Back to Life

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Chapter Eight


“Hermione.” He had growled it out between his teeth.


“See? That wasn’t very difficult, was it?” she asked casually as she got to her feet. Going over to Draco. “Thank you for attempting to feed me properly, but at least now I can say I’ve gotten drunk on the very best money has to offer.” She kissed Draco’s head in a motherly fashion. “Keep safe.”


“You as well,” Draco replied, trying as he might to keep from laughing as he watched his godfather trailing after the petite witch. Waving over to the waiter, he said, “I’ll order now.”


Once out the door, Severus took her by her arm straight over to the nearest apperation point. Disapperating did nothing for her stomach, which was filled for the most part with fire whiskey. He walked her up the pathway from the gatehouse and straight into the dungeons. Several of the staff stopped and one or two looked about to speak until they realized that moment might not be the best time for it.


Once to his rooms he sat her down, giving her a look of dire threat as he snarled, “Stay.” He left the room and a moment later was back with a sober up potion in hand. “Drink.”


She took it, drinking it slowly. It tasted like shit, but rumor had it that it worked better that way. Setting down the empty vial, she looked over to him. “I swear if the next thing out of your mouth is another single word order, I’m leaving.”


He was silent a moment, before saying, “This is difficult enough as it is, please…” He held his hand up to stop her from speaking. “Please just let me say what I have to say before you leave me?” He paced a moment before stopping and saying, “I am so very sorry that happened.”


“What part are you sorry for?” she asked him quietly.


“It shouldn’t have happened…”


“All of it then,” she said, sounding sad. “I was worried you were going to say that.” She looked up into his eyes. “Let me guess, you were still half asleep and you were having a wet dream about Lilly?”


“I-I thought you were the one asleep.”


“I was awake,” she answered. “Even more so after you called me Lilly.”


“Merlin, I’m an idiot,” he muttered, going straight over to kneel in front of Hermione. “I am sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking or if I was thinking at all. It just slipped out. I didn’t do it on purpose. It wasn’t a plot to hurt you either.”


“I know,” she whispered, gaining his attention. “Severus, you loved her.”


“I doubt there’s a single individual on the planet that doesn’t know that thanks to Potter,” he complained. “But I…we never did what we did this morning.” His eyes went darker, leaning closer to her. “I’ve never done that with any woman.”


“Me neither,” she replied, but blushed and rushed out with, “Had that done to me, I mean.” Squeezing her eyes shut, she covered her face with her hands. “Damn, I sound like an ass.”


He reached up and gently pried her hands away from her face. Rubbing his thumbs over her knuckles, he said quietly, “You’re the only woman I ever wanted to do that with.”


“Why did you call me her?” she asked. “I have to know.”


Taking a deep breath, he said, “I had a fleeting moment, a bare millisecond, when I thought you would be far better off without me. So to stop this…” He waved between them. “I did the most witless thing a man could do when he has a beautiful woman in his bed.” Severus reached out and caressed her face. “But then I realized that instead of making your life better, I was making my life worse.”


She went into his arms, kissing his mouth with gentle biting kisses. “If you want me out of your bed, just tell me to leave next time.”


“I won’t,” he murmured, against her lips. “Never will I do that.”


“Can you please feed me before I expire?” she inquired as she slipped her arms around his neck. “I’ve been pulled away from two meals in less than thirty minutes and I haven’t eaten all day today.”


“Pulled away from two meals, hmm?” he asked.


“Draco found me at the Leaky Caldron right in the nick of time,” she muttered. “This drunken lout was hitting on me.”


“Really? What happened?”


“Draco punched him, told him off, and escorted me to that restaurant you found us at,” she muttered. “You so owe me a meal. The food in that eatery smelled amazing.”


“Come along then,” he said, pulling her to her feet. “I’m sure we can wrangle something from the elves here for you to eat.”


“Severus?” she said, pulling him to a stop. He looked down into her eyes as she told him, “The food may have smelled amazing, but chances were that I would have gotten drunk instead.” She kissed his cheek. “Thanks for coming to get me.”


“For you, always.” He blushed at his own words.


Hermione smiled, as she went to tiptoe and rubbed her nose against his. “No body has ever said anything like that to me before.”


“Not even Potter?”


“I’m like a sister to him,” she whispered.


“And Ronald Weasley?”


“The only way he would come to find me is if all the food had run out around the world and I had the last of his mother’s Sheppard’s pies.” Hermione kissed his ear. “Food. Now.”


“Demanding wench,” he muttered, even as he was smiling to himself.


The two ended up eating in the Great Hall, quietly speaking to each other as well as to the other professors there at the table. It was in the middle of the meal that Neville came up to the table, clearing his throat.


“I just had to know if it was true,” Neville said, looking to Hermione.


“What?” she asked him with concern, as he would never come up in front of the entire school otherwise.


“Is it true that you are letting the Carrows out of Azkaban?”


“No, they didn’t qualify for the life probation program,” she answered. “Their solicitor came to me several times, but I didn’t even consider them.”


A look of relief washed over his face. “I heard…”


“I figured,” she murmured. “They both were given the kiss this afternoon and are now being housed in the high security wing of Azkaban.”


“What about the LeStranges?” came from Luna who walked up to the head table as well. “The brothers are going on trial tomorrow.”


“They didn’t qualify either,” Hermione answered, reaching into her pocket. “Only about six of the death eaters were even considered for the parole for life program.” She pulled out the list, getting up and going over to the two of them. “Here is the master list, if you want to see it.”


Neville looked to it and back to her. “Lucius Malfoy? Are you crazy Hermione?”


“No, but…”


“He was in the inner circle! He was Voldemort’s right hand man! And you trust him…”


“I don’t trust him as far as I could throw him,” Hermione cut her friend off. “There are so many things that went into that list I can’t even begin to tell you everything. But know this, he will be watched very closely.”


“But how…”


“Mr. Longbottom, Miss Lovegood, you are going to have to take her word on it,” Severus said sternly. “Let me assure you as one that saw the plan and knows what is to come, Mr. Malfoy as well as the three others who qualified and were granted the life long parole, will have more auror company out of prison than they would have had inside it.”


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