Disclosure: JK Rowling created and rightfully owns Harry Potter. I simply aim to give you a few happy minutes on the car ride to Granny's house for Thanksgiving, as we imagine our favorite book characters living on past Deathly Hallows.

Chapter 4: Holiday Turkeys

"I cannot believe them!" Hermione fumed. She took the cup of tea from Severus.

Severus sat down beside her at their little table in the lab. Upon hiring Hermione, he quickly found that they had a better day together if they had tea together and talked over their day before they began brewing. Otherwise, Hermione felt like she had to interrupt him to ask questions and it put them into a very uncomfortable setting that was much too similar to when he was her professor.

The findings of their co-created dragon pox vaccine had recently been published in two international potions journals, and unanimously praised as brilliant and life saving. St. Mungo's was thrilled to have the vaccine and hoped to see the disease eradicated from the magical population. The morning's Daily Prophet, however, wrote that it was "possibly unsafe, totally untested and thoroughly muggle."

"You cannot be surprised, Hermione," Severus said dryly.

"Yes, I am! You said this would help my image. Not helping, Severus!"

Severus smirked. "The article says that you co-created a vaccine that will save lives. Yes, it says the other normal sensational things that it says every time a new medicinal potion is created, but surely this is a step up from calling you a tart."

Hermione scowled at him. "How can you take this so calmly?"

Severus returned her scowl. "Because frankly, Hermione, I've never been happier." The growl in his voice and dark look were completely incongruent to his words.

Hermione blinked in surprise. "Why are you so happy?"

"Two months ago, I hired a brilliant witch, and just like I said she would, she helped me complete a potion that will save lives. And, I now work in a lab with someone who: one, doesn't look at me like I'm about to hex her when her back is turned, and two, isn't a dunderhead and three, that I…" but he left it unfinished.

"What?" she asked curiously. "What's three?"

"I was going to say a good friend."

"Why did you stop?"

"Because you're not happy here, so it makes me wonder."

"I'm very happy, Severus!" Hermione said, surprised, reaching across the table to lay her hand on his arm.

"Yes, Hermione, a moment ago, you were the picture of happiness," he replied dryly.

"Well," she began, "it seems that nothing has changed, and people are still idiots, but I've changed. I am happy now, Severus." She paused, tentative. "I don't think about leaving any more."

Severus nodded. Inwardly, his spirit soared that he would no longer have to worry about her leaving.

"And you are most definitely my friend, Severus." She then got a devilish look on her face and added, "But that doesn't mean I don't think about hexing you in your back some times."

Severus laughed. "The feeling's mutual."

Weeks later, it was evident that Severus' plan to rehabilitate Hermione's image was not working. Quite the contrary, it was bringing Severus into Hermione's unflattering limelight. While this wasn't bothering Severus, he knew that it was weighing heavily on Hermione.

Severus moved closer to the open door of the adjoining lab to listen as he heard voices rising in anger.

"You're fired, Mr. Holland."

"You can't fire me! You have no just cause!"

At this, Severus moved fully into the lab. His emotions did not show on his face, but was shocked at what was playing out before his eyes.

Hermione also showed no emotion on her face as she calmly produced a parchment from thin air. "This is my documentation of your actions over the last month. Besides the fact that you consistently come in late and leave early, your insubordination gives me plenty of reason to fire you. Get out."

Mr. Holland glared at both Severus and Hermione. He drew his wand and Severus didn't draw his to match, but it was a close thing. For that split second, he was back in the war, trying to protect Hermione. It wasn't surprising that he was protective; that was natural. But what took Severus by surprise was the change in motive. The strong fire that erupted in his chest in that moment was not named, "duty." He watched as Mr. Holland vanished the contents of the potion he had been working on.

"I can get a job anywhere. But you're not going to find anyone to work in this lab." Mr. Holland then turned his attentions to his fellow co-workers. They had been listening, stunned. "You're all next." He stormed out of the lab, slamming the door behind him.

"Get back to work," Severus said, quietly, but sternly. He held the door open for Hermione, rolling his eyes when he heard the charmed jingle bell wreath that she insisted on hanging on their side of the door to celebrate Christmas, and she passed through to their private lab without a word.

Severus made sure that the door was closed. The silencing spell was barely in place before his eyes grew large. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "I did that for you! Have you ever listened to that prick? He says such hateful things about you! And he's the ringleader. You don't care what they say about you? Fine. But I won't listen to it."

"Potions, Hermione! I didn't hire him for his opinion about me. I hired him because he could turn out a decent potion."

"We still have four more brewers!"

"Yes, but we need eight to be fully staffed," Severus said heatedly. "They were barely keeping up. They'll never be able to keep up now. And more may follow. Did you hear yourself? He was the ringleader! Damn it, Hermione!"

"I don't care, Severus. You asked me, remember? You asked me to stay in this idiotic, backwards world that treats you and me like pariah. I'm staying, but I'm not satisfied being surrounded by idiots day in and day out and listening to them spew their venom around me."

Severus blinked when she said the word, "venom." Hermione gasped and quickly closed the gap between them, laying a hand on his arm in a gesture of apology. "I'm so sorry, Severus. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You didn't hurt me," Severus said, looking at her hand on his arm. When his eyes found her eyes once more, he could read the sincerity in her eyes. Hermione was both a brilliant co-worker and a formidable ally.

She smiled at his words and gave his arm a squeeze before letting it go.

"We're going to have to take up the slack on the hospital's potions. And if more quit, which I think at least Miss Lowe will follow suit, it's going to mean a lot of extra brewing."

Hermione nodded. "It's worth it, Severus."

Severus nodded, and then went back to his cauldron. But his thoughts were not on the potion, but on the witch.

The next morning, Severus looked over his list of potions that needed to be completed for the hospital that day. He divided them up for his remaining four brewers, leaving some of the more complex potions for Hermione and him to complete later.

"That bad?" Hermione asked playfully as she entered their lab.

Severus looked up from the teapot with a furrowed brow.

Hermione pointed to the new blackboard, a copy of the one that existed in the junior brewing lab. It had the list of potions that Severus and Hermione needed to complete. "I've been relegated to dunderhead status? Complete with blackboard so that you don't have to talk to me?"

Severus chuckled. "Not yet. Consider it your warning."

Hermione smiled. "Duly warned. Should I start on these now?"

"No," Severus began. "Don't you want to work on your slides?" he asked, curious.

"Yes, of course, but that's a lot of potions, I..." she began, gesturing to the blackboard, but was interrupted.

"We," Severus corrected, handing over her morning cup of tea. "We will be working on those this afternoon, or whenever we both feel like it."

"You're making me feel horrible, Severus!" She sat in her normal chair and looked intently at Severus as he leaned against the counter, drinking tea.

Severus raised his eyebrow. "In what part of your 'idiotic, backwards world' that I have trapped you in, does me working on potions with you make you feel bad?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "I didn't mean to make extra work for you by firing him. I will do the potions."

"We," Severus corrected again, taking his last sip of tea and placing his cup into the sink. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a potion that dearly loves to explode if I don't pay attention, and you have a pandemic growing on glass to tend to."

Hermione smiled and after finishing her own tea, retreated to her corner of the lab to tend to her slides and microscope.

After the lunch hour, Severus reached a stopping point with his own potion. After documenting his work in his journal, he cleared his workspace and drew a cauldron down. He began making blood-replenishing potion, and watched Hermione. She was always engrossed in her work, and he loved watching her. Emotions would play across her face and he could always tell when she was about to make a discovery, or if she was stuck on a puzzling bit of information. Today, it was puzzlement.

"What is it, Hermione?" he asked, drawing her out of an hour-long research session where it seemed that her brow never relaxed.

"Oh, Severus!" she scolded, seeing that he had started on the list. "Why didn't you say something? You just let me keep going. You should have stopped me!"

"No, I shouldn't have. You looked like you were on to something. But I also happen to like your eyebrows."

"My eyebrows?" Hermione laughed, confused.

"Yes, and they were in danger of being permanently knit together by the force of your scowl."

"You are not one to tease about scowls, Severus. You perfected the art of scowling. I can only hope one day to have a scowl so serious that it makes First Years wet themselves."

Severus laughed. "Come help me with this list, and I'll help you perfect your scowl."

Hermione set up a cauldron next to his and began chopping ingredients for a very complex potion that was used for hex rashes. "What I really want to know is if you can teach me how to raise just one eyebrow and make a room duck for cover." At this she turned to look at Severus, who simply smirked and raised one trademark eyebrow.

Hermione laughed and put down her knife. She used one of her fingers to trace his eyebrow. She smiled at Severus, and he knew immediately that he could no longer deny his longing for the young woman in front of him. He wanted to grab her hand and kiss her pulse point, and then follow that kiss along her arm with no thought in mind to where the next kiss might lead. But he would not. He would not give up what he had built with Hermione here, in their lab, for what might be. "Yet," his mind amended. The previous day had created a sizable shift. He had not slept, replaying the incident with Hermione and Mr. Holland. He decided that he would not lose Hermione to another wizard without a fight. So far, three months into their working relationship, she had yet to mention going on a date. That knowledge, along with a handful of surprising blushes on Hermione's part, kept the status quo bearable.

"You have years to learn how to be intimidating. But I daresay that episode with Mr. Holland is adding to your reputation."

"Which reputation is that?" Hermione asked with mock wariness.

"Brilliant, but scary."

Hermione gasped. "How do you know about that?"

Severus smiled. "I'll never tell. Now tell me about your project. You've obviously made headway on your research."

That was all he needed to divert her attention away from him and onto her research. She began a lengthy discourse on some theories that she was exploring. Severus acted as a sounding board, asking pertinent questions as they talked. She then did the same for him about his project.

It was well after seven that night when they put away the last cauldron. Severus was checking the stasis spell on his potion when he turned to see Hermione check one of her slides in the microscope. He came up beside her and gently lifted her chin so that she was no longer looking into the microscope. "No you don't, Hermione."

"Excuse me?"

"You're not working. It's time to go home," Severus stated levelly.

"I want to check," Hermione began, but was interrupted as Severus took her hand and drew her out of her chair and inwardly reveled in seeing another beautiful blush on Hermione's cheeks.

"I know; you want to check just one more thing. And then just one more after that. I know you, Hermione. Now, come on. We're leaving. Both of us."

They walked down to the first floor of St. Mungo's together as they did every night. For the most part, they had learned to not let people's stares bother them, but tonight he could feel Hermione tense up beside him.

Severus leaned over to Hermione and whispered, "Don't fire everyone at St. Mungo's, Hermione. We do need a hospital."

Hermione narrowed her eyes in mock indignation at his teasing, but couldn't stop her smile and tucked her hand into Severus' elbow. It was the smile that he took so much joy in, from the first time she had ever smiled at him.

Author's Note: Today is the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the United States. Have a blessed day, whether you are stateside eating turkey, or wherever you are around the world!