At Port
It had been several years since Severus had seen Hermione Granger. After the war, she had decided to stay out of the limelight and away from the memories.
Severus had liked the sound of that. His job, however, was still not done. He headed a secret, and small, hand-picked team charged with finding the last of the Death Eaters and Dark Lord supporters the world round.
It was a long and tiring job. Once finished, Severus found himself wondering just where it was that Hermione had moved. He knew she was still active in research and even some government programs.
He didn't expect to run into her at a bookstore in Oxford but the location of their chance meeting certainly didn't surprise him.
After a pleasant afternoon spent at a coffee shop discussing everything except the war, Hermione had invited him to her place for tea the next day.
/
Hermione was waiting for him when Severus Portkeyed to a back alley behind the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. She looked relaxed as she had the previous day. Her skin was softly tanned and her denim cut off shorts showed off her lean legs- not that Severus noticed things of that nature.
Hermione was standing beside two bikes. "I'm afraid it's a bit of a walk from here so I thought we'd ride instead. I hope you don't mind."
Severus didn't mind. Hermione took the lead and as they wound through back lanes, Severus enjoyed the view… Not the one of the harbor if he was honest with himself.
They arrived at a small dockyard where several yachts and sailing boats were moored.
"Just around here." Hermione flashed him a smile as they walked their bikes to a jetty, beside which was moored just one boat- a rather old-fashioned mahogany sailboat. Hermione welcomed him on board and then laughing admitted that she didn't actually sail but it made for rather peaceful living quarters.
As Severus stood on the deck, the sun setting and the water lapping gently against the hull, he had to agree. He finally felt at peace.
I recently spent an amazing two weeks in England. One of our days was spent in Portsmouth. I absolutely love being by the water. It was so peaceful there after the hustle and bustle of London. I wrote this on the train back to London.