Author's Note: Thank you all for reading and reviewing! Some reviews have indicated mixed guesses about Hermione's reaction regarding the Sequitur Simul. It's time for the big reveal!

November 1999

"Done," Severus said.

"Done! I'm so happy. And," Hermione continued coyly, "I think that deserves a gift."

Severus raised an eyebrow at her. "I seem to recall you liking my gifts."

She raised her hands to draw him down to herself and they kissed. He put his hands around her waist and moaned when he felt her fingers wind through his hair and the feel of her breasts pressing against his chest.

It was then that Severus heard the cough, coming from an empty frame near the fireplace. Severus ended the kiss and looked up to the ceiling, taking a deep breath.

Severus looked at her. "Hermione," he said softly, "I love you." His hands held tight to her sides.

She smiled at him. "I love you, too." She searched his eyes and frowned. "What is going on? Why do I hear a 'but'?"

"No, there's no but, Hermione. I love you. I need to tell you something." He paused. "I need to show you something. We need a pensieve for it. We're going to Minerva's office."

Severus threw some floo powder into the fireplace and they both watched as the fire turned green. He gestured for Hermione to go first and watched as she called out, "Minerva's office" and spun out of sight.

When he stepped out of the fire in Minerva's office, it was a stony-faced Hermione that met him.

"Where's Minerva?"

"I asked her to give us her office for an hour tonight." He looked around and was also pleased that Phineas had convinced the other portraits to give them privacy as well.

Severus stepped toward the pensieve and she asked, "Are we watching a memory? Together?"

"Yes." He poured the memory that he had bottled up earlier that day into the pensieve. He looked at her and watched her bite her lip and then put her face into the swirling substance. A moment later, he landed next to her in the Department of Mysteries.

They both watched as Severus entered the room and cast the Homenum Revelio. After a minute, he watched Hermione's face frown, perplexed as she watched her own spell fail. Then her eyes got wide and she looked back at Severus at Luna's understanding. She watched him heal her and talk to Luna. After another few minutes, they returned to Minerva's office.

"Explain," Hermione said, emotionless.

"Hermione, come sit," Severus began.

"No, just explain."

Severus steeled himself for the rocky path he was about to walk. "Sequitur Simul."

"A spell?" she asked, confused.

"Not a spell. It's magic, communicating something."

"Magic does not communicate," she responded, nettled.

"You know that's not true. Your best friend's wand knew its twin. Staircases move to accommodate or thwart you."

"What, exactly, is that communicating? And why did Luna recognize it?" Hermione's voice was devoid of emotion, and Severus knew this was not going to end well.

"Luna recognized it because Luna's family is well versed in obscure magical lore." He paused. "Sequitur Simul signifies that your magic knows my magic, calls out to my magic, and vice versa. Like calls to like."

"And you've known this since that day?"

"Yes."

She blinked, looking slightly down and away, thinking hard and not meeting his eyes. "That's why you helped my parents. You've been doing all of this because of a spell?"

"No, Hermione." His hands tensed at his side reflexively with the stress that was building. "You've been with me, Hermione. You've had the same conversations, the same experiences with me. No one has been under a spell. It's knowledge."

She finally looked back at him. "Knowledge that you've kept from me. For years!"

"How exactly do you bring this up to someone?" His voice was getting louder. "Here's the book you wanted, our magics might be intertwined."

"But you've known! And you've done... everything... you've made choices... because of this knowledge."

Severus stayed silent. It was the truth. He had navigated his life to be near hers all because of this knowledge.

"Is that why you saved my li-"

"Do not finish that question," he growled, and she fell silent, staring at the ground. He felt as though he had been slapped. He stared at her face, so devoid of the feelings from ten minutes prior. He willed himself to say what needed to be said. "I have had time to come to grips with something I didn't ask for and didn't understand. My goal tonight was to put us on even ground. I've done that." He ran his hands through his hair. "I am leaving you two more memories. Watch them or don't. I have not done anything with this knowledge except to seek you out, try to get to know you. You are free to make your own choices. You have been free to make your own choices every day."

Severus deflated somewhat as Hermione continued to stare at the ground, arms crossed. "I'll let you be." The click of the door behind him as he left Minerva's office felt very final to him.

The next morning was a Sunday, and as Severus entered the Great Hall, he was unsurprised to see Hermione's empty seat. He sat down between Hermione's seat and Minerva's, which was also empty. After ten minutes, Minerva entered the Great Hall and took her seat next to Severus.

"I just said goodbye to Hermione."

Severus nodded.

"I would have not expected her reaction to this, Severus. She is usually more logical than this. But she'll be back. Sequitur Simul," she began.

"Damn the Sequitur Simul," Severus growled. "I don't care what obscure magic says right now. I care about Hermione."

Minerva studied him for a moment. "Then she'll definitely be back."

Severus picked up his notebook that night, wondering if it would ever glow again.

.

You are not a feather being magicked into the air; you are not a teacup being transfigured at whim. Your magic is you. And your magic is beautiful to me. -S

.

Monday morning, Severus went down to breakfast early out of habit. The emptiness of the Great Hall at that hour, coupled with the chair sitting empty to his right, compounded his loneliness since Hermione had left. He was about to leave after only a few minutes when Pigwidgeon landed sloppily next to a jug of pumpkin juice then immediately took flight once more near Severus' face. Severus was able to reign him in and take the small scroll from his leg. He fed Pig a small bite of toast to calm him while he read the note.

Severus,

The Leaky Cauldron, Saturday at 8. Hermione won't be there. Just guys.

Harry

Severus re-read the parchment. Half of him was surprised. This obviously wasn't about plots and plans if Hermione wasn't going to be there. The other half of him wasn't surprised at all. These were good people. And they genuinely seemed to care about him within the context of Severus and Hermione, but they also seemed to like him for himself. He sent Pig on his way with a reply that he would meet them on Saturday.

When Saturday arrived, he used the fireplace in Minerva's office to floo to The Leaky Cauldron. Instead of a loud table set for ten, he found them sitting around a table in a secluded spot in the corner: Harry, Ron, George, Bill and Draco. Every time he saw Draco sitting with these men, it reminded him that the war was worth it and that lives were changed for the better. This group was a definite upgrade from Crabbe and Goyle.

Harry spotted him first and waved at him. Severus found his empty seat between George and Bill.

Harry cast a Muffliato and then quickly looked at Severus, clearly remembering that Severus invented that spell.

Severus raised an eyebrow in response but let it pass.

Draco dove right in. "Shit week, huh?"

"You could say that," Severus answered. "Have you seen Hermione?" This was asked to the table at large.

There were some nervous laughs and a lot of looks around the table.

"Yes." Harry said. "Most of us were at the Burrow last Sunday for dinner. She has words. Lots of them. Not a lot of us got a word in edgewise. It's just tough because there are a couple things Hermione hates: feeling like she knows less because she's Muggleborn…"

At this, Ron groaned. "Merlin, why did it have to be Luna that knew something she didn't?"

George whistled low. "It was Luna? Oh, damn."

Harry continued, "And she absolutely hates Divination. And this feels 'wooly' like Divination to her. She's been going through the library at Grimmauld and Draco even took her to Malfoy Manor to look through books to see if she can find anything out about this thing."

"She actually did great coming to the Manor," Draco reassured Severus, who looked shocked that Hermione would step foot in Malfoy Manor. "I took her in through the back gardens and my parents have redecorated most of the place. You wouldn't recognize it."

Severus nodded.

"She's upset at you," Bill said, "for withholding the information, but I really don't think she thinks you could have told her earlier. She's very conflicted about it all."

"When something like this happens," Ron contemplated, "there are really only three responses: 'suck it up', 'let's fix it', or to just be present and sit with them in whatever emotion they're feeling."

"Grown-ups call that 'empathy', Ron," George joked.

"Ron and I," Harry took over, "were both thinking, 'go fix it.' So Ron tells Hermione to go talk to you and work out your problems."

Severus looked at Ron, who raised his pint in salute to Severus. Severus was touched that Ron would go to bat for him.

"Listen," said Ron, "you make her happy. You know that, right?"

Severus didn't respond, but next to him Bill nodded, as well as Harry.

"We like happy Hermione. Angry Hermione is a," but Ron stopped at the dark look from Severus. "A lovely girl," Ron finished lamely.

Draco snorted. "Angry Hermione has a mean right hook. Happy Hermione is a lot nicer."

"Yeah, well, anyway," continued Harry. "Ron's solid advice didn't go so well. What were her exact words, Ron?"

"I think it was something along the lines of, 'Shut the hell up, Ron.'"

Everyone laughed.

"My lovely wife," said Bill, "went the 'suck-it-up' route and encouraged Hermione to accept the gift of the magic - 'si romantique' - and that she was 'being foolish.'"

The whole table groaned then started laughing. Severus did not laugh.

"Why am I always missing the good stuff?" asked George, wide-eyed.

"Because you picked your hot girlfriend over family dinner, loser," Draco deadpanned.

"Git. Who invited you?" George teased.

"What did Hermione say?" Severus asked, curious.

Ron and Harry looked at each other and said at the same time, "Shut the hell up, Fleur."

"Was Fleur upset?" George asked Bill, shocked.

"Oh no," Bill said casually. "She thinks 'Ze English are so cute when zhey are angry.'"

"Which only made Hermione angrier," Ron laughed.

"Yeah," continued Harry, "so Ginny and I are being the grown-up empathizers this time. Which means I sit silently. Ginny is just letting her be mad - and every other emotion all at the same time - and talk it all out. But we know she misses you. Ginny thinks she'll come 'round. We all do."

At this, everyone at the table nodded solemnly.

"It's just going to take some time," Bill added.

Severus looked across the table at Draco. "You were there, Draco?"

"Oh yes. Never seen anything like it. I should have hung out with more Gryffindors at Hogwarts."

"What did you say to Hermione?" Severus was genuinely curious.

"Say?" asked Draco, confused. "I didn't say anything! I can preemptively tell myself to shut the hell up, unlike these people." He then looked around at the Gryffindors. "Self-preservation isn't a big priority with Gryffindors, is it?"

Harry, Ron, George and Bill all looked at each other, contemplating, then answered all at once.

"No."