Hello everyone! I'm so sad that this story is almost over, but I am considering making a sequel and seeing how Hermione handles a Potion's apprenticeship. Please let me know if you would actually like to read a sequel to this story or if you want me to just end it the way it is. I also have a new story that I have posted. It is four chapters in and it is another SS/HG story. It's called Savior in the Dark if you would like to check it out. On to the story!

Hermione, along with the rest of the Golden Trio, walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Even though the war just ended school continued to go on as if nothing happen. Their friendship was forged back together and Hermione couldn't be any happier. She had her friends back and she still was able to see Severus. "Did you see the way that 6th year looked at me in the common room?" She asked her friends.

"He doesn't know yet what happen. When he sees The Prophet this morning he won't look at you like that," Harry said.

They walked into the Great Hall and saw the rest of the students looking at Hermione. Some still were in disgust and others were in admiration for what she had done. Her eyes flicked over to the Slytherin table and found Malfoy's icy stare. She looked away from his gaze and sat down at the table.

"Hey the Minister of Magic is here," Ron pointed out.

Dumbledore stood up at the podium and everyone in the room quieted down. "Good morning students. Before we begin eating I have an announcement to make. The war is officially over. You-Know-Who has been killed by one of our own students. Ms. Granger please stand and come up to the table."

Everyone start cheering and clapping when they heard the news. Most of the whole school was already aware of what went down, but for many of them this was the first time hearing it. She stood up from the Gryffindor table and walked up to where Dumbledore was standing.

"The Minister of Magic is here to present Ms. Granger a medal for her bravery. Please clap for Ms. Granger as she receives her reward." The Minister put a medal over her head and Hermione watched as everyone stood up and started to clap for her again. She heard the cheers and she even saw some of the Slytherin's stand up. When the cheers finally died down Dumbledore turned to Hermione and asked, "Would you like to say something before we resume breakfast?"

Hermione thought about it and decided that yes she would in fact like to say some words. "Yes sir I would." He stepped away from the podium and Hermione took his place. She felt shy as she stood at the podium. Everyone was staring at her waiting for her to speak. She cleared her throat and began speaking. "Um, hello everyone. A lot of you saw me as a betrayer and believed me to be a part of the most corrupt group in existence. Hopefully you all understand what my reasoning was behind it. I was a spy that helped defeat You-Know-Who. I still supported Harry, but I wanted to do something more for the war. Even though I was the tool who ended up ending the war I don't deserve all the credit that I have been receiving. There is another person that has helped me through this journey and I feel should be recognized for his accomplishments. A lot of you have seen him as a bad person. Some of you have even gone as far as to say he's a Death Eater and deserves to die along with the rest of them, but he's a hero. He did what not many people can. He was a spy for so many years and he risked his life so the Order can stay informed. Then it was my turn to be a spy and he was there for me every step of the way. Please clap for Professor Snape. He's the bravest person I have ever known and he deserves every bit of it as I do."

Getting that off her chest felt good. She couldn't let his name be tarnished anymore. He deserved to be seen as a hero. People started clapping again. She saw in the corner of her eye how uncomfortable he was with people clapping for him, but he deserved to be recognized as well. After the claps slowly faded she continued on talking. "I honestly don't think I deserve this medal. I did what I had to do for the greater good and if I had to do it all over again I would. We are now finally free. Muggleborns don't have to be scared anymore. We don't have to be looked at as some inferior race because we are not. We are all wizards and witches. We are all equal. Thank you."

Another round of applause went out. Hermione smiled at everyone and turned and looked for Severus. She found his face and gave him a huge smile. He didn't smile back at her, but she saw his lips turn up just a little. Before anyone else can see, his lips went back to his infamous scowl. She left the podium and returned to her seat.

"Thank you Ms. Granger for that wonderful speech you may now eat!" Dumbledore announced. He spread his hands and food appeared on the table.

Everyone began to eat joyfully. There was a sense of calmness that has never been felt before. It truly was a wonderful change. Even some of the Slytherin students were happy that the war was over. Hermione scooped some scrambled eggs on to her plate and buttered a piece of toast.

"Hey Hermione, do you want to go to Hogsmeade with Ron and I? I think all 3 of us deserve a day out and we can go get a butter beer," Harry asked hopefully. He had missed his friend dearly and he felt horrible for how they treated her the last few weeks. He wanted to make it up to her somehow.

She smiled at Harry, happy that they were friends again. She forgave both of them for how they acted the last few weeks. In all honesty she understood why they acted the way they did and she couldn't blame them for it. Now that the war was over the fight between the three of them ended as well. "That sounds great, Harry. I'd love to."

After breakfast, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny headed out of the castle and headed towards Hogsmeade. There was a whole group of students that followed them, looking forward to a day out. Along with the group of students were Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall who were on supervision duty for the day.

Harry looked over at Professor Snape and whispered to Hermione, "That was really nice what you said about Snape earlier."

"Well it's true. I don't want people to look at me as some kind of hero," she said strongly. It was true. She didn't want people to treat her like they did Harry when he was considered the chosen one, but she knew that it would happen anyway. She was now considered the hero of the wizarding world.

"But you are 'Mione. You saved the whole wizarding world!" Ron said excitedly. Hermione saw that everyone was staring at them because of how loud Ron shouted. She blushed deeply in embarrassment.

"I agree with Ron Hermione. Not many people are brave enough to fool You-Know-Who," Ginny added.

"I just did what I had to do," Hermione muttered in response.

"How were you able to defeat him?" Harry asked curiously.

She looked over at Neville and Luna who were walking next to them holding hands. She was happy that Neville found someone after all. "Remember when I was sent to the infirmary because of Neville's potion?"

"Yeah that was awful. What happen while you were there? I thought you didn't have any problems. You were out of the hospital the next day," he said worriedly.

"Well, Neville's potion affected my magic. I am so powerful that I could take people's magic away by a simple spell, so in the past few weeks I've been training for when the right moment comes. I was able to convince him to talk to me alone. I made up how you were talking to Dumbledore about some spell and he stupidly turned his back to me and that is when I did the spell. It hit him too quickly and his magic was sucked out of him and I killed him. That is when the Order came in and helped with the rest of them," she explained.

"Well I guess Neville did something good for once with a potion," Harry commented. They finally made it to Hogsmeade. "So where should we go first?" He asked eagerly.

"Let's go to the book store," Hermione answered excitedly. Harry and Ron looked at her with displeasure. She mumbled, "Or we can go get a butter beer."

The three walked to The Three Broomsticks. They walked inside and found a seat in the corner. Hermione watched as Severus and Professor McGonagall also walked into the pub and sat down near their table. Hermione took a drink from her butter beer. She looked over their table and saw Severus drinking fire whiskey and Professor McGonagall drinking Honey Meade. Severus caught her eye. She smiled at him and raised her glass to him. He smiled slightly and raised it as well.

Ron scowled and mumbled, "I still don't see what you see in him."

"Well you are in fact a guy so I don't expect you to," she retorted.

His face matched his hair and he scowled in anger. "But Hermione he's greasy and bat like. Have you seen his huge beak of a nose?"

She glared at him and said, "His hair is not greasy. It's actually nice and soft. He is not a bat and I like his nose. I don't care what you think Ronald."

"Stop being an ass brother. I for one support Hermione's decision," Ginny said in defense to Hermione. Hermione smiled at Ginny with thanks.

"But Ginny you know she belongs with me. Mom wanted us to get married. She looks at Hermione as if she was her own daughter. We belong together," he argued.

"I am not an object. You don't own me Ron!" She shouted angrily.

Ron stood up from the table and went down on one knee. "Hermione I love you. I have loved you since first year. Please will you dump that guy and come be with the man you deserve?" He looked at her eagerly, hoping his words would change her mind.

Hermione flushed when she saw everyone staring at their table. She couldn't believe how he was acting and to do this in front of an audience was ridiculous. She shook her head at him. "No Ron. I love Severus. You and I can never be."

He stood up and pointed a finger at her face. He growled, "You will regret this Hermione." He stomped out of the pub in anger. Hermione looked down at her butter beer in sadness and embarrassment.

"My brother is a hothead Hermione. Don't worry about him. He'll get over it," Ginny said next to her.

She looked up at Ginny and said, "Honestly if he doesn't all well. He is not going to bully me into loving him. I am tired of explaining myself and this is the last time I'm going to say anything about this. He makes me happy. I love him and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. You guys are going to have to learn to just accept it because he's not going anywhere."

"Ginny and I will stand by you no matter what Hermione," Harry said encouragingly.

She smiled at them, happy that she had two friends that accepted her decision. "Thank you for being mature about this. I know it's weird, but based on the circumstances it makes sense. It's not like we randomly got together because I was a student and he was a teacher. Honestly, if it wasn't for Dumbledore, we wouldn't be together until school was over because we both agreed it's inappropriate. He's not a pervert. We had a little bit of an issue during the Order meeting because the ones that didn't know our story or the reason we were together attacked us about how wrong it was. Molly was really upset and Professor McGonagall was as well. Of course Sirius was and still is upset, but he's just jealous that I wasn't one of his conquests."

Ginny choked on her butter beer when she heard the last sentence. "Was Sirius really like that?"

She nodded at her remembering how Sirius acted as a teenager. "Unfortunately yes. He was very handsome at that age and he knew he was. Of course a lot of the girls also found him attractive and he would have a trail of girls follow him. It was disgusting, but that's Sirius."

"How was my dad?" Harry asked excitedly.

She looked down at her butter beer knowing she shouldn't sugarcoat it. "Well, it was difficult at the beginning to be friends with Sirius and your father Harry. They bullied Severus very badly. I didn't want to be friends with them, but they eventually showed me that they were better people. Of course they still hated Severus, but that's because of their own jealousy. So I did eventually become friends with them and every now and then I hanged out with them. James was an awesome Quidditch player Harry. He reminded me of you so much. You are just like him. He was mischievous and liked to get in to trouble and he knew how to make everyone laugh." Tears started to fall down her face. She whispered, "I miss him a lot."

Harry grabbed her hand and said, "I'm sorry Hermione. If I knew it was going to make you cry I wouldn't have asked."

She wiped her tears away and said, "No you deserve to know about them. Your mom was amazing. She was kind of like me in a way. She worked very hard in her classes and honestly she had the best advice. She was always smiling no matter what and I loved that we shared our love of books. Your parents were a great couple Harry and I'm sorry you never got to meet them." She felt her tears start up again. "I'm sorry I'm crying like this. It's still so fresh in my mind. You have no idea how hard it was to leave them. I didn't want to leave them. I wish there was a way Harry, but the time line is very fragile. I felt so bad. I honestly felt horrible because I knew coming back to this time line they weren't going to be there." Ginny handed her a tissue. She dabbed her eyes and said, "Thank you Ginny."

"What was Professor Lupin like as a student?" Ginny asked.

She smiled at the memory of him. "Well, he was the quietest out of bunch. He loved to read books and he was very good in class. We hit it off instantly. Unfortunately there was nothing I could have done for Pettigrew. He wasn't around a lot anyway, but he was a rat even then. He tried to be the comedy relief of the bunch, but really he was a coward and a weasel. It made me angry how I had to pretend that I wasn't looking at the cause of how You-Know-Who was back and who will eventually betray James and Lily."

"That sounds painful," Ginny said sadly.

Harry scowled in anger. "I wish you could have done something Hermione, but I understand why."

"It was painful Ginny just seeing that smile on his disgusting face made my skin crawl. It was difficult hiding my anger around him. Even Severus noticed the difference."

"Must you call him that?" Harry asked with a frown.

"What do you want me to call him then? He's my boyfriend. I'm not going to call him Professor Snape unless we are in public or class. Would you call Ginny Ms. Weasley Harry?"

Harry looked down at his butter beer and said, "No, I guess not."

Hermione took a drink from her butter beer. They were almost finished drinking when Rita Skeeter entered the Inn. She approached their table along with her photographer. Hermione grimaced and Harry glared at her. "Go away," he said.

Rita Skeeter ignored him and turned to Hermione. "Hermione, tell me dear, how did a child defeat the Dark Lord? Tell me the details of your alleged affair with a Hogwarts teacher."

Hermione gripped her mug tightly. She tried to ignore her, but she kept firing questions at her. She was content on just ignoring her until she asked her, "Did he rape you dear? Is that why you aren't speaking?"

She turned towards her feeling her anger bubble to the surface. How dare she ask her that? How dare she assume that of him? "He is not a rapist! I love him," Hermione yelled passionately.

"Oh honey you are just brain washed," Rita responded with a laugh. Hermione gripped her mug tightly again and looked over at Severus. He was scowling at Rita Skeeter wanting her to go away. "Just tell us Hermione. Give us the dirty details."

Hermione downed her mug and said to Harry, "Let's leave." Harry nodded and the three of them exited the pub, but they didn't get very far before Rita Skeeter was on their heels.

"Come on just tell us how you stood before You-Know-Who and killed him. Either way we will get our story from somewhere. Why not from the person that actually had done it." She followed them and continued on yelling for her to answer them.

Hermione heard Professor McGonagall yell at Rita Skeeter, "Stop harassing my students. You don't belong here anyway. Now leave or I will make you leave."

"I will find out the truth. Mark my words." She and her photographer apparated away.

Hermione said to Harry, "I guess I should have realized that in public I'd be followed and asked questions."

"Well now you are the chosen one," Ginny joked.

"Better you than me," Harry admitted with a smirk.

Hermione rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "Just what I wanted."

"Now what should we do?" Ginny asked as they continued walking down the street.

"We can visit Zonko's and see Fred and George. They are always making something new for their shop," Hermione suggested.

They walked to Zonko's together in silence until Hermione asked, "So Harry what do you plan to do after our OWLs?"

"I think I want to be an auror. What do you want to do?"

"I am going to stay at Hogwarts and take up an apprenticeship with Professor Snape. I want to teach Potions. I think it will be a perfect fit based on how much I love school."

He said, "That's great Hermione. What about you Gin?"

Ginny shrugged and said, "I don't know yet. I know Ron wants to be a Quidditch player, but I don't want to play for the rest of my life, plus you know I still got one more year left compared to you two.

"You can always be like Molly and be a stay at home mom," he suggested.

She glared at him and said angrily, "Really Harry? Do you see me staying home all day squabbling over a bunch of kids? I mean of course I want kids one day, but I want to do something with my life. I don't want to stay home all day relying on you to pay the bills."

He put his hands up in defense and said, "It was only a suggestion." They finally made it to Zonko's and the three walked inside. They approached Fred and George.

"Hiya guys. What brings you to our shop today?" George asked in amusement.

"We just wanted to come and visit you," Hermione said.

"That was bloody brilliant of you Hermione the way you defeated You-Know-Who," Fred said.

"Thank you Fred."

"How's the shop been doing?" Harry asked.

"Our shop has been great! Best investment we have made in our entire life. What happen to Ron? Why isn't he here with you three?" George asked in fake concern. He honestly didn't care, but it did surprise him that he wasn't with them.

Hermione scowled. "He ended up embarrassing himself in the middle of the Three Broomsticks. He went down on bended knee and tried to ask me to marry him. He hasn't accepted yet that I have moved on."

Fred and George shook their head in disgust. "I'm sorry about my little brother Hermione. I support you," Fred said with a grin.

"I do too Hermione. Just give him time. He will come to accept it. He has to. You're his best friend," George added.

Their words made her feel a little better. Hopefully Ron can grow up and accept it for what it was. Maybe he just needed time to think. Hermione nodded at herself and continued on looking through their shop along with Harry and Ginny by her side.