A/N: Slight smut ahead. (I just realised this book has quite a few smuts 🙈🦊)

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"You came to me the day before Slughorn's party, troubled. I was concerned, you looked abnormally pale, but I associated it with your role during the war. It wasn't the first time you appeared dreadful after an encounter with the Dark Lord - but you never admitted to being a death eater. Truthfully it was eating me alive. I felt like you didn't trust me enough, but I knew it, that you were one I mean." She started, her fingers all the while grazing his lips, as if hypnotised by the way they would sway at the simple touch of her index finger on them. "We had been together for a little amount of time, but it was our imperfect-perfect relationship." She giggled, remembering how much teasing was involved in their relation. "You always liked to have the last word in any argument, and unfortunately for you, you feel in love with me."

Severus grinned at that, realising how similar they were. "I guess opposites attract didn't work with us, didn't it?"

Capturing his hips with her legs, enclosing around him, she went on, "no but we were ideal for each other, in every way. That evening you had me worried, you were for the first time rambling. I was positively frightened, your usual well-spoken ways had been thrown out the window. And then, out of the blue, you asked me to marry you."

Noticing the change in her eyes, the sadness reflected through them, Severus pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. "I was one crazy chap wasn't I?" He joked although he knew his vision a few minutes ago was foreseeing the real reason why he had asked her to bond through the Anima Victum Vow. "You must have known how to tame my snake to get me so hocked!"

"Stop smirking" she scowled, hitting playfully his shoulder."

"How did you know I was smirking?"

Placing a chaste kiss on his lips, she smiled, "because I know you, every bit of you."

A comforting silence installed itself around them before Hermione interrupted it. "You said you couldn't wait to wed me. I knew deep down you were afraid the war was going to separate us, so I believed this vow was our way of binding each other for the remaining time we had."

"So you were not completely-utterly-madly in-love with me?" He asked in absolute turmoil, his eyebrows wrinkling at the centre. "You agreed to wed me to reassure me?"

"Of course not you dunderhead!" She pulled his ebony hair, drawing his face towards hers. "I wanted to be with you forever. I simply believed you were worried our time was limited and wanted to make the best out of it."

As her answer seemed to please Severus, she continued, "you then told me about the Anima Victum Vow. You said it was one of the most powerful promises, binding our souls eternally to each other. To avoid me asking further inquiries about the vow you played it off by saying you were a protective man and needed to know you had a strong grasp on me."

"I wasn't completely lying to you" winked the man, kissing her lips eagerly, unable to resist the temptation. "You'll make any man ready to unite himself to you only to know your his."

"The next evening we pronounced our vows, but I knew that behind yours a secret was hiding." Severus listened carefully, his mind writing down every word that followed, "I pretended I didn't notice but my curiosity got the best of me. We had an argument after that, a big one really. It was the worst. We both suffered a lot from the words that were roared. I felt like I was worthless to you, and you pretended there was never real love between us, just chemistry." He noticed the tear that strolled down her cheek and kissed it, the taste of her salty sorrow reaching his lips. "It was ridiculous, as if we had never bonded to the other a few days prior. You said all you've been doing was trying to protect me, but then I snapped, and you finally admitted to being a death eater. I knew, of course, but I felt like a heavy weight was lifted off my shoulders."

He had tried to invade her mind, see through her memories and hear the virulent exchange between them. But the sadness that bore through her golden spheres told him otherwise. At that moment, as his lips joined hers he knew that it was still tormenting her. Merlin knows what she had told him, but it hurt her in every way worse than a Cruciatus. Severus decided to keep her privacy intact, realising how much she valued and cherished each memory. She was opening to him, and he wasn't willing to lose her trust by breaking down the walls around her mind. After all, he had taught her how to. Now that he grasped he was her mentor, Severus knew how to bring her protections down.

"I won't" he mumbled to himself as she pecked the tip of his nose.

She hummed, her compressed voice reaching a high note, inquiring a question. "Nothing" he simply answered, placing his hand on top of her hair and lovingly caressing through her traces. "So you didn't know that it was dark magic, the vow I mean?"

"The first time I heard anything about it was in Dumbledore's office, with you." Hermione honestly answered, scratching her hair, "it tickles" she grimaced, taking his hand in hers and intertwining their fingers. "You have always wanted to protect me, but I still don't understand why bind our souls when we could have done it like anybody else. I remember you told me not to tell anyone, saying they could try and break us apart - or worse."

With everything she had told him, he was all the more convinced that what he had witnessed was a vision.

As they watched the crackling fire silently - relishing the other's company - Severus thought about the various possibilities as to why these visions appeared to him, yet found none. She had told him he had died in her timeline, which meant she was no longer bound by the vow. He needed to find information, and knew just the place to find it.

The restricted section.

"Hermione," he asked as he walked her towards her tower that same evening, "who are you taking to Horace's party?"

The man knew the answer, yet felt the need to assure himself he had misunderstood her conversation.

"McLaren."

Who knew how one word could cause a man to lose himself?

Pushing her violently against the wall - preserving her head from being permanently damaged by placing his hand behind it - Severus growled, his eyes flickering dangerously. Hermione tried to move, but he was now clutched onto her breast, squeezing it mercifully. She moaned, arching her back, her cloak shielding his action from prying ghostly eyes. Like a famished tiger, he lowered his head to her breast and sucked on her skin, leaving purple marks. Once on her nipple, he bit it hard enough to cause her to quiver under him. His other hand was now holding onto her body. Slowly losing her strength - Hermione held onto his shoulder.

"Severus" she half whimpered half pleaded, her body stinging for his touch yet yearning for his tender affection.

However, the potion master's caring side was long gone at the mention of the teenage body taking the woman he cared for to a party. Like an animal, he wanted to mark his territory.

Glaring at her with the most dangerous wanton eyes she had ever seen, he plunged two fingers inside of her and hocked them, teasing her bundle of nerve. He had never experienced such a mixed rush of anger, lust, passion and strength. Severus could feel his biceps tense up as he pleasured her, a vein sticking out of his skin - ready to pop from the intensity of his movement.

It didn't take long for Hermione to come undone beneath his firm grip, her head falling on his shoulder, her breath jerky. "Severus" she whispered, struggling to keep her eyes open, feeling exhaustion taking over her body.

"You will do well to refrain from showing any sign of tenderness towards the McLaren boy." He threatened, his hands now resting on her bare hips, "we may not be wed, but I will not hesitate to show you who you belong to in front of the whole castle if necessary if you step over the line."

She had missed it, his 'amusing' jealousy. He had never threatened this way in her timeline when she had proposed him to take McLaren. He had simply shown resentment but encouraged her to take him. After all, they had to keep up with appearances. But this Severus never ceased to amaze her. He appeared freer to his own desires, master of his feelings. Although, as the saying goes: 'Appearances are deceiving'.

"I love you" she mumbled as he flicked his wand and a door appeared behind her. She drifted off to sleep before he could say anything.

An unusual beam spread through his face, lifting his cheeks in the most adorable way. He had never smiled this way.

She was changing him.

Walking into her room, having used one of the many secret passages from Hogwarts to get to her chambers unnoticed, he laid her down on her bed, leaving a small kiss on her forehead before vanishing into the night.

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A/N: Big revelation about the Anima Victum vow. 🌹💞

⚠️If you're curious about the argument between Severus in Hermione in her timeline, it happened in chapter 19. ⚠️

More to come, 🌸🌼❤️

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XOXO ⭐️👑