I want to thank all of you for your patience. It has been quite a summer culminating with my husband graduating with his PhD (yea! Four years … we're all glad it's over.)

I also want to thank my beta Brownesugar for her keen eye and ability to round out my rough edges.

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Hermione reached her bedroom and looked around. Yes, it was quite unchanged, just a few pictures of her friends and family and a bear that Ron had given her during their brief sojourn into dating. She'd kept Teddy mainly because it was cute, about the size of a toddler with brown, soft, plush fur and a white tummy. In addition, the bear greeted her when she came into the room with an animated smile. The charm's effect was limited to only a couple responses and wasn't scary at all, but actually quite comforting.

"Hello Hermione," Teddy said smiling. "I've missed you."

"And I missed you, Teddy."

"Thank you," he responded.

"See, we all missed you," Ginny said brightly, knowing her friend's mind was elsewhere.

Just then, a faint scream came from above them.

"That's it. I'm going," Hermione said turning.

"No, Hermione, just leave it to them," Ginny pleaded, trying to grab her arm.

Hermione felt the touch and whipped around. "Ginny, I know you don't understand, but Snape saved me from death and worse. I can't just let this happen." Hermione dashed out and away from Ginny, running towards the stairs.

"Goodbye Hermione," Teddy said, his voice slightly falling.

The anxious Gryffindor took the stairs two at a time. Reaching the top, she followed the noise until she found the door and pounded loudly. Mr. Weasley answered, "I thought I told you boys … Oh Hermione, it's you. Oh, it's good to see you, but this isn't really the-"

"Excuse me, Mr. Weasley." Hermione took advantage of his shock and pushed her way through the door. Every eye in the room turned to look at her, save Snape's. His head was lolling, eyes closed. She had only once seen him look worse, and in her mind, it was a tie. She could smell sweat and urine. His face was swollen and his nose bloody. In the seconds it took for her to assess the situation, rage, as she had never felt it, welled up within her.

"GET OUT!"

"Listen Missy-" Mad Eye started.

"GET OUT OF THIS ROOM, ALL OF YOU!"

"Now Hermione," Lupin and Mr. Weasley said almost in unison, moving simultaneously toward her.

She parried fast, her wand out.

They all stood there in surprise, except for Moody who called "Expelliarmus."

Hermione glared at him unmoving as her wand flew out of her hand, her eyes shifting back and forth like a trapped animal. The company kept their distance.

"Why are you torturing him, you sadist?" she spat at Moody. "He came here of his own free will."

"Exactly, young lady. Why? … Why now?" Alastor Moody said in a professorial voice.

"He saved my life." Her teeth clenched, connecting the words for emphasis.

"Why?" Moody whispered with suspicion.

"Because he's on our side." Hermione's conviction was evident.

"It may seem that way to you young lady, but maybe it was all a game," Moody condescended.

"It's not." Hermione pushed his words away from her.

"I am sure he has used a Confundus Charm on you, and who knows what else," Moody replied snidely, looking her up and down.

"Moody," Lupin chastened.

"Sex can influence and convince," Moody said in clipped tones while his magical eye swirled around Hermione searching for the truth.

"For your information, I am still a virgin, you filthy-"

"Bah," Moody said under his breath turning.

"Is she under Imperio?" Tonks whispered to Lupin

Lupin waved his wand, "Finite Incantatem."

Hermione looked at the couple, irritated at their ridiculous whisperings, and then she looked back to Moody, a sarcastic gleam in her eye. "Give me Veritaserum. I am sure you have some on you."

Moody slightly surprised, then pleased, limped over to her and put a small amount on her tongue.

Hermione's eyes became slightly doll-like.

Mad-Eye examined her, cleared his voice and began, "While with Severus Snape, did you have sex with him?"

"No."

Arthur nodded in a 'proud papa' kind of way, and then squinted at Moody with irritation.

"How did you come to be with him?"

"He took me instead of letting Voldemort give me to Malfoy."

"Did he make a weapon for Voldemort?"

"Yes."

"Did he show loyalty to our side?"

"We sent the letters from Paris. He protected me from Voldemort and the other Death Eaters; and he taught me Occulmency and Legilimens." There was a gasp of surprise.

"Why do you want us to get out?"

"So I can take care of him."

"Are you going to do anything but that?"

"No …yes."

Moody moved forward like a spider that had caught a fly. "What else will you do?"

"I will talk with him."

"About what?"

"Why he has come here but hasn't told you anything."

"Do you know what his plan is?"

"No."

The group came together in consultation. Lupin spoke first. "I think we should let her do it her way; we're obviously not getting anywhere."

"I agree with Remus. Moody, they obviously have some type of trust between them." Tonks concurred.

"Yes," Moody pointed his finger at Tonks, "but what kind?"

Arthur broke in irritated; "She nursed him back to health!" Hermione overheard this and thought, 'Truer words were never spoken.'

"Yes, but how?" Moody spoke under his breath absently, considering his options.

"Alastor," Lupin interjected, "she's brilliant, and her cure has already saved Shacklebolt."

That thought brought Moody's silence, which the others took as assent. They moved to leave.

"May I have my wand please?" Hermione said indignantly.

Moody looked cautious, but handed it to her sharply. She snatched it away.

When they were all out, the witch closed the door and applied several wards. She knew they could easily disarm them, but this way there would be a few seconds warning. She also put a general silencing spell on the room, layering it with a Muffliato. Then Hermione turned went over to Snape, knelt down and whispered "Finite Incantatem"; his limbs fell free. She put her hand on his shoulder trying to see his face,"Can you hear me?"

"Of course, you silly woman." Hermione breathed a sigh of relief; he was still able to snark.

"Moody can still see in," he rasped.

Hermione looked around nervously, she hadn't thought of that.

"Opacus." He coughed out.

Hermione mumbled the word on her lips then turned and waved her wand, "Opacus!" Then suddenly she heard a loud kick to the door from outside and figured that meant it worked. She turned back silently amazed at the ingenuity of the wizard before her.

"What are you doing here?" Severus tried to hold his head up to make eye contact but couldn't quite do it.

"I could ask you the same thing." She said with a smile.

"I don't feel like talking about it at this moment due to my own stench."

She tilted her head up into his view and gave a half smile, "Yes, you do stink."

He gave a small snort, which turned into a coughing fit.

"Shh…" She stood and rubbed his back until the spasm eased.

Hermione looked around the room. There was a bathroom. She walked over and stuck her head in; it was only a sink and loo.

There was a wing back chair in the corner on the door wall; Hermione transformed it into a Swedish teak tub. "Aguamenti" she said pointing her wand and filling it. Hermione followed the spell with another that heated the water and was self-renewing.

She turned back to Severus. "Any last wishes? It's Mobilicorpus time."

"I assure you, Madame, that I can make it on my own."

"I assure you, sir, you are an ass. Mobilicorpus."

Snape lifted off the chair in a sitting position, and Hermione levitated him to above the tub. "Divesto," she called. Then, pointing her wand, she said a Scourgify to his body and an Evanesco to his clothes, which seemed beyond salvaging.

"You are always getting me naked," he said, barely audibly.

She squinted and lowered him with an unceremonious plop, sending water up over the sides. "If there is something I haven't seen before I'll hex it!"

"Wench." Snape leaned back, wiping the water out of his eyes.

Turning away from the wizard, she rolled her eyes. "I forgot he could be so irritating," she let out an exasperated grunt and looked around. Spotting the pillowcases on the bed, she took them off and transformed them into towels and a sponge. Next, she went into the bathroom and transformed a bar of soap and glass into a bottle of shampoo. She crossed to the tub. The room, dimly lit by candlelight, made her squint, but she could still see clearly his body shaking and his face distorting in pain.

"I don't suppose your things are here, and that you have pain potion and salve." She said nervously searching for her next move.

Snape spoke teeth chattering, "My cloak is somewhere in here. There are extra buttons on the inside lining on both sides."

"So?" she said, distracted and unimpressed. "All cloaks have those."

"Exactly, Miss Know-it-All. Rip them off and bring them here."

Hermione, feeling dense, moved to find the cloak. It was on the opposite side of the bed, half under the skirt. When she pulled it, a large black bag came with it. It was heavy, but nothing was in it. She stuck her hand inside: nothing. She whispered, "Finite Incantatem."

Snape rasped, "… just like the buttons, I've coded it to my voice."

"What's in the bag?" Hermione said now curious.

"I will tell you, but not now." He winced.

"Oh ... Right." She moved over to the tub and held out the buttons in her palm.

"One at a time," he said exhausted. He winced again, sitting up more. Hermione held the first one out. "Finite Incantatem," he said; it was a Bezoar.

The next was a Blood Replenishing potion, then a pain potion, and finally a pot of healing salve.

"You never cease to amaze me," Hermione said, shaking her head.

"Or myself." He weakly smirked as he sunk into the water, significantly weakened.

"Take the pain potion." She pushed it in front of his nose.

She took the soap and gently began washing his face, gliding gently over the bruised swollen areas. "They hit you, didn't they?" Her voice was defensive and sharp.

He winced at the wash, drawing the air between his teeth. "Your two friends jumped me when I walked in the door."

"Idiots," she said under her breath through her teeth.

"My thoughts exactly."

She finished putting the healing cream on his face. "Is this it, then?" She said glancing over his body looking for injuries.

"I think they caught a rib," he said, looking down through the water.

She nodded, "We'll get that when you get out."

She could tell the pain potion was doing the trick; he was moving with increasing ease. Hermione continued to wash his neck, upper body, and back, soaking quite a bit of her cotton blouse in the process.

Snape couldn't believe she was there, couldn't believe she was touching him. He closed his eyes, not caring if he was delusional.

"Foot," she said authoritatively. Snape's right foot came up. Hermione scrubbed it up to his mid thigh and put it back in the water. She repeated the process on the other side.

Then she got up, handed him the soap and sponge.

Hermione looked around the room, found a vase, and molded it into a large, easier to use glass; then spelled it to continually fill with fresh warm water.

She walked back. "Lean over the left side."

Snape obeyed.

She slowly poured the warm water over his head, racking her fingers through his hair to make sure all the strands were soaked. Severus audibly sighed, to which Hermione smiled. Next, she took the shampoo and swirled it onto his crown, moving her fingers and creating lather. She shifted uncomfortably on her knees then stood, bending over him. Standing wasn't comfortable either, so she took her wand out and tapped the tub, creating a black padded lip around the outer edge. She saw a bed stool out of the corner of her eye and moved it over; waving her wand, Hermione flattened it and filled it with padding. She knelt and sighed, 'Much better.'

"Move over to this side more. My back was hurting." Severus moved closer to where she was kneeling.

Hermione continued to wash his hair. Quite caught up in the process, she became almost childlike as she molded his hair with her hands; finally deciding on a slicked backed look that she thought said 'Italian Mafia.'

"Having fun, are you?" Snape said with a smirk in his voice.

"Quite."

In spite of her confident reply, he made her feel self-conscious, so she began to rinse. Severus kept his eyes closed, but as she began to rinse the back of his head, she pulled him forward. He opened his eyes to get his bearings only to find himself level with the opening of her blouse, where several buttons were undone.

He leaned in slightly; he could smell her. Her scent was different without her milk, but yet the same: sweet and clean. He leaned until his nose touched the base of her neck. He heard her breath catch, while her hands gradually seemed to slow.

Surprised and emboldened, he let his nose travel upward, and his lips faintly touch her skin. Again her breath caught, and then he felt her body relax into his. This movement drove Snape's nose and mouth up and under her hair until his lips were pressed to her ear. "I've missed you," he whispered.

With those few words, the glass slipped from her fingers into the water and Hermione's hands came to rest limply on his shoulders. She nestled into his movement, giving his lips more access. He began slowly, placing kisses on her neck and making his way down to the shadow of her breasts. Careful not to scare her, his hand drifted down, undoing one of her buttons. He held his breath, waiting for a rebuff, but none came. So he undid another, then another, pausing between each one, waiting. Carefully he took both sides of her blouse into his fingertips, and watched as drops from his wet hands fell onto her skin, he looked up worried, but her eyes were closed and her breathing shallow. He relaxed dropping his gaze, and began to gently peel away the cloth.

He smiled at her white bra, pure and simple just like her; he reached out his hand and touched her skin just above the seam, she gasped, and arched forward. He quickly brought his arm around her back while dipping his head and continuing with his previous ministrations, placing lingering kisses just above her heart.

Snape gently darted his tongue down into her cleavage, closing his eyes and making his way to her right breast, placing swirling kisses on the swollen flesh. As his mouth moved closer to the cloth, he pulled her cup down with his hand, releasing her nipple. She gasped and began to breathe heavily, turning to present her pert breast. He danced around the nipple with his tongue. She was rocking now, trying to push him toward the hard peak. "Please," she whispered. He broke and took her completely into his mouth, sucking down hard and long. She cried out, holding his head there. Grabbing her ribs, he moved against her, knowing he was going to have to come out of the tub or she was going to have to come in. He needed more; he wanted more. He released the front clasp of her bra, and she groaned softly with pleasure, arching into him and pulling him closer with her hands. Pressed up against her, he let his hands, mouth and tongue reacquaint him with what was his; she WAS his, Snape thought defiantly, and he would never let her go. He pushed back on his heels and peeled all the cloth away to look at her fully. Then he froze.

Hermione made a child-like whine and pushed herself forward, but there was no give to his hold. Confused and missing the warmth of his body, she opened her eyes and looked at him. He was staring at her breasts and faintly touching the marks. His gaze rose to hers, baffled. "You didn't use the cream," he whispered. Suddenly, in her mind, Hermione saw the pot of salve crashing against the infirmary wall. Her anger at him resurfaced in a flash, and the spell between them was broken.

She pulled back and closed her shirt; "I didn't want to erase those weeks of my life like you obviously did."

Hermione pushed her self up and handed him the towel.

Severus quickly stepped out of the tub drying himself. "Hermione, I…I gave it to you because I thought you could go on with your life and forget it ever happened."

She stared at the wall, her back to him. "I CAN'T forget," she said with whispered vehemence. "I DON'T WANT to forget."

She walked over to the side table, took the doily, and made him underwear. She thought this ironic, considering the 'dishtowel underwear' he had once made for her. She turned, "Here…" The words died on her lips.

Severus was standing just behind her naked and erect. Hermione had never seen him like this; she couldn't take her eyes off his body. As she examined him, he stood defiantly squarer. Anger forgotten, she touched his chest, her eyes dropping down between them. "Not one part of me has forgotten," he whispered, lowering his forehead to hers. Her hand drifted lower over his flat stomach, lingering. Love coupled with curiosity pooled in her stomach. Her hand moved down through his curls until the backs of her fingers drifted over his velvet length. They both let out a simultaneous sigh.

"What's going on in there?" Moody's voice was irritated and loud as was his knocking.

They both jolted, and sprung apart.

Hermione shook herself. Avoiding Snape's eyes and lowering the silencing charms, she handed Severus his underwear, which he took robotically.

"You left quite a mess, Mr. Moody; we'll be done in a moment." She looked at the clock and breathed a sigh of relief. It had only been a little over 30 minutes.

"I'll bet," came a sarcastic voice from the other side of the door.

Hermione replaced the silencing charms, becoming very business-like. She took the two remaining pillowcases and made them into a shirt and trousers. Next, she did an Scourgify on Snape's boots. Severus was moving now, putting on his emotional armor as he put on his clothes.

"You need to talk to them and tell them about your plan," she said, sweeping away the water and returning the tub to its chair state with a flick of her wand.

Hermione was moving rapidly to bring the room to its original state. She re-dressed herself, did a drying spell, and put her hair into a tight pony tale. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Snape place healing salve under his shirt over his rib area.

Taking a quick look around, the witch took down the wards one by one and opened the door. Moody and the others filed in. Facing the room again, she noticed Snape in his full robes. He had gotten his cloak; all four buttons were back and the black bag was on the bed. He raised an eyebrow at her that no one else caught. The Potion Master was back.

Moody surveyed Snape and the room. He thought Snape almost looked better than when he'd arrived, and he mentally dismissed many, but not all, of his other suspicions; the girl was quite a healer.

"So now that I've let her outwardly humanize you, are you going to talk? The girl says you have a plan."

Snape stood stock-still for a moment, making slow eye contact with each one in the room. They all shifted uncomfortably, even Moody swayed an inch. Snape then grabbed his black bag, whispered the spell away, and dramatically dumped the contents on the floor. "THIS," he swept his hand over the contents, "is my plan."

There was not a breath in the room.