When Severus had woken up in his private room at St Mungos, his first thought had been of Hermione, which was painfully telling in itself. After three minutes of Severus being awake, his nurse had stormed out of the room and bumped straight into Albus and Minerva, who had come to visit him. The nurse had muttered something about miserable, sarcastic, ungrateful bastards and they had known immediately that he was awake.

His first question upon them entering his room had been: "Where's Hermione?"

"Ah." Albus had worn a suspiciously guilty look on his face. Severus had tried to sit up, so he could glower more effectively, but found that he was magically bound to the bed.

Naked but for a sheet, bound to a bed… Has Albus gone kinky in my absence?

"What do you mean, 'ah'?" Severus glowered anyway - sod the fact that it was a far less intimidating glower when he couldn't move; Albus never seemed bothered by his evil looks anyway, even when they were at their absolute best.

"Miss Granger has not been allowed to visit," Minerva had informed Severus in clipped tones. "In case she tried to use Advante Corporium on you again."

Severus had nodded. Hermione probably would have been ridiculously Gryffindor enough to try that little trick again. Except there were no guarantees that she would ever wake up again if she had. And even using Advante Corporium under controlled circumstances could have damaged both her and the baby.

"How long have I been in here?" he had asked, noting Minerva's quiet fury but wisely deciding not to ask.

Minerva had opened her mouth to answer, then pursed her mouth up to make a sour expression. Severus had watched with interest as Minerva seemed to fight with herself.

"You got Miss Granger pregnant!" she had finally snapped, the words exploding from her mouth like she could no longer contain them. "Pregnant!"

"Now, now, Minerva," Albus had reprimanded gently. "There is plenty of time for you to lecture him once he is safely back at Hogwarts."

"Pregnant! Of all the foolish, ridiculous…"

"That is quite enough, Minerva," Severus had suddenly cut her off. He wasn't going to let her lecture him like he was one of her errant Gryffindors. "How. Long. Have. I. Been. Here?"

"Just over a month," Albus informed him as Minerva seethed. "Your body has been healed for a long while, but you completely refused to wake up."

It had probably been the idea of all those students waiting for me to drill some knowledge into them, he decided. I was probably subconsciously in hiding.

Severus had sighed in relief. He grudgingly admitted to himself that part of him had been scared he might have missed Hermione's baby being born. Thank Merlin he hadn't missed seeing her before she left Hogwarts for good. Not that he had any idea what he would say to her, but he knew he had to see her at least once more before she left.

He had relaxed again and listened to Albus and the still furious Minerva as they explained everything that had happened. Only after he had calmed down about the Draco situation had Albus released him from his magical restraints and let him get dressed. It had taken well over three hours.

Four days later, he was back teaching again. This morning when Hermione had finally noticed him, he had been so close to just wrapping his arms around her and holding her. A large part of him hadn't cared about the hundreds of students watching, or the staff members who would probably all die of shock; he had just wanted to touch her.

Now there she was, sitting in his class and pretending not to look at him. He looked at her properly, his eyes feasting on her after they had been starved of her for so long.

She looked exhausted, he noted. Exhausted and stressed. He was going to have to do something about it, before she did herself and the baby some harm.

His eyes wandered down and he tried not to take in the fact that her breasts looked fuller and were straining against the material of her cloak. He looked for signs that her pregnancy was showing and was oddly disappointed to note that with her robes on at least, you couldn't really see any difference.

What's wrong with me? Severus groaned to himself. It's a good thing no one can tell she is pregnant! The feelings he had been having since he had seen her were not doing him any good. Part of him wanted to mark her, brand her as his. The same primitive part of him wanted the world to know that the beautiful, intelligent girl who was standing so close to him was carrying his child.

Severus' fingers tightened around his quill as he fought the urge to get up and kiss Hermione until she was gasping for breath. God, he wanted to push her over that desk and…

The quill snapped in his hand, causing Hermione to quickly look up from where she had been quietly working on her potion. Their eyes met and she stared back at him, flushing faintly at the desire that was so evident in his eyes.

"Bloody hell."

Hermione's head whipped round to look at Draco Malfoy, who up until now hadn't said a word all morning. Her eyes widened as she followed his gaze as it flicked between the Potions Master and Hermione.

"Sir, could Draco and I be excused for a minute?" Hermione asked, quickly. "He needs some… erm… well…"

Harry shook his head at Hermione in despair. The sudden appearance of her professor had melted her brain.

"I don't wish to know what Mr Malfoy needs that you think you can give him, Miss Granger," Severus said. His eyes narrowed as he watched Draco's mouth open as he was about to say something else. He caught Harry's eye and gave him a meaningful look. If the boy didn't know what was going on, Severus would eat his broom. Hermione must have told him.

"Potter, take Mr Malfoy to the medical wing," Severus said in a bored tone. "Don't let him leave until he is given something suitably nasty that will cure him of this irritating tendency to shout out in my classes."

Harry nodded gratefully, jumped up and practically dragged Draco out of the classroom. He led him up the steps and into an empty corridor, where he finally dropped Draco's arm.

"Subtlety isn't your strong point, is it?" Harry said, breathing deeply. "You almost told half the class."

"Granger… She slept with Snape?" Draco's eyes were wide in disbelief. "It had crossed my mind, I'll admit, especially after the way she was with him in the dungeons. But I never really thought either of them would do that. She's so… boring. And he's so bloody proper. And he knocked her up!"

"Shush," Harry said, hurriedly checking that there were no portraits or paintings nearby. "Not so bloody loudly, Malfoy."

"I never knew he had it in him," Draco said, his face suddenly breaking into a grin. "I'm actually impressed. Although of course it was Granger who had it in her, technically."

Draco grinned again, as the look on Harry's face went from uncomfortable to completely horrified.

"I don't want to think about it," Harry said, trying desperately not to picture Snape all sweaty and horny over his best friend. Ack.

"You're not at all impressed that somehow the miserable sod of Hogwarts managed to pull one of the prettiest girls in Gryffindor? Wonder how he managed it?"

"He saved her life," Harry said, conveniently forgetting that it was Draco she had been saved from. It was easier not to think about the Draco's evil side when they were this close.

"Ah, gratitude then," Draco said, nodding knowingly. "Mind you, you saved me from my father, and you don't see me offering to keep your bed warm."

Harry arched an eyebrow at Draco. "Some people are just ungrateful," Harry informed him archly.

"Do you want me to show you how grateful I am?" Draco said, his voice suddenly low and his eyes intense.

Harry swallowed hard. "That's exactly what I think you should do," he said in a whisper.

xxx

Hermione couldn't concentrate. She had actually given up adding ingredients to her potion about ten minutes earlier, when Severus had suddenly loomed over her desk and taken her hand in his, just as she was about to throw her Daisy stalks into the potion.

She had gulped at the intimate contact, her eyes searching his as he held her hand tightly in his, hovering over the cauldron.

"If you drop those stalks into your potion now, Miss Granger," he said quietly, "you will blow us all up. And while getting rid of you lot a few days earlier would be a definite benefit, I do not wish to spend my Christmas holidays in the Infirmary."

He had released her hand and waited for her to repeat the instructions to herself and realise that she had indeed nearly made a near catastrophic mistake. Almost worthy of Neville Longbottom, he added to himself.

When her eyes widened in horror, he raised his eyebrows at her, mockingly.

"Tonight you will be scrubbing cauldrons," he snarled, turning away from her. "Tomorrow night, you will be brewing this potion for me, over and over again until I am convinced you can make it without putting the entire school in danger. Ten points from Gryffindor."

Hermione glowered half-heartedly at his back as he stalked back to his desk.

"I'm sorry, sir," she said, cringing a little. "I wasn't thinking – it won't happen again."

"Caffeine withdrawal doesn't seem to benefit your ability to concentrate, Miss Granger," Severus said, allowing himself a small superior smirk as he watched the look of shock and annoyance cloud her face. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then snapped it shut again.

Just you wait until I get you alone, Hermione promised him with his eyes. Bastard! Evil, sadistic bastard!

xxx

Hermione exchanged a puzzled look with Ron – Harry still hadn't arrived in the dining hall and lunch was nearly at an end. She looked down at her empty plate and took a second to marvel at the fact that she had somehow eaten so much. Lately she had been picking at her meals and when she did eat she usually brought it all back up again – today she had eaten everything on her plate and was somehow still starving.

"You're having another Yorkshire pudding?" Ron asked, his eyes wide. "Where are you putting it all? Even I'm stuffed!"

"Never to stuffed for pudding though," Hermione observed as the bowls of treacle tart appeared in front of them and Ron's hand went straight for the large jugs of steaming custard.

"Well no," Ron said, ladling the custard into his bowl until it was nearly overflowing. "That would just be wrong."

"Where's Harry?" Ginny asked suddenly, sounding like she had been trying desperately to keep the question in for the last half hour.

"I was wondering that," Ron said, talking through a mouth of treacle tart and sending a small blob of custard flying across the table. "He's been acting really strangely recently."

"Ack, Ron!" Hermione said, screwing up her face. "If your mum could see you now…"

She laughed as Ron quickly looked around the room, as if expecting his mother to appear next to him at any moment to scold him for his table manners. As her laugh carried up to the head table, she dared to glance up there.

"Watch out, Snape's got his eye on you," Ron pointed out, following her gaze. "You'll be getting detention for adding too much custard to your treacle tart or something."

Hermione smiled in Ron's general direction, but kept her eyes on Severus. He looked amazing, as if all that time recovering had actually made him better than before he had even been kidnapped. He looked different, as if somehow the glower on his face couldn't quite cover the fact that he was… happy.

Severus pointedly narrowed his eyes at Hermione, then looked away. He still wasn't any closer to knowing what to say to her and was vaguely nervous. Which was ridiculous – Severus Snape did not do nervous. Except here he was, his knee jigging up and down of its own accord, his fingers drumming on the table. If he carried on like this, he would be a nervous wreck before teatime.

Severus got to his feet and nodded to the Headmaster, before sweeping across the hall and stopping in front of Hermione's table.

"A word, Miss Granger," he said, his face expressionless. If he didn't talk to her now, he would be too distracted to take points away from the Gryffindor third years he was teaching after lunch. And that would just be wrong.

Hermione nodded and got to her feet. "Bring my bag to Transfiguration, will you Ron?" she called over her shoulder as she followed Severus out of the hall without waiting for a reply.

She followed Severus as he turned into an empty classroom, and nearly barreled into him as she found that he had stopped just inside the door.

"Professor," Hermione said, giving him a brief nod. She felt her mouth go dry and her heart speed up. Why was she so nervous?

"Miss Granger," Severus said, nodding back. He pushed the door closed and then stood leaning with his back against it as he looked at her.

Hermione looked up at him, something very close to panic rising up in her. All the time she had had him in her head hadn't made talking to him in person any less nerve-wracking. And what if he regretted talking to her the way he had? What if he had brought her here to tell her that it had all been a ridiculous mistake and he didn't want to talk to her outside Potions class ever again?

She watched as his enigmatic dark eyes took in everything about her, burning into her as they did and felt her cheeks flush. Was he reading her mind? Could he sense the panic in her as she watched him?

He carried on watching her, his expression thoughtful. Say something, for God sake… there has to be something I can say and not sound like a complete idiot, Hermione thought frantically.

"You took my coffee," Hermione protested suddenly, her voice weak. Well, at least I said something, she thought. It has to be better than just standing here, staring at him like I'm one of Lockhart's adoring fans, and he's the blond, conceited, air-headed ex professor himself.

He took a step towards her and she felt her limbs tremble at the nearness of him. She bit her lip and tore her eyes away from his in an effort to compose herself.

"I did?" Severus asked, with a small, knowing smile. "Now why would I do that?"

"Because you're evil." She shot him a halfhearted glower, then swallowed hard. God, she wanted to touch him.

"Yes," Severus acknowledged, his smile widening. "But as much as I understand the lure of caffeine on a morning, I don't think your baby appreciates it quite as much as you do."

"I only have…" she started.

"Six or seven cups," he interrupted with a knowing look. "Yes, I know."

I watch you, he added to himself with a guilty inner grimace.

"If I am going to give up my morning tea, you're going to give up your morning coffee," Hermione said decidedly, putting her hands on her hips.

"Am I really?" Severus said, one eyebrow raised mockingly. He knew that it would take something far more than a woman to make him give up his morning salvation-in-a-mug.

"Yes, you are," Hermione said, her voice adamant. "It's only fair."

Against her better judgment she looked quickly up at his face again. Her gaze landed on his mouth and she was hit with the almost desperate urge to kiss the mocking smile off Severus' face.

"I have never been a very fair man," Severus said, watching in fascination as her tongue darted out of her mouth to wet her bottom lip. "But I will consider it."

Maybe it wouldn't take something more than a woman to make him give his coffee up. God, she must really have bewitched him. Hormones, definitely his hormones. Except… wasn't it meant to be Hermione's hormones that made her do insane things, not his?

Bloody women get all the excuses.

"Are you… alright?" The question came out of Hermione's mouth almost shyly, as she watched him thinking. "It still hasn't quite sunk in that you're here."

No, he thought with a sigh. I am decidedly not alright.

"I'm fine," Severus said, his voice gentle. He took another step closer to her and lifted his hand to her face, cupping her cheek in his palm. "More fine than you appear to be. You're not taking care of yourself properly."

I knew I should have washed my hair this morning. No wonder he hasn't kissed me yet. She pulled a face and tried desperately to slow her breathing to somewhere near normal.

"I'm just a little tired," she said defensively. "It's not like I can take sleeping draughts at the moment." She wasn't going to tell him that at least part of her insomnia was down to her thinking about him constantly; wondering if he would ever wake up again.

"When you come and see me tonight, I'll find something to help you sleep," Severus said, his eyes searching hers. If he just leaned forward a little he could capture those trembling lips of hers with his and kiss her panic away. "I'll find something you can take away with you over Christmas."

"I'll probably be here over Christmas," Hermione said, her hand rising almost of its own accord and covering Severus' hand on her cheek with her own. She held his hand hard against her cheek, closing her eyes and fighting back the tears. God, she wanted him to hold her. She wanted to cling to him and touch him and make sure he was real and there to stay.

"Albus would have no problem letting you stay with your parents for the holidays," Severus said, frowning. "It's been a long time since you've seen them, I'm sure he would understand."

He was trying painfully hard not to lean in and kiss Hermione. She was clinging to his hand so tightly he almost believed that she might have meant the words she had mouthed to him in his storeroom all those weeks ago. Almost.

"Have you seen me?" Hermione asked, her eyes opening and her grip relaxing on his hand. She brought Severus' hand down to touch her stomach through her robes.

Merlin…

"You can't tell," Severus said, swallowing hard as Hermione pressed his hand to her stomach. "Not yet; not just looking at you."

His eyes widened as she slipped his hand through the parting of her robes. At a muttered word the Muggle clothes she was wearing seemed to disappear under his touch. She pressed his palm gently against the very noticeable swell of her stomach.

"My stomach is very obvious when it's not under all these layers, and my parents are somewhere far warmer than this," Hermione told him, watching as his face changed from unreadable to a look that could very easily be mistaken for awe. "I couldn't hide under my clothes and I can't perform glamours on myself while I'm pregnant."

"They're going to find out at some point," he said, letting his hand move slowly over her stomach as he felt how it had changed since he had last touched her. "You will need their support."

His baby. His baby was in there, making Hermione's stomach swollen and firm under his touch.
"My baby," he whispered. He hadn't realised he'd spoken out loud until Hermione stepped closer to him, still holding his hand to her stomach.
"Yes," Hermione said, tipping her face up to his, smiling. He'd finally stopped referring to the baby as 'the baby' or 'your baby'. "And you're not leaving again – you're going to be around to be it's father, even if I have to chain you to your bed permanently."

"That plan in itself has merit," Severus said with a smirk. He lifted his hand from her stomach to cup her face again. He ran his thumb gently over her jaw as he slowly lowered his face to hers, his eyes dark as they stared first into her eyes and then focused on her mouth.

"If you don't kiss me soon, I'm going to explode," Hermione confessed, her voice trembling.

Severus' eyes darted up to meet Hermione's. "Now really Miss Granger, that's hardly appropriate, is it?"

"I like you best when you're inappropriate," Hermione said softly, reaching up so her lips were almost touching Severus'.

"Yes, I think I do too," he agreed. He moved closer, so his lips were finally touching hers. He paused before moving, lips barely brushing Hermione's and she bit back a growl of frustration.

"Are you sure you want this?" he asked against her mouth, his hot breath making her lips tingle.

Hermione let out a whimper of frustration and lifted both her hands to tangle in Severus' hair. She held his head still as she kissed his lips over and over again, whimpering again when his control finally broke and he started to kiss her back, hard.

"This is insane," he half moaned against her mouth. He kissed his way down her jaw and along her neck, before gently nipping the base of it with his teeth. His bite turned into a rhythmic sucking that had Hermione moaning and grasping his robes tightly in her clenched fists. Severus knew that if this carried on much longer, his control would slip completely and he would end up taking her against the classroom door, heedless of the students and professors who could walk in at any moment.

Hermione's hand brushed against the front of his trousers and he gasped, closing his eyes.

"God, I missed you," Hermione whispered against Severus' ear, her voice shaking with emotion. She slid her hand inside his trousers and wrapped her hand around his hard cock. She reveled in his moan and the way his back arched, making him thrust almost unconsciously in her hand. She closed her eyes as his reaction sent a shiver through her entire body.

Strangely, Severus noted, it wasn't the way she touched him that broke him in the end, but the tremor in her voice as she had breathed the words into his ear. The way she spoke the words, as if having him back with her was the most important thing in the world, completely undid him.

He groaned and pulled her closer to his chest, cradling her face in one of his hands while letting his eyes burn into hers, questioning. Her eyes burned back into his, dark with passion and he brought his mouth to hers again, his other hand finding her breast and teasing Hermione's nipple until she groaned against his mouth.

God, he wanted to be inside her again. He wanted to strip her and explore every inch of her body. He wanted to watch her as she came apart underneath him. He wanted to taste her. He wanted to…

The sound of the bell ringing to signal the end of lunch and the beginning of the next class interrupted his thoughts and brought Severus far too quickly back to reality.

Fuck.

He set Hermione gently away from him, quickly performing a charm to calm her mass of tangled hair. He straightened her clothes for her and looked at her face – the flushed cheeks, swollen mouth and the dark passion in her eyes he couldn't hide.

"No, no, no," Hermione groaned, letting him get rid of any evidence that they had been together.

"My sentiments exactly," Severus said, looking part amused and part frustrated. "I had forgotten where we were."

"Sod classes," she moaned. "Come back to my rooms with me."

Severus bit back a groan. So tempting…

"Succubus," he murmered accusingly, lowering his lips to hers. He kissed her gently, holding her tightly. Then he let go of her before pushing her into the corridor, waiting a few seconds and straightening his own clothes and hair before following her out.

Thank Merlin for the invention of long robes, Severus thought, wryly. That would certainly terrify the students into being quiet…

xxx

"Bloody hell, that was close," Draco grumbled, climbing out from behind the heavy velvet curtains, running a hand through his hair to straighten it.

"I may never recover," Harry agreed, peering out from behind the same curtain, then climbing out too. "That was something I should never have had to see."

Draco grinned, walking to the door then turning around. "Hey Potter?"

"Yeah?" Harry asked, stopping in the search for his dropped wand to look up questioningly at Draco.

"Your flies are undone."

His grin widened at Harry's blush, then he opened the door he carried on down the hallway, looking more cheerful than he had in weeks.

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500 reviews! I'm so happy. I can't believe so many of you like this story :o)