Rising Above

Chapter two

His arm rested across her shoulders as they walked up the stone steps to her tower room. They stopped in front of an old tapestry of a woman standing out on the open moor with a fierce falcon on her arm. The falcon's jesses glittered silver in the gloom of the hallway.

Hermione reached out and grasped the jesses, the falcon looked at her with its dark glittering eyes and took flight. The tapestry pulled upward, and she started to step through the archway to her private chambers.

She turned back, "Would you come in for something to drink? I could use one right now," she asked, lifting an eyebrow in Severus' direction. He nodded abruptly and followed her into her room.

He had never been in her private quarters before, as they had always dealt with their spy work from his. He relaxed considerably however, when he noticed that her rooms were quite the same as his own. Austere and simple. Heavy wood furniture that gleamed and upholstered with a heavy wool in russets.

"What, no red and gold?" he teased.

"Are your rooms in green and silver?"

"Only my bed," he chuckled.

Hermione relaxed. "Well, I purposely chose colors that didn't reflect any house." She walked to a cabinet set into the wall by her fireplace, and pulled out a bottle of Ogden's. "Would you like some?" she motioned as she noticed him perusing her large bookshelf on the opposite wall.

"Definitely," he sighed. I shouldn't have kissed her, I shouldn't have kissed her, ran like a mantra through his brain.

He was just imagining the discussion coming. We're spies, Sev. We have to work close together. Getting closer would only create problems. Hell, she could even say how she's in love with someone else.

Damn, damn, damn.

He was lucky he had that glass of Ogden's suddenly placed in his hand.

"There's no reason to be nervous, Sev," she smiled, entering his personal space.

Severus had faced Voldemort with less fear. He had seen the look in her eyes when she contemplated her torture of Malfoy; had seen her determination when faced with anything she really wanted.

He recognized that look.

"Her..Hermione," Severus stuttered.

"Yes, Sev?" she drawled.

He opened his mouth to reply, and realized he had none. Oh, the hell with it. He lowered again to Hermione's lips, softly pressing against her. He shuddered when she moaned into his mouth, her lips growing more demanding, while her arms wrapped up around his neck. Her body leaned into his, soft and subtle, until with a jolt her stomach connected with his center.

He pulled away slightly. "This will change things you know."

"Gods, I hope so."

He pulled her a bit further away. "Hermione, I'm serious."

Seeing his face, she sighed. "Come," she pulled his hand and led him to the couch.

"Why did you kiss me?" she asked.

Okay, Voldemort had nothing on this woman.

He stared at her for a moment before responding.

"Hermione, I have watched you for years. Never mind intelligent; never mind strong. I see how everyone takes you for granted. You take care of everyone else, but does anyone truly take care of you?"

Her eyes widened at his comments. She had never considered it. It wasn't even the words he used, she knew he was good with words. It was his tone. She had never heard him sound well, sincere.

"Hermione?"

She shook herself, not realizing that she hadn't answered him. "I'm amazed, Sev," she murmured, her skin flushing. She reached her hand out and gently touched his face.

"I'll never be a nice man, Hermione, but..." he began earnestly.

"I don't want a nice man, Sev. If I wanted a nice man, I would've stayed with Ron in sixth year. Do you think a nice man would understand what I did tonight?" She leaned into him, kissing him softly again. "Everything doesn't have to be answered tonight. It's enough that we know that we want to explore this together," she whispered against his lips, clinging to him.

He nodded, satisfied with her answer. It was just as well, since he didn't really want to delve much deeper into feelings he wasn't used to having. He stood up and walked toward the archway.

"Sev? Where are you going?" Hermione chuckled.

"I was going to let you go to bed. You've had a very difficult evening, and you're still recuperating."

She watched him from her place on the couch. "I really would rather you didn't leave just yet. As you said...it's been a difficult night." She whispered. He could see she was barely holding herself together. He stode back across the room, and sat down next to her.

"So what was it that Bella told you? I couldn't exactly hear what was going on," he asked.

"She was hoping that the other Death Eaters would get the point that she wasn't going to be the official fuck bunny anymore. She's hurting and she's angry. Can't say as though I blame her. With that sort of background, Azkaban had to be a hell on earth." She shuddered lightly at the thought. He reached out to her arm, gently stroking it.

"Voldemort will trust her with anything after that. I asked to contact me; that we had things to discuss. I think she will."

"I remember the first meeting I attended after his return. He was praising the LeStranges as the most loyal of all the Death Eaters. If you're right, she could be the key to Voldemort's destruction."

"What about the prophecy? Isn't Harry supposed to kill Voldemort?"

He chuckled. "You, Hermione? Albus may put some faith in it, but after all, divination is how does Minerva put it; 'a very inexact study'? I'm all for helping the prophecy along, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to take an opportunity if it's handed to me, especially when prophecies need to be interpreted, and that can always be wrong."

She nodded thoughtfully then slumped back into the corner of the couch. "Did I scare you, Severus? At the meeting, I mean?" she asked, hugging her knees to her chest.

He looked back at her. He took in the tight lines of her face, the tension that seemed to streamline her body. He couldn't give her the truth; she HAD scared him. Not because of the actual events, but he was scared what it would do to her, how she would learn to live with it herself.

"Why do you ask?" his dark eyes glittered in the half light of the room.

"Because it scared me. How could I act like that?" Her features crumbled.

Snape reached for her, and pulled her into his embrace. "Gods, Hermione, that wasn't you. I know it wasn't you. You have no idea how many people, how many good, decent people would have loved to be in your place tonight."

Hermione squeezed his arms tightly, then pulled away. His face remained unreadable, though he didn't really want to let her go. Her hands followed down his arms from his shoulders, until one hand grasped his own. She stood up then pulled him gently to follow. She led him through a small door next to her shelf. She must've felt him tense when he saw that it was her bedroom.

"I'm really not ready to be alone tonight. We don't have to do anything." She whispered, afraid that she had offended him.

"Sshh, it's okay." He looked down at her luminescent eyes, wiping away the tears that overflowed. "I understand."

Looking in his eyes, she saw that he did, and released his hand. Slowly, fighting sleep, she wandered her room, going to the large wardrobe and pulling out a long flannel nightgown in a plaid print. She smiled when he raised an eyebrow. "Comfort clothes."

"Ah." He flicked his wand and transfigured his clothing into something equally modest and comfortable. Loose black sweats covered his long legs and his chest was covered in a dark T-shirt with a smiley face on it, only the tongue the smiley face stuck out was forked like a serpent.

Hermione snickered. "If I had seen you wear that when I was still a student, I would never had been able to keep a straight face in your class again."

He smiled at her. It was good to hear her laugh. "Exactly why students have never seen me like this. I have a reputation to keep up."

"S'okay. I won't tell anyone you have a sense of humor. Fact of the matter is, no one, with the possible exception of Albus, would believe me anyway." There was a door next to her wardrobe that she walked through. He could hear the running water and surmised it was the bathroom. Severus stood that decidedly uncomfortable with the situation. What should he do? Just climb into bed? Which side did she prefer? Go into the bathroom before he lay down? What if she didn't like others in the bathroom with her? He took a deep breath to keep from panicking. His hands clenched at his sides. I'm not some bloody teenager.

"Sev?" Hermione poked her head out the door. "The bathroom is all yours." Glad for something to do, he approached the door. She stood blocking the doorway with a smile on her face. "What toll will you pay, sir?" she asked cheekily. His tension relaxed, and he smiled down at her.

"What is the charge?"

She looked as though she was giving it some thought. "Well, I know you don't have any galleons on you. So I guess a kiss will have to do."

He leaned over slightly, his hands caressing her cheeks, holding her softly. Her eyes fluttered before he even reached her lips, and he reveled in the ability to make her react so. Softly he brushed her lips, then slowly moved away.

Her eyes took a moment to flutter open. "Cheat," she muttered warmly. He chuckled darkly as he moved into the bathroom.

* * *

It was dark, so dark. She couldn't see anything in the inky blackness, but she could feel his presence. He laughed manically as his weight pressed in to her. "No, no, not again..." she murmured, tossing her head from side to side. He ignored her pleas, his cold hands chilling her sweaty skin. He thrust into her and pain radiated through her body as the fire consumed her.

Her screams rang through the early morn.

"Hermione...Hermoine!" Severus shook her shoulder as she thrashed like a raging hypogriff beneath the sheets of her bed. Still she continued, her body drenched with sweat. No amount of calling to her seemed to pull her from her nightmare. Severus caught her face, and brought his lips to hers. The soft gentleness of his kiss confused her brain, which had expected harsh brutal mauling. Her thrashing lessened and then stopped altogether.

"Severus," she murmured. He pulled back slightly, expecting to see that he had awakened her. He was stunned to see she had called out his name in her sleep. He brushed her hair out of her face, and felt her snuggle up against him. He wrapped his arm back around her, and quickly faded back into sleep.