AN: Another quick one shot between my favorite couple. This fic suspends the reality of the books a bit for obvious reasons…Severus would not actually be alive at the final battle, and while I try to keep most of the characters canon, there will be deviations, so if that really bothers you, don't read it! If you disagree with a choice I have made, then you can simply close the fanfiction window and never read this again. So no flames. :) Thanks! Finally, I don't own a thing! JK has the rights to it all. I am simply having my way with them. If I owned Severus Snape, I'd certainly be somewhere other than writing about him on my computer. ;) Enjoy! Review! And see you at the bottom.

Her heartbeat was quick, her step light as air as she made her way down the steps of Hogwarts. Harry had just left to look his fate right in the eyes, to brave the final part of the quest he'd started, to get to the end of the path that had been laid before him when he was really only just a baby. And Hermione felt more afraid than she had in all her years. She'd just said goodbye to her best friend, her brother, had hugged him tightly then watched him, let him walk to his fate, perhaps never to see him again. Ron looked at her questioningly, his eyes speaking of many things, but she knew that she could not answer them now. She knew what he wanted, and she knew that now was not the time. It would never be the time. There was too much he did not know, too many feelings inside of her, too many secrets she had kept. All would be revealed one day, that is if they survived this night. She thought back to two months ago, back to those endless, mindless nights spent in a tent with her two best friends, one of whom was still a boy in so many ways, and the other who had, out of necessity, grown into a man too fast.

Flashback: Two months earlier...

Hermione stood watch. Well, not stood really. It was more like stooped. She was leaning hard against a large, fallen down tree, suspending all of her weight on it. She was exhausted, emotionally and physically. The boys were asleep in the tent, and she had watch for the next six hours till day break. She knew that Harry and Ron would never venture out into the cold winter air to check up on her. They relied upon her too much. They also didn't know that she put up her own wards, silencing charms, and warming spells around her own little area for watch. They could not know. It was her secret, one of many during this terrible war.

Suddenly, a muffled pop sounded somewhere close by and Hermione straightened up, her wand at the ready, just in case. One could never be too careful now. That much had been made clear to her long ago. But she needn't have worried. He came towards her and was allowed through the wards, his magical signature programmed perfectly into the circle of magic so that it would recognize him. Hermione allowed herself a slight smile at his arrival, but it quickly fell when she saw how much thinner he looked, how much paler his skin was, how deep the hollows were beneath his eyes, his deep, soulful eyes that to anyone else were cold and hard. But to her, they held a heat that knew no bounds. Their relationship had started out of necessity. She had been the one to tell him of their original departure, sending him message by anonymous owl. A raven had returned with a message.

"My Raven will not wait for a reply and this message will incinerate in three minutes upon being read. You will be under my protection. SS"

He would come to her at night, bring provisions, clue her in on where the Death Eaters were searching for them next. And most of all he listened to her. He listened to her as she lamented over her agony at having to obligate her parents, he listened to her rant about the boys frequent cluelessness, he listened to her talk of happier times. And then, not long after Ron had left them, he had embraced her. And it had started.

"We cannot do this Hermione" He had said, using her first name as he had recently begun to do. It is too risky..danger…."

"Don't you dare tell me what is risky, what is dangerous!" She spat. "You know what I've been through, what I've sacrificed, what I've risked," the word came out like a hiss. "Please Severus," her eyes bore into him, fiery amber and brilliant as a sunset, "Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't love me. Look straight at my eyes and tell me honestly that you feel nothing for me, and then you can just go and leave me, be the honorable one, the hero, let your honor be saved by your holier than thou deed." She had stood there, breasts heaving with emotion and he had stood opposite, looking into her eyes.

"I cannot look into your eyes and tell you those things Hermione. Because you know how I feel." His face turned pained and agonized, his dark brows fused together and his shoulders slumped. "I do love you. I love you painfully so and that is why we cannot do this, why I cannot do this. For Hermione, you must know, I will surely die."

Hermione had put a hand to his lips and fused her mouth with his, and then they found, in their own little bubble of warmth, that they did not need to talk anymore.

This night was like any other. They felt first and talked later. They were both too much in need of physical attention to talk of important things at hand. They would be dealt with. For now, there was the soft whisper of unbuttoning robes, the breath in the ear, the sweep of hands across warm, naked skin.

"Hermione…" he groaned softly, his voice sounding haggard and his breathing labored.

"I know, Severus, Please no more talking." Hermione responded as he lowered her to the blanket below them.

His eyes closed in exquisite bliss as he sunk his hardness inside of her, feeling her tight wetness surrounding him, losing himself in her soft, pliable body. Hermione took pleasure in kind, reveling in the sensations this man, this belabored, wonderful, mysterious man that only she knew the heart of, she moaned as his lips found the sensitive spot on her neck just below her ear, and she gasped in satisfaction when his long, tapered fingers found purchase on her buttocks, hoisting her upright as he sat on his knees, pressing her to him tighter as he thrust up and into her body over and over and over again, his hands kneading her flesh as he brought her to him. She wrapped her hands around his firm torso, clutching him to her tighter as she rose higher and higher in her pleasure. She never wanted to let him go, but as the world around her faded to dimness and her body gave in to the white hot pleasure that he was making her feel, and as she felt him respond in kind, she knew in that moment of orgasm, inside of that "little death", that she would have to let him go, that she would be forced to let him go. And then the tears began to flow.

They lay there entwined, listening to each other's breathing. There was no need to keep watch at the moment, for with Severus, there was no worry. He would protect them all, as he had been in secret for nearly two decades.

"Sleep now, Hermione. Get some rest. You look more tired than I am, and that worries me." He placed a soft kiss on her damp forehead and he covered them with the vast expanse of his warm cloak.

"Mmmm Severus…thank you love."

Hermione was already deeply asleep and did not hear the quiet response. "You're welcome my love."

End Flashback:The Present Time

The protections had been breached. That much was clear to Hermione as she ran as fast as she could to the courtyard where scores of her classmates, former professors, and parents of her good friends were all standing together. They were silent. They were strong, their faces resolute. They knew what was to happen, and they accepted their fate, but they were not going to go down without a fight. Hermione took a deep breath as she swallowed the nausea down,forcing herself to focus, forcing herself to be prepared, be organized, be smart. Brightest witch of her age, and this was what she knew. She knew spells, she knew charms, she could out battle and outsmart her way out of any situation. But this was very different. No longer was she a child caught up in a few protections set up by her teachers to safeguard an item. No longer was she a young woman on a mission to set house elves free from slavery. This was a very grown up situation. And then it was upon them.

The crack of the first spell that made it's way through the wards was like lightning, and suddenly there was a mass of wizarding kind battling for survival. Spells flew this way and that, and it was hard to see, so many were the blasts.

Hermione shot spell after spell, first taking down Dolohov with a well placed Petrificus Totalus, then Lucius Malfoy with a rather potent STUPEFY. When her area was cleared for the time being, she looked through the crowds of battling wizards and for a moment she thought that he had not come, but then Hermione found who she was looking for. Severus Snape had outed himself to Hogwarts and had given back his position as headmaster to Minerva. He had then gone immediately into hiding, which was understandable, considering that he had not informed Voldemort of his treachery. He had constructed the perfect memories to show the Dark Lord, came up with massive amounts of false information about the order and Hogwarts. And now he had shown himself for what he was. And Voldemort saw, and Voldemort became enraged. His most loyal servant, proven to be a traitor, right under his almost non existent nose.

"Severussss Snape…." She heard the Dark Lord hiss. "You have displeased me greatly." Voldemort appraised him, turning up his chin and looking down at Severus he pointed his wand at the man whom he had thought so loyal. "AVADA KED-"

Suddenly, a loud cry of EXPELLIARMUS was heard from behind Voldemort. So distracted was he at the idea of his best and most loyal death eater being a turncoat, that he had not realized that Harry had come around from behind. Voldemort's wand flew up in midair and was caught by one Severus Snape who turned his self made curse upon the evil snake.

"Sectumsempra!" He bellowed, his voice dark and deep as he watched slashes of disgusting dark green blood pool at Voldemort's feet. But Voldemort was not to be done in yet. He saw Severus raise the wand again, preparing, no doubt, to perform the Avada, and he also saw in the corner of his eye, the slithering movement of his faithful familiar.

"Nagini..enjoy him…"

Hermione looked on in horror as the snake recoiled behind Severus, preparing to bite, preparing to kill, preparing to devour. In an instant she was behind him, reaching her wand arm out, crying : "Sectumsempra!" Nagini flailed and writhed and the wild movements were more than Hermione could have been prepared for, and without warning the snake's head sunk deeply into her shoulder, it's poisonous fangs releasing their venom into her bloodstream. Severus took one agonized look at Hermione but she shook her head weakly.

"Kill him" She whispered. And then everything went black for Hermione.

Voldemort looked in horror as Severus raised his wand. Harry Potter came as well, standing next to Severus, his wand pointed straight at Voldemort's black heart. As one the two former enemies, but now bonded together in fighting, they uttered the curse. The curse that this time, was not and would not be considered and unforgivable.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" The Dark Lord exploded in a flash of green light, the explosion causing shock waves throughout the crumbling courtyard. The onlookers, both good and bad stood stunned and then the wizards on the side of light began to cheer. All except Severus. While others rounded up the reaming death eaters, Severus Snape slumped to the ground beside Hermione who lay unconscious, her breathing labored.

"Pomphrey!" He cried as he began to tear the seam of her shirt off of her upper body, not caring that he was exposing her. "She needs help! For the love of God she needs help!"

Madam Pomphrey, Minerva McGonnagal, Albus Dumbledore and the rest of the order ran to Severus and Hermione. Poppy immediately began performing healing spells and extracting the venom from Hermione's body.

"I don't think it's gone to her heart yet, but we shall just have to wait and see. As for her other injuries, they seem minor at best. We need to get her to the hospital wing." And then the Order of the Phoenix stared in complete shock as Severus Snape scooped Hermione up in his arms tenderly, placing a fervent kiss on her forehead.

"I'll carry her." he said.

Hermione became aware of voices around her. They were fuzzy and unclear, but they were growing more and more understandable as her consciousness returned. Her eyelids fluttered, and the first thing that greeted her sight was that of her best friend Harry, looking battered, exhausted, and haggard, but the heaviness that had been resting on his shoulders for the last months seemed to have been lifted. Hermione groaned as she tried to sit up but immediately the pain in her right shoulder forced her to slump back against the pillows.

"Don't try to move 'Mione. You've been through a lot." Harry said, his voice soft and caring.

She looked to her left and saw that Ron was sitting next to Harry, his face a mix of concern and…something else she couldn't place. "What happened?"

"You were bitten by Nagini." Ron replied, gulping as he relived the memory in his head. "It was bad 'Mione. We'd thought you were a goner for sure…but then Snape…"

And suddenly Hermione remembered. She remembered everything. She looked at Harry who smiled slightly and jerked his head to the right, and looking she saw that Severus Snape, her love, her life, was deeply asleep in a makeshift chair at her bedside.

Harry looked at Hermione with a mixture of tenderness and irony. "He hasn't left your side in three days. Wouldn't even submit to a diagnostic spell until Pomphrey threatened to hex his balls off." Harry smiled at his friend. "Hermione, you love him too don't you?" Harry asked with the look of someone who was trying to understand something very difficult.

Hermione sighed. "Yes Harry. It's a very very long story, but yes. I love him too. Very much. We both do." Harry smiled and his eyes flickered down to her stomach covered by the sheets of her hospital cot.

"Pomphrey says the baby is okay. It wasn't harmed by Nagini's venom." Hermione felt tears prick her eyes as she looked from Harry to Ron, who had turned his face away for a moment, his mouth twisted.

"Ron…" she started, but he put out his hand to stop her.

"'Mione don't. It's ok. I…don't really understand how you could love someone like Snape…but I have known for a while that it wasn't going to work out between the two of us. We're just not right for each other. It'll be okay. Still friends though, right?" He asked, a small half smile appearing on his amiable features.

Hermione grinned. "Yes Ronald. Definitely still friends."

Jus then Severus began to stir. Harry cleared his throat and made to get up. "We'll leave you two alone. I'm thinking that you have a lot to talk about and er…we'd just be in the way. But we'll see you later Hermione. Get well soon." Hermione nodded as she watched her two best friends leave her alone with Severus who was just now awakening. His eyes opened slowly, and when he saw two honey colored depths looking back at him, he gasped and flew to the side of the bed in an instant, bringing her body close to his in as tight a hug as he dared give her.

"Oh Gods…I thought I'd lost you. Why did you do that for me, you stupid stupid girl!" He moaned into her hair.

"Severus, look at me." He released her a bit and stared into her eyes, coal black melding with honey bronze. "You know why I did what I did. I did that because I love you. I hope you feel the same."

Severus sighed in exasperation. "You are an insufferable know-it-all, infuriating….wonderful amazing woman, do you know that Hermione? And yes. Gods yes I love you. But now I have a question for you." Hermione smiled gently and nodded her assent. Severus moved his eyes down from her own to her still flat stomach. "Why didn't you tell me about the baby?"

"Oh Severus, you have to know that I wanted to. When I found out, it was so inconvenient! We were far away and there was no end in sight to this awful war. I wasn't sure if I would ever even get the chance to tell you, much less be alive myself at the end of all of this. So I waited. I'm sorry you had to find out the way you did, but" she took his hand and placed it gently on her belly. "Severus, you are going to be a father."

She watched, her heart filled to bursting as his eyes closed in happiness as he pressed his hand a little more firmly against her abdomen. "Hermione Granger, I love you more than I can say, and I love this life as well, more than words can express. You have truly given me new life." The two once secret lovers shared a kiss, and together they knew they could face the world and all of its criticisms and judgements be damned. They had love.

FIN

AN: Annnnnd here we are. The end. For now. I may add another chapter depending on the response I get. If I get enough requests to continue I may post a follow up chapter or story, so if you haven't already put me on author alert, and put this story on alert as well so that you can read any further additions. And finally REVIEW PLEASE! To quote Professor Lupin: "It helps..it REALLY helps!" Helps inspire me even more that is. :)

SS