Disclaimer: The Potterverse is not of my property. We must thank J.K. Rowling for creating such a wonderful world. The story and others, however, are mostly mine.
Summary: The war was over, and although many lives were lost, one of them was just taking a nap. Literally. However, the countless casualties suffered by the magical world seriously threatened it with extinction. But the Ministry of Magic will make sure that such a thing never happens. No matter what it takes.
Warnings: Snamione (Severus Snape / Hermione Granger); Alternate Universe; possible Out of Character. My first language isn't English, it's Spanish. This may contain grammatical mistakes that I'm willing to correct. This is my first Harry Potter fanfic, please be gentle (?)
Initial notes: Hi. I've been having some problems with my computer and power supply here. I'll try to update in a timely manner, but if that is not possible now or in the future, my apologies in advance. Read you down there.
Life is a waltz
Safe
She had been thinking about the best way to attack the issue of Death Eaters and their return to action.
She figured that her friends' intervention in the matter would bring controversy if it became public, and nobody wanted that. It would be difficult to act with the sensationalist media over their heads.
That Thursday afternoon, she returned to her professor's office, and from there went almost immediately to his study. Once there, she decided to be honest about the situation. She considered risky and stupid to make any movement behind him.
"Potter cannot live a whole semester without asking for trouble, can he?"
That was his first reaction, and Hermione had not expected anything better, so she was not surprised nor tried to defend her friend. It would not make sense to do so, knowing he was right.
"That's what I thought" she agreed then, absentmindedly walking around. "But if you think otherwise... he may be right."
"No, he may not" he rebutted right away, shaking his head in a stubborn gesture. "He is just eager to complicate his existence because probably life as a simple student is too tedious for him."
Hermione pursed her lips for a moment. She gradually began to disagree with the words of her husband. She approached the sofa covered in green velvet again to take a seat in front of him.
"This time it was you, but what will happen if they decide to attack others?" then she asked, arching an eyebrow. "And if they attack innocent people, Muggleborns, or maybe muggles...?"
Severus let out a long sigh at those words, as if he were really tired and the last thing he needed was to hear her say anything. He rubbed a hand over his face, with a look of fatigue.
"If that happens, we can assume that the Aurors will take care of them" he said in an exhausted tone, looking up to her. "For that they get paid, if you did not know."
Hermione felt like opening her mouth to defend herself from his condescending tone, but she could not. The mention of those members of the wizarding security reminded her helplessly of Professor Lippert.
She told herself that although she knew a part of the origin of the contempt the Transfigurations' teacher felt, she had no idea what her husband could hide.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"You just did."
The girl felt like slapping his face in a gesture full of frustration, shaking her head quickly before continuing speaking.
"Is it true that you frustrated Professor Lippert's dreams of becoming an Auror?" she blurted then, cocking her head slightly to look at him
She could see that Severus raised his eyes lazily from his book to give her a somewhat irritated look before releasing another jaded sigh.
"I am not usually aware of the 'dreams' that those dunderheads- I mean students, have, but I am aware of his frustrated desires" he admitted, with some well-concealed mockery in his tone. "If you ask me, I think I did a favour to the wizarding world by not giving such an opportunity to someone who does not deserve it."
Hermione decided not to discuss those claims, mostly because she had not been present during those times and probably could not form an objective judgment.
However, she knew there was something else hidden under those words.
Friday morning she had received a letter at breakfast, and could not help feeling quite happy to read the sender.
"Krum? Really?"
Hermione rolled her eyes to get a look of disbelief from Ron. When she decided to tell her friends about the letter, she knew she would get that reaction or something similar on his part.
"Really" she muttered as the three crossed the hall, just behind their companions and other students. "I must admit I had time waiting for news from him. But I did not expect him to come here, honestly..."
"Is he still playing in the Bulgarian National Quidditch team?" questioned Ginny suddenly, with some enthusiasm in her voice, and Hermione could see a small grimace on Harry's face, as he squeezed a little her hand right away.
Hermione just nodded slightly for an answer, with a tiny smile on her face. In his letter, Viktor invited her to meet him in Hogsmeade, and Hermione took the opportunity to go with the school to kill two birds with one stone.
Outside the castle it was very cold, so she could not help hugging herself a little, partially hiding her face with her red and gold scarf. She tried not to notice how Harry hugged Ginny, or Ron hugged Lavender. She wasn't jealous, but as she had no one to hug, it was better to ignore them.
She watched her peers begin to disperse to reach the village, and only then could she could see her Defence Against the Dark Arts professor there with the others, although he was not looking at her.
She could not help form a small grin, although this was pretty much a smile, before looking away. Her friends stood with her, waiting for the appearance of the young Bulgarian guy. Fortunately they didn't to wait long in the cold, for she could spot him minutes later.
"Hermione!" he was exclaiming, with his strong accent and a slight smile on his face. "A lot of time has passed!"
The girl smiled back, and went to him, only to be wrapped in his arms almost the next second. Although it was a fairly strong and rough grip, Hermione managed to breathe and reciprocate at the same time.
"We met at the wedding, remember?!" then she said, when she was finally released
"I know. But then we had not survived a war."
Hermione could not deny those words. The fact that they were seeing each other again at that time could not have happened if one of them was killed. She turned to her friends, making a small gesture for them to come over.
"I hope that you remember them" she said jokingly, smiling a little
"Are you still playing in the Bulgarian National Quidditch team?" Ginny blurted, almost immediately
After the corresponding greetings between them, Harry suggested going to the Three Broomsticks with the other students to be protected against the cold and ask for a few drinks. The truth was that Hermione did not care much where they were, because she just wanted to chat a bit with Viktor after so long without communicating at all.
Once in the tavern, they chose a table for everyone, but soon Viktor invited Hermione to sit in a place a little more secluded.
"I could swear that the redhead boy was interested in you the last time I saw him" he remarked when they settled into the new table. "And he is now with another!"
"Ah... yes, it's a long story" sputtered the girl with a small nervous smile on her lips. "Let's say that he was, but with that of required marriages..."
"He chose the other?!"
"No! No, actually I asked him to marry her..."
Hermione could only release a sigh at the look of undisguised incredulity that Viktor was giving her, and mentally thanked when their drinks finally arrived at their table.
She remained silent as Viktor was telling the misadventures he had to go through to survive the war, including the group of rebels he had joined and that he was still in touch occasionally.
Although actually, Hermione was somewhat distracted. She knew it was something very rude, but she could not help it. Seeing the boy before her speak in a tone so concentrated and cold, had left her a very particular thought.
Suddenly she paid special attention to his dark and slightly long hair, did it look like that during the Triwizard Tournament? Also she was taking account of his prominent nose, sallow skin and dark eyes... had she really not paid attention to all those details before?
Once all those ropes tied, she could feel her cheeks blushing furiously. And as she felt her skin burn, she startled slightly when she heard him snapping his fingers.
"Hermione?" he questioned, sounding slightly worried. "You alright?"
"Yes!" she cried almost without thinking, before she sighed heavily, shaking her head slightly. "Sorry, Viktor, I was a little distracted..."
"No, it's not a problem... but I think that man over there wants to talk to you, because he was looking at us for a long time."
Hermione furrowed her brow a bit, feeling a little confused, so she turned to the place that Viktor had slyly pointed to. In a slightly more secluded table, and all alone, Professor Snape was reading one of his books.
She quickly looked away, with the same blush as before returning to her cheeks.
"He's my teacher... maybe you recognize him from the media" she sputtered, hiding one of her brown locks behind her ear. "He is also my husband."
Then disbelief and amazement in the face of Viktor became obvious and impossible to hide. However, even though she had expected a flood of questions filled with hows and whys, that did not happen.
"Do you think perhaps he's jealous?" he questioned, arching an eyebrow with a small grin on his face
"No. No, I don't think so" she hurried to answer, because that was the first thing that came into her mind if he thought about that question
"Why…? Oh, wait a minute."
Hermione watched Viktor take something out of his coat, a photograph of a young woman. She had brown curly hair, along with her brown eyes. Honestly she seemed rather like herself, perhaps with some crucial differences.
"She's my wife, Irina" he said then, with a small smile and a faint gleam in his eyes. "She is fantastic, I wish you guys could meet, I'm sure you would be good friends..."
Hermione was distracted again, silently watching the picture before Viktor kept it back in his coat. She realized that maybe the boy had a few physical similarities with her husband, but he was definitely different.
She could not imagine, for example, Professor Snape talking about his wife with that glint of admiration in his cold, dark eyes.
She had spent the next couple of days quite distracted. She had been thinking about Viktor, his wife Irina, and the loving way he talked about her.
Obviously she did not feel jealous. At least not in the way that many would believe. But she felt somewhat unhappy not to have someone who saw her with such admiration.
During the afternoons she used to visit her teacher's study, and as she tried to hide reading different books each day, the truth was that whenever she could she threw a couple of reproachful looks at him, as if he would change his attitude magically because of it.
The truth was, although she would not admit it aloud, she had enjoyed sharing a bed with her teacher. She could sleep peacefully in the knowledge that there was another person at her side, resting too. I made her feel good. It made her feel safe.
So that afternoon, while pretending to read a book of transfiguration, she decided to do something about it.
"I think we should start sleeping together."
She watched silently as the expression on her professor's face went from relaxed to tense in seconds. He lowered his coffee without even taking a sip, frowning slightly.
"Why?" he asked then simply cocking his head slightly forward
"Well... we are married. And that's what married couples do" she hastened to say, although for a moment she almost regretted it, thinking of other things that married couples did. "Maybe we should start getting used to it."
Professor Snape narrowed his dark eyes for a moment, as if thereby he wished to guess or discover hidden intentions in her words. When he couldn't find anything, apparently, he returned to relax a little, leaning back in his chair.
"It would be advisable to start with small steps, but I guess it is already being time" he muttered, lowering his sight to his book again with distracted air. "Bring what you need here after dinner, then we'll organize."
Hermione was silent, completely bowlegged. She wondered if she had heard really good, and he had agreed. She thought for a few seconds to ask, but it was obvious he was no longer paying attention, so she just run out of there as fast as she could.
Once in the safety of her room in Gryffindor Tower, she devoted herself to organize a small bag with her pyjamas, some basic hygiene items and a book. When Crookshanks tried to get into her bag, she made a small grimace.
She used to sleep with the cat on her bed, keeping her company. She wondered if Snape would allow something like that in his bedroom. She decided she would find out when he said it. If she had pressed her fate, she thought she could do it a little more.
During dinner she felt strangely nervous. She reminded herself that it was not the first time she'd share a bed with her teacher, but also (and very important), they would not do anything more than sleep. Still, she could not get rid of the weight in her stomach.
About ten or fifteen minutes after dinner was over, she went through Gryffindor Tower to collect her purse and her cat, getting curious looks from her roommates.
She headed the office unconsciously quick, and could only feel it when the door opened in front of her. With a sigh she entered, and heard the door close behind her when entering the study too.
Her pace slowed a bit as she approached the last door, which separated the study of the private chambers of her teacher. She swallowed hard, and with a last start of courage, entered the room when the door opened as well.
What she could notice right away was that green predominated in the room, which did not surprise her at all. Nor the darkness that seemed to be present at the site, or snakes of iron in the headboard of the bed. A spacious bed covered in black blankets with green tones.
"May I know what your cat is doing here?"
Hermione jumped a little, and turned to the voice of her teacher, who apparently had just left the bathroom, and dressed in what she assumed was his pyjamas, if he could call sporty black pants and a white shirt that. She wondered for a second if he was able to feel cold as a normal human being.
"Crookshanks sleeps with me every night" she said then, allowing her cat down to the ground, where it began to walk around. "I think you'll get used to that too."
She could see a tiny grimace appear on the lips of man against her, but against all predictions, he said absolutely nothing. Only he turned away from the bathroom door, pointing at it with a vague shake of his head.
"You can change your clothes there" he said simply, moving past her to go to bed
Hermione watched him in silence for a moment, weighing at that time there was very little of that daredevil and imposing demeanour that he used to have during the day. Suppressing a giggle, she hastened to enter the bathroom and shut herself there.
While she removed her uniform and kept it neatly in her purse, she realized she did not feel cold at all, contrary to what she had imagined. While placing her nightgown, she paid attention to her surroundings, especially the tub at the end of the room. She left after a few moments, unable to avoid releasing a yawn.
Just as she came out she saw that her teacher was already in bed, and Crookshanks was too, sitting on the left side of it, seeing the man at his side in an almost defiant look, as if silently daring him to move him from his place.
"I'm beginning to think that what you trained it to do that" Severus remarked as she gently lifted the cat to settle in bed
"Crookshanks has always been very clever" she replied, covering herself with blankets and dropping another small yawn. "He knows when someone does not like him, and vice versa."
The man tutted disdainfully, giving the cat one last contemptuous look and receiving haughtiness in return, before settling into bed.
"Good night" he muttered under his breath, turning away with a snort
Hermione held again another giggle, affectionately stroking her pet and leaning back, leaving Crookshanks a nook under the covers, where he settled quickly.
"Good night" she corresponded, and the next second, the candles' light went out at the same time
She smiled a little, huddling in blankets with a sigh of relief. Again she felt good. Again she felt safe.
Endnotes: Hello again. As I told you up there, I've been having some difficulties that I hope will resolve soon.
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