Chapter 5

They landed on something hard and cold. Snape groaned in pain, for he had broken Hermione's fall with his body. The force knocked her off of him and they lay for a moment in complete darkness, breathing heavily. Hermione had no idea where they were. Even as her eyes adjusted to the lack of light, the room they were in was unfamiliar.

"Where are we?"

Snape got up off the floor and fumbled at what appeared to be a curtain. He pushed it back and instantly moonlight burst through the room, illuminating the large four post bed they had evidently just missed. "My place," he told Hermione casually.

"Your- but don't you live at Hogwarts?"

"Yes, when I'm teaching. When I'm not I stay here. We're in New York City, by the way."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "New York? Our...er, natural magic...er..connection, was strong enough to Apparate us across an ocean?"

Snape smiled for a fraction of a second. "I guess so." He paced the room, seemingly lost in thought, checking to make sure everything was in its proper place or just picking things up and moving them absentmindedly. He clicked on a lamp that sat by the bed.

Hermione had gotten up but sat back down on the bed when she realized how exhausted and drained she was. "Is that a Muggle lamp?"

Snape nodded. "In case I'm ever tracked, I don't use magic here. This is the safest place I could think of. No one knows about it." He opened a drawer of his dresser and pulled out a pair of black jeans and a black long-sleeve shirt. He threw them on as Hermione politely turned away and peered out the window. They were quite high up. Snape had obviously spared no expense on this hideout because they had a spectacular view of Central Park. She could see taxi cabs and crowds of people below, all beginning their night's adventures.

"Sorry," he said to her, "I don't have any clothes that'll fit you."

She turned around to say that it was all right, but the words died in her throat. Seeing him looking so handsome and casual had caught her off guard. She thought of the intensity with which he kissed her and wondered if it would ever happen again. Looking away, she attributed all her thoughts to the fact that they had just fornicated and her silly female hormones had a mind of their own. "Just give me something baggy and I'll go to a store."

"I suppose you need money." Snape walked over to the closet and cracked open a safe. He took out three hundred dollar bills and handed them to Hermione.

"Oh," Hermione said, shocked, "I don't… I don't think I need that much." She was embarassed. He pressed the money into her hand.

"You'll need it in this part of town. Don't worry about it, wizards can reproduce Muggle money in a heartbeat."

Comprehension dawned on her face. "So that explains the fancy apartment?" She looked around. Snape ran a hand through his hair. It's the only time Hermione's ever seen him look guilty. "Well, there is a law against using Muggles for personal gain, so it is technically illegal, but I have been a Death Eater for quite some time." There was a faint half smile on his face but he gave no apparent sign that he was joking. Hermione's quizzical expression turned into a playful one.

"Right. You have always been above the law." She rolled her eyes and took his hands in hers. She was standing close to him now, craning her neck to look him in the eye. He was still a foot taller than her. "Tell me, what other mildly illegal activities have you been engaging in? Am I an accomplice to more crimes I'm not aware of?"

He looked into her eyes briefly, then withdrew his hand from hers. "We'd better go. I will help you find Potter and Weasley. Then I will rejoin the Order and continue my work from their headquarters." He threw on an overcoat he'd found lurking behind the front door. Hermione stopped. She stared at the back of his head.

"Snape. Severus."

He turned and raised a brow. "Granger…. Hermione?"

She smiled. "Are we going to talk about what just happened?"

"What is there to talk about?"

"Well, it was rather…"

"Inappropriate?" Snape finished for her.

Hermione tried to find more words that made sense but came up short. "I suppose you're right. There is nothing to talk about."

"Good, then off you go to get some decent clothes. I'm going to get in touch with an old friend, he should be able to arrange a Portkey back to England."

As Hermione made her way down an affluent-looking street in search of clothes she felt her confusion rapidly escalate. She had just slept with her former professor, a man practically twice her age and who she had presumed to be a dangerous enemy for the better part of a year. Of course, it was all purely circumstantial. They had had sex in order to survive. Never mind that she had been locked up in a dungeon, about to be raped and tortured; she couldn't stop thinking about him. Being intimate with Snape had traumatized her more than her captivity ever could've done. She tried to focus on the task of finding clothes and pushed all thoughts of Snape and his nakedness out of her mind. But the way he had brushed it off, like it was nothing… She was hurt. She couldn't deny it. He was right. They needed to go their separate ways.

After an hour of tedious shopping she had bought enough clothes to last until her reunion with Harry and Ron. She returned to Snape's flat to find him using a MacBook, navigating the keyboard with ease.

"You know how to use computers?" Hermione tried to sound casual.

Snape nodded, whipping out a cell phone, dialing a number deftly with one finger and pressing it to his ear. He used phones, too. All that pure-blood Muggle-hating bullshit was just an act, Hermione realized. In spite of herself, she grew more and more curious about her former Potions teacher.

He was buying her a plane ticket to London.

"Red eye leaves tonight at 1:13 am," he said to Hermione, hanging up the phone, "Once you land, drink this." He extended his hand to her, holding a small vial of dark purple liquid.

She took it cautiously. "What is it?"

"A potion that will let you assume anyone else's shape. Touch someone at the airport and you will have a perfect disguise while you find Potter."

"Like an instant Polyjuice Potion?" Hermione said, wide eyed.

"Essentially. I made a few adjustments and voila." He ran a hand through his hair and sat back down at the computer. "Should we get food? You have a few hours until your flight."

Hermione couldn't help herself. "Why don't we just Apparate back? We can try the natural magic thing again.." She put a hand on his shoulder, but he caught her wrist and spun around to face her.

"I'm sorry," he said, releasing her. "I know I brushed you off earlier, but you have to understand, Hermione, I am a fugitive"-

"So am I"-

"I'm a spy"-

"And a hero"-

"No!" He raised his voice, "I am no hero. Being around me is dangerous. If we were spotted together, everything we both have worked for would come crashing down on us. The Dark Lord would have everything he needs to rise to full power. You don't ever want to see that, Hermione. Ever."

Hermione stared. "I know you feel it, too, the connection. Tell me you don't."

"I'm too old for you."

She moved in on him again, closer and closer until her breasts brushed his chest. "I'll be the judge of that."

"What do you want from me?" He growled under heavy breath.

"Just this," she pulled his head down to hers and kissed him hard. The kiss shut him up long enough for the lights to go off and their clothes to have fallen to the floor. Naked again, he laid her on the bed and tried to protest again.

"We can't do this again," he began.

"Shut up, Snape."