The sound of rain heavily pounding on the pavement silenced the faint pop of the young woman, who Apparated in the middle of the road. With a shiver she pulled her hood over her head and hurried from the street next to the musky smelling, polluted river. Hunched over, she quickly made her way towards the cobblestone sidewalk, which lined the row of houses in the dilapidated neighborhood.

It was nearing midnight, and she knew it was very late to be calling at his house - he would be displeased for sure, but she couldn't wait another moment. She had to get this over with once and for all.

A strong gust of wind blew her frizzy brown hair all across her face. She paused for a minute to pry the damp strands away, then looked up at the place she had hastily decided to visit that evening. Suddenly she felt it may had been foolish for her to be there and almost turned away, until she saw his silhouette in the upstairs window. Her heart skipped a beat seeing his shadowy figure, which was slowly undressing - for bed, she supposed.

The strangest sensation formed in the pit of her stomach as she watched him remove his robes and pull down his trousers. She felt a yearning that had become quite familiar to her as of late, while in his presence.

With a wave of her wand, she place an Impervius Charm on herself, then dried her robes. She knew it was wrong to watch him from the street, but she was still working up the courage to tell him how she felt.

When the light to his room went out, she almost lost her nerve. Almost. She had waited for far too long and had been working up the courage all evening to do this. She wasn't waiting another moment.

With her shoulders squared she marched to his house, up three stairs, took a deep breath, then knocked.

Her heart pounded loudly in her ears as she waited, what must had only been about a minute, yet it felt like an hour to her, before the door opened. Stood before her was the man she had fallen for, dressed in nothing but black striped pajama bottoms and a white cotton t-shirt. Briefly she let her eyes travel his body, surprised by the lean muscles he normally had hidden beneath billowing black robes, before landing on his face. A look of shock flashed briefly in his dark eyes before they narrowed considerable.

"Miss Granger," he said, with just a small amount of surprise mixed in his silky voice. "What is the meaning of this; calling at this hour?"

His piercing glare caused her to temporarily lose her ability to speak. She swallowed loudly, as he waited for her to answer, then let herself in his house uninvited.

"Please, come in, why don't you," she heard him mutter angrily under his breath.

After carefully taking her hood down, and hearing the low thud of the door closing, she kept her back to him. Yet she could feel his eyes burning into her.

"Severus," she breathed out, still not facing him. Her heart hammered in her chest.