Disclaimer: I don't take credit for anything associated with Harry Potter. No financial profit is being made.

Unlikely Partners

Chapter 19

"Oh, Nymphadora," Remus whispered, pulling her close.

"You're not angry or upset?" Nymphadora asked in a small voice.

Remus gently angled her face up towards his.

"Upset? No, I'm not upset, love. Shocked, yes. I'd thought...well, never mind about that now–

"You thought I couldn't conceive," she told him.

"I suppose I knew it wasn't completely impossible, but..." He smiled at her.

"I can't use magic anymore."

"I'm sure Minerva'll find something for you to do."

Remus hugged her.

"I suppose you'll have to think of a new name for yourself now," said Remus.

"A new name for myself?"

"When we get married, I hardly think people will continue to call you by your maiden name."

Nymphadora laughed.

"You're right. I suppose I'll have to think about that."

"Think we should announce our engagement at the wedding on Friday?" Remus asked.

"I don't know. Since we'll be getting married so soon"– she glanced at his eyes as if to confirm that they were in fact getting married as soon as possible, Remus merely smiled so she continued, "I think it might be better if we get married and then announce my pregnancy at the next Order meeting."

"How far along are you?"

"Not more than two weeks,"

"Are you sure you want to announce the news so soon?" he asked gently.

Nymphadora nodded. "I've decided I'm not going to care what the other Order members might think,"

"I'll be there to support you, and I doubt even Moody would dare make any sort of derogatory comment about the mother of my children."

Nymphadora grinned at him.

"Do you reckon he's afraid of you?"

"Perhaps a little,"

"I really love you, you know that?"

Remus kissed her. "And I love you, my dear."

"Poppy's bringing me some teas to help ease my prolonged case of morning sickness."

When Remus looked at her with concern, she added quickly: "Don't worry, she says it perfectly normal since I'm a Metamorph and my powers are being suppressed almost entirely because of the pregnancy and the sudden lack of power causes violent nausea."

"Do you feel okay standing up right now? Perhaps you'd better go lie down again."

Remus's concern for her touched Nymphadora's heart.

"I'll go lay down. Will you come in and talk to me for a little while? I became wide awake when I heard the news and I'm not going to be able to fall asleep for a while."

"I wouldn't leave you alone right now even if you begged me to,"

Remus offered his arm to his soon-to-be bride and the two of them walked back to his bedchamber.

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Hermione went into the suite's master bathroom and filled herself a cup of water. She took a sip from it and let out a long sigh.

She knew that it was well into the evening and that she should go out into the other room to get something to eat, but the last thing she wanted to do was face Severus so soon after their last argument.

Besides, I'm not even hungry now.

Maybe it was stupid of her to forego a meal just because she didn't particularly feel like being in the same room as her former professor, but at the moment she didn't care if she was being stupid.

She downed the rest of her water and then brushed her teeth. Her parents always told her how important it was to brush her teeth three times a day instead of the usual two. Though, she wasn't doing it so much because she wanted to have extra clean and brilliantly white teeth, but because she wanted to have something to do.

If she didn't do something constructive she might just break down and start throwing things.

Hermione gripped the handle of her toothbrush tighter than was strictly necessary and brushed her teeth vigorously for the full three minutes her parents had told her was required for optimum cleanliness.

She had just spat into the sink after rinsing her mouth out when she heard the bedroom door open, followed by Severus's footsteps.

Hermione closed the bathroom door and waited to hear the sound of Severus leaving the bedroom.

She had no intention of talking to him right now. There was nothing that needed to be said.

After several seconds the other door in the room opened and closed. Hermione waited a few more seconds before emerging from the bathroom.

The first thing she noticed was a tea tray set out on top of the mahogany desk. She walked over to investigate.

There was a half full teapot which Hermione sniffed inquisitively. The still steaming drink smelled spicy like cinnamon with a hint of fruit. A teacup sat next to the pot and next to that sat a plate of butter cookies.

Hermione blinked.

Under other circumstances she might have laughed, but after how Severus had acted she was now more than a little perplexed.

He yells at me until I'm nearly in tears and then brings me tea and cookies?

As she smelled the tea again, Hermione wished she hadn't brushed her teeth. The tea would be cold by the time the mint taste of the toothpaste was out of her mouth.

She took a seat at the desk and picked up a butter cookie.

He couldn't possibly be trying to apologise to me, could he? Me, a cheeky, headstrong, recalcitrant Gryffindor?

No, my eyes deceive me.

The Severus Snape that walked out of here wasn't a man who was sorry about he said.

And considering what Tonks told me about the Dark Mark, I'm not even sure if he could genuinely apologise to someone.

And yet . . .

No, he just wants to make sure I eat and drink.

He's probably doing this in the hope that when I leave here I don't tell Remus and Tonks that he was a perfect prick the entire time I was with him.

Hermione poured the tea into the cup and took a very small sip.

As she had expected, her taste buds were still quite off. She nibbled on a second cookie, her thoughts drifting back to her former professor.

Stop thinking about him Hermione!

And truthfully she really didn't want Severus Snape in her thoughts right now. But for some reason, she couldn't force his image from her mind.

Suddenly, Hermione slammed a fist down onto a butter cookie, effectively smashing the square wafer into bits. After venting her anger, Hermione let out a defeated exhalation.

She wiped the tiny crumbs that stuck to her hand and rose from her seat at the desk.

She was suddenly felt terribly weary and crawled onto the room's luxurious sleigh bed for the night.

But though her body was tired, her mind was still awake enough to wander.

And wander it did, to the man that was in the other room.

The man that had kissed her with such intense erotic ardor that if Hermione lived to be one hundred and fifty, she'd remember every detail of Severus's mouth on hers as clearly on the day she died as she did right now.

She remembered the feel of his body against hers, the masculine scent of his breath, the taste of his mouth and it was enough to make her body react in an embarrassing way.

Was the magical attraction of the Occlumency affecting her even now?

Or was she really so daft that now she had developed some sort of genuine desire for Hogwarts' former potions master?

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Hermione awoke when the late morning sunlight streamed into the bedroom through the window behind the bed. She showered and changed into a pair of jeans and a thin strapped tank white tank top bearing the Union Jack in the middle.

When she came out of the master bathroom, she saw that the door leading to Severus's other rooms was open and so was the door that led to the suite's kitchen.

Hermione knew she was still uncomfortable about seeing Severus, but then, she had a feeling that for the rest of the time she had to stay in these rooms she'd always have a certain degree of discomfort when being around him.

Hermione left the bedroom and found Severus sitting at the table, a cup of tea and a plate with some kind of nut muffin in front of him. He was reading a copy of the Daily Prophet.

He looked up upon hearing her enter the room, but didn't say anything.

So much for thinking there might still be a chance he'd apologise, thought Hermione drily.

Severus returned to his perusal of the paper, leaving Hermione to get her breakfast on her own.

She glanced at the kitchen counter and saw a plastic container of muffins sitting next to the stove. Hermione went over and found that the nuts in the muffins were pecans.

"When you're through with breakfast we will finish your Occlumency lesson," Severus announced.

"I thought you were going to wait as long as possible to use Legillimency again," Hermione told him. She picked up a muffin and peeled off the paper.

"I'm leaving tomorrow morning. I think it's best that you have a day to practice employing the technique before I leave you alone."

Hermione didn't say anything. She looked down at the muffin she was holding, despite the fact that she hadn't had a proper meal since yesterday's breakfast she wasn't very hungry.

She took a bite of the muffin anyway, chewed, and forced herself to swallow.

Surprise Hermione! It turns out you get the pleasure of finishing your Shield Occlumency lesson sooner than you'd expected.

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Severus had remained utterly silent whilst Hermione ate and drank. By the time she had finished her breakfast she was feeling more than a little ill.

Continuing her lesson with Snape was the very last thing she wanted to do be doing right now.

It's necessary, she told herself firmly. And once I get through it I never have to do anything like it again.

Hermione approached Severus after taking her glass and plate to the sink.

Severus stood up as she came near and regarded her with a neutral gaze.

"How long is this going to take?" Hermione asked him.

"It all depends on how well you succeed in learning the last part of the shielding process," Severus informed her.

Well then, thank God I'm a quick learner, thought Hermione. She flatly refused to acknowledge the fact that once Snape entered her mind and she began to use Occlumency, the magical attraction both had experienced during the first lesson would be renewed.

Whatever happens, it won't last long. I won't let it. I'll show Snape that I can easily learn the final step of Shield Occlumency and effectively block Voldemort's presence from my mind.

"Take a seat, Miss Granger," Severus told her, moving to the two plush chairs in the parlor area.

Hermione settled herself into one and Severus sat down in the chair that remained.

"Breathe in deeply through your nose and exhale slowly through your mouth."

Hermione did as Severus said.

"Do that twice more," he instructed.

When Hermione was done Severus told her, "Now focus your gaze on my eyes and do not look away,"

Hermione stared at Severus and felt his presence enter her mind.

She jumped instinctively, but didn't lower her gaze.

Severus remained calm as if he had been expecting her to react in the exact way that she had.

I'm going to leave it up to your discretion to decide if we will review what you've already learned, Severus said inside her mind.

Hermione didn't immediately reply.

Severus hadn't said it, but she knew he was referring to the fact that the Occlumency's power of attraction would take effect as soon as Hermione began the process of shielding. If she didn't feel that she absolutely needed the practice, it would probably be better for her to proceed straight onto the final process that would enable her to permanently block Voldemort from her consciousness. It would also make the lesson a lot easier for the both of them if they did things so that the Occlumency's magic would affect them for the shortest period of time possible.

Hermione thought about everything that she learned two days ago. She was confident that she remembered everything Severus had taught her.

Let's just move on to what I need to know to get Voldemort out of my mind, she told him, communicating with her thoughts.

Then what you will do is this: hold in your mind the people dearest to you. The more people you think about, the easier this will be.

Tell me once you have a clear picture in your mind.

Hermione brought up a picture of everyone she loved most standing on the Hogwarts grounds on a clear spring day. Her parents were there along with some of her other family members, Harry and Ron, Hagrid, Neville, McGonagall, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Ginny, Molly, Remus and Nymphadora,

She pictured them all talking amongst each other, occasionally letting out a laugh or two.

Alright, I've done what you've said, she told him.

Now focus on that image so that you will not lose it, said Severus. I am now going to open your mind to awareness of Voldemort's proximity. When I do, you will concentrate on inserting yourself into the image you've created. Then you will draw strength from the image in your mind, imagining yourself in such a safe place that Voldemort could never hurt you there, and you will focus all your attention on doing two things. The first is concentrating with every fiber of your being on that image you created, think about why what the image holds means so much to you. At the same time you will use your mind to "push" Voldemort's presence from your consciousness, until you are no longer affected by it.

Once you succeed in doing so while I use Legillimency to make you think about Voldemort's closeness, I will leave the room and you will see if you can succeed in employing the technique alone.

And once you can do that, the lesson is finished.

Now are you ready for me to proceed?

Yes, I am.

Hermione focused clearly on the faces of the people she had pictured in her mind.

A few seconds later she felt Voldemort's dark oppressive presence seep into the air around her. She forced herself not to struggle to breathe and instead envisioned herself standing with the people she cared about on the grass beside Hogwarts' lake.

She imagined the light breeze that blew through the trees on her cheeks and her mother smiling at her as she approached. Hermione envisioned herself looking around at the small crowd of her family and closest friends.

These were the people that she cared the most about, and also cared the most about her.

She then summoned up every ounce of mental strength she possessed and concentrated on pushing Voldemort from her mind.

The people she envisioned were everything that Voldemort was not. They all knew the true meaning of love and because of that every one of them was an antithesis to Voldemort. She loved them all in different ways and valued her relationships with them above all else.

Hermione felt confident that she would be able to force Voldemort from her thoughts.

But then everything changed and she was no longer standing on the Hogwarts grounds with the people she cared about.

She stiffened as her thoughts were invaded by a scene with her and Severus together, engaging in sexual activity. Quickly, she tried to conjure up the image of her friends and family at Hogwarts, but no matter how hard she tried to bring it forth into her mind, the risque image she was trying so hard to ignore only became more detailed.

It appeared that she and Severus were on the floor beside a fireplace bright with roaring flames. Several blankets had been thrown onto the floor which the two of them were using as a makeshift bed.

They were both without a stitch of clothing and Hermione could see that the flexed muscles of Severus's back were damp with sweat from his exertions.

Hermione was on her hands and knees and Severus was positioned on top of her. Hermione could plainly see that she and Severus were intimately joined and she watched herself gasp as Severus thrust into her from behind.

Like a dog servicing a bitch in heat.

Hermione colored at the sight of the image in her mind.

Ignore it and get the hell back to finishing the lesson, Severus demanded.

Hermione tried with all her strength to ignore the image but no matter how hard she tried to envision Hogwarts' lake with the people she loved around it, the image of her and Severus having sex would not go away or even fade.

I can't do it.

Yes, you can. You have to. Severus told her firmly.

I told you, I can't!

Then you must not be concentrating enough, Severus hissed bitingly in her mind.

I'm concentrating as hard as I possibly can! The only way for it to go away is for you to get out of my mind and I'll thank you to do so right this second!

No. If I withdraw from your mind now I will not be able to perform Legillimency again before I leave. This is the one and only opportunity you have to master the skills needed to force Voldemort's presence from your consciousness.

You already told me how to push Voldemort from my mind, I think I'll be able to succeed in the task when I'm left alone.

Before you can do that you must practice while I am here.

Why?

Because I was using my power to let only a fraction of awareness enter your mind. I was holding back most of what you normally experience when left by yourself in Voldemort's proximity.

Are you telling me that it was easy for me to start to repel Voldemort's darkness from my mind because you somehow used Legillimency to reduce the amount of his presence that I was exposed to?

Yes, exactly. You must now try to repel that much of his presence from your mind.

One more time Hermione made a great effort to return to Hogwarts' grounds and the assembly of people.

It still proved to be impossible for her to do so. And the sexual image of her and Severus was as vivid as it had been when it first came to her mind.

I still can't do it.

Don't say that. Just try again.

No! It's not possible for me to do what you want me to!

You're going to be very sorry later on if you make me leave your mind right now.

I don't care!

Yes, you do. Now try to continue the lesson one more time.

Did you see what I saw?

Do not stray from the task at hand, Miss Granger, Severus told her evenly.

Did you see what I saw? Hermione asked again, this time more emphatically.

Severus didn't immediately respond.

Yes, he told her tersely.

And were you able to banish it completely from your mind?

Another quick silence.

No.

THEN WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME TO DO SOMETHING THAT NOT EVEN YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH?

Miss Granger, calm down!

Get out of my mind first and then I will!

Miss Granger–

"GET OUT!" she shrieked at him as loud as she could.

You're not thinking rationally.

"Oh I assure you, Snape, I'm thinking quite rationally. Now get out."

Severus complied immediately. And as soon as he pulled out of her mind, Hermione ran from the room.

"Miss Granger!"

Hermione didn't stop until she reached Severus's bedchamber. She slammed the door shut and leaned against it briefly before slowly sinking down to the floor.

Her chance at finding peace in this place while Severus was gone during the day was ruined.

What was she going to do now?

A/N: Please review! I really want to know your thoughts and opinions.