You Promised It Would Be Forever - Edit

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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Chapter 19 ~ Stirrings

Hermione moved into her rooms at Hogwarts the following night. Severus had gone to the house and brought her clothing, books and both wands. Her wand found at the apparation point as well as her bag had been returned to her. She seemed to have a preference for the new wand she received from Voldemort. It seemed to be much more powerful than her original. Hermione planned to bring it by Mr. Ollivander's shop to find out if he knew who owned it before she did.

Her lesson plan was already completed, and several students had signed up for her course. The first day Hermione demonstrated a few of her original spells and thoroughly hooked the students. Especially her repelling shield. She allowed a student to fire a weak hex at her, and it bounced back and hit him.

"Try to run after you throw your next hex," she said to the young wizard. He let a weak stunner fly and ran behind Hermione's desk. His hex circled back and flew behind the desk, stunning him slightly. The students were all very impressed.

"In order to create your own spells, you have to know Spell Theory. I will teach you all I can, then you can pursue it further when you attend university. But you will have a good head start," Hermione told them.

As news about how great the class was got around, Hermione found that students were transferring to her class in large numbers. It didn't hurt that the male students found her very sexy. Hermione was the subject of quite a few randy little fantasies. She finally had to close the class when it swelled to thirty students.

Severus noticed Hermione was getting her glow back. The glow that surrounded her when involved in something she loved. He had ceased being her guardian when she moved into her rooms, and only saw her in passing. Sometimes she would exit her rooms at the same time he did, and hesitate as if thinking of going back into her rooms. Or she would give him a quick hello and walk double-time to avoid walking with him.

Hermione's reaction to him reminded the Potions Master of when he had let her know that he knew she fantasized about him before they became lovers. She had skittered like a rabbit every time he came anywhere near her. Severus knew the witch still loved him and most likely she was trying to hide it from him by avoiding him. He decided to test the theory.

He waited just inside his potions office for Hermione to leave her rooms for breakfast, then swooped out on her, blocking her path.

"Good morning, Hermione," he said to her, rather silkily to see if there were any reaction. There was. She became very nervous.

"Good morning, Severus," she replied, her amber eyes shifting as she looked for a way to dart around him. She wouldn't look him in the eye. "I need to get to breakfast, so if you'll excuse me…"

"I'm also heading to breakfast, Hermione. We might as well walk together," Severus said.

Now Hermione did look up at him, her eyes rather wide and worried. But she began to walk beside him. She was quiet, which was unlike her. Normally the witch chattered about anything that was going through her mind. But, she hadn't made amends to him yet. She felt she didn't have the right to talk to him as if everything between them was fine, when it wasn't.

"How are your classes going?" Severus ventured, trying to get her to talk.

"They're fine. Just fine," she responded.

Severus had the feeling the witch wanted to break into a run and escape him. He smirked a bit. The bastard inside him loved making her feel uncomfortable. Some things never changed.

"You seem to have quite a large class," he pressed.

"Yes. Very large," she said shortly as they arrived at the Main Hall and turned into the rush of students heading for breakfast. Hermione took this opportunity to try to separate from him, but Severus stuck to her doggedly until they turned down the hallway that led to the staff entrance to the Great Hall.

Suddenly Severus placed a hand on her arm and stopped her. Hermione turned to him, and literally trembled under his touch. He looked at her intensely as she quaked. He knew that quake all right. He felt a little pulse of desire…just a tiny one. It had been a long, long time for him.

Hermione looked terrified.

He scowled at her look. She didn't need to be afraid of him.

"Hermione, you don't have to be frightened of me. I'm not going to hurt you or do anything to you," he said, still scowling. He didn't realize he looked pretty frightening.

"Please let me go, Severus. I'm…I'm not ready to talk to you yet," Hermione said in a small voice.

Again, this reminded Severus of the time when Hermione tried to hide what she felt for him so long ago. He had seduced her shortly after. He found he was having similar thoughts now.

The Potions Master's face must have betrayed his thoughts, because Hermione began to get a rather wild look in her eyes, the whites showing.

Alarmed, Severus released her, fearing that she might relapse if he pushed her too far. Hermione backed away from him and hurried to the staff entrance, opening the door and disappearing inside.

Severus cursed himself. He had no idea why he stopped Hermione that way. Most likely she'd be more skittish than ever now. But he knew that the reaction her body had when he touched her wasn't fear. Not by a long shot. That had most definitely been desire. He could feel her temperature rise through the fabric of her robes.

Her next therapy session was in a week. She would practice apologizing to him and hopefully, come to him soon.

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Hermione sat in her seat next to Professor McGonagall, close to hyperventilating, her heart pounding and palms sweating. For a moment, it seemed Severus had looked at her the way he used to look at her when he wanted her. She had almost gone into total meltdown. If she had stood there a moment longer, it would have all come tumbling out before she was ready and she could have ruined her upcoming, practiced apology.

Hermione looked down at her sleeve. She could still feel the place where Severus hand had gently grasped her arm. The moment he touched her, her whole body heated up and started to shake. He had to have noticed. Severus could always tell when she reacted to him. He wouldn't have forgotten the signs.

Hermione's face flushed with shame. After what she had done to him, she had no right to react like that. She denied him for not days, weeks or months…but years. And now she was quivering after him like some randy little seventh year again. What must he think of her?

Her first night in her rooms, all she could think about was Severus in the bed next door. It had been horrible. On top of that, she had dreamed about him, a very erotic dream where he was driving her body across the bed lustfully, his black eyes blazing down at her. It had seemed so real and she woke with her nightgown soaked from her orgasm, the first she had in years. What was so disturbing was that the dream didn't happen in their bed in the house at Little Hangelton, nor had it occurred in his four-poster bed in his private rooms. Severus had been fucking her in the bed she was sleeping in now.

Hermione sighed as she began to calm. She surreptiously looked down the table toward her ex-husband, only to find he was looking directly at her thoughtfully. She quickly turned her head away and ordered her breakfast. Half a grapefruit and coffee. She didn't feel she could keep anything else down. Now she was nervous about leaving the Great Hall. She didn't want to run into him on her way back to the dungeons. She felt overwhelmed.

Severus saw what Hermione ordered for breakfast and knew immediately that she was very upset. She always ate sparsely when troubled. She was prone to stomach upset when her nerves were bad. And he imagined she was feeling very disturbed that she showed such a reaction to him. She had to know he realized it for what it was. Desire. That old desire she used to evidence when he touched her.

And he had reacted for a moment.

He suspected he was still reacting.

Through listening to her sessions Severus knew without a doubt his ex-wife stilled loved him. And today he found out for himself she was still very aroused by him.

Hermione had for all intents and purposes been dead to Severus when she divorced him, and now it was as if she was back from the grave and haunting him. What to do about her consumed his thoughts much of the time.

Should he forgive the witch but keep her at arm's length, and continue to live as he was, alone? Or should he forgive her and take advantage of her love for him to satisfy his sexual needs and not make a commitment to her again? Or should he forgive her and remarry her since she was ill when she divorced him?

And would any of these choices truly make him happy?

Severus looked down the table at the petite witch again, watching as Hermione rose rather nervously and walked toward him, intent on leaving the Great Hall. She rushed past his seat and disappeared out the staff exit door. He suspected she would run all the way back to the dungeons and the safety of her rooms.

The Potions Master shook his head and took a large sip of his coffee.

She reminded him so much of the nervous virgin he had taken years ago.

At the other end of the table, Albus watched Severus with a small smile on his face. He had witnessed a flushed Hermione enter the Hall, followed by Severus, and watched the Potions Master look at her a few times, and she looking at him.

The Headmaster didn't think it would be long now. True love was a lot like a phoenix after all. It could burn completely to ash, then rise from those very ashes to live again.

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A/N: At last, some heat! Yay. Moving right along ya'll. Please review.