Chapter 35: Weight Of The World
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Snape's Quarters, Slytherin Dungeons, Hogwarts...
Darkness that had inhabited the dungeons had been welcome as Snape entered his quarters. He had been in an unusually foul mood for the past few weeks. He made his way through his front room and into his bedroom where Hermione had already been in bed in preparation for her class the next morning. She had truly been a beautiful sight asleep beneath his Slytherin colored bedding. The Potions Professor unbuttoned his trade mark frock coat and stripped down to nothing as he climbed into bed with his equally naked young wife. The scent of jasmine that rose from her hair had been not only welcome but it had a sort of calming effect on him.
Feeling the familiar dip in the bed at as her husband joined her beneath the covers, Hermione stretched and turned to face him. There was a sadness behind his obsidian eyes that she could not help but note as she stroked his sallow pale cheek with her soft nimble fingers. Snape closed his eyes at the warmth of her touch. She would never know how her just being in his life meant the world to him and the little moments like this where no words were needed to illustrate the closeness of their bond.
The bushy haired witch kissed her husband softly on the lips. For the first time since their relationship began he seemed more than content to let the young witch take the lead. Snape kissed her back as she maneuvered in bed until she was towering above him. The Potions Master didn't understand how she could just fit with him so easily. It was unreal.
The thought of losing the love of this beautiful amber eyed witch only made the ache in his heart grow. All his life he had gone through his days without anyone who had really given a damn about him. Abuse was a common tool to keep him in line for whatever purpose he was to serve for those that wanted him to further their own gains. From Tobias Snape all the way to Dumbledore, he was simply a tool to be used.
Hermione had wanted him to save her life from the death eaters but she had been the only one to chose him without any hidden agenda. She was the one who had given up her life and virginity all he had to do was take it. She had even gotten pregnant due to their arrangement and willingly wanted to keep their child. His child.
He had never met a more passionate young woman than the witch who had pressed her soft pink lips into his pale ones. A soft moan escaped her lips as she pressed her body to his. A low hiss escaped him as she took hold of his cock and slid him inside her warm slender body. She leaned forward continuing to moan all the while as Snape gripped her supple thighs.
He knew he did not deserve her.
He knew this union was merely a means for Albus to control him via his cock, but she had felt unlike any woman he had ever taken to bed before. It wasn't something that he had gotten use to by any means when they wed. Hermione shifted her weight causing him to let out a low groan feeling her warmth envelope him.
There were still no words between them as the hours passed. Only the sounds their collective bodies made while locked in the throes of passion. Snape had never been ridden by a woman other than Bellatrix. It was a the most intimate aspect of their former relationship and Hermione without even knowing the significance of such a gesture had begun the surprisingly simple task of tearing down the many walls her husband had put up over his cold heart in a bid to avoid further damage.
Tears had begun to stream down the amber eyes of Hermione as she felt herself give way to the emotions that seemed to seep out of her and into her husband. Snape groaned reaching up and clasping the young Gryffindor witch to him feeling as if a dam had burst inside of him. Everything he felt for Lily Evans that first night he took her inside the abandoned classroom of a rundown school back in Cokeworth, England came flooding back. The feelings from night he found out Bellatrix had been pregnant with his child and she straddled him at Malfoy Manor returned as well nearly overwhelming him.
He knew he did not deserve Hermione but it was too late to reconsider.
He was more in love with his wife than he ever could have imagined and turning back was not an option. He knew things about her that he had no right to. He had been the first to experience her sensuality take form and it was almost more than he could stand when distanced from her in a bid to continue the charade of being her Professor. The sound of her pleasured moans filled his ears and he knew it wouldn't be long now.
Perhaps not everything had gone according to Dumbledore's plan. Snape maneuvered until he towered above Hermione desperate to show his young witch just how much she had affected him.
"Mine." he groaned out as he started thrusting into her warmth in earnest.
Hermione dug her fingers into the flesh of his pale back like always as if gripping him for dear life as he continued to increase both his pace and power. The young witch writhe beneath him overwhelmed by the emotions that seemed to pour from her husband in droves. She had not understood how their bond had become so cemented but she was glad of it as he continued to please her in the best way he could.
"Severus." said Hermione losing herself in the sensations he was causing.
"No one will ever take you from me." he said in a gruff tone as he continued to thrust harder and more frequent.
Tears streamed down the cheeks of the young Gryffindor witch as she looked up into her husband's obsidian eyes. He had not known that he too had tears streaming down his sallow pale cheeks as he continued to bed her.
When Snape finally reached his end neither he nor Hermione could see very much due to their watery eyes. Out of breath and unable to stop the well spring that came from his eyes Snape leaned against the young witch in a bid to gather his strength.
"I don't deserve you." he said when he was at last able to speak.
Hermione sighed and stroked his tear stained cheek.
"All that matters is that I love you." she said softly.
Snape gave her a lazy smirk.
"That's all that matters is it?" he asked pulling away from her and laying on his side of the bed.
Hermione had been a little saddened by the loss of his body but she turned to face him. To her surprise the tears had continued to fall down his cheeks. He looked up at the ceiling as if he had not noticed trying to gather his wayward breath as he stared out into the darkness.
"I-I am sorry." he said breaking the silence that had befallen them.
"Severus?" said Hermione sitting up to get a better look at him.
"I will never be the man you deserve." he said looking into her amber eyes. "And I can never give back what I've taken."
"You didn't take anything from me." said Hermione not understanding where all of this was coming from. "I chose to marry you."
Snape sighed.
"How many of our actions are truly of our own choosing?" he asked. "In any case, I apologize none-the-less."
"What brought this on?" asked Hermione finally.
"The days ahead will only get more complicated." replied Snape in an emotionless tone despite the tears. "You should always be aware and keep your wits about you."
"Thanks for the advice." said Hermione. "Now can we get some sleep or do you have a whole lecture planned?"
Snape smirked at this.
"Beautiful Gryffindor." he said softly. "I'll miss your sense of humor."
This got Hermione's attention.
"What do you mean you'll miss my sense of humor?" she asked.
It was Snape's turn to stroke her cheek.
"It means..." he said sitting up and taking in the sight what he could of her in the darkness that surrounded them. "You are headed to your parents for the summer are you not?"
Hermione sighed in relief. She had nearly forgotten about that.
"Well, yes but did you have to make it sound so final?" she asked smiling. "And you say Gryffindor's are dramatic."
With a giggle or two she showered her dour husband in kisses for good measure before snuggling against his pale bare chest and falling into an easy sleep. Snape layed there in the dark listening to the sound of his young wife breathing and inhaling the scent of her notoriously bushy hair.
"There is so much about you that I will miss, Hermione." he said softly. "The real question remains when this is all over will you ever miss me?"
After an hour or two Snape drifted off to sleep as well.
Another round of pressing nightmares later and he awoke before Hermione. Careful as not to wake the sleeping young witch, he slipped out of bed and made his way into his front room. Hermione continued to sleep peacefully in his bedroom.
Snape's Front Room, Slytherin Dungeons, Hogwarts...
Naked and lost deep in thought as his newly surfaced emotions began to war with each other Snape found himself mulling over the full brunt of what Dumbledore was asking of him. The subject of the old fool's curse kept nagging at him. He ventured into his private labs if there was a way to end this curse through means of potions, he as a Potions Master felt it was his duty to find it.
He couldn't lose Hermione, not after everything they had been through and killing Dumbledore was a sure-fire way to make Hermione hate him. Even if doing so was in a bid to save the lives of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy.