Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything is the property of the genius J.. I am simply borrowing her characters. Also disregard Snapes death in Deathly Hallows. He was bitten by Nagini but survived.

It was finally over. The Dark Lord was dead and the wizarding world was now at peace again. The survivors of The Order sat at Grimmauld Place. They were gathered in the living room, around a roaring fire, glasses of Firewhiskey in hand. Toasts had been made to those lost and more tears shed. Severus sat in a big armchair in the corner. He was very sore from the numerous bites he had received from Voldemorts snake, Nagini. He had been apparated to St. Mungos Hospital and administered the anti-dote to the venom which had saved his life.

It had been Harry who had told everyone that he was trustworthy. When asked how he could say this of the man who had killed Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and basically had been The Dark Lords right hand man, Harry simply said,

"I have had the privilege to see things about this mans past that you could never begin to imagine."

Everyone just stared at him. Nobody quite sure what to say.

"I would trust Severus Snape with my life."

The group grew smaller as people began to go to bed and finally it was just Harry, Ginny Hermione and Severus left. Harry and Ginny decided to sneak off somewhere to have a quick shag. Hermione sat curled up in a corner of the couch with her glass of Firewhiskey. She finished her drink in one quick sip and continued to look into the fire trying to imagine how much different things were going to be now. She jumped when Severus spoke. His deep, smooth voice cutting through the air.

"Miss Granger?"

Hermione turned her head to meet his eyes.

"Please, call me Hermione," she said in a soft voice, "after all we've been through together, I think it's a bit unnecessary to be so formal."

He tipped his head and smiled, something they were all going to have to get used to since he had never smiled in the past.

"Hermione, would you like another glass of Firewhiskey?"

"Actually I should be getting to bed." She answered.

"Oh, ok."

Hermione couldn't help but notice what seemed like a bit of disappointment in his voice. After all that time of being the most feared professor at school she could imagine he would want some company. She looked at him as he stared into the fire and saw a completely different man. He seemed a bit softer, more relaxed. He had on a pair of black pants and a white tee that was fitted to his frame and allowed her to see that he was quite well built. His hair was slicked back and still wet from his shower earlier. She studied the features of his face and realized he was actually quite attractive. She allowed her eyes to roam from his chest to his muscular arms. She watched as his biceps flexed every time he rose his glass to his mouth.

"You know, I can hang out for a little while longer."

Severus looked up at her and couldn't help but smile. Hermione looked into his eyes and knew it was sincere. She smiled back and allowed him to fill her glass.

They sat and talked for a while discussing things like Hogwarts getting rebuilt and the students returning to school as well as the arrangements for those who were lost in the war. After about an hour or so, and quite a bit more Firewhiskey, they both decided it was time to go to bed. They were both drunk and stumbled their way up the stairs before reaching Hermione's room first. Hermione turned around to say goodnight to Severus and felt her body tingle at his closeness. She was surprised when he leaned down and met his lips to hers. Hermione responded to his kiss with an urgency she was unaware she had. Severus pushed her back into the wall with his body and with one hand on her hip and one caressing her cheek, he deepened the kiss. His tongue entered her mouth and she moaned quietly at the feel of it. When they broke apart, both of their faces were flushed and they were breathing heavy. Severus looked down into Hermione's eyes.

"Goodnight Hermione."

He kissed her forehead and continued down the hallway to his room.

Hermione stood there for a minute, her fingers on her lips. She went into her room and took a shower before getting into bed. She lay in bed for a while thinking about the kiss. She had welcomed it and enjoyed it and that shocked her a bit. She finally drifted off to sleep, Severus very much present on her mind.

The next day, the services began for those who had been lost in the war. The caskets of Fred Weasley, Nymphadora Tonks & Remus Lupin were lined up, flowers lay atop. Many people were there to pay their respects to the brave wizards and witch who had lost their lives fighting for the freedom of the wizarding world. The Weasley family, Harry, Hermione and Tonks parents holding her and Remus' baby Teddy Lupin sat in the front row. The rest of the rows were filled in with professors and students from Hogwarts as well as witches and wizards who simply came to pay their respects to the three brave souls.

Later that night, Hermione & Ginny sat at the kitchen table with a hot cup of tea. It had been a very long day. Hermione was still in her dress from earlier, her hair was pulled back with a few soft curls hanging down. Severus came in and saw her sitting there. She was so beautiful to him. Hermione looked up at Severus as he crossed the room. When their eyes met Hermione gave him a small smile, which he returned, before continuing her conversation with Ginny. Once he had left the room, Ginny looked at Hermione.

"Um, what was that?"

"What?" Hermione asked.

"That smile between you and Snape."

"So, what's wrong with smiling at someone?"

"Well, I've never seen Snape smile." Ginny said "I wasn't even sure he knew how to." She laughed.

"Well I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of different things that we're going to learn about everyone."