Chapter Twenty

The red-headed twin

In the previous chapter:

They fell asleep much later, exhausted but happy and satisfied. Little did they know that Hermione's first orgasm had woken the tiny, fractured pieces of her magical core; by her third orgasm, they were practically buzzing. As she came down from the high of her fifth orgasm, two pieces had even come together, latching on to each other without letting go.

Without knowing it, Hermione was healing. As she slept, she dreamed of magic and love. Nothing concrete – nothing she would remember when morning came – but when she woke in the morning, another three pieces of her magical core would have latched on to each other.

Severus had a fretful sleep; he could hear someone or something calling out to him, but he couldn't tell where it was coming from. It wanted him desperately and he could feel something in his body reacting to it, wanting to find and answer the mysterious pull.

Deep inside them, something was stirring. Something that had been kept dormant during all of the years they had known each other, but was now beginning to awaken the closer they became.

Their souls were stirring. And they were desperate to find each other.

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Severus jolted awake in the morning, alarmed by the presence he felt next to him. The sight of the jumbled mess that was Hermione's hair instantly calmed him and he took a moment to simply revel in the feel of her lithe form pressed against him. She was still out cold, breathing heavily. After the night she'd had he had a feeling she could sleep well into the day if left undisturbed.

"Tempus," he muttered under his breath and let out a quiet curse as the time flashed in the air in front of him.

He would have to skip breakfast. Not that he was much of a eater in the mornings, but he he did enjoy his breakfast tea a little more than the other cups he drank through out the day. Perhaps he could see if Dobby would be willing to deliver a cup to the classroom...

As stealthily as possible he managed to disentangle himself from Hermione without waking her. Putting on his trousers and signature black robes, he muttered a few words and watched in the mirror as his many buttons began buttoning themselves. With a quick flick of his wand he had summoned parchment, a quill and ink and he hastily scribbled a note to the sleeping woman currently lying his bed. The thought made the quill pause.

There was a beautiful, sleeping woman in his bed.

Lifting his head, his watched Hermione sleep for a minute, her face obscured by her wild hair. He put the quill down and walked over to the bedside. Reaching out, he gently stroke her hair out of her face and behind her ear; his usually scowling expression was nowhere in sight. A small, soft smile graced his features as he now could see her face.

He was, as always, stunned by her beauty.

Pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, he quickly finished the note and then strode off to his classroom.

"Dobby," he called gently and with a "pop" the elf appeared in front of him.

"You called Dobby, sir?"

"Would you be willing to have a cup of tea delivered to my classroom at your earliest convenience?" Severus said, not slowing his pace but making sure to keep his tone polite.

Dobby's eyes became as wide as saucers. Yesterday he was allowed to bring the Professor of Potions food for him and Miss Hermione; today he got to bring tea in to one of his classrooms – what an honor!

"Of course, sir! My pleasure, sir!"

Severus managed not to roll his eyes. The Hogwarts house elves were usually happy to oblige, but there was something different in the way Dobby went about his work; almost as if Severus was doing Dobby a great service and not the other way around.

As he sipped his tea his mind drifted to the night; and what a night it had been! He had never, ever, gotten so much pleasure out of satisfying a woman before; just thinking about it now made him harden uncomfortably. Hermione had responded to him in a way no other witch ever had and the memories of her moans and cries of pleasure were overwhelming. He couldn't even fathom what lie ahead for them as they took things further.

As the students came pouring in, he stayed seated as he willed his mind to more appropriate thoughts. His mouth twitched in an almost smile when his trousers weren't quite as tight anymore; he could almost see Hermione blush, letting out a horrified gasp – sitting in the potions classroom with an erection; what scandalous behavior from a Hogwarts teacher!

Finally, as all the students were seated, he took the last of his tea in one large gulp and then he stood, crossing his arms over his chest in his normal way.

"Today we will..."

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Several hours later, Hermione woke to the sound of a repeated tapping noise. She stirred and blinked in surprise, the sunlit room catching her off guard. Two things became quickly apparent; one, Severus was not in bed with her and two, the way her stomach grumbled made her realize that it must be closer to lunchtime than breakfast. She raised herself and the sight that met her made her bark out a laugh.

Severus had left her a balloon formed as a big sign saying "read me". Attached to the sign was an envelope. Scrambling out of bed, she quickly tore the letter open.

Good morning, my dear,

I thought I would allow you this one morning lie in. However exhausted I may be, you must be even more so. I could not find it in my heart – yes, I am beginning to understand that I actually have one – to wake you simply to have you brew potions all day. Enjoy your day in what ever way you choose, and I will come to you as soon as my lessons wrap up.

The Order meets tonight at seven o'clock. Arthur has informed us that Molly is not aware of the meeting, nor will he tell her. Miss Weasley will stay home with her in order to keep up appearances while he himself will be "working late". So you need not worry about her being there tonight.

You are amazing and beautiful. Never forget that.

Love, S

Her heart melted; this sweet side of Severus Snape was one she would never tire of. Like a sappy school girl with a crush, she pressed the letter to her heart and smiled. It took a moment for her to realize that the tapping noise that had woken her was actually still tapping. Realizing it came from the door, almost as if someone was knocking on it, she hurried to pull her robe on.

She opened the bedroom door and was amazed to see a letter floating in midair simply waiting for her to reach out and grab it. Was this how letters were distributed if the recipient wasn't at breakfast, or was this something new? Shrugging her shoulders, she made a mental note to ask Severus about it later. Without a second thought, she grabbed the letter and turned it over to see if it indeed was for her or if it was for Severus.

Hermione stared at the heavyweight parchment. It simply said "Hermione Granger, Hogwarts" but in the left, upper corner was the unmistakable emblem for Weasley Wizard Wheezes. Was this letter from Ron, trying a new way of contacting her, or was it actually from George?

Oh, how she wished she could cast a spell to check it for jinxes and hexes, but she didn't dare try it. She really didn't want to disturb Severus for something so trivial, so she gently called out for Dobby. He appeared a second later with his expectantly eager expression, his hands pressed together in front of him.

"Good morning, Dobby," she said pleasantly, a gentle smile on her face. "How are you today?"

Any other house elf would have been too shocked to even begin to form a reply, but Dobby's eyes lit up with pleasure and he dipped forward in an extravagant bow.

"Wonderful as always, Miss Hermione. How may Dobby serve you?"

Hermione cringed at his choice of words, but quickly schooled her features so he wouldn't get offended. (If it was even possible to offend an elf like Dobby.)

"I don't know if you've heard, but I am having some problems with my magic," she started and his ears dropped a little.

"Dobby has heard, Miss Hermione. Dobby often helps the Headmistress and the Potions Master and Dobby has heard them speaking."

Hermione lifted an eyebrow at that. They had been discussing her problem without her present? She would have to ask Severus about that later.

"Good, then you already know. Now, I have a problem. I need to check this letter for jinxes and curses, but I can't do it myself. Can you help me?"

"Oh, there's no need, Miss Hermione! If the letter was delivered here, it has already passed through special wards to look for those things."

Hermione's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Is that new? That's not how it worked when I was a student here."

"Quite new, Miss Hermione. Dobby thinks the Headmistress commissioned the job to be done by a specialist before Hogwarts opened again after the war."

While she had no reason to believe that Dobby's information could be false, she still felt it better to be safe than sorry; she would wait for Severus to verify the elf's words.

"Thank you, Dobby. Could you possibly have breakfast sent here?"

Dobby simply smiled and snapped his fingers. A plate with sandwiches, a pot of tea and large glass of pumpkin juice appeared by the little table in the corner by the fireplace. Another snap and the hearth was ablaze with a warming fire.

"The Potions Master already told Dobby what to do when Miss Hermione woke," he explained before he popped away with another little bow.

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As the morning progressed, Severus grew restless. He had never felt anything like it before, an actual physical evidence of his current unease; he couldn't for the life of him figure out why it felt as if his skin was tingling. What made it more perplexing was that the more he thought of Hermione, the less his skin tingled. It was when he became engrossed in his lesson that the sensation intensified.

By lunchtime, he could no longer stay away from the witch. Hoping she had stayed in his quarters, he strode off to his rooms; the dull ache of hunger was ignored, for another hunger drove him now instead.

He entered his quarters and his senses were immediately assaulted with an overpowering sensation that Hermione was close by. At the same moment the witch in question came out from the bedroom, an almost hopeful look on her face. He was too overjoyed to see her to notice the way she was flexing her fingers over and over again.

"Severus, thank Merlin!" she breathed out and quickly fell into his waiting embrace.

Without wasting time, Severus pressed his lips against hers and the way she moaned into his mouth made him shudder in response. He grasped at her clothes, willing her closer without success as her body was firmly molded against his own. Lifting her up, he swiftly carried her back into the bedroom and threw her down on the bed. She gasped in anticipation, the look in his eyes arousing her beyond words.

"Touch me," she managed to whisper.

She had no idea where her wanton courage came from; all she knew was that she needed him in any way that he was willing. She saw his eyes darken with desire and it was the only warning she got before all of her clothes suddenly vanished. She was far too aroused to get embarrassed by her nakedness, her focus on the man in front of her that was now getting down on his knees in front of her.

It took less than a minute before Hermione exploded, the feeling of his tongue on her sex being just what she had needed. Her breathing was labored and she stared unblinkingly up in the stone ceiling above, a hand thrown over her head. She was at a complete loss for words.

Severus lay down next to her, his own breathing coming out in heavy pants. He was bewildered, having just had one of he most intense moments of his life. With effort he rolled on to his side; Hermione was still completely naked and he watched for a moment as her chest rose and fell with each breath she took. His eyes continued up to her face and he gave her a small smile as he caught her staring at him.

"You are wonderful," she said as her hand gently cupped his cheek.

His smile widened into her hand and he pressed a kiss into her palm.

"You make me wonderful," he murmured in return, watching as she blushed in delight. "You are beautiful."

The sincerity in his tone was undeniable. A moment later he summoned a blanket to cover her with. As he lay back down on his back, he opened his arms to welcome her into his embrace. She scooted closer, her head resting on his shoulder as her arm wrapped over his torso.

A little while later, Hermione could no longer ignore the need to visit the bathroom. She eased out of his embrace, letting out a little giggle as Severus hurried to pull her back down.

"I have to go to the loo, Severus!" she laughed and she batted his hands away.

She leaned over him and gave him a quick kiss before pushing off the bed once more. He sat up, his eyes traveling after her as he watched her naked form and swaying hips make their way to his bathroom. Before ducking inside, she turned her head slightly, winking at him with a small smile playing on her lips. He knew he had been caught staring.

He let out a groan. What a saucy minx she was; surely she was going to be the death of him. As he waited, his eyes caught something out of place on his nightstand. Frowning, he got up and reached for the letter Hermione had gotten earlier. He noticed the emblem at the same time Hermione came back out from the bathroom.

"Oh, I completely forgot! Dobby said it's been checked for jinxes and hexes, but could you double check? I have a feeling it's from George, but one can never be to sure when one's in hiding."

"Quite," Severus murmured in agreement. "I applaud your restraint. Perhaps spending so much time with a Slytherin is making you less of a hotheaded Gryffindor."

Hermione merely rolled her eyes, letting out an annoyed little huff. She watched him mutter under his breath for a few moments before he handed the letter to her.

"It is perfectly safe. In general, you can trust Dobby's word to be true. Minerva had some extensive work done on the mail system before Hogwarts opened again."

Hermione nodded as she tore the letter open. To her delight she found that it indeed was from George.

"He would like to meet me at The Three Broomsticks tonight before the meeting."

"You are not going alone."

Hermione bristled, but found that she couldn't argue with him. She knew the risks and knew that she was completely helpless. But she really wanted to meet up with George! Now how could she persuade him to take her?

"I will escort you, if it pleases you."

Hermione's jaw dropped in shock. She hadn't even asked him yet! Severus let out a rare laugh at the look on her face.

"Oh, Hermione, I told you earlier; I am starting to realize that I actually have a heart. It pleases me to make you happy. Write him and tell him you will meet him at five; that should give you enough time before the meeting."

She wrapped her arms around him in silent thank you. His hands stroke her back gently, making her shiver. He was making her aroused again.

"Do we have time...?" she wondered huskily, letting the question hang in the air as her lips hovered closed to his.

He dove in to her mouth without hesitation. Grabbing her bottom, he lifted her, turned around and tossed her on to the bed.

"For you, my most wonderful witch, I will always have time."

All too soon he had to leave again for his next class. His stomach growled loudly as he left his quarters and he groaned slightly. Stopping, he pinched the bridge of his nose and called for Dobby. The elf looked surprised, but absolutely delighted.

"I am running late; could you perhaps make sure a sandwich is sent to the fifth year potions classroom?"

Dobby's eyes widened once again in disbelief, but was almost hopping with excitement.

"Yes, sir! Dobby will see to it at once!"

As he waited for the elf to bring is sandwich, Severus was once again contemplating the strange tingling sensation he had felt before. It was gone now, but he couldn't quite remember when exactly it had disappeared. All he knew for certain was that as soon as Hermione had come into his embrace, he had been overwhelmed with a feeling of rightness; it had almost felt as if had come home. He had never felt anything like it before.

Dobby popped in with a turkey sandwich and an entire pot of tea. Severus nibbled at his sandwich, despite being hungry. Something was bothering him, but he couldn't figure out what. He couldn't understand why Hermione affected him so much or why simply having her in his arms felt so right. He was proud of his immense knowledge and was discontent to find that not knowing something, not understanding something, threw him off.

Seventeen minutes into his class, the tingling started again. He frowned, flexing his fingers slightly. He would have to talk to Hermione about this.

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"Hermione! Over here!"

Hermione and Severus had walked down to Hogsmeade with little time to spare. They had once again not been able to keep their hands off each other. Hermione had even come dangerously close to touching Severus; only his low warning of "don't start what you don't have time to finish" had made her pause. He was right, of course. There was time for that later.

George had called out to her as soon as she entered the pub, a huge grin on his face. A second later his eyebrows shot up to his hairline as he noticed Snape trailing along behind her.

"Nice to see you, George," she said, biting back a laugh when George couldn't stop staring at Severus. "He's here as my... bodyguard?"

Severus let out a huff of indignation.

"A bodyguard, Miss Granger? What an appalling title. I would prefer chaperon; I lack the muscle power of a bodyguard."

Hermione rolled her eyes with a small smile playing on her lips.

"What you're thinking of is a bodybuilder, Professor. And yes, you do lack that type of muscle power."

Severus smirked before he held out his hand to George.

"Good evening, Mr Weasley. Worry not, I will not be crash your dinner. I am merely here to sit a corner and make sure she's safe."

George shook his head to clear his mind and hurried to shake his old Professor's hand.

"Good evening, Professor. Sorry about my poor reaction and the staring and all; I just wasn't expecting to see you."

"That much was evident," was all he said before he gave them a small bow of his head. "Now, carry on. The Order meeting begins in less than two hours."

And with that he made his way to the bar; if he was forced to watch his witch socialize with another man he needed something to occupy himself with.

George and Hermione took a moment to just look at each other. He was glad to find that she didn't look as fragile tonight as she had the day before. She even looked kind of... happy and content?

"Hi George," Hermione finally said carefully, wondering why she was being put under such scrutiny. "It's really good to see you."

Her words broke him from his pondering. He took a step forward and swooped in to hug her closely to him. Tears formed in Hermione's eyes; what an utter fool she had been to take Ron's words about losing the Weasleys as truth. They broke apart and George's face fell when he noticed the tears.

"Hermione, I'm at a loss for words," George said slowly, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Words can't express how sorry I am and how ashamed I am about what he's done to you."

Hermione gave him a small smile; in his eyes it looked like a brave one.

"It's getting better," was all she said before she batted his hands away. "Come, let's sit. I'm starving and madly craving a glass of Madame Rosmerta's best red wine."

"Say no more, I'll be right back," George said with a grin. "Is pot roast okay, or would you prefer the fish stew? Okay, okay, no need to wrinkle your nose! Pot roast it is!"

While George went to order at the bar, Hermione spent her times sharing secret looks with Severus. Just looking at him now made her shiver. She idly wondered if she had the same effect on him.

"Here you are, my lady," George said as he sat down a high stemmed glass in front of her.

"You're too kind, good sir," she answered and immediately took a slow gulp of the red liquid.

For a moment none of them spoke. Hermione merely sipped her wine as George took a large swig of his firewhiskey.

"Just so you can relax a bit, Hermione, I'm not going to force you in to telling me more in detail about what's happened. Knowing Ginny stayed behind yesterday to talk with you, I went by her before coming here. She wasn't keen on answering my questions, but when I made it clear that it was to spare you from talking about it again, she agreed. I hope that's alright."

Hermione was so surprised that she only stared at him, blinking rapidly, for a few seconds. That was not at all what she had expected him to say.

"Please, don't be mad with Ginny. She thought she was doing you a favor."

Oh, he was taking her silence as evidence that she was upset.

"Oh, I'm not mad! Just surprised. I've been preparing myself all day for your onslaught of questions," she sad with a little laugh.

"Well, I do still have some of those," George said and winked. "I do remember how much you like to answer questions."

At that Hermione let out of genuinely happy laugh. How she had missed the silly banter she'd always had with the twins! She slapped his arm lightly.

"Oh, you!" she exclaimed merrily. "I suppose I deserve that."

George grinned before he quickly sobered up. They really did have some serious things to discuss.

"How come... how come you never said anything? To anyone? We would have helped you."

Hermione's great sigh made him wince slightly. The last thing he wanted was to make her feel exasperated, but he needed to know.

"It's hard to understand, even for me. The Hermione Granger who fought to overthrow Voldemort never would have allowed his abuse; but the war changed everyone, even me. I was tired and sad and... Oh, I don't know. It's not like was throwing punches and hexes at first. He did other things in the beginning, said things and made me feel small, like I didn't matter. After a while, his truth, no matter wrong it might have been, was the only one I believed. And he told me that no one would believe me and I would be left alone in a world where I had no family."

"We are your family!" George burst out, making Hermione jump. "We love you, Hermione!"

And that was all it took for Hermione to burst into tears.

George stared at her in shock. What had he said to cause such a reaction? A moment later, he had Snape at the edge of the table looking ready to hex him into tomorrow.

"What happened?" he growled, his eyes on the witch now shaking with silent tears.

"It's okay, Severus, really!" she hiccuped, wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. "He just said that he loves me!"

What happened next made George seriously wonder if he had actually been hit with some kind of cruse that had sent him to an alternate dimension.

Snape's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. Then he blinked; once, twice. And then Severus Snape let a laugh escape his lips. George froze in shock and stared unblinkingly at his old professor.

"Merlin's beard, witch, you really will be the death of me. Carry on."

Snape returned to his table and his glass and downed the content as he rolled his eyes. George was still frozen. Hermione got up and slid into the booth to sit next to him. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tightly.

"Um. What just happened?" he wondered as his arms circled around her.

"You made me cry because you said you all love me. That means the world to me, George, you have no idea."

"No, that's not what I meant," George said and drew back from her. "Snape, he... did he...?"

Hermione giggled and patted him gently on the back of his hand.

"Yes, you just heard Severus Snape laugh. Don't tell anyone, but he actually has a sense of humor and laughs every now and then."

She looked over at the man in question, sharing yet another secretive smile with him. However, it turned out that it wasn't secret enough.

"You love him."

It was Hermione's turn to freeze. Her smile vanished and she met George's look of awe with a feeling of dread. Shit! Can I save this somehow?

"He has been invaluable to me in my rehabilitation. We have become friends and will admit that I am very fond of him."

"Bollocks, Hermione. I've seen that look before. You're in love with him. And don't bother denying it, you always had a horrible poker face."

"I..."

She had no idea what to say, so she didn't bother saying anything at all. She knew he was correct, she was absolutely horrid when it came to lying.

"Are you going to tell him?"

Hermione's eyes widened. So he was only convinced of her feelings? Good, then things weren't as bad as she had first feared.

"Holy Merlin's balls, he loves you too?"

"Sch!" she hissed, throwing her hands over his mouth. "No!"

He batted her hand away, rolling his eyes.

"Hermione, there's no point. I know there's something going on. So you can either tell me or have me speculating together with Ginny."

Hermione gasped in horror.

"Don't you dare!"

George grinned like the little devil he was.

"Then spill."

Hermione's heart was racing. No one really knew anything about their growing feelings for each other, except Minerva and not even she was really privy to any details. One encouraging thing, however, was that George didn't seem remotely upset by the news. It seemed as if he merely wanted to gossip.

"Fine, just... please keep it to yourself. Not even Harry knows."

"Ha! I knew it!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and briefly told him about their relationship. George was sitting there gawking at her towards the end.

"So there you have it. Damn you for being so perceptive. When did that even happen, by the way?"

George laughed as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Fred and I used to joke about it, calling it my sixth sense."

For now, the rest of George's questions were forgotten. The witch and the wizard shared a meal together with light, happy conversation.

Severus watched, a feeling of relief settling in his stomach. Hermione was slowly getting her life back and those important to her. His heart sank a little, a feeling of self doubt catching hold of him.

He was happy genuinely for her, that she was getting her friends and family back. But would she still want and need him once the dust settled?