I do not own these characters or Potterverse. They are J.K. Rowling's and she was kind enough to share them with the world. The words, this story and its mistakes are all mine.

Canon compliant until almost the end of Book 7.

Chapter 7

When Snape slammed the door and cast a protective ward so strong that the castle seemed to disappear in front of their eyes, the others got the hint that Snape wanted some privacy. Since the Burrow was just over the next hill, the four friends decided to walk over and see Ginny's parents. Mrs. Weasley was thrilled to see them and she insisted that they stay for tea.

As they sat in the kitchen chatting with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Harry asked, "Have you ever heard of a case where a witch and wizards powers combined and made them much stronger than either of them were as individuals?"

"Much, much stronger" added Neville ominously.

"I can't say that I have," said Mrs. Weasley wrinkling up her face in concentration.

"That would be highly unusual. Maybe the Unspeakables would know of a case but in general, I don't think that is possible." added Mr. Weasley

"Eliminate the impossible and what is left is love," said Luna dreamily.

"Why do you ask?" inquired Mr. Weasley.

"Well," started Ginny, "Snape and Hermione are back."

"That's wonderful!" interrupted Mrs. Weasley, "Why didn't Hermione come with you?"

"Well, they did, sort of" stuttered Neville.

"Mom, remember that old muggle castle on the next hill?"

"Yes" said Mrs. Weasley curious at all these conversational tangents.

"I think you are going to have new neighbors."

"All right kids." interrupted Mr. Weasley, "You are making less sense than usual. First you ask about magically combining powers, then tell use Professor Snape and Hermione are back, and then…" His voice trailed off as the various tangents congealed into a single train of thought.

"Somehow Hermione cast the Moirai charm and it caused their souls and their magic to bond together. They are unbelievably powerful now. They repaired that old castle in a few seconds. Snape has already warded it and they are there now." explained Harry. "They are…um….together, and I think they plan to stay that way."

Mrs. Weasley just blinked at him in confusion. Ginny reached over and put her hand on her mother's arm. She knew exactly how she felt.

"How powerful?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"More powerful than Dumbledore," said Neville with a hint of awe still in his voice, "They can feel each other's thoughts even if they are hundreds of kilometers apart; they can both do wandless magic. They can apparate over 1,000 km in one jump and they repaired that old castle in mere seconds."

Ginny shivered, "You can feel the magic shimmering around them. It is both very cool and very, very scary. Snape thought that repairing the castle might drain their power but afterwards, they just laughed and it hadn't seemed like they needed to use much effort at all."

"Why didn't they come to the Burrow with you?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"I think they wanted some 'alone time'" blushed Ginny.

"Don't be ridiculous," snapped Mrs. Weasley, "Snape is twice her age."

"Love is the most powerful magic in the world," said Luna, "I think they are beautiful together."

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley just stared at her. Ginny and Neville nodded in agreement and Harry looked like he was going to be sick.

ooooo

Hermione laughed as Severus scooped her up and carried her into the castle. She felt the wards go up around them as Severus tipped his head and gently kissed her. After three months of living together, she still exalted at the feel of his lips on hers. Severus gently lifted his lips from hers, pausing only to gently run his tongue along her lower lip. "Shall we take a tour?" he summered.

Hermione slid her hand onto his arm, "Lead on, kind sir" The couple strolled from room to room, jointly fantasying about what the house would look like when they were fully moved in. When they got to a large ballroom, Severus bowed to Hermione. "My lady, may I have this dance?" Hermione curtsied and placed her hand in his. They waltzed around the ballroom to the imaginary music. As they neared the far wall which was made of floor to ceiling windows, Severus stopped dancing. Hermione looked at him in surprised, which turned quickly to shock and then gentled into awe as Severus lowered himself to one knee.

"Hermione, I never thought that I would survive the war. I never wanted to survive the war because I had nothing to live for. You changed everything. Because of you, not only did I survive, I have a reason for living. I know that we are one soul, together for eternity but I want more. Hermione, will you bind with me as my wife and be the mother of my children?"

Hermione saw the flash of insecurity in his eyes but it vanished in the light of her radiant smile. "Yes, Severus, I will bind with you and be the mother of your children. I will love you every day of this life and into eternity."

Severus reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. When he opened the box, Hermione gasped at the beautiful ring. A beautiful round diamond was set on a band of white gold that had been inlayed with Celtic knots. Severus slipped the ring on Hermione's finger and then tugged her down to him.

As he buried his hands in her hair, he gazed into her eyes as he kissed her.

ooooo

As the sun cast its last rays of the day across the hills, Hermione and Severus walked hand in hand toward the Burrow. The wards were still set to admit Hermione due to her 'near family' status. The family and their guests were enjoying some butter beers on the back porch as they approached.

Mrs. Weasley smiled when she saw Hermione and started toward her, but then froze when she saw their joined hands. Ginny saw her mother's body tense and realized that this could get very ugly, very quickly. She did not like the vision of her mother being tossed across the yard. Ginny jumped up and ran past her mother to give Hermione and Snape a joint hug. "I'm so glad you made it. We were just getting ready to start dinner! Would you like some butter beer?" Ginny babbled.

Hermione grasped Ginny's hands in hers, being sure to keep her left hand on top so Ginny would be sure to see the ring. Ginny's eyes grew comically large before she started squealing in delight. Snape let out a low chuckle at the typically feminine response. Hermione gave him a quick hug before allowing Ginny to pull her over to Luna and the boys.

"You are too old for her." spit out Molly Weasley.

"Most definitely" agreed Snape with his usual sneer.

"I will not allow it." she declared.

Mr. Weasley stepped up quickly behind his wife and put his hands on her shoulders to calm her. Molly could be quite formidable in a rage but the sheer power crackling off of Snape made discretion the better part of valor.

"We are….surprised…" explained Mr. Weasley, "Harry and Ginny told us that Hermione had rescued you and that she was nursing you back to health. We haven't seen you in a very long time and your….recent activities…did not always cast you in the best light. Hermione is our second daughter and she hasn't even taken her NEWTS yet. Perhaps we can go sit down and you can explain what has changed this summer."

Snape nodded curtly and followed them to the back porch.

Hermione was perched on the arm of Snape's chair with her hand lightly resting on his shoulder. Mrs. Weasley was still glaring at them while the others looked on nervously. "Explain" she growled at them.

Hermione chose to answer her. "Harry said that he already explained about the Moirai soul bond. The bond does not create feelings, it merely removes all artifice. Without the bond, all of the layers between us would have kept us apart: our age difference, that he was my professor, our roles in the war, and all of your other objections. When all of that was stripped away and our souls lay bare, we saw respect, love, and a deep connection to each other. At first, we didn't question it. We were in an unusual situation and we assumed that our intense feelings were the result of simply surviving the war. When we figured out what happened, we took a deeper look and realized that we belonged together."

"That was only a few months ago. That is nowhere near enough time to….to…." stuttered Mrs. Weasley

"How long did it take you to know that I was the one?" asked Mr. Weasley quietly.

"Our second date but that is different!"

"And how old were we?"

"Sixteen! But Severus is 37!"

"Molly," interrupted Snape, "I know that Hermione considers you her family. She has agreed to become my wife. I do not want her to have to choose."

Hermione tightened her grasp on Snape's shoulder, leaving no doubt that he was her choice but she looked pleadingly at Mrs. Weasley to not make her choose.

Mrs. Weasley took several deep breaths, her eyes darting between the couple. She looked slowly around at the rest of the group. When her eyes met her husband's, he gave her a slight nod of encouragement. She turned back to looked at Snape.

"I expect grandbabies."