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The long and winding road to love	By : FlorenceWeasleySnape Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 6318 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 44
- 45
So�everything has to come to an end,
right? I promised I would finish it before July 25st
and I�ve delivered. LOL! Well, I want to thank many of my loyal readers for all
of their support; I really do appreciate it. I wish to dedicate this last
chapter to my friend Bridget and also to Dawn and Maddy.
But, honestly, all of you have helped me a lot with your reviews; they�ve
encouraged me to write when I wanted nothing of life. And for that I will be
forever grateful. Thanks, readers that review! And also thanks to the ones that
do not review... ;)

I can only hope you will read and
support anything I write in the future, whenever and whatever that may be.

I appreciate Sylvia Potter�s help whose
skills as a beta reader have helped this story immensely.

So� here it is; chapter 45� enjoy!

Chapter 45: The trip

Her
hair had never been that long. Indeed, for bushy haired girls such as Hermione
Granger having extremely long hair is almost impossible; it ultimately breaks and
remains shapeless until she applies a charm or a suitable potion. Indeed books
have proven useful, after all. Especially after that unfortunately battle at
Malfoy Manor where---NO! It was useless to think about it. She had promised
Professor Dumbledore she wouldn�t think about such things much. But how could
she not? Her head kept trying to find all the pieces for the unfinished puzzle
of her present life. And such a major piece was missing that she could not just
stop reflecting about the whole business and move on. No. It would be almost a
lack of respect for all the suffering that had taken place.

Five
months had passed since that night. And at times it was so fresh in Hermione�s
memory that from the very inside of her being she felt the hot letters print
themselves on her skin over and over again.

While
walking on the fertile grounds of England
she dared touch her hand, so soft and white as it had been before battle;
before war and even before marriage. She was all healed now; not a single mark
was left to remind her of him. Yes. And yet, why did she? Why couldn�t she just
forget about him?

Because he was dead.

Yes,
Lucius Malfoy was dead. And not because of Dumbledore�s doing, make no mistake.
His heart is so noble and kind that he couldn�t have dared finish with a man�s
life even taking into the account the evil nature of such a person. They
fought; granted. But there was a reason for Lucius wanting Dumbledore dead: he
was the only one powerful enough to frustrate his plans; to terminate his life
and the lives of his loyal Death Eaters.

So
when Lucius saw Dumbledore standing at his doorframe with his right hand
holding such a powerful wand, he knew the end of this whole story. You see? In
the real world sometimes evil prevails over goodness. Examples can be found in
everyday life and I am sure you have experienced them at some point. However,
in this world were magical things occur on a daily basis it was impossible for
Lucius to take Dumbledore�s life� though he tried.

And
one particular member of the Order, the boldest and the most decent one of them
all, took vengeance in his own hands and took the Lucius� life when he tried to
stab the one wizard that had believe in him all along. He regretted it five
minutes later, of course. But it was Remus Lupin�s job to stop the force that
had killed all of his friends; that had made every attempt possible to vanquish
what little desire he had to live. He had promised when taking the Order�s
secret oath to protect them all and he was, for sure, willing to give his life
in order for all of his colleagues, his mates- his friends- to see the dawn of
another day. And if serving as a shield for Dumbledore was the one way to
prevent malevolence from spreading over the world, then he would do it gladly.
He�d rather spend his life as a dead man than as a prisoner of his own thoughts
and feelings.

He
had to do it. He owed it to Sirius and James. He owed it to himself and
ultimately he owed it to Dumbledore, to his love Tonks, to the Order and to
Hermione and Severus who had sacrificed themselves first without giving the
matter too much thought. They were the real heroes behind it all.

By
casting an illegal curse, Remus Lupin had saved them all even if he had done it
after the dagger had penetrated his flesh like a lustful lover. By dying, he
had ensured them a long and happy life, or had he?

�Hermione,�
Ginny shouted running all the way to where her friend was sitting, reading
Goethe at the very end of the summer. But they were not at the Burrow; they
were at Hogwarts still and Hermione hadn�t visited a single place since she had
woken up at the Hospital Wing some fifty days ago, �I am sorry to interrupt you
but I have news for you,� she said, panting and gasping for air as she rested
her body weight on the nearest tree.

Hermione
was worried; Ginny did not look cheerful. Actually, she did not look like
nothing at all; she just seemed tired. And indeed she was after running all
around Hogwarts Castle to find Hermione. You see, she had rather important news to deliver.

�What
is it, Ginny?,� she asked, �Is there something wrong?,� she enquired, grabbing
her friend�s waist and looking at her deep down into her green eyes, as if
trying to read behind her pupils the truth; a truth, she was afraid, she did
not want to hear.

�Oh,
Hermione,� she said, ale ale as a sheet because of the lack of air, �You should
see it yourself,� she indicated, alarming Hermione to the core of her being.
What if? NO! She shouldn�t think about that much; she had also promised
Dumbledore she wouldn�t dwell on Severus� health.

Yes.
They had been unable to wake him up after he closed his eyes at Malfoy Manor,
missing the final battle altogether. The bodies of both Severus and Remus had been
Flooed at Hogwarts immediately and whereas nothing could be done for the
werewolf�s wellbeing, Severus� lungs had not failed to breathe� yet. There was
still hope for his life but day after day such hope decreased: was he ever
going to wake up? No one was as sceptical as Hermione. She had read so much
about it in books that she knew that death would come his way. After all, he
had kept his promise: she was going to live long after he passed away.

Thus
nightmares were often during night and also during the day when she managed to
doze off while watching Severus� immobile body hour after hour. She hadn�t left
him once since she had found out the truth, but that afternoon seemed so
beautiful with sun coming in through the closed shutters that Hermione reckoned
the heat would suit her fine.

Adjusting
to the idea of Severus being gone forever would take time, of course. But she
had to be strong even though every limb of bod body trembled at the bare
thought of her dear husband�s death. One can never be prepared enough for news
such as the ones Ginny had wanted to deliver her.

So she ran in order not to think about the worst
possible scenario but her eyes clouded after the first few metres and tears of
apprehension curved a path through her perfect skin. A skin Severus had once
kissed while watching death come their way. He had protected her from it and
she had left him just when he needed her the most and it was so ne

And what if? NO! NO! Severus could not be dead. Or
could he? YES! He could, scientifically. But NO! NO! Not death! Not her
Severus� she couldn�t bear watch his pale facow eow even paler after its
fatal kiss.

�Harry, Ron, Professor McGonagall�what are you all
doing here?,� she asked when she caught a glimpse of
the whole lot of people standing near the entrance of the Hospital Wing; tears
on McGonagall face.

�My dear, I have important news�,� she tried to say
but she chocked on her own sobs and could not speak anymore.

Hermione, then, proceeded to look at Ron and Harry as
if waiting for them to say something�anything. But they remained quiet;
they even turned their backs to her and cleared the way for her to step into
the room in which Severus� body had rested for five months.

And when she opened the door all she found was an
empty bed.

Gone, gone, she thought. Forever. Out of the reach of
my kisses, out of the reach of my caresses, of my love. Gone; forever. To a
place I cannot follow him to. To a place I don�t even know exists. So vast is
the universe and so difficult to find the ideal perto lto love. And yet she had
found him� and lost him just like that.

Her knees touched the floor and she shivered like the
child she wasn�t anymore; like the child Severus had seen once in the lib
tr
trying to find the meaning of everything in books, trying to find who she was
in others. And he had taught her so much and now she was unable to tell him how
much she cared; how much she loved him.

�Oh, no� what a perfect way to ruin a marvellous
robe,� a deep, manly voice said from behind her. No, he couldn�t be. She must
dreadreaming. Yes, of course. She was dreaming; he was dead. Post traumatic
stress, she said to herself while clearing away a tear with her thumb.

�I should just ignore the voices in my head,� she kept
repeating like a mad woman. She must have gone mad; it was the only
explanation.

�I am talking to you, Hermione. I am not paying for
those,� he said in a more serious voice now, �stand up,� he said.

So she stood because she could not believe the voices in
her head had turned so unbelievably real. Only he could come up with such a
line.

�Oh, no�you did not think I was dead, did you?,� he asked rhetorically allowing a great laugh to escape
his lips. It was such a free laugh that Hermione grinned at the sight of it; it
seemed so sincere.

�No, sir, of course not,� she replied blushing. She
was trying to hide how much she loved him� she had the feeling that now that
thr war was over he wanted nothing to do with her. All those words he had said
meant nothing now. She understood, of course. He thought he was about to die;
it was only normal for him to act as if he loved her, �I suppose that now that
the war is over you might want to clear things up with MiniMinistry about our
marriage,� she said, hiding her disappointment. The pain of thinking of him as
dead had been replaced by the pain of feeling unloved by a man she cherished
more than her own heart.

Severus dared not move a centimetre to touch her. Now
that the war was over he had the feeling that she wanted nothing to do with
him. All those words she had said meant nothing now. He understood, of course.
She thought she was about to die; it was only normal for her to act as if she
loved him. But it did not matter to Severus, of course. As long as she was safe�
nothing could be compared to the pain of seeing her dead.

�As you wish, Miss Granger,� he replied, buttoning his
black robes, then he added, �Professor McGonagall was quite happy to see me
come to life again and she has always given me a hard time regarding house
points and favouritisne mne might think that the one woman one loves the most
would be happy too. I am afraid, I was mistaken,� he said trying to hide his
jealousy but failing miserably, �I suppose Weasley and yourself will marry soon
after our union is dissolved,� he stated.

�Professor�Severus�I,� she tried to articulate the
words �I love you�. But it all seemed so surreal. Now, nothing was standing
between thhapphappiness but themselves.

GB'>�There is no need for you to explain a thing, Miss
Granger. I quite understand,� he told her, deeply hurt. He was now putting his
pyjamas inside a black leather bag with the initials �SS� in green and silver.
And suddenly, the memories of Lucius Malfoy�s mad laugh and the smell of burned
skin returned to her and she knew as well as she knew that some day she was
going to die that they had missed the point completely.

�Professor Snape,� she said, walking all the way to
where he was standing looking at himself in the mirror, ��Severus�,� she
corrected herself, �I think that after all that has happened the only thing I
can say is that I love you very much. And that I can only hope for you to
accept me as your wife forever, despite the reasons that united us in the first
place,� she confessed as coldly as she could.

Severus turned around and truly looked at her for the
first time in five months; perhaps for the first time in his life. He inserted
his right hand inside his black chaste robes and took a black velvet box. He
stretched his hand to hold hers and rub the same spot he had caressed the last
time their lips had met at Malfoy Manor and kissing the place in which the
initials �LM� once were, he went on one knee and said:

�Hermione, I never thought we would be standing here�I
never thought I would be standing here. I was ready to die and I would have
done it with pleasure if your life would have in danger. I love you, Hermione�
I care for you so much that I cannot reer her how my routine was like before
you entered my life in such a way. I know I am not flawless, in fact, I know
that loving a man such as myself will prove difficult but if you accept this
ring I will spend the rest of my existence trying to prove myself worthy of
you,� he confessed, his head down as if he was ashamed of showing his feelings.

A tear- now of happiness- ran through her cheek and
landed on the floor boards Severus was intently staring at. He immediately
looked up and saw Hermione smiling at him despite the tears in her beautiful
cinnamon eyes.

It all made sense in the end.

�Please, do not cry,� he begged standing up and
hugging her as tightly as he could.

�Of course,� she said, taking the ring from his hands
and inserting it in her finger, �I love you so much,� was all she was able to
say, hugging him back and smelling his fragrance for the first time in months.
Oh, how much she had missed the contact with his skin! When they broke apart
and their desperate mouths found each other they were not able to stop
demonstrating the object of their affection how much love they felt inside.
Love was in the air, indeed.

And she quite liked the feeling. She liked it a lot
because after a long and winding road they have found love and that is good
enough reason to make love in the Hospital Wing, if you ask me.

Fin
- 44
- 45
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The long and winding road to love