AN:/ Hello! Sorry for the wait, I have TWO chapters for you today, and then the one following the two will be the date chapter! Try not to hate on Draco too much until you've read the next chapter :D As always thank you to those who have favourited and followed it means a lot. Also, thank you to Nastytashy, , purplehedgehog13, RhodaBush, TheLadyBookworm, Missfroogy, Paladium, cbrendible, SevvieLuscious, Arendora, smithback, whiteroses1743, CrazySlytherin, FrancineHibiscus, and Guest for reviewing, these two chapters are for you!

Enjoy!


Chapter 9: Many Questions.

Hermione's core throbbed painfully, and she awkwardly tried to cross her legs. His eyes pinned her to the cold floor, and a sheepish smile grew on her face. It appears that I've apparated in my sleep somehow.

She smiled at the funny situation. One second I'm in the depths of an intense orgasm then my body decides that I ought to be with the person who was giving it to me. It's rather hilarious.

"I think I may have apparated in my sleep," She rubbed her tired eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous," He said bitterly. Is he mad that I ruined our dream again? Her face fell.

Snape ran a hand through his messy hair, then threw back the dark bedsheet and got to his feet. He stalked around the bed to stand in front of her.

"You can't be here," He grunted with cold eyes.

"I'm sorry that I've made you angry, I didn't mean to apparate here, it wasn't intentional," She rambled on not taking a breath. "Perhaps it's something to do with our bond, Draco turned up at Grimmauld Place with the book, so I have it back now. I should get back to research what has happened. Again, I'm terribly sorry to have disturbed you-"

"For Merlin's sake, breathe woman!" He growled in annoyance. "Hermione I'm not angry with you."

"You aren't?" She exhaled.

"No," His eyes travelled down her body. "Our dream was rather intense, however, while you got your release...I did not," He spoke through gritted teeth. "And nothing is happening between us until with at least go on our damn date."

What a gentleman, she mused.

The words sounded painful for him to say. Hermione's eyes lowered to the prominent bulge in his grey pyjama trousers; she looked back up at him with dark eyes.

"I could-"

He growled. "Apparate back."

"I'm not sure I can. Shouldn't I head to the apparition point?"

"You apparated here which means you can go back," She looked over his tense facial features. The lines that aged him were more noticeable, nevertheless, he was handsome regardless of his age.

Hermione knew that their bond fuelled her attraction towards him, but she'd still found him oddly beautiful before knowing about their bound souls. Through her readings of muggle literature, she knew that there were times when a woman may discover a strange desire for someone who most people consider ugly, and that attraction was hard to explain. It was just the feeling one always got around them.

She could settle for that in life. Why would I want someone that is annoying and put on a pedestal by the word because they fit in with the norm of beauty? Severus is perfect in my eyes. Beyond perfect.

"Hermione, leave," His harsh voice cut her away from her dreamy thoughts.

"OK," She moved forward quickly to place a chaste kiss on his lips, but he stepped back. "What?"

"It isn't a good idea. I'll see you on Sunday," She frowned.

"Severus, are you sure? I don't mean to sound crude, but you brought me an enormous amount of pleasure in our dream. It isn't fair that you don't get some form of release-

"Miss Granger!" He snapped causing her to jump.

"I'm sorry," Why do I have to act so awkward? "Bye!" She squeaked, disappearing from the room.

...

Hermione absently grabbed her fork, stabbed it into some bacon, then put it in her mouth. Her other hand was scribbling away in her notebook as she wrote down all the inquiries she had for Annette.

Harry was still asleep, and she was waiting for him to come down so they could talk over a warm breakfast. I have a lot of questions for him and a lot of queries for Draco. Too much is going on in my head at the moment.

She continued to fill the page with the random thoughts that popped into her skull, and it soon became covered with her neat handwriting. The door opened revealing a tired looking Harry.

"Morning, did you get much sleep?" She asked, and he walked around the table to sit opposite her.

He shook his head. "A dreamless sleep isn't fun...I kept waking up, checking the time, then going back to sleep for another hour, and repeating the process over again."

"Drink this potion," She pulled a phial out of her pocket, and he thanked her with a nod. "If all goes to plan I will tell Draco to stop taking the dreamless sleep potion because it's causing you problems."

"Can I come with you?" He asked, taking a sip of coffee.

Hermione sighed. "First, you need to tell me what happened last night."

"He got into the house with your book and said he needed to talk to me. I got angry with him, then we argued and I...well I kissed him...forced myself on him..." Harry groaned burying his fingers into his messy hair. "He told me that I couldn't handle rejection, and I think he may be right."

"The only advice I can offer you is that Draco's never outright said that he rejected you. Yes, when you confessed he called you horrible names and laughed, but he never said he didn't feel the same way," She explained. "I'm not trying to fill your head with false hope, but there might be a chance that he reciprocates your feelings."

"He has a funny way of showing it," He muttered. "I feel pathetic chasing after a man that doesn't want me."

"Harry, I'm going to explain a serious subject to you," Hermione summoned the soulmates book. "I know you can read it, and you know what the book is about."

"Soulmates," He bit into a piece of toast. "So, you and Snape are connected?"

Hermione smiled recalling their nightly encounter. "Very much so."

"I'm glad you're happy," He whispered. "Will you be taking the book to the Ministry?"

"No, this doesn't concern them," Harry knew of her job as an Unspeakable, and it hadn't taken him long to guess what chamber she worked in. Luckily, she wouldn't get into trouble because she never directly told him what her job was within the Department of Mysteries; neither did she say his assumption was correct. "After I finish reading the book and gathering information from Annette, I hope to go out into the world and help people find their soulmates."

"What does Madam Annette have to do with this?" Harry gave her a perplexed look.

"A relative of hers wrote this book," She tapped her finger against the cover. "I guess it might be her Grandmother."

"Wow..." She saw his hand twitch towards the book. "When we were talking in the cafe you mentioned that soulmates visit each other in their dreams."

Hermione saw the hopeful look on his face, and she smiled at him. "That is true. Severus and I started to experience them after the first night we met at the whorehouse. The dreams occur after you've come in contact with you intended soul."

"D-Draco?" He stammered. "And me?"

"I think so, Harry. It may be why Draco came over here after he discovered the book. I'm sure he had many things rushing through his mind."

"I don't understand; the dreams started long after we came in contact with one another for the first time. They began after I bumped into Draco at Diagon Alley," He admitted.

"Apparently, you can be with your soulmate for most of your life without knowing because of emotional barriers. Also, you have to be the age of consent," Hermione closed her notebook. "In your case, I assume that your hatred for one another through you adolescent years may have factored as an emotional barrier; along with you dealing with Voldemort, and Draco focusing on being a Death Eater. Even when you were of age, there was still something hindering your souls from recognising one another."

Hermione watched his hands shake. "That's a lot to take in...what about you and Snape?"

"Severus is a closed off man; we haven't even talked about his life as a Death Eater, nor what happened when he was a child. I guess he was the emotional barrier in our case, but when I returned to Hogwarts to take my exams, the war must've softened his walls a little because there were subtle hints of attraction between us."

"OK, then what triggered the dreams starting?" He asked.

"We were arguing," She smirked. "Severus hasn't changed much. He still snarls and scowls at everything that moves. Consequently, after a stressful week at work, running into him wasn't supposed to be on my agenda. It was when you slammed the door in my face after you threw up on one of the women. You pushed me right into Severus' arms, and then we proceeded to attempt a somewhat civilised conversation that soon escalated into an argument."

"And that caused your souls to connect?"

She shook her head. "Our argument built up a lot of...sexual tension."

"Oh!" He exclaimed, a blush creeping onto his cheeks. "Hermione, you had sex with him in the foyer?"

"No! We kissed that's all," She laughed. "We haven't had sex yet."

"Not even in your dreams?"

"Almost. We keep getting pulled away before it gets good," Hermione sighed resting her chin on her hand. "You've never said if you and Draco have."

"Yes, we have," He muttered. "After it happened he came storming into the Auror Department shouting at me."

"Oh so that's what provoked him," She raised a curious brow. "Yesterday I bumped into him after I'd finished work."

"Did he say what he was doing there?"

"No, but he appeared to be flustered - embarrassed possibly. I have my ideas as to why..." She trailed off.

"What theory do you have?" He retorted.

"Draco turned up at the whorehouse before last night," Harry sat up straight at her words. "He didn't know you were there until I told him, so I pulled him out into the alleyway where we exchanged heated words. I grilled him about the things he said, and there were times when he looked guilty; he was almost ashamed of what he'd done to you."

"Good," He grunted.

"I think Draco wanted to check up on you after our argument. However, he didn't know that you'd quit your job as an Auror, so I reckon he turned up at the department asking for you and received a firm response that you no longer worked there. As this is Draco we're talking about, I guess he got in embarrassed that he'd even bothered to attempt such a thing and fled feeling flustered about going in the first place," She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm only hypothesising the possibility."

"Hermione, thank you for trying to comfort me," He grabbed her hand. "Nonetheless, I don't think Draco feels the same way."

"Harry if you and Draco are soulmates, then trust me, he feels the same way. You share unconditional love, which means he returns everything you're feeling," She gave his hand a squeeze. "Malfoy is a very complicated person, and I don't believe he ever thought he could feel connected to someone of the same sex, especially you Harry."

"I never thought about it like that," He released her hand and finished off the food on his plate.

"I would say you should both talk it out, but I know it will be a long time before we can get you two in the same room again. If you're anything like you were at school the pair of you will provoke each other until one of you snaps."

"It's scary how well you know me," He murmured with a smirk. "You're right. It happened last night, and that ended badly."

"I thought so," She whispered. "You can come if you want to. Severus won't be there, and it would be a good idea if you two weren't in the same room."

"Is he still refusing to be near me because I saw his memories about my mum?" He asked.

"That may be partial to his reasoning. However, you caused me some bruising when you grabbed me yesterday."

His face fell, and a look of mortification appeared. Harry lightly grabbed her fingers and pulled up her jumper sleeve. The discolouration had mostly faded thanks to the salve, but parts were a faint yellow colour.

"'Mione, I'm sorry. I can't believe I grabbed you; please forgive me! I swear I won't touch a drop of alcohol again!" She turned her hand around to grasp his, running her thumb along the back.

"Harry, you're forgiven. Let's forget about it and move on. Severus may feel inclined to throw it in your face if you ever end up conversing with one another though."

"He's going to kill me," He let go of her hand to nudge his glasses up his nose.

"I'll tell him that you apologised," She said. "Back to the matter at hand, I think you should come with me tonight, but you aren't allowed to leave my side."

He nodded eagerly. "I promise."

"Good. Now, I need to read a bit more of the book. Would you like to join me?"

"Read it to me."

Hermione flicked through some of the pages and reached the point where she had finished.

"Lesson three: The Dream World. I've touched upon the topic briefly about the nature of the dreams shared. The emotional scenarios that you see are reflections of secret desires within your soul. It's common for these fantasies to end abruptly due to the overwhelming feelings produced or external factors; it's usually the latter. However, the overwhelming feelings conjured up from the dreams have led to some peculiar consequences. I've researched a couple who kept apparating to one another when one reached an ecstatic high. The woman - this was a same-sex couple - described seeing a flashing white light when she was amidst euphoria, then appeared next to her mate in bed."

"Another case I studied - this is one of my favourites - is that of a couple who kept apparating to the location where the dream was taking place. One time the pair had been in their homes dreaming, then the next they both awoke in a meadow, on a different occasion, they were fantasising about being together in their old school classroom, and the couple apparated there. Thankfully, the room was devoid of students."

Harry laughed. "Has this happened to you?"

"Yes," Hermione blushed. "Last night I ended up in Severus' quarters. He wasn't happy."

"I can imagine," He grinned.

"I think that's enough for now. Shall we go for a walk?"

...

Hermione pressed her notebook to her chest as they stood in the bar of the whorehouse. It's full of life as usual, and Harry looks tense. She knew it was going to be hard for him not to drink. I believe in him.

Annette walked over with a slight limp, grinning affectionately at them. "Evening, my lovelies."

"Evening," Hermione smiled back, and Harry nodded.

"Are you heading up to the foyer?" She asked.

"Yes we are," She empathised the 'we' part and Annette smiled knowingly. "Would you mind joining us for a little while. I need to talk to you."

"Of course, my dear. I have some things I need to take care of first. Jenny's upstairs!" Annette dawdled off towards the bar, greeted with shouts from a group of drunk men.

Hermione glanced at Harry. "How are you feeling?"

His left eye twitched. "Fine. Let's go upstairs."

They made their way up the wooden staircase and across the landing. The corridors seemed to be filled with more people than normal, causing them to squeeze past a few randy couples; one pair was in mid fornication against the wall leaving them both flabbergasted.

"There are rooms for a reason-" Hermione paused when they rounded the corner. Harry walked into her, grabbing her waist to steady himself. She felt her heart drop at the sight and she heard the moment Harry understood what they were seeing.

Draco was pinning one of the women against the wall; their lips locked in a ferocious kiss, while one hand supported her legs around his hips, and the other was under her skirt.

Harry's grip tightened on her waist. I know it's hypocritical of him as he's slept with many other women, but the scene of his unrequited love close to shagging someone in the corridor gave him every right to feel devastated. Suddenly, he loosened his hold.

"I told you he didn't feel the same. We aren't soulmates," He said flatly. "I could do with a drink."

Hermione chased after him as he stormed past an oblivious Draco and into the foyer. It was Hermione's turn to walk into his back. She took in the sound of Jenny playing a soft melody on the piano, and Lucius Malfoy watching over a glass of firewhisky.

"Hi, Hermione!" She turned on the bench and smiled. "Evening Harry-" Her smile faltered at the thunderous look on his face. Jenny looked back at Hermione curiously.

"Sit down and have some tea, Harry," She led him to the sofa, and he sat down, glaring daggers at Lucius.

"Ah Potter, what a surprise to see you here," Lucius' snobby voice isn't going to improve Harry's mood.

This evening wasn't meant to go this way!

"Pleasure to see you too, Malfoy," He retorted through gritted teeth. "Your son is giving everyone a public display with one of the women."

"Good," He grunted. "The women here are for shagging; it would be a waste not to."

Hermione watched Jenny flinch at his words, and she whirled around to face him. "Sir, maybe you should abide by your words. The foyer is for Madam Annette's friends. She isn't particularly fond of you, so I'm asking you to leave."

Lucius grinned up at her. "Have I offended you, sweetheart?"

Hermione held her breath at his endearment. I've never heard him sound sincere yet malicious before.

Jenny crossed her arms over her dress. "The likes of you could never offend me, sir."

"The likes of me?" He sneered, his smile gone.

"Yes, a bigot like you should never flatter the thought of offending me. Leave!"

I bet Lucius thought she was going to call him a Death Eater...praise Merlin that she didn't. He might have killed her. An odd look appeared on his face, and he moved his eyes over Jenny's form, then gritted his teeth and left without a single word.

"That man is intolerable!" She exclaimed, sitting down in the spot he had just occupied. "I was playing the piano, and he sat down not uttering a single word. I asked him why he was watching me and he replied 'I'm just enjoying the music, sweetheart,' No matter how poorly I played, he wouldn't budge!"

"I think he likes you," She retorted. Am I seriously entertaining the idea that Lucius Malfoy could be her soulmate?

"Well, I no longer like him. My pathetic crush is over," Jenny flicked her blonde hair over her shoulders, then looked at Harry. "What's wrong?"

He didn't reply, instead looked down the corridor in time to see Draco head into a room with the woman. Bugger, I'm scared Harry's going to lash out and curse him.

A tray of tea appeared. "You should drink some," Hermione said.

She watched him tap his fingers restlessly on his knee. "I don't want some tea."

His eyes moved to the bottle of firewhisky. "Harry!" She grabbed his arm. "I'm sorry OK. I was wrong about Draco, but please don't let this push you onto the wrong track again."

"He's in there shagging someone!" He shot to his feet and started to pace.

"Who is?" Jenny asked.

"Draco," Hermione replied. "Look at me, Harry," His teary eyes locked with hers. "I know you're angry, and you have every right to be upset about this-"

"Use this to your advantage," Jenny interjected. "Show him that you're better off without him."

What an excellent approach. "Jenny's right."

A tear fell from his right eye, and she saw he was having an internal battle with himself. I should march into that room and hex Draco into next week.

"After our talk this morning," He whimpered. "I thought that we might actually be connected; that he could possibly feel the same way about me too. I've been stupid to let this affect me for so long. He doesn't care about me..." He trailed off coming to sit next to Hermione.

"What a heartless bastard!" Jenny punctuated her exclamation with a stomp of her foot. She pulled her wand from her boot and stormed from the room.

"Jenny, wait!" Hermione shot to her feet and ran after her. She flung open the door with a flick of her wand and Hermione heard the woman scream. When she arrived inside, Draco was shirtless and gripping a bloody nose.

"What the hell, wench!" He yelled.

"Take your coins somewhere else. You've upset Harry which means you're no longer welcome here!" Anyone would think Jenny was the Madam around here with that tone of voice. Draco turned to look at Hermione, and his eyes widened slightly, then he swallowed hard.

It was against her nature to want to help Draco, but she still found herself retrieving her wand to mend his nose, and clean up the blood. He had the audacity to mutter 'thank you', which angered her more.

"I don't want your thanks..." She bit her bottom lip to stop her anger from turning into words. I wish Severus were here.

"Get out of here Samantha!" Jenny snapped glaring down at Draco, and the woman fled the room.

"You read the book," Hermione said, getting Draco's attention. "I don't know how far ahead you read, but you know the truth. How can you not care about his feelings?" She managed to keep her voice at a low level.

Draco scoffed. "Oh please, that book of yours is full of nonsense."

"OK, how about I get your Godfather to come over and tell you that it isn't all twaddle. Will you believe me then?" She mimicked Jenny's stance, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What does Severus have to do with any of this?" He got to his feet, avoiding stepping close to Jenny.

"He has everything to do with this since he's my soulmate-"

Draco burst out laughing.

"You cheeky git!" Hermione lunged forwards but was stopped by Annette's hand on her back.

"Harry my boy!" She called out. "Would you come in here please."

Harry soon appeared reluctantly in the doorway.

Annette ushered him in and slammed the door shut with a wave of her hand. "I think it's about time we had a chat."