A Debt Of Life

Over the next month, Severus was called twice, when he returned to the house he was sporting bloodied clothes, muscle spasms and sometimes worse.

Each time Hermione healed him, and each occasion she was unconscious for less and less time. It seemed that with experience and practice came something akin to immunity, to the lows of her new gift.

The three people whom lived full time in the house grew closer as the days went by, Hermione, Severus and Devlyn became a family, they had grown to care and depend on each other.

So the day that a beautiful woman turned up on the doorstep and told them that she was his mother and wanted to take him home, was the first time in years Severus’ and Hermione’s hearts felt like they were being ripped out of their chest's.

The woman came in, and Devlyn recognised her immediately. And just like any four year old child, as much as he had grown to love and depend on Hermione and Severus he needed and wanted his real mother.

Severus and Hermione were so distraught on the inside that they didn’t ask to many questions, and by the time the sunset that night, Devlyn and his belongings were gone, and the house suddenly felt empty and cold.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Severus spent the first hour shut away in his room with a bottle of fire whiskey that seemed endlessly full, and wishing that the Dark Lord would call him so he could forget the pain that was eating him on the inside, even if it meant swapping it for physical pain.

Hermione spent her first hour dry faced, and a little too calm for anyone who had just lost what had become a child to her. She went to the room Devlyn had stayed in and started to pack the things he didn’t take with him, his clothes and his toys. But when she picked up a small stuffed puppy dog, the only one that would help Devlyn sleep at night, her last wall fell, and so did she, to her knees. And that’s where she sat, holding onto a white and black spotted stuffed dog, rocking back and forth as the tears she was determined not to cry fell quietly.

That’s how Severus found her half way through the second hour. She was so quiet in her grief stricken state, that he was unsure at first if she was catatonic, or just really silent.

He sat behind her, his legs on either side of her hips, and placed his arms around her. He understood that she was in pain, and he understood that a lot of it was his fault, he knew she wasn’t being silly, and for once he was going to try and fix something without, yelling, screaming, brooding or manipulating it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In the years to come, neither Severus or Hermione would be able to tell you, how they went from sitting in silence to kissing passionately, the only thing they could really tell you was that they needed to find solace in one another, they needed to make sure that the link they had created over months of living together was still there and growing strong, and the first thing they thought about was physically proving that.

Severus kissed every piece of bare flesh that he uncovered, Hermione ran her hands through his hair and moaned as he hit a sensitive spot behind her ear.

As they stripped each other down to nothing, they learnt what the other liked. It was with a sweat slicked, hot, gasping moment that Hermione bit into Severus’ shoulder and he swiftly thrust his aching cock into her, making her arch towards him, sending him deeper into heaven.

Severus pulled Hermione with him as he sat back on his haunches, not once disengaging their bodies. Like dancing, their bodies spoke, and moved as one. Hermione wrapped her legs around his back, and let her head fall back, exposing her neck to Severus, whom nibbled on her jaw, and licked and sucked down her throat, he then began to suck and bite on her collar bone and the soft flesh of her throat right above it.

When Hermione’s inner walls began to tremble, Severus knew she was nearly ready. He lowered her back to the ground, placed her right leg upon his shoulder and began to thrust with wild abandonment, and Hermione came with a scream of his name.

When she came down from her climatic high, Hermione and Severus’ eyes locked, and the desire and passion he found gazing at him from the caramel depths was enough to send him over the proverbial edge, with a guttural groan Severus climaxed, and moulded his panting self into Hermione’s body, making sure to let his elbows take most of the weight.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione and Severus made love many times during the night, and at some stage moved to one of their rooms, and later even made it to the bed.

Just as the sun was peaking over the horizon Severus and Hermione, wrapped around each other, fell into an exhausted sleep, hoping that if only for one day, they could keep the demons away.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione and Severus were still asleep, naked and entwined in Severus’ bed when Dumbledore entered the room intending to find Severus alone.

When Dumbledore saw that Severus was not alone, he assumed the woman was just a whore and decided that neither party should deserve the privacy most would give someone in their position. He was there to talk to Severus his spy and he was thoroughly annoyed that the spy’s life did not revolve around his jobs and decided it was time to change that.

He walked back to the door and slammed it so hard that it rebounded off the wall instead of shutting.

Severus and Hermione sprung up in the bed. When Severus realised that they were not alone in the room he handed the sheet to Hermione, who covered herself with it, and then told Dumbledore to get out of the room and meet him in the study for him.

Albus left reluctantly, without recognising the woman whom was sharing Severus’ bed and began to plot his next plan of manipulation.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Severus kissed Hermione good morning and advised her to go have a shower and meet him for breakfast.

He was pleased that he had her in his life, and didn’t see any reason that either of them should regret the night before.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione was glad about the way Severus was taking the nights events in hand, because she enjoyed the event and the feelings associated with it.

She walked past Severus to the bathroom with a smile on her face, stopping once just in front of him and gave him a very passionate kiss, hoping that it would leave little doubt as to how she felt about him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Albus, what is so important that you come in and not only invade my privacy, but also disrespect my belongings by slamming doors, when you had the opportunity to walk over and tap me awake," Severus ground out as he entered the room, not even trying to hide the fact that he was extreamley mad.

"Your privacy is not my concern, what is, is the ‘woman’ you have in your bed, she is most likely some untrustworthy whore, whom could have killed you during the night, and you don’t seem to care that I would lose the only link to information inside Voldemort’s camp."

"Well you don’t have to worry about the woman in my house, she is trustworthy,"

"I demand that you obliviate her anyway," Dumbledore said sternly.

"Why don’t you ask her what she wants," "Hermione, can you come out here please, our esteemed omniscient leader wishes to wipe your memory because he thinks you’re a two bit whore," Severus yelled out, laughing on the inside when he saw the expression on Dumbledore’s face change radically from all knowing, to rage, to shock and back to rage.

Hermione tried not to laugh, when she heard Severus yell out for her. She could just imagine the look on that old coots face when he put two and two together, and wouldn’t be surprised if he came up with five.

The secret of her being back in London, would be secret no more, and the fact that she was sleeping with Severus would be all over the order by dinner time. She would just have to wait for them to either paint her as a poor influenced woman under a potion or curse, or a traitor who was trying to get information from their spy.

Because seriously, who would treat either of them as human beings that had the right, to live and fall in love, or to do anything without being given permission first. Hermione was going to enjoy waking them all up, and watching as they realised everything that they all believed about both her and Severus was going to blow up in their faces.

Hermione walked into the room Severus’ voice had travelled from, walked right up to Severus, and kissed him on the cheek whilst she entwined her fingers with his, before looking over to Dumbledore with a smile on her face.

"Morning Albus, what brings you to our humble abode, surely you know it’s polite to owl before arriving."

"Ms Granger," Dumbledore nodded briefly before looking back to Severus.

"There is a meeting tonight, be there at six," was all he said before turning around and leaving via floo.

The minute the green flames disappeared, both Hermione and Severus broke out into fits of laughter.