Hello, lovely Readers! This is my first foray into fanfiction after being an avid reader for many years. I hope that you enjoy, and please do not be afraid to review! I would love your input!

JK Rowling owns all and I own nothing. :)

A Drop of Water.

I.

Severus Snape was not a blind man.

Not at all. Even though he was starting to desperately wish that he were.

He wasn't sure when exactly the muggleborn know-it-all had grown into such an unbelievably sexy, confident young woman… but it had surely happened. And it was becoming hard to ignore.

The first time he had noticed had taken him completely by surprise.

He had had to leave the massive stacks of parchment that he had still yet to grade behind in his office to go to Grimmauld Place…all because Remus Lupin, the blasted mongrel, had forgotten to pick up his newest batch of wolfsbane potion. As irritating as it was, Severus preferred making the short journey over a messy and violent werewolf attack, so he apparated to the usual spot, walked the short distance to the front door and gave the password to lower the wards guarding the headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix. The dark and dreary house had changed drastically over the years. It was brighter. Homier. He heard the gentle clanging of pots and pans as Molly Weasley tidied up after dinner and nodded cordially to her as he passed the kitchen. A few months ago, in response to the rapid approach of the inevitable Final Battle, the Golden Trio, along with the youngest Weasley, had been removed from Hogwarts and were now living at Grimmauld place. Most of the Weasley family were staying there along with them, and with Lupin and his bride to be, Nymphadora, residing there as well… it really was the safest place for them. The three seventh years were receiving private tutoring from the instructors whenever it could be fit in, and were applying to take their NEWT's in absentia instead of returning again the following year. The tests would take place in three weeks time, and Severus grudgingly admitted to himself that even though it had been extremely difficult for the three to squeeze study time in while still researching about how to find the last Horcrux… they had a strong chance of passing their exams. At least one third of the trio would pass, and he was sure that Granger had whipped the other two into shape. He smirked as he imagined the young little slip of a witch hexing each of the two idiots every time their eyes wandered from the pages of their text books.

Remembering why he was there, Severus drew the wolfsbane out of the pocket of his robes and ventured up to the werewolf's room to drop it off. As he was making his way back toward the stairs after completing his task, grumbling about forgetfulness, a door opened on his right and, almost as if she had been conjured from his thoughts, he suddenly had his arms full of nearly naked Hermione Granger.

She had obviously just had a shower and her wet, fragrant hair tumbled around her face and clung to her moist skin. His highly sensitive nose, well trained from years of differentiating between scents of various potions ingredients, detected lavender and… was that pear?

The deliciously scented steam that was now billowing into the hallway from the warm little room had turned her skin a healthy, glowing pink that only grew darker as she recognized just who she had stumbled into. Her wide, amber eyes met the inky black depths of the potion master's. As she blinked repeatedly, opening and closing her mouth to try to form some sort of apology, his eyes traveled down her body from her clavicle to the soft swell of her breasts just barely covered by fleecy green fabric… over the curve of her hips to where her long, smooth legs erupted from the hem of the towel that, blessedly, barely came to her mid thigh.

His breath hitched painfully as he registered the slight pull in his lower belly and he quickly pulled his hands away from their places on her upper arms where he had reached out to steady her. He found that he immediately missed the contact and had to concentrate hard to calm his arousal.

Who was this sensual creature? When had his student sprouted breasts and legs? Merlin…. Those legs….

As he rummaged around in his lust addled brain for some sort of sarcastic jab that had to do with her lack of grace a single droplet of water that had fallen from that unruly mane of damp hair dropped onto the skin just between her two collarbones… resting there for a moment before it began, at an agonizingly slow pace, to create a rivulet down her body…. Sliding down that perfect skin before it slipped slowly into the valley between her breasts… which were, unfortunately, hidden from his view by that damnable towel.

Oh, to be that drop of water.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the Weasley girl stomping up the stairs and he blinked and swallowed hard. Collecting himself, he feigned irritation.

"Watch where you are going, Miss Granger. Your lack of grace truly is a testament to the accuracy of the sorting hat. And next time you go bumbling your way through the hallway I suggest you try wearing a robe."

With that, he turned sharply and whisked past Ginny Weasley… down the stairs and out into the night air, grateful for its slight chill. Forget about her, he told himself. Erase the image from your mind. She is your student.

Determined, he returned to the school and prepared himself for bed.

However, his last thought before he fell into slumber was just how far that little droplet of water may have traveled before it had been wiped from Hermione's skin… and how, in a little less than a month, she wouldn't be his student anymore.

II.

Hermione lay in bed, listening to Ginny's quiet snoring and waiting for her skin to stop burning. It wouldn't. Every time she thought about Professor Snape's dark, liquid eyes on her… trailing down her body she had to squeeze her legs together and clamp her mouth shut to keep from groaning out of humiliation and sexual frustration.

Her Potions Professor! Could it have been any more embarrassing?

She had forgotten to take her robe with her into the bathroom. Cursing softly, she had wrapped her too- small towel around her after her shower and figured that she would make a run for it into her room across the hall. Everyone was usually in their rooms by then anyway. She had opened the door swiftly and, clutching her towel around her, pushed off her back foot to begin her short sprint across the corridor when she slipped slightly against the wet tiles and stumbled headlong into Severus Snape.

She had expected outrage and even a little bit of disgust. She had not expected his ragged intake of breath and the way his gaze had raked across her skin… his eyes burning as hot as molten lava and moving just as slow.

And then, in an instant, it was over. Flinging a half mumbled insult over his shoulder that had something to do with stereotypical Gryffindor clumsiness and advising her to try a robe, he was gone as quickly as he had appeared… leaving Hermione suddenly cold, shaking and wondering if she had imagined the whole thing.

Ginny had come up the stairs and had sniffed angrily, obviously flushed and in high spirits from one of her frequent snogging sessions with Harry in the Library. I must remember to Scourgify the sofa…..

"Glad to see his manners haven't improved much over the years! He runs into you in a towel in front of your own bedroom and doesn't even bother to apologize! What a gentleman!"

Hermione blinked, drawing herself out of a burning, obsidian haze and automatically opened her mouth to defend her teacher. "It was my fault, Gin. I slipped on the tiles and practically fell on top of him."

Ginny snorted. "And what in Merlin's name does he have to complain about? 'Oh, bollocks, a brilliant, beautiful witch hurled her warm, slippery, naked young body at me… I certainly do hate it when that happens!' He could have at least apologized!"

Hermione flushed and shrugged her bare shoulders. "Let's get out of the hallway before I embarrass myself any further. If Malfoy catches me in this bloody green towel I'll never hear the end of it."

Ginny shook her head and smiled fondly at her best friend as she followed her into their shared bedroom. The newest Slytherin member of the Order would probably willingly suffer a thousand bouts of the cruciatus curse to be able to see Hermione Granger half naked and wrapped in his House's colors… but not for the reason that she was thinking. The brightest witch of her age and she still had no clue just how lovely she had become.

The fire was almost reduced to embers and Ginny's breathing had grown slow and deep. Still, Hermione lay awake. "Severus Snape," she whispered aloud, loving the luxurious way the syllables hissed from between her lips.

She would be lying to herself if she tried to pretend that this was the first time she had thought about him while waiting for sleep to come. What had started off as a schoolgirl crush years ago had slowly evolved into something very adult and frighteningly powerful. His long, beautiful hands and full, smirking mouth had starred in some of her most erotic fantasies and she had always woken up gasping.

Aside from the sexual attraction, which was potent, Hermione felt herself truly drawn to the potions master as a man. She admired his unequaled bravery, respected his passion for knowledge and loved that spark of vulnerability that she could always detect in his eyes when he thought no one was watching him.

After all the time they had spent working together within the Order she thought she might have finally gained his respect… but she was in no way prepared for what she had seen in his face earlier that evening in the hallway.

Desire…

He couldn't desire her. She was a silly girl who asked too many questions. She was his student.

Not for much longer…

Frustrated, she pulled her blankets over her head. She wanted him. She did. She wanted him desperately…

And she had bungled it. Flushing, she realized just how she must have looked to him… all gangly limbs and wet, bushy hair. The sophisticated, confident image that she had worked so hard to perfect in front of him had shattered.

Damn, Damn, Damn.

Sighing heavily, she rolled to her side and, eventually, after burying her face in her pillow and having herself a good cry, she drifted off to sleep.

III.

It had been almost three weeks since Severus had seen nearly all of Hermione Granger and she was beginning to drive him insane.

It had started only with dreams. Every night the dreams. Dark, sumptuous dreams where she would be writhing beautifully on black satin sheets, or doing wicked things to him with her mouth while he crushed her silky brown curls in his hands. He would awake with a start, painfully hard, and have to attend to himself while thinking of amber eyes and milky skin.

However, it wasn't the dreams that were driving him crazy. Severus was, contrary to popular belief, quite an experienced man. He had had many partners and was no stranger to the finer points of physical love.

What bothered him was the way she wormed herself into his daily waking thoughts. He would watch the lovely shape of her lips as she muttered to herself during the makeshift potions lessons in the kitchen... or watch her delicate, graceful fingers as they wrapped around the spoon when she stirred her cauldron.

He would come across her snuggled up in a chair in the dusty library… playing with the edge of her soft green sweater while immersed in a book… and he would find himself wondering hours later whether or not green was, aside from being the signature color of her rival house, her favorite.

The night before, when he had stayed at Grimmauld for dinner at Molly's command, Hermione had yawned and stretched at the table, obviously exhausted, and Severus found himself transfixed not only by the way her breasts were pressing against her shirt but by the purple shadows that almost looked like bruises beneath her bleary eyes. She was not getting enough sleep. She was so busy looking after everyone else that she had forgotten to look after herself.

She needed taking care of.

He wanted to be the one to take care of her.

He cursed out loud and everyone at the dinner table turned to stare at him. Her amber eyes blinked at him in surprise and he gruffly excused himself, saying he had papers to grade, before leaving his half eaten dinner on the table and practically hurtling himself out of the house.

The young witch had gotten under his skin.

This would not do. This would not do at all.

IV.

Hermione couldn't understand it. He had been avoiding her as much as possible… and when she did somehow find herself alone with him he would only glare at her before sweeping dramatically from the room, or, what was sometimes worse, light her skin on fire with one of those deep burning looks before silently leaving her alone to catch her breath.

Her longing for him had been put on the back burner over the past few weeks while she searched tirelessly for information on the last horcrux in between intense study sessions for her NEWT's. She was really burning the candle at both ends and was almost grateful that when she did find time to sleep she was usually too exhausted to dream of the brooding older wizard.

He was remote during the potions lessons that she shared with the boys… neither praising nor scolding any of them… and she knew, that for some reason, something had changed between them that day in the hallway.

She wondered if he was angry with her. She had thought so the night before when he had sworn loudly at dinner, pushing his chair back so hard that it had almost fallen over, before mumbling some half hearted excuse and stalking out of the kitchen.

She could have sworn that in the second between him shouting and him scraping his chair back loudly against the stone floor his angry dark eyes had been trained solely on her.

Frustrated beyond belief but too exhausted to give anymore thought to the matter, Hermione focused her eyes on the outline she had made for the potions NEWT that they would be taking tomorrow before poking a sleeping Harry in the ribs with her wand to rouse him.

V.

Severus once again found himself standing outside of Grimmauld place, Lupin's forgotten vial of wolfsbane potion tucked safely into the pocket of his robes. Stupid dog. Two months in a row was ridiculous. He was no one's delivery boy.

He had another package, however that he was quite happy to drop off. Upon hearing that Severus had to once again hand deliver the important potion to the forgetful werewolf, Dumbledore had asked him to take along the heavy packet that contained the passing NEWT test scores of his three favorite students, four including Draco, along with his letters of congratulations and their diplomas. Also included was a letter that congratulated Ginny Weasley on moving onto her seventh and final year at Hogwarts due to her exemplary marks on her final exams, also taken in absentia. The poor girl had had to take sixth year potions on her own… and a one on one private lesson from the most misunderstood professor at Hogwarts couldn't have been easy. He hadn't been too hard on her, but she still made sure to stay well out of his way whenever he came to visit the house.

Smirking, Severus muttered the password to open the wards and stepped into the dark interior of the house. It must be later than I thought, he mused. Looking at the heavy clock on the wall confirmed his suspicions. It was a little past midnight and everyone seemed to be in bed.

Lighting the end of his wand, Severus made his way to the kitchen. He would leave the packet of letters and wolfsbane on the table where they were sure to be found in the morning. Upon rounding the corner of the short hall that led to the kitchen, however, he realized that the extra light was not needed. Someone was already in there. Lowering his wand without making a sound, Severus swallowed a groan that threatened to escape him as he took in the erotic sight before him.

She had just gotten out of the shower again, and a small part of his mind reeled in wonder at how similar this visit was to the one he had made last month.

This time, she had thrown on a silk, light green night dress with loose, thin straps that fell over her shoulders. She was perched on a backless stool…her long, bare legs extended out in front of her with her little feet resting on the brick edge of the fireplace. The short, filmy skirt of the dress pooled around the tops of her thighs as she balanced a thick tome precariously on her knees. Her back was turned to him slightly, and his eyes raked hungrily over the profile of her form. She had not seen him yet.

Her hands were in her hair and her head bowed over the book, her nimble fingers hefting and lifting the gorgeous mass of riotous curls away from her neck… wringing out the excess water so that it could dry properly.

His heart stopped momentarily as little droplets of water fell from her hair onto her shoulders… their glistening tracks illuminated by the flickering light of the fire. The chemise had a low back, and he followed the trails of moisture with his eyes until they disappeared under the silk beneath her delicate shoulder blades.

Each inch of milky skin was perfection. He realized, with a squeeze of his heart, that he would be perfectly content watching this little ritual go on forever. His body betrayed him, however, and his shuddery intake of air cut through the peaceful silence as his own desire roared to life.

She turned sharply to face the doorway, her hands falling from her hair to reach for her wand. The damp curls bounced heavily around her shoulders, back and breasts and the frightened look in her eyes softened as she registered who it was that had startled her. Severus, who had bedded many women and who was an avid study of all things beautiful, had never seen anything more perfect in his entire life.

He needed her.

She was looking at him warily, obviously trying to decide whether or not he was going to insult her or not. He needed to keep things light. He didn't want to scare her away.

Tearing his eyes away from the breathtakingly sensual picture that she made, he lifted the packet of papers and waved them at her before setting them on the kitchen table… carefully… as if he were making an offering at a shrine. "I thought you'd like your test scores back. Dumbledore wanted me to bring them over personally."

The sentence was barely out of his mouth before the witch was within arms reach of him… frantically ripping open the seal and rummaging around in the packet until she found the envelope with her name on it. Tearing through the second seal, she unfolded the letter and read the words as fast as she could… her brow furrowing in such a way that made Severus wonder how he had never before realized just how adorable it was.

Then, just as his gaze made it to where her upper teeth had caught her bottom lip… a nervous tick of hers, he had noticed over the past few weeks… the sun burst through the clouds as her expression turned from stormy to radiant. Without thinking, she let out a squeal of delight and relief and threw herself into her now former potion master's arms.

Barely a second had passed before she realized her mistake and tried to pull away from him… expecting a scathing reprimand… but it never came.

Instead, not believing his good luck, Severus wound his arms around her…one of them snaking into her partially dried hair and the other trailing down to rest in the curve of her lower back.

His smirk turned into a real smile as her brown eyes widened almost comically and her skin flushed a gorgeous shade of pink.

"No need to be frightened, Miss Granger, I only wanted to offer my congratulations."

One of the straps of her night dress was falling from her shoulder and he eyed the progress that it made down her arm.

"The highest NEWT scores that Hogwarts has ever seen…" He followed its progress by dropping a kiss to her bare shoulder… hearing her breath hitch. "I can't say that I'm surprised."

His lips were tentatively starting to explore the ridge of her clavicle when he heard her soft voice whisper into his ear. "Hermione."

He looked up sharply, surprised at the lust in her voice. There was no fear in her eyes… only desire. For him. The roar of inner triumph was so deafening that he forgot what she had said and had to ask her to repeat herself.

"Hermione. I am no longer your student, Severus."

He blinked as that realization washed over him and he felt a brief moment of guilt that it wouldn't have mattered to him if she still was.

She looked dazed and Snape realized that she was still afraid of his rejection. His left hand trailed up her back to rest between her shoulder blades and back down again, releasing the tension there as his fingers continued to twine into her hair. Tipping her head back slightly, he brought his lips to the pulse point right below her ear, kissing it as it jumped up erratically to greet him. He glanced up, afraid of frightening her. She had fully thrown her head back, eyes closed as she gratefully accepted his kisses.

Severus had long known how and where to touch and kiss a woman, but what had become a sort of routine with the others became new and exciting territory with Hermione Granger. Each feather light caress from him was rewarded by a delicious little mewling noise or a shuddering sigh, and he felt himself growing harder than he had ever remembered being. Her name came out in a strangled gasp against her neck as she unconsciously pressed against his erection with her hips and he fought for control. Merlin, he hadn't even kissed her yet….

He trailed his lips up the length of her lovely throat, pausing for a minute at her ear and using his teeth to nibble at the lobe. She gasped and her hands that had previously been resting on his chest listlessly now began clutching at the front of his shirt as she arched into him. The hand that had been resting on her lower back traveled slowly up her side before it started ghosting its way across the underside of her breast… just barely grazing her nipple through the thin material.

A startled moan was wrenched from her throat and she snapped her head up to look at him… almost clunking her forehead against his own.

It was only then did he realize just how innocent she truly was. Untouched by any other man. He didn't need legilimency to read it in her eyes.

He must have been blind to not have seen it before… blind or just so incredibly selfish that he was willing to put his lust before her virtue.

He would not do this to her. He would let her go. He did not deserve to take this from her.

He extracted his hand from her hair and used his hands to straighten her out of her slightly precarious, arching position. He willed himself to tamp down the anguish that he was feeling. He needed her, wanted her…. he loved her… but he would not seduce her like this. She deserved someone as young and pure as she was. He shuddered at the thought of this radiant creature in the clumsy hands of Potter, Weasely or, worse yet… Malfoy.

Still. He withdrew from her, not able to meet her eyes as he backed away.

"I'm sorry Miss Granger. That was wrong of me. Please, do not let this make you think any less of me. I'm extremely ashamed of myself."

He turned from her, intending to go back to the castle to drown his sorrow and humiliation with a bottle of fire whiskey when he heard a wrenching sob behind him.

He looked back just in time to see the heavy book that Hermione had been reading earlier hurtling toward his head. He dodged it just in time to see the apple that she had grabbed from the fruit bowl on the table go whizzing by his left ear. Dumbfounded, he grabbed the hysterical witch by her wrists before she could start lobbing kitchen utensils at him.

He opened his mouth to demand that she stop acting like a lunatic when-

"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME? You awful, arrogant….. Git!" She struggled against his hold, shrieking and spitting like a snarling cat.

He gritted his teeth. She was surprisingly strong for such a little witch. "Miss Granger, I understand that my behavior was inappropriate but I'm not sure that what I did was enough to deserve-"

"What you DID?!" She shrieked. "What you DID is nothing compared to what you DO to me every time I see you! I try so hard to make you see me… to make you understand that I'm not a little girl anymore… and all I ever get from you is disdain and condescension! What you did to me was wonderful… and you stopped because you were ashamed…"

She lost steam, realization dawning across her face as her eyes flooded with tears. When she spoke next, it was almost a whisper. "Ashamed… you're ashamed of me." His gut clenched as he realized just how she might have interpreted his words earlier. "I don't understand, Severus. What's wrong with me? Why don't you want me?"

She began to fight him again and he felt something warm seep into his heart… something that felt dangerously similar to hope…

With one final blow to his chest, Hermione wore herself out and collapsed into his arms… her voice coming out in muffled sobs. "I want… I just want…"

He brought his arms up to rub her back in soothing circles as he pressed a kiss to the top of her curly head. "What is it that you want, Hermione?" She stiffened and looked up at him in surprise, her wet eyes searching his. Shocked by the warmth and…. Amusement?... written across his face, she said the first thing that came to her mind, which was, to her humiliation, the plain truth.

"I want you to love me."

VI.

The color drained from her face at her idiotic admission but still that warm look remained in his eyes. Utterly confused and in a panic, she began to open her mouth to protest, apologize or simply let out a hysterical scream… but before she could decide which it was going to be he gently pinched her lips shut with his long, callused finger tips.

"Hermione," he chuckled darkly, "I have been a fool." He removed his fingers and picked up exactly where he left off… his lips pressing tiny gentle kisses to the shell of her ear. Unsure of how much more her nerves could take, Hermione remained stiff until his skilled hands landed on her shoulders, rubbing them until she relaxed and leaned into him with a small, hesitant sigh of relief. "I had no idea," he continued, his warm, moist breath causing her skin to tingle and her eyes to flutter shut. "That you had any sort of feeling for me." His nose skimmed up to and over her jaw… his kisses traveling over her cheek bone. "All this time I have been feeling like a lecherous old man… furious with myself for feeling the way that I do about you. I'm not perfect. I took out that self hatred on you, and I am sorry."

His deep, rich baritone lulled her into almost a trance. He wanted her. His kisses continued, making her light headed with happiness… and when he pulled back to look at her the possessive, burning look in his smoldering black eyes made her squirm as she felt the evidence of her desire dampening her knickers. "Never doubt the fact that you are the most beautiful witch I have ever laid eyes on. Never doubt the fact that I have been dreaming about making love to you every night for what seems like forever. And never doubt the fact that I love you more than any words in any language could possibly describe."

With that, his lips descended on hers roughly.

She had never been kissed like this before. She could feel his need… feel it in the urgent way his lips parted hers, sensed it in the way his hand tightened into her hair… the scrape of his teeth, the way his tongue ran across her lower lip. She responded enthusiastically… twining her arms around his neck and pressing herself against his long, muscular form. A low growl erupted from the back of his throat and, feeling a bit wild herself, she leaned into the kiss and lightly captured his full lower lip between her teeth. Biting down gently, she sucked it into her own mouth, laving it with her tongue before releasing it again. He pulled back a bit, his expression a mixture of shock and that feral look she loved so well. She tried his trademark smirk on for size and then suddenly she was off her feet, whipped around and slammed, non too gently, on top of the kitchen table. He seemed to realize his mistake as soon as he made it and cupped her face between his beautiful hands, kissing the tip of her nose. "I'm sorry, love," he whispered raggedly. "You make me lose my head. I will be gentle, I promise."

Suddenly remembering where they were, Severus pulled out his wand and pressed another kiss to her temple before disentangling himself from her to walk to the door and create the proper wards and silencing charms that they would need to obtain some privacy. Turning back to her, he looked sheepish. She took a moment to marvel at the unfamiliar expression. "I wish that I could take you somewhere with a bed… but the Weasley girl shares your room… and it would not be safe for you to come with me to my chambers in the castle."

She looked around the warm, dimly lit room and hopped off of the table… her skirt falling into place over her thighs. Severus sighed as her lovely bare flesh was once again covered by the green silk. Hearing the sigh and seeming to catch its meaning, Hermione shot him a wicked grin and made sure to swing her hips a little more than usual as she walked to the place where her wand had fallen earlier. Bending to retrieve it, she waved it at the large kitchen table, concentrated and transfigured it into a gigantic bed. The sheets were black like the linens in his dreams and the coverlet was green silk. He looked up at her through hooded eyes and stalked toward her slowly like a large cat stalks his prey. "What a clever, clever witch," he drawled. And then he pounced.

VII.

She had already made quick work of his robes and frock coat and was working on the buttons of his white linen shirt before he grabbed her hands to still them. Moving slowly, he hooked the index finger of each hand around the thin straps of her dress and pulled… drawing the flimsy material down her body. Each part of her that was bared to his gaze was more incredible than the last. The silk whispered over her hips and he stood off the edge of the bed to pull the scrap of fabric over her legs before he dropped it to the floor.

He simply stared. Motionless.

She moved cover herself and he stopped her with a shake of his head.

"You are exquisite."

Her skin was muted gold and cream in the firelight. Her breasts, round and just the right size, were each topped with a perfect dusky pink nipple.

His gaze traveled down the graceful line of her torso, smooth and slender, then over the flare of her hips and down to the glistening patch of soft skin between her legs. He licked his lips. She was bare. She blushed under his gaze and he crawled up the length of her body, kissing her lips once before bending to capture one of her nipples with his mouth. She sighed softly and he brought his hand up to stimulate the other one before switching. Her breath came out in short, hitching pants and she threaded her fingers through his hair.

It was time. He wanted to taste her. Bringing his face to hers, he kissed her deeply before trailing his mouth over to her ear. "Watch me," he breathed, and he made sure that she did as he slowly, torturously kissed his way down her body. When he reached her left inner thigh her eyes threatened to close and he pulled away from her skin. They snapped open again and he smirked…making sure that he had her attention as he slowly leaned down…parting her lips with his long, slender fingers and giving her one long, slow lick that ended in a sucking swirl of his tongue against her clit. She nearly came undone… crying out and arching clear off the bed. Chuckling against her, Severus placed one large, warm palm on her abdomen and pressed her back down into the sheets, holding her hips still. She became wild in his hands as he continued to nip, suckle and lick her… torturing her with his mouth. Glancing up at her, her saw the Hermione from his dreams… white skin against smooth black sheets, moaning and writhing with her hair fanned out around her on the pillows. Wanting to watch her release, Severus inserted a finger into her opening and watched in awe as her eyes opened wide and the beginnings of comprehension flickered across her lovely features. He used his thumb to circle her clit and she started to tremble.

"Severus… I want it… I want.."

"Yes, love I know. Let me give it to you. Come for me… Come."

She flew over the edge. Every muscle in her body became as taut as a bow and his breath caught in his chest as he brought her to what he knew was her very first orgasm. He knew in that moment that this woman would always be his. That he would never let her go.

He waited until she sank back onto the pillows, her muscles relaxed and spent before he began to prepare them both for what he knew was inevitable. He slid up her body before once again inserting his finger into her opening, this time adding a second digit. She moaned and turned her head for a kiss as his fingers stretched the tender flesh. After a few moments he brought his hand up her body and touched it to his lips, letting his tongue dart out to taste her sweetness. Her eyes widened again and she kissed him fiercely, barely noticing when he shifted himself in between her legs and his erection took the place of his fingers.

She stiffened a bit when she felt the tip of it between her folds and he smoothed her hair back from her face. "This will definitely hurt a bit, Hermione…and once we do this there is no going back. You can only give this gift once."

Hermione nodded, biting her lip, and Severus leaned down to suck it into his own mouth as he thrust deeply into her.

It was bliss. It took every ounce of control he possessed to not press himself over and over again into her tight, slick heat.

He looked down at her and instantly came back to himself. Her face was screwed up in pain and tears slipped down over her cheeks to gather in her hair. Alarmed, Severus leaned down to kiss them away, sweeping his lips across every plane of her face and whispering lovely things into her ears until she was ready to continue.

The second thrust pained her, he could tell, but it wasn't long before she let out a low moan. Encouraged and relieved that he had not hurt her too badly, he began a steady rhythm, grabbing first her right thigh and then her left so that her legs wrapped around his hips. The angle shifted and she arched into him as he hit just the right spot inside of her. He sank into her, again and again…each thrust an unspoken promise.

I will never leave you. I will always love you. You will always be mine.

She began trembling again just as his thrusts were becoming erratic and slightly rough. Then, once he was certain that he could handle no more, she came apart around him.

Once more thrust and he followed her over the edge as she convulsed around him… her nails running down his back as he shouted his release.

He dropped his head down against her shoulder… trembling right along with her. Her small hands smoothed over his back… soothing the angry red tracks that her nails had created only minutes before… before reaching up to tangle into his sweaty hair. She hummed with sleepy pleasure and he lifted his eyes to her face.

Her hair seemed to be everywhere... and her small, lovely face was more relaxed then he had ever seen it… long, inky eyelashes forming crescents against her flushed cheeks. Entranced by the vision before him and astounded by the depth of feeling she invoked in him… he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"I want to marry you."

Her eyes opened and he suddenly realized that he wanted nothing more than to belong to this lovely creature.

"I want to be the only man you will ever love like this. I want you to have my children. I want you to make me feel the way I am feeling right now every day for the rest of my life."

She still said nothing, and the panic set in.

"I know that you are young and that I may as well be twice your age… I know that there is still a war going on and that one or both of us may die… and I know-"

Hermione reached up and pinched his lips together with her fingers, mimicking his own gesture from before.

"Yes." She breathed, her brown eyes bright and glistening in the firelight. "Yes, Yes, Yes."

They made love several times throughout the night… and when the morning began to make its presence known through the dusty windows of the kitchen Severus dressed Hermione tenderly, placing a gentle kiss on every inch of bare flesh before he covered it with the green silk. When they were both presentable, they transfigured the bed back into the table, laced their fingertips together and went to greet the new day.

Epilogue.

Hermione sighed as the warm water eased the tension in her shoulders and back. It had been an extremely long day at the Ministry. The war had been over for years but many survivors were still suffering from post traumatic stress and her entire day had been booked with appointments. Her entire body was aching. She had been daydreaming about a hot shower all day… and even though the water was now starting to turn cool she was extremely reluctant to get out.

Sighing regretfully, she turned the faucets off and stepped out of the shower… groping for a towel to wipe the water from her eyes. Not finding it on the rack where she had left it earlier, she looked down to see if it had fallen on the floor… until a slight noise coming from the open doorway made her look up.

The towel was dangling from her husband's long fingers as he leaned against the doorjamb, his smirking smile still just as disarming even after their five years of marriage.

"It seems as if you've forgotten something," he drawled as he stepped forward to do the drying off for her.

She smiled and stepped into his embrace, reaching forward to tug on the clasp of his teaching robes.

"And it seems that you, dear husband, are overdressed."

He chuckled as he let her being to undress him but stilled her hands with his own as he watched a single drop of water fall from Hermione's chin. Grinning wickedly, he bent down to follow its trail with his mouth… tracing his tongue over her breast…and stopping where the little droplet had rolled across the swell of her very pregnant belly.

He pressed his lips gently against her skin and murmured something incoherent to his unborn son before looking up at his wife to repeat the sentiment to her.

"You have no idea how much you are loved."

Fin.

So, that's it! I hope you all enjoyed it and, once again, don't be afraid to review.

Until next time!

-Carmabella