The Bloody Baron remarked as he floated by, "Aha, the Prodigal returneth."
Hermione just glared at him and shooed him away.
"Lass, it will do you no good to try and rush me from my journey," he replied.
"She's my lass, Baron, and I will thank you to leave us alone," declared an annoyed Snape.
"You are no longer the Head of my House," began the Baron. "When you ran off, 'twas given to Horace Slughorn."
"I may be the Head of House again sooner than you think," snapped Snape. "And where is that charlatan, anyway?"
"Perhaps," replied the Baron, "then perhaps not. You'll find him later."
"Who controls the castle?" Hermione broke in, wanting to know. Then she continued, "That will determine who is your Head of House, good Baron."
"Very true, Lassie, very true," the Baron bowed before vanishing himself through a nearby wall.
"Oh, I hate it when they do that," an exasperated Hermione grumbled.
"Do what? Where is he?" Snape asked.
"Went through a wall. Guess he was not interested in answering our questions," she complained.
Snape felt his way along the wall to the stairs. Stairs were trickier than he had imagined. He had to feel each one; still he stumbled several times as they made their way to the Great Hall via the teacher's hallway. The whole process took much longer than he had planned. He did not like being so exposed if unfriendly forces of Death Eaters controlled the castle.
As they approached, Horace Slughorn floated by, causing Hermione to give a shocked response.
"Professor!" she gasped.
"Hmmm," Snape responded turning toward her.
"Not you, Severus," Hermione indicated. "It's Professor Slughorn! He's a ghost now!"
"Horace," began Snape. "What happened to you?"
Slughorn stopped and looked at Snape holding Hermione's hand, fingers interlaced with hers, "I could ask the same of you. Never saw you with a woman other than Lily. And your eyes, my boy! What happened to your eyes?"
"You first," prompted Snape.
"I told Dumbledore I did not want to come back and teach here, but he practically forced me out of retirement," complained Slughorn. "He knew I was in hiding from the Dark Lord."
"Which side got you?" inquired Hermione.
Slughorn turned his attention back to her, "Your side. It was your friend Arthur Weasley who stuck me down."
"So our side won?" Snape asked, holding Hermione's hand gently in his own.
"Depends on how you mean 'win' and 'our side,' now doesn't it?" he hinted. "So, my boy, what happened to you?"
"I was blinded, presumably by Bellatrix," he said, "Now, Horace, who won: Potter or the Dark Lord?"
"Neither, really," Slughorn mentioned casually.
"It's still war, then," Hermione sounded despairing, tucking herself closer to Snape for comfort.
"I'm afraid so," he responded.
"Who is left alive?" wondered Snape.
"I don't know, but both sides have withdrawn to regroup. The battle was simply terrible, simply terrible!"
"Thank you, Professor," offered Hermione.
Slughorn nodded and drifted off.
Snape leaned against a wall. His shoulders drooped. Instinctively, he reached out for Hermione. She cuddled up next to him again.
"Guess we know whose side Slughorn was on. I wonder who is in control of St Mungo's," she mumbled. "We need to get your eyes seen to and soon."
"I should have asked Slughorn if any living people are in the castle or if it has been abandoned by both sides," he sounded despondent.
"I doubt he'd have told us anything since he was on the other side. Let's keep looking. We can always ask the next ghost or portrait we come to," she squeezed him gently.
Snape nodded but tugged her hand back to himself.
He hesitated a little longer, "No, never mind. Not yet. Let's go."
He pushed off the wall and took Hermione's elbow again. She gave him a curious look but decided against asking what that was all about. Half an hour later, they had explored the main floor and found not a living soul. Even the other ghosts were nowhere to be found.
Hermione suggested they inquire of the Fat Lady of Gryffindor Tower, and Snape consented. However, the Fat Lady knew nothing of any use. Thus it was that Snape suggested they head for the Headmistress's office. He hoped the passwords had not been radically altered. When they arrived, the griffin was open but the stairs no longer moved upward. Hermione led Snape carefully upward.
"Hermione, take me to the Headmaster's portrait, please," requested Snape.
He stood in front of Dumbledore's sleeping portrait, "Tell me what you see."
"He's asleep," she replied.
He called out, "Headmaster. I need to speak with you."
Phineas Nigellus responded in Dumbledore's stead, "He cannot hear you, but then you know that, don't you, Severus."
A smile of relief began to play across Snape's features. He reached out for Hermione who brought her hand up quickly. He held her close to himself.
"What does he mean?" she needed to know.
"It means we are not alone," he replied with a gentle kiss to her forehead. "It means we are not alone."
"Is that what you were debating telling me downstairs, just now?"
He nodded his head, "To my potions laboratory."
He locked the door behind them and both applied wards that secured the space from unwelcome intruders.
"If you would not mind too much, call for a house elf for something to eat," Snape directed Hermione. "I know how you feel about their enslavement, but we need them presently."
She nodded, "Of course. Dobby! Winky!"
A pair of pops produced two house elves, Dobby and another elf that Hermione did not know.
"Oh, Mister Harry Potter was so very worried about you Missie!" Dobby squeaked. "He is looking for you for days!"
"Where is Harry?" she desperately wanted to know. "Is he alright?"
"Oh, yes, Missie. Dobby saw him after the big battle out on the grounds," replied Dobby. "The mean ones left their dead and wounded. Master Malfoy is dead now. But, Dobby knows they comes back and fights again with Mister Harry Potter."
"And what of the others?" asked Snape.
"Oh, Dobby saw the whole thing. It was terrible. When it was finished, Dobby wanted to iron his ears." Even then he began to bang his head.
"Enough of that, where are the others?" yelled Snape in frustration, flailing around trying to grasp the house elf.
"Safe," Dobby ducked his head and began to bang it on a table again.
"Fix us something to eat, please, Dobby," Hermione asked softly as she took his head away from the table. "Oh, and Dobby, where is Winky?"
"Winky killed herself by jumping in front of a curse meant for Mister Weasley," with a pop Dobby and new friend were gone.
"Hermione, I need you to be my eyes," Snape started. "My private storeroom…" he led her across the room to a wall and uttered the appropriate charm to reveal a door.
"What are we going to be brewing, Severus?" she wanted to know.
"The counteracting potion to the one that made the Headmaster appear to have died at my hand," he indicated.
Hermione froze, "You mean he's not dead? Then why did we talk to his portrait just now?"
"I needed to know if he was still alive in the crypt or not. If his portrait awakens, his body dies," Snape began to try and feel his way in the lab. "The curse that destroyed his hand could have easily taken his life. I had not wanted to do it, but he was insistent. I warned him that he could die…but he insisted."
"Here, let me do that," Hermione offered. "What ingredients do you need?" She paused, "But now you know he's not dead at all. His pensieve showed us you were not guilty of killing him but said nothing of his still being alive."
Dobby and the other elf had returned with food then disappeared again. Snape and Hermione were at a good spot to stop long enough to eat a real meal and to take baths as the first part of the potion simmered in his lab. Snape soaked his weary body in a potion bath to help draw out more of the infection. He did not shave the beginning of the beard since discovering how much Hermione enjoyed it. He would keep it trimmed for her pleasure alone.
Next Hermione bathed quickly and redressed in transfigured cloths. She had her hair wrapped in a towel when she reemerged from Snape's bedroom. A smile flickered across his face when her scent teased his nose. He stood and beckoned her to him.
"What's this?" he queried, feeling the towel.
Gently, he unwrapped it letting her hair fall loose about her shoulders. He took it in his now fully healed hands and savoured its scent and texture.
"Ah, Hermione," he purred, "You have ensnared my senses."
She ran her hands up his chest to his shoulders then to his jaws, "Severus, I never would have suspected…"
A lingering kiss opened the rest of the work ahead of them. Snape would tell her the ingredients and how to prepare them. His fingers and nose would decide if they were correct. One by one, they went into the caldron.
"Should we survive this war, I would be honoured if you would become my wife when we are free, and my apprentice when you've completed your Arithmancy apprenticeship," Snape offered.
"Happily…but have you ever had an apprentice before?" she wondered.
"No. I never found any student with the aptitude let alone temperament to deal with me," he smirked. "You, however, are a jewel beyond comparison."
"You're just saying that," she teased him.
Snape stopped and tried to look in her direction, "No, Hermione. I never joke about these things. You follow directions precisely. Potion making is at its core precision with a helping of innovation on the side."
"I'm sorry, Severus," she began. "I thought it was because…you know."
"Because I'm in lust with you and have asked you to marry me? Which I might note that you assented to," an eyebrow twitched upward and a smirk played across his features.
"Yes," Hermione responded.
"Do you seriously think I'd compromise the Headmaster's life if I had no real confidence in you?" Snape questioned her.
"Well, no…"
"Good. Then it's settled. We will marry as soon as we get back to our own side, then when you finish with Arithmancy, you will become a Potions Mistress," he said with authority. "I have master's credentials in more than one area myself. It will not be unheard of, should you desire the same. It may be slightly more difficult for you to be my wife though," he chuckled.
Hermione smiled and shook her head at him, glad for the moment that he could not see the bemused look on her face. She was not too sure that she wanted to race into marriage, but denying Severus Snape once his mind was set on something was even more difficult to imagine. And she did find him alluring. Once the caldron was simmering again, she led him back to the sitting room. She conjured them some tea and biscuits.
Snape listened to the rhythm of her movements and smiled inwardly. He made his mind up that he would make this marriage work – albeit he had nothing to go off of since his parents were absolute disasters as role models. Maybe he'd talk to Arthur since he and Molly, poor as church mice, seemed to have a highly functional, loving marriage. Finally, she finished and returned to sit next to him. Her damp hair spread across his chest as she nestled comfortably into his arms.
"Severus, what is it with you and feelings?" she bluntly asked.
He knew that questions would come sooner or later. So Snape closed his eyes a moment, then, "Mine was not a close or loving family. By now you know I am a half-blood. Mother was a pureblood witch and father, a Muggle. She loved him, but once he discovered what she was, his love for her ended abruptly. He felt trapped and let me know that feelings were what had caused his misery.
"Father never wanted me and told me so frequently. He was quite afraid of our world and that I would be like her. They had horrible fights, nearly every night. The letter from Hogwarts sent him over the edge. He killed her and I was left as an orphan when he went to one of those Muggle places for the criminally insane. Mercifully, I had Hogwarts. As terribly as it could be, it was better than living alone at Spinner's End."
His hand ran gently up and down her arms. His fingernails teased her senses.
Hermione rose a bit and touched his cheek, "That's terrible. How could he not want his son, regardless if he was a wizard, or not!"
"He beat me to make sure that I would never display any feelings, no matter what. 'Feelings are bad things that cause you pain,' he would tell me," he concluded.
"Do you feel that way now? Am I causing you pain?" Hermione needed to know.
"Not yet," he kissed her locks. "Not yet. But you will."
"Why on earth would you say that!" she leaned forward to look him in the face. "I would never hurt you, Severus!"
"Hermione," his voice was soft and silky, "you are so very young and I am so much older than you." His fingertips searched out her face, "One thing you will learn, as you grow older, is that you hurt the ones you love the most or who love you the most. There is simply no way around it."
"Is that why you don't let people in?" she returned to his chest.
"Mmm," his voice rumbled through his chest, tickling her ears and heart. "Something like that, I suppose. I had enough of hurt to last me a lifetime and then some. Some I brought down on my own head and others besides…"
"First it was your Mum. Then Lily?" she asked tenderly.
"Yes, Lily," he sighed. "It was because of me that she died. But then I suppose Potter told you all that."
"Harry really did not say anything other than he hated you for killing Sirius and Professor Dumbledore and all the humiliations of class. And I never could figure out why he blamed you for Sirius' death, but he did. Anyhow, I was just putting the puzzle pieces together. Slughorn said that he never saw you with a girl except Lily. Harry was murderously furious with you when he found out that you had told You-Know-Who about the prophecy," she proceeded to describe her reasoning.
"Yes, and by the time I knew that it was Lily whom I had betrayed, it was too late to do anything about it other than throw myself at the mercy of the Headmaster," he followed up.
"So why do you hate Harry?" Hermione wanted to know.
"I don't hate him... I resent him," Snape confessed. "He looks so much like his father James. James, I hate. James Potter and Sirius Black were unforgivably cruel to me when we were here as students. Black tried to get me killed one full moon when Lupin was transformed. At the last minute, James stepped up, and I was suddenly in his debt. When Lily was killed by the Dark Lord, I bound myself to protect Harry as repayment of the life debt I owed James."
"Is it Harry you resent, or that Harry should have been your son not James's that you resent?" she asked ever so softly.
He thought a moment, then Snape shook his head, "Not sure."
"So, why did they treat you so badly?"
"I suppose because they could," he went on. "They were popular and I was an outcast, a bookish kid with a flair for the dark arts and who never really fit in – not even in Syltherin. Girls fell all over themselves trying to get James or Black to notice them. Harry is the same if you hadn't noticed. Girls avoided me unless they needed help with homework. It's not as if I'm a pleasure to look at, you know. In a word, I'm ugly. It makes me wonder why you are here with me."
"I guess it's because I don't think you are ugly. No, you're not handsome by some women's standards, but you are brilliant. I put more stock into brains than I do looks anyhow. Right here and right now, I know you to be tender and caring. This is a side I've never seen you display before. I like it – a lot! I hope you never hide that part of you from me again. Besides, it's not as if I'm a stellar beauty either. As I recall, you don't like my teeth…" she teased.
He half smiled, "Let me rethink that one," as he leaned in for a long and lusty kiss. His tongue ran over her teeth and snaked its way around her mouth. She moaned with pleasure. "Hmm. I think I just changed my mind. I rather enjoy your mouth just as it is."
Hermione giggled, "I thought as much."
They nestled together on the couch in the peace and quiet of genuine companionship. It was late enough that slipping into a comfortable sleep was certainly not out of the question either. The potion had hours yet to brew. Snuggled together for sleep was routine and reassuring now; however, a pounding at Snape's door made them both jump. Immediately Snape's wand was out as Hermione leapt from his chest.
"Hide in the laboratory, Hermione, while I see who is there," Snape directed.
"How are you going to 'see' anything, Severus?" she said quietly so as not to offend.
"All right, behind me then. And stay there," he demanded.