The hour was late and Hermione stretched casually tossing the letter in her hand into the pile that lie on the floor beside her seat. She rubbed her eyes and looked to Severus who was deep into a letter and then to Harry who was staring, unblinking, at the wall.

"I had no idea there would be this many letters." Hermione finally spoke breaking the silence.

"Indeed." Severus replied as he finished the letter he was reading and tossed it aside as well.

"I can't believe how many positive letters there are, they really outnumber the howlers, that's for certain." Harry shook his head.

"Yes, but you must admit the howlers we have received have been extreme." Hermione nodded towards the fireplace where they had set a fire to burn the howlers.

"To say the very least." Severus replied as he arose from his chair.

"It will all die down eventually…hopefully." Harry raised his eyebrows.

"One can hope. I am thoroughly exhausted; however I am grateful for these though." She waved her hand at the mounds of parchment. "The kindness of strangers has allowed us to have enough money to move out of here." Hermione laughed.

"Money was not an issue, but it was kind of them." Severus walked to the window.

"Well we haven't discussed our working yet, I am grateful. Neither of us have a job, Severus. Minerva's been caring for you, and I've managed to live off the earnings I made after the war. But that won't last forever." Hermione sighed

"I fully intend to rectify my work situation as soon as humanly possible, and I would like for you to consider not working until after the birth." Severus did not turn from the window; he looked up at the night sky.

"I never thought I would hear Severus Snape ask for someone to consider something, in a nice way." Harry smiled.

"She will be my wife, Potter, of course I would not command anything of her." Severus turned and met Harry's gaze.

"Harry, I kept you all day, I hope Ginny won't be too cross with you." Hermione changed the subject.

"She was already cross; I'm sure our time apart today gave her some time to cool off." Harry stretched. "Anyway, have you two decided when you're going to do the whole wedding thing?"

"We are not having a large to do; we are going to go to the Ministry, have something quick and simple." Hermione replied as she looked to Severus.

"Oh, I though with you being you and you coming back from the dead you would have a big affair." Harry shrugged.

"No." Severus replied.

"Well, when are you going to the Ministry then? Or am I not invited?" Harry smirked.

"You are invited, of course, we haven't chosen a day yet." Hermione laughed.

"It will be soon, perhaps sometime over the next week." Severus interjected.

"That soon?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Yes, at least as long as you agree. Your current condition was not disclosed in The Daily Prophet, and tongues will wag if you show before we are married. They may yet, because the child's birth will be almost exactly nine months from our union." Severus replied. Hermione nodded.

"Well, on that note I will be leaving. Drop me an owl, will you, to let me know when I should be at the Ministry?" Harry smiled and gave Hermione a hug.

"We will. Thank you for your help today." Hermione smiled.

"I wish I could say it was fun, but I must not tell lies." Harry smirked.

"Go on with you." Hermione laughed as she gave him a playful shove towards the door. After closing the door she turned back to Severus. "Should I take that little exchange to mean you want me to be a stay at home mother?"

"I did not say that." Severus raised an eyebrow. "Nor was I implying such a thing. If you choose to stay home, that is fine. If you chose to return to work, that is fine. The decision is one for you to make, I stand by what I said. I will not command anything from you."

"I haven't decided yet." Hermione replied as she returned to her seat.

"You have an ample amount of time to decide. May I suggest in the meantime, that we first plan out the wedding and begin looking into finding our home?" Severus leaned forward and reached for her hand.

"Alright." Hermione smiled. "How do you feel about Wednesday?"

"Wednesday?" Severus furrowed his brow.

"Yes, Wednesday. Nothing like a wedding to break up a week." She raised her shoulder.

"If you want to be married on a Wednesday my dear, then Wednesday it is." He kissed her hand.

"I feel the need to tell you I rather enjoy the sweet Severus." Hermione stood up and made her way over to sit on his lap.

"Don't damage my reputation too much, please." He replied with a smile as he wrapped his arms about her.

"No worries." Hermione laughed. "I am exhausted."

"As am I. However, I don't know how well I will sleep after reading some of those letters. Some of them were absolutely horrid." Severus shook his head.

"I don't think horrid accurately describes those letters." She brushed a lock of his hair from his face.

"The stuff from which nightmares are made then?" Severus suggested.

"Yes." Hermione agreed as she kissed his cheek, and then moved lower, kissing his jaw then neck.

"May I help you with something?" Severus asked, maneuvering his hand around her.

"I believe you can." She replied, gently biting his earlobe. Severus maneuvered them both, until was able to stand, cradling her in his arms. He took her over and gently placed her on their bed. She smiled up at him as he began to undress. When he turned back to her, she was asleep. He smiled and got into bed next to her, pulling the covers over them both. He kissed her on her forehead.

"Good-night, my dear." He whispered.

"Harry Potter I can't believe you were gone all day!" Ginny yelled as Harry walked into their bedroom.

"Ginny, I'm exhausted; can we not do this right now, please?" Harry asked as he plopped down on the edge of their bed and began to take off his shoes.

"I am livid with you! I will not wait to 'do this' as you put it." She huffed as she paced, her pink bathrobe knotted tightly around her. "How could you keep that from me? About Hermione?"

"She asked me not to tell anyone, Ginny, I don't know what else to tell you." Harry sighed.

"But I'm your WIFE!" She cried.

"I know, but…merlin's beard…I was stuck between a rock and a hard place." Harry stood up. "Look, it is what it is. Hermione and Severus are getting married, she's having a baby. That's it. We're her friends and she needs up right now. Are you really going to act like this towards her?"

"I'm…I'm just hurt." She hung her head.

"I know it's a shock, but she was in love with him for a long time. We should be happy for her that she gets a chance, a chance she thought she would never have." Harry walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. "They're going to be married sometime this week, are you going to go with me to the ceremony?"

"I don't know, Harry." Ginny shook her head. "I'll think about it, but I'm still angry."

"Fair enough." Harry nodded as he sidestepped around her and began to undress and put his pajamas on. Ginny took off her robe and got into bed.

"Why were you gone all day, what were you doing?" Ginny asked, as she blew out the candle on her bedside table.

"I was helping them read through about a million owls, some were really sick…but most were nice. It was surprising to say the least." Harry walked over and got into bed next to Ginny, and blew out his candle. They lay in the dark, silent for a moment. "I can't believe you slapped Snape."

"It was…great!" Ginny laughed.

"That was the greatest thing, ever." Harry replied as he put his arm around her kissing her on the top of her head.

"I know." Ginny laughed as she smiled into his chest.