This is my first Harry Potter fanfic, so please don't flame me! This takes place about half way through the trio's seventh year after the defeat of Voldemort. It's basically about . . . well just read and then you will see.

One Last Kiss . . . For Now

The students in the great hall had wondered what all the commotion was about, and now they could see clearly what was wrong. Crammed in the huge doorway and spilling out into the entrance hall, they all watched as Severus Snape was dragged along by two ministry officials, cursing and writhing in their grasp. Expletives flowed in a stream from his lips, turning the air blue and causing some of the younger students to titter nervously among themselves. The men stopped abruptly in front of the stout form of Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic and they shoved Snape roughly to the cold floor.

"Why is it," hissed Snape dangerously, "that I have seemed to spend so much of my life on my knees before idiots? First the Dark Lord, now a pathetic excuse for a minister - how tragic."

"I would watch that tongue of yours, Snape." replied the Minister, slightly unnerved by this dark sinister figure in front of him. "It has got you in trouble before now, and it certainly won't help you at this moment in time."

"Considering where he had his tongue a few minutes ago, I daresay he is regretting how much use he puts it to," commented an official snidely to the man next to him. His neighbour's lips twitched in amusement.

"What is the meaning of this, Cornelius?" a voice enquired quietly from behind the minister. Fudge spun around and espied the imposing form of Albus Dumbledore, clad in midnight robes standing at the top of the main stairs. The wizened man descended the steps gracefully for a man so advanced in years and approached the scene. No-one could mistake the fury that emanated from him in waves at the sight of his Potions Master subjected to such an ignominy. His eyes flashed a steely blue and the lines of his face became hard and angry. Fudge's confidence wavered slightly as the Headmaster bore down on him with that stare and he stuttered, trying to play for time and the right words. Dumbledore cut him off harshly.

"Now, Cornelius, if you please. I demand to know what you think you are doing with my Potions Master." Fudge looked affronted by the lack of respect demonstrated by this address, and suddenly was filled with indignation.

"Now see here, Dumbledore. I was conducting a surprise inspection of the school, as I am well entitled to do and it's a good job I did." Here his chest puffed out with fury and his nose twitched with irritation. "I found one of your professors, Severus Snape to be exact," he gave Snape a non-too- gentle nudge with his foot, then looked at his shoe with disgust, "in a somewhat compromising position with a girl, a student no less!"

A shocked gasp ran through everyone present, except the accused and his prosecutors. Some of the students appeared to feel ill at the very thought of Snape with any kind of love life, compromising or not. Harry and Ron glanced at each other in a mixture of horror and disbelief, their thoughts written clearly on their faces. Snape, of all people? And with a student? They turned to see Hermione's reaction to the news, imagining that she would be appalled at such a blatant transgression of trust and rules. They blinked, confused. She wasn't there.

An amused snort drew everyone's attention back to the man who was still on the ground. His eyes were narrowed with cold contempt and his lip was curled in his customary sneer. "Compromising indeed. I trust that you were not too greatly traumatised by our fully clothed forms and the respectable locations of our hands? " Somehow, that comment caused most of the anger to dissipate from Dumbledore's face and something remarkably akin to a twinkle was beginning to appear in his eyes, alongside resignation.

"Is this true then, my boy?"

Snape looked up at Dumbledore, honesty now shining from his dark eyes. This man before him had done so much to help in the past; he had forgiven him for the terrible mistakes and crimes he had committed and had freely granted him sanctuary and a future. Severus could not rightly repay him with denials and lies. He let his arrogance and pride fall at the softly spoken question and breathing shallowly, he hung his head and laid his soul bare for this man - there was little else he could do in the situation, and this admission couldn't worsen matters.

"I love her." It was barely more than a whisper, yet every single person in the hall heard each word as clearly as if it had been shouted. The shock felt after this admission was even more pronounced than before - a Snape with basic desires was understandable, but a Snape who could feel emotions as strong as love, that was just frightening.

"I am glad, Severus." Now it was Snape's turn to be shocked. He looked up at Dumbledore slowly, hardly daring to believe what he thought he had just heard and was thrown into complete bewilderment by the benign smile that was gracing the old man's kind face. He perceived understanding, relief and happiness in the sparkling blue eyes that bestowed such a gaze of paternal affection upon him. Dumbledore laid a frail hand on the younger man's shoulders and squeezed it gently. "I have hoped for so long that you would learn how to love someone and she is truly worthy of your affections as you are of hers. Yes, I know now who it is," he answered the surprised expression on his colleague's face. "You have suffered for almost the entirety of your life - if anyone deserves happiness, it is you, my boy."

Beside Dumbledore, Fudge made an incomprehensible sound of outrage. "Surely you cannot mean to overlook his actions, Dumbledore? They are completely reprehensible, whatever you have to say on the matter and you cannot make exceptions in the rules just for your favoured acquaintances." Dumbledore gazed calmly down at the man, his serene expression a stark contrast to the effusion of angry purple patches across Fudge's cheeks.

"You know as well as I do, Cornelius that you have more power over the outcome of this matter than I do, considering the circumstances. However, if you act overzealously, the consequences shall be dire for-"

He was cut off mid-sentence by an anguished wailing that drifted from one of the adjoining corridors which was followed seconds later by the arrival of Hermione Granger, dishevelled and distraught with tears streaming down her soft cheeks. The fear of loss brightened her eyes with a glassy sheen and she fought desperately to escape the grips of the female officials either side of her. Snape was on his feet in an instant, only to be restrained fiercely by his guards.

"Get away from her," he snarled savagely at those surrounding his love. He twisted sharply and met Fudge's accusing glare with malice in his obsidian eyes and venom in his voice. "Hurt her, Fudge and I will kill you." The whisper promised death and Fudge stepped back, visibly shaken by the threat.

"Severus?" Hermione was scared also, not of Snape, but of his inevitable loss. "You're not going to go away, are you? I don't want to be here without you, please. ." The plea struck him straight in his heart and he stopped fighting instantly. Resignation replaced his fury and sighing he met her tearful gaze. He drank in the sight of her, knowing that he probably wouldn't see her again for a long time; her chestnut hair tumbled messily over her shoulders, her cinnamon eyes were bloodshot and her pale cheeks were flushed with colour. As untidy as she undeniably looked, in his eyes, she was still the most beautiful creature that walked because she loved him. His gaze softened and became tender as he perceived the terror she felt at the thought of losing him.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I don't have a choice." She shook her head disbelievingly, all the while looking at him and mouthing 'no' over and over again.

"There was obviously no coercion on Severus' part, Cornelius." Dumbledore commented softly from the side, watching the interaction between the separated lovers. Certainly this relationship was good for Severus - Dumbledore had never seen the man display a single kind facet of his character, excepting his actions during the war. His old heart swelled with warmth and pride for the younger man, even though he knew that he would have to start searching for a new Potions Master that very night. "I would suggest you take that into account when you reprimand him."

The Minister glared stonily at Dumbledore for a minute then turned back to the officials who were restraining the perpetrators of the crime. Taking a deep breath and seeming as if he would rather be doing anything but this, he snapped his orders out.

"Let him go, he is not to be taken into custody. Nevertheless," he smiled grimly at this, "as of now, Severus Snape is relieved of his duties as a Hogwarts professor." Dumbledore coughed slightly and Fudge scowled briefly. "The girl is not to be punished, for while it is clear that she was willing, she is young, and no doubt will learn from this . . . misdemeanour."

Much to Snape's amusement a small growl could be heard from Hermione at this last statement. He didn't care too much for his punishment, it was lighter than he could have hoped and after all, he imagined he would have left at some point anyway - teaching was not something he had imagined doing for the rest of his life anyway. For Hermione to emerge from this unpunished though, that was wonderful, almost a small victory for the two of them, although it was all down to the Headmaster's intervention. He blessed that man a thousand times over - not only did he approve of the relationship, but he endeavoured to help them out of the mess their negligence had landed them in. Either side of him, he felt the officials release his arms and step backwards. Dusting off his robes as if he felt them to be contaminated by the Ministry, he shot the officials a poisonous glare and strode over to Hermione, completely ignoring Fudge's cry of protest.

Reaching forward, he enveloped the girl in his arms, holding her closely, yet gently. One hand snaked up her back, brushing through her hair and then cupped her damp cheek softly. She wrapped her own arms about his waist and leaned into his hand, her lips still trembling with silent sobs. He felt another wrenching in his chest at the sight of such sorrow and forgetting that they had a rather large audience, most of whom were held in place by some sort of morbid fascination he leant down and kissed a tear away from her face, even though he could feel one of his own tracing a path down his cheek. Just one, for farewell. She could feel her small warm hand travel up his back and thread itself in his dark hair, tugging his head down slightly. Their lips met in a soft, parting kiss, full of love and promises. He withdrew slightly, his mouth still almost touching hers as he spoke.

"I love you, remember that. If you still want me by the time you leave Hogwarts, I'll be waiting for you."

He pulled back then, feeling the tug on his heart grow stronger with every step he took away from her. He couldn't stay, but he was loath to leave. Drawing near Dumbledore, he stopped and looked to one of the very few men he respected, and the only one he trusted. He saw a sad farewell in the old wizard's placid eyes and bowed his head briefly.

"Thank you, Albus, for everything. You have done more for me than I can possibly repay."

Dumbledore held up his hand. "Don't be foolish, my boy. I am the one in your debt, but there is perhaps a better time at some later date to talk of such things. Go now; it is best that no more revelations be unfolded lest someone in your considerable audience dies from shock." Severus looked about him in astonishment and saw the large gathering of students still staring at the scene that was playing out before them. He felt a brief sense of shame at having his indiscretion so publicly announced, especially in front of these dunderheads and by now his bad reputation was undoubtedly in ruins. 'Who gives a damn,' he thought suddenly, 'they're probably still terrified of me.'

With a last, lingering look at Hermione, who, to his surprise was being embraced protectively by her two best friends, he turned to face his future. Walking towards the huge doors, he raised an eyebrow at the officials. "Don't tell me I'm to be deprived of an escort?" he drawled, and then he was gone. As his dark figure retreated across the grounds, towards the distant gates, a solitary pair of eyes watched sorrowfully from behind a window, a dirty pane of glass jagged in age and witness to many of these partings.

*****

I know it is a bit OOC, but I wanted to do it. Poetic licence, eh?