A/N: *Scuttles in, munching on a sandwich*

*Just realised she posted the Sneak Peek for this months ago and forgot to finish it until now*

*Is thinking a fast-forward to later years might be in order soon*

*wonders who, if anyone, is still even reading this fic*

xx-Kitten.

Of Ticking Clocks and Beating Hearts

By Kittenshift17

Chapter 17: Natural Inclinations

The days of the Christmas holidays passed in a happy blur for Hermione. Having Severus there, away from all their other friends and with access to good food, a soft bed, and her ever-present company taught her that when he wasn't around others, he was not only wickedly funny and prone to teasing her mercilessly, he was also far happier than she'd realised. She hadn't actually believed that he might be a bit reserved around the others but spending the few days with him while Miranda and Eugene were off at work and it was just the two of them in the house made her realise that he actually kept even more of his personality under wraps than she'd ever suspected.

Between stocking up on enough meals to get Miranda and Eugene through between Christmas and Easter, getting as much of their homework done before the impending arrival of their friends, and whiling away the days building a superb tree-house in the backyard – with the aid of a little magic from Hermione when Severus wasn't looking – the time raced by and before she knew it they were expecting the arrival of James, Sirius and Remus from the Potter's place, in addition to expecting Lily and Molly to be Flooing over at any moment.

"Sev, are you pouting?" Hermione asked, a teasing lilt in her voice when she sauntered into her bedroom to find him reading a book on his bed whilst wearing a rather unpleasant scowl.

"Are they here, yet?" Severus asked grumpily without taking his eyes off his book.

Hermione tried to hide her smile of amusement. She'd been downstairs putting together some ideas for dinner in addition to baking some Pumpkin Pasties and some of her favourite Christmastime biscuits. Severus had told her he was ducking up to use the loo and would be back, but then hadn't returned for an hour.

Increasingly aware that the whole lot of them were right on the doorstep of puberty, Hermione had given him a half hour, thinking maybe he just had some things to work out with himself, but when it had reached an hour she had decided to intervene, no matter what he was up to.

"No one's here but us," Hermione told him honestly.

She crossed the room quickly, heedless of his bad mood as she crawled up the bed and sprawled herself down on top of him, laying her cheek on the middle of his chest.

"Get off," he complained, though he rested the end of his book on the top of her head to better hold it, so he could still read with her laying on him.

"No," Hermione told him. "You're comfortable. Are you going to pout for the rest of the holiday just because the others are coming? I mean, it's Lily. You like Lily. She was your best friend, before I came along."

"And if it was just Lily coming to stay, that'd be fine," Severus told her. "But it's not. You invited Black, Potter and Lupin along as well. You know they like to gang up on me, Hermione."

"As though you don't often pick the fights and I'm not right there next to you, helping you prank them in return?" she argued.

"That's not the point," he grumbled.

"Then what is the point?" Hermione wanted to know, nuzzling her cheeks against his chest and burrowing her hands under his back to better cuddle into him securely.

Severus didn't answer, clearly not wanting to admit whatever was bothering him so very much about the two of them having other visitors.

"I hate having to be on guard with them," he confessed after such a long silence that Hermione had given up getting an answer out of him. "When it's just us, the only thing I have to worry about waking up to is you burrowing yourself in next to me like the blanket-hog you are. With them here, I'll probably wake up with dead spiders in my shoes, or a toad spleen stuffed under my pillow, or with all my underwear missing."

Hermione sighed.

"They're not staying in my room," she reminded him. "There's not enough space. It'll just be you me and Lily in here. James, Sirius, and Remus are in the room across the hall and Molly and Alice will be in the one next-door."

"As though a door will stop them from breaking in here?" Severus scoffed. "I'm surprised your parents are even letting me share the room with you, to be honest."

"Why?" Hermione wanted to know.

She was perfectly aware of the fact that he was implying that since he was a boy and she was a girl, maybe they should be sleeping in separate rooms, but when Miranda and Eugene had discussed it with Hermione when they'd gotten home on the first night while Severus had been showering, they'd decided that it would be fine if he stayed in her room for the holidays. She might've been forced to play up the notion that they were just very good friends and might have had to act innocent and naïve of all things relating to physical attraction and 'natural urges', as Eugene had so delicately put it.

"You know why," Severus argued, given that she'd shared the discussion with him when they'd gone to bed that evening. "The same reason the boys' and girls' dormitories and Hogwarts are separate and us boys can't actually access the girls' dormitories."

"It's not like you and I are going… I don't know… fling ourselves at each other."

"You fling yourself at me plenty," Severus said snidely. "You're doing it right now. You can't keep your hands off me."

"You're just so warm," Hermione said, burrowing into him even more.

"Pest," he accused.

"Am not," Hermione argued, turning her head and biting him spitefully.

"Ouch! That hurt, Hermione," he complained.

"Serves you right for calling me a pest."

"I swear to Merlin, I don't know why I put up with you, Granger," Severus told her.

"Because I'm the only one clever enough to keep up with you, and I'm the only one who doesn't get her nose out of joint when you're a right bloody sod to everyone."

Hermione tipped her head, propping her chin against Severus's chest before smiling at him winningly. He lowered his eyes from his book to meet her gaze in stoic silence for a long moment.

"Don't you have food to prepare to feed these interlopers?" he wanted to know, clearly unsure what to make of her honesty.

"I finished," Hermione said.

"And now you've nothing better to do than annoy me," he concluded. "Delightful. Honestly, I need a moment's peace before facing the hoard of friends you've been amassing, Hermione."

"You need a nap, by the sounds of how grumpy you are," Hermione told him before a yawn escaped her.

"You need a nap, apparently," he said, looking wickedly amused.

"Mmmm," she hummed. "Good thing I found the perfect pillow. Nice and toasty."

She snuggled into him a little more.

"You can't sleep on my chest," he protested.

"Why not?" Hermione asked.

"You're too heavy. You'll crush me. And you can't sleep, anyway. You're expecting guests. You have to be awake to greet them."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I'm sure they'll be fine. They're not supposed to arrive until later this afternoon, anyway. That's hours from now. James, Sirius and Remus will still be on the way back in from their camping trip, and I expect Lily's parent's will be driving her over, since they probably don't have any Floo powder. And she was supposed to pick up Molly on the way, so, we've got plenty of time."

"I'm not tired," he argued.

"Liar," Hermione accused.

Severus glared at her, but the effect was ruined when a small yawn escaped him, one he tried desperately to hide, and only succeeded in making himself look rather like a constipated gerbil for a few seconds.

"You really mean to nap on me?" he asked.

"What if I do?" she said.

Severus gave a long-suffering sigh. "At least get off long enough that we can get under the covers," he grumbled, setting aside his book.

Hermione grinned, rolling off him and watching him rise before he pulled the covers open and climbed back in. She dove in beside him, grinning happily when he grumbled something under his breath about needy space-heaters and witches who didn't know what was good for them. When he flipped the covers back over the two of them and curled one of his arms around her back, Hermione grinned and closed her eyes, letting herself breathe in the familiar scent of his skin and drifting toward wild dreams in his embrace.