Chapter 28

'Oh my… Eyes on the face, Hermione! On the face for Merlin's sake! Remember why you came here!'

"Hermione?" Severus sounded a little surprised.

"What? Waiting for someone else?"

'Sarcasm. Sarcasm is good. Look serious. Eyes on the nuts! ... I mean the face! The face!'

Right then Severus understood that only one of them was more or less dressed and that it wasn't him. The Slytherin's hands automatically went to cover his private parts.

"I was taking a shower, Hermione."

"So I noticed, Severus."

The brunette's voice wavered a little, but more or less, she kept her cool. Only now the Slytherin noticed that the witch in front of him had her wand.

"Well if you don't mind…"

"I mind. You are not going anywhere till you answer few questions."

Severus narrowed his eyes at her. Hermione, for the first time in her life, witnessed a full body flush.

'Cute.'

"Hermione…" the wizard's voice was a growl and it would have sounded really intimidating if not for one minor detail: he was stark naked.

Hermione cleared her throat. 'No way out now.'

"Severus, I am really sorry for breaking in on you like this," the witch sounded all but sorry. "But I want answers." For emphasis she pointed her wand at him for a second, but lowered it after deciding that it looked silly. She must have looked serious, as her husband didn't move.

Severus Snape on the other hand looked angry, wet, and very naked. The last part Hermione did her best to ignore but felt as her cheeks were getting redder by the second.

"Well, as I have our attention now. What has been wrong with you for these last two weeks?"

"Like you don't know." His eyes were even darker than usual.

"Let me surprise you. No, I don't."

"Aren't you going to let me cover myself?"

"So you could leave and pretend that this conversation never happened? Yeah, right."

With some comment that Hermione didn't quite catch Severus turned around and she was now looking at his backside.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

The Gryffindor's patience ended with a bang.

"What happened, you moron!"

At that Severus turned around completely forgetting his nudity.

"Don't you dare shout at me!"

"I am tired of not being heard!"

"My hearing is just fine, bitch!"

Hermione jaw dropped in outrage.

"How dare you! I…"

She didn't have a chance to finish as she was pushed roughly against the wall so fast that the air was knocked out of her lungs. Severus had her pressed to the wall by her shoulders.

"Let me go!"

"Is he good?"

Hermione ceased her struggling from surprise.

"What!"

"Are you two laughing when at me when you are together?"

Her eyes went wide as saucers. She was speechless for a second trying to comprehend what she just heard. When the knut finally dropped in Hermione's hand, she almost laughed. Almost. She probably would have if Severus weren't looking so positively murderous.

"You are mad." She forced her voice not to tremble.

"Who is he?"

"There is no one. Why is the…"

"Don't lie to me! I have had enough of that."

Hermione tried to break free again. She was starting to freak out. She didn't like the way he was looking at her. A shiver ran down her spine.

"You are talking nonsense. Let me go. You are hurting me."

"Let you go? Let me remind you that you were given a choice and you chose me."

His voice was dark and deep. He was standing so close to her that Hermione could feel warmth radiating from him. Dread slowly started wrapping its cold fingers around her heart. Severus face was so close to hers that their noses were almost touching. She could see the tiny drops of water sliding down his cheeks.

She was scared now. Plain and simple. She felt fear running through her blood stream reaching every cell in her trembling body. It was like a cold wave washing over her senses leaving her paralyzed.

Hermione had never seen him like this before and it was not about him being nude, but looking so dangerous. The Gryffindor swallowed understanding one thing that she knew from the very beginning. The Slytherin in front of her was dangerous. Sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees.

The witch tried to find her voice. Her lips moved but no sound came out. She tried again.

"Severus, I know that. I would never…"

His palms connected with the wall on the both sides of her head making her jump from surprise.

"You know that, but still you say another man's name in my bed."

"I am not cheating on you." Hermione wanted to scream and hit for suggesting such thing, but she stood frozen on the spot her voice barely above a whisper. She felt like a rabbit being hypnotized by a snake. She was his prey and he looked very angry and very hungry. Neither of the discoveries made Hermione feel any better.

"You won't say." Severus' voice was dripping with venom and fury.

"I don't understand … Did I do something wrong? I couldn't say another man's name because there isn't anyone. It's not true… You always took care of me… "

"I always take care of what is mine."

"Why are you accusing me of such thing?"

"Don't play innocent. It doesn't suit you."

Hermione wanted to bang her head on the wall, or even better, bang his head on the black marble.

"What gave you the idea that I am cheating on you?"

"You really should stop sleep talking."

The witch almost jumped as she felt his fingertips slowly brush her cheek. It went down the side of her neck and reached the V of her top's hem. He gently stroked the swell of her breast.

Now Hermione was way past scared. Hell, she was past panicked by then.

'This is not good…'

"Severus?"

She prayed that his eyes would come back to her face instead being fixed on her breasts. Hermione tried not to breathe deeply so her chest wouldn't raise so much, but in her current state, she wasn't able to control her breathing.

Hermione could feel some drops from Severus' wet hair fall on her skin. A few fell on the exposed swell of her breasts and slowly slid down capturing her husband's attention. He bent down and licked it off.

A gasp could be heard from the surprised witch. Hermione clenched her fists and for the first time noticed that her wand was missing. Somewhere along the way he managed to snatch it from her. When he was about to lick some more water Hermione's hands flew forward to push him away, but before her palms connected with his chest he had her hands pinned above her head.

'Damn it! He has quick reflexes.'

Her breath hitched in her throat when he bit her on the neck gently. Then he kissed the spot with the same care.

Hermione didn't know what scared her more. His anger or his gentleness. She had a hard time understanding how he could be like this. His anger could be almost seen boiling under his skin and instead of manifesting itself with violence it became some kind of sadistic tenderness.

She felt his breath on her ear.

"You are going nowhere, my wife." He licked the shell of her ear biting softly on the earlobe. "You asked for time while going behind my back. Well, I am done waiting."

Hermione's heart was somewhere in the area of her ankles.

'He can't be serious…'

"Severus, please, let me go…"

"You wanted to know what is wrong, didn't you?" He cupped her breast with his free hand making Hermione squirm under the mockingly gentle touch. "I will tell you what is wrong. My wife is lying to me with a straight face. There is some son of a bitch that thinks he is going to get away with laying his paws on what is mine."

"You are wrong, Severus…"

She didn't get to finish the sentence as Severus' lips crushed hers. His kiss was demanding and so different from those they shared before. She was trapped between the dark marble and the dark man. His body pressed into hers making her aware just what he was feeling from their closeness.

Any other woman in Hermione's place would have fainted, but unfortunately she wasn't just any woman. She had to find some other way out of this situation. Severus' hold on her arms was too strong for her to break free and with his body so close she had a problem concentrating, but she was determined not to give up.

Hermione refused to kiss him back and a growl emitted from the wizard. He kissed her again this time biting on her lip. She gasped and could feet the bitter sweet taste of her own blood as his tongue invaded her mouth.

When he finally broke the kiss Hermione's cheeks were wet from tears. She hiccupped when Severus brushed a lock of hair from her face.

"I warned you, Hermione. I was waiting like a fool till you'll look at me."

"I have done nothing to deserve this."

"Do I look stupid to you?"

"Right now? Yes!"

Hermione swallowed a moan as his grip on her wrists became painful.

"You have lots of nerve lying to me like this. Knowing who I was and what I am capable of."

"I also know that you got hit with Unforgivables one too many times and you are hearing things."

She could see the muscles in his jaw tense even more.

"So I am hearing things? Let me assure you that when you confused me with your lover, my lovely wife. My hearing was in perfect condition."

"You are hallucinating, Severus. I don't have a lover. Never did…"

Severus touched the marks he left on Hermione's neck with his fingers.

"So the name Crooks means nothing to you? He must be pretty close to you as you called him 'kitten'. You never call me endearments ."

'Crooks? Kitten? Could it be…?'

"Severus, let me go. I…."

Her words were drowned in a kiss again and this time it last longer. His free hand slid into the hem of her night wear and pushed her bra up freeing her breasts from it.

The Slytherin clearly wasn't interested in what Hermione had to say too wrapped in his anger and jealousy that were radiating from his every touch, every word.

The fear for so long paralyzing Hermione's body kicked her to move now.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

Pansy Parkinson was planning to sleep till noon. But as we all know in Hogwarts, no plan goes as it should.

Knock knock

The Slytherin girl didn't even flinch. Alcohol indulged sleep is the deepest and she continued to dream oblivious to the outside world.

After few minutes of silent, but persistent knocking, Pansy's roommate managed to drag herself from the cozy warmth of the bed and went to hex whoever decided to drop in at this unholy hour.

Millicent Bullstrode was rubbing her eyes with her left hand while opening the door with an unlocking charm. The tall Slytherin had a fiery temper so no one usually had the guts to disturb them this early. As the door swung open she was about to give a piece of her mind to someone when her eyes finally came into focus.

"It better be im……." Millicent froze not quite understanding what she was seeing. Just in case she rubbed her eyes with her fingertips and clapped her mouth shut.

"Hi… Sorry for waking you up… Is Pansy here?"

All sleep vanished from Millicent's body in a second. She moved aside motioning the guest to come in and shutting the door.

"Come in…" Millicent moved to her closet in search of a pair of slippers and a spare bathrobe. While doing so she threw something at Pansy's bed curtains'. "Pansy, get your arse up. Now!"

There was a moan and the curtains over the second bed spread revealing the raven haired Slytherin's head.

"For fuck's sake. Mils, my head is killing me. Why did you….?" Pansy blinked and rubbed her eyes with her fingertips just as Millicent did a minute ago. "Hermione?"

Pansy frowned looking her Gryffindor friend up and down. The brunette looked lamentable. Her hair was wild and face tear streaked. Until Millicent gave her a bathrobe and slippers all she was wearing was what looked like a men's pajama top.

The Slytherin girls' minds were running a mile a minute and they didn't like the conclusion they came to.

Pansy cleared her throat and turned her eyes away from the Gryffindor.

"What happened, Hermione?"

……………………………………………………..

Author's note.

My dear readers, I would like to point out that it is still SS/HG story and it will have a happily ever after for the two. But also I would like to remind that come on it is Severus Snape we are talking about snarky Potion Master, an ex-Deatheather and a sarcastic person to boot. I am trying to show in this story how I see their relationship and it's not smooth sailing in any way. I can't stand when it is shown that Hermione and Severus' relationship is perfect. Well, later maybe, but in the very beginning? No fights? No misunderstandings? Hello! They are two absolutely different people thrown together by a stupid Law. It doesn't even smell anything like perfect.

Severus is over protective, jealous and a Slytherin. He also is scared of losing Hermione. He is like a kid that finally got what he always wanted and fully intends to keep it. Don't worry; it will not get too drastic. It is just sad how the biggest arguments and fights are caused by simple misunderstandings and jumping to conclusions.

Well, that's my opinion. What's yours? I am interested to hear it.

And also I am out of the country at the moment so I have no idea when I will update next. Soon hopefully. Your reviews really help me. It is easier to write if you know that somebody is actually reading your stories and waiting for an update. So review!