A/N:Hi everyone. I know I haven't replied to a single review, and I'm sorry. Just been swamped getting things ready for my kiddos to go back to school and planning my youngest daughter's 6th birthday party. I promise I will get to them all as soon as I can. I just wanted to post this for you guys first. Please Read and Review as always, I promise to answer them all. Take care. Oh, and...keep the tissues handy for this one too, just in case. I swear the story isn't all sadness and angst.

Special thanks to Kristine Thorne, my awesome Beta, who has done awesome work on my story.

Special thanks as well to Panda Heart, for looking over this too. You have done a great job on these last few chapters.

Chapter 27

Hermione and Severus woke up every morning in the room of Requirement and went about spending their days with Lily and the Marauders. Sometimes Peter was with them and sometimes he wasn't.

Though when he was around, Hermione noticed Severus watched him intently. Something she herself did as well.

They all enjoyed the warm weather outside without their classes ever on their minds. Severus kept his hand firmly tucked into Hermione's as he listened to her friends talking about what they planned after graduation.

Lily, of course, talked about her and James getting married. Demanding that Hermione be her maid of honor. Hermione had smiled and said that there was no way she'd miss that if it were in her power.

Severus saw a flicker of sadness in his lover's eyes before it was gone, but didn't understand it. He let it go for now, knowing he could always ask her about it later. Only later never came. Hermione was very good at distracting him.

Sirius, after hearing about his two friends' wedding plans, said he'd never settle down and get married. Unless of course, Hermione finally realized that Sirius was the best man for her and married him.

Severus narrowed his eyes and glared in annoyance, but was saved from hexing Sirius when Hermione smirked and told Sirius to stop dreaming. There was no way she would ever marry him, even if he was the last wizard on earth and it was merely for procreation purposes. The human race would simply die off if that were the case.

Sirius laughed good-naturedly and said you couldn't blame him for trying. Making everyone else roll their eyes at him. They didn't know if he meant what he was saying or was simply trying to aggravate Severus these days with his comments. Though Lily wondered if sometimes it was a little bit of both.

Hermione had found a place in all their hearts and none of them could imagine her not being in their lives in some way or other. Lily already had plans of asking Hermione to be her first child's godmother. Maybe her second child's too. The thought made Lily smile.

Remus didn't say much of his plans after graduation. He hadn't thought that far ahead. All he knew was that whatever he did in his life, he hoped they all stayed close friends. James had slapped Remus on the back and told him that there was no way Remus was getting rid of any of them.

With a grin, James did say that with Remus' help they might be able to at least tie up and silence Sirius to get some peace every now and then. Sirius had barked out a laugh and said that even if James had an army he couldn't take him. He was Sirius Black after all.

This in turn started the three Marauder's wrestling to see if they could take Sirius down.

Hermione had laughed as she watched all of this going on. Severus had smirked as he too watched the boys while thinking that he would love a shot to see if he could take Sirius on and win.

James and Remus found Sirius to be a bit more formidable than they expected. So they both called out for Severus to help them. Surprising not only Severus, but both women as well.

Severus had stood silent for a moment, before with a slight smirk he joined in. It took a bit, but they finally got Sirius bound and gagged while he glared at all of them. Hermione and Lily were on the ground giggling uncontrollably at the sight all the guys made.

Maybe they'll be friends after all. Hermione thought as she fought more laughter at seeing James and Remus dance all around Sirius, bragging about getting peace at last while he struggled to get free. Severus simply stood off to the side, looking very pleased with himself.

A little later, Sirius was let loose and appeased by getting his revenge on James and Remus. His revenge for Severus was simply to flirt with Hermione more, until Hermione threatened to tie him up again for the rest of the night. Sirius quickly stopped.

The group would end up back in the Great Hall for dinner where Severus had to leave the group to sit at his table of Slytherins. Though he still chatted with Hermione via their minds.

Hermione and Severus would end the night back in the room of requirement to practice her Legilimency. Where she tried once again to break through his walls, but didn't get as far as she hoped to. She could get past a very simple wall, but that was it, nothing more complex than that.

Severus had his wand less spells down very well, and was doing great with silent spells too, so she didn't have much left to teach him. All she could do was offer a few tips here and there to help him improve.

Severus still didn't have the same draining effect that she did, and didn't have a clue as to why that was. She didn't know either and it made her wonder if she was doing something wrong or maybe if he just had stronger magic than she did. Either way, it didn't really matter. But it did give her something to ponder.

At least until Severus swept her up in his arms and carried her to bed.

Hermione noticed that as the days passed, she was more frantic about spending every moment she could with everyone. Wanting to make sure she didn't miss a single thing. If Severus noticed her antsiness, he didn't comment on it. Though she was sure he had to have noticed it.

Lily had noticed and Hermione had simply said that with N.E.W.T.S so close, that was what was making her so frantic. Lily had frowned slightly, but didn't say anything more about it.

Saturday dawned and Hermione felt like she was a mess. She feared the coming of the next day. She wasn't ready to leave. She wasn't ready to lose everyone. She needed more time.

During breakfast, Severus sent her several curious looks but she had forced a smile for him. Fighting tears at the thought of never seeing him again.

She was only picking at her plate, not eating much when a shadow fell on her. Looking up, she saw Minerva standing behind her.

"Ms. Brown, might I have a word with you in my office?" Minerva asked, keeping her strict look on her face for appearances.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, Professor McGonagall."

She stood up and walked with Minerva out of the Great Hall.

Once in the older woman's office, Minerva turned to Hermione with a kind look on her face. "How are you holding up, dear?"

Hermione sighed as her mask holding in her tears started to crack. "I've been better, but I'm doing as well as can be expected." Her chin started to tremble and Minerva simply opened her arms.

Hermione all but fell into them as her tears came rushing out. "I can't leave them Minerva. I want more time but this is killing me. Knowing I'm leaving and trying to keep up a normal appearance. Part of me wonders if it wouldn't be best to just leave now before it gets any harder. But I can't leave them early knowing what I do about the future. It's not enough time."

Minerva didn't know how to help. She didn't know what words would make it easier on the poor girl, so she simply held Hermione while the young woman cried. Her own eyes stinging a bit at hearing the agony in Hermione's sobs.

"I'm so sorry, child. I wish there was something I could do. But answer me this. If you knew you had a few more days, even a few more weeks, would it make any of this any easier for you?" Minerva asked, already knowing the answer.

Hermione shook her head as she sniffed. "No. I'd be just as torn up then as I am now. I'd want more time again. I'd always want more time."

Minerva smiled sadly. "I know, my dear. I'd want more time too."

Hermione took a deep breath and forced her tears to slow and finally to stop. She was simply wasting what precious time she had left standing there crying. When she could, she pulled back and with a flick of her wrist her face was back to normal. All traces of her tears were gone.

Hermione took another deep breath and squared her shoulders. "Thanks Minerva. I needed to cry. But crying isn't doing me any good. I need to just enjoy what time I have left. If I don't I'll regret having wasted what time I have now." The memories will be all I have left after I get back. Hermione thought, fighting a fresh wave of tears.

Minerva had to admire the young woman's courage and strength to pull herself together. The older woman knew she would still be blubbering had it been her. But Hermione was right. It wasn't doing her any good to cry about it.

"Well then, I'd say you are ready to go back out there and spend the day with your loved ones." Minerva still wished there was something she could do. But she couldn't.

Albus was right. Hermione couldn't stay. She knew too much. Even if she could keep the knowledge from her friends, if the Dark Lord got his hands on her Minerva didn't even want to think of what might happen.

Giving Minerva a final hug, Hermione left her office. She knew that it would be hard. But she would make sure her final day here at Hogwarts was one filled with happiness.

That night, Severus and Hermione were lying naked in bed together once again. The large bed that the Room of Requirement gave them was a mess from their earlier passion. Both were simply enjoying the afterglow of their lovemaking.

Hermione's head was on Severus' shoulder as he tenderly stroked his fingers down her side. Tomorrow she was leaving and Hermione had resolved herself to her fate. She would go back home to her friends in the future and live out the rest of her life.

She knew she would never forget her time here. Never forget how much they had all meant to her. True, she wouldn't have most of them, but she would still have Remus and Minerva. It would be enough. It had to be.

Maybe it would be different upon her return. Maybe Remus would make sure to stay in her life more after she got back. They were closer now in ways than they'd never been. The same was true for Minerva.

They had all shared a life here during these last few months. Bonded in a way that Hermione never expected them to. She had always been close to Minerva, but now it was different, having shared so much together with her time travel here.

It would be hard to go, but she would do it. She would do it with her head held high so no one saw her in tears before she just disappeared from their lives.

She simply prayed that Severus didn't hate her for leaving. Didn't hate her when he figured out who she was during her childhood.

She didn't remember anything different from her childhood, so maybe he never figured it out. Maybe he simply forgot about her and just didn't care by the time she met him again in her first year.

He was a mean and surly bastard during her school years. Maybe he simply shrugged her off as a girl he once knew and that was all.

The thought of that happening was like a knife to her chest. She didn't want Severus to forget her. She didn't want him to simply ignore her because he didn't care. But she didn't want him in any kind of pain with watching her grow up and never getting a chance to be with her again like they are now.

Hermione heard Severus yawn, and pulled from her thoughts, she quickly sat up. She wasn't ready to call it a night yet. With this being their last night she didn't want to waste it sleeping. She could sleep when she was back in her own time. He could sleep after she was gone.

Whether it was selfish to make him lose a night of sleep or not, she didn't care. She wouldn't waste a single moment of what time she had left with him.

Severus watched her sit up with a curious look on his face. "What is it, Hermione?"

Hermione gave him a smile, though it felt slightly forced to her. "I want to try again."

Severus frowned. "Try what?"

"I want to try breaking down your walls. I know I can do this. I've never failed at anything and I refuse to fail at this." Hermione said.

She only decided to try this because she knew the focus would keep them both awake. She couldn't think of anything to talk to him about. They had talked so much that she felt they had covered just about everything possible.

Severus chuckled softly. "I take it back. You are insufferable."

Hermione smirked. "See. I told you that you find me insufferable one day."

Severus sat up with her. "Alright. We'll give it a shot. But just so you know, you have only been trying to learn this for a few months. This kind of skill takes years to master. I haven't even mastered it fully yet."

Hermione shrugged. "That's part of being a know-it-all. We don't quit until we have our skills learned as quickly as possible."

Severus chuckled again even as he set up his wall for her to tear down. "Okay, I'm ready when you are."

Hermione focused and tried to push past his wall but nothing happened. Seeing Severus' lips curve she narrowed her eyes at him. "I refuse to fail."

Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath. I won't fail. I will learn this. I know he has never taught anyone this skill before me. If nothing else, this won't die with him. Something about him will live on.

She slowly opened her eyes and drew on every ounce of focus, energy, and magic that she had inside her. Feeling the rush of adrenaline and magic coursing through her, she pushed with everything she had.

She didn't simply feel his wall crack. She felt it shatter. She felt not only one wall shatter, but also every wall he had in place in his mind.

Her mind was suddenly flooded with images. So many images pouring through at once that she almost couldn't make them out.

Images from his childhood, images she had already seen from the memories he gave Harry at the final battle. But it was the images of last summer that made her gasp. She had never seen those before.

She saw Severus take his dark mark. She saw him as he faced Voldemort when he was summoned. She had never seen Voldemort before his return after her fourth year.

She saw and heard some of the things that were discussed not only before taking his mark but also at the Death Eater meetings afterward. Saw the horrible things that went on there. People tortured and killed. Women raped and tortured both physically and magically.

Severus had only been a witness at this point, and she saw the look on his face as he witnessed these things. The look of horror in his eyes at what kind of people he had joined up with.

Hermione pulled back from Severus' mind at the same moment that he kicked her out. Her hand covered her mouth as she stared at him. Severus had not seen everything she had seen. It had happened so fast that he wasn't sure what she saw.

"Oh god, Severus, I I didn't mean to push that hard. I'm so sorry." She said not realizing that her hand that she had lowered from her mouth was shaking.

Severus swallowed. He saw her wide horror filled eyes and was at a loss at what to say. He couldn't be angry since she hadn't done it on purpose. She had no real control yet. She hadn't learned how to even try to control how far in she went or what she saw.

Hermione couldn't believe all she had seen. She had known how evil Voldemort and his followers were. Had known some of the horrible things they'd done to people. She had seen Neville's parents after they'd been tortured into insanity. But she had never seen it first hand while it was being done.

Sure, she had been tortured herself, but somehow it was different. It seemed so much more horrible to see what others had done to them. Especially since her torture, in some ways, was nowhere near as bad. She hadn't been raped or beaten. She hadn't been forced to witness her loved ones defiled over and over again by several men before they were killed while being helpless to stop it.

Several moments passed as she continued to simply look at Severus as her heart ached not only for the people that had been harmed, but for him as well. She understood now why he was so mean and harsh later in life. After years of living through that, spy or not, how could you not be anything but rude and horrid to people.

Hermione swallowed before she spoke again. "Say something, Severus. Please." Her voice hitched.

Severus closed his eyes. He didn't know what all she had seen, but by the horror in her eyes it had to have been bad. "What would you have me say?"

Hermione swallowed again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to break through all of your walls."

Severus frowned. "Do you think I'm angry with you?"

Hermione nodded slowly. She knew he was a private person. She knew how angry he had been at Harry when he had reversed the spell when Severus was teaching him Occlumency during her fifth year. He had refused to teach him anything more after that. She doubted he would be any less private in his younger days.

Severus sighed. "Hermione, love, I'm not angry at you. I know you didn't mean to push that hard. I know you were just trying to push through the wall I set up for you. You haven't learned to control your magic enough with this skill. This is why it takes years to master. Breaking through a wall is easy. Its the control to weave your way around in a person's mind that takes a long time to learn."

He forced his eyes to stay on hers, even with seeing them still wide and filled with horror. "What did you see anyway?"

Hermione swallowed. She couldn't tell him. If she did, he would try to make excuses or tell her how sorry he was. She would inevitably say that it was okay, and it wasn't. She didn't want him thinking that what she saw at those meetings was excusable. But she couldn't condemn him either.

She didn't blame him. She knew that all of this played an important part in him turning from Voldemort and becoming a spy.

But her heart ached for all the people she saw being tortured. Her heart ached for him. Knowing that he wasn't pleased with his choices. Knowing that he would have to witness and survive many more terrible things later on in his life. Knowing that she couldn't do anything to help him.

Her eyes met his, seeing the slight fear in his eyes. Realizing that he was waiting for her to reject him now. She reached up and cupped his cheek. "It doesn't matter."

Severus frowned. "What do you mean it doesn't matter?"

Hermione shrugged. "It doesn't matter what I saw. I know you Severus. I know the real you. So it doesn't matter what I saw."

Severus couldn't believe that she felt it didn't matter. The look in her eyes alone said that it did. He could still see a hint of horror in her eyes and it made him wish he knew what she had seen.

He didn't know if she had seen things pertaining to his Death Eater meetings or not. But by the look in her eyes, he was fairly certain that was what she had seen. He was worried about what it might mean for them. Would she be able to get past what all she had seen? Would it make her turn from him?

Hermione tried to force the images still lingering in her mind away, but they wouldn't fade. Her heart still ached for him but she knew he wouldn't take her pity well at all.

Seeing him still watching her, waiting for her to react in some way other than what she was, she forced a smile out for him. Then, reached over and wrapped her arms around him. His arms came around her as well, holding her tightly to him as if he feared losing her.

Something he was about to do and she couldn't even tell him. Couldn't tell him that she had to leave but that she loved him and always would. Couldn't warn him about what he would face in the upcoming years. Well, she could tell him that she loved him.

"I love you Severus. I'll always love you, no matter what. I hope you'll always remember that." She whispered to him.

Severus frowned slightly. Not understanding why it seemed like she was saying goodbye. "I love you too Hermione and I always will. Are you okay?"

She nodded against him, still holding him. She wasn't okay, but she couldn't tell him that. If she said no, he'd press her to tell him why and she couldn't. "I'm fine."

When he pulled back to look at her, she gave him a small smile. "I did at least manage to do it though. Break through the wall. See, me being a know-it-all has its perks."

Severus chuckled, still feeling as though she was hiding how she really felt about it all. "I guess it does. I didn't expect you to be able to do it this soon. You just need to work on controlling how hard you push now."

She gave him a real smile. "Yes, I do."

"We've got time for you to learn it though. Now that you know how to do it, we just need to refine the skill." He told her, still watching her.

Hermione kept her smile in place though she wasn't sure how she managed it. "Yes, we do. I'm sure I'll never find a better teacher to help me refine it either." That much was true. No one but him would ever be a better teacher. She'd never find anyone to replace him either. As her teacher, or her lover.

A/N: Okay, so the next day is Sunday, the day she is to leave. I should have it posted soon. Take care everyone and please leave me your thoughts.