AN - I own nothing! I'm just borrowing from J.K. Rowling!

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Chapter 16

Hermione slowly pushed at the heavy wooden door, and peeked her head in. She had only been in Severus's old private chambers before probably twice as far as she remembered. She wasn't surprised to see that the place was still fairly set up with furniture along with his personal belongings like he still lived there. During his funeral, she remembered over hearing Minerva tell Lucius that she didn't think she had the heart to clean out his chambers.

She silently stepped into the room, closing the door being her, making sure that no one saw her. For days and nights, she tried to avoid coming to this place, but couldn't avoid it any longer.

On the fireplace mantle, there stood a picture of Severus and Albus in a frame. She knew that it was in the Great Hall, recognizing the background and the decoration. Must have been a special occasion. Severus was standing next to Albus with the usual scowl on his face, while the older wizard was smiling.

Severus was never one to smile at a camera at any occasion. He was never one to smile when forced upon him. Though there were a few moments when Hermione saw him smile. And when he got caught, he would just scowl all over again. Those were the rarest moments that she had with him, along with hearing him chuckle, instead of smirk.

Even if anger and annoyance was always an emotion that he had shared with her, there were tender moments that were shared between them. Sometimes after they had sex, fucked or made love, he would hold her close against him, when he would think she was asleep. She would feel his lips, and nose travel along her skin as he showered small kisses on her. Never did she open her eyes, afraid to let the moment get ruined because he was never that way when he knew she was awake. In the end of it all, she always thought that she made love to him, no matter what either of them called it. But he never called it that.

Hermione stepped into the bedroom. It was a place that she never entered, and was surprised to see its color scheme completely different from what she saw him living in New York. Besides the Slytherin colors, everything was dark. The sheets matched the black furniture. There was barely any white around.

She opened the closets, and stared at the black clothing that was either folded or hung neatly. Her hand skimmed through the fabric, mostly on the black teaching robes. She never felt it before, and always thought that they looked uncomfortable. Surprisingly, there felt soft. On one side of the closet, there was a pile of folded plain black shirts. They were very similar to the ones that she had seen in his loft. She remembered the moments in which she had worn his shirts, and wanted to do the same. Slowly, she pulled a shirt over her head, and wore it.

Turning on her feet, she went to the four poster bed. As her hand trailed along the sheets, she remembered every single moment that they had made love, in her bed or his. The nights were passionate, and intense. It's not that she missed it, because she did, but she missed him.

She allowed herself to lay bay on the bed, and pull a pillow to her. As she inhaled it, she immediately recognized his scent. It was what triggered her tears. She closed her eyes and hung on to the pillow for dear life, and imagined that it was Severus.

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Hermione undressed in Severus's bathroom, and tossed on one of his many black shirts. She looked at herself in the mirror and tossed her hair in her hands.

She had just flown back from Los Angeles. She thought the deal with Warner Brothers was easier than she thought she would be. Almost a week of constant discussions with them and her publishers, including Greg and her of course continued on and on. There was nothing final yet done after so many meetings. So more time was needed between all parties as nothing pushed through again. Hermione sighed and dragged herself out of the bathroom and headed towards the bed.

There on the bed, was Severus, in his dark grey boxers, lying back on the pillows with his nose in a book. It was another one of his business books that he was reading. This time, a little something on Warren Buffet. If it wasn't a business book, it was probably a suspense thriller that he had in his hands.

Hermione crawled into bed and moved herself on him, and allowed herself to lie curled up on top of him. She didn't care that she disturbed his reading as she slightly had to shove the book aside.

"Dammit woman!" Severus growled in irritation. He was so into his book. "Do you really have to lie on top of me? This is a king size bed, and there's more than enough space for you on your side."

"I'm fine where I am Sev. Didn't you even miss me a single bit?"

"No. But in terms of your annoyance, seems like I'll have to deal with it all the more. You and your damn mobile calls were annoying enough. My bill will surely be higher than normal." He missed her, and he wasn't going to admit it.

"You really complain about everything don't you?" Hermione yawned. She was too exhausted. The usual verbal sparring between them wasn't going to go a long ways tonight.

Severus snorted and then placed his book on top of Hermione's head.

"Hey!" Hermione shoved the book away from her head and looked up at him with a hint of annoyance on her face. "My head isn't going to be used for a bookstand!"

"Oh, and you use my body as some pillow, or bed? That's not fair," Severus scowled at her.

"That's different!" Hermione huffed as she lay her head back down on his broad chest. She took hold of his left arm and brought it towards her, and planted a small kiss on his Dark Mark.

Severus looked down at her. He no longer felt uncomfortable with her touching his Mark or kissing it. It was something that she did everyday when they spent the night together. "You are an odd little witch you know that?" he mumbled.

"Least I know I'm not boring, otherwise you wouldn't be able to stand me," Hermione sighed as she hugged his arm closely.

After watching Hermione in silence for some time, Severus knew that she eventually had fallen asleep. He placed his book on the nightstand and turned the lights off, before pulling the blankets on them. "Goodnight," he murmured against her brow, before kissing it ever so softly.

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Hermione stretched out on the bed and opened her eyes. She frowned as she pushed herself up on a sitting position, and looked around. She remembered right.

Her memories of Severus were all in New York. Memories of him in Hogwarts were completely different. She thought that she could differentiate the two, but no. They were still had memories of him. Imagining him, needing him, loving him, paining for him, it all just got worse.

She stared at the wall clock, reading that it was only five in the morning. She touched the fabric of the shirt she was wearing. No, she couldn't put it back in the closet. She pulled her wand out, and shrunk it to her own size before sneaking out of his chambers to return to her own.

Maybe coming to Hogwarts wasn't such a good idea.

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Lucius stepped out from behind the shadows, not far from the doors to Severus's old chambers.

Last night, he had gone to Hermione's chambers to talk to her. Her days of crying endlessly and her looking haggard as well made him worry. He wanted to confront and question her about the case she had in New York. However, he noticed that she wasn't in her chambers. So, he went out in search for her throughout the castle, knowing that she wouldn't apperate alone.

When he saw her, he silently followed her, only to be led to his dead friend's chambers. With his strong blue eyes, he silently watched Hermione walk up the dungeon stairs. A few things started to make sense to him. Her being so secretive, and the way she was with his own Mark. He had to ask himself the possibility of it, until he was finally sure.

There was no doubt in his mind, Severus Snape was alive.

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AN – I want my own Sevy-Bear or Sev-Bed. Sneaky Lucius… Review!