Author's Note: Can you believe we're at the end? Only the epilogue left after this chapter!

December 1999

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-Congratulations. I read your submission in Challenges in Charming. Your application of the apparition charm will greatly benefit MLE and the Aurors. Filius keeps quoting it at meals to anyone who will listen. - S

Thank you. -H

-I hope you are well. I think of you often. -S

I think of you too. I just don't know what's true anymore. -H

-Will you be at the Ministry's Yule Ball? -S

Harry is making me go. -H

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Severus already knew that Harry was making her go. He and Harry had been making quieter "plots and plans" over owl post. There wasn't much anyone could do, but all Severus needed was to see her in person. To remind Hermione that as angry as she was at him, that they used to be friends.

He traveled by floo to the Ministry, where the grand atrium had been set up for the Annual Yule Ball. It was filled with Ministry workers, large donors, war heroes and the like. The only perk to being a war hero was the invitation that was in his pocket for this event. He had needed a built-in way to see Hermione and it had arrived by owl three weeks prior. Instead of vanishing it immediately like he had one year ago, he instead pocketed it and sent an owl off to Harry. Harry had said that it hadn't been easy, but that Hermione had finally agreed to go. He also warned Severus that Hermione had told Harry to "stop the damn twinkling and meddling" and that Hermione hadn't softened much toward Severus.

Severus had arrived near the middle of the event. Just because he needed the event didn't mean he wanted to ruin his whole night. He found Hermione easily. She was sitting with Harry at a table off to the side while Ginny was dancing with Neville. Severus prayed that she would stand up and let him look at her properly, because what he could see of her dress was enough to hope he didn't trip walking over to her. It was a perfect dark green that made her skin glow and it came up only on one shoulder, leaving the other one bare. He had never seen her dressed like that and for the millionth time he wondered why he had been gifted to be matched with her. He watched her through a few songs. He watched her dance with Neville and Harry, but no other men approached her. Spineless, unworthy fools. She was left to sit alone again, and he knew it was time.

She eyed him nervously as he walked toward her and stood in front of her.

"Will you dance with me?"

Hermione nodded but looked wary. She took his outstretched hand.

They moved out onto the dance floor and he placed his other hand on her side as her other hand rested on his shoulder. This is where he wanted to be. This is where he wanted to be forever. He silently prayed that she would listen to him tonight.

"I've missed you, Hermione."

"I've missed you, too," she said softly.

"I have a solution."

"A solution? To what?"

"I have the truth," he said enigmatically.

Hermione looked skeptical. "Severus, this isn't something we can just," she began, but he forestalled her.

"You look beautiful tonight, Hermione."

Hermione sighed. "Thank you, but-"

"I especially like your earrings." He smiled at her.

"My earrings?"

"Yes," he reached up as if to touch her earring. "Oh my. Look what I found behind your earring." Severus performed a slight-of-hand trick and when he drew his hand back, there was a small crystal vial in his palm.

She stopped dancing and smiled, despite herself.

"It's magic," he whispered.

"I'm not very fond of magic at the moment," she said frankly. "What in the world are you up to, Severus?"

He placed the vial in the palm of her hand and wrapped her hand around the small vial. "It's veritaserum. Our veritaserum, to be specific."

She opened her hand and looked at the vial with the label that she had written a year prior. She looked up at him.

He placed his hands out again to restart the dance. She put her hand in his, her other hand holding the vial and resting on his shoulder.

"So," he began, "our choices: we can pour that whole vial into that monstrosity of a punch bowl and have one hell of a night finding out who is sleeping with whom in the Ministry."

She mirrored his smirk. "Or, if we don't want the ministry to implode? What's behind door number two?"

"Behind door number two is the truth. The truth from me. And the truth from you. You know I'm not immune." He paused. "We know you're not immune," he deadpanned.

She stepped on his foot in retaliation, but she was trying not to smile.

"Ow. Watch your feet, woman," he teased. He looked up as the music faded and couples all around them were wandering off the dance floor. He lowered his hand from her side and lowered their joined hands, but kept holding on to her hand. "Come talk with me, Hermione. Come yell at me. Hex me. Just come. Let's find the truth."

Hermione looked into his eyes and nodded. "Where? Now? I came with Harry and Ginny," she began.

He followed her line of sight and found Harry. Harry caught Hermione looking for him and cut a path straight to her.

"Severus," Harry greeted. "Hermione, are you all right?"

"We're going to go talk. I'll floo home from Hogwarts later. You and Ginny have fun."

"Thanks, Hermione. I'm glad. That's good, it's good. I'm glad."

Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry. "Leave, Harry. Go find Ginny."

Harry smiled sheepishly. "Love you, Hermione."

"Love you, too."

Hermione turned back to Severus. "I'm ready."

Severus put his hand on Hermione's back and walked with her to the Ministry fireplaces. "Floo to Minerva's Office. She's in her office waiting. She's expecting me and a few others to use her fireplace tonight." He watched as Hermione stepped into the flames calling out Minerva's office as her destination. He followed suit and moments later stepped out onto Minerva's rug.

"Evening, Severus," Minerva intoned from behind her desk. "You and Hermione are the last ones back. I'm going to ward the fireplace and go to bed. You know the password to the office when Hermione wants to floo back. Goodnight, Hermione, Severus."

"Goodnight, Minerva," they both replied. They left Minerva's office and made their way silently down to the dungeons. Severus opened the door to his quarters from his office and they made their way inside as they had so many times before.

He sat on the couch and was hopeful when she took her end of the couch instead of the wingback chair. She was sitting rather more stiffly than normal, but that was probably a combination of nerves and her dress. How was he supposed to concentrate on important issues with that damn dress driving him mad?

"Why are you doing this, Severus?"

"Best friends, Hermione. We were there before - before I had romantic feelings for you, I was - I still am - fiercely loyal to you as a friend. You said it yourself months ago. There aren't a lot of us who understand everything. You may not like how we got there, but I want my friend back. Now. Not months from now, not years from now. If I never," his throat stuck as he was about to talk about not having her as a partner, the lover and wife he had fantasized about. He knew that what he was about to say was true, but would kill him. "If I never get a romantic partner back but could have you as a friend, that would be enough." He ran his hand through his hair and muttered, "Shit," under his breath as the thought of losing her hit him again.

Hermione swallowed and still looked sad. "What else do I not know?"

Severus didn't hesitate. "I entered your wards disillusioned the night Harry retrieved the sword. Life at Hogwarts was miserable. I just wanted to be reminded that there was one person in the world who didn't hate me." He paused. "You felt me breach the wards, but the wards were obviously still up. I stood watching you for a few minutes and then left when Harry reentered."

Hermione breathed in and leaned her head back onto the couch. "And you knew you could because of the Sequitur Simul. All the wards understand Sequitur Simul. We were just there, Severus. You could have told me."

"I know."

"What else?"

Severus shook his head. "That's it. You know everything else. What have you found out about Sequitur Simul? Harry said you've been reading."

"Nothing. Just that it exists. It's like the magic harnessed in the Mirror of Erised. No one knows why or how."

"Okay."

"And that doesn't upset you?" she asked, incredulous.

"I think it's normal!" he challenged, raking his hand through his hair.

"How can you think this is normal? Magic tells you we're alike and that's the impetus for getting to know me. And that's normal?"

"What's so different?" His volume was rising to match hers. "If Harry had introduced us on a blind date and said, 'Hey Hermione, I know this man who is really smart and will actually be able to understand and appreciate the big words you use', would that be better? This is how people get to know one another and become friends, Hermione. They figure out that they are like each other. You're just upset because I had a shortcut and that shortcut was a smarter friend than Harry nudging me in the right direction. But if you like me even as an acquaintance that you would say hello to in the street, you'd better be damn grateful for that shortcut. Just the thought, the mere suggestion that you and I are in any way compatible scraped years or decades off of the process of me becoming 'relaxed, not-a-little-shit Severus' in front of you." He left the couch and kneeled in front of her, placing his hands on either side of her legs. They were now practically eye level. "Is there any part of you, Hermione, that is grateful for the Sequitur Simul? Because I am so thankful. Just knowing that magic thought we were alike gave me hope through some very dark days." Severus deflated slightly, still looking at her. "No one forced me to fall in love with you. And no one forced you to come down to my dungeons week after week to spend time with me. No one coerced you to seek me out for your projects." He thought for a moment and smirked. "Actually, that's not true. Filius could have helped you more than he let on, but he knew something."

Hermione looked livid. And when Severus smiled, she looked even more livid.

"He knew that I was fond of you. And he felt that you were fond of me, too. He knows nothing of the Sequitur Simul. Normal people can see these things even without magic. Maybe we would have figured it out all on our own, but I'm not sure, because I can be a stubborn arse even with magic helping me. And so can you." His thumbs rubbed the sides of her legs softly. "I should have told you about the Sequitur Simul earlier, gods, so many times I started to tell you. But I knew you would be upset to think you had been kept in the dark about something and I knew you would have the same feelings I did when I first learned of it. I just didn't know how to tell you. But as I came to know you better, the Sequitur Simul simply became confirmation of what I already knew as a man. That my magic calls out to your magic because your magic is you and you are so very attractive to me."

Hermione smiled at him, a genuine smile, for the first time since she had entered his quarters.

Severus' gut unclenched slightly as hope reentered that she still loved him. He reached out for her hands was relieved when she put her hands in his. He smiled when he found that the bottle of veritaserum was still tightly clutched in one. She rolled her eyes at him and smiled back.

Hermione looked at Severus and sobered. "I'm so sorry I accused you of saving me only because of Sequitur Simul. That was horrible. I don't think that. I would never think that of you."

Severus nodded. "If you watched my memories, you know that I wasn't at my best when I found out either."

Hermione smirked. "Ahhh yes, like telling Dumbledore how you weren't attracted to me?"

Severus narrowed his eyes at her. "You were seventeen. You know exactly what I meant." He grabbed the veritaserum. "It's time."

Confused, Hermione said, "We don't need that Severus. I know you are telling me the truth."

Severus watched her shock grow as he took the cork out of the vial.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I want you to take some, too. I have some questions for you," he teased. He shook two drops into his mouth and then shook two drops into Hermione's mouth when she smiled and opened her mouth as well. Her eyebrows rose as she felt the potency level of the potion.

"Why did you wear that dress, Hermione?"

"Because I wanted you to like it and I wanted to see if other men found me attractive. I wanted to see if I was in control, if I could find other men as attractive as I find you."

"Did other men approach you tonight?"

"Not one."

"They think you're beautiful, Hermione, but you are out of their league and they know it. You intimidate men."

"Do I intimidate you, Severus?"

"No."

"Do you like my dress?"

"I haven't been able to take my eyes off of you all night. So beautiful."

Hermione smiled. "What would you like to do, Severus?"

At this, she stood and Severus followed suit, looking his fill of Hermione from her hair in an elegant updo to her silver shoes.

"I would like to kiss you. I would like to peel that dress off of you inch by inch and make love to you. I love you, Hermione. Do you love me?"

"Yes. So much yes."

They looked at each other and she blushed as the feeling of the Veritaserum faded. As he reached out to put his hands around her waist, her arms came around his neck and he kissed her. He poured all of his longing, all of the pain of being without her for a month into the kiss. After a few minutes had passed, he grudgingly stopped kissing her and used the hands on her waist to put space between them.

She smiled softly. "Who am I to say no to magic?"

"Hermione, will you go on a date with me?"

She traced his lips with her finger as she studied him. She nodded and he kissed her finger on his lips.

He took her hands and took a step back so that he could look at her once more in her dress.

Hermione smiled knowingly. "I'll keep this dress safe, too."