Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter here all belong to JK Rowling. If Harry Potter had been my idea, Severus would have lived, shunned the memory of that good for nothing excuse of a friend Lily and hooked up with an older Hermione who is both his intellectual and powerful equal.
I will warn you that this story, like all my others will be of an adult nature. There will scenes of an erotic nature later on in this story so go no further if you are offended by fics with sexual references.
Text written in italics used for emphasis on particular word or is the character's inner thoughts.
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Hermione looked around the bedroom and took in the decor. The bedroom was quaint and as quirky as the rest of the house but this room in particular was especially cosy. A four-poster bed with a patchwork quilt and goose feather pillows lay in the centre of the room looking like the most comfortable bed she had ever seen. The fact that she was going to be sharing said bed with the man of her dreams made it all the more... inviting.
There was a pretty dressing table sat in front of the window that looked out into the farm down the road. She found a hair brush and various creams, lotions and potions set out in front of her as she sat down to brush the tugs out of her voluptuous curls. It was a good ten minutes later before she had all the tangles undone and she took a moment to think over events that had occurred so far that day as the brush glided through her hair uninterrupted.
She was still in utter disbelief at the cheek of Albus and his bedroom fiasco and she dreaded finding out what sort of nightwear had been provided for her. She held her breath as she opened the wardrobe door, expecting to see a silk, Slytherin green teddy or a black bustier with crotch less panties. To her relief though, she found a modest, knee high cotton nightie. It looked warm, comfy and conservative but still quite sexy; not unlike the nightdresses she wore at Hogwarts in her own quarters.
She smothered a giggle as she inspected the black silk PJ bottoms and black cotton top in the wardrobe.
Looks like Severus will get to wear his beloved black in bed too. That arse of his will look fantastic in these…but I still can't believe he is going along with Albus's plan. The man really is an enigma. Any excuse to prove the old coot wrong!
Closing the wardrobe, she walked towards the bed and sat down on it gently; it felt like she was sitting on a cloud. It was by far, the cosiest and fluffiest mattress she had ever sat on and she doubted that she would be in hurry to get out of a bed such as this in the morning. Then again, maybe that was part of Dumbledore's plan too?
"Wouldn't put it past the old sod..." She muttered before straightening up her appearance and going in search of Severus.
She smiled slightly as she felt the soft carpet caress the soles of her feet as she walked to the library where she had left Severus. Her features changed from happy to mushy as her eyes found Severus in the room; he was fast asleep in the chair. As she tip-toed towards him she felt her heartbeat quicken, she nervous at the thought of waking him up. After all, he was an ex-spy who would most likely react to her interrupting his sleep by sticking his wand in her neck with a curse on his lips as soon as his eyes opened. He looked so much younger when he slept, she noted. His facial expression was relaxed, his posture calm and he was snoring softly. Hermione could honestly say she had never seen such an adorable sight in her life.
It was only as she got closer to him that her brain finally began to work.
He is sleeping... but I thought we couldn't sleep in the house without having to carry out a forfeit?...Oh no I need to wake him or he will go tits at having to carry out his forfeit…
She was about to waken her companion up when a loud, ringing noise sounded around the house and another letter swept past her and hovered in front of Severus. Severus had a multitude of emotions cross his face at that exact moment; anger, shock, tiredness and, the one that shocked Hermione most of all, bashfulness at having fallen asleep.
As before, the envelope began to speak, "Oh Severus, how did I know you would be the first to break this rule? As I said before, you are required to carry out a forfeit. Your punishment for your disregard of my household rules is; you have to sleep without a shirt on. This is a relatively tame forfeit for now but believe me, the more you break this particular rule of mine, the more serious the forfeit will be. Good night, my boy. Sleep well, Professor Granger." The voice chuckled before the envelope disintegrated into ash. The silence that stretched in the room was almost deafening.
"I did try to wake you but I was too late."
"Think it would be funny to see me punished, Granger?" He sneered as he stood and swept past Hermione out of the room, banging the bedroom door shut loudly.
She felt her heart drop; they had been doing so well up until now and bloody Albus and his stupid manipulations had yet again caused them to be in a negative mood with each other. She was angry now too, but at Albus. If he had just left them to their own devices, they would probably have gotten on like a house on fire…but no. Albus was never happy until he had poked his nose in where it wasn't wanted and caused havoc wherever he went.
She sighed and shook her head, mentally steeling herself for the confrontation or non-acknowledgement she was sure to endure from Severus once she entered the bedroom.
But on the plus side… the voice in her head whispered …you get to see him topless and we have always wanted to see the body beneath those famous robes.
Minerva looked over her tea cup with her sternest expression, "You are going to push them even further apart if you carry on interfering, Albus! You do this every time you get an idea into that head of yours. You are like a dog with a bloody bone, just let it go!"
The Headmaster merely chuckled and nibbled on a ginger biscuit, "My dear, you know how the both of them are. They are as stubborn as mules…as we both once were and we were both more than pleased to have the assistance of friends and their attempts to push us together. Their situation is not unlike our own was. I see no harm in giving them a little shove in the right direction."
Minerva shook her head slightly, "That may be true but Albus, but you know that we were not as damaged as they both are emotionally. The first war did not affect us as the second war has done to them. They are both more insecure and also less emotional human beings than either of us. Granted that may change if they do get involved with each other but I think that their situation requires a great deal more care than ours did. I mean, really the only problem we had was that you refused to acknowledge your feelings for me because I was your transfiguration apprentice. I am sure Severus feels a little bit of confusion due to the fact that Hermione was once his best student…plus he publicly disliked her during her school days, he has to feel a little bit of guilt because of his behaviour towards her. At least you tolerated me somewhat."
Albus chuckled again as he reminisced, "Indeed, I tolerated you but I barely tolerated you. I struggled to keep my feelings at bay so the easiest way to deny them was to treat you with contempt. You were so sure of yourself…so brilliant and you knew just how to wind me up the wrong way. So many times you would stomp past me after an argument and I'd have to fight myself to stop grabbing you by the arm, dragging you back and kissing you with every ounce of love I had for you. You know how much I regret the years I wasted by not telling you. We could have been together much sooner had I just taken the chance to hope. It has been one of my biggest regrets and I do not want to see the same problem with Severus. He has so many regrets already… he deserves to be happy…he deserves to be with her."
"And she deserves to be with him too, I know this Albus." Minerva said quietly. She still couldn't believe that she was married to Albus, even though they had wed some 40 years ago. She knew where her husband was coming from and she too wanted Severus and Hermione to be happy together but he could be so manipulative sometimes that she was certain he had been sorted into the wrong house. The Secret Slytherin, as she used to call him in their youth. In the beginning her nickname for him pissed him off completely but it usually gave him an excuse to kiss her into submission for her cheek.
"I just wish you would have a little faith in the two of them, love. I would like to think that we would have found our way to each other without the help of our meddling friends…it would have taken a tad longer perhaps but…I think love would have found a way somehow. I think we need to take a step back and leave them for a few days to their own devices. From what you heard from the Super-Extendable Ears, they were getting along rather well, were they not?"
Albus stood and wrapped his arms around his wife, sighing deeply. "Yes I suppose they were beginning to treat each other with respect and it seemed that things were looking up. For you… I will back off but just because you asked and I do not want to upset the love of my life lest she turf my old arse out like she should have done years ago. So yes I will back off for you… a little bit. I know I interfere but it is only because I look on Severus the son we never had… I want him to be happy and Hermione is the one for him, just as you were for me." He kissed the tip of her nose and she snuggled her face into the crook of his neck, just as she had always done from the first day they admitted their feelings for one another. Even now, after all this time, Albus felt his heart swell every time she cuddled him like that.
"Thank you. I love you, Albus." Minerva whispered into his neck.
He smiled and squeezed her harder to him, "And I love you, my little Miss Minnie."
a/n: awww Minnie and Albus! Old people need love too so I give them it! lol What do you guys think so far? You still like? Please review and let me know...