Chapter 43: A Slow Start

{A/N: Here's Another Update... I am no longer on Wattpad due to them deactivating my account and I am not interested in making a new one...I apologize to those whom were reading my work there, any original tales you were reading are gone and probably won't be rewritten for quite some time, however some that survived the lockout will be shipped to FictionPress and you can see the fanfics here."}

My Thanks To My Readers and Reviewers...Enjoy-S.S.

The Bedroom, Severus Snape's Private Quarters, The Dungeon Corridors, Hogwarts Castle, Wizarding World...

Warmth had been the first thing Severus Snape had taken note of as he began to rouse from his relatively pleasant slumber. The scent of jasmine filled his flaring nostrils as he began to make sense of the past few hours. The last thing he had recalled was being in the presence of his young wife and overcome with emotion he had believed he'd done away with long before the events of the previous night. As his eyes began to focus in the natural darkness of the dungeons, Snape found himself subjected to the weight of a certain bushy haired witch as she shifted in bed in a bid to rest her head against his chest. Initially, her need for closeness had unnerved him, but he found that after the previous night, he could tolerate it. There was an easy calm that had fallen over them as Snape found himself looking up at the ceiling.

The darkness had not bothered him, the lack of sight was something of a boon in most cases where his mind began to wonder and time seemed to be of no consequence whenever he'd been alone. Given his history, it was always comforting when he'd been surrounded by darkness, less of a chance to be seen or singled out whenever another had been on the warpath. Since he'd been a boy it was rather easy to slip into the darkest recesses of obscurity and be ignored by any and all he had known. Yet here in the darkness of his private quarters, his young wife had done something to the once comforting darkness. Here she'd become the sense of safety and security in the dead of night. Here she had consumed his thoughts and unearthed the long hidden desires both physical and emotional aspects of a man that believed he had none.

Unable to help himself, Snape smiled some taking note of the bushy haired young woman whom had been his wife. There was a unstated beauty she had that seemed to captivate him in all the more the longer he'd been in her presence. Snape dared not move for fear of disrupting the moment but it had done little good as she began to rouse of her own accord.

"S-Severus." she said softly as she slowly opened her eyes.

The Potions Master remained silent as she lifted her head from his chest and met his gaze full on.

It seemed their previous encounter had taken a good deal out of them both.

Snape had been nearly caught off guard when she began to stroke his sallow pale cheek with something of a smile filed across her youthful face.

"I always wondered what waking up beside you would be like." she said softly.

"Don't get ahead of yourself girl, this was a one time arrangement." he said attempting to slip out of bed only for her to join him wrapping the bed-sheet around her exposed body as she latched onto his from behind.

"Why must you always be such a grouch?" she asked feeling a little disappointed. "Why can't we just enjoy the moment?"

Snape sighed feeling her lean into his back as he stood, naked and out in the open despite the semi-darkness of his bedroom.

"Moments are fleeting." remarked Snape in something of an embittered tone.

"All the more reason to enjoy them." countered Hermione.

Snape could not understand why she insisted on being so difficult when it came to the situation at hand. They were husband and wife, that much had been a given due to the wedding and the arrangement of such but he was still very much her Potions Professor and she his student. There was more at stake than she would even realize and getting involved in the realm of fantasy was the last thing he needed with war so close on the horizon.

"Severus?" she said attempting to get his attention once more.

The Potions Professor found himself unable to ignore her logic it seemed, and swiftly stepped away from the young witch before scooping her into his arms and carrying her back toward the bed they come to share over the course of their newly arranged marriage.

Her amber eyes had not left his as she found herself competing with him in a series of heated kisses.

"Hermione." he said softly as he towered above her in the center of his large black four poster bed.

She reached up to stroke his cheek only for him to move and graze her palm with a quick kiss.

"You are making it very difficult for me to proceed with things as they were." he admitted.

"That was my intention." she replied unable to shake his glance. "To let my husband known just how much I care for him."

Snape closed his eyes basking in the wave of affection she'd sent his way.

"Sod this damn war." he hissed. "Sod the dark lord, and sod Dumbledore...I knew this would be...I cannot deny that I have come to the conclusion that I might have affection for you as well.

Hermione gasped at his admission.

"I...shouldn't...but that's per the course isn't it?" he replied with something of a nervous chuckle. "No good will come of this, but I can no longer force myself to deny what I feel for you...at least not to you directly."

"Severus..." she began only to be silenced via a swift kiss on the lips.

"As long as we are together in this room and out of the sight of known enemies...know that I am yours witch." he said meaningfully as he met her gaze once more.

"And outside?" asked Hermione with an arched brow.

"I am your Potions Professor." he replied evenly. "These are my terms if we are to survive the trials to come."

Understanding the implications of what he had come to terms with as far as their marriage had been concerned, Hermione had been all too pleased to be able to get through to him. He had been quite right about the dangers that surrounded them and the many hurdles they had to jump through in order to be together given that there had been so much at stake, still it was a small victory if nothing else.

The contented young witch had been perfectly alright with lying in bed beside the Potions Master as they further assessed their mutual feelings for one another and the gravity of the situation in terms of what it would mean for those around them to know the truth.