Let Me In

Chapter Sixteen

"He's going to kill her!" Severus sobbed, Albus watched him, showing little sympathy

"the prophet didn't speak of a woman, Severus, it spoke of a boy born at the end of July"

"yes but he thinks it's her son" he almost choked on his own words "hide them, hide them all"

"what will you give me in exchange, Severus?"

"anything..."

***

Severus woke from his dream, sweating and shaking. It had been a long time since he'd relived that nightmare. Why now? Of course, Lily's death still haunted him, probably would until the day he died, but why, when he was finally trying to move on with his own life, would his past spring forward from the shadows once again? He looked up at the sound of the door creaking open. Hermione tiptoed out of his bedroom to where he was sleeping in his sitting room

"are you ok, sir?" she asked him quietly

"yes, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you"

"oh, I wasn't asleep"

"Hermione" he sighed "you know how important it is that you get your rest, and you know as well as I do Madame Pomfrey will have my head if I don't get you healthy"

"I'm not a child, you know" she moved closer to where he sat "I don't need babysitting, I can look after myself"

"oh, really? Because I seem to recall your health rapidly declining after just two weeks without my presence" he raised an eyebrow at her

"yes, and now we're together, so what's the problem?" He smiled at her. He didn't think he'd ever tire of hearing her say they were together. He'd longed to hear those words out of a woman's mouth, and that was exactly what she was, a woman. A strong, beautiful, intelligent woman and she was his. Surely he didn't deserve this

"do you want to talk about it?" She asked him, bringing him back to reality

"hm?"

"The nightmare, do you want to talk about it?" right, the nightmare. He'd almost forgotten all about it. Almost.

"No, go back to bed. It's late and you need to sleep"

"I'm not tired" she told him, sitting down next to him

"Hermione, please stop being stubborn. I really am trying my hardest to be kind and patient with you but you have to remember, this is all new to me and I don't want to scream at you just because you're being childish"

"childish? I'm being childish because I'm not tired? I understand you're new to this, sir, but we're supposed to be equals now, that's how relationships work. You can't hand out orders to me and expect me to blindly follow. You have to see me as your partner, not your inferior"

"Hermione, please. I'm not in the mood to speak about this tonight, go to bed"

"No" she huffed

"fine, then I will. Enjoy the sofa" he rose from his seat and stormed off to the bedroom. She watched him, incredulously, as she was forced to lay down on the sofa. The nerve of him! She thought. How dare he not only walk away from her, but practically kick her out of bed, too? She leaned back against the pillow, contemplating how angry she was, trying to ignore the scent of him on the pillows, as she drifted to sleep, feeling more comfortable than she had in days. In the next room, Severus was doing exactly the same.

Morning approached and Severus groaned at the sunlight that persistently shone through his curtains, directly onto his eyes. The clock on the wall told him it was 7:30. Realising he was so late, he quickly jumped out of bed, going slightly dizzy as he did, and rushed to get ready. He entered the sitting room and found it empty. Where was she? Well, if she was going to still be childish, so was he. With a flick of his cloak, he left for breakfast, inwardly sulking, and rather annoyed. He walked through the doors to the Great Hall to see Hermione sat with Potter and Weasley at the Gryffindor table. That insufferable little witch! He thought. He strode past her, glaring at her as he did, she didn't glance at him once