Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Hilltop Cottage	By : neelix Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 42215 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters or situations - they all belong to JK Rowling. I am making no money from this story.

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
Hermione awoke at three in the morning to find herself alone. Half asleep, she stretched her slim arm across the mattress and found only a cold expanse of cotton sheet. She felt bereft for a short moment until rational thought kicked in. She had no idea of Severus�s sleeping habits, apart from that he usually slept alone. Having another person in the bed, no matter how welcome they were, was bound to take some getting used to. Aware of the need to use the loo, Hermione slipped across the bed and swung her legs over the side, feeling around in the dark for something to wear. Her hands grasped something
-Severus�s shirt- and she smiled to herself as she pulled it on and fastened a few buttons for decency�s sake. She stepped her way carefully across the room and went in search of the bathroom.

***
Severus heard the creak of floorboards above his head and paused his reading for a moment. He had set the fire, and it crackled away cheerily, providing warmth and bit more light than just his reading lamp. But despite the fire, he felt unsettled.

It was strange having Hermione in his home, and even stranger to have her in his bed. During the night, she had snuggled up behind him and curled her frame around his, making him feel warm and cared for at first. But after a while, he had felt claustrophobic, and he had slipped from the bed quietly so as not to wake her. He had pondered transfiguring the workbench in his lab into a bed, but had the foresight to consider how this might look to Hermione and thought against it. He wouldn�t want to get off on the wrong foot this early in the proceedings, and he had almost buggered it all up already. He closed his eyes slowly and slipped his reading glasses from the end of his nose, folding them onto his lap, pondering on her arrival at his door the previous evening.

His first thoughts on seeing her had been to take her in his arms and kiss her to within an inch of her life; he�d been so relieved to see her. She had looked so vulnerable. The cold air had made her nose turn pink and her face pale, and her wide eyes had been beseeching for a few brief moments, until he had allowed the red mist to cloud his judgement. He really was a prize fool, immediately jumping to conclusions, seeing what he had expected to see and not what he what he had really seen. He should have trusted her. And she had forgiven him, yet again, for his ridiculous temper and his childishness. Despite being older than Hermione in years, Severus had no doubt which one of them had the greatest level of emotional maturity. She had a lot to teach him. He just hoped he was up the task, because if there was one thing he was sure of, it was that he wanted more of her.

Severus smiled to himself as he recalled making love to her for the first time. It had been incredible, beyond his most vivid imaginings. But the most amazing thing was that she told him she loved him without guile or pretence. He knew it, of course. He�d seen it when viewing her memories. But to hear her speak the words from her own lips, to see the feeling reflected in her eyes. No one had ever told him that they loved him before, not even his mother. She had shown it in small ways, but never had anyone felt the need to make their feelings as perfectly plain as Hermione had. It made him feel like he could take on Voldemort all over again, without the help of anyone else.

Severus smirked as he heard the crack of the bottom stair, yet another repair that he had ignored.

�I thought you were asleep,� he said quietly, not opening his eyes.

�I was missing you,� she said, her voice coming nearer as she padded barefoot to where he had pulled the sofa closer to the fire. He felt her sit beside him, and he cocked open one eye.

She was gazing into the fire, her hair a tumble of soft curls again. She was unconsciously twisting a length of hair around her finger, and Severus smiled to himself as he realised she was wearing his shirt. The buttons were fastened wrongly, leaving the fabric gaping open just enough for him to catch a lovely view of her left breast. Feeling a rush of protectiveness towards her, he stretched his arm out and wrapped it around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Hermione swung her legs up onto the sofa and hugged Severus gently as he planted a soft kiss on top of her head.

�I borrowed your shirt. Do you mind?� she asked him.

�Of course not,� he replied.

Hermione lifted her face and looked at Severus. His eyes were closed again, his head resting against the back of the sofa. His skin was a little stubbly, and she traced the line of his cheek and jaw with her fingertips. Shifting her position, she planted a slow kiss on his upturned lips, and Severus smiled.

�Want something?� he said in a low voice. Hermione laughed lightly and squeezed his hand in hers.

�Only you. Come back to bed?� she said.

Severus looked at Hermione then and caught the hopeful glint in her eyes. He lifted his hand and caressed her breast through his shirt, making her gasp. Her eyelids fluttered and she opened her mouth in a pretty �O,� her tongue protruding just slightly.

�Lead the way,� he whispered meaningfully.

***

Two days later, all hell broke loose in New Mills. The early edition of the Daily Prophet heralded the start of it, with a photograph of Hermione standing on Severus�s doorstep and leaning in to give him a quick kiss goodbye. As he stood staring in disbelief at the front page, a Howler arrived at Hilltop Cottage

***

By the time Snape arrived at Hermione�s house, it had been warded to the �nth degree. She had even added anti-jinx and anti-hex wards that he didn�t even know existed. With some trepidation, Severus scanned his immediate surroundings before Disillusioning himself and casting his Patronus. No longer a doe but a badger, the creature gambolled to the house and through the front door to pass on its message, and within moments, Severus felt the wards drop. He walked quickly to the door and let himself in, dropped his Disillusionment spell and searched around the room for Hermione.

�In here,� she called from the kitchen.

Severus walked towards her slowly, expecting to find her weeping and distraught. To his surprise, however, she was standing by the kettle in her pyjamas, making tea for them both.

�Are you alright?� he said quietly.

�I got a Howler from Harry! Of all the bloody cheek!� Hermione turned to Severus with her hands on her hips, her hair shaking with her fury.

Severus�s mouth twitched slightly. How like the boy to attack first and ask questions later.

�What did he say?� he asked with an amused tone.

�Oh, I�m sure you can guess. �I thought you were on holiday abroad, and now I find you�re shacked up with Snape! I�m answering a lot of questions on your behalf, Hermione! You could have at least told me!�� Blah, blah, blah� There was more, but I incinerated it before it finished.� Hermione�s eyes flashed at him. �I guess we made the Prophet?� She returned to making the tea, clattering the spoon around each cup as she fished out the tea bags.

�Front page.� Severus walked up to Hermione and stilled her hand with his. She paused and took a deep breath, letting her anger ebb.

�I�m not sorry. I don�t care who knows about us, Severus, but it�s no ones business but ours. Not even the Chosen One has exclusive rights to my personal life,� she said quietly.

Severus heard the hurt in her voice as she spoke about Harry Potter, and he leant down and kissed her cheek softly.

�Come on. Time for tea and sympathy. And you can look at our front page news.� He handed Hermione the newspaper from under his arm and grabbed the tea, chivvying her ahead of him into the sitting room.

Hermione curled her feet beneath her as she sat on the sofa and opened the paper. Under the headline �Secret Lovers � Mystery Uncovered� was a detailed account of Hermione arriving at Severus�s house that first night, some not very subtle innuendo when she �didn�t emerge until the following day, looking dishevelled,� and some seedy comments about the �former student and her professor teaching her new lessons.�

�Good grief. Did you read it?� She turned to Severus demandingly.

�I did. I apologise, Hermione. If I had visited you as we had arranged, this would never have happened.� Severus sat brooding into his tea.

�Oh, Severus, I don�t blame you! I�m glad I came to see you that night. It was wonderful.� Hermione turned to him and put her arm around his slumped shoulders, squeezing him tightly. �And on the plus side, now that everyone knows where I am, I can use my wand again,� she said lightly, kissing him noisily on his cheek.

Severus grinned sheepishly, and then his face fell.

�Oh, shit,� he said. �Minerva is going to kill me.�

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Hilltop Cottage