A/N: Hello all my lovely readers. Thank you for the wonderful reviews. I loved them all as usual. Things are crazy here so I've only gotten to about half of the responses, but I'll get to you in a day or two, I promise. Thank you too everyone still adding me to their alerts/faves. I'm going to give you all a heads up and tell you that you might want those tissues handy again, it gets a bit emotional, but its, oh so sweet, and a good kind of emotional. Take care everyone and as always, Please Read and Review.

Special Thanks to my fabulous beta's KristineThorne and PandaHeart. You two did a great job on this chapter. Though, Kristine, I couldn't help myself and tweaked this chapter more. Even after I promised not to touch it again. lol.

Chapter 40

Graduation was only a few days away and Severus knew he wanted to be there to see her get her diploma from Hogwarts. He had been there on her first day, and even if he hadn't been there during her final year, he wanted to be there on her last day.

While she was in class during one of her final days, he took himself off to the Ministry to prove that he was indeed alive. He didn't say a word to her about it, only because he didn't know what kind of welcome he might get at the Ministry. He had been a Death Eater after all, spy or not. It was possible that they would simply arrest him first before trying to find out where he had been for the past two years.

Just about every person he passed on his way to see the new Minister, his former Order member, Kingsley Shacklebolt, stopped to stare at him. Mouths were wide open in pure shock upon seeing him walking about since he had been declared dead so long ago. Most people kept their distance, not knowing what to make of him. Not knowing whether he was a friend or a foe, or even just an apparition of their fears and not really there at all. But when Kingsley spotted him, the man broke into a wide grin, forgoing the usual handshake to give him a deep hug, surprising Severus with his overly public display of friendship.

Severus noticed he wasn't the only surprised one. Almost every person within sight was staring completely dumbstruck at the Minister's apparent happiness at seeing the dark haired man. Not many knew that the two had ever been friendly, let alone good friends.

"Severus, its so good to see you. How on Earth are you even here? I thought you died during the final battle." The minister asked.

Severus cracked a small smile. "It's a long story, old friend. A very long story."

Kingsley grinned, thinking of the other long stories he'd already heard, from the other two supposedly dead people he'd been stunned to see, in the last few months. "Well then, lets go into my office and you can tell me this very long story over a bottle of Ogden's finest."

Severus smirked, hiding the slight nervousness he felt at being there. "Lead the way."

The two talked for hours, during which time, the Daily Prophet had caught wind of Severus' arrival and had swarmed the Ministry, waiting to get an exclusive interview with the miraculously living wizard. Not to mention, wanting several photographs of him to prove that he did indeed live after all.

The two men sat in Kingsley's office, drinking from a tumbler of Ogden's. Kingsley sat patiently listening to the long tale that Severus told him, not saying a word, though he did pause in taking a sip from his drink every now and then to stare in shock at what he was hearing. Severus didn't make up any cover stories, he simply spoke the truth of what had happened.

When Severus came to near the end of his story, Kingsley set his drink down to solely focus on the dark eyed man's words. Once Severus finished with his tale the minister sat in silence, letting everything sink into his mind before speaking.

"That is quite a story, Severus. So...Hermione went back in time and...now you're here? I wasn't aware a time turner would even let a person go back that far." Kingsley said, still somewhat in shock from it all.

Severus nodded. "I had never heard of it either. But that's what happened." He said, waiting to find out how this meeting ended.

Kingsley sat in silence again for several moments. "So...that is how Weasley and Black ended up coming to see me over the last few months. I had wondered how it was that both Weasley and Black had survived without anyone's knowledge."

Severus shrugged. "Albus Dumbledore was very good at keeping secrets. He set up the house we've been living in these past couple of years. Sirius was there since he officially died in the Department of Mysteries."

Kingsley frowned. "Why was I kept out of the loop in all of this? You all knew I could be trusted to keep your secret."

Severus sighed. "The less people who knew the better. We couldn't risk the time line getting changed in any way due to more people knowing that we survived. It wasn't personal that you were kept in the dark; it was just how it had to be. You of all people know that the best way to keep a secret is to not tell anyone you have a secret to begin with."

Kingsley sighed this time. He did know that. He may not have liked that he was kept in the dark, but he understood why Albus made sure that only a select few knew. "So now what, old friend?"

Severus raised an eyebrow at the man. "I was wondering the exact same thing." Doing a good job of hiding his apprehension and mild fear at what might come now that the Minister knew he was alive.

Kingsley frowned. "Well, if you are expecting a parade...you are sadly mistaken." The minister grinned. "We've had enough parades to last us a lifetime."

Severus chuckled. "I don't, in any way, want a parade. I was simply curious if there was going to be an investigation since I was a known Death Eater. Am I to be imprisoned for my crimes? If so...I need at least a few days to get my affairs in order. I believe you at least can give me that considering our history together."

Kingsley frowned even more. "A few days to settle your affairs? Why would you need to do that? Why would you be imprisoned? You were proven innocent of any crimes after the war. Not to mention that I was there at the final battle when the truth of everything about you came out."

Severus kept his calm mask in place, though inside he was a mess of tension. "So that means...what exactly?"

Kingsley smiled. "It means that you are a free man, Severus. You are free to do as you please. Though I'm sure that Ms. Granger would be very upset if you missed her graduation. If what I gather from your story is correct. You two are...a couple, I take it?"

Severus felt his lips curving without him meaning to let them. He was free. He hadn't been a free man since the day he took his dark mark. "Yes, we are. In fact, we're getting married after she graduates. Molly, I'm sure, will take over all preparations in the matter. Once she learns of it, of course."

Kingsley chuckled. "That I've no doubt about. Don't be surprised if the woman throws one hell of a fit once she learns about you two. Not that she will have any problem with you and Hermione being together, but more that she was kept in the dark for so long."

Severus gave a soft chuckle as he pictured Molly Weasley throwing the mother of all hissy fits after hearing that she only had a few months to plan his wedding. Severus refused to wait any longer than that.

He had told Hermione that she had only three months after graduating to plan their wedding and become his wife. Otherwise, Severus would simply take her to get it handled on his own. A simple ceremony at the Ministry would work for him. He had waited long enough for her. He was done waiting.

Hermione had simply kissed him and told him not to worry. She would get everything taken care of and be his wife within the allotted time. She was just as anxious to be his wife, as he was for her to be so.

After a bit more chatting, Kingsley let him go—after insuring that he would indeed be invited to the wedding, even if it was held here at the Ministry. Severus had shaken the man's hand, promising to deliver the invitation personally if he had to.

He was greeted outside by swarms of people with flashing cameras all trying to get him to answer questions. Seeing the sneer on his lips and dark, menacing glare in his eyes, most of the annoying reporters quit trying to crowd him. Severus had to bite back a chuckle at the look of uncertainty on most of their faces. He had been feared for many years and free man or not, they still feared him slightly.

He quickly strode past the group with flashing cameras, making his way to the public floos. With a final glare as the reporters still tried to hound him with questions on how he survived and why he had stayed declared dead for so long, he was gone with a flash of green flames.

Upon arriving at his destination, a very public place in Diagon Alley, he quickly apparated home. He didn't want anyone to follow him by latching on to him at the last second, so he had floo'd first, just to get away from the hoard of people.

Several hours later, Hermione arrived back home. A paper was clenched tightly in her hands and she had a look that showed she was seriously pissed off on her face. Severus spotted the look and knew, that she knew, what he had done. Cursing softly at the Daily Profit getting a special evening edition out, with his face splattered across the front page, before he got to tell her himself.

"You didn't even tell me. You went to the Ministry and didn't even bother telling me that you were going to publicly bring yourself back to life today? Did it even cross your mind that I might have wanted to go with you? Did it even cross your mind that I'd have wanted to at least know what you were doing?" She ranted, her voice rising in volume with each question.

She stood before him in the library, her hands on her hips, paper still clenched in her fists, as she glared at him. Severus mentally counted to ten. Then, when that didn't work, he started over and counted twenty. He didn't like being ranted at. He especially didn't like being ranted at like he was an idiot. Not by anyone, including her.

Temper mostly in check, something he was quite proud of himself for doing first, he spoke with slightly narrowed eyes. "Witch, I'm not one of your idiotic friends and refuse to be spoken to like one. First off, yes, I did think you'd like to know." He told her while slowly standing from the desk he was seated at.

Hermione's glare faltered as she realized that she had talked to him like she would have done with Harry or Ron. It was a habit she had slipped back into during the short time she had been back.

Severus saw the slight hesitation and was mentally grinning. Oh, yes my pretty little witch, I'm no pushover. You forget, I'm not eighteen any longer, he thought to himself.

He went on as he moved around the desk and slowly walked towards her. "Second, I did think you might want to go with me, but you had classes to attend. Third, I didn't tell you because I didn't know what would happen. I didn't know if I would be instantly arrested and put in Azkaban or not. Even though you are quick to forgive what I've done over the years as a spy doesn't mean everyone will."

He stopped right in front of her, to glare down at her; while she had to tilt her head back, to look at him. He was very much aware of how much this stance intimidated most people. "Do you think that I would risk you by allowing you anywhere near there until I knew it was safe? If I had been arrested, you undoubtedly, would have been arrested right along side me for harboring a fugitive. I will not risk you in that way, or any way, for that matter."

Hermione swallowed. He looked very much like the man she had feared as a child at that moment. "I didn't think about that part."

At his satisfied smirk, she felt her annoyance return. He would not make her back down. Her chin lifted, which was difficult to do with her head already tilted back, before she went on. "I didn't think about it, because I already knew you'd been cleared of all charges. There was no danger of you ever being arrested. Had you asked, I would have told you. How is that you knew that Sirius had been cleared, but didn't know that you had been as well?"

Severus frowned. He hadn't thought to ask about himself. No one had told him either. Hermione saw his glare ease, as he now looked thoughtful. She hid a grin. He would simply glare at her again if he saw it.

"I wasn't aware of being cleared. No one told me and I...I didn't think to ask. I had other things on my mind at the time." He said, still looking at her, but no longer angry at her earlier ranting.

"What other things?" She asked with a frown, wondering what could have been more important.

Severus smiled softly, as his arms came up to slip around her waist. "You. I was more concerned on finding out if you were alright after the battle."

Hermione smiled too. "Yeah?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "All I have done over the years has been for you, my beautiful witch. After all the casualties had been accounted for and injured dealt with, you were all I was worried about. Whom else would I ask after?."

Her eyes lowered. She wouldn't argue with him. She knew that he had changed sides due to Lily dying. He may be in love with her, but he loved Lily too. He had always loved Lily. She didn't mind either. She loved Lily too. Lily was like a sister to her. If she had to share Severus' heart with anyone, she couldn't think of anyone she'd rather share him with.

Severus saw her eyes drop, saw the hint of doubt in her eyes before she hid it. She doubts me? He thought incredulously. "Hermione, look at me."

Hermione looked back into his eyes, saw the concern in them. Severus searched her eyes, but she still had her thoughts hidden. "Hermione, do you think I would have lived the kind of life I did, for anyone other than you? I love you. I would have taken on the Dark Lord barehanded, if it was the only way to help or save you."

Hermione reached up and cupped his cheek. "I know you love me, Severus. I don't doubt that at all. I know you would do all that you could for me too. I don't doubt that either."

Severus was confused. "Then, why do you doubt me?"

Hermione gave him a tender smile. "I don't."

Severus didn't understand. If she didn't doubt him, why was there doubt in her eyes earlier? He went over what they had said to each other in his mind. Something was there. He knew there was. But what is it?

All I have done over the years has been for you, my beautiful witch. That statement was what made her eyes drop. Severus suddenly heard Minerva's voice in his head. Remembered the conversation the older woman and he'd had during Hermione's third year. After learning that Hermione Brown and Hermione Granger were one and the same.

Severus, she knew of your love for Lily. She would have saved her for you, if for nothing else. The words echoed in his mind. He remembered that he had read her letter to him and realized that Hermione thought that he loved Lily more than her. It wasn't true, but Hermione didn't know that.

That is what the doubt is about. She still thinks I love Lily more. Thinks that I did everything for Lily, because that is what her memories are of. Me loving Lily. She remembers the bitter twisted man that I once was before her coming back. He realized.

Now that he understood, he sighed. "Hermione, there is something I need you to understand. Come with me." He took her hand and led her to the desk he had first taken her on, upon her return from his past.

Sitting down and pulling her into his lap, he let her get comfortable against him before going on. "Your memories are not how everything happened. I had been wondering if I should show you my memories so you know what all changed with you going back, and this just proves that I should have shown them to you."

Hermione's brows knitted in confusion. How did we go from me yelling at him, to him wanting to show me his memories? What does one have to do with the other? "I don't think I understand why you think I should see them."

Severus kissed her softly. "You are under the impression that what you knew of me before you went back in time is still what and how I am now."

Hermione frowned more. "Severus...I know who you are." She still didn't understand what he was trying to tell her.

Severus sighed. He wasn't going about this the right way it seemed. "The man you remember, did everything he did during the war, because he loved a certain woman."

Understanding finally, Hermione's eyes dropped from his again, but Severus didn't allow her to look away. He brought her chin back up to look at him before he spoke again. "The man you remember, loved a woman who didn't love him back. But I'm not that man. I do love a woman who loves me back. I did everything I did during the war, because of you."

Hermione swallowed, but stayed silent. Severus went on when she didn't speak. "Hermione, I may have loved Lily once, I don't remember really. I'm not even sure it was really love, if it was, it was nothing like what I came to feel later for someone else. You see, this bright and beautiful witch came into my life during my seventh year. She pushed all thoughts of any other witch from my mind. She filled me so completely, that I have never thought of another witch, other than her. Never wanted any other witch, but her."

Hermione felt her lips curving slightly and Severus felt relief that she was starting to understand. "Hermione, I have never loved a woman, like I love you. Lily doesn't compare to you. Lily has no part of me, because you have every piece of me. You are why I became Dumbledore's spy. It was losing you and thinking that my being a Death Eater was why you left, that made me fully change sides."

Hermione frowned. "But that's not how..."

Severus cut her off. "That's not how it happened before. I know. But you know what? I'd rather love you, a woman who loves me for me, than pine for someone that I'm not even sure that I really loved, and who I knew didn't love me. I don't care how it happened before, because I'm glad it happened the way it did now. I want you and only you. I'm glad I had a good reason to fight all those years ago to win. My reason was you. You are whom I fought for. You are whom I was concerned for after the war. I saw your memories of the war and saw you get hurt. Saw how you got every single scar on your lovely body. You are everything to me. Do you understand?"

Hermione felt tears gather in her eyes and tried to fight them back. "I changed so much, Severus. More than I had any right to."

Severus felt his anger returning. "Do you think I care? I don't care that you changed anything." He paused and shook his head. "No, that's not true. I'm glad you changed what you did. Especially having seen what you changed through your memories. Don't you think that if it bothered me that much, that I would have found a way to stop you from coming back to my seventh year?"

Hermione frowned. "What do you mean?"

Severus smirked. "I could have stopped you from going back. I could have warned you. I could have told Potter about being careful not to hurt you. I could have done so many things to make you aware of what could happen. I could have fed you all sorts of lies to make sure you were careful. I could have simply taken your time turner and broken it so it couldn't happen. But I didn't. I didn't do any of it. I made sure everything stayed as it was, so you'd go back to my seventh year. I'm happy with the changes. How often does a man get a second chance? That's what you gave me, my lovely witch. A second chance to be a better man, with a better life. Even with everything that happened and led up to us being here today. It's still a better life. One I wouldn't trade for anything."

He saw in her eyes that the wheels were turning in her mind, so he decided to fully bare his soul to her. She was the only one he'd ever consider doing it for too. "Let me show you something, Hermione."

He stood, letting her take his seat, as he moved around the desk. "I saw your memories on the battle, saw what Potter said, as he told The Dark Lord of what he'd seen in my memories. What you both had seen."

Hermione swallowed. She hadn't really intended for him to know she had seen his memories, as well, the day of the battle. She didn't think he would be okay with her invading his privacy like that. He had meant to give them to Harry, not her.

Severus saw her swallow and smirked at her slightly nervous look. "I don't care that you watched them too. The man you remember from your past might have, but I don't. But when Harry was talking to Voldemort, he revealed everything about me, including about my Patronus. I know that is part of why you believe that I loved Lily more, but let me show you what I discovered many years after you left me in my seventh year."

He raised his wand, pointing it towards the center of the room. "Expecto Patronum." He called out clearly and firmly.

Hermione watched as a silvery blue light shot from his wand, before forming into an otter much like her own. She watched in wide-eyed astonishment, as it danced and hopped around happily, a lot like her own did.

Severus looked at her, saw the startled expression in her eyes and smiled. "Yes, it was a white doe, like Lily's, but after all that time with you, it seems it changed. I didn't know why it did, until I saw your own Patronus."

Her eyes moving back to his, as his otter continued to dance about. But he spoke again before she could say a word. " I saw you practicing in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts, shortly after the beginning of your sixth year. You didn't know I was already in there, practicing on the dummies inside. Apparently you had the same idea that night after curfew, since you didn't seem surprised to see them when you came inside the room. I hadn't set my wards, I guess. Which was odd for me not to do, but I had been distracted, upset with Albus, after discussing once again...something he required."

He didn't want to bring up her letter she'd written to him, telling him that he had to kill Dumbledore. He didn't want her to know how many times he'd gone back to the aging wizard and tried to say there had to be another way. He just didn't count Hermione having guessed that it was what he was forced to do, that upset him so much. She stayed silent, knowing how much killing the old wizard had haunted him. Though by the hint of sadness that filled her eyes, he knew she why he had been distracted.

Not wanting her to be sad, he quickly went on. "I stood in the shadows, disillusioned so you didn't didn't know I was there, simply watching you as you cast your Patronus, again and again after it would disappear, trying to make it last longer each time you cast it. I was stunned when I saw your otter, though it finally made sense as to why mine had changed."

He smiled softly again, still looking in her eyes. "I didn't know a Patronus could change like mine did. But it goes to show just how much I love you. I know for a fact not everyone's Patronus matches the person they love. The little bit of research I've done on it, says it takes a deep true love, an all consuming passion, to cause the change."

When the otter vanished, he moved back to the desk. Taking his seat again and pulling her back onto his lap so he could hold her while she faced him. She still looked a bit stunned at what she'd learned.

When she didn't say anything, he spoke again. "I don't want to love Lily. I want to love you. I want a life with you. I want a family with you. I want everything with you, my beautiful witch. If you regret changing the past, then...it's almost like you regret loving me too. Do you?"

Hermione quickly shook her head. "No, I don't. I said before that I couldn't find it in me to regret any choices I made. I only feared you being upset at me for changing so much without your knowledge or consent."

Severus smiled, reaching up and stroking her cheek softly. "I have the knowledge, and even though it's a bit too late, you have my consent. I don't regret any changes."

Hermione smiled. "Really?"

She had been worried about what she had changed while in his past. Even after learning about all the things that had changed for the better, she had wondered if it had been right for her to do so.

Severus nodded. "Really. Now let me show you what you might have missing from your memories. We should start with your first year since that is when I first noticed you."

Hermione frowned. "Wait, you knew who I was since my first year?" She knew he had known who she was early, but never asked how soon he had known.

He shook his head. "Not exactly. But I recognized you when you were being sorted. I heard your name and saw your face. I didn't know it was you. I thought it was your daughter or your niece. I was very annoyed that you kept distracting me and showed me how clever you were. Just like you were in our seventh year together."

Hermione smiled a bit at the thought. Yes, that would have annoyed him greatly "Okay, did anything important change? I'm assuming Harry still stopped Quirrel from getting the sorcerer's stone." Figuring he must have otherwise it would have started a domino effect and changed everything.

Severus sighed. "Yes, he did. About all of that..." Thinking of all the times he had wanted to strangle her at what he had seen. "Do you have any idea…you know, I think it might be best to just show you some of it. The highlights at least. We'll get back to what I was about to say later."

She smiled and stood up off of him, only to have him pull her back down on his lap. He flicked his hand and a stone bowl appeared over to him. She watched it settle down on the desk in front of them.

"Must you do everything the hard way?" He asked her on another sigh. "It's like the book in the library in my seventh year. You could have just floated it over to you"

She smirked but held her tongue. She watched as he pulled a silvery blue wisp of light from his temple and let it drop into the bowl. She placed her hands on either side and was sucked inside the memory.

She landed with a silent thump in his memory. She saw he was right beside her, not quite sure why he was joining her in the memory, but waiting to see what happened. She saw small clips here and there from their past.

Saw herself being sorted, saw him staring at her in shock and disbelief. Saw herself the following day in class for the first time, saw his eyes kept straying to her. The memory zipped forward to show him standing with her, the boys, McGonagall, Severus, and Quirrel as they stared at the destroy girl's loo with the knocked out mountain troll on the floor.

Hermione smiled as she saw her younger self, claiming to be at fault, saw Severus, as her Professor, look at her in disbelief once again. She felt Severus pressing against her back with his hands at her waist as they watched the memory.

"You know…" He said in her ear, his silken voice sending a shiver down her spine. "I knew you were lying. I just didn't have any way to prove it with Minerva standing there."

Hermione laughed softly. "The boys came to find me, but the troll had found me first. I was in there crying over something…I can't quite remember what, and didn't even know the troll got in the castle. It took a few swipes at me with its club...they saved me that night."

She felt his fingers flex slightly on her waist but he didn't say a word. She watched the whole thing, edited though it was.

When they came back to his office, she smirked softly. "Care to see what you missed?"

He glared slightly. "I'm well aware of what I missed, thank you. Potter doesn't realize all the secrets he divulged during his Occlumency lessons with me. Anything he left out, the memories that you gave Minerva filled me in. But as I said before, we'll get to that later. Here is your second year."

Again they were in a slightly edited memory. But when Hermione saw him visit her constantly after she had been petrified, she smiled. She took his hand and gave it a squeeze as he again held her while they watched.

"You didn't even know it was me yet, and still you came to see me. I wonder if this is part of what changed or if this happened before. I have no memory of what happened between the time I was petrified and when I was cured, so it's possible either way." She said softly.

He held her just a bit tighter. "I only came because I still thought you, the little girl, was your child. I knew then that I had to protect you…for the you I knew back in my seventh year. It was the only piece of you I had left."

Hermione sighed, sad that he had to live through so much alone. Hearing her soft sigh, Severus simply held her tighter against him.

Pulling back slightly, he pulled another memory from his mind. She watched her third year, smirking at remembering all that happened. He held her once again. She saw him go to Minerva and talk about thinking he was losing his mind. Saw Minerva tell him when she had no other option. Saw his anger. Heard him say he was going to kill her as a child.

Hermione sighed again, hearing him call her a sadistic little twit. She knew he would be angry, but she never thought he'd be that angry with her. "I'm so sorry Severus. I…I wanted to tell you. All of it. But…"

She turned in his arms to look up at him. He smiled softly at her. "I know, Hermione. I was just angry…mostly at thinking of all we had done back then. Seeing you at the age of fourteen and knowing I had touched you and made love to you. It was thinking of how old I was during your third year compared to how young you were too. It was…a bit nauseating, truth be told. I was angry and ashamed at the thought of violating a student."

"Severus, I wasn't your student when I came to you. I was older than you were at the time. If anybody violated anyone, it was me violating you. You didn't have a clue as to who I really was. I knew who you were. I knew you would be my professor later. I just wanted to be your friend, but I fell in love with you." She said, hoping he wasn't still angry about it.

He smirked. "I know you were older. I saw pieces of Remus' memory of your twentieth birthday a few months ago. He came by and let me see your party since he knew I couldn't be there."

She looked away quickly. Crap, he still thinks I'm only twenty. She thought.

He gently forced her to look at him. "What do you mean I only think you're twenty?" His eyes searching hers.

She realized she didn't have any walls up. Bugger. She thought, making his brow quirk as she realized he was still reading her mind and heard her curse.

Bullocks. She thought again, making his lips curve just a bit at seeing that one too.

Hermione sighed and stopped cursing in her mind. "I'm a bit older than twenty."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "How old are you? Twenty-one?"

She smiled a bit sheepishly. "Twenty two…almost twenty three now with the time I spent in with you in nineteen seventy-eight. It's the time turner I used so much during my school years, that aged me more."

He frowned slightly. He had thought he was twenty years older than her and in reality he was only seventeen. He realized he didn't mind her being older. It closed the age gap and kind of made him feel like less of a dirty old man.

He shrugged. "Okay. So you're almost twenty-three. How do you keep track of it? I know you're brilliant, but even you must get lost at times on the time frame."

She smiled. "I keep it in my journal. It's how I am able to keep up with the number of extra hours and days to add to my age. I had to update it again when I got back. Took a few hours to count up the exact number of weeks and days to add to my total I had before my trip back."

They came to the part of the memory where he followed Lupin to the shrieking shack. They watched as Severus in the memory looked to her and saw the slightly tightening of his face when he saw her there, dirty and with the blood on her cheek. Thinking that Black had harmed her. Then, suddenly it went dark.

"Which one of you hit me with the stunning spell? Or did that not happen in your memories?" He asked her.

Hermione smiled but did her best to hide it. "I believe Harry did, or at least that is how I remember it. After he slipped my wand from my back pocket. Sorry about that. I did get on his case for using magic on a teacher though. Does that help?"

He glared mildly at her, but didn't respond. They watched as Severus, as her Professor, climbed out of the tunnel, spotted them and started snapping at them. Saw when he realized Remus was in wolf form.

Though his hands tightened once again around her waist as he, in the memory, placed his body over hers to protect her from Remus. Trying to hold her young self against his back.

"I wanted to keep you safe." Severus said in her ear. "I couldn't let Remus hurt you. You protected me once and I knew it was my turn to protect you."

Hermione watched him doing his best to shield her while not letting her go in the memory. Watched them both go down to the ground as he still held her by her waist. She smiled a bit, knowing how it ended.

She saw the memory change. Heard him talking to Minerva again. Saw him ask for the letter she had written him and saw him go back to his rooms.

Watched him staring down at it for a while with a glass of fire whiskey in his hand. Then, as he went to open it, the memory faded. They were back sitting at the desk with her still on his lap.

She looked up at him, puzzled. "I think I'll keep that part of the memory to myself." He told her.

She frowned quizzically. "Why?"

He smiled slightly. "I was still a bit angry when I read it and didn't take it well at first."

He didn't want her to know that he had ripped the letter in two after reading it. Drank a bit more fire whiskey before repairing it back to like the way it was before he had torn it. Reading it again as a few tears slipped down his cheeks with how much he loved and missed her, as her scent, that clung to the pages, filled him.

She nodded silently. "Okay." She wondered how he had reacted when he read it, but she wouldn't push him. He was still a private man after all. There was still the possibility of him sharing it with her later. If not, it wasn't that big of deal for her to know.

She gave a small yawn and it made her realize how much time had passed as they watched his memories. Severus realized it too and said that they could watch the rest of them later.

After both stood, he went into the kitchen to put together a small meal. While they were eating, he thought of something he had been meaning to ask her since she had returned. Something that had been on his mind off and on since she had left him back in the seventies.

Severus spoke quietly. "Do you remember the night you finally broke through my wall?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, it was the night before I came back."

Severus nodded. "I've been wondering for years what caused the look in your eyes that night. What did you see when you broke through? I know you saw something about my meetings with the Dark Lord and the other Death Eaters. But you never told me what you saw exactly. You left so soon afterward, I thought it was due to what you saw that made you leave."

She reached across the table and took his hand, giving it a light squeeze. "I saw the day you took your mark. I saw a few meetings, but it wasn't horror towards you at what I saw you doing, that made me look at you that way, that night. It was seeing what you went through and knowing that even more was coming. I was upset to learn all you had suffered through and was sad knowing what more you would suffer through. I'd never think poorly of you due to what you had to live through"

He held her hand, giving it a light squeeze back. He hadn't even seen her sadness when she had looked at him, after breaking through his walls that night. He had been more concerned with how frightened and horrified she had seemed. But she hadn't told him what she had seen that night. All she'd said, was that it didn't matter and he hadn't fully believed her then. But now...now he could see that it had been horror over what she had seen and not at him.

"Do you still want to practice Legilimency and learn how to break down walls? It might mean that you could end up seeing more than you would want to. More than I'd ever want you to, since you still haven't learned to control your magic well enough to maneuver like you need to." Severus asked, unsure if she was up for possibly seeing all the terrifying things he had lived through.

Hermione smiled softly at him. "Severus, I'm not afraid of what I might see. Its what you were forced to live through, not what you wanted to live through. It won't make me think any less of you, if I do see something that you'd rather I didn't. Besides, you said you saw my memories of the war, including how I got all my scars, right?"

Severus nodded. "I almost couldn't bare to see what Bellatrix did to you, but I knew that if you could go through that, and not ask for help in changing it, I could bare to watch it happen."

Hermione sighed. "I'm sorry you had to see that. But it proves my point. We both had things we had to deal with during our lives. I can deal with seeing things that happened in your life that might be ugly or gruesome. I wont look any differently at you for having seen them either. Though...if I do react badly, it's not because of what you had to do. It's simply me being upset that you had to live through any of that. That I couldn't be there to help you in any way during those years, and that you had to live through it all on your own."

Since both were done with their meals, Severus stood, pulling her gently to her feet, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. He was relieved to learn that her expression that night hadn't been of horror at what he'd done. Relived to know that if she ever saw anything else in the future about what he had done during his Death Eater days, it wouldn't be held against him.

He set the kitchen to clean itself and took her upstairs to bed. It had been a long day for both of them and they needed their rest. Hermione would be graduating and now that he was free, he would be able to be there.

With all that they had shared that night, she understood him a bit better and he understood her as well. He knew many things would happen in their lives. She would probably end up seeing more of his past while she was gone, and he would have to learn to simply have faith that she loved him enough to be able to move on from it.

To have faith that she knew him well enough, to know that he would never have done any of those horrible things if it had been within his power. To know that above all else, they loved each other enough to deal with anything that fell in their path or disrupted their lives.

As he drifted off to sleep, he felt confident that all would be well in the world for them. That together they would not only have a good life, but a satisfying one too.

A/N: Okay, I think that wrapped everything up nicely. All the loose ends covered. Next up is the epilogue and that is one hell of a long chapter. I couldn't break it up without it loosing something. A few already asked and no, there won't be a sequal to this story. I don't see a need for one with how it ends. Take care everyone, and please leave me your thoughts.