A/N: Hello all. I promise I have something in store to make up for not letting ya'll see the letter for a several more chapters. Thank you everyone who left me reviews, they were all loved and appreciated. Thank you also to all you still adding me to your alerts/faves. As always, Please read and Review. Take care everyone.

Special Thanks to Kristine Thorne, my very awesome Beta. You are wonderful and I couldn't have gotten this far without your wonderful critiquing.

Chapter 17

1978―Twenty-one years into the past.

Hermione and Severus arrived with a pop. She pulled back to look at him and felt her legs give out on her. He caught her quickly and swung her into his arms knowing she was fully drained now. He took a moment to look around in the pouring rain to figure out where they ended up.

Realizing instantly it was Hogsmead she had brought them to. How in bloody hell did she apparate them? Especially without her wand. He knew there were anti-apparating charms all over the school grounds.

"Severus, take us to Rosemerta, she'll have a place for us." She said weakly as she shivered from the cold rain.

"Who in the bloody hell is Rosemerta and how do you expect me to find her?" He asked her, his tiredness, along with the cold making him a bit snarky.

She smirked a bit, even as she cursed in her mind for forgetting what decade she was in. He sounds so like himself. She realized with a small laugh at how odd that sounded in her mind.

Hearing her laugh, he growled just a bit. She slipped her arms around his neck and pressed closer to him. He feels just as cold as she does.

"Take us to the Three Broomsticks. I still have my bag right?" He nods since he can feel it pressed into her back, it had shifted with all their running tonight. "Take us there. I'll get us a couple of rooms. We can't go back to the castle right now. It isn't safe to walk with Remus loose, and I'm too tired to try and apparate again. I might be able to if I had my wand, but without it…" She trailed off. The wandless apparation had drained her the most.

He heads in the direction she mentioned and sighs. "How in the hell did you apparate anyway?"

Hermione swallowed as a shiver raced through her again due to the icy cold rain still pouring on them. "Later. I'm too cold to think about it right now."

He nods, feeling half frozen now himself. The wind is tearing at their wet clothes and only making it worse. He gets them to the Three Broomsticks and heads inside.

The bartender looks them over and frowns as they're dripping all over his floor. "What do you two want?" He asks tiredly.

Hermione perks up enough to speak and shifts so Severus could put her down. She quickly sat on a stool before she fell over. "We would like two rooms please."

The bartender eyed them for a full minute before he spoke. "I don't rent to minors on their own, let alone students looking to escape the castle for a few nights. Sorry. You're welcome to stay by the fire to warm up though."

Hermione was glad they weren't wearing their school robes, glad they were in casual, everyday clothes, and chose her next words carefully. She remembered Rosmerta telling her once that there was a lie detector of sorts behind the bar. It was to keep minors from coming in and lying about their age.

"I'm twenty-two, and when I met this man…" She motioned at Severus with her head. "…for the first time, he was older than I was." She prayed that the detector didn't go off because Severus wasn't older than her right now.

The bartender glanced down and Hermione knew he was checking it. He looked back up, meeting her eyes and smiled warmly. "Sorry, miss. I thought you two were students. I only have one room though due to the storm, several patrons are staying here until it blows over. If you want it, you two will have to share it."

Hermione dug in her bag and pulled out a handful of golden coins in her shaking hand. She didn't have the energy to count them out, but knew she pulled out more than enough. She handed them over and asked for something to warm them up. The bartender smirked and gave them a bottle of fire whiskey along with a key. She grabbed both and thanked him.

Hermione went to stand, and Severus helped keep her from falling with an arm around her waist. She forced her tired and frozen body to work and carry her up each step. When they got to the room, her teeth started to chatter. She quickly unlocked it when she felt her legs quickly turning to jelly again.

She wanted to fall straight into bed but she was soaked and shivering. She turned to go into the loo and her legs buckled again. Severus caught her before she hit the ground and sat her down in a chair. He saw a fire had been freshly lit in the fireplace but it would take time to fully warm the room.

He pulled the bottle from her shaking hands and with a flick of his wand, two glasses zoomed over to them. He poured her a generous amount of fire whiskey and handed it to her.

"Sip this. Don't gulp or it will burn the hell out of you." He poured himself a glass as well and took a sip as he watched her bring the trembling glass to her slightly blue lips. He needed to get her warmed up.

She took a sip and after swallowing it down, she started coughing. When she could breath again she put it down. "That is awful, I don't know why so many people drink it." Though she had to admit that it seemed to help a tiny bit.

He smirked at her. "It may taste terrible, but it will help warm you up. Drink at least a little more."

When she took another sip and gasped again, he felt a chuckle trying to escape. But he fought it and took another drink himself. He had finished half of the glass by the time she got just a few sips down. But at least her lips didn't seem quite as blue as before, though they still had a bluish tint to them.

"Lets get you in a warm bath." He said, helping her up and into the dimly lit loo. He stopped and saw that the room only held a shower. "Hermione, you're going to have to stand on your own so you can get showered and warmed up."

She nodded and moved off of him only to have her legs almost drop her again. He caught her before she hit the floor, cursing. She smiled softly at him.

"Don't worry about it. I'll warm up in a bit." She said as she moved over to the sink and leaned against it heavily so she didn't have to lean so much on him. She knew he was tired too. Maybe not as much as her, but enough that her added weight wasn't helping. The cold was sapping at both of their strength and draining them quickly.

Severus didn't want her sitting there, freezing until her body temperature finally went back up. He slowly lifted her to sit on the counter, dropping down to pull off her shoes. Pulling her sopping wet socks off her as well. He touched her feet and they too felt like ice.

With a sigh, he stood up and pulled her back off the counter to lean against him. He quickly unbuttoned her jeans.

"What are you doing?" She asked tiredly. Not having the energy to bat his hands away.

He didn't look at her but shoved the material down her legs. "You are so cold you're skin is blue. You need to get warm by a shower."

He quickly lifted her to sit back on the sink so he could peel her jeans off. Which had seemed to have shrunk and been made of glue with how hard it was to pull them off her in their soggy state.

He kicked off his own shoes as she frowned at him. "We've already established I can't stand in a shower." She muttered softly.

He bent down and pulled off his socks. "No, but I can. Even if I have to hold you up, you're taking a warm shower."

He stood back up and when he reached for the hem of her shirt, he saw her swallow nervously. He figured that if she hadn't been so cold, her cheeks would be on fire right about now. However, he still quickly peeled her shirt off of her too.

Embarrassed or not she needed to get warm. Trying to keep her modesty intact, he did his best not to look at her sitting there in nothing more than her dark lacy knickers and bra.

Instead, he ripped off his soaked vest, unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off along with his undershirt. Leaving him bare from the waist up. He made sure she was steady as she sat there and he walked over to the shower, turning on the taps and adjusting the temperature. He knew it wasn't as warm as it felt on his skin, but he knew he should warm them slowly and add more hot water as they thawed.

When it was ready, he turned back to her to see her looking at the floor, and looking very pretty in just her deep midnight blue lace lingerie in the barely lit room. If he wasn't half frozen, he knew his blood would be boiling at seeing her like that.

He went back over to her, and lifted her chin so she met his eyes. "Hermione, I just want to get you warm before you freeze to death."

She nodded, swallowing again as she kept her eyes on him, and felt her heart starting to pound in her chest. She reached behind her for the clasp of her bra, but he stopped her. She frowned slightly, not understanding.

"I think it might be best if your knickers stay on. It'll at least give you some semblance of privacy." He said, though he knew it wouldn't be much.

She nodded, feeling a bit relieved, yet mildly disappointed. He quickly shucked his own trousers, leaving his dark colored boxers on and pulled her back to her feet, supporting most of her weight.

He led her to the shower and they both climbed inside. A sigh escaping them as the water poured over them. She reached up and slipped her arms around his neck and leaned into him.

He held her close to him as the horrors of their earlier chase started to fade. "How long have you known Lupin was a werewolf?" He asked her. Feeling his body slowly warming up.

Hermione swallowed again. "A while now." She answered vaguely.

He didn't press it, but asked something else. "If you knew, then why did you let Peter lead you to him on a full moon."

She felt a mild flush coat her skin for her own stupidity. "I didn't realize it was a full moon tonight. I kind of lost track of the days lately and it was cloudy."

He could understand that. They had been busy together the last several days. "Why were you screaming for Black?"

Hermione snuggled closer against him since he felt slightly warmer than she did. "He was the shaggy dog. He's an animagus. So is James, he was the stag. They stay with Remus while he's in wolf form to help him not hurt anyone and to keep him company. I just don't know why the potion didn't work tonight. I wonder if Peter some how sabotaged it tonight."

He started to rub circles across her back, trying to help warm her more. "What potion?"

Hermione sighed as his hands helped her tired muscles relax. "The Wolfsbane potion."

Severus frowned, but didn't comment about it. "Do they know that you know about them?"

She laughed softly. "They do now." She started feeling a bit better as the heat seeped into her, but the water was growing chilly. "Why is the water growing cold so quickly?"

He reached over and turned the heat up a bit until it felt warm again. "I didn't think you'd want me putting it on full heat yet. It would have burned your frozen skin."

She nodded and sighed as the heat surrounded her again. "Thank you." She said as she started to feel her strength return as she warmed.

He pulled back a little to look down at her. "For what? You did all the spells tonight. You protected us and got us out of there. Though I still don't know how you did it."

She smiled softly. "That was the easy part. You didn't leave me alone tonight. You didn't have to follow us. Nor did you have to make sure I wasn't alone after Remus got loose. You could have run away like I told you too."

He sighed. "No, I couldn't have."

She frowned slightly. "Yes, you could. But you didn't. You stayed and even now you're taking care of me so I don't freeze like an ice cube. You could have told me to sit all squished up at the bottom of the shower, but you didn't"

He smirked slightly. "If you find some noble deed in holding a beautiful and almost naked girl in a shower…you're stranger than I thought."

She laughed again, feeling much stronger now and her body was slowly turning pink again with the warmth of the shower and the man holding her in it. "Okay fine. I'm odd. You've pointed that out plenty of times and I'm sure I'll continue to be odd. But my point still stands that you could have left, but didn't."

He noticed she was sounding better and she was looking better too. He sighed and leaned away slightly. Now that he was warming up, certain parts of him were taking notice of her scantily clad form and exactly how good she looked.

"Hermione, no I couldn't have left you, even if I wanted to." He said, sounding a bit annoyed that she kept acting like he had done some kind of heroic thing. Especially since they wouldn't be standing there at all if it hadn't been for her.

He had been about to kill Remus in wolf form for trying to attack them. She had stopped him from taking his first life. It would have haunted him for years afterward. He knew it would have. Because he would have killed her friend.

Hermione stepped back now that she could finally stand on her own again. She searched his eyes and found something in them that she couldn't understand. "All right. If you are so sure you couldn't have left, then please explain why that is."

His eyes locked onto hers, trying to look in and find something. He didn't think he should tell her the truth, he didn't know how she would take it. He hadn't had time to figure it all out himself yet either.

But seeing her waiting and looking so beautifully drenched, he felt his heart clench and the words just came spilling out. "Because I'm in love with you."

Her eyes grew wide and her breathing stopped. What? Her mind screamed. No, that couldn't be true, he loves Lily. Not me. He can't even stand me in the future.

But she saw it. She saw it in his eyes. He does. He may love Lily, but he loves me too.

The knowledge made her heart flutter again in her chest. Only this time it was stronger. The feeling so odd, that she hadn't been able to place it before. She knew what the flutter was now. She loved him too. That was partly why she had been so adamant about protecting him tonight.

Holy hell.. Her mind thought. I can't be in love with him. I cant…But Dumbledore's words came back to her.

He had told her that you can't pick who your heart chooses. He had known she felt something for him then. She didn't know how Dumbledore knew that she was in love, if he knew it was love. Considering the damn old man seems to know everything else, why not this too. But how can I leave now?

Severus swallowed as her eyes showed the wheels turning in her mind. "Hermione, say something please." He said softly as his heart beat frantically in his chest, fearing she would turn from him like Lily had.

It took him a moment with all the water running down her face already, to realize that it wasn't just water from the shower, but tears too. He reached up and brushed them away, but more slipped down her cheek.

She closed her eyes. "Dammit. God, you're going to hate me for this." She whispered. Her words making his heart stop for a moment. Her voice soft as she spoke again "This wasn't supposed to happen. This could change everything."

Her eyes opened and met his. He saw more tears in her eyes as she spoke in a low voice that was slightly hitched. "I told you this was a bad idea. I said we needed to back off. You can't be in love with me. You weren't supposed to love me."

He felt his heart shatter more with each sentence. Her eyes closing again for a moment before she opened them and met his eyes that were full of sadness. She reached up and cupped his cheek.

"I wasn't supposed to fall in love with you too." She said just as softly, making his heart stop once again.

He stared down at her, searching for the truth. She loves me? He had hoped, but he hadn't really believed she would. He saw the truth in her eyes and it made his heart heal instantly.

She loves me. He thought as he leaned down and kissed her. He couldn't have stopped himself even if he had tried.

Her arms wrapped around him again. Pulling him tighter against her. She opened to him instantly, meeting his tongue with her own. Kissing him gently, sweetly at first. Letting their emotions pour through more than anything else.

But with her body warming, with her blood flowing easily in her veins once again, the kiss turned her warm body into an inferno. She deepened the kiss and pressed even tighter against him.

His body heating along with hers as their tongues warred together. Feeling like his body was getting hotter than the water itself. His hands slid down her back and cupped her lace-covered bottom, pulling her tighter against him.

Then, he suddenly pulled away, confusing her. "Hermione, if you don't want this to go too far…we need to get out of the shower now and get dressed again. I don't…I don't want you regretting anything."

His words making her smile and move back against him. "Neither do I. I just pray you wont hate me later."

He didn't understand how she could even think he would. But she didn't give him a chance to question it either.

Her mouth was on his again, her hands moving from around his neck to behind her back. With a flick, the clasp on her bra was released and she pulled away long enough to peel it from her skin.

She dropped it in the shower and was pressing against him again, eliciting a groan from him as her taught nipples brushed against his bare chest. His mouth moved over her mouth, his tongue gliding over her tongue, as he ran his hands down her slippery body. Learning and memorizing every curve he touched.

She moaned when his hands found her bare breasts while his lips trailed down her neck. Her fingers fisting in his hair as he bit down on her neck, making her gasp before he soothed it with his tongue. Trailing down and nipping lightly at her shoulder, barely seeing the scars that were there in the dim lighting and tracing them with his tongue anyway.

When his mouth closed around one tight peak, she moaned and arched into him. Her fingers digging into his shoulders as he suckled at her before nipping it gently. Causing her to gasp at the soft bite.

He wanted to taste every inch of her, but knew the tiny shower was a bad place for it. He pulled back and looked at her. Taking in her flushed face and her glazed eyes. He leaned in and kissed her again as he quickly turned off the water.

When he pulled back, he helped her out and wrapped her in a big fluffy towel. Slipping one around his hips before picking her up and carrying her back to the main room that held the bed.

He laid her down on the bed, moving to lie beside her and kissing her again. His hands stroking her soft cheek, before they moved down to run along her terry cloth covered body.

The way he was drying her off was the most erotic thing to her. The room was no longer cold, so he opened her towel. Pulling his lips from hers to move down and taste her skin. Everywhere he tasted was fresh, clean, and sweet. Her natural scent was as intoxicating as her perfume was.

He kissed her belly, his tongue dipping into her navel before he moved slowly back up to feast on her breasts again as his hands slowly stroked her satiny skin. Her moans as he touched and tasted making him want to touch and taste even more.

She arched her body every time he found some sensitive spot on her. Her breathing erratic as he slowly worshiped every inch of exposed skin from the waist up.

He pulled back and looked at her face as he raised his hand over her. Without a word her knickers disappeared making her blush at being fully exposed.

But he didn't allow her a chance for her embarrassment to set in as he kissed her again. His hands dancing up and down her skin, stroking her belly and hips. Brushing his fingertips against her upper thighs and making her shiver again.

His fingers tangling in her curls down below lightly before moving to gently spread her thighs. She had never felt like this before. Her body was burning, but she welcomed the flames licking at her. Flames he created and made burn brighter with every touch.

He deepened the kiss even more, making her heart race with how fiercely he kissed her as his hands moved back to her downy curls before moving lower. When he parted her folds she inhaled sharply, but it was the first touch to her sensitive button that made her gasp and buck her hips.

He moved his lips down her neck as he stroked her gently with his fingers. Getting her used to him and the feelings it instilled. When she moaned and arched her back off the bed, he moved even faster.

Adding just a bit more pressure, sliding down and slipping a finger inside her. Making her gasp again before coming back out and using her own juices to ease the friction of his fingers on her tiny bundle of nerves.

The pressure was building in her as she fisted her hands in the blanket on the bed. Tiny whimpers escaping as she felt her body tighten more and more. Then the world erupted and she cried out as her body shook with pleasure.

He came back up and kissed her before moving away. He was gone only an instant, an instant where she panted and tried to calm her body while he ditched his towel and wet boxers. But when he came back his mouth moved on hers again, she felt his hand press against her flat stomach and suddenly felt a weird swirling in belly.

She knew what he had done, she had read about such charms. The girls at school talked about how a contraceptive spell felt odd and tingly before it felt like they had been spinning around and their stomach was now spinning with them.

She smiled gently, even as his tongue moved with hers. Feeling him shift and flick his hand again as he warded the doors and silenced the room. He was getting much better with his wandless magic and silent spells.

She felt him move over her, his knee pressing her thighs farther apart to make room for his hips. He pulled back and looked down at her.

"Are you sure?" He asked, wanting her to be completely sure before he moved a single inch.

Her lips curved a fraction. "I'm positive. I love you Severus." The words spoken softly, but he could hear the emotion behind it.

His chest tightened at hearing her words, hating that he was going to hurt her. "I love you too Hermione."

He shifted and slowly slid inside her. Making her wince as he started filling and stretching her for the first time. When he reached her barrier he paused, bringing his lips to hers before plunging fully inside.

She pulled her mouth away and cried out at the sharp pain. He paused again as her eyes closed and she winced more, waiting for her pain to stop. "I'm sorry Hermione. I promise, it only gets better from here." He said gently, brushing a damp curl from her face.

She had known that there was going to be pain the first time. She wasn't completely ignorant about sex. Though she didn't have much knowledge on the subject. The girls in her dorm had not been shy about talking about their sexual experiences. She always heard how horrible it was the first time, almost no pleasure at all during it.

Even knowing that, she still wanted to make love to Severus. She wanted him to have the one thing she had never given anyone else. Her virginity. She wanted him to be the one to take it. She had been raised to believe that it was something special to be given only in love. Not in lust or in the heat of the moment.

She loved him and wanted him to have that special thing she had saved for just the right person. She knew it would be painful, but she knew too that even if the first time was completely horrible, there was a chance at a second time that would be so much better.

Her eyes opened and met his slightly concerned ones. She gave him a smile and lifted her head to touch his lips. He didn't move, only kissed her until she fully relaxed again. Trying to make her body heat again with his hands moving over her skin.

Then he moved, she winced a bit, but it wasn't as bad as before. He kept his pace extremely slow and easy as he continued to stroke his hands down her sides, moving up to cup her breasts. Brushing her nipple, like he knew she liked. Wanting her to find her passion again after her pain ripped it away.

Then something odd happened, she felt a spark light and catch inside her. Felt that small, almost minuscule flame it created start to grow into a tiny flame. It made her breathing hitch in her throat.

The sound encouraged him to shift his pace, to slip his hands under her hips and teach her how to move with him. The slightly tiny flame grew more as he moved with her, lifting her to meet his strokes.

Then, the tiny flame erupted into a large flame, her soft moan escaping as she started moving on her own. Lifting her legs to wrap around him and take him deeper inside her.

"That's it love." He encouraged her through slightly gritted teeth, trying to keep his control with her. Though with how good she felt under him, he didn't know how long he could keep a tight reign on it.

His body shifted just enough to watch her face as he rotated his hips, grinding them against her. He watched her eyes widen as he brushed against her sweet spot, making her cry out in surprised pleasure.

The expressions shifting on her face as her pleasure increased, making this more than just a release for him. He wanted to watch her as she exploded. He wanted to see her eyes lose focus. He wanted to see that exact moment when euphoria hit her.

He tried to keep the pace easy on her, it being her first time and all. But seeing how well she was responding to him, not to mention how wonderful it felt to be buried inside her, he couldn't stop himself from rearing back and slamming into her.

She cried out again, and dug her nails into his shoulders. Her eyes slightly dilating from her pleasure, making him rear back and slam into her again. Her body arched against him as she cried out once again. Her nails raking his back as her head pressed back into the pillow, exposing more of her lovely neck to him.

He ground against her and felt a mild tightening inside her. A groan escaping him as he sped his pace, rocking against her harder and faster as her softly building moans echoed off the walls more and more as they got louder.

He slipped one of her legs from his hip and lifted it to his shoulder, allowing him to move even deeper into her. His hip rocked against her harder as she started to moan even more. The wonderful sounds mixing with his groans of pleasure and driving him insane.

He felt her walls starting to pulse and knew she was close. He leaned down and bit her neck as he slammed into her again, hitting her cervix and making her scream as she clamped down around him.

He groaned again, his control snapping, and he pounded into her. His thrusts wild and making her cry out with each brush of her sweet spot over and over again. Her nails biting into his skin even harder, the feeling only adding to his pleasure.

He knew he wouldn't last much longer as he felt his body tightening, and moving his hand down over her curls, he found her bundle of nerves. He gave it just a few swipes of his finger, making her start to tense again.

Then, he pressed just enough against the tiny nub while slamming into her a final time and she screamed his name. His eyes shut as his body jerked with his explosion pouring inside her. Her name tearing from his lips in a strained grunt.

He was panting when he collapsed on her, trying to keep the bulk of his weight off of her and on his elbows. Her arms tightening around him as she held him to her, her body shaking slightly from the force of her release.

It was several minutes before either of them even thought about moving. But he finally did before he crushed her. Rolling on to his back, he pulled her with him to snuggle into his side. His arms wrapped around her as he let the contentment that he had never really felt before settle over him.

Being as exhausted as they were, they quickly fell asleep.

A/N: Anyone else need a cold shower? Hope this makes up for not letting you all see what was in the letter just yet. Please leave me your thoughts. Take Care all.