Hey guys! I know this is overdue, but I hope the length makes up for it! Let me know what you all think!

Severus returned to Spinner's End that night, spending his time pacing around the house, brow furrowed. How could he just show up there and tell her how he felt? How could he possible expect her to react to that, after everything he had put her through?

Three days went by, and he spent his time much in the same fashion, eventually talking himself into the ultimate conclusion that would begin with her shunning him, rejecting his advances, and essentially throwing him from the house. How could she possibly want him after all of this time? She must think he's ungrateful for everything she had done for him because he fled the Ministry the moment he was released without thanking her.

The third night of his horrible thoughts was interrupted by an intense knocking at his front door. The person there was basically pounding on the glass. It was her. It had to be her. Severus swallowed deeply and made his way forward, turning the handle slowly and pulling open the door. He was met by Minerva, and he immediately relaxed.

"Thank God, I thought-"

His sentence was cut off as she suddenly shoved something into his stomach.

"What the-"

"You are being ridiculous. Go to her, now, and tell her everything, or so help me I will forbid you from ever stepping foot onto the grounds of Hogwarts and I will tell her everything myself,"

Severus glanced down at the box in his hands and realized that it was stuffed full of orange fur, and an angry growling.

"Hey, fur ball," Severus greeted, causing the growling to stop.

"Do not make me get involved with this, Severus Snape, I'm warning you," Minerva threatened.

Before he had time to reply, she Apparated. Severus shut the door, taking the cat to the kitchen and placing the carrier on the table. Crookshanks' eyes peeked out of the cage, staying locked on Severus' form.

"I guess it's just you and me," Severus muttered to the cat.

The cat was seemingly unimpressed with that concept, though Severus was sure it was more to do with being stuffed into a cage than anything else. Drinking a few glasses of Firewhiskey, Severus worked up enough courage to pull on his travel cloak and Apparate to Grimmauld Place, cat in tow. Before he lost his nerve, he climbed the stairs and let himself in.

His first thought was to release the cat who was still loudly complaining about being squeezed through space. The second his paws hit the ground, the cat took off towards the kitchen, no doubt looking for food as Severus placed the carrier down.

The hallway was dark, and the only light was coming from the kitchen, where he could hear voices. The last time he had stood in this spot was the first time he and Hermione had kissed. His eyes locked on the door, remembering how he had pressed her against the wood roughly and how she had responded to him. That night they hadn't been sure if they would ever see each other again, and she had begged him not to go. That moment felt as if it was part of another lifetime. The thoughts were instantly forced from his head as a voice filtered into the hallway.

"Minerva, is that you?" Remus called.

Severus took a deep breath and began walking forward, nearly at the doorway just as Remus' frame stepped into view.

"Severus? Where's Minerva?"

"She couldn't make it,"

There was an awkward silence in which both men stared at each other.

"Well, come in and sit down, they should be back soon," a woman's voice said.

Remus turned and retook his seat beside Tonks, as Severus stepped forward, finding the small woman sitting in a chair a few spot from the door with Teddy in her lap. Severus took a seat at the other side of the table, near the end, so he could see the doorway clearly.

"Well Severus, how have you been?" Tonks asked, smiling down at Teddy whose hair was changing colors quickly.

"Fine," he answered quietly, not really up to making small talk with anyone.

Crookshanks jumped into his lap, and Severus subconsciously began stroking the orange fur, finding that the motions calmed his nerves slightly. Remus watched the scene quietly, obviously wary of Severus' presence in the house.

"Hermione will be glad that you're here," he mentioned, causing Severus' hand to freeze.

After a few moments, Severus began to stroke the cat again, causing the pile of fur to finally settle down on his lap. He cleared his throat.

"I want to thank you, for helping me. I assume you two were involved,"

"There weren't very many of us who weren't," Tonks said with a thankful smile.

"You deserved help, after everything you've done," Remus said, keeping his eyes away from Severus, still uncomfortable with being on good terms with him.

Before they could talk anymore, the front door opened, and voices floated down the hallway to them.

"They're back," Tonks muttered, lifting Teddy up and placing him in the pen against the wall.

Remus stood and dug in a cabinet for what appeared to be medical equipment before putting a kettle on the stove. The voices grew closer and the voices louder.

"It's ridiculous what they put us through sometimes," Weasley muttered.

"It's part of the job, so I wouldn't be complaining too much. I'm sure things only get worse from here," Harry replied.

They suddenly appeared in the doorway, immediately freezing when they saw Severus at the table. They were bruised and bloodied. Weasley seemed to be favoring his right leg over his left, while Harry's eye appeared to be swollen slightly, with a large bloody gash just below it.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Ron barked out.

Harry stepped into the room, overcoming his shock quickly.

"It's nice to see you again, sir," he said before taking a seat beside Remus who immediately began fiddling with bandages and potions.

"Come on Ron, take a seat so I can look at that leg," Tonks said, helping Ron into a chair.

Severus' eyes immediately snapped back to the doorway, seeing a small movement. She stepped forward, into the light, her eyes locked on him as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. There was a gash across her left cheekbone, that had stopped bleeding, but he could still see where the blood had been swiped away. Her lip was split, and her sweater was torn. She looked like she had been in a fight, with dirt on her clothes and her hair slightly wild.

"Hermione, do you need help with anything?" Tonks asked, looking over her quickly.

Hermione stared at him for a moment longer before blinking and looking at Tonks.

"No, I, um, I can handle everything myself,"

At the sound of her voice, Crookshanks jumped from his lap, across the table, and to the floor in order to rub on her legs.

Robotically she reached down and scooped the cat into her arms. Her face was pale and her lips were drawn into a hard line. Her eyes immediately locked back on him, and Severus didn't move a muscle.

"I'm going to bed," she muttered to no one in particular before disappearing and stomping upstairs.

Severus stared at the empty doorway, feeling as if he had just been slapped. Harry paid no attention to him, focusing instead on the cup of tea his was making. Weasley, however, was glaring at him as Tonks and Remus studied his leg.

"Just give her some time," Remus muttered, rolling up his sleeves.

Severus remained at the table as the two were patched up. Weasley immediately left the room when he was able to, but Harry remained, trying to coax Severus into a conversation. After a while, Severus couldn't take it.

"Potter, don't feel it necessary to speak to me, I am perfectly fine with silence,"

"You're married to my best friend, I think it's only right to try and talk to you," Harry said with a shrug, reaching for a sandwich Tonks had prepared.

Ron appeared a short while later, looking more cleaned up.

"She won't open the door," he muttered, taking a seat at the end of the table, giving Severus a pointed look.

Severus was surprised, after all of this time, that Weasley was still fighting the relationship he held with Hermione. Months ago, the idea didn't bother him. Severus was sure of her, of him, and of them as a couple. Now, though, so much had changed, he had hurt her so much. He was looking at this lanky boy as a threat rather than his wife's friend. For the first time ever, Severus was afraid to lose her forever. Lose her not to war, and not because he chose to push her away, but because he had pushed her away so much that when he realized his mistake, she was already too far gone. The same thoughts seemed to fill Weasley's head.

"Ron, this is between Hermione and Severus, and I suggest you leave it that way," Remus said, looking over to the ginger boy.

He didn't reply, but kept shooting Severus glances. His wedding ring felt like a rock in his pocket, silently mocking him. He could hear her pacing above them. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Then the bed would squeak as she climbed into bed, and squeak even louder as she stood to resume her pacing. Nearly an hour went on and he could still hear her footsteps on the creaking floor.

Severus hadn't made a plan, had not thought of what to say to her after all this time. It was obvious she hadn't expected him so soon or at all for that matter. His thoughts were a complete train wreck, and he couldn't imagine Hermione doing much better based on how long she had been climbing in and out of bed.

Potter left a short while later, and Severus could hear him moving things around in a room upstairs. Tonks went to put Teddy to bed, and eventually turned in herself.

"Coming?" she asked her husband.

"In a moment," he replied with the most genuine and tender smile Severus had ever seen on his face.

As her steps died away, Remus sighed. Severus couldn't pinpoint how much time had passed, but the pacing had stopped.

"I don't know what I would do without her or Teddy. Thank you, again, for that night. My son would have been an orphan if it weren't for you,"

"Don't mention it," Severus mumbled.

Remus stood and stuck his hand out to Severus. He hesitated a moment, before reaching out and taking the thin hand offered to him.

"It's nice to have you back, Severus," Remus said, releasing his hand, just as Potter returned.

Suddenly a vial was being held out to him, and his fingers instinctively grasped the glass.

"Your memories, I thought you might like them back,"

Severus studied the flowing smoke in the vial, knowing that everything dear to him was in that vial. He immediately looked up at Potter, looking for some sign of his reaction, knowing full well that he now knew all of Severus' memories.

"I hope you don't mind, but I showed her, Hermione I mean. I took her to the school because I didn't think you'd show up for a while, and she was second guessing everything. I don't think anyone can fake that," he said gesturing to the vial.

Severus knew what he was referring too. The feelings that were associated with the memories were most likely extremely strong due to the fact that Severus had extracted the memories at a moment when he thought he was dying. He tried his hardest to capture every single feeling and sight he could before he was too weak to give anything more. Severus was also well aware of the fact that half of the memories were of Lily, Dumbledore, and his double spy gig, but the rest were all of Hermione. It was a montage of his favorite moments with her.

It started with their first lesson, when she had seen Avery die. The determination on her face stuck in his mind. Then, it was her standing in the middle of the courtyard, looking at the birds he had conjured, smiling at them. Next were the moments she spent in his office, hunched over her homework talking to him about Weasley, or Slughorn's terrible Christmas party. Their first kiss, her frightened face the night he killed Dumbledore, her anger after Potter was moved and he had arrived at the Burrow, dancing in the dark at the wedding, her courage when Death Eaters attacked, and the way she clung to him the night she was nearly taken. Of course mixed into these memories were those of her writhing on the ground, screaming in pain as Voldemort hovered over her, thrill flashing through his cold snake-like eyes. Most of the other memories were snap shots of her, appearing happy, reading in a chair, or talking to that fur ball when she thought no one was looking.

Severus blinked a few times, remembering that there were other people in the room. His eyes landed on Potter, waiting. Potter seemed confused.

"And?" Severus prompted.

"And what?"

"What did she say?" he snapped, becoming irritated.

"Nothing, she kind of smiled and cried. Then she disappeared for a few hours, and I'm assuming she went to the Astronomy Tower, that's where we usually find her,"

Of course. The Astronomy Tower. It was the same place where he found her after seeing memories of her parents, and the place where Severus spent most of his time thinking about her. Silently he slipped the vial into his robes, making sure it was secure. He cleared his throat as his muscles became tenser than before.

"Thank you," he muttered to Potter, who nodded his head in acknowledgement.

Severus immediately walked around the table, behind Weasley and into the hallway. Pausing for a brief moment at the bottom of the stairs, he inhaled deeply. This was it.

"Third floor, end of the hallway," Remus said from behind him.

Severus turned to the man, nodding subtly before turning back to the stairs that were becoming more ominous by the second.

"You can't just let him go into her room!" Weasley snapped.

"Ron," Potter hissed in warning.

"But-"

Severus began climbing the creaking stairs, leaving the disgruntled red head behind him. Each stair seemed to creak louder than the next, and Severus was sure his hearty and the stairs were in a vicious duel to see who could be louder. He reached the last set of stairs, finding himself climbing them slower than all of the other stairs. When his feet reached the landing, he froze, his eyes locked on her closed door. There was no light, and her pacing had stopped a while ago. His self-preservation was starting to kick in. The same voice that had told him Hermione would shun him was now trying to point out that another night wouldn't hurt anyone, she could just sleep and he'd come around the first thing in the morning. Severus felt his knees wobble slightly, unsure of whether to move forward, or turn back around. A sudden wave of rage consumed him, rage that was directed at himself. He was being ridiculous! She wasn't going to poison him or throw him out of a window! If anything, she was probably already asleep. This rage allowed him to take the few strides needed to reach her door. His pale hand locked on the handle with such force that his knuckles turned white with strain. This is it he thought to himself as he slowly turned the handle, and pushed the door open.

Severus was met with silence. Blinking a few times, he could barely make out the arrangement of the room in the moonlight spilling in through the windows. On the wall where the door was currently resting was a small dresser that appeared to be as high as his waist. On the far wall, he noticed a large cabinet, towering above him. His eyes immediately darted to the left finding the bed against the wall with a small nightstand beside it. On the wall that contained the bed, there were two windows, one inches from the corner of the room, and the other one echoing it on the other side. In front of one of the windows, there was a simple wooden chair, facing into the room. Once the layout of the room was established, Severus immediately looked to the lumpy bed. If he stayed perfectly still, he could see her breathing evenly. Stepping into the room, he turned to close the door, but was stopped as Crookshanks took this moment to dart from the bed where he had been resting, in an attempt to escape before he was locked back in. Once the door was soundly shut, Severus softly walked to the chair picking it up silently and placing it down near the corner of the room, between the dresser and the large cabinet, afraid to be any closer to the bed.

Severus could feel the blood pulsing through his veins as he sat in the dark, pondering what he could possible do now. Did he just wake her up? Did he wait for her to wake up on her own? Should he even be in the room?

His thought process was interrupted by the sudden change in her breathing; it had become labored. Her body tensed but writhed around as if trying to get away from something. The heavier her breathing became, the more she moved. Small sounds of desperation fell from her lips, indicating she was having a nightmare. Severus stood, about to wake her, but decided against it, returning to his seat. He was the last thing she needed to see hovering above her bed after a nightmare. Hermione was becoming extremely animated, and at the moment Severus was afraid she would begin screaming, she bolted up in bed with a loud gasp. The room was filled with her heavy breathing, obviously the sounds of her trying to control herself.

"You know, they have potions for that," Severus murmured into the darkness.

The sudden rustle told him she was reaching for her wand, but he waved his a second later and heard the distinctive sound of wood clattering to the floor.

"Relax, it's only me," he added, tucking his wand away into his robes.

The room was silent, except for her breathing, which she was trying to conceal. Severus rolled his eyes in the dark, feeling the tension between the two mounting. Wandlessly he lit the candle on her bedside table, and the room became slightly aglow with a warm gold light. He found her sitting perfectly still, nails dug into the mattress and eyes wide. Her hair was damp and he could see sweat on her forehead.

"Hello," he said quietly.

For a moment she stayed completely still appearing as if she had seen a ghost. Then she blinked, shifting her body slightly.

"What do you want?" she breathed quietly, moving to her knees in order to grab a long light grey cardigan from the end of her bed.

He noticed she was in nothing but shorts and a tank top, a strap sliding down her shoulder. Once the fabric was in place, falling to about her knees, she tucked her legs beneath her, pulling the cardigan tight around her body. Severus was trying to figure her out. Was she scared? Shocked? Angry?

"I thought that we should talk,"

"What do you want to talk about?" she said, not meeting his eyes, let alone his person.

What did he want to talk about? So much crossed his mind. Where could he even start? He noticed her getting annoyed with his silence. He was trying to think of something! Hermione turned to straighten out her pillows.

"If you're just going to sit there staring and not say anything, then you can-"

"I'm in love with you,"

His voice sounded foreign to his own ears, rushed and uneven. The words that had just left his lips were especially foreign. Hermione froze, her hand tightening on the pillow. Her hair hid her face, but he could see her heavy breathing as his words sunk in.

"But you already knew that, didn't you?"

She turned her head, meeting his eyes. They were full of fire, full of the hope he had just given her, but she was trying to rein herself in.

"The memories Harry showed-"

"Before the memories,"

He watched her take one, two, three breaths before nodding.

"I-I wasn't sure, I wasn't ever sure," she said quietly.

He stood from his chair and headed towards the window, hands folded behind his back, in order to peer out of the street. I single car was driving, slowly, and eventually made a turn out of sight.

"I spent every moment I had when locked up trying to tell myself that I was just infatuated with you, it was a passing thing, a repercussion for having spent too much time with you. When they let me go, I left because I didn't want to have months of controlling my thoughts and feelings destroyed by a few touches or words. I've done nothing since then but try and talk myself out of this – these feelings. It's incredible, really. You spend your entire life thinking through things, logically, and then a single feeling can warp your thoughts so drastically that it leaves no room for logic,"

"Why-" she began as her voice cracked. "Why did you try so hard?"

"Too much was working against us, there were too many negatives. I'm old, my reputation is sullied by the horrors of the past, it is now public knowledge that I murdered Albus Dumbledore, not to mention you were my student for six years,"

"Do you have any positive things to say?" Hermione asked sounding slightly hurt.

Besides he knew he couldn't live without her? But that was just him being selfish. He turned his head towards her, settling his eyes on her form that was curled up in the cardigan. Severus raised an eyebrow.

"I don't care about a single one of those things. None of them change the way I feel, and I'm certain nothing ever will,"

Severus felt his chest swell, saw the burning in her eyes deepen, and heard her voice remain steady, full of truth.

"What about what people are going –"

"To hell with people," she snapped throwing her hands up. "Not a single one of their opinions matter to me. Look at everything we've done, don't we deserve something in return? We've been through hell and back and I just want this, and they are not going to take that from me, no matter what. They can publish whatever the hell they want, people can sneer at us, make fun of us, be appalled that you used to be my Professor, but that doesn't matter unless you let it,"

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, giving her a smirk.

"So you're content with an old greasy dungeon bat?"

"I'm far more than content,"

He turned his eyes back to the window, musing quietly, but loud enough for her to still hear.

"When we first went to Hogwarts and you blatantly revealed our secret to Minerva, that night, the painting of Albus accused me of being in love with you. He certainly wasn't wrong,"

"Say that again," Hermione said quietly.

"He certainly wasn't wrong,"

"No, the part before that,"

Severus turned to look at her, her eyes wide and her hands balled into fists, frozen in the middle of playing with a silver chain around her neck. He immediately knew what she wanted to hear.

"I'm in love with you," he said in a gruff voice, allowing his emotion to lace the tone.

Her face immediately relaxed into a soft smile, as her eye filled with tears. The chain around her neck was forgotten and her hand fell limply into her lap. Severus was horrified as he saw the tears begin to crawl down her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked, afraid he had done something to her.

"Nothing," she said with a sigh and a small laugh, using her middle finger to swipe the moisture away. "It's just, I've waited so long for this, I can't even tell you. I've been in love with you for so long, it was killing me not to be able to say anything, having to deal with it quietly,"

Severus watched as she collected herself, running her hands through her still damp hair. When her eyes met his, he stared at her intently.

"Say it now," he demanded.

The tip of her tongue moistened her lips before she spoke.

"I love you, Severus Snape,"

The words hung in the air as the two kept their eyes locked on one another. Severus released a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding, but it sounded more like a content sigh. He felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. His body relaxed, and Severus leaned up against the wall, allowing his eyes to fall from hers and rest on the ground. There it was. Everything was out in the open.

"I want to know where your wedding ring is,"

He looked up at her, watching her eyes scrutinize him carefully. Severus reached inside his pocket and pulled out the gold band, watching her eye flash to it for a brief moment before they slid back to his face.

"After the trial, I called you. I turned my ring twice, and you didn't come. My ring was cold, and I knew…I knew that you didn't have yours on,"

Severus could feel the heartbreak in her voice, feel it pulsing through his own veins. He instantly set to replacing the ring to where it rightfully belonged. He welcomed the weight of the ring back on his finger, a weight he had been without for months.

"I needed time to think about things," he responded, seeing how it did little to rectify the pain he had caused from not replacing the very symbol of their union as soon as he was able to.

"Never again, " he said, catching her eyes, "It will never leave my finger again. I promise,"

She studied him for a short moment, before offering him a small smile.

"One more thing," she said suddenly serious again.

"Hm?"

"If things get…rough, you have to promise to not push me away again. You tried once, and I'm not going to let you do it again,"

"Agreed,"

The room fell silent for a long while. The two were soaking everything in that had been said. Severus was studying her closely, realizing that he had won her back, though he now knew he had never lost her to begin with. This glorious and beautiful woman had waited all of these months for him, trusted him unconditionally, and loved him with every fiber of her being. Severus knew that he had just begun what he would look back on as the best part of his life, and he would never think about sharing it with anyone else but her. A new page had been turned in that dingy room, and Severus, for once, was more than eager for a new chapter in his life to begin.

Hermione took this time to slowly climb from the bed, planting her bare feet on the ground and breaking him from his thoughts. Her bones cracked quietly as she warily made her way over to him, protesting the movement after being in one position for so long. She stopped less than an arm's length away, playing with the hem of her cardigan. Severus had spent too long away from her to have her so close but yet so far. He caught her hand gently in his own, and pulled her towards him, pressing her hand to his chest, allowing his thumb to trace the silver band on her finger.

"I've missed you," she murmured, watching their hands.

Severus didn't reply, but brought a hand to her cheek which caused her to look up into his eyes. He could feel her breath on his face, uneven due to how close they were standing. Slowly he lowered his head to hers, drawing out the moment. His hand found a way into her hair, as his arm wrapped around her waist. Their lips pulled together, and he could feel her hand tangled in his hair while her other latched onto his robes. The fire that consumed the two was something that neither had ever experienced before. Severus could feel his heart pounding furiously in his chest as his lips claimed hers. He knew she had let him have the upper hand, but he didn't care. He wanted to dominate her, to claim her as his, once and for all, nothing standing in their way. Severus wanted to exercise his new found right to kiss her to the fullest extent. He could kiss her like this now, and the thoughts off guilt were gone due to the roaring in his ears. Soon though, pulling her against him wasn't enough. Severus turned quickly, breaking them apart long enough to push her against the wall. It reminded him very much of the first time they had kissed and how he had brazenly pushed her against the door with his body. He could feel every curve of her body through his robes now as his arms locked around her waist and hers around his neck. Instantly he sought out her lips, attacking them more intensely this time. They were teetering dangerously close to the edge of losing all control, and Severus barely registered that thought as his hands slipped beneath her shirt to caress the small of her back, one venturing higher to between her shoulder blades, or how her hands had undone the buttons of his robes and shirt, just wide enough so she could press her hand against his bare skin. As he pushed more of his body weight on her, Hermione moaned quietly, instantly clearing his mind and planting his feet back on the ground. He pulled back slightly, seeing her flushed face in front of his, and noticing her wrinkled clothes. Hermione seemed to return to Earth the same instant because she was suddenly appearing panicked.

"We should stop," she said breathing heavily.

"I agree," he replied in much of the same way.

"It's too soon, we just sorted things out, let's not rush into things,"

He nodded his head as he watched her re-button his shirt with shaky hands. Severus removed his hands from her skin, making sure to replace the hem of her tank top to its proper position. Her hands became steadier as she made quick work of the buttons of his robe. When she was finished, Hermione rested both of her hands on his chest, sighing deeply, a smile playing on her face.

Severus made sure to gather every detail of the scene in front of him. Her cheeks were tinged red, while her eyes flickered in a way that made his heartbeat quicken. Her hair was frizzy because of his hands, but her swollen lips drew the most of his attention. She was radiant, and blissful, and when her eyes met his, a wide grin stretched across her face.