A/N: Many thanks to my dear beta, anogete; she's a gem if ever there was one! Also, thank you once more to my readers and reviewers. I am so sorry for not religiously replying to your reviews, but I appreciate every single one more than I can say! I am so very sorry for the delay in posting the end of this story, but RL sometimes gets in the way.

Obligatory: None of these things belong to me; they all belong to JKR. I just like to have a bit of fun with them, and no profit is desired.

--

Severus stood in Hermione's private room in the hospital wing, looking down at her. He could not help but compare how she had looked the last time he had watched her sleep with the shadow of the woman he had been with that lay before him.

So many times at Death Eater manor he had watched her sleep. He knew then that the bond was getting stronger and imposing its will on them both, but he had tried to fight it. He did not want to give in to yet another situation that he couldn't control. And yet, now he wondered if it would be giving in. Yes, she was entirely too young, and it would never be accepted, but he wanted to believe that he could be loved by someone. He wanted to believe that what he thought and what he wanted mattered.

He shook his head. He was in an impossible situation. She had saved his life, and now he had to save hers. That much he knew for certain. Beyond that, he had no idea what he was going to do about this young woman to whom he was bound.

"Hermione?" he whispered quietly. "Hermione, can you year me?"

She did not stir. She was so still that it hardly looked like she was breathing. How was he going to gain her consent if she was barely alive?

Then, he had a thought. Summoning all of his magical energy, he reached out to her mind with Silent Speech. "Hermione, can you hear me?"

"Go away," her voice answered in his mind.

"What?"

"You aren't Severus. Severus is gone. You're just a figment of my imagination." Her voice was weak and full of despair.

"What would it take to make you believe that I really am here?" He brushed an errant curl off of her face.

"You betrayed me," she replied with venom.

"I know that is how it seems, Hermione, but it is not true. Will you at least listen to me?" He willed her eyes to open, but they did not.

"I'm obviously not doing anything else."

"I knew that I would be attacked by the Aurors if I came to the battle, but I had to come. I could not hide while the rest of you fought. My Dark Mark began to burn, so I knew that they were on the move. I thought that I could infiltrate the Death Eaters in disguise and help the Order, but my mask came off, and I knew that everyone would be on me for my various sins." He took a deep breath. "When I saw Lucius kill you, I…"

"You don't have to say it, Severus. I know that it is difficult for you to admit your feelings." Her voice had lost its angry edge.

"Can you forgive me?" He trembled as he touched her hand.

"I have hoped and prayed for you to come and tell me that I had misunderstood, Severus. I believe you. Besides, if Dumbledore let you in, he must believe you, so I do as well."

"Thank you." He shifted in his seat uncomfortably and considered her limp body.

"What happens now?" Her voice was just barely a whisper in his mind.

Severus cleared his throat and stood up. "Drastic measures must be taken to revive you," he explained in his most businesslike voice.

"Drastic measures?" she asked mockingly.

"Do not make this more difficult than it is. The bond must be called upon to bring you out of your unconscious state. We have to…" he paused and paced around.

"What do we have to do, Severus?" Her voice was soothing and calming in his troubled mind.

"We have to do what we did to strengthen the hold of the bond in the first place," he finally admitted shamefully.

"I thought as much."

"Does that not upset you?" His head snapped back around to look at her.

"Honestly, you act as if we haven't done it before!" Her voice was gaining strength.

"I know, but you were conscious then. I do not feel right about doing this now." He turned his back to her.

"You know, you're the first person who has been able to talk to me since the first time I woke up, and I don't know how long ago that was."

"Albus tells me that it was nearly two weeks ago." He turned back around and looked at her. "No one has even been able to use Silent Speech to talk to you?"

"I don't think so."

"Hmm." He sat down on the bed and stared down at her. "Will you… will you allow me to kiss you?"

"I thought that you would never ask, Severus," she teased.

He leaned down over her, still feeling somewhat perverse, cupped her cheek with one hand, and brushed his lips against her dry mouth. "Did you feel that?"

"No," she answered sadly. "Try it again."

Once again, with great uncertainty, he tangled his fingers in her hair and leaned down to kiss her more firmly. "How about then?"

"No." Her voice betrayed her disappointment.

Severus looked down at Hermione and considered the situation in detail. "The pain of separation from me… was that the source of the discomfort in your stomach?"

"Yes."

Concentrating all of the strength he gained from the power of their bond, he placed his hand over her stomach and gave it an impossibly gentle squeeze before capturing her lips with his own again. "Come back to me, Hermione. I need you to open your eyes," he whispered into her mind.

He thought he was imagining it, but suddenly he felt her lips part. He stopped thinking and just acted as he snaked his tongue into her mouth.

It almost seemed chance that her mouth had fallen open, but a small moan of encouragement escaped from between their lips. Severus pulled back and saw that her eyes were open. They were drowsy and bloodshot, but they were open.

"Now can you hear me?" he asked her aloud.

"Yes," she confirmed meekly with a small smile. "Please, Severus, make love to me. Make this pain go away."

"Are you certain?" He searched her eyes for permission to continue.

"I have forgiven you, I need you, and I am asking you to do this. Whether you are doing it out of obligation or because you care, please just do it so that I can have the strength to have whatever conversation we need to have." Her pained expression pleaded with him.

"I do not know if this will be a… I doubt if this will be a pleasant experience for you." He gently touched her forehead with the tips of his fingers.

She smiled kindly. "I cannot imagine how making love with you would not be a pleasant experience, Severus."

His only response was a grunt as he leaned in to kiss her again. Though he felt that he could lose control over himself at any moment, he harnessed his energy and remained gentle.

He was uncharacteristically nervous, however, and the trembling of his body gave away his feelings. "Can you sit up so that I might, well, so that I might…"

"I don't think that I can. It's alright. Just lift up my robes." He knew that she was trying to make it as painless as possible for him.

For some reason, her words had an instantaneous effect on his libido, and his erection sprang to life inside his trousers. "It almost seems like rutting to do it that way."

She reached up a weak hand to his face. "It will not make me think any less of you."

Finally taking her actions as permission, he pulled away the layers of blankets that had been piled on her to keep her warm. He rested on his side, propped up on one arm, and lightly ran his fingers down her side. She trembled at his most delicate of touches.

He closed his eyes as he leaned in to kiss her again, thrilling all over as her tongue reached out to tentatively touch his own.

That was nearly his undoing, and he moved his hand even further down her body to hike up the bottom of the loose hospital robes she was wearing until his hand made contact with her knickers and the smooth, warm skin stretched over her hip bone. He hooked a finger over the elastic band and pulled them away from her body.

She trembled incessantly as he explored her warm center with his fingers, finding it already wet and ready for him. He could stand it no more, his soul needing this encounter every bit as much as hers did. He removed his free hand from her and freed his straining erection from his trousers.

Positioning himself over her, he looked down at her. The first time he had been in this position, he felt dirty, ashamed, as though being inside of her would somehow taint her. Looking at her now, she was not tainted, but rather even more enthralled with him than she had been then. Though she was obviously suffering, there was a light in her weary eyes that told him that she wanted him, that she needed him.

It was all the permission for which he was looking.

Without any more hesitation, he caught her lips again and slid into her slowly. She sighed with relief as she enveloped him, using all of her energy to pulse along with his thrusts.

It was much more leisurely than their first coupling, as much out of necessity due to Hermione's condition as it was out of the nature of this act. This time, there was no blood to gather, no potion to make. This time, it was only the saving of their tortured hearts and bodies that they had to consider. Severus couldn't imagine needing anyone else but her.

As he felt himself nearing his climax, he gazed at her reverently. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know if I've ever been better," she replied, the strength obviously returning to her.

"Then come with me," he demanded, increasing the friction with her clitoris, bringing her to a trembling orgasm and himself to an explosive completion.

Afraid of crushing her, he pulled himself out of her and rolled over onto his back. Watching her out of the corner of his eye, he could see that the color was returning to her skin, and that her breaths were deeper and steadier.

It had worked. The Animus Redimio had been satisfied, and Hermione was on the mend.

Neither spoke, but Severus' mind was running on overdrive. He had done it. He had saved her, and now she knew that he had not betrayed her. Whatever cost it was to him and his magical abilities, he had to walk away so that he did not cause her any more pain. He could not allow the powers of magic itself to command him. He had to go into exile.

Hermione rolled onto her side and looked at him adoringly. "Thank you for that, Severus."

His gaze met hers. "There is no need to thank me. Your condition was my fault to begin with." Abruptly, he sat up and performed a quick cleansing spell on both of them before fastening his trousers and standing up.

He could feel her confused and hurt gaze on his back as he heard her pull the blankets back over her body. "Are you going somewhere?"

"I need some time to think. I need some time alone. I am sorry." He opened the door and began walking out of it.

"Severus, please!" were the last words he heard before he shut the door and made for the grounds.

--

Though Hermione's body was feeling better, her emotions were far from recovered. She knew why he had left. She knew that he was still uncertain about the Animus Redimio. She knew that he was wary of yet another force controlling his life.

Still, a more rational side of her told her that she should stop being so concerned for Severus' feelings and his bloody free will and start worrying about her survival. The last time her friends had spoken with her, their voices were so full of sadness. Could she leave them? Could she let go of life all for someone else's principles?

The combination of lying in bed for weeks and being awakened by such a passionate encounter had left her body weak and trembling. Experimentally, she rose slowly from the bed and tried to shake the cobwebs from her muscles and her mind. She had not been conscious of the time that had passed since she was last awake, and thus she had not expected moving to be so difficult. However, slow, deliberate movements, and an attempt to regulate her blood pressure by not moving too fast, aided in getting her safely out of bed.

She saw a pile of her plain robes on a shelf next to her bed, and she called them to her with a wave of her hand. With great effort, she managed to shed the hospital robes she had been wearing and replaced them with the comfort of her own clothes.

Charming her hair into a bun, she quietly exited the room, finding that she had been lodged in chambers not adjoining the main hospital wing. She was able to meet no resistance as she made quickly for the Hogwarts grounds, the soul of her mate guiding her to her destination.

As she exited the school, she could see the billowing black robes of her lover standing still in the distance. With cautious grace, she glided over to where he stood and paused a few feet behind him.

"Go back to bed," he whispered into her mind with Silent Speech.

"Not until you've heard what I have to say, Severus," was her firm answer to his command.

He hesitated for a moment. "Go on, then."

"I know that none of this is easy for you, and I know why you cannot face me. I will respect whatever decision you make. However, I do care for you, and, though I am young, I would welcome the chance to be in your life. I don't care how long it takes for you to think things over. If you decide to return to me, I will be waiting." She allowed her words to ring out in his mind for a few seconds before she turned and made her way back to the castle.

On her way to the doors, she could see the form of Albus Dumbledore striding towards her, his face as serene as ever.

"Ah, Miss Granger," he greeted her. "It is good to see you up and about."

"Thank you, sir. It is good to be back in the world of the living again." She paused in her progress and kept her head down as she spoke.

"I wonder, then, why it is that I find you here, walking away from Severus. Is there a problem?" His concerned voice made her raise her head to look at him.

"You know very well what the problem is," she replied with a touch of venom. "He needs time to think things over."

"The time he has is not infinite. Is this how you would choose to live your life, Hermione? Lying unconscious in bed, waiting for him to come and revive you only to sink back into a coma again?" He reached out and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Can't you make him understand?"

"He does not need to know the consequences his turning away from me will have. I will not be yet another tether to tie him to some responsibility he did not choose." She felt a tear slip from her eye. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going back to my rooms in the dungeons and getting some rest."

She waited until she was at the doors of the castle to allow the tears to flow freely from her eyes.

--

Staring off into the Forbidden Forrest, Severus felt the ache in his chest return. He would never find any peace from his soul so long as his mate called for him to come to her. There had to be a way to let her go, to reject her and keep her from wanting to be with him. It was the only way to give her the life that she deserved.

"You know that is not possible, Severus." Albus appeared beside him, seemingly deep inside of his thoughts.

"What do you know about it?" Severus snapped back, turning to look at his mentor.

"You cannot just wish away the bond of the Animus Redimio. Quite frankly, I cannot imagine why anyone would want to. The bond that I share with this school is very precious to me, and I cannot understand why you would not embrace this gift that magic has given you." Albus studied the imposing form of the younger wizard carefully.

"It may be a gift to me, but it is a curse to her. She is a strong-willed young woman. Why should she want to obey a magical edict any more than I do?" His black eyes danced with fury.

"Would you have her die to maintain your freedom from magic?" Albus asked seriously, all mischievous twinkling gone from his eyes.

"Die? What are you talking about?"

Albus sighed. "Do you think that you are the only one who will face consequences if you walk away from her, Severus? Now that the bond has taken hold of both of you, to deny it is to destroy your magical abilities and end her life. She needs you, Severus. She needs you to choose to remain with her."

Severus' anger turned to confusion. "Does she know this?"

"Yes, she does. She has known for some time." Albus looked down sadly.

"Why did she not tell me?" A touch of rage returned to his voice, and he took a few steps away from Albus.

The older wizard was quick to close the distance between them. "Why indeed. She seems to believe that she has no right to tell you what to do."

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes tightly. "She has that same damnable Gryffindor courage with which you are cursed, Albus."

Albus laughed. "We do not find it so damnable as you Slytherins. Doesn't it make you feel something for her to know that she would risk her life to allow you to make the choice between your supposed freedom and sharing the bond with her?"

"It makes me feel that she is foolish. Why would she risk her life for me?" He turned his head back to Albus.

"Because she loves you, Severus. You will tell me it is because the bond is coercing her to do so, but the magic that governs it is not so cruel. It would only work if she were capable of loving you freely. The same applies to you."

"Are my rooms still available?" Severus inquired after a few silent minutes between the two wizards.

Albus chuckled. "Your old Head of House refused to sleep in them after Andreas left. He thinks that they are cursed. I will have the house-elves retrieve your belongings from storage and make the room ready for you."

"I need some time alone. I cannot think with all of you talking at me."

"You are every bit as stubborn as you were when I first met you." He shook his head. "Imagine what everyone who fears you would think if they knew that your mind was still governed by the prejudices and anger you held as an eleven year old boy."