Severus wasn't the only one crying to themself about the situation. Hermione was alone in the room of requirement, surrounded by books, wondering how she could have been so blind as not to see the little progress made by the two of them. She had hoped that maybe she was beginning to see the man behind the cloak. But if he was willing to make such a big decision about their future without her, then surely that proved how little he really thought of her? But then, surely she hadn't imagined all those evenings, where he seemed to really relax in front of her, his eyes glittering as he told his tales from when he was younger. Maybe she should…just…
No! The silence at her question told her everything about him. He was willing to go behind her back and do that. Didn't he realise that she would have spent the rest of her life wondering what she could have differently? That she could have ended up resenting the life she was living because she thought it was a mistake? He had his chance to discuss it with her several times. She knew she was going to have to face him sometime, but as long as that time was very far away, Hermione could at least come up with a battle strategy to help make this marriage what he truly wanted it to be – on paper only. Hermione thought about this as she lay down on the sofa in the makeshift library, her eyelids drooping, giving her eyes a rest from crying.
Severus couldn't sleep that night. He just kept turning over, trying to find a comfortable position. But he just couldn't admit to himself that such a thing no longer existed without Hermione. He just tried to reason with himself, you have survived without that girl in your bed for 36 years, pull yourself together! But he had had a taste of the high life, and he was finding it difficult to cope without her. He would never admit it to anyone else, but he missed the warmth of her body beside his, her smell being within close range and her soft curls softly draped over her back. Checking his watch every so often, he wasn't surprised to see as it got closer to dawn. He knew he would be exhausted tomorrow, but he just couldn't get to sleep. He was also haunted by the image of her beside the lake, crying and screaming at him. He knew he had been an idiot, and the next time he saw her he was going to do everything within his power to show her how sorry he was – something he didn't do very often. He finally got up at 7am, knowing there was nothing he could do now but wait in the Great Hall for her to turn up for breakfast.
He took his seat in the empty hall and waited. He saw the hundreds of pupils file in, stuff their faces and leave again, but he couldn't see her. His blood turned to ice when he saw Potter and Weasley file in, eat and leave again without much comment. If Hermione was going to turn up to breakfast it would have been with her friends. Severus got up – without having taken a single bite – and stood guard outside the hall, scanning the hall surrounding him. Maybe she was getting the boys to smuggle food for her. But there was no sign. As student after student walked past him, a look of confusion and fear on their face, Severus became more and more perplexed by the whereabouts of his wife. He began fiddling with his ring whilst thinking of a place where she could be.
Hermione meanwhile sat in the kitchens of Hogwarts eating alone. The house elves continued their business whilst the girl did this, after all she said she was allowed to do it since she was a prefect – who were they to stop her from eating in the kitchens if she wanted. Hermione had sworn them to secrecy about her whereabouts, knowing that he would be looking for every opportunity to single her out and try to talk to her. And she still couldn't face talking to him yet without hitting him. She refused to think on the matter any further and was determined to make the best of her day. Glancing out of the window on the way to the kitchens, she noticed the thick blanket of snow that had appeared, and she had smiled. A trip to Hogsmeade was planned for today, and it was always so nice to go to the village whilst it was snowing – it added to the picturesque scenery. As she finished, she thanked the elves and left to join her friends in the common room, making sure not to bump into the man on the way there.
She walked into the common room and was greeted with the welcomed sight of Harry and Ron arguing about something to do with Quidditch. The small scene of normality calmed her nerves, and she even managed to forget about the fight in that moment, as she went over and declared, for the millionth time, that no one else cares about Quidditch, just so she could become part of the argument and, temporarily, part of the life that she used to claim. Their fake fight didn't last very long, and soon they were heading out of the castle wrapped up warm to combat against the terrible cold that awaited them as they travelled to Hogsmeade. Arm in arm with the two boys, Hermione laughed for the first time in what felt like forever, and it made her be able to bear the bragging that Ron was doing about his true love that he had found in Lavender. The three of them did their shopping around Hogsmeade, and Harry and Hermione visited Tomes and Scrolls whilst Ron did whatever he did with Lavender. Hermione noticed the distinctly saddened look on Harry's face whilst they visited the shop, but didn't know what to say to him.
When the three of them met up again, they started to head to what they considered their pub. It was never a question of whether or not they were going – they always went. Hermione sat at a table in the corner of the room, whilst Ron visited the toilets and Harry ordered the drinks. Hermione just sat quietly in the corner watching the lives of other people unfold in front of her. She noted how everyone seemed so happy at this moment, couples quietly toasting and larger groups noisily prodding fun at each other. It made her grin a little, thinking of how it was less of a grin and more of a slight curl. Then she froze and thought of him. She shook her head and put on a big smile, when she saw Harry approaching slowly, trying to balance three mugs of butterbeer in his hand, and laughed when he nearly dropped one. When Ron came back, they tried to continue their afternoon of merriment, but Harry had a concentrated look on his face, which Hermione had grown to dread over the years. After the fourth time of trying to get his attention in response to a question, Hermione finally asked him what he was thinking about.
"Nothing, I just thought I saw Katie looking a bit well…odd," he said. And the matter wasn't discussed any further, as they continued chatting away. As they finished their butterbeer, Hermione said something about needing to do homework, and they all began the journey back to Hogwarts. They were halfway towards the castle, when they saw Katie Bell and her friend Leanne arguing about something, probably something inane like celebrities or something. At least, that's what they thought until they saw Katie rise up, and being stretched as far as she could – her hair even being pulled to its full length. The trio then ran up to the scene, trying to calm Leanne down, whilst thinking of a way to get Katie down, as they saw her face contorting with pain. What happened after that was really a blur to Hermione. She just remembered Hagrid arriving, and carrying Katie to Hogwarts as fast as he could, the others following suit, Leanne holding a small brown package almost as though she was scared of it.
When Hermione came to her sense again, she was standing outside the hospital wing, listening to Harry ramble on about his theory about what happened. Of course, it had something to do with Malfoy. Hermione tried to keep quiet, but the events of the past few days caused her temper to be noticeably shortened. She had had enough of Harry relating every bad thing to Malfoy in whatever convoluted way he could think of. "For goodness sake Harry! Not everything is related to Draco Malfoy!" she shouted at him, being louder than she had intended.
"My sentiments exactly Miss Granger," a low voice said, causing Hermione to stiffen slightly, but not too noticeably. She cursed him mentally as she daren't not turn around and confront the sound. Until she confirmed it with her eyes she could pretend he wasn't there.
"What are you doing here?" Harry said in an exasperated tone.
"Watch your tone Mr Potter. It may have escaped your notice, but what happened to Katie isn't exactly natural. Therefore, we must investigate what happened, and I can help – unlike you with your idiotic theories about other students with little or no evidence," he hissed. The words had meant to sting, but Harry just noticed the dark circles under his eyes, and the tired tone of his voice. Severus just looked at the three teenagers in front of him, disappointed when he couldn't get eye contact with Hermione, and walked into the room. He quickly analysed the situation, and asked to see the package. Carefully unwrapping it, he scanned the opal necklace within, and it was crawling with curses – most of them either to kill or to seriously injure. Draco…you can't be so obvious he thought, whilst maintaining a straight face. He reported back to his colleague, who then went to get Professor Dumbledore, holding the tag to the package close to her. Snape followed her outside, and was met with the sight of the same three teenagers. "Miss Bell will be fine, now you three leave. Now," he said. Hermione practically sprang out of her seat in an eagerness to leave the vicinity, and Ron and Harry began to shuffle off. "Not you Miss Granger. I need to discuss your recent werewolf essay," he said, noting the drop in her shoulders at his refusal to let her go.
Hermione needed to think of something quickly to get out of the situation. Slowly, she turned around to face the fool, drawing all the courage she possibly had, hearing Ron and Harry continue their shuffle away, the murmuring beginning. "Can it not wait till Monday Professor?" she asked, feeling the corridor becoming silent instantly. Harry and Ron couldn't believe her, as they nervously looked at each other and praying silently for her.
"No. It can't. Now come along at once, you silly girl," Snape snarled, causing Hermione to jump slightly as they both headed off towards his classroom. Harry and Ron just breathed a sigh of relief for her, as they made their way back to the Gryffindor common room. Severus and Hermione walked to his classroom in silence, and Hermione never stopped looking at the ground in front of her as she walked beside him. Severus' nerves were growing as they neared his room. As they entered it, Severus locked the door behind them and cast a silencing spell on the door, ensuring no one would overhear their conversation. He turned around again, to see Hermione leaning on one of the front tables, her head still lowered as she looked at the ground. He sighed, running his hand through his hair, approaching her as he tried to think of a good way to start this. "Hermione I-"
"Save it. There's not much you can do or say that will change things. It's fine. I just didn't realise how much of a fool I was. That I was actually starting to believe…" Hermione said, her words hurried until she thought back to what she wanted to believe, and then the tears began to fall once more.
"Believe what?" the older man questioned, holding his breath. He offered her a tissue, which she refused.
Hermione took a deep breath, wiping away her tears, and looked right into his eyes. She felt herself getting lost in those eyes, feeling the same as she had just a few short days ago. "I was foolish enough to believe that you wanted something more than just an official marriage," she stated, looking away from him as soon as she had finished. "It's fine," she continued, "Now I know what you want…I can accommodate." She then stood up properly, and moved towards the door, murmuring 'alohomora' as she turned the door handle. She tried to open the door, but then she heard the slam as Severus threw his hand over the door above her, pushing it so she couldn't open the door. She turned around to protest at the man, but was just met with his intense stare into her eyes, making her knees grow weak again.
"Where would you get that idea from?" he whispered, causing her to shiver slightly. She tried to focus her mind on the situation, resulting in an elongated silence. She felt him trying to enter her mind, and pressed back slightly, which caused him to leave entirely. "Please…tell me," he murmured to her, his eyes full of worry and concern.
"Well…since you were willing to dictate my actions on such a big decision…you obviously only want something that looks like a marriage…you had so many opportunities to discuss it," she elaborated, finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate due to the close proximity. She just kept finding herself wanting to pull him towards her. She nearly gasped when he took her face into her hand, and she tried to look away, but he made sure she was looking at him.
"I swear Hermione I was going to talk about it with you. I just didn't want to discuss it and have no solution. I needed to make sure I had a good solution, hence Dumbledore's opinion. I didn't want you worrying about it during class time, so I was going to discuss it with you last night, but well…that got interrupted," he said, stroking her cheek slightly. He saw her face soften slightly at this and continued on his line of thought. "I would hate nothing more than to just have an 'official' marriage. I apologise deeply for portraying that. I can only hope in time you can forgive me for my actions," he stated, letting go of her cheek and backing away from the door, letting Hermione go.
Hermione just stared at the man. She wanted to scream at him, hit him and tell him where to go all at the same time just 12 short hours ago. But in that moment, when he had backed away and looked at her almost nervously, Hermione knew she could only do one thing. She grabbed the front of his cloak and pulled him towards herself, pressing her lips harshly against his. He froze in shock for a second, before responding warmly. Wrapping his arms around her waist, Hermione willingly got closer to him as he gently pulled. Hermione felt relief, the tension finally letting go as she became more entangled in his embraces, feeling his lips on hers. And she just knew that Severus had to be feeling the same thing. She was surprised, however, when he pulled away from her, and she wanted to tell him to come back. But she barely had time to think as she was hoisted over Severus' shoulder, like he was saving her from a house fire.
"S-S-Severus? What are you doing?" she asked, half nervous and half laughing as she couldn't see where she was going. Severus just felt like a proud huntsman who had caught his prey, as he climbed the stairs to the teacher's office. He just smiled as he held the young girl over his shoulder, and could feel her giggle over him. He used the fireplace to get back to his room, still holding Hermione, who had become powerless. Striding to his room, prize on his shoulder, he gently lowered her onto the bed, and began giving her small kisses to the face, before leaning in close to her ear.
"I'm going to show you how sorry I really am," he said with a smirk as he lowered his head once more.