Severus sighed and settled into his large leather wing-back chair. He conjured himself a glass and a bottle of his elf-made wine. As he poured himself a glass and took a drink, he began to think about his life. The side of light had finally defeated Voldemort not more than six months ago. The meddling old fool had said for years that Harry was the one to kill him but in the end it was her. He had only heard this though, because he had been lying on the floor of the Shrieking Shack dying from Nagini's attack. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was her pushing a bezoar into his mouth and using her wand to close his wounds. Severus took another big swig. It was her there when he finally woke up two months later. He was told everything; how Voldemort had been defeated and how she had been there for him through those two months in the infirmary, how her and Potter stood up for him to get all his past crimes cleared with the Wizengamot. It's always her, the damn know-it-all. However, he did not feel that way, not really, at least not anymore. Yes, it was her, but it was always her. If he was being honest with himself he loved her, he was in love with her. It took him two years to finally admit it to himself, but now he did not have to hide his true feelings for the witch. He was no longer a spy. He was free. Free to live his own life and live it the way he truly wanted to. If he was completely honest, he wanted the witch by his side and now that the world was safe, he planned to make his wildest dream come true. He was going to let her in, let her know all of him and hopefully she would be able to do the same. He needed to talk to Minerva, he wanted to proceed but since she was still apprenticing with Minerva for the year, he wanted to make sure it wasn't going to put either of them in a compromising position. He checked his watch; it was too late to bother her now, so he scourgified his glass with his wand and went to sleep.

Hermione tossed and turned the entire night. She tried to calm her mind and push the thoughts aside but it was not working. She grumbled loudly and rolled over trying to get comfortable. Her thoughts were constantly turning towards her old potion's professor and she hadn't had a proper rest in months. She had spent day in and day out with the man for two months after the war taking care of him and then to suddenly not be around him was maddening to her. Yes, he hadn't been awake the entire time but she started to care for him. When he did wake up, he was surprised that she was there. At first he was snarky but then he let the façade melt away and it was like he was a new person. He continued to let her take care of him and even read to him until he was strong enough to leave the infirmary. She treasured her time with the man and quickly her feelings progressed into something deeper. When he had returned to his quarters that was when Minerva had asked her if she would consider apprenticing under for the Transfiguration position. Being that she was headmistress, she felt she wanted to spend her time solely doing that and not take on both positions. It did not take her time at all to accept the position. Hogwarts was her home; she had no home in the Muggle world anymore. Hermione's parents were killed a month before the final battle. She had felt alone but realized that Minerva, the Weasley's, Harry, and even Snape had become her family and she knew she would never truly be alone. During the Final Battle, she and Ron had shared a kiss but they both knew that they were better off friends considering how different they were. A few weeks after the war, Ron had even joked that she'd be better suited for Snape, little did he know how she really felt about the quiet and reserved man. She felt differently when she was with Severus than she had with anyone else she ever dated. She felt complete, she felt whole. Sadly, he was unaware of her true feelings for the man. True, they had become friends of a sort but would that ever be enough for her? If she was honest with herself, she knew that it would never be enough. She wanted to let him in, she wanted to let him know all of her, and in her wildest dreams he would do the same. They were spending less time with one another; she had really had no idea where they stood with each other. They had been so busy getting the castle renovated and repaired for the new term, with classes, and them both being pretty busy. She only hoped that once things had settled down, they could spend more time together. Hermione sighed and rolled over once more hoping that sleep would overtake her. She was tired of being lost in her thoughts. It took longer than she had hoped, but finally fell asleep. Hermione's dreams were filled with visions of her and Severus and what could be there future.

Severus woke from a fitful sleep. He had dreamed of Hermione, which wasn't unusual. He hadn't been getting adequate sleep since he figured out how he felt for the witch. Today, he was adamant he would talk to Minerva, but first shower and coffee.

He finished his shower and was dressed and in the Great Hall before anyone else. He went up and sat down. A cup of coffee appeared in front of him. He quietly sipped his coffee when he was aware of her presence.

She walked softly as to not startle him and watched as he gently placed his coffee back down on the table and greeted her.

"Good morning, Hermione."

"Good morning, Severus"

She walked over and sat down next to him and pulled a book out of her robes as her breakfast appeared in front of her. She absentmindedly reached for a piece of bacon as she found her place in her book and began reading.

He looked over toward her and he could see her lost in her book already and decided to tease her.

"So, what is the know-it-all reading today?"

"If you must know, I am reading The Notebook," replied Hermione

"Another muggle novel," asked Severus.

"Yes, it is by muggle author Nicholas Sparks"

"Is it any good?"

"Yes, it's about soul mates," she responded quietly and looked up to see his reaction.

At first, Severus wanted to leave his features indifferent, but he was curious and not just about the book. He wanted to see if he maybe he could get a glimpse at how she really felt about them.

"Do you believe in soul mates, Hermione?"

Hermione watched his face and watched his eyebrows rise with his question; she bit her lip for a moment contemplating what to say to him. She looked into his eyes. Just as she decided to throw caution to the wind, Minerva and Pomona walked in talking and giggling, stopping abruptly seeing the two staring deep into each other's eyes. Minerva cursed herself for walking in on what seemed to be a moment but there was nothing she could do now. She cleared her throat and the two quickly went back to their breakfast. Minerva threw a glance at Pomona and both of the older witches gave each other a knowing smile before they sat down.

Severus cursed himself. He should have been more careful, not that he would want to keep a relationship with the witch a secret, but he had wanted to talk to the Headmistress first. He hadn't wanted to give anything away, but then again, the old witch was just as meddle-some as Albus had been, so it would not surprise him if she already knew how he felt about Hermione. He looked to the Headmistress and began to speak.

"Minerva, I would like to have a moment of your time after breakfast if you could."

Minerva looked at the young man and smiled, "As long as Hermione feels comfortable beginning our class without me."

The two professors looked over to the assistant professor who had become lost in her book again. Minerva laughed loudly, as did Severus, which prompted looks from the whole Hall and the young witch looked up from her book, her face red.

"Were you speaking to me, I am so sorry."

"Never you mind, Hermione, I was just wondering if you would be okay starting class for me, Severus needs to meet with me," replied Minerva.

"That would be fine, of course," answered Hermione.

With that Hermione finished her breakfast, tucked her book in her robes, muttered a good-bye and went off to the Transfiguration classroom to start setting up, letting her mind wonder a bit about Severus' question.