*Blushes because everyone is too kind to her*

I did say that I was going to post one chapter every day. ONE chapter. Yeah, I'm totally failing at that. It's been what, 4 days? And i am about to post chapter 14 xD Can't help myself really.

I own nothing you recognise, sadly..

-o-

Severus spent the following month in an almost constant state of bliss. Hermione frequently spent the nights with him, and she seemed to never grow tired of him, something that had him thoroughly gobsmacked. She enthusiastically kissed him every time she arrived, they passionately made love every night, and she seemed genuinely sad every time she had to leave.

Everything about this was just too good to be true, so below the constant state of bliss, there was a growing sense of fear.

He was going to lose her, eventually. He knew he would lose her. And he dreaded the day it would happen.

-o-

One late night after another blissful tumble between the sheets, Severus was wrapped around Hermione, holding her tighter than he ever had. His heart ached painfully as he buried his face in her curls, because the fear of losing her was taking a toll on him.

She had yet to declare any feelings of love, or tell him how she felt about him. And Severus didn't quite know what that meant.

He didn't have it in him to tell her how he felt before he knew his feelings were mutual.

And so he clung to her, cherishing every moment he had with her.

"I'm not going anywhere, you know."

Severus' grip eased slightly as he sighed in relief. She wasn't going anywhere.

For now, he thought, and his heart ached again.

-o-

In the beginning of November, they had a silent night of reading, but Severus found he had a difficult time concentrating.

He wasn't even aware that he had sighed until Hermione spoke.

"What's wrong, Severus?"

"Nothing."

She sighed. "That's utter rubbish, and you know it. Please tell me what's bothering you."

He hesitated for a moment, trying to figure out what to say, and how truthful he wanted to be. The insufferable woman reads you like an open book anyway, he thought. Just tell her. "It's..I'm not sure how to put it. I'm not used to this, Hermione. It feels like my life has turned upside down in two seconds, and I'm not..used to it."

She hesitated, and her voice was shivery when she spoke. "Don't you like it?"

He actually rolled his eyes, glad she couldn't see it. "Yes, I do. And that's rather the problem."

She seemed to think about it for a small eternity. "You are afraid it will change. That this will end."

He sighed again, realising there was no getting away from this. "Yes."

"It won't."

"You can't know that, Hermione."

"Yes, I can."

"How?"

"Because I love you."

Severus couldn't breathe.

-o-

Another week passed by, and Severus had yet to return her declaration of love. He just didn't know how to do it. The words just wouldn't come. Did he love her? Yes. Yes, he loved her; he loved her more than he had ever loved anyone before. His feelings for Lily were barely a shadow of how he felt about Hermione.

And still, he couldn't make himself tell her.

Luckily, she didn't seem to mind. Hermione understood him in a way no one had done before, and she let him take his time, let him come to terms with it, and let him get over his insecurity before he told her.

And he loved her even more for it.

He tried to show her how he felt, when he made love to her, or by kissing her gently, making her tea just the way she liked it, and other small gestures to show her how much he cared.

Hopefully, it was working. Hermione seemed as happy as ever, and he was endlessly relieved over it.

-o-

One evening in the middle of November, Hermione was sitting with her feet on his lap, and curled up between said feet, was the ruddy beast she called a cat. The ruddy beast was growing on him, though, and it made a perfect table for him when he graded essays.

He had been grading essays in the sofa one evening, with a book for support below the parchments, and was rather annoyed when the cat decided he wanted to sleep on Severus' lap, ignoring the book and parchments. Severus had tried to shoo the cat away at first, but had finally relented by simply placing the book on top of the cat, so its head poked out on the right side of the book, and its tail to the left.

The cat hadn't minded even the slightest. The only reaction had been to gaze at the book, then at Severus, before meowing in content and falling asleep.

The cat was indeed growing on him.

Hermione was helping him with the grading, but paused and looked at him. "Molly is throwing a dinner party on the 1st of December."

Severus glanced at her. "Indeed?"

Hermione nodded. "Indeed. She invited me, of course, while hinting heavily that 'I could bring a friend, if I wanted."

Severus put down his quill and looked at her. "And what did you tell her?"

Shrugging, Hermione put down her quill as well. "I accepted her invitation, and ignored her hints."

Severus didn't quite know how to feel about that. He was relieved that she hadn't told Molly, but at the same time rather disappointed. Was she hesitating to tell her friends about him anyway? "Why did you ignore her hints?"

Hermione gave him a warm smile. "Not because I didn't want to tell her, but if I tell Molly, everyone will know in less than an hour. I decided I wanted to talk to you about it first, to hear your opinion."

"And what is your opinion?"

Hermione's smile grew even warmer. "I would like to tell Molly I would indeed like to bring a friend, and said friend is you. Then I would like to go to the dinner party, sit with you, and watch the spectacle we will cause."

Severus chuckled. A dinner party at the Burrows didn't sound all too bad when she put it like that. "And you really want me there? Even though your friends might disown you?"

Hermione shrugged again as she picked up the quill. "Then they aren't very good friends, now are they? Yes, I really want you there." She gazed at him for a moment. "I love you, Severus, and I would gladly give the Daily Prophet an interview on the subject of it. Basically, I have no quarrels telling the world. But I realise how upside down your life has become in a very short time, and it's up to you how to proceed."

She then promptly returned her focus on the parchments in front of her, and Severus was left to stare at her.

-o-

Severus was utterly nervous while getting ready for the dinner party. Hermione had owled Molly, telling her she would indeed bring a friend, but not that the friend was him.

Hermione came to stand behind him, looking at him in the mirror. "Are you ready to cause some havoc?"

Hermione's relaxed approach to the whole thing made Severus slightly more at ease, and he smirked at her. "I do believe I am."

She grinned. "Let's go, then."

They decided on a side-along apparation, and Severus wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist and gazed down at her. He hesitated a long moment before speaking. "You do know I love you, don't you?"

Her eyes sparkled with happiness, and she smiled warmly at him. "Yes, I do."

He almost sagged with relief as he bent down and kissed her softly, just before disapparating.

-o-

They stopped a moment before walking in the door to the Burrows, and Severus rolled his eyes. "This will be rather interesting, will it not?"

Hermione grinned. "I do believe it will. Are you ready?"

No, Severus thought. "Yes."

Hermione took a deep breath, and opened the door.

"Hermione! I'm so glad you could make it! Did you-" Molly froze as she saw Severus walking in behind Hermione. "Severus?"

Severus gave Molly an amused look. "Hello, Molly."

Molly stared at him for a moment longer before turning to Hermione. "This is your friend?"

Hermione chuckled. "Yes, Molly."

"Whenever did the two of you become friends?"

"Approximately six months ago. And for the last three months we have been a couple."

Molly looked completely stunned, staring at the both for a very long moment. Finally she managed to find her words, and looked at Severus. "Is this true?"

Severus put a hand on Hermione's shoulder, something that caused Molly to almost buckle over, and he smirked as he nodded at her. "Indeed it is, Molly."

She stared at them for yet another moment, but finally, she sighed. "Are you happy?"

Severus and Hermione spoke at the same time. "Yes."

Molly shook her head as she gestured them inside. "Well, then. By all means, come inside, the dinner is almost ready."

They entered the kitchen, and everyone was chatting happily, until they noticed Severus and Hermione. A heavy silence followed, and Severus wondered what would happen next. Hermione would handle this, surely.

To his surprise, Molly was the one to break the silence. "Yes, yes, they are together. Now, get over it and help me get the food on the table."

Severus was mixed between amusement and awkwardness throughout the dinner. Everyone was doing a good job at pretending, but the stunned looks he frequently was on the end of left him rather mixed.

After dinner there was tea, butterbeer, firewhisky, and cakes, and Severus was just waiting for the ball to drop.

He sat next to Hermione in a sofa, and was rather relieved that the sofa had no room for a third person.

Hermione was sporting a constant look of amusement, and it made him feel less uncomfortable, luckily.

She leaned over and put her hand on his thigh while looking at him conspiratorially. "Molly, Minerva, and George approves, Arthur is hesitant but doesn't disapprove because Molly approves, Harry and Ginny doesn't know what to think yet, Ron is outraged, but I suspect Molly have threatened him with violence if he causes a scene." She grinned before continuing. "And everyone is dying to ask us."

Severus smirked at her while entwining his fingers with hers. "So far, so good, then."

Hermione beamed at him as she gripped his hand tighter. "Indeed. It's rather entertaining, isn't it?"

He couldn't help smiling back at her. "I can't deny it's not."

A little while later, Molly and Minerva had joined them, and Severus found he didn't hate this as much as he thought he would.

Suddenly, Hermione leaned over and whispered to him. "They are gathering courage to come over to speak with us. I suggest we leave before they do so."

Severus heartily agreed, but still wondered why she wanted to leave so suddenly. "Not that I disagree, but why?"

She smirked. "Because that will make it that much more fun, right?"

Severus actually laughed, and he suspected he had just caused a whole new level of spectacle.

They managed to leave the house before anyone could approach them, and when they finally closed the door behind them, Severus let out a relieved sigh.

Hermione giggled. "I think that went better than expected."

He rolled his eyes. "Indeed."

They walked towards the wards so they could apparate, and Severus realised they probably had a lot of spectators glued to the windows behind them.

And that's when he realised he wanted to shout it from the rooftops as well. Why the hell not, he thought, and smirked at Hermione who gave him a puzzled look.

She didn't have time to object before he grabbed her and lifted her up.

She threw her head back and laughed euphorically as she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

He held her closely, and she looked down on him with a beaming smile.

He sighed happily as he looked at the beautiful witch in his arms. "I love you, Hermione."

She gave him a soft kiss before she sighed happily as well. "I love you too, Severus."

His heart surged with emotions as she leaned down and kissed him again, and she was still kissing him as they left the anti-apparation wards.

Severus disapparated.