AN: Thank you for all the support! It is very deeply appreciated!
Severus stared at the place Hermione had stood.
Hermione was Helen.
Hermione had a "Mudblood" scar on her arm.
Hermione was gone.
Severus' muscles tightened as he made a fist. Somehow, he needed to make her see that she was the woman he loved. All he needed was to remember her address.
He had been to her house once. Against his will, he'd helped Hermione move. By helping her move, he meant that he had said 'hi,' made a few scathing remarks, got glared at by Ginevra, and went to pick up a supreme pizza fromPizza Castle.
The address flashed into his mind as the image of her house became clearer. Now all he needed to do was envision it and allow his magic to do the rest.
Hoping for the best, he apparated to her house, ignoring the raindrop falling on his shoulder.
If Hermione's sobs from the window didn't indicate he was at her house, the Elvis music from next door did. At least her neighbor wasn't singing along, just letting Elvis' voice convey the meaning of his depressing, languid speech.
I wonder if you're lonesome tonight. You know someone said that the world's a stage and each of us must play a part. Fate had me playing in love with you as my sweetheart.
"Hermione!" Severus called as he pounded on the door. "Hermione, it's me!"
Only a sob greeted him.
Another raindrop fell on his shoulder.
"Hermione! Please come out and speak to me!"
Act one was where we met. I loved you at first glance. You read your lines so cleverly and never missed a cue.
"Hermione, please, please let me in!"
There was now only silence.
Then came act two, you seemed to change, you acted strange. And why I've never known.
"Hermione, please." Tears flooded his eyes, that blasted song not improving his mood in the slightest.
"Hermione, please, let me in!"
Honey, you lied when you said you loved me, And I had no cause to doubt you. But I'd rather go on hearing your lies than to go on living without you.
"Hermione, please let me in."
Thunder resounded throughout the sky.
"Let me in." He called before a weak knock on the door. "Please, I've never begged for anything. If you want me to beg, though, I will. Hermione, please! Please, open the door so we can talk this out!"
Nothing.
The rain poured down, drenching him within seconds.
"I may like getting caught in the rain, but not like this." His pounds barely qualified as knocks as his voice cracked. "Please, just let me in."
The door cracked open. Severus glanced up. Hermione's eyes were red, her cheeks damp from her tears. She looked at him like a girl who'd been caught playing with her mother's clothes, a girl whose darkest secret had just been exposed for the world to see.
"What do you want?" She choked.
"I want to speak with you about everything that's happened."
"What's there to discuss?"
"Plenty."
A bolt of lightning illuminated the sky.
"May I come inside?" His voice was just above a whisper. "Just so we can talk."
Thunder rumbled as the rain came down harder.
"Haven't we said enough to each other?" She asked.
Now the stage is bare and I'm standing there with emptiness all around. And if you won't come back to me then they can bring the curtain down.
"I want to come in because—and I mean no disrespect to the King of Rock and Roll—I hate this song. Nothing would make me happier than not listening to this song."
"You want to come inside to avoid listening to music?"
"I want to talk to you while that song is blaring."
"I can't blame you. I don't care for this song either," Hermione backed away and allowed him to enter.
"Thank you," Severus didn't care if he was dripping wet. They could clean the floor later. Right now, his entire focus was upon Hermione.
She stared at him, still clutching the scar on her arm as if it would hide that horrible word.
"So you are Helen Belle," he began.
"And you are Steven Turpin," she answered.
He furrowed his eyebrows. "How long have you been Helen Belle?"
"Since our first date."
"And you've never dated anyone else as Helen Belle?"
"Don't be a freaking dunderhead, not tonight!" Hermione snapped. "I have only been Helen since the night I met Steven. I haven't been around anyone else, except for you, apparently."
"I see."
"But you." She snarled. "How long have you been running around seducing women as Steven Turpin?"
"You're the only person who has ever met Steven Turpin," he answered.
"No other women know him?"
"No."
"You never dated anyone as Steven Turpin?"
"No."
"Oh." Her anger dissipated.
"Why?" His voice was quiet. "Why would you disguise yourself?"
Her hardened expression returned. "Shouldn't I be asking you that question?"
"Touché."
She tapped her foot, her hardened expression remaining.
He took a deep breath. "I dated you as Steven Turpin because Draco told me I was going on a blind date. I had no idea who it was going to be. All I knew was that I did not want to deal with the scrutiny about my past or all the questions surrounding my involvement in the war. The newspaper articles about Dumbledore's Army did little to help matters. If I had to endure a blind date, I wanted to do it as a man who didn't have a complicated history, someone who could be seen for who he is, not who he was."
She stilled her foot.
"I take it you had the same reasoning."
She nodded.
"All this time." Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. "All this time I've been wanting to hex your boyfriend into oblivion. Yet, it was me the whole time. I thought he was a James Potter wannabe, but he was me all along."
"I thought your girlfriend was like Cindy." She removed her hand from her arm and looked at the letters. "I thought she existed for the purpose of destroying my life. For so long, I wanted to expose her as unworthy of your affections. I didn't realize your girlfriend was just an unscarred version of myself."
"Indeed."
They stood and stared at each other in suffocating silence, each daring the other to speak.
"That scar." He pointed to her arm. "That's why you wear long sleeves, isn't it?"
"Yes," she choked.
He kept his gaze on it.
"It's hideous, isn't it?" She whispered.
"No." He stepped closer to her.
"You don't need to lie to me." She met his gaze with tearful eyes. "I know what this word means to you, how uttering it ruined your life. Looking at the word must make you want to vomit. I imagine you're trying to find a respectful way to leave, one which you don't think will jeopardize our friendship, assuming you want to continue it."
"If you think I'd abandon our friendship over this," hurt seeped through his eyes, "you don't know me at all."
She shook.
He took her right hand in his and raised her arm. For a moment, he glanced at her, waiting for her consent. She said nothing. Once the moment had passed, he kissed every one of the letters.
Her eyes grew as her mouth opened, yet not a word escaped her lips.
"I meant what I said in the restaurant," he replied. "I love you. I have only loved you, I love you now, and I will never love another woman. I will only love you for as long as I exist."
"Do you love that scar?" She whispered. "It's a part of me too."
"I hate that you've received it." He kissed the MUD. "I hate Bellatrix for giving it to you." He kissed the BLO, "But I could never hate you." He kissed the OD.
"You still want me?"
"More than words can express." He kissed one of the O's again.
She sniffed before removing his arm from his hand.
"Hermione," his voice was soft, "when I am emotional, I am prone to saying and doing all the wrong things. This should have become clear in the early days of our friendship. Still, I meant everything I've said these last few months about my feelings towards you. I would be lost without you. I don't want to imagine life without you. I love you."
"I meant everything I've said these last few months too," her voice cracked. "You make every day brighter. I love being across from your shop every day. Sometimes I look out the window, wondering what you're doing, how you're feeling, what you're thinking, and if you yearn to see me the way I yearn to see you. I love your piña coladas and the way I can never quite defeat you at poker. Hell, I don't play games I can't win, but with you I will play any game any night. I love you, and only you. There will never be another man for me. You will forever be the only man I love."
His lips curled upwards.
"Still." She recoiled. "I know your past and what the word 'mudblood' signifies to you. If you don't want to be with me after seeing this scar, I will not hold it against you. If you need to reject me, I will understand."
"I have no right to reject anyone over a scar."
She swallowed.
He took a deep breath before casting a drying spell on himself and taking off his muggle suit coat. Then, he undid the sleeve buttons on his dress shirt sleeve before pulling it up, exposing his dark mark scar.
She stepped closer to him. "I knew Draco's scar hadn't faded, but I'd always hoped yours had."
"It hasn't faded, though it is less noticeable than it was." He shuddered.
She took his arm and cradled it in her hands. Then, she glanced at him, asking for permission for her next move. When he raised no objection to her touch, she kissed the center of the skull. Then, she kissed all along the snake.
"How can you kiss something so grotesque?" Severus' throat constricted. "The Death Eaters stole your adolescence. They forced you to fight in a war you wanted no part of. They gave you your scar. Why would you kiss my dark mark?"
"Because I'm not kissing the dark mark." She kissed the skull again, "I'm kissing you, the man I love." She kissed the snake's head again.
"There are other scars on my body," he warned. "I have more scars than I can remember."
"I have other scars too."
"You do?" He swallowed.
"Yes." She released his arm and looked at the ground. "Dolohov cursed me during my fifth year."
"I remember that," he replied. "I brewed the potions to ease your pain. I had hoped they would prevent any scarring."
"The pain prevention worked anyway." She looked at him. "The scar prevention, not so much."
He hummed.
"That's why I liked being Helen so much," she continued. "I could wear whatever I wanted when I was her. She was confident with no complicated past. No scars were on her body. Me though, well, you know who I am."
"It's why I enjoyed being Steven," Severus answered. "He had an uncomplicated past, someone who would never become involved with Death Eaters. No scars were on his body. You know me, though."
She nodded.
He put a hand on her shoulder. "You know that I like piña coladas and getting caught in the rain, well, unless I'm begging for the woman I love to let me into her house. Then it's a less than pleasant experience."
"Yes, and you have half a brain."
"And I'm not much into health food, but I am into Champagne."
"Oh, we cannot forget that." She cracked a smile.
"I love your smile." He relaxed. "The best part of my day is seeing you smile."
"You have a beautiful smile too." She embraced him.
He enveloped her in his arms. "The only reason I remained with Helen was because she reminded me of you, but she wasn't you. When that became clear, she would never be you; I decided I wanted the real Hermione."
"I want the real Severus too," she answered. "Steven was fine, but he wasn't you. Yes, I appreciate a gentleman taking interest in me, and you can be that. Still, I also want the man from the wrong side of Cokeworth who isn't afraid to defend those he loves in sometimes underhanded ways and who makes me laugh harder than I've ever laughed."
"I've never laughed as much or as hard with anyone as I have with you."
She held him tighter and tilted her head upwards.
Severus bent down, waiting for her cue. Hermione brushed his lips against his, cautious lest he change his mind. Deciding he was in no mood to be tentative, he pressed her against him and deepened the kiss. Her body responded with enthusiasm, giving him permission to touch the back of her dress. Once his fingers went to her zipper, he tugged upon it but did not release it.
She broke away, took a deep breath, and pointed to her right. "The bedroom is just down the hallway."
"Okay," he breathed.
She took his hand and led her to the bedroom. Still, she didn't close the door behind him. Instead, she kept her eyes on him as she took off his dress.
With some trepidation, Severus began removing his clothes. Once they were free of their clothing, they gazed at each other.
"You're beautiful," he purred.
"You're beautiful too." She placed her finger on his chest and traced a scar that somewhat resembled the one on her own chest.
"I love you." He kissed her forehead. "There will never be another woman as perfect for me as you are." He kissed her cheek. "I love you, and only you. I will love you and only you for the rest of my existence."
"I love you too." She kissed one scar on his chest. "There will never be another man as perfect for me as you are." She kissed his shoulder. "I will never love any other man but you. You are the only one for me."
"Scars and all?"
"Scars and all."
Severus came undone at that moment. He captured her lips and carried her to the bed. Her moans enticed him to continue kissing her neck and scars. Soon, she was doing the same to him. He placed her upon the bed, both taking a moment to savor the sensation of holding her in his arms. For the first time, they had everything they ever wanted, needed, and loved.
Then, the two of them gave each other everything: their hearts, souls, bodies, and their love, scars and all.