Disclaimer: I obviously don't own it. It's all for fun.

Mak is, of course, my beta; who is amazing.

Summary: Hermione and Severus, back again...in bed. Marriage? Kids? Fights galore? Humor and romance abound. Sequel to Fighting For His Freedom. Check it out before you delve into this one.

I hope this makes up for the long wait, any comments are greatly appreciated.

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Chapter One

Do Not Mistake Temptation for Opportunity…In Bed

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They had been back in England for a month, and Hermione was completely content. There had been moments of anger, sadness, and the burning desire to hex people into oblivion. At first, no one knew they were back, which had served them well, and keep their life uncomplicated, as well as satisfying.

Hermione had known she couldn't keep her arrival in England a secret, especially to her two best friends. She had sent Harry and Ron owls, telling them she was back and wanted to meet them for lunch. Apprehension and nervousness had invaded her whole body the morning of their lunch. She was going to have to tell them about her and Severus's relationship.

Of course, Harry and Ron had stared at her in shock, and then reacted in outrage. Looking back on it she could smile, but in the moment she was just as outraged as they were. It was like they were back in school, though they were slightly older than most seventh years, arguing about something insignificant. Hermione and the bat of the dungeons, together in a relationship, was nothing small in the minds of Harry and Ron. She had stated her case to them with conviction and firm resolve, and she successfully convinced Harry that her relationship with Severus perfectly fine.

True, Harry had supported Severus in his trial, but the thought of the bat with his best friend must have been disturbing. He eventually calmed down and Hermione thought things were going to be fine, but one look at Ron showed how wrong she had been. The fiery red-head was still upset about the end of their relationship. There must have been a flicker of hope that he still had a chance, but now, after hearing Hermione talk about Snape, he must have known there was no chance for him now.

With a little help from Harry, Hermione was able to talk Ron into thinking clearly and come to terms with the fact that she was with Severus. Overall, the lunch had been a success. It was great to see her friends after weeks of being apart and she had missed them.

Once the tension had settled, Harry had told her about some of the articles that had littered The Daily Prophet; stories about her whereabouts, a false citing in Jamaica, and her love affair with her ex-professor. She was outraged, but was glad to hear the stories had started to move from the front to page five. During their reunion, Hermione failed to notice the looks she was receiving from the other patrons of the restaurant. Therefore, it was a shock when she opened the paper the next day to an article about her miraculous return. The fodder was written by Rita Skeeter, and Hermione skilfully hid the paper from Severus the entire day, until she had time to destroy the evidence that he was once again in the paper.

It was early morning, and Hermione had plenty of time to replay the events that had transpired upon their return. Light was poking through the dirty, unkept curtains that hung over the windows in the room they shared. The space beside her had been vacant for a while, but she could still smell him. Rolling over on her stomach she buried her face in his pillow and breathed in his scent. She sighed in content as she thought of her relationship with Severus. It had not always been easy, and she didn't think it ever would be, but she wouldn't give him up for anything.

Turning over, she stared up at the ceiling and looked around the bare room. It had not been her idea to live at Spinner's End with him, but she didn't have a viable, second option. She had not been pleased with the state of his home, and she told him so the moment he had finished showing her around. She couldn't fathom how he could possibly live in a place like this. The furniture was almost completely worn out with the string barely holding together in some places; the dinner table and chairs were in shambles, and the dishes were chipped and yellowish. The bed was the only thing that saved the place from total disarray. It was a king sized bed, with very nice sheets and a down comforter. Slowly, Hermione had replaced the worn out sofa that looked like it came right out of the eighties, with a nice leather sofa. The plates had been repaired and cleaned as best as possible, and overall the place was becoming more liveable.

Severus had complained many times about her "womanly touches" to his abode, but Hermione assumed it was him fighting change. But, no matter how much he fought her about the modifications, he never actually did anything about it. It was Hermione's goal to eventually talk him into selling the house and purchasing something better and less rundown. It was going to be a long battle, so she had to start small and work her way through his defences to the point where he saw reason.

Hermione glanced to her left, at the unpolished table beside the bed. A small black clock showed her the time; eight-thirty was a bit early for a weekend. She felt like having a bit of a lay in anyways. Knowing Severus, he was busy, away doing research, which was just perfect for her. He wouldn't bother her for at least another hour and a half. Just past the clock was a rolled up piece of parchment she knew to be from, none other than, Narcissa Malfoy. The wax was torn in half, but one could clearly discern the Malfoy crest from the tear.

She knew Severus had been in contact with Narcissa, it just didn't hit home, in her mind, until they were back in England and invited to a Sunday brunch at Malfoy Manor. Hermione hadn't been too keen on the idea, but Severus, with a little coaxing, was able to convince her to attend. It wasn't that she didn't like the two remaining Malfoy's, it was more that she wasn't sure of their intentions. Severus and Narcissa were friends, but that didn't mean Narcissa was loyal, she was a Slytherin after all.

XXX

When the day finally arrived, Hermione stood in front of the mirror nervous, wondering what the day would bring. Severus tried to calm her, but nothing seemed to help Hermione. As soon as they Apparated, outside the wards, Hermione was awestruck by the manor in front of her. It was a brick house, seated on top of a hill, for all to see and wonder at. It was certainly what she imagined from them and scoffed that she expected them to be less extravagant. The lawn was well kept with sculptured hedges closer to the house, lining the gravel walkway. Severus had been silent the entire walk up, but grasped her hand, giving her a little squeeze for support.

"I promise they won't bite. They are too well mannered to try anything. Trust me," he said, trying to be as supportive as he possibly could.

The only thing she could do was give him a small smile as thanks. Narcissa greeted them at the front door. Severus was surprised, as was Hermione; she fully expected a house elf to appear and escort them in. The inside of the manor was just as magnificent as the outside, if not more so. The floors were white marble and the main entry way greeted them with two sets of stairways. From the centre of the second floor, they split, to wrap around the sides of the walls. It really was amazing and Hermione couldn't help but gape.

There was a quick tour, supposedly for Hermione's sake, but more for Severus'. Narcissa explained the history of every piece, including which pieces had been seized by the Ministry, who had taken a lot of their property, and they still showed up to occasionally take more. Hermione didn't see how anyone could have so many dark, or illegal, items in their house. She decided that, either they really did have a lot of dark items, or someone at the Ministry was having a lot of fun taking away their things.

Hermione noticed Draco taking a few sly glances at her. She wanted to snap at him, but contained her annoyance, for Severus. It wouldn't do for her to blow up at Draco in front of his mother, and in their own house, no less. She'd make a complete arse out of herself. Her thoughts about how much she wanted to hex Draco were swept away when they entered the two story library occupying the west end of the manor. There were many gaps on the shelves, but that was due to the Ministry "stealing" their precious books; which were most likely illegal and full of Dark magic.

It wasn't until Narcissa brought out a first edition of Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms, did Hermione really start to envy Narcissa. The Malfoy's were privy to all this knowledge and information right at the tip of their noses. It was slightly overwhelming and if Hermione had been in any other place, she most likely would have asked to read the amazing text. However, being in the presence of Narcissa and Draco, she couldn't bring herself to actually ask. They probably would have thought her a silly little Mudblood who couldn't even afford books.

While they were making their way downstairs to the dinning hall, Narcissa kept going on about how much the Ministry had taken away. It was starting to get quite tiresome, but Severus put a stop to it when he asked her snidely, "When do you think they'll get around to the keystone of the house, or its foundation?"

She simply stared at Severus before regaining her composure and discussing another portrait of a late ancestor. Afterwards, they proceeded to have brunch in the main dinning hall. Narcissa quipped that the table was able to shrink and expand itself depending on the number eating at the table. Today, it was set for four people and looked rather insignificant in the tremendous dinning hall. Brunch went well, Draco didn't make any comments about Mudbloods and Narcissa didn't have much to say that could have offended Hermione.

During the meal, Hermione learned that Narcissa and Draco were the ones that helped her escape from Stonehenge. The revelation had her momentarily stunned, but she quickly snapped out of it and thanked them both for their assistance. Hermione didn't know if she could have made it out of that situation unscathed, and was thankful that they were there. Draco then let it slip, ungratefully from his mouth, that Severus had practically ordered them to make sure she was safe. The dour man shrugged it off as nothing, but Hermione felt her heart tighten as emotions flooded her. She couldn't help but let a big smile escape toward his direction. That discovery made the day a lot more bearable.

Narcissa insisted on having an after meal drink in the parlour, so they adjourned to the cosy room, with plush couches, Persian rugs, and a lit fire. Draco was bored out of his mind, and they could all see it, so it wasn't a surprise when he spilled some of his drink of the couch. Narcissa gave Draco a dark look before cleaning it up with her wand; then she commented how it was brand new. They had to purchase it because the Ministry had seized their other one while they were looking for dark objects.

Severus growled that Hermione had done plenty rearranging and purchasing new furniture for his home, against his will. Narcissa laughed and agreed that his home in Spinner's End needed a make over. She even told him he needed to get a better home, one suited for a wizard, of course. Hermione piped up and agreed wholeheartedly, and said, "That is what I have been telling him for a while now."

Severus gave them both his best glare and said, "Drop it. I don't feel like being hounded by two women this afternoon. When I want to move, I will. As it stands, my current home is quite sufficient."

XXX

Hermione laughed to herself when she thought of his reply that day at Malfoy Manor. She still had no luck with him in that department. For some reason he was overly attached to his dilapidated home and refused to discuss the idea of moving.

She was so deep in thought that she didn't see Severus walk into the room or when he laid back down in bed, filling her vacated spot, since she overtook his. "What can you possibly be thinking about so deeply?" Severus asked, his voice rough with having just gotten up.

Hermione turned over and faced Severus, giving him a big smile and a light peck on the lips. "Good morning, Severus," she said with a yawn.

"Were you planning on sleeping all day or did you have grand plans today?" Severus cupped her cheek and pulled her into a kiss.

"No plans, really. Was there something you had in mind?" Hermione asked.

"I was thinking of visiting the Apothecary for a few ingredients."

"Great! I wanted to go to Flourish and Blotts to look at a few books that just came out! How about we have lunch while we are there?" Hermione had been completely woken up when she remembered the new books she had wanted to peruse.

"Very well," Severus sighed, as he rolled gracefully off the bed and toward his dresser. It was going to be a lovely day. He just hoped he didn't get a new piece of furniture, or worse tea cosy's.