EDIT: I finished the video that goes along with the this story link is in my profile.

Author's Note: So here it is the last chapter…. I wanted to take this time to thank everyone who commented, put this story on alert, or added it to your favorites. It all means so much to me to know that more than just a few people enjoyed my little story that ended up not being so little and stuck through to the end. It's been a wild and fun ride to get to the ending without giving it away.

I am currently having this story beta'ed and doing some minor rewrites with it, I will be posting it again after the first of the year, hopefully more polished than it is now and little better along with a new title. I'll post here so any of you who are interested may read the redone version.

Again thank you all so much, it means a lot to me and I love all of you wonderful readers.

I'm off to duck behind the sofa... when you start reading you'll understand why.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Do I really need to say that I don't own them? I'm just playing with someone else's toys and do return them in the same shape I have found them (well that may not always be the case).

Severus slowly opened his eyes again to look up into a pair of hazel brown eyes looking at him anxiously. He felt her small wrist in his hand, he looked down where his hand was wrapped around her wrist then he looked back up at her. She had tears in her eyes and gave him a small smile before saying,

"I think you're going to be okay."

His throat felt as if it was on fire, but he had to tell her.

"Don't….." he swallowed as she said,

"Don't try to talk, it will be okay." She smoothed his hair out of his face with a shaking hand.

He shook his head as he tried again,

"Don't….. don't abandon…. Me… Hermione."

He saw the total look of shock on her face then soften into something else as she laid her other hand on top of his before saying,

"I never would."

"Be….. here….. when I wake."

"Yes, I'll be right here." She smiled at him before leaning over kissing his forehead saying, "So close your eyes and rest, I'll be right here."

~~^~~SSHG~~^~~

What only felt to Severus like seconds later he opened his eyes to find his surroundings had changed, he was in the hospital wing. At least he thought he was, it was hard to tell with the curtains drawn around the bed.

When he went to move his hand it brushed something, he looked down to see a head of brown hair. Tears came to his eyes, she hadn't abandoned him like everyone else did. She was right here, his Angel. He laid his hand on her head smoothing her hair down, this was real she was here and it hadn't mattered what he had done in the end he was finally forgiven. He really didn't deserve her, she was too good for him but now he wouldn't know how to live without her.

She raised her head looking up at him.

"Your awake." She stated.

"Yes, what happen."

She looked kind of scared looking around for what he didn't know.

"What's wrong Hermione?"

"Um…. Maybe I should go find Madam Pompfry." She started to get up, he grabbed her hand looked down when something didn't feel right.

"What happen?" he asked her looking at her bandaged hand.

"Oh its just a burn I got in the battle."

"What battle?" the last battle he remembered was the one at Hogwarts when Voldemort tired to kill him all those years ago.

"Um… I'm going to go find….."

"Hermione sit." He said a little more sternly than he intended, when she did as he said he really got a good look at her. She looked so young, so much younger than the last time he remembered seeing her.

"Hermione when was the final battle?"

"I really think I….."

He took her hand again saying softly,

"Just tell me please."

It was the word please that got her, she never remembered Severus ever using that word in the seven years she's known him. She wondered what had come over him, he had always held a distane for her and her friends. When she looked back at him she saw someone so different than the professor that never had a good word to say to her.

She thought over what happen at the boat house and here, she had stayed with him because she promised she would. He had sounded so…. Lost and scared in those few moments he had woke that she couldn't refuse him.

"About two weeks ago." She finally answered.

He looked up at her, trying to judge if she was telling the truth or not. That couldn't be right, it had been ten years since that night. Then he looked down at there hands, was it all a dream? He dropped her hand, he had no right to her. None of it happen, he started breathing heavely.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

"Leave me."

"What?" she asked perplexed by his words.

"I said leave me."

She stood to go but then turned around saying to him.

"No, you asked me not to abandon you and I haven't. I've been here the whole time, you asked me to be here when you woke. I'm here, I don't know what game your playing at but I cared enough to do as you asked me to. And if you really want me to leave I care enough that I will, but I want to know why."

"None of it was real."

"None of what?"

"Nothing, just go."

"I told you my condition on my leaving."

"I just had a dream is all." More to himself he said, "one I'll never be allowed to have."

"Who says?" She asked him.

"I told you, just go."

"Professor, I….." she had no idea how to say what she wanted to without sounding like a school girl.

"Her….. Miss. Granger just leave me alone." It was so hard after everything that happen in the dream to not want to call her his, but she wasn't.

She turned and was almost through the curtain when she turned back coming back to his bedside before saying,

"No, you will not push me away until you hear what I have to say. I care about you, more than you know. When you asked me not to abandon you I knew you saw me. I can't just walk away and leave you to be alone again."

"Her…. Miss. ….."

"Stop." She said.

He looked up at her, it was mistake. He couldn't tell himself that she was a child or a student, all she had done was what he asked and he was trying to tell her it didn't matter. It did matter though, he had a choice to make right here, right now. He was going to take a huge risk, but he had nothing left to loose in his mind he already lost her.

"I dreamed you and I had a life together, it wasn't easy. I did many things to hurt you then I had to get you back. When I asked you to not abandon me I thought…." He couldn't finish it was all still so real.

She surprised him by sitting on the side of the bed taking his hand in hers before saying,

"Were we happy?"

He looked over at her, did he dare hope?

"In the end, it was a long road to that happiness though."

"I'm sure it was a rough one too."

"Yes, it was."

Hermione took the chance with the next question,

"Would you like to go out to supper with me after Poppy releases you?"

Severus looked at her in shock, was this girl really asking him out?

"Don't look so surprised, I want to hear more about this dream. I also realized something during the battle, I don't ever want to miss an opportunity again. So many things have been lost, I don't want this chance to be one of them."

He watched her for any sign of deceit but saw none, did he dare hope? If he accepted he would do it right this time, no more hurtful words or actions. He didn't think there would not be differences, but he wouldn't degrade or belittle her. This girl…. No young woman sitting on the bed holding his hand in hers was worth so much more than he every realized.

"Many relationships that last a very long time start with one supper." She said to him.

"Why?"

"You'd have to ask someone who….."

"No, why would you want to go on a date with me."

Poppy chose that moment to come around the corner,

"Severus, your awake."

"Obviously."

"How are you feeling."

"Thirsty."

"Any other pain."

"No, why?" he asked sensing something was wrong.

"It's just that nothing is known about Nagini's venom, it could cause lasting effects that we are not aware of." Hermione answered.

Poppy handed him a glass of water, he took it drinking when he noticed Hermione absently rubbing at her arm. He handed the glass back taking her arm, she tried to pull away but he stopped her with a look. When he saw it was still there he asked.

"How long ago?"

"About six weeks or so." She answered quietly, he saw the look pass over her face. This was something she was sure he would care about, but something that he couldn't of something he would care less about. Turning to Poppy he said,

"Magneta drought."

"I wasn't aware that you were under the cru…."

"Not for me, for Miss. Granger."

"Oh, right away."

"What is…."

"It's a potion that hopefully will help you avoid some of the lasting effects of the curse Bellatrix used on you."

"How did you know that…."

"She does like to leave a signature."

She looked down where he still held her arm lightly tracing his thumb around the word carved there.

"There's nothing they can do about it, if you don't want…."

"Do be insecure, I can think of nothing I care less about."

She gave him a small smile as Poppy returned handing her the drought to take.

Once Poppy ran all of her checks and stated that several more days of rest were in order, leaving them alone again Severus asked.

"Now back to my question, why would you want to go on a date with me."

"Because I care about you, because I want to get to know you not as a professor but as a person, a man."

"Is that all?" he said with a smirk, wanting her to say that she was attracted to him.

"That's all I'm willing to tell you at the moment, a woman has to keep some secrets." She smiled at him.

He smirked at her as his mind traveled to dreams he had while dreaming, but they weren't dreams. They were the reality, but the one that stood out was Lily telling him that he was meant for Hermione.

He squeezed her hand, oh yes he was back before the start. He knew the mistakes he made in the dream, that wouldn't happen this time. He would only show and give her the best of himself, it was the least he could do for the witch that saved his life in more ways that knew needed saving.

Author's Note: Comments really do make me smile and brighten my day.

I wanted to thank you all again for all of the wonderful comments and helpful answers through this journy, Love all of you.

So now that I'm done with this story I have several (Eight I think) on my hard drive that are either finished or close to being finished and was wondering which I should go with next. I have a couple of takes on the required marriage law fic, (It just seems with this ship you have to at least write one;) oh and a time turner fic. A couple of AU's that have them both living in America. A couple (that might be combined into one) in which Severus has a sister it's still SS/HG just takes a while to get there. One that I call days, it starts at the beginning of Hermione's sixth year but her age isn't what everyone thinks and there are reasons for it. Oh and a couple of darker ones in which the war didn't go well. If everything works well these will go by the beta before I ever get them posted;) so it might be after the first of the year before I start a new one. Well that is unless the muse decides that I need to write something short (Like that ever happens)

Also I wanted to let you know that I have a couple of Severus/Hermione videos on youtube, the link is in my profile.