AN: Thank you for all the support! It is very deeply appreciated!

The first thing Severus felt was the moisture of the grass against his bare hands and the cotton of his clothes against his skin. Thank goodness the Trinity had thought to dress him in the attire he had worn in life. The last thing he needed was a public indecency citation.

His eyes fluttered open. At first, the world around him was blurred together, the sights a mixture of colors not unlike that of a Van Gogh painting. The colors were much duller than the afterlife, as if they were a mere reflection of a perfect reality.

Severus' chest inflated.

The sensation was foreign, almost forgotten from another life. There was a dull ache in his chest as he exhaled, his new body protesting under the strain. The second breath came more naturally, then the third, finally the fourth was free of pain.

The pin prick of the stars came into view, as did the glimmering full moon. A breeze brushed through his hair. He could smell the rain which had fallen only a few hours ago. Crickets sounded around him.

Dare he stand?

Severus gulped-how good it felt to do that again!-before standing. At first, his legs felt as if they would buckle under him. After a few moments of nausea, another sensation he'd long forgotten about, he gained his balance.

He took one step forward. His body moved! Another step forward. It moved without effort. He glanced down at his arm. No glow! The Trinity had done it! They had brought him to life as they'd promised!

A cry of joy came from his body. He began dancing, reveling in the movements of his body. Another shout of exaltation. It mattered little that he must have looked like an idiot thrashing around the grass. He could worry about what the person in the house before him thought later.

He was alive!

Hermione's chest went cold when she heard the shouting outside. That voice…it was so familiar. No! It was impossible to be him, right?

She shook her head and stood from her sofa. I've gone around the bend. I've lost every last bit of sanity left. Perhaps after some sleep I'll feel more like myself.

"Oh thank you Trinity!"

Her eyes grew at that name. Why would anyone be blessing the Trinity outside of her window?

"Thank you, Trinity!"

Just the name of the Trinity pierced her heart. The Trinity was an entity she had spoken to every evening, if only to entice them to protect Severus. They had always responded with silence. Was it now in their will to drive her to insanity? If they could rip away her soulmate, they were capable of anything.

"Oh thank you!"

Her heart quickened. Was it time for her to die? She had felt healthy all day. Was she about to experience one of those quick arrhythmias which killed within seconds? It would be a nice way to go out, though if the Trinity had any mercy they would let her finish her vaccine for dragon pox first. Saying goodbye to Harry and Draco would be lovely as well.

She folded her hands and looked to the sky. Please, if you must take me, take me tomorrow.

Another joyful noise came from outside.

If it was her time to go, she would meet death with dignity. She would go outside and face her fate.

"Oh thank you! Thank you!"

She opened the door, clutching her wand. "Why are you here?"

The figure stopped and met her eyes. In a voice she had dreamed about, he purred, "Hermione."

She was more beautiful than he'd remembered.

Severus stared at Hermione for what seemed to be a solid eternity. Truth be told, he'd had no concrete plan for how to find her, much less what he would say once they were reunited. Perhaps he should have asked Sirius for advice on this moment. In life he hadn't been so quick to overlook potential sources of help. Then again, when would he had ever thought Sirius would have the answer to any dilemma he faced?

Sirius had said something about washing his hair, not saying, "but" and reading to Hermione. All useless advice at a time like this…

"Severus?" She squeaked.

He took his eyes off her and looked up at the sky, his eyes pleading for some direction.

The wind gusted towards her.

"Severus? Have you come to take me away."

"No." He returned his attention to her. "I'm here to be with you in the flesh."

She blinked before wiping her eyes.

"The Trinity." Severus swallowed. He had missed doing that more than he cared to admit. "They restored my life."

"How?"

"They're the Trinity," he answered. "They were apparently in the mood to display their power, hence my presence."

"No," She muttered. "You aren't Severus, just some hallucination I'm having because I can't stop thinking about you."

"Hermione, please." He ran towards her as far as his legs could take him.

"No, I can't do this, not right now!" She began to close the door.

"Would you listen to me?" He pulled the door back.

"You, you can touch the door."

"Yes, I can."

"Then you are alive."

"It would appear so."

"You're not Severus." The tears flowed more freely. "Just someone who looks like him."

"I assure you, I am Severus and quite alive."

"How can you be Severus?" Tears streamed down her face. "He's dead."

"I told you, the Trinity raised me to life."

She glanced down and took a shaky breath.

"I'm Severus Tobias Snape, truly here in the flesh."

"You aren't," she choked before backing away. "You're some religious nutcase performing some ritual praising the Trinity for some unfathomable reason."

"Okay." Severus' heart raced. It had been so long since he'd felt it. So may sensations in a short amount of time.

"Okay, you'll leave before I call Harry or someone to escort you from my premises?"

"Don't call Harry. I can prove to you it's me."

"H-how?"

"Give me a purple pillow."

"What?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Give me a pillow so I can throw it or take the edge and have you shake it."

"B-but," her eyes were almost as big as the saucers in her cupboards. "Not even Luna knows about the pillow."

"No," he gave her a soft smile. "Only the real Severus Snape would know how you used to make pacts with him by shaking a pillow, and that the first time he appeared, he threw a pillow to prove he was real."

She gazed upon him, but doubted.

"Nobody has any memories of my afterlife," he continued. "Only I would know anything which occurred between us after I died."

She trembled.

"Only I know that the Trinity sent me to help you find eudaimonia, that I helped cure your father, that you helped me reconcile with Harry, and that along the way," he held her hands. "I fell madly in love with you."

"It is you!" She flung her arms around him. "It is you."

"Yes." He held her tightly against him. Flesh on flesh. It had been so long, yet the sensation was so wondrous. He would never take it for granted again! Even if he couldn't feel his spiritual essence reaching for her, their souls were connecting. Neither flesh nor the afterlife could sever the way their souls connected.

Hermione didn't understand how two souls fused together or the physics surrounding a soul and a mortal fusing, but she understood how two mortals came together. Feeling Severus' spirit within hers was powerful, but there was nothing as powerful in this realm as two mortals in each others arms. Her body and soul were enveloped in him. It was different than the way they'd previously connected, but no less powerful.

"Are you going to let me in now?" He asked.

"Right, right," she backed up, but did not take him out of her arms.

He kicked the door closed behind him before muttering, "it smells as if you've made a good salmon meal, just as I'd shown you."

"I was in the mood for some reason, and." She blushed. "Where are my manners? You must be hungry."

"I don't think I'm quite there yet honestly," he admitted. "I'm still coming down from the adrenaline rush of being alive."

"I'm still trying to get over the adrenaline of you being alive too." She chuckled. "It's still so new though. I see you and feel you before me, but part of me fears it's a dream."

"Then I will prove my existence beyond the shadow of a doubt." He captured her lips.

Hermione's body went warm as her spirit lifted. She could feel him. Finally, her flesh was satisfied that he was with her. He wasn't an illusion, but her Severus was with her.

It was only until they could no longer breathe when they broke apart.

"How about that fish?" She whispered.

"That sounds divine," he breathed.

"I suppose you would know what divine is."

"Indeed I would." He let out a chuckle.

Even in a mortal body, his voice was the most sensual thing she'd ever heard.

If anyone had told Severus the day he began helping Hermione that she could make a perfect salmon dish with fresh green beans, he would have told them he was a spirit, not a miracle worker. As he'd gotten to know her, he'd realized her potential in the kitchen. Still, his critiques had been based on vision alone. There was no true way to determine one's cooking except through taste.

"You have more than exceeded expectations," He set his napkin on his empty plate.

"I've had a year to perfect your recipes," replied from across the table.

"A year?" His voice was softer "You've spent a year without me?"

She nodded.

"Why didn't the Trinity resurrect me immediately?"

"I don't know, but maybe," she scratched her chin. "Maybe they wanted me to live on my own to prove to myself I could put your lessons into action."

"What lessons could you possibly need to put into action?"

"You had been doing so much for me, but I needed time to prove to myself I could be on my own. They say if you aren't comfortable with yourself you shouldn't be in a relationship after all."

"I've heard as much anyway."

"I needed to be alone to prove to myself I could function without you. That way, when I said, 'I need you,' it was on a spiritual, not physical level."

"I do need you." Severus reached across the table and clasped her hand.

"Although," her eyes sparkled in mischief. "The folding hasn't been going as well as you'd hoped."

He groaned. "How bad is the damage?"

"Enough to know that you should do the folding from here on out."

"I will agree to do so, provided you cook occasionally."

"I think I can manage that."

"I know you can."

He rubbed her hand as they sat in a comfortable silence. A decade ago, a moment such as this would have been unimaginable. Now everything was perfect, as if he deserved happiness by virtue of his existence, not as a result of some penance done.

"I never dated anyone while you were gone," she continued.

He felt his heart slow. It had never occurred to him that there would be anyone else. He had been so sure of his love for her. It never occurred to him that it would be selfish to think she hadn't moved on…

"No man will ever compare to you," she continued, undeterred by his expression. "I love you too much to consider anyone else."

"I love you too." He was sure he'd be pink now if he still had a glow. "Only the Trinity knows how much I love you."

"I love you too, and if possible." She stood and extended her hand. "I'd like to show you, assuming you're up for it."

"I am more than up for it." He stood and took her hand.

"Can you..."

"Trust me," His lips curled up. "Everything is working as it did in life, I assure you."

"Very well then." She took his hand.

Together, they strolled towards the bedroom, prepared to fuse in the best way their flesh knew how.