A/N Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, and to my beta Gem. You've all encouraged (and sometimes guilted) me into writing this and now, believe it or not, it's actually finished! I hope everybody likes the ending. I don't think there'll be an epilogue, mainly because I think this ties everything up fairly well and I can't think of anything else to put into it, but if you have suggestions feel free to review/message/email me and I'll definitely rethink it. The next chapter will have the challenge requirements, so feel free to have a look. And that's that. Thanks to everyone who's been with me throughout this, both reviewers and those of you who just read. I really am glad you read it, and the reviews especially have really meant a lot to me. Merry Christmas / any other holiday you celebrate!
We went to St Mungo's the next day. Explaining the situation to a panel of doctors wasn't much fun, and then of course they insisted on throwing spell after spell at us to try to fix the problem without resorting to "that barbaric muggle way." It would have saved them a lot of effort had they listened to us, but they wouldn't so we were subjected to spells, hexes, potions, and charms. Eventually, though, they admitted that surgery was the only way, and agreed to do the operation that night. I went to bed with Severus that evening, holding hands as had become custom. I woke the next morning alone in my bed for the first time in months.
It was an odd feeling. Waking up alone, that is. My arm ached, although that was partly due to the mediwizard prodding the bandages with his wand. And that, of course, prompted me to wonder why I had bandages on my arm. I asked the mediwizard.
"It didn't respond to magic yesterday," he replied absently, frowning at the bandage. "The problem is that the wound is far too large to let it heal alone. There would be severe scarring and likely infection. You'll just have to stay here until it's healed."
"It can't be that big," I said incredulously.
"It is," he replied firmly. "You have a cut from your shoulder to your elbow. Your muscle has only just finished regenerating itself. You really ought to stay for at least a week."
"No," said a familiar voice flatly, somewhere to my left. I spun, wrenching my arm out of the mediwizard's grip, to look to my left where, sure enough, Severus was sitting in a bed similar to my own. He was wearing a hospital gown and the sight was so incongruous that I couldn't stifle the laugh that rose inside me.
Severus, misinterpreting my laughter, asked mildly, "Do you want to stay here for the next week?"
"No," I replied quickly, and after a brief smile at Severus, I turned back to the mediwizard. I almost missed the soft smile he gave back, as it only lasted a short moment. "The magic didn't work when our arms were joined, separation magic. Did you even try healing magic after you separated us?" I realised after I'd said it that perhaps I was being a little harsh, but I chalked it up to spending too long in Severus's company. The mediwizard flushed.
"I did not think it…"
"Perhaps you could stop your petty excuses and actually try to heal it?" Severus asked from his bed. "Unless, of course, you'd prefer to spend all morning making apologies to your patients."
The mediwizard flushed a deeper red, and for a moment I felt bad for him. It passed, though, when he began prodding my arm rather forcefully. It hurt. Severus obviously noticed my pain, because he snapped at the mediwizard again. It was a long morning.
We were let out of the hospital that afternoon. Normally, I think, we would have stayed there for at least another few days, mainly because it was a brand new kind of treatment (mediwizards didn't like surgery), but Severus' charming personality meant we were out in record time.
Severus took my hand in his as we left the building, healed but with a faint scar running down our arms. I squeezed his hand and smiled up at him as we made our way to the apparition point.
"It's nice to be able to do this," I said.
"Walk separately?" he asked with an ironic twist to his eyebrow. I laughed.
"To hold your right hand. Although it's nice to be able to separate."
"I agree." We had reached the room, and Severus wrapped his arms around me before apparating us both to a point outside the Hogwarts gates. Instead of disentangling myself I moved closer, burying my head in his neck and breathing in the scent that had become so familiar over the past few months.
"I'll miss this," I whispered into his chest.
"So shall I," he admitted, which impressed me. Maybe I was rubbing off on him as much as he was influencing me, but this was probably the most open he had ever been. I pulled back a little, and smiled up at him.
"I owe you a kiss," I said, holding his eyes.
"You do."
"Well, I'd hate to go back on my promise." I reached up and touched my lips to his, revelling in the feeling of his arms around me, his mouth on mine. Slowly, eventually, we withdrew, and looked at one another.
"We should probably go in," I said at last, disentangling myself from him but catching hold of his hand yet again. "Dumbledore will be expecting us."
We began the walk, keeping pace with one another instinctively as we had so many times before.
"I'm glad," I said impulsively. "It's been awkward and uncomfortable and sometimes even miserable, but overall I'm really glad."
Severus nodded agreement, and then chuckled. At my enquiring look he explained, "I never thought that I would owe Neville my gratitude. It seems I was mistaken. Twenty points to Gryffindor!"
"Only twenty?" I asked teasingly.
"Well, I suppose I could give you twenty points too," he said, his face blank.
"You mean I'm not worth more than that?" I asked in mock hurt.
"You're worth much more," he said, with a seriousness that moved me, and came in for another kiss. It was then, I think, that I really fell in love with Severus Snape. It wasn't just his kiss, although I will admit (at the expense of swelling his ego even further) that that man is talented. I'm not sure how we made it back to his room, or even how many people saw us, but I do know that my shirt hit the living room floor before the front door was even closed. We stumbled to the couch, shedding the rest of our clothing as we did so. I fell back onto it, pulling Severus down with me. He kissed a trail down the side of my neck, latching on my collarbone, while I ran by hands down his back, exploring his shoulder blades.
Albus Dumbledore chose that particular moment to open the door. It was like a bucket of ice water had been thrown on us. I withdrew from Severus, curled up and covered myself as best I could with my arms, staring at the headmaster in horror. Severus had the presence of mind to conjure a blanket, but he too was staring at the headmaster in horror.
"You have two minutes to dress," Dumbledore said flatly, leaving the room and closing the door behind him. We stared at each other miserably for a moment.
"I'm sorry," Severus said after a pause. "I should never-"
"It's my fault too," I told him flatly.
"But I took advantage-"
"Don't you dare," I interrupted, my eyes narrowed. "If anything, it was the other way around. I jumped you, if you remember."
"Not really," he admitted. Then he smiled wryly. "I should have locked the door."
"That would've been a good idea," I said dryly. "Come on, let's get dressed before he comes back in." Putting on my shirt, I said, "I think we should play the eighteen-and-no-longer-your-student angle."
"I beg your pardon?"
"We didn't do anything wrong. Not really. I'm eighteen and I haven't been in your classes for three months." At Severus' frown I added, "Well, do you have a better idea?"
"No," he admitted, but then Dumbledore opened the door again so we shut up and finished putting clothes on at lightning speed.
The ensuing conversation wasn't fun. Dumbledore managed to be both angry and disappointed, which made both of us feel like guilty children. I did take the eighteen-and-not-in-his-classes approach, which I think worked in convincing him not to expel me and sack Severus. Dumbledore did make us promise not to touch one another until the end of school, though, and we agreed that I would have private potions lessons from him instead of Severus for the rest of the year.
I won't talk much about the rest of the school year, because it wasn't much of a fun time. Harry and Ron were supportive of me, surprisingly so considering that I told them every little detail on a rainy weekend in February. Ironically enough it was Harry who flipped out and Ron who calmed him, which was completely unexpected. I've always considered Harry the level-headed one and Ron the one with the temper. Anyway, I was really touched by their concern, though, and after they'd had a little time to mull over what I'd said (well, that and consider my threats), they were incredibly supportive. The rest of the school had no idea, of course, but just having lived with Snape for three months made me a bit of an outsider to them, not that my grades and love of books hadn't already made me an outsider. Still, it wasn't a fun few months, and I was incredibly happy to graduate.
My friends all went home on the Express the next day. Me? Well, I sort of missed it. The alarm clock didn't get me out of bed, on account of Severus throwing it against the wall hard enough to shatter it and kissing me for long enough that he completely drowned my half-hearted protests. I didn't mind, though. Some things just take priority.
Severus proposed in the following months, and I've been living with him ever since. We've decided to hold off on the wedding until after I've finished university, mainly to keep Mum and Dad happy, but Severus thinks it'll be easier for me if I don't go off to university married, and who knows, maybe he's right. A marriage certificate isn't all that important to me though; just living with Severus is enough. And I will live with him next year; now that I've got my apparition license the distance isn't a problem at all. I couldn't be more grateful to Neville, really. You know what I learnt from all this? Love comes in unexpected places, but if you find it, hang onto it for all you're worth. That, and always lock the door.