A/N: What should I say...
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At the end of their time
He had passed away on a Thursday in January.
Now, more than two months after this day, she still wasn't sure, if she could ever bear a life without him. How should she manage? Go out and go on, he would have said. And he would have smiled one of his special smiles she knew so well; this tiny twitching of his mouth.
Hermione Granger sighed. She snuggled deep in his armchair and looked into the dancing flames of the fireplace.
Around her home, very early spring fought its way through the snowy Scottish landscape. She should be outside to collect the first herbs of the year. Some of them were essential for her potions. But… no, not yet. Hermione didn't want to leave the house yet. She was afraid that the last traces of his presence could be disappeared on her return.
How did wizards die? They died different from muggles; different from Hermione's parents, who aged and got ill and weak. Not long ago, there had been a time, when wizards and witches had died violently in battle or had been killed by other wizards. But this time of war and fight had given place to peaceful times. Wizards passed away like fading sunlight. They knew, when their time came.
Not long and I'll be gone, had Severus told her.
No, not yet. Everything inside her screamed.
We hadn't enough time for us, she had said.
He had laughed. Sixty-five years, seven months and twenty-eight days – and you still don't have enough, my love?
Hermione smiled in memory of his teasing and the embrace that had followed.
They had taken their time, before they became a couple. Hermione still remembered her surprise when she had realised that she had a crush on her former teacher. She laughed while imagining his surprise on his feelings.
It had been a cautious approach from both sides. A question or two about a potion recipe, a reference to a special hint in a book long forgotten, a shared project, a dinner invitation - step by step, they had drawn nearer and nearer.
Hermione well remembered their first kiss on the evening he had taken her to his favourite place. She recollected the stars shining above them, the crisp mountain air and the view down to Loch Dùghaill.
Her fingers gently touched the robe on her lap. It was his second favourite gown. His favourite one covered him, when they entrusted his body to eternity.
Hermione bravely fought her tears. It had been a great life together. She missed him tremendously.
Severus' portrait at Hogwarts was still empty. Ron had told her that many of the teaching staff thought that he would never appear there, and even Hermione was sure that her late husband would rather haunt the dungeons of Hogwarts than to poise in a life-size portrait in the Great Hall.
She was sure that Severus Snape would dip deep into the other side of the portraits, before returning to her in which way ever.
Remember what I promised on our wedding day? His voice whispered gently in her memory. Whatever happened, I will never leave you - neither at the end of our time, nor beyond.