Continuous Affair

Night terrors and memories

"NO! GET AWAY!"

"Severus?" Hermione turned over slowly opening her eyes trying to adjust to the darkness.

"I TOLD YOU I WAS DONE!" Severus was sweating as he jolted around getting tied up in the sheets.

"Severus wake up!"

Hermione grabbed his hand trying to wake him. "Severus! Come on dear. Come back to me" she said louder in hopes that he could hear her.

"NO. NO. LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Severus, darling. It's me." She grabbed his face hoping that her cold hands might wake him. "Severus?"

"Her...? Hermione? What's going on?"

"You tell me. I thought your night terrors had stopped."

"They had.... until I came back here and you stayed home. It just hasn't been the same without you here. Things are...."

"Why didn't you tell me? You could have come home."

"I didn't want to worry you. You've been so busy with Eileen, and you're exhausted. I didn't want to add anything to that." Severus said slowly pushing himself up the headboard. "You don't need one more thing. I thought I would be fine once you were back."

"Darling" Hermione chuckled "it's my job to worry about you. You need to tell me these things. Have you spoken to poppy? Maybe she has something."

"Oh yes, let's go parading around my nightmares about the war. People still struggle to trust me and this would make it worse."

"Everyone here trusts you love. They all know you. You're a good man. You made some mistakes, but more importantly, when the time came, you were on the right side."

"Why is it that you can see the good in me?"

"Because there is so much." Hermione leaned in and kissed him gently.

Hermione turned to look in the bassinet to see Eileen sleeping soundly. She was wrapped up tightly and Hermione gently rubbed her face. Quietly, she whispered "I love you little one" before turning back to find severus' eyes closed and his head dropping down.

"Come on dear" Hermione said trying to pull him back down into a laying position. She stepped out of bed and tightly wrapped her robe around herself in the cool dungeon air.

Sliding on her slippers, Hermione went through her chambers then into the hallway. Her wand lit the quiet empty corridors and she climbed the flights of stairs to her classroom. She moved swiftly to the back and opened the door that led to her mothers new chambers.

"Mum?" She whispered when she saw a light flickering under the bedroom door. "Mum?"

"Hermione? What on earth are you doing up at this hour?"

Hermione pushed open the door to find her mothers belongings scattered around the room as she tried to find a place for everything.

"Severus. And once I'm up, I'm up. Anything I can help with?"

"Oh just trying to organize. This place is really difficult to deal with if you're not magic. I had to find that caretaker just to get a box of matches. He doesn't have a wand. Did you know that?"

"Yes mum, I did" Hermione flipped through the pages of an old photo album. She looked at pictures of her as a child playing in the yard with her father and in the kitchen baking cakes with her mother.

There were pictures of her playing with her stuffed bears and attempting to make them tea. Her father was often times behind the camera, but her favorite was her first day of hogwarts. Her neighbors were walking by and offered to take the picture of them together with Hermione dressed in strange robes. Her parents looked so proud of her standing in front of their small house. Everyone wore a big smile and hugged one another.

"That's my favorite picture of him. I hadn't seen him smile that much since the day you were born. We had a witch in the family, and even though we couldn't tell anyone, it was the best thing that could have happened. I just wish he could see you and Eileen now. He would have made an amazing granddad. Would have spoiled that little girl to pieces."

"I miss him. I wish Eileen could know him. They would've caused some mischief together."

Hermiones mother hugged her tightly as they continued through the album together telling stories and crying.