Still a bit stunned by her kiss, Severus pointed the way to the bathroom. He didn't say anything, but his thoughts were racing around his mind. She is going to go…but I don't want her to leave. Not now! We still need to figure all of this out. She kissed me! Why did she do that? I can't let her leave. What am I going to do?

Just as he was thinking this, he felt the Ministry letter vibrate in his pocket. What in Merlin's name? he thought as he pulled it out and opened it. As he scanned it, he was astonished to find that another statement had been magically added (in glowing red script) to the bottom of the letter since the last time that he had read it.

He read the following statement:

The Ministry would like to amend the original notification with the following additional information in order to provide further clarification as to the legal obligations of the recipient: Couples are given one week from the receipt of their Match Notification to file written acceptance or rejection claims with the Ministry Records Office by the Witch of the couple. Failure to do so will result in immediate release of a new Match Notification for both parties. Receipt of a new Match Notification immediately renders any previous Match NULL and VOID. No more than THREE Match Notifications will be allowed per Witch or Wizard. Failure to choose one of the Matches or failure to respond to all three Match Notifications will result in the loss of magical privileges and revocation of residence rights in Wizarding Britain.

Well, that does actually clear things up a bit, Severus thought reluctantly, especially since they had not been very clear before. This whole damn thing was poorly planned out! I bet the fools were so inundated with owls from confused wizards and witches that they didn't know what else to do, so they just sent out a magical enhancement to all of the letters so that they wouldn't have to answer each and every missive to the Ministry.

His thoughts then turned back to the young woman in his bathroom and he smiled. We have time, he thought with relief. We don't have to be so scared and rush into anything. I know! I will ask her out to dinner. Then we can talk, get to know each other a little bit better, and maybe kiss again. Wait a minute! Did I really just think that? Am I really thinking about kissing Hermione Granger? No, that can't happen. I can't get attached, only to have her leave me. Shut up, Severus! Here she comes, so don't freak her out!

"Miss Gra…Hermione..." No, it didn't feel right to call her either of those names now. She was neither a student anymore nor an old friend. He needed a new name for her, something without memories or expectations attached to it. What were those other choices that she had given him? Mia! That would work. It suits her. Let's see if I can say it aloud. "Mia?" he asked tentatively as she reentered the room. His heart pounded in his chest, almost painfully, as she favored him with a dazzling smile at hearing him say the nickname. Yes, that was definitely the right choice if it causes that response! he thought fervently. He tried it out again. "Mia?" he asked as she sat back down next to him.

"Yes, Severus?" she inquired gently, still smiling at the shy way that he was trying out the name for her. She wouldn't draw attention to it, but she did like the way it sounded in his silky voice.

"Mia," he said again – in a stronger tone with more confidence this time. "I have some good news." He held out his Ministry letter for her to read the amendment. "This means that we still have time…and there are still some things that I would still like to discuss with you. Why don't you put off your… trip… for a day or two, at least? We can go out to dinner, if you like. Then, you can even stay here…in my guest room, tonight. If you want to, that is. I promise that you will be safe here." All of this came out in a nervous rush. Then he panicked and rushed to explain himself when he noticed her look of hesitation. "I just don't want to drive you away and make you think..." Merlin! Why did this have to be so awkward? "What I mean to say…Mia…is that… I just want to let you know that you are not the problem here. In fact, I think that you are really quite...astonishing. My reluctance to marry is truly my own personal issue at this point, and it really doesn't have anything to do with you. In fact, I wish…" he trailed off in embarrassment.

"Thank you, Severus!" she said with genuine gratitude. Then, she reached out and grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. She continued to hold it while she talked. "It's okay. I really do appreciate that. I must admit that I was starting to wonder if something about me offended you in some way. Anyway, I completely understand. I really do. This really is quite a lot to take in with such short notice – even for me and I have had a bit longer to prepare for it. I know that it must be really hard on you as a lifelong bachelor to be told that you either have to marry or basically go into hiding. Anyway, I promised that I wouldn't force you into anything, and I meant it. However, at the same time, I am enjoying your company and have no desire to hurry off. I still don't trust the ministry to actually give us a full week, but we could probably take the next day or so with confidence. Therefore, yes, I would love to spend more time with you!"

Severus looked down at their joined hands and listened to her with a mixture of confusion and pleasure. This little witch is certainly tactile, he thought to himself. It's quite pleasant! I am so glad that she wants to spend time with me as much as I do with her. When was the last time that has happened to me? However, what in the world could ever make her think that she was offensive in any way? Then it suddenly hit him as he remembered the carved slur on her arm that she had shown him yesterday during their verbal scrimmage. His heart clenched. How could I have already forgotten that she had been marked like that? To be sure, she doesn't think that I think of her in those terms, does she? It is possible, I guess. At Hogwarts, the Slytherins in my own house had no problems with calling her that as frequently as possible – with my own godson as the ringleader. No, he shook his head slightly at the thought, I am confident that she wouldn't be here if she did. She wouldn't ever agree to be with a man who thought such a thing about anybody, much less about her - especially not when she sacrificed so much to fight against those with that kind of belief. Just then, the small hand holding his moved a little, just enough to cause her sleeve to slide up and expose the very scar of which he had just been thinking. She went to cover it back up, but he stopped her. With an intensely serious look on his face, and still holding her hand, he traced the letters on her forearm gently with his free hand. He then looked at her with the question in his eyes.

She sighed, knowing what he wanted. "It was a gift, courtesy of Bellatrix, during my unscheduled visitto Malfoy Manor," she said quietly.

He nodded. I should have known it was that crazy bitch! he snarled to himself, extremely grateful that she was already dead. Then he waited to see if she would say anything else, but it soon became clear that she wasn't going to. He wasn't surprised. In fact, he suspected that she wanted to talk about it as much as he did about Nagini's attack. In other words, not at all … Plus, she had also mentioned Cruciatus, and he shuddered to think about what else had been involved in her torture – especially if she had been caught by snatchers while on the run, as he now suspected. He could only hope that she had not been too damaged (he knew the kind of things that had happened at Malfoy Manor) and that she had been able to heal…both physically and mentally! He certainly wouldn't push her to talk about it, no matter how curious he was. He wouldn't make her relieve those memories! Forcing himself away from these thoughts, he looked back up at her and his eyes were darker with emotion than normal. "Nothing you are or do is offensive to me, Mia. I hope you know that." He held her tentative gaze and started to feel himself losing control. He wanted to snatch the little witch up, keep her safe, and never let anyone hurt her ever again. He didn't really know where the strength of these feelings was coming from, but he almost shuddered from the intensity of it.

"I'm very glad to hear it," she said softly, unaware of his inner turmoil. She was too busy trying to deal with her own that was caused by the dichotomy of both the unpleasant memories and the extremely pleasant gentleness of his touch. She thought that she ought to change the subject, quickly, before she did more than kiss him this time. This new, gentler Severus Snape, who wasn't disgusted by her scars, and who understood that she didn't want to talk about that particular situation, was a surprise to her! She didn't know if she could resist the pull that she was really beginning to feel to him. Therefore she asked, "Would you mind if I borrow Mendeleev to send Harry a message – just to let him know where I am at, that I am okay, and that I didn't …um…go on holiday, yet?"

"Of course, you can!" he stated, unable to determine if he was relieved or not, when the not-entirely-unpleasant tension between them eased. "I'm curious, though, how did Potter take the news of your…Match? Assuming that you even told him, that is."

"Of course, I told him, Severus – he is my best friend." She sighed heavily. "To be honest, at first he thought that it was a joke, then he was briefly angry, but then he was supportive when he realized that I really was okay with the match – more than okay, in fact! After all, he has a much better understanding of what your actual role was during the war than most people do. He always regretted doubting you – even though it is sometimes hard for him to separate Professor Snape from the real Severus Snape."

"Not that anyone could blame him after the way that I treated all of you – and especially after what he witnessed on the astronomy tower that night," Severus said heavily, trying not to dwell on the worst night of his life – the night that he had to kill his best friend and mentor.

Hermione just gave his hand a squeeze, knowing that he really didn't want to talk about it, but wanting him to know that she understood. She decided to continue her explanation. "Harry has always been there for me. He helped me through the aftermath of this (she pointed to her scarred arm), with the absence of my parents, with my breakup with Ron and the couple of other blokes since then, with the mess at the Ministry, when I lost my flat due to my unemployment, and now this. He has really been the one constant in my life since I started attending Hogwarts."

Severus listened carefully, grateful that she didn't insist on discussing his painful memories of that night with Dumbledore. Her relationship with Potter sounded closer than he had thought, however, and he felt a surge of irrational jealousy over that – not to mention the thought of Weasley and those "other blokes," as well. To his surprise, he found himself saying, a bit petulantly, "You and Potter sound …cozy… Indeed I'm surprised that you two ended up with the Weasleys, instead of each other."

"There is no reason to be like that, Severus," she said, smiling faintly, irrationally pleased at the hint of jealousy in his voice. "I love Harry dearly, but I have never felt romantically inclined towards him, at all. He is truly my brother in everything but blood."