Chapter 7: Bad Timing

The look on Hermione's face told him everything.

Her eyes were wide with awe as the phosphorescent glows from the lichen and fungus reflected off a cavern studded with infinite crystals. The room shimmered beautifully with diffused light.

The vault lizards were scurrying everywhere, exploring every nook and cranny, humming with excitement.

Hermione looked around with stunned amazement. "Severus, this place is so beautiful." She held out her hands, and the Earthmancy vibrated within her, resonated with the crystals, and made the cavern sing.

Severus' eyes closed as a soft hiss escaped his lips as her magic brought the cavern to life.

"It was my mum's favourite place," he said. "My father said she would have had me right here had they not dragged her out."

Hermione laughed. "I don't blame her. This place— it feels so wonderful. It sings . I can hear it! It makes me want to dance, and I can't dance."

Severus held out his hand. "Then dance with me."

"I'll step on your feet!"

"I have very resilient feet, I'll have you know. Come. Dance with me."

She took his hand slowly and allowed him to pull her close, and the cavern sang with Earth magick. Colours danced, and the lizards warbled and hummed, and Severus guided her across the cavern floor around the crystals. Time itself seemed to stop but for them as they glided across the cavern. Their closeness seemed natural, their magic danced with them. Phantoms faded in and out, dancing along with them—

Hermione allowed Severus to guide her into a slow dance, her head resting against his shoulder.

He pressed his cheek against her hair.

"Hermione," he whispered in her ear, breathing in the intoxicating scent of her skin.

His lips moved down her cheek as his fingers tilted her chin up. His mouth covered hers, and she whispered his name. His hands wove into her curls, scattering the vault lizards, but they left lazily as if to keep their eyes on him.

They were suddenly on a lush bed of subterranean moss, and Hermione was making soft sounds of pure pleasure as he moved his hands over her body even as their kiss deepened. His fingers deftly undid his buttons to allow her hands to explore his skin, her very touch against his flesh sending jolts of magic spreading through every nerve.

Never had one person's touch alone ignited such a driving need in him, and he wanted to imprint her upon himself. He wanted to be the only one she ever thought of, craved, needed.

He panted, his sharp teeth elongating in a goblin grimace. "I want you," he confessed heavily. "I— need you."

He brushed her hair back from her face. "Stay with me. Be with me."

"Please, Severus," she pleaded, her hands pressed against the sides of his face. Her magic was singing to him— calling to him as it merged with the song of the Earth and the Underground.

"I want this to be real," he said hoarsely. " What I feel for you is so very powerful, Hermione. You must be sure—"

"Severus," she said, staring into his eyes. She smiled up at him, her eyes lit like the full of the moon in the dark of the caverns. "I w—"

Hermione screamed suddenly, shoving Snape away from herself as she frantically covered herself. Her eyes looked down as her face reddened in total mortification.

"Begging your pardon, your m—"

Snape snarled as his magic flared and he towered over the much smaller goblin with nothing less than murderous wrath. For a moment, the terrified goblin page frantically attempted to use his own earth magic to resist, and the entire cavern seemed to shake with anger. The squealing page went flying into the air and ended up clinging like a burr to one of the crystal formations on the ceiling, pissing himself in terror.

"Someone had better be dead for you to interrupt me here!"

"Please, your majesty!" the goblin wailed. "I was told to fetch you to prepare for the ball!" he was sobbing and scrambling to hold on to the gypsum crystal formation.

"Majesty?"

Snape's head turned around to see Hermione looking at him with utter disbelief. "Hermione—"

Betrayal and pain danced across her face as she realised she had been made a fool.

He staggered toward her to take her into his arms. "Hermione, please—"

She shoved herself off the ground and hastily moved away from him. "Were you even going to tell me when you picked your Queen out of a lineup of highly qualified witches?"

"Would I find out at the ball? In front of the Gods, Merlin, and everyone who already believes that I'm the worst kind of whore?"

"No—" He reached for her, and she slapped his hands away.

"Don't touch me," she cried in a half-sob.

"I wanted to tell you. I was going to tell you!" he pleaded. "I didn't want you to assume that I was just searching for a queen!"

"And what were you searching for, Severus? Is it even Severus?" Tears streaked Hermione's face.

"It is Severus. And you're the first person who made me actually want my name. It was you I was searching for. I didn't know it at first, but I do now!"

The vault lizards were expressing their own displeasure by tearing into the goblin page, scratching at his face and hands and arms as well as any and every bit of exposed skin. The page cried out, falling to the ground, swatting at the pissed-off reptiles but only succeeding in smacking himself in the process.

In just the split second it distracted Snape, he heard the tell-tale crack of Hermione's exit.

"No," he groaned. "No."

He tore at his hair as the cavern began to shake. He let out a moan that turned into a scream and he howled his frustration and his anger and his pain as he lost the woman he loved.

Again.