Chapters 121-130

Beautiful Eyes

Neville cleared his throat. The smell of herrings made him queasy. ‘Mrs. Snape was attacked by an Inferius. That Inferius happened to be a former student. Professor Snape destroyed the Inferius and rescued his wife. Ha- Mr. Potter had an accident when he was trying to help Professor Snape.’

‘Oh.’

‘Yes, “oh”. Now you’d better tell me who has been spreading those…extraordinary stories.’

Anne fidgeted. ‘Must I really, Mr. Longbottom? I’m sure they didn’t mean any harm.’

‘Miss Flamel, no matter if they meant harm or not, such stories invariably do cause harm.’

The girl hung her head, dismayed. ‘I—I didn’t believe them, sir. Please, sir. And I never passed those rumours on.’

She sounded sincere. And scared. How was it possible that he was scaring a Seventh Year student, when he’d been a student himself less than a year ago? ‘I do believe you. Nevertheless I think it’s best if you accompany me to Headmistress McGonagall now. The Aurors want to talk to you anyway.’

‘To me?’ Her voice quivered.

‘Yes, actually to both of us, but I’ve already answered their questions.’

‘But—but why?’

Neville pointed at plate and goblet. ‘Because we set out the Samhain feast. Don’t worry, though. They just want to know if you noticed anything.’ He frowned, wrinkling his nose. ‘And what are you doing out here with that fish? You still haven’t told me.’

She gave him a timid smile. ‘Well, it’s for the kittens, sir. I believe they’ve eaten all the food we set out for Samhain. And I thought they might like some nice herring. But because it…well…it smells very much like the fish it is, I wanted to put it out here. I thought the kittens would find it anyway.’

‘Ah, I see.’ He couldn’t help smiling back. She had very cute dimples. ‘Look, Miss Flamel, why don’t you just put that tin on the wall over there? And then we’ll go and talk to Headmistress McGonagall and the Aurors. Don’t you agree that it’s best to get difficult things over with as soon as possible?’

oooOooo

When Hermione opened her eyes, they were alone in the room and Severus was looking at her. They were lying on their sides, turned towards the centre of the bed.

Severus was very pale. The lines around his mouth and between his eyebrows stood out in sharp creases. But he looked rested all the same. The circles under his eyes were gone. Without those deep lines of worry and tension, he would look young, she realised. Or at least barely middle-aged. They must have been asleep a long time. His hair was a mess: lank, slick tresses clinging to his skull. Someone must have performed a Shaving Charm on him though. There was not even a hint of stubble.

His beautiful dark eyes. At this close proximity they were not black, rather a very, very dark brown. She could see a halo of lighter sparks circling his pupils. Idly she wondered if those tiny bits of a brighter colour were responsible for how his eyes could blaze when he was angry…or making love to her.

‘I love your eyes,’ Hermione whispered. Said eyes widened a little. She could almost hear what he was thinking: ‘Foolish woman.’

She felt how her lips curled up into a silly, relieved smile. To wake and to find him with her! Hermione tentatively moved her left arm and was pleased to discover that the muscles obeyed her once more. Hesitantly she laid her palm on his cheek. His skin was warm and dry from a Cleaning Charm. Her fingertips curled into a caress, gently trailing his temple, cheekbone, jaw line to his mouth. Such a sensitive mouth, she mused. When it was relaxed and unguarded, as it was now. How precious every little thing about him had become. Those expressive eyebrows. That prominent, haughty nose. The tangled strands of oily hair. Maybe they could take a bath later on? And she might attempt to persuade him to try some Muggle toothpaste that worked wonders for tea stains on her own teeth.

Her hand rested on his cheek again. To her surprise he sighed contentedly, his eyelids momentarily fluttering shut.

‘I love you,’ she murmured.

His eyes flew open. For a moment he stared at her. Hermione could feel how he swallowed. He moved his lips as if to wet them. She was about to say that he didn’t need to say anything—

When she suddenly felt his hand on her cheek, echoing her caress. The sparks in his eyes that she’d admired just moments ago seemed to have ignited. A deep sigh escaped her, as her whole body began to tingle from his touch. But he did not move his hand away and waited until she looked at him again.

‘I love you, too, Hermione.’

oooOooo

She must have smiled, because he stroked a finger along her lower lip before tracing her jaw line up to her ear and sliding his fingers into her hair and to the back of her head. As if on cue both of them moved a little closer to each other. Hermione awkwardly lifted the bedcovers, so she could feel his body against hers without the duvet getting in the way.

Hermione gasped when she felt him pressed against her. He was quite obviously well rested indeed.

Severus drew her closer still, until Hermione felt she could drown in his dark gaze. Their lips touched. Soft. Warm. Gentle at first, then more insistent. She closed her eyes when his tongue slid into her mouth.

Much later they lay on their sides again, faces flushed, bodies sticky with the sweat of shared passion. Severus spooned her, both arms possessively curled around her. It should have been an uncomfortable position. But it wasn’t. She felt safe and happy. The last thought before Hermione fell asleep again was that she wouldn’t mind staying in his arms like that forever.