The familiar pinpricks of her heat settled beneath her skin as the scent of her arousal filled the small space. The intensity was less than it had been and she knew her heat was coming to a close. Hermione turned over in the bed, writhing against the soft cotton sheets and positioned herself over Severus, who was still asleep. It hadn't fully gripped her yet that her mate was not simply going to disappear and so she spent a moment studying his face in the dark, lit only by two small floating orbs in the corner of the room. There was no moonlight to be seen down in the dungeons.

He didn't seem to stir when she straddled his waist, nor did he appear to awaken when she lightly brushed her finger along the curve of his cheek. Hermione pushed a lock of hair away from his face and bent down, planting her hands on either side of his head before pressing her lips to his in a soft kiss. At first, he didn't so much as stir, but she didn't stop. She felt his hardness growing beneath her and she rocked against him, sliding the slick folds of cunt along his cock as she licked at the seam of his lips with her tongue until they parted and admitted her.

His hands caressed the curves of her thighs and traveled over her hips to softly cup her face between his palms. He nuzzled his nose against her own and whispered a single word against her lips.

"Mine."

It had almost become a mantra he'd uttered it so often as if he feared she would slip away with the night and be gone with the sunrise. She never failed to return a single word of her own.

"Yours."

The past several days had proven exactly how true that was. There was a sense of peace that came over Hermione when she lounged with him in the warm bath, letting him wash away the sweat and grime and soothe her sore muscles. There was a sense of belonging she'd never felt when they quietly conversed when her heat ebbed enough to allow her a few moments of lucidity. And there was a sense of nurturing when they dined together on the sofa in the living area of Severus' quarters and he fed her bits of cheese and fruit with gentle coaxing when she wanted nothing more than to ride him until they both reached their completion.

It was in these quiet moments that she dreamed of what their life could be. His actions were in direct contradiction to those she knew when she was his student, many years in the future and possibly in a different timeline altogether, but somehow she knew that with the right person at his side, he could walk with purpose in a world where he was not bound to two masters and where he could be free of those obligations. Her mind conjured images of a quaint cottage in the country with shelves overflowing with books and one or two little ones they would eventually send off to Hogwarts.

It was impossible to know what would happen when her heat ended and they were forced to face their obligations, but for now, she could dream.

Their coupling was unhurried and sweet. Severus slipped easily into her dripping core, sheathing himself in her warmth with a soft groan while Hermione moved above him, rocking her body to an unknown melody that played only for them. Hands drifted over the curves and planes of each other's bodies and fingertips pressed against shoulders and hips in an effort to continue their slow, languid dance.

His fingers found her clit and circled and teased her towards her peak and when she crested, the knot at the base of his cock swelled and locked them together as he came undone. Hermione settled herself against Severus' chest as he stroked the curve of her spine and traced inarticulate patterns along the ridges.

She felt like she could stay like this forever—wrapped in his protective embrace. Plans would need to be made and decisions considered. But for now, in their own quiet space, they were content to simply be.

It wasn't long before she felt the last vestiges of fever retreat from her body and she knew her heat had ended. Severus must have sensed it too, though the scent of their couplings still filled his chambers; about the only place they hadn't consummated their new bond was in the potions lab, but the sofa and the antique rug in the sitting room had not been spared the same courtesy.

"It's done, then?" Severus asked as his fingers worked shampoo through her curls. She'd pulled him to the bath once she felt the fever leave her and he'd insisted on washing her hair as he'd done countless times over the past few days as sweat and fluids caked their bodies.

She hummed in acknowledgement, letting the warm water scented with herbs and oils ease her tired muscles.

"How do you feel?" She could hear the tension in his voice, even as his long fingers massaged her scalp. The euphoria from her heat had faded and she knew he was worried that something might happen to tear them apart or to change her mind.

"Good." A smile rose to her lips as she considered their couplings over the last few days. "But sore."

He chuckled behind her, the rumble from his chest soothing something within her and nearly making her preen at her ability to put her Alpha at ease. That little voice in the back of her mind cooed that her Alpha was happy and that she was good, even if he didn't utter the words himself. "No regrets?"

A warm stream of water poured from Severus' wand to wash the shampoo from her curls, the bubbly foam flowing her body and into the tub. "Only that we didn't christen the potions lab."

It was said in jest, but she got a pinch to her side for her remark which caused her to squeal. The involuntary movement caused the water from Severus' wand to flow down her face instead of her curls and she sputtered even as she laughed. "You did that on purpose, Severus Snape!"

He smirked at her when she turned and he grasped her wrist before she could splash water in his face. "You'll never prove it," he muttered as he threaded her arms around his neck and pulled her close so their fronts were pressed together.

"Such a snake," she gently chided, her knees parting to straddle his lap before kissing his cheek. His hands cupped her arse as he slotted himself against her entrance but he didn't enter her.

"Too sore?" he asked, lips fluttering over the freckles dotting her cheek .

She shook her head as she felt herself grow slick between her thighs. It was nothing compared to the deluge that seemed to drip from her during her heat, but it was enough that when she lowered herself down on his length, hissing as her swollen cunt stretched to accommodate him, that was still pleasant. "Not too sore. Just go slow."

"Anything you want, sweetheart."

It was when a knock came at the door several hours later that Hermione realized they couldn't stay in their own bubble forever. Severus pressed his lips against her forehead and dressed quickly. The sight of him clothed in proper trousers and robes seemed wrong somehow but it still made her stomach tighten and her heart flutter when she dragged her eyes over him.

He closed the door to the bedroom and Hermione could just make out the murmur of voices on the other side. She wanted desperately to find out who he was speaking with, but she lacked any actual clothing of her own and it would be improper to leave his bedroom in only a dressing gown or one of his shirts, especially if the person on the other side was a student. She cursed her lack of forethought in keeping her beaded bag with her when she left Severus' chambers several days ago and several years in the future to find a pain potion.

She didn't even have her wand to transfigure something out of the clean bed linens.

When Severus walked back into the bedroom a few minutes later, Hermione had curled herself into a ball on the bed with tears streaming down her face.

The sight of Hermione crying called to something primal within him.

Your Omega is hurting. Fix it.

Gathering her in his arms, she sobbed into his shirt as he stroked her bare back. His palm covered her mating mark and he swiped his thumb back and forth over the bruised flesh in an attempt to soothe her. Her body, which had been tight and rigid, relaxed. "Tell me what's wrong, sweetheart?"

The endearment still felt strange on his tongue, but the first time he'd uttered it Hermione's eyes had lit up as if he'd told her she'd won a vault filled with galleons. He could feel her joy coursing through the bond that it was almost palpable and he resolved to always try and put a smile on her face. She was his mate and deserved every happiness, and even if he was still uncertain about mating with her. He'd seen what a rejected bond could do to a man and a woman, and though he saw no signs of rejection from her, thus far, it still flickered in the back of his mind that she might leave or reject him, as most others in his life had.

It seemed more than a few days since she had been in his life. Rationally, he knew the exact moment of her arrival but with her near, everything felt so much lighter. The dark cloud hanging over him that was the relationship between Lily and James Potter seemed inconsequential. It was easy to see why the bond between his mother and father soured now that he'd found his Omega, his soulmate, his destiny. Had he and Lily mated, their own bond would have broken in time. It was one thing to understand biological compatibility on a fundamental, scholastic level but it was entirely another to live it.

She shivered against him and he tugged the blanket around her shoulders, soothing her with gentle touches and quiet words.

A roar of anguish flooded through their bond and his arms tightened instinctively around her. "I've lost everything." The words were quiet and filled with so much pain that it made his heart seize in his chest.

A deep frown set on Severus' mouth as he realized how much she had given up to come back to the past. She'd traveled back in time with no more than his shirt on her back and now that her heat was over, the grief over her situation was setting in. He asked the one question that terrified him, simply because it was the right thing to do and if she wanted it, he would find a way to make it happen.

"Do you want to go back to your own time, Hermione?"

"I-I couldn't leave you, Severus. I already know what it's like not to have you and I couldn't bear it."

Relief flooded through him, selfish as it felt, but he didn't need to worry about her disappearing to the future once more. He pushed away the small voice in his mind that nattered on about her still being able to leave him in other ways, and focused on the sweet witch in his arms.

"The house-elves have brought you things to wear, if you'd like to put on something more than this." He tugged at the sleeve of the shirt that his mate was wearing. "It's not much, but it will last for a few days until we can go to Diagon Alley to replace your wand and gather whatever else you need to be able to make a life here."

She sniffled quietly and made no move to separate herself from him, "I miss my friends."

Severus could only nod. Apart from Lucius Malfoy, he was relatively friendless and while Hermione had told him little of her life in the future, he'd gathered enough information to know that her family and her friends were important to her.

"Will you tell me about them sometime?"

For some reason, that made her giggle. "Oh Severus, you couldn't stand them."

"Excuse me?"

"You were our professor, you see." That confession alone nearly made him sputter and Severus Snape was not a man who resorted to such idiotic displays of emotion, but somehow, he managed to hold his tongue. "Harry was the son of—" she stopped herself, teeth trapping her lower lip between them. "Should I be telling you all of this? It pertains to the future."

Slowly, a frown etched it's way across Severus' features as he appeared to consider the consequences of Hermione revealing the future. He'd read the studies and the researchers couldn't agree as to whether time was linear or cyclical and if the possibility of alternate timelines and parallel universes existed. "Tell me what you can without revealing too much and we will make a decision."

Severus' fingers ghosted over Hermione's arms as she spoke, her head cradled against his chest. "I lived through the second wizarding war, though the one that is happening right now will be called the first. A lot of people died, Severus—muggleborns, half-bloods, purebloods, but eventually the enemy was vanquished. Before that happened though, they managed to take over the Ministry and the final battle was held at Hogwarts. I went through a lot during my years at Hogwarts, mostly because of who I was friends with and the circumstances in which we found ourselves in. Nowhere was truly safe, especially once the leader of the opposition made an appearance. My friend was the one who killed him, but there were a lot of steps to take before that could happen."

Severus remained quiet and still as he contemplated every word she uttered. If he was interpreting the clues correctly, the war she had lived through was only an extension of the one he was living through now. He needed to know. "Do you know my role in all of this, little one?"

She seemed reluctant to tell him, as if she might be giving too much away, but the words flowed over her lips as her fingers circled the buttons of his shirt. "You served as a spy. Your motivations came out after you died, though most thought you were not on our side."

Severus had only served as a spy for mere months and now his mate was telling him he would be a spy until the day of his death, which, if he'd interpreted her cues correctly, was within a few months shy of the day she traveled back in time. Nearly twenty years of teaching imbeciles at Hogwarts and trading time and secrets between two masters. The thought of it alone was enough to condemn him to an early grave.

Though, something his mate had said earlier struck him, flitting into his mind as though it were the final ingredient needed to shift a potion from inert to magical.

"You knew me, but you didn't know I was yours."

Though his mate had only been with him for a few days, he already knew he would move mountains to keep her safe. What else could have motivated him to remain a spy between the dark and the light? He'd initially agreed to the Headmaster's terms to protect Lily, but that couldn't be what motivated him in the future, could it? Unrequited love for a childhood friend who was mated to another Alpha?

He swallowed visibly and dropped a kiss to Hermione's crown, lips lingering on her soft curls. "If you tell me of my motivations, I may be able to discern if your presence here has altered the timeline."

"Lily Potter."

Those two words were all it took for Severus to recognize that the timeline had changed, even though Hermione went on to explain about memories shared on his deathbed. He held her tightly when she discussed his death, how she pressed her hand over the wound at his neck caused by a snake of all things, and how his eyes were only focused on her friend as the memories slipped from his eyes through his tears.

Severus was certain that if his future self had known she was his mate, he would have had eyes only for her. Even if the world had ripped them apart sometime between now and when he inevitably became her professor, if he had been on his deathbed with the choice to hold his mate's gaze for his last moments, he wouldn't have been able to look away from her.

"I'm nearly certain the timeline has already been altered by your presence." She went still in his arms and stared into nothing. Severus simply held her as she processed the fact that she would never be able to return to her own time, whether or not she wanted to. She would never be able to return to a future she knew.

When she finally spoke, it disturbed the quiet of the room, though her voice was firm, if quiet. "Fighting for my life in one war was enough for twenty lifetimes, Severus. I don't know if I have the strength left in me to fight another one."

"I want to hear about it. All of it." Even though he knew it would spark his anger, he needed to know her story. It was something he ached for in the depths of his soul. Whatever she had lived through, whatever she knew, would be important to ending this war for good, so a second one would never have the chance to ravage their world.

Her fingers fiddled with the hem of the shirt she wore, twisting the fabric between them and Severus felt her hesitation through their bond. "I'll tell you, but I need time. I'm not quite ready to talk about everything just yet."

As much as it pained him, he accepted it, trusting that she would tell him when she was ready. "We should speak with Albus sooner than later. The knowledge you hold in your mind could prevent the war you lived through in the future."

Hermione nodded, nuzzling her face against his chest until she rose up onto her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pressed her lips against his and his hands crept up over her hips to rest at the curve of her waist.

Severus was not raised with much affection in his life, but he was beginning to crave each little touch as he sunk further into the feeling of comforting and caring for his mate.

"Dumbledore will need to know about the horcruxes and Peter Pettigrew first."

He brushed a stray curl away from her face, "Horcruxes, plural?" He'd heard of them, of course, but the idea of someone splitting their soul multiple times was repugnant.

"Seven, in total, though he's only made five at this point."

Severus couldn't stop the swear. "Fuck." Seven. Seven fucking horcruxes and already five were made. Suddenly, the Dark Lord's unpredictability and violent fascinations made sense. The Dark Lord was no longer the charismatic politician he had followed in the beginning and it was clear the influx of dark magic required to split his soul was to blame.

Hermione laughed and pressed her lips against his once more, cradling his face between her hands as though he were made of glass. "The moment we walk out of that door we will be actively at war and even," Hermione drew a deep breath, "—even if I can't find it in me to fight again, we will know little peace. Can we—can we pretend for a while longer that our only responsibilities are to love one another, Severus?"

Her bright eyes, so full of longing, bore into his and moved him in the depths of his soul. The bond flared between them, trilling and tweeting like a bird singing it's first song of spring and even though he knew the Headmaster expected him in his office before the day was out, there was time yet to give his mate exactly what she desired.

"You might just be the smartest witch I know," he teased.

"Brightest Witch of her Age," she grinned, her eyes sparkling with mirth and intelligence and somehow, he knew she was telling the truth. He'd need to ask her about that specific moniker later, but there was something about the way she carried herself and the way she spoke that told him she could hold her own alongside him. She was his equal, not merely his to protect, but the other half of his soul who would stand by his side and defend him at every turn.

"Prove it."

Her hand drifted down his chest, fingers brushing over the soft linen of his shirt, and stopping only when they reached the placket of his trousers. A growl left Severus' chest as he pressed his nose against her mating gland and inhaled their scents, mingling together to craft something so perfect it would be unmistakable to anyone who ever scented them that they belonged to no one but one another.

Perfect.

Mine.

Us.

There would be many hard days ahead with war already raging around them and innocents dying each day. He would be pulled between two masters and she would work to bring down one of them with the drums of war sounding around them, but when the difficult days ended and they fell into bed together in the dark of the night, peace was found in the soft words and gentle touches of two lovers trying to make it through and survive.

And together, they thrived.

-

Thank you so much for all of the reviews, likes, and follows! The response to this bit of fluff has been incredible and I've so enjoyed writing their story! I've marked it as complete because we've only the epilogue left!