Chapter 15

"Are you testing the potion?"

Hermione looked up from her workbench to find that Severus had entered the lab.

"Yes. I've only done it on a few old bones. The first batch has the potion on existing damage. The second has replicated damage. Madam Pomfrey narrowed down the possible spells to a handful, so I tried to recreate the damage. The third is specifically cartilage."

Severus walked over to observe the tests. "The progress looks promising this far."

"Yes."

"I think we can test it on mice soon."

Hermione made a face.

"It's better than poisoning Potter. The Boy-Who-Lived survived the Dark Lord, only to be poisoned to death by his best friend."

She frowned. "Can we transfigure mice?"

Severus gave her a pointed look.

"Fine. Do you have mice?"

"No, but I'm sure I can acquire some."

"Good. I'm going to leave that up to you."

He looked amused. "You don't want to go hunting around empty classrooms?"

"Is that how you find them?"

"No. I just ask the house elves."

"You what?"

"I ask the house elves," he repeated. "Or I order some from the apothecary, depending on where I'm at."

"The house elves get you mice," Hermione replied lamely.

"Yes. They usually send the mice in the kitchen to an empty classroom or the forest. Instead, they'll send them to a cage for me."

Hermione shook her head. "Nope. I'm definitely not taking any part in that."

Severus crossed his arms. "You're telling me that after everything you went through, you're refusing to test the potion on mice."

"Well, when you say it like that…"

"What do you normally test potions on?"

"Myself."

He blinked. "Excuse me?"

Hermione waved him off. "This is the first totally new potion that I've done. I'm more in the business of creating spells. I couldn't come up with a spell to fix Harry, so I went with a potion, instead."

"Potter said that you experiment alone."

"I have occasionally experimented on using different ingredients in potions."

Severus did not look happy.

"But now I've learned my lesson," Hermione continued. "I won't experiment with any potions, unless you're around. I-"

A soft chime interrupted Hermione.

"Oh, will you look at the time, I need to go."

Severus furrowed his brow. "Go where?"

"To see Madam Pomfrey," she replied. "My appointment with her is at two today. Now would be a great time to talk to Dobby about the mice!"

Severus watched as she quickly disappeared.

"I'll see you later!" She called down the hall, and then he heard the door click shut behind her.

Hermione was elated. If it was an option, she would float down the corridors. After her daily checkup with Poppy, it was determined that her magic had completely returned. She was given a clean bill of health, with the advisory to slowly return back to normal activity. She was currently cutting through the fifth floor to the staircase. Poppy made Hermione go through the floo to avoid walking up to the seventh floor, but she wanted to walk. The fifth floor was the lowest floor that Poppy was willing to compromise on.

As soon as Hermione made it to the staircase, she heard her name. She turned around to see Harry waving at her. She waited for him to reach her.

"Hey! You're on the stairs! How'd you manage that one?"

"I'm officially cleared!"

"Congratulations! That's great!"

Hermione nodded. "Poppy said that I can start resuming normal activity."

"Are you going to make a sign and dance around Snape with it?"

"Merlin, no. I'd think he'd send me straight back to the Hospital Wing."

They started walking back up the stairs. "Are you doing anything fun tonight?" Hermione asked.

"Ginny and I are going out for dinner," Harry replied. "Are you doing anything with your return to freedom?"

"Severus doesn't know it yet, but we also have dinner plans."

Harry laughed. "Good luck with that."

They made it up the rest of the stairs without incident and parted ways at Hermione's door.

She entered her lab to see Severus standing over a few mice.

"That was fast."

He looked up from the table. "I walked into the corridor and cast an Accio. Two mice appeared shortly after."

"You're kidding me."

He shook his head. "How did it go?"

Hermione smiled brightly. "One hundred percent today!"

"Your levels have returned back to normal?"

Hermione nodded. "I got the all clear from Poppy. She said that I can slowly start resuming my normal life, which means that you now have plans."

He raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"We," she motioned between them, "have plans for dinner tonight."

He looked at her wearily.

"Yes. We're going out for your birthday!"

"You're not going to let me say no, are you?"

Hermione shook her head. "But you do get to pick the place!"

"Wonderful. What time is it?"

"Nearly three."

"I need to go and finish a few things. Is five a good time?"

"Yes," Hermione replied.

"I'll be back here then."

"Do you have a place in mind?" Hermione asked.

"Yes."

"What should I wear?"

Severus stared at her. "Nothing fancy," he finally said.

Hermione had to bite her lip, to keep herself from smiling; Severus started to look flustered. "Magical or muggle?"

"Muggle."

"I think I have enough information. Are you going to tell me where?"

"I don't think I will."

Hermione grinned. "I'll see you at five then."

Hermione was glad to get out of the castle. For once, she didn't have to be worried about being followed. She still caught herself looking over her shoulder every so often, but she figured that it would fade away with time. She supposed that Severus felt the same way, because he made sure to situate himself, so that he could see the entrance at all times.

"Why didn't anyone tell me about magic levels?" Hermione asked, after they had finished eating. "I didn't know how serious it was."

Severus was quiet for a moment. "It's a very rare occurrence, which is why I think it carries the weight that it does. At first, I thought you knew, but then it became clear that you didn't. No one wanted to alarm you. I didn't want your focus to be on what would happen if you didn't get better."

"Is it common knowledge in the Wizarding World?"

Severus shook his head. "It's mostly a taboo subject. Some parents use it to scare their children."

"Ginny said as much. She said when someone loses their magic, the outcome isn't good."

"Yes, the loss of magic results in becoming a squib. But magic is such a part of who we are, that it has often been the case that the person fades away. No one knows why."

"Is that why they were hesitant about me leaving St. Mungo's?"

"Yes. There's said to be some complex magic to help bring back magic from the depths, if you will. Only a few witches and wizards are privy to the spells. It's like the Unspeakables in the Department of Mysteries. St. Mungo's has one on their staff."

"I'm sorry I caused such a fuss," Hermione said quietly. "I had no idea it was such a serious matter."

"Luckily, your magic returned on its own. Yours is the first case in at least a hundred years. The healers were all fascinated with you."

"Wonderful," Hermione commented. "Does St. Mungo's need permission from next of kin to do certain things?"

"It depends," he replied. "With most cases, they act first, ask questions later. Due to your case, they wanted a next of kin. Because you don't have a next of kin in the magical world, they needed three people that are close to you to vouch for a person to make decisions for you. Potter and Weasley were the first two, and they took Poppy, because she's the mediwitch at Hogwarts."

"They took Ron over you?"

"They vouched for me. I still had to lean on them and use my status as a contract holder."

"I didn't know," Hermione replied softly.

"I hope you don't mind."

Hermione shook her head. "No, I would rather it was you. You're a contract holder...Does that mean that you brew potions for them?"

Severus nodded. "I'm on a retainer with them to brew a handful of advanced medical potions. I only need to brew a few times a year."

"Thank you," she said sincerely.

"I-" Severus stopped when the waiter came over and dropped the bill at the table. Severus went to reach for it, when Hermione snatched it off the table.

"Oh!" Hermione squeaked. "It's your birthday dinner! You agreed that I could take you out for your birthday!"

Severus crossed his arms. "Are you sure you were completely lucid?"

"Oh yes. I remember everything." She smiled as she slipped her card into the folder.

"You still use a muggle card?"

Hermione nodded. "I always try to have muggle money on me too. It just makes everything easier."

"Did you frequent the muggle world the past few years?"

"Not really. I wanted to have options, in case we needed to go into hiding. The muggle world seemed like the best option. I-thank you," Hermione said, as the waiter swung by to pick up their bill.

"I'm giving you fair warning now that I'm getting the next dinner."

Hermione grinned. "We'll see who's faster."

Severus walked Hermione to the fireplace off of the Entrance Hall.

"No stairs today?"

"It was a long day. Can you walk up all of them like before yet?"

"No."

He grabbed the container of floo powder off of the mantle. "It will be back to normal soon."

Hermione smiled. "I hope so. I had a lovely night."

He nodded. "Yes. It was nice not having to nearly slip out the door, because you didn't want to talk to someone."

"You're never going to let me live that down, will you?"

"Definitely not."

"Fine."

Severus offered her the floo powder.

Hermione grabbed a pinch. "I really did have a nice night. Goodnight, Severus," she said and kissed him on the cheek.

He watched as she took a step back and disappeared into the green flames.

"The snow falling makes the castle look happy again," Hermione observed from the castle's library windows. "It's weird without having students around, when you know they're supposed to be here."

"They'll be back soon enough."

Hermione was quiet for a moment. "I think I'm going to go for a walk around the grounds."

Severus set his quill down. "You're going to overdo it."

"I've got to build up some sort of endurance before classes start again. I think a walk around the castle would be fine."

"You visited Hagrid yesterday. And then spent the afternoon preparing your classroom."

"It wasn't snowing yesterday. There's probably a few inches. Besides, I'll have you with me this time. And if I can't function tomorrow, you can tell me I told you so. If not, I'll just ask Harry to come with me." Hermione smiled brightly.

"One day, Potter won't be available for you to cry wolf."

"Harry's fun and everything, but I would much rather walk about the castle with you."

"Fine."

"Great!" Hermione jumped up and grabbed her book. "I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall in fifteen minutes. I'll take the floo!"

Severus watched as she disappeared around the corner, before gathering his belongings and leaving the library as well.

"I think the grounds are the nicest when it snows," Hermione said as they walked by the lake.

"I never found the snow particularly appealing," Severus replied.

"Harry and I came out here once as first years and taught others how to make snow angels."

Severus blinked.

"No, don't tell me."

He continued to stare at her.

"You've never done a snow angel before? Do you know what one is?"

Severus remained silent.

"Oh, now we have to."

"I don't think so," he replied.

"Too late," Hermione said and plopped herself down right where she was standing. She motioned for him to sit in the snow.

"I'm not getting down there."

"I'll just sit here, until you do."

"You're really not going to give up on this?" Severus asked, after several moments of silence.

"Nope." Hermione smiled. "No one is out here and no one can see us from the castle."

Severus sighed and sat next to her.

"Alright, so you lay back in the snow and spread your arms and legs out," Hermione demonstrated. "And then you move them like this."

She sat up and smiled. "See! The tricky part is to get up and not ruin the shape."

He watched as Hermione slowly got up and hopped out of the angel.

"See!" She exclaimed, motioning towards her snow angel. "It's perfect! Before I knew what magic was, this was magic to me."

Hermione looked at Severus and found him staring at her.

"You're not going to do one, are you?"

He shook his head.

"I suppose that getting you in the snow was victory enough. Here, let me help you."

Hermione reached a hand out to help him up. Severus grabbed her hand and pulled her down to him.

"Severus-"

He kissed her.

The last week of January arrived quickly and with it, more snow.

"I'm so glad you decided to come," Angelina said. "I think we both really needed some time away from the castle."

Hermione shoved her hands inside her coat pockets; it was starting to snow again. "I thought about it, and you were right."

"Snape and Harry didn't want to come?" Angelina asked.

"I thought it might be nice with just the two of us." Hermione smiled. "We haven't really done anything together since before Christmas."

Angelina paused on their way to Hogsmeade. "I really appreciate that, Hermione. Girls night out?"

"Yes. Although, I know you're dying to see the celebrations-"

"I know," Angelina interrupted. "We won't stay long, if you don't want to. None of us really got the chance to celebrate. It's weird, you know? We were there – everyone, well, most, that are celebrating have kept it all at arm's length."

Hermione nodded. "It was the same the first time around too, I heard. The ministry has been awfully busy."

"I can only imagine," Angelina replied, as they turned the corner to the newer section of Hogsmeade.

The village was mostly quiet this far, which Hermione attributed to it still being light outside. The pair paused when an older man ran up to them, grabbed Hermione's hand, and started profusely shaking it.

"Ms. Hermione Granger!" He squeaked. "It's an absolute pleasure seeing you around. Thank you so much for ridding our world of that dark wizard!"

Hermione was speechless, as the man grinned and then walked brusquely away. She turned to see Angelina wearing an amused look on her face.

"Well, hello there, Ms. Celebrity."

"Shut it," she replied. "I hope that doesn't happen again."

Angelina grinned. "You think you can get us a free dinner?"

"Very funny, Angelina." Hermione shook her head, as she walked around her and into the restaurant.

A few hours later, Hermione and Angelina left the restaurant to find a very different Hogsmeade. The street was bustling with joyous people, who were laughing and drinking; bonfires lined the streets and lights twinkled everywhere.

"Woah," Angelina said, breathlessly. "They weren't kidding."

Hermione looked around. "This is delightful!"

The two turned when someone bumped into them and hugged Hermione.

"It's Hermione Granger! Thank you!" He turned toward Angelina. "Did you help too?"

"Yea-" She was muffled as the wizard hugged her too.

The pair watched as he stumbled away, laughing.

"Oh yeah, that's not fun," Angelina commented. "This changed fast."

Hermione nodded, as someone else came up and patted her on the shoulder, while yelling something to his friend.

The two witches started to make their way down the street, periodically receiving handshakes from random people. As they approached the main road, someone handed them bottles of butterbeer. Angelina stopped to pop one open, while someone else shoved a box of licorice mice into Hermione's hands.

"I think this might be my new favorite place!" Angelina exclaimed, opening another bottle, and handed it to Hermione.

"I can only imagine what this place looks like on the weekend – it's only Thursday."

"I heard a lot of places closed for a few weeks in celebration. A lot of people are on holiday," Hermione said.

"Well, that explains a lot."

"Yeah-"

"Oi! Hermione, Angelina!"

The two turned around to see Dean Thomas walking up to them.

"Fancy seeing you two here! A few of us were just meeting at The Three Broomsticks. You should join us!"

"Hi Dean, it's been ages."

"Well, I saw you a few weeks ago, but it's not the same thing, of course. C'mon, you've got to stop by."

Hermione looked hesitant.

Dean took the opportunity to grab Angelina's arm and pulled her towards the pub. Angelina, in turn, grabbed Hermione's hand, and off the three of them went.

The Three Broomsticks was crowded. Dean weaved through to the back of the place, where a small gathering of familiar faces had accumulated.

"No way!" Paravati exclaimed, as she jumped up and hugged Hermione. "I'm so glad that you're alright! I heard what happened."

"Found them on the street," Dean said. "A bit lucky, really. The festivities have started early tonight."

"Do you come here often?" Angelina asked.

"No, first time tonight. I live nearby and can hear when the party gets rowdy. I bumped into Paravati at Honeydukes last week and we decided to get some people together."

They looked at the small group gathered; Padma, Ernie, Terry, and Hannah were also there.

"Did you know?" Hermione asked Angelina.

"No!" She replied. "I think we really lucked out here!"

The group spent some time catching up and filling each other in on what jobs they had taken after graduating from Hogwarts. Terry and Padma were working at different departments in the Ministry, Hannah was a healer at St. Mungo's, while Ernie was still in his training as a curse breaker. It wasn't long before funny stories were being shared and the trips to the bar counter became more frequent.

"And these are for our year mates," Dean came back over with a try of firewhiskey, and started passing out glasses. "Seamus was my best mate," he said, once everyone had a glass. "And Lavender…Well, she was Lavender. I think about them every day. To them."

"To them," everyone chorused.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the table, when Hermione heard a shout. She looked up and couldn't believe who she saw walking towards them.

"Harry!"

"Harry's here!" Angelina exclaimed.

"Harry!" Hermione greeted, throwing her hands in the air.

Harry was met with handshakes and hugs from the group gathered.

"What'll you have, Harry?" Dean asked.

Harry looked a bit uncomfortable. "Whatever everyone else is."

"Another round!" Dean shouted and disappeared towards the bar.

Harry sat down across from Hermione and Angelina.

"What're you doing here?" Angelina asked.

"I was a bit worried when I couldn't find the two of you. You left ages ago. Having a bit of fun, are we?"

"This wasn't the plan," Angelina replied. "Dean found us and brought us here. And before we knew it-"

Dean set a pint in front of Harry. "Now the party can really start!"

An hour later, the back of The Three Broomsticks resembled the common rooms after the Quidditch cup. The group sent a few obnoxious patronus messages, and their celebration now included Neville and Ron.

"This is why we need cell phones in the Wizarding World," Hermione said. "Why we still use owls to send letters and not e-mails is beyond me."

"So you want to free the owls now too?" Ron ribbed.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Of course not. But they should stop delivering ridiculously heavy packages. It's unfair!"

"Sfoooo!" Harry shouted.

Hermione turned to face him. "Nice sneeze." She deadpanned.

"Society for the freedom of Owls," Harry said. "I like sfoo better that spew."

"Say what now?" Angelina asked.

"Spew!" Ron replied. "Back in fourth year, Hermione wanted to free the house elves. So she would knit hats and hide them around our common room."

Angelina gasped. "You did not!"

"Oh yeah," Harry said. "They refused to clean the common room." He looked like he was concentrating very hard. "The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, that's what it was."

Hermione set her drink down a little too hard, making the liquid splash all over the table. "You remember!"

"Of course I remember. You used to shake the box at us all of the time! You don't remember any of this?"

Angelina shook her head. "I don't think so. I must've blocked it from my memory."

"Nah, I think you were too busy giving my brother googly eyes," Ron said.

Angelina's mouth opened, aghast.

Hermione laughed. "You're in for it now!"

"I'm telling on you!" Angelina finally decided on.

Ron shrugged. "He'll only prank me."

Angelina smiled wickedly. "I'll just make sure it's a good one, then!"

"While you two are bickering, I'm going to run to the loo," Hermione said and excused herself.

Ron slapped Harry across the stomach.

"Oi! What was that for?"

"You've gone and upset her with your sfooo."

"I have not," Harry defended. "She was just laughing!"

"If you're so concerned, why don't you just ask her," Angelina pointed out. "You boys and communication. Uh-uh, I am not going through that again with you two."

"Yeah," Ron said, standing up. "I think I will go check!"

Angelina and Harry watched Ron turn around and walk away.

"I wonder when he's going to realize the loo is the other way," Angelina commented.

Harry choked on his drink, as Ron walked past again and gave an awkward wave.

Hermione walked out of the loo and nearly ran right into Ron.

"Oh! What's wrong?"

"I just wanted to make sure that Harry didn't upset you."

Hermione stared at him. "What?"

"Or you know, I had to use the loo and figured I'd wait for you."

A thought dawned on Hermione. "Oh! Ron, before we go back, I wanted to thank you."

"I did something right?"

"Severus told me how you vouched for him at St. Mungo's. I know we were still at odds and I really appreciate what you did."

Ron shoved his hands in his pockets. "It was nothing."

Hermione threw her arms around Ron and hugged him, making him nearly fall over.

"Thank you."

He nodded. "Shall we go back?"

"Yes. I've got my name on one of those mulled ciders."

McGonagall left her office later that night, followed by Severus. Their meeting with the Board of Governors went longer than expected, and then Kingsley popped in for a last minute visit. The pair were just about to part ways, when they heard a scream. McGonagall stopped.

"Potter lives down that corridor-"

"Yes, but who would he be shouting at?"

"Minerva, no one can get into the castle anymore."

"Could they have duped the detection?"

"I highly doubt it."

Severus sighed as he followed McGonagall down the staff corridor. They stopped outside of Harry's room, when they heard a chorus of voices.
McGonagall rapped quickly at the door.

No one answered.

"Well?"

"Can it, Severus," she said, as she flung the door open, in all of her Headmistress glory.

She was met with the sight of Harry holding a pillow and jumping over the sofa, Ron hot in pursuit. Angelina was standing at one end of the room, guarding what looked like a goal basket. Hermione and Neville sat on a table pushed up against the wall, each holding a bottle and laughing.

"What in blazes is going on here?"

Harry threw the pillow and stopped, making Ron crash into him and the two fell on the floor. Neville nearly dropped his bottle and started choking.

"Hi Minerva!" Angelina greeted. "Would you like to join? We need another keeper! Who's that behind you-Snape! You can be the referee! Hermione and Neville are dreadful at it."

Harry stood up. "We're playing pillowditch."

McGonagall just stared at him.

"We almost came back and played at the pitch-"

"There is no pitch," Angelina interjected.

"That's why we're playing pillowditch," Ron said, like it was obvious.

"When did you get here?" McGonagall asked.

"Oh! Harry sent me a patronus to meet him in Hogsmeade. Rosmerta made us leave because we got her smashed too. But she gave us parting gifts!" Ron motioned to the side where a case of butterbeer was sitting.

"Unbelievable," McGonagall muttered. She pointed her finger at all of them. "I'm retiring as soon as one of your children turn eleven."

"Would you feel better after a butterbeer, Professor?" Neville asked.

The whole room went silent.

Ron broke the silence first with a loud laugh and everyone else followed suit.

"I'm going to bed," Minerva said to Severus. She patted him on the shoulder. "They're your problem now."

"Pardon?"

"Hermione is your whatever, so I'm handing the problem off to you. Have a good night!"

Severus watched her disappear down the corridor, before he turned back to the room.

"Snape!" Angelina exclaimed. "There's a bottle of Ogden's with your name on it!"

Severus did the only thing he could think of - he turned on his heel and with a wave of his hand, the door shut as he walked away.

"Wait…What did McGonagall say?" Neville asked.

"You've already forgotten?" Angelina questioned incredulously.

"I think you should give me the rest of your beer, mate," Ron said, holding out his hand.

Neville knocked the hand away. "Get your own, there's a case over there." He turned to Hermione. "I may be in the bucket, but did McGonagall say that you're with Snape?"

Hermione went to respond, when Harry cut her off. "C'mon, Neville. Get with the program. Isn't it obvious?"

Neville looked confused for a moment. "It kinda makes sense. No offense to any of you, but Snape's the only bloke that's smart enough for Hermione."

"Don't put yourself down like that-"

"Oh come off it, Hermione. He's right! I don't know a bunch of the things you talk about. I never have," Ron said. "If you think about it, you're like each other's missing puzzle piece. You know, I thought about it a lot, and I couldn't even be mad at it. It just fits."

"Yeah, that and the fact that Snape would obliterate you if you pulled your wand on him," Harry added.

"Harry-"

"You do have a lot of things in common," Neville said, absentmindedly.

"They bonded over potions," Angelina added. "Oh! You should totally give out little potion vials at your wedding!"

Ron nearly spit on his drink. "What?"

"She's only joking," Harry replied. "Right?"

"You guys are being ridiculous. We weren't anything more than friends, until after the battle," Hermione said exasperated.

"Yeah," Angelina began. "I can speak to that. They move at a glacial pace. Hermione, did you even snog him yet?"

"See! I told her to shove him up against the wall-"

"I can't believe you remember that!"

"Woah!" Ron exclaimed. "No. We are not going there. I don't need that...no one needs that! I-" Ron was cut off as a pillow flew and smacked the drink right out of his hand and into Neville.

"Oi!"

"Angelina!"

"It looks like you pissed your pants, mate," Ron said.

Hermione rolled her eyes and pulled out her wand to cast a drying spell at the same time that Neville went to throw the pillow back at Ron. Instead, he smacked Hermione's wand out of her hand, which went off and struck Angelina. Hermione burst out in laughter when Angelina turned around and her hair was sticking straight up.

"Bloody hell!" The older girl exclaimed. "Fix it! Put it back!"

"I'll get it," Neville said.

A chorus of "No!" was heard.

The next afternoon, Hermione was in her entertainment room when she felt her wards ripple. She turned the volume down on her television and popped a chip into her mouth. She briefly wondered how long it would take Severus to find her in there.

On one of the days when Severus was helping to recast the wards on Hogwarts, Hermione and Harry ventured out into the muggle world. On a whim, they wandered into an electronic store and since Hermione was on restricted magic use, she decided to upgrade her entertainment room. Harry was very excited and bought a plethora of movies and even tried to get Hermione to buy a programming package.

She smiled as she ate another few chips and the footsteps grew louder.

"Hi Severus," Hermione greeted, right before he made it in the doorway.

"Hermione...You've upgraded. When did you have time to upgrade?"

"Harry and I went."

"When?"

"When you had me on lockdown."

He stepped into the room and crossed his arms.

"What? I have a car here." Hermione shrugged and took a sip of her drink. "I still remember how to drive. Harry and I went gallivanting around a bunch of shops. Are you hungry?"

"Not at the moment. What are you eating?"

"A burger and chips," she replied. "It's been so long since I had a good burger. After last night, I woke up craving one."

Severus looked amused. "Exactly how much did you drink last night?"

"I lost count. People were buying drinks all night and then Dean started ordering shots. Then Rosmerta sent us back with her new brew. Things got a little wonky after Neville knocked my wand away. The boys started a pillow fight. Neville walloped Ron, who may have broken his nose. A pillow exploded. I woke up covered in feathers."

"Did you all have one giant slumber party?"

"Unintentionally," Hermione said. "McGonagall was right. Hogsmeade is one giant party. How long is it going to go on for?"

"I'd have thought that it would have ended by now," Severus replied. "I think coupled with the holidays, people are extra joyous." He paused for a moment. "Seeing as this is the last Friday we have off for a while, would you be interested in going out for the rest of the day?"

"Yes," she replied, and turned the television off.

"You can finish what you're watching."

"Nope, I'd rather go out," Hermione said, as she stuffed the wrappers from lunch in a bag. "Where are we going?"

"That would ruin the surprise."

"Can I at least have a hint?"

Severus smirked. "Nope."