AUTHOR'S NOTE: J.K.R. is the sole owner of Harry Potter. No one else.

*You guys asked for an epilogue where they talk. Here you go. :D*

-One year later-

Hermione stared at the glossy rectangle in her hands, the beautiful auburn-haired witch laughing and smiling at the frayed, torn edge that went straight down the middle. Her heart twisted at the myriad of conflicting emotions roiling in her gut. One the one hand, it was nice to see her best friend's mother, happy and well. Alive. On the other, Severus… her Severus… had been hiding this photo in their home the entire time.

How could something so small have such an impact? How could something so small threaten to destroy everything she knew?

She wanted to vomit.

"Hermione?" Severus called from the kitchen. "Do you have any preference for dinner? I was thinking Chinese takeaway but I can't make up mind."

When she didn't answer he tried again.

"Hermione? If you're ignoring me for a book again, I—" He let out a breathy chuckle from the doorway behind her. "Typical swot. I knew it."

Her fingers tightened around the photograph. Deep down, was she what he wished for? Did he secretly still love her, only settling with Hermione because she was gone? The older woman just continued to smile radiantly at her, fiery hair fluttering about her perfect face against the autumn backdrop.

He sighed, "I am utterly convinced that if it wasn't for me, you'd forget to eat. Now would you please pull your nose out of that book and help me decide…"

"Why do you have this?"

Severus came forth to ruffle her curls affectionately, "Why do I have any book? Because I find the subject matter intriguing, you nosy girl. The study of time and space has often been one of my favorites and I've always found Hawking to be—" He reached down for the book and stopped dead when he saw the item in her hand. His words were like knives. "Where did you get that?"

Hermione looked up at him and could physically feel her heart breaking at the cold, icy fury in his eyes, "It fell out of your book. Why do you have it?"

He went to snatch the torn photo from her but she pulled back so he couldn't reach. His dark eyes narrowed dangerously, "Give it to me. Now."

"You told me you didn't love her. You told me it was in the past."

Severus yanked her arm up and wretched the photo from her grasp, "This is none of your business. You shouldn't have been snooping through my things."

Hermione could almost see her world crumbling around her but was helpless to stop it. Her eyes welled with tears as her heart constricted painfully in her chest, "If you love me… then why are you hiding her picture in our house?"

His onyx eyes were hard and flinty as he growled, "She was my friend."

"I don't hide pictures of my friends."

"Hermione…"

"We talked about this. You… you said I had nothing to worry about. You said you had let her go."

"Hermione Granger, I'm warning you…"

She covered her mouth with her hand to stifle the nausea that threatened to make an appearance. Tears splattered onto the open pages of Lily's hiding place, "You lied to me."

He didn't even deny it.

She had to pull herself together. After everything she and her friends had been through in their lives, this should be nothing. She should be able to handle anything after facing down Voldemort, after being tortured by Bellatrix, after being cursed by Dolohov and petrified by the Basilisk. Hermione grabbed the book from the floor and stood, gently drying the tears from its pages with a wave of her hand before closing it and placing it back on the shelf. After a few deep, calming breaths, she turned to him.

"Do you still love her?"

Severus glared at her, a muscle ticking in his jaw from how tightly he was clenching his teeth.

"Well? Do you?"

It sounded as if the words were being forcefully pulled from between his teeth, "What do you want me to say?"

"I just want the truth. All of it, this time."

"I gave you the truth when we discussed this the first time."

"Did you?" Hermione pressed, hurt quickly turning to anger. "Because it sure as hell doesn't seem like it."

"You uppity, impertinent little—"

There was a sharp CRACK! of Apparition from the porch, "HERMIIIIIONEEEEE! I do hope you're ready because after I just spent the last hour talking Harry out of ripped jeans and a stained jumper- in the middle of July, mind you- I am no mood to dress you as well…" Draco came sauntering into the living room only to freeze at the sight of their standoff. "Should I come back later?"

"Yes—"

"No," Severus cut in sharply. "No need. I was just leaving."

"Leaving?" Hermione scoffed furiously. "You mean running away?"

He rounded on her, fire blazing in his eyes, "What exactly are you implying? That I'm afraid of whatever bullshit you're going to accuse me of? Hardly."

She stepped forward, undeterred by the fury nearly rolling off of him in waves, "Is it an accusation if it's true?"

Barely half a snarl made it past his lips when Draco lunged between them, pushing them apart, "Whoa, whoa! What in all the hells is going on? What's gotten into you two?"

"Ask him," she snapped at Draco, tears stinging her eyes again. "Ask him why he's hiding a picture of Harry's mum in our house!"

Draco recoiled and his steel gray eyes were wide as he searched her face. When she couldn't hold back anymore and began to cry, he slowly turned to his godfather, "Uncle Sev… what the fuck? I thought—"

"You thought what?" He hissed, nearly spitting the words. "Tell me Draco, what did you think you knew?"

The younger boy stepped back and slipped his arms around Hermione's shaking shoulders. She buried her face in his chest and Draco's expression hardened, "She told me you two talked about this."

Severus' face was just as stony, "We did."

Her friend scoffed as he rub slow circles on her back, "Apparently not enough though, huh? What the hell did I tell you back then? That if you weren't serious about her, let her fucking go before you hurt her more!"

"Draco, please…" Hermione sniffed. "Don't."

"No," he pulled her in tighter, elegant brow furrowing in anger at the older wizard. "I knew this would happen! I knew you'd do some shit like this to her but I tried, I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt because father did and you just…" Draco shook his head in disbelief. "Everything Hermione has given you and it still isn't enough. You still want what you can't have, even when something better is right in front of you. Did you ever even sell your house or are you still hanging onto it 'just in case'?"

Hermione looked up at Draco in confusion before turning to Severus, "What is he talking about?"

At the shocked look on his face, Draco continued, "Oh yes, I heard you telling my father about that. I heard you telling him how you weren't sure about Hermione so you—"

"ENOUGH!" Severus roared, face nearly purple. "You're taking all of that completely out of context!"

"Everything is exactly the way I feared; you were only using Hermione for the sex! You never had any interest in something serious with her but you weren't going to let her go either. That's why you didn't tell her that you were still in love with Harry's mother but still bought a fucking house with her! Because you are a selfish, possessive bastard that, despite your tendency towards self-deprecation, still has a seriously over-inflated sense of entitlement. You wanted to have a claim on Hermione without her having the same for you. You have no problem taking what Hermione offers but give nothing in return!"

The wizards were nose to nose now- well, as close as they could be with Draco being a few inches shorter than Severus, anyway- chests heaving as they both palmed their wands.

"So let me make sure I have this right," Hermione cut in quietly from behind them. "You never sold your house, even when we bought this one, because you weren't sure about me…"

Severus sighed, "Hermione, no, I—"

"And you are still in love with Harry's mum, but content to settle for me because she's gone. Does that about sum it up?"

"Hermione—"

"You know," she pressed on, "ever since that night we went to the movies, since we had that talk, I felt like something wasn't right. There was always this tiny voice in the back of my mind that told me something was missing, but I was so in love with you that I just ignored it. I went against my better judgement and buried my head in the sand, hoping against hope that I was wrong. But I noticed how you would isolate yourself with your books on Halloween and how you always studiously avoided looking at anyone with dark red hair and how certain perfumes I would try would send you spiraling into anger. It was because all of those things, they had to do with her, right? And you didn't want me to be associated with her in any way."

Severus looked like he wanted to be sick.

"Draco," Hermione's cinnamon gaze flickered to her friend. "Would you mind if I came to stay with you at the Manor for a while?"

The panic had settled on his face, "No, wait, Hermione you don't have to lea—"

The blond boy nodded, eyes soft, "Of course, Hermione. Mother will be delighted to have another woman in the house. Go on ahead, we can send a house elf back for your things."

She nibbled on her bottom lip for a moment as those bottomless onyx eyes caught hers and, with one quick swipe of her sleeve across her cheeks, Hermione turned on her heel and Disapparated.

Draco released his grip on his wand, voice low, "I hope you always remember the way you feel right now, the way you felt looking into the eyes of the woman who gave you everything only for you to fuck it up. I hope you never forget the way you hurt her and the way it felt to see her cry over you. Whatever piece of the past that you're holding onto- I really hope it was worth it. Because I don't intend to let Hermione make the same mistake twice."

His godfather looked down at him and the severity of his transgression was clear, almost painful in his onyx eyes.

"My parents adore her. Harry and I love her. Ginny would kill for her. That woman has plenty of people who would be willing to hex you within an inch of your life if it made that heartbroken look go away. Now, I am only going to tell you this once- stay away from her. If and when you finally get your shit together, then maybe you'll be allowed to speak to her again."

"Allowed?" Severus scoffed. "You think you can keep her locked in the Manor like some prisoner until the term begins? You truly don't know her as well as you think you do, if you really believe she'll let that happen."

Draco stared at his godfather in disbelief, "You really have no idea, do you? You really don't know what you've done."

Suddenly, the older wizard looked unsure, "I… certainly if I apologize to her, if I just explain…"

He shook his head before moving to grab Hermione's bookmarked Arithmancy text, fuzzy red jumper, and favorite blanket from the sofa, "I've been friends with Hermione since we went back to finish our last year at Hogwarts and I can tell you, with a hundred percent certainty- I have never, never seen that look on her face before. If she ever even looks in your direction again, it'll be far more than you deserve."

Draco Disapparated then, leaving Severus alone in the warm, comforting house that suddenly felt much, much too big. His fingers went lax as the situation really hit him and the torn photo drifted to the floor, Lily still smiling jubilantly at nothing as he crumpled against the carpet, sharp face buried in his hands.

x-x-x

3 days

There was a soft knock on the door, "Hermione? Are you awake, love?"

Ginny came into the dark room, lit only by the sunlight that streamed past the heavy, open curtains. She frowned at the empty, rumpled bed but instantly felt her heart drop when she found her friend sitting at the luxurious vanity adorning the far wall. Only instead of her usually mass of bushy curls, there was a waterfall of silky auburn instead.

Hermione's face was stained with tears and smudged eyeliner, her voice soft, "Why am I never enough?"

Ginny's throat tightened and tears stung her eyes, wand waving quickly to dispel the glamour until her curls had returned. Once she looked like herself again, Ginny dropped her wand onto the carpet and wrapped her arms around her friend, "You are. Hermione, you are. He's just a fucking prat who doesn't deserve you. Don't you ever, ever think it was something you did."

"I gave him… everything," she choked, head dropping forward and fingers tightening around the edge of the vanity's glass top. "I thought…"

Her embrace tightened, "I know, babe. I know. I'm so sorry."

"I don't want to love him anymore, Gin," Hermione sobbed. "If it hurts like this, I don't want it."

Sometime later, Ginny ended up on the floor next to the vanity with Hermione asleep fitfully in her arms. The door across the room silently opened just enough for Draco to pop his head in, his steel gray eyes hardening when he found them.

Ginny just shook her head and Draco shut the door.

x-x-x

10 days

"What about this one?"

Hermione couldn't help but chuckle at the ancient looking text, "Uhm… I think that might be a little advanced for my third year class, Harry. Maybe something a little less complicated?"

Harry seemed genuinely surprised as he adjusted his glasses to look closer at the book he'd chosen, "There's less complicated levels of Arithmancy? Huh. Who knew?"

"Well yes, of course. Just like charms and transfiguration, you learn everything in increments, you know? Can't have first years trying to work out Arithmetic equations for weather patterns and other predictions when they have never even seen a simple one before."

"Right, right- that makes sense. What about this one—"

The familiar, comforting drawl of Draco's father came floating into the library just as the Floo sounded, "Ah, Severus. This is a surprise. What can I do for you this afternoon?"

Hermione's entire body froze as if she'd been petrified again, her warm eyes wide and already glassy with tears. Harry gently took the ancient book from her hand and replaced it on the shelf before taking her hand, "Come on, 'Mione. Maybe we should…"

"I've come to talk to her, Lucius. Where is she?"

Her fingers tightened around his and she shook her head wildly at Harry.

Lucius was concise, "She has no desire to see you, Severus. I must ask you respect that after what you put the poor girl through."

"You don't understand. I didn't have a chance to explain—"

"She doesn't need explanations, Severus. Right now, she needs time. Time to heal, time to think."

"But if I could just..."

The door squeaked open again, "You've done more than enough, don't you think?" Ginny's unmistakable voice snapped. "Just who the hell do you think you are? Do you have any idea—"

"Miss Weasley…" Lucius began.

"No! No, he should know what he did!" There were a few heavy footsteps on the carpet. "When I was finally able to get away from the shop, do you know how I found her? Sitting in front of a mirror with a red glamour charm on her hair. And do you know what she said? She asked me why she was never enough!"

Hermione slumped against the bookshelf until she hit the floor, knees pulled up and face buried in her arms so she wouldn't have to see the shocked, pitying look on Harry's face.

"I…" Severus cleared his throat, his deep silky voice rougher than usual. "I'm sorry, I never meant—"

"You're sorry? You're sorry? After the way you broke her heart, you're sorry? I should hex you nine ways to Sunday you fucking bastard! In fact, where's my wand…"

Lucius snapped his fingers twice and the distinct pop! of house elf Apparition sounded, "Yes, master? What can Dilly be doing for master today?"

"Dilly, please escort Miss Weasley back to her shop before she curses someone."

"Yes, master. Come along, Miss."

"Now wait one minute, I'm not finished with him—!" And then the pop! sounded again as they Disapparated.

Harry knelt down, his hand on her shoulder, "'Mione, I had no idea…"

"Father?" Draco called from the hallway, voice growing closer and closer. "Have you seen Hermione and Harry in there? Last I knew, he was helping her search for a new textbook for…" Lucius sighed when he entered the room. "What the hell is he doing here?"

"I…"

There was a shuffle of shoes and clothing, "Severus was just stopping by to ensure we were taking care of Hermione. I assured him she was well so he was just leaving."

The Floo came roaring to life for a moment before dying down again.

"Draco?" Harry called from the back of the library. "Lucius? Can one of you come help me?"

There was nothing but rapid footsteps on expensive carpet until they rounded the last stack. Draco darted forward, pulling the trembling ball that was Hermione into his arms, "Gods damn it all. She heard him?"

Harry nodded.

Lucius came to kneel in front of her, his aristocratic voice soft and soothing, "Miss Granger? Hermione? Are you alright?"

One of her hands came up to wrap themselves in her bushy hair.

"I'll take her back to her room," Draco said quietly. "Father, could you cast a Lightening charm for me?"

"No need," he leaned forward and lifted Hermione as easily as if she weighed nothing. She curled into his expensive robes, thankful that her wild hair hid her face.

"I knew they broke up but I didn't know it was because of my mum," Harry whispered behind them.

Hermione's fingers tightened around the fabric of Lucius' robes.

Draco elbowed him, hissing, "Not now."

"Oh, right. Sorry, 'Mione."

x-x-x

25 days

Lucius tilted his head, "You are welcome here any time, Hermione."

"Absolutely, dear," Narcissa smiled widely, flashing her perfect teeth. "Come through the Floo anytime, day or night. And if Hogwarts ever gets to be too… crowded, you are more than welcome to stay here as well. Draco and Harry will be in the East Wing for the foreseeable future so you would never be alone."

Hermione gave each of her surrogate parents a quick hug, "Thank you so much, both of you. You didn't have to… to let me stay, but I appreciate that you opened your home to me. It means more than you could ever know."

Narcissa brushed back a curled lock of hair that had fallen loose from Hermione's high bun, "Will you be alright, back there? With him so close?"

It took considerable effort to keep the tears from forming in her eyes, but she managed. She nodded with a tight smile, "The castle is a big place. My classroom is all the way on the top floor- I imagine avoiding him will be pretty easy except for mandatory meals in the Great Hall and the occasional Hogsmeade trip. I should be fine. But seriously, your concern is…" Hermione fought back the swell of emotion that she felt at remembering all Draco's parents had done for her; at remembering the times they wiped her tears and held her as if she were their daughter… as if she hadn't lost her parents. "It's greatly appreciated."

Lucius smiled, wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulders, "Then you'd better be off. Draco was quite adamant that since he had to work, it was our job to ensure you made it back to the castle at a decent time."

Hermione took the Floo powder, turning back to them one last time, "Thank you both so much. And you should know that you've raised an amazing son. I don't know where I'd be without him."

Even as the flames swallowed her up, she was fairly certain that she saw Lucius wiping at one of his eyes.

x-x-x

43 days

The students had just arrived and an hour from now, the Sorting would begin. Hermione shook out her mane of curls and took a long look in the- thankfully- unenchanted mirror on the wall across from her bed.

She looked exactly the same as she always did.

Good. That was good.

It had been 43 days since… since. 43 days since. And other than the one time he appeared, unannounced in the Malfoy's library, she had not heard a peep from him. In the beginning, it had hurt. She had expected… well, she wasn't exactly sure what she'd expected, but she'd expected something other than silence. An apology, perhaps? Maybe a desperate explanation? Mmmm… somehow those things didn't fit him, anyway. After a few weeks, Hermione thought he might send her a letter or… or something. But he didn't.

There was just nothing.

Nothing except for the official Ministry parchment that had come in the mail, naming her the sole owner of the property they'd bought together.

Ooooh boy- that had been a rough day. But in the end, thanks to Lucius, Narcissa, Draco, Harry, and Ginny, she had made it through.

It had taken awhile, but eventually- somewhere around the 30-day mark- Hermione had decided that it was time to use a Permanent Sticking Charm on the pieces of her heart that she'd been simply holding together for weeks. They were adults, and adults broke up all the time. Not every relationship was meant for a fairytale ending, she knew that. Just look at Ginny and Dean, totally in love but broken up again. After much contemplation and, well, crying, Hermione eventually decided that it was probably for the best.

After all, sometimes it didn't matter how much you loved someone if they didn't love you back with the same intensity.

In the interim of being okay and being NOT okay, Draco had set up a few casual dinner dates for her, and though she resisted initially, he kept pushing- telling her that she needed to see what else was out there, lest she put him on a pedestal and thus, find herself unable to move on.

Shockingly sage advice from someone who still had hippogriff's on his pajamas.

So she had gone on the dates and though none of them ended up being a match, she had to admit that they'd been fun and Draco had, again shockingly, been right.

Hermione came back to herself then, catching her reflection in the mirror again. She most certainly looked like herself, the same as she always did, and for once that actually made her happy. If there was one thing she'd learned over the past 43 days, it was that she shouldn't have to glamour herself for someone to love her. She may not be perfect- her lips were a little too wide, her hair far too bushy, and she had a stubborn 15 pounds that hovered around her thighs and stomach that just refused to budge no matter how much she dieted- but she was who she was.

None of those superficial things ever mattered to her anyway, and she'd be damned if they started to matter now.

Hermione ran her hands down her pencil skirt and silky crimson blouse a few times before leaving her chambers for the Great Hall.

x-x-x

61 days

"Professor Granger?"

She looked up from the stack of parchment she was grading and smiled, "Hi, Matthias. What can I do for you?"

The third year boy shuffled his feet a little, "I was wondering if you could help me with some homework? Everyone knows how smart you are and I just thought…"

"Of course, I'd be more than happy to help. We haven't had a recent assignment in my class, so which class is it for?"

His cheeks pinked as he held out the parchment, "Well, it's for Potions. You see, I've tried asking Professor Snape but every time he tried to explain it, I just can't seem to understand. I thought maybe you could dumb it down for me?"

Hermione took the assignment from him, palms sweating a little at the familiar spiky writing that marred the page, "I doubt you need it dumbed down, Matthias. Let me see here…" She frowned as she read his constructive comments. Was he ever so kind in his eviscerations of their essays back in school? That thought was almost laughable; of course he hadn't been. "Well, it looks like you explained the basics of a Shrinking Solution but Professor Snape was right- you need to understand how each of the ingredients works and interacts with the others. Here," she scribbled something onto the bottom of the essay, "this book in the library should give you everything you need to explain each ingredient in detail. I used it more times that I can remember when I was taking Potions. Just remember to use this specific one, the others are outdated."

The boy read what she had written, a wide smile breaking across his face, "Of course; the third edition! Thanks so much, Professor Granger. You are a life saver!"

"You are most welcome, Matthias. Now you better get to the library so you can turn that essay in again before Professor Snape changes his mind."

"I will. Thanks Professor Granger, you're the best!"

As soon as he was gone and she was alone again, Hermione cleared her throat and wiped her somewhat damp palms on her robes before turning back to her work.

x-x-x

62 days

She was drawing up an intricate Arithmancy equation on her board with multicolored chalk for her seventh years when there was a knock her classroom door.

"Come in," Hermione called over her shoulder, not turning away from the circles and intersecting lines she was drawing. "I'll be with you in just a moment."

"Take your time," that silky, smooth baritone drawled from across the room.

It took literally everything she had not to freeze like a statue. Instead, she took a few small, calming breaths before resuming her drawing; though it did not escape her notice that the lines were far more wobbly now. When she was finished, she gently set down the handful of chalk, wiped her hands on the charmed cloth she kept nearby, and turned.

The sight of him, so stoic, so calm, was almost like being punched in the stomach.

Hermione went to sit at her desk, motioning for him to come forward, "No need to haunt my doorway, Professor. I said you could come in."

He came to stand in front of her desk, "I just wanted to thank you for helping young Mister McCarthy with his Potions homework. I fear my teaching methods may be a little too abrasive for him to adequately grasp the concepts at times. He said you directed him to a book that was incredibly helpful."

The corners of her lips twitched, "Yes, I gave him the name of the book I used to use so be prepared for extra-long essays in the near future."

"Why Miss Granger," the dark wizard's brows raised, "it's almost as if you did that on purpose."

She shrugged, biting the inside of her cheek, "Almost."

The silence settled, heavy and uncomfortable between them- the weight of everything that was unsaid almost crushing in its intensity. Hermione cleared her throat, suddenly feeling very jittery, "Well, if that's all I really do have a class to prepare for so…"

"No," he said quickly, his voice rough. "No, Hermione that's not all. I… I've been trying to find a way to explain… but I, well I… I didn't want to seem like I was making excuses and I just… it took much longer than I expected but—"

The bell sounded, signaling the end of the student's previous classes.

"My seventh years will be here in just a few minutes," she said quietly, unable to look away from him.

The Potions professor nodded, "Right. Of course. Forgive my terrible timing. Could we… could we maybe go to dinner sometime?"

Hermione sighed, "Sev- ah, Professor Snape, I don't think…"

"Please," he cut in, onyx eyes wide and beseeching. "Please, just… there's a lot I need to answer for and it doesn't feel right to just leave things like this."

She chewed her lip for a moment, "Alright. How about this weekend?"

The students started to trickle in so he simply inclined his head, "This weekend it is. I'll see you then, Her- ahem, Professor Granger."

With an overly dramatic billow of his robes, he strode from the classroom.

x-x-x

66 days

Thankfully, Severus had chosen a table at the back of the restaurant- not that it really mattered all that much considering how famous they both were in the Wizarding World- but it did afford them some semblance of privacy throughout dinner, which was nice.

Hermione had gone back and forth for the past four days about whether or not to cancel their dinner and simply continue on as they had been. That is, until she made an impromptu trip to Malfoy Manor to walk in on Draco and Harry, in a very naked, very compromising position in order to ask for their advice. Once Harry had gotten over his mortification and Draco had covered them both with a sheet (thank all the Gods for small favors), her blond friend smacked the back of her head with a pillow and told her that if his godfather was making the first move to reach out, that must mean that he finally had time to 'get his head unstuck from his arse'. Harry agreed, speculating that it couldn't hurt to have dinner seeing as Severus probably either wanted to end things once and for all or wanted to reconcile and apologize for hurting her. Hermione had asked Lucius and Narcissa their opinions later that evening as well and they had agreed with Draco and Harry. Now that Hermione was in a good place again, and by good place they meant 'not falling apart every time his name was mentioned', they didn't see the harm in hearing him out.

So, four days later, here they were.

He took a sip of his wine as the waiter cleared their plates from the table. Once they were alone again, he set down his glass and looked up at her, "Before I say anything else… Hermione, I am so sorry for hurting you. Whatever you think of me, you have to know that was never, ever my intention."

Hermione took a large drink of her wine as well and nodded, "I know. But I do appreciate hearing it all the same, so thank you."

"I…" Severus fiddled with his napkin. "I know you all think that—"

Gods, she felt nauseous at going over all this again, "Why don't we just skip rehashing what everyone thinks and just get to why we came?"

He nodded, eyes still trained on the tablecloth, "Right. I just…" It took a few seconds before he could lift his gaze. "I miss you, Hermione."

Bad. This had been a bad, bad, BAD idea. She could already feel her heart constricting in her chest. Fucking hell, and she had been making such good progress away from him. "You miss me or you miss the constant shagging?"

Severus frowned, "Hermione, it was never like that. Never. When I said that I loved you, I meant it. I would never lie about something like that."

"But you lied about Lily. You lied about your house."

He let out a deep sigh, "There's no excuse for Lily. There just isn't. I knew I wanted you, that I wanted to be with you, but she was still always there in the back of my mind. Holding on to what I felt for her, instead of fully committing to you, felt… it felt safer. Draco was telling the truth- I did tell Lucius I was keeping my house in Cokeworth because I was unsure about you, but it wasn't my feelings I was unsure of. I was unsure of yours."

Hermione was taken aback, "But why? I've always been completely forthright with how I felt about you. I always… I always told you how much I loved you."

For the first time in 66 days, she felt like she was seeing the truth. His expression was completely open and utterly vulnerable- no Occlumency shields, no hiding behind snark or anger- just him, "Because it doesn't make sense for you to want me, Hermione. No one can make sense of it, not even your closest friends. Draco doesn't understand, Potter doesn't understand, Ginevra doesn't understand. I don't even think Lucius and Narcissa believe you chose correctly. I kept my house and I kept the photo because I needed to have something to fall back on when you inevitably realized what a mistake you made."

She reached across the table for his hands, "Why didn't you tell me all of this the first time? Why didn't you tell me you were worried about those things back when we discussed having a relationship?"

Severus scoffed softly, slipping his hands away from hers, "What difference would it have made? I'm sure I would've fucked it all up somehow anyway. That's why I never said anything the other times you wanted to talk about us- I just thought I could hide from it. I thought that was safer than facing the very real possibility of you realizing how insane it was for you to want me."

Hermione chewed her lip as she contemplated the things he said, "And what about now? It been two months since then. Have you… have you thought about all of this?"

"Of course I have. It's the only thing I've been thinking of each and every day," he leaned against the table, palm rubbing over his eyes. "Fuck, Hermione. The look on your face that day… I have nightmares about it. Can you ever forgive me?"

Tears welled in her eyes, "You really hurt me, Severus."

"I know."

"You… you signed away your rights to our house."

He looked up, surprised that that upset her, "Of course I did. I didn't want you to be relegated to depending on the Malfoy's forever. I wanted you to be able to live there or burn it down, whatever made you happy."

Hermione tucked some errant curls behind her ear, "You made me question my self-worth for a long time, you know. You made me feel like I would never be enough for anyone."

The pure agony in his eyes almost knocked the breath from her lungs. Severus took one of her hands in his and brushed his fingers along her cheek with the other, "Oh, sweet girl. I am truly the worst of the fools. You are worth more than all the gold in Gringotts. You are… you are…" He cupped her jaw. "You are everything. How could you ever believe you're not enough? I know that it doesn't make the pain go away, that it doesn't fix it, but I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for ever making you feel that way. I'm sorry for lying to you and I'm sorry for being so wrapped up in my own insecurities and paranoia that I couldn't see what was right in front of me. I'm sorry that I couldn't trust you when you said you loved me. I'm sorry for fucking it all up so spectacularly."

She was openly crying now, "What does it say about me that I still love you even after the way you hurt me?"

A few tears slid down his sharp cheeks, glinting in the candlelight, "It says that you're an extraordinary woman with an almost unbelievable capacity for love. It says that you are just as brilliant and wonderful as I always knew you were. And it certainly says that you are far, far too good for the likes of me."

"Do you still love me?" Hermione asked quietly, searching his eyes for anything resembling a lie.

"I do and will always love you, Hermione. You should know that, if nothing else, I'm constant. The way I feel about you will never change, even if you never speak to me again after tonight. I'll always, always love you."

"And Lily? Do you still love her?"

He shook his head, "No. Though I'm ashamed to admit that it took losing you to realize that."

Hermione felt like she was standing on the edge of precipice and she could choose to fall either way. Should she let him go and try to move on, though potentially never feel this way for anyone again… or could she trust him just one more time and give their relationship another chance? She thought back to the mornings he surprised her with bacon and eggs in bed, back to when he made love to her as if she were made of glass, back to when he held her hair back so she could vomit during a bout of the flu, back to when he visited her parents graves with her, back to when he thought she was asleep and whispered how thankful he was to have her in his life…

She covered her face with her hands as the tears fell harder.

Severus came to kneel at her side, fingers wrapping around one of her wrists, "Talk to me, Hermione. Please. I can't stand to see you like this. Please."

Hermione threw her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder, "Do you have any idea how much I have missed you, you miserable fucking prat?"

His arms wound around her back, "I have a pretty good idea. It felt like you had taken a part of me when you left. Fuck, Hermione- I'm so fucking sorry. Just tell me what it'll take for you to forgive me. Tell me what you need. Tell me and I'll do it. Just please, please give us another chance."

"All I ask is that you talk to me. Just tell me what's on your mind so we can handle it together. I'm not a damn Legilimens, you infuriating man. I can't read your mind so you have to tell me."

He chuckled against her curls, "Considering I'm hardly verbose at the best of times, I'll just have to teach you."

She managed a watery smile, "It's a date."

x-x-x

294 days

Draco hopped up onto her desk, "Alright Hermione, spill it."

She looked up from the vanity, mascara brush halfway to her eye, "Spill what?"

His white-blond brows lifted as he eyed her tight black dress and almost daring cleavage, "Why you're tarting yourself up for the evening. I thought you were having dinner with Uncle Sev?"

A pretty blush spread across her cheeks, "I am."

"Then why…" Draco's steely eyes widened as a mischievous grin graced his perfect lips. "Ahhhh. I see. Carry on, then."

"What?" She shoved him off the vanity with her shoulder, sending him sprawling across the carpet. "There's nothing to see."

He chuckled from the floor, "By my count, you've been dating for around nine-ish months again and I seem to recall you telling me you wanted to, what was it? Oh yes, 'take it slow' with him this time. Does that mean tonight's the night for the slooooow to end?"

Hermione slid the nude lipstick across her bottom lip, "Do I ask you questions about you and Harry's sex life, Draco?"

"No, but what would you like to know? He's a bottom, obviously. And I prefer it when he uses his hand in a counterclockwise motion while also—"

"GAHHHHHH!" She cringed, chucking one of her perfume bottles at him. "That's way more than I ever, ever needed- thanks! Holy hell, I need to bleach my brain now to get that image of sweet, darling Harry out of my head."

"You asked for it," Draco pinched her thigh. "But all jokes aside… are you sure you're ready?"

Hermione recapped the lipstick and adjusted a few of her curls, staunchly refusing to look at her friend as she admitted the truth, "It's taken a long time for me to feel like I could read him again. He's so different this time around. He's… much more open and free, less cagey. It was very disconcerting for a while, considering what he was like before, but I finally feel like I know him again. Before we… before we went there again, I wanted to make sure it really felt real. Like he actually loves me."

Her friend, her best friend really, came around to rest his chin on her head and meet her eyes through the mirror, "And does he?"

She nodded, a soft smile on her face, "Yes. He does."

"Then you have my blessing," he kissed her curls. "Go shag my godfather until neither of you can walk and then Floo me to tell me all about it."

Hermione rolled her eyes, even knowing she would probably end up doing exactly as he said, "Yes, Draco."

x-x-x

295 days

Hermione was lightly dozing as he dragged the pads of his fingers up and down her spine, the sheets they had bought together all those months ago warm and soft on her bare skin. The moon was still high in the sky, casting pale beams of shimmering light onto the plush bed and illuminating their respective scars. She moved her arms underneath the pillow and burrowed her face a little deeper into it as she began to drift off into sleep.

"I love you, sweet girl," Severus whispered, lips ghosting across the notches of her spine. "More than you could ever possibly imagine."

His hands drifted below the sheets to pull her flush against his long, lean body. She felt fingers gently pushing her thighs apart and sliding between her folds to rub circles around her already needy nub. Her back arched against him.

"I love you, Hermione," he repeated quietly, slowly slipping into her dripping channel from behind while his hands kneaded her breasts just the way he knew she liked. "Thank you for everything you give me. Thank you for being everything to me. Thank you."

"Severus…" She gasped at the tortuous movement of his hips. "Severus…"

He made slow, reverent love to her under the light of the moon- his dark onyx eyes greedily drinking in the sight of the gleaming silver ring on her finger… the one he'd given her at dinner, accompanied with a question.

One that she agreed to most enthusiastically.

Severus buried his face in her shoulder blade, thankful to all the Gods that they had made it this far and praying that he never fucked it up again.

*I have contemplated changing the epilogue to be more in line with certain points of some reviews but after thinking about it, I decided to keep it as I originally wrote it. I stand by this epilogue because in my mind, Severus was wrong. He was hiding the photo because he was holding on to his romantic feelings for Lily- Hermione did not expect him to pretend Lily never happened, she just expected his heart to have let her go. Severus admitted that he was in the wrong. I also stand by Hermione and Draco's reaction because Severus damned himself by his violent, clam-shell like reaction to her finding the photo. She asked him if he still loved Lily and all he said was "what do you expect me to say?". Come on guys. Of course Hermione was heartbroken. Of course Draco was pissed. Severus all but admitted it. Besides- his almost 20-year obsession was widely known. What was Hermione supposed to think? But thank you all for always keeping me on my toes. Love you guys.*