Severus checked the clock over the mantle for the fourth time. Granger had been in the shower for well over an hour by his calculations. It wasn't so completely unusual for her to take a long shower, however, her attitude before had left his heart filled with concern. He had tried to convince himself not to care. Tried to tell himself that it was none of his business. That she didn't want him, that his ultimate plan to push her away had finally worked.

His skill at lying did not work on himself. A thus—like the good little nursemaid he'd become, he pushed himself up from his chair and towards the door. His hand raised to knock when the faintest of sounds could be heard over the rushing sound of water. It was a heartbreaking sound, a most pitiful noise. His hand shifted to the handle, opening the door with caution.

A wave of steam pushed into his face nearly burning his own skin with its heat. "Ms-Hermione?" Wanting to try and put out any fires on the bridges he'd burned he forced himself to call her by name. When he didn't receive a response his worry grew. He made his way through the steam towards the shower, hi concern over the entire situation growing.

"Granger!" His voice was a barking warning. The in-flight phoenix scar on her back was as red a blood against the heat that pelted down against her. His own hand felt scalded when he ripped her from the floor and onto the tile. Her hands came up to try and push him away but the damage had already been done. She was much too weak to fight him off properly.

Pulling her wet form up was a bit of a challenge but his worry over the damage she'd done overrode his desire to be too gentle. Her skin felt like touching an open flame and when he rushed his way out of the bathroom her body let off a thick steam.

"Let me go..." Hermione pushed up against him, the pain that she'd felt was gone, numbed by the burn, "Let me go!"

Severus snarled as he forced her to roll over on the bed, "What happened?!"

"Get off me!" Hermione felt as though she were being pressed under a weight but Severus hadn't actually done anything but roll her over. Her body was weak from her time in the shower and the insurmountable pain her heart was under. "I don't want to do this anymore! I can't!"

Severus had been wondering when she'd finally break. It had taken him years to become what he was, it had been incredibly foolish of the both of them to think that a few months of training and conditioning could prepare one for the horrors of war. It was hard enough for him—as experienced in the world as he was—he couldn't even fathom what was going through her mind.

"What happened?" His tone lowered as he called one of his burn salves from his cabinet. Keeping her pressed down into the sheets with a hand on the back of her neck, the only part that seemed to have been shielded from the scalding water, no doubt thanks to her thick hair.

"I lost it okay! I had it and now it's gone!" Hermione's voice was muffled in the sheets, her fingers clawing weakly at the fabric beneath. Her back tensed when his large hand came down over the scalded skin, "Just let me be..."

"Not until you speak some sense." Severus kept one hand on the back of her neck while the other worked the burn salve into the ribbed skin of her back. He hoped that he'd gotten to her in time.

"You don't even want me here anyway." Hermione reached back blindly pushing against his thigh.

"Is that what this is all about?" Severus paused, tilting his head to try and see her through her mangled wet locks, as soon as her eyes locked with his he suddenly understood so much more than he ever wanted, "Marxan." His words were a vicious snarl, his hands leaving her body to come to his feet, "You cannot believe his lies."

"Yeah? What truths do you have to offer me?" Hermione hiccuped softly but didn't have the strength to move from the bed, the small bit of salve had brought the heat back into the scald on her back.

"Truth?" Severus turned on his heel, his eyes narrowing, "I'll give you a truth." He returned to the bed taking hold of her arm, roughly pulling her heavy body up to the knees, "The world is not black and white, truth or lies. It is bigger, more complex. You wanted to be in this despite all my warnings. You pushed and pushed to do what you believed to be right, while many others have done the same. Right and wrong are relative to those in power. You will never find an answer so clearly written, even in your precious books. You want a truth? That is the truth."

His face was a hairs breath away from hers now, his eyes boring into her own. It took him seconds to find the root of all her suffering and with he felt a new weight growing in his heart, "You made a mistake. It happens. Take responsibility for it and move on."

"How?"

"With help." Severus lowered her back to the bed much more gently this time, his eyes turning down to her wrists were he could see large black bruises, "Where else are you injured?"

"They're just bruises..." Her breathing was rather tight but the cool air of the room was helping the salve to do its job, "They'll heal on their own..."

"Right." Severus let out a heavy sigh, "Lay back down...you've scalded your back."

"What...what about...Marxan?"

"We give him what he wants."

"No! You can't!" Hermione's body jolted, turning towards him despite her lack of clothing, "He's got another! He just keeps finding them!"

"One sacrifice to save thousands! Do you know where I was today? Do you know what meeting I just attended?"

Hermione reeled back slightly from the verbal slap, "No..."

"The Dark Lord does not merely wish to end his battle with Potter, he means to create an entirely new generation of soldiers to solidify his power in the world. Do you know how to create loyal soldiers who will never question your orders?" He leaned in just a bit further, "Children. Raised from birth with hatred to fill their hearts."

"Luna..."

oOo

"That's it, easy now."

"I'm alright...Thank you, Harry..." Luna took the last step on the stairs, a soft smile of gratitude on her lips as she slipped her arm from his hold, "That was really amazing what you did..."

"Yeah...well...let's just hope he didn't lose his life in vain..."

"I saw the tombstone from the window. It was very nice."

Harry gave her a mournful smile leading the way into the kitchen. He pulled out the first chair available before taking a seat himself.

"Good to see you up and out. How's your wrist?"

"It's better." Luna lifted her hand bending her bandaged hand just a bit before tucking it back into her lap. The sleeping potion she'd been given in her meal had finally worn off sometime during the night. She had had to be filled in by others on everything that had happened. While she'd mostly been malnourished she did get a rather nasty cut from Bellatrix's blade during the apparation. It wasn't anything that couldn't be patched up but it would definitely scar.

"I've been thinking about that woman you saw." Lupin had arrived that morning to take Dean and Luna to a separate safe house, the order not liking so many of the youths in one place.

"The one that cursed Harry's face?" Ron had his own face stuffed full but he too had felt growing concern.

"I suspect she did it to favor you, Harry." Remus pushed himself from the window seat.

"She killed a man." Ron had seen it all, an image he wasn't likely to get out of his head anytime soon, "How can we trust someone who could just...kill like that?"

"I said nothing about trust." Remus took a seat at the table, his eyes moving to focus solely on Harry, "Did you get a good look at her?"

"Not really..." Harry rubbed his brow, "I saw her eyes, but there was something inside of them...something familiar...I can't explain it..."

"I too share your feeling."

"What if we took a look at your memories together? Maybe we could see something that you might have missed the first time around." Luna licked the tea from her lips setting down her cup, "Surely someone in the order carries a pensive?"

"I don't think that's our major concern right now..." As much as Harry wished for answers his wants were not important, "I think our time in the manor was more beneficial than originally believed."

"How so?"

"Bellatrix, she'd lost her mind when she saw the sword. It makes me think that maybe...something else is hidden inside her vault."

"That's a very dangerous idea." Bill glanced over to Lupin but the man was already deep in thought.

"It's been broken into before." Harry let out an exasperated noise. It was the first real clue they'd gotten in weeks.

"True." Luna took a small bite of toast, "But I think after today whatever is hidden there will be moved."

Ron groaned loudly and thumped his head down onto the table, "This is hopeless. We're running blind."

"Not entirely, there is perhaps someone who may be able to help us." Harry looked up at the ceiling where Griphook rested in one of the second-floor rooms.

oOo

"I don't know what's worse..." Hermione's whisper broke the silence that had taken hold of the room, "Raping someone...or doing it in your body..."

She'd calmed down in the time that had followed her initial breakdown. She'd allowed him to take care of her back and wrap her up in one of the sheets from the bed before she'd curled up in his embrace. His thumb running over her shoulder had lulled her into a sort of trance, the breath from his nose over the top of her head releasing some of the tension in her shoulders.

Instead of replying to her comment Severus allowed himself to just be the comfort she needed in that moment. After his little speech, he'd found himself looking into his own life, his own deeds. Even a man such as he had doubts. Insecurities, the fear of the unknown.

A slow breath brought his lips to the crown of her head, what he would have given in his youth to have someone hold him as he held her now. Someone to give him strength.

Hermione closed her eyes to the gesture. Her hands that had wrapped around the arm he held her with taking just a bit tighter hold. She thought herself mad for wanting something more from him in that moment. Yet still, the feeling persisted. It was a deep need to feel safe, to feel accepted.

Her head tilted back slowly so as not to bump against his chin. When he gave her his own eyes, she could see her broken soul reflected in the depths, "Why do I feel like my soul has been ripped from my body and dropped down the deepest well?"

"Because you've chosen morality over pleasure." His thumb traced the curve of her cheek.

"What...what happens if I choose pleasure?" Hermione found herself completely transfixed, the total exhaustion of a complete mental breakdown made their present conversation feel as though it were happening in a dream.

Severus' face twisted as though he were in pain. He knew what she was asking but he hadn't been prepared to give her an answer. His jaw twitched when her lips brushed against the bottom of his chin, their softness overtaking his senses. For so long he had denied her wants in favor of her needs. It had led to her ultimate destruction. Was his way truly the best for her? Or was it time to concede?

"Please kiss me..." Hermione knew her request was selfish and wrong. That after everything she'd gone through that day she should have wanted nothing more than to curl up into a dark hole and never leave it. Her soul ached beyond imagine to understand the feeling in her heart but her mind didn't have the capacity to contemplate its meaning.

Despite everything inside him telling him to stay his course despite the pitfall, his own soul pulsed against hers. As cracked and broken as he was, it was just as painful for him to deny her. So, he abided by her soft request.

Hermione's arms rose, opening the sheet that he'd wrapped around her in the process. Her fingers twined into his dark locks, pulling him deeper into the moment. She hadn't fully prepared herself for his surrender but it didn't stop her from falling into the sensation it brought with.

A small tilt of her head gave her access to the one flavor she could never describe. An alluring taste that the sweetest of cakes could never compare to. It was his essence, his very being.

Even after all their bickering and quarrels, they met as lovers would. Their dance slow and tentative. Hands moving down well-seen paths to explore an entirely new world of sensation. Hermione fell back into the pillows with ease, feeling the weight of the man over her who had followed her guidance.

Her eyes opened to the dizzying colors of the canopy above her as her head tilted back into his palm. Her hands that had treated his hair as though they were reigns relaxed their grip when his lips trailed along the pulse in her throat. Her leg came up on its own command, taking hold of his hip to fully bring him over.

A small spell tingled down his torso, no doubt from the witch beneath his ministrations. The cool air of the room tensed the skin over his chest but the heat between them was enough to keep him focused. He knew she deserved to feel loved, to feel wanted, appreciated, full of worth. Something he had been denied nearly his entire life.

He wouldn't have wished his role in this life on anyone, least of all someone who had done nothing to deserve it. While she wasn't perfect, she was still more than he could ever hope to be. It had taken him much longer than it should have to see it but seeing her world through her very own eyes time and time again had finally lifted the veil over his own.

Hermione felt herself falling into another world entirely. Every breath, every heartbeat now doubled. It was like she could feel more than his hands, his lips, his breath, like she could feel his very soul reaching out to her. It was so beyond anything she had ever envisioned. When his lips paid homage to her chest, her eyes rolled back unable to formulate a congruent thought.

How could this man? This brutal man, move with such kindness? Her breath panted against the arm that had come up to shield her eyes, unable to see herself in the reality before her. This was surely a dream, a mirage, a trick.

When Severus looked up he found her face contorted with ambivalence. Even still she was trapped inside herself. His own face twitched to mirror hers but he wouldn't allow it to. Instead, his hand ran down the curve of her waist as light as feather waiting for her to tell him to stop, that she couldn't do this as she previously believed.

A sharp gasp pulled the arm from her eyes, the dark dilated pools looking straight into his own, lost in a world that she couldn't understand. Though her body answered his call, he wondered just how far he should go. Her lips moved but only a breathy noise came forth but her eyes told him all that he needed to know. With a reverent kiss over her heart, he shifted his body, taking her core into his palm.

Her mouth opened in a silent 'o' before her brow furrowed tightly, while she wasn't lacking experience in the field this felt entirely new. Her body seemed to have a mind of its own when his fingers began to move. Her eyes tracked his descent and before she could utter a single sound her entire body was alight with an all-new sensation.

Her gasp of surprise warmed his ears while the taste of her exploded in his mouth. His fingers moved slowly, methodically, parting the way for his exploration. His eyes, however, never left hers watching with great pleasure as the fear that had flickered over her face quickly turn to pleasure and need.

It wasn't the first time he'd sought her release, but it was the first time where she had been completely under her own will. Her body rocked slowly to his rhythm urging him to continue. His own body burned with desire but his lust would have to wait. This was not about him, not about what he wanted. This was for her and only her.

Soft whimpers filled the room, gasps, and moans following. The climb to the tallest peak was slow building but standing on the top was pure bliss. Severus heard his name amongst the sounds he pulled from her, it made him feel odd inside to know that she was right there along with him. It didn't slow down his pursuit and when she fell he was there to catch her.

Hermione was certain she was seeing colors that no human eye should have been capable of. Her body tremored with her release, one of which she had never known possible. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced, no pain, no shame nor agony. Just pure pleasure. Her chest heaved as she fell back down to earth, warm arms taking her in close while her mind tried to anchor itself back into reality.

When she'd managed to gain control over her tongue she was simply too exhausted to speak. Her eyes rolled close to the sight of deep endless onyx coming up beside her. The soft sound of a heartbeat in her ear and the smell she had come to know as safety. She was out in mere moments.