to expand upon what happened New Year's Eve at the Snape Townhouse.

As for HBP, all I can say (minor spoiler, you've been warned) is that in Snape I still trust.