I Will Come To You In Your Dreams

The door slowly creaked open.

Remus jolted back in shock as Severus' face peered around the open door. His eyes were red and bloodshot, hair standing wildly all over his head.

"What do you want?" he asked, running his hand down his face wearily.

"I want to talk to you," Remus answered, pushing on the door, forcing Severus back into the room. He resisted for only a moment before relenting and turning his back to Remus, shoulders slumped miserably.

"Come in, then," he muttered, stalking slowly over to his desk chair. He sat down hard, then leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

Remus sat down in a chair in front of the desk and stared at Severus for a moment. He sighed deeply and leaned forward, placing his hands on the desk.

"Severus, what are you doing?" Remus whispered severely. "Do you realize what you've done tonight? You broke her heart!"

Snape's eyes snapped open and he leaned forward, eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I know," he whispered, clenching his jaw. "I had to."

"What do you mean, you had to!" Remus bellowed, slamming his hands down onto the desk, making Severus jerk back in his seat.

"All I'm going to do by being close to her is put her in danger!" Severus snapped, his cheeks reddening. "Why can't you understand that?"

"You are such a fool, Severus," Remus said, shaking his head. "You're tossing aside the one woman who will ever love you!"

Severus stood up and whipped out his wand, pointing it at Remus' chest.

"I don't need you to tell me how repulsive I am," he hissed, chest rising and falling rapidly. "Get out."

"No," Remus said. Before Severus knew what had hit him Remus had bellowed out "Expelliarmus!" then "Petrificus Totalus!" Snape's wand whizzed into Remus' outstretched hand, then, stiff as a board Severus crashed to the floor. Remus stepped around the desk and sat down in Severus' chair, looking down at him lying still on the floor, eyes wide with shock. "I'm sorry Severus," he said, twirling his wand between his fingers. "But you are going to listen to what I have to say."

Snape's eyes hardened, the only part of his body still capable of expression.

"Severus, we live in very hard times. Our whole lives have been ruled by our fear of Voldemort and the fact that he could strike at anytime," Remus said, reaching over to put Snape's wand on the desk. "You have been shouldering one of the very worst burdens for so many years, and when something finally comes along that could make shouldering that burden worth it, you push it away." He shook his head. "Severus, I know that you love her. I know it. And she loves you."

Remus stood and paced around the perimeter of the room.

"Let's look at this from another perspective," he said, stopping in front of Severus. "Hermione is Harry Potter's best friend. Who is Harry Potter?" He could see the sparks flare in Snape's eyes at this ridiculous question. "Harry Potter is Voldemort's worst enemy. The one person who has stopped him time and time again from returning and wrecking our entire world. Hermione could be used to get to Harry and she knows this. Yet she continues to keep him in her life, knowing that she is in danger every single day." He stooped down in front of Severus, staring into his cold eyes. "Hermione won't be pushed away that easily, Severus. When she cares for a person she will see that relationship out to the very end, no matter what the personal cost. She loves you, Severus!" he repeated, poking Severus in the chest with his wand. "Why would you push something that precious away from you? She can bring you happiness! Don't you want that?" He stood and pointed his wand down at him. "Finite Incantatem!"

Severus blinked once, then again, then slowly pulled himself to a sitting position. He gazed up at Remus.

"Of course I want happiness, Remus," he whispered, looking back down at his hands. "But is happiness something I can really afford to have right now?"

"Happiness is always worth having," Remus said, stooping down next to Severus and squeezing his shoulder. "She would share it with you, you know."

"I know," Severus whispered, taking a deep, shuddering breath.

Remus squeezed his shoulder one more time, then stood.

"I'm glad we had this talk," he said, straightening his robes. He smiled down at Severus. "Please think about what I said before pushing her away entirely. She is worth far too much, Severus."

He turned and swept out the door, slamming it firmly behind him.

Severus sat on the floor for quite some time, simply mulling over the things Remus had told him. He was right, of course. Hermione could bring him happiness and she would certainly take that risk. But could he risk her life even more than it already was? And, more importantly, would she ever forgive him for what he had done?

Hermione sat in the window seat, gazing down at Severus' window. There were no lights flickering tonight, no shadowy figure flitting past the window. She sighed and closed her eyes, the strained look on his face burning through the backs of her eyelids, making her throat constrict with sadness. She had had him. For one sweet, incredible moment, she had him in her arms the way she had been dreaming of. And then she said his name...just a whisper, but it had shocked him away all the same. He thought he would be putting her in danger. Didn't he realize that she was in danger every single day of her life? She had been since she was eleven years old. She wanted to be with him. More than anything she wanted to be with him. And she would risk everything to have him.

She stood quickly, pulling her hands through her hair, and turned to the bathroom. She needed a nice, hot bath. That would clear her mind and relax her wire-tight nerves and muscles.

She made her way into the bathroom, then crouched down next to the tub. She experimented with the taps before finally deciding on a mixture of lavender and vanilla for relaxation. She shrugged off her robes, then reached around to her back to pull down the zipper of the dress she was wearing. The dress fell to the floor, followed by her bra and panties. She gingerly stepped down into the hot, bubbly water, until she was finally immersed up to her chin. Her head fell back onto the edge of the tub, a long, drawn-out sigh escaping her lips. Oh, heaven, this was wonderful!

She soaked for quite awhile, the tension slowly draining away, her muscles loosening up bit by bit. The water was cooling down by the time she stood and emerged from the soapy water. She stood on the edge of the tub stretching languidly, water and bubbles dripping down her body when she heard it. A sharp crack of something heavy thudding down onto the floor. She whipped around, snatched a towel off of the shelf, and hastily pulled it around her body.

"Who's there?" she called, grabbing her wand from the sink. She tiptoed out of the bathroom, wand held in front of her like a sword. She had just pushed the door all the way open, when she stopped in shock.

"Severus?"

Severus paced around his quarters, head swimming with thoughts of Hermione and how he was going to apologize, tell her that he was wrong, that he was a fool, that he needed her, that he...loved her. He loved her more than anything and it had taken him by complete surprise. He never expected to fall in love, especially with her. She had always been an enigma to him, too smart for her own good, too wise, too brave, too Gryffindor! When she left Hogwarts he never expected her to come back. In his mind, she was going to cure incurable diseases, conquer Voldemort at Harry's side, maybe publish a novel or textbook. She wasn't going to come back to Hogwarts and become the school nurse. But she had, and he had never been happier in his life. She had come back and brought with her hope. Hope that he could be happy and loved. That he could come out of the shell he had built around himself all those years ago and finally live!

He had been completely shocked when she had reached up and kissed him. But there was something behind that kiss that wouldn't let him pull away right away. He could feel her desire with every burning touch of her soft lips to his, her fingers running trails of fire through his hair, over his face and neck, and down his arms. She wanted him. And he wanted her. He had lapsed into a sort of frenzy after that, his hands roaming everywhere, over the smooth skin of her face and down her neck, over the soft curve of her breast and the dip of her waist. Oh, God, how he had wanted her. But then she had said his name, and something simply snapped in his mind. This beautiful, wonderful creature would be in danger if he were to give in to her intoxicating kisses. She was far too precious to expose to that. He loved her, yet he couldn't bear to be the cause of pain for her. So he had pushed her away. And it had felt like sharp talons raking across his skin when he finally pulled away and ran back to his quarters.

He remembered the look in her eyes as he had told her that they couldn't be together. He could see the love in those glorious cinnamon eyes. She really loved him.

"She really loves me," he whispered to himself, coming to a halt in the middle of the room. "She loves me and I love her. I love her!"

He rushed over to the bathroom and hastily pulled his hair back into a ponytail, then splashed cold, clear water over his face. He was going to go to her and tell her that he loved her, that he couldn't live without her.

He took off at a full run out of his quarters, tearing through the halls to the hospital wing, and flying up the stairs. He pushed the door open, then quietly made his way to her door. He listened and heard the sound of running water coming from inside the room. She was taking a bath. He checked to see if there were any wards protecting the door, found none, and whispered "Alohomora!" The door swung silently open, and he stepped inside. He looked around in interest, noting the full bookshelves on the walls and the large black leather couch dominating the center of the room. He picked up a book from an end table and read the title. "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare." It was a large, heavy volume, bound in dark brown leather with beautiful gold letters on the front. A magnificent volume to add to her collection.

He glanced up and noticed a sliver of light across her bedroom floor. He tiptoed into the room and noticed that the door to the bathroom was hanging slightly open. The air smelled faintly of lavender and vanilla. He peeked carefully around the corner and gaped. Hermione had just emerged from the water, her body glistening from the warm water, suds sliding slowly down her long, shapely legs. She turned toward the door, her arms stretched over head. Severus gazed in open-mouthed wonder at the beautiful creature standing before him. Her breasts were large and high, belly flat with a tiny waist, curving down to shapely hips and legs. His body was responding rapidly, his heart pounding in his ribcage, mouth suddenly dry. He watched, enraptured, as she simply stood there, stretching luxuriously, completely oblivious to the man standing right outside the door. He felt the book slipping from his hands too late. It crashed to the floor with a deafening thud. Hermione whipped a towel around her body, then came out, wand held in front of her protectively.

"Who's there?" she called, pushing the door open. She stopped and gaped at him. "Severus?"

He felt the heat rising to his cheeks, but no words would come. She took another step toward him.

"Severus?" she repeated, narrowing her eyes at him. "What are you doing here?"

His eyes wandered down her body, noting for the first time how short that towel really was. He shook his head and snapped his eyes back to hers. She had a slight smirk on her face.

"I," he whispered, running a hand over his face nervously. "I, I needed to talk to you."

"God, you scared me," she said, tossing her wand onto the bed. "Could you give me a moment?"

"Of course," he said, turning to the living room. He went over to the couch and sat down hard, cheeks burning in shame. Good Lord, what a woman! She was absolutely breathtaking! He pulled out his wand and muttered a deflating spell at his groin, only really breathing when the spell had taken effect.

She came out a moment later, hair dry and hanging free around her face, wrapped in a red, terry-cloth robe. She sat down next to him and pulled her legs up under her.

"You wanted to talk to me?" she asked, her brow furrowing in concern.

"Yes," he answered, leaning his arms on his legs and taking a deep breath. "Hermione, I don't exactly know how to say this." He paused and looked up into her eyes. She was staring back at him, an unreadable expression on her face. He lost himself for a moment in those eyes.

"I made a mistake," he blurted out.

"What do you mean?" she whispered, reaching a hand up to clasp at her neck. Her hand was trembling.

"Tonight, when you kissed me, something happened in my head," he said, scooting closer to her on the sofa, the leather creaking as he moved. "I looked at you and saw this beautiful woman. And you wanted to be with me. Me!" he exclaimed, jabbing a finger at his chest. "Even though you knew who I was and what I did, you still wanted me." He paused and shook his head. "I didn't know how to handle that, Hermione. All I could think of was how dangerous it would be for us to be together." He reached over and took her hand. "I can't protect you all the time, Hermione. And I couldn't live with myself if something were to happen to you."

"You think I can't take care of myself?" she hissed, glaring at him. "Do you think I didn't realize your position when I kissed you tonight? Severus, I would risk everything for you! Everything!" She stood and raked her fingers through her hair, tears flooding down her cheeks. "Why can't you see it? Why can't you see how much I love you?"

They stared at one another for a moment, Severus' heart leaping about a mile a minute, a strong feeling of euphoria flooding his senses. She had said it. She loved him.

"Don't you love me, too?" she whispered, her lower lip trembling.

He jumped up from the couch and in an instant he had his arms around her, his face buried in her soft hair.

"Oh, Hermione," he murmured, rocking her back and forth. "I do love you, so very much." He kissed her on the top of her head, then put both hands on her face and pulled it up so that she was looking him in the eyes. She was smiling, tears still flooding her cheeks. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers softly. She sobbed against his lips, then wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back, clutching him as though he were only a ghost that would slip away if she didn't hold on tight enough. They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, though it was only a matter of moments. He held onto her and she held onto him. Nothing else mattered, just the moment.

Hermione pulled away and smiled shyly up into his face, a slight blush creeping up into her cheeks.

"Severus," she began, blushing an even deeper shade of crimson. "Did you see me getting out of the tub?"

He smirked at her, one eyebrow cocked mischievously.

"Aha!" she exclaimed, jabbing him in the chest. "I knew it! So that's why you dropped the book!"

"Yes, well, when a glorious, glistening woman stands completely naked right in front of a man, he tends to lose function in his limbs," he said, a half-smile lighting up his face. He shook his head and pulled her to him again. "Oh, Hermione," he whispered in her ear, his hot breath making shivers run down her spine. "Are you really here?"

She pulled away and ran a finger down his jaw, his eyes closing instinctively at her touch.

"I'm really here," she whispered, a tear trickling slowly down her face. She impatiently wiped it away and blinked away more tears threatening to pour forth. "We're really here, Severus. Together."

"Together," he repeated, wrapping a lock of her hair around his index finger. He let the lock pull through his fingers and sighed, then pulled her up against his body.

Their lips met slowly, softly, tongues dancing in and out of their mouths and meeting in slow, languid caresses. Severus let his fingers slide down her neck and under the edge of her robe, down over her full breasts, playing lightly over her nipples. She gasped into his mouth and arched up to his hands. He smiled against her mouth and let his fingers wander down lower, until they encountered the tie of her robe. He deftly pulled on the tie and the robe fell open, revealing to him the glorious woman standing almost naked before him. He pushed the robe off of her shoulders and stepped back, simply filling his eyes with the sight of her.

"Beautiful," he whispered, reaching out to run his fingers from her lips, down between her breasts to her stomach. She shivered and took a step closer to him, capturing his hand and bringing it to her mouth in the process. She kissed each finger lightly, then flicked her tongue out over the tips, pulling his index finger into her mouth and grazing over it with her teeth.

She reached out and deftly undid the clasp holding his robe closed at his throat, tossed it to the floor, then, starting at the top, unbuttoned the stiff black shirt he was wearing. She pushed the shirt from his shoulders, running her hands slowly down his arms, then back up his chest. She looked up into his eyes and smiled, a beautiful, loving smile.

"I can't believe this is really happening," she whispered, running her fingers over his lips. "I can't believe you're really here."

"I know," he whispered, pulling her close to him and wrapping his arms around her tightly. "I've been dreaming of this for so long, I'm afraid I'll wake up and I won't really be here."

He could feel her smile against his chest, then her breath as she started to speak.

"Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now,

Thus much let me avow-

You are not wrong, who deem

That my days have been a dream;

Yet, if Hope has flown away

In a night, or in a day,

In a vision, or in none,

Is it, therefore, the less gone?

All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream."

"Edgar Allen Poe," he said, smiling into her hair. "That's one of my favorites."

"Mine too," she said, pulling back and looking up into his face. She reached up and pulled his head down to hers, kissing him passionately, running her hands through his hair, then down his chest and stomach to the button of his trousers. She deftly undid the button, then the zipper, then slid his pants over his hips and to the ground, his boxers shortly following. He stepped out of the pile of clothing, then reached down and swung her up into his arms.

"How romantic," Hermione teased, leaning her head against his chest.

He simply planted a small kiss in her hair, then carried her into the bedroom. He laid her gently down on the deep blue duvet, then laid down beside her, running his hands down the length of her body.

"I love you, Hermione Granger," he whispered.

"I love you too, Severus," she said, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him over on top of her.

Hermione woke slowly, stretching her arms up over her head and sighing in contentment. The previous night flooded into her mind. Kisses, caresses, and, most wonderful of all, the declaration of love they both had shared.

She smiled and reached over for Severus and found, instead, a piece of parchment lying where he had lain the night before. She felt a fleeting moment of disappointment before picking up the parchment and reading what it said.

Come to me in my dreams, and then

By day I shall be well again.

For then the night will more than pay

The hopeless longing of the day.

Come, as thou cam'st a thousand times,

A messenger from radiant climes,

And smile on thy new world, and be

As kind to others as to me.

Or, as thou never cam'st in sooth,

Come now, and let me dream it truth.

And part my hair, and kiss my brow,

And say My love! why sufferest thou?

Come to me in my dreams, and then

By day I shall be well again.

For then the night will more than pay

The hopeless longing of the day.

My Dearest Hermione,

I am sorry we couldn't wake up together. I thought it best that the students not see me leaving the Hospital Wing. We both know how rumors fly around this place. I only want you to know how much you mean to me and how surreal it was, waking up beside you early this morning. I never thought love would find me, but, thankfully, you have proven me wrong.

I will see you at breakfast, my love.

Yours,

Severus

Hermione sat back against the pillows and smiled, euphoria flooding her senses. She rolled over and closed her eyes, dreaming of Severus and the life they could have together. Nothing could go wrong now. Everything was perfect......