Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

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A/N: Thank you for your continuous support! Praying that COVID19 will end and everyone infected will be fully healed.

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Chapter 23:

September 1, 1975

(twenty years ago)

"Hey, Mione! How's your summer?" Alice quickly pulled her to a hug the moment they saw each other on Hogwarts Express after the Prefects' meeting with the Head Boy and Head Girl, their wizards were just behind them. They hadn't met at Diagon Alley because Alice and Frank went out of the country with their respective families.

"Good," she whispered. "Very quiet. Lily hasn't forgiven me for what we did last year, not that I mind. I didn't see her around for two months and she was glaring daggers at me earlier during the meeting."

Alice laughed. "Oh, she's made a prefect, then. At least she got the message."

"Yes, with Remus. How's your summer?" she asked.

"Oh, well, it was fun. Frank and I exchanged letters almost thrice a week. How about you and Sev?"

Hermione felt her cheeks suddenly go hot, remembering the kisses they've shared over the summer.

Snogging sessions, her mind reminded her.

Much to her embarrassment, Alice smirked. "Oh! You and I are going to have a talk soon, Miss Prefect." She yanked her arm and led her to a compartment - their compartment.

While following Alice, she felt Sev's hand caress the small of her back, causing her to have goosebumps.

The journey to Hogwarts was uneventful. Hermione chattered with Alice and they were both tucked beside their wizards who busied themselves by reading books. Remus passed by to say hello. Alice and Frank congratulated their werewolf friend for being made prefect. Two hours into the journey, Alice and Frank left the compartment to check on their other housemates, though Hermione noted that Alice was blushing furiously. She also noticed that Frank warded the door when they made it outside.

Hermione could not stop herself from being nervous, now that she was alone with Sev again. Over the summer, Sev and her dad did not have another talk. She did not even hear any reminder from them until her mother scheduled a doctor's appointment for her. She blushed furiously when she started talking about birth control pills and explained about her upcoming doctor's appointment.

Mona laughed hard the night of her appointment.

"You were already at Hogwarts when I had mine," Mona told her. "It was not very awkward because I wasn't even seeing someone at that time."

She never told Sev what happened during the appointment, but he seemed to know what happened. That summer, too, she stopped sneaking into her own bedroom occupied by her boyfriend. The only time they shared not-so-chaste kisses were when they were at the old park, under their favourite tree.

"Are you all right? You look pale," Sev asked in a concerned tone, breaking her off from her musings. His hand caressed her left hip.

She smiled nervously at him. "Yeah, I'm fine." And she made a mistake by licking her lips and at the same time looking into his lips instead of his eyes.

Sev paused for a moment and held her with both of his hands to shift her body a little so that she was facing him. "Are you sure?" he whispered, his eyes were on her lips as well.

She swallowed and nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

Sev pulled her close for a hug. "Good," he said into her hair.

She leaned into his embrace, inhaling her most favourite scent: sandalwood with a hint of cayenne pepper. Sev's one hand moved from her waist to the side of her neck, giving her goosebumps once again. When she looked into his beautiful obsidian eyes, she saw the fire in them. No, he did not look at her with lust, but rather with love and desire.

She swallowed thickly when she noticed that he was moving closer. She was so sure that he was going to kiss him, so she closed her eyes. At first, his kiss was chaste, then he kissed her again with his tongue seeking permission to invade her mouth. She parted her lips and kissed him with equal passion. She could feel his hands tightening around her waist and caressing the side of her neck, making her moan and feel something in between her legs. She knew they had to take things slowly because she wasn't ready for sex yet. And knowing Severus, he wouldn't want their first time to be in a compartment on Hogwarts Express where their friends could come back anytime. So, she ignored the feeling between her legs and toyed with Sev's hair instead. Sev soon ended the kiss, but not before kissing the tip of her nose. "I love you, Hermione."

She smiled and cupped his face. "I love you, too."

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September 2, 1975

(twenty years ago)

"Hey, Miss Prefect Puckle, congratulations!" greeted James Potter who, surprisingly, sat beside her at their shared Transfiguration class.

Hermione was in a good mood. Ravenclaws and Slytherins have Potions together again. She had Transfiguration with the Gryffindors, but she was fine with it. She was going to have three shared classes with her boyfriend: Potions, Arithmancy, and Ancient Runes.

"Hey, Potter," she replied with a smile. "How's your summer?"

"Fine," he said loudly, then he leaned into her ear. "I busied myself by learning about Animagus, you know."

"Really? That's interesting," she turned to him and by doing so, she caught a glimpse of Lily on the other side of the room with her Gryffindor female friends. She was looking at Potter unhappily.

"Yes, but you know what's more interesting?"

"What?" she frowned.

"Sirius and I have figured out about Remus's 'furry little problem'."

Hermione's eyes widened as she met Potter's hazel eyes. "You have?" she whispered, earning a glare from Lily, but she ignored it.

Potter nodded.

"Does Remus know?" she asked, glancing at Remus who was chatting animatedly with Amelia in front of her and James.

Potter shook his head. "No. Sirius and I want to surprise him. We'll just turn up in our animal forms."

She grinned and placed a friendly hand on Potter's shoulder. "That's a great idea. I'm sure he will be surprised and happy at the same time."

Potter gave her a sad smile. "We want to be good friends with him this year. We've wasted four years ignoring his warnings about hexing students. I think the headmaster made him a prefect because he was hoping Remus could handle us."

She laughed even more and patted his shoulder. "Oh, that's wonderful! And that's so mature of you."

"Hey, Puckle," came Sirius Black's voice behind them. He was surprisingly timid.

Hermione turned to the other black-haired wizard. "Hi, Black."

"Sorry for being a prat for four years."

She grinned. "Sure."

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September 19, 1975

(twenty years ago)

"Happy birthday," Sev whispered in between kisses.

Hermione moaned when his tongue invaded her mouth again and she secretly thanked Rowena Ravenclaw for the privacy charms they cast in their shift potions lab.

Sev's mouth traveled to the side of her neck, giving her wet kisses there. "Uhmmm... Thanks," she moaned. Her arms were around his neck, so she pulled him closer, encouraging him to continue kissing her there. Sev's hands on her waist moved to her uniform-covered bum. They never took off their school robes when they were alone to avoid crossing the boundaries. Snogging sessions were great and Sev always leave her wanting more, but she wasn't ready for other things, especially sex.

"Would you like to open your present now?" he asked huskily, nipping at the flesh near her ear.

She moaned again. "Uh, yeah?" She was unsure. Part of her wanted to continue their snogging session, but another part of her mind told her that they should stop because it might lead to something she wasn't ready for.

Sev chuckled against her hair and pulled away to meet her eyes. "You sound so uncertain."

She pouted, something she would only do when she was alone with him. "Only because you were distracting me."

He laughed happily. "Does that mean that I'm a good kisser?" he teased.

Hermione blushed furiously. Of course, he was! But she would never tell him that. Instead, she faked a crossed look and stomped into the sofa. "Where's my present?"

Sev smirked at her reaction and joined her on the sofa. He reached for the inside pocket of his school robe and handed her a small velvet box with a ribbon.

Hermione was taken aback for a moment. Severus had never given her jewelry. Her hands were slightly shaking when she accepted the box and unwrapped it. Inside was a gold necklace with a pendant in the form of an otter chasing its tail.

"My Patronus," she gasped and looked at her boyfriend with her mouth forming a small 'o'.

Sev grinned. "Let me put it on you?" he asked gently.

She nodded and let him take the necklace to place it around her neck. She held her not-so-bushy mane (thanks to Sev's continuous supply of sunflower hair serum he brewed himself). When Sev was done putting it around her, she reached for the beautiful pendant resting on the top of her necktie.

"It looks good on you," he praised.

She leaned forward to kiss his cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Always."

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"Wow, Puckle! Your necklace looks nice!" greeted Potter when he sat beside her in their Transfiguration class.

She gave him a sincere smile. "Sev gave it to me earlier before breakfast," she told him.

He froze and looked like just realized something. "Oh, shit! It's your birthday, isn't it?"

"It is," she replied casually.

Potter dug inside his bag for a quill and took out his wand. He Transfigured the quill into a stemmed white rose. "Here. I hope your boyfriend doesn't hex me for giving you a flower."

She chuckled and accepted the rose. "Don't worry, I'll handle him if ever he does. Thanks."

Potter turned to the boys sitting behind them. "Oi! It's Puckle's birthday!" he announced to his friends - Black, Pettigrew, and Remus.

The three other Gryffindor boys muttered their greetings and Remus even gave her a brotherly hug. Her other friends who were able to greet her earlier at breakfast - Frank, Alona, and Amelia just sat there and observed happily.

"Why did he choose an otter?' asked Potter curiously when she subconsciously fingered the pendant of her necklace.

"It's my Patronus," she replied casually.

Potter's eyes widened. "Bloody hell!" he exclaimed, but not loudly. "A Patronus? A corporeal Patronus? That's a very advanced charm! Not all full-fledged witches and wizards could produce a Patronus!"

"Well, I have Remus to thank for that. He taught me well."

"Oi, Remus!" Potter turned to their friend and started complaining about not telling him and their other friends about the Patronus Charm.

Five minutes later, Professor McGonagall entered the room and started the lesson. They worked in pairs and Hermione was paired with Potter who had gotten better at the subject. They finished their task early, so Potter asked her again about the Patronus Charm - how to cast it and how strong the happy memory should be.

"Mr. Potter! Miss Puckle!" called Professor McGonagall sharply.

The two of them turned to the professor timidly, though it wasn't clear to Hermione what she did wrong.

Professor McGonagall was standing in front of them, looking at them rather sternly. "Can you two please explain why you're talking about the Patronus Charm in my class instead of our lesson for the day?"

Hermione bit her lip, feeling very nervous and unsure how to respond to the professor. She caught sight of Lily behind Professor McGonagall and she chuckled while whispering something to her female Gryffindor friends.

"Er, Professor, it's my fault," muttered Potter apologetically. "I was bugging Pu - er, Hermione about the charm because I want her to teach me," he half-lied.

"You want her to teach you," Professor McGonagall enunciated.

Potter nodded. "You see, Professor, she can conjure a corporeal Patronus."

Hermione ducked her head.

"Is that so? Then, Miss Puckle, show us your corporeal Patronus and I will not deduct points from the two of you."

Hermione sighed and nodded. She stood up and reached for her wand. She focused on her happiest memory which included Sev. Then, she raised her wand. "Expecto Patronum!"

A silver mist appeared from the tip of her wand. It grew longer and bigger until it took the form of an otter chasing its tail. If the professor was surprised, she didn't show it, but her classmates, sans from the Gryffindor girls, looked at the otter with amusement and at her with amazement. She unconsciously reached for her pendant.

"I can see that you're wearing your Patronus, Miss Puckle," the professor said with a small smile on her face. "Impressive."

She smiled. "Thanks, Professor. I had a very good teacher," she replied.

"Professor Flitwick, I assume?"

She shook her head. "It was Remus, Professor. He taught me patiently."

The whole class turned to Remus Lupin who blushed furiously. Professor McGonagall looked at the Gryffindor Prefect proudly.