Author's note: Just a small little scene between the newly-weds. After this, there will be two more chapters! Thank you all for sticking with this story. Please read and review!
Severus watched as Hermione's eyes fluttered open. She squinted at the sun as it streamed in throng the blinds. She breathed a content sigh before she turned to look at Severus. She smiled, "Morning."
"Morning," he answered, just as content.
"What time is it?" Hermione asked, rubbing her eyes. She worried that they would have to pick Serena up shortly; Poppy had demanded they let her watch her for the night so they could spend some time together. Hermione thought Poppy's wink was a little bit much, but, from their position now, she supposed Poppy wasn't far off.
"It's just past eight, we have a couple of hours." Severus answered. He wondered how she felt in the morning, if the adrenaline from the intense day had worn out, if she regretted anything. She answered him without intending to, as she turned to him, propping herself up on one arm and placing her other arm across his body, pulling him closer to her.
They simply stared at each other for a few minutes until Hermione broke the silence, "I never properly thanked you."
"What for?" Severus asked.
"The wedding, my parents, staying here with me, everything." Hermione said.
Severus looked down, uncomfortable with the thanks. "It was nothing, you deserved a real wedding at the very least. And your parents… I'm just sorry they couldn't be there as themselves."
"Hey," Hermione said, moving her hand up to cup his cheek, "It wasn't nothing. It was everything. It was so much more than I could have wanted. Don't say I deserved a real wedding at the very least… All of this real for me. I meant it yesterday; I love you, Severus."
"And I you," Severus answered in a whisper. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers for a moment. "I have something to show you," he said, moving away. He got up and for a moment Hermione allowed herself to admire the undone Severus, in his dark grey sleep pants, no shirt, hair ever-so-slightly ruffled.
He shot her a light hearted glare when he noticed she was watching him instead of getting up herself. Hermione rolled her eyes, getting up. She had on Severus's black shirt and a pair of shorts, though the shirt hung down to her thighs, so she didn't really need the shorts on.
She hopped up, collecting her wild hair and putting it in a bun. She followed Severus to the living room. On the table was the bouquet from the wedding.
Severus explained, "I must admit… there was a slight bit of magic at the second ceremony." He nodded towards the bouquet, "That's everlasting ivy. The flowers are normal, but I figured it might be nice to have something to remember it, and well, maybe we can put it somewhere. I noticed your quarters don't have any plants."
"Yes," Hermione laughed, "I must admit, I'm not great with plants, usually they don't last very long. But, from what I know of everlasting ivy, it needs very little. Thank you," She kissed his cheek. "But there is one thing." Hermione paused, "They're not my quarters anymore… they're ours."
"I suppose so," Severus smiled, "Though, perhaps we can find another place to live when school isn't in session."
"Did you have a place in mind?" Hermione asked.
"Australia? I can sell my flat and we can find a house there, but then we'd be near your parents… at least they could be a part of your life, and Serena's." He paused, concerned it wasn't a good idea, "What do you think?"
Hermione was at a loss for words. She found herself too teary to speak, and simply nodded, wrapping him in a tight hug. Thank you, she said to his mind. She cleared her throat and continued aloud, "I have something for you, too. I meant to give it to you after the ceremony in Kingsley's office, but obviously plans changed.
Hermione went back to the entrance to Severus's flat where Poppy had dropped off her bag before departing for Hogwarts with Serena last night. She felt around in her bag for a moment and pulled out the small present and hurried back to Severus.
She sat down at the kitchen table, placing the present in front of him. "It was supposed to be a birthday present."
Severus was about to tell her it was unnecessary, that she had given him enough, but stopped himself. He was surprised; he couldn't even remember the last time someone had gotten him a birthday present. Severus slowly unwrapped the package, revealing a watch. It was clearly old, slightly worn, but it was quite a nice muggle watch.
"It was my father's," Hermione said, "The back is engraved with his initials, that's why I took it in the first place. You gave me your mother's necklace and, well, I wanted to give you something, too. I know it's not as significant, it only goes back a generation, but I like to think my father would want you to have it. I think they would've liked you." Hermione said. Severus raised an eyebrow and she laughed, "Well, Wendell likes you, I think Dad would as well."
"Be that as it may, I don't think he'd like me marrying his daughter."
"He trusted me and he just wanted me to be happy. And I am." Hermione answered.
Severus ran his thumb over the face of the watch then flipped it over to reveal the engraved "RG." Severus placed a hand on Hermione's cheek, just as she had done for him earlier in bed.
Do you want to be a Snape? Severus's voice drifted through Hermione's head. It was so quiet she wasn't even sure that he actually meant for her to hear it.
"What do you mean?"
Severus looked down. He meant to ask her at some point, but he hadn't meant to ask her now. "Well, at the ceremony, Kingsley congratulated us as Mr. and Mrs. Snape. All I could think about was the alternate me, Serena's biological father, and how Serena was named Serena Eileen Granger so that she didn't carry on my surname."
Hermione could understand where he was coming from. "How do you feel about it?"
"I don't know," Severus answered honestly, "But I want to respect what the other us wanted, I want Serena to be a Granger, but I don't want her to have a different name than both of us. What do you think?"
"I think I want to take your name. Maybe I'll hyphenate it, be Hermione Granger-Snape. And Serena can stay as Serena Granger, but perhaps when she's older, she can decide if she wants to also take on Granger-Snape. That way she's still a Granger, too. How does that sound?" Hermione asked.
Severus brushed a loose curl from her face, "That sounds wonderful." I should've known you'd have all the answers, his snarky voice quipped.
You love it, Hermione snickered in his head, placing a fleeting kiss on his lips.
I hope you enjoyed. I'm hoping to post the final two chapters this weekend.