The Wizards Breath

Chapter 10...Evermore

After a much needed shower and another beautiful orgasm Hermione
fell into a deep sleep, curled next to Severus\'s long body. Her small hand
resting softly on his chest, rising and falling with his slow steady breaths.
She thought of nothing more until the following morning.

Hermione woke with a start as she heard her cell phone ringing. To her
surprise when she opened her eyes it was dangling above her. Severus
holding it as if it were a dreaded virus, pinching it between his fingers.

\"Is this infernal thing yours?\", he sneered as she took it from him.

Hermione pushed the button to answer, \"Hello?\"

\"Hey, Mione.\" It was Harry. \"I just thought I\'d call to...\"

Hermione cut him off. \"To check up on me?\"

\"No...well I just wanted to know your alright.\" Harry sounded like he had
finally sobered up long enough to think about someone besides himself.

\"Really Harry, I\'m fine.\" She snuck a look at Snape after she had said
the name he, at one time loathed, and still kind of did for that matter.
\"Trust me I\'m in very good hands.\" Severus arched his eyebrow as
she smiled up at him and winked.

\"Ron misses you, Herm.\" He was barely above a whisper. Ron must have
still been asleep, or maybe sitting there listening for juicy information. Prick.

\"Harry, just don\'t O.K.\" Hermione was not about to listen to one of his
\'you belong together\' speeches. She had been listening to him for years,
before they even got together, and was still listening to it two years after
their break-up. \"I\'m on vacation, Harry. It\'s not a guilt trip.\"

\"Alright then, don\'t get snarky.\"

Hermione barely supressed a giggle. If Harry only knew who she was
with, then she could see *him* get snarky. She was sure Harry would
have an absolute fit, but she discovered that at the moment she really
didn\'t care. Severus was giving her a questioning gaze, and she
didn\'t see the need to continue this coversation.

\"I have to go, Harry. Someone special is waiting for me.\"

\"To do what....\" Hermione cut him off with a push of a button, turning the
power off in the middle of Harry\'s sentence.

Hermione smiled sheepishly. \"Sorry, I forgot to turn it off last night.\" She
sat up to bring her hand up his torso. \"I was involved with other activities
you know.\"

mm, mm, yes.\" He ran his fingertips lightly down her arm. \"How could I forget?\"

She moved up more to embrace him, loving the way his arms felt like
they fit perfectly around her, the the light musk smell of his skin. Hermione
took an extra deep breath, letting it fill her senses and she let it out in a heavy,
contented sigh.

Severus brushed her cheek lightly with his lips, and she turned her face to
meet them. Pressing her own lips on his, moving her arms up to wrap
around his neck.

She deepened her kiss and he pulled back with a wicked grin. \"I\'ve made a
monster out of you.\"

\"I\'d have to agree.\" She played in his long hair, and scratched his neck lightly.

Severus let a small moan escape, but he grabbed her hands to hold them,
and he leaned in to rest his forehead on hers.

\"As much as I\'d love to lay you down and ravage your body for hours,\" he
sighed, \"Sadly, I can not. There will be time for such things later, but right now
my dear we must get ready to leave.\"

\"Leave?\" She sat back down on the bed. \"Leave to where?\"

He turned from her to begin dressing. \"This is not a place for privacy or
comfort. We are going to London,\" he paused for a moment. \"We\'re going
to my home.\"

\"You\'re home? I didn\'t even know you had one. I assumed you
stayed at Hogwart\'s.\" Hermione got out of bed, her muscles still
a little sore, and opened her travel bag to find some clothes.

\"I do mostly, but it\'s the family house.\" He pulled on his jacket stiffly,
and adjusted his collar. \"I\'m the last remaining Snape, and I fearshalshall never have a son to pass down my name to.\"

Hermione blushed feverishly at his words, and Severus looked as if
he couldn\'t believe he had spoken so freely without thinking. He cleared
his throat loudly and began to shuffle around in the nightstand drawer,
clearly embarrassed by his statement.

She thought on his words as she got dressed. \'The last Snape?\' Did
that mean Severus wanted children? Nah, not Snape. As many classes
as she had endured with him, she could only deduce he hated kids. But
what if was only other people\'s children he hated? Then a little
nagging thought broke through the others. \'Why are you even thinking
about Severus and his wanting or not wanting of children?\' She tried
to snuff out the little voice quickly. It was silent for the moment, but not
forgotten.

Hermione had become lost in her thoughts and he brought her back
to reality with his voice booming from the bathroom.

\"Portkey with be activated in fifteen minutes.\" It sounded like he was in the
middle of brushing his teeth. \"Are you ready to go, Hermione?\"

\"Yes,\" she called back to him. \"I just don\'t know why we can\'t stay here.
I like it here.\"

He popped his head around the bathroom door. Even though there was a
toothbrush hanging from the side of his mouth he still managed a wicked
smile.

\"Oh, so you would like to stay here at Malfoy Manor then?\" He popped his head
back into the bathroom, missing the look of shock on Hermione\'s face.

\"Malfoy Manor!\", she exclaimed. \"Are you saying I slept in Draco\'s house?\"

She heard him laugh loudly. \"You did a lot more than sleep!\"

\"Oh, Gods!\", she groaned aloud. \"Don\'t tell me anymore. I don\'t
want to know!\"

He emerged from the bathroom and leaned in the doorway. \"Relax, this
is just one of their many summer houses.\"

She stuck out her bottom lip and crossed her arms in a huff, but he could
tell she was only teasing. Severus crossed the room, walking with his long
strides, to wrap her once again in his arms. It made him feel like he would
never again want to hold anything else with them.

He held her there for a long while, both just enjoying the silence, and being
together after being alone for so long. Severus pulled back from her and
reached into his pants pocket, bringing out a silver ring with a large black
oval stset set into it.

In less than a minute it would take them back to his boyhood home. He had
not set foot on the family estate for almost ten years, but something about
being with her made his heart yearn for home. His home, all but forgotten
these past years. No one to even show it to, much less share it with. Time
was not on their side, he had less than a week to enjoy her company. Then it
was back to the emptiness Severus thought would be there forever.

\"Are you ready to leave, my dear?\" He held out his hand to show her
the ring in his palm.

\"Yes, Severus.\" she smiled sweetly. \"You can take me anywhere.\"

He smiled and broke their intense gaze. \"Take my hand.\"

Hermione placed her hand on top of the ring, and it began to hum
between them. Severus closed his eyes after a sudden feeling hit him
straight from the heart when he looked at their hands. They were
standing here, face to face, hands entwined held together by a ring,
his ring. It stirred a strange feeling in him like never before, and he knew
it was not lust, but what was it? Before he could think of it any longer
the pull from the portkey latched on to his stomach and lurched them
back to his childhood home.

They stopped just outside in the front archway, luckily it was
sheilding them from the grey skies that cried rain down on the city.
They both stood there a moment, hands still wrapped around the
ring that held them together, the bond that had brought them here.

He was the first to break their union, and he slipped the ring onto his
middle finger. Severus opened the front door for her, and when she
stepped in it simply took her breath away.

He stepped in behind her, shutting the door with a bang that echoed in
the large entrance hall. Severus slipped behind her to wrap his long arms
around her slim waist.

\"Welcome to Evermore, Hermione.\"

Something was screaming inside to him, but he knew not what it
wanted. Some new feeling, strange and getting stronger the more time
he shared with her. He tried to push it down, it didn\'t need thought about
now. It was too soon to even think about anything like that. He would try
to bury it, just like he had always done.

Only he couldn\'t help but think ,as he kissed her neck softly, one thing
he had learned was not to ignore the hints of your life that fate throws
you. The want to bring her home, the awakening of long resting emotions
from within, and finally the ring. He hadn\'t even thought about it when he
had scheduled the portkey, but now it seemed to mean more...much more.

And if he could of seen her eyes, he would of known he was not
alone in this.

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Hey readers...hope everything is to your liking..this one
might go on for awhile..more smut soon...And if anyone
is interested I\'m almost done with a PWP for the Anime
section...Any Night Warriors or DarkStalkers fans...
hell if you just like my writing..it will be posted soon under Anime
Misc...or if you are new here, just go to Author Directory under
Shaolin..thank you...more to come soon..Keep up those
wonderful reviews...!!!!!!!!! P.S.To anyone who wants to know
the name Evermore came from my favorite Led Zeppelin
song..The Battle of Evermore :)