Redemption II

Chapter 69

Hermione was lost in a haze she never wanted to come out of. Even as she felt herself being gently guided back down and large warm palms coming up to cup her jaw, she immediately felt the loss. What was she doing? How could she have allowed herself to be so easily disarmed? Why did it feel so right? Why did everything in her heart feel like it had just fallen into place? Air, she needed air.

Severus held her face in his hands. His own mind reeling from what he'd done. When her eyes rose to meet his, he felt trapped inside. He didn't know what was right, what was wrong anymore. Her world had been so twisted so warped as to believe that he was something more than he was. He was just a man. A cruel, heartless, self-serving, revengeful man.

"What have I done to you?" His words were nothing but a whispered exhale. His eyes so dark that he could only see the pain he'd left inside her. His thumb lightly brushed away a single tear that had made its way through. How could he make it right?

Hermione closed her eyes when she his thumb moved against her cheek. So many nights dreaming of his touch. His smell, his strength. She didn't want to think about anything else in that moment. She couldn't think about anything else. Even when his hands lowered down to take her arms she found her own coming up to curl into his shirt. A small fear sparking inside her.

"Please don't leave me..."

Despite everything inside him that told him it was wrong. That he was no better than the boy he'd cursed to protect her. He found his arms coming around to hold her tight to his chest. She smelled like a lost childhood memory. His control teetered on the edge. He lost the battle as he pressed his cheek against the top of her head. His eyes closing tight. He had expected many things but this...hadn't been it, "I won't..."

Hermione pressed her nose tightly to his chest, her hand curling tight into the fabric over his heart. This had to be a dream, there was no other explanation. The man she knew wouldn't have held her this way in reality. Though she had desperately wished him to do so. It was all too much, too confusing.

Severus' eyes snapped open as her body suddenly grew heavier. His hands that had been as light as a babies breath shifting to hold her like a man. His own breath panted past his lips as he shifted her frame. Her head remained hidden in his shirt and her hands stuttered to keep their hold. It was too much for her to handle. Too much for her weakened soul.

His brow furrowed as he brought her up into his arms, like so many times before. He turned slowly turning his eyes towards the house; her head pressed even tighter to his chest and the choice was made for him. He carried her towards the door without another word. His eyes narrowed with a mission that he had yet to complete. He had to make her whole again. He had to restore what had been stolen. What he had stolen.

Galia watched the door come open with a smile hidden behind her teacup. The woman in his arms hidden away protectively in his chest. She said nothing to his accusing glare as she took another small sip of her tea. She'd already transfigured her chair into a lounge and had retrieved the memories he had hidden away in his room. She knew it was going to be some time before either of them truly saw what the other could give but she hoped she might be able to speed the process along. Just a little.

Severus leaned down on one knee resting her against the lounge. As he pulled her hands from his shirt he watched her eyes come open one more time. The confusion, the fear, the hope, shining inside the deep golden hues. Just as he found the courage to speak the sound of heels on wood joined them.