They had been married for a year now. Granted, they had been a couple for nearly five years before marrying, but it finally just hit her that they were married and sharing a home. Hermione Granger-Snape was staring at the bookshelves in their Kent home and trying to figure out where to put the new set of books she had ordered. She wondered how hard it would be to expand the room without her husband finding out. If she made the ceiling taller, she could make the shelves taller, and he might not notice…
Suddenly, arms wrapped around her waist and she squeaked, much to her annoyance. "Don't sneak up behind me! You could have lost an eye or something." He snorted and pulled her in closer.
"What nefarious plans are you concocting, my little swot?" he asked in her ear.
"Uhh, nothing." Delicious shivers went down her spine. The book in her hand forgotten, she turned in his arms to face him. "Just trying to figure out where to put these new books."
"I am not sure there is much we can do. I think you know what the next step is." He looked seriously into her eyes and her heart plummeted.
"Severus, no. You know I can't."
"You must, my love. We have duplicate copies of numerous books. It is time."
On a deeper level, she knew he was right. They did have duplicate copies of several books. But she liked her books and she remembered where each and every one was bought. Ginny liked buying shoes but she liked buying books. The feel of them in her hands, the satisfying crack of the spine, the slightly musty odor of ink and parchment. Just thinking about it made her itch to go to the bookstore. She turned her head to the bookshelves again and sighed before nodding.
"We will work on it together. We can donate them to the school or somewhere they will be needed," he said while leading her to a chair before transfiguring some firewood into a wooden crate.
She snorted in derision. "The school is the last place they will be cherished. I spent three-quarters of my time in that library and can name a hundred books that no one had opened in years."
"Then put our books there for the next bookworm who will spend three-quarters of their time in that library like you did." He kneeled down in front of the bookshelf directly next to the door and began making a pile of duplicate books. Hermione's eyes grew larger and wider as the stack grew taller. She felt like – what was that word she learned about in a muggle psychology book? – oh yes, a hoarder. She definitely had hoarder tendencies about her books. It could be worse, she mused. She could be hoarding potions ingredients like her husband. She gave a short laugh and the man in question quirked an eyebrow at her.
"Don't mind me. Stuck in my own thoughts. So what do you have?" She lifted a copy of Most Potente Potions. "Okay, this one can go. The one at Hogwarts could use to be replaced anyways. I think I spilled polyjuice potion on it my second year." She didn't miss the sharp look and narrowed eyes of her husband.
"Is that so? And where, may I ask, did you get the ingredients to make that potion when you were twelve years old?"
Caught like a deer in headlights, she mumbled, "Oh, you know… around…" He barked out a laugh and she thought she heard him murmur "I knew it." She might have been mistaken.
They made their way through the books and filled up two full crates before sitting back against the sofa, legs stretched out on the faded rug. She looked at the open spots in the bookshelves and mourned briefly the books that had filled those holes. She shook herself and turned to look at her husband. His eyes were closed, head tilted back to rest on the sofa cushions
She poked him and asked, "What do you want to do for dinner? I'm too tired to cook."
He shrugged and answered without opening his eyes, "We can go out. I am not inclined to cook either."
They sat quietly for a few more moments before Hermione smiled mischievously. "Before dinner, could we stop at the bookstore quickly? There was a new book about modern uses for Runes that I wanted to pick up."
He sighed, opened his eyes and smiled down at her. "I can deny you nothing," he said before kissing her swiftly and tugging her to her feet. She was a lucky woman indeed.