Usual disclaimer: I own nothing except the romantic notion of this story and the assumption that Severus and Hermione should be together.

The Greatest Love Ever Known

Hermione was livid, how could he do that? He always made everything about him and his problems. She was stressed and overworked too! Flopping down on the couch of a house that was not her own, she ran through the events of the past hour. She felt the air around her heat up by her rage. She knew that if she smoked this would be the right time for a cigarette.

She had always tried to be calm with him but this had really annoyed her, this was one time too many and she couldn't stand it much more. She had come in from work and the first thing she had done after dropping her briefcase in the hall was to sit down on the couch and conjure a cup of tea. No matter what the problem was her mother had always taught her that tea was the answer to the problem.

Hermione had smiled to herself. " I have a problem and so drink tea." She had said into the cup.

She had been sat there brooding over her problems that weren't as big now as they had been an hour ago when she was at the peak of her stress. As the calm had descended on her and things started to look brighter her husband had burst through the door.

Burst was far too delicate a word to describe the way Severus Snape had entered his house. He exploded through the door with all the force and vigour of an atom bomb. He had stalked into the living room and instantly the atmosphere changed form brooding to boiling

"Oh how nice for you!" he had snapped seeing his wife sat down. "So nice that you have time to drink tea and be calm when I slave for our income…"

"Half our income" Hermione had interjected.

"Well I'm sorry I only bring in half! I work twice as hard for my half of the money I earn though!" he had spat and watched her like a little boy throwing stones at a sleeping dog.

Hermione had metaphorically woken up and her rage and tone had matched his.

"I work hard too! I'm sorry if muggle relations seems trivial to your just and true work of terrifying children but without my input then this community would be stuck!"

"Stuck? We coped without it for years. We can cope without it again."

"Not now that we need trade and protection from the general muggle public. Were do you think our security and wealth come from now? We sell them magical cosmetics and we are protected from persecution."

"I didn't teach young minds to brew practical and useful potions so that they could sell them to undeserving muggles!"

"And I didn't marry you so that you can insult my heritage!"

At that present moment Hermione's glare and outdone Severus' own. He had lost, he had watched her retreating back with the same feeling as a bird, flying south, has when it sees penguins*.

*(i.e. it's gone too far!)

Hermione had realised she was a witch as soon as the front door had slammed shut behind her. She disapperated promptly as the front door had re opened and Severus ran out just in time to see her disappear.

She had appeared seconds later outside her chosen destination and hammered on the door of the house in front of her.

After a short time a familiar face had appeared behind the opening door. Without saying a word the person had stood aside and let Hermione storm past into the living room.

This was were she currently was, in the living room. She always came here when things went wrong.

"So what has he done now?" a male voice asked as he handed her a glass of wine.

"What hasn't he done?" Hermione spat taking the glass and quickly taking a mouthful. " He has made everything about our marriage solely about him. Every time he walks in he whinges he works too hard that he does everything that he's so hard done by. It's so frustrating. I work too! I have a life too!"

"Well dear you chose him for your husband you knew what he was like."

"I didn't know he was like this all the time. Every time something goes slightly wrong it's my fault. I can't stop kids annoying him; he should get a new job. I just want to be happy again."

"I offered you happiness Hermione and you turned me down."

Hermione looked at the man, she should have known this would happen. Every time she came here every time she wanted someone to talk at and not to, he used to remind her what she gave up.

She had given up midnight broom rides and soft kisses. He had offered her comfort and money and she had chosen Severus, always Severus.

"I know I did. You know why I did too."

She watched the figure as he thought about why she had turned him down. She had told him why as well.

"Harry I love you I always have. But we were too close we were friends and I knew your faults too well."

"You know his faults too and you still chose him!"

Harry had offered her long lonely times when he was away on assignments or heart breaking times when he was in hospital suffering fatal injuries. His job offered her instability and danger. She had loved him too much to get involved with him, she would have hurt him and left him when it got to tough and she couldn't have done that to him.

There was also another reason. A reason that outdid any other. A reason that many people had died, killed and lived for.

"You know why I chose Severus."

"But Hermione we could have been, I mean, we could be the most romantic love story ever told. We could be Hermione if you give it a try."

"I don't want the most romantic love story ever told Harry. I am already part of the greatest love story that's ever been. It may not make for exciting reading but it makes for an exciting life and I don't ask for anything more."

Harry looked at her and raised an eyebrow. Hermione drained her wine glass and got up.

"Harry I think I've found what I was looking for, thank you."

She kissed him on the cheek and walked out of the door and down the hall. She opened the front door and felt the fresh night air hit her.

She had found what she wanted. She had found the realisation that she wanted nothing more than Severus. He annoyed her and he made her angry and she still loved him.

Apperating in front of her house she opened the front door and stood inside the hallway. It was quiet and still, the calm after the storm. She climbed the stairs and quietly opened the bedroom door. Severus was lying in bed reading, his bedside lamp giving off a faint glow.

After a while Severus felt someone watching him and turned over to see Hermione at the door. Neither of them said anything to break the frail silence. Severus lay his book down and sat up in bed, his eyes locked on his wife, the covers falling down to reveal his pale skin reflecting the orange of the lamp glow.

Hermione kicked off her shoes and crawled onto the bed fully clothed. Severus hand snaked its way behind her head and guided her mouth towards his; locking her in the well rehearsed personal kiss they both knew. The kiss that had gone from electric and forbidden at the beginning of their affair, to being the comfortable and loving kiss it was now.

Hermione leaned over and turned the bedside lamp off. The dark surrounded the couple but neither cared about the blackness closing in on them. All they cared about was that the other was there. All angry thoughts and grudges were dissolved just like they had been every other time before.

The hurried scrabble of hands undoing buttons and removing clothes was not fizzling with passion as it once had; it was soaked in the hurried want to be together with the only thing between being air.

They stroked each others skin, feeling what was there now and not trying to remember how it was when they first met. They had something more than lust; they had made love this way for the past 25 years.

And each time they did it got better. Every year they were together their love grew stronger.

After 25 years they both had finally realised that they really did have the greatest love ever known.