Here we are, like I promised. Wednesday! I know what horrible FanFiction manners it is to post a chapter without having it thoroughly beta'd, but I find myself without a beta...again. I ran over it twice before I pasted it to FF, then I read it through again, and then again right before I posted it, so hopefully I got most of whatever errors there were. If any of you are interested in messaging me and explaining to me the details of how to cooperate with a beta (my lovely sister was doing it before, but she can't now,) I would love it! Anyways, sorry for any mistakes, and thank you all for the reviews from last chapter! Enjoy :)

Hermione landed clumsily, and stumbled to the ground as she felt whatever was holding her upright suddenly let go. Spinning around, she gasped as she saw Severus standing there, looking at her with an expression she had never seen before on his face. "How...?" She trailed off helplessly, continuing to stare at the man in front of her.

Severus stooped, and helped Hermione up, never taking his eyes off hers. Glaring at her, he replied. "I stoutly refuse to let you wander off, emotionally traumatized, and get yourself killed like you nearly did the last time you rushed off with absolutely no thought for anything else. I value my employees, believe it or not."

Hermione looked up at Severus, confusion still plain on her features. "Why? Why do you do this? Everything; home, a job, a friend...just why? Is it just a ridiculous need to repay me for shoving a fucking bezoar down your throat?"

Severus sighed heavily. It appeared that he would have to explain to the witch exactly why he did everything he done after the war. Cursing inwardly, he gestured to Hermione to sit down with him on the grass. "I do not know exactly why, Miss Granger, but I can tell you what I did because of it."

Hermione nodded mutely, settling down on the grass as Severus conjured a tissue for her.

Inhaling sharply, Severus focused on a blade of grass, he couldn't talk whilst looking at Hermione. "After you...saved me, I felt something towards you. A tug, a slight pull, whatever you will. It annoyed me to no end, as I had always held a dislike for you and your friends, regardless of my respect for your achievements. That is why I left Hogwarts and moved to London."

Hermione shot Severus a strange look. An attraction? So there was a reason for everything he did. Something he didn't want. Hermione tried to control the rising sense of panic she felt deep in her gut, and willed herself to remain silent, and wait for Severus to finish.

"I did it to get away from the publicity mostly, but a small portion of the reason was you, and whatever the ridiculous niggling attraction I felt towards you." Smirking wryly, he continued. "It was mostly the publicity. Everyone seemed interested in why I was a spy, why I turned towards the light for Dumbledore. It was bloody irritating, and as you probably know, I am a very private man; it was by no means welcome."

Hermione giggled slightly at that remark, she had guessed he was a private man. The bubble of laughter died down quickly though, as a sickening realization hit her. She knew absolutely nothing about the man in front of her. She knew he had fought for the Order of the Phoenix, she knew he was a spy, and that his life at school hadn't been the best. But otherwise, all she knew was her snarky potions professor, and the man who had begrudgingly saved her. A tear slid down her cheek at her thoughts, and she quickly brushed it away.

Severus stoically refused to look at Hermione, and continued to speak. "I started my Apothecary with the funds from the Order of Merlin the Ministry slapped on me to thank me for me efforts, and I lived peacefully, quietly, and very much alone for a few months until Fergus showed up in my living room. The aunt I thought had died long ago had left him to me. So, I now had the company of a strangely sarcastic elf."

Hermione smiled tightly at the mention of Fergus. The elf was something else entirely, and Hermione had grown to enjoy Fergus's subtle banter quite as much as Severus did.

"And then I found the corner pub, and I started to frequent it daily. The bartender did not ask me stupid questions, I was allowed to sit in my corner and nurse my solitary glass of whiskey whilst I tried to forget...everything. And then you showed up, and it was the last thing I had ever expected to happen. I had spent many, many days making myself realize I would never see you again, and the strange attraction I felt towards you had to fade away. But of course, you with your bloody Gryffindorish traits, just rushed headlong into the wild realms of intoxication without a second thought," Severus said rather dryly. "And we are here now, for the same reason. You apparently didn't learn enough from the first time."

Hermione stared at him curiously. "This...attraction, do you know what it is now?"

Severus shook his head. "No. Nor do I have any clue what it means, how it got there. I have tried to research it, but to no avail. It is not a particular feeling, it is more of a subtle tug towards you. When I am around you, it is absent."

Hermione nodded. It was quickly becoming apparent that all he felt towards her was something that he himself didn't know, or even want. "I'll gather my things and leave," she said quietly.

Severus glanced up sharply, glowering at Hermione. "Is my company truly that abhorrent to you?"

Hermione shook her head as she tried not to laugh at the absurdity of Severus's words. "Not at all. I just – well I thought you didn't like mine, and only put up with it because you felt you had to."

Severus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Miss Granger, truly. Your intellectual capabilities are nearly as famous as you, yourself. It's utterly ridiculous of you to think I do not enjoy your presence in my life."

"But you said yourself that you moved to get away from me, and that you disliked me and it was annoying to you..." she trailed off as her vision swam from the tears pooling in her eyes. She didn't even know what it was exactly that she wanted from him, but she did know that she wanted to continue and see where...whatever it was that they shared went.

"Really, Hermione, if I truly disliked you I would have shoved you out my door once I was assured you wouldn't run off and die because of stupidity. It's quickly becoming apparent that I have to doctor you even longer though, you really shouldn't run off headfirst without a thought or a care to anything else."

"But what if you are doing all of this because of whatever is tugging you towards me?"

Severus growled softly. "I am perfectly capable of controlling anything about myself that I wish too, Granger. Including strange attractions that brought me the happiest two weeks I have experienced in recent history. Surprisingly to you, I'm sure, I am in fact a very skilled Occlumens."

Hermione blushed slightly. "I didn't mean–"

"Regardless of your intentions, you ended up dealing a rather dramatic blow to my ego with your words," Severus interrupted dryly. "I am capable of controlling what I wish to. It doesn't erase the reality that I do enjoy your company immensely."

Hermione giggled slightly. "I suppose I was a bit dramatic."

"Putting it lightly, Miss Granger."

"I was just so – so angry at Ronald. The audacity to track that damned owl, and then ask me to come back...I've never felt that sort of rage before. When you walked away after I started crying, I realized you wanted none of it, which is why I left; or rather, tried to leave."

Severus sighed heavily at the dramatic assumptions Hermione had made. "I walked off to bring you a calming draught, along with a book I felt would soothe your rather turbulent emotions."

Hermione gaped at Severus, her mouth opening and closing in silent shock. He hadn't been running away from her, he had been going to get something to help her calm down.

Severus glared at Hermione. "Miss Granger. The fish look is rather unbecoming on you, I suggest you stop using that particular expression to portray shock."

Hermione shut her mouth quickly, smiling slightly as she recalled the first morning she had spent with Severus. "Well then you should probably stop doing things to elicit such a reaction."

"If at any point in the evening I had wanted to run away, when you stood toe to toe with Weasley would be it. Your hair very nearly crackled with the force of your anger, and it was quite terrifying. I'm begrudgingly impressed that Weasley didn't soil himself."

Hermione giggled slightly, she had hadn't really stopped to think about what she must have looked like with the extreme anger she had felt course through her. "He deserved it."

"Indeed," Severus agreed heartily. Getting up, he brushing the few pieces of grass that stuck to him off, and offered Hermione his hand. "As delightful as sitting in the cold grass of...wherever you brought us, I would prefer the warmth of a bed."

Hermione took his hand gratefully, and looked around, a wistful expression on her face. "I don't know why I apparated here exactly, but this is where me and my mum and dad would go camping in the springtime."

"It is a miracle you didn't splinch yourself, you daft thing," Severus said witheringly as he offered his arm to Hermione. They apparated to the front step of Severus's house, and Hermione looked at the street warily.

"He's gone, right?"

"Most certainly," Severus replied with a slight smirk.

Hermione eyed Severus suspiciously as she walked into the sitting room. "You say that as though you had something to do with it."

Severus looked down at her. "I merely made it so he will have some...issues in speaking with any sort of eloquence for a while, not that he needed it. The boy has all the eloquence of a dead rhinoceros."

"Aptly put, Professor," Hermione agreed with a smirk. The only thing Ron could talk about with any sort of intelligence was Quidditch, and that had quickly grown to be one of the most irritating things about living with him.

Severus turned to look at Hermione intently. Raising his hand, he slowly tucked a curl behind her ear. "I hope you are quite done with being a foolish chit. I will not have you running off again, nor do I wish to explain repeatedly that I desire whatever it is that we have together."

Hermione nodded and bit her lip, very pleased at Severus's words. "I am a girl, you know. Us things are apt to be foolish at times."

Severus glowered down at the witch. "Believe me, Miss Granger, I am astutely aware of the fact that you are a woman."

Hermione blushed at the lusty undertone the man's words held, and she glanced at the clock that hung on the mantle. "It's rather late, isn't it," she mused. "And now that I have time to think about it, I'm rather exhausted."

Severus nodded, and started to walk upstairs, gesturing for Hermione to follow. Without stopping to ask, he walked towards his room and Hermione walked behind him curiously. Striding towards his closet, Severus pulled out a black nightshirt and tossed it towards Hermione. "Whilst transfiguring clothes is certainly easy, I think you would rather appreciate the comfort of this."

Hermione grinned sheepishly, and quickly yanked her jeans down. Severus glanced at Hermione's shapely legs appreciatively, as he donned his pajama bottoms and quickly grabbed a black tee.

Hermione pulled the nightshirt over her head, and reveled in its softness. Watching Severus, she admired his muscles flexing as he started to pull the shirt up his arms. Gasping softly, Hermione stared at his back, the pattern of silvery scars that decorated his skin only just now becoming apparent to her.

Walking quietly, she put a hand on his arm, stilling his movements. Severus slowly brought the shirt down, wondering what the witch was up to. Hermione walked behind him, and placed a hand gently on his back.

Severus stiffened at her touch. Whilst he wasn't one to be conscious about how his body looked, his scars were not something he would have scrutinized. "Miss Granger," he said, somewhat coldly as he turned to face her.

Hermione looked up at him, her eyes glistening from the tears that had sprung up at the sight of physical evidence of the abuse Severus had endured throughout his life. "I had no idea," she said quietly.

"Not many people do."

"Where...?"

Severus sighed heavily and ran his hands through his hair. "The Dark Lord's anger, my father, abuse from school. It is in the past, Hermione. They don't bother me, Hermione. Reminders of a past that I have tried my entire life to forget. Don't let them affect you."

Hermione nodded mutely, and turned to climb into bed, her thoughts swimming with the pain Severus must have endured throughout his life. Severus climbed in after her, pulling the duvet up to cover them both. Settling down, he waited for Hermione to wriggle close to him.

Hermione laid her head against his chest, her fingers tracing soft circles over the skin of his sternum. Severus exhaled softly, relaxing into her touch, and closed his eyes.

"How did you survive?"

"You know as well as I."

"No, not Nagini...I meant everything else. Being a spy, serving the Dark Lord and Dumbledore. I can't even begin to imagine what horrors you went through."

Severus sighed heavily. "Sheer will power, I suppose. I didn't have the best of childhoods, and I grew up learning how to defend myself. It transferred to my school years with all the bullying I was forced to deal with. I've just always known how to take care of myself. I nearly lost it a few times, but defeating the Dark Lord became my only focus, my will to live. It fueled my existence, and sometimes I think I lived purely to see the end that I had waited for so long to come."

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut, and shuddered. "Thank you. I never thanked you properly for what you did for Harry and everyone else." She could feel Severus stiffen beneath her, and his breath hitched. Hermione felt tears prick her eyes as she slowly realised that he had probably never been thanked for what he did.

"Thank you," he replied softly. Hermione recognised the depth of emotion those two words held, and she felt a tear slid down her nose. This man was so, so much more than she would have ever realised had her and Ron worked out. Suddenly, with perfect clarity, that she wanted to be here, in his arms, more than anything she had ever been sure of. Exhaling softly, she closed her eyes, and continued to trace circles in his chest as she fell asleep.

Severus listened as the witch's breathing evened out, and he relaxed some. Awed, he stared up at the ceiling and silently thanked every deity whom he knew existed for orchestrating whatever events that had led to Hermione being in his arms at that moment.