AN: Here is the next installment of Savior in the Dark. Thank you so much for roon0 and Reeves for their review. I hope you all enjoy this next chapter.
Hermione and Severus silently held each other tightly providing comfort to one another. Severus couldn't believe how lucky he was to have someone that loved him unconditionally. Even with all the terrible things he'd done, she still had forgiven him and accepted him into her life. He didn't think he deserved any of it, but every time he voiced his insecurities to her, she shushed him and continued to love him anyway. He didn't want to take her love for granted. He was going to do everything in his power to keep her in his life. He has been alone for far too long.
As Hermione clutched him tightly to her a sad question filled her mind. She bit and chewed on her lip in thought. She wanted to know the truth. "Severus," she whispered.
Her quiet voice shook him from his thoughts. "Yes, Hermione?" He looked down at her lying gently on his chest. Seeing the sad look in her eyes he gently brushed a piece of hair behind her ear and said, "What's wrong?"
She took a deep breath, fretting over what his reaction would be. A minute ticked by, and she finally found the courage to ask him. "Did you know what would happen that day in the shrieking shack?" She continued to bite her lip dreading the thought of what his response would be.
He flinched from her question. He started shifting uncomfortably in bed hating the conversation that was about to happen. He didn't want to admit to her that he knew that he would die. He knew that he would be attacked by Nagini. He closed his eyes reliving his worst memory. He felt her gently kiss his shoulder and it encouraged him to tell her the truth. With a shuddering breath, he reopened his eyes and began to tell her the truth. "Yes, I knew I would be attacked by the snake." His voice was very quiet, almost inaudible.
Hermione stopped kissing his shoulder and looked up at him in confusion. She saw the haunted, sad look in his eyes, and she squeezed him just a bit tighter to her. "But Severus, if you knew what would happen why would you go?"
He stared thoughtfully at the wall knowing his next statement would be hurtful to hear. "I wanted to die. I was outcasted by the Wizarding World and I killed the only person that understood me." He took a deep breath and whispered, "A part of me thought I deserved my fate."
She gasped and shook her head. She reached out and cupped his cheek forcing him to look into her eyes. "How can you say that? No one deserves that, Severus."
He tried to pull away, but she wouldn't let him. "What do you want me to say, Hermione? I was alone. I had no one to talk to and I was forced to hold all my emotions in. I had to keep pretending for the role that I was given." He took a deep shuddering breath trying to hold his anger at bay. "I despised the man I was. No one would have mourned the loss if I would've died."
Hermione looked away from him feeling hurt by his words. "I did, you daft man! I never stopped thinking about you. I cried over your death too many times to count. My friends thought I was being ridiculous, but they didn't know the truth. When I looked at Sabrina, all I saw was you."
He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. "I know that now and I'm glad I survived. Hermione, you and Sabrina are the best thing that has ever happened to me." He leaned in and kissed her passionately. He pulled away from her and held her tightly to his chest. They continued to lie quietly until they heard the gentle rustling of Sabrina starting to wake up in the other bedroom.
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The days that followed were very uneventful. Hermione and Sabrina adjusted nicely to being in their new home. Sabrina loved her new bedroom and getting to spend so much time with her daddy. Hermione loved all the new books that she was able to safely read in Severus' home. The home was running peacefully with Hermione and Severus often sharing house chores. When Hermione made breakfast, Severus would be sure to make dinner for them. In the evening, Hermione would cuddle up with a nice warm cup of tea and a good book. All was well since the move, and Hermione couldn't be more grateful to have Severus back in her life.
Work at the potions shop was starting to become slow because it was off-season. Even with it being off-season, Severus refused to slow down on his work. He was constantly brewing with no end in sight. Hermione tried to keep up with him as best she could. She noticed while he brewed that he was completely stress-free and in his element. She found herself time and time again just watching him brew. While watching him closely, she learned so many different techniques and her potion-making had improved. She had gotten faster at replicating potions and with Severus' clear instructions she followed his modifications perfectly. She was pleasantly surprised to find that Severus never yelled at her or said something snarky toward her like he would at school. When she made a mistake, he gently reminded her, and they moved on from it. The first time he gently reminded her of a mistake she made, it completely floored her. She was expecting him to yell or call her insolent but neither of those things happened. She started to love working alongside him and she couldn't see herself doing anything else.
While working on a particularly difficult potion, the sound of the bell on the front door alerted Hermione and Severus they had a customer that arrived at the shop. Severus, fully distracted by his potion, murmured, "Can you get that, Hermione? I'll be there in a minute."
Hermione put a quick tempus charm on her cauldron and went into the front of the store. "Good morning, what can I get…" Her charming voice was cut off when she saw her familiar ginger-haired friend Ginny Weasley along with Harry Potter. She grit her teeth angrily, remembering Harry being so cruel to her the last time he showed up at the shop. "What do you want?" She demanded. "Are you here to call me more foul names?" She glared at him harshly. "I thought you were my brother."
Harry gave her a weak smile and started shaking his head. "No, I'm not here to call you names. Ginny told me about what you said at the coffee shop. I wanted to come and talk to you."
"Oh, so you know now that I never cheated on Ron. I have tried to tell you from the very beginning that I never did that, but you two morons couldn't listen for longer than two seconds before calling me a whore," she spat angrily. "Do you know how bad that hurt me?"
Harry looked down at his shoes feeling very ashamed of himself. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I was wrong."
"Do you think that is going to magically fix everything?" She yelled at him feeling her anger get the better of her.
"Well, no but I thought maybe we can start small and start talking again," he replied. "I miss the old times we had." He looked up from the floor and said, "We've been through a lot you know."
She scowled as she felt the tears well up in her eyes. "The times we had apparently did not matter to you. It didn't matter when I helped you with your fucking homework assignments. Every damn day in Potions class I helped you cheat, so you didn't fail. It didn't matter that I solved the mystery that helped save Ginny in the chamber of secrets. It didn't matter that I helped you save Sirius from the dementor's kiss. It didn't matter that we worked together on building up Dumbledore's army." She aggressively rubbed at her eyes hating the tears that fell down her cheeks. "It didn't matter that I obliviated my parents and went on the run with you for months with no plan in sight. It didn't matter that I was fucking tortured for your damn benefit." She took a deep breath and pulled up her shirt sleeve and bared the mudblood scar that was still inflicted on her skin. "Remember this, Harry? You should've been the one that was caught, but no I took my wand and made sure no one recognized you. I laid there on that floor screaming bloody murder at Malfoy Manor. I did fucking everything for you, and this is what I get?" She roughly pulled down her shirt sleeve. "Screw you, Harry. I don't need you anymore."
"Hermione I…" Harry stuttered pathetically.
"Get out!" She roared. "I don't want to see you anymore. I don't want to hear from you anymore. You are not welcome in this shop. If I see your face again, I will blast you to hell." She watched hatefully as the two of them left the store at a hurried pace. She closed her eyes trying to get her composure back. She felt a pair of arms slither around her waist and pull her against them. She smiled once she realized it was Severus holding her tightly. She sagged against him accepting the warmth and comfort he was providing her.
"I'm so proud of you, Hermione," he crooned in her ear. She turned to face Severus, tears still dripping down her cheeks. He reached out and gently brushed her tears away with his thumbs. "Don't cry for them, Hermione. They didn't deserve you."
She gave him a watery smile. She still felt very angry by what transpired. She didn't realize that she had all this pent-up frustration inside of her. "Did you hear everything I said?"
He smirked at her and said, "You weren't exactly being quiet about it, Hermione." When he saw her cheeks flush in embarrassment, he shook his head and said, "You have nothing to be embarrassed about. You said all the things you should've said from the beginning. Everything you said was true. He should be grateful and be begging at your feet for your forgiveness. They took advantage of you."
She frowned at his words, but she couldn't find it in herself to argue with him. "I decided that you were right, Severus. I don't think I can forgive and forget. They made their choice, and I made mine," she whispered forlornly as a wave of sadness hit her. Not wanting to wallow anymore in her self-pity, she removed herself from his arms and headed to the backroom. "Let's get back to work then."
Hermione consumed herself with her work. As she worked, she couldn't keep her mind off Harry. Feelings of regret started to bubble up inside her. The look on Ginny's face made her feel bad. She knew she was disappointed that it didn't work out the way it should have. What did she expect? As much as I want to see their child, I don't think friendship is in the books for me. They disposed of me like garbage. I deserve better than that. Her chopping of ingredients started to become erratic. She was too lost in thought to hear her name being called.
Severus looked over at Hermione and saw the big chunks and the uneven way she was cutting. "Hermione!" He called to her trying to get her attention. When that didn't work, he rolled his eyes and approached her. His hands carefully pulled the knife from her fingers. "Go take a break."
She looked down at her empty fingers and saw the atrocious way she cut up their supplies. She looked up at him and said, "I'm sorry, Severus. I should've paid more attention."
"Take a few minutes to get yourself back in order. We both know that brewing with any sort of distraction can be lethal. You need your full attention to the task." He reminded her with a strict look on his face. Keeping that firm look he said in a no-nonsense voice, "If you can't focus on your work, then I have to send you home for today."
She frowned, feeling slightly rebuffed by his actions. She wasn't expecting her lover to be so cross with her. She left her workstation and started to head to the door.
Severus grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug. "Hermione, if you need time just take it. I can take over the rest. I've done it before." He broke the hug and gently stroked her cheek. "I'm sorry for being so cross. You know how I am when it comes to potion making."
She smiled at him cheekily and said sarcastically, "Who you?" She saw the smirk that crossed his face. "Just give me a few minutes. I have cried enough over this situation. I just need to refocus myself."
He gave her a chaste kiss on her forehead. "Take all the time you need."
Hermione nodded her head and murmured, "I'm a go for a short walk to clear my head." She left the shop and welcomed the cold, breezy air that hit her face. Taking the much-needed ten minutes of her walk, she thought about Harry and how she handled the situation. She knew she blew up at him without giving him a chance to speak, but she was just so furious with him. She walked down to the corner of the sidewalk and made her way back, thankful for the peace and quiet. After mulling over her thoughts, she decided that in the end she truly did not need them anymore in her life. She had moved on. She had Sabrina and Severus by her side and that's all she wanted.