Hermione grew increasingly nervous as the day dragged on, and it didn't help that the students didn't arrive until evening. She was restless. It was interesting to see her so nervous as he hadn't seen it since she'd been a child, but her way of dealing with nervousness hadn't changed much. Their quarters were exceptionally clean, but she was organizing and re-organizing.

Eventually, after they'd dressed in their teacher robes, Severus approached her with a glass of Cabernet he'd picked up in Paris. "Hermione, this might help you relax."

"Should I do that? Before the students arrive?"

"One, you will truly not be interacting with any students tonight and it's one glass. Two, if you think I have any intention of telling on my wife, you are sorely mistaken." He studied her face for a moment. She was nervously biting the inside of her bottom lip. He touched his thumb to her lip. "Stop that," He said. He held out the glass to her and she took it.

Her hands were a bit shaky as she took a sip of the wine. She looked back up to him. "I don't remember the last time I felt this nervous."

"Are you this nervous for the Sorting Feast, or for the first day of classes tomorrow?"

She hesitated. "Both, I think."

"Drink that faster," He said and his eyes flitted to the wine glass.

"I cannot enjoy it if I rush through drinking it," She said.

"The faster you drink it, the faster you'll feel a bit more relaxed. I know one glass drunk too quickly will not have you stumbling about. Don't look at me like that. Drink it," He said. "I have an idea."

"That sounds Slytherin..."

He quirked an eyebrow and stared down his nose at her. "Go on, then," He said and gestured to the cup.

Hermione downed the wine and followed him up and out of the castle toward the grounds. She followed him quietly for a couple of minutes before her curiosity got the better of her. "Where are we headed, Severus?"

He glanced at her as he stopped walking. He looked a little nervous, but then he saw the stress on her face and he reached out his left hand toward her. She looked at it, and then back up at his face. His affectionate offer and gesture made her smile. She laced her fingers into his. "The Black Lake," He answered as they continued walking - hand in hand.

When they arrived, they stood there, holding hands, staring out at the lake. "I'm curious why you chose this place?"

"I was... incredibly anxious about the marriage law, and after we talked here, I felt less anxious," He said. "You will be a great teacher, Hermione. In your life, nothing has been impossible once you set your mind to the task. You have triumphed, succeeded, and thrived in so many situations. This will be another," He said softly.

She looked up at him. His compliments were so pure, and not hidden by veiled dry humor or a sarcastic jest. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. He didn't hesitate to return the hug. His usual self-consciousness didn't appear until she turned to face the lake, and leaned her back against him. He tensed for a moment, hesitating, before resting his right hand on her hip. He brushed his nose against her hair. He was significantly taller than her, several inches, and could rest his chin comfortably on the top of her head, so he did, for a moment. Then, he leaned his head down and talked directly into her ear.

"You are, without a doubt, capable beyond measure, Hermione. You know this as well as I do. In any career, you would quickly climb to the top," He said lowly. She shivered at the sound of his deep voice talking directly into her ear. She leaned back against him more fully, so that he was supporting her more. He closed his eyes as he leaned his head against hers and steadied himself.

The could hear the whistle of the Hogwarts Express in the distance. Hermione smiled. "I don't feel as nervous now," She said.

"It was the wine, I am sure," He teased.

"No," She said and looked up at him. "It was my husband being lovely."

He blushed as she stepped away and they began to move back toward the castle. He was tensing again with every step nearer to the castle. His shields were coming back into place, and he was becoming very much the Severus Snape she remembered as a student. Then, bravely, she laced her fingers into his. He startled for a moment, but he didn't pull away, which surprised her.

He did pull away instantly as they approached the courtyard and they heard a very cool, "Good evening, Professors," From behind them.

Severus did not turn around completely, but Hermione did. "Headmistress," She greeted politely. She glanced at Severus, who looked extremely tense and displeased at having been caught in any type of intimacy. He was so careful about his private life, so fiercely protective of it because it had been leveraged over him for so many years, and used against him, even now.

"Merlin, Hermione. When there are no students around, please call me Minerva," The older witch said. Severus glanced at Minerva, and then moved past her back toward the lake. "Where are you going?"

"To help usher the First Years to the castle," Severus said lowly, and glanced at Hermione, who understood he was fleeing the situation because he needed to.

"Severus, you never do that," Minerva said. "You might scare them!"

Severus raised a dark eyebrow. "Perhaps they'll come into the Sorting Ceremony quietly for once." He turned and walked back toward the lake. His black cloak billowed behind him. As Hermione watched his retreating form, she recognized he was in full Professor Snape mode in just a few long strides.

She smiled to herself, and then realized Minerva was staring at her. She blushed and Minerva cocked an eyebrow. "I am happy for you, Hermione," She said. "I saw you two by the lake earlier. I tend to walk the grounds before the Sorting Ceremony."

"Right," Hermione said and swallowed awkwardly. She didn't particularly mind being caught holding her husband's hand, but she definitely was embarrassed being caught in such an intimate embrace as they had been in at the lake. "Well, don't tell him that you saw us. He'd be mortified."

"Mortified, yes. I'm sure he would be," She said. "After he killed me for 'spying,'" Minerva added.

"Were you spying?" Hermione asked with a smirk.

"Of course not," Minerva scoffed. "Severus would know I walk the grounds every year around this time if he did more than barricade himself in the Dungeons."

Hermione laughed, and Minerva featured to the castle. They walked quietly for a moment next to each other. Then, Minerva asked, "It's going well, I take it?"

"Obviously," She drawled in a very Snape-like tone. "He might kill me if I give you any details, though," Hermione teased.

"Hardly," Minerva said and waved off the statement. "I won't press, but you..." She hesitated for a moment. Hermione looked at her. She looked oddly emotional, which was strange because she had very rarely seen McGonagall look that way. "You two looked lovely at the lake," She added and then cleared her throat.

"Thank you," Hermione said softly.

"I know it's not necessary for me to say this, especially not to you of all people, but... Take care of him," Minerva added as they rounded the corner to the Great Hall. "As he will take care of you."

Hermione turned and headed into the still empty Great Hall as she pondered Minerva's words. Certainly, she didn't expect Hermione to not take care of Severus. Sometimes, Hermione forgot... Well, not really forgot, but didn't actively think about how Minerva would have been someone who had seen Severus when he was very much not okay or healthy or stable after the war. The older students had filed into the hall and taken their seats at the appropriate House Tables.

She saw a darkly clad figure moving between the wall on her right and the Slytherin table. The Slytherins greeted Professor Snape in ways she hadn't seen students greet him whilst she'd been a student. His expression didn't change much, remaining pretty flat and neutral, while he nodded at various students, but they seemed much more comfortable and pleased to see their teacher. Even other students from other houses waved at him, and he nodded in return.

It wasn't until he met Hermione's eyes that she saw his expression truly change, and even then, it was such a small change that she was absolutely certain that nobody else would have noticed. The tiniest upturn at the corner of his mouth, and a very small crack in the shields in his eyes. He was... pleased to see her, though he'd just spent nearly every moment of the last two and a half months with her.

She smiled at him as he sat next to her. His shields firmly back into place and his face neutral as he faced the student body. "How was it then?" He asked lowly as he realized several students were staring at the two of them, whispering and smiling.

"How was what?" She asked.

"The interrogation," He said sarcastically.

She snorted. "It was hardly an interrogation." He glanced at her face. She couldn't hide from him.

"She said something troubling," He noted and looked back out into the sea of students impassively.

"No," Hermione said immediately. "It wasn't troubling," She assured him. As everyone's attention turned to the doors as the new First Years filed in, she grabbed her husband's hand under the table. He flinched, but then relaxed, realizing there was no attention on them at this moment. "They're very quiet," Hermione noted.

"I've absolutely no idea why," Severus said dryly. She smiled, squeezed his hand, and then released it as Minerva began to speak.