"Hey, Dad."
"Hello, Princess."
Hermione smiled brightly hugging her father tight before moving to give her mother the same. It felt so nice to feel their hugs again. It had only been two months since Severus and she had come to replace what was lost. It had been a hard, long, 3 nights were all of their lives had been flipped upside down. Her parents hadn't been angry, no, they had been disappointed; that had nearly crushed Hermione.
She had told them about the war, about her injury, about Severus. They had been disappointed that they hadn't been able to care for her when she needed them most. Deeply saddened by the years of her life she had lost. That she didn't trust them. She had explained all she could. Many tears and tight hugs had calmed the mood at the time. Then her Dad had walked in on one of their small kisses and nearly tore Severus apart. He was still glamoured at the time and looked well over the age of her grandfather. Hermione had to re-explain the magic at play before her father left in a huff muttering how his daughter's virtue was tarnished by a dirty old man. That had hurt Severus more than her and he had refused to touch her for almost two weeks before she finally cornered him in the bedroom.
The argument that followed had lost them two windows and a very nice chair but in the end, she had convinced him, beyond doubt, that she wanted his touch. That she needed him in her life. She was very sure the world had rocked in its axis that night.
Hermione smiled softly, sitting down with her parents. Their relationship had grown back to its normal ways. A series of letters had hashed out any remaining issues between them and she was happy that they were continuing on with the life they had made in Australia. Of course, she wished they would move closer but magic was a wonderful thing. She was still able to see them as often as she wished.
"Where's your...suitor?"
"He's coming, I asked him to buy a book for us to read on the beach after lunch." Hermione gave her father a gentle smile before crossing her legs adjusting the soft white summer dress. "He really is a good man Dad, you should stop worrying."
"I can't help it, it's what father's do."
"I know...But can you try really hard today?"
"I promise sweetheart, for you, I'll be nice."
Hermione smiled brightly, "Thanks, Dad."
A dark shadow appeared over her shoulder and Hermione smiled brighter, knowing just who was the cause. She tilted her head back expectantly.
"Did you find a good book?"
"I believe so." Severus gave Mr. Granger a wary look before pulling the book from the plastic bag on his wrist handing it over.
"Great Expectations?" Hermione, of course, knew the book but found it a rather curious choice for their vacation day.
"Oh, that's a wonderful book, I remember having to read it in high school." Mrs. Granger gave Severus a welcoming smile obviously trying to pull him into polite conversation.
"I've always found Dickens to be rather long-winded myself." Mr. Granger adjusted in his seat watching with hawk-like eyes when Severus took his seat next to Hermione. He looked different from the first time he'd seen him. The grey hair and aged face changed to a deep black, young lineless face. He looked almost the same age as Hermione and he couldn't help but feel suspicious of the man's ever-changing shape.
"Did you dye your hair?"
"It's a glamour Dad, just like I explained last time." Hermione put her hand over Severus' stilling the snarky comment that was rising in his throat.
Mr. Granger sighed softly and for the sake of his daughter stilled his tongue. His wife smiled softly and pat his hand watching Severus with much kinder eyes. "So what beach were you planning on going to?"
Severus glanced at Hermione but she didn't answer her mother's question, firstly because it wasn't directed solely at her and secondly her nose was already inside the book. He couldn't help but smirk slightly before clearing his throat, "Whichever is closest...we're only spending the day here..."
"Ah, then you'll want to go up the north end of the street, they always keep the beach really clean up there."
"Thank you for the information." Severus gently pulled the book from Hermione's hands, no small feat as she actually leaned up to keep hold of it. When her eyes snapped away from the closing pages she couldn't help but blush brightly and duck her head with a soft apology to everyone present. He said nothing slipping the book back inside the bag it had come from and set it on the other side of his chair well out of her way. Her Mother and Father just shared a look before chuckling softly.
"Thank you for choosing the Bluewater Cafe, my name's Mindy, I'll be your server this afternoon. Are you ready order?"
oOo
"Come on, it can't be that bad. Let me see!" Hermione was already in her swimsuit. A deep blue one piece that was missing most of the middle. Three small wisps of string connected the two halves in a rather nice pattern over her stomach while the back had two wide strings that crossed over the other. "It honestly can't be that bad. I tried to pick out the longest pair." She heard the door to the changing room unlock and cautiously peeked inside.
She had to curl in both of her lips to contain herself. It really was, that bad. The swim trunks were far too short, even in her opinion. They definitely showed off more than she wanted the world to see and she could feel the frustration growing inside the man before her.
"Definitely for bedroom use only..." She couldn't help herself. His glare didn't stifle the small giggle that broke past her lips. "Okay, you have my permission to transfigure them..." She stepped back out closing the door tightly, covering her mouth.
She'd would never have believed she'd ever see her former professor in such a state. Even though she'd seen all of him, on numerous occasions, something about seeing him so barely covered was much more exciting. She fanned her face and tried to calm herself down. She felt like a wicked person for forcing him to do this for her but at the same time, she was secretly enjoying the way he bent his strong will to her. It was a very intoxicating feeling and she was sure she'd never tire of it.
"Do not abuse your power, witch."
Severus stepped out slowly, his eyes narrowed. He'd replaced his white button-up with a black t-shirt and fixed his shorts to a much more reasonable length to just above his knees. It was still well over the amount of skin he'd ever shown so openly in public but he was worlds away from anyone who would recognize him. Even still, for her parents' ongoing safety, he kept the glamour in place. Securing his reputation even further.
Hermione gave him a once over before looping her arm in his, "Never." She leaned up on her toes and kissed his cheek. "I put our things down over there. Come on, we both need to just relax and let the sun melt away our stress."
"Your stress, I'm completely calm."
"Uh-huh, which is why I can see the vein at your temple pulsing?" Severus adjusted his hair briskly before giving her a small smirk. Hermione just shook her head and continued to lead him over. She let go of him to take her place on the towel she'd laid out, leaving him with the wooden lounge that was placed under the parasol. She stretched out on her stomach with a soft sigh using the towel she'd had around her waist to prop her head.
Severus watched her with wolfish eyes. She stretched out beautifully and even with the glamour over her scars he was able to appreciate the way her body looked against the sun. He let his legs reach out into the sand and relaxed slowly into the hard chair. He pulled the book from her expanded bag and began reading aloud.
oOo
By the time he'd finished the second chapter he could tell Hermione had fallen asleep. The glamour she'd cast over herself having dissolved away. He didn't pay it any mind but did cast a light sun protection spell under his breath. Her skin was already turning a nice soft tan on the one side and he wondered if he should wake her.
"Heads up!"
His eyes snapped up as someone called out. A white something was coming towards them and Severus had just a second to keep it from colliding with Hermione's head. A small spell and quick reflexes snapped the ball into his palm as three young men came running over.
"Sweet catch!"
"Sorry about that mate!"
Severus said nothing glancing at the ball for only a second before tossing it back to them.
"Hey we need a fourth bro, you wanna join us?"
"Pass."
"What about your Sheila there?"
Severus glanced down at Hermione assuming, by the man's pointed finger, that he meant her, "She's resting."
The boy's seemed to take the hint by his tone and gave each other a look, "Well if you change your mind, ya?" The boys gave him a smile before turning away.
Hermione let out a soft groan and lifted her head from the commotion just in time to watch the boys run off.
"Everything okay?"
"Nothing to worry about." Severus leaned back into his chair. "You might want to turn over though."
Hermione rubbed her face slightly, "Mmm, I am a little warm...you want to join me for a small dip?"
Severus raised his brow at her, "You know the answer."
"What if I say please?" Hermione pushed herself up into her forearms, unaware of just what an adjustment would do in her swimsuit.
Severus didn't miss it, however. His jaw twitched and he let out a slow breath. "I'm comfortable here."
"What if I say, pretty please?"
"The appearance of the please makes no difference..."
Hermione pouted but didn't push the issue, she let out a soft yawn and pushed herself up onto her knees dusting some sand from her elbows.
"I'll be right back then, maybe we should get some water? I don't want to dehydrate on our relaxation day."
"I can take care of that," Severus sat the book aside while she crawled closer, pulling her bag from beside his chair. Now that was an pleasantly uncomfortable sight. Severus cleared his mind of its traitorous ways and looked anywhere else to keep himself calm.
"Here, this should cover it. I think there's a vending machine next to the changing huts." Hermione didn't take notice of his reaction until she used his thigh to bring herself to her feet. Her eyes darted up to his heavily dilated blues and couldn't help but blush.
"I take it you like my swimsuit?"
Severus swallowed thickly, his brow twitching at her tone, "It is... acceptable."
"Uh-huh, you know I can hear you right?"
"Whose problem is that?" Taking a page from her own book he raised his brow to her even brighter blush.
"Evil, you are." She leaned down and kissed him quickly before pushing the money into his hand, "I'm going for a swim." She turned on her heel and made a point of trying to sway her hips. It was an interesting display but appreciated none the less.
Severus let out the breath he was holding and glanced to his right, the boys who had interrupted his reading were giving him a thumbs up and no doubt making rude comments to themselves. He just shook his head and pushed himself up from his chair.
Hermione pulled her hair back away from her face tying it at her neck with an elastic she'd had on her wrist. The waves came up and wet her ankles while she tied her hair and she let out a happy sigh of relief. It felt heavenly, she glanced to her right as a boy with a surfboard took to the water close to her before taking a few more steps. When the water lapped at her waist she gave a small jump and dived in.
Severus made it to the vending machine without incident, pausing only briefly behind two small kids who were having trouble deciding just what they wanted. It tested his patience but he had resigned himself to watching what they did. It had been a long time since he'd used something so, muggle, anyway. It was sort of a small blessing in disguise. When the kids finally made their purchase and ran off he pushed the coins into the machine and pressed the appropriate button. Repeating the process he pulled both bottles of water from the small opening and turned back towards the beach. His eyes lifted up briefly to check on Hermione and came to a sudden stop. He recognized the man approaching her from behind. He knew him very well. He blinked his eyes to try and make sure he was actually seeing what he was seeing.
"Hermione? Hermione Granger?"
Hermione turned in the water her finger in her ear. Her eyes widened and a bright smile lit up her face, "Neville? Is that really you?" Her eyes ran over his shirtless chest blinking at how well he'd grown into himself. Her childhood friend laughed and pushed his wet hair from his face.
"Yeah, it is. It's been years, hasn't it? How've you been?"
"Great, super..."
"I heard the about the ministry. You know I was there that day, crazy what happened."
"Yeah...it really was. So...why are you here? Don't you have classes or something?"
"Paternity leave." Neville puffed out his chest moving closer in the water before pointing over to the far side of the beach. Hermione followed his hand and smiled softly as Luna waved over to them. She was settled underneath an umbrella with two small babies at her feet happily babbling and chewing on their toys.
"Twins?"
"I know right? I was just happy to get to spend some time with them, McGonagall gave me three weeks off to spend time with them. I waited a little after the term got started but I missed them so much I had to see them you know?"
"Yeah..." Hermione's smile faltered slightly and her hand unconsciously moved over her stomach. "So...what're their names?"
"The one on the left there, it's a girl, we named her Alice after my mom, and the one on the right there, boy, his name is Francis."
"That's wonderful Neville." Hermione tried to be happy for him, she really did, but for some reason, it only hurt her more to know that another one of her friends was making something with their life.
"What about you? Any lovers or you know?" He gave her a once over noticing the way she was holding her stomach.
"Ah...no, no babies..." Hermione bit her lip her eyes darting to the man who was now sitting back under the parasol. His eyes watching them intently, "I do have a lover though..." Hermione glanced at Neville's excited face before slowly pointing her finger in Severus' direction.
Neville turned his head and nearly lost his footing in the water, "H-him?"
"Yeah." Hermione watched the boy's face pale and grimaced slightly.
"He-He looks like..."
"Yeah, I get that a lot..."
"Snape..."
"Yep..." Hermione curled her lips in, grinding her teeth slightly.
Neville went silent for a long moment before turning back to face her, "He makes you happy?"
"More than you could ever know."
"Then that's all that matters I guess..." He gave her a brave smile, "Well, I don't want to take up your vacation time, or whatever you're doing here."
"It was good to see you." She opened her arms and he happily pulled her into a hug.
"You too. Take care yeah?" Neville glanced back towards the man under the parasol before making his way out of the water towards Luna. He gave Hermione another small wave before sitting down next to his wife, giving her a small kiss.
Hermione smiled softly at the two of them before turning her eyes back to the brooding man on the beach. She gave him a small wave to which he didn't return. Her brow furrowed slightly and she started to come out of the water.
What's wrong?
Neville Longbottom? Of all the people we could possibly run into?
Relax, he doesn't know it's you. Though he did find some resemblance between, he didn't even ask your name.
A small relief.
Severus just relax.
Hermione had come to stand before him now, the water shining off of her skin in the most tantalizing way. She gave him a soft smile before leaning over him, resting her hands on the arms of his chair.
"I don't care if anyone sees me with you." She locked her eyes with his, "I didn't say anything because I know you don't want the world to see you."
Severus took a deep breath looking into her eyes for a long time. He turned his head away from her and scowled in the direction of the happy couple. Neither one paying either one of them any mind. He looked back into Hermione's expectant face before lowering his eyes to her lips.
"I suppose you want a kiss? Mark your territory if you will?"
"You don't have to be so snarky about it." She pushed his knee with her own before pushing herself up from his chair. "I think, I want to even out my tan, then go home and take a nice long bath with the man who stole my heart." Hermione shifted over to the towel and laid down on her back reaching over to pull her sunglasses out of her bag, "If you want to be grumpy that's your choice. Though I would very much like to hear more about Pip, I understand if you just want to sit and brood."
"I don't brood."
"Could have fooled me." Hermione pushed her sunglasses onto her face before resting back against her towel. She huffed softly and tilted her face slightly away from him and towards the sun. She understood what his problem was but she wasn't going to let him continuously push himself down into the dark recesses of his mind either. One day, he was going to be ready to show himself to the world, maybe not that day, but someday, she just had to make sure she kept pushing him in that direction.
oOo
Hermione dried under the afternoon sun, it was starting to shift and catch more of her left side than her right. She turned her head slowly and let out a soft sigh. "Did you get the water?"
"Of course." Severus had gone to reading silently though he'd raised his walls to allow Hermione to listen in, he wasn't giving her the satisfaction of hearing his deep voice. He reached down to the other side of his chair and placed a bottle of water into her outstretched hand. Hermione thanked him kindly and rolled onto her side to take a drink.
"I feel so warm, it's so nice." Hermione took a few large gulps, "Almost as nice as waking up pressed against you every morning." She gave him a small smile.
"So you've said." He gave her a sideways look.
"Ah, come on, please don't ruin the mood. I was just starting to relax." She took another drink, her face going into full guilt trip mode. She glanced behind her to find that Neville and Luna had moved on somewhere else, "They're not even here anymore."
"They left about 30 minutes ago."
"You were watching them?"
"No."
"Liar."
"Know-it-all."
"Shut up and give me the kiss you owe me." Hermione leaned up over the arm of his chair and puckered her lips.
Severus rolled his eyes and leaned down gave her a gentle kiss. Hermione hummed against him and smiled softly. "Mine."
"As if anyone else would have me." Severus jumped when she smacked his chest and gave her a small glare.
She rolled her eyes at him before shifting back onto her towel, "Let's go home."
Severus' jaw twitched and he closed the book in his lap, "I apologize."
"It's alright." Hermione pulled herself up to her feet, picking up her towel shaking out the sand lightly. "The sun is setting anyway, I think I'm as tan as I'm going to get."
Severus actually felt guilty, truly guilty, he looked down at his lap before shifting to his feet. "Hermione."
She raised her brow to him folding up the towel in her arms. He reached out towards her and she came closer. He cupped her cheek and thumbed her bottom lip. He leaned his head down gently tilting her head up and gave her a proper kiss, a slow, meaningful kiss. He felt her shoulders relax and her body come closer, the tension of their small spat washing away.
"I am sorry."
"I know and I knew what I signed up for," She brushed the back of his cheek with her fingers, "I still love you, snark and all." She gave him a gentle rub on his chest before turning her head back down, "Come on, let's go home, I'll rub your back in the tub."
