He was back again.
It had been just over two weeks since he had last been there, a rare thing since the war was so intense but she was thankful for it.
After two intense bouts of love making both so slow and gentle that the second time almost brought Hermione to tears they settled down in bed facing each other, Severus stroking his long fingers over Hermione's hip as she unloaded all her thoughts and fears on to the one person she wished to tell.
Because things where getting worse in the house.
Harry's constant complaints that he was being babied and Ginny's insistence at being permanently glued to her boyfriends side like a leech (plus acting like a jealous harpy by giving Hermione death glares whenever she tried to talk to him for more than a minute) she was close to cracking.
Also Ron's near constant presence, gazing with lust filled eyes at her over the dinner table or trying to get her on her own for what she was sure would be a quick admittance of wanting her (which translated in to Ron language was I like your tits) before attaching his mouth to her lips like a limpet and sticking his had up her skirt.
Ugh! No thank you!
To cap it all Mrs Weasley had obviously picked up on the vibe being given of around the house by her two children as she had been heard by Hermione, on more than one occasion, muttering about double weddings and the advantages of spring over summer or eyeing Hermione up and down as though mentally trying to fit her for a dress.
Ironically (for Hermione at least) the best times of the week where when the twins came round to visit.
Living and working in Diagon Alley meant that they where never there more than once or twice a week ("even in the heat of war people still want a good laugh Mione!") but Hermione savoured their visits almost as much as Severus' (who promptly fell in to hysterics when she told him about her new friends) as they provided a light relief from the gloomy atmosphere of number twelve and its stiflingly nosy occupants.
Storming in to the house like a whirl wind with a round of greetings before pinning her between them and frog marching Hermione upstairs ( leaving a red faced Ronald behind) and into the bedroom to talk, laugh and generally cheer her up.
When she enquired why she had suddenly become such a huge interest to them, they replied (in voices so serious she could hardly believe it was them) that they knew what it was like living in close quarters with their mother and younger (slightly babied) siblings and if it wasn't for the fact that they had been forbidden by the Order they would have removed her from the house to live with them for the remainder of the war months ago, so they did the next best thing and came over when ever they could to give her a break from the nagging (Ron) and some entertaining and intelligent conversation (lacking by all three.)
Listening to Hermione talk Severus was once again filled with such sympathy for his angel.
Going to death Eater meetings and on raids, where he did his best to save as many people as possible with out arousing suspicion, was hard yes but at least he got to go home at the end of it for sometime alone.
He had of course been furious to find out that Weasley had been trying to put the moves on His Hermione and was ready to knock him six ways from Sunday, until Hermione assured him that she would never allow anywhere near her like that. Also the promise from the twins that, Order or no Order if there little brother tried anything on Hermione they would have her out of that house and in with them faster than you could say hex him!
Smiling to himself as he felt Hermione relax against him in sleep Severus thought back to that night over two months ago when his cover had been blown (not his spying one thank god) and the twins had discovered his and Hermione's relationship.
They had been surprisingly relaxed about it.
Barging in to her room at one in the morning (thankfully under a notice-me-not charm) after some of the security devices they had (secretly) placed in her room had gone of, startling her and Severus, who had just gotten down to some heavy kissing, and almost ended up in little bits by the string of hex's sent there way before the intruders had been identified and explanations given.
Both had nearly been hexed again that night by Hermione as they shared impish smiles between them, that grew wider through out the story, and began loading the conversation afterwards with innuendos and jokes about their (obviously just interrupted) love life that had her fuming and Severus laughing for the first time in months.
He now corresponded almost weekly with the Fred and George through the cover of an order for there shop making it a lot easier than trying to get messages to Hermione in Grimmauld place, they where happy to help and always insisted that they knew from the start that there wasn't really anyone else who was good enough for their Hermione.
Both had made a solemn promise to Severus (without her knowledge) that should he ever hurt her there would be very little left for the ministry to identify when they came looking for him.
It was a thoughtful Severus Snape that made his way out of the second window on the third floor of Grimmauld Place after giving his sleepy angel a kiss goodbye and his ever present promise to stay alive and return to her unscathed as soon as possible.
If someone had told him only a year ago that he would be conversing in a friendly present manner with the two biggest pranksters in Hogwarts history, he would have had them committed to St Mungo's in a heartbeat,
However if someone had also said that he would be totally and unconditionally in love with Hermione Know-it-all Granger, then he would have saved that person the trouble and wiped there obviously mental mind himself.
It was funny how things almost never worked out exactly how you planned, or sometimes nowhere even close to it.
But despite this Severus was eternally glad that on this occasion they didn't, for he now had a woman that loved him and people he could almost call friends.
Yes.
Severus thought to himself the future was defiantly looking a little brighter for Severus Snape, master spy and maybe just maybe he could survive this war after all.
A.N - I feel I must apologies to all of my readers for the time it took to get this chapter up. I had originally planned to chart how they came together and after the war however I had major writers block and after deleting my work several times and considering leaving it as a one shot I have finally found a format that I am happy with
Thanks for reading please let me no what you think and sorry again - *SFA*