The warm water caressed his long and waxy body, the heat from the water was slowly seeping into his skin and lapped against his knees and shoulders as he lay strait. The cool ebony marble fused with the water and slowly drew tendrils of hair into its depths.

As Severus rested his head against the horrid purple neck pillow Hermione had brought from her flat, he shut his eyes slowly. It was her birthday this next week and he had no idea what to do. His long fingers slowly floated on the tops of the water and Severus slowly lowered his head in the water.

It had been too long since he had done this properly, it had been years in fact since he had been able to actually relax enough to be effective. He felt his knees slide together and up as his feet hooked on the bar of the faucet. Severus felt the water slide around his face and threaten to pull him under completely before he stopped, his nose and lips were left in the cool air.

The sounds of the house melted away, not that there was much to start with. But the drone of the radio was replaced with the sound of his heart, the knocking of books being wiped clean and placed of the small rickety coffee-table by his lover was replaced with the sound of his own breathing. Nothing was low enough for a proper meditation but it would do for now.

The hum he felt almost pulsating the water was from his wand, it was low enough for most magic folk to miss normally but he always had a almost second sense for these things.

Severus thought back to the task at hand, it would be supper soon and although he loathed his darling girl's cooking, he did try to choke it down as best he was able.

Would she be expecting a party? Would she already have plans of her own? Wouldn't she have told him of these plans already or was she so ashamed of him that she would make up some poor excuse to leave the house for an hour or two.

They had barely spent any time apart the last few months, it was pitiful and he would never tell Hermione or any other living soul this, but Severus missed her for the few hours she took for herself to run to the flat or the bookstore. Severus understood her need for space from him. He could be demanding and angry and terribly frustrating at times, he understood that. The fact that Severus had refused to barely even talk about painting a few rooms in the house had resulted in them both shouting at the tops of their lungs about his stubbornness.

Severus smiled and felt a warmth pass through him when he recalled that moment. In the heat of them yelling he had suggested that she move in with him and she yelled right back that she would love to but was going to keep her flat for just a little while longer.

They had made love on the ratty brown carpet. Again on the stairs and then yet again in their bedroom after his hip and pride stopped hurting from the reminder he wasn't as young as he thought he was.

Hermione had insisted on keeping her flat for at least a little while longer, which wasn't a bother to him as much as they both had thought it would be. He knew she might need an escape once in a while and he would prefer it to be there rather than the Weasley's, or heaven forbid, Potters. And how would they explain her sudden relocation to the other members of the Golden Trio and their families?

Severus had been so lost in thought he didn't hear his lover walking up the stairs- however he did hear her start yelling his name at the top of her lungs. "Severus Snape! Just what in Merlin do you think you are doing? Are you trying to cause me to have heart failure?"

Severus felt the smile slide back onto his lips as his little lioness threw his towel at him and followed him to their room while rambling about the fact she was still responsible for him and how she wasn't sure if she would be happy if he was dead although apparently that fact was in question.

As Severus tugged on his jeans and socks, Hermione fumed and told him, in quite colorful terms, that dinner would be served in ten minutes and unless he wanted his share thrown in the garbage and eaten by the stray dogs outside (he would never tell her that they were quite unlikely to touch it) to hurry up.

Her stomps stopped at the base of the stairs and didn't resume after a moment.

Severus paused pulling down his forest green jumper over his head and grabbed his wand, giving her a moment to resume her temper. Lowering his head with his ear turned to the door, "Hermione?" He said just as her fear laced voice carried up the stairs. "Severus?"

He cursed his old war-torn body as he slowly padded over to the door before his hip and tore open the door and limped down the stairs. Her eyes were wide with fear and he felt her hand grab and grip his tightly. His wards were tuned to himself, Hermione and Potter (he still hadn't faced the brat but he would stop by with ingredients on occasion while Severus was conveniently 'out') and few others knew where he was. Of those few none would come without warning.

"Severus I think someone's outside."

Whoops?