A/N: I don't own Harry Potter

This is for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Assignment #6 Unsolved Murders - Task #13 - The Bible Belt Strangler: Between the years of 1978 and 1992, a string of killings committed along the Bible Belt in the United States. All of the victims, many of whom were never identified, had red or reddish hair. Many of their bodies were dumped on major highways in the UAnited States, leading investigators to believe that the victims were engaged in either hitchhiking or sex work.

Write about someone's faith. (this can be religious, spiritual, whatever you want.)

Word Count: 657

Hermione laid her head against Severus' chest. She could feel it rising and falling. He set down the book he'd been reading. The couple had been getting ready for bed. Severus always found reading before sleep granted him a deeper sleep.

"What's wrong?" he asked, raising his head slightly to look at the witch currently using him as a pillow. He loved the way her hair fell over his black night shirt, the way her lilac nightdress stood out against the dark grey sheets. She'd put her foot down on black sheets. He'd been more than willing to compromise about the color of the sheets they would be sleeping on.

"Nothing, everything, I don't even know any more Severus. Things were starting to look, I don't know, better maybe? Now..." she let her voice trail off, her expression showing her thoughts were a million miles from their bedroom.

"It's going to be alright, Hermione. I know things have gotten worse. The dragon pox outbreak will be contained, they'll figure something out. They always do," he murmured, rubbing her back. She sighed, nestling against him a little closer. She raised her head to look up at him, a skeptical look on her face. This had been the worst year since the war for the both of them. There was so much going on, so many new threats neither of them had been prepared to face.

"But what if they don't? What if... there's already been so many deaths, Severus. Between the war, the horrible things they said about us when we got married, the resurgence of the Death Eaters, now this? What's going to happen to next? We didn't chose this life, we're just living it. Just hanging on trying to get through the next emergency to hit the wizarding world. We chose to do the right things, chose to be on the right side. How many bad things need to happen before something good does?" she asked, wrapping her arms around him. He did the same, holding her tightly against him.

"You're the one who studied arthimancy, my Hermione. You're the one who's good with numbers, I'm only good at adding things to things and making them do something," he stated. Hermione smiled slightly. She knew he was only joking, knew he truly embraced his own brilliance as a potioneer, a job he much preferred over teaching. She did find she liked being in the classroom, sharing the knowledge she'd gleamed during her school years with new minds.

"It's more than that, Severus. You're amazing at adding things to things to make them do things," she stated, leaning forward and kissing him. "And potions are important, more now that ever. It's going to be a potion that ends up being the cure to all of this. It's going to be one your potions that's going to somehow magically cure dragon pox."

"That's a lot to put on one man, Hermione," he said softly. She shook her head head giving him a slight smile.

"Maybe, but it's not just on one man. I'm right here next to you, both in this bed and in the lab. Besides, I have faith in you. I know you can do something brilliant, even if the rest of the world doesn't seem to notice," she added. He looked at the witch, returning her smile easily.

"Maybe you're right, Hermione. Maybe together we can figure something out, with my potions skills and your skills at, well, everything else. I don't have a choice, now do I?" he mused, kissing her forehead.

"Thank you," she murmured, laying her head back on his chest.

"For what?"

"Believing in me, believing in us," she answered. He nodded.

"I should be thanking you for the same, Hermione," he agreed, pulling her closer and hugging her tightly. She smiled, burrowing against him, her eyes closing slightly as she fell asleep in the arms of the man she loved.