A/N – Yes, believe it or not, I do still live. And I'm still trying to play catch-up. This takes place after The-Epilogue-That-Should-Not-Have-Been-Written in The-Book-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named. It's purely wishful thinking on my part.
A/N #2 – Based on information provided in canon and the HP Lexicon, I'm assuming Hermione is of-age by the end of her 6th year due to her Time-Turner use.
"Hullo, darling," Hermione greeted as she came through the door and hung her cloak.
"Back so soon?"
"I told him I'd be busy with start-of-term activities. You've got me all to yourself for the next three days."
A smirk appeared. "How…auspicious."
She nodded, though her expression was somewhat sad.
"I hate it that we have to keep sneaking around like this. I wish it would all just be finished."
"It won't be much longer, love," he said, pulling her close.
She wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. "I'm just so bloody tired of waiting; so are the children. They miss you, and having to pretend all the time wears on them."
Hermione smirked. "Hugo, in particular, makes his displeasure known; his biting sarcasm can rival your own at times. Fortunately for us, Ron is too dense to pick up on it."
He chuckled. "How did everything go today, with Rose?"
"I think it went well. Rose seemed quite calm about the whole thing, and if I had to put money on it, she'll be fast friends with Scorpius Malfoy before the train is half-way to the school. I think she'll follow him into Slytherin; she's far too devious to be in Gryffindor, or Ravenclaw for that matter. Honestly, I'll be shocked if Draco doesn't show up at my door wanting to arrange a betrothal by their 5th Year."
He raised an eyebrow. "Really? That will be…interesting."
"It will, won't it?"
"How are their Glamours holding up?"
"Perfectly. No one has even suspected that Rose and Hugo don't look like perfect little Weasley clones. Rose has told me, on any number of occasions, that she prefers her hair black like her father's. I've told her that once she has some background in Charms, I'll teach her how to change her hair-color without altering the rest of her Glamour; she'll be able to blame the other girls in her dorm."
She sighed. "Part of me wishes I'd been able to finalize the divorce before her Sorting; I won't hear the end of his puerile whinging for months."
"Indeed," he said with a smirk. "And how are things progressing with Mister Weasley?"
Hermione snorted derisively. "They're moving forward, though still slower than I would like. I'm relatively certain all I have left to do is sort through his 15 years of adultery and present the evidence to the barrister along with my petition for the divorce. The children will be awarded into my custody, I'll deny him any visitation rights, and that will be the end of it. After six months or so of seeming depression, you, who mysteriously showed up alive a few months prior, will 'accidentally' run into us in Diagon Alley. We'll quickly become friends, my poor 'fatherless' children adore you, and no one suspects a thing when we marry.
"How are your own plans coming along?" she asked
"For coming back from the dead?" He stood and swirled his robes dramatically. "After you three would-be heroes left me on the floor of the Shrieking Shack, I hovered on the brink of death for a several hours. Suddenly, Brolly, the elderly senile House-elf that looked after me as a child, appeared at my side. He was old, sick, and confused, and took me to the place he still thought of as 'home', even though we had not lived there for many years. The Muggles living there found me on their doorstep, and quickly transported me to a Muggle hospital. They were able to stabilize my condition, but I had fallen into a coma, where I remained for fifteen years.
"Though the doctors weren't able to figure out why, I woke up…coincidently, on the 15th anniversary of the Dark Lord's defeat."
"Remarkable," she murmured.
"Isn't it? Tragically, I had almost no memory…amnesia, a side-effect of the poison. Though it took several more years, I regained my memories. A look at the Daily Prophet told me that I'd been declared a hero, and awarded an Order of Merlin no less! After a bit of thinking, I decided it was time to dispel the rumors of my death and rejoin the Wizarding world. I will, as you said, 'accidentally' run into you and the children in Diagon Alley. Despite my being cleared of any charges, people will likely sneer; fortunately, you're just stubborn enough to ignore them and befriend a traitorous ex-Death Eater like myself. We'll be in the public eye, and once enough time has passed and the public no longer thinks I've got you under the Imperius, we'll be married."
He chuckled. "I've had nineteen years to plan, Hermione. I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
Hermione eyed the man in front of her, a smile on her face. When they'd gone back to the Shrieking Shack that night to collect his body, they were shocked to see it had disappeared. A shortage of hands had prompted Minerva to hire Hermione as the Potions professor, and acting Head of Slytherin. That act caused an uproar, of course, and the students gave her no end of trouble. A month or so into the term, while taking a moonlight stroll to clear her head, she found him…or rather, he found her. Her peaceful thoughts that evening had been brought to an abrupt halt when she was grabbed from behind. Instincts took over, and she fought; she was taken aback when her would-be attacker fell to the ground and didn't get up.
Rolling the man over, she received another shock. She knew him, and had for some time. During her Sixth Year they had become friends, and to their surprise it quickly developed into a passionate romance. They shared everything; she was the only person who knew about his promise to Dumbledore, and who saw how it tormented him. A piece of her died with him that fateful night when Nagini's venom trickled through his veins. Nothing seemed to matter after that. She'd agreed to marry Ron, figuring it would at least distract her from the grief.
But there he was. He was starving, dirty, and half-mad, but he was wonderfully, magnificently real.
She'd taken him to her parent's empty house and nursed him back to health…after a lot of thought, it had seemed kinder to leave her parents to their new life in Australia. They'd never understood her way of life, and treated her like a carnival oddity when they saw her over the holidays.
A few gentle nudges pushed her 'husband's' affections to other witches, which she didn't object to at all. She'd slept with him one time, on their honeymoon, and was completely repulsed by the experience. Always a clever witch, Hermione's skill at memory modification charms increased dramatically in a very short period of time. As far as he knew, he was getting laid regularly.
His distractions made him unlikely to question her whereabouts; he took meals with her at Hogwarts, though they agreed it would be best if he didn't live there with her. He'd quickly acquiesced when she'd justified her decision by saying she had enough trouble with her Slytherins as it was. She wondered if it was mostly his aversion to the dungeons. Regardless, Hermione made sure he got his wand-induced shagging regularly, and he really seemed to care less about everything else. That suited her just fine; she'd specially warded the Floo in her chambers at Hogwarts, putting up an exclusive connection to her parents fireplace. He'd come to her each and every evening, laughing with her over the rubbish turned in by the dunderheads she taught, helping her understand her charges, arguing over the newest article in Ars Alchemia, and making love to her.
Hermione became a fixture at Hogwarts, and Minerva grudgingly appointed her as permanent Head of Slytherin. He'd laughed himself silly over that one. They'd both been shocked to find out Hermione was pregnant, but her years around Slytherins had taught her well. A few more memory charms, a carefully constructed Glamour, and Hermione gave birth to a beautiful little Weasley girl.
When she was old enough, Hermione introduced Rose to her real father. She was a smart child, and very devious when she wanted to be. She didn't like the way her at-home Daddy treated her Mummy most of the time, and this new Daddy seemed so much better. Plus, he had all sorts of books!
Hugo's birth followed much the same pattern. Hermione brought them to Hogwarts to stay the night as often as she dared, and the children reveled in the time spent with their real Father.
It had taken years of careful planning, but everything was very nearly ready…soon she would be able to publicly take her place at his side, and there would be no more secrets.
"Just waiting on me then," she mused. "Maybe I'll find a few more witches willing to seduce him. That should hurry things along."
"Hmm," he agreed, pleased with her plan, "I do believe that practically reeks of Slytherin plotting, my darling."
"Yes, I suppose it does," she mused. "You must be a bad influence on me."
"I certainly hope so," he replied dryly. He nuzzled her neck, his voice warm and smooth as he whispered in her ear. "Why don't you come to bed, and I'll show you just how bad."
She turned and eyed him playfully. "Severus Snape, are you trying to seduce me?"
He shot a wicked smile at the woman he'd loved for more than 20 years.
"I do believe I am."
This fic is dedicated to my dearest love, Rickmanlover24601, in honor of her birthday. It was yesterday. And I would like it known that I would have been ON TIME, posting yesterday, had my internet not decided to FAIL. Grrr. Anyhow, leave her happy birthday wishes in your reviews!