Hermione was perfecting her curls in the mirror as Severus walked into the room, situating his cuffs. She swayed and tilted her head. "Do you have your mask?" she asked.
"Oh, yes," he chuckled.
"You look so very handsome," Hermione mumbled as she felt the heat build in her cheeks.
He shook his head while approaching her in the mirror. "Had I known that you appreciated," he paused and removed a curl from her neck to graze his lips against it as he spoke. "To play roles, we could have done this sooner," he finished with a whisper.
Her whole body shivered, and she blinked. "Okay, wait, just stop," she huffed and pivoted. "We have to be presentable tonight," she laughed and traced her fingers over the elegant coat.
"What other fantasies lie within this mind?" Severus smirked as he stroked her cheek with a single finger.
Hermione took a step back and inhaled. "Severus, stop toying with me," she pouted.
He let out a full and deep laugh. "Oh, my darling, you're so easily strung for me—a symphony of sighs and inspiration. The beautiful words housed within this gorgeous form and mind," Severus ended in a rumbling.
Hermione sighed and gestures for him to bend. Severus complied, and Hermione traced her fingers through his hair, pulling it back from his face. She nodded, and her expression turned genuine and tender.
"You make a very handsome Opera Ghost, Severus," She murmured.
"Not quite, I do need a mask," he mumbled.
Hermione kissed his lips and rocked her head. "Yes, and thank you for caving to my whims for this."
He ran his thumb over her chin. "I happen to enjoy the metaphors in such a tale."
Hermione slanted her head in the slightest. "The concept of creativity can be innocent or destructive, depending on the perception of the force?"
"Close," Severus stood up. "The bindings and masks we all wear either shelter us from the world or corrupt our vision of morality. Each one of us bears a burden, and the Phantom is the only one who is honest about his own."
She beamed and caressed his cloak's fur. "You're my favorite companion, Severus."
He dug in his coat and pulled out the porcelain mask, fixing it to his face. "And you, my dearest Hermione, are mine."
Hermione mended her skirt and glanced up at the towering form. Severus was remarkably handsome, and she had thought twice over about the mistake she had made. Had she realized how intensely she would feel about this costume set, she would have picked something more whimsical.
"This casting of our costumes is an ill omen. You recognize," Severus hummed as he fixed his gloves. "The Phantom is a gruesome man."
Hermione smirked and tilted her head. "Yes, of course. Let's call this a gentle reimagining. Less death and more music," she laughed.
He snorted and shook his head. "Oh, girl, you are never dull."
She glanced up at the tall house and breathed. "Are you ready to face them?"
The snow had fluttered around them in speckled natural glitter. "I shall if you intend. I am here for you."
Hermione breathed and reached her white-gloved hand toward his bare cheek. "Oh, Sev, you are an exceptional man."
He met her as he caressed her jawline as he deepened the kiss. It was glorious, and Hermione whimpered as his free hand ran inside her red cloak against her torso. His right hand left her face and pulled away enough to flick his wand. With sheer skill, a red rose appeared as he grasped the stem and handed it to her.
Hermione's cheeks darkened as she took it and sighed.
"You are quite beautiful," he murmured.
"Are you two going to stand in the snow all night?" Ginny's voice called out.
Hermione jerked and turned to see her standing at the door. Severus held out his arm, and Hermione kept the same pace as they strode up the walkway.
Ginny in her golden jumpsuit scowled. "What are you two?"
"A muggle tale," Hermione laughed. "What are you?"
Ginny turned around, and golden wings fluttered. "The golden snitch," she beamed.
"Is Harry a Seeker?" Severus asked with an arched eyebrow.
"James picked it for him," Ginny smirked.
Ginny ushered them inside, and Hermione's nose was assaulted with the savory and sweet smells of Molly's cooking. Severus took her hand within his, and she felt the tension. He was nervous. Hermione squeezed back with a shake— she was here.
"Hermione! You look fantastic!" Harry exclaimed as he skipped over. "Oh, Severus, I didn't recognize you," he laughed.
Harry was in his old school uniform with a small broom in hand.
Severus ran his free hand over his vest and hummed. "It was her concept."
"Where are the children?" Hermione questioned the Potters.
"Outside bobbing for apples and running from the hay dragon that Charlie made. We set up a nice area that's warm enough for them to enjoy the night," Ginny informed with her wings flickering.
Hermione glanced at Severus. "You want to go watch them?"
Severus nodded, and the Potters grinned and waved them along. They followed through the sitting room and into the kitchen. Molly was at the stove, swishing her wand. When she caught sight of Hermione, she mended her apron and held up her wand. "Not so fast, young lady," she puffed.
The Potters cringed and waved; this wasn't going to be the most pleasant conversation. Molly approached just as they left out the door. Severus straightened his posture as Molly eyed them.
"You didn't write. You didn't tell me about any of this," Molly puffed.
"Molly," Severus started.
"No, Severus, I could have supported her. I know how you are," she paused and wagged her index finger at him. "You can be a dragon with a bellyache, and she should have told me."
"Molly, she was respecting my wishes to keep things between us for a brief period," Snape murmured.
Molly exhaled and pouted. "This is quite unprecedented, Severus. Are you both on common ground? I sent a Howler to Kingsley because of this rubbish."
Hermione waved her hand and groaned. "Mum, you didn't have to. We are extremely compatible. It worked in our favor."
"What?" Molly scowled.
"Yes," Severus cleared his throat. "We are quite compatible."
"So, you won't be disavowing?" Molly asked.
They shook their heads in unison.
Molly covered her mouth. "You're getting married?"
"Now, mum, don't," Hermione couldn't finish.
"Oh, we can plan for it in December! A lovely snowy wedding! Oh, it could be just lovely. Of course, it would have to be soon; you'll need to get settled in."
Severus arched his eyebrow. He should have been ready for her swift shift in direction, but it had been several years.
"Mum!" Hermione shouted. "We haven't even decided when!"
Molly bristled and smoothed out her apron. "Well, dear, you don't have to shout. It was just an idea. You have to plan for the baby. You both will make quite smart and lovely children. Oh, dear, it would be so nice to have another baby around. I do love them so."
Hermione pressed her fingers to her forehead. "Mum, can we wait to talk about this?"
"You have five months," Molly hummed. "That's not plenty of time to have a wedding and be ready for a child."
Severus bent to Hermione. "Why don't you go see the children?"
Hermione bounced her head. "Just, don't get carried away, Mum," she warned the Weasley matriarch.
Severus watched Hermione leave the house and breathed, and Molly squared him in her sights. "Molly," he spoke.
"Severus, you best be taking care of her," Molly glared as she waved an index finger at him.
"I have been doing my utmost to do so," he assured her.
Molly tapped her foot and twitched her nose. "Are you concerned?"
Severus shook his head. "But I don't want her to stress. Stress makes it fairly difficult for witches to conceive."
Molly covered her lips as her pink cheeks turned scarlet. "Already?"
Severus groaned and nodded. "Not that I want to delve into my personal affairs, but yes. It was either that or plan for a quick wedding. She has expressed her worry about it and explained her mother had difficulties as well. I'm going to take care of her, Molly."
"This," Molly sighed. "All of this is chaos and difficulty. She was just a girl when you were teaching her."
"And we've spoken about that as well," he said through his teeth. "We are compatible, I promise you. Will you trust me with the task of caring for her now? Let me do my job as her partner."
Molly sunk her shoulders and nodded. "Alright, Severus. Please, don't hurt her? I can't lose another child, blood or not. We were so worried about losing her after the war ended. She just disappeared."
Severus thinned his lips and twitched his nose, causing the mask to wiggle. "I understand I contributed to plenty of her disengagement after the war. She's given me her scolding thoughts several times. However, I have been contrite, open, and willing to make her as joyous as she possibly can. Do you mind if we consider an alliance for her happiness? I love her," he confessed and held out his hand.
"You love her?" Molly gasped.
"I do, for several reasons, but the root of it is because she is perfect," Severus nodded.
Molly cried out and wrapped the towering Potion Master in a massive embrace. "Oh, Severus! This is marvelous news! I'm so happy I could cry!"
Severus winced and patted her on the back awkwardly. "Yes, yes, it's all charming," he exhaled.
Molly held him in front of her and stared up at him. "Oh, you will have to let me help with the baby! Severus, you've found happiness. No one ever thought you would find it. We are all family, and Harry was concerned you would stay alone and mourn ghosts. This is such wonderful news."
"Yes, you will help with the baby," he grumbled.
Molly beamed and bobbed her head. "Why don't you go mingle and enjoy the party? I'm going to finish these biscuits, and we'll talk about the wedding at the next dinner, alright?"
Severus just agreed and moved toward the door. The Weasley matriarch was humming and in decent spirits. At least that was one potential fire put out. He stepped out onto the porch, and his symbolic ruffled feathers were soothed. Hermione was skipping around with the children holding the train of her dress. It was by far the sweetest imagery he had seen from her to date.
Harry waved him over to a small fire were the rest of the adults were sitting. The snow hadn't settled and stuck, but the air outside of the torches seemed to be chilly. Most of the adults were in vibrate colored outfits with masks, nothing singularly declaring a factual costume. Of course, if you were raised in the wizarding world without the muggle influence, costumes take on a variance. Severus suddenly felt overdressed.
Severus moved toward the Potters, and the witch next to George stood up.
"Severus Snape," she said with a smile and reached to take his hand. "George told me you were coming," she greeted him.
Severus breathed and ran his hand over his vest before shaking her offered fingers. "Yes, Hermione was quite adamant."
Bill hemmed. "That's Angelina if you don't remember. This is my wife, Fleur. Percy and Penelope are over helping their children, and Victoire, carve pumpkins. Dad is," Bill glanced around and nodded. "Over there with Fred tinkering with some muggle toy Harry brought."
Severus hummed and waved. This wasn't the easiest.
"Come sit, we have some ales and are enjoying the sunset," Harry insisted.
"Aunt Hermione! Look!" A small boy shouted.
Hermione paused her, skipping and kneeled next to the boy with teal hair. It turned orange and black, and she giggled and hugged him. Severus breathed and relaxed as his lips curled. She was having a decent time.
"I told you, he's barmy about her," George hissed to Angelina loud enough for Snape to hear.
"How did that happen?" Angelina asked and drew Severus's attention.
"This bill," he mused. "It's all quite simple if you saw the compatibility rating."
"Ninety-eight," Bill affirmed.
"Both of them are that compatible? I'm not even that compatible with George!" Angelina laughed and nudged him.
Fleur was speaking in French to Bill, who nodded. She had said how unusual the pairing was. Severus hummed and answered back with agreement. That started a whole new whirlwind as she gasped and jumped up, speaking swiftly. When she rounded the fire, she had already declared how much she noticed Hermione smiling more.
"I didn't know you knew any other language that git, Snape," George snickered.
Severus glared at him and exhaled.
Fleur smiled and touched his arm before gesturing to his mask. She appreciated the costume and noted the genuine look of it. Severus smiled and pointed at Hermione before explaining it was her idea, and he enjoyed the book with vim as a child. Fleur laughed and batted her eyelashes dramatically while holding her hands together before saying it was spot on, and he made a decent Phantom.
"Wow, I think you just won my wife over. I better be careful, or he might steal her as well," Bill chuckled.
"She'd have to fight me first, and I might win," Hermione laughed as her arm wormed around Severus's.
Fleur giggled and continued in French with a bounce of her head. She liked them both together. They were well-matched and a handsome couple. Hermione replied in agreement with a smile, and Severus arched an eyebrow.
"Had I know you spoke French, we would have used it more," He smirked.
Hermione scowled as she shifted. "I know three languages. Thank you."
"Here I thought there wasn't going to be any more surprises," He replied.
"What the bloody hell?"
Hermione winced and pulled her arm away from Severus. "Ronald," she puffed when turning.
Ron skipped out to the lawn and wrapped her in his arms with a smile. "Hermione! Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"
Hermione shook her head when he set her down. "I wanted to surprise everyone."
Ron glanced at Severus and could only see the profile with the mask. "Who's this? Is he who're paired with?"
Severus turned, and Ron's face dropped. "Yes, Mr. Weasley, I am."
Ron stepped back as his brows sunk. "You got matched with this slimy git, and you didn't even tell me?" Ron growled as he glared at Hermione.
Hermione breathed and held out her hand. "Ron, just hold on."
"No, that's ridiculous! Wasn't there something in the law to prevent this? Merlin, Hermione, I hope you aren't planning on having kids with him. That's absolutely repulsive," Ron snapped.
"Ron!" Hermione declared.
"No, you tell me that you have that paperwork done, Hermione. No slimy awful git is going to make you happy. See, this is why Padma has been asking you to come to meet her brother. You wouldn't be in this disgusting mess," Ron glared as he shook his head.
Hermione held up her index finger as she howled. "Don't you ever talk poorly about him, Ronald Bilius Weasley! He's going to be my husband and the father of my bloody children! Do you understand me? Severus Snape is my partner, and it's no one's bloody business to have a rubbish opinion on! This is precisely why I didn't tell you, and if you were half as intelligent as him, you wouldn't be treating him so poorly!"
The whole yard was silent. Even the children stopped.
Ron blinked and nodded. "Okay, Hermione. Merlin, I'm sorry."
Severus adjusted his vest and held out his hand. "Mr. Weasley."
Ron grimaced.
"Ron, man up, mate," Harry huffed.
Ron took the offered hand and shook it. "I'm sorry," he grumbled.
"Apology accepted."
Ron winced at the hand that smacked the back of his head. "What were you thinking?" Padma asked with an incredulous tone. "Don't treat people's husbands like that, Ronald. That type of ballocks landed you on the couch when you upset my mother last week." She paused and rocked the child in her arms before glancing at Hermione. "I'm so sorry, Hermione. He's been in a bloody mood since Aryan's been teething."
Severus ran his fingers over her shoulder, and Hermione sighed. "It was a surprise, we understand."
Ron puffed and rocked on his feet. "How's about a drink, Snape?" He mumbled.
Severus nodded. "That sounds applicable."
"Hermione?" Ron asked as he wandered around the fire toward the ice chest.
"No, thank you, Ron," Hermione murmured.
"Not even some butterbeer? Hermione, are you off drinking?" George asked as they converged closer to the fire.
"Oh, no, I just don't feel like it. I have to be up early and grade some papers in the morning," Hermione declined.
"So, when are you two tying the proverbial knot?" Angelina questioned.
"Not for some time," Severus responded.
"Better get going, laws wait for no wizard," George snickered.
"I assure you, we will be in compliance," Severus agreed.
"Charlie is quite amused with them at Hogwarts. Said Snape kissed her right in the middle of lunch on a school day," George told the group.
That brought plenty of gasps from the witches in the circle.
Hermione groaned and waved her hand. "Yes, now there has to be something someone else can add that will get the conversation off my relationship, yes?"
"I'm pregnant again," Ginny smirked.
The eruption of joy gave them the opening they needed. Severus tugged the witch off away from the torches and out by the frosty pond. Hermione pulled her cloak closer as Severus glanced back and nodded.
"Are you alright?" he questioned while caressing her cheek.
Hermione breathed and pressed closer to his gloved fingers. "Yes, it's just difficult. No one understands, and it feels like all we do is explain ourselves. I can't figure out why they have to be so bloody intrusive," she said and closed her eyes.
He ran his thumb against her cheek and thinned his lips. "Unfortunately, your family is like that. However, I can estimate it is out of love and not selfish needs."
She smiled and rocked her head. "Yes, it is."
"I love you, and I know this is important for you. Thank you for granting me your loyalty in front of them," Severus acknowledged.
"Oh, I do love you, Severus," Hermione voiced as she reached up to touch the bare portion of his face.
He bent and kissed her. Not just a soft and chaste kiss, but a flaming passionate one. Hermione whimpered and swayed closer as he coiled his arm around her. It was filled with the gratitude and appreciation he had for her loyalty. For her declaration of their love. For loving him.
A set of giggles and cackling sounded in the background. "Ow, Aunt Hermione is kissing her boyfriend!" Victoire snickered.
"Vicky, that's gross!" Teddy huffed.
The mocked kissing sounds persisted, and Hermione broke the kiss to glare at the children. Her and Teddy were by the torches, and Victoire was pretending to reach over and kiss him.
"You both scurry off, give them a moment," Arthur huffed before waving and walking over to the group of adults.
"I swear it, we are not having seven children," Severus growled.
Hermione burst into laughter and nodded. "I can agree to that, Severus."
She glanced over to the pond as she pressed against his chest. "The snow is starting to stick," she sighed.
"Yes, it's going to be a chilled winter," he agreed while stroking her curls.
Hermione hummed. "Can we just stay like this a while?"
"No, we will have to return," Severus sighed and pulled from her enough to bend to her eye-level. "You need family, and I will be here to catch you," he nodded.
"Why have I never seen this side of you, Severus?" Hermione exhaled with a smile as she touched his face.
"Love," he paused and smirked. "'He loved her so much that it almost took his breath away.' The perfect quote for my feelings."
Hermione closed the gap and kissed his lips. "You are my perfection."
The pair soon traversed to join the rest of the festivities, and the announcement of November's new voice was drifting in the air. The declaration of a new realm with glinting charms, or foreboding months of barren lands. Severus reflected on such as he glanced over the fields before reaching the party once again.