A/N Thank you to all the new readers and subscribers! I would love to hear from you. This is the chapter that earns that 18+ rating. So proceed with caution. This is unbeta'ed as I am still looking for someone to be my new grammar and proof reading beta. So if you're interested let me know.

I wanted to get this out since I have been a bit out of sorts with my updates and was completely distracted with the new Taylor Swift album.

This is officially the half way point so in the next week if you see any updates it will likely be from me reuploading chapters with edits made. Once that's done I will continue with updates. Thank you so much for enjoying my story. I would love to hear from you.

"Harry, why didn't I tell you about my parents?" Hermione asked from her position on his chest. They were nestled in her bed after they had finished working on some essays.

Harry sighed and felt the guilt seep in again. He could feel the tell tale curve of her pinky around his, a habit she had developed since her time in the hospital wing. The fingers of his other hand combed through the ends of her curly hair. This had also become a habit since her memory loss a week ago. He hadn't seen his bed, except when he would go up to change before classes. Hermione was plagued with nightmares that she never remembered upon waking but always resulted in tears streaming down her face.

"Honestly, Hermione. We were so focused on the horcruxes and making plans I think you wanted to make sure I wasn't distracted," He sat up and pulled her up with him so he could look in her eyes. "I'm sorry I made you feel like you couldn't tell me. I tried all summer to be by your side and show you how I feel, but I messed up. I was thinking about the big picture and didn't see how much danger you and your family were in. I should have protected them."

Frustrated tears welled up in his eyes as he imagined what could have happened to the Grangers who had always greeted him so nicely at the train station every year. He felt his friend thumb away his tears. "I forgive you, Harry. Even if I remember everything later. I forgive you."

Her eyes were glassy as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. Harry fisted his hand into her curls as his eyes flicked from her eyes to her lips. "Hermione, I promise. From now on, you can tell me anything. You can rage at me, nag me, boss me around forever. So don't ever leave me."

"Never," Hermione let out with a breath before she leaned forward and pressed a firm kiss to his lips. He pulled her close as he deepened the kiss, running his tongue along the seam of her lips. When she gasped at the touch of their tongues he answered her with a moan. Harry relished the feel of her hand in his hair, tugging lightly while her free hand gripped his shirt. Another gasp from the beautiful girl and he became painfully aware of the bulge in his pants.

He felt her hands glide down to his chest and push slightly. Bossy even like this. He thought, amused as he leaned back into the headboard and pulled her more firmly against him. But her hands on his chest shoved harder and became more insistent. Before he could get his upper brain to start working the girl bit his lip and shoved him hard.

Hermione scrambled away from him to the end of the bed. Her hands were clutching at her chest and she was hyperventilating.

"Hermione? Are you alright? What's wrong?" Harry tried to reach for her but she jumped off the bed.

She held herself, clutching her chest and through gritted teeth replied, "It hurts. Why does it hurt?'

Harry got out of the bed and approached her but she backed up.

"Harry, I think you should go." Hermione backed up into the dresser behind her, still holding herself.

"Hermione, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you,"

"No, don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong. I-I just need to be alone for a bit, Harry. I think I've been clinging onto you a bit too much. I have to try and work through my feelings on my own. You understand that, don't you?" She looked at him imploringly.

He did. Harry remembered all the times he hid himself away trying to figure his future out and the worry he had after Sirius's close call. The young man nodded to her then picked up his school bag from the chair nearby. "You know where to find me if you need me."

"Of course, Harry."

"Just promise me one thing."

"Anything." Hermione graced home with a soft smile.

"Don't go to the Astronomy Tower." He hadn't approached that topic, knowing he was not the best source of that information, and truthfully the guilt he felt about it made it hard for him to think about too.

Her brow rose questioningly, then she nodded. "It's nearly curfew, Harry. But yes I promise. Go, I'm sure McGonagall won't be so lenient with us for much longer so just come back tomorrow night."

He nodded once more, and gripped her hand before heading out the portrait entrance, vowing he would slow down and let Hermione lead from now on.

Severus had been in bed when he felt the pull of the bond. The sharp stab of pain and distress made him want to fly out and find her. But rational thought told him she was with Potter. The pain was probably a result of something…intimate. The professor threw an arm over his face, willing the jealousy down behind his occlumency shields.

He had been doing so well recently with keeping his mind off feelings for her that went beyond that of a teacher and a student. Severus had instead flung himself into planning with Dumbledore and acting, by all intents and purposes, as a war advisor. They had established Lucius's role as the new spy for the order which worked well considering the Malfoy had risen to great favor of the Dark Lord following his public renouncing and disowning of his wife and son. Without Severus there as the evil wizard's right hand, Lucius was primed to take his place and did so quickly. How the rest of the Order would take it, he could only guess.

When he wasn't in the Headmaster's office, or the classroom, he was in his quarters pouring over the books that Narcissa and Draco had found containing the original ritual. The two could often be found in his living room, perusing through books and bouncing ideas off each other. Narcissa had not put to bed the idea of maintaining the bond. She still looked for the opportunities in which she could implore Severus to keep the bond now that he was no doubt a personal target of the Dark Lord. She had been vehement about it all recently.

Earlier That Week

"Without any more details we won't be able to move any closer to a solution." Narcissa huffed in frustration, pushing the papers away from her and shutting the book she had been looking through.

"Mum's right, Uncle," Draco slouched on the couch, also shutting an ancient tome that issued a puff of dust. "There's hundreds of variations to the ritual that would result in most of the current effects."

"We do not have the option of more details," Severus replied gruffly as he flipped angrily through a Norse book on bonding that he had been translating.

"Can't you just use legilimency on her? You said it is likely that the memories are suppressed rather than lost, right? So just go in there and pull them out." The young Malfoy stood and draped his arms around his mother's shoulders as she sat across from Severus at the small side table.

"Even if I wanted to go that route, I doubt Miss Granger would be as willing to allow me into her head. It would also be a more complicated endeavor than simply 'pulling them out' as I am not trying to damage the girl's psyche," Severus sighed, looking at his godson.

"She let you in before. Plus the bond must be annoying as it is with Potter and her stuck like glue. I've tried to convince her to come down for our daily tea with you after classes but he's been dragging her off." Draco looked thoughtful, "Can you feel when they are together? I haven't seen them do anything in public but Potter's already insinuated that they've kissed and from what Weaselby's said he hasn't been sleeping in the boys' dormitory."

Severus closed his eyes and focused on not allowing despair to come over him. "I know when the bond is…threatened but my mastery at occlumency keeps it from causing me any harm. I am not sure how…far… she can push the bond before it retaliates against her."

"So what are you going to do to win her back? Should I lure her to the Room of Requirement? Or are you going to give her detentions? You could always fall back to Occlumency lessons and make her spend time with you." Draco flopped back down on the sofa, acting as if he were asking normal questions and not about how his godfather would try to seduce one of his classmates.

"Draco, go back to Slytherin house, it's getting late." Narcissa commanded calmly. The young blond started to complain but the look on his mother's face was all the encouragement he needed.

With his school bag on his shoulder and a nod Draco left the two adults alone. Silence reigned as Narcissa kept her gaze on Severus, who did his best to avoid eye contact.

"It's starting to become painful, isn't it?" Her tone told him she already knew the answer.

"It's nothing more than I can handle," Severus sat up straight, employing his intimidating professor stance.

"Severus, for one who hates idiots so much, you are acting like one," Narcissa snapped her fingers and a house elf arrived and took away the remains of the tea service they had partook earlier in the evening.

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a migraine coming on. "What would you have me do Narcissa? Hmm?"

"Quit this infernal attempt to break the bond and instead fulfill its needs. From what we have discovered it should make your magic more powerful, yes the cost is high should you meet mortal danger, but the benefits until then are too good to ignore. We are at war, Severus. You are as high on his kill list as Harry Potter. Next to you is my husband." Narcissa was fierce and eloquent before him, "You have been given a boon. A man who can walk into a battle knowing he will survive it is a man who will be able to do all he can to make sure those around him survive. Can't you see? Can't you accept the gift she has given you?"

"Gift? Yes, but a parting gift. She did not intend to be used as a revival point," Severus stood and began to pace, "She has sacrificed enough and yet is willing to give more. You would have me bleed her dry?"

"She would bleed herself dry! You must reconnect with her. If she continues on with Potter and they consummate an innate physical bond, you will suffer." He scoffed, but the formidable woman ranted on, "They already have a bond in place, throw in their love for each other and a night for them to join and they may yet create a soul bond so deep that it will threaten your own."

"Then that will be the solution. Potter and Miss Granger can bond completely, defeat the Dark Lord, and live happily ever after with dark curly haired know-it-all babies and I can finally rest in peace as the bond kills me in retaliation." Severus bit down on his cheek to stop the grimace that threatened to erupt at the quant picture he had painted. A wave of thrumming soreness came over him, the bond was not pleased. "Well one can only hope considering we have no real idea the parameters of this damned ritual."

"How badly did it hurt you to say that?" Narcissa's eyes held deep sympathy. The Potions Master clenched and unclenched his fists, eyes to the ground. "Severus, do you really believe she held no regard for you prior to the ritual? There is something there. A bond born of a ritual this old would not hold without the willingness of the caster."

"Whatever regard she had for me would have amounted to nothing in the end. She is my student and will remain my student. I will not force her to remember the pain she has suffered to save her horrid Potions Professor just to fulfill my wish to have her at my side." Severus ran a hand through his hair roughly. "She has already done me a service by removing the curses I have lived with, I will not take more from her, not on the whims of an old man."

"Severus, you are not old. Especially not with how you look now. I'm sure even Lucius would admit that. But what other suffering are you keeping from her? I'm sure Potter will tell her about her parents. The bond alone is not so great an inconvenience to call it suffering." Narcissa stood and met his gaze.

"You don't know what a bond like this feels like. It may not be the pain we have become so acquainted with thanks to the Dark Lord but it is still suffering. And that is not the end of it for the girl. As great and as selfless, Miss Granger is, in equal measure the Headmaster is great and ruthless." Severus's voice was low and tinged with loathing.

"He did something to her?"

"No, he suggested she do something. But a suggestion from Albus Dumbledore isn't a choice considering the ease at which he can exert his will upon another person." Severus shook his head, "Leave it be, Narcissa. When she realizes the depth at which she has been manipulated and what her choices have added to this war, good or bad, the guilt will be enough to bear on its own. Hermione Granger is a clever witch. But no amount of smarts can protect you from your own self-hatred. I would know. So we will leave her be, and the bond will remain my burden to bear."

He had been confident that he would bear the bond. But even he could not deny how painful it could get, especially at night when he knew they were together and the bond would keep him up. It would nag at him, push him to find her and claim her. To mark the young woman as his and protect her from her friend. It had pervaded his dreams with imaginings of sweeping into her dormitory, taking her into his arms and back into his own bed.

That would be the way of it tonight, he suspected. The bond had ached horribly for a moment and then quieted to something like a low buzz that soon became a hum. That hum cocooned him into a fitful sleep and a heated dream.

Hermione stood in a field, basking in the dancing shade of the willow. Arms wrapped around her middle and she felt a warm body come up behind her. She sank into the embrace, closing her eyes to catch a familiar scent. Immediately comfort suffused her being.

She looked at the arms around her waist and ran her fingers across the strong forearms. Familiar hands held her to the body behind her. Hermione considered speaking but decided not to. It was too peaceful of a moment to break. She looked out across the field and marveled at the beautiful day and the bright sun.

The feel of warm soft lips against the side of her neck jolted her from her appreciation of the world around them. Hermione gasped at the sensation, instinctively tilting her head so that he could have better access. The logical part of her told her to pull away, that this was too public a place. But that warm fiery heat that had become so familiar in the back of being was flaring and guiding her.

The Gryffindor sank back into the strong embrace behind smiling at the brief low chuckle that precluded the feel of his tongue gliding across the sensitive skin of her pulse point. The gasp she released quickly turned into a moan as he pulled her even more firmly against him. Her face grew hot as she felt his hardness against the small or her back. One of his large pale hands splayed across her belly while the other moved upward to cup her breast.

Hermione arched into the touch, heat traveling to her core. Behind her he ground into the curve of her bum as his arousal became even more prominent. All logical thought was replaced with something primal and instinctual as he guided her to the trunk of the tree. His hands took her wrists and braced them on the trunk before gliding down her arms to her shoulders and then her waist.

Hermione realized only then that she was in a thin sundress that did little to separate her from the grinding motion of his hips against her behind. A rough and deep voice whispered near her ear, "Tell me to stop, Hermione."

She pushed her hips back making him groan in response. Her voice surprised her as she gasped out, "Don't stop, please."

The low growl from her lover should have frightened her but that warm fiery heat mixed with something smooth and liquid enveloped her, cradling her into submission. His deft hands glided down her thighs and pulled the hem of the dress up to her waist. A cool breeze danced across her lower half. He kept one hand firmly on her waist as the other glided up between her shoulder blades and pushed gently, "Bend over."

The gravelly command was followed by the sound of clothes rustling. Hermione gripped the tree, her eyes shut tight at the slow glide of his tip followed by a firm, delicious stretch between her legs. His breath came out in controlled huffs which only spurred the young woman to thrust backwards pulling a moan from the two of them. Taking her lead he began slow, deep thrusts. Their arousal was so apparent and that she could hear their wet joining over the rustle of the leaves overhead.

The feel of his hand slipping forward to tease her clit while he pressed his back close against hers made her throw her head back with ecstasy. His hips surged with controlled thrusts, guiding her into a more upright position. She opened her eyes and found that he had entwined one of his hands against her own on the trunk of the tree. The act tugged on her heart and there was a surge of emotions in her chest.

Hermione reached her free hand back to hold his neck, burying her hand in long thick hair. She was whispering pleas she didn't know what for. The pleasure was overwhelming and all consuming. She cried out, "I'm so close!"

At her words the familiar voice chuckled in her ear, "Take it, Hermione."

He bit down on the juncture between her neck and shoulder while driving into her deeply. His deft fingers rolled her clit and sent her to the precipice. Hermione needed one more thing, just one thing and she would finish. She wanted him to kiss her, muffle her screams as he brought her to orgasm on his cock.

When Hermione turned her head and met the eyes of Severus Snape, moments before he captured her lips in a searing kiss, it was too late. She screamed into his lips as her walls spasmed with each of his thrusts. Her knees buckled with the force of his final thrusts. The feel of his seed filling her was scorching. When her mind caught up with her she pushed the man away and screamed.

Hermione woke up with a scream that made Harry jump up and scramble for his wand. With a flick of his wand the sconces in her bedroom lit and he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Seeing that they were safe, Harry climbed back into her bed and pulled her into his arms.

"It was just a bad dream," He shushed her before touching his hand to her cheek, "You look flushed? Are you feeling okay?"

Hermione's eyes grew wide and she just nodded before burying herself back into the sheets with her back turned to him. Harry stared at her for a moment. Upon casting a tempus charm he learned it was still only 4 in the morning. Harry kissed Hermione's clothed shoulder then settled back to sleep.